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This Giving Tuesday, Support Sustainable Solano Through Give Local Solano
By Sustainable Solano
Sometimes the gifts we get at Sustainable Solano are the small moments that come out of the work we do. While our work is focused on effecting change within our communities to build resiliency and sustainable living, what happens on the human scale is much more personal:
A woman getting to know neighbors and new friends while planning a resilient neighborhood.
A man planting in a community garden recalling how his mother prepared certain vegetables during his childhood.
Students researching and connecting with the food they grow on campus to send home for families.
Farmers connecting in conversation to share practices and ideas.
During #GivingTuesday, Dec. 3, we invite you to become part of fostering that human connection in creating a world that works for everyone. Sustainable Solano is participating in this year’s Give Local Solano. The program gives you a chance to give to area nonprofits that are doing important work in the county. All donations go to the organizations selected, and 100% of the donation qualifies as a charitable gift. Here are more details on Give Local Solano.
While we have a Donate button at the top of our website for any time of year, Give Local Solano gives us a chance to highlight our programs with people who may not have heard of Sustainable Solano and the work we do. We hope those of you who know us, volunteer with us and have joined us for workshops will help spread the word — while every dollar will help bring more programs to the county, every new connection is someone who can help us grow and spread the important work we’re doing to create sustainable landscapes, shape resilient communities, provide education and support local food.
See Sustainable Solano’s profile and donate here on Dec. 3!
Tangible and Valuable: Permaculture Design Course Shapes Program Work
By Gabriela Estrada and Kassie Munro, Program Managers
The OAEC Permaculture Design Course cohort that included Sustainable Solano Program Managers Gabriela Estrada and Kassie Munro
During Sustainable Solano’s restorative summer break, we traveled to Occidental Arts and Ecology Center, a research, demonstration, education, advocacy and community-organizing center in West Sonoma County, where they develop strategies for regional-scale community resilience and the restoration of biological and cultural diversity. For two weeks, we joined 30 other people in an intensive Permaculture Design Certificate program – frequently referred to as the PDC.
While Permaculture Design Courses follow a standardized curriculum to ensure that those who get their PDC receive comprehensive training in all of the critical systems design components, each program has a unique approach to how they immerse students in the permaculture experience, which for us meant living in yurts on the 80-acre OAEC property as part of their intentional community for the duration of the program.
Upon arrival on the first day, we all sat in a circle and were asked why we decided to attend the PDC training. What quickly became evident was that a lot of our fellow PDC-ers wanted to learn about permaculture design not only to create beautiful gardens, but to heal the earth and the people on it. As the days progressed this became more evident. Cohort members came from all walks of life and from all over the world! We had Mimi from Taiwan and our yurt-mate Mounir from Dubai. Their goal was to create a space of sustainability and social cohesion in their properties back home. Their generous attitudes were not unique among our cohort.
The course itself was both incredibly rigorous in its training, and yet at times also felt remarkably like summer camp. Nestled in the lush Duck Bill Creek watershed of Western Sonoma County, the property boasts a number of incredible gardens, restored forest and grasslands, an irrigation pond (which doubles as a swimming hole), and countless trails to get lost on. Communal vegetarian meals cooked in the shared kitchen with ingredients from the gardens were shared three times a day.
While living on-site, the property became so much more than a demonstration classroom, and the experience became so much more than simply an education. With course topics covering everything from cob building and composting to botany and global water systems, the training is incredibly holistic. We even had an afternoon dedicated to learning the art of fire-making. The social permaculture teachings truly came to life in the communal living experience where we had the chance to feel and live a different way based on designing social structures to favor beneficial patterns of human behavior and attempting to create conditions that favor nurturing and empowering relationships with each other.
The course culminated in a group design project, which for us focused on a nearby 7-acre plot of land that had recently been acquired by the Cultural Conservancy. Indigenous wisdom and learning the heritage of our host land was a focal point of the training. This came in many forms: first a small presentation by The Cultural Conservancy, then a trip to the actual site in the city of Graton, which is Southern Pomo Coast Miwok Territory. During this site visit, we all took notes, pictures and asked members of the Cultural Conservancy what they envisioned for the space to better understand their hopes and aspirations for the place. As a group, we were grateful that we were allowed to participate in a project that aims to create an inter-tribal bio-cultural heritage farm and indigenous education center. Together in a team of five, we created designs that represented all the different topics we were taught, and then on the last day presented it to the Cultural Conservancy.
It was a true honor to be a part of a tangible and valuable regenerative restoration project during our course. Belonging to an organization such as Sustainable Solano, whose core principals are permaculture-based, it has been very valuable to obtain Permaculture Design Certification. As program managers, this certification will allow us to infuse permaculture design principles and guiding ethics more deeply into our work, allowing us to continue shaping programs that approach sustainability through the lenses of social, environmental and economic equity.
Building Community Capacity: Conversation at California Environmental Protection Agency
By Elena Karoulina, Executive Director
Sustainable Solano Executive Director Elena Karoulina, far right, shares insight on a panel at the CalEPA gathering.
Recently a few Sustainable Solano team members had the privilege of spending a day with our fellow Environmental Justice CalEPA grantees and CalEPA and other state agencies’ officials and staff in Sacramento.
We were humbled by the depth and breadth of the organizations present at the meetings. From all over California – LA, Central Valley, Northern California and Bay Area — representatives of mostly grassroots organizations described their work of fighting against unfair environmental burdens in their communities, restricting and eventually banning pesticide use in California, building green infrastructure, providing youth education and leadership skills development, and supporting healing and personal transformation for inmates using permaculture as guiding philosophy. The community wisdom in the room was palpable — we all shared our honest stories of our accomplishments, opportunities and numerous challenges to further this work, from lack of funding and policy support to the unrealistic expectations of some funders to have measurable results in a short period of time. Our impact is not always easy to measure: How do you measure hope?
California Secretary of Environmental Protection Jared Blumenfeld opened the gathering and set the tone of our inquiry for the day: What does “successful” community capacity development look like? He masterfully identified our major modern adversaries: complexity and abstraction. The issues we are dealing with are so multifaceted and complex that it becomes increasingly difficult for the majority of the population to grasp them in their totality. Related to this is the abstraction of many concepts. For example, climate change is so profound and global, yet for most of us it is not yet a dire daily reality. Secretary Blumenfeld encouraged us to keep it personal and relative to our communities, to distill the essence of the issues and translate them into the place-based needs of the communities we work in, yet remain aware of how those fit into the complexity of our global challenges.
Blumenfeld talked about the need to reform the system and posted a question to all of us: How would this reform look? How can we ensure that technological advancements are placed in low-income, high-need communities first? Overall, we all felt appreciated and supported by the top leadership of the California EPA.
Throughout the day and long after we’ve been reflecting on what community capacity means for Sustainable Solano. The first question we have to answer is “capacity to do what?”
We, at Sustainable Solano, strive toward a new model, a vision for our human society built on the principles of Earth care, people care and fair share for a world that works for everyone. This new world is emerging all around us at the grassroots level, and it was very reassuring to hear from state officials that the question of a structural change is presenting itself on their level, which opens up a conversation about what that change will look like. It will take all of us, every level and all three major sectors of our society — business, government and civic — to work together to create a more sustainable future for all. We work on the ground, rooted in our neighborhoods, inspiring, educating and empowering our community members and providing tools and space to take heart-based actions toward the good of the whole.
What kind of community capacity supports this work? What would be a crucial characteristic we all need to have? We think it’s CONNECTION – to ourselves, to each other, to the world around us and to something larger than ourselves, whatever it might be for each of us.
We see the role of Sustainable Solano in enacting and supporting these connections through meaningful, tangible work in our communities. Every time you come to our events to plant trees, establish a permaculture food forest or install a greywater system, we are doing just that — seeding these vital connections all over the county.
This is exactly how we approach our Listening Circles project in Central Solano, funded by CalEPA’s Environmental Justice grant: We would like to bring to the communities mostly affected by the environmental pressures a balanced sense of urgency and agency, knowledge about environmental issues in their backyards, and practical, achievable, community-based solutions to fix the problems or at least ease the effects of them.
Looking forward to seeing you at our next community event!
Growing Change Through Community
By Allison Nagel, Communications Manager
Film maker John de Graaf and author and public speaker Anamaria Aristizabal
A conversation sparked in a Vallejo living room by the lessons learned in the city of Bogota, Colombia, could be a part of driving change in the local community.
Change starts with a vision of what is possible.
“It is a fire in our hearts,” said Anamaria Aristizabal, who spoke to a small group of local citizens earlier this summer about the transformation that took place in her hometown, creating a city full of parks, libraries and bike paths. Anamaria was there by invitation of filmmaker John de Graaf. (We’ll be showing one of his films, Redefining Prosperity, on Aug. 18 in Benicia, and John will participate in a Q&A after the screening.) John is currently working on a documentary about Vallejo. He said there are lines to be drawn between what happened in Bogota and what he sees happening in our local city — how bringing public services to neglected areas can give residents the sense that someone in government cares and the empowerment to ask for more.
Anamaria, who is a public speaker, author and the co-founder of an ecovillage outside of Bogota, drew out a timeline of how Bogota’s leadership history led to the city’s current state. First, there was leadership that pursued fiscal cleanup of a corrupt and bankrupt system. That paved the way for the next leader to focus on civic culture and the need for citizens to be civil to each other while building up a fiscal surplus. And that surplus allowed the next leader to focus on infrastructure, building out all of those public services and spaces.
By solving for essential needs, such as adding communal kitchens to address hunger, the city freed people up to have the bigger conversations and to advocate for more and better ways of improving the city and the status of its citizens.
“A strong social platform of people feeling met by their government allowed the city to move into a new era,” she said.
In examining the identity of an individual or a city, it comes down to tangible things, stories (those “seeds” that carry the identity and essence of a person or place) and ideals, Anamaria said. In Bogota, attention to ideals meant a focus on inclusion for all citizens or beauty in the natural world.
“All these ideals guide us and bring us together,” she said.
A focus on ideals can be a challenge, with the question of how to sustain the commitment and energy around an ideal.
Anamaria suggests “social technologies” — the building of stronger relationships where everyone feels heard and can unite around common values. Building trust creates more opportunities to pursue possibilities.
She pointed to the small group gathered together and how it creates new connections. There are more opportunities to do that within our communities. Part of the discussion that night among attendees touched on the need to better engage disenfranchised parts of the community.
“Out of relationships you can generate new possibilities and move into action,” she said, noting that the building of relationships, purpose and meaning has to come first before jumping to action.
She hoped that by sharing what has happened elsewhere, she can inspire others intent on changing their cities for the better.
“Sharing the positive stories that are already happening becomes the good fire to inspire others,” she said.
Anamaria’s insight and the feedback from this small group on the importance of community involvement and lending an ear to the voices of those most affected by community challenges ties in with Sustainable Solano’s commitment to creating Listening Circles. Learn more about this exciting process here.
Environmental Justice Grant to Help With Most Important Part of Community Involvement: Listening
So much of what we do as an organization is driven by connection. We seek to connect with community members and help neighbors come together to work toward a better world, whether that is through creating a community garden, forming a resilient neighborhood, supporting local farms or other means of connection. An important part of that task is finding out from community members what challenges they face, so that we can offer services that meet the needs and serve the desires of local residents.
California’s Environmental Protection Agency recently awarded Sustainable Solano an Environmental Justice grant that will help us create Listening Circles to identify challenges and move toward solutions starting in Fairfield, Vacaville and Suisun City. The grants focus on communities most affected by pollution and look at ways to combat pollution and improve health outcomes.
Sustainable Solano will work with local partners, such as churches, schools and other community groups, to engage community members and develop community-led solutions that will address the effects of climate change on disadvantaged communities. We will do this with help from Solano Public Health and UC Davis. Much of our work in green infrastructure, from creating demonstration food forest backyard gardens to community vegetable gardens to resilient neighborhoods, can serve to address climate change. The Listening Circles will help determine which of those types of resources can be the best fit for local communities, particularly low-income communities and communities of color that often face the greatest environmental justice challenges. These circles will also help plan any future programming that community members identify as needs.
By taking the time to listen to residents, we will be able to learn what environmental issues affect their neighborhoods, involve community leaders and local representatives in the decision-making process at the local and county level, and improve access to environmental information and making that information easy to understand and put to use. All of these things will culminate in an assessment and action plan that can then help the community members through support in developing green infrastructure plans to address the challenges they have identified.
We look forward to sharing more as we get underway in fostering greater connection and access to green infrastructure solutions as these communities address the greatest environmental issues they face.
Have questions, suggestions or want to connect about this program? Please contact Gabriela Estrada at gabriela@sustainablesolano.org
Next Economy: Exploring the Role of Community and Restorative Economics
By Gabriela Estrada and Allison Nagel, Sustainable Solano
Communities have the power to shape a new economy that is equitable and just, and the transition to get there lies in creating self-determination and shared prosperity through community governance and community ownership. It also relies on moving from a mindset of scarcity to one of creating abundance.
At our recent Next Economy discussion, we explored these key elements and how they can be used, particularly within communities of color that have been disempowered and disenfranchised in the current economic system, to create a new way of approaching the economy that often draws upon traditions of supporting one another.
This discussion of Restorative Economics came from insight and lessons learned at a workshop led by project management consultant Nwamaka Agbo, who has a background in community organizing and restorative justice. Through our Next Economy series, we’ve tackled problems with the current economy and shared what we’ve learned about creating a new economy from the courses taken through Santa Cruz Permaculture’s Next Economy series, including Nwamaka’s workshop.
Restorative Economics addresses how to prioritize investment of resources back into impacted populations. Nwamaka focuses on creating a just transition that moves away from capitalism’s patterns of economic oppression that has harmed marginalized communities and placed power and wealth with a select few.
In particular, a just transition moves from:
Extraction to Regeneration — Moving from an economy that pulls resources (and pushes people) out of communities to one that builds up those communities.
Control to Governing for the Whole — Moving from those with power and wealth controlling decisions that affect impacted populations to community governance and approaches that are beneficial to impacted populations and make life better for society as a whole. (As an example, curb cuts were put in on sidewalks for wheelchairs, but then those with bikes, strollers, etc., benefited from having them)
Accumulation to Shared Prosperity — Moving from an accumulation of wealth among a few to supporting shared prosperity through the reinvestment of profits in the community to add community benefit. (An example is the “pay-it-forward” approach that, rather than sending loan interest income to an investor turns around and invests it in a loan to another business.)
Exclusion to Inclusion — Moving from excluding people from being a part of the economy to build models that give voice and build capacity for meaningful participation in the local governance and economy.
We asked attendees to reflect on the fact that capitalism is a system, which means we have agency over it and we can change it. Keeping this in mind, we asked the group to think of some practices and values we could use for a just transition. As a group, we discussed the different ideas behind Restorative Economics and did some activities to think about both how we look at economics now and new ways to redefine the economy.
We shared Nwamaka’s tenets of Restorative Economics and some examples:
Investing in Human Development and Capacity Building: The Restore Oakland project, of which she was a vital part, builds employable skills in recently incarcerated individuals while also creating space for furthering restorative justice and restorative economics work.
Remembering and Reclaiming Traditions and Collective Wisdom: Drawing on the indigenous cultures of shared prosperity that have been discouraged in the current economic system.
Building a Community of Practice and Social Movement Infrastructure: Practicing community governance through co-ops and other approaches, and bringing community organizations and social movements together to support each other in efforts on the ground and to shape policy.
We wrapped up by thinking of what some of the biggest challenges are in our local community and how to address them. That included creating a system of affordable housing, better community gathering space and the recognition of the true value of labor. The idea of changing from a system that commodifies land, labor and capital to a system of land trust, right livelihood and public banking was also identified.
Join us at our next discussion on May 2 to explore ways to design our economic future.
As Nwamaka told us at the Santa Cruz workshop: “Change doesn’t come from intent. It comes from deliberate action.” That is the first step towards a more just economy that works for everyone.
The funding for Sustainable Solano’s team training at the “Next Economy” course at Santa Cruz Permaculture was provided by Solano Community Foundation through their NPP Capacity Building grants program. Community conversations are made possible through a grant from the Peaceful World Foundation. Thank you to both organizations!
We will continue to share insights at our final workshop at Green Hive Spaces in Vallejo. Please join us to further the discussion on the next economy in our community.
Designing the Regenerative Economy, 6 pm, May 2
Join us to discuss the design principles and strategies needed for vocation and regenerative enterprise design. We’ll discuss how we could redesign the economy for security, prosperity and a stable climate with transformation based on permaculture design principles, methods and ethics for an economy that benefits all life.
9:30 am Benicia: Demonstration Food Fore... @ A Benicia home
Benicia: Demonstration Food Fore... @ A Benicia home
This public, hands-on installation workshop series will create a demonstration food forest garden in Benicia, creating an opportunity to learn about rainwater capture, simple greywater systems that reuse household water and how to plant and[...]
11:00 am Vallejo: Year-Round Garden Plann... @ Grow a Pear Nursery
Vallejo: Year-Round Garden Plann... @ Grow a Pear Nursery
Learn what, how and when to start planting for a well-timed and productive year-round garden here in the Bay Area using organic methods. We will talk about propagation, companion planting, cover crops, perennials, and choosing[...]
6:00 pm Slow Food Solano Annual Meeting @ RSVP for location
Slow Food Solano Annual Meeting @ RSVP for location
Public invited to Slow Food Solano Annual Meeting Slow Food Solano will hold its annual meeting on Wednesday, January 29 at 6 p.m. The public is invited to attend the meeting and learn about the[...]
all-day Solano County Water Awareness Vi...
Solano County Water Awareness Vi...
The Solano County Water Agency has launched its 2020 video contest, open to middle and high school students in the county. This year’s challenge is to create “H2O Tunes” videos featuring water efficiency tips put[...]
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“Ghostrock,” it’s been called in some corners of Europe. Piano Magic’s dynamic, romantic, often brooding brand of music has a spectral presence to it that ultimately mesmerises, live and on record. This, their 6th album proper, further explores their trademark glacial sound whilst reaching out into melodic pop territory. The Smiths, 1980’s 4AD and Factory Records – Piano Magic unashamedly wear their influences on their sleeves whilst managing to sound much more than a sum of their inspirations.
There’s no denying that this isn’t happy music. You know where to go if you want that. Piano Magic deal in loneliness, in confusion, in late nights, in crumbling friendships, in dying relationships. And yet, there’s heart, there’s hope, there’s love somewhere in there.
Recorded between October 2004 and January 2005 at the group’s regular studio, The Fortress, in London and their own Murder Mile home-studio, ‘Disaffected’ features guest vocal contributions from John Grant of The Czars and Angèle David-Guillou of Klima.
Piano Magic openly refer to themselves a ‘European band.’ Though, London based, 4 of the band are French – Jerome Tcherneyan, Franck Alba, Cedric Pin and Angèle David-Guillou. Glen Johnson and Alasdair Steer are English. And certainly, though some of their songs deal directly with the cold reality of English city life, the emotions are universal.
Disaffected
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1A Six Man
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Pearland Head Coach Tony Heath Retiring After 20 Seasons
By Tony VenegasTuesday 20
Photo via John Glaser, TexasHSFootball.com
One of the longest tenured head coaches in the Houston area has reportedly decided to call it a career. As first reported by Matt Stepp of DCTF, Pearland head coach Tony Heath is retiring effective at the end of July.
BREAKING Pearland HFC Tony Heath has announced he will retire effective at the end of July #txhsfb @dctf
— Matt Stepp (@Matt_Stepp817) June 20, 2017
Angel Verdejo Jr. of The Houston Chronicle later confirmed the report.
Can confirm…
Just spoke with Heath. Has a great opportunity in front of him and believes @PearlandOilers are in great shape. #txhsfb https://t.co/EwVNU3MMqH
— Angel Verdejo Jr. (@ahverdejo) June 20, 2017
Heath led the Oilers for 20 seasons and compiled a 195-53 record since he first took over as head coach in 1997. Prior to that, he was an assistant coach at La Marque.
The longtime head coach helped build the Pearland program into a consistent playoff contender. Up until his arrival, the Oilers had only made the playoffs only six times since the school’s first season in 1949. He led the Oilers to at least a share of eight district titles and a state title in 2010. He also helped lead Pearland back to the state title game in 2013.
Last season, Pearland finished 8-4 and fell in the area round of the Class 6A Divsion I playoffs to Atascocita. There is no word yet on how Pearland will do for their coaching situation for the upcoming season, which is just over 70 days away.
Pearland opens their season on September 1 at home against Clear Springs.
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On Point: What’s next for Site A?
For the past several months, the development and design consortium Alameda Point Partners has been working to refine its plan for Site A, a 68-acre waterfront plot that is proposed to one day hold 600,000 square feet of commercial uses, 15 acres of new parks – and 800 new homes.
The development framework okayed by city leaders in 2014 envisioned the site as a catalyst for revitalization of the Point, a transit-hubbed beacon alerting industry that the Point was open for business. But some Island voters apparently saw something different: A future traffic nightmare clogging Alameda’s bridges and tubes.
Those fears arguably helped Trish Herrera Spencer eke out her 120-vote mayoral victory over Marie Gilmore, and arguably also helped Vice Mayor Frank Matarrese secure a council seat after a four-year absence from the dais. On the campaign trail, Matarrese said unequivocally that he does not want homes built at Alameda Point, while slowing growth was Spencer’s primary pre-election promise.
Development of Site A (or any portion of Alameda Point) can’t proceed unless four of the council’s five members agree to move forward. So if two council members have already said they oppose building homes at Alameda Point, what are the chances that the development will move forward?
Joe Ernst of srmErnst, the lead developer’s representative, said his group understood that getting a fourth vote would be “more of a challenge” after the election. That said, they wouldn’t be spending the time and money on the process if they thought seeking approval were a lost cause.
“We think it’s doable because of the merits of the project,” Ernst said during an interview with The Alamedan this week.
His pitch: The community stands to gain more from development of Alameda Point than development elsewhere, because it brings new roads and utilities to an area of town that desperately needs them, more affordable housing than other developments are required to build and millions for a ferry terminal and toward a new sports complex.
“Slower growth doesn’t necessarily mean no growth,” Ernst said.
Indeed, Spencer, who noted that the prior council signed a deal to negotiate with the developers that must be executed in good faith, said she hasn’t yet made up her mind on the project.
“Regardless of the change of the individuals on council, at this point, its incumbent on all of us, including myself, to seriously consider the developer’s proposal,” Spencer said during an interview with The Alamedan this week. “I’m continuing to listen to the community feedback. I plan to seriously consider the proposal.”
But Vice Mayor Frank Matarrese said he can’t support the proposal because it could add more homes than the city’s general plan currently envisions. The plan says the city has land ready to hold an estimated 2,245 new homes – not including Alameda Point.
“The traffic generated by 2,245 units will be difficult enough without adding the 800 units in Site A. I believe we should go after non-residential projects like the (ferry maintenance and operations) facility that create jobs and pay for infrastructure and expand park facilities,” Matarrese said. “I’d like to pursue alternative ways to pay for the basics instead of overloading Alameda Point with housing.”
He said he’d consider Site A under one condition: If city leaders subtracted took 800 units of potential housing on other sites out of the general plan.
Still, council members who previously voted to move forward at the Point – and are concerned about the deteriorating conditions on the property – aren’t giving up.
“I will say it’s clear to me how much is at stake for the city and what enormous opportunities we will realize if we can move forward with Site A,” said Councilwoman Marilyn Ezzy Ashcraft, who said she will carefully review everything and that she doesn’t make up her mind until it’s time to vote.
“We’re closer now than we’ve ever been to beginning to realize the potential of redeveloping the base,” Ashcraft added. “And I hope we can stay the course.”
Ashcraft and Tony Daysog were part of the unanimous November 18 vote to select Alameda Point Partners as its preferred developer for Site A, while Jim Oddie, then a councilman-elect, urged the council to move forward with the selection. Conversely, both Spencer and Matarrese asked the council to allow the new council to make the decision, after they were seated.
From the dais, Spencer has offered a flurry of concerns about the development proposal. She has questioned whether the housing proposed to be built will be affordable enough for Alamedans facing a shortage of it, and whether the project will generate too much traffic.
Matarrese has expressed concerns about the traffic the development could generate and has also questioned whether the city has the right to grant the developers’ request to waiver Measure A in order to build 200 units of affordable housing into the project. (City staffers have said the state’s affordable housing laws trump Measure A.)
On March 3, the council okayed contracts for development of plans for a Main Street residential neighborhood at the Point, though Spencer urged the council to build more affordable housing there than what’s being considered now and Matarrese asked that the plans include an option to just replace existing quarters now used by the Alameda Point Collaborative.
Advocates of the Site A project have mounted a full court press at City Hall in an effort to win council approval. The project has received backing from Alameda’s Chamber of Commerce and affordable housing advocates, and two prominent Alameda Point tenants – the Collaborative’s Doug Biggs and Bladium’s Brad Shook, who threatened to leave the Island if fixes to the Point’s crumbling infrastructure aren’t made soon.
The developer has also successfully convinced a flurry of regular Alamedans who have said they’d like to see the base put back into productive use to speak out at council meetings. And one additional constituency has made an entry into the debate: Renters who are being squeezed by rising costs and diminishing supply.
City staffers have also made the case for housing, saying the businesses the city wants to attract to the Point will want to see some housing available to shelter their workers. In a dramatic illustration of their point, city leaders walked away from negotiations with a pair of developers interested in building a corporate campus on the Point because they were unable to secure a commitment from either to fund road, utility and other infrastructure improvements on what was then known as Site B.
Ernst, whose company is building out the Harbor Bay Business Park, said that is an old model for attracting businesses. Today’s business owners want to be located near homes and amenities, he said.
“If we’re truly going to make the base a job generator and a stable, durable job base, we have to create the environment for it. Those are mixed use, complete communities,” he said.
In a shift perhaps aimed at appeasing council members who don’t want housing built at the Point, staffers have also begun arguing that the homes could inject much-needed supply into the local rental market – two-thirds of the proposed housing units will be rentals under the current plan – and offer ownership opportunities for first-time buyers, empty nesters and seniors, in addition to housing for future Point workers.
City staffers have also said that the homes – and residents – are needed to justify a transit hub at the Point helmed by a third Alameda ferry terminal and served by rapid bus service, which they have said will serve all of Alameda as traffic worsens on and off the Island.
Alameda Point Chief Operating Officer Jennifer Ott said the Site A plan is the culmination of decades of work and that it was created to be responsive to the community’s desires for the acreage – including a smaller number of homes than some earlier developers proposed.
“This plan, this project – from a staff policy standpoint, (it) implements the plans that have been in place for 20 years,” Ott said.
She said city staff is aware four votes are needed to proceed with the plan – but that it’s not staff’s job to count them.
“It’s not our job to count votes, but to put forward best policy recommendations we can, and that’s what we’re doing,” Ott said.
The plan as it stands now is to seek a first round of approvals for 650 homes, 96,000 square feet of commercial space and 8.25 acres of parks over the next two to four years and approvals for the remainder of the project – 150 homes, 400,000 square feet of commercial space and more than six additional acres of park space – in 2021 or 2022, when the city takes title to the remainder of Site A (the Navy is still cleaning up a portion of the property).
A development agreement is due by mid-May, unless the city opts to extend negotiations. Ott said the Planning Board is expected to consider approving a Site A development plan on May 11, and the council could consider a development agreement in May or June.
Alameda Point Partners is leading a public walking tour of Site A at 10 a.m. Saturday. Council members are expected to attend.
Spencer urged members of the community to get involved and voice their opinions about the developer’s proposal.
“I do welcome and encourage the community to participate in the council meetings as well as attend the open houses and give their feedback,” she said. “This is the time to share any and all concerns with Mr. Ernst and his colleagues.”
Site A, so far | Create infographics
Submitted by Richard Bangert on Thu, Mar 26, 2015
Here's another reason to move forward with the Site A project: Failing to do so on the grounds that someone doesn't want any more housing at Alameda Point would essentially eviscerate the spirit of the Renewed Hope lawsuit settlement. That lawsuit challenged the environmental impact report for the Bayport Housing development. The cornerstone of the settlement agreement allowing the Bayport project to move forward - tearing down over 400 multi-family housing units that an East Bay affordable developer was ready to rehab - is that all future housing at Alameda Point would include 25% affordable housing. A 25% affordable allotment is almost unheard of.
Voting "No" on the Site A proposal solely on the basis of "too many housing units" would render the widely-supported "Save East Housing" affordable housing campaign, and the Renewed Hope 25% affordable housing settlement that was won as a result, a total failure with not one thing to show for it.
Submitted by Karen Bey (not verified) on Thu, Mar 26, 2015
There is a lot of talk on this blog about the high costs of rents, and the lack of affordable housing in Alameda. In fact there is an entire sub-blog dedicated to the subject called the “Rents Blog”. While much of the response blames Alameda landlords for the cause, it’s good to recognize that only 15% of the surveys showed rent increases over 10%. Most of the rent increases reported was under 10%.
I don’t think focusing on landlords is the best solution here, because it doesn’t address the “root cause” of the problem, it only addresses one of the symptoms. The root cause of the high rents and lack of affordable housing in Alameda is the lack of rental housing inventory and the lack of affordable housing units.
The responsible thing to do if we really want to make a dent in solving the housing crisis in Alameda is to address the root cause of the problem. Here’s how Alameda Point Partners is doing that with their Site A proposal:
1. Increasing the rental supply in Alameda. Two thirds of the 800 housing units will be apartments.
2. Increase affordable housing units in Alameda. Of the 800 housing units, 25% or 200 units will be affordable.
So instead of focusing on housing numbers -- I’d like to see us focus on addressing the real problem – the housing crisis.
I see Alameda Point Partner’s Site A development as part of the solution to our housing crisis.
Submitted by marilyn pomeroy (not verified) on Thu, Mar 26, 2015
"City staffers have also made the case for housing, saying the businesses the city wants to attract to the Point will want to see some housing available to shelter their workers"
This clearly shows that the promise to create jobs was always just a way to justify the development at the point, and not to provide a benefit to the people who currently live on the island.
Submitted by MJ (not verified) on Thu, Mar 26, 2015
The developer saying the community stands to benefit from new utilities at Alameda Point shows how absurd of a case needs to be made to justify more houses, people, cars and traffic.
How does the community of people who ALREADY LIVE IN ALAMEDA stand to gain anything? I don't know about you, but more sewers, lights, water, electricity, roads, etcetera at Alameda Point does nothing at all for the current residents of Alameda. And, trading more traffic for more of the above is a loser for existing Alamedans.
Try driving through the Webster St. Tube at 8:15 am on a week day and you will be left wondering how anyone can contemplate more of the same.
Submitted by PW (not verified) on Thu, Mar 26, 2015
It took me 45 minutes to get to work in downtown Oakland this morning from Alameda. If more and more housing is built, adding bus lines will just mean there will be buses full of people stuck in the tube together in traffic. If you want to add more people to the Island of Alameda, the City needs to work with other east bay cities to come up with a regional long term plan for transit and traffic. Don't forget that the Oakland Waterfront is also being developed. The Brooklyn Basin development alone will add 3,100 new units. The current transportation infrastructure cannot support all these new people. Ignoring this issue and coming up with many good reasons why to build on the base won't make this problem go away. I am waiting for someone in the City leadership to proactively work on ways to address this issue and so far no one has. Talking is one thing, let's see some action on how to solve it.
Submitted by New to the Island (not verified) on Thu, Mar 26, 2015
Really MJ and marilyn? You don't see how development of Alameda Point benefits those people who live on the island? Basic infrastructure isn't needed at Alameda Point? Do you honestly think that 1/3 of the island should be without basic infrastructure. You know, things like decent roads, modern sewers, lights, electricity, etc like you say. How is that not an improvement of what is there now? Recently I went on a work outing where we went to St. George's for a tasting, and my coworkers from off the island commented about how Alameda Point looked like a zombie set from a movie. We need to clean it up. The only way that is economically feasible is through mixed use development, which will pay for the desperately needed infrastructure improvements which will benefit everyone on the island.
Submitted by Anne DeBardeleben on Thu, Mar 26, 2015
One of the benefits people already living in Alameda will gain is elimination of the costs our City is now paying to maintain/repair the crumbling infrastructure effecting businesses already leasing at the Point. Businesses that will leave if they can't depend on working utilities and take the revenues our City receives with them. We will also gain a vibrant area with open spaces we can all enjoy and be proud of. Doing nothing at Alameda Point would be a detriment to our community and a shame not to have a beautiful space to enjoy. As an Alamedian (who already lives here) I can't wait to see this project underway!
Submitted by Vicki S. (not verified) on Thu, Mar 26, 2015
The type of creative and innovative businesses Alameda Point is seeking to attract requires a mixed use development where people can live, work, collaborate and be engaged in their community. The big box monolith office park that people drive to during the work week and then leave desolate in the evenings and weekends is a thing of the past. The Site A plan "homes" are mostly rental and affordable, which is desperately needed if we want the younger generation to be able to call Alameda home. It should be noted that there are currently residents living at Alameda Point who need updated infrastructure, as do the existing businesses that Alamedans from all over the Island enjoy. A new ferry terminal is a growing necessary and a new sports complex is desperately needed.
Submitted by Bill2 (not verified) on Thu, Mar 26, 2015
There are some simple ways of avoiding traffic or dealing with the increased traffic of ay growing town. Leave earlier, or leave later.
Submitted by Michael McDonough (not verified) on Thu, Mar 26, 2015
As President of the Alameda Chamber of Commerce, I applaud the efforts of our City Staff and Alameda Point Partners to develop plans that include badly needed infrastructure improvements that not only pave the way to attract new businesses to Alameda's West Side but also allows the existing business at the Point to remain in Alameda. It is the Housing element of the Site A proposal that pays for the infrastructure required to accomplish the objectives of those who would like to see a larger business footprint at the Point. Previous negotiations have proven that it is not cost effective for commercial developers to provide the infrastructure needed to bring corporate clients to the site. It is also proven that businesses are attracted to areas that provide homes and nearby amenities for their employees to enjoy.
As a resident of Alameda I have very much enjoyed the limited recreational and family establishments available currently, such as Bladium and Rock Wall Wine Company. I look forward to the day when there are more parks and waterfront attractions within reach of one of the most desirable locations around the entire Bay. Additionally, we shouldn't overlook the benefits of having international businesses such as St. George Spirits and local service organizations like Brix Beverage who make their home at the Point. Benefits like tax revenues which help balance the City budget and keep your taxes low, quality of life activites that keep your family happy and healthy, and the overall business vitality on the West End are the tip of the iceberg of reasons all Alameda Residents should support this Site A development. In my opinion, the benefits of Alameda Point Partners development plans far out weigh any of the concerns that have been voiced about this project. I urge you to support the this plan and the bright future it will bring to Alameda.
Submitted by jw (not verified) on Thu, Mar 26, 2015
is it reasonable to expect the addition of 800 housing units to measurably impact the rental situation?
Submitted by MJ (not verified) on Fri, Mar 27, 2015
The reason Alameda point looks so bad is because the city of Alameda runs it like a slum lord. What would you call a property owner who extracts rents and puts little to nothing back into the property?
Yet, the city is even worse than a standard slum lord. A slum lord would have a mortgage or two and pay property taxes to pay. The city has neither of those two major costs to deal with and still it can't figure out how to maintain its property.
In fact, if the city encountered a landlord as bad as itself, it would levy fines, insist on improvements and ultimately red tag the property.
What some of the above comments are really saying is that after the city has run Alameda Point into the ground, we have no choice but to create gridlock on our island through development greater than island transportation can handle. I'll make sure consider this trade off as I sit in traffic.
Submitted by Alan (not verified) on Fri, Mar 27, 2015
It's about basic economics. The rents are not sufficient to rebuild the roads, building and utilities at Alameda Point without drawing from the City funds that are to pay for services and amenities that benefit the existing residents. Without improvements to the site, like consistent electricity, flowing water and transit for workers, the City cannot charge higher rents. It becomes a vicious cycle on who is able to pay.
Submitted by MJ (not verified) on Sat, Mar 28, 2015
Alan, so the city can afford to pave roads on streets where it collects no rents, but can't afford to on streets where it collects rents?
Submitted by Mayda (not verified) on Sat, Mar 28, 2015
We all are going to miss the birds. We don't think we will, but we will. That recent sea-bird die-off cast a pall over this whole area. It's hard to breathe here, even on the beach at dawn. At this point of the drought it makes no sense whatsoever to engage in this big project, with thinking that all our resources are simply never-ending. Endless fresh water, endless buildings materials, endless good air to counteract all those added cars and the machinery to build all these new buildings. "Doing nothing" is better than ripping up the waters edge that is the habitat for the living creatures in our fast-dwindling flora and fauna.
Submitted by David (not verified) on Mon, Mar 30, 2015
It's interesting to me how the construction and real estate industry has become so adept at appropriating causes to further its self-interest.
Worried about climate change? Build more apartments.
Worried about affordable housing? Build more apartments.
Alameda Point Partners
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TigerFan.com - LSU Sports Forum
Forums > Lagniappe > New Roundtable >
RIP Captain Phil - The Deadliest Catch
Discussion in 'New Roundtable' started by Kurtis Bleaux, Feb 11, 2010.
Kurtis Bleaux Founding Member
Sad especially cause I can't wait for the next season to start...
Discovery Channel: 'Deadliest Catch' captain dies
(AP) – 1 day ago
ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Phil Harris, the fishing boat captain whose adventures off the Alaska coast were captured on the television show "Deadliest Catch", has died, the Discovery Channel said Tuesday night. He was 53.
Harris suffered what his family described as a massive stroke on Jan. 29 while the fishing vessel he captained, Cornelia Marie, was in port at St. Paul Island, Alaska. The fisherman was flown to Anchorage for surgery.
The reality show, which has filmed five seasons, has been one of the Discovery Channel's most popular and depicts the crab fishing industry in the dangerous waters off Alaska.
"It is with great sadness that we say goodbye to our dad - Captain Phil Harris. Dad has always been a fighter and continued to be until the end," sons Josh and Jake Harris said in a statement released by the network. "For us and the crew, he was someone who never backed down."
In a statement, Discovery Channel senior vice president Elizabeth Hillman says, "Phil was a devoted father and loyal friend to all who knew him."
"We will miss his straightforward honesty, wicked sense of humor and enormous heart," she said.
In an e-mail to The Associated Press, she said no additional information was immediately available Tuesday night.
Harris had seemed to be improving, and in a posting last Saturday on the ship's Web site, he was described as "talking to friends and family today; showing his greatest progress" since the stroke.
His sons wrote in a Feb. 3 posting that "No one ever said Captain Phil Harris wasn't tough. Today, dad showed some good signs of improvement, squeezing our hands and even summoning his trademark Captain's bluntness ... We are encouraged but still very cautious."
According to the ship's Web site, Harris started working on fishing boats at age 7 and started work 10 years later on a crab boat. When Harris turned 21, he ran a fishing vessel out of Seattle, making him one of the youngest to captain a vessel in the Bering Sea.
When Harris suffered the stroke, the family said a friend, Derek Ray, had flown to St. Paul to take over the role of relief skipper for the rest of the opilio crab season.
Harris' fishing vessel was based in Seattle.
Kurtis Bleaux, Feb 11, 2010
Krypto Huh?
agreed. I always liked to watch him
Krypto, Feb 11, 2010
CajunlostinCali (877) 522-5001
Dude was a hellofa salty dog. Best to his family and crew.
CajunlostinCali, Feb 11, 2010
mobius481 Registered Member
I've been bummin hard over this. He was an interesting part of the show. He and Sig are my favorites. Keith kinda sucks and Jonathan and his brother (can't remember his name), are kinda goofy but they're not bad.
mobius481, Feb 11, 2010
DRC TigerNator
It will be interesting to see how Discovery handles this. Apparently camera's were rolling when he had his stroke. I cant imagine them airing something so tragic but its TV so who knows. Im sure Phil will be a big part of the new season because they are almost finished filming this years episodes. He was on the boat full time for king crab and the snow crab season ends in a couple weeks.
There was a blog on discovery's website last year from a young cameraman who was on the Cornelia Marie. It was pretty interesting. If you poke around the site you can probably find it. The kid talked about how much Phil smoked and it was like 4 or 5 packs a day and he was drinking a case of red bull a day too. He said the wheel house was a constant haze. That many smokes and red bull has to put you in serious caffeine and nicotine overload.
I've always liked the show but there are only so many ways you can watch them catch crab before its repetitive. I still watch but it isn't quite as interesting as it was a couple years ago. Still, Phil was my favorite captain along with Sig. The Hilstrands are just ok and that guy on the Wizard I dont like. I dont know if they have any new boats this year but fresh personalities would help keep the show interesting.
DRC, Feb 11, 2010
any one else notice that everyone's 2 favorite captains/boat are the same. Sig and the Northwestern and Phil and the Cornelia Marie. The rest of the boats are just filler. The Time bandit guys can be funny for a bit.
DRC said: ↑
It will be interesting to see how Discovery handles this. Apparently camera's were rolling when he had his stroke.
That will be interesting. I would imagine they will show the moments before and the moments after but not his actual collapse. Although he didn't actually die at that point. He had surgery and lived another two weeks.
red55 curmudgeon Staff Member
The kid talked about how much Phil smoked and it was like 4 or 5 packs a day and he was drinking a case of red bull a day too. He said the wheel house was a constant haze. That many smokes and red bull has to put you in serious caffeine and nicotine overload.
Smokes and Red Bull and Stress. A high-stress job like that takes years off your life, especially if you are a type-A personality like Phil.
It's why I like the Hillstands best. Those guys are as laid back as you can get on the Bering Sea.
red55, Feb 11, 2010
red55 said: ↑
They can get riled up every once in a while too but are definitely the most chill. I really just watch for the rescues and stories of rescues at this point. As someone said above, it can get a bit repetitive.
oh my. Red just had to be different.
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Salisbury News Surpasses 86,000 Articles
Today Salisbury News surpassed our 86,000th article/post. Wait til we tell you how many hits we've had this year. Nah, I'll wait for another day but I will at least say it's literally in the millions.
Road Washed Out
Kingston Landing Rd. Off Rt. 328 or Easton to Denton.
Law and justice and George Zimmerman
In the next few hours and days you'll likely be inundated with analysis and commentary and solemn expressions of outrage or joy about what the acquittal of George Zimmerman means -- to the nation, to its rule of law, to its politics, to its racial divide, to its deadly obsession with guns, to Florida's ALEC-infused justice system, and to probably 100 other things I can't list off the top of my head. This is what happens when a verdict comes down in a high-profile criminal trial -- when life or liberty are on the line and the country is split, and angrily so, upon the wisdom and the justice of the outcome.
To me, on its most basic level, the startling Zimmerman verdict -- and the case and trial that preceded it -- is above all a blunt reminder of the limitations of our justice system. Criminal trials are not searches for the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. They never have been. Our rules of evidence and the Bill of Rights preclude it. Our trials are instead tests of only that limited evidence a judge declares fit to be shared with jurors, who in turn are then admonished daily, hourly even, not to look beyond the corners of what they've seen or heard in court.
Today's Feature - Daily Times Opinion On Local Job
Joe -
The DT is one of the most worthless piece of journalisms I have ever witnessed. What a pathetic piece of propaganda - all it does is provide lip service or solace to what everyone knows is occurring here in Wicomico/Salisbury. Why don't they show the numbers to reflect what has really occurred in our local economy.
It is most unfortunate that The Daily Times cannot do better.
Sunday editorial: A slow recovery: Statistics don't tell the whole story of pain and loss when jobs evaporate
Statistics don't tell the whole story of pain and loss when jobs evaporate
Troopers Investigate Millsboro Freight Train Derailment
DSP News Release: Troopers Investigate Millsboro Freight Train Derailment
Railroad tracks between West State Street and Patriots Way, Millsboro, DE
Sunday, July 14, 2013 at 4:00 a.m.
Millsboro-Troopers are investigating the derailment of a Norfolk Southern freight train that occurred north of Millsboro earlier this morning.
Preliminary investigation has determined that at approximately 4:00 a.m. this morning, the Norfolk Southern freight train, consisting approximately seventy train cars hauling stone, being pulled by two locomotives, was traveling southbound on the railroad tracks in a wooded area north of Millsboro. The train derailment occurred on a section of the tracks east of US 113. The tracks run parallel with the highway between West State Street and Patriots Way.
As a result of the derailment, fifteen of the cars were forced off of the tracks and overturned spilling their contents of stone, while the rest remained upright. The two locomotives also derailed but remained upright. The train conductor and engineer onboard during the incident were not injured. An approximately ¾ mile length of railroad track was destroyed and or heavily damaged due to the incident.
An assessment of the scene indicated that there are no hazardous conditions and no hazards or threats to the environment or surrounding communities. There are no detours or road closures in the area of the derailment.
Troopers along with Norfolk Southern officials remain on the scene continuing to investigate the circumstance surrounding the incident. Inquiries regarding the involved train, transported contents, and clean up at the derailment site should be directed to Norfolk Southern.
Sergeant Paul G. Shavack
Director of Public Information | Delaware State Police P.O. Box 430| Dover, DE 19903
Brooke at Boston Harbor
Brooke at Boston Harbor. Looks like she's feeling good enough to kick cancer's butt! Share if you agree!
O’Malley And The Democrats: Giving Maryland The Business
On the planet currently inhabited by Gov. Martin O’Malley – a fantasy world also populated by the state’s elected majority-party ruling class – Maryland’s business climate is not only robust and rejuvenated, but apparently the envy of the civilized, capitalism-loving world.
As noted in a column posted to the Maryland Watchdog Wire website, the Guv’nuh delivered alate-May speech to the Center for American Progress (CAP) wherein he championed “Fee State” policies that have led to a top-ranked education system (achieved via smoke, mirrors and silos full of cash); a wealthier populace (courtesy of the ever-growing, taxpayer-clutching tentacles ofgovernment jobs, pensions and public-sector unions); and “investment pipelines” (see: taxpayer-clutching tentacles) and the state’s leverage to “raise and attract more venture capital for job creation.”
Touting the business-friendly nature of the state is certainly one of the things this governor does best – even if statistics continually prove there is nothing welcoming, affordable or regulatory pleasant when it comes to Maryland’s current business climate.
In the days following the CAP canard there came a number of reports that show – in spite of whatever talking points were being dispatched from Planet O’Malley and its brownnosing masses – Maryland is as friendly to business as, well, as Maryland is to Republicans.
Study: Maryland Has Some of the Worst Roads in the Country
A national think tank recently ranked Maryland the tenth worst state for well-conditioned and and cost-effective state-owned roadways, but the Maryland State Highway Administration wants to set the record straight.
The Reason Foundation’s annual highway report is based on data from 2009, the most recent year with full spending statistics available.
In the report, Maryland was ranked 40th among all states in overall highway performance and efficiency, which is an improvement from 43rd in 2008.
I Know My Master Is There And That Is Enough
A sick man turned to his doctor as he was preparing to leave the examination room and said,
“Doctor, I am afraid to die. Tell me what lies on the other side.”
Very quietly, the doctor said, “I don't know.”
“You don't know? You're, a Christian man, and don't know what's on the other side?”
The doctor was holding the handle of the door; on the other side came a sound of scratching and whining,
And as he opened the door, a dog sprang into the room and leaped on him with an eager show of gladness.
Turning to the patient, the doctor said,
“Did you notice my dog? He's never been in this room before. He didn't know what was inside. He knew nothing except that his master was here, and when the door opened, he sprang in without fear. I know little of what is on the other side of death, but I do know one thing...
I know my Master is there and that is enough.”
AUTOMOTIVE REPAIR ADVERTISEMENT IN 1928
Sent On A Penny Postcard
1914 Model T Ford Station Wagon.
May 31, 1927, the last Ford Model T rolled off the assembly
line. It was the first affordable automobile, due in part to
the assembly line process developed by Henry Ford. It
had 2.9-liter, 20-horsepower engine and could travel at
speeds up to 45 miles per hour. It had a 10-gallon fuel
tank and could run on kerosene, petrol, or ethanol, but
it couldn't drive uphill if the tank was low, because there
was no fuel pump; people got around this design flaw by
driving up hills in reverse.
Ford believed that "the man who will use his skill and
constructive imagination to see how much he can give for
a dollar, instead of how little he can give for a dollar, is
bound to succeed." The Model T cost $850 in 1909, and as
efficiency in production increased, the price dropped.
By 1927, you could get a Model T for $290. "I will build
a car for the great multitude," said Ford. "It will be large
enough for the family, but small enough for the individual to
run and care for. It will be constructed of the best materials,
by the best men to be hired, after the simplest designs that
modern engineering can devise. But it will be low in price
that no man making a good salary will be unable to own
one - and enjoy with his family the blessing of hours
of pleasure in God's great open spaces."
The Food Must Be Awesome, Salisbury Fire Department Returns For Lunch AGAIN Today!
It is absolutely AMAZING that the Salisbury Fire Department continues to abuse taxpayer equipment, gas and resources, (paying Firefighters to go out to lunch) on a daily basis.
Because so many are fed up and outraged, we continue to receive images of this abuse sometimes two times a day.
I think it's time some of the taxpayers show up at the next Council Meeting and express their disgust in person and NOT accept any more of their BS excuses.
Salisbury Fire Department Numbers
When you get down to the nuts and bolts of what Salisbury is all about you come to learn that it is the leadership that is flat out destroying Salisbury as a whole.
Allow me to explain. We all know crime has been way up in Salisbury for many years now. Mind you, Chief Duncan and Mike Lewis have done a fantastic job and we should also thank the MSP for their role in reducing crime more recently.
However, look at the numbers. We took the time to look at the stats from the Sheriff's Department and quite frankly the majority of their calls are in Salisbury. Last year the SPD responded to almost 60,000 calls. I'll repeat, 60,000 calls! So just how many Police Officers do we have. It's somewhere around 70 Officers, many of which are not patrolling the streets.
The Sheriff's Department has somewhere near the same number of Officers and if you've never looked at just how big Wicomico County is, it would amaze you the territory they have to cover.
The Salisbury Fire Department has around SEVENTY+ Paid Firefighters on staff. While many of you are under the impression these men and women work 36 hour shifts straight, your mistaken. Are you ready???? At Station 16 the paid Firefighters work 24 hours ON and 72 hours OFF. Station 1 & 2 have paid Firefighters that work from 7 am to 7 pm, Monday through Friday.
And you wonder why I, (and many of you) have a problem with them taking equipment to go get lunch or dinner.
So now you have a serious crime problem and the SFD has more coverage than the SPD. OK, now let's look even deeper. The image and stats we provided this morning cover all the calls coming into the SFD. MOST of those calls are EMS related. Only a very small percentage of those calls are fire related and that's how we came to an average of 3 fire related calls per day. Now, remove the FALSE ALARM calls and your probably down to ONE fire call a MONTH, not DAY. It's probably even far less than that, yet you have all this money going out to paid Firefighters it makes no sense.
The Leadership in the SFD and the Mayor's Office, (going back to Barrie Tilghman) have done everything in their powers to take just about anything and everything away from the VOLUNTEERS. That INCLUDES the old Fire Station 16 recently sold for $85,000.00. It was paid for and OWNED by the Volunteers, as well as other Stations in Salisbury. The leadership simply took them away from the Volunteers.
You and I were told when they were building the new Fire Palace that they were creating DORMS, (very expensive) to encourage new recruits, (volunteers) and even college students. They spent a small fortune building a palace kitchen so the Firefighter could comfortably cook meals there and gave us the impression they were stuck there for days on end. It was the Mayor and Fire Chief that SOLD the taxpayers as to why they were spending so much money.
Instead, the SFD Leadership have actually pushed the Volunteers out of the Department because their long term goal is to SECURE high paying jobs as well as sell us on why they are so important. Now they're even charging insurance companies for their services and even the local businesses all this money for false alarm calls, all of which are covered in the taxes we pay.
Yeah, the SFD is pissed at Joe Albero for EXPOSING this kind of information. They want to fly under the radar, so when we publish factual information they threaten to let my building burn down or my home. They threaten me by saying I better not even need a ride to the Hospital. Quite frankly it's a serious problem. What IF I do need their help. Am I to believe I'll be well cared for or protected, even after I arrive at PRMC? The clear answer to that question is, NO. Most tell me if I even get there I'll never leave alive.
So these guys want to talk about how they risk their lives as Hero's, what am I then Ladies & Gentlemen of the SFD? You may not agree with me or like me but WHAT IF something does happen to me. Am I to live my life in fear, God Forbid something were to happen. I am simply doing my JOB. I am exposing what has clearly been proven in comments to be a very a hot topic.
I firmly believe the taxpayers of Salisbury are wasting a ton of tax dollars by paying for this service. I firmly believe when you look at surrounding towns that DEPEND on their Fire Departments, the VOLUNTEERS do an incredible job. Buildings and homes are far better protected these days. We created better codes to assure massive fires like the one many years ago in Downtown Salisbury don't happen again. Could it happen, absolutely. But don't you think for a single second that those other towns surround the City wouldn't be there in a New York second to back up our Volunteers.
The City created a Code & Compliance Department to make sure more of the run down homes and buildings were brought up to code, making for better and safer living and use.
When we as a community see Fire Equipment going out to pick up food, do you really think every single person at the Fire Department ALL want one kind of food. The answer is NO. In most cases they are picking up BBQ at one place, subs at another, Chinese food and Penara Bread etc. Considering some are on a 12 hour shift, (we feel) you can bring your food in for the day just like most Americans do. The same goes for those who are being paid to sleep on a 24 hour shift. If that is not acceptable, we simply ask that you take one of the more than 14 chase vehicles, (Crown Vic's and Suburbans) to make your food runs.
I know there are some decent rebuttals referencing training but you and I both know this running around has been abused to no end. I do not believe the idea of using chase vehicles is unreasonable. The reason we are publishing so many images of equipment all over the city is because so many citizens have had enough of it. WE are being forced to cut back while the Fire Department continues to grow, and for what reason. Homes and buildings are much safer. Structure fires, (in the City) are few and far between and quite frankly you should be downsizing. Instead, you belong to an organization, (accreditation) that demands you hire more people, buy new equipment on a regular basis and the irresponsible leadership sells off extremely expensive used equipment to surrounding Volunteer Departments for a penny on the dollar.
Taxpayers of Salisbury are, (pardon the pun) tired of getting hosed. Bring back the Volunteers for crying out loud and perhaps divide the EMS from the Fire Department. The old Fire Station should have been used for just that, rather than also selling that for pennies on the dollar. Between salaries, overhead expenses, retirement packages, disability, health insurance, fuel and the list goes on and on, (as a businessman) I'd say it's time you shut that business down, (paid Firefighters) and let the honorable Volunteers protect this City. It simply makes good business sense, especially when you look at the stats from the MSP, SPD and WCSO. These other organizations deserve much better, respectfully.
Will Cracker Barrel Come To Salisbury?
Not sure if this is true... Cracker Barrel is supposed to be coming to the “old Zias” location and the hold up is the city is not approving their signage. The city code says it’s too high and cracker barrel always uses a tall sign to be visible from the by-pass; hence the hold up.
President Of Chamber Of Commerce To Get Salisbury Fire Station 16 For $85,000.00
OK Taxpayers, You Make The Call
What Your Not Hearing About The Old Fire Station 16
Council President Louise Smith Pulls Fire House From Agenda
I'll See Your Hundred Thousand And Raise You TEN THOUSAND, CASH!
Remember When I Offered $250,000.00 Cash For Old Fire Station 16?
Station 16 Valued At $798,000.00!
Did Anyone Miss The Boat On This One?
I'll Give You $250,000.00 CASH For This Building
Above are just some of the articles I have written over the years about the old Fire Station 16. I encourage each one of you to click on them and see how this building has evolved.
What bothers me the most is just how slimey Mayor Jim Ireton has been most recently as well as the City Council. When I offered $250,000.00 cash with no contingencies on this property years ago, the former Council decided to place restrictions on the property to assure that Joe Albero could NOT purchase that property.
Last night they announced the Mayor LIFTED those restrictions, YET IS WAS NOT IN THE RFP, making the deal, (in my opinion) illegal.
What humored me the most was what I received in the mail today. The Chamber of Commerce wrote a big article on how well the Chamber is now working with the Mayor and Council. I guess so. The President, (Brad Gillis) just landed the deal of a lifetime. A $750,000.00 building for $85,000.00 with no restrictions.
Mind you, I'm confident this group will do a fine job with the building and I don't begrudge ANYONE who lands a great deal. I simply have a problem with how the Mayor and Council mislead others. As far as we knew, the building could only be purchased IF the Mayor and Council agreed to what was being put in that building.
Here's an idea for you Brad, open a convenience store that offers free coffee to Firefighters and they can come home several times a day to get coffee and Twinkies using taxpayers gas and vehicles. At least it will be slightly closer to their home base. Bend over once again taxpayers. It was your election to lose.
I love the note Ireton sent back to Councilwoman Cohen. Let the Gillis' do what they do best and get out of their way. Next year John Cannon will be President of the Chamber. I wonder what's in store for him?
Station 16 Assessed At $513,400.00, Sold For $85,000.00
Heck, I paid $475,000.00 cash for my building Downtown and now it's only assessed at around $300,000.00.
Gillis paid $5,000.00 for Feldman's and $85,000.00 for the old Fire Station. Am I missing something here? The old Fire Station is worth, (AT LEAST) $513,400.00, as is.
Some have come on here saying that Gillis will turn these properties into GOLD. From experience I can tell you first hand, they have created a Great Depression in Downtown Salisbury and the ONLY people making out are the Gillis'.
The assessment above clearly shows the old Fire Station is worth a hell of a lot more money than it was sold for, AS IT SITS!
Perhaps it's time the Downtown property owners find a lawyer that would be interested in a class action lawsuit against the City of Salisbury for depreciating our investments so much.
The hilarious part is, Ireton wants YOU taxpayers to revitalize Downtown. He wants to give away EDU's and impact fees to build subsidized housing units which will again lower property values Downtown even further.
The big question now is, you taxpayers are seeing first hand what the assessed value is on this property. Are you going to accept the sale of $85,000.00? Are you seeing ANY of this in the Main Stream Media?
Somerset County School's New CFO
I am a concerned resident of Somerset County Maryland. The Somerset County School system just hired Wendy Harrison as their new CFO. This is a picture of Mrs. Harrison that was posted on Face Book just last week . I hope she represents the school system better than she represents herself. Wendy has lived on the shore her whole life she is the daughter of Julia Foxwell. Please feel free to investigate.
Thank you for your dedication to reporting the real news.
Lore' Chambers Fired By Mayor Jim Ireton Today?
A Salisbury News Associate was in WaWa this afternoon and overheard two City Employees talking about how Mayor Jim Ireton had terminated Lore' Chambers today.
We attempted to contact the Mayor's Office but every one had left for the day. Can someone confirm or deny this information?
Jewel St In Delmar.
Salisbury Project Timetable Released; Proposed Artist Community Eyed
SALISBURY -- Developers for the River’s Edge apartment project updated the Salisbury City Council last week on the progress they have made since last appearing over the winter.
A very tentative construction date of September 2014 was floated. Additionally, developers asked if the city might want to explore further partnerships involving River’s Edge, such as a Payment In Lieu Of Taxes (PILOT) plan as well as assisting in making the development more accessible for the permanently disabled.
“We’re making progress with our investors, lenders and the state as well,” Andrew Hanson, a developer with Osprey Property Company, told the council. “In fact, we just received conceptual approval from the planning commission last month just based on still trying to work on some housekeeping issues as it relates to some critical areas as well.”
See What That Glass Of Wine Could Do To Your Face In 10 Years
We were just daydreaming about tonight's happy hour...when this drinking mirror app gave us second thoughts.
As part of the Scottish government's "Drop A Glass Size" campaign, Drinking Mirror is an app that depicts the serious aging effects that boozing has on our skin and faces.
Upload a photo of yourself and enter your weekly beverage intake, and then Drinking Mirror recreates the image to show just how great you could look in ten years.
Ex-Police Chief Claims He Was Pressured And Then Fired For Not Arresting George Zimmerman
Former Sanford, Fla., police chief Bill Lee on CNN Wednesday claimed he was fired last year because he refused to arrest George Zimmerman just to appease an outraged public. Hey says there wasn’t enough evidence to warrant an arrest in the killing of Trayvon Martin, a fact that didn’t matter to some city officials.
When he refused to make the arrest, Lee claims he was fired from his position after just 10 months on the job. Officials argued they let Lee go because the public and elected officials had lost trust in him.
“I had one of the city commissioners come to me on two different occasions and say, ‘All we want is an arrest.’ And I explained to them, ‘Well, you just can’t do that, you have to have probable cause to arrest somebody.’ And it was related to me that they just wanted an arrest, they didn’t care if it got dismissed later. And you don’t do that,” Lee told CNN’s George Howell.
When asked how Zimmerman was able to remain free for 40 days after shooting Martin, Lee said the evidence just wasn’t there.
D.C. Lawmakers Pass Minimum Wage Mandate Despite Walmart’s Threats To Pull Stores
Walmart’s efforts Tuesday to deter Washington D.C’s city council from passing a bill that would require certain large retailers to pay their employees at least $12.50 — a significant bump above the city’s minimum wage of $8.25 — didn’t work. Despite the big box company telling lawmakers it’d scrap plans for three stores in the area and take a close look at the three already underway, council members passed the bill by a vote of 8 to 5 yesterday.
“The question here is a living wage; it’s not whether Walmart comes or stays,” council member Vincent B. Orange, a proponent of the bill, told the Washington Post. “We’re at a point where we don’t need retailers. Retailers need us.”
Obama Signs Executive Order To Allow Shut Down Of All US Communication
RT has reported that in a secretly unannounced move, President Barack Obama signed an executive order giving the Department of Homeland Security the ability to shut down all of the United States’ communications systems upon his request. Barack Obama laid out a statement he titled “Assignment of National Security Emergency Preparedness Communications Function”. No doubt a very confusing title. The reasoning behind his issuing of this executive order, is that he feels the government may one day need to access all of our telephones, computers, cable communications, etc., in the name of national security.
SFD Stats
Using these numbers SFD averages about 3 calls per day per station. Just how many paid firefighters does Salisbury need?
A Comment Worthy Of A Post 7-12-13
Once again what's the big deal about the firemen eating lunch? As you may or may not be able to tell, the place where they are eating is very close to the firehouse. In case of a fire, they will be able to respond quickly. I'm a firm believer in "what goes around comes around". Lets hope that you people who have nothing better to do than harass the firefighters, won't need them. When we see them out eating lunch, we should actually offer to pay for their lunch. They put their lives on the line every time they help one of you a**holes that are harassing them.
BREAKING NEWS: JUDGE WILL ALLOW MANSLAUGHTER CHARGE IN ZIMMERMAN TRIAL
Jury can consider lesser charge of manslaughter in the trial of George Zimmerman.
From FoxNews
Judge in George Zimmerman trial rules jurors will not consider possible 3rd-degree felony murder charge
Jury in George Zimmerman trial will be instructed on murder in the 2nd degree, manslaughter in the 1st degree charges
Prosecutors start closing arguments in George Zimmerman's 2nd-degree murder trial
Prosecutor in closing argument: George Zimmerman pursued [Trayvon Martin], didn't wait 'for the police to come and do their job'
Prosecutor in George Zimmerman trial: 'The law talks about accountability and responsibility for one's actions; Hold him accountable for what he did'
State prosecutor says George Zimmerman never identified himself as neighborhood watch because he already 'assumed [Martin] was a criminal'
A Letter To The Editor: "GOOD WILL DISCOUNTS"
I would like to let all seniors in the Salisbury area know, that the sign in the Salisbury Goodwill on Wednesdays states "55 and older senior citizens/ and college students 20% discount on Wednesdays" but if you go to pay for your purchases on Wednesdays you are told" if the merchandise is NEW merchandise you do not get a discount'!! Now I have spoken to the manager before reference this miss leading info and was told " you can't expect us to sell merchandise that was just purchased, for the same price we bought in for" !! Well guess what I nor anyone else is stupid enough to believe that !!!! And you NEED TO CHANGE YOUR SIGNS. The same thing applies to the books they have a price for paper back books, when you go to purchase a paper back book it depends on the thickness of that book and the catagory of that book! Why have signs and prices at all , and as for the book thing I always purchase the same type of book, which is always very close to the same size and thickness maybe a 1/16th of an inch difference and every Wednesday the price is different depending on who rings it up , explain that one. For people who are on fixed incomes prices and discounts and advertising is big in our world, TRUTH MATTERS.
Acquitting Zimmerman
The question is no longer whether or not George Zimmerman will be convicted of murdering Trayvon Martin, the question is what will happen after he is acquitted.
Prosecutors in Florida brought a feeble case to court, filing a charge they knew — or should have known — would not withstand the challenge of even a modestly capable defense. There has been much testimony that supports Zimmerman’s claim of self-defense and precious little that undercuts it. The prosecution invested hope in the testimony of Martin’s parents that it was his screams for help and not Zimmerman’s that were captured on the 9-1-1 call, but on Monday the defense presented witnesses who effectively rebutted this claim. And on Tuesday, a forensic pathologist testified that the physical evidence was consistent with Zimmerman’s account of his confrontation with Martin.
4 Who Clung To Capsized Boat For Hours Rescued
DEAL ISLAND, Md. -Maryland Natural Resources Police say four were rescued after clinging for hours onto a capsized boat off Deal Island.
Sgt. Brian Albert tells The Daily Times of Salisbury says the boat's owner, 70-year-old John Riggs of Salisbury, swam to shore wearing a life jacket and alerted authorities about 1:30 a.m. Wednesday.
Albert says five people on a fishing trip were aboard when the boat capsized during a storm. He says the four boaters clung to the 16-foot Carolina Skiff motorboat about five hours before help arrived.
Salisbury News Was Hacked Today
If your wondering WHY so many comments hadn't gone up for a few hours today, someone hacked my account. Actually, several of them.
It seems obvious that we've struck some nerves in Salisbury and there have been multiple threats saying Salisbury News will be going "black" in the near future.
That being said, it's doubtful these people are going to stop any time soon. Know that IF we're hacked again and we go off line, save sbynews.com on your computer. You can always access this Blog by just typing in sbynews.com instead of sbynews.blogspot.com. If anything happens again we will have a redirect from sbynews.com to whatever new Site we create in the mean time.
We must be some pretty important people to get hacked that bad. Sorry about the delays Folks.
Eric Holder Used Taxpayer Money to Help Anti-Zimmerman Protests
A division of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) was deployed to Sanford, Florida in 2012 to provide assistance for anti-George Zimmerman protests, including a rally headlined by activist Al Sharpton, according to newly released documents.
The Community Relations Service (CRS), a unit of DOJ, reported expenses related to its deployment in Sanford to help manage protests between March and April 2012, according to documents obtained by the watchdog group Judicial Watch.
CRS spent $674.14 between March 25-27 related to having been “deployed to Sanford, FL, to work marches, demonstrations, and rallies related to the shooting and death of an African-American teen by a neighborhood watch captain.” CRS spent another $1,142.84 for the same purpose between March 25-28.
Why Does The Media Cover Up These Stories?
Read the story HERE
This Just in From A Viewer, Salisbury Firefighters Using Taxpayer Gas & Equip. To Get Lunch Again Today
Ladder truck at College ave getting lunch today.
Quit trashing Obama's accomplishments ! He has done more than any other President before him. Here is a list of his impressive accomplishments: First President to apply for college aid as a foreign student, then deny he was a foreigner.
First President to have a social security number from a state he has never lived in.
First President to preside over a cut to the credit-rating of the United States
First President to violate the War Powers Act. .
First President to be held in contempt of court for illegally obstructing oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico .
First President to require all Americans to purchase a product from a third party.
First President to spend a trillion dollars on "shovel-ready" jobs when there was no such thing as "shovel-ready" jobs.
First President to abrogate bankruptcy law to turn over control of companies to his union supporters.
First President to by-pass Congress and implement the Dream Act through executive fiat.
First President to order a secret amnesty program that stopped the deportation of illegal immigrants across the U.S. , including those with criminal convictions.
First President to demand a company hand-over $20 billion to one of his political appointees.
First President to tell a CEO of a major corporation (Chrysler) to resign.
First President to terminate America˜s ability to put a man in space.
First President to cancel the National Day of Prayer and to say that America is no longer a Christian nation.
First President to have a law signed by an auto-pen without being present.
First President to arbitrarily declare an existing law unconstitutional and refuse to enforce it.
First President to threaten insurance companies if they publicly spoke out on the reasons for their rate increases.
First President to tell a major manufacturing company in which state it is allowed to locate a factory.
First President to file lawsuits against the states he swore an oath to protect (AZ, WI, OH, IN).
First President to withdraw an existing coal permit that had been properly issued years ago.
First President to actively try to bankrupt an American industry (coal).
First President to fire an inspector general of AmeriCorps for catching one of his friends in a corruption case.
First President to appoint 45 czars to replace elected officials in his office.
First President to surround himself with radical left wing anarchists.
First President to golf 73 separate times in his first two and a half years in office, 102 to date.
First President to hide his medical, educational and travel records.
First President to win a Nobel Peace Prize for doing NOTHING to earn it.
First President to go on multiple "global apology tours" and concurrent "insult our friends" tours.
First President to go on 17 lavish vacations, including date nights and Wednesday evening White House parties for his friends paid for by the taxpayers.
First President to have 22 personal servants (taxpayer funded) for his wife.
First President to keep a dog trainer on retainer for $102,000 a year at taxpayer expense.
First President to fly in a personal trainer from Chicago at least once a week at taxpayer expense.
First President to repeat the Holy Quran & tell us the early morning call of the Azan (Islamic call to worship) is the most beautiful sound on earth.
First President to tell the military men and women that they should pay for their own private insurance because they "volunteered to go to war and knew the consequences."
Then he was the First President to tell the members of the military that THEY were UNPATRIOTIC for balking at the last suggestion.
First President to side with a foreign nation over one of the American 50 states ( Mexico vs Arizona ).
How is this hope and change working out for you?
In recent years we have seen the Gillis Family with their hands in almost every single major project in Downtown Salisbury.
Let's go in order according to the photos above because I think you'll find what I share with you very interesting.
The new States Attorney Office. The building was bought for a song and a dance. Wicomico County has $6,000,000.00 in a reserve account that was designed to be used to purchase a property for the States Attorneys Office. The Judges in Wicomico County provided letters for years that was backed by the Governor to remove the State Attorneys Office out of its current location to make room for the expanded volume of Judges. Former States Attorney Davis Ruark ignored the request and just as soon as Matt Maciarello was elected they forced his hand and a move had to be made.
So fiscally responsible County Council Members reminded the public the $6,000,000.00 was in place but rather than purchasing their own property they elected to RENT space instead. I know, it makes no sense for the following reason. They could have purchased and remodeled exactly what they wanted for around $4,000,000.00.
Nevertheless, Gillis won the bid to remodel the above building to fit their wants and needs but you should know, it's at a heavy price to the taxpayers. The lease is for 15 or 20 years at a total of around $30,000.00 A MONTH. That's $360,000.00 a year.If the lease is 15 years it will cost the taxpayers $5,700,000.00. If it's 20 years it will cost the taxpayers $7,200,000.00.
So how do we as taxpayers swallow this without throwing up. Well, you might consider this building as part of the Downtown Revitalization Plan. However, as I have stated over the years, it will be at taxpayers expense.
Then there's the Feldman's property purchased for only $5,000.00. Again, Gillis will revitalize the property, (like he has to several others Downtown) and perhaps land yet another government agency to foot the bill like Mikulski, Harris, States Attorney and the IRS.
Are we to begrudge a successful businessman for continued success, I don't think so. However, follow the money. Who has made donations to who's campaigns? I saw a comment on yesterday's Post that has me curious as well, should Jake Day have recused himself in the Station 16 vote? Should Mayor Ireton have been allowed to hold behind closed door negotiations with Gillis?
Then there's the new Station 16 Headquarters where Gillis was, (I believe) the general contractor on an overall $16,000,000.00 project. You've got the Gateway Building and the Gallery Building Gillis has had his hands in, (ownership) as well as 300 W. Main Street. There may be more, I don't know.
So you have to look at all of this and accept it one of two ways, (as I see it). One, Gillis has played a roll over the years revitalizing Downtown Salisbury OR Gillis has been a favorite, (for some reason) as a favored developer/contractor to local government.
I will add, it is also questionable that the President of the Chamber of Commerce is the purchaser of a real estate transaction that could have easily been handled much better for the taxpayers of Salisbury. Again, I'm all about getting a great deal on any piece of property. However, I told ALL of you when I was running for Mayor that you needed a businessman leading your City as I would have encouraged that property go up for AUCTION with a beginning bid of $100,000.00. The assessment alone would have brought in much higher figures than what it was sold for and in the end fair would have been fair, a legitimate highest bidder.
So there you have it. You now know what the rest of the Main Stream Media failed to tell you. Wicomico County and City of Salisbury taxpayers are now fully aware of the money being spent on the States Attorneys Office and why some Council Members are outraged. I should mention that the rent for that building is actually around $25,000.00 a month but that doesn't include taxes and upkeep, which was estimated at around $5,000.00 a month additional. I mention this just in case the Daily Rag tries to technically challenge me on my figures.
Fire away in comments.
This Just In From A Viewer
Salisbury's finest out to lunch at giant
Wicomico Landfill Charges
We are in the landscape business and often need to take a load of grass clippings or other lawn/landscape debris to the landfill for dumping at the end of the day. We hold a commercial permit to dump at the landfill. In the past, they have charged by the ton, per dump. Now the county is still charging by the ton, but there is a minimum dump fee of $10.00. They sent out a notice with the price per ton as of 7-1-13 but neglected to tell business owners about the minimum charge. When we questioned the employees at the dump, we were told that he would have to take the issue up with Rick Pollitt.
I'm attaching a copy of the notice that was sent out, with only prices per ton, a copy of a previous month statement showing all the dumps based on price per ton and a new ticket (that we do not have a statement for yet), showing a dump that normally would have been charged $1.50 and is now $10.00. We were told this move was made to eliminate the little guys just showing up with small loads, but what about the business owner that is there every day and paying large sums per month?
Salisbury Immediate Care & Injury Center
[Salisbury, MD] – Salisbury Immediate Care & Injury Center Receives Certified Urgent Care Designation from the Urgent Care Association of AmericaSalisbury Immediate Care & Injury Center, located in Salisbury, MD, hasreceivedthe Certified Urgent Care designationwhich distinguishes it as a true urgent care center. The clinic provides patients with walk-in, extended-hour medical attention with licensed providers for a large scope of medical conditions and has met all of the Urgent Care Association of America’s established criteria. This is Salisbury Immediate Care & Injury Center’s second consequent time and fourth year being recognized by Urgent Care Associationof America as a nationally certified urgent care center.
The health care environment is changing and it is becoming more and more important for patients to understand their treatment options.
Urgent care is a convenient and viable option for medical conditions that cannot wait for a scheduled appointment with a primary care physician. Salisbury Immediate Care & Injury Center accepts unscheduled, walk-in patients during all hours of operation.
When a medical condition cannot be handled by a patient’s regular doctor – such as unexpected cuts, burns, sprains or fractures that do not require a visit to the emergency department, Salisbury Immediate Care & Injury Center is equipped with x-ray, laboratory services and licensed providers are always available to perform minor procedures like laceration repair and treatment of sprained injuries and broken bones.
Urgent care fills the gap between primary care and hospital emergency rooms, offering increased convenience and cost savings.
With its certification, Salisbury Immediate Care & Injury Center and the Urgent Care Association of America demonstrate their commitment toward providing patients with access to appropriate levels of care.
Kroger Buys Harris Teeter
Kroger, the largest traditional grocery store chain in the U.S., announced plans Tuesday to buy Harris Teeter’s 212 supermarkets.
Cincinnati-based Kroger will pay $2.44 billion for the stores spread throughout the southeast and mid-Atlantic, according to the Associated Press. Harris Teeter has a heavy presence in the Washington area, including stores in Manassas, Woodbridge, Bristow and Gainesville.
"This is a financially and strategically compelling transaction and a unique opportunity for our shareholders and associates," Kroger chairman and CEO David Dillon said in a news release.
BROWARD COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE PREPARES ZIMMERMAN VERDICT RIOT PLAN
On Monday, the Broward County Sheriff’s Office released a video calling on the public not to riot in the wake of the George Zimmerman verdict, expected this week or next in Florida. The Sheriff’s Office released a statement explaining that it was “working closely with the Sanford Police Department and other local law enforcement agencies” to coordinate “a response plan in anticipation of the verdict.”
The video, titled “Raise Your Voice, Not Your Hands,” focuses on attempting to channel reaction into non-violent response. It depicts two youngsters, one black teenage boy, one Hispanic teenage girl. “Raise your voice!” says the girl. “And not your hands!” says the boy. “We need to stand together as one, no cuffs, no guns,” says the girl. “Let’s give violence a rest, because we can easily end up arrested,” says the boy. “I know your patience will be tested,” says the girl, and then both conclude, “but law enforcement has your back!”
WHERE IS THE LOCAL MAIN STREAM MEDIA?
For years now Salisbury News has been delivering FACTUAL and DOCUMENTED Employment information and the so called Main Stream Media has been IGNORING it.
Yesterday we delivered:
May Jobs Numbers Just In - Wicomico County Labor Force Continues Downward Spiral - Another 926 Jobs Lost in May - April Job Numbers Revised Downward - Unemployment Rate Spikes from 8.1% to 8.4%
What's it going to take to get the citizens of the Eastern Shore to DEMAND these local media sources deliver you TRUTHFUL information about just how BAD our situation is here on the Shore.
The Daily Times is so desperate right now they're offering their Wednesday and Sunday paper along with internet access for only $10.00 a month. You can believe Gannett follows Salisbury News traffic on a regular basis and they know we're killing them. In fact, in the past two weeks Salisbury News has almost doubled in size each and every day.
WBOC is covering more Kardashian fluff and Delaware news and ignoring ALL of the key important local information. WMDT, well, their simply hiring a rainbow crew where everyone has a lisp and no one watches them any more anyway. It's the Mayor's #1 play channel. Long gone are the Kenny Beck and Stacy Sakai's.
The commercials are forever long now and quite frankly, (if your anything like me) I can't stand the car commercials any more. We mute every commercial now and don't even listen to them.
The point is, THERE ARE NO JOBS! Who can afford the cars anyway. Yes, your local main stream media doesn't want to INFORM you that property values flat out SUCK any more. They don't want you to know your job search will SUCK and your better off looking for work at WalMart part time.
Heck, my own Mother in Law sold her home recently on Camden Ave and South Blvd and walked away with $130,000.00 and she had NO mortgage. Only a few years ago this home was worth easily $250,000.00, if not a LOT more.
I'll bet your not hearing THAT on WBOC, WMDT or the Daily Times. Yeah, Salisbury News and Joe Albero are simply hateful and horrible because we tell the TRUTH. I have been warning you people for years. They will take until there's nothing left. Then they'll get you to borrow until you can't afford to pay back the loan. Then they'll foreclose on you knowing you lost absolutely everything and become depended on your government.
IT REALLY WAS YOUR ELECTION TO LOSE.
Delmar Says, ANYTHING YOU CAN DO WE CAN DO BETTER
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BREAKING NEWS: Germany wins World Cup
Germany defeats Argentina 1-0 in extra time to win the World Cup.
Orbital Sciences' Antares Rocket Is On Its Way To The International Space Station
NASA's Wallops Flight Facility
Orbital Sciences' Antares rocket carrying the Cygnus cargo spacecraft lifted off at 12:52 p.m. EDT and is on its way to the International Space Station. At the time of launch, the International Space Station was traveling at an altitude of 260 miles over northwest Australia. The Cygnus spacecraft is safely on orbit with solar arrays deployed.
The cargo ship will rendezvous with the InternationalSpace Station on Wednesday, July 16. It will be grappled at approximately 6:39 a.m. by Commander Steve Swanson of NASA. He will be assisted in a backup position by Flight Engineer Alexander Gerst of the European Space Agency. Cygnus will be attached to the Earth-facing port of the station's Harmony node and will remain in place for approximately one month. It is scheduled depart the space station on August 15.
Seen here is the Orbital Sciences Corporation Antares rocket launching from Pad-0A with the Cygnus spacecraft onboard, Sunday, July 13, 2014, at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. The Cygnus spacecraft is filled with over 3,000 pounds of supplies for the International Space Station, including science experiments, experiment hardware, spare parts, and crew provisions. The Orbital-2 mission is Orbital Sciences' second contracted cargo delivery flight to the space station for NASA.
Photo Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls
MSP Press Release 7-13-14
DEPARTMENT OF MARYLAND STATE POLICE
BARRACK “V” BERLIN
9758 Ocean Gateway Berlin, Maryland 21811
Case # 14-MSP-021722
Location: Sea Isle Hotel
Crime: 1st Degree Assault
Accused: Karen Denise Strause / Ocean City, Maryland
Narrative: On the above date and time, the Maryland State Police responded to the Sea Isle Hotel for Domestic Assault with a knife. The victim refused EMS treatment at the scene. The above suspect was charged with First Degree Assault and related charges, then taken before a district court commissioner.
Disposition: The suspect was ordered held on a $10,000.00 bond and transported to Worcester County Jail.
Investigating Trooper(s): Tpr. Hoffmeister
Duty Officer: Cpl. Mann
Barrack Commander: Lt. E.W. Starner
Assistant Commander: F/Sgt. Davala
Criminal Investigation Commander: D/Sgt Sharp
Antares Launch Today!
Are you watching the Antares launch Today? Share this image with your friends!
Orbital Sciences Corporation's Antares is set to launch today, July 13, at 12:52 p.m. from Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport's Pad 0A at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility.
How to view the launch: http://www.nasa.gov/nasatv
Dog Found 7-13-14
I found this dog on Coulbourne mill rd near the entrance to Coulbourne mill village. He wasn't wearing a collar but is clearly someone's pet. Thank you! karliemjones58@gmail.com 443-783-4501
Saturday July, 12 2014 @ 21:21Nature: Medical EmergencyCity:Salisbury
Hey Fredericksen, The State Did NOT Do A Fraud Audit
The below information was recently sent out to ALL Wicomico County Board of Education Employees.
Here's what Fredericksen DIDN'T tell everyone. There are TWO kinds of audits. One is a general audit, (like the one the state did on the BOE) and then there's a Fraud Audit, in which the state did not perform.
To IMPLY that NOTHING was pointed out as being fraudulent is a complete load of crap. When you say it's for the CHILDREN and you are out at Brew River, Market Street and the like and spending several HUNDRED dollars at a pop, yeah, I'd call that FRAUD.
It's very important ALL of you understand the following as well. One of the main reasons the state frowns against these Gift Cards is because of the following. It would be FRAUD if these cards were used to buy liquor. Well, as I'm confident you can assume, LIQUOR was more than likely purchased during some of these outings.
More importantly, let's just say SOME of these cards actually fell into a students hands. There is NOTHING saying that the cards weren't used to purchase LIQUOR and or Cigarettes. Hey Mom, look what I got from the school today. Can Fredericksen PROVE that each card was used for the actual student and that the proper items were in fact purchased? NO.
Again, this is why the Auditor stated in his original report that these gift cards tend to be abused fraudulently. Enjoy the rest of the show below.
You Have To Seriously Wonder, Just How Rigged Are The Local Elections?
During the Mayoral Election Jim Ireton made numerous statements I'm very confident the masses did not support. Things like the "Lockout Ordinance" where the Mayor and Police Chief could shut down ANY business or resident if the City got two calls over a two year period. Then there was the plan to sell off the Downtown Parking Lots to provide affordable housing. The list went on and on. I'll never forget, right in front of the entire business community in a Chamber of Commerce Forum, Ireton stated, if you can't police your own business, we'll police it for you and IF we can't police your business WE'LL SHUT YOU DOWN.
Moving on to an even more disturbing and recent proposal, GET THIS. Rick Pollitt is working with the City of Salisbury to get the City to donate land next to the Henry Parker Complex. The County wants to EXPAND the ball tournaments there. Now, if you'll recall, your taxes were just raised to SUBSIDIZE the FACT that they are LOSING money and now YOU the taxpayer are footing the bill to help pay for those LOSSES.
As if that isn't bad enough, now the County wants to spend $3,000,000.00 worth of improvements to the proposed donated land by the City, should that go through. So above and beyond the LOSSES, now you'll have to pony up an additional $3,000,000.00, assuring taxes will go UP again under the leadership of Rick Pollitt.
OH WAIT, I'm NOT done yet. Above and beyond really stupid business moves at your expense, the County now wants to spend another $3,500,000.00 to EXPAND the Civic Center. Yes, that's right. They want to build a glassed in area in the front of the Civic Center to create a new Restaurant that will cost a total of $7,000,000.00! The state will pony up the other $3,500,000.00 and the County must match those funds.
In these hard times it is yet another smack in the face of those very hard working independent restaurants that are severely struggling to stay alive. Mr. Paul's Legacy already closed their doors because it was so difficult to compete. The Fountain's and other businesses have struggled to compete with catering from the Civic Center as well as other local businesses.
Getting back to my first paragraph, it makes me wonder just how these politicians can say the exact opposite of what the VOTERS NEED TO HEAR, yet they somehow get elected time and time again. It's almost as if they know in advance they'll have no problem winning an election and in the end when they allegedly do get elected, the voters should simply accept these ridiculous expenses because we must have supported them because we allegedly voted for them.
Now, it's either these elections are rigged OR we have some extremely stupid residents in Salisbury or Wicomico County. YOU MAKE THE CALL, IF YOU CAN.
A Not So 'Family Friendly' Incident In Ocean City
Editor Note: This was posted on the facebook page titled
Ocean City, MD - The Official Page by Sorina Warfel
Sorina Warfel Ocean City, MD - The Official Page
Please take the time to read this for it could save your loved ones life.
My son was vacationing in ocean city Maryland with family during the week of July 1st thru 7th. During this vacation my son went to visit a friend which led to him walking a little after 2am. While my son was walking he was approached by 4 African American males who all took part in beating him. The four males proceeded to beat, kick and punch my child all while he was knocked unconscious. After the massacre was over they took the time to steal his phone,wallet, hat, earrings and shoes off his feet. I am appalled that not one person would step forward to help my son or even take time to call 911. I am also saddened to say that the lack of support we've gotten from officials in ocean city has left us disgusted and fearful for others lives. If we do not start standing up for each other and making others abuse our business this could someday be your child. Please if anyone knows anything please come forward, this can be done anonymous. They didn't just Steal my sons belongings but ripped him of his spirit. This happened on July 5th at 2:00 a.m! 9th street also between Philadelphia & Baltimore. They left him to lay for dead. Somehow he knocked on houses thinking he was home and a lady made him stay till police arrived. No one seen this!!!! I'm not understanding! Hundreds of thousands of tourist there and no one seen this. You should feel ashamed real ashamed!
Sincerely I'm a Broken mother!
A Comment Worthy Of A Post 7-8-14
Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "You Have To Seriously Wonder, Just How Rigged Are ...":
well, well, well King Mackes has got his minion Strasburg singing the praises of these tournaments. They may be great for the restaurants and hotels - most nationally owned - not locally owned which should be noted - but at what expense to the taxpayer to make money for that group? Then that group pays a tax that goes back to the Civic Center and Tourism to keep Mackes' empire growing. If Mackes is doing such a bang up job of bringing money to this County, why are we in such dire straits? Is it because he gets rewarded with a huge budget for new vehicles and big jump in wages for certain staff members? He is one of the core problems with our county government. With the passing of Henry Parker one would think that those in charge would find the courage to fire or at least rein in this rogue department head - but no, let's just have the tax payers fund more for the Civic Center, parks, tourism and whatever else he wants. They make it sound so easy and pretty - THINK PEOPLE! You don't build something and that is the end of it. Think about the maintenance costs to maintain all of these "income producing" moves - just more burden on the tax payer. We need to be down-sizing to what we can afford - not growing. LEADERSHIP IN WICOMICO COUNTY IS CLUELESS AND I HOPE POLLITT LOSES AND THAT CULVER CLEANS HOUSE.
TROOPER INTERVENES AS DOG ATTACKS EASTERN SHORE WOMAN
(CENTREVILLE, MD) – A Maryland state trooper arrived at a call in Queen Anne’s County today just in time to prevent a woman being attacked by a family dog from sustaining more serious injuries.
The victim is identified as Doris N. Airey, 64, of Centreville, Md. She was transported to the Queen Anne’s Emergency Medical Center for treatment.
Shortly after 8:00 a.m. today, TFC Robert Isabelle, of the Centreville Barrack, was dispatched to a disturbance call near Centreville. When he arrived at the front door, he could see and hear two dogs fighting inside the residence. He observed the victim trying to break up the fight between the dogs. The trooper could see the aggressor dog, a full-grown pit bull mix, had already bitten the victim.
The trooper entered the home and used pepper spray on the dog in an attempt to end the assault, which caused the dog to back away. Moments later, the dog aggressively charged toward the victim with what appeared to be the intention of attacking her again.
In fear for the life of the woman, the trooper discharged one round from his department-issued .40 caliber pistol and fatally wounded the dog when it was about three feet from the woman. The victim sustained no further injury. The trooper was not injured and the second dog involved, which presented no threat, was not injured by the trooper’s actions. The victim’s daughter witnessed the incident, but was not injured.
It is believed both dogs lived at the home with the victim, her daughter, and son-in-law. The pit bull mix belonged to the victim’s son-in-law, who was not there at the time of the incident, but returned a short time later.
The Queen Anne’s County Animal Control Office has been notified about the incident.
Mr. Mason Responds
Dear Mr. Albero,
It was interesting for you to include here on your blog my writing in the Sunday Times on the Hobby Lobby case. I would like to answer some of your assumptions and perhaps we could say misunderstandings.
To quote you: “First of all , I’m confident Mr. Mason stated this came from Salisbury News but the Daily Times more than likely asked him to change it to a ‘local blog’.”
The Times did not ask me to change it to “a local blog.” I thought that using “a local blog” was the appropriate way to proceed. You have put too much importance on you and your blog. It was not about you and your blog. It was about the quote and conservative thought in general on this subject. In retrospect there was probably no need to say anything about your blog at all. There is no reason to think this quote on your blog is original to your blog. It appears to be viral on the web.
To quote you: “It’s a shame Mr. Mason also went to the Daily Times rather than sending the same letter to Salisbury News, as I would have certainly published it.”
I know it is difficult sometimes to understand what is going on by just reading online. I don’t know if you read the actual paper or not. Many of your followers claim they do not and would not. You, Mr. Albero, did not ask the question which the Times did ask, so there would be no reason to send an answer to you. The question the Times asked was: “What does the Hobby Lobby ruling mean?” Seven people each wrote 250 word answers and had their answers published online. Three people, of which I was one, this week, were published in the printed Sunday Times paper. Each week anybody who wants to do so decides individually how they would answer that week’s question. The editor than decides who among the writers gets in the print edition. It is a little contest. Everybody wants their letter to be chosen for the print edition.
There is also the matter of who your most faithful followers seem to be. There is little reason to write for a cloistered community who behave as anonymous internet trolls who frequently have nothing of merit to add to the conversation. They even turn on each other and I have watched them turn on you, Mr. Albero. Sometimes they have begged your forgiveness. I am sure in these peoples’ real lives many of them are decent people who are intelligent, kind, and want to be thought well of, but too frequently that is not the case here when they have hoods over their heads, so to speak.
To quote you: “…there are many articles we publish on a daily basis I personally do not agree with, yet we feel it is important enough to spread the word.”
In addition to attempting some variety I believe that you pander most often not to the better angels of your readers’ natures, as when they are helping to find lost dogs, but to their most debased thoughts for it is there that their emotions most often get the better of them allowing for many hits and comments. For this reason alone it is understandable to me that you would not agree with everything you publish.
To quote you: “Perhaps Mr. Mason and the Daily Times should refer to this article I also published the very same day.”
I saw the pictures with the heading, “Things That Make You Go, Hummmmm?” the day you published them. I didn’t consider a heading and two pictures to be an article at that time and I don’t consider them to be an article now. It is just more opportunity for snarky comments among those with little else to do.
To quote you: “Update: Mr. Mason said, ‘It fairly well explains the ignorance and hard line conservative male opposition.’ Mr. Mason the article was actually published by a woman.”
Once again I don’t consider two boxes with quotes inside them to be an article. I don’t know that either quote was the original work of the woman who submitted them to you for publication on your blog. I am assuming they were viral quotes she found online.
It should be obvious to you, as it is to me, that there are women with conservative minds just as there are women with liberal minds. It is to be expected that among conservative women at least some will talk and behave the same way on preventing childbirth as some conservative men. In the Hobby Lobby case it was all conservative male judges who made the difference, not conservative women.
In closing I believe you know we should not use words in the class of never, always, all, and similar terms when referring to a group of people no matter if they are conservative, liberal or have something else in common. A group of people cannot be depended upon to completely think exactly alike but instead as individuals within some perimeter in the group. For example, some conservatives approve of birth control and some do not believe in God. The same is true for liberals. For example, some don’t approve birth control and some believe in God. For this reason we should not demonize a whole group of people without reservation, as your followers so frequently do.
Thank you for giving me the opportunity to answer your concerns and express myself here on your blog.
George T. Mason
SBYNEWS quoted in today's Daily Times
PUBLISHERS NOTES: First of all, I'm confident Mr. Mason stated this came from Salisbury News but the Daily Times more than likely asked him to change it to a "local blog".
It's a shame Mr. Mason also went to the Daily Times rather than sending the same letter to Salisbury News, as I would have certainly published it.
You see, there are MANY articles we publish on a daily basis I personally do not agree with, yet we feel it is important enough to spread the word.
Perhaps Mr. Mason AND The Daily Times should refer to THIS ARTICLE I also published the very same day.
UPDATE: Mr. Mason said, "It fairly well explains the ignorance and hard line conservative male opposition". Mr. Mason, the article was actually published by a WOMAN.
Joe Albero
No surprise, and disrespectful to women and birth control
“If a woman’s chosen form of birth control is to keep her clothes on, should her employer be forced to buy her wardrobe?”
This appeared on a local conservative blog this week after the Supreme Court’s decision in the Hobby Lobby ruling.
It fairly well explains the ignorance and hard line conservative male opposition, evangelical, fundamentalist, or otherwise, that continues against birth control and women.
The continuing derision by some males of women is shameful.
It also points to the continued belief held by too many that the only respectable form of birth control for women, especially the unmarried, is abstinence, despite its huge failure rate since Adam and Eve.
This is a failure rate engineered by God himself.
He continues to this day to enjoy watching humankind being fruitful and multiplying.
And no, there is no evidence the God of Abram is a woman.
My reaction to the Hobby Lobby majority decision made by the five conservative Catholic men nominated by four conservative Protestant male presidents is negative.
But the decision was not unexpected. This decision and the recent decision by the same judges to permit prayer before legislative meetings are both big wins for evangelical Christians, especially for the majority Protestants, who have dominated American politics and public prayer since our country’s beginning and continue to dominate.
Instead of the favored Christian status of martyr, the owners of Hobby Lobby have for the moment obtained the status of conservative Protestant Christian heroes.
We know not for how long.
"ALL I WANT IZ BANDZ" Gotta Love Da "Bury"
Rep Harris Condemns Use of Carroll Site to House Foreign National Minors
Harris will use the Appropriations process if necessary to stop this
Washington, D.C. - Congressman Andy Harris, M.D., urged the Department of Health and Human Services to reject consideration of the former Army Reserve Center at 404 Malcom Drive, Westminster, MD, as a facility for temporarily housing children who have come into the United States from other countries without an adult guardian. Because members of Congress are not being given unscripted access to HHS facilities, the potential health risks to the community are unknown. Should HHS attempt to proceed with housing them at this facility, Congressman Harris will use any and all resources at his disposal as a member of the House Appropriations Committee and in particular the subcommittee that oversees the HHS budget to stop this.
Congressman Andy Harris, M.D. released the following statement:
“These unaccompanied minors who have entered our nation illegally must not be brought to Carroll County Maryland. Flying them to Maryland only to turn around and fly them back home is nonsensical. Instead, President Obama should immediately return them to their nation of origin. President Obama created this problem and now he should fix it. Should this Administration attempt to put them in Carroll County, I will use every tool at my disposal though the appropriations process to stop this.”
Mikulski Chairs Key Hearing on Nation's Border Crisis
President Obama has a key ally in Maryland Senator Barbara Mikulski as he seeks to address the crisis of immigrant children crossing into the U.S from Central America.
Mikulski is chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, which held a hearing on the President's $3.7 billion dollar request for emergency funding. She says the money is badly needed to provide food, shelter and other humanitarian aid to the children, and to support border agents and immigration judges as the government tries to determine the legal status of the young immigrants.
"I agree with the President and I believe that this situation is an emergency," Mikulski said. "Our first goal must be to protect the safety and health of the children and make sure we have the resources to do it."
The Obamas Are Taking a Long Vacation — and Just Guess How Many Rooms the House They’re Rumored to Be Staying at Has
President Barack Obama and the first family will be spending half the month of August at Martha’s Vineyard, the local newspaper there reported.
The vacation news comes amid the flood of illegal immigrants across the southwestern border, the continued terrorist attacks in Iraq and other major problems facing the country. But it also occurs after Congress is on recess.
“On Saturday, Aug. 9, the President and the First Lady will travel to Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts,” a White House official said on background, according to the Martha’s Vineyard Times. “They will remain there until Sunday, Aug. 24, when they will return to Washington, D.C. There are no public events scheduled at this time and further details on travel will be released when they are available.”
Outraged patrons say Minnesota bar's dress code is disguised racism
A popular Minnesota bar is under fire for posting a dress code that some are calling 'overtly racist.'
Bar Louie in Minneapolis has a sign on the door proclaiming they strictly enforce a policy that bans anyone wearing 'excessively' baggy clothing, large chains, long white t-shirts and other outerwear often associated with young black men.
Now the dress code is attracting a lot of negative attention for being no different, according to one patron, from saying 'no black folks allowed.'
'It's ridiculous,' outraged local Michelle Horovitz told KMSP. ''What is "excessively baggy?" Who's going to judge that? Are you going to have Grandma B sitting by the door?'
Furious Texas Mom Goes Off Over Influx of Illegal Immigrants During Unfiltered TV Interview: ‘Really? Why Can’t They Go Back?’
Houston mom Bernadette Lancelin says she’s furious that the White House wants to spend billions of dollars to feed and house thousands of unaccompanied immigrant children who have entered the United States illegally.
“What about the kids here? In our neighborhood? Not just in this neighborhood but in our country,” she told KTRK-TV. “All these kids? Really? Why can’t they go back?”
Salisbury Mayor Jim Ireton Attacks Congressman Andy Harris Again
Jim is using his harvested email account from his campaign to attack our Congressman Andy Harris with this editorial from the Baltimore Sun.
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/editorial/bs-ed-harris-20140707,0,4748548.story
It concerns his actions against the residents of Washington, D.C.:
"There are several notable elements in this imbroglio. First, anyone who believes that Dr. Harris might change his mind because of a potential economic threat to his district doesn’t know Dr. Harris, a man not given to self-doubt or the concerns of others. This is someone who actively fights against efforts by the EPA to reduce pollution flowing into the Chesapeake Bay and to forestall the effects of climate change and rising sea levels, either of which would be far more ruinous to his waterfront district than a mere summer boycott.
More remarkable is that Dr. Harris, a reliable Club For Growth and tea party acolyte who so often preaches against an overbearing federal government, is so proud to have thwarted the will of District residents. The decriminalization measure has the support of 80 percent of the populace, according to a recent poll." - Jim
Authority: Ireton for Maryland. William C. Duck, Jr., Treasurer
7 Papers, 4 Government Inquiries, 2 News Investigations And 1 Court Ruling Proving Voter Fraud Is Mostly A Myth
Voter ID laws are back in the news this week after a group of college students joined a lawsuit challenging North Carolina's new restrictive rules. And as Catherine Rampell pointed out earlier this week, it's not just ID laws - Republican state legislatures have been busy devising all manner of creative ways to make voting more difficult for traditionally Democratic-leaning groups.
All of these restrictive measures take their justification from a perceived need to prevent "voter fraud." But there is overwhelming scholarly and legal consensus that voter fraud is vanishingly rare, and in fact non-existent at the levels imagined by voter ID proponents. That hasn't stopped many Republican lawmakers from crying "fraud" every time they're faced with an unfavorable election outcome (see also: McDaniel, Chris).
For reference, a round-up of the latest research is below. Let me know in the comments if I missed anything.
Confederate flag: Washington and Lee University removing display
The Confederate flag has been in the school's Lee Chapel since 1930. In announcing the change, the Washington and Lee president also discussed Gen. Robert E. Lee, one of the school's namesakes.
Reproductions of the Confederate flag will no longer adorn Washington and Lee University’s campus in Lexington, Va., the university president announced Tuesday. However, the school will display historic rebel flags in the university’s Lee Chapel Museum.
The move came in response to a request from a group of W&L law-school students known as the Committee, which appealed to the university in the spring to remove the flags, to declare Martin Luther King Day a university holiday, and to take steps to confront the school’s murky history in conjunction with slavery.
The Committee members took particular umbrage at the presence of the flags in the part of the chapel where students take an honor oath.
Top Left Hand Corner, 2nd Image: Perdue Worth Over $2 BILLION
A Letter From A Viewer: Wicomico County Welcome Center
Joe:
Lately, when I have passed by the Wicomico Welcome Center, I noticed that their clock is not accurate.
On their marquee sign, they periodically display the time/temp along with other information.
Their clock is 1/2 hour off, and this has caused me to change my schedule thinking it was later than it was. Only after I verified the correct time, was I able to resume my originally intended itinerary.
This is not acceptable, as bad information is worse than no information.
You might want to take a couple of photos of this, using a properly set time stamp on a camera/phone.
Betcha they fix it quick after seeing this in the SBYNEWS!
-Daddio
Question Of The Day 7-10-14
Which town charges the most for water and sewer?
Police Department Accused of Using Undercover Cop to ‘Entrap’ Drivers at Crosswalk
A video posted to YouTube Thursday from Somerville, Massachusetts, showing a man repeatedly crossing an intersection while a police car waits nearby to pull over drivers who don’t stop, is prompting speculation and outrage.
Some are calling it entrapment.
Veteran Arrested at Gunpoint for Legal Open Carry
A recently published cell phone video out of Wash. state shows an Air Force veteran being arrested at gunpoint for legally open carrying an AR-15 rifle.
She’s a Young Conservative Mother Who Posted a Picture That Would Make a Liberal’s Head ‘Explode’ — She Tells Us How Some Reacted
Holly Fisher is no stranger to people disagreeing with her political beliefs. But the West Virginia mother has recently been receiving death threats, some that have extended beyond her to her children.
It all started with this photo, which earned her the nickname “Hobby Lobby Holly.”
Fisher told TheBlaze in their town, the Chick-fil-A and the Hobby Lobby are next to each other. On the day of the Supreme Court’s decision to allow small companies with religious objections to decide not to provide certain kinds of birth control as part of their insurance, Fisher was wearing a “pro-life” shirt and she and her husband went to the fast-food chain, whose leadership has taken a stance against gay marriage.
COSTCO REMOVING D'SOUZA'S 'AMERICA' FROM SHELVES
Bestseller disappearing as companion movie hits theaters
NEW YORK – The retail giant Costco Wholesale has issued an order to remove all copies of Dinesh D’Souza’s bestselling book, “America: Imagine the World Without Her,” from the shelves of its stores nationwide, WND has confirmed.
The book, in this midterm election year, is a strong rebuttal of the progressive ideology behind President Obama’s policies, which have been supported by Costco co-founder and director Jim Sinegal, a major Democrat donor and a speaker at the 2012 Democratic National Convention that nominated the president. A Washington Post political reporter has noted Obama’s “romance” with the nation’s second-largest retailer.
At Amazon.com, D’Souza’s book, released June 2, is ranked No. 43 overall and is the No. 3 hardcover book in Amazon’s Politics and Government section and No. 1 in the Commentary and Opinion subsection of Politics and Government.
Family Of Cop-Killer: If Officer Had Stayed In His Car, He Wouldn’t Have Been Shot
The family of a man who used a semi-automatic rifle to kill an Indianapolis police officer Saturday night says it isn’t fair that the alleged shooter – Major Davis, Jr. – should “keep being dragged through the mud.” They also blamed the officer for not staying in his police car.
As reported by WISH-TV, Davis was seen brandishing a semi-automatic rifle Saturday night in Indianapolis, which led to a 911 call that dispatched police to look for him:
When IMPD Officer Perry Renn found Davis at 34th Street and Forest Manor Avenue, Davis opened fire on Officer Renn. Davis was critically wounded in the gunfight, but survived. Officer Renn died of wounds sustained in the firefight. Davis now faces a charge of murder.
Davis’ family has now spoken out about the murder – and basically blamed Officer Renn and the Indianapolis Police Department for the shooting:
Captured And In Custody
Worcester County Sheriff's Office
Captured and in custody. Thanks for your tips and help.
Kenneth Mearle Larkin
Rick Perry Rejects Obama’s Offer to Shake His Hand on the Tarmac — Here’s the Texas Governor’s Counteroffer
Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) has reportedly rejected President Barack Obama’s offer to briefly shake hands when Air Force One lands in Austin on Wednesday. Instead, the governor came back with a counteroffer.
“I appreciate the offer to greet you at Austin-Bergstrom Airport, but a quick handshake on the tarmac will not allow for a thoughtful discussion regarding the humanitarian and national security crises enveloping the Rio Grande Valley in South Texas,” Perry wrote in a letter to Obama. “I would instead offer to meet with you at any time during your visit to Texas for a substantive meeting to discuss this critical issue.”
Perry is referring to the high number of unaccompanied immigrant children and other illegal immigrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border in 2014. The Republican governor did meet Obama at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in 2013.
Why are police shooting so many family dogs?
Cops take heartbreaking action 'every 98 minutes'
Sheriff, Feds Say Rancher Cliven Bundy Must Be Held Accountable
U.S. Bureau of Land Management officials say they agree with a Nevada sheriff's position that rancher Cliven Bundy must be held accountable for his role in an April standoff between his supporters and the federal agency.
Clark County Sheriff Doug Gillespie said Bundy crossed the line when he allowed states' rights supporters, including self-proclaimed militia members, onto his property to aim guns at police.
"If you step over that line, there are consequences to those actions," Gillespie told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. "And I believe they stepped over that line. No doubt about it. They need to be held accountable for it."
Worcester County Sheriff's Office Press Release 7-7-14
DATE & TIME: Thursday, July 3, 2014
Case # 14-0115
LOCATION: Berlin, Worcester County, Maryland
CRIME: Possession and Distribution of Child Pornography
ACCUSED: Daniel Brynan Kerstetter (55 yoa)
CHARGES: 5 counts of Promoting and Distributing Child Pornography, 5 counts of Possession of Child Pornography
NARRATIVE: On Thursday, July 3, 2014, members of the Worcester County Bureau of Investigation, Department of Homeland Security, Maryland State Police and the Worcester County Sheriff’s Office executed a search and seizure warrant at an address on Libertytown Road, Berlin, Maryland.
The search warrant was the result of several months of prior investigation which revealed that someone inside of the residence was sharing and downloading pictures and videos of Child Pornography.
Upon the execution of the search warrant, a lone occupant, Daniel Brynan Kerstetter was identified and found to be responsible.
Daniel Kerstetter was placed under arrest and charged with 5 counts of Promoting and Distributing Child Pornography and 5 counts of Possession of Child Pornography.
Kerstetter was taken before the District Court Commissioner and subsequently remanded to the Worcester County Jail to be held on a $25,000 bond.
INVESTIGATING DETECTIVE: Detective Corporal Alex Kagan
SUPERVISING INVESTIGATOR: Detective Sgt. Mike Lupiwok
Salisbury News Delivers Investigative Reporting On HOW YOUR TAX DOLLARS ARE SPENT: Part 13
2/14/14 Wawa 3.38
2/14/14 Dunkin’ Donuts 5.18
2/28/14 Subway 7.72
2/28/14 Subway 11.41
2/14/14 Arby’s 7.94
2/14/14 Lombardi’s 26.26
2/14/14 Market St. Inn 56.00
2/28/14 Sobo’s Wine Bistro 37.77
2/28/14 Shelly’s Bar & Billiards 23.19
2/28/14 Adam’s the Place for Ribs 60.34
2/28/14 LoneStar 34.51
2/28/14 Famous Dave’s 9.00
2/28/14 Famous Dave’s 16.00
Rec. & Parks
2/28/14 Longhorn Steak House 15.97
Wicomico County Board of Education
1/13/12 Barbara Parsons Domino’s 25.75
2/7/12 Barbara Parsons Domino’s 10.91
2/7/12 Barbara Parsons Domino’s 310.00
4/25/12 Barbara Parsons Five Guys Salisbury 36.92
5/16/12 Barbara Parsons Five Guys Salisbury 8.97
6/14/12 Barbara Parsons Roly Poly Salisbury 19.50
8/20/12 Barbara Parsons Bob Evans Salisbury 103.93
9/17/12 Barbara Parsons Dunkin’ Donuts Ocean City 23.97
3/12/12 Betty Dail DeVage’s Subs & Donuts 34.48
3/29/12 Betty Dail East Side Deli 143.12
2/5/13 Betty Dail Mr. Paul’s Legacy 100.00
2/21/13 Betty Dail Goin’ Nuts Café 15.00
2/21/13 Betty Dail Imperial Gallery 10.00
2/21/13 Betty Dail JT’s Grille 15.00
2/12/13 Betty Dail LaTolteca 10.00
2/21/13 Betty Dail Lombardi’s 10.00
4/20/12 Barbara A Jenkins Pizza Hut 103.25
5/4/12 Barbara A Jenkins Pat’s Pizzeria of Salisbury 27.01
6/4/12 Barbara A Jenkins Denny’s Salisbury 63.76
6/4/12 Barbara A Jenkins Golden Corral 348.66
6/5/12 Barbara A Jenkins Little Caesar’s Salisbury 100.00
6/28/12 Barbara A Jenkins Uno’s Chicago Bar Fruitland 140.08 6/28/12 Barbara A Jenkins Uno’s Chicago Bar Fruitland 268.10 5/18/11 Amy Mensack Uno’s Chicago Bar Fruitland 399.95
4/25/12 Dawn Bennett Mojo’s 167.70
11/19/12 Dawn Bennett Sobo’s Wine Bistro 50.00
4/11/12 Crystal T Hankerson Zia’s Pastaria 789.00
SPD Press Release 7-5-14
Study: 70 Percent of Firefighters are Overweight
http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-doctors-overweight-firefighters-20140710-story.html
Doctors aren't telling overweight firefighters to lose weight, study says
Mary MacVean contact the reporter
Medical ResearchObesity ResearchU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Obesity is major threat to firefighter safety, researcher says
Firefighters need ways to keep healthy at work, researcher says
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The Web CNN.com
CNNtoGO
Web CNN.com
LIVE FROM THE HEADLINES
Separated Twins Update
Aired May 30, 2003 - 19:31 ET
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: It has been almost a year since U.S. doctors separated Guatemalan twin girls who were born joined at the head. Now the twins are back at UCLA for evaluation and for more treatment. One of them, in fact, underwent surgery today to replace a shunt that drains excess fluid from her brain. The girl contracted E coli meningitis this spring, infecting the original shunt forcing doctors in Guatemala to remove it.
Our medical correspondent as well as resident neurosurgeon Dr. Sanjay Gupta has performed such shunt operations many times and he's joining us live from CNN Headquarters in Atlanta.
Sanjay, good evening.
SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good evening.
KAGAN: How does this work? How does the shunt operation work? Is it dangerous and how does the actual shunt work once it's in place?
GUPTA: Well, it's a simply a pretty brilliant concept.
Basically, in this girl's case, too much fluid, which is a normal amount -- normal fluid actually built up in her brain. So I think we have pictures to show exactly what happens in this sort of operation.
You can see there there's the skull and that's the skull with the bone there. A little hole is made right there sort of near the front, in this case on the right side. You can see the brain now there and that what you're see going inside there is a little catheter. It's actually made out of sylastic (ph). It's placed, draped underneath the skin and then you can see in the scan there, it actually goes into the normal fluid-filled space in the brain and it's connected to a valve that prevents too much fluid from coming out.
Question is then where does the catheter end up? It actually goes down into the baby's abdomen. You can see the pictures there sort of highlighting that.
But basically, a pretty simple operation, really. One of the most common operations done in pediatric neurosurgery, the goal really to drain the excess fluid, which isn't draining under normal circumstances down into the abdomen.
In Maria Teresa's case, it sounds like what happened the first time around, this shunt was placed and it got infected. Infection is a very common sort of complication of these particular operations. The goal, in this case, really, to remove that shunt and to put a new shunt in and hope that that one does not get infected -- Daryn.
KAGAN: And Sanjay, you yourself have done this operation -- what? -- more times than you can count?
GUPTA: Probably...
KAGAN: And complication -- does that comes up with it or...
GUPTA: The biggest complication really is infection. That's the thing that people worry about the most.
You're putting a foreign object really into the brain, into the normal fluid in the brain and if that gets infected, it can cause something that you already alluded to, meningitis which is an infection of all the lining of both the brain and the spinal cord. That can be a real problem.
What happens in that particular situation, the shunt comes out. The fluid is drained outside the body for a period of time until that infection clears and then the operation that we are -- that the Maria Teresa had today is performed, which is basically to reinternalize that shunt, back through that same hole, draining that fluid again into the abdominal cavity.
Incidentally, the fluid that goes into the abdominal cavity just gets absorbed over time. It doesn't build up in the abdominal cavity. So it just gets put out of the body under normal -- in the normal way.
KAGAN: And the kind of thing that she'll have the rest of her life, even if she kind of outgrows it, it just stays in there?
GUPTA: Yes, that's a good question. In the case of someone like Maria Teresa ,it probably would stay in the rest of her life.
There's a chance that at some point in her life, over the next few years, she may not actually need the shunt again. But the usual decision making is that unless there's some reason to take it out, such as an infection or some other complication, that it usually stay in -- and i may stay in for her whole life.
KAGAN: And just real quickly, the status of the other twin.
GUPTA: Right. The other Maria. Maria De Jesus appears to be doing fairly well.
She -- as you remember back now in August, Maria Teresa actually had a more tumultuous course right after this conjoined twin separation. Maria De Jesus, you can see the pictures there. She obviously looks like a champ. She has had some wound healing problems in the back of the head where she was separated from her twin sister.
This is not an uncommon thing. Of course, this entire operation is a very uncommon thing, so it's hard to say what is normal and what is not. But she does appear to be doing rather well now, almost a year later.
KAGAN: Well, they also appear to be doing just fine in the cute department. No more treatment for that. They're naturals.
GUPTA: Exactly.
KAGAN: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, thank you for joining us.
GUPTA: Thank you.
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Entertainment Award Shows Celebrity Fashion Shows Movies MusicTelevision Programs
Home All News About Trendy Reporter Press Releases
US investigators eye possible causes of California boat fire
US investigators are examining potential ignition sources of a deadly fire on a scuba diving boat, including electronics aboard the vessel where 34 people were killed off the coast of California
LOS ANGELES — U.S. investigators on Thursday were examining potential ignition sources of a deadly fire on a scuba diving boat, including electronics aboard the vessel where 34 people were killed off the coast of Southern California.
Investigators know photography equipment, batteries and other electronics were stored and plugged in on the Conception, said Jennifer Homendy, a member of the National Transportation Safety Board.
"We are not ruling anything out at this point," she said.
Homendy also said she had inspected a vessel similar to the Conception and was concerned about the accessibility of its emergency exit hatch and possible difficulties getting to safety.
The victims died after flames above deck blocked the one stairway and the hatch leading from sleeping bunks to the upper decks and gave those below virtually no chance of getting out, authorities have said.
The Conception had been in full compliance with Coast Guard regulations, officials said.
The federal investigation continued as divers resumed a search for the last victim who remained missing. Divers have pulled 33 bodies from the seabed and the charred wreckage of the sunken, overturned boat.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom identified two of the victims as Adrian Dahood-Fritz and her husband Andrew Fritz. Dahood-Fritz had worked for the California Natural Resources Agency's Ocean Protection Council since April as a senior environmental scientist.
"Adrian led the state's efforts to manage California's network of marine protected areas, and she cared deeply about the ocean and biodiversity," Newsom said in a statement. "She embodied marine conservation and was a highly accomplished and respected scientific researcher."
The other victims included two high schoolers, a hairdresser, marine biologist, software engineers, special effects designer for Disney, nature photographer, nurse and family of five celebrating a birthday.
Their common love of scuba diving led them to the ruggedly beautiful coastline of the Channel Islands for a three-day excursion planned through Labor Day.
Five crew members, including the captain, were above deck and managed to escape. Officials said they expected to interview the captain Thursday.
The only crew member to die was Allie Kurtz, 26, who quit her corporate job at Paramount Pictures to work on dive boats. Kurtz, who grew up in Illinois, had recently been promoted to deckhand.
"Her love was just always, always the water," Kurtz's grandmother, Doris Lapporte, 71, said. "She would joke, 'I am going to be a pirate one day.'"
Four crew members were given tests for alcohol, which were negative, and all five survivors had drug tests and the results are pending, Homendy said.
The Conception wasn't required by federal regulations to have fire sprinklers aboard, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.
Other California divers have said Truth Aquatics, which owned the Conception, and its captains were very safety-conscious and the tragedy shocked the industry.
Cheryl Babineau, owner of Pro Scuba Dive Center in Scotts Valley, California, and a certified diver for 45 years, said boat passengers sometimes tune out when the captain and crewmembers review safety instructions for a dive trip. She expects that will change.
"I think now people will pay a lot more attention," she said.
The boat's owner and others were interviewed for hours as the National Transportation Safety Board investigated the fire, Homendy has said.
Those killed included Apple engineer Steve Salika and his wife, Diana Adamic, who went on the trip with their daughter Tia Salika to celebrate her 17th birthday, company senior vice president Deirdre O'Brien told The Mercury News newspaper. Apple colleague Dan Garcia joined them.
Tia was with Berenic Felipe, a fellow student at Pacific Collegiate Charter School in Santa Cruz, according to a letter sent to the school community obtained by NBC News.
Also aboard was visual effects designer Charles McIlvain, who was known for his work on films such as "Spider-Man" and "Green Lantern."
Lisa Fiedler was a 52-year-old hairdresser and photographer from Mill Valley, north of San Francisco, her mother, Nancy Fiedler, told San Francisco's ABC affiliate, KGO television.
San Francisco-based education platform Brilliant confirmed that senior software engineer Carrie McLaughlin and Kristian Takvam, vice president of engineering, were aboard.
Watson reported from San Diego. Associated Press writers John Antczak and John Rogers in Los Angeles and Janie Har in San Francisco, Amy Taxin in Santa Ana, California, and researcher Rhonda Shafner in New York contributed to this story.
Daughter of Motown stars to Detroit students: Find your beat
The daughter of Motown Records founder Berry Gordy and one of its biggest stars, Diana Ross, says young Detroiters should learn about their city's rich artistic legacy _ then forge their own path
Stephen Colbert, Showtime in talks for live election special
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Turkey issues arrest warrant for ex-soccer star
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About me, about you
Excerpt/First Chapter
Immortal Link on Facebook
For victims of abuse - Immortal Link - You hurt me, I'll hurt you MORE
You are here: Home / Archives for GGLIA book
Facebook friends write book in memory of shooting victim and create scholar ship
August 8, 2012 By Utaburke Leave a Comment
h ttp://www.ohio.com/news/local/facebook-friends-dedicate-book-to-gudrun-johnson-1.325614
Facebook friends dedicate book to Gudrun Johnson
By Jim Carney Beacon Journal staff writer
A book of stories from German women living in America called Good-bye, Germany: Hallo, Amerika! has been dedicated to Gudrun Johnson, one of the victims of last August’s shootings in Copley Township.
The book, written by Uta Burke, of East Brunswick, N.J., and women who are part of the Facebook page “German Girls Living in America,” includes a chapter with photographs on Gudrun Johnson, who was a group member.
Johnson grew up in Wiesbaden-Biebrich.
Annemarie Stockman, another member of the group, said she met Johnson through Facebook more than three years ago.
“We became close personal friends,” Stockman said by email from Postville, Iowa. She said Johnson loved having fun and often played pranks on group members.
“I miss her more than I could tell you,” she wrote. Losing her ripped “a hole in my life … I thank God for the memories I have of the time I was able to know her.”
Marlies Jacobsen, of Englewood, Ohio, said she met her future husband through the Johnsons when Gudrun and her husband, Russell, were stationed with the 81st Airborne in Germany.
“Gudrun was my very best friend,” Jacobsen said of the woman she had known for 52 years.
She brought a heart-shaped wreath — decorated with a ribbon with German colors — on behalf of the Facebook friends to the Johnsons’ funeral last year.
Helga “Gigi” Hudson said she met Johnson when they were teenagers in Wiesbaden-Biebrich and remained friends.
“We spoke the last time on the phone two days before that senseless tragedy,” Hudson wrote by email from Greensboro, N.C.
“For a long time I still had one of Gurdie’s messages on my cellphone,” she wrote. “My friend is in my heart and soul. I will miss her until the day I leave this earth.”
Burke, a writer of young adult fiction, said she joined the Facebook group in the spring of 2011.
“On August 9th, I went on [Facebook], and the first thing I saw was the news about Gudrun being shot,” she wrote. “Our group, which consists of 1,200 members, was beyond shocked. We collected money, part of which was for the wreath.”
In April, Burke said, she got the idea to compile the experiences of the women living in America into a book. She asked the Facebook friends if they would write the book together and dedicate it to Johnson.
“They loved the idea, and three months later, we had 300 pages,” she said.
Burke, a native of Ulm, Germany, said proceeds from the book’s sales will be donated to the Akron Al-Anon Tuesday night group, a gathering Johnson supported. The goal is to establish a scholarship in her name.
The book, written mostly in German, is available from
Amazon.com and other sellers for about $16.
Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Copley OH shooting, GGLIA book, Gudrun Johnson, in memory of Gudrun Johnson, Ohio shooting
Uta’s Books
For victims of abuse – Immortal Link
Fifteen-year-old Catholine Kennan will satisfy your craving for total revenge in this YA paranormal … [Read More...]
Jim Thorpe, the world's greatest athlete
See the Mysterious Handprint at the Old Jail Museum
The Molly Maguires
The Old Jail Museum
Your childs first year of college – Is the nest half full or half empty when they come home on the weekends?
Reviews and Praise
This book was a good read. I finished it in just a matter of days on vacation. It kept my interest the whole time. I've been to Jim Thorpe, PA and found the details so interesting, that I want to go back and visit
Picky Shopper
Uta Susanna Burke has always been open minded about ghostly things, and when her daughter became interested in the paranormal, the two explored their curiosity together. They visited haunted places along the East Coast and participated in an EVP session with Bruce Tango from the Ghost Hunters show. When Uta discovered Jim Thorpe, PA, and its Old Jail, she chose it for the setting of this book. [Read More …]
about 18283 days ago
aftermath Alexander Campbell's handprint Alexandra Machinist beautiful girl Boardwalk boy emotion Boy emotion books boys crying celebrating life cell #17 editing editor guilt healing Immortal Link inner beauty Jersey Shore Jim Thorpe manuscript NY agent NYC agent Alexandra Machinist Old Jail Museum overweight PA paranormal paranormal novel PTSD rape revenge role model Seaside Heights self-publishing sexual abuse shame sibling bond sorority stars total revenge tough guys true beauty victims victims of sexual abuse voluptous young adult Young Adult novel
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VIDEO: Meet new Oklahoma State offensive coordinator Sean Gleeson
John E. Hoover
Oklahoma State offensive coordinator Sean Gleeson gave a press conference today at Karsten Creek Golf Club in Stillwater and talked about his background, his own expectations and why he doesn’t think it’s fair to expect a period of transition.
Related Items107.7 The Franchise107.9 The FranchiseBig 12 ConferenceHome - 1st StripIvy LeagueJohn HooverMike GundyNew JerseyOklahoma State CowboysOSU FootballPrincetonSean Gleeson
John E. Hoover @JohnEHoover
John Hoover wrote for the Tulsa World for 24 years before joining The Franchise, where he was co-host of "Further Review" and "The Franchise Drive." Now he's The Franchise college football insider: Oklahoma's state Heisman rep, a voter in the FWAA Super 16 poll, an FWAA media access liaison, and a Big 12 writer at Sporting News and Lindy's preseason magazine. In his time at the World, Hoover won numerous writing and reporting awards, including in 2011 National Beat Writer of the Year from the Associated Press Sports Editors for his work covering the Oklahoma Sooners. From 2012 to 2016, Hoover was the World's lead sports columnist and won national awards in 2012 and 2014 from the National Athletic Trainers Association for reporting on sports medicine and in 2015 won first place in sports columns from the Oklahoma Society of Professional Journalists. After receiving a journalism degree from East Central University, Hoover worked at newspapers in Ada, Okmulgee, Tahlequah and Waynesville, Mo. He played football at Ada High School and grew up in North Pole, Alaska. Hoover and his family live in Broken Arrow.
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Franchise Top 25: #20 Michigan State Spartans
VIDEO: OSU defensive coordinator Jim Knowles talks Year 2, the Big 12 and the Cowboys’ new OC
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Movies Music Web
Who's Who Of Rockers To Perform At Jubilee
A who's who of British and American musicians have reportedly signed on to participate in the Queen's Golden Jubilee in June, commemorating Queen Elizabeth II's 50th year on the British throne. Paul McCartney, Mick Jagger, Aretha Franklin, Eric Clapton, and Stevie Wonder will perform as part of an all-star pop concert set for the first weekend of June on the lawn outside London's Buckingham Palace. Longtime Beatles producer George Martin will be the musical director for the entire Jubilee, which will also include a classical concert and other events. The concerts are slated for broadcast by the BBC, while tickets will be distributed to the public via raffles. The Jubilee will conclude with the resumption of the Isle Of Wight Festival, Britain's Woodstock-style fete that ran from 1968 to 1970. -- Gary Graff, Detroit (launch.com)
OCTOPUS DJ'S • CONTESTS • WHATS HAPPENING • RESTAURANT ROW • STATION INFO
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OCTOPUS LOVE ZONE •TERMS OF SERVICE AND AGREEMENT
Copyright � 2002 KOCP and First MediaWorks
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HomeDecisionsADD2047 Waste forecasts in the review of the London Plan
ADD2047 Waste forecasts in the review of the London Plan
Type of decision:
Assistant Director's decision
ADD2047
Date signed:
Decision by:
Colin Wilson, Senior Manager - Planning Decisions
Guidance from Central Government requires the Mayor to provide the London Boroughs with up to date forecasts of waste in the London Plan. The forthcoming review of the London Plan will be required to provide updated forecasts. Specialist waste consultancies have the necessary expertise to undertake this work. Approval is sought to approach these consultancies.
That the Assistant Director of Planning approves:
1. Expenditure of up to a total of £40,000 to procure by competitive tender the appointment of external consultants to update forecast waste arising and waste apportionments.
Part 1: Non-confidential facts and advice
Introduction and background
1.1 This is a new study and seeks a budget of up to £40,000. This budget was derived at after consultation with colleagues in the Environment Team (Waste) who advised this was a realistic sum for the work required.
1.2 Central Government guidance requires the Mayor to give boroughs a forecast of the amount of waste they should be planning for in their local plans. This is a two stage process; firstly forecasts for all the waste streams required by the Government have to be produced for each borough. Secondly, these numbers have to be put through an apportionment model to produce a more even distribution of waste for each borough to manage. Waste forecasts were last updated in 2014 and the apportionment model was last updated in 2006. Not only are the forecast and the model in need of an update, Government has increased the number of different types of waste that have to be planned for. GLA officers lack the necessary expertise to undertake this work. It will be necessary to appoint specialist waste consultants.
Objectives and expected outcomes
2.1 It is envisaged that the consultants will produce updated waste arising for the period 2016-2041, for each of the different waste streams required by central Government guidance. The consultants will devise an apportionment model and give each borough a waste apportionment (required by Government guidance) to plan for, for the period 2016-2041. It is expected that the study will be robust as it will need to stand up to scrutiny at the Examination in Public into the review of the London Plan.
Equality comments
3.1 If waste is not properly managed it can lead to a decline in air quality with adverse impacts on the health of vulnerable Londoners, often the very old and the very young. Providing land for waste uses can create employment opportunities in the waste industry which are well suited to those lacking in formal qualifications. The provision of heat from waste can help those in fuel poverty; this includes the elderly and those from a minority ethnic background.
a) key risks and issues
4.1 The contract will be managed in line with standard GLA risk management procedures. If the work is not commissioned it is possible that the forthcoming review of the London Plan will fail to ensure sufficient land is set aside for waste uses, preventing the delivery of Mayoral aspirations on renewable energy or decentralised energy. Conversely, if too much land is set aside for waste uses then a potential source of land for much needed housing development would be lost.
b) links to Mayoral strategies and priorities
4.2 This study will provide evidence on a specific land use, which will inform the implementation and review of the London Plan. It will support the emerging Mayoral Environmental Strategy, as well as the London Plan. It will provide evidence to London boroughs on the amount of land to allocate for waste uses in the preparation of local plans and in partnership working with the GLA in developing Opportunity Area Planning Frameworks.
c) impact assessments and consultations.
4.3 The work the consultants will do will be guided by the brief (attached below) and a steering group of GLA officers from the Environment and Planning Teams and representatives of the boroughs to ensure their agreement.
Financial comments
5.1 Assistant Director’s approval is being sought for expenditure of up to £40,000 to procure consultants by competitive tender to update the Waste Forecast for the London Plan. The cost of this work will be met from the London Plan 2016-17 Programme Budget.
5.2 As this work relates to consultancy contract, officers have to ensure that the requirements of the Authority’s Contract & Funding Code are adhered to and that the requirements relating to consultancy services within the Authority’s Financial Regulations and Expenses & Benefits Framework are adhered to. Any changes to this proposal, including budgetary implications, will be subject to further approval via the Authority’s decision-making process.
Activity table
Procurement of contract [for externally delivered projects]
November ‘16
Delivery Start Date [for project proposals]
Main milestones – Interim Report
January ‘17
Main milestones – Final Report
February ‘17
Final evaluation start and finish (self)
March ‘17
Delivery End Date [for project proposals]
Project Closure: [for project proposals]
April ‘17
Signed decision document
Download ADD2047 Waste Forecasts (signed) PDF 198 KB
Other decisions
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ADD2395 Flyunder Planning Permission
Wholesale Market Consolidation Barking & Dagenham
ADD2397 Wholesale Market Consolidation Barking and Dagenham Planning Performance Agreement
Plumstead-West Thamesmead PPA
ADD2383 Plumstead-West Thamesmead Planning Performance Agreement
Approval to fund valuation of Heythrop College
ADD2375 Approval to fund a valuation of the Heythrop College Site
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BBC Olympics
Delivering a new way of experiencing the Olympics and live sport online
For the past 18 months we have been working closely with the BBC Olympic team. It is the aim of the BBC to deliver a new way of experiencing the Olympics and live sport online.
The most in-depth online coverage
The BBC asked us to help them understand how best to deliver such a large amount of information to their audience, including:
Multiple channels of live events
A catch-up service for all events
Up to date news
Information on all competing countries and athletes
Guides and live stats about events
A comprehensive schedule of events
We combined various methodologies including, multiple lab sessions across the UK, diary studies, in-home visits, accessibility testing and phone interviews.
Delivering live and catch-up coverage of all Olympic events
For the first time ever, the BBC will be broadcasting every Olympic event live online. In order to achieve this, the team has developed a new technology for delivering all of this video content, known as the Intelligent Video Player (IVP). As a result the BBC team needed to understand how their audience would understand and react to this new service.
Over the course of 18 months we have delivered multiple sets of findings, video evidence, presentations and actionable reports.
built by ModeZero
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Turn On The Jets
Mission To Civilize New York Jets Coverage
Turn On The Jets Digital Podcast Network
Official Jets Packages
TOJ Contributors
Turn On The Jets 12 Pack – Jets vs. Bills Predictions
Joe Caporoso with 12 predictions on the New York Jets game against the Buffalo Bills this Sunday and thoughts on the team’s recent moves
Back with another Turn On The Jets 12 Pack. It is somewhat odd to see the New York Jets as 3 point favorites despite their 1-6 record. Over the last six games, they have lost to teams with a combined record of 29-14 and played an absolute gauntlet of quarterbacks. The schedule now swings back in their favor to an extent. Their next six games are against teams with a combined record of 16-17 (only counting the 4-3 Bills once, who they play twice in the next 7 weeks, which also includes their bye). Over the rest of the season they will face Kyle Orton and Ryan Tannehill twice, Zach Mettenberger, Teddy Bridgewater, Alex Smith, Ben Roethlisberger and Tom Brady. Theoretically there should be more defensive success and overall success. However, does this team remember how to win? Can they find a way to prevail in a tight game? They have been in five tight ones and lost every single one.
These next nine games will have Rex Ryan coaching for his job, Geno Smith playing for the right to be the team’s quarterback in 2015, Percy Harvin auditioning for a long term contract, Oday Aboushi looking to solidify himself as a 2015 starter and Jeremy Kerley trying to show his contract extension was a smart decision. There are plenty of other players looking to determine their future as well. Will the Jets fight the rest of 2014 or will they roll over and stumble across the finish line to a 3 or 4 win season? We find out starting tomorrow. On to the predictions…
1. Chris Johnson will have less than ten offensive touches.
2. Anthony Dixon will have less than 30 yards of rushing for Buffalo.
3. Jace Amaro will have at least 4 receptions.
4. Quinton Coples will play a higher percentage of snaps than he did last week and have a sack. Sheldon Richardson will also have a sack.
5. Geno Smith will throw for 270 yards, rush for a touchdown and throw for a touchdown. He will also have at least 30 yards rushing and have one turnover.
6. Kyle Orton will throw for 245 yards and two touchdowns. He will also be sacked three times and fumble the ball away once.
7. Chris Ivory will have 75 yards rushing and 20 yards receiving, again leading the Jets running backs in touches.
8. Bryce Brown will have 55 total yards of offense, and finish as Buffalo’s leading rusher.
9. Sammy Watkins will have over 70 yards receiving and a touchdown.
10. Eric Decker will have his first 100 yard game as a member of the Jets.
11. Percy Harvin is going to score a touchdown in his Jets debut. Rex will also make him a game captain and he’ll be the last player called out during introductions.
12. The New York Jets will both win and cover the three point spread, ending their six game losing streak (!) with a 24-17 victory.
If you haven’t yet, check out our new Xs and Os series:
12 Pack Record
W/L (4-3)
Against The Spread (4-3)
Author: Joe Caporoso
Joe Caporoso is the Owner and EIC of Turn On The Jets. His writing has been featured in the New York Times, Huffington Post, MMQB and AdWeek. Caporoso played football his entire life, including four years at Muhlenberg as a wide receiver, where he was arguably the slowest receiver to ever start in school history. He is the VP of Social Media at Whistle Sports View all posts by Joe Caporoso
Author Joe CaporosoPosted on October 25, 2014 October 26, 2014 Categories 12 Pack, Featured Posts, Joe Caporoso, New York Jets, NFL, Week 8 2014Tags 12 Pack, Joe Caporoso, New York Jets, NFL, Week 8 2014
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These 5 actresses had lost their first child, the fourth had cried immensely
Best Motivational Pictures Of 2020
Krishan Chander's 'Jamun Ka Ped' Is a Testament to His Abiding Relevance
swati joshi
The mandarins who removed his classic story from the ICSE syllabus are exactly like the lifeless cogs in the bureaucratic machine the writer satirises in the story.
Writer Krishan Chander.
I was not planning to write this particular piece when I put pen to paper sometime last month. I wanted to write a detailed piece commemorating the birth centenary of one of the greatest Urdu literary critics of the 20th century, Muhammad Hasan Askari, which fell on November 5. I was also going to write a piece on the occasion of Krishan Chander’s 105th birthday (on November 23), elaborating on his link, both personally and fictionally, to the beautiful valley of Kashmir and its inhabitants.
But trust our governments to do something crass and bring the classics alive! First, there was the case of a school headmaster in Pilibhit, in Uttar Pradesh, being sacked for ‘making’ his students learn Pakistani national poet Muhammad Iqbal’s famous poem, ‘Lab pe aati hai dua ban ke tamanna meri’.
Then, on November 5, as a result of a friendly complaint from an Indian state, the Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE) decided to remove Krishan Chander’s classic short story, Jamun ka Ped, from the Class X Hindi syllabus, probably fearing it would expose too much of the incompetence of the Indian bureaucratic machinery than was necessary for those young minds. Lest the reader feel that this is a uniquely Indian trait, let me hasten to add that many years ago, the Sindh government in Pakistan deleted many incendiary passages from Saadat Hasan Manto’s short story, Naya Qanoon, which was set in colonial India and took a bitterly satirical look at the then-introduced Government of India Act, 1935.
Though Chander is no more amongst us, having passed away 42 years ago, he made the abode of literature fragrant with his evergreen flowers of sympathy all his life. Agreed, one who loves humans never dies. It is true that Chander’s writings have made him immortal, but life is life, after all, and however great may the death be, it cannot be a substitute for life. Our epoch will not be able to produce another Krishan Chander.
Chander’s literary life began in 1936 in Lahore. He wrote light essays, short stories, novels, reportage– and in such abundance that in 40 years, approximately 40 of his books were published. Despite this, his pen never became weary; there was an ever-flowing current of sensory experiences and observations of truth. Neither did the warmth of his love for humanity dim nor did his romantic flight of imagination or the lyricism of his narrative style lessen. Now, who will write his kind of singing prose?
Chander was a raconteur of the sorrows of humanity, distilling those sorrows and transforming them into nectar. He always linked his passion and art to those whose blood, sweat and toil makes fields bloom with the flowers of mustard and cotton, and illuminates neighbourhoods and the bazaars.
All his life Krishan Chander held the values of beauty close to his heart. He was as much an admirer of the beauty of nature as he was of the beauty of the self and individual qualities. His art was a cry of protest against the social system which uses the creative forces of Man as a source of profit even as it deprives Man of his humanity. Indeed, how can beauty exist in a society mired in the deep darkness of ignorance, prejudice and superstition, where human dignity is trampled at every step?
Still, Chander never despaired. His realist vision had identified the life-giving force, namely reflections of beauty mirrored in human experience – in motherhood and the innocent smiles of children; in the anger of youth; the determination of the aged; the cry of widows; the sweat-drenched bodies of workers; and the pen of writers. Chander used the same pen to compose elegies to beauty and condemnation of the oppression of the sellers of beauty.
Chander was a universal man in the true sense. He did not believe in seeing humanity through the prism of colour, race, religion and nation; his heartfelt desire was for peace, freedom, contentment and justice to surround humanity, the end of the forces ranged against life.
Krishan Chander was perhaps the sole Urdu author who was able to live on the income provided by his short stories alone. He occupied a high place in literature, never bowing his head before the powers that be. He never veiled his loyalties either, remaining associated with the Progressive Writers Movement.
File picture of Urdu writers Salma Siddiqui and Krishan Chander.
By removing his Jamun Ka Ped from the Hindi syllabus of class X, the ICSE’s mandarins have fallen into the trap of seeing the tree for the woods, betraying their limited vision. In fact, they have become very much like the lifeless mandarins whose myopia comes for criticism in Chander’s story. Related to political opportunism is the inefficiency and insensitivity of bureaucracies in the subcontinent. Both India and Pakistan developed gigantic bureaucracies after independence, which became enormously influential in controlling state affairs, more so in Pakistan.
Chander’s famous novel Ek Gadhay ki Atma Katha (Autobiography of a Donkey) is devoted to this theme, especially the socialist-inspired model of bureaucracy introduced by Nehru in India. In the short form, Jamun Ka Ped is one of his powerful denunciations of an overcentralised bureaucracy, which, in my opinion, can proudly be mentioned in the same league as Gogol’s The Nose – its biting satire is such that it does not require Gogol’s magic realism to depict the tragedy wreaked by an oversized, unthinking centralised bureaucracy totally out of sync with people.
Also Read: Celebrating Krishan Chander, the Storyteller of the Oppressed
I can do no better than attempt to translate the chilling conclusion of the story of a poet who lies crushed underneath a jamun tree when it falls in a storm, his life in the hands of a bureaucracy used to the feel of red tape:
‘On the second day when the Forest Department men arrived with saws and axes, they were barred from cutting the tree. They found out that the Foreign Affairs Department had prohibited the cutting of the tree. The reason was that the tree had been planted in the Secretariat lawn a decade ago by the Prime Minister of Petunia. If the tree was cut now, there was a great risk that our relations with the government of Petunia would be damaged forever. ‘But this is a question of a man’s life’, shouted the clerk with anger. ‘On the other side, a question of relations between two countries’, the Second Clerk admonished the First Clerk, ‘and do try to understand too how much aid the Petunian government gives to our government. Can’t we sacrifice even one man’s life for their friendship?’
‘The poet should die.’
‘Undoubtedly.’
The Undersecretary told the superintendent, ‘The Prime Minister has returned from the foreign visit in the morning today. The Foreign Affairs Department will present this tree’s file before him at 4 pm today, and whatever he decides will be accepted by all.’
At 5 pm the superintendent himself brought the poet’s file to the latter, ‘Do you hear?’ As soon as he arrived, he shouted, waving the file, ‘The Prime Minister has ordered to cut this tree and has taken full international responsibility for this incident upon himself. Tomorrow this tree will be cut and you’ll be rid of this trouble. ’
‘Do you hear? Today your file is complete’, the superintendent said, moving the poet’s arm.
But the poet’s arm was cold. His eyelids were lifeless and a long line of ants was going into his mouth. The file of his life had also been completed.’
I am sure that the writers of this generation who love Krishan Chander will not be discouraged by the ICSE’s disappointing action and will breathe new spirit into his literary traditions.
My own tryst with this landmark story came in the spring of 2015 when I was teaching a course on Pakistan’s political processes and institutions at one of Lahore’s well-known private universities in their public policy and administration programme. The dilemma was to teach the inner workings of bureaucracy to a mixed group of serving and would-be bureaucrats in a way that it avoided the prosaic pitfalls of Max Weber’s theory of bureaucracy and Woodrow Wilson’s theory of public administration.
So, I fell back on Jamun Ka Ped. Not only did the students discuss it in class; they were assigned a question later in their midterm exam as to how the story contributed to our understanding of the working of Pakistani bureaucracy. I am not sure if the experiment was subsequently repeated or whether the story and its lessons found their way to some of our own bureaucrats!
I began this piece with a mention of Hasan Askari, who would have been the subject of this piece had the ICSE not intervened on his 100th birthday on November 5. Incidentally, Askari had this to say about Krishan Chander, his great contemporary:
‘I have said repeatedly that with Krishan Chander you cannot find the things which you have been searching elsewhere. Neither does he possess qualities of plot, nor of characterization, neither of psychological analysis nor beautiful verbosity. He possesses one thing which is higher than all these – life. The truth indeed is that life is such a vast and extensive and ambiguous thing which no one can put a hand to. The zenith of the artist, as Henry James has said, is just that in his creation, he creates a “look of things” and an “illusion of life” and Krishan Chander is successful at it.’
It can thus be said that Jamun Ka Ped possesses both a look of things and an illusion of life, and the Indian officials who deprived generations of Indian schoolchildren from these twin pleasures at the stroke of a pen possess neither.
Raza Naeem is a Pakistani social scientist, book critic and award-winning translator and dramatic reader currently based in Lahore, where he is also the President of the Progressive Writers Association. The translation from the Urdu in the article is his own. He can be reached at razanaeem@hotmail.com
Topic: #krishan chander #indian certificate of secondary education #icse
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Title: Out of bounds
Subject: Completion (American football), List of gridiron football rules, Trap run, Drop-back pass, Quarterback scramble
A player who steps onto the sidelines during play is considered to be out of bounds
In sports, out of bounds (or out-of-bounds) refers to being outside the playing boundaries of the field. Due to the chaotic nature of play, it is normal in many sports for players and/or the ball to go out of bounds frequently during a game. The legality of going out of bounds (intentionally or not), and the ease of prevention, vary by sport. In some cases, players may intentionally go or send the ball out of bounds when it is to their advantage.
1 Skiing
2 Gridiron football
4 Baseball
5 Basketball
6 Australian rules football
7 Golf
In skiing, an out of bounds area is considered one that is outside of the area owned/serviced by a ski resort. Out of bounds areas can either be accessed by ducking under a rope or fence, or through marked gates. Usually, if one is caught 'cutting a rope', one will lose skiing privileges at the ski resort; depending on where one does so, they may also be arrested for trespassing. Out of bounds areas are not serviced by any type of lift, thus one must usually hike out of the area. Also, out of bounds areas are not serviced by a resorts ski patrol and are not checked for avalanche potential, thus one must be properly equipped for avalanche rescue and understand that a rescue may be incredibly costly.
Gridiron football
In gridiron football, a play is considered to be dead if a ball or the player carrying the ball goes out of bounds.
A ball thrown out of bounds is considered an incomplete pass, even if it is caught.
In the NFL, the clock stops whenever a player carrying the ball steps out of bounds or fumbles the ball out of bounds. Within the last 2 minutes of the first half, the last 5 minutes of the game, or after a change of possession, the clock remains stopped until the next snap; at all other times, the clock restarts when the referee signals indicating that the ball has been placed for the next down.[1]
In arena football, the field is walled so that play can almost never go out of bounds. At all other times, the clock keeps ticking. In college football, the clock stops when the ballcarrier goes out of bounds. If there are more than two minutes left in either half, the clock resumes when the umpire marks the ball as ready for the next play. If there are less than two minutes left in the half, the clock resumes upon the next play.
If the player with the ball goes out of bounds in his own end zone, in most cases, it is considered to be a safety in favor of the other team.
A kickoff that goes out of bounds is a penalty. Up through 1986, this required the kicking team to rekick the ball from five yards behind the spot of the original kickoff, unless the penalty was declined by the receiving team. In 1987, the NFL instituted a new rule, where the ball would be awarded to the receiving team five yards ahead of the spot where it went out of bounds.[2]
In Canadian football, if a fumble goes out of bounds, the team of the last player to touch it gets possession.
In major league baseball, it is possible in baseball for a dugout to be a factor in play. MLB rule 6.05(a) states that a fielder may reach into a dugout to catch a fly ball as long as one or both feet is on or over the playing field, and does not have a foot on the ground in the dugout when making the catch. MLB universal ground rules state that the player may subsequently enter the dugout after making the catch if his momentum is carrying him that way, but if he falls in the dugout as a result, the catch is allowed but baserunners advance in accordance with Rule 7.04(c).[3]
A live ball entering a dugout becomes dead and the batter-runner and any baserunners advance in accordance with Rule 7.04(c). However, a live ball bouncing off a dugout railing, if present, is still in play (unless a foul ball). Due to the dugouts' location in foul territory, live balls entering dugouts usually only occur after an errant throw by the defensive team.
Individual leagues at levels below MLB are free to set their own rules governing the dugouts as is appropriate for their league's ballparks and playing level. For example, the rule governing reaching into dugouts to catch fly balls would not apply in leagues where the dugouts are separated from the field by a chain-link fence that is taller than the players.
When the ball goes out of bounds, it shall be thrown into the field and played by the first person touching it. In case of dispute, the umpire shall throw it straight into the field. The thrower-in is allowed five seconds. If he holds it longer, it shall go to the opponent. If any side persists in delaying the game, the umpire shall call a foul on that side.
In Australian rules football, the ball is considered out of bounds when the whole of the ball is outside the boundary line or any part of the ball touches the behind post.
Sending the ball out of bounds will result in a free kick against the team sending the ball out of bounds when the ball goes out of bounds from a kick on the full (without bouncing or being touched by another player), or if forced deliberately out of bounds by a player. If the ball goes out of bound from a kick-in after a behind is scored without being touched by any player, or forced out of bounds on the full from a hit-out in a ruck contest after a throw-in, the ball is deemed to be deliberately out of bounds. In any other case, the boundary umpire will throw the ball in from the boundary line.
In golf, "Out of Bounds" is beyond the boundaries of the golf course or any part of the course so marked by the committee in charge of the competition or the golf course.
If a ball is out of bounds, the player must play a ball, under penalty of one stroke, as nearly as possible at the spot from which the original ball was last played.
Reference: Rules of Golf 2012-2015, Rule 27-1 b. Ball Out of Bounds, published by the R&A - and approved by the United States Golf Association (USGA).
A golf ball is out of bounds when all of it lies out of bounds. A player may stand out of bounds to play a ball lying within bounds.
Reference: Rules of Golf 2012-2015, Section II Definitions.
^ "NFL Rule 4 - Game Timing".
^ The Anatomy of a Game: Football, the Rules, and the Men Who Made the Game - David M. Nelson - Google Books. Books.google.com. Retrieved 2012-11-23.
Gridiron football concepts
Canadian (US–Canadian comparison)
Street/Backyard
Youth/midget
Pop Warner
AYF
Goal line
Field goal range
Football (ball)
Uniform number
Running backs (Halfback, Fullback)
Receivers (Wide receiver, Tight end, H-back, Slotback)
Linemen (Center, Guard, Tackle)
Linemen (Defensive tackle, Defensive end, Nose tackle)
Defensive back (Cornerback, Safety, Nickelback, Dimeback, Halfback)
Placekicker
Kickoff specialist
Punt returner
Kickoff returner
Return specialist
Upback
Utility player
Triple-threat man
Skill position
Game manager
Play types
Incomplete pass
Bootleg play
Draw play
End-around
Flea flicker
Flexbone formation
Fourth down conversion
Hail Mary pass
Halfback option play
Hook and lateral
Hurry-up offense
Option run
Option offense
Play-action pass
Quarterback keeper
Quarterback sneak
Quick kick
Screen pass
Tackle-eligible
Trick play
Wildcat formation
Shooting the gap
Zone blitz
Kickoff return
Punt return
Drop kick
Fair catch
Fair catch kick
Icing the kicker
Onside kick
Squib kick
Point after touchdown
Two-point conversion
Single (rouge)
Blocking below the waist
Block in the back
Chop block
Encroachment
Equipment violations
Helmet-to-helmet collision
Horse-collar tackle
Illegal contact
Illegal formation
Illegal forward kick
Illegal forward pass
Illegal hands to the face
Illegal motion
Illegal participation
Illegal shift
Illegal substitution
Illegal touching
Illegal touching of a free kick
Ineligible receiver downfield
Intentional grounding
Palpably unfair act
Pass interference
Personal foul
Roughing the kicker
Roughing the passer
Roughing the snapper
Sideline infraction
Spearing
Time count
Unsportsmanlike conduct
Muffed punt
Turnover on downs
Three-and-out
Play clock
One-minute warning
Two-minute warning
Three-minute warning
Running out the clock
Untimed play
Garbage time
Passer rating
Yards from scrimmage
All-purpose yardage
Touchdown pass
Touchdown celebration
Penalty flag
Chain crew
Coffin corner
Resting the starters
Glossary of American football
Glossary of Canadian football
Rules of gridiron football codes
Rules in American football
Concussions in American football
Terminology used in multiple sports
National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, College Football Playoff, Canada, American football, College baseball
Canadian Football League, Grey Cup, Vanier Cup, Rugby football, American football
Canadian football, American football, Association football, Indoor American football, National Football League
Association football, Port Adelaide Football Club, Gaelic football, Australian rules football in New Zealand, Basketball
Completion (American football)
American football, Yards from scrimmage, Canadian football, College football, American football positions
List of gridiron football rules
National Football League, Rugby League, Association football, Canadian football, Xfl
Trap run
American football, Canadian football, College football, American football positions, American football strategy
Drop-back pass
Quarterback scramble
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Burning islands / Angry Shells / Burning Shells
Burning islands are the substitutes for stars in the world of clouds. They form the center of island formations and families of islands revolve around them. They look like dish shaped islands and have “angry water” inside them which burns off at the top and can burn for thousands of years. “membranes” are cave like entrances at the bottom of these islands – where this “angry water” comes in contact with cold air.
Cloudlighters
An ancient race who built bridges between islands through dense cloud formations. They earned the name "Cloudlighters" because they used to maintain huge lanterns along these bridges which showed would be migrants the way through the dark interior of the clouds. Later they abandoned these bridges and became Windmasters who developed the ability to change the color of their ships and their bodies to match the clouds they choose to hide in. Today they are also known as "Cloudghosts" , "Cloud workers" or "Ghost workers". They are very shy and rarely seen in the great triangle's world.
Long stretches of open air between clouds that run vertically away from the triangle and can reach all the way to dark space. Strong winds keep these corridors free of clouds.
Dark Space
A derivative of sub space. The great blue triangle built his world inside dark space. Dark space surrounds the outer perimeter of the triangle's world and is slightly out of phase with sub space and completely undetectable from normal space.
Drop rocks
Rocks that Jumpthieves use to slow down their falls onto ships passing below islands onto which they sneak and steal from until they eventually move on to another ship. Drop rocks are tied to ropes that are tied around the jumpthieves' body. They leave the rock lying on the islands' top when they jump onto a ship passing below and the rock drags over the islands' surface to slow down their fall.
Flying Stones
Flying Stones are tiny pieces (no bigger than a grain of sand) left over from life forms which had been recycled by the great triangle, cursed and expelled from the world of clouds. They are trapped in a special resin - like jelly which the triangle uses to isolate these particles so that they can not "contaminate" its world. Flying stones travel out of the triangle's world at high speeds in vein - like formations which are called Rivers of Stone or Lightflows. These triangular "cookies" of resin are highly flammable and are captured and stored deep inside Stone Hunter ships, not only to keep the ships floating weightless against the gravitation pull of the triangle but also for consumption by the Stone Hunters.
Ice birds
Ice birds are transparent bird – like creatures that can pass in and out through “membranes” of burning islands. Like winged jelly fish. Inside their angry water domain they are almost invisible. Not much is known about them but they are very shy. They get their name from when they die, they turn into very hard transparent crystals that are very hard to break and often used as weapons and tools by primitive islanders.
Ice bleeders
Ice bleeders are ancient warriors or guards frozen in rock and bleeds ice when someone with unresolved issues from their past or someone that had a horrific thing happened to them comes too close to them.
Infiltrators are beings created by the triangle (not captured). Infiltrators serve as spies for the triangle.
Intruders are mutations of life forms (or a darker reflection of a being) created by an ancient monastery on a secret island hidden from the triangle's view. There the Intruder to be is forced to touch his or her reflection in the water of a magical and silver colored lake and so becomes the reflection (that appears darker in the water). Then his or her hands change into a silver color that can never rub off. Intruders can become any object or life form's reflection it touches with these silver hands but can never touch his or her's own reflection (and so never become himself or herself again). They hunt Infiltrators down and kill them using this ability to manipulate reflections.
Iron Drifters
Gigantic ships the blue triangle imported into its world during very early times. Today they drift around the World of Clouds as derelicts and entire forests grow on top of them. Alien and human life settled on them.
Jumpthieves
Stowaway kinda characters that use drop rocks to jump onto ships where they hide as long as they can while stealing off it as much as they can.
Lightflows / Rivers of Stone
"Vein" like flows of Flying Stones originating inside the triangle and shooting out of Cloud Space into Dark Space. Stone Hunters often seek these out to refill their ships.
Light Shooter
A Light Shooter is the equivalent of a lighthouse on earth but unlike the big lamp you would find in the tower of the lighthouse, Light Shooters propel bright energy up along their towers and shoot it out at the top and high over the island that it is standing on. Almost like a giant flare. These energy "flares" are bright enough and hang in the air long enough to light up everything within a few miles around them. Light Shooters were built by an ancient race of Windmasters known as Slow Drifters who traveled in ships (which go by the same name) so big that their response time were too slow to avoid collisions with hidden islands or islands which had orbital planes that were too unstable and unpredictable. These towers, usually found on an island's edge are constructed from whatever natural building materials its island had to offer. Most of them are made from stone. Today very few of them still "shoot light" but almost all of them have been claimed by some kind of inhabitant. Usually an islander or sometimes a marooned Windmaster who would light fires in the top of the tower in the hope that a passing ship might come to his rescue. The giant remains of Slow Drifter ships are still found on obscure islands sometimes. They usually lie stretched out across the surface like giant dinosaur bones. Stone Hunters love to integrate these "metal skeletons" into their ships.
Needle Cloud
Needle Cloud is a region / big single cloud / fog bank where hundreds of large needle like islands drift around.
Polar Wind
The name of a deep sea exploration ship in the paperback novel MAP MAKERS.
Shadow Chasers
Windmasters who hide from the triangle's view in order to study it. They often "chase eclipses" or "shadows" around in the world of clouds from where they can study the great triangle in order to gather as much information from it as possible. They hope to either sell this to other Windmasters or use the information themselves to plan a great escape from the world. The triangle send Infiltrators on missions to hunt down and destroy Shadow Chasers.
Singing Islands
A singing island is a very rare phenomenon in the World of Clouds. They look like huge floating diamonds but refract visible light in a very different way than lets say a prism of the same size would. Each of the many facets glow a different color and keeps changing as you move around the island. Their very distinct "singing noise" comes from their surface which slowly melts into the purist water that can be found in the world of the blue triangle. These islands can exist in very small sizes too and are often captured and stored away by travelers to serve as a long lasting source of drinking water. Some believe that singing islands were the first creations dating back to a time period when there existed more than one great triangle. These triangles each had its own distinct color, not even two were alike. Then there was the war between the great triangles and only one, the blue one, survived. It was the blue triangle who later created the world of clouds. Singing islands travel through dark space like comets and occasionally move through the world of clouds where they suddenly lose their lifeless and colorless state of existence and become vibrant with revolving colors, while they slowly melt away.
Slow Drifters
Slow Drifters were Windmasters who explored the world of clouds in gigantic airships which go by the same name. No one knows what happened to them. Today only obscure artifacts can be found on remote islands which prove that they once existed.
Stone Hunters
A very aggressive breed of Windmasters who travel in big ships and collect Flying Stones. They consume these stones which give them supernatural powers but also make them turn to stone over time. Stone Hunters hate good looking people, especially when they are kind and have manners. Stone Hunter ships are very large steam locomotive like ships that are held in the air by Flying Stones that are stored inside huge drums inside the ship. Some leak out of the drums eventually and get stuck in the interior frameworks of the ship. That causes their blue glow to leak out through the front end of the ships. Dirt Balls are small furry creatures that feed on iron. Stone Hunter ships get invested with these little creatures that weakens the ships' infrastructure and can cause them to break apart during a storm or battle. The hook like spears sticking out from the front end of these ships are battering rams. That is how Stone Hunters attack and board other ships. By hooking on to them. Steam turbines in the back power tail drive units that generate force fields of some kind that pushes these ships forward. These ships carry an unforgettable stench along with them and attract swarms of bat like birds that are always following the ships wherever they go.
The Triangle Traders' guide to the World of Clouds
A secret notebook co-written by professor Jonathan Fipple and James Windward. They started using their down time in their Triangle Traders store to write everything down they experienced in their journey through the World of Clouds. This book is the only item not for sale in the store and its existence is a closely guarded secret.
Trimon
Trimons are primitive warning beacons or markers created and placed throughout the World of Clouds wherever items of value disappeared without a clear explanation. The natives usually attributed these disappearances to the great blue triangle which they saw as a god who moved things around in their world through mysterious and invisible gateways. They put these markers out to warn others not to go near a certain spot where one of these invisible gateways were believed to exist. They usually are made from three wooden sticks or branches tied at the ends and makes up a triangular shape. They vary greatly in size and craftsmanship.
Triangulators
Beings who live in dark space and who build Trilateral projectors to power and control their ships.
Windmasters
A Windmaster is any being who has managed to master the art of flight in the world of the triangle.
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Welfare Generosity and Well-being: Evidence from Canada
Zohora, Fatima Tuz (2016)
This paper explores the association between provincial welfare generosity and well-being of poor Canadians. The well-being indicators include poverty incidence, depth of poverty, labor supply, time spent with kids, health ...
What are schools looking for in new, inclusive teachers?
Sokal, Laura (Faculty of Education, McGill University, 2012)
Focus groups were conducted in four school divisions in central Canada in order to determine whether inclusive educators in schools could identify the knowledge base, skills set, and attitudes desirable in new inclusive ...
What I Learned from Kindergarteners: The Essential Elements of Instruction for Librarians
Reznowski, Gabriella (2019)
What Makes a Good Urban Neighbourhood, Final Report
The Summer Institute is the main component of WIRA’s educational mandate, and targets university students and community practitioners. It builds knowledge and capacity at the community level and adopts a practical, hands-on ...
When Energy Demand Exceeds Supply: Impacts on Transportation and Cities
The University of Winnipeg, through its Centre for Sustainable Transportation and its Institute of Urban Studies, hosted an all day symposium on Wednesday April 19, 2006 to review energy futures and their implications for ...
Where's Downtown? Varying Geographic Definitions of Winnipeg's Downtown and Inner City, 1947-2004
Werner, Adrian; McCullough, Scott (Institute of Urban Studies, 2016-07-27)
This series of maps was created to provide a basic overview of how downtown Winnipeg has been defined over time and by different organizations. These definitions of downtown were downloaded from the Manitoba Land Initiative ...
Who’s Doing What About Poverty Reduction
MacKinnon, Shauna (Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives - Manitoba (CCPA-MB), 2016-03-17)
Why W.A.T.S.
Partridge, Terry J. (Institute of Urban Studies, 1973)
The Windsor Municipal Archives : heritage development in hard times
Walsh, Mark (Institute of Urban Studies, 1985)
Windsor Park and Norwood Information and Resource Centre evaluation
McKee, Christine; Epstein, Joyce (The Institute of Urban Studies, 1976)
Winnipeg 2000 : exploring strategic development options : summary of a public lecture and conference held in Winnipeg, September 24-25, 1984
Lyon, Deborah M. (Institute of Urban Studies, 1984)
Lyon, Deborah M.; Newman, Lynda (The Institute of Urban Studies, 1984)
Winnipeg building code study
Milgram, Gene; Frenette, Sybil (Institute of Urban Studies, 1978)
Winnipeg Downtown Profile
McCullough, Scott; Distasio, Jino; Shirtliffe, Ryan; Muller, Brad; CentreVenture (Institute of Urban Studies, 2017-07)
The Winnipeg Downtown Profile carries out an analysis of demographic and housing market factors that may influence the need for incentives in the downtown Winnipeg housing market. This report informs CentreVenture’s ...
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WLP111 Courageous Conversations
Sam Mednick introduces herself. She's an audacious journalists and also a member of the Happy Melly team.
Sam talks about what it's like to work in Happy Melly One. It seems difficult to separate happiness at work from happiness in life in general. It's ok now to admit that what happens in life affects our work and...
WLP110 Security in Remote Teams
We talk about protecting our work when working outside the office.
INTRO and Catch-up
Duncan featured us! http://banoffeesolutions.co.uk/archive/podcasts-for-remote-working/
Programming and Data Science blog by Duncan Thomson
We recommend that you watch The Newsroom
Join us for Virtual Team Talk.
Sococo has a new...
WLP109 Where Digital meets Print
In today's episode, Pilar talks to Caroline Crampton, Assistant Editor of the New Statesman magazine.
Get in touch through www.virtualnotdistant.com
Caroline explains her role as Assistant Editor of the New Statesman, where she works mainly on the print version of the magazine.
What does a "hybrid publication" look...
Working from Home - a Fickle Friday episode
A short, on the go episode inspired by a recent conversation from a manager who had been told that people "could now work from home".
Find out what works, don't rely on your experience when you do it on ad-hoc basis.
You can't just say, "Ok, you can now work from home". You need to lay down a new infrastructure.
It's...
WLP108 The Four Pillars Of Remote Teamwork
In this episode, we talk about the four areas of teamwork you should address in your remote team.
Introduction: What Caught Our Eye?
RSI and general health when working with so much tech.
More or Less 3 Jan Does Sweden Really have a Six Hour Day?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p04n7vlg
Pilar mentions Companies Without...
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Home › Resources › Business › Limited companies › Companies Act 2006 › An historical record of the key changes
The Companies Act changes were introduced over almost three years. For the record, we include an historical account of when the various changes were enacted.
The Companies Act 2006 received Royal Assent on 8 November 2006 and is the longest Act ever passed by Parliament. The vast majority of the Act came into force by 1 October 2008 with some of the law effective January and April 2007. Other key dates for the introduction of the Act are 1 October 2007 ands 6 April 2008 all dates that coincide with the bi annual dates for the introduction of changes to legislation that affect business.
Changes effective:
From January 2007
From 6 April 2007
From 1 October 2007
Provisions commenced in January 2007
With effect from 1 January 2007, provisions in the Act which give effect to recent amendments to the First Company Law Directive are in force. These changes are in large part designed to ensure increased facilities for e-communications with the national registrar of companies.
With effect from 20 January 2007, the following provisions linked to implementation of the Transparency Obligations Directive commenced:
provisions on company communications to shareholders and others, which include provisions facilitating electronic communication;
provisions concerning a public company's right to investigate who has an interest in its shares;
and section 463, which sets out a statutory basis of directors' liability to the company in relation to the directors' report (including the business review), the directors' remuneration report and any summary financial statement derived from such reports.
All powers to make orders or regulations by statutory instrument will be commenced with effect from 20 January 2007.
From 1 January 2007, the Companies Act 1985 as amended requires the company's name to appear legibly in:
all its business letters,
all its notices and other official publications,
on all its websites,
all bills of exchange, promissory notes, endorsements, cheques, orders for money or goods purporting to be signed by or on behalf of the company, and
all bills of parcels, invoices, receipts, and letters of credit.
In addition, the company's business letters, order forms and websites have to include fuller particulars, i.e.
the company's place of registration and the number with which it is registered,
the address of its registered office,
in the case of an investment company, the fact that it is such a company, and
in the case of a limited company exempt from the obligation to use the word "limited" as part of its name, the fact that it is a limited company.
All these requirements apply whether the document is in hard copy or electronic or any other form.
Provisions commenced from 6 April 2007
With effect from 6 April 2007, the following provisions in the Companies Act 2006 commenced:
Section 1063 which relates to fees payable to the registrar of companies;
Section 1281 of the Companies Act, which amends Part 9 of the Enterprise Act 2002 to give the Secretary of State the power to make an order enabling public authorities to disclose information to be used in civil proceedings or otherwise for the purpose of establishing, enforcing or defending legal rights.
Provisions commenced from 1 October 2007
Key changes:
The Companies Act sets out directors' responsibilities to their companies.
Annual general meeting requirements change. Private companies will be able to conduct most business without holding a general meeting.
Technically, the following changes are introduced:
Part 9 - Exercise of members' rights;
Part 10 - A company's directors, other than provisions relating to directors' conflict of interest duties, directors' residential addresses and underage and natural directors;
Part 11 - Derivative claims and proceedings by members;
Part 13 - Resolutions and meetings, and, related to this, sections 485-488 of Part 16 (Audit);
Part 14 - Control of political donations and expenditure;
Part 15 Section 417 - Contents of directors' report: business review;
Part 29 - Fraudulent trading;
Part 30 - Protection of members against unfair prejudice;
Part 32 - Company investigations: amendments.
The period for filing accounts is reduced from ten months to nine months
The position of company secretary becomes an optional appointment
Shareholders may agree a limitation of auditors' liability.
Part 12 - Company secretaries;
Part 15 - Accounts and reports, other than section 417;
Part 16 - Audit, other than sections 485-488;
Part 19 - Debentures;
Part 20 - Private and public companies;
Part 21 - Certification and transfer of securities;
Part 23 - Distributions;
Part 26 - Arrangements and reconstructions;
Part 27 - Mergers and divisions of public companies;
Part 42 - Statutory auditors
121 and 128: register of members: removal of entries relating to former members.
811(4), 812 and 814: inspection of register of interests in a company's shares.
69 to 74: objection to company names.
82 to 85: trading disclosures.
155 to 159: provisions relating to corporate directors and under-age directors.
175 to 177: general duties of directors in respect of conflicts of interest.
182 to 187: declaration by a director of an interest in an existing transaction or arrangement.
641(1)(a) & (2)-(6), 642, 643, 652 and 654: new procedure for private companies to make capital reductions supported by a solvency statement instead of by a court order.
repeal of the restrictions under the Companies Act 1985 on financial assistance for acquisition of shares in private companies.
An easier approach to forming and administration of new companies
Concept of authorised share capital is abolished
Directors may file 'service' rather than home address
The right to challenge company names
Companies permitted to give financial assistance for purchase of its shares
Part 1 - General introductory provisions;
Part 2 - Company formation;
Part 3 - A company's constitution;
Part 4 - A company's capacity and related matters;
Part 5 - A company's name;
Part 6 - A company's registered office;
Part 7 - Re-registration as a means of altering a company's status;
Part 8 - A company's members;
Part 10 - A company's directors - provisions relating to directors' conflict of interest duties, directors' residential addresses and underage and natural directors;
Part 17 - A company's share capital;
Part 18 - Acquisition by limited company of its own shares;
Part 24 - A company's annual return;
Part 25 - Company charges;
Part 31 - Dissolution and restoration to the register;
Part 33 - UK companies not formed under the Companies Acts;
Part 34 - Overseas companies;
Part 35 - The registrar of companies;
Part 41 - Business names
Records of directors' meetings
Building profits
Serving solicitors
Services for Charities
Investment and financial
- Services for Charities
- Serving Solicitors
Pension exclusion ‘sees under-22s miss out on £18,000’
Tax group calls for letting relief transition
HMRC approves first MTD for income tax software
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Dare Obasanjo's weblog
"You can buy cars but you can't buy respect in the hood" - Curtis Jackson
Navigation for Friday, October 21, 2005 - Dare Obasanjo's weblog
Web 2.0 Bozo Bit Reflipped
As I mentioned in my previous post on Understanding Web 2.0 the "web 2.0" meme isn't about technology or people, it's about money and hype primarily geared at VCs and big companies looking for small companies to buy so they look hip. The recently launched Flock web browser is one of example of a "Web 2.0" product which looks like it's creators just played a game of buzzword bingo when deciding what to do with their millions in VC funding. It is built on Firefox (bing), integrates with del.icio.us (bing) and Flickr (bing), plus it comes with blog posting (bing!) and RSS reading features (bingo!).
I have to agree with Joel Spolsky's claim that the Architecture Astronauts Are Back when he wrote
I'm starting to see a new round of pure architecture astronautics : meaningless stringing-together of new economy buzzwords in an attempt to sound erudite.
When I wrote my original complaint about architecture astronauts more than four years ago, it was P2P this and messaging that.
"That's one sure tip-off to the fact that you're being assaulted by an Architecture Astronaut: the incredible amount of bombast; the heroic, utopian grandiloquence; the boastfulness; the complete lack of reality. And people buy it! The business press goes wild!"
Now it's tagging and folksonomies and syndication, and we're all supposed to fall in line with the theory that cool new stuff like Google Maps, Wikipedia, and Del.icio.us are somehow bigger than the sum of their parts. The Long Tail! Attention Economy! Creative Commons! Peer production! Web 2.0!
The term Web 2.0 particularly bugs me. It's not a real concept. It has no meaning. It's a big, vague, nebulous cloud of pure architectural nothingness. When people use the term Web 2.0, I always feel a little bit stupider for the rest of the day.
Not only that, the very 2.0 in Web 2.0 seems carefully crafted as a way to denegrate the clueless "Web 1.0" idiots, poor children, in the same way the first round of teenagers starting dotcoms in 1999 dissed their elders with the decade's mantra, "They just don't get it!"
I'll do my part. I hereby pledge never again to use the term "Web 2.0" on this blog, or to link to any article that mentions it. You're welcome.
I feel the same way. I am interested in discussions on the Web as a platform and even folksonomies (not tagging) but the marketplace of ideas has been polluted by all this "Web 2.0" garbage. Once again, I've flipped the bozo bit on Web 2.0. Like Joel, you won't see any use of the term on my blog or in items I link to from now on.
Categories: Web Development
Knowing the Problem is Half the Battle
It seems some folks at TheServerSide.com have started bashing AJAX because they see it as a threat to Java. This has led to fairly ridiculous posts such as this one entitled But most of all samy is my hero which states
The story is, a myspace user named samy wanted to be popular. He wanted to make his page do things that others couldn’t and in the process devised a cross system scripting (XSS) attack that managed to add his profile to more then a million other users of the system. To do this he used a combination of AJAX and JavaScript.
It is not the intention to make samy even more famous but he has exposed a serious weakness in the AJAX security model. All samy did was figure out how to upload some JavaScript into his profile and this was despite myspace’s best efforts to limit this type of activity.
With respect to security, the web is already a hostile environment. Will a move to use AJAX and JavaScript further enlarge the security holes that already exist? Could myspace have done more to prevent this type of attack and still afford their users the flexibility to manage their pages as they do now?
Even though I haven't looked at the code of the exploit, I think it is fair to say that this issue has little to do with "the AJAX security model" as implied by the author of the post. Any system that accept user input has to worry about how they scrub the data due to malicious users. Not properly scrubbing input data leads to all sorts of security problems including buffer overflows and cross site scripting attacks.
I'd suggest that some of the folks on TheServerSide need to read up on some of the FAQs on cross site scripting attacks before blaming AJAX for problems that have nothing to do with it.
Comments [15]
A couple of recent stories in the news remind me that there still a ways to go for race relations in America.
From the story A Polling Free-Fall Among Blacks in the Washington Post
In what may turn out to be one of the biggest free-falls in the history of presidential polling, President Bush's job-approval rating among African Americans has dropped to 2 percent, according to a new NBC/Wall Street Journal poll.
The drop among blacks drove Bush's overall job approval ratings to an all-time low of 39 percent in this poll. By comparison, 45 percent of whites and 36 percent of Hispanics approve of the job Bush is doing.
Thanks to Jonathan Marsh for that link. This reminds me of a skit on the Dave Chappelle show where a game show host asks a black guy, "Why didn't black people trust Ronald Reagan?" and he responded "I didn't know we were supposed to trust him in the first place". Of course, it was the right answer.
From the story NBA's dress code blasted in the Miami Herald
The NBA has announced that a dress code will go into effect at the start of the season. Players will be required to wear business-casual attire when involved in team or league business. They can't wear visible chains, pendants or medallions over their clothes.
Jackson, who is black, said the NBA's new rule about jewelry targets young black males because chains are associated with hip-hop culture, and he said the league is afraid of becoming ''too hip-hop.'' In protest, he wore four chains to the Pacers' exhibition game against San Antonio on Tuesday.
Philadelphia's Allen Iverson also was critical of the new rule, which the NBA enacted Monday.
''I feel like if they want us to dress a certain way, they should pay for our clothes,'' he said. "It's just tough, man, knowing that all of a sudden you have to have a dress code out of nowhere.''
Boston Celtics star Paul Pierce agreed that the new rule targeted young, black players.
''When I saw the part about chains, hip hop and throwback jerseys, I think that's part of our culture,'' Pierce said. "The NBA is young black males.''
I guess it's OK for the NBA rosters to be dominated by blacks as long as they don't dress or act "too black".
Categories: Mindless Link Propagation
RSS Bandit [Nightcrawler Edition] Update: Amazon OpenSearch, the Newsgator API and a New Logo
It's been over a month since we shipped the alpha version of the Nightcrawler release of RSS Bandit. Since then we've fixed a number of annoying bugs and polished a number of our features. An example of the kind of polish we've added since the alpha is shown in the screenshot below.
There are three main classes of subscriptions we now support in RSS Bandit; feeds (Atom or RSS), newsgroups (NNTP) and search results. We made search results a first class subscription type because I suspect that subscribing to search results especially on various blog search engines is only going to increase in popularity. The process for adding a new search engine is still too "techie-focused" for my liking. I'd love it if our users would just be able to add the URL of their search engine of choice and then we check if it supports Amazon OpenSearch, if so then we add it as one of the choices for the Search Results subscription wizard. The current process for adding a search engine whose results can be subscribed to involves users adding a URL showing the query string format of the engine (e.g. http://search.msn.com/results.aspx?q={0}&format=rss where {0} is a place holder that shows where the query string should be inserted).
I should investigate how many search engines provide an OpenSearch description documents file. If enough of them do, it may be worth the while for our users if we went ahead and supported it. That way they can just add 'http://search.msn.com' to their favorite search engine list and we autodiscover the rest.
The Newsgator API has been a source of mild frustration for me since I added support for it. The existing synchronization features in RSS Bandit involve uploading/downloading a single file containing the state of the application. The Newsgator API assumes that any application using it for synchronization is also using it as a source for RSS feeds. From my perspective this seems to be a very big assumption to make but is understandable when one considers that the original purpose of the API was for their in-house applications. This assumption manifests itself by requiring that to synchronize the state of a feed I'm subscribed to, I need to fetch its feed from Newsgator online. This means that if I'm subscribed to 100 feeds in RSS Bandit, then I might need to download up to 100 feeds from Newsgator Online as part of the synchronization process each time I sync. This makes the synchronization process a lot slower than I expected. I'm now wondering whether we should rethink the user flow for our synchronization step since currently we lock the UI while syncing to prevent users making changes while we are syncing. With synchronization to Newsgator this could take several minutes as opposed to a minute or less with our other synchronization methods. I did make some performance improvements since we shipped the alpha but it still does take a while longer than I like. :(
The winner of the RSS Bandit New Logo design contest has been announced. Congrats to Eric Winchester.
Old Logo:
New Logo:
I'd like to thank all the folks who took the time to submit entries and those who voted for their favorite logos. We greatly appreciate your support.
It is quite likely that Torsten and I will ship a 'refresh' of the alpha installer this weekend. The reason it isn't a beta is that we are not yet feature complete. The code for downloading enclosure/podcasts still isn't all there and I haven't started on my idea for 'watching' posts for new comments. With any luck we should have all this done in the next few weeks.
After the beta, we'll focus primarily on performance issues. We've already fixed a number of issues that were causing lots of CPU usage but our memory consumption still higher than I prefer. I expect that the final version of Nightcrawler will ship during the holiday season.
Categories: RSS Bandit
The Myth of the Office XML Binary Key
A recent comment on the Groklaw blog entitled Which Binary Key? claims that one needs a "binary key" to consume XML produced by Microsoft Office 2003. Specifically the post claims
No_Axe speaks as if MS Office 12 had already been released and everyone was using it. He assumes everyone knows the binary key is gone. Yet Microsoft is saying that MS Office 12 is more or less a year away from release. So who really knows when and if the binary key has been dropped? All i know is that MSXML 12 is not available today. And that MSXML 2003 has a binary key in the header of every file.
So let me close with this last comment on the fabled “binary key”. In March of 2005, when phase II of the ODF TC work was complete, and the specification had been prepared for both OASIS and ISO ratification, the ODF TC took up the issue of “compliance and conformance” testing. Specifically, we decided to start work on a compliance testing suite that would be useful for developers and application providers to perfect their implementations of ODF. Guess who's XML file format was the first test target? Right. And guess what the problem is with MSXML? Right. It's the binary key. We can't do even a simple transformation between MSXML and ODF!
As someone who's used the XML features of Excel and Word, I know for a fact that you don't need a "binary key" to process the files using traditional XML tools. Brian Jones, who works on a number of the XML features in Office, has a post entitled The myth of the Binary Key where he mentions various parts of the Office XML formats that may confuse one into thinking they are some sort of "binary key" such as namespace URIs, processing instructions and Base64 encoded binary data. All of these are standard aspects of XML which one may typically doesn't see in simple uses of the technology such as in RSS feeds.
Being that I used to work on the XML team there is one thing I want to add the Brian's list which often confuses people trying to process XML; the unicode byte order mark (BOM). This is often at the beginning of documents saved in UTF-16 or UTF-8 encoding on Windows. However as the Wikipedia entry on BOM's states
In UTF-16, a BOM is expressed as the two-byte sequence FE FF at the beginning of the encoded string, to indicate that the encoded characters that follow it use big-endian byte order; or it is expressed as the byte sequence FF FE to indicate little-endian order.
Whilst UTF-8 does not have byte order issues, a BOM encoded in UTF-8 may be used to mark text as UTF-8. Quite a lot of Windows software (including Windows Notepad) adds one to UTF-8 files. However in Unix-like systems (which make heavy use of text files for configuration) this practice is not recommended, as it will interfere with correct processing of important codes such as the hash-bang at the start of an interpreted script. It may also interfere with source for programming languages that don't recognise it. For example, gcc reports stray characters at the beginning of a source file, and in PHP, if output buffering is disabled, it has the subtle effect of causing the page to start being sent to the browser, preventing custom headers from being specified by the PHP script. The UTF-8 representation of the BOM is the byte sequence EF BB BF, which appears as the ISO-8859-1 characters "" in most text editors and web browsers not prepared to handle UTF-8.
I wouldn't be surprised if the alleged "binary key" was just a byte order mark which caused problems when trying to process the XML file using non-Unicode savvy tools. I suspect some of the ODF folks who had problems with the XML file would get some use out of Sam Ruby's Just Use XML talk at this year's XML 2005 conference.
Categories: XML
MSN Virtual Earth Team Seeks Feature Requests for Next Version
I've been using MSN Virtual Earth for a while now and like it quite a lot. However there is definitely room for improvement and I'm glad to see that the team is soliciting feedback from users on what features they consider most important for the next release. In the post Suggestions for Virtual Earth Release 2? they write
The VE team is rolling on the next release and is interested in your feature requests. Lets make it interesting - You have 10 bucks to spend on features. How would you spend 'em? Post your comments here. My shopping list might look like this -
4 Street maps for Italy
3 Driving directions integrated in the application and not linked off to maps.msn.com
3 improved WiFi coverage for the Locate me feature in rural areas.
You get the idea. Go ahead, buy your features. Just remember to stay within your budget
If you use VE and have some features you'd like to see in the next release, go ahead and post a comment with your requests. Here's how I'd spend my $10 on features; $2 to expand the Virtual Earth API to include conversions from physical addresses to latitudes & longitudes (aka geocoding), $3 to integrate driving directions into VE as opposed to being linked to http://maps.msn.com as is done today, $4 to add the ability to store my favorite locations in VE, and $1 to add maps of Canada to the service.
So how would you spend your dollars on VE features?
Categories: MSN
My Blog and Safari on the Mac
Every week or so I get a complaint from someone using Safari on Mac OS X complaining about the fact that my blog looked wacky in their browser. I finally got around to fixing the templates used by my blog and now it should look fine in Safari.
The following sites were helpful in showing me what my site looked like in Safari; http://www.danvine.com/icapture/ and http://www.fundisom.com/g5/. Thanks to Martin Dittus for pointing me out to these sites without which I wouldn't have been able to confirm my changes.
Categories: Ramblings
MSN Spaces and the Technorati Top 100
Dave Sifry, the CEO of Technorati, has a regular series of posts called The State of the Blogosphere where provides various statistics about the number of blogs Technorati is tracking. In State of the Blogosphere, October 2005 Part 1: On Blogosphere Growth he writes
About 70,000 new weblogs are tracked every day, which is about a new weblog created each second, somewhere in the world. It also appears that blogging is taking off around the world, and not just in English. Some of the significant increases we've seen over the past 3 months have been due to a proliferation of chinese-speaking weblogs, both on MSN Spaces as well as on Chinese sites like blogcn.com .
The growth of the Chinese blogosphere on MSN Spaces is a trend those of us working on Spaces have seen first hand. I wouldn't be surprised if we are one of the biggest blog hosting services for Chinese bloggers. An interesting side effect of this growth is that an increasing number of blogs in the Technorati Top 100 are blogs that are popular with Chinese users of MSN Spaces.
Below is a list of the MSN Spaces on today's version of the top 100 list
27. spaces.msn.com/members/princesscecicastle
11,999 links from 3,455 sites. View All »
30. Hack MSN Spaces
Spaces Customization at its Best™
By Devdutt Parikh
41. spaces.msn.com/members/slim
By slim
8,569 links from 2,771 sites. View All »
47. Herramientas para Blogs
Herramientas para spaces. Un blog sobre personalización de los spaces
By mmadrigal madrigal
49. Scott's "SiteExperts" Place
Web developers, Web developers, Web developers! MSN Client architect who shares his thoughts on DHTML, AJAX, Client Frameworks, etc., and how we are engineering MSN properties.
By Scott Isaacs
66. spaces.msn.com/members/flowersummer
71. spaces.msn.com/members/locker2man
By locker2man
74. spaces.msn.com/members/hcy521
It is interesting to note that every space on the Technorati Top 100 list is either Chinese or is about customizing/hacking the MSN Spaces user interface which is popular among our Chinese users. I'd never have guessed that these would be the most popular spaces when we launched the service last year.
Reposting a Comment on Microsoft and Accountability
A comment to my post Some Thoughts on the Mini-Microsoft blog struck me as so good that it was worth sharing. So I'm reposting it here so others get to see it
The Lessons of Longhorn
I’ve worked at MS for many, many years in the product groups. I love the company, and have prospered with it. I’m not some disgruntled flunky. I manage a big group, and am committed to doing everything I can to make my group a great place to be and build really compelling products that lots of customers will want to buy. We were and still are a great company in many ways. But we could be even greater.
The Longhorn saga highlights some stark lessons about why employees are pissed off and frustrated with the very top handful of execs. We are all held to very high standards. We write annual commitments, and work very hard to achieve them. If we don’t achieve them, we know we will not be rewarded. We want to do great work, make great products, and be rewarded for it, personally and financially. We don’t shirk from this challenge, we are up to it! But, we expect these rules to apply to everyone, evenly and openly. All the way to the top.
Longhorn will be a good product when it ships, but it will ship two years later than it should have. That extra two years represents what, maybe 8,000 man years of work? At a fully burdened cost of say $150k/head/year that’s $1.2Billion in direct costs of our resources flushed down the toilet. But far worse than those direct costs are the lost opportunity costs of not having the product in market two years earlier and getting started on Vnext.
Who is to blame for this debacle? First BillG himself, for pushing the Windows group to take on huge, extremely difficult technical projects that destabilize all the core parts of the OS, and hold shipping hostage. Even worse, in some cases these efforts seem to be little more than ‘pet’ ideas of Bill’s, with little clear customer value, at least to my understanding. Second, the very top handful of execs in the Windows group are to blame, for placating Bill and not applying the most basic good judgment on engineering and project management. From my perspective, it was clear to nearly every engineer in every product group at MS that Longhorn was badly screwed up, for far too long. But no one at the top would admit it or come to grips with it for far too long. For top product execs as MS, there is a long history of a culture that Bill is right, do what he says, always stay in his good graces no matter what. If you do that, you will likely make a huge fortune. If you don’t, your career at MS is over. I understand the pressure on execs to behave that way and always say ‘Yes’ to Bill. But that’s not the leadership we need. We are not helping anyone with this game, neither customers nor ourselves.
All of us know that if we screwed up like this, we would likely be forced out of our groups, with our reputations as product people shot, and for good reason. But when Bill and Jim et al screw up, nothing happens.
I really want Bill to be man enough to stand up and say, “I made a big mistake. This is what we’ve learned, and this is how we are going to do even better.” Bill is a tremendous thinker, but he is human too, and sometimes can make mistakes. We can’t have a culture that holds he is semi-divine. We need leaders who really lead, pragmatically and effectively, who hold themselves openly to the same standards that we are all held to. That is how we can become an even better company and reach more of our still great potential.
longtimer
Categories: Life in the B0rg Cube
Where is the Killer App for Events?
In his post Betty Dylan, Railroad Tavern, Sunday 8PM Jon Udell writes
I wondered why online services like upcoming.org hadn't yet gone viral, and I made a few suggestions, which were well received. But to be honest, the Keene, NH metro in Upcoming is no more lively now -- a day after Yahoo acquired Upcoming -- than it was six months ago.
Case in point: the Betty Dylan band is coming to Keene on Sunday and Monday. I know this because a friend organized the event. But neither of the venues' websites -- Railroad Tavern and Keene State College -- has the information. Nor does the Keene Sentinel. What's more, none of these three websites makes calendar information available as RSS feeds.
Yahoo's acquisition of Upcoming will certainly help move things along. As will the growing visibility of other such services, notably EVDBEventful. But since I expect no single one of these to dominate, or to supplant the existing calendars maintained by newspapers, colleges, and other venues, we have to think in terms of syndication and federation.
RSS is a big part of the story. Calendar publishers need to learn that information made available in RSS format will flow to all the event sites as well as to individual subscribers.
I think, like me, Jon Udell is grabbing a hold on things from the wrong end of the stick. When I first started working on the platform behind MSN Spaces, one of my pet scenarios was making it easier to create blog posts about events then syndicating them easily. One of the things I slowly realized is that unlike blogging which has killer apps for consuming syndicated content (RSS readers) there really isn't anything similiar for calendar events nor is there likely to be anything compelling in that space in the near future. The average home user doesn't utilize calendaring software nor is there incentive to start using such software. Even if every eventing website creates RSS feeds of events, the fact is that my girlfriend, my mom and even me don't maintain calendars which would benefit from being able to consume this data.
The corporate user is easier since calendaring software is part of communications clients like Outlook and Lotus Notes. However those aren't really the targets of sites like Upcoming or Eventful, however I suspect those are their best bets for potential users in the near term.
Categories: Syndication Technology
RSS/Subscribe
Culture Eats Strategy for Breakfast
Some Thoughts on Paul Graham’s Essay on Income Inequality
How Facebook Knows Who You’re Talking to on Tinder and OKCupid
Fabric: Why Developers Can Trust Twitter Won’t Screw Them This Time
5 Account Security Features Every Online Service Should Implement But Doesn't
Facebook’s Newsfeed Experiment: Most people have grabbed the wrong end of the stick
Change is bad unless it’s great: Lessons from user revolts against Foursquare’s Swarm and the new Skype for iPhone
Facebook’s App Links: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
The mobile web vs apps is another front on the battle between open and closed systems
How Facebook Knows What You Looked at on Amazon
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Sookiechacha
a reply to: burdman30ott6
Whelp, they either call one or some of the witnesses in question, or they address obstruction of Congress charges. Calling one or some of the Democrat's witnesses, if Trump acquiesced, would immediately invalidate the Dem's "Obstruction of Congress" charge.
neutronflux
a reply to: Sookiechacha
What crime is he obstructing from? Obstruction?
StallionDuck
a reply to: toolgal462
You can't be arrested because you're orange but you can be arrested without evidence. There only needs to be reasonable suspicion. Court determines if there is evidence.
links234
originally posted by: CynConcepts
An officer cannot legally enter and search your home without a judicial warrant if you say NO! That is what Trump said. He told Congress to get a judicial warrant.
What do you think all of the hearings in the last few weeks have been? Gathering evidence to establish whether a crime was committed or not. Turns out, not only was there a crime committed (abuse of power) but the administration committed another crime by not fully cooperating (obstruction of congress) with the investigation.
Yes, that is also where the 'due process' argument falls apart. The hearings weren't trials and the administration did have plenty of opportunities to explain exactly what they were trying to accomplish. Instead they demanded "due process" when none was required and when they did get their chance to speak they stayed silent.
He broke the law numerous and multiple times and Congress is really only holding him accountable for the two offenses.
a reply to: neutronflux
Trump isn't being impeached for obstruction of justice, which would at least attempt, to conceal a crime. He's being impeached for obstruction of Congress, by refusing to acknowledge Congress' constitutional authority.
edit on 18-12-2019 by Sookiechacha because: (no reason given)
toolgal462
a reply to: StallionDuck
Okay, but in order to have reasonable suspicion, wouldn't you have to have some evidence of being part of a criminal act?
Like, you are pulled over and drugs are found in your car...That would be evidence of criminal behavior, but you may be innocent because you didn't know drugs were inn your car?
Circumstantial evidence at the very least is needed. Right?
originally posted by: Sookiechacha
Metaphors don't count.
I think Pelosi's description of Trump's rambling rant as "sick" is a metaphor for that which Trump is anxiously puking up.
That would mean that she's simply a dimwit and shouldn't be in any form of leadership role. That's like calling air heavy. It makes zero sense. Though, it wouldn't surprise me because she is retarded.... But I believe she's a liar and she's doing this so people like yourself run with it and repeat it.
Just like what's happening right now.... Just because you say the same thing over and over, it doesn't make it true.
Try harder. You're seriously reaching.
a reply to: links234
What evidence has been presented of these alleged crimes? Or non crimes, in this case. But please indulge me.
What evidence of crimes has been presented?
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Running Docker in Production
Learn about running Docker in a production environment: strategies for scaling up, selecting a cloud-host vendor, orchestrating multiple clusters of containers, and more.
In this page: everything you need to know about running Docker in production.
Running Docker in production doesn't necessarily mean less work than running VMs in production. Your containers won’t magically run on their own. In fact, Docker in production may mean more work than managing VMs. However, it’s the only way forward if you want to modernize your applications and deliver a user experience that your customers expect. Docker does this by adding speed to every step of the development pipeline. It makes every step - development, testing, and deployment - repeatable, automated and highly programmatic.
A mistake many make when moving from running containers locally to a production environment is to expect to have it all set up from the get-go. They may imagine that they’d be able to scale to a thousand container instances right at the start without any hassles. Or they may believe that they need to have a completely microservices-based application when they move to containers in production. However, these are unreasonable expectations, and the right approach is to start from where you are, start small, and build out your ideal system over time.
While it’s easy to create a thousand container instances quickly as soon as you start, ensuring they’re all secure, well networked, and monitored is a whole other set of challenges. This is where many fail at running Docker in production.
You don’t need to have a microservices application right at the start. Legacy applications work just fine in containers. The better way is to look for low hanging fruit in your application - services that you can easily branch out from your monolith and deploy in containers separately. In some cases, a monolith can run in a container just fine. In other cases, organizations make their start in containers by deploying a new, “greenfield” application. Eventually, you’d want to move to a microservices model, but expecting to get there from the start is a recipe for failure.
Decide Where To Run It
When running containers in production, an important decision is about where you’ll host your containers. In today’s cloud-powered world nobody wants to build their own datacenter in-house and manage their own servers. In fact, offloading the management of infrastructure to a vendor is seen as a major benefit. This being the case, you need to make a decision about which vendor you find most aligned with your values and goals for a cloud environment for Docker.
The options are endless. The first ones that come to mind are the CaaS services from the cloud vendors. AWS ECS, Azure AKS, and Google Cloud GKE are capable cloud offerings from the big three IaaS platforms. The good thing is if your other infrastructure is with them, you are already familiar with the user interface, and you already use a bunch of supporting tools for monitoring, security, logging, and more. The cloud vendors are in a race to provide the simplest container experience using Kubernetes. Google Cloud was the first to go all out with Kubernetes, followed by Azure rebranding its container service to AKS, and most recently AWS jumped on the bandwagon with EKS now supporting Kubernetes. With the cloud vendors wanting to handle much of the plumbing running Docker in production in one of their platforms is becoming a very attractive proposition.
You’ll need to watch out for vendor lock-in. Getting locked into one system can be a big bet at a time when container technology is so nascent and no vendor is head and shoulders above the rest. If you commit to one now and find it hard to switch to another platform down the line, that is restrictive. However, tools like Kubernetes and the HashiCorp Suite are making hybrid cloud environments a reality.
Orchestration is a Necessity
Kubernetes is the leading container orchestrator today and is all set to grow in adoption, bringing more consistency to the Docker ecosystem. Kubernetes removes the nitty-gritty of managing individual container instances and underlying infrastructure. It abstracts away the low-level details and lets you manage services instead.
With powerful features like Federation, Kubernetes is built to let you manage multiple clusters of containers. These clusters can be located in a single cloud platform, or across multiple platforms. What Kubernetes’ Federation feature brings is a uniform way to sync resources across the clusters and automatically configures load balancing and service discovery across these clusters.
Scheduling is simply the process of placing pods on nodes within your Kubernetes cluster. The advanced scheduling features of Kubernetes gives you various options on how you’d like to place pods on nodes. You could have them spread out evenly on nodes based on available resources, or have certain pods located on nodes with a specific type of resources, or something in-between.
With these and many more unique features, Kubernetes is becoming indispensable to running Docker in production.
Make Your Docker Images Private
The way you create, host, and share your Docker images has a bearing on security. Docker images are hosted in a registry. This could be Docker Hub, Quay, Artifactory, or a host of other options. The important thing is to have a private registry. This way you protect yourself from infected or vulnerable container images that are spread around loosely in public from affecting your system.
Despite using a private container registry, you still need to scan every container image downloaded. Always prefer official images to unofficial ones. Scan images for commonly known vulnerabilities, as even official images may contain vulnerabilities. All private container registries include this feature by default, but to go a step further, tools like Aqua Security are able to scan images in a broader context, and with greater accuracy.
Monitor and Log Everything
You can only manage what you monitor. In production, visibility is key to running a successful Docker operation. When running distributed Docker systems that span hundreds or thousands of container instances, tracking the performance of all these instances can be a daunting task. The reporting data needs to real-time, easy to correlate, and have enough detail for you to drill down into the root cause of issues.
For a Docker stack, especially one powered by Kubernetes, Prometheus has emerged as the leading monitoring tool. Its uniqueness is that it monitors only time-series metrics, and lets you easily correlate one metric with another at the same point in time. It works well with Kubernetes able to automatically identify components like pods, containers, nodes, and services. Prometheus is easily integrated with Kibana for advanced visualization and quicker analysis of monitoring data.
Running Docker in production is full of challenges at every step. But by taking the right approach you can save yourself a lot of mistakes, and ease your transition to the other side - the place where Docker has transformed the way you build and ship applications.
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Read Paper Online
Phoenix, AZ (85018)
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Apparel company Camelback Culture was born out of a love for the mountain, the challenges it presents and the community it fosters among those who climb it regularly.
Photos courtesy of Jes Shapiro
Local company finds inspiration atop popular Phoenix landmark
By Madison Van Nortwick
Camelback Culture, a local apparel company, is a labor of love for Jes Shapiro.
Before starting Camelback Culture, Shapiro was an interior designer with her own consulting business in Texas. When Shapiro and her husband Ben moved to Arcadia in January 2011, she was shocked to see the immensity of Camelback Mountain looming over her home.
It was in the background of the Shapiro’s daily lives, while Shapiro homeschooled her twin boys. She became more acquainted with the mountain after Ben started hiking it regularly (something like 325 times in one year kind of “regularly”). Camelback Culture was born out of love for the mountain.
Shapiro started the company as a way to support Ben and his hiking endeavors. She created a t-shirt for her husband, and when he wore it while hiking Camelback, he noticed that it seemed to spark something in others on the mountain. Ben was constantly asked where he got his shirt. So, Shapiro decided to learn Adobe Illustrator and has been creating “mountain-inspired” apparel ever since. Along with the shirts, Shapiro has created a variety of sweatshirts, hoodies, tank-tops, stickers, fanny packs and photo prints.
When Ben got to know the regulars on Camelback, the pair realized they had something much bigger than t-shirts. Shapiro then saw the potential in making lasting connections with others who enjoyed hiking just as much as she did.
“We started making people stop and talk to each other,” Shapiro said. “We just wanted to have everybody really come together and get to know one another.”
“It’s a binding force in the community and not everywhere in the world has something like that,” Shapiro said. “I think that it is just this huge jewel that we have here.”
Shapiro said that folks don’t have to be an expert hiker – or a hiker at all – to join the Camelback Culture community. “You just have to love the mountain, go out there and connect with people,” she said. “Hiking can strip away all the vanity and stress in daily life. It really gives you that moment when everybody is just a person and they all manage to accomplish the same thing.”
Shapiro hopes that in the future more people will find community within Camelback Culture. She believes success for the hikers would be for people to “take the lessons of the mountain and bring them down and have everyone act like that in their daily life.”
For more: camelbackculture.com.
AHS Marching Band continues their winning streak
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44|Camelback development is a go with height reductions
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OLD MASTER OF THE VISUAL ARTS: ANTONIO AUSTRIA
(Second of Two Parts)
by: Christiane de la Paz
Austria Becomes the Professor
Austria started his teaching career in the University of Sto. Tomas in 1969. Students who knew Austria when he was still a professor describe their experience with Austria, “Takot kami ma-late sa klase ni Sir Austria. Very strict si Sir. Kaya pasok kami talaga ng maaga sa 7 AM class nya. (We’re scared to be late in Austria’s class. He was very strict so we make it a point to be early in his 7 AM class.) Sometimes, we’d even test his punctuality by looking out the window to see if he’ll beat the clock and be in our 7AM class. Then 3 minutes before the clock ticks at 7, makikita na namin sya (we would see him) clad in all the way blue outfit --blue polo shirt, blue pants, even blue socks arriving with his very famous neon orange Beetle car. Then we’d all go to our seats and get ready for his class,” Austria’s students recall.
Austria with his self-potrait on the background and with his famous Volkswagen car
which he drives to UST for more than twenty years - - still running good.
Photo by: Christiane de la Paz
Austria’s strictness in attendance is proverbial. He recognizes that many of the old lessons are too valuable to ignore. He explains, “How could a student accumulate knowledge and skills if he does not attend his class? Attendance was my minimum requirement. You don’t have to be a good painter but if you are serious in attending your class, I will value that in a student even more. You cannot expect a student to be good right away but because the student attends his classes; in the end you will see his work has improved as compared to the student who does not regularly attend his classes.”
Professor Austria on a studio demonstrating to his students a good composition.
Photo Courtesy of the Artist
There is no question that the concern and affection Austria felt he extended his students were genuine as all he ever wanted was for them was to use their time and talents wisely. Many of his students were honored to have had him as their teacher. For the rest of their lives, they had the privilege of being educated by someone who cares the way Austria did, someone they can learn from; someone worthy of emulating. After devoting 27 years to teaching, Austria bade farewell his career in the academe and began his new life of a full time artist.
The Life of the Artist
Austria continued painting after his retirement from teaching. His unrelenting quest for new forms which carried him to the extremes of placing special emphasis on brilliantly colored childlike images have provided us with an unparalleled collection of simple even naive impressionistic art.
In 1979, Austria had his first one man show exhibit in Gallerie Dominique, where he presented about nineteen works in oil and twelve composition drawings. Between1962and 1982 he exhibited a couple of works in Australia, New York, and Japan and has also participated in several group exhibits held in various galleries in Manila.
“Tiangge”
Pinaglabanan Galleries Collection
Since then, Austria’s career has been studded with honors and awards. In 1970, he was among the first recipient of the Thirteen Artists Award conferred by the Cultural Center of the Philippines. This award is named after the Thirteen Moderns of Philippine Art to progressive young artists. Six years later, he bagged the first prize in the Philippine National Bank’s 60th Anniversary Art Exhibit and Competition. In 2002, he was awarded the Patnubay ng Sining at Kalinangan sa Larangan ng Pagpipinta by the City of Manila on the 431st Araw ng Maynila celebration. A year later, he was chosen as Outstanding Thomasian Alumnus in the field of visual art by his alma mater and the UST Alumni Association Incorporated.
“House Blessing”
Through years of experience, Antonio Austria’s paintings have within them a certain power that is expressed through simplicity and local charm. He took his greatest inspiration from simple subjects and everyday scenes and his work took on a power and profound sense of charm. Jeepneys, sari-sari stores, billiard parlors – these are his favorite subjects and of all the things that surround him, they seem to preoccupy him completely. His later works ranged in subject matter from a group of blind musicians and couple in a lovemaking position to all kinds of vendor selling fruits and vegetables-- all of which he painted with increasing brushstrokes and bolder use of color and light.
“I derive inspiration from our colorful cultural past to try to create our very own Philippine contemporary art. I portray urban subjects like the jeepney, sari-sari store, carinderias, street vendors, family life, religious practices, people at work or relaxing in parks, beer houses and billiard parlors by treating them in my personal and distinctive style. I am contributing to an art that can be discerned as Filipino and recognizable as something from the Philippines,” he says.
“Mag-Anak”
National Museum Collection
Nowadays, Austria casts his art works with renewed energy in a series of canvases. “But what I have noticed through the years that I have been painting, nabawasan na rin ang intuition and spontaneity ko (My intuition and spontaneity have lessen in time) because it takes me a long time to compose my subject. Naubos na ang oras ko sa pagcocompose ng mga elements. I am the type of artist, like other artists for that matter, who doesn’t get satisfied with three or more studies, madami yan, it will even take me months before I start painting in canvas. It’s just really the way I am. There is no pressure for me to finish a painting because it is important that I get satisfied with my work before others can appreciate them. These days, I’m happy when I do landscapes kasi mas relax ako dyan. Masaya ako sa mga makukulay na tanawin. Hindi sya matrabaho sa isip ko at hindi gaano madetalye.”
For many years now, Austria, a widower, maintains a passionately private life. This he explains smiling, “Hindi talaga ako mahilig lumabas. Sa bahay na lang or kakain sa labas with my children. My favorite thing to do now is to do nothing. I just like to relax at home after painting in the morning then in the afternoon, I listen to my collection of mp3 music or watch DVDs after my nap. May mga moments din na naglalakad na lang ako pag gusto ko pumunta sa Unimart or nearby malls. I do that as my form of exercise.”
Antonio Austria remains a grounded man. He puts his family first and saves any ego he has for works he still has to paint. He is still passionate about his work yet quiet and humble about his accomplishments. He leans back in his chair and says, “You know, I am already old so my wish is to see my children settle down so I can still see and enjoy my grandchildren. In days that I don’t feel like painting, I tinker on things in the house. I still love to eat and take life the easy way.
Antonio Austria
Paulino Que Collection
His face becomes serious as he says, “Mabait sa akin ang Diyos most of my life in that I still have my children to keep me going. I am still in good health which is very important. I still have this house which requires constant attention and I have my paintings to work on which I love so much. I still have some simple wishes to realize for myself, my children, and my career like a book on my art and a retrospective of my works but there is nothing more than that that I could ask for. I am just an ordinary person who was blessed.”
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[htmfiles/menu_otherseries_left.htm]
Latest ALMS/Grand-Am News and Commentary
Maserati to compete in 2005 ALMS Series
The International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) today announced that it has invited Maserati to enter the MC12 in the American Le Mans Series (ALMS) as a guest of the sanctioning body. The invitation to Maserati contains several limitations that Maserati has accepted and intends to complete immediately. This announcement clears the way for the MC12 race car to participate in the opening round of the American Le Mans Series at the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring on March 19, and each of the remaining ALMS races in 2005. The new Maserati MC12 ALMS endeavor marks the first time in 48 years that Maserati has fielded a full factory race car in the United States. The last time a factory Maserati appeared on the grid at Sebring, Juan Manuel Fangio drove it to victory in 1957.
"The Maserati does not completely comply with the Automobile Club de l'Quest (ACO) requirements, and as such, has not yet been homologated for competition under ACO regulations," said IMSA Chief Operating Officer, Tim Mayer. "IMSA will bear the final responsibility to regulate the performance of the car in the interest of ALMS competition, such that the race car operates within the accepted performance envelope of cars within the GT1 category," added Mayer.
The homologation process is the system by which a race car is derived from the road car through technical specifications set by the ACO or the Federation Internationale De L'Automobile (FIA). Because the MC12 race car complies with the FIA's homologation but not with the ACO's homologation requirements, it will not be eligible for points in any of the American Le Mans Series championships, including the driver and team championships which run under the ACO regulations. The car will also not be eligible for any other races run under the ACO regulations.
"There is no question that this race car is the subject of much speculation," said ALMS President and CEO, Scott Atherton. "However, we have a very technically savvy audience and we expect that the inclusion of the Maserati in the full season of ALMS races will create great interest for our fans, both at the tracks and on television. We expect that our fans, competitors and event promoters will greatly benefit from the inclusion of this extremely exciting and competitive new ALMS race car entry."
Maserati MC12 is a bit too long
While the FIA homologation has not yet been finalized, IMSA has specified several requirements in addition to those currently envisioned by the FIA, including some changes to the bodywork. Because the FIA and the ACO regulations have become generally parallel in 2005, the race car complies with the ACO regulations in general terms with two specific exceptions. The car, as it will be permitted by IMSA, is 66 mm (2.598 inches) wider than the 2000mm (78.74 inches) permitted in the ACO regulations. The car was originally built to the 2004 FIA specification which included a 2100mm (82.68in) maximum width and Maserati has been forced to request a waiver for this requirement to run in 2005. The waiver process generally indicates that some performance penalty be applied to compensate for any performance gain.
The Maserati MC12 road car is longer than the 5000mm (196.85in) permitted in the regulations. While Maserati has been able to shorten the race car to the required length, full ACO homologation would require Maserati to shorten the length proportionally from both the front and rear overhang, which for 2005, Maserati has not been able to accomplish. This is not a requirement for FIA competition.
Both the ACO and the FIA have recently included regulations that provide for the control of performance of the cars in the GT1 category so that they fall within a specified performance envelope. IMSA has worked extensively with both organizations in order to develop a system of controls that will be applied to the MC12, a first for ALMS competition.
"We have only agreed to invite the MC12 to compete on the basis that Maserati has agreed to be subject to performance controls in the spirit of Article 19 of the ACO regulations," continued Mayer. "While this regulation does not specifically cover the situation of the American Le Mans Series, the concepts contained therein are applicable and have been agreed in principal by all of the manufacturers. IMSA has worked with the FIA which has previous experience with the MC12 and has volunteered to send representatives to inspect and monitor its testing. Additionally, IMSA has been working with the ACO and the FIA to develop tools to analyze the performance of all the cars in the GT1 category. We are confident that we can create an environment where the MC12 can compete on a fair and equitable basis with all of the other GT1 cars running in the ALMS," Mayer added.
"Maserati Corse is pleased to have the opportunity to display our car in front of audiences in North America. This is one of the most important sales markets for Maserati so this development is very important for our sales and marketing efforts as well," said Maserati Corse Director, Claudio Berro. "We greatly respect the compromise that has been reached to permit the running of our race car and look forward to competing on the merits of our product, our team and our drivers. Maserati intends to operate our car as a full factory effort, supported logistically by Risi Competizione, a Ferrari / Maserati dealer in the United States."
Initially, one Maserati MC12 will compete in each event of the series. The driver lineup will be announced at a later date. A second race car is planned for the ALMS in 2005. A final timeline will be determined soon.
Go to our forums to discuss this article
Archived Editorials More than meets the eye with CART's turbo move It's time for CART to define its own future Key upgrades at Road America Back-breaking work The rebirth of CART The hidden costs of Indy Car racing CART's road and street circuits click with the fans Is it sport, or just P.T. Barnum show-biz? Fontana - a victim of friendly fire CART's 2003 race venues #1 in the world Meet the Gonzalez brothers ISC is making enemies in Miami And the 2002 CART Champion will be…. A wakeup call for CART and the IRL Chris Pook - making all the right moves Promoting a race - Adelaide topped them all AUTOCOURSE is THE CART Yearbook to have Has anyone noticed? Should CART race in Adelaide? Remembering Bob Estes 2002 will be a critical year for CART and for Pook Tongue-In-Cheek, we take out the crystal ball again CART & IRL - it's becoming clearer where we're going What's the holdup on Pook? Will CART get Shanghaied? 2002 CART season shaping up just fine CART Franchise Board fails to ratify new engines Is Ginger just what the doctored ordered for Alex Zanardi? Vannini plays hardball with Forsythe Spotlight on Mexico City Is Premier1 positioned where CART should be? Has the Gonzalo Rodriguez lawsuit turned in CART's favor? Jim Russell Advanced Racing Course - Learning to race CART - a stranger in a strange land German 500 - measuring the media impact An in-depth interview with Jonathan Vannini CART N/A Engine/Car Update Comparing CART and F1 Vannini advocates major overhaul to rescue CART series Engines - There, that was easy, now let's race Americans don't realize what they have in CART A proposed solution to CART's engine dilemma Ford Cosworth opens its doors Bullish on CART A German's first-time CART experience My thoughts on a variety of CART issues - by Jon Vannini AutoRacing1 Exclusive - Is Shanghai in CART's future? As CART goes global, what about its sponsors? If Mexico City will get 350,000, would India get 400,000? The inevitable globalization of CART New CART TV deal - don't put the CART before the horse CART in China - Why Shanghai is the best venue Rockingham is ready for CART. Is CART ready for Rockingham? Beating a dead horse.; Where's my fork? Successful CART Venues - It takes two to tango Setting the record straight on CART's German 500 Rebuilding CART from the grassroots up! Could this be the break Gidley has been waiting for? CART, ALMS or NASCAR extravaganza weekends A true global vision will serve CART well A proposal for CART and IRL to coexist peacefully The Triple Crown - a proposal for CART's success 650HP, 750HP, 850HP, it doesn't seem to matter Movie Review: DRIVEN Ryan Arciero hopes to continue family dynasty CART & IRL, a missed opportunity Things are happening at CART CART' Data Acquisition Systems - there's a new kid on the block. CART's next moves will be crucial. The greatest Long Beach GP of all-time. CART & IRL - close, and yet so far. Andretti set to return to Indy Sam Hornish wins Phoenix, de Ferran punted Greg Ray wins Phoenix pole, deFerran 5th CART Engines, If it ain't broke, don't fix it And the 2001 CART Champion will be.... The HANS Device saved my fathers life Soft walls or soft cars? Safety- It's going to take more than just magic to fix Safety - It's going to take more than just magic to fix CART vs. IRL, Hatfields vs. McCoys DRIVEN is CART's best chance to become mainstream Is CART's problem really a lack of American's? CART vs. NASCAR - TV Coverage Bubbas' rule auto racing Book review - Autocourse 2000/2001 Do heroes make a sport, or does a sport make heroes To-Do-List, for CART's new President Lawsuits, Will Greg Moore's final legacy to racing be more than one of……. Tire Warmers, an idea whose time has come BrandingCART and their race cars Will CART's next leader be a corporate visionary? AddressingCART's TV issues CART, do you know who you are? Will CART miss this boat too, - Destined to shadow NASCAR? Why the new Indy Lights cars should meet IRLspecs SoftWalls - drivers take a stand while you still can CART Fan Forum - Highlights from CART's very first Fan Forum Warren Hughes - A name to remember CART restarts - NASCAR Style Mario Andretti Tribute - America's Driver of the Century Shift w/o Lift- How it works Aerodynamics- CART's chance to make progressive changes CART's HP dilemma Soft Walls - Finally, a safer wall system BuddyRice deserves a shot at Champ Cars Choices, Choices, we rate possible new CART venues CART must avoid Detroit's politics 10ways for CART to invest $100million Montoya and Ganassi do CART proud at Indy Welcome to AutoRacing1.com A year of progress shapes Rockingham A solution for CART's franchise dilemma Lausitzring nears completion, fighting hard to win CART date Paul Tracy keeps his Kool, wins LBGP for2nd time What is an American driver? Warming-up at Nazareth 172mph in a Champ Car is the ultimate adrenaline rush Standing Start Rules proposed standing start rules for CART Standing Starts are they right for CART?
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Renault EZ-PRO: a robo-vehicle AND a concierge for last mile delivery
Groupe Renault introduced the world premiere of Renault EZ-PRO, an autonomous, electric, connected and shared robo-pod concept, for the future of agile, last-mile delivery solutions for every type of professional. Last-mile delivery services are one of the biggest opportunities for disruption in professional delivery services as E-commerce continues to explode, consumers want immediate delivery, retailers need to manage delivery costs, and cities continue to look for new ways of managing intensified traffic and congestion.
Manufacturer of light commercial vehicles (LCVs) for almost 120 years, and the European market leader in electric LCVs, Renault is in a leadership position to accelerate change in delivery services and the way we move goods.
“Renault EZ-PRO shows our vision of last-mile delivery integrated with the ecosystem of smart cities of tomorrow and the needs of professionals. This concept is a solution that would unlock countless opportunities for our various partners, such as we’re showing today with DPD Group, Lomi Coffee, Piper-Heidsieck and Patrick Roger,” said Ashwani Gupta, Alliance Senior Vice President, LCV.
EZ-PRO is a concept that consists of an autonomous leader pod and driverless robo-pods. Renault believes that the management of the last mile will not be completely automated as people will remain at the heart of transport activities for the foreseeable future.
In EZ-PRO, the leader pod hosts a human concierge who supervises the delivery of goods and services and its fleet. Released from today’s constraints of driving, the concierge can focus on value-added tasks, such as supervising the itinerary planning and driverless robo-pods, or ensuring efficient and customized service, such as in-person, premium delivery of groceries or fragile objects.
In line with Renault “Easy Life” brand promise, EZ-PRO offers a safe and ergonomic solution for the concierge as demonstrated, for example, by the front access, the joystick controller and easy-to-maneuver four-wheel steering feature.
The fleet of driverless robo-pods either follow each other by platooning or can move independently. Consistent with the Renault Pro+ LCV brand promise, tailor-made is also a strength of this concept. EZ-PRO features customizable modules that meet a wide variety of specific business customer needs: for specialists in delivery and last mile logistics, but also for retailers, craftsmen and entrepreneurs.
“With EZ-PRO, we continue our exploratory work around urban shared mobility of the future. Focused on delivery solutions, this autonomous, connected and electric concept represents the ideal tool, being both a creator of opportunity for professionals and a facilitator of services for all its users, direct or indirect. It is based on Renault’s expertise in commercial vehicles and on the brand’s DNA, which places people at the heart of its solutions.” said Laurens van den Acker, Senior Vice President, Groupe Renault Corporate Design.
EZ-PRO is a shared solution. A convoy of pods leaving from the same hub and managed by the same logistics operator can carry different types of goods and merchandise, each pod having its own paymaster, theme, clientele and delivery place. They are however operated by the same electric and autonomous platform. In the same manner, a pod can make a series of deliveries for one online store and another series for a different store. These shared scenarios contribute to maximize productivity and save costs.
EZ-PRO – a seamless experience for end users (recipients)
EZ-PRO has been designed to offer an optimal delivery solution for professionals as well as for consumers. Recipients will be able to choose a convenient delivery time and location of their choice. The end user will also be able to choose between receiving his parcel by the concierge or accessing self-service lockers in the driverless robo-pods. These lockers, accessible 24/7, can be opened by the recipient via a mobile phone application.
The shipping solution for consumers will also feature real-time tracking options via mobile with alert services for an even smoother delivery experience.
An overall positive impact for urban life
EZ-PRO styling has been designed to minimize its visual impact and enhance the pods’ integration into the urban landscape. The satin finish of the bodywork, the wheel fairings, and the glossy appearance of the opening panels and reflective properties help to make the pods unobtrusive in the cityscape.
Last mile delivery makes up 30% of traffic in cities1 – a burden which EZ-PRO can help relieve thanks to its shared shipping delivery solution, flexibility and autonomous driving. These will contribute to fewer vehicles on the road during rush hour, and fewer traffic jams caused by poor driving habits or badly parked delivery vehicles. Smooth traffic flow will be further enhanced by connecting the robo-vehicle to city infrastructures like traffic lights and traffic control center.
EZ-PRO is part of a series of Renault concepts that focus on urban mobility services. EZ-PRO follows the introduction of EZ-GO an electric, connected, fully autonomous, shared robo-vehicle for transportation of people. With similar aspiration to bring sustainable mobility for all, EZ-PRO is 100 % electric contributing to a greener and quieter transport system.
Audi Study Predicts: No Congestion in the City of the Future
PEUGEOT e-LEGEND CONCEPT : UNBORING THE FUTURE!
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What Forces Keeps Olympic Sailing in Guanabara Bay in 2016?
By Glenn McCarthy, April 30, 2015 at 10:00 am
What is the overall goal of the Olympics?
To bring nations together in peace, to demonstrate the finest talents their athletes demonstrate: In Latin it is Citius - Altius - Fortius, in English it means Faster - Higher - Stronger.
To provide fair competition is a tremendous amount of effort to assure no athlete is slighted. That everyone has an equal chance of winning with equal conditions, and the only difference being the athletes strength and talents.
We all remember the disaster in the 2000 Olympics when the vault pommel horse was set 2" low that greatly affected the outcome of the women's competition. The incorrectly adjusted vault pommel horse clearly affected the outcome, and was not a fair contest.
So what does this have to do with sailing in the Olympic Games in Guanabara Bay, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 2016?
During practice in Guanabara Bay over the past few years, some sailors have become sick with the greatest suspicion of cause being the untreated sewage filled water. Some sailors boats have run into debris in the water, with some simply crashed to a stop and the other competitors have sailed right past them, for others this caused their boats to capsize allowing competitors to pass them.
This provides an unfair field of play, no different than a vault horse set 2" too low.
How these risk factors are accepted by the International Olympic Committee, International Sailing Federation, or any Member National Authority is beyond reproach.
But here are justifications I've seen for leaving sailing in the polluted waters of Rio:
That picture perfect postcard - Rio wishes to spotlight their city, imagine the picture of 300 sailors racing their boats with Sugarloaf mountain in the backdrop and Christ the Redeemer statute on top.
The racing courses are situated just inside and just outside of Guanabara Bay. As the ocean currents pass by the mouth of the bay, the ocean waters are mainly clean. This allows the outside racing area to be cleaner than those inside the bay. With a 2.3' high tide that goes in and out twice daily, this flushes the water in the inside the bay racing area diluting the pollution effects. But a major rain storm changes this quickly ruining both the inside and outside courses, even with August (the period of the Games) being the normal dry season.
My uncle, Dr. Jack McCarthy, MD, was the head of the Lovelace Bataan Medical Clinic in Albuquerque, NM and an oncology specialist. I shared with him the conditions of Guanabara Bay, and his response is as follows: "It sounds horrible; but you are sure. I doubt that anyone with compromised immune system would be sailing. They more probably would be sitting quietly on a chair, avoiding the sun. Almost certainly the immunizations plus the antibiotics would do the job. Humans have lived with feces for millenniums. Esthetics is a separate issue."
Rio keeps promising that the race course will be cleared of debris when the Games arrive.
Rio has promised to take responsibility for any athlete who may become sick.
State water-quality numbers starting in 1980 and reviewed by Reuters show the Olympic sailing areas have, on average, been rated "Excellent" or "Satisfactory" since 2005.
Rio has been building housing for the athletes in Rio.
Rio has planned the logistics of moving competitors and food.
Rio built the sailing harbor where boats are launched and retrieved daily.
Rio has planned the necessary security.
The Member National Authorities (the sailing organizations responsible for producing Olympians to represent their countries) have invested in the Guanabara Bay site over the past years including:
Weather monitoring studying the wind, shifts and strength.
Current, and tide studies to learn where water movement can help or hurt their athletes.
Some have purchased team housing used for the past few years.
Coaches have been gathering data and techniques unique to Guanabara Bay and training the athletes.
They have no interest in starting from scratch at a different venue elsewhere in the country that provides clean water.
Maybe we need a new interpretation of "Citius - Altius - Fortius?" Maybe it means: Disgusting - We Don't Care About Athletes Health - Money Is Much More Important.
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Basketball online wagering
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January 21st NBA news ... Need the latest line? A last minute line-up change? All of the latest betting trends? All that information and much more will provided right here on Basketball online wagering.
Welcome to basketballonlinewagering.com, the home for all basketball gamblers.
Whether you prefer the NBA or college, this site will provide you with everything you need in order to successfully handicap your own basketball games.
Need the latest line? A last minute line-up change? All of the latest betting trends? All that information and much more will provided right here on Basketball online wagering.
Memphis Grizzlies vs. LA Lakers Betting Odds and Preview
Sportsbook.com Betting Odds: L.A. Lakers -8.5, Total: 202
The Grizzlies look for their third straight win as they head to Los Angeles to face the Lakers in the first of a four-game West Coast road trip. Memphis won by a point at Dallas on Friday and returned home to crush Minnesota by 20 on Saturday. Against the Pacific Division last year, the Grizzlies went 10-8 ATS.
Despite finishing fourth in the league with 103.2 points per game on the road in 2009-10, the Grizzlies allowed opponents to shoot 49.3% from the field and average 106.3 PPG. Memphis will need to shoot well from the floor Tuesday night as it is only averaging 10.7 offensive RPG and will likely be without forward Zach Randolph, who ranked second in the league with 11.7 RPG in 2009-10. Randolph has a bruised tailbone, which limits his jumping ability. He playing status will be determined in Tuesday�s shoot-around, but don�t expect him to play against the Lakers.
Meanwhile, the back-to-back NBA Champion Lakers are 3-0 to start the season and have the league�s second-best point differential (+11.3 PPG). L.A. crushed Golden State by 24 points on Sunday, 107-83, while out-rebounding the Warriors 67 to 48.
The Lakers recorded an impressive 45-8 home record in 2009-10, but the basketball betting crowd didn�t profit as they went 23-29-1 (44.2%) ATS. Los Angeles favored the Under last year against the Southwest Division going Under in 11 of 17 games (64.7%). The Lakers are shooting well from behind the arc this season (40.3%) and are averaging 111.0 PPG. L.A. will be difficult to defend with superstars Kobe Bryant scoring 24.0 PPG in just 32.7 MPG and Pau Gasol shooting 52.5% FG for 25.3 PPG, while grabbing over 10 boards per game.
In the last 26 series meetings in Los Angeles, the Lakers have won 21 straight up, but the Grizzlies are 14-11 ATS. Five of six games have gone under the total in the last three seasons.
This NBA betting trend indicates that the Grizzlies will cover the point spread
Play Against - Home favorites (LA LAKERS) - good 3PT shooting team (>=36.5%) against a poor 3PT defense (>=36.5%), average rebounding team (+/-3 reb/game) against a horrible rebounding team (<=-5.5 reb/game). (35-9 since 1996.) (79.5%, +25.1 units. Rating = 3*).
For those interested in betting on the Grizzlies vs. Lakers �total�, this betting trend indicates the �under� is the way to go.
Play Under - Any team (MEMPHIS) - after a blowout win by 20 points or more against opponent after leading in their previous game by 15 or more points at the half.
(107-50 since 1996.) (68.2%, +52 units. Rating = 3*).
To bet on the Grizzlies vs. Lakers game or to scan the NBA betting odds for tonight�s games, head over to Sportsbook.com now.
NBA: Phoenix at San Antonio (9:30E � ESPN)
The Spurs have to win Apuestas Deportivas Golf Betting Online Bingo Sportsbook NFL Betting Picks four of their next five games to advance to West Finals and even having its three stars seemingly healthy might not be enough to make that occur. It seems that Phoenix has all of its pieces meshing at this point in time and appears to be a real threat to the Lakers in the Western Conference. With the Spurs in a must-win spot at home in Game 3 of this series, Sportsbook.com oddsmakers have listed San Antonio as a 6-point favorite.
Basketball is five on five with every player having a job to do. Though Tony Parker is coming off the bench, he�s playing starter minutes. (36:05 in Game 2) And even if you take bench scoring in the literal sense, San Antonio was outscored 31-24 by players that came off the Phoenix chairs, which was essentially the difference in 110-102 final.
Parker, Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili have been carrying this franchise for years, unfortunately they can�t do it alone and need more help. This helps explain an 11-25 ATS record revenging a road loss over the last two seasons. Richard Jefferson was more effective in the last contest, but Antonio McDyess and Matt Bonner were non-factors.
Phoenix on the other hand showed the depth of the Chinese Red Army. The Suns starters were a step slow, out of rhythm and playing mediocre basketball as they trailed 30-21 after the first quarter.
Coach Alvin Gentry had just pleaded with his team to give more effort and in came Jared Dudley, Channing Frye and Louis Amundson. Phoenix exploded with increased energy, scoring, rebounding and playing tighter defense. The starters watched as their teammates led the surge on San Antonio and by halftime the game was knotted up at 51.
Dudley in particular was the star of stars. "He was my player of the game -- he made some huge plays for us," Steve Nash said. "He did a bunch of things that more than anything gave us energy and confidence and changed the game and enabled us to come back and tie at halftime just because of his energy and spirit."
San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich seconded that notion: "Jared Dudley changed the whole game. He came in and was a monster. He was committed to the boards, and it was infectious."
The Spurs need this type of player to help the power trio against a Suns� team that is shining bright with a 20-4 SU and 17-6-1 ATS record since Mar.14. San Antonio is six-point favorites with total of 205.5 and is 8-3 ATS off a straight up and spread loss. This is a conflict they need to take control of throughout and are 10-3-1 UNDER at home vs. teams with a winning road record.
Phoenix has covered eight of last 11 contests as road underdogs and is 17-6 OVER away from Arizona after consecutive games as a home favorite.
NBA: Top NBA Weekend Power Trends 2/5-2/7
It�s Super Bowl weekend, but of course, football isn�t the only wagering option, the NBA & college hoops are in full swing with a busy slate of action on tap. In the NBA, it is the last full weekend before the all-star break, as next weekend will be dominated the festivities in Dallas. For now though, the next three days offer up 24 different games, highlighted by the biggest Saturday board we�ve seen this season. Read on for a look at some of the most compelling games upcoming, as well as the list of some of this weekend�s Top StatFox Betting Trends for you to consider.
Friday�s board features 10 games highlighted by two on ESPN. In the first one, the surging Chicago Bulls travel to Atlanta to take on the Hawks. The Bulls had won five straight games prior to a back-to-back this week with the Clippers and 76ers. Amazingly, their five game winning streak came on the road, all against winning teams, only for it to end with a pair of losses to teams with losing marks. Perhaps the challenge of the Hawks will get things turned around again, as Atlanta remains one of the league�s top teams at home, 20-5 SU & 17-8 ATS. In the nightcap, Kobe & the Lakers host Denver. Bryant comes off a game in which he scored just five points, bothered by a sore ankle and perhaps fatigued by a record setting week for both he & coach Phil Jackson, in which Bryant became the franchise�s all-time leading scorer and Jackson the Lakers leader in coaching wins. L.A. is just 12-17 ATS vs. Western Conference foes this season, while Denver is just 11-17 ATS. Elsewhere, Houston will visit Memphis in a battle of two teams tied at 26-22 for the 9th spot in the West playoff standings. In the East, Boston and Orlando will each be hosting games as double-digit favorites.
On Saturday, the association has 12 games scheduled including three pitting opponents who both played on Friday night. In these contests, Memphis visits Minnesota, Indiana travels to Milwaukee, and Houston plays host to Philadelphia. Of those matchups, Milwaukee and Philadelphia enjoy significant edges in their records when playing on zero days rest this season. That is something you�ll want to remember as you handicap Saturday�s games. Elsewhere, the red-hot Cavaliers, on a winning and spread-covering roll, play host to New York, hoping to extend a 10-game winning streak. The Heat continue a difficult stretch of games in Chicago and come in having taking four of the L5 head-to-head meetings from Dwyane Wade�s hometown team. Another team that is heating up of late is the Utah Jazz, and they will look to make it eight straight wins when they welcome Denver to Salt Lake. The Nuggets are on a 7-3 ATS run vs. Utah. Finally, the Blazers will look to make it six in a row, both SU & ATS, at home versus the Lakers.
On Super Bowl Sunday, there are just two games, both early, giving bettors plenty of time to get ready for the Indy-New Orleans showdown. In Toronto, the Raptors play their customary matinee when they host Sacramento. On paper, this figures to be a tough spot for the Kings, as they were just 3-21 SU on the road and 6-13 SU & ATS vs. the East headed into the weekend. Toronto has also proven tough in the home chalk role. In the other game, ABC brings an Orlando-Boston clash at 2:30 PM ET. Both teams have fallen well behind Cleveland with prolonged stretches of mediocre play and figure to be resigned to battling with Atlanta for the 2nd-4th spots in the East standings for the rest of the season. As of presstime, the three teams were separated by just a game-and-a-half.
Now, here�s our weekly look at the top StatFox Power Trends to consider in your NBA wagering over the next three days.
(803) DETROIT vs. (804) INDIANA
DETROIT is 6-20 ATS (-16 Units) vs. division opponents over the last 2 seasons. The average score was DETROIT 91.9, OPPONENT 97.7 - (Rating = 2*)
(807) MILWAUKEE vs. (808) NEW YORK
MILWAUKEE is 16-4 ATS (+11.6 Units) versus poor defensive teams - allowing 99+ points/game this season. The average score was MILWAUKEE 102.1, OPPONENT 96.5 - (Rating = 3*)
(811) HOUSTON vs. (812) MEMPHIS
MEMPHIS is 8-28 ATS (-22.8 Units) when playing against a marginal winning team (Win Pct. 51%-60%) over L3 seasons. The average score was MEMPHIS 97.2, OPPONENT 105.4 - (Rating = 3*)
(813) PHILADELPHIA vs. (814) NEW ORLEANS
NEW ORLEANS is 4-16 ATS (-13.6 Units) versus poor defensive teams - shooting pct defense of >=46% this season. The average score was NEW ORLEANS 102.3, OPPONENT 104.7 - (Rating = 3*)
(817) PHOENIX vs. (818) SACRAMENTO
PHOENIX is 20-5 ATS (+14.5 Units) vs. poor defensive teams - FG pct defense of >=46% in 2nd half of the L3 seasons. The average score was PHOENIX 122.3, OPPONENT 108.7 - (Rating = 2*)
(501) NEW ORLEANS vs. (502) CHARLOTTE
CHARLOTTE is 40-20 ATS (+18 Units) versus poor defensive teams - allowing 99+ points/game over the last 2 seasons. The average score was CHARLOTTE 98.1, OPPONENT 94.3 - (Rating = 2*)
(503) ATLANTA vs. (504) WASHINGTON
WASHINGTON is 5-19 ATS (-15.9 Units) vs. division opponents over the last 2 seasons. The average score was WASHINGTON 87.5, OPPONENT 97.7 - (Rating = 2*)
(507) NEW YORK vs. (508) CLEVELAND
NEW YORK is 19-6 ATS (+12.4 Units) in road games vs. good offensive teams scoring 99+ PPG over the last 2 seasons. The average score was NEW YORK 107, OPPONENT 110.6 - (Rating = 2*)
(511) MEMPHIS vs. (512) MINNESOTA
MINNESOTA is 8-25 ATS (-19.5 Units) at home against a team with a winning record over the last 2 seasons. The average score was MINNESOTA 93.7, OPPONENT 104.8 - (Rating = 3*)
Sunday, 2/7/2010
(801) SACRAMENTO vs. (802) TORONTO
SACRAMENTO is 15-34 ATS (-22.4 Units) in non-conference games over the last 2 seasons. The average score was SACRAMENTO 99.5, OPPONENT 109.2 - (Rating = 2*)
TORONTO is 17-6 UNDER (+10.4 Units) versus terrible defensive teams - allowing 103+ PPG over the last 2 seasons. The average score was TORONTO 101.7, OPPONENT 102 - (Rating = 1*)
(803) ORLANDO vs. (804) BOSTON
Stan Van Gundy is 65-40 ATS (+21 Units) versus good offensive teams - scoring 99+ PPG as the coach of ORLANDO. The average score was Van Gundy 103, OPPONENT 98.5 - (Rating = 2*)
NBA Live Odds
Online NBA Betting
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I got 51% through Smiler's Fair before giving up.
Smiler's Fair has a beautiful cover, and I've walked past this book several times, each time reading the blurbs on the back, each time putting it back down, not quite convinced, before ultimately giving in to the lure of the cover and buying it after all.
The book is not badly written. But sadly, it was, for me, entirely devoid of enjoyment and a slog to progress through. With a cast of dozens, many viewpoint characters, various cultures and a world spanning from icy north to deserts, full of gritty violence and a dollop of sex, it's quickly obvious that this is a Song of Ice and Fire copycat effort. But for reasons I could not immediately identify, it left me cold and disinterested. I slogged through chapter after chapter, wondering why this book fell so flat, when it seemed to emulate the ingredients of Song of Ice and Fire fairly accurately - with short, punchier chapters to boot.
It's full of characters who are not terribly likeable. But so is George R R Martin's world. Its violence is tainted with a slight twinge of sleaze. But so is George RR Martin's world. There's monsters in the dark. But so... you get the idea.
There was one obvious gripe, but on its own, that wasn't enough to make me discard the book. Early on, a character is surprised and disbelieving that Smiler's Fair (a travelling city of vice & trade) is built on superstitions - that there are worm men / monsters below ground, who come out if the ground is cast in shadow for too long. But very very quickly, that turns out to be true: someone enters a cave, some miners mine... and abracadabra, we have slaughter. The point is: how would any character doubt the superstition if there is everyday evidence of its veracity? (After all, metal is in short supply because mining is so dangerous and that's why everyone who can't afford iron uses flint!) And why on earth would a character originating on a floating "shipborn" fortress that's perpetually moving in circles around a lake (pulled by mammoths on the shore) question another city's perpetual movement and laugh at its 'superstition'? This isn't a case of monsters beyond a wall in far distant lands that no one has seen in generations. This is a case of monsters being an everyday threat. Basically, the book's internal logic is broken, and its own worldbuilding undermined.
But that is not the reason it is so hard to get engrossed in it. After some lengthy thinking, I figure it's a combination of factors. Yes, it's derivative - but there are some excellent GRRM derivative novels out there. Yes, its logic is inconsistent, but that is just a blooper, really. Chapters are short - too short to get absorbed as deeply as George R R Martin's chapters achieve - but not so short that they lack stickiness at all.
No, the reason this book falls so flat is that none of the characters are loved / capable of love. Song of Ice and Fire is built on grit and sleaze and medieval authenticity - but its narrative roots in the reader's psyche are created by bonds and love: The Starks are a loving family with strong bonds. (Okay, there's John Snow's position in the family, but I'm not saying the family is without its problems - I'm saying it is largely built on trust and love). Tyrion Lanister is a fascinating hero because he is the only Lanister who feels genuine love for some characters. Daenerys loves - even if her marriage is arranged, she never gets over Kal Drogo. In Smiler's Fair, there is scheming and violence and sleaze and humiliation and politicking and sadism and prophecy (by the way, I wish fantasy writers would give up the prophecy shtick: it was great in Dune, but that was 50 years ago) and religion - but so far, only one relationships which appears to be briefly loving (I was elated for all of three sentences, then it all went kaputt in the next chapter).
And if no one in this world loves or is loved, if there are no strong bonds between characters, then how can the reader really grow fond of any of them? Song of Ice and Fire may be full of dysfunctional, twisted characters and events, but it keeps the reader hooked by throwing decent human beings who have strong, positive emotions and some internal moral compass into the mix. Smiler's Fair mimics the twistedness but falls short on the kernels of goodness.
So, 51% into the book, I gave up. I was just not enjoying it. Derivative, I can deal with. Lacking any soul at all: not so much.
Rating: 2/5 (estimated, based on reading 51% and giving up)
Now you know where that adage about book covers came from.
Federhirn said...
In fairness, every other review I can find sings this book's praises and awards it 5 stars, so it's always possible that I'm very much in the minority for not enjoying it at all.
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Now Trending: Doctor Who, Luther, The Graham Norton Show, Killing Eve
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We did a post on Tom Hiddleston earlier this week, talking about his efforts to raise awareness with theatergoers.
It was a really refreshing moment because, in hindsight, it was like, “We weren’t even tempted to mention you-know-what happened over the summer.”
It genuinely felt like we were over the public shenanigans. We could move on. Actually, we had moved on without even knowing it. And, maybe, just maybe, we could all pretend it never happened.
That feeling of freedom was short-lived. All of a sudden there was “breaking news” that Hiddleston and American performer Taylor Swift had called it quits.
We heard the news, but again, it was like, let’s get back to business as usual.
On the other hand, late-night hosts Stephen Colbert and James Corden couldn’t take a blind eye. And, to be honest, their reactions are just too good to ignore.
Colbert was so upset about the split he wrote a song about it:
Corden went a different route and made us relive the unfortunate turn of events:
Can we now put a nail in this?
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hilary's desk
out of the mould
“Don’t let the world around you squeeze you into its own mould, but let God re-mould your minds from within...”
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Fake bait on a plate.
Hilary Butler - Sunday, June 18, 2017
You know, Lance, initially as I read your latest Stuff.co article, I thought, “My, this man has finally learned some grammar and vocabulary of excellence". But then, as I read on, and compared it to the style used in your book, it dawned on me that you can’t have written this all on your own. Someone with a bit of science, and better grammar than you, added key stuff in here. But that someone didn’t realise how badly they have just shot themselves in the foot. And you wouldn’t have picked that up, because … well… you don’t know the facts or science in order to spot the mistakes, do you?
So let me show you a few bloopers which escaped your bullshit radar.
First up, in 1996, IAS never wrote a pamphlet with “Netherlands” in it, and sure never left anything in a lecture room at any medical school in this country. Second up, most vaccine studies used to justify past and current vaccines aren't studied in communities that look like ours either. Since there was nobody else doing anything in 1996 where did you get this mythical pamphlet from, Lance?
And later you say:
Causing illness and misery? In vaccinated children? Again, seeding minds that the unvaccinated are walking germ cesspits. You . . . "wanted to believe"? Are we talking about someone training to evaluate fact? No Lance. Now, you are really insulting the intelligence of those who know. You never signed up for the IAS quarterly magazine, because if you had, you would have been far too well-educated to come out with moronic statements like the above. We don’t “believe”. We KNOW. We don’t not vaccinate on the basis of a non-existent pamphlet, and even if there is a pamphlet, those who place a premium on truth view any pamphlet as suspicious, and look deeper afterwards.
Why? Because immunisation is so complicated, that the issue can't be told in a pretty coloured folded piece of paper. That is why most of us think that the Department of Health vaccination pamphlets aren't worth the paper they are printed on.
You never found a brochure in a medical school lecture room, because there was no “Netherlands” pamphlet, and IAS were always “personas never gratis”. In 1990 I had delivered a talk on smallpox to the medical school academics which made them realise that I knew the science from their own medical library, and FOR that reason, I was, and continue to be a threat to their sound bites.
Furthermore, in all the years that I settled into solid study in Auckland Medical school’s Philson medical library, between 1982 to now, once key personnel knew what my mission was, the ONLY time I was treated with any respect was in the holidays when medical students manned the facility to give the fire-breathing desk dragons time off. To certain librarians, I was 'the enemy', and help was often refused. However, that was all to the good, because it meant that on my own, I learned what was in every nook and cranny of the then three floors of that information resource.
Now, the NEW Philson medical library is not nearly as useful a resource. Barriers have been erected to make it very hard for members of the public to find what they need, which means that it’s also not quite so easy for medical students. But that just means everyone has to be more resourceful.
Next, you resort to the lies of emotional blackmail. Using inflated language you say (cue in victorious violin music): "In the FACE of SUCH overwhelming evidence of the BENEFIT of immunisation and the DRAMATIC REDUCTION in life-ending, or life-altering medical conditions . . .
The only problem is that the wool-pulling-over-the-eyes writer above, chose the wrong disease. Listen well, Lance. NO whooping cough vaccine in this country hast made any difference in terms of circulating bacteria. How did you miss out reading Professor Grant’s 2013 expert review on pertussis or the Immunisation Handbooks from 1993 to now? Haven't you kept up with the ESR whooping cough reports? Don't you know all the other published papers and Department of Health Graphs which prove that the whooping cough incidence in this country, is worse than before a vaccine was used? Where is your data showing that the vaccine has DECREASED the death rates in babies? You don't have it, do you? But I do, and you're wrong. Even worse, among the Department of Health graphs here, the 6th graph down shows an 8-fold increase in hospitalisations of babies under one year old between 1966 and 1996, a trend which has not diminished. And it's the failure of the whooping cough vaccines to achieve their stated aim, which has fuelled the idea of vaccinating every pregnant women with a Tdap every pregnancy. We wouldn't be vaccinating pregnant women, supposedly to protect newborn babies from whooping cough, if there WAS decades of overwhelming evidence of the dramatic reduction in life-ending or life-altering medical conditions. Or can't you see that?
Then you say that one year after your daughter was fully vaccinated….
So . . . fully vaccinated, and despite your “pride” here is your daughter . . . sick. If it wasn't Haemophilus Influenza that caused her periorbital cellulitis, what did Lance? Starship should have told you. It’s notable that you did NOT tell US. It is also notable that this seminal incident is nowhere to be found in your book and yet, here you tell it as if it is a landmark of self-validation.
Now we come to your biggest scientific blooper of all:
So, up until now . . . .
You’ve told all your Northland patients the LIE, that the reason Merck's Gardasil is given to a 12-year old, is that little’ole HPV sits there silent with a sign on its forehead, saying, “I won’t do anything until Dick puts his whatsit in Jane.” Right?
Oh, but now . . . you introduce CHILDREN dying from an obstructive warty mass in their throats from childbirth . . . ? Presumably from MOTHERS who have genital warts? How frequent is that? Aren't warty throat masses supposed to be a disease of older people who get HPV from kissing or oral sex? You’ve let the cat out the bag Lance. THAT little admission of yours above, is a major major OOPS. How are you going to explain to parents with no genital or vaginal warts, how the HPV 16 and 18 got into their children’s warty throat growths, when up to now, everyone has been told HPV isn’t an issue until adolescents have sex?
From One Prick to Another (2008) has several chapters on HPV and Gardasil in it, clearly laying out that HPV can be transmitted vertically from Mother to baby, horizontally from father to child and from sibling to sibling, and detailing the Finnish research which shows that HPV is spread in families. Yes, the anti-vaccine already knew this and more, before the vaccine was licensed.
We also know that the HPV strains 16 and 18 are regularly detected from the removed TONSILS of toddlers, when pathologists bother to look for it. Yes, Lance it’s ALL THERE, in the medical literature, that HPV can hit any age group.
There are at least three PMID numbers of studies published before Merck's Gardasil was marketed, warning that the use of cherry-picked incomplete data as public propaganda, was a potential recipe for disaster.
There was one comment under the Stuff.co article from another of your colleagues who didn’t know about vertical transfer. She probably doesn't know about the Finish family research either.
To people like me, that’s no shock.
In fact, it's not even the WHOLE story, is it? How is Merck's Gardasil going to eradicate HPV strains already in children? Particularly when Merck's Gardasil does not have life-long efficacy, and causes an immunological problem termed original antigenic sin, which encourages other HPV strains to take over? Yes, that's in the medical literature as well.
So now the silencing, threatening or bribing of scientists or doctors doesn't exist? Will you tell me that Merck creating and using a hit list to harass clinical researchers, and silence doctors speaking out against Vioxx, is the only example of Merck's lack of ethics? At this point it’s useful to deal with an issue that neither you, nor your cloned colleague Helen Petousis-Harris appear to understand. And that is that sometimes it IS only one scientist who stands between the public and a nasty something . . . This woman below is Dr Kelsey:
But Helen Petousis-Harris, in a recent interview said this:
So much bull here too. But I will deal with her bull, another day. Helen considers this to be "the success of the FDA". An example of how the system always works. She is wrong, and she is dangerously ignorant. So let me re-educate her, and you in the process.
If the FDA had been a group of heroes, they would all have been awarded medals.
The TRUTH is that Dr Kelsey was one of 12 assessors, working under the head of the FDA. But regarding thalidomide, Kelsey stood ALONE. None of the other eleven FDA co-workers thought she was reasonable, because she was going on 'gut instinct' and not fact. Every other country considered thalidomide research to be impeccable. It had been studied in so many different animals. Dr Kelsey was seen by the industry as totally unreasonable. Why should one woman in the USA be an outlier? How DARE she buck the rest of the world??!!!??!!!!!
The manufacturers put inordinate behind-the-scenes pressure on her through her colleagues and through her boss, but she refused to buckle. How do I know? Well, I’m an old biddie, Lance, who happened to know some of Dr Kelsey’s FDA colleagues from the 1970s and 1980s. Dr Kelsey was always modest, and she also knew that if she wanted to keep her job at the FDA she had to suck up the fact that the MEN around her were not as supportive as they should have been. To her credit, she didn't stick the knife in them. As your article and Helen’s blog admirably illustrate, just because you have a name doesn’t mean your assumptions hold water. You assume that doctors and scientists can’t be silenced. They can be, and they are.
I do use Dr Kelsey as an example of ONE scientist who stood against collegial and peer pressure. Like Thompson, she could have caved. Conversely, William Thompson COULD have been a 'Kelsey', but instead he allowed himself to be roped in, tied up and silenced. Today, there can be no 'Dr Kelsey' in either the FDA or the CDC. Medico-politics of today leave little room for that kind of individual scientific integrity.
This is why the secret recordings upon which the film VAXXED is based are important. This is why police put decoy prisoners in the slammer. The police know that often, people only talk when they think no-one that matters, is listening.
Seems to me that both you and Helen Petoussis-Harris have a lot of real history and medical science to catch up on. Perhaps you should start here, with this series. You will find the outlier scientists in part 3.
So Lance, when it comes to silenced scientists:
What about those people in Honesty vs Policy, Part 3? What about the Bernice Eddy’s, the Tony Morris’s, and the fact that Sir Graham Wilson could never have written the book, “The Hazards of Immunisation” had it not been for the Director of Wellcome's Physiological Research Laboratory, who handed him a large set of documents on his deathbed? You think those people don't exist either? Go have a listen to the the doctors interviewed by the VAXXED bus. They all talk about their many colleagues who don’t like vaccines, but are silenced, threatened and bribed. What about Dr Humphries? Do you think there was no attempt to silence and harass her?
All these doctors can’t all be wrong. Better still, even though we know, and you’ve confessed that you don’t read books, perhaps you might make the effort to read “Rising from the Dead”.
Then you might discover why doctors are silenced, and why some rise from the dead. Not that it’s likely that you would rise from the dead. Because you speak before you think or research, your mana and personal pride is now locked up in the words continually spouting from your mouth.
Your next comment:
"Partly due"? Hedging your bets? No Lance. Ask any teacher on the cusp of retiring after a 45 year career of teaching. They will tell you that autism today, is NOTHING LIKE what was previously put under the term of “intellectual disability”. Ask any doctor past retirement and they will tell you that “intellectual disability” is nothing like what we are seeing in children today. What teachers are seeing today, is more akin to functional and intellectual death.
Early childhood infections Lance? Ummmm… do you mean… INFLAMMATION? Has it occurred to you that because of adjuvants, vaccines hit the immune system of some people in different ways, but just as hard, if not harder than an infection? Congratulations though. You are one up on Paul Offit, Lance, admitting to brain changes, but what you fail to notice is that those changes are actually inflammation, and if or when that inflammation happens in utero, everyone knows it from the start, because the baby starts life in regressed mode. As to your suggestion that there is a genetic component you’re trying to shift the goal posts. It’s either epigenetic or genetic, Lance. Which do you think? Every time someone tries to prove “it’s this gene”, they fall flat on their faces. In the face of clear evidence? No. In the face of the same sort of Merky evidence that saw Vioxx which was similarly polluted with jacked up data and a galaxy of conflicts of interest, survive its full patent period. It is amazing how regularly medical journals write editorials about the myriad of shortcoming in peer-reviewed science, while the sacred cow of vaccine research glows under a get-home-free card.
Next comment:
Actually the complete insult isn’t caused by the parent, who is bullied into vaccinating their child by dictators like you, who do not provide fully informed consent. The person who bullied parents into vaccinating and helped create a chronic inflammatory disorder is the PERSON who is responsible for creating an inflammation in that baby that could have been prevented.
You can argue as does Gregory Poland, that the pregnancy flu vaccine prevents the strong inflammation from the flu that can theoretically cause autism. The problem is that influenza infection only creates strong inflammation in a FEW people who catch it. The vast majority of people who get the flu often don’t even know they have had it. Yes, that is in the medical literature. But if you say that, then Gregory Poland, and you, might have missed one thing: ONLY a tiny minority of pregnant women will ever get the flu in the winter. You know what SHIVERS is, right? It's an influenza research programme funded primarily by USA's CDC. Poke around and you will see that only a tiny percentage of the people thought to have flu, actually get flu types which match the vaccine.
Ironically then, you tell us that it's a fantastic idea to vaccinate every pregnant woman, every pregnancy, all year around, with the potential to cause varying degrees of inflammation in every vaccinated pregnant woman. Given that most pregnant women would never have got the flu anyway, how is vaccinating every pregnant mother a rational decision? And what happens when you toss aluminium from the obligatory Tdap vaccine that same woman is coerced into getting with every pregnancy — along with the flu shot?
You can't even assure at-risk obese people that the flu vaccine will give them any protection, since Neidich has found that, "Despite robust serological responses, vaccinated obese adults are twice as likely to develop influenza and influenza-like illness compared to healthy weight adults. This finding challenges the current standard for correlates of protection, suggesting use of antibody titers to determine vaccine effectiveness in an obese population may provide misleading information."
The DOCTOR who did the core work behind the theory of in-utero inflammation, Dr Patterson, specifically said that vaccination in pregnancy could be equally as dangerous in any mother who also responded to the vaccine with strong inflammation. Some do, some don’t. And you should also know that because the flu vaccine makes some people more susceptible to other viruses, those OTHER viruses can also cause severe inflammation in people who don’t respond well to them either. And IF a flu vaccine can cause strong inflammation in some mothers — which it can — that could also affect the baby.
Vaccinating a pregnant mother is simply another form of Russian roulette, which Patterson advised against, because strong inflammation after a vaccine can also affect the baby. But Dr Patterson was just another 'outlier' who didn't fit the dogma . . . who, fortunately for vaccine stakeholders, died of cancer before he became outspoken enough to stop that sherman tank on autopilot.
This load of fake bait, had me laughing for hours, Lance. How indignant you sound! Didn't you know that court cases forcing Merck to pay out for death and disability from the drug Vioxx, nearly broke the back of Merck? What did Merck look to, to Help Pay for Vioxx? HPV. In 2006 Dr Philip Broker, the HPV guru, said this at about Gardasil, at a meeting:
A vaccine isn’t the foundation and saviour of a company facing court actions against a drug, if the income from vaccines is a drop in the ocean, and it is all the drugs that keep them afloat financially. Vaccines are a HUGE $take in the ground, and trying to beat that fact into dust, Lance, defies what anyone can find from the business mouthpieces themselves on… yes…. DR GOOGLE.
But on a more serious note, my favourite myth buster website is FIERCEPHARMA. There you discover that because profits from meds are falling so short, vaccines are bigpharma’s saviour. You discover how many millions Gardasil earns for Merck. You discover how badly Pfizer will feel now that their NZ Prevenar 13 contract has been chopped. You realize how one minute, the Swine flu vaccine is lucrative, then five years later, narcolepsy from the vaccine, threatens the company’s reputation and future profits. Oh yes, vaccines are all about big money. As for you Lance, what are you doing about lifestyle excesses? Just carry on prescribing these drugs you say are so profitable?
Then comes your lowest blow, where you say:
Well done Lance. I can hear another haka . . . while Lance . . . drops the ball yet again . . . instead playing the MAN, then the conspiracy, then the WOMAN, then THE RACE CARD, topping it all off with the filthy lucre icing! Even managed to mention politics!
Trump? . . . What's that they said about Trump? Sexist, rhetoric, rigged elections, misogynist, racist . . the list goes on . . .? Your own regular media circus road show scripts, do indeed give the nod to the tactics from the new monkey see, monkey do Ministry of Health psychology manual, describing shooting the messenger while NOT discussing science.
Actually, that F grade is right on your doorstep Lance.
All you and your colleagues seem to care about is needling kids. You don’t really care about the things you SAY matter, like tight families, good housing, breastfeeding, not smoking, not boozing, great nutrition, reducing drug use, high standards of ethical behaviour, etc . . .
The only ethical behaviour you want to talk about, is that everyone should be made to vaccinate themselves, or their children for someone else’s sake. You don't want or even care about informed consent, or personal choice! What do you say to anyone who has been vaccine injured, just to supposedly protect the too young, your patients who are immune compromised from the drugs you prescribe, and the elderly? Or will you tell me, you've never seen a single vaccine side effect?
The reality is that persuading people to improve their lifestyle choices is in the doctor’s 'too-hard' basket. It takes too much time. There is no ten minute quick-buck-turn-around while educating people . . . is there . . . Lance? You want to redeem yourself? Then stop doling out lifestyle drugs, and get the basics of numbers one to four sorted out in your community.
Because guess what.
People like me who actively, intelligently CHOOSE NOT to vaccinate ourselves and our children, have made Numbers 1 – 4 our compulsory lifestyle, as described here in "Hands off my family". The people who REALLY get the basics right voluntarily in this country, are the educated, well-read parents of all races, whose children rarely see a doctor, and who you disparage, instead of 'playing the ball'. We actively CHOOSE not to vaccinate BECAUSE of the science. We actively CHOOSE our lifestyles, because we play the ball, Lance. We are not the chronically sick, fully vaccinated people who line the corridors of hospitals and cost the taxpayer millions of dollars, nor are we running around constantly spreading diseases on everyone else.
I challenge your ignorance, and your right to demand compulsion by playing people, conspiracy and race CARDS, instead of promoting fact-based decision making.
Hilary Butler - Saturday, November 12, 2016
I’m astounded at how many Americans say, “Shut up Hilary, you haven’t got a dog in this race.” I'm also astonished at the number of American people who think that because I have plenty to say about the American elections on Facebook, that I'm pro-Trump.
Where does anyone get that dork idea from? If I had to pick a worthy candidate to vote for, to clear the Washington swamp from bottom up, it would be Trey Gowdy. “Oh” but you say, “ . . . he wasn't on the ballot.” No. “Oh” but you say, “ . . . the popular vote went to Hillary Clinton.” Right. It went to Al Gore (and others) in the past, as well.
You know the system. You vote (or not) by the rules you have. Same as us. And when a decision is made, the losers have to suck it up and not behave like whining babies or make the situation worse. As to the Soros funded rioters,…. so much for all the predictions that Trump's supporters would be the bad losers! And what about the " When they go low, we will take the high way!" Michelle Obama directive?
Have you no idea what you just escaped from?
Wake Up America. You didn’t just dodge a bullet, you dodged a Clinton neutron bomb. Do you not remember 1992? Of course not. Some of you weren’t even born then and obviously didn’t think to check the history.
Oh yes, the critics and naysayers (who just sit around spouting hot air) are now saying, “I didn’t vote. Elections are a mirage, and if they mattered they wouldn’t be legal” or “But Trump will bring the environmental desecration that exists in China and India here, with his anti-climate change policies!!”
Well first up, if you didn’t vote you have no right to complain, because you benefit every day from the system, or people who work with the system that you criticise. You have to live under that administration. Doing nothing will get you nowhere. Whining will get you worse than nowhere.
If you are really concerned about the environmental future, look at what YOU OWN. How many of the things that you have bought are made in China? Why haven’t you been buying “Made in the USA”?
Oh right. Because… most of your industries were relocated to China, because you – the people - wanted everything cheaper. And…. because your manufacturers just wanted to push environmental degradation on to China and keep fresher air for themselves. And if you bought into that? That’s hypocrisy.
Do you think Trump wants to repeat the mistakes of a regime in China which has a moral deficit the size of a sucking black hole? Do you think that Trump wants to love a country that he is about to environmentally shit in, industry wise and ecologically?
Do you think Trump is totally dumb?
Or are you just trailing along behind the ….
To those who would rather I shut up because I'm not American, or because it's none of my business because it doesn't affect me, -- it does, so here is my reply to the ongoing criticism from afar:
I have more than one dog in this race. All my dogs are in this race. I went to the USA twice during the Clinton years and watched with disgust as Hillary Clinton excoriated your ‘health care’ system and was the driver behind mandatory vaccines, and supported "Every child by two" and supported removing vaccine exemptions. Had she got in this time, it would have been curtains for any parental (and eventually adult) vaccine choice.
More than that, I've spent my life dealing with the fall-out of vaccines and seen how they destroy life at ground zero. So I know that in order for people to really have freedom, they need both control and choice at a ground zero level. Freedom to choose is something that Hillary Clinton only wanted in areas where it didn't really matter for her politics. Where it really mattered, her rule has always been, “My way or the by-way.” She has never believed in family control, and firmly believes that no children should go to any other school than a state mandated one. She thinks all children should be in daycare and that the state appointed “experts” should make all decisions on behalf of all children.
How does this election affect me?
The influence of the USA goes far beyond its hundreds of military bases, its interference in other countries or use of drones, or when the USA’s politicians try to force other countries to comply with "policies". The term "global powerhouse" is not without foundation.
I've spent my married life working for families in USA, here in NZ, and elsewhere. Those families have been torn apart as a direct result of USA's 1986 vaccine legislation, which has impacted every country in the world. That legislation is solely responsible for the huge increase in vaccines world wide, because what the CDC does, the rest of the world follows.
In New Zealand, girls are being injured and crippled by Gardasil at a huge rate, all because of a 1986 piece of American legislation that President Reagan was against, didn't want to sign into law, which a certain parent group campaigned for, and basically mounted public pressure to force President Reagan to agree to. He didn't want to, but was forced to. If that legislation had never been enacted, we wouldn't have Gardasil today, or any other of the long list that has been added from that time and are waiting in the wings to be added in the future. If that legislation hadn’t been passed we wouldn’t be facing the ever-creeping invasion of adult vaccines, which the industry will also try to have mandated through government policies.
Vaccines cut to the heart of individual freedoms and choices, for every individual. When I was in the USA during the Clinton era, I watched Hillary Clinton like a hawk, because compulsory vaccination, no exemptions, and "Every child by two" were her babies.
Make no mistake. Hillary’s 2016 agenda for children was far reaching. It looked benevolent and was understated. Believe that at your peril.
The direct actions of the Clinton family and American people who couldn't see beyond their pockets, continues to affect New Zealand and the rest of the world.
The American vaccine manufacturers lobbied Governments worldwide, and licensing medical authorities were delighted that suing vaccine manufacturers had become impossible. Of course all the shareholders and “stake-holders” got on the bandwagon and new vaccines were developed to become the new El Dorado with 1998 headlines like, “Drug companies revel in heady time of unrivalled prosperity” (NZ Herald Wednesday July 22) and “The Vaccine Business Gets a Shot in the Arm” (Wall Street Journal, February 25, 1998.)
The Wall street journal article was straight to the point in saying, “The climate slowly began to change again in 1986, after passage of a federal law that shields vaccine producers from all liability not relating to manufacturing error. … this law “turned the industry around” and encouraged biotech companies to jump into the vaccine field, says Mr Williams of Pasteur Merieux Connaught”
My life which has been spent trying to help people directly affected by the original decisions of American leaders in 1986, who thought controlling everyone was the right thing to do, and if Hillary Clinton was your new President, the recipe would be more mandates, no exemptions, and parents be damned.
So yeah, I think I have more than one dog in the vaccine discussion as to why a Hillary Clinton presidency would have been a disaster for me as a New Zealander, and for the rest of the world too.
What will the Trump presidency bring? History will be the judge. But whatever your view on the issue, Hillary Clinton got one thing right in her concession speech, even though she means it differently to how I took it. We should never stop fighting for the things that are worth achieving, and at the core of that, is the freedom to make informed choices about anything to do with our bodies, our faith, our education options and our family lives.
Lose that, and nothing else matters. Continue Reading
"Going Viral" Part 2.
Hilary Butler - Thursday, April 16, 2015
As a follow up to Sunday’s Gardasil documentary called “Going Viral” and my yesterday’s blog (which I posted on Sunday’s facebook page), this morning I received email notification of this reply.
All mistakes are his, not mine:
Callum MacRae
April 15 at 11:03am
As one of the Wellington High students in the piece, I'd like to tell you that I intended to receive the vaccine prior to even being approached for the story (and I'll have you know we were all well researched. We had just spent over half the school term researching the biological and ethical issues surrounding vaccines, and were provided with sources that were both pro and anti vaccinationing for several different controversial vaccines. We were then encouraged to come to our own conclusions from the material provided)* Continue Reading
"Going Viral" - Gardasil fact or fiction?
Hilary Butler - Monday, April 13, 2015
This Sunday's SUNDAY programme called Going Viral, used national TV and Dr Miller to imply to children, "You can either get a vaccine, or you can get cancer." Then the children sat there with Ian Sinclair saying, “The government should let us have this vaccine free.” The kids were so grateful for Dr Miller’s story.
But there is a huge problem with this unethical story.
Dr Andrew Miller said: “The initial biopsy showed there was a factor, a protein that was sitting inside the skin that actually is a marker for wart virus. So what's happened is I've got some sort of wart virus in my nose that's triggered off a cancer," he says.
He said I’ve got ****SOME SORT**** of wart virus in my nose.
This lack of clarity is a problem for several reasons:
What say the squamous cell carcinoma in Dr Miller’s nose… is NOT one covered by the vaccine?
Did you hear him say, “I’ve got HPV 6, 11, 16, or 18, and this squamous cell carcinoma could have been prevented by Gardasil.”?
Merck's next problem - Japan
Hilary Butler - Wednesday, August 28, 2013
Merck’s next problem - Japan. A culture that is very much into compliance and obedience in many ways... is the first country whose parents have had the guts to ..... say......
Cervical cancer vaccine victims urge permanent halt to vaccination
TOKYO, August 24, 2013. KYODO.
Eight teenage sufferers of severe side effects of cervical cancer vaccines and their parents called on Health Minister Norihisa Tamura on Friday, to permanently end the Government’s subsidy program for the vaccines.
The Bell tolls but who is listening?
Hilary Butler - Monday, July 01, 2013
The news that CSL refuses to take responsibility for flu vaccines which cause seizures in Saba Button, an Australian child, should toll the bell and wake a few people up. Look at CSL's reasoning:
“In a defence filed in court last week, CSL lawyer Belinda Thompson claimed Saba had two other shots, Neisvac and Priorix, on the same day and alleged they may have caused febrile convulsions and fever.
Ms Thompson said CSL was not required to do pre-marketing clinical studies for seasonal flu vaccines. She said her client was not told of at least 90 other children presented to Princess Margaret Hospital with adverse reactions - 19 of which involved seizures or convulsions - after receiving Fluvax between March 18 and April 15.”
HERE we have exactly the problem which has been pointed out ad nauseum before…. When three different vaccines are given together, how do you sort out what did what? Is anyone really surprised that CSL is screaming “This other company’s vaccine, or that other company’s vaccine could have done it. It’s their fault, not ours!” Pass the buckoh!!! Continue Reading
Part Two: Astounding Hypocrisy – ingestion and injection.
Hilary Butler - Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Part One is here.... While the mainstream media is crawling all over the meningitis outbreak stemming from fungus contaminated steroidal injections, and blame is focused on lack of regulation controlling small compounding pharmacies, the medical system chooses to ignore bigger issues than their current simplistic red herrings.
The issue which should be being discussed, is the difference between ingestion, and injection, and why a contaminant, can cause problems in a body not normally seen in the real world.
No-one is asking why it is that the the medical profession’s “bread and butter” for pain is either steroid injections, or pain killing drugs which vastly increase the rate of necrotising fasciitis? Why is treatment for pain so.. barbaric?
Common fungus - when ingested - is rarely a problem. When injected with steroid to shut down the immune system and therefore stop pain..., it can take on a whole new dimension.
The fact is that vaccines can have contaminants in them, which we just might not know about, like bacteria, viruses and other ingredients considered by the medical system to be safe. Even... DNA!!! The book picture below, was written in 1967 (with such an innocent title), and detailed what was known in that year, about culture contamination in live virus vaccines. Never mind the killed vaccines, which the medical literature states are also often contaminated.
Just think of the size of the encyclopedia, if they were to detail contamination in all vaccines before and after the Lubeck incident ?!!!
Vaccine contamination is occasionally admitted, usually by highlighting minor selective sins - like whatever the burned plastic wrap was, that was found by the FDA in the Gardasil vaccine. “Just an easily fixed systems error, don’t you know.”
“Contaminants” which are injected in either drugs or vaccines, can affect the body very differently to those same “contaminants” when they are found on the skin or in the gut.
What do vaccine contaminants do? What about DNA? What about aluminium? There are lots of medical articles now being published, sounding the alarm about aluminium in vaccines, but the medical system defaults to its routine dogma which says: “You “eat” aluminium, so it’s safe to inject it and the body just expels it from the body really fast.” Their own medical literature has stated for 11 years, that aluminium in vaccines is a significant contributor to the body burden (Yokel McNamara 2001) , because unlike “ingested” aluminium, the body absorbs injected aluminium into organs and bones.
Who is right? The medical literature or the medical system? What else, does the medical system not know, or admit to?
Years ago, we also heard that, “Squalene can be eaten, so there’s nothing wrong with injecting it as a vaccine adjuvant.” Really?
The USA meningitis outbreak from fungally contaminated steroid injections, graphically illustrates that something “injected” can create havoc in the body in a way which rarely happens in the normal world.
Significantly, the CDC is frantically running around looking for answers to fungal disease caused by contaminated steroid injections…, all in the name of “saving lives”, (15 deaths 231 cases) while criminal investigators from FDA comb the premises of the pharmacy!!
The media meticulously details a frantic CDC accurately tracking the number of the dead, the affected, and the minute details of the state of their health, ....just the same way as they tracked survivors and victims of the swine flu.
Yet, can the CDC or the FDA tell us how many girls have suffered side effects from Gardasil, or even give us a half-baked analysis of the course of any of the clinical problems in the victims? Goodness me, that's asking a bit much don't you think? What we see is…
All around the world, girls,– like the latest Gardasil casualty - are keeling over after Gardasil or Cervarix, and having their lives ruined, …..
..... while ... the CDC and FDA have no accurate Gardasil reaction numbers, no clues, no ideas, haven't sent the FDA crim squad into Merck...and just... DO ....nothing.
On the one hand, the CDC has this "Oh-so-concerned-and-meticulous" expose of contaminated steroid injections, and make great noise about investigating some piddly compounding pharmacy, Yet.. they cosy up to Merck, and refuse to even investigate the findings of L1 HPV genetically engineered DNA in the Gardasil vaccine – which according to Merck’s patent number 6,602,697, is a listed contaminant, and shouldn’t be there!
When confronted with this proof of contamination, the CDC and FDA simply patted Merck on the back and re-wrote the Gardasil script saying that they had always known there was HPVDNA in Gardasil, as an "expected ingredients" and ,- it's perfectly safe - and all Gardasil reactions are "coincidental"....., pass the bean dip.... Yawn.
FACT: Neither CDC nor FDA, can produce documentary evidence from Merck’s licensing application detailed this “expected” DNA.
FACT: Neither CDC nor FDA, can produce testing results detailing quantity of this "expected" L1 HPV DNA per vaccine dose.
FACT: Neither CDC nor FDA, can produce testing results showing that this “expected ingredient” has been demonstrated to be safe.
FACT: Neither CDC or FDA can explain why they allowed Merck’s datasheets to state “no DNA”,
FACT: Neither CDC or FDA can explain why the ingredient list does NOT state a quantity of this “expected” DNA, when all other ingredients in the patent are quantified and listed.
If the genetically engineered DNA in Gardasil is "expected" by the FDA and CDC..., then all the facts above are highly irregular.
As to Gardasil and Cervarix child casualties….? .... CDC doesn’t appear to show any concern. Their inaction reminds me of a statement in the Friday 1 June 1984 Federal Regulations, page 23007, regarding failures in polio testing, which reads:
“any possible doubts, whether or not well founded, about the safety of the vaccine cannot be allowed to exist in view of the need to assure that the vaccine will continue to be used to the maximum extent consistent with the nation's public health objectives.”
It’s hard to avoid the conclusion that the CDC is following a long term, well worn programme of vigilantly protecting worldwide vaccine manufacturing corporates involved in potentially vaccinating every single baby, child, adolescent, man, woman and the elderly.
Diligent head counting, and finding a "cure" for some fungus infected people... - fighting the good fight - creates the IMPRESSION in the public's mind, that that the FDA and CDC always conscientiously protect the public from everything..., including vaccines.
All I can say is, .... on all counts ... … what blatant ….. in your face.... hypocrisy. Continue Reading
Gardasil, fairywands and bulldust.
Hilary Butler - Monday, September 12, 2011
Sitting back watching the medical and political system defending Gardasil is quite amusing. First, the usual bloggers who fall under the “anti the anti-vaccine people” catagory, take uneducated speculative ranting swipes (and I’m not providing URLs because their ignorance is worse than their insolence), and then, as usual, the media doesn’t understand the significance of this issue. Either that, or they have been told to shut up. None of them lived through the polio/SV40 debacle, and ants have longer institutional memory than journalists living under high pressure situations where the motto is “write, present and forget”.
Part of what they face are the fairy-wands or bulldust waved by manufacturers and government officials, to try to persuade journalists not to run the story. After all, most journalists have no idea that this is the latest in a long history of vaccine contaminants. The manufacturers’ and authorities’ intent, is that journalists will think the issue a big yawn, and not put pen to paper (“Mustn’t scare the public, eh?!” Pass the bean dip, please...).
Oh my darling Portia
Hilary Butler - Tuesday, August 02, 2011
(royalty free from dreamstime.com)
Gardasil radio advertisements have started with a vengeance, because the MOH is not happy with the low uptake of Gardasil in New Zealand, so have mounted an all out propaganda campaign in an attempt to persuade young girls to say, "Yes" to Gardasil.
These adverts feature a young woman introducing herself as Portia and telling us all, of the wonderful benefits of this new vaccine out there, called Gardasil. Blah Blah Blah....
Apart from the irony of expecting girls to say yes, on the basis of a promo by a girl who gives zero meaningful information, perhaps the pressuretainment strategists should have thought about the name "Portia". Perhaps they think it sounds elegant, upper class, somewhat snobby and ever so brainy?
The name "Portia" struck me as funny on many levels. A portia, is a jumping spider which happens to get it's kicks out of cannibalising other spiders, and usually manages to demolish mating males before the deed is done. See image number 7. There are lots of different types of portia, many very colourful - and massively alluring.
A neat version on the "other one", which is, "come into my parlour, said the spider to the fly..." "Hairy Legs" would indeed be proud.... Continue Reading
A few voices are waking up to the fact that...
Hilary Butler - Saturday, May 28, 2011
.... that aluminium in vaccines just might not be all it's cracked up to be. Will your child be next? What will it take for parents to start to realise that the line they are being sold - that vaccines are perfectly safe, and wonderful...is basically "lies by omission"? The medical system can't say they don't know. All the evidence has been there for decades. Parents need to understand the concept of "willful ignorance", because that's the fundamental core of the Vaccine Industry, and those who are in their pay - even if they feebly protest that they are not - even if they say that all they care about is healthy children. This is the problem... willful... hidebound ... head in the: Continue Reading
No mumps jab? Stay home: school
Chickenpox: A new, dreaded disease?
Why so much hot air, Dr Lush?.
Jeremy Muir - Walking on barbed wire.
influenza misinformation mind manipulation Dr Offit infectious disease HPV, human papillomaviruses dogma control corruption Public Health conspiracy informed choice compliance data scupturing unvaccinated ignorance lies MoH democracy criminally negligent bullying convictions Merck medical history choice nutrition brainwashing Vested Interests death IMAC immunisation side effects compliance adverse reactions Department of Health denial propaganda control vaccine reactions conform hypocrisy stupidity marketing immune system medical system Influenza vaccine money coercion Gardasil manipulation
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Hilary’s Desk
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Biography – SI’K-OKSKITSIS – Volume XII (1891-1900) – Dictionary of Canadian Biography
DCB/DBC News
New Biographies
Minor Corrections
Biography of the Day
d. 21 Jan. 1910 in Montreal
From the Red River Settlement to Manitoba (1812–70)
Women in the DCB/DBC
Winning the Right to Vote
The Charlottetown and Quebec Conferences of 1864
Introductory Essays of the DCB/DBC
Exploring the Explorers
Canada’s Wartime Prime Ministers
SI’K-OKSKITSIS (Charcoal, or literally Black Wood Ashes; also known as Paka’panikapi, Lazy Young Man, and Opee-o’wun, The Palate), Blood Indian warrior and holy man; b. c. 1856 in what is now southern Alberta, son of Red Plume and Killed Twice; d. 16 March 1897 by hanging at Fort Macleod (Alta).
Charcoal, born to a large family, was related through one of his father’s wives to Seen From Afar [Peenaquim*], the warrior chief of the Mamyowi (Fish Eaters band). When he was still young, his family broke from the Fish Eaters, then led by Red Crow [Mékaisto], to form a band of their own. This band, which had a poor reputation within the tribe and was accused of indolence and troublemaking, was called the Uspoki-omiks (Shooting Up band). Charcoal did not adjust well to settled life on the Blood Indian Reserve (Alta), established in 1880, and was arrested in 1883 for killing a steer belonging to a nearby rancher. For this crime he spent a year in the North-West Mounted Police jail at Fort Macleod and after his release he vowed he would never be put behind bars again.
With no more battles or raids in which to participate now that the Bloods had given up their traditional nomadic, hunting life-style for the reserve, Charcoal turned to native religion, joining the sacred Dog Society and later the Horn Society. In addition he encouraged his fourth wife, Anu’tsis-tsis-aki (Pretty Wolverine Woman), to participate in the Motokix, the only secret society for women on the Blood reserve. By the mid 1890s she had become one of the leaders of the society and Charcoal was recognized as a holy man.
Soon after taking another wife, Iyokaki (Sleeping Woman), in 1896, Charcoal learned that Pretty Wolverine Woman was having an affair with one of her young cousins named Nina’msko’taput-sikumi (Medicine Pipe Man Returning with a Crane War Whoop). On 30 September he found them together and killed the Lothario by shooting him through the eye. Reservation life and the white man’s rules had been forgotten and Charcoal had returned to the traditional ways of his forefathers. Having killed, however, he believed that his life was over and that he would be hanged for his crime. To prepare for his entry into the land of the dead he reverted to two ancient customs of the Blood Indians: he decided to kill an important person whose spirit would announce his coming, and then kill Pretty Wolverine Woman and himself so that their spirits would travel together and she would eternally be his slave.
On the day Medicine Pipe Man’s body was found, 12 October, Charcoal attempted to kill Red Crow and then shot and wounded a farm instructor, Edward McNeill. He fled the reserve, with two wives, a daughter, a mother-in-law, and two stepsons, going south to Lee Creek (Alta) and then to the Blood Indian timber limit near the Montana border. In the mean time one of the biggest man-hunts in western Canadian history was being organized by NWMP superintendent Samuel Benfield Steele*. Concern in the Canadian and American press about the NWMP’s ability to handle Indian problems was already running high because of the successful flight of Almighty Voice [Kitchi-Manito-Waya] after he killed a police sergeant in 1895. Charcoal’s camp was discovered but, when a force of more than 24 armed men attacked on 17 October, he escaped on foot with his wives and a stepson; that evening he stole two NWMP horses and fled north toward the Porcupine Hills. By the next day the search party had grown to more than 100 mounted police and Indian scouts, but Charcoal continued to elude police patrols, travelling long distances and stealing fresh horses when his mounts were worn out. On 30 October, by which time his stepson and both wives had escaped from Charcoal, Steele had his entire family, 26 people including 2 children, aged 5 and 1, arrested to keep them from aiding him. Two of Charcoal’s brothers, Left Hand and Bear Back Bone, were released on 5 November to help capture the fugitive. In exchange for their cooperation, Steele allowed the release of Left Hand’s sick child and dropped charges of cattle-stealing against the son of Bear Back Bone.
Travelling between the Peigan Indian Reserve (Alta) and the Blood reserve, Charcoal continued to thwart the NWMP attempts to entrap him. On 9 November police picked up his trail near the Peigan reserve and the following day he was sighted by a patrol of Peigan scouts near Pincher Creek. Sergeant William Brock Wilde of the NWMP joined the pursuit and when he closed on Charcoal was shot and killed. The following night Charcoal arrived at his brothers’ camp on the Blood reserve where he was captured in the early morning of 12 November and turned over to the NWMP after an unsuccessful suicide attempt.
Charcoal was tried and convicted at Fort Macleod for the murder of Medicine Pipe Man and Wilde. Although the first conviction was successfully appealed, the second was upheld and Charcoal was hanged on the morning of 16 March 1897. Despite assurances from Lieutenant-Governor Charles Herbert Mackintosh* that the body would be turned over to his family for an Indian burial, Charcoal had been claimed as an eleventh-hour convert to Christianity and he was buried in the Roman Catholic cemetery at Stand Off (Alta) on the Blood reserve.
Hugh A. Dempsey
A full bibliography is given in H. A. Dempsey, Charcoal’s world (Saskatoon, 1978).
General Bibliography
© 1990–2020 University of Toronto/Université Laval
Occupations and Other Identifiers
First Nations – Blood
Region of Birth
North America – Canada – Alberta
Region of Activities
Related Biographies
KITCHI-MANITO-WAYA (Vol. 12)MÉKAISTO (Vol. 12)PEENAQUIM (Vol. 9)STEELE, Sir SAMUEL BENFIELD (Vol. 14)
PEENAQUIM
STEELE, Sir SAMUEL BENFIELD
KITCHI-MANITO-WAYA
MÉKAISTO
Hugh A. Dempsey, “SI’K-OKSKITSIS,” in Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 12, University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003–, accessed January 21, 2020, http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/si_k_okskitsis_12E.html.
The citation above shows the format for footnotes and endnotes according to the Chicago manual of style (16th edition). Information to be used in other citation formats:
Permalink: http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/si_k_okskitsis_12E.html
Author of Article: Hugh A. Dempsey
Title of Article: SI’K-OKSKITSIS
Publication Name: Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 12
Publisher: University of Toronto/Université Laval
Year of revision: 1990
Access Date: January 21, 2020
© 2003-2020 University of Toronto/Université Laval
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The tragician blog
Bulldog stories
The true believers
'There's always next year': goodbye to 2011
Days like these: the preliminary final, 1997
Calling all Bulldog stories
Footy life, from both sides now
It was a busy weekend for the Bulldog Tragician.
Firstly, I was part of a panel discussion at the Williamstown Literary Festival. The topic was "Living footy", and the advertising blurb said:
Fans live footy. They fall into its clutches and are happy to be tossed about in a state of battered uncertainty. It’s all about hope and joy and other important stuff.
Whether you’re in the grip of footy or not, you can’t help but see the impact it has on people. It consumes them. Us! Reasonable, intelligent, capable people. Three footy fans, intrigued by the depth of their own feeling, have spent a lot of time thinking about what footy means to them – and writing of their own experience.
Flattered at being described as reasonable, intelligent and even capable, I joined fellow footy tragics John Harms and Yvette Wroby for our session. It's surely no coincidence that all of us have written about the pain of supporting an unsuccessful football team. John is a Cats' man; Yvette, who now goes everywhere magnificently attired in red, white and black, of course supports the Saints. Our magnificently flaky, frequently underperforming teams, have brought us as much heartache as joy.
Flaky no longer describes the Cats, though; John has now seen the unfolding of a Geelong dynasty which doesn't seem close to ending. Yvette has watched her Saints in three grand finals, including the agony of a draw. Yvette says she doesn't worry any more about when the Saints will get to experience the elation, the euphoria, that John and I now have. It will come one day, she says. A simple faith that I had never been able to achieve in the Dogs' long years in the footy wildnerness.
The three of us had no trouble yarning about why it all mattered, swapping nostalgic stories of our early footy memories, reminiscing about the old suburban grounds, confessing to ridiculous superstitions and paranoid beliefs that our items of clothing, positions on the couch, or other such factors were somehow resulting in runs of goals. Or the reverse.
A Saints' fan in his 80s raised a laugh when he asked whether I thought there was any cure to barracking for his team. I told him not only was there definitely no cure, but after what I'd experienced with last year's flag, he shouldn't wish for one anyway.
On Sunday I was a guest of the 3AW pre-match panel. Again I told the story of why my team has always mattered to me through years of failure, of my western suburbs' upbringing, of family, of a sense of place.
I was asked by Matthew Richardson when I first realised this group was something special. The final against West Coast, I replied, though the answer to these things is never quite as clear cut as that, is far too simple and pat to capture how doubt and hope and fear and joy ebb and flow in the mind of the barracker.
Before I left the commentary box, Richo said to me how much he wished that he would see a similar sort of joy one day for his team Richmond. Richo is one of those I once called The Unrewarded: loyal, beloved one-club players, who embody the spirit of their club, yet never taste the ultimate success. Our players have always been disproportionately represented in this cruelly unfair list: Chris Grant, Brad Johnson, Rohan Smith, Scott West, Daniel Giansiracusa.
Richo played 282 games for the club his dad represented as well. Kicked 800 goals (ten of these, regrettably enough, in a single game against us the Dogs in 2004).
Played just three finals. And only one of these was a win.
I didn't cross paths with the next guest who was to follow me, our captain Bob. Our performance against Melbourne, we all knew, would play a big part in determining whether Bob, currently suffering an injury setback, would remain a card-carrying member of the Unrewarded.
I returned to my seat in time for the first bounce, hoping to shake my uneasy sense that our faltering form of late would follow us into this vital match.
What unfolded was shattering, hard to watch. An apparent return to a past we prayed, and hoped, had been banished forever.
So stark was the gap between the 2016 heroes and the desperately out-of-touch Bulldogs I developed a theory that somehow, a crew of skilled impersonators had pulled a daring stunt, locking the actual Bulldogs premiers into the training rooms while, in the ultimate practical joke, they took the field in their stead.
Or perhaps what had happened was borrowed from one of those interminable, long-running soapies like The Bold and the Beautiful, in which a long-running character is suddenly replaced by a new actor, with only a voice-over as explanation. I began to expect an announcement at some point, along these lines: 'The part of Easton Wood is now being played by Lukas Markovic.'
None of us could comprehend what was happening. None of us really knew what our expected emotional reactions, after the premiership which was supposed to change everything, should be in this unfamiliar territory, the post-premiership world. Should we launch into irrational, Danny-from-Droop-st panic? (that bloody flag! it's the worst thing that ever happened to us). Should we sit back in resigned torpor, chanting rhythmically: I saw a premiership in my lifetime and that's all that matters?
Like the well-worn philosophical dilemma that used to be furiously debated by Bulldogs' fans - the question of 'was it ok be happy with an honourable loss?' - divisions broke out as we struggled to understand the perplexingly awful performance.
Many condemned our club for 'celebrating too hard'. There were actually calls from some fans for the sign, ever so proudly emblazoned on the Whitten Oval - 2016 premiers - to be removed. It was, some said, giving our players an inflated sense of self importance!
Driving home, I drew upon my well-worn strategy of a media blackout. An ungracious loser like myself (you'd think I'd be better at it after decades of practice) really didn't want to hear gushing, albeit well-deserved compliments, about the red-hot Dees, who had out-men-of-mayhem-ed us.
I began thinking about a light-hearted question I was asked in my 3AW interview, about whether I myself was suffering a premiership hangover. I'd fumbled for words to describe what our new world has been like since we'd surfed that tidal wave of raw and pure emotion. 'Hangover' is too glib a term to capture that kaleidoscope of feelings left behind by that month of brilliant, audacious footy, that lion-hearted win against all odds. Maybe some things can't be captured at all.
I turned on the music system. Somehow songs that bob up post-loss always feel portentous. Sure enough, my old soul-mate in teenage angst, Joni Mitchell was the first one to emerge from the ipod shuffle. (I've never before confessed to a dark phase of my Tragician journey. It's time to reveal that as a moody teen, I completely renounced footy. I'd retreated to my Deer Park bedroom to listen to introspective singer-songwriters such as Joni, James Taylor and Neil Young, and squabble with my Libba Sister, who much preferred Abba. Fortunately I came to my senses,embracing footy once more - just in time for the halcyon Royce Hart era and a year where we won just two matches).
You had to hand it to Joni, though, because a line from one of her best known songs tumbled out and, I felt, expressed what I couldn't capture, about the impact of the premiership.
Moons and Junes and ferries wheels, the dizzy dancing way you feel, as every fairy tale comes real.
It's a lot more poetic than a mere premiership hangover, I decided.
I've found myself thinking about Richo a bit this week, as normality returns, Joni's mournful voice recedes, and I become resigned to the idea that for whatever reason, we are playing at nowhere near the same level as 2016. We could well miss the eight, and even with Bevo's wizardry, a second premiership this year no longer feels remotely possible.
There was such a wistful note in Richo's comment to me. It kept me thinking about about what he missed out on, what so many Tigers' fans have never known. A vivid memory recurred, of Richo out on the field on Grand Final Day. He was cradling a Channel seven microphone instead of a Sherrin, wearing a smart suit instead of mud-splattered yellow and black, and trying to corral our celebrating players for an interview while they embarked on that joyous victory lap.
How many times must he have envisaged these moments, fantasised about sharing this elation with his team-mates and the euphoric fans. Longing, yearning, to experience that 'hope and joy and other important stuff.'
In the background, Luke Dahlhaus was openly weeping. The Bont stood proudly astride the MCG fence, holding up the precious cup to us, the fans. Bob Murphy - who idolised Richo as a kid - walked the boundary line, crying with us and for us: the 'sons and daughters of the west.'
Richo laughed along as he cornered, and then tried to get a sensible answer from, the exuberant Tom Liberatore. Libba (The Second) had played all four taxing finals, two of them interstate, with an appalling ankle injury which should have ended his season.
'Happy days, Richo! happy days,' said our Libba, and then he ran off to join his teammates and Bulldog family in a shower of red white and blue confetti.
*********************************************************************************************************************************
Listen to my interview on 3AW.
With John and Yvette at the Williamstown Literary Festival. Visit footyalmanac.com.au to find out more about my talented fellow panellists.
Beautifully put, BT. It's all worth it.
But 'The part of Easton Wood is now being played by Lukas Markovic.' Ha ha ha!
'The mighty west', a book about the 2016 premiership, is based on the Bulldog Tragician blog, and is available through Black Inc books
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The Bulldog Tragician, a shadowy figure, is a lifelong supporter of the Footscray FC and Western Bulldogs.
The Tragician blog began in 2013 as a way of recording what it is like to barrack for a perennially unsuccessful team. The Tragician has been somewhat startled by the astonishing premiership victory, but vows to blog on to see what being a smug winner is actually like.
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2016 Finals
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All our answers lie in dreams…
Charlotte “Chickie ” Coates is a modern woman in her mid-forties. Independent, she’s never been married. Although caring and loving, she’s never had children. She doesn’t have time for a steady boyfriend, which is okay with her. The men she dates are all over the age of seventy and nothing more than friends and corporate confidantes, anyway.
She’s a still-beautiful ex-supermodel who does seem to have everything else. She’s the CEO and owner of a billion-dollar empire that’s made her one of the richest, most powerful businesswomen in the world.
You’d think that spiritual things don’t matter to her. Wrong. Her entire childhood was shaped by the trusted power of the unseen and the metaphysical. Her grandmother was the personal stenographer for the greatest psychic medium of all time: Edgar Cayce. Chickie’s been raised and surrounded by spiritual women all her life.
And that life is about to change in astounding ways.
The recent death of her Aunt Gladys has brought Chickie to beautiful Mackinac Island, Michigan, a place steeped in times gone by where peaceful souls and mischievous spirits still linger together. With one innocent ferry ride across Lake Huron, Chickie goes from New York City town cars and taxis to horse-drawn carriages and prophetic dreams that magically transform everyone she meets—most of all, Chickie herself.
There’s something strange about Aunt Gladys’s island mansion, and it’s borne of some mystical energy and producing amazing prophecy that seeps into Chickie the minute she steps inside.
But mystery is not the only thing Chickie is destined to greet. Love waits. Love beckons. Love keeps its own magical promise.
And even though Chickie doesn’t want to get swept away by a man who’s fourteen years her junior named Benjamin Carlisle, and she doesn’t want to fall in love with his two children, Georgie and Grace, and she really doesn’t want to inherit a Golden Retriever named, “Amber”… destiny has already made up its mind.
In this scene, Chickie is introduced to the three of them for the first time by the island doctor, the rascally Norman Beaney, on the front lawn of Aunt Gladys’s home…
Chickie’s jaw dropped and every speck of saliva in her mouth dried up. Everything faded, blurred. Everything except him. It was like he’d stepped through a portal from another dimension and took form before her very eyes.
It took a lot of man to make her look twice, so this was a historic event.
He should have come bounding into this scene riding a big black horse, his mane of flowing dark hair swishing in slow motion on the wind. Chickie shook her head and blinked, but the real scene didn’t change. The children’s father all but strutted his way toward them. He was reaching inside the small cooler he carried, not even noticing them yet. He knew how to move, she’d give him that, with a natural grace and a smoldering style every photographer she’d ever known desired in a male supermodel.
He was a vision to behold. Loose-hipped, long, and rock-solid. He was tall, several inches over six feet, which in reality made him too big to be a model. He was wearing a ratty old black tank top that revealed his buffed arms and wide shoulders, his sun-browned skin glistening with beads of perspiration and what looked like flecks of white paint. His jeans were old and frayed, with holes not at the knees like any self-respecting scruffy jeans should be, but over the shin of one leg, and up on his thigh on the other. He moved fluidly, forcefully, long strides and masculine muscle carrying him forward.
But it was his hair. That hair didn’t belong on some common laborer on some innocent northern Michigan island. It flowed over his shoulders and down his back in dark sable waves like a romantic rake, a sensuous libertine, a pagan god of some hedonistic kingdom. She didn’t know what she’d expected him to look like, but it sure as hell wasn’t this.
He wasn’t watching where he was going, and he stepped in a hole. He stopped whistling with an “oops.” Instead of cursing the childish perpetrators, though, he laughed, and then he looked up, straight into her eyes. He halted, his smile disappearing like a splash of brilliant sunlight that had been attacked by a cumulus cloud. Then in one sweep, his eyes licked their way up her entire body. She felt the moistness of his recognition, and somehow she knew it was a familiarity that would go beyond what was being born right now. How odd that her long-dormant intuition and spiritual nature should leap awake at this moment, but then she felt the chill of the Michigan breeze whisk through her and remembered where she was: on the turf of her aunt’s holy ground. She blurted out what had been her first thought when she’d seen him. “If it isn’t Fabio.”
Beaney guffawed and smacked her with optimistic force on the shoulder. “Good one, missy. Hi, Benjy.”
“Hi Doc,” he replied.
“Who’s Fabio?” Grace asked her dad.
“He’s a figment of a million women’s imaginations.”
“What’s a figment?”
“A fantasy sported by delusional females.”
“Hey…” started Chickie.
Grace broke in. “His name is Benjamin, but a lot of people just call him Benjy.” She took Chickie’s hand. “Dad, look. Aunt Chickie.”
Chickie and Benjamin said it together:
“I’m not really your aunt.”
“She’s not really your aunt.”
“Well, neither was Gladys, but we called her aunt,” Grace pointed out.
“Good point,” said Beaney. “Come on, everybody.” He grabbed Chickie’s arm and led her over while the kids scrambled ahead with the dog. “Our long-awaited Charlotte has finally arrived, Benjy.”
Since he just stood there, she stuck out her hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
He pulled out a plastic carton with the straw attached and handed it to Grace, then he gripped Chickie’s hand and squeezed. “Charlotte.”
“Call me Chickie, please.” His hand was hot in the palm and cold at his fingertips, his grip sure and bold. He was a study in contrasts.
“Call me Benjamin.” He let go and reached in for another juice carton, then dropped the cooler on the grass, all without breaking eye contact. Georgie pulled on his arm when he didn’t hand him his drink.
“Daddy, juice, please.”
Benjamin looked down at his son. “Oh. Sorry, buddy.” He detached the straw, then ripped the covering off with his straight white teeth and spit it into the cooler. Plunging the straw into the carton, he handed it over. “Here you go.” He went back to Chickie and did an even more thorough scan this time, from her stylish navy flats, up her mile-long legs, past her still-narrow waist, over those—Holy God—still-young-looking breasts, up the milky arch of an unwrinkled neck, and then on to the banquet of delicious features that hit him square in the gut, just like he’d been afraid they would do. Amazing, since she was dressed like an uptight CEO—in a high-end couture number from the Bluesuits Collection, if he wasn’t mistaken, or maybe it was one of her own designs—but he was sure of it. She was trouble. Big trouble. There was a blemish on her check. It was the only mark of normality on an otherwise blessed landscape. And her hair. It was longer than his and ten times as lush. His heart gave one great leap of lust and burst into the air on one of his infamous smiles. “Gladys was right.”
Chickie let out a breath and fought for more. That smile of his was sucking the spirit right out of her body. “About what?”
“You are almost as tall as me.”
“Does that surprise you?”
“Not especially.”
“Intimidated?”
His grin grew. “Not hardly.” Reaching into his back pocket, he brought out a bottle of Guinness. He twisted the cap off and took a contemplative drink. “Disappointed?”
“Not hardly,” she tossed back.
Benjamin laughed. “She’s funny, Beaney.” He thrust the bottle in her hand while tossing the top down into the cooler. “Here, you look parched.”
Chickie studied the bottle and then thought, why not? Taking a long, slow drink, she lowered her eyelashes and gave him the come-hither look she’d perfected when she’d been eighteen and doing it for European photographers. His pupils dilated, and then it hit her: what in the world was she doing? He must be a decade younger than she was—she took in his kids—and married, for heaven’s sakes, and apparently reliving his teenage years by flirting, verbal sparring, and sporting wild hairdos. Not wanting to deal with him like this any more, she looked up the front steps to the house and more grief flooded her. “Aunt Gladys.” Blindly, she handed him back his bottle and covered her lips with her fingers. It was really true: Aunt Gladys was actually gone.
Noticing her impending meltdown, Benjamin set the beer bottle in the cooler. “Listen, kids, while you help Beaney take the horses back to the stable, I’m going to help Aunt Chickie get settled.”
“Yes, boys and girls, let’s get to it, shall we?” Beaney said, taking Georgie’s hand.
“Come on,” Benjamin murmured, cupping her elbow. “I’ll show you in.” He started walking her up the steps. “Take Amber with you, too,” he said to Grace.
“Okay, Daddy. Come on, Amber, let’s go for a ride.” She and the dog ran to the carriage and clambered up on the seat, but Georgie pulled away and followed his father up the stairs.
“Aunt Chickie,” he said in his hoarse little voice.
She looked down.
He patted her thigh. “Don’t worry. Aunt Gladys is watching over us. Daddy says.”
Chickie’s smile had never felt sadder. “Thank you, Georgie. I’ll try to remember that.”
“Go on with Beaney now, honey,” Benjamin murmured. He met Chickie’s gleaming eyes, so close to him now. She was an astonishingly beautiful woman, something else Gladys had been right about. “I loved her, too,” he stated simply, his eyes starting to shine in spite of his will to contain any and all emotion in front of this woman.
She nodded, not wanting to speak. He was even younger than she’d first thought. No deep lines around his dreamy brown eyes, the lashes thick and dark. No sagging skin at his jaw line, just a supple roundness that made him seem boyishly romantic. And his body wasn’t one that wore the march of time yet. It was hard-looking and smelled like fertile, earthy air. Compared to the older men she’d always dated, this guy was foreign and entirely new. When they came to the door, he reached into his pocket and took out a key. It turned easily in the keyhole. “You have your own key?” she asked.
Benjamin studied it in his hand, surprised by her question. “Of course.” At her look of cautious civility, he frowned. “Gladys and I were good friends. I watched out for her, took care of the little odds and ends around here. By the way,” he added, “I noticed that loose shutter. I’ll fix it as soon as I can.”
Chickie was starting to wonder just what all this so-called closeness was really about. She straightened her shoulders, her raw emotions back under control. He was probably worried about losing out on the income. “Thank you. Please bill me for any expenses, or did Aunt Gladys have an account you use?” If it were possible, he grew five indignant inches in height.
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
Oh, wasn’t he righteous all of a sudden? “I’m sorry if I offended you. I’m just trying to get the lay of the land.”
Benjamin stepped closer. She stepped back. “Well, if you ask me, Charlotte, you’re doing a lousy job.” He shoved the leaded stained-glass windowed door open so it banged into the wall, then he grabbed her hand, slapped the key in her palm, and without waiting for her to go first, he sauntered inside the sun porch like he owned the place. Yanking one of Grace’s hair ties out of his pocket, he pulled his hair into a ponytail. Thank God he was getting it cut later today because it was driving him crazy. He faced her, spitting out his words like a march to war instead of as a simple explanation. “This was one of her favorite parts of the house. She told me when she couldn’t sleep or she needed to figure out some puzzling notion, she never failed to find comfort out here.”
Chickie stepped into a wide slash of sunlight burning across the white-painted wooden floor. It was an enormous porch, with large-paned windows that gleamed, offering a crystal-clear view of the Straits of Mackinac that was spectacular. She watched with growing amusement as he boldly took control and opened a side window and let in a crisp breeze that still managed to surprise her by its stark purity. The furniture was white wicker with thick royal blue cushions on the chairs. A white wicker birdcage hung in the corner, empty. Thank God, she hadn’t inherited another pet. There were a couple Tiffany lamps on wrought iron end tables, and next to the wall was a curious piece facing the water: a dark green velvet couch. It was backless and a very simple design. “How odd,” she murmured and went over to it.
“How so?” he asked and joined her there.
She leaned over and pushed down a couple times. The fabric on the long tufted cushion was faded where bodies had rested many times over the years. There was a dip in the middle to confirm that. “This daybed doesn’t fit in with the rest of everything out here.” She sat down on it and sank into softness and ageless time. It was comfortable, but totally out of place. “Maybe it had some sentimental value,” she mused.
Benjamin was tired. Remembering he was filthy, he grabbed a folded afghan and placed it on the couch before he sank down beside her.
“Your wife has taught you well.” Chickie remarked.
He frowned over at her. “What?”
She waved her hand at the blanket. “Not to get anything dirty with outside grime.”
“I’m divorced.”
“You are?”
“Oh.” Chickie swiped at remnants of dog gunk. “I’m sorry.”
Benjamin leaned his forearms on his thighs. “Don’t be.”
“For the children then.”
He rubbed his hands over his eyes and sighed. “Yeah, for them, certainly. But we do all right.”
He sat up straight and turned back. “You do?”
“You have adorable, lovely children.”
Benjamin smiled. His fine-hewn instincts told him she was being sincere. Maybe she wasn’t so unapproachable after all. “Thanks. It’s nice that you noticed.” His smile faded. “I didn’t help Gladys for the money.”
“I know that, and I’m sorry I made such an accusation. I’m just overwhelmed by losing her.” She looked at the key in her hand, then placed it on the cushion between them and slid it toward him. “You can have this back.”
Benjamin studied it for a couple seconds. He could tell she wasn’t wholly comfortable giving him access to what was now hers. He slid it back. “Keep it. I have to get used to the fact everything’s changed.” He stood and towered over her. She’d definitely broken past his fortified barrier and was swiftly moving in to more vulnerable territory. He felt the pull of her in his heart, in his gut…lower. He’d been expecting it. “Gladys told me…”
Chickie looked up, way up. And the daybed beneath her seemed to vibrate, but then she realized it was an awakening from a deeper place somewhere inside her. “What did she tell you?” He only shook his head and then went over and opened another window. Chickie looked for something to focus on and noticed the wrapped present on the end table. “What’s this?” She reached over and got it. Checking the small attached card, she saw her name, written in her aunt’s handwriting. “For me?”
He looked over. “I found it up in her room. She was always giving people presents. She gave me one just before she died.” How she’d known the name of his favorite poet should have surprised him, but it hadn’t. He thought of something else he figured Chickie should know. “I think you’re going to find letters addressed to you all over the house in there.”
She gazed up with wide eyes. “Really? Did she tell you that, too?”
He shook his head. “I found one in the main parlor, and I have a feeling there are more. And while I have no proof of this, I also believe Gladys knew for several months her time was drawing near.” He stuck his thumbs in the back pockets of his jeans. “Why don’t you open it?”
“Okay.” She ripped open the paper and found a worn but in-excellent-condition book of poetry. She turned it over in her hands, then opened it to where there was a feminine Victorian book mark. She put her fingers to her lips. “He’s my favorite.”
He took the book from her. It matched the one he’d received.
“Yeats,” she explained, “an Irish poet who was a prominent figure in twentieth century literature.”
Benjamin almost tossed it back in her face. She thought he was too stupid to know on his own. “Is that so?” He handed it back. “It’s a first edition, I bet.” Just like his copy.
Chickie checked. “It is.” She hugged it to her chest, then realized he probably thought she was hopelessly old and out of style. Oh, who cared what he thought? And maybe she was condemning him without a trial, but she stood, wanting him gone so she could change her clothes and regroup. “Well, I don’t want to keep you. I’m sure you have better things to do than babysit me.”
At her curt dismissal, he decided she was a pain after all. Why did she make him feel like an uncultured, dimwitted fool? The hell with this. He did have work to finish. “You’re right,” he said, marching for the door.
Chickie thought of something. “Wait, Benjamin.”
He turned, all but stamping his scuffed, uncouth work shoe. “Yeah?”
“Do you by any chance know Mr. Carlisle?”
He slowly walked back to her. “Who?”
“Mr. Carlisle. The older gentleman who owns the infamous Melisande Hotel.”
Benjamin had just known it. She was a typical big-city gold digger, looking for the deepest stake on the island—and she thought he was nothing more than the local handyman. “Of course. Everyone knows the old codger.” She totally missed his sarcastic tone.
Chickie smiled. “Beaney says he’s an enigma.”
Benjamin grinned, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “I’d agree with that assessment. As for old Mr. Carlisle, go to his dining room for dinner tonight. He reserves a table there in Gladys’s name. She ate there almost every evening. He’ll extend the same courtesy to you, I’m sure. If you’re lucky, he’ll stop by your table, and you can check him out yourself.”
Chickie wasn’t certain, but that gleam in his eyes seemed to have an evil intent to it. “Are you leveling with me?”
Benjamin shook his head. “You’re some piece of work. Figure it out yourself.” He headed outside as she sank onto the daybed again and picked up that stupid key. Just to be contrary, he stuck his head back in. “Hey, Chickie Baby.” When she looked over, with great relish he quoted one of his favorite poetic lines: “I bring you with reverent hands the books of my numberless dreams.”
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Dinar Chronicles
Intel (Alternate)
Intel (Feb - Dec 2014)
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BREAKING- Accused Child Killer Resigns from Top Vatican Office: Jesuit Head Adolfo Pachon Makes Startling Announcement
ITCCS Breaking News – May 25, 2014
Amidst rumours that Pope Francis, Jorge Bergoglio, may step down from his office because of his public prosecution for child trafficking and murder, one of his fellow defendants has just done so.
Jesuit Superior General Adolfo Nicolas Pachon announced suddenly this week that he will resign from his office at the next General Congress of the Jesuits.
Along with Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, Bergoglio and Pachon are primary defendants in an historic criminal lawsuit being conducted by the International Common Law Court of Justice in Brussels that commenced on April 7, 2014. Several eyewitnesses who have given their deposition to the Court claim they witnessed Welby, Bergoglio and Pachon participate in child rape and sacrifice rituals connected to the notorious Jesuit-run Ninth Circle cult, during 2009 and 2010.
In a statement generally unreported by the world media, Pachon announced on May 20 that he was stepping down from his office without giving a reason.
The Italian TV news agency Rome Reports called Pachon’s resignation “unusual … for one of the leading prelates in the church”.
Pachon is the third top Vatican official to resign while in office after being prosecuted by the ICLCJ for crimes against humanity. Former Pope Benedict, Joseph Ratzinger, abdicated on February 11, 2013, barely two weeks before the ICLCJ jury found him guilty of complicity in child trafficking and murder. Another primary defendant in the same case, Vatican Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone, also resigned after the verdict.
ITCCS Field Secretary Kevin Annett commented today from Canada,
“This is yet another huge admission of guilt by some of the most powerful men in the papacy. Obviously they are not untouchable, and their whole corrupt criminal syndicate is coming down. We should all take hope from this, and see that the law in the hands of the people can topple the worst tyrants.”
A recent interview with Kevin Annett about the ICLCJ trial and other news is posted at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CCX_oujvuMg&feature=youtu.be . It can be accessed (below) at thewww.itccs.org, May 24, 2014 posting.
Further updates from the Court will follow.
Issued by The ICLCJ Directorate, 25 May, 2014 (GMT)
www.iclcj.com
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Diploma Courses Online > Design > Design Tools > Drawing and Painting on the iPad with Procreate
Drawing and Painting on the iPad with Procreate
Learn everything you need to know about Procreate with hands on drawing lessons. Now updated for Procreate 4.1.
Brad Colbow
Users will have a deep understanding of Procreate
Create Speedraw videos they can post online
Create and import custom brushes
Have a basic understanding of how to compose and create a painting
From the moment Steve Jobs walked on stage and unveiled the iPad I’ve wanted to draw on one. It took a couple years for the hardware and software to catch up but now the iPad a fantastic little art studio you can easily take anywhere.
I believe it’s best to learn through examples. here is what we will be doing in this course:
We will be going over the tools
After going over the tools we will be using them to draw to reinforce how they work
The drawing sessions are simple and easy to follow, anyone can do them
We will go through how simple comic strips are made step by stem from drawing panels to pencils to inks to colors and backgrounds
We will be learning all the shortcuts and options associated with each and every tool.
The final project will take all the skills we’ve learned and combining them into one final painting
Why Procreate? The best drawing app for he iPad is Procreate. procreate has been listed in the iPad’s top selling apps month after month and for good reason. It rivals many desktops apps for power and features. In this class we tackle Procreate to start drawing on the iPad.
Who is this for:
People who want to learn to draw but don’t know where to start
Illustrators looking to learn everything about Procreate
People who love drawing and sketching and want to start doing it digitally
Now updated for Procreate 4.
Introduction to Procreate
Welcome to the course where we are going to be drawing in Procreate on the iPad. in this lecture I'm going over the course and what you can expect and what you will need to take this class.
Getting Started - Files and Folders
Procreate's gallery is pretty simple but there are a lot of hidden features here like the ability to create folders, exporting and bulk actions.
Getting Started - Creating a Canvas
The canvas is where you draw in Procreate. By default it's the size of your screen but there is a lot of flexibility in the sizes, unites of measurement and DPI that you can use.
Get to Know the Tools
The Basic Tools
Where are the brushes? How do I erase? How do I change brushes sizes? We go over the basics and where you can find everything in Procreate.
The Brush Tool
The brush tool is one of the most powerful features in Procreate. In this section we go over some of the brush presets that can be pencils, pens, paint brushes, air brushes, special effects and much much more.
Shading With Brushes
In this section we take some of the brushes and use them in a practical application, shading a sphere. This is a common digital painting technique and this is how you do it in Procreate.
This is the first activity. I want you to take what we learned about brushes and use them to shade some spheres or share to get a feel for the different brushes available in Procreate.
Intro to Layers
Making a layer is easy, but how do the pros use layers? That's what we're going over in this section. And to do it we're going to be sketching and painting a strawberry.
Intro to Layers part 2
Now that we have the sketch and basic colors in place we are going to add shadows and shadings.
Blend Modes
There is a lot more to layers beyond just opacity. There are a lot of blending modes. In this section I go over the blending modes and talk about how we can use them in our work.
Color and Color Pallets
There are a lot of cool features tucked into the color picker as well. There are color pallet options. You can create, share and delete color pallets.
Advanced Brush Tool
There is a lot more you can do with the brush tool. I'm changing things up in this video and showing my hands because this is an iPad program there are a lot of hand gestures we can use to speed up our drawing process.
Drawing A Comic
Selection Tool Part 1
The selection tool? that doesn't sound very exciting, but it is. This addition to procreate really speeds up your drawing. We go into detail in this section on how to use it.
Now that we have a general idea what can be done with the selection tool we put it to work. We are going to start drawing a comic strip starting with the panels and how the selection tool speeds that up.
Lets keep drawing our comic. In this section were going to reinforce a lot of the things we've learned in the last couple sections of this tutorial.
Coloring The Comic
In this section we go over coloring. Specifically we dive into something called a reference layer that allows us to quickly color while keeping our colors on a separate layer.
Coloring Backgrounds
In this section we're coloring the backgrounds. We're also going to be learning about blurring and color adjustments.
This is the second activity. The goal is to take what you have learned so far and apply it to your own comic strip.
More Cool Features
There are a lot of features in Procreate that aren't immediately noticeable. Importing and exporting is one of them. You can export in many formats you can even bring in you Photoshop files and edit them and export them back to Photoshop.
One of the coolest features in Procreate is the ability to export a speed drawing of your artwork you can share on social media. But there is even more in here like the ability to record your voice or stream online live as you draw.
Smudge Tools
There is also a smudge tool. In this lesson I go over the basics of how it works and how to apply textures to your smudges.
Advanced Hand Gestures
More hand gestures. These go more in depth.
Organizing Brushes
We've already learned all about using brushes, but how do you organize them? can I put all my favorites in one place? (spoiler alert: Yes!)
Creating Brushes
Now that our brushes are organized lets make some new ones from scratch. Do you have a great texture or just want to recreate a brush that you loved from another app, you can do that here.
Importing Brushes
If you don't want to make your own brushes no worries, there are thousands of brushes you can grab online, some of them really amazing too. In this section we go over where you can find them and how to import them.
Options, Options and More Options
There is a lot more in Procreate. In this section I go over all the little options where you can customize this app to your liking.
Final Project Part 1
This is the final project. Where we take everything we've learned up to this point and put it into one composition.
In part two we start creating the background and layer textures on top of each other to create some cool effects.
This is it, we wrap up our final project and add more textures to the leaves.
Bonus: Drawing with Masks
Several folks have asked me to go into more details about masks and how those can be used in their artwork. In this section I use some newspaper textures and apply them to my illustration using masks.
Procreate 4.1 Updates
Review of the new features
There have been some new features added in the latest version of Procreate, in this section I'll be reviewing these new features from a high level.
Drawing Guides
The perspective guide has been around for a little while but Procreate has really fleshed out their drawing guides by adding, standard grids, isometric grids and symmetry tools.
Isometric drawing
I love drawing on isometric grids, it's similar to 3d drawing but more limited. This makes it a great place to start if you're diving into 3d illustration.
In this section we dive deeper into drawing on the perspective grid
New Effects
Procreate has added some pretty cool new warping effects in 4.1. Here we go over what you can do with some of those new effects and how they work.
Banner Project Part 1
$10 $19.99 49.97% off
5 hours on-demand video
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Visa requirement to travel from Malaysia to Republic of the Congo
Additional informations : -Visa is not required for Holders of a V.I.P invitation letter.
Check visa requirement for traveling from Republic of the Congo to Malaysia !
Looking for embassy and consulates of Republic of the Congo in Malaysia ?
Travel from Malaysia to Republic of the Congo, Travel to Republic of the Congo from Malaysia, Visit Republic of the Congo from Malaysia, Holidays in Republic of the Congo for a national of Malaysia, Vacation in Republic of the Congo for a citizen of Malaysia, Going to Republic of the Congo from Malaysia
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The Retro RBI Report: "Preggers"
Here's the truth: in reality, "Preggers" is what's kept me from continuing the Retro RBI Report. Because in my head, I love "Preggers." "Preggers," as I have enshrined it in my memory, represents the best Glee has ever been, with character moments that take precedence over plot device or song choice, and enough humor and heart to charm even the grumpiest viewer into loving this underdog of a show.
Of course, "Preggers" is only one in a handful of episodes that stir such rhapsodizing in the hearts of Glee's more embittered fans, and as I am one of them, and would like to keep the memory of simpler and happier times intact, I did not relish watching "Preggers" again with a critical eye. What if the cynicism of my latter Glee days tarnished what I had previously thought one of the show's best? So I did the mature and rational thing: I avoided rewatching it completely.
But the day has come for me to yank my ostrich head out of the sand and really see if "Preggers" stands the test of time, or if it only looks good now by comparison.
"Preggers," written and directed by Brad Falchuk.
You can stop holding your breath: "Preggers" still holds water. (Ew.) But I will say that after watching it, I did take it off the pedestal - or at least demoted it to a less lofty one. It's not that "Preggers" is at all bad, but I definitely noticed that some complaints I've made with the show these days could actually be made about "Preggers" as well - especially knowing how the chips have fallen in episodes since.
What "Preggers" does considerably well with is the intersection of its storylines - and how they're delineated. There are five main thoroughfares charting through the episode, and they're balanced nicely between character-based motivation and character-based consequence. Almost all of them are continuations of previously-established storylines and relationships, or introduced as the beginning of a longer arc - only one rises and falls within the course of the episode.
As a result, I was astonished by the tempered pacing in "Preggers." These days when I watch an episode of Glee, it feels a little bit like a roller coaster that might run off its tracks - complete with the exhilarating sense of bewilderment and nausea and general overstimulation. But "Preggers" charts steadily and surely, and gave its characters moments to breathe, and express themselves, and moments for the audience to really understand them. And you'd be shocked these days to discover a Glee episode with only one musical number - "Preggers" offers only "Taking Chances," and it's swift, understated, and over before you know it. This is an episode that puts effort into not only delineating its characters but also purposefully crossing their paths, and for that, it easily remains one of the best that Glee's ever done.
The one storyline that rises and falls within "Preggers" is best representative of the episode as a whole, despite the title: Kurt Hummel joins the football team. It came in a roundabout way, thanks to a pre-daffy Brittany whose lucidity, I'm annoyed to say, felt jarring. (This should not be, current writers!) But how else to explain a basement homage to Beyoncé, complete with sequins and unitards, than to say that you're practicing for football? (Okay, sure, it's a stretch for Burt to believe that, but who cares? This is really not a problem, considering the results of this storyline.) So, knowing that Burt wants to attend a game, Kurt has to actually try out for the football team and earn his place as kicker.
There are many wonderful things about this storyline, and dammit, I'm going to try and talk my way through all of them. First, it allows us to know Kurt beyond his original stereotype. Previously, we only knew Kurt as a sassy, slightly haughty gay teen who was brave enough to come out to his best friend. While dancing in his basement to Sasha Fierce doesn't necessarily break that mold right away, it still is an important - and fantastic - moment to start this episode with, in terms of Kurt. It's like an instant shot of affection for this character, who recreates music videos in his fashionable basement and has more style and charisma in his sparkly-gloved little finger than the entire population of Lima, Ohio combined. Already: how can you not root for this kid?
Kurt joining the football team amidst some of his biggest high school enemies was the perfect situation to set up for his character. I feel like it could have been an easy route to make Kurt completely intimidated in that scenario. He joins the team, has no idea how to play the sport, and has to sit and listen to all the football players bitch and moan with no effort to hide their homophobia. But instead, Kurt is rotated around to show that he's just what the football team needs. The only moments he seems at all unsettled by his predicament is when he has to kick a field goal to win the game - a situation where anyone would go wide-eyed and want to pee first. And not only is he an excellent kicker, he is an excellent kicker because he dances his way up to the football. The storyline is constructed to show that even the most "masculine" of sports could benefit from a little showmanship and dazzle.
So this brings me to Point No. 2: this sentiment is echoed on a larger scale with the football players learning the "Single Ladies" dance. Yes, it's completely idiotic to think that a high school football team could perform an entire choreographed dance before the snap. But it's the idea behind it: that a barrier between football and glee could be broken down by finding a way to mix the two. Kurt was hoisted up onto jocks' shoulders by the end of this, for goodness sake! It's a powerful construct that Glee excelled at in its earliest incarnations, and has struggled to reiterate it in any way other than dialogue and half-baked in-episode storylines served precisely for the purpose to remind us of that very fact. This is a show about unlikely people learning to accept one another through working together - through music. And never has this been as powerful as it is in "Preggers."
The third point of excellence in Kurt's football storyline was a strong intersection of character motivations - with Finn. The idea that Finn willingly brought Kurt with him to his football friends says a lot for his character, and since this is still early in his arc, we're completely on board with the idea that he has reservations about what this does to his cool factor. But this little blight is seen through with Finn's suggestion that the football team needs to learn how to loosen up - and be a bit more like glee. And the sentiment is almost gone altogether when Finn chooses to pull out their secret weapon with one second to go, saying: "We're already jokes. I don't want to be a Lima Loser." Ultimately, Finn chooses Kurt, and that choice is strong.
As such, I will admit that I would have loved for Finn to interact more with Kurt after the initial tryouts and before that choice, if only because it would have been better developed, perhaps. But, I can see why they didn't pen it so that Finn asked Kurt for help instead of Mr. Schue. It makes sense that the team would be more receptive to not only a teacher's insistence, but a straight dude's at that, and it goes against what this episode was trying to delineate about Kurt's original status with the sports guys if they all just willingly took dance lessons from him without any teacher forcing them. So, it seems to me that it would have been something to look forward to with Kurt and Finn - Finn standing by Kurt's opinions without any fear of social repercussions. (Arguments abound as to whether or not this moment ever happened in an earned, authentic way. "Theatricality" more or less achieves it, but with a lot of mess along the way which might nullify the good intent, frankly.)
The last - and best, perhaps - glorious takeaway from Kurt's storyline in "Preggers" is the true reveal about Kurt's true relationship with his father - which seemed to surprise Kurt just as much as it did us. This is a fantastic example of Glee's early mastery of a bait-and-switch approach to stereotypes. See, we think we know Kurt and Burt. Kurt's a boy who has a strict skincare regimen each night and refers to a sports tryout as an audition. Burt is a man who wears baseball caps and watches The Deadliest Catch. So when Kurt tells Burt he's gay, we think we know where this is going. We've ticked off enough stereotypes along the way to trick us into believing that the consequence will be another stereotype.
But it isn't. And it's beautiful. There need to be more television shows in the world where a gay son comes out to his dad expecting to be met with confusion, denial, or disapproval - only to hear the words, "I know," and "I love you just as much." I get goosebumps just thinking about it. Not only is this is the push-off of one of the best - if not the best - relationship that Glee has ever created, it's also a remarkable and revolutionary moment on the timeline of gay visibility on mainstream television. This single scene creates a place for Glee in television history because of that distinction. Beyond that, it's a perfect embodiment of what "Preggers," as an episode, and Glee, on the whole represents: seemingly different people accepting and supporting one another despite expectation.
Of course, you can't proffer an episode about accepting the underdog without showing the kids who are on top of the social ladder. "Preggers" is the first episode in the show to really bring the "Cool Kids" into the mix, with focused attention on Puck, Quinn, and Finn, as well as the new football additions to the glee club by hour's end. And it's another smart choice to show that while the Cool Kids may be more traditionally accepted by high school's social rules, they do not necessarily have it better - Quinn's pregnancy drastically affects her, Finn, and Puck. And not only that, but "Preggers" goes out of its way to tell the audience that Puck and Finn and Quinn want something that's not terribly dissimilar from what characters like Kurt and Rachel want. Quinn, when realizing that she's pregnant, cries, "I really thought I had a shot of getting out of here." Finn laments that high school dads have no future, and he wants to get a scholarship to college. And Puck's decision to support The Dancing Plan connects the idea that he doesn't want to be a Lima Loser like Quinn said he was.
The idea that McKinley's cool kids aren't trouble-free is the best approach to dealing with these characters, and furthers the idea that they have something in common with even the most socially-outcast Gleek. The entire foundation of the glee club rests on this theory, and it only makes sense that the Original Twelve have officially come together by the time the credits roll.
Of course, there's some messy, plot-based implications that the writers embedded in the Cool Kids' problems, which all stem from Quinn and Puck secretly having sex. Quinn is pregnant with her boyfriend's best friend's baby, and chooses to lie about the paternity to save face and stick with the "better" guy. This of course runs parallel to the lie that Terri, Will's wife, is perpetuating - that she's pregnant, when in fact, she is not. Of course, it's set up that Terri needs a baby, and Quinn is going to have one she doesn't want, so you do the math. Throw in the added complications with Will, and Puck, and Finn, and you've got yourself a sudsy multi-episode arc that will not be lacking in conflict.
There are two other multi-episode arcs that round out what "Preggers" presented to its viewers, that are very smartly interconnected. Let's deal with the simpler one first, shall we? Sue Sylvester's on top of the world! She has a featured spot on the nightly news called Sue's Corner, wherein she shares her ultra-conservative views with Western Ohio, and is still sitting on her championship status as Cheerio captain. But in sending her top Cheerios to the glee club to spy on them, it's raising questions that she'll be able to coach her cheerleaders to victory when Quinn, Santana, and Brittany are splitting time. Obligatory stakes: if she loses the National Championship, her TV spot will be pulled. So, she has to ensure she wins Nationals, and somehow this means taking down the glee club at the same time.
Okay, so the logic is a little shaky here. There is indeed some part of me that wishes Sue's S1 arc had to do with the pursuit to win Nationals and not tear down the glee club, but perhaps that's wishful thinking. Regardless, it still would have been a nice venture for S2, when Sue-as-villian storylines began to grow irksome and tired. Plus, as "Preggers" endeavors into the world of football, it would only be fair that cheerleading get its due as an extracurricular at McKinley. But alas, hindsight proves that three-dimensionality and Sue Sylvester are not things the writers like to mix often.
So, to destroy the glee club, Sue Sylvester decides to take it out from within - and lure Rachel Berry away from the New Directions. I feel like in later episodes, this would involve Sue taking matters into her own hands or confronting Rachel directly, but "Preggers" finds her going through a middleman, Sandy Ryerson, who has an axe to grind due to his firing from what is now Will's position. (He also has perhaps the episode's best line: "I'm living in a cocoon of horror!") Sue offers Sandy a position as Arts Administrator at McKinley (with some convenient blackmailing of Figgins to get around the whole reason Sandy was fired in the first place) and convinces him to put on Cabaret so that Rachel Berry will have no choice but to audition and defect from ND.
This plot connects to the last storyline of the night: Will gives Tina a solo instead of Rachel, and Rachel threatens to quit the club. Of course, Sue's plan capitalizes on this soured relationship, and I wish there had been some indication that Sue was aware of it - maybe a scene where she witnesses Rachel's discontent or Will's determination or Tina's hesitation, or hears about it from Quinn or Santana or Brittany. In fact, the whole storyline could be described this way: it was well-done and in-character for all parties involved, but I still wish there had been more.
I wager that Rachel Berry haterz are quick to point out that Rachel is completely ungracious about losing a solo in this episode. But here's the thing. I don't care. I've never cared. To me, the point of view "Preggers" gives Rachel is completely understandable. Never once does she hate on Tina or demean her abilities. She simply says that she knows she's the best, and doesn't like being held back so that Will can provide teaching moments. And she knows it: Rachel's conversation with Will after ballet is a fantastic demonstration of her early characterization. She is completely aware that she's "bossy" and "abrasive," but she still deserves to be a star. She has to believe that, because she's still getting bullied from her peers. Never once did I not think Rachel Berry had a completely valid point to explain her behavior.
I will say, though, that I wanted more from Tina in this episode. I appreciate Will's dedication to spreading the wealth with solos (something which is laughable now, as long as you can do so through your tears) and I appreciate that the episode never stakes out a purposeful Rachel vs. Tina conflict. At the same time, I wish Tina's character motivations were more present. She's still Shy Girl Tina here, and she willingly backs down when met with force. Why is that? It would have been nice to get a glimpse into Tina's POV, and maybe even have a direct conversation between her and Rachel where they could relate to one another as two girl Gleeks in the school.
This leads me to my final point, which of course has to do with the treatment by Glee of its lady characters. We all know it's grown to be nauseatingly bad, and now I can't look at any episode without paying attention to the females in the narrative. And truthfully, "Preggers" does not get off scot-free under this lens. It was perhaps innocuous at the time, but rewatching the episode leaves a bitter taste in my mouth realizing that "Preggers" planted seeds for Glee's self-righteous hero boys and the ambitious girls with their devious plans. In this episode, there's Terri and Quinn telling lies to their unwitting significant others, Rachel cutting off her nose to spite her face, and Sue plotting to destroy the glee club. On the flip side, Finn stands up for football and glee and chooses to support Quinn through her pregnancy, Will helps foster the football crossover and supports Finn, Burt supports Kurt, and Kurt gives the football team their first win. (You could argue, though, that Kurt wasn't able to achieve the win without the support of Finn and Will, as straight guys with straight guy cred, who got him on the team and backed his dancing technique. It's iffy territory, although I think it works based on the parameters the show has created concerning Kurt's lack of power in the social hierarchy. And ultimately, he is the reason they win.)
When it's lined up superficially like that, it doesn't look good, and it definitely points to portrayals that do become a real issue later on. However, "Preggers" saves itself from completely and utterly shutting down their female characters by providing them with a point of view and not denying them their agency in the storylines. Rachel's opinions are explained and perfectly valid, especially from an emotional standpoint that's congruent to her character. She chooses to leave New Directions, for reasons we understand. Quinn is understandably terrified of a teenage pregnancy borne of one single mistake, made when she was drunk on wine coolers because she felt fat that day. She chooses to lie, for reasons we understand. Terri is terrified that Will has one foot out of the door of their marriage, and can't bear to tell him they're not actually having a baby. She chooses to lie, for reasons we understand. No one is yelled at, or scolded - yet. Unfortunately, these ill-advised choices are going to collapse under the consequences eventually, and each of these women will have their noses rubbed in their mistakes by a parade of male characters. So even though they're well-supported within the walls of "Preggers," and Sue Sylvester delivers the best advice about tuning out haters that the show's ever given, and the curtain falls on a single shot of Quinn Fabray, worried and alone by her locker... it's hard not to be frustrated by the conceptual existence of these issues and the knowledge that the shoe is one day going to drop for these flawed and fascinating ladies.
Even despite these early-incarnation lady issues, "Preggers" remains one of the best episodes Glee has ever put forth, with authentic character moments that both propel the plot and are affected by it. It puts a spotlight on both the underdogs and the cool kids struggling with their own problems, and finds a way to naturally communicate that the difference between them is not something that can't be overcome. In turns funny and heartwarming, it's still engaging even without glitzy musical numbers or Top 40 solos, and a guidepost for what all Glee episodes should strive to achieve. Ultimately, it may not warrant its status on my memory pedestal, but it encapsulates this show as a whole - and why we love it. So even with critique, "Preggers" will always embody that original magic.
The RBI Report Card...
Musical Numbers: A
Dance Numbers: A+
Dialogue: A
Plot: A-
Characterization: A
Episode MVP: Who else but Kurt Hummel?
Posted by DR SHE BLOGGO at 10:01 PM 3 comments:
Labels: The RBI Report, TV: Glee
TV Report Card: Smash 1x07 - "The Workshop"
Finally, "The Workshop!" Or, I guess I should say: finally, the workshop! The time has come to see the first run-through of Marilyn the Musical, for family and friends and - more importantly - potential investors and financial backers. Talk about pressure! Of course, the workshop couldn't go off without a hitch, and naturally, there were personal problems abound - with the pesky addition of a heating problem to make everything super uncomfortable.
The main event in "The Workshop" was Bernadette Peters - er, Ivy's Tony-Award-Winning mother - showing up and overshadowing everyone in sight, Ivy included. Turns out part of Ivy's insecurity comes with the fact that she feels she'll never live up to her mother, who is not only extremely successful in the same field but also incredibly overbearing and slow to compliment. She tells Ivy she won her Tony without the help of medication, which only spurred Ivy to down a sleeping pill to chase her Prednizone. Combining that with the blow-out argument in which Ivy compared their relationship to that of Marilyn's with her mother, and we're clearing carving out an "Ivy-becomes-Marilyn" construct here. Which, I will say, is not necessarily bad, it's just... not terribly interesting? To me, personally. There's worse things that the writing could be doing with Ivy at the moment, and honestly my reigning sentiment towards this character is sheer pity. I'm still invested enough in Ivy as a character to go along with a "Marilynization" and see where it takes us.
It was good to see the support that Ivy does have in "The Workshop," because I can't believe how unencouraged she is sometimes as the shoulders this show is resting on. You'd think the minds behind Marilyn would want to invest a little more in their lead, considering she's, well, their lead, and it's here where I can't blame Ivy for being paranoid as all get out about Karen Cartwright, even if it defies logic. Derek was an unequivocal [insert your favorite synonym for jerk] again this episode, and I'm starting to wonder if Smash is simply intent on portraying him as an insensitive [another synonym] when it comes to the way he relates to creative colleagues. Only Eileen seems to earn any respect from Director Grumpy-Scruff, and therefore those are the only interactions where Derek is the most wholly likeable. Even when he gives Ivy any kind of encouragement, it's usually as an afterthought to his original message, which is usually some form of "you're not at your best" or "you can do better." (Note to writers: this could all be fixed if we got a glimpse into Derek's POV, or at least with an introduction of some stakes to remind us why Derek is so hellbent on perfection.)
But luckily, Ivy had a good emotional moment with her mother by episode's end, where Ms. Peters - er, Conroy - reiterated that she believes her daughter is a star, and that her day will come. There's also Tom, whose relationship with Ivy has quickly skyrocketed to favorite status. Tom not only encouraged Ivy as a boss, but also as a friend - and was quick to defend her against Derek and his questionable directing techniques. Go, Tom! I'm still not sure what's really going on with his lukewarm-but-cute relationship with John, but I'm rooting for them. Although I would root for a relationship with Sam too, if that Big Hint dropped last night is anything to go by. But don't Michael-and-Julia us, Smash! If you're gonna put Tom with Sam, then please, break him up with John first. Especially when John is sweet enough to applaud Tom loudly in absolute silence. He's a darling, supportive, and proud boyfriend, so either make it work or be nice about its end. Please and thank you!
Of course, if Michael and Julia are indeed the paradigm for relationships on this show, then I would like to invoke a vow of platonic interactions over EVERYONE. Because goodness, Michael and Julia are being written with maximum awful. Smash tries to show us that they're happy, with those first glimpses and smiles and tangled fingers, but when Julia literally looks two seconds from emotional breakdown every time she's confronted with reality, it's hard to believe that this situation could ever be good. Especially when her teenaged, pot-smoking (I KNEW IT) son knows about the affair and treats her like dirt because of it. No amount of "hot" making out in empty rehearsal spaces (nice try with the extra-sexy leg lift, but I'm not buying) can change that. Especially when (ooh, another one!) Michael and Julia are so not on the same page about this.
It was clever, though, to substitute Julia and Michael into Marilyn and Joe's story and let them air their grievances under the guise of running dialogue. That was a nice touch. This show is strongest when it's exploring the intersection between these people's real lives and their professional lives, but I realized that Smash only utilizes one aspect of this. They've really only drawn comparisons from the characters to the text itself - showing Ivy spiral similarly to Marilyn, putting Michael and Julia in Joe and Marilyn's shoes. This works, but truthfully, I'd like to see the characters interact with the process of creating the text just as much as with the text itself. Of course, I'm basically a broken record with this request now, so I'm not sure it'll happen. But I still wish we could've seen Tom and Julia pen more of the songs and the lyrics, and more of Derek sorting through his ideas for direction, and maybe even more of Ivy's process in mastering the lead. We've had so many episodes where Julia's writing capability is paralyzed by the events of her personal life, and we didn't see her work through that at all. This oversight only lends itself to the idea that Julia started out a capable, self-confident woman framed equally in her personal life and her working life, and has now become a woman fraught with personal mistakes, harangued by her lover and shamed by her son, with no exploration of her professional responsibilities and how she manages them. It's tanked Julia in terms of her representation of a female character on this show. I had hope that with Julia's seeming awareness of Ivy's discomfort and embarrassment over her mother performing that we would get the Julia/Ivy dynamic I've been wanting, but alas, Julia is stuck in Distraught Lover/Mother/Wife mode.
Anyways, this hopefully will all go away with Michael Swift getting the boot by episode's end. I can't say I'm sad to see Michael and Julia's "relationship" splinter apart, but I can say I don't think the firing is entirely fair to Michael as a performer. This show has no issue mixing up the character's professional and personal lives, but doesn't do anything to delineate the idea that any of them knows the line between them. Firing Michael over a personal transgression is really rough, and I can't help but think that the production will suffer from it. I would much rather see Julia pull herself up by her bootstraps and put Michael in his place, emotionally - not professionally. But, I tend to like "stiff upper lip" characters a little more anyways, so perhaps it's just my personal preference. I do think it would be more rewarding to see the problem through, though, and let Julia work it out competently and with credence given to her objectives and emotional agency. Where's Eileen to stomp a little professionalism into this troupe?
Speaking of Eileen, I must thank her for giving me my first positive emotions towards Ellis since the show began. I swear I wanted him to spontaneously burst into flames upon seeing him eavesdrop on Michael and Julia's totally inappropriate at-work makeout - and once again when he ran to his new friend-in-high-places Eileen and dropped the bomb a little too eagerly. But Eileen shut him down, and I could have leapt through the television to kiss Anjelica Huston's face. I loved that someone finally (and effectively!) put Ellis in his place, and suddenly I'm totally okay with Eileen and Ellis hanging out all the time. They have a strange mentor/mentee relationship that I can get on board with, if it means that Eileen has someone to talk to and Ellis has someone to explain to him how not to be a little weasel. I still don't love Ellis completely, but hey - I'll take this dynamic, for sure.
I also confess to going a little Regina George in this episode, right about the time when Karen imagined herself in Ivy's place during the workshop - in fantasy sequence, no less! Yes, I admit to yelling out loud at the television, "Stop trying to make Karen happen; it's never going to happen!" And then I felt a little bad, because channeling Regina George is not necessarily something to be proud of. I don't even dislike Karen! I want her to have another opportunity, like a recording contract with Raskin or Reskin or Ruskin, or whatever his name is! I'm just frustrated that this show in insistent on finding paper-thin excuses to keep Karen as a member of Marilyn in some way for the purposes of what's supposed to be drama, but really is, in fact, boring. Ivy has no real reason to hate Karen, and Karen has no real reason to keep loyalty to a Marilyn workshop over a potential opportunity for personal success. Why is Smash trying to make me think otherwise? It's just forcibly prolonging the Ivy vs. Karen debate, which is silly and sexist and tiresome.
I will say that the highlight of "The Workshop" was, well, the workshop, in all its glory. I still don't understand why the writers can't figure out that half the fun of this show is seeing the process of putting on a Broadway show, from all angles. So again, I plead: why can't we see more of this? All of the comparisons between Ivy and Marilyn and Joe and Michael are great and all, but I still have more vested interest in the combined product of these people's hard work and creativity than I do in poorly-written crappy relationships. (Sorry, Derek-and-Ivy and Michael-and-Julia.) Plus, with damn catchy songs and great performance value from Megan Hilty & Co., it's hard not to want to focus on that talent and what can be narratively constructed around it.
In all, though, "The Workshop" was one of Smash's stronger fares, with several well-done (if average) storylines threading through. And I must say that the promo for next week piqued my interest more than this show has done in awhile. Factions? Sneaking around and professional betrayal? Derek and Karen vs. Ivy and Tom and Julia? Bring it, please. I almost think this show is more entertaining when Marilyn is portrayed to be doomed instead of destined for Broadway glory. Throw in some earned character interactions, with focus each person's professional talents, and Smash would be a stronger show all around.
The Report Card:
Dialogue: B
Plot: B
Character: B
Musical Numbers: A+
Episode MVP: Eileen
Posted by DR SHE BLOGGO at 5:29 PM No comments:
Labels: TV recap, TV: Smash
TV Report Card: Smash 1x06 - "Chemistry"
I'm not sure why exactly last night's Smash was called "Chemistry," because the only compelling evidence of such a phenomenon that I witnessed was scrawled across the cover of Frank's bedtime reading, and peppered through scenes with Tom and Ivy. You would think that "Chemistry" would want to deal with couples getting together, bonds being made, maybe even demonstrations of synchronicity and likeability when two people interact. Alas, "Chemistry" came short.
I'm wagering that the couple who was supposed to bear the title's standard was Michael and Julia, who capped last week's "Let's Be Bad" with a curbside makeout session that could potentially renew their affair. If you're talking basic sexual chemistry, sure; I guess Michael and Julia fit the bill. But putting Debra Messing in a men's-style pajama shirt and removing Will Chase of his shirt altogether is cheating. (No pun intended.) The reality of the situation is that Michael and Julia are really unlikeable in each other's company, and there's basically only a tiny sliver of opportunity for the audience to want these two to get together in any way.
The fundamental problem is Michael's pushiness. He spent all episode pursuing Julia, browbeating her to agree to meeting him in private. He tells her he can't sleep. He calls her at home. He needs to see her. He even threatens to cause a scene if she doesn't comply. I'm sorry, are we dealing with a grown-up adult, or a two-year-old here? This automatically makes Michael extremely unlikeable, especially when we see how distressed Julia is in her home life. She's having difficulty finishing the lyrics to Marilyn; she's distracted and upset. We are far more likely to understand what's going on with Julia, emotionally, because we're witness to it - and not only that, but this little bud of an affair seems to be destroying her already. She tells Michael no, time and again, and we understand that to be in keeping with her emotions as we've seen them.
But Smash is apparently expecting the audience to tsk tsk at Julia's protests and say, "You don't really mean that." Michael even approaches it that way. Instead of respecting her decision and her privacy, he hounds her until he's got his fingers on her shirt buttons in the middle of an empty rehearsal room. As self-appointed referee on this storyline, I'm throwing a flag. Because the result of this construct is a Michael who doesn't respect Julia's wishes, a Julia can't stick to her decisions because a man is undressing her, and a relationship that is textually terrible for both of them. There is absolutely no reason given to make the audience want to root for these two to be together, and yet the storytelling seems to be nudging its viewers with a wink as if to say, "How hot is this?"
The fact of the matter is that it's not. It's actually a serious detriment to both characters - especially Julia, who is an established main on this show and seemed to be built of different stuff but never had a chance to show it. Boo. And I can't decide if it's better or worse that Smash tried to cover their "Nice Guy" and "Look, She Totally Wanted It All Along" bases by having Michael ask Julia twice if she wanted him to stop. Yeah, you know when that question would have been nice? The entire episode during which you were stalking her. Not when you've got her shirt off and backed onto the couch. Not cool, Smash.
Of course, the other eyeroll-inducing part of this is that Leo, Julia's son, knows that his mom's fooling around. It would have been so much better to give Leo some semblance of POV this episode, because honestly I forgot that he knew. I just thought he was bitching his mom out over burnt pancakes, which frankly didn't seem that inconsistent with what we've been shown with the two-dimensionally bratty teen. It wasn't clear that Leo was pissed about his mom's actions at the end of "Let's Be Bad," and it should've been. If you're going to have Leo witness his mom kissing a man other than his dad, then Leo deserves a stake in the story.
Another couple that didn't have any chemistry in "Chemistry" was Derek and Ivy. I'm not entirely sure what they're going for with Derek and Ivy these days. Derek has been reduced to a paper-thin representation of a moody but "brilliant" (I assume?) director, simply so that Ivy gets caught in the emotional cross-hairs of having your boyfriend yell at you in a professional environment. This alone isn't terrible, but Smash kind of hid the best part of it - the idea that Derek cares first for Ivy's voice and second for her wellbeing, which upsets her. We only got a hint at this when it was time to pay that emotion off, and suddenly I realized, a bit bewilderedly, that that was the point of showing Ivy's interactions with Sam and Tom. Ah! If only that had been more clearly set up - the payoff would have been much stronger, because the idea itself is compelling for Derek and Ivy and their relationship.
And frankly, how great was it to see Ivy dig her heels in and call Derek out on his bullshit at episode's end? I loved that Smash didn't try to play it as a "Diva Moment," and instead let it be Ivy standing up for herself and the way she wanted to be treated. What I didn't love is that this moment was somehow blamed on Ivy being hopped up on steroids. Honestly, everyone on Smash needs to be this expressive, just to jolt a little life into their characters. (I felt the same way about Tom walking out on rehearsal in protest of Derek yelling at Julia over Marilyn's incomplete status. Yay, Tom! Characters who take a stand are inherently more likeable.)
Ivy-on-meds was a strange but intriguing concept to introduce, especially when she hallucinated Karen-as-Marilyn as the voice of her self-doubts. Deeply insecure Ivy is something worth exploring, I think, and if Smash is going to go all Black Swan on our asses, I'm okay with that. But will this continue? I'm unsure they can prolong Ivy's vocal issues long enough to unravel her - but perhaps they'll find another way. They're certainly hammering in the fact that Karen unsettles Ivy, which frankly seems unwarranted. I can't really believe that Ivy would find Karen to be a threat. This is a girl who's getting Ivy's hand-me-down Bar Mitzvah job, twice removed. She's Ivy's cast-off's cast-off. The rivalry feels forced. I would root for Karen so much more if Ivy didn't have any clue that Karen could be competition for her, in whatever way this show is trying to construct that.
Instead, we just watch Karen sing at a Bar Mitzvah for the episode, as she simultaneously gets yanked around by the producers who may or may not need her to perform at Marilyn's first workshop for investors. Not a whole lot going on here, except for the business card Karen earned by the end of the hour. Hopefully this little victory will pay out in success for Karen - something for Karen to do on this show - as opposed to bitchiness from Ivy as Karen lays in wait, although I'm not holding my breath.
In addition to Karen's sojourn to Long Island, there were two pocket-sized storylines in "Chemistry" that didn't amount to much. The first belonged to Tom and John's budding but awkward romance. Tom meets all of John's friends, despite his hesitation about moving too fast, and discovers that John only just came out to his mom a year ago. When he confronts him about it, John replies that he's come out to his mom four different times since he was eight - his mom just has memory problems. I don't understand this. Is John being serious? Or are we supposed to believe that his mom has been in denial of her song being gay, and he just has to keep telling her? Adding that to the pre-established notion that John's mother set him up with Tom via Tom's mother... I don't really understand what's going on here, but I'm willing to watch and see. Truly, though, the best product of Tom and John's storyline was seeing Tom tell Julia and Ivy about his new boyfriend. Julia reacts neutrally and with support, but Ivy reads right into Tom's reservations, and they snark about his minimalist decor. Giggle! More of this, Smash, please.
The second miniature storyline in "Chemistry" went to Eileen, who gadded about town with Ellis and Ellis' Unnamed Real Estate Friend. This made absolutely no sense to me, because I didn't really see what the trajectory of the storyline was supposed to be until the very end. It had a great payoff with very little setup - not unlike Ivy's conflict with Derek over his treatment of her. Eileen's Big Moment came when she got Ralph, the Broadway Investor, to commit to seeing the Marilyn workshop - and she picked up her video game gun and uttered the words, "Watch out, it's my turn." How great is that? For a character who's been so frustratingly under the thumb of her ex-husband, it's fantastic to see her triumph over that and taste a little exhilarating success. But that setup was not in the episode at all. We met Ralph, never got a clear view of his inclinations, and then hung out at Bushwhack and in empty penthouses until Eileen apparently made the deal - offscreen. Why couldn't we witness Eileen working through that obstacle so that her kickass moment with the toy gun could feel earned? It's frustrating. Even if we're meant to understand that Eileen is now at peace with having less money and getting out of the lap of luxury, it's simply stronger to show her competence as a Broadway producer independent of her businessman husband.
The thing that plagued "Chemistry" the most was the fact that scenes rose and fell without any clear indication of their real purpose. Do we need to see Karen pick out her Bar Mitzvah outfit with Dev? What is the point of having Julia and Tom talk about their love lives but not reach any conclusion as to what they're feeling? Do we need to witness Eileen discover the joys of a video game if we're not sure why it's happening? There were so many instances in "Chemistry" that felt untethered from character intention and story direction that it was difficult to be involved, as an audience member. These scenes need to be tighter, with a clear purpose that progresses the story. That's what was wrong with the Michael/Julia storyline. They wanted to end the episode with them having sex, but refused to plot anything interesting leading to that - so we just got repeated scenes where Michael pursued Julia and she said no. Carousel storytelling is not good. There was no new information given in a huge number of last night's scenes, and that's a problem. Every scene should be moving the story forward - or else you're just stuck in neutral. Neutral plot, neutral feelings about the characters, neutral investment about what's going to happen next.
There's still potential. Julia had writer's block all episode, and could have worked through that in conjunction with her romance issues. Eileen had the possibility to triumph in business through convincing Ralph to attend the workshop. We skipped over Leo's POV, Derek's POV, even the interesting part of Ivy's POV - until the very end. There's so much possibility in dealing with these characters and their emotions, especially as the plotted actions get soapier and more complicated - and Smash just isn't hitting the right notes.
Plot: D
Character: C
Episode MVP: Ivy
Posted by DR SHE BLOGGO at 12:17 PM 1 comment:
TV Report Card: Smash 1x05 - "Let's Be Bad"
I'm guessing that based on the events of this episode, the title "Let's Be Bad" is supposed to be in reference to Karen getting in touch with her feminine wiles, Leo getting kind-of-arrested for kind-of-smoking-pot, and Julia and Michael resuming their illicit affair. Now, there's an easy joke here about "Let's Be Bad" taking its own advice, but I'm not gonna make it. The episode wasn't awful; it was on par with what Smash has been giving us: poorly developed conflict, with a few interesting character moments and strong musical numbers.
Let's check in with Marilyn the Musical's status: Julia and Tom are still writing the script, and it's getting down to the wire, making Eileen nervous. Turns out Julia's the one holding things up, and it's sort of alluded to that she's getting stuck on Joe DiMaggio's part. This is kind of a duh, considering that Michael Swift is the real-life DiMaggio stand-in for Julia, and obviously she's conflicted about DiMichael-o's role in her life. Is this her great love story? There was a great conversation early on where Michael questions Joe's likeability as Julia is currently writing it, and Julia declares that she wants to make this more than a love story - even though Michael disagrees. The idea that Julia is having writer's block because of her relationship with Michael is rather compelling, and I wish the writers had brought that concept to the forefront to mine the conflict and create a second layer of tension. Julia would have pressure from Eileen to finish the story, but she's not sure what story she's writing, or how it will end - just like with Michael. If handled properly, it could be a sophisticated container to frame Julia's real life with her creative work, which is what they're trying to do anyways. (And not just with Julia. But more on that later.)
Instead, we got a poorly realized storyline where Julia's son Leo gets caught with marijuana in Central Park, and she's forced to deal with the fallout. Cover to cover, it was kind of a snoozer, and the only real consequences we felt for it were in the possibility that Leo's actions could jeopardize the family's ability to adopt. But we didn't know that until after Leo wound up at the police station. We should've known before Leo's bad decision what kind of consequence said bad decision could reap, so that we had a stake in the scenario. Otherwise, we just don't care. And the overarching idea that Julia missed Leo's brush with the law because she was flirting with Michael Swift, as Tom so deftly pointed out, was not really necessary. We get that this is a family vs. Michael situation. It's unnecessary to throw this guilt Julia's way - we already know, as Julia does, that getting into a relationship with Michael is bad because they're both married. Making Julia look like a neglectful parent already is just salt in the wound, and needless.
I'm not sure entirely how Michael went from zero to pursuant in an episode or so - maybe Julia's propensity for stealing his dessert was charming enough to put him in first gear. (Though I can't say I blame him. Debra Messing remains enchanting as ever when acting opposite food. Miss you, Grace Adler.) But regardless, I was a bit bewildered by how strongly Michael was coming on this episode, and miffed that he and Julia kissed at the end. It's not necessarily that I don't want these kids to get back together, but I do want it to be told well. I didn't think the kiss was earned yet, and beyond that, I am frustrated beyond belief that Leo witnessed it. As soon as the camera started panning up, I groaned, because it was so predictable in its "drama." They may as well have had Ellis lurking behind a fire hydrant like a devious troll, watching the situation unfurl as he cackled wickedly into his sweater vest about this new piece of blackmail. Sigh!
Speaking of cartoons, let's talk about Derek. Monsieur Directeur was so broodingly pissy this week it was difficult to take him seriously. See, he was frustrated with Ivy's shortcomings, and lashed out at both her and Karen when he was met with questions instead of blind obedience. Look, I get that the guy's Mr. Dark Artist about his material, but it was too much for me. Seeing Ivy become a mess of insecurities because she's not getting positive feedback from her boss-slash-boyfriend is not the strongest incarnation of her character, especially when she just falls back into his arms at the end. (And fondly looks on while he works on the play during the midnight hours.) Truthfully, the episode's strongest moment for Ivy came when she nearly fell apart in rehearsals, but, with tears in her eyes, she pulled it together and performed her heart out. That was a great character moment, and I almost wish we didn't have such a blatant cutaway to fantasy, so we could revel in Ivy's triumph a little more. But, the "Let's Be Bad" fantasy sequence seemed to serve a different purpose: to almost draw a parallel between Ivy and Marilyn herself. Based on Ivy's fragile psyche and sex appeal, I wonder if the show will really turn Ivy into Marilyn, for all intents and purposes. It could be interesting, in a Black Swan kind of way.
But frankly, I think there's something more interesting afoot - or at least, more grounded in reality and character-based drama. Before, I mentioned that Julia is penning this musical - Joe and Marilyn's relationship in particular - while putting herself in Marilyn's shoes and trying to make heads or tails of the love story. It's incredibly personal, right? Julia is overidentifying with Marilyn. There's this potentially fascinating idea that both Julia and Ivy are projecting themselves onto Marilyn's identity and vice-versa, and it allows for the possibility of these two characters having a rather intriguing dynamic. It's not really there yet, but it could be, if the writers tried it, and I'd honestly rather see a parallel drawn between Julia and Ivy through the nature of their creative work as opposed to the one between Michael and Ivy through their troublesome relationships.
I will say, I enjoyed that "Let's Be Bad" allowed us to witness Ivy and Karen actually interacting, one-on-one. We got to see face-to-face competition and animosity, instead of just the random cloud of catfight surrounding these two ladies. It's much better this way, even if Ivy is still bitchily threatening and Karen just trying to be nice. Smash seems to be toying with the construct that these ladies can learn something from one another - Karen learns to understand "what she brings to the table," and Ivy has to learn a little humility. I feel like the show could bring something even deeper to Ivy and Karen's dynamic, and I hope they find it.
As for Karen herself, she got in touch with her sexual side, as Marilyn would, and inadvertently gained some important work information for Dev as a result. I didn't mind this storyline terribly, considering that it played out simply and in the background, but I'm not sure I get the whole "Karen-isn't-sexy" thing. Haven't we been over this? Didn't Karen work on that during her audition process, and didn't she sing "Happy Birthday Mr. President" on Derek's lap, and wasn't that referenced in this very episode, reminding us that Karen is sexy? I do not get it. It's also not cool to make Karen the conservative Midwesterner who actually says out loud that she looks down on overtly sexual women. Party foul for slut shaming, Smash! I don't understand why this show is going to great lengths to make their creative piece about Marilyn Monroe, showing all sides of the real woman, and then only bring the sexuality aspect to Ivy and Karen's foil relationship. It's unclear, and could really be more three-dimensional and meaningful for both character's relationship to Marilyn Monroe and her identity. There's potential there! But unfortunately, Smash just isn't pinpointing it - yet.
Finally, there was Tom. Tom was the charming scene-stealer of the hour, as he (with his lawyer date) saved Leo's butt, then merrily turned the teenager's woes into Broadway riffs at the piano. How great is that? He's firmly ensconced himself, alongside Julia, as the most likeable character in this ensemble (it of course doesn't hurt that their dynamic with one another is delightful as well). He's even managed to make a trope-filled work-vs-date storyline intriguing. Trying to date Lawyer John is difficult, because of Tom's schedule and their career differences, but they try to make it work - and gamely admit to each other that the sex is bad. These two are charming, even though we hardly know Lawyer John, and I hope their motto becomes "try, try again." They deserve a chance as a couple on this show!
In all, "Let's Be Bad" was marked with some good character work, but still left a lot of stones unturned in what's really interesting about these characters and their interactions. The conflict is still only engaging about half the time, and Smash continues to create drama in all the wrong places.
Plot: C
Episode MVP: Tom
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The World is Ending, Let's Fall in Love
First Reformed (2017) - Schrader
Toller (Ethan Hawke) is a mild mannered, wise pastor of the First Reformed church in small town upstate New York. His congregation is tiny. Even though the historic white chapel church is about to be reconsecrated for being 250 years old, it is functioning more as a tourist site and in Toller's own words, "gift shop", to the megachurch next door, Abundant Life. He lost his son in the Iraq war and so his marriage fell apart. He drinks and has health problems which he won't seek out help for. In the beginning of the movie, we see Toller starting a journal where he pours out his heart and soul. It's a test, self discipline of sorts. When it's filled, he will rip it up and burn the pages. We see the glimpse of internal struggle with his faith already there.
Things get shaken when a young couple come for his advice. Mary the pregnant wife (Amanda Seyfried) says her environmental activist husband Micheal (Philip Ettinger) is conflicted. He visits them at home. There Michael lays out the evidence of man-made destruction of the earth. That he sees no point of bringing a child to the world. Toller's typically wise man of god talk won't comfort the troubled man. After Michael blows his brains out, Toller's laissez-faire attitude at least from the outside perspective, changes. Not to complicate the suicide case, Toller tells Mary to get rid of any possible incriminating evidences - including a suicide bomb vest that her husband hid in his garage for whatever reason. Helping Mary coping with the death draws them closer too.
Things come to focus as Toller sees that the big donor of the church, is a coal baron whose industry is wrecking a havoc on the environment. As the First Reformed reconsecration service looms, he has one thing left to do.
I believe Schrader mentioned Bergman's Winter Light as a source of inspiration. And yes, there is more than the narrative thread with the suicide and everything in the beginning, that the film has its affinity with. But also that sinewy human entanglement that many Bergman's characters see as a prison is there too - definitely Bergman-esque. But whether you consider Schrader's filmography spotty at best, he is responsible for penning Taxi Driver. First Reformed is definitely not a rehash of the masters' older films he is inspired by. Dealing with the contemporary issue that we all face (it was the threat of atom bomb in Bergman's film), Schrader squarely puts the ball on our court to toil with.
Shot in stately full frame 4:3 and simple, straightforward narrative, First Reformed is an extremely lean film. There is a lot of humor in it too. Mystery Magic Tour scene alone is worth the admission. Ethan Hawke, with his craggy forehead, finally aging appropriately, gives the best performance of his career as a conflicted, religious man in the time of uncertainty. The ending goes haywire in the most beautiful way and I really loved it.
Posted by Dustin Chang at 10:14 AM 0 comments Links to this post
Labels: Amanda Seyfried, Ethan Hawke, First Reformed, movie review, Paul Schrader
Japan Cuts 2018 Preview
Japan Society's always immaculately curated film series, Japan Cuts, to me, over the years has been regarded as a smaller, quieter sister to massive and crazy and unruly New York Asian Film Festival. And I don't mean this as a bad thing. I think what happened was, when it comes to choosing films to cover from the full line up of Japan Cuts, after extravagance of NYAFF, my attention shifted toward Lo-fi, indie films. This year I specifically chose women directors' works. Many of them unknowns and first timers who need more exposure. And I was richly rewarded for it. Japan Cuts runs 7/19 through 7/29 at Japan Society.
Here are four films I was able to sample:
TREMBLE ALL YOU WANT - Akiko Ohku
Matsuoka Mayu makes a star making debut playing Yoshika, an introverted twenty-something accountant, in Tremble All You Want. Stuck in her uneventful, lonely life, Yoshika the virgin resorts to a fantasy world where she converses with strangers at a coffeeshop, buses and streets. She is still carrying the torch for Ichi, a princely classmate from Middle school days. But her life takes a turn when Kirishima, a goofy co-worker, confesses his crush on her. In her mind, Ichi will always be number one (ichi) and however nice of a guy Kirishima is, will always remain number two (ni).
Yoshika organizes school reunion under a false name in order to see Ichi again but gets heartbroken when her doesn't remember her name. Going steady with Kirishima seems to be OK at first, that it feels good and natural. But it gets thwarted by her crushing insecurity. Sooner or later, she has to choose between the fantasy and real life.
Tremble All You Want's strength is in its incongruous details - Yoshika's daily rituals, her quirky mannerisms and her eccentric neighbor are all intimately observed. The film rides on the charm of Matsuoka as she breaks out in to a song or does something equally irrational at a moment's notice. A bit overlong for its foregone conclusion, yet with beautifully written characters and and winsome cast, the film is a constantly watchable rom-com.
AMIKO - Yoko Yamanaka
20 year old Yamanaka Yoko's no budget debut Amiko, played drolly by Sunohara Aira provides a window to the low-fi angst of a high school girl leading a boring suburban existence. Mostly in close-ups, Amiko, our bowl cut haired, Radiohead listening heroine, leads an uneventful life in Nagano. Her ideal fantasy world comes in the form of Aomi (Oshita Hiroro), a nihilistic boy obviously too cool for school. He is in the school soccer club just because. And when things get boring at a practice, he'd fake leg cramps. They bond over their hatred of sports and Radiohead one day. Then it's the waiting game for Amiko. Time passes and nothing happens. She deliberately passes by him in the stores. Nothing. Then she hears that he ran away to Tokyo to live with a former student who was pretty and popular, the kind of shallow girl Amiko thought they both loathed. The life gives you lemons, you better suck them in the bathtub.
So Amiko embarks on a journey to Tokyo, to confront Aomi. There she finds that her ideal world is not what it's cracked up to be. That everyone realizes growing up and facing the reality suck donkeys. Completely devoid of adult presence, you can detect the sweet stench of youth emanating from every frame of Amiko. Peppered with French New Wave spirit - especially the "If you two are truly in love, dance with me!" impromptu dancing scene in the subway, the film packs a rebellious, playful punch.
DEAR ETRANGER - Yukiko Mishima
Salaryman Tanaka (Asano Tadanobu) has an adoring daughter from a previous marriage. With the company he's been working for downsizing, lately he is having second thoughts about having another baby with his current wife who also has two girls (Eri and Kaoru) from her previous relationship. Good natured Tanaka is a good dad to all three, trying to do right by everyone. But Kaoru, the older sullen tween daughter with an abandonment issue, rebels against Tanaka, saying deeply hurtful things - that he will abandon Eri and her as soon as he gets a new baby with their mom.
Even though gentle, the situation pushes Tanaka to a breaking point. He lashes out to his wife and Kaoru. Boy, ain't the mid-life a bitch to wade through? Dear Etranger is as real as it gets. But it's also a downer, just because it's all too real. Asano shows a great range here as a everyday salaryman.
TOWARD A COMMON TENDERNESS - Kaori Oda
'Searching' is the main theme of Oda Kaori's deeply personal documentary, Toward a Common Tenderness. Oda, a young Japanese filmmaker, forever uncertain, is searching for her identity, both as a person and as a filmmaker. Her debut short Thus a Noise Speaks, she used the camera as a weapon, to confront her family who rejected her coming out as gay. She jumped at a chance to attend film.factory, founded by Bela Tarr, in Sarajevo. There, she was searching for the purpose of filmmaking. She discovers that she likes to film people - her hosts in a small village and Romani family who acted as guides. Their soulful, sad faces spoke volumes more than their limited verbal communication with her. Her project in the coal mines there resulted in the film Aragane.
The film is a compendium of Oda's work so far. It beautifully conveys her loneliness and isolation and longing. This time, Oda uses camera as a direct and intimate communication device. The film is a lyrical, poetic gesture of reaching out from Oda to herself, to her subjects and to the viewers.
Posted by Dustin Chang at 8:25 PM 0 comments Links to this post
Labels: Japan, Japan Cuts 2018, Japan Society, movie review, Women Directors
El mar la mar (2017) - Bonnetta, Sniadecki
As Trump's cruel zero tolerance immigration policy and its inhumane consequences play out before our eyes, El mar la mar, Joshua Bonneta and JP Sniadecki's audio visual essay on the south of the border arrives. It's abstract, artful approach to the subject might infuriate some of the viewers who are inclined to witness emotional catharsis through human suffering for sure. But its deliberate omission of identifiers (other than some of the silent inhabitants on the north of the border) is perhaps the point - the film can emote without seeing the human faces.
Frenetically moving cameras capture stripey, zoetropic images of colors - green and brown, then we realize it's the border fences stretching for miles seen from a moving car or train. There are discarded clothing and other personal items strewn about, completely alien to empty, unforgiving yet achingly beautiful Sonoran desert. The night time provides with flickering lights of the either the travelers or the border patrols.
Voices of ranchers, well wishers, border patrols and immigrants spill in and out of the film, often over blank screen. They tell sudden encounters, compassion, indifference, harrowing and often fatal journey. There are vipers, coyotes. You run out of water, you die. You leave people who are weak and sick and old to die. It's all the more resonant now to think about human cost. Illegal immigration won't stop whether there are stricter laws or not. Isolationism won't solve the problem in the capitalist society where economic inequality is the root cause of all problems. El mar la mar addresses human cost of the border politics in a way that only the film medium can.
Posted by Dustin Chang at 7:56 AM 0 comments Links to this post
Labels: Documentary, El mar la mar, Havard Sensory Ethnography Lab, Joshua Bonnetta, JP Sniadecki, movie review
Textural ADHD
Like Me (2017) - Mockler
A movie made for the ADHD generation? Aptly titled Like Me concerns Kiya (Addison Timlin), a young woman videotaping her misdeeds and putting on the internet for garnering fame. Constantly on the road living in various motel rooms, she is a restless, aimless, lonely soul looking for human connections. After seducing middle aged motel manager Marshall (Larry Fassenden) and taping him on camera, humiliating him and getting one million views on youtube, they become an unlikely captor-captive pair. It works because he says he understands her. It is obvious that Kiya takes on a lot of different roles just to disguise her loneliness and her needs for validation.
Unlike other didactic take on loneliness and isolation in the age of social network, Like Me lets its loose narrative be and compensates it with candy color palette and dizzing edits. Fassenden has become as reliable of a presence in the indie world as Gary Oldman is to the mainstream films now. With all the excess style, I liked Like Me much more than I thought I would. Its textural, rough around the edges aesthetics really works for its there/not there theme. One of the year's best.
Labels: Addison Timlin, Larry Fassenden, Like Me, movie review, Robert Mockler
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Five Star Movies
MON-RAK TRANSISTOR | มนต์รักทรานซิสเตอร์
MON-RAK TRANSISTOR
Pan is an upcountry dimwit who loves to sing, whenever possible. He is always there on stage as the lead singer of his local band. After marrying Sadao, his love at first sight, Pan gets drafted into the army, where he wins a singing contest there,
he decides to chase his dream by joining a famous band from Bangkok. His new life is far from being exciting until he becomes a one night star. But Pan has soon to flee and hide in a sugar-cane plantation, since he accidentally killed the band’s manager. But non-stop misfortune still chases him, like a shadow, ending with another crime; theft. Pan ends up in prison. It has been years since he left Sadao. This is the first time he has stopped running and had time to think. He misses the simple upcountry life in a tiny house near the canal where a sound from a small transistor can bring happiness. But most of all he misses is Sadao, his true love, and the baby whom he has never seen just once.
PEN-EK Ratanaruang
Supakorn Kitsuwan, Shiriyakron Pukkawet
Duration (mins): 129
Five Star Production Co.,ltd.
61/1 soi thaweemitr 2 rama 9 rd.,
Huaykwang,Bangkok 10320 Thailand
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Home > 2016-2018 Senators > Senator Perry
Florida Senate Service
Senator Keith Perry
Party: Republican
District 8 consisted of Alachua, Putnam counties and part of Marion county
Agriculture (Assigned and Chair 11/22/2016-8/15/2017)
Ethics and Elections (Assigned and Chair 8/15/2017-11/6/2018)
Appropriations Subcommittee on Higher Education (Assigned and Vice Chair 8/15/2017-11/6/2018)
Appropriations Subcommittee on Criminal and Civil Justice
Appropriations Subcommittee on Finance and Tax (Assigned 8/15/2017-11/6/2018)
Communications, Energy, and Public Utilities (Assigned 11/22/2016-8/15/2017)
Education (Assigned 8/15/2017-11/6/2018)
Regulated Industries (Assigned 11/22/2016-8/15/2017)
Rules (Assigned 8/15/2017-11/6/2018)
Joint Administrative Procedures Committee
2018 Bills Introduced
Bills Introduced
S 90 Use of Wireless Communications Devices While Driving
Last Action: 3/10/2018 Died in Appropriations
S 206 Highway Memorial Markers
Last Action: 3/10/2018 Died in Transportation
S 346 Motorcycle and Moped Riders
Last Action: 3/10/2018 Died in Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Tourism, and Economic Development
S 362 Growth Management
Last Action: 3/10/2018 Died in Community Affairs
S 504 Motor Vehicles
Last Action: 3/8/2018 Laid on Table, companion bill(s) passed, see HB 215 (Ch. 2018-130) -SJ 923
S 654 Early Childhood Music Education Incentive Pilot Program
Last Action: 3/10/2018 Died in Messages
S 684 Transportation Facility Designations/Tom Petty Memorial Highway
S 686 Tax on Sales, Use, and Other Transactions
Last Action: 3/10/2018 Died in Appropriations Subcommittee on Finance and Tax
S 728 Child Restraint Requirements
S 730 Housing Finance Authorities
Last Action: 3/10/2018 Died in Appropriations, companion bill(s) passed, see CS/HB 7087 (Ch. 2018-118)
S 738 Public Records and Public Meetings/Firesafety System Plans
Last Action: 3/8/2018 Laid on Table, companion bill(s) passed, see CS/HB 411 (Ch. 2018-146) -SJ 911
S 750 Public Records
Last Action: 3/10/2018 Died in Judiciary
S 898 Self-service Storage Facilities
Last Action: 3/10/2018 Died in Commerce and Tourism
S 902 Tax on Commercial Real Property
S 988 Public Records/ First Responder Network Authority/Nationwide Public Safety Broadband Network
Last Action: 2/28/2018 Laid on Table, companion bill(s) passed, see CS/HB 755 (Ch. 2018-60) -SJ 407
S 1078 Public Records/United States Census Bureau
Last Action: 3/1/2018 Laid on Table, companion bill(s) passed, see HB 7053 (Ch. 2018-77) -SJ 435
S 1110 Volunteer Florida, Inc.
Last Action: 3/10/2018 Died in Governmental Oversight and Accountability, companion bill(s) passed, see HB 6033 (Ch. 2018-73)
S 1118 Florida LAKEWATCH Program
Last Action: 3/10/2018 Died in Environmental Preservation and Conservation
S 1120 Expert Witnesses
S 1144 Permit Fees
Last Action: 3/10/2018 Died on Calendar
S 1154 License Plate Decals for Organ Donors
S 1156 Missing Persons
Last Action: 3/5/2018 Laid on Table, companion bill(s) passed, see CS/CS/HB 591 (Ch. 2018-54) -SJ 688
S 1158 Display of the State Motto
Last Action: 3/10/2018 Died in Education, companion bill(s) passed, see CS/HB 7055 (Ch. 2018-6)
S 1162 University of Florida
Last Action: 2/21/2018 Adopted -SJ 367
S 1170 Transportation
S 1268 Regulatory Reform
Last Action: 3/10/2018 Died in Governmental Oversight and Accountability
S 1300 Public Nuisances
Last Action: 3/10/2018 Died in Criminal Justice
S 1306 Reading Instruction
Last Action: 3/10/2018 Died in Appropriations, companion bill(s) passed, see CS/HB 7055 (Ch. 2018-6)
S 1308 Environmental Regulation
Last Action: 3/9/2018 Laid on Table -SJ 977
S 1328 Affordable Housing
S 1332 Restoration of Civil Rights
S 1348 Community Development Districts
S 1350 Airports
S 1406 Property Tax Administration
S 1516 Metropolitan Planning Organizations
S 1642 Florida Construction Workforce Task Force
Last Action: 3/10/2018 Died in Education
S 1714 Economic Development and Tourism Promotion Accountability
S 1820 Reading Scholarship Accounts
Bills Co-Introduced
S 4 Higher Education
Last Action: 3/12/2018 Chapter No. 2018-4
S 8 Controlled Substances
Last Action: 3/7/2018 Laid on Table, companion bill(s) passed, see CS/CS/HB 21 (Ch. 2018-13) -SJ 799
S 56 Tax Exemption for Diapers and Incontinence Products
S 62 Assignment of Property Insurance Benefits
Last Action: 3/10/2018 Died in Banking and Insurance
S 70 State Investments
Last Action: 3/10/2018 Died in Governmental Oversight and Accountability, companion bill(s) passed, see HB 359 (Ch. 2018-125)
S 76 Small Business Saturday Sales Tax Holiday
S 82 Alternative Treatment Options for Veterans
S 88 High School Graduation Requirements
Last Action: 3/10/2018 Died in returning Messages
S 126 Workers’ Compensation for First Responders
Last Action: 3/10/2018 Died in Banking and Insurance, companion bill(s) passed, see CS/CS/SB 376 (Ch. 2018-124)
S 138 Perinatal Mental Health
S 140 Marriage Licenses
Last Action: 3/26/2018 Chapter No. 2018-81
S 152 Sale of Firearms
Last Action: 2/8/2018 Laid on Table, companion bill(s) passed, see CS/HB 55 (Ch. 2018-144) -SJ 316
S 204 Land Acquisition Trust Fund
S 210 India Independence Day/India Heritage Month
Last Action: 3/7/2018 Adopted, companion bill(s) passed, see HR 8039 (Adopted) -SJ 786
S 260 Students with Disabilities in Public Schools
S 286 Florida Slavery Memorial
Last Action: 2/21/2018 Laid on Table, companion bill(s) passed, see HB 67 (Ch. 2018-31) -SJ 371
S 360 Consumer Protection from Nonmedical Changes to Prescription Drug Formularies
Last Action: 3/10/2018 Died in Health Policy
S 428 Restoration of Civil Rights
S 440 Florida Veterans Care Program
S 462 Advanced Well Stimulation Treatment
S 480 Public Health Crisis Created by Pornography
Last Action: 3/10/2018 Died in Health Policy, companion bill(s) passed, see CS/HR 157 (Adopted)
S 538 State and Local Governmental Relations with The Government of Venezuela
S 550 Gulf of Mexico Range Complex
Last Action: 2/8/2018 Adopted, companion bill(s) passed, see HR 319 (Adopted) -SJ 315
S 576 Adoptee Birth Certificates
S 616 Motor Vehicle Dealers
S 664 Salvage of Pleasure Vessels
S 670 Ratification of Rules of the St. Johns River Water Management District
Last Action: 2/21/2018 Laid on Table, companion bill(s) passed, see HB 7035 (Ch. 2018-41) -SJ 373
S 672 Truck License Taxes
Last Action: 3/10/2018 Died on Calendar, companion bill(s) passed, see CS/HB 7087 (Ch. 2018-118)
S 748 Back-the-Blue Law Enforcement Assistance Program
S 764 Dental Student Loan Repayment Program
S 890 Insurance Coverage for Hearing Aids for Children
S 952 Cruelty to Animals
Last Action: 3/10/2018 Died in Rules, companion bill(s) passed, see CS/CS/SB 1576 (Ch. 2018-87)
S 1044 Victims of Human Trafficking
Last Action: 3/10/2018 Died in Rules
S 1062 Jewish American Heritage Week
Last Action: 2/21/2018 Adopted, companion bill(s) passed, see HR 8011 (Adopted) -SJ 366
S 1114 Professional Regulation
S 1206 State Inmates
Last Action: 3/10/2018 Died in Appropriations Subcommittee on Criminal and Civil Justice
S 1392 Criminal Justice
Last Action: 4/2/2018 Chapter No. 2018-127
S 1442 Early Childhood Court Programs
S 1532 Early Learning Coalitions
Last Action: 3/10/2018 Died on Calendar, companion bill(s) passed, see CS/HB 7055 (Ch. 2018-6)
S 1576 Animal Welfare
S 1884 Military and Veterans Affairs
Last Action: 3/2/2018 Laid on Table, companion bill(s) passed, see CS/HB 29 (Ch. 2018-7), CS/CS/CS/HB 1073 (Ch. 2018-102) -SJ 543
S 190 Alarm Systems
S 264 Self-storage
S 400 Alcoholic Beverages
Last Action: 4/27/2017 Laid on Table, companion bill(s) passed, see CS/CS/CS/HB 689 (Ch. 2017-137) -SJ 514
Last Action: 5/5/2017 Died in Appropriations Subcommittee on Finance and Tax, companion bill(s) passed, see HB 7109 (Ch. 2017-36)
S 516 Workers’ Compensation Benefits for First Responders
Last Action: 5/5/2017 Died in Banking and Insurance
S 534 Public Works Projects
Last Action: 4/27/2017 Laid on Table, companion bill(s) passed, see CS/CS/HB 599 (Ch. 2017-113) -SJ 504
S 812 Insurance Policy Transfers
Last Action: 4/18/2017 Laid on Table, companion bill(s) passed, see CS/CS/HB 805 (Ch. 2017-19) -SJ 422
Last Action: 5/5/2017 Died in Education, companion bill(s) passed, see CS/HB 7069 (Ch. 2017-116)
Last Action: 5/5/2017 Died in Commerce and Tourism
Last Action: 5/5/2017 Died in Environmental Preservation and Conservation
S 996 Administrative Proceedings
Last Action: 5/5/2017 Died in Judiciary
S 1002 Florida Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act
Last Action: 5/1/2017 Laid on Table, companion bill(s) passed, see CS/HB 505 (Ch. 2017-110), CS/HB 477 (Ch. 2017-107) -SJ 599
S 1008 Public Records/Injured or Deceased Employee/Department of Financial Services
Last Action: 5/1/2017 Laid on Table, companion bill(s) passed, see CS/CS/HB 1107 (Ch. 2017-185) -SJ 600
S 1098 Legislative Review of a Judicial Ruling Declaring a Legislative Act Void
S 1104 Resource Recovery and Management
S 1106 Federal Court Rulings
S 1312 Construction
S 1368 Exceptional Students
Last Action: 5/5/2017 Died in Appropriations, companion bill(s) passed, see CS/HB 7069 (Ch. 2017-116)
S 1370 Warnings for Lottery Games
S 1372 Building-related Contracting
Last Action: 5/5/2017 Died pending review, Rule 4.7(2), companion bill(s) passed, see CS/CS/HB 1021 (Ch. 2017-149)
Last Action: 5/5/2017 Died in Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Tourism, and Economic Development, companion bill(s) passed, see CS/CS/SB 368 (Ch. 2017-193)
S 1378 Stormwater Management
S 1410 Best and Brightest Teachers and Principals
S 1432 Access to Health Care Practitioner Services
Last Action: 5/5/2017 Died in Health Policy
S 1434 Patient Safety Culture Surveys
S 1474 Teacher Certification
Last Action: 5/5/2017 Died in Appropriations Subcommittee on Pre-K - 12 Education, companion bill(s) passed, see CS/HB 7069 (Ch. 2017-116)
S 1536 Agricultural Practices
Last Action: 5/5/2017 Died in Appropriations, companion bill(s) passed, see HB 5401 (Ch. 2017-158), HB 7109 (Ch. 2017-36)
S 1544 Charitable Gaming
Last Action: 5/5/2017 Died in Regulated Industries
S 1568 City of Gainesville, Alachua County
Last Action: 5/5/2017 Died in Communications, Energy, and Public Utilities, companion bill(s) passed, see CS/HB 759 (Ch. 2017-200)
S 1668 Use of State Funds
Last Action: 5/5/2017 Died in Appropriations
S 1764 Medicaid Compliance
S 56 Specialty License Plates
S 64 State Park Fees
Last Action: 4/27/2017 Laid on Table, companion bill(s) passed, see CS/CS/CS/HB 185 (Ch. 2017-27) -SJ 515
S 76 Limitations on Property Tax Assessments
Last Action: 4/19/2017 Laid on Table, companion bill(s) passed, see CS/HJR 21 (Passed) -SJ 433
S 78 Public School Recess
Last Action: 5/5/2017 Died in Messages, companion bill(s) passed, see CS/HB 7069 (Ch. 2017-116)
S 120 Offenses by Aliens Unlawfully Present in the United States
S 144 Use of Wireless Communications Devices While Driving
Last Action: 5/5/2017 Died in Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Tourism, and Economic Development
S 188 Vacation Rentals
S 196 Judicial Resources
Last Action: 4/28/2017 Laid on Table -SJ 537
Last Action: 5/5/2017 Died in Messages
S 328 Regulation of Nursing
Last Action: 5/3/2017 Laid on Table, companion bill(s) passed, see CS/CS/HB 543 (Ch. 2017-134) -SJ 745
S 392 High School Graduation Requirements
S 398 Estoppel Certificates
Last Action: 5/5/2017 Died in Appropriations Subcommittee on the Environment and Natural Resources
Last Action: 5/5/2017 Died in Appropriations Subcommittee on Finance and Tax
S 750 Franchises
S 854 Task Force on Affordable Housing
Last Action: 5/5/2017 Died in Appropriations, companion bill(s) passed, see SB 2502 (Ch. 2017-71)
S 920 Groveland Four
Last Action: 4/27/2017 Laid on Table, companion bill(s) passed, see CS/HCR 631 (Adopted) -SJ 502
S 926 Education
Last Action: 5/4/2017 Laid on Table, companion bill(s) passed, see CS/HB 7069 (Ch. 2017-116) -SJ 801
Last Action: 5/5/2017 Died in Criminal Justice
S 1038 Assignment of Property Insurance Benefits
S 1088 Workers’ Compensation for First Responders
Last Action: 5/5/2017 Died in Appropriations Subcommittee on General Government
S 1440 Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys/Florida School for Boys
Last Action: 4/26/2017 CS adopted, companion bill(s) passed, see CS/HR 1335 (Adopted) -SJ 473
S 1598 Education
S 1712 Health Care Providers
S 7000 Florida Building Commission
Last Action: 5/5/2017 Died in Appropriations, companion bill(s) passed, see CS/CS/HB 1021 (Ch. 2017-149)
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NATO-Feminism, GQ and Boxing Champ Justin Trudeau Called Out! Morality vs Politics
April 3rd, 2018 | by Richard Paul
“Someone once said you need to learn how to read the lines before you can read between them.” Richard Paul
As The Star reports: “Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says [ Russia] will face real consequences for its aggression on the world stage and here in Canada, where he said intelligence agents have used social media and propaganda to meddle in democracy.”
By BRUCE CAMPION-SMITH Ottawa Bureau
Wed., April 4, 2018
“Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is warning Russia that it will face “real consequences” for its aggression on the world stage and here in Canada, where he said social media and propaganda have been used to meddle in democracy, including a smear campaign aimed at Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland.Flanked by Jens Stoltenberg, the secretary general of NATO, Trudeau said that Russia’s “illegimate and illegal” actions — from its 2014 invasion of Crimea to the more recent poisoning on British soil — cannot go unchallenged.”
Essentially, Mr Justing Trudeau is a follower of orders from abroad. Given NATO head Stoltenberg has made clear that North Americans will be a North American NATO headquarter as geo-political players are now openly placing themselves for what wars are surely coming to pass!
We also send Mr. Justin Trudeau and Eric Ruel at Les Productions Ruelle an email requesting a response to this article to see if he can make all Canadians inclusive in his Canada. When jobs and careers are stymied by government bureaucracy, but accomodated for the privileged few. So far we have heard back from Les Productions Ruelle:
“Hello, This is an original idea by Productions de la Ruelle. The two principal protagonists, Senator Patrick Brazeau and MP Justin Trudeau, accepted to be filmed for this documentary about politics and boxing.
The documentary was funded like every other documentary in Canada with broadcasters licenses and Tax credits.
This film is not promoting or bashing any of the two politicians.
Did you see the film? You should rent it and see for yourself.
You might also be interested in our previous film titled Disunited States of Canada.”
Productions de la ruelle’s team
“Cost of production is private information. Festival submissions were free. By renting the film (see the link below) you will get the other info needed in the end credits.” Eric Ruel
http://www.productionsdelaruelle.com/
And while we are awaiting Mr. Trudeau’s response, especially to the cost of the entire production, since SODEC , Canada Media Fund and Telefilm Canada are not private companies, but tax funded by Canadians, we wanted to address the above mentioned quote from Mr. Justin Trudeau. Mainly his idea of freedoms being protected as their conscience dictates, those who have them, while legislating against the main idea, cited by Justin, to create , what is commonly regarded as being The Fruit Loop circular reasoning!
“My idea of freedom is that we should protect the rights of people to believe what their conscience dictates, but fight equally hard to protect people from having the beliefs of others imposed upon them.” Justin Trudeau
I think what Justin is trying to say, is, when he says he is a feminist is that, either he wants to come out or he does not! At least that’s what I heard him say today at the Nato meeting press conference held on April 4th,2018 , CPAC online/broadcast. Mr. Trudeau when asked by a reporter about this carrying babies in other people’s bodies, surrogate mother legislation, he was saying to Canadians, again, we will be subject to Identity politics as my young kids do here at home! He now wishes to identify with Feminism and Surrogate mothers! Okay, then, who really cares!
Mr Trudeau, if you wish to include everyone in laws and charter rights, why make it a public nuisance to depict your crude sense of morality upon the public? Please, I do not believe any Canadians is offended by these issues you are creating in this “new” piece of legislation.
Please stand for the truth and Come Out! Tell Canadians where the future is heading with a Nato Alliance in North America! A cashless society as Desjardins and others close more and more ATM outlets and branches throughout Canada as Canadians join the chorus of voices, that others are preparing us for the crypto-currency wave, Danielle Magazine has spoken about , but then again, is that not the reasons for Canadians being $150 million dollars a day in the hole, thru Justin’s continued polices his father made happen in 1974!
Now as for Justin’s Feminist views, which I truly and honestly enjoy for their great twists of ironies, which, Angry Harry, explained so well to me a few years ago, and it goes something like this.
Why some women are really manipulators galore
You know there are some guys that have all the luck! Especially Prime Minister Justin Trudeau who had the fortuitous fortune of stumbling about finding Les Productions Ruelle back in his days as MP for Papineauville QC to propel him to the Prime Minister of Canada position with I say , 24 awards from various film festivals throughout Canada, which gave Justing Trudeau a most spectacular ride on the wings of government grants and bourses. Canada Media Fund, SODEC & Telefilm Canada in particular.While leaving so many young aspiring actors and actresses, and all crews that make feature films possible, along with every entrepreneur here in Canada behind his trail! Justin and Les Productions Ruelle surely netting millions with the Royal treatment for their efforts in making Les productions Ruelle the winner of many awards! And Mr. Justin Trudeau Prime Minister of Canada with all this free publicity worth millions. Which movie we can now rent at Vimeo here.
” Against whom do you jest? Against whom do you open wide your mouth and stick out your tongue? Are you not children of rebellion, offsprings of deceit, who inflame yourselves among the oaks, under every luxuriant tree,” Is 57:4-5
Photograph & pictures copyrights to Les Productions Ruelle
Of course when I was an aspiring filmaker in Montreal, I had an opportunity to get involved with talks of a 3 to 5 million dollar budget feature film production. But with all the restrictions involved, I was left to make them with the assistance of my wife and friends, during my 2 years in the Montreal film industry, I learned much about show biz! Remember, it is a business first and foremost!
So during my brief entrepreneurial journey, I was able to complete two feature films and a couple of small documentaries, which for an amateur, is remarkable as they were able to be produced. Many aspiring producers/directors can only dream what Justin Trudeau received on a silver platter. What if every Canadian had the opportunity to be given such awards for what they aspire to dream about!
Oyster Films Productions with Damascus Productions. ( 2008-10)
This was all made possible for under $160 hundred thousand dollars! ( I think) NO funding from any government sources. Except SODEC for a script treatment. Then the big production houses and the lawyers started talking millions! Remember, I had never done this in my life. It was a dare, kinda of. So I remember posting on Craigslist looking for a feature film Director. I was laughed at from the beginning but within 6 months I was in pre-production with a crew and all casting done with various locations. It was great but it did cost $100,000 for the first film but then I did the directing/producing on the second one and saved, coming in at $50k for the second and a better feature film! And we got excellent quality actors and actresses. With a great crew. All together we we’re 150. Lots of lunches I tell you. I was always at the pawn shop with this and that to get it done. Lots of fun. But forget putting the movie in the film festival circuit as its costs are also to be factored in , which we could not afford!
Corey Sosner, Holy Adams , Paul Sauders , Richard Bosada and talented Paul Rossi, Written by Leo St Pierre & Diane Condo, Director Jean-Francois Daigle ( Sec 753.2) and Richard Paul Condo ( Section 753.2 & In The Bag, 2008-09) , Director of Photography Alexandre Bussière
Pictures Lois Siegel Entertainment and Paul Couvrette
Richard Paul
24 awards from various film festivals throughout Canada Canada Media Fund Damascus Productions GQ and Boxing Champ Justin Trudeau Called Out! Morality vs Politics In The Bag Corey Sosner Les Productions Ruelle Nato-Feminism Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Section 753.2 Richard Condo SODEC Telefilm Canada
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Kids Talk to Debbie
Kids here is your chance to write to Debbie where Debbie and everyone else can read it!
Press the "Post Your Message" button below. A new page will open with a form where you can post your message to Debbie. Inappropriate language will be deleted or blocked. She will answer you on "Debbie Talks."
"I don’t usually read mermaid tales anymore, but whenever I go to school I see Bailey School Kids and I see the author that is you and I always tell my friends, “I talked to her!” And who is the other author that was on the Bailey School Kids book? Thanks! Talk to you later!"
"GUESS WHAT? I AM PLAYING ÁRIEL!!!! ASH IS PLAYING FLOUNDER!"
"Do you ever get seen by fans in public? Also, I am going to try out for the school play: the little mermaid!"
"Are you a princess because you are related to Cleopatra"
"I had a concert in my backyard, but I was late to the concert. Everyone wa a trying to get in, and eventually I escaped into the backyard by driving a small cart into my backyard. I had to get ready. First, Lisa put my hair in a swimming cap. Then, I got rid of my shoes to put on crocs, then I got on a skirt. Lisa then put water on my eyelashes, then I put eraser on my lips to make them nice and dry. Then we found a sparkly outfit for me to wear. I put on my elf to turn into my alter ego, Janna Indiana. then put on a robe and walked to the stage, I took off the robe to reveal my sparkly outfit then performed. It was fun "
"I didn’t really think of it as fan fiction. I was just trying to use some of your ideas because I liked them. Here is more: Chapter 2: The Nasty Designs On their way home on the bus, the 4 kids were telling Ricardo about Mrs. Transylvanian. “I had Focous Pocos in my pocket,” said Marko. “So I took picture while she was reading a book.” “See.” “Oh,” said Ricardo. “Yeah. Liza started a rumor that she was weird,“ said Haillie. “She’d probably would go crazy if we just opened our mouths,” chuckled Emily. When they got dropped off they saw Mrs. Transylvanian. “Hello,” she said. “Would you like to come to my house.” “Your house has to many scary designs,“ said Levi. "
"I love your books! I wonder: Have you ever heard of a play with mermaids and is six chapters long? (not to be mean)"
liorith
"I think it was that one! I just know you're books are awesome and that I'm on book 13 now (I read fast!) Sincerely: Juniper :-D P.S.: May is an awesome time for birthdays!"
"Here is my new book called the New Librarian. Chapter 1: Mrs. Transylvanian “Class,” said Mrs. Azrcy. “Time to go to library. Line order please.” “Bye,” she said as she left the library. Then, in front of them, was a woman with red eyes, a bat bracelet, & red hair. ”My name is Mrs. Transylvanian,“ she said in a very odd accent. A couple of the girls in the back of the room giggled at her accent. “Go to the back of the room,“ she said. “I don’t like school,“ Emily whispered. “I can’t believe you just said that,“ Haillie whispered back. “I love school.” “Shhh!” said Gabersi. When they arrived at the pit, Mrs.. Transylvanian picked up a globe & pointed to Europe. “I grew up in the country of Romania,” she said. “I live there until…until….” She paused. “Before my family was forced to leave!” “But why?” asked Rosy. “Ummm...That is not important now.” Liza cupped her hands around Lucy’s ear. She whispered: “She’s weird. Pass it down” Lucy whispered it to Haillie. Haillie whispered to Emily. Then all the girls got the message. “Ehem” said Mrs. Transylvanian. “Wow,” whispered Levi to Marko. “Yeah,” he whispered back. "
"Hi! Today I was reading a Mermaid Tales book, and I wondered when your birthday was. So I decided to look it up, and turns out your birthday is only 4 days after mine! Sincerest: Juniper"
"Chapter 9: Marko’s injury Marko was taken to the hospital. He had lots of people very scared. He had broken both legs. Everyone he new was crowded around him including his parents & Ricardo. Marko was crying. “Ok,” said the doctor. “We’re going to put a cast on Marko’s body parts that are broken.” Do not be concerned. Everyone was quiet for a while in the waiting room. Everyone was worried about him, especially Ricardo. “Do you think he’ll be O.K.?” Gabersi asked shivering: “I don’t know,” shivered back Liza. Everyone was in the waiting shivering & talking about Marco. The doctors were scared. A half hour later, Marko came out looking exhausted. Everyone gasped. “What the heck did you do!” yelled Liza. “Mrs. Nalan,” said the doctor “give you son some rest when you get home give your son some rest. “At least they got rid of Mrs. Zombiet,” he thought. THE END"
"You are a very creative person and I would love to meet you again. Will you be in West TN again soon?"
Kaylo
"We loved your speech and I love your books! I really enjoyed Mermaids Don't Run Track and Cupid Don't make hamburgers. You are very interesting."
"Also, do you have your Christmas tree up yet? Hope you have a Christian holly jolly wonderful Christmas!"
"Chapter 8: Gasp! Run! Mrs. Zombiet became darker and her eyes became greener and bigger. All the students gasped, including the four kids around Mrs. Zombiet. Everyone ran around and screamed. Mrs. Zombiet decided to chase them. She almost bit Marko on the head, but Emily punched her. Emily punched her so hard she fell over. Marko sat on top her tummy. But Mrs. Zombiet threw Marko very high up. Marko hollered. Haillie, Gabersi, Levi, Emmett, Rosy & Lucy got the parachute and Marko landed safely on top of it. But then the parachute sank because of Marko’s heavy weight. Marko hit the ground very hard. Mrs. Azrcy came in. Mrs. Azrcy and the class looked shocked. "
"Chapter 7: Try it out. “Who, hollo chogon,” said Mrs. Zombiet. Everyone watched the door as Mrs. Azrcy left the room. “Just wait for the right moment,” ordered Levi. “We play man from Mars,” said Zombiet. “Two questions askers are Gabersi and Rosy.” “Man from Mars, Man from Mars, will you chase us to the stars?“ chorused the whole class except for Emily, Gabersi, Haillie, Levi, Marko and Rosy. “If your last name begins with L., M, N, or P. Emily, Emett, Haillie, Levi, Liza, and Marko. Levi & the other 3 kids curved in the middle of the gym. Gabersi caught Emily and the rest. “Back to the start if you were tagged.,” said Mrs. Zombiet. This happened again. But the third time the number 4 put their hands on Mrs. Zombiet. Marko sat on top of her tummy. The other 3 crowded around her. Marko bounced on her tummy."
"Sorry about Nicole writing to you, I’m aware she annoying but we babysit her a lot. Anyway, I have chosen you for my author report! Where can I find info for this five-paragraph essay? And when I finish, should I share it with you?"
"I really love your books thank you for coming to aes "
"it was an honor to meet you but what got me started on the Oregon trail was the game from the 90's we had a other author visit but she didn't go off and talk about her background much her name was r friend have u heard of her"
"What is a forum. Is this a forum"
"What happened to Eddie in vdwp. "
"I love Mermaid Tales"
Mommy said I can't say my name
or my grade
"Hello,my name is Renee and OMG I neeeeeed to tell you some BIG news. So to begin with when I was younger my mommy and daddy told me I was magical like a fairy always helping and being super kind,and until today I believed it. But when I got home mommy and daddy came up to me and sat me down in the living room. They said that they had shocking news for me and I said "trust me mommy I'm ready for this" and then it happened daddy whispered uned his "your not a fairy" and ran off to my room crying and that's why I'm writing to you. Talk to you soon bye bye "
"here is another book I am writing: The kids return to Camp Stone Wolf, where last summer they suspected Mr. Kenkins was a werewolf. Camp Stone Wolf is in ill repair and Coach Kellison is taking them there for a week-long nature trip, ending with a rowing competition against the kids from nearby Weldon City. Their rowing instructor is a stocky man with a long black beard and bright pink sunglasses. His frizzy black hair is tied back in a ponytail with a purple bandanna and a silver earring dangles from his left ear. His name is Captain Peach and his parrot is named Long-Tongued Mack. They learn from another student named Marey that the Hailey Bank is going to take over the camp and sell it to the Mega-Mall Development Company. The kids think that it would be a shame to tear down all the trees in the camp. The kids race a pirate and search for pirate's treasure!"
"Here is another original book Giza, Teddie, Jelody, and Wowie (the Hailey School kids) find something in the old oak tree. They are disappointed when it turns out to be nothing more than a old bottle with nothing in it but a stinky smell. Teddie tosses the bottle into the junky yard next to the school while Jelody wishes someone would clean up the place. The next morning the junky yard is magically clean and even decorated with Christmas lights. They meet a big man with a shiny bald head. He rides a purple bicycle and his muscles bulge under his gold brocade vest and bright, flowing orange pants. He wears gold necklaces and one earring. His name is Gene and he is the one who has made the yard sparkle. Suddenly, all their wishes start coming true with horrible results. The kids are almost certain that Gene is a genie. The kids are disgusted with wishes and figure out that Giza is the only one with a wish left. Can Giza bring life back to normal at Hailey School or will the genie win control of Hailey City???"
"A new art teacher named Mrs. Fork comes to Hailey Elementary School. She is strangely pale, but gets more color to her as the colors start disappearing from Hailey Elementary, even Teddie’s red hair!"
"YOU ARE SUPER PRETTY"
"Ignore the posts from earlier. Sue and her friends are being annoying. Anyway here is the next chapter: Chapter 6: The Plan The next day, they all met under the tree. “I saw 2 clouds form Mr. Jim twice this week!” exclaimed Emily. “Well I came up with a plan to get Mrs. Zombiet out of our school,” said Levi. “First we all jump rope with her. Then when she isn’t looking, we jump on top of her.” Er! Er! The bell rang. Everyone walked to their classrooms. A little after it was time for work, it was gym. Line Order as usual. “Come children,” said Mrs. Azrcy. “Got the plan,” whispered Levi. “Yes,” they responded. Also you are SO PRETTY "
"also I think u should write a book about the Oregon trail"
"hi u might remember me im the kid that was in the black coat so I wanted to say thx for saying I should write a book I will wright a new one "
"oh one more thing have you ever been to californa? i did it was so fun"
mundell
"um hi i love your books and mermaids. have a merry christmas!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
"Hwhere did you get the name Bailey from? why not clall it Francine School Kids? I like those books so plz wrtie another one soon"
"I came to your website a few years ago and saw the Talk Page. Before it used to say you wouldnt change what we said, now it says innaporopriate language will be deleted or blocked, and it also says NASTY POSTS WILL BE REMOVED BY WEBMASTER in all caps. Why did it change Debby?"
"Those aren't retellings. Those are original stories by me. heres another: Giza, Teddie, Jelody, and Wowie (the Hailey School kids) go on a field trip to the Kelley Museum. The old museum is four stories tall and they are greeted by a grunting giant of a man named Hank, the curator’s assistant. Dr. Jictor, is the curator. Giza tells them about a book her brother read called Frankenstein and thinks that Hank is really Frankenstein the monster. No one believes Giza and then the lights go out during a storm. Their teacher is in danger and there is only one person who can save her... "
"Chapter 5: Magic Again, Emily was lying in her backyard & again, Mr. Jim’s ghost was walking towards her. Haillie was having a play date with her. “This again!” exclaimed Emily. Haillie froze as if she turned to ice. “I have to tell this again,” said Mr. Jim. “Go away,” said Emily. And he did. “Why can’t he just go again,” she said. “That’s his heaven ghost,” responded. When his ghost was gone, she had a question to ask him. “Mr. Jim!” she called. “Come back!” “Why do you want him to come to you,” asked Haillie. “Because I have a question to ask,” Emily answered. “I believe that’s not a heaven ghost. I think the clouds are shaping him & a person is making the voice.” They waited to see if she was right. “MAGIC CLOUDS!” hollered Emily. “They’re magic see, one shaped like Mr. Jim.” They both stared at it for 20 seconds. “Haillie, time to go!” her mother. “Mommy, Emily saw magic clouds.” I thought it was his heaven ghost for her, she thought."
"I hate reading but your books are the best so I only read them"
"I'm trying to buy "Angels Don't Know Karate" as a Christmas present but I can't find a NEW one anywhere. Can you help? "
Theresa F
"What’s your middle name and your maiden? Sue is the best name, so please don’t lie that’s it is your middle name"
"Write a book called Teenagers don’t become terrorists"
"Chapter 4: More Stuff The next day at school, Mrs. Azrcy’s class was working on writing their names in cursive. Emily was horrible at cursive. She also didn’t hold her pencil right. Emily: Emily Haillie: Haillie Emily Emily “Time for Gym,” said Mrs. Azrcy. “Line Order please.” Line Order Lucy Rosy Gabersi Siana Eddie Howie Melody Liza Emett Emily Haillie Marko Levi Caleb Jessie Ryan Austin Dylan Jared “We play zombie from Mars,” said Mrs. Zombiet. The children cheered. It was their favorite. “No how,” said Mrs. Zombiet. “Here how playin’.” She gave the directions, “But first, we get picture!” Tall top, bottom short.”"
"These two girls named Ingra and Hannah are making the ok sign and showing it to me its annoying what should i do debbie and also I love Mermaid Tales"
"A girl at school says my name is funny. Is it funny?"
"here is another story: It’s Saint Patrick’s Day and Teddie pinches Jelody because she isn’t wearing green. Mrs. Keepers doesn’t allow anything to do with leprechauns in the third grade room; she considers leprechauns worse than blood-sucking mosquitoes. Since Mrs. Keepers and her magical brooch won’t let him misbehave in class, Eddie decides to cut loose in gym class. But Coach Kellison, their wimpy PE teacher gives the class to a visiting teacher from Ireland, Mr. O’Brady. The short Irishman seems to have magic gem stones and likes Teddie’s pranks. Mr. O’Brady starts teaching them a dance, but ends up showing them a few tricks on the basketball court. Wowie’s grandmother is from Ireland and she tells them the true story of the wee folk, which is about a stolen fairy stone. The kids decide that Mr. O’Brady really is a leprechaun and he’s come to steal Mrs. Keepers brooch, which is the magical Fairy Stone! "
"Chapter 3: Risen from the Dead The next day at school, Levi, Haillie, & Marko met under a tree. “Where’s Emily?” asked Levi. “Oh, she’s in the graveyard,” said Haillie. And she was right. R.I.P. Austin Jim 1956-2011 Gym Teacher Jasudy Ater 1952-2003 R.I.P. FOSTER GRAND PARENT “Now if I could just find one with the last name Zombiet,” she said to her self. “I could prove she was a zombie.” And then she decided to go back to the tree and wait for the bell to ring. Then after school, Emily was sitting under a tree in her backyard. Then she saw a light in the clouds. And a body. It looked like Mr. Jim’s. “C’mon Emily, get some exercise,” it said. “What the nuts!” Emily screamed. “You’re a zombie, Mr. Jim!” she yelled. “I’m just in heaven,” he said. “Zombie, Zombie, risen from the dead. I’ll break off your head,” Emily yelled. “Bye,” yelled Mr. Jim."
"What worst thing a kid ever did in your class?"
kanyah
"hi mrs. debbie dadey how are you"
"Mr. Robson, the janitor, quits after Teddie and Wowie smear peanut butter all over the stair railing. Mrs. Keepers is gone and Mrs. Wing is the third grade substitute teacher. Principal Mavis tells the third grade they must clean the school until a new janitor arrives. Finally Mr. Holly comes to the rescue. His keys jingle as he mops the floor and he loves to keep the building cold. Mr. Holly writes in a little red notebook and has a friend name Ellie. Ellie is short, has a pointy black beard and dresses all in green. Teddie toilet papers the teacher’s lounge in an effort to get rid of Mr. Holly (Teddie doesn’t like him because he keeps the building so cold.) Magically, the lounge is cleaned up almost instantly. Teddie enlists Jelody’s help to squirt whipped cream all over the hallway, but that too is magically cleaned up. Teddie gets sick from eating too much whipped cream. Teddie throws up on Mr. Holly’s shoes, but his shoes are almost instantly clean again. Could Mr. Holly really be Santa Claus??? "
"Chapter 3: Movie After Emily’s friends left, Emily set her friends up for two scary movies. “I scweam afta this,” said Chaludy. “Mean too,” said Jalody. “Gewat movie, Emmy,” said Emma. “Maybe not,” whispered Emily. She was planning to scare her cousins. And as soon as they watched it, they were horrified. “You cowards,” Emily whispered to herself. “Just like Mrs. Zombiet.” It was long until Emily noticed that Mrs. Zombiet just lived down the street. “Mom, can I go down the street?” asked Emily. “Of course you can, sweety,” her mother answered. Meanwhile, back at Emily’s cousins all most started crying. After Emily cape back, she stared at her class picture some more. Row 1: Eddie Friet, Howie Howard, Josh Johnson, Melody Keeper, Liza Langille, Emett Lelani, Haillie Mart. Row 2: Rosy Butler, Gabersi Coat, Siana Delane, Emily Lulby, Marko Nalan, Levi Pappal Row 3: Lucille Anderson, Caleb Roy, Jessica Sito, Ryan Tewell, Dylan Wyant Row 4: Jared Zul Austin Wat "
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You are here: Home › Video Game Magazines › Nintendo Power
Archive | Nintendo Power RSS feed for this section
Nintendo Power Issue 3 (Nov-Dec 1988)
By Phillyman on March 6, 2011 in Nintendo Power, Video Game Magazines
Nintendo Power Issue 3 was released November 1988 and features Track and Field II on the cover.
Nintendo Power Issue 265 (Mar 2011)
Nintendo Power Issue 265 was released March 2011 and features the Nintendo 3DS on the cover.
List of Nintendo Power Covers
By Phillyman on August 23, 2010 in Nintendo Power, Video Game Magazines
Have you ever been curious as to what appeared on each cover of Nintendo Power? Look below to find which issue your favorite games appeared on. Keep checking back as I will update this list each month, and provide links to each individual issue as I post them.
Nintendo Power Issue 2 (Sep-Oct 1988)
By Phillyman on July 27, 2010 in Nintendo Power, Video Game Magazines
Nintendo Power Issue 2 was released September 1988 and features Simon Belmont on the cover.
Nintendo Power Issue 1 (Jul-Aug 1988)
Nintendo Power Issue 1 was released July 1988 and features Mario on the cover.
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George I.—The Story of the Earl of Mar's Hunting-Party
Q UEEN ANNE was the last of the Stuarts, and her husband and all her children died before she did. She had no near relatives except her brother, who was called the Pretender. He was a Roman Catholic and, therefore, could not succeed to the throne; for, in the time of William and Mary, a law had been made that no Roman Catholic should ever again wear the crown. The people had foreseen that after Queen Anne died, there might be quarrels as to who should reign next, so that, too, had been settled by law in the time of William and Mary.
James I. of England had a daughter called Elizabeth, who married the King of Bohemia, and her grandson, George, Elector, or King of Hanover, was the nearest Protestant heir to the throne. He was the great-grandson of James VI.
So, as soon as Queen Anne died, George was proclaimed King in England, Scotland, and Ireland, without any fighting or quarrelling. But although his grandmother had been British, George himself was as German as could be, and he could not even speak a word of English. He was fifty-five years old when he came to the throne, and was too old ever to learn the English language or English ways and manners.
The Jacobites had never lost hope of having once more a Stuart King. Now they felt was the time to try. The new King was a German, and the people, they thought, would surely rather have a man of their own country than an old German to reign over them.
The Earl of Mar, making believe that he was going to have a great hunting-party, asked a number of the Highland lords to his house. They came, but soon it was seen that it was not deer they meant to hunt, and a large army gathered round Lord Mar and the standard of James VIII., which was the title the Pretender took. In their caps they wore his badge of white cockade or rosette.
The Pretender's standard was of blue silk, having on one side the arms of Scotland worked in gold, and on the other the Scottish thistle, with the motto, Nemo me impune lacessit, which means, "those who touch me will suffer for it." It had also two streamers of white ribbon, on one of which were the words, "For our wronged King and oppressed country," and on the other, "For our lives and liberties." There was great rejoicing when the standard was unfurled, but scarcely had it been done when the golden ball fell from the top of the staff. That made the Highlanders very sad, for they were superstitious and thought it meant bad luck.
But when our standard was set up,
so fierce the wind did blow, Willie,
The golden knop down from the top
Unto the ground did fa', Willie.
Then second-sighted Sandy said,
We'll dae nae gude at a', Willie;
While pipers played frae right to left
Fy, furich Whigs awa', Willie.
In the north of England, Lord Derwentwater and another gentleman gathered an army of Jacobites and proclaimed James King. But neither Lord Mar nor Lord Derwentwater were good generals. Having got their soldiers together, they did not seem to know what to do with them. So when King George's army met Lord Derwentwater's army, the Jacobites yielded almost without a struggle.
In Scotland, the Jacobites under Lord Mar, and the King's soldiers, under the Duke of Argyle, met at a place called Sheriffmuir, near Dunblane. Lord Mar called a council of war and asked his captains, "Shall we fight or shall we go back?"
And all the captains called out, "Fight! fight!"
Lord Mar agreed, and they all went to their places. No sooner did the Highlanders know they were to fight than a great cheer went through the army, every man tossing his cap in the air. Every Scotchman there was glad at the opportunity of fighting his old enemies the English.
With broadswords drawn, colours flying, and bagpipes playing, they rushed to battle. But brave and fierce though the Highlanders were, they lacked a clever leader. So it happened that one half of Mar's soldiers beat one half of Argyle's, but the other half of Argyle's beat the other half of Mar's, so each side claimed the victory.
There's some say that we wan,
Some say that they wan,
Some say that nane wan at a', man;
But one thing I'm sure,
That at Sheriffmuir
A battle there was, which I saw, man;
And we ran, and they ran, and they ran, and we ran,
And we ran and they ran awa', man.
"If we have not gained a victory," said one Jacobite general, "we ought to fight Argyle once a week until we make it one." But Mar did nothing, and James, who had promised to come from France, did not arrive. So, disappointed and discontented, many of the chieftains and their followers went home again.
But at last James landed. He was greeted with great joy, and rode into Dundee with three hundred gentlemen behind him. "Now," thought the Jacobites, "we have a King. Now we will be led to battle and victory."
But they were again disappointed. James was no soldier. He was pale, grave, and quiet; he never smiled and he hardly ever spoke. The men soon began to despise him, and to ask if he could fight or even speak.
Day after day passed and nothing happened.
"What did you call us to arms for?" asked the angry Highlanders, "was it to run away?"
"What did the King come for? Was it to see his people butchered by hangmen, and not strike one blow for their lives?"
"Let us die like men, and not like dogs."
"If our King is willing to die like a King, there are ten thousand gentlemen who are not afraid to die with him."
But it was of no use. Nothing was done. The Pretender, taking the Earl of Mar with him, slunk back to France, a beaten man for want of courage to strike a blow. And, sad and angry, the Jacobite army melted away. Some of the leaders escaped to foreign lands, others were taken prisoner to the Tower and afterwards beheaded. Among those was Lord Derwentwater.
This rebellion is known as "The Fifteen" because it took place in 1715 A.D.
O far frae my hame full soon will I be,
It's far, far frae hame, in a strange countrie,
Where I'll tarry a while, return, and with you be,
And bring many jolly boys to our ain countrie.
I wish you all success till I again you see,
May the lusty Highland lads fight on and never flee.
When the King sets foot aground, and returns from the sea,
Then you'll welcome him hame to his ain countrie.
God bless our royal King, from danger keep him free,
When he conquers all the foes that oppose his Majesty,
God bless the Duke of Mar and all his cavalry,
Who first began the war for our King and our countrie.
Let the traitor King make haste and out of England flee,
With all his spurious race come far beyond the sea;
Then we will crown our royal King with mirth and jollity,
And end our days is peace in our ain countrie.
Table of Contents | Index | Home | Previous: Anne—How the Union Jack Was Made | Next: George II—The Story of Bonnie Prince Charlie
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Published 2005 | 36 pp
Printed cloth over boards
The Burning Babe & Other Poems
by Jerome Rothenberg, Susan Bee
"I've long been aware of the variations on religious imagery & symbolism in painterly & folkloric sources—some of them extreme & much too numerous to outline here. Of these the figure of the infant-god as world ruler has seemed to me both terrifying & crazed in its specific manifestations. As the 'babe poems' emerged for me along those lines, I began to think of presenting them in an illuminated work that would not so much illustrate them as extend them into a different but intellectually compatible genre. Their realization by Susan Bee answers precisely to the book I had in mind." - Jerome Rothenberg
"The Burning Babe and Other Poems is a full-color setting of a series of poems, taking off from the images of babies and angels in European Renaissance and medieval art and also touching on other themes such as Kurt Schwitter's 'Merzbau.' Many of the settings of the poems in this book were influenced by the illuminated books on William Blake and also medieval and Renaissance book illuminations. The book uses collage with watercolor, ink, crayon, cut colored paper, and gouache drawings as the backdrop for the poems. Each page includes visual elements that are referred to on the poems on that page. For instance, one page features a flying horse, a baby grasping an apple, and a serpent. These are all elements that are referred to in the poems that are printed on this page. The poem 'Italy 1999' features a rainbow and a feathered serpent and here a cut-up rainbow is used to set off the words of the poem. The last section of the book and poem deals with Kurt Schwitter's lost project, his large-scale installation, the 'Merzbau,' that was destroyed in World War II. Here I used cut colored papers to form the context for this poem. The use of cut paper refers to Schwitter's own use of collage. On the next to last page of the book, there is a uniting and summary of all the themes from this book including the Madonna and Child, the image from the photo of the 'Merzbau' above, clocks, and a reference to New York City and 9/11 below with the image of the Brooklyn Bridge. I see the illustrations as an enhancement of the text, not a superseding of the text. But as a way to provide a further key to reading the poems. In effect, this is my way of reading the poems for myself. The settings also form a comment on the text bringing out certain elements that appealed to me as visual elements." - Susan Bee
Printed digitally on Innova smooth white 100% cotton paper using pigment inks at Silicon Gallery Fine Art Prints Ltd. in Philadelphia during the summer of 2005. Bound in printed orange cloth over boards by Judith Ivry in New York. 16 hors commerce, 25 for sale.
pp. 6-7
Susan Bee
Susan Bee homepage
Jerome Rothenberg homepage
Complete book in PDF via EPC Library
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Cisco Evolves the Internet With CRS-3
With $1.6 billion invested, Cisco rolls out 322 Terabits per second router and reveals that AT&T is already testing it for 100 Gigabit network traffic.
By Sean Michael Kerner | Posted Mar 9, 2010
Page of | Back to Page 1
EUC with HCI: Why It Matters
The "huge fast router" is about to get even faster.
Cisco on Tuesday announced the successor to its CRS-1 core router with the new CRS-3 platform, which the company said offers a more than threefold increase in capacity.
The CRS-1 provides up to 92 terabits per second of capacity, while the new CRS-3 delivers 322 Tbps. In announcing the new core router, Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) executives described the CRS-3 as the foundation for the next stage of Internet traffic growth.
"It's about intelligence throughout the network that allows you to accomplish what sounds simple – any device to any content and doing that on a scale that hasn't been done before," Cisco CEO John Chambers said during a Webcast discussing the CRS-3.
Cisco has invested $1.6 billion in the development of the CRS family of routers. Chambers noted that it took five years to develop the first CRS-1, which debuted in 2004, and it took three years of development to build out the CRS-3.
One of the key components of the CRS-3 is the new Cisco Quantum Flow Array Processor, the latest evolution of the Quantum Flow silicon Cisco unveiled in 2008 after investing $100 million into the research and development of the technology. Chambers noted that it is key to Cisco's overall strategy to continue to develop its own silicon, as well as hardware and software, to continue to press ahead with innovation at the company.
In addition to the raw capacity boost the CRS-3 promises, Cisco is also providing new intelligence features.
Pankaj Patel, Cisco's senior vice president and general manager of the Service Provider Business, explained that the CRS-3 includes a technology the company is calling the Network Positioning System (NPS). He noted that NPS is analogous to GPS in the sense that it optimizes the discovery of content and resources in the network.
The CRS-3 will also enable cloud-based VPNs, which will deliver on-demand computing, storage and networking capacity.
AT&T's 100G Network
Even though Cisco is just officially announcing the CRS-3 today, it has already had the router in beta tests in the field. Among those that have tested the CRS-3 is AT&T (NYSE: T), which has been using the router for 100 Gigabit per second (100G) network field trials.
That mark is the next major speed advance for the service providers, and a significant boost from the current maximum transport speed of 40G.
Keith Cambron, president and CEO of AT&T Labs, noted that the company's network needs 100G technology to meet growing customers demands. He added that the field trial experience of using the CRS-3 for 100G traffic over a real transport route has given AT&T more confidence about putting 100G into production service.
Cisco is not the only big router vendor aiming for a piece of the 100G market. Rival Juniper Networks this week announced that it had completed a successful trial of 100G technology with Verizon. Juniper's T1600 core router competes against the CRS-1, and the company recently announced a bandwidth boost for the product.
Overall, Cisco's Chambers sees the CRS-3 as the key to helping enable greater network connectivity and intelligent services.
"The foundation is the CRS-3 and what it entails, and while today that might not be exciting to that average consumer, let me to you it is the foundation for speed and scalability," Chambers said.
Part of the foundation might be the ability to more effectively deliver high-speed broadband to more people around the world. Google recently announced a plan to deliver gigabit Ethernet to select communities in the U.S., for instance. But Cisco's approach to delivering broadband is a bit different.
"Our strategy is how do we bring this to life -- which is we partner with service providers and we don't compete with them," Chambers said. "We love anyone that loads networks, so clearly I love Google -- but it does require intelligence in the network to get the response times you need. It's also about how you load networks and encourage the people that invest in the networks to get a fair return on it."
Sean Michael Kerner is a senior editor at InternetNews.com, the news service of Internet.com, the network for technology professionals.
techjournalist@resultsoverhead.com
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A Mental Escape
Soccer behind bars provides relief from despair
Sports by Killian DohertyPosted on 11/12/2015
Article 24 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights recognizes that every person has the right to leisure. For many people, leisure consists of playing soccer, especially with goals, referees, out-of-bounds lines and other standard conditions — including opponents. These things are not so easy to get at the Oregon State Penitentiary (OSP), I discovered when I came to play there as an outsider in a prison soccer match.
As he’s the only Peruvian inmate inside the OSP, Gianfranco Moreno Coraquillo goes by the name “Peru” on the soccer field. Coraquillo grew up loving soccer, even playing semi-professional for a few years in Lima before moving to the U.S. He plays basketball, too, but soccer is his favorite. He tells me, “Prison time is hard, really hard, but when I concentrate on playing soccer I forget I’m in prison.”
I now realize that we visitors, playing with inmate teams, were aiding and abetting Coraquillo’s mental prison escape, which has earned Coraquillo an MVP plaque in all three prison soccer tournaments this year, as well as three trophies for his team. He tells me his family and soccer are the two most important things in his life.
He laments that it’s been six years since he’s kicked a ball with his son and that he hasn’t been able to teach him to play soccer, but he looks forward to getting out and recompensing his family for their unwavering support while he’s in prison.
The benefits to prisoners of playing soccer (aka football) have been perhaps best described in Chuck Korr and Martin Close’s book, More Than Just a Game, about politcal prisoners’ struggle during apartheid to play the game on Robben Island, off the coast of South Africa:
The men’s fight to play league football was all about proving to themselves and to the prison regime that they were capable of organizing themselves, of acting with discipline, and of working in harmony together. It was about self-respect and developing a sense of community, despite everything. There were also the psychological aspects to consider … To survive and maintain some kind of emotional well-being, it was vital for the prisoners to keep physically and mentally active.
Or, in the words of Nelson Mandela, who spent 18 years on the island:
Soccer can create hope where there was once despair … The energy, passion and dedication this game created made us feel alive and triumphant despite the situation we found ourselves in.
Inmate Grover Clegg is the president of the Athletic Club (AC) at the OSP in Salem, the state’s only maximum-security prison. He says he doesn’t know much about the game, but soccer is important for him as a means to integrate more inmates — especially Latino inmates — into the AC and the general OSP community.
Eight years ago, Clegg was elected president of the AC, and he has been reelected three times. When Clegg was elected president, the AC organized basketball and softball tournaments, as well as running races where outsiders could participate. Because several inmates already played intramural soccer, Clegg knew that many inmates would also like to play proper soccer matches against outsiders, so he and the rest of the AC Executive Committee decided to start organizing soccer tournaments with teams from outside the prison.
About fiver years ago, with the help of the AC staff advisor and West Salem High School girls soccer coach Jaime Rodriguez, John Crowder of Oregon Prison Ministries and other supporters, they began soliciting outsiders to bring teams to compete in their soccer tournaments.
In past years they haven’t always been able to get enough outsider teams, but Clegg says he is happy that this year they had at least two outsider teams in each of their three soccer tournaments. I was fortunate enough to participate because I play informal pick-up soccer with brothers Alex and Andy Zuñiga, who were invited to bring a team by Derek French, another AC supporter. Conner Cappelletti, assistant coach of Lane United FC, organized some players to play in a previous tournament. The main inmate squad is eager for good competition and hopeful that more outsiders will come next tournament.
The AC receives no financial support from the Department of Corrections. The AC gets some money and in-kind donations from outside supporters, but Clegg tells me that roughly half of their costs are covered by money raised from inmates who only earn between $30 and $75 a month.
Clegg mentions that inmates built the goals and the nets were donated, and he expresses gratitude that Rodriguez did such a great job of painting the out-of-bounds lines even while it was raining.
Bob Goggin plays on the second inmate team. He prefers other sports but still likes to play soccer. He is currently the AC meeting facilitator but has carried out other functions for the AC Executive Committee as well.
Goggins played several sports before going to prison so he says it was natural for him to get involved with the AC. “Playing sports is my outlet in here — you know, kicking a ball in here is just like kicking a ball out there,” he says. He also emphasizes the social benefits of the game: “You throw a ball on the field and you get guys who don’t talk to each other or don’t like each other and they start playing together, and that’s pretty cool.”
After each tournament, Clegg hands out trophies and thanks everyone for participating. Before the visiting players begin our exit from the prison yard, inmate players and visiting players shake hands, some hug, and many of the inmate players express their appreciation to the visiting players for coming in and playing in their tournament on an early Saturday morning.
I see the inmates are sincerely grateful for the opportunity to play a decent match of soccer with outsiders, and my outsider teammates all express satisfaction with the experience as well — a soccer tournament where everybody wins.
If you’d like to bring a team to play in OSP, contact Derek French at: dfrench@pacinfo.com. If you’d like to support the OSP Athletic Club, contact Jaime Rodriguez or Grover Clegg at (503) 378-2289.
Winning Hearts and Headers
Oregon’s local soccer players remember impact of community and want to inspire the next generation
CultureSports 3 months ago
Jordan Wormdahl had two goals against Fresno State on Aug. 22Photo by Sam Marshall, Oregon Athletic Communications
It’s a non-conference game for the University of Oregon women’s soccer team (4-3-4), but that doesn’t matter for the fans. The first home game of … Continue reading →
Tags: Back To Campus
Oregon Soccer Gets Third Tie of Season
After tie, Oregon's roster will spend nine-day break recovering
BlogCultureSports 4 months ago
With 470 fans in attendance at Papé Field, University of Portland Pilots (2-1-2) and the Oregon Ducks (3-1-3) women’s soccer teams continued their nearly 20 … Continue reading →
Tags: soccer / women's soccer
Oregon Wins at Home Again
4-0 win against Villanova is first shutout of season
Oregon’s second 2019 season home game didn’t have the flurry of shots like Friday’s game. Oregon (2-1-1) instead played a smarter, more defensive game that, … Continue reading →
Tags: soccer / UO
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Stanley ClarkePhoto by Raj Naik / Courtesy of the artist
Whirlwind at The Shedd
The Shedd’s musical lineup for the next month features a mosaic of artists
Music by Brett CampbellPosted on 02/21/2019
When Natalie MacMaster married Donnell Leahy in 2002, they became the Beyoncé and Jay-Z, or June Carter and Johnny Cash, of Canadian Celtic music.
Both are award-winning stars in that admittedly niche musical style — he’s from a legendary musical family, and she’s a prize-winning Cape Breton-style fiddler and step dancer, though they come from slightly different Canadian branches of the vast Celtic music tree. Together, the familial fiddle duo offer high-energy musical chemistry that should enchant any fan of Celtic music.
The show, on Monday, Feb. 25, at The Shedd, and Wednesday’s (Feb. 27) Shedd performance by Lúnasa get us warmed up early for next month’s St. Paddy’s Day. The all-star Irish quintet has reached the highest level of the Celtic music world, selling a quarter million records of vibrant Celtic instrumental folk music over the past two decades, and they keep the tradition current by adding original compositions and non traditional instrumentation (bass and guitar) to the classic mix of flute, whistles, uilleann pipes and fiddle.
The Shedd goes from Celtic to jazz on March 1, when the legendary bassist Stanley Clarke returns, this time bringing one of the music’s rising stars, keyboardist Cameron Graves (who, like, Clarke has his own showcase in this year’s PDX Jazz Festival), plus drummer Shariq Tucker. Best known for his contributions to ’70s fusion pioneers Return to Forever, Clarke has ranged all over the field in various other projects, including funk, post-bop and more. With Graves aboard, expect even more contemporary sounds along with jazz-rock classics.
One of The Shedd’s coolest recent projects is sponsoring its own chamber orchestra, microphilharmonic. On March 3, its co-director, Baroque violinist Alice Blankenship, joins fellow historically informed specialists from Seattle Baroque Orchestra, the California Bay Area’s renowned Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra and the University of Oregon to perform Baroque classics on period instruments. The program includes not only multi-violin concertos by well-known composers Georg Philipp Telemann and Antonio Vivaldi, but also earlier music by Biagio Marini and Orlande de Lassus.
If that’s not diverse enough for you, head back to The Shedd March 6 to hear the famous voices of South Africa’s multiple Grammy-winning choir Ladysmith Black Mambazo sing Zulu music from across their four-decade career, probably including cuts from their two latest Grammy-nominated discs and their renowned collaborations with Paul Simon. Beyond beautifully blended voices, the group’s shows are filled with choreographed dance steps, colorful costumes and enthusiasm for bridging the divide between artists and audiences. This works especially well in The Shedd’s intimate Jaqua Concert Hall.
And speaking of The Shedd, don’t forget its latest fascinating historical revival/reinvigoration this weekend, Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht’s The Seven Deadly Sins, which you can read about elsewhere in this issue.
At an even more intimate venue, Broadway House Concerts brings a couple more fine PDX Jazz Festival performers, singer Kendra Shank and guitarist John Stowell, for a dinnertime show (bring potluck food and beverage).
Even though only two musicians perform, they offer a startling variety of sounds. Shank has been much praised by New York jazz critics for her virtuosic versatility: jazz originals, standards, world music, French songs, folk/pop tunes, looping effects and more. Stowell might deploy any number of guitars, from electric to steel string acoustic, nylon acoustic,and fretless.
On March 2, Broadway House brings the Jack Radsliff Quartet with UO prof Idit Shner on saxophone, bassist Sean Peterson and drummer Ken Mastrogiovanni backing the ace guitarist.
For a large-scale choral experience, bid farewell to winter blues this Sunday afternoon at the Hult Center’s Silva Concert Hall, when the Eugene Concert Choir, Eugene Concert Orchestra, soprano Danielle Talamantes and baritone Kerry Wilkerson sing maybe the most consoling and popular of all requiems, French composer Gabriel Fauré’s beauty. The concert also features Ralph Vaughan Williams’s syrupy “Serenade to Music” and one of Paul McCartney’s less famous songs: “Celebration,” the final section of one of his classical compositions, the 1997 orchestral tone poem “Standing Stone.”
Classical mavens often rightly dismiss the Fab One’s forays into orchestral music, but the man can still concoct a tune that will leave you humming on the way out of the Hult lobby and into late winter’s chill.
Cinematic Sounds
Federale plays Morricone- and Gainsbourg-inspired pop at WildCraft
Music 6 days ago
Collin Hegna has always been good at whistling. He just never expected the skill would be as useful as it is now, fronting the cinematic … Continue reading →
Weird and Wooly
Portland’s The Woolen Men return to Eugene
The Woolen Men
All the songs on Human to Human, the 2019 release from The Woolen Men, were written by singer and guitarist Lawton Browning — a definite … Continue reading →
Lost Boy Found
YBN Cordae lands a home at the McDonald Theatre
YBN CordaePhoto by Jimmy Fontaine
Originally from Raleigh, North Carolina, YBN Cordae first made noise in 2018 after addressing critiques from older and better-established rap artists who have been very … Continue reading →
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Schools, Playgroups & Activities
St Nicholas Pre-School
Hurst Small Village Hall
Go to the website for full details http://www.stnicholas-preschool.co.uk/
St Nicholas CE Primary School
School Road
Head Teacher: Miss Debra McGrail
Go to the website for full details http://www.st-nicholaswokingham.co.uk/
Dolphin School
Waltham Road
Headmistress: Tome Lewis
For more information go to the school website.
Rainbows, Brownies, Guides and Rangers
Hurst is one of the five Districts within the Bulmershe Division. Each District runs Rainbows, Brownies and Guides Units, and there are also Rangers and Young Leaders within the Division: For more information please visit the Bulmershe Division website.
Leader: Mrs Barbara Loring
For boys and girls age 6 to 8.
Scout Hut, School Road, Tuesdays 5:15 - 6:30pm. 0118 934 0650
Leader: Anne-Marie McEvett
For boys and girls age 8 to 10½.
Scout Hut, School Road, Wednesdays 6:45 - 8:15pm. 07967 186272
Leader: Mr Andy Loring
For boys and girls age 10½ to 14.
Scout Hut, School Road, Thursday 7:15 - 8:45pm. 0118 934 0650
For boys age 14 to 18. 0118 934 2141
You can find out more about Beavers, Cubs and Scouts at their website: http://www.hurstscouts.org.uk/
Hurst Cricket Club
Founded 1862 0118 934 4355
Chairman: Martin Garrard martinpgarrard@btinternet.com
Full information may be found at the Cricket Club website - www.hurst.play-cricket.com
Hurst Football Club
Hurst FC is an FA Charter Standard club.
For full details go to their website: www.hurstfc.org.uk
Hurst Karate Club
Large Village Hall
Children (5 years and up) Mondays 6:00 - 7:30pm and Wednesdays 6:00 - 7:30pm
Go to the website for full details - www.hurstkarate.com
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Hickey Smith Achieves Successful ISO 27001 Information Security Certification
By admin July 14, 2017 Firm News, News, Press Releases No Comments
Hickey Smith Achieves Successful ISO 27001 Information Security Certification for the Third Consecutive Year
PASADENA, CA, July 14, 2017 — Hickey Smith LLP, announced today it has achieved ISO 27001 certification for information security management for the third consecutive year, demonstrating the firm’s unwavering commitment to information security, integrity, and privacy.
ISO 27001 is an internationally accepted set of standards for information security management that helps organizations keep information assets secure. To maintain the certification, Hickey Smith underwent a stringent evaluation process and will continue to perform annual audits to ensure compliance and to assess initiatives for continued improvement. Hickey Smith is an established, worldwide leader in technology-driven, innovative legal services.
David M. Hickey, managing partner for Hickey Smith, said, “We recognize that the ability to prevent security breaches and protect data from being compromised is of critical importance. This certification emphasizes the extensive measures we have implemented to protect our clients’ confidential data and is a part of our long-term commitment to security best practices.”
According to Chief Information Security Officer and Managing Director, IT Antonella Commiato, “We review our environment on an ongoing basis to identify and address data potential security risks, continuously enhance our security measures, and ensure the confidentiality that our clients expect from Hickey Smith. The annual ISO audit process gives us an opportunity to promote our continual commitment to raise the bar on security.”
Though ISO 27001 certification is not yet required for law firms, Hickey Smith is dedicated to protecting sensitive and confidential information. The firm recognizes that ISO 27001 certification dramatically increases the ability to detect and stop a security breach, and ultimately mitigates risk for the firm and its clients.
About Hickey Smith
Hickey Smith is a law firm purposely designed to deliver legal services with significantly greater efficiency, consistency, and added value. By deconstructing and refining traditional legal processes, applying workflow technology, and collecting and analyzing data, Hickey Smith is transforming the way legal services are delivered today. With an unrivaled combination of disciplined processes, technology expertise, and business leadership, Hickey Smith clients benefit from reduced total legal spend, improved quality, enhanced transparency, actionable insight, simplified management of outside counsel, and increased control. For more information, visit hickeysmith.com.
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Managing Director, Marketing,
kallen@hickeysmith.com
Hickey Smith LLP Continues Nationwide Expansion In Florida
Hickey Smith Demonstrates the Benefits of An Outsourced Staff Counsel Model
Hickey Smith Awarded ISO 27001 Certification for Fourth Consecutive Year
Hickey Smith In the News: Cyber Liability Insurance
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Legal Operations Partner
As Hickey Smith’s Legal Operations Partner, Christian Dodd is responsible for the design, development, implementation and execution of the firm’s unique legal services delivery model. He oversees the development, testing...
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As Hickey Smith’s Managing Partner, David Hickey is responsible for monitoring and evaluating the design and implementation of the firm’s established processes, procedures, protocols, and workflows to drive continuous firm...
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As Executive Director of Hickey Smith, Howard is responsible for all of the business related functions of the firm. He is a senior executive with over 35 years of financial,...
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Home Opinion Opinion: The Double Denial of Sex Work in Thailand
Opinion: The Double Denial of Sex Work in Thailand
Pravit Rojanaphruk, Senior Staff Writer
Activists give a toast to celebrate the police's new policies on sex workers on Aug. 8, 2019.
Emboldened by new police protocols mandating more humane treatment of sex workers during arrests, activists on Thursday announced their next goal – decriminalizing sex work.
Prostitution is illegal under the 1996 Anti-Prostitution Act, though it’s rare for sex workers to be sentenced to the maximum one-month prison term stipulated under the law. Instead, the red-light industry thrives in a grey area, regulated more consistently by mainstream morality which shames sex work and corrupt officials who extort protection money.
Sex workers and activists scored a victory Thursday when the national police released new protocols banning sexual intercourse during sting operations, parading sex workers in front of the press, and allowing reporters inside raided venues. Also banned are stamps on the passports of foreign sex workers specifying that they were arrested for prostitution. The reforms came after years of repeated complaints and demands by advocacy groups and the National Human Rights Commission.
Read: Activists Hail Police’s New ‘Humane’ Protocols on Sex Workers
But the fact that no major political party is committed to decriminalizing sex work is a sober reminder to sex workers and activists that the road to legalizing sex work will be a lonely struggle. This is despite the fact that there are up 300,000 sex workers in Thailand – a large constituency.
No major political party wants to be branded as immoral or as pushing for a policy that would shame the Kingdom. Never mind the reality that prostitution is a major underground industry.
Decades ago in 1993, Longman’s Dictionary of Contemporary English defined Bangkok as “a place where there are a lot of prostitutes,” which was greeted by nothing short of a national uproar that resulted in the banning of the dictionary. Many Thais don’t seem to care about reality. It’s the façade of a fictitious alternate that counts.
Nearly three decades after the Longman saga, Thai police shocked the world earlier this year when they inspected Pattaya’s infamous red-light district, known as Walking Street, and found not a single sex worker.
It’s a paradoxical reality: the existence of widespread prostitution is formally denied, while it’s a commonly known reality that many foreign tourists come to Thailand for sex. Even the Public Health Ministry estimates that 75 percent of Thai males have bought sex.
Some feel that deconstructing morality as a strategy to decriminalize prostitution is a losing battle. Veteran women’s rights activist Naiyana Suphaphueng warned after the release of the police protocols that it’s best not to confront society by challenging the prevailing moral standard.
“Thai society doesn’t accept selling sex like selling objects…We should frame it by talking about human rights and protection first,” said Naiyana.
She may be right, tactically speaking. Still, there is something very disturbing about morality that is based on the denial of reality. Thailand is a society in denial on so many levels, whether it’s about the lack of genuine democracy or the lack of substantial freedom.
Many would rather not face the truth. Many would rather let sex workers suffer silently when exploited by an underground industry, so that Thais can continue to smile.
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Pravit Rojanaphruk can be reached at pravit@khaosodenglish.com and followed on Twitter at @pravitr.
Opinion: Banning Single-Use Plastic Bags Just the Tip of a Trash Iceberg
Opinion: Is Thailand’s Future Going Backward?
Opinion: Confessions of a Thai “Nation-Hater”
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Home News Reviews Siri Apple Videos Contact
NPCI’s BHIM app for iOS jumps to number one spot on App Store, two days after launch
The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) recently launched its Bharat Interface for Money (Bhim) app for Android smartphones. Just two days ago the NPCI launched its iOS app on the Apple App Store. Oddly, it took just two days for the Bhim app to reach to the number one position and even dethroned the all time favourite, WhatsApp along the way in India.
Read more tech.firstpost.com
iphonetunes.com iphonetunes.net iphonetunes R.B.
Disclaimer: The name iPhone is a registered trademark owned by Apple Inc. This site is not associated with Apple Inc. All images, logos, products of the iPhone and the Apple WATCH are (c) and or trademarks of Apple Inc.
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Home GLOBAL QUESTIONS
GLOBAL QUESTIONS
5 TIPS FOR MAKING THE PERFECT PICNIC
Staff Italoeuropeo - July 4, 2018
Iconic mural of David Attenborough and Elon Musk appears on Brick Lane, Shoreditch
Staff Italoeuropeo - June 28, 2018
ST PETER’S ITALIAN CHURCH – PROCESSION IN HONOUR OF OUR LADY OF MOUNT CARMEL
FOCUS Staff Italoeuropeo - June 21, 2018
Like every year, on Sunday 22 July 2018, at St Peter's italian Church there will be the Procession in honour of Lady of Mount...
Tony Blair is refusing to apologise over the kidnapping and torture of Belhadj in...
GLOBAL QUESTIONS Staff Italoeuropeo - May 28, 2018
London (Valeria Piccioni) - Tony Blair, the official Special Envoy for peace of the Quartet In the Middle East by order of ONU, European...
Love at the time of Tinder: are dating apps making Londoners more lonely?
FOCUS Staff Italoeuropeo - May 17, 2017
by Valerio Esposito London is a city where it’s easy – almost inevitable – to feel lonely. In such a fast-moving environment it is becoming...
90,000 affordable house for Londoners
Social Staff Italoeuropeo - November 29, 2016
Commenting on the Mayor of London’s plans to deliver 90,000 affordable homes for Londoners, Campbell Robb, Shelter’s chief executive, said: “The Mayor’s plans to...
The little Heroine Johanna -4 years old-
Social Staff Italoeuropeo - October 28, 2016
LONDON Luisa Liu Sometimes we are not on the same page, even though we live in the same area. Sometimes it is not a matter of you...
The highest number of refugees in our time
Social Italoeuropeo - July 10, 2016
The latest report from the United Nations High Commission for Refugees ( UNHCR ) states that in 2015 there was a record increase in...
Wiener – Dog Key phrase of the film: “The dog is a dog”
Social Katya Marletta - June 6, 2016
Review By Katya Marletta The fact that critics have noticed the bravura of the independent director and screenwriter Todd Solondz is proved by the positive...
Twist and Shout a 50s and 60s night
Social Italoeuropeo - March 15, 2016
Bring me back to the 50s and drive me around the 60s. Well, shake it up, baby, now Twist and shout Post World War...
MAX GAZZE’ MAXIMILIAN TOUR LIVE 2016 LIVE IN LONDON
Social Italoeuropeo - February 15, 2016
London - On the 10th of May 2016 at Heaven Club Pre-sales (available from Monday the 15th of February at 3pm): Seetickets Pre-sales on...
“The Crown” the first series entirely produced by Netflix for the British market
Social Italoeuropeo - January 12, 2016
Have been published the first official images about the first series TV produced by Netflix in United Kingdom. The announcement is come during an...
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Publish Date: June 21, 2010
Chorus superb in edgy, dramatic reading
For the first performance following the League of American Orchestras’ opening plenary session (“Orchestras R/Evolution” based on the conference theme: It’s time to take on the future”), the combined forces of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and its stellar chorus reminded the capacity crowd just why orchestras still matter in the twenty-first century.
Music director Robert Spano was back on the podium after a slipped disc forced the cancellation of a recent Toronto Symphony Orchestra engagement (cross-reference below) and a quartet of wide-ranging soloists graced the stage to tackle some of the most challenging “roles” in the repertoire. Of course, none of this would have been possible without the enduring genius of Giuseppe Verdi whose Requiem Mass has a host of junctures that could wake the dead or provide lasting comfort and compassion to those who have lost a loved one. (As has the orchestral community with the recent passing of Ernest Fleischmann—long-time executive director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic—to whom the concert was dedicated.)
With a runtime of eighty-four minutes and no intermission, the notion that the attention span of today’s audience is shrinking in concert with its numbers could be tested in real time. To the credit of both the ~300 committed performers and the over 1,700 patrons, there were many breathtaking/catching moments where only the discreet mechanical blowing of the ambient air system—oddly calming in itself—could be savoured with the rarest of commodities: shared silence.
Happily/sadly/maddeningly, a cellphone did invade the white sanctuary of high art (ringing 6 times no less), but just ahead of the haunting “Agnus Dei.” Spano patiently waited out the intrusion hoping that the electronic pitches wouldn’t inadvertently modulate the solo, seul voices (they did not).
No applause-between-movements or sections can be reported—unbridled bombast or serene quiet were greeted equally with engaged minds and spirits while the hands were left to rustle programs (that too was kept to a respectable minimum).
Only one stare-down was needed to truncate a cadence-by-cadence commentary emanating from a nearby couple old enough to know better. (Guess who yelled too many “Brava” after the final “libera me” had melted into the collective consciousness?)
So far, the total orchestra-concert experience (which we heard earlier had to be rethought from top to bottom if our most precious art form is to continue, much less thrive) seemed to be alive and well in the city of Coke, CNN and the Braves (all brands that show no apparent signs of decline—thank goodness BP has its largest U.S. presence in Houston: What arts organization would like to be sponsored by such a reckless polluter?).
Which brings us to how the music was performed.
Without question, the star of the performance was the chorus. From the first, whispered flipped “r” to the final, ideally-supported vanishing vowel, there was choral music-making of the finest order from the 200-strong choristers. Their obviously fastidious preparation by director Norman Mackenzie, paid huge artistic dividends: collective phrasing, uniformly precise rhythm and nearly all final consonants being released as one gave Spano a better result than he conducted.
From the opening sotto voce—only an operatic master such as Verdi could craft such a dramatic start to a work based on religious texts—the delayed beat forced the ASO principals to become assistant conductors as they tried to figure out—exactly—just when to begin their ethereal lines. Quite often they succeeded, but once the soloists entered the fray, the voice-to-orchestra/chorus ensemble frequently became uncomfortable, creating more tension than imagined.
When at full cry—famously in the stunning heat of the “Dies Irae”—the decibel count even surpassed the electrically charged Evita unleashed last week in Stratford (cross-reference below), yet the best bass drum part ever written was often ahead of schedule (micro seconds to be sure, but surprising/disappointing all the same), adding uncertain punch to the overall effect that had only one dynamic: very, very loud.
Confession time: having been weaned on the Georg Solti/Vienna Philharmonic recording (featuring Joan Sutherland, Marilyn Horne, Luciano Pavarotti, and Martti Talvela), it’s very difficult to duplicate much less surpass those stellar forces. In the softer sections, there was much to admire from the podium. Still, many of the magical lines suffered a lack of horizontal shaping—save and except for the “Sanctus” where Spano finally let his left hand speak for itself: the difference was palpable.
Most distressing was the opening of the “Offertorium” where the time signature took a dozen measures to discern. Spano has so many gifts (his tempi were a marvel in every instance) and such formidable musicians (only the stratosphere caused any distress from the solo-violin desks and the tutti cellos as they entered the melodic heavens—the surround-sound trumpet calls were very twenty-first century) that it’s hoped that, similar to Solti or the likes of Kubelik and Ancerl, Spano will beat time less and “show the music” more.
The opening “Kyries” from the soloists are like a mini audition—every entry establishes the benchmark from which all further contributions will be measured. Considering just those initial declamations on their own, bass Burak Bilgili was the early favourite; both soprano Christine Brewer and tenor Dimitri Pittas had some slight difficulty navigating the short-step descending intervals while mezzo-soprano Nancy Maultsby demonstrated commendable style and power.
Everyone improved as time went on.
Brewer carefully paced herself and delivered an absolutely marvellous high B-flat in the climactic octave leap. Knowing this, Maultsby might have held back a tad—particularly in the “Agnus Dei” duet—as their balance never mirrored that of the chorus. Pittas had some exquisite solo turns (notably “Ingemisco”) but led his colleagues into tonality purgatory in the first, extended a capella attempt (“Lacrymosa”). Indeed, many of the unaccompanied solo ensembles were wont to stray out of the arena of pitch-certainty, creating another level of artistic unease to the demanding score. Bilgili’s “Confutatis” was appropriately emotional and dramatic.
All of that said—much of it quibbles in an ocean of determined, capable artistic expression—those assembled for this experience stood and showered their delight over several curtain calls. With undeniably enthusiastic reactions such as this, surely the future prognosis for full halls and balanced books is healthy. If the music is having its desired effect, then the support necessary to continue and flourish must follow in kind. JWR
Conductor - Robert Spano
Director of Choruses - Norman Mackenzie
Soprano - Christine Brewer
Mezzo-soprano - Nancy Maultsby
Tenor - Dimitri Pittas
Bass - Burak Bilgili
Requiem Mass - Giuseppe Verdi
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Joel Dufresne Case
Joel Loses Custody
TO CONTACT JOEL
JOEL'S POST TRIAL MOTIONS
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1. SCT-MOTION FOR REHEARING (5-8-09)
2. Application For Leave To Appeal (2-17-12)
3. SCT MOTION TO LEAVE (2-23-12)
4. (1-13-11), 6pm MEETING OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
B. 6.500
1. MCR 6.500 PROCEEDINGS - EMMETT CO,MI (10-10-10)
2. MI COURT OF APPEAL 6.500 (8-4-11)
3. Cited Cases For JOEL'S 6.500 (8-4-11)
4. MI COURT OF APPEALS ORDER (12-27-11)
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1. PETITION forWRIT of HABEAS CORPUS and BRIEF in SUPPORT (11-2-12)
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Tyson & Brother v. Banton
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EIGHTH AMENDMENT: OPIONIONS
ELEVENTH AMENDMENT: OPINIONS
******** 99-1240
Alden v. Maine
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Abington School Dist. v. Schempp, 374 U.S. 203 (1963)
Bowers v. Hardwick, 478 U.S. 186 (1986)
Brown v. Board of Education, 347 U.S. 483 (1954)
Buck v. Bell, 274 U.S. 200 (1927)
Calder v. Bull, 3 Dall. 386 (1798)
Charles River Bridge v. Warren Bridge, 11 Pet. (13 U.S.) 420 (1837)
Dred Scott v. Sandford, 19 How. (60 U.S.) 393 (1857)
Epperson v. Arkansas, 393 U.S. 97 (1968)
Erie Railroad Co. v. Tompkins, 304 U.S. 64 (1938)
Everson v. Board of Education, 330 U.S. 1 (1947)
Fletcher v. Peck, 6 Cranch (10 U.S.) 87 (1810)
Garcia v. SAMTA, 469 U.S. 528 (1985)
Griswold v. Connecticut, 381 U.S. 479 (1965)
Lemon v. Kurtzman, 403 U.S. 602 (1971)
Lochner v. New York, 198 U.S. 45 (1905)
Marbury v. Madison, 1 Cranch (5 U.S.) 137 (1803)
Martin v. Hunter's Lessee, 1 Wheat. (14 U.S.) 304 (1816)
McCulloch v. Maryland, 17 U.S. (4 Wheat.) 316 (1819)
Meyer v. Nebraska, 262 U.S. 390 (1923)
Minersville School District v. Gobitis, 310 U.S. 586 (1943)
Muller v. Oregon, 208 U.S. 412 (1908)
Munn v. Illinois, 4 Otto (94 U.S.) 113 (1876)
Nebbia v. New York, 291 U.S. 502 (1934)
NLRB v. Jones & Laughlin Steel Corp., 301 U.S. 1 (1937)
Ogden v. Saunders, 12 Wheat. (25 U.S.) 213 (1827)
Pennsylvania Coal Co. v. Mahon, 260 U.S. 393 (1922)
Pierce v. Society of Sisters, 268 U.S. 510 (1925)
Planned Parenthood v. Casey, 505 U.S. 833 (1992)
Plessy v. Ferguson, 163 U.S. 537 (1896)
Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113 (1973)
Schechter Poultry Corp. v. United States, 295 U.S. 495 (1935)
Sherbert v. Verner, 374 U.S. 398 (1963)
Slaughter-House Cases, 16 Wall. (83 U.S.) 36 (1873)
Stuart v. Laird, 1 Cranch (5 U.S.) 299 (1803)
Sturges v. Crowninshield, 4 Wheat. 122 (1819)
Swift v. Tyson, 16 Pet. (41 U.S.) 1 (1842)
The Civil Rights Cases, 109 U.S. 3 (1883)
United States v. Darby, 312 U.S. 100 (1941)
United States v. E.C. Knight Co., 156 U.S. 1 (1895)
United States v. Nixon, 418 U.S. 683 (1974)
West Coast Hotel v. Parrish, 300 U.S. 379 (1937)
West Virginia Board of Education v. Barnette, 319 U.S. 624 (1943)
Wickard v. Filburn, 317 U.S. 111 (1942)
Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer, 343 U.S. 579 (1952)(The Steel Seizure Case)
FEDERAL COURTS: OPINIONS
Ex parte Bakelite Corporation
Ex parte McCardle
Glidden Co. v. Zdanok
Illinois ex rel. McCollum v. Board of Education of School District
Katzenbach v. McClung
Martin v. Hunter's Lessee
Monroe v. Pape
Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis Railway Co. v. Wallace
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People v. Button
Olmstead v. United States
Railroad Commission of Texas v. Pullman Company
Scott v. Sandford
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Worcester v. Georgia
Zemel v. Rusk
FIFTH AMENDMENT: OPINIONS
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Palazzolo v. Rhode Island-99-2047
Pruneyard Shopping Center v. Robins
Reno v. ACLU
Rust v. Sullivan
Slochower v. Board of Higher Education of New York City
United States. Railroad Retirement Board v. Fritz
FIRST AMENDMENT: OPINIONS
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Adler v. Board of Education of City of New York
Aguilar v. Felton
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Bates v. State Bar of Arizona
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Central Hudson Gas & Elec. Corp. v. Public Service Comm'n
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Communist Party of Indiana v. Whitcomb
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Cornelius v. NAACP Legal Defense & Educ. Fund
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Edwards v. South Carolina
Employment Division v. Smith
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Goldman v. Weinberger
Greer v. Spock
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Heffron v. International Soc'y for Krishna Consciousness
Hobbie v. Unemployment Appeals Comm'n of Florida
Hustler Magazine, Inc. v. Falwell
International Society for Krishna Consciousness, Inc. v. Lee
Joseph Burstyn, Inc. v. Wilson
Keyishian v. Board of Regents
Lamb's Chapel v. Center Moriches Union Free School District
Lee v. Weisman
Linmark Associates, Inc. v. Township of Willingboro
Lloyd Corp., Ltd. v. Tanner
Lynch v. Donnelly
Lyng v. Northwest Indian Cemetery Protective Association
Marsh v. Chambers
Members of the City Council of the City of Los Angeles v. Taxpayers for Vincent
Metromedia, Inc. v. City of San Diego
Milkovich v. Lorain Journal Co.
Mitchell v. Helms
Mueller v. Allen
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People v. Patterson
New York Times Co. v. Sullivan
New York Times Co. v. United States
Pittsburgh Press Co. v. Pittsburgh Commission on Human Relations
Republican Party of Minnesota v. White
Rosenberger v. Rector & Visitors of the University of Virginia
Rosenbloom v. Metromedia
Rutan v. Republican Party of Illinois
Santa Fe Independent School Dist. v. Doe
School District of Abington Township, Pennsylvania v. Schempp
School District v. Ball
Shelton v. Tucker
Sherbert v. Verner
Stromberg v. California
United States v. Eichman
Valley Forge Christian College v. Americans United for Separation of Church and State, Inc.
Wallace v. Jaffree
Ward v. Rock Against Racism
Whitney v. California
Wooley v. Maynard
Young v. American Mini Theatres, Inc.
Zelman v. Simmons-Harris
Zorach v. Clauson
Allied Structural Steel Co. v. Spannaus
Califano v. Goldfarb
City of Memphis v. Greene
Craig v. Boren
Dandridge v. Williams
Freeman v. Pitts
Grayned v. City of Rockford
Harper v. Virginia Board of Elections
Holden v. Hardy
Katzenbach v. Morgan
Loretto v. Teleprompter Manhattan CATV Corp.
Lugar v. Edmondson Oil Co., Inc.
Mahan v. Howell
Metropolitan Life Ins. Co. v. Ward
Moose Lodge No. 107 v. Irvis
North Carolina State Board of Education v. Swann
Orr v. Orr
Palazzolo v. Rhode Island
Pennhurst State School and Hospital v. Halderman
Police Dep't of the City of Chicago v. Mosley
Reed v. Reed
Saenz v. Roe
Saint Francis College v. Al-Khazraji
Slaughterhouse Cases
United States v. Morrison
Village of Arlington Heights v. Metropolitan
Board of Ed. of Independent School Dist. No. 92 v. Earls
City of Indianapolis v. Edmond
Kyllo v. United States
New Jersey v. T.L.O.
Skinner v. Railway Labor Executives' Association
United States v. Drayton
United States v. Ross
v. City of Lago Vista et al.
Wilson v. Layne
Bob Jones Univ. v. United States
McDaniel v. Paty
Selective Draft Law Cases
Stone v. Graham
Thomas v. Review Board of the Indiana Employment Security Division
Widmar v. Vincent
Wisconsin v. Yoder
Buckley v. Valeo
City of Renton v. Playtime Theatres, Inc.
Communist Party of the United States v. Subversive Activities Control Bd. No. 12
Cox v. Louisiana 379 u.s. 536
Hudgens v. National Labor Relations Board
Hutchinson v. Proxmire
Lehman v. City of Shaker Heights
Miami Herald Publishing Co. v. Tornillo
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People v. Claiborne Hardware Co.
Police Dep't v. Mosley
R.A.V. v. City of St. Paul
Rankin v. McPherson
Time, Inc. v. Firestone
Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School Dist. 393
Virginia State Board of Pharmacy v. Virginia Citizens Consumer Council, Inc.
Zurcher v. Stanford Daily
Chisholm v. Georgia
Clinton v. Jones
Doe v. McMillan
Gravel v. United States
Harlow v. Fitzgerald
Kilbourn v. Thompson
Nixon v. Fitzgerald
Pollock v. Farmers' Loan and Trust Company
Seminole Tribe of Florida v. Florida
Marbury v. Madison 5 u.s. 137 (1803)
Martin v. Hunter's Lessee 14 u.s. 304 (1816)
Ballew v. Georgia 435 u.s. 223 (1978)
Batson v. Kentucky 476 u.s. 79 (1986)
Bumper v. North Carolina 391 u.s. 543 (1968)
Burch v. Louisiana 441 u.s. 130 (1979)
Duncan v. Louisiana 391 u.s. 145 (1968)
Ford v. Georgia 498 u.s. 411 (1991)
In re Debs 158 u.s. 564 (1895)
Jenkins v. Georgia 418 u.s. 153 (1974)
Lockhart v. McCree 476 u.s. 162 (1986)
Murphy v. Florida 421 u.s. 794 (1975)
Powers v. Ohio 499 u.s. 400 (1991)
South Carolina v. Gathers 490 u.s. 805 (1989)
Strauder v. West Virginia 100 u.s. 303 (1879)
Taylor v. Louisiana 419 u.s. 522 (1975)
United States v. Jackson 390 u.s. 570 (1968)
Williams v. Florida 399 u.s. 78 (1970)
Witherspoon v. Illinois 391 u.s. 510 (1968)
Frontiero v. Richardson 411 u.s. 677 (1973)
Loving v. Virginia 388 u.s. 1 (1967)
Orr v. Orr 440 u.s. 268 (1979)
MISC: OPINIONS
Adkins v. Children's Hospital
Allen v. Wright
AZ Free Enterprise, ET AL. v. Bennett, Ken, ET AL.
Bobby v. Dixon
Breard v. Greene
Cavazos v. Smith
Goodyear Luxembourg Tires v. Brown, Edgar D., ET AL.
Greene v. Fisher
J. McIntyre Machinery , LTD. v. Nicastro, Robert, ET UX.
KPMG LLP v. Cocchi
Leal Garcia v. Texas
Pliva, INC., ET AL. v. Mensing, Gladys
Schwarzenegger, Gov. of CA v. Entertainment Merchants, ET AL.
NATIONAL POWER
Pollock v. Farmers' Loan & Trust Company (Rehearing)
Swift and Company v. United States
Prize Cases
NINTH AMENDMENT
City of Renton v. Playtime Theatres, Inc
Ex Parte Grossma
POLICE POWER
Loretto v. Teleprompter Manhattan
Lucas v. South Carolina Coastal Council
Whalen v. Roe
Dothard v. Rawlinson
Golan v. Holder
Hosanna-Tabor Church v. EEOC, ET AL.
Maples, Cory R. v. Maples, Interim Comm'r, AL DOC
Mims, Marcus D. v. Arrow Financial Services, LLC
Nat'l Meat Ass'n v. Brown, Att'y Gen. of CA, ET AL.
Pacific Operators Offshore v. Valladolid, Luisa L., ET AL.
Perry v. Perez
Reynolds, Billy J. v. United States
Ryburn v. Huff
United States v. Jones, Antoine
RIGHT TO A HEARING
Blum v. Yaretsky
Goldberg v. Kelly
Mathews v. Eldridge
Parham v. J.R.
RIGHT TO CONFRONT WITNESSES
SEARCHES AND SEIZURES
Adams v. William
Illinois v. Gate
Luther v. Borden
The "Essays" by David Hume
The Executive Office of the President
The History of England Vol 1
Vol 1 (con't)
Vol 1 con't
The History of the Presidency
The Voice of "National Lifers of America" (Chapter 1026-A)
......Michigan's "Life Means Life" Parole Policy
Cost for Prisoners Make Rehabilitation Difficult
Dear Society
If We Must Die In Prison
Michigan, PHS/Corizon Tortures Its Prisoners With Inadequate Medical Care
California: Jail Nurse Receives.....
Other PHS/Corizon Legal Suits
PLN Settles ........
My Cell, My Best Friend
My Name Is Life-Without Parole
Nothing Could Stop You, From Dying By The Gun
True Patriotism Lies in the Heart of America's Lifers
Timeline of Events in American Legal and Political History
Trials - Famous
"Mississippi Burning" Trial
Al Capone Trial
Bernhard Goetz Trial
Celia A Slave, Trial
Dr. Sam Sheppard Trials
Falwell v Flynt
John Scopes: The Monkey Trial
Leopold & Loeb Trial
Lincoln Assassination Conspirators Trial
Los Angeles Police Officers' Trials
Susan B. Anthony Trial
The "Chicago Seven" Trial
The "Negro Plot" Trials
The Alger Hiss Trial
The Amistad Case
The Black Sox Trial
The Boston Massacre Trials
The Carthage Conspiracy Trial
The Charles Guiteau Trial
The Charles Manson Trial
The Clinton Impeachment Trial
The Confidential Magazine Trial
The D. C. Stephenson Trial
The Dakota Conflict Trials
The Dan White Trial
The Daniel Ellsberg Trial-The Pentagon Papers
The Harry Thaw Trials
The Haymarket Riot Trial
The Impeachment Trial of Andrew Johnson
The John Hinckley Trial
The Lenny Bruce Trial
The Leo Frank Trial
The Leonard Peltier Trial
The Lindbergh Kidnapping Trial
The Lindy Chamberlain Trial
The Louis Riel Trial
The Massie Trials
The McMartin Preschool Abuse Trials
The Molly Magures Trials
The Mountain Meadows Massacre Trial
The My Lai Court-Martial
The Nelson Mandela Trial
The Nuremberg Trials
The O. J. Simpson Trial
The O.K. Corral Trial
The Oklahoma City Bombing Trial
The Patty Hearst Trial
The Ruby Ridge Trial
The Sacco & Vanzetti Trial
The Salem Witchcraft Trials
The Sweet Trials
The Trial of Ethel and Julius Rosenberg
The Trial of Gaius Verres
The Trial of Galileo
The Trial of John Brown
The Trial of John Peter Zenger
The Trial of Lizzie Borden
The Trial of Martin Luther
The Trial of Oscar Wilde
The Trial of Sherriff Joseph Ship
The Trial of Sir Thomas More
The Trial of Zacarias Moussaoui
The Trials of "The Scottboro Boys"
The Triangle Shirtwaist Fire Trial
Treason Trial of Aaron Burr
Trial of Socrates
William D. Haywood Trial
US Historical Documents
19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Women's Right to Vote (1920)
A Healing Question, by Sir Henry Vane
A Letter from Christopher Columbus to the King & Queen of Spain 1490's
Act to Establish Yellowstone National Park
Administration of Justice Act (1774)
Alien and Sedition Acts (1798)
American's Creed (1917)
Amerigo Vespucci’s Account of His First Voyage
An Act Respecting Alien Enemies (1798)
Annapolis Convention 1786
Annexation of the Hawaiian Islands
Appeal to Congress for Impartial Suffrage By Frederick Douglass 1867
Articles of Capitulation (1781)
Articles of Capitulation, Yorktown
Articles of Confederation 1777
Association of the Sons of Liberty in New York (1773)
August 6 Draft of the Constitution (1787)
Boston Non-Importation Agreement (1768)
Boston Port Act (1774)
Charles Pinckney's Plan (1787)
Charter of the United Nations (1945)
Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882
Compromise of 1850 (1850)
Concord Hymn (1837)
Connecticut Colony Charter of 1662
Constitution of the Iroquois Nations
US Amendments
Convention Between the United States and the Republic of Panama
Dawes Act (1887)
Declaration of Independence 1776
Declaration of Rights and Grievances (1774)
Declaration of Sentiments (1848)
Declaration of the Causes and Necessity of Taking Up Arms 1775
Emancipation Proclamation 1864
Executive Order 9981: Desegregation of the Armed Forces (1948)
Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993
Farewell Address of President George Washington 1796
Federal Judiciary Act (1789)
Federal Meat Inspection Act of 1906
First Thanksgiving Proclamation
Fugitive Slave Act (1850)
Fundamental Orders
Gettysburg Address 1863
Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death 1775
Hamilton's Opinion as to the Constitutionality of the Bank of the United States : 1791
Haskell’s Account of the Battle of Gettysburg
Hate Crimes Act
I Have a Dream Speech (1963)
James Madison's Notes of the Constitutional Convention
Jefferson's Secret Message to Congress Regarding the Lewis & Clark Expedition (1803)
Jefferson's Wall of Separation Letter (1802)
John Cabot’s Discovery of North America
Joint Address to Congress Leading to a Declaration of War Against Germany (1917)
Joint Address to Congress Leading to a Declaration of War Against Japan (1941
Joint Resolution to Provide for Annexing the Hawaiian Islands to the United States (1898)
Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854)
Keating-Owen Child Labor Act of 1916 (1916)
Lee’s Farewell to His Army
Lemon Test (1971)
Letter from the Federal Convention President to the President of Congress, Transmitting the Constitution
Letter of Transmittal (1887)
Lincoln’s Letter to Mrs. Bixby
Magna Carta 1215
Marbury v. Madison (1803)
Marshall Plan (1948
Massachusetts Government Act (1774)
Mayflower Compact 1620
McClellan's Letter to Lincoln on His Evacuation from the Penninsula Campaign 1862
McClellan's Letter to President Lincoln (1862)
Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence
Memorial and Remonstrance 1785
Miranda Warning (1966)
Missouri Compromise (1820)
Monroe Doctrine 1823
Monroe Doctrine (1823)
Theodore Roosevelt's Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine (1905)
Morrill Act (1862)
Morrill Land Grant Act of 1862
National Interstate and Defense Highways Act (1956)
National Labor Relations Act (1935)
National Prohibition Act of 1919 (Volstead Act)
NATO Treaty (1949)
Northwest Ordinance 1787
Northwest Ordinance (1787)
nterstate Commerce Act of 1887
Opinion of Chief Justice Marshall, in the Case of McCulloch vs. the State of Maryland
Pacific Railway Act of 1862
Paris Peace Treaty of 1783
Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act
Pennsylvania - An Act for the Gradual Abolition of Slavery, 1780
President Andrew Jackson's Message to Congress 'On Indian Removal' (1830)
President Barack Obama's Addresses
Barack H. Obama Address to Congress on Health Care (2009)
Barack Obama's Keynote Speech (2004)
President Barack H. Obama's 2010 State of the Union Address
President Obama's Address to the Nation on Bin Laden's Death
President Clinton's State of the Union Addresses
President William J. Clinton's 1996 State of the Union Address
President George W. Bush's Addresses
Address of President Bush on the start of strikes against Al Qaeda and the Taliban (2001)
Address of President Bush to a Joint Session of Congress and the Nation regarding the events of 11 September, 2001 (20 September, 2001)
Address of President Bush to Nation (11 September, 2001)
President Bush's Remarks at National Day of Prayer and Remembrance
President George W. Bush's 2002 State of the Union Address
President George W. Bush's Farewell Address
President George Washington's Farewell Address (1796)
President Woodrow Wilson's 14 Points (1918
Proclamation Declaring the Insurrection at an End
Proclamation of Amnesty
Proclamation of Neutrality 1793
Quartering Act (1774)
Quebec Act (1774)
Recognition of the Independence of Cuba
Report of the Hartford Convention (1815)
Resolutions of the Stamp Act 1765
Richard Henry Lee's Independence Resolution (1776)
Sedition Act of 1798
September 12 Draft of the Constitution (1787)
Servicemen's Readjustment Act (1944)
Sherman Anti-Trust Act (1890)
Social Security Act 1935
Social Security Act (1935)
Social Security Act Amendments (1965)
Speech of Benjamin Franklin (1787)
Stamp Act Congress — 1765
Star Spangled Banner 1814
Surrender of Germany (1945)
Surrender of Japan (1945)
Tennessee Valley Authority Act (1933)
Terms of Lee’s Surrender at Appomattox
Thanksgiving Proclamation 1789
The 1620 Charter OF Massachusetts Bay
The 1754 Albany Plan Of Union
The First State of the Union Address of President George Washington
The First Virgina Charter 1606
The Second Virgina Charter 1609
The Third Virgina Charter 1612
The Fundamental Orders Of Connecticut 1639
The Instrument of Government
The Letter of Columbus to Luis de Sant Angel Announcing His Discovery
The Original 13 states ratification documents
Connecticut's Ratification
Delaware's Ratification
Georgia's Ratification
Maryland's Ratification
Massachusetts's Ratification
New Hampshire's Ratification
New Jersey's Ratification
New York's Ratification
North Carolina's Ratification
Pennsylvania's Ratification
Rhode Island's Ratification
South Carolina's Ratification
Vermont's Ratification
Virginia's Ratification
The Report of the Annapolis Conference (1786)
The Virginia Declaration of Rights 1776
Transcript of Brown v. Board of Education (1954
Transcript of Emancipation Proclamation (1863)
Transcript of Louisiana Purchase Treaty (1803)
Treaty Between the United States and Tripoli (1797)
Treaty of Alliance with France (1778)
Treaty of Ghent (1814)
Treaty of Greenville 1795
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (1848)
Treaty with Great Britain
Treaty with Mexico
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Treaty with Spain (Cession of Porto Rico and the Philippines)
Treaty with the Six Nations
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US Patriot Act 2001
Virginia Declaration of Rights (1776)
Whiskey Rebellion (1794)
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Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure (Rule 1 to 22)
Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure (con't Rule 23 to 61)
Federal Rules of Evidence -- 2011
Gold Bullion Coin Act of 1985
Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO)
US Firearms Legislature
US SUPREME COURT RULES (Parts I to V)
US Supreme Court Rules (Parts VI to VIII)
Virginia Joint Resolution 728 (2007)
US President Biographies
George W.Bush
George Washington-early years
James A. Garfield and Chester A. Arthur
James Madison - early years
James Monroe - early years
John Adams-early life & political theory
John Quincy Adams-early career
Martin VanBuren
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William Henry Harrison and John Tyler
William J. Clinton
Zachary Taylor and Millard Fillmore
US Presidential Inaugural Addresses
First (1933), Second (1937), Third (1941), and Fourth (1945) Inaugural Address of Franklin D. Roosevelt
First Inaugural Address of President George Washington
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First Inaugural Address of Dwight D. Eisenhower 1953
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First Inaugural Address of George W. Bush 2001
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First Inaugural Address of President James Madison 1809
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First Inaugural Address of President James Monroe 1817
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The Second Inaugural Address of President Thomas Jefferson 1805
First Inaugural Address of President Ulysses S. Grant 1869
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First Inaugural Address of Richard Milhous Nixon 1969
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First Inaugural Address of Ronald Reagan 1981
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First Inaugural Address of William J. Clinton 1993
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First Inaugural Address of William McKinley 1897
Second Inaugural Address of William McKinley 1901
First Inaugural Address of Woodrow Wilson 1913
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Inaugural Address of Barack Obama 2009
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Inaugural Address of Franklin Pierce 1853
Inaugural Address of George Bush 1989
Inaugural Address of Harry S. Truman 1949
Inaugural Address of Herbert Hoover
Inaugural Address of James Buchanan 1857
Inaugural Address of James Knox Polk 1845
Inaugural Address of Jimmy Carter 1977
Inaugural Address of John F. Kennedy 1961
Inaugural Address of Lyndon Baines Johnson 1965
Inaugural Address of Martin Van Buren 1837
Inaugural Address of President John Adams 1797
Inaugural Address of President John Quincy Adams 1825
Inaugural Address of Rutherford B. Hayes 1877
Inaugural Address of Theodore Roosevelt 1905
Inaugural Address of Warren G. Harding 1921
Inaugural Address of William Henry Harrison 1841
Inaugural Address of William Howard Taft 1909
Inaugural Address of Zachary Taylor 1849
10/24/01: Angela Wiertalla is arrested for driving with open intoxicants in a motor vehicle and violation of
restricted driver's license. Material in the abnormally persistent efforts of Angela to deceive
the police.
Attachment A: Emmet County Sheriffs Dept. Incident Report 2001-7116-I
1/24/02: Angela Wiertalla is involved in a serious traffic accident involving injury, in which she was
operating under the influence of alcohol. She struck another vehicle, the driver of which was
unconscious from injury. Material in Angela's efforts to deceive the police and blaming the
cause of the accident on the injured victim.
Attachment B: Emmet County Sheriffs Dept. Incident Report 2002-520-I
9/3/03: Thomas Wiertalla, Angela's brother, dies of a congenital heart defect while having an altercation
with Adam Paskle in Angela's presence. Paskle was Angela's boyfriend, at the time.
Material documents from the death of Thomas W. include:
Attachment C: Emmet County Sheriffs Dept. Incident/Investigation Report 2003-6139
Attachment D: Emmet County Sheriffs Dept. Supp. Report Case No. 2003-6139 by Dep. Copeland
Attachment E: Emmet County Sheriffs Dept. Supp. Report Case No. 2003-6139 by Dep. Johnson
Attachment F: Emmet County Sheriffs Dept. Supp. Report Case No. 2003-6139 by Dep. Erickson
Attachment G: 9/8/03 Statement of CCE Central Dispatch Team Leader, Kimberly Idalski
Attachment H: Mich. Attachment IDept. of State Police Original Incident Report 78-2462-03(25), File Class
Attachment I: 9/8/03 Statement of Angela W.
Together these documents are extremely material to credibility. Angela was astonishingly
irresponsible in the vital matter of a 911 call she promised to make but did not, regarding
her dying brother. Her family expected her to be unreliable. Her statement, in the matter,
is not consistent with the accounts of all others present. The argument began over a lie
Angela told. Her mental illness and substance abuse problems were significant
impairments. All this was known to Emmet County Prosecutor, James Linderman.
9/03 to 10/03(Approx): Joel and Angela start a relationship together.
9/20/04: Angela is treated at Northern Michigan Hospital for trauma to the head, left foot and hand(s);
note that by her version in trial testimony she added a “very bad” pull of the groin and a
twisted ankle to the list of injuries the hospital noted. She states that an ex-boyfriend of hers,
Leon Kerberskey, hit her in the head about 12 times and dragged her by the hair. She was 27
weeks pregnant. Material because of the prior, inconsistent statement in a crucial error and
Leon Kerberskey was actually in Florida at the time. The charges against him for this incident
were absurd. (Angela testified at trial that charges were not pressed against Kerberskey
because of her refusal to press the complaint.) Angela's mental illness includes incidents of
self-injury and she has a history of false accusations-particularly against her ex-boyfriends.
She reassigned blame for this incident to Joel, testifying that she only accused Kerberskey
before because Joel was present at the police interview to intimidate her. The
police report accurately reflect that Joel was, in fact, not present.
Attachment J: Emmet County Sheriffs Dept. Incident/Investigation Report 2004-6056
2/05: Two family members of Hon. Joan Lefkow, a federal district court judge, are murdered by a
homeless man in Chicago. The investigation initially focuses on members of a white
supremacist organization (The Creativity Movement or TCM) critical of Judge Lefkow. Michigan State Police Det. Sgt. Gwen
White-Erickson is asked by the F.B.I. to investigate Joel as an associate of that suspected
organization (TCM).
3/1/05: Angela violently attacks Joel outside the Harbor Hall Outpatient Treatment Center. In the
attack Joel bites the finger which Angela is fish-hooking him with. Material due to Angela's
symptoms of her mental illness which include irrational rage and violence, contrary to her
trial testimony and consistent with Dufresne's testimony. This “Harbor Hall incident” was
presented in court, in a light, incompatible with this suppressed police report. A witness to
this incident would be intimidated prior to trial (Kerry McGinn, by Trooper Armstrong) and
this incident led Angela's doctor to re-evaluate her prescriptions for treating her mental illness.
Finally, Angela's substance abuse problems and willingness to contact the police, both issues
at trial, are substantiated by this police report.
Attachment K: Petoskey Public Safety Incident/Investigation Report 2005-1156
3/05: Murders of Judge Lefkow's family members are solved conclusively and all suspicion is
removed from Joel and his associates.
4/13/05: Angela is arrested for retail fraud (theft of caffeine pills). Material in the abnormally
persistent efforts of Angela to deceive the police, this report impeaches Angela's trial
testimony and bolsters Joel's testimony on many issues, such as her substance abuse
problems, reasons for missing work and (see 8/05, below) the ability of Angela to safely
contact the police.
Attachment L: Emmet County Sheriffs Dept. Incident/Investigation Report 2005-1792
6/25/05: Angela and Joel travel to Wexford County to attend a wedding and, while there,
have a violent argument known as the “Cadillac incident” Angela is then hospitalized at
Munson Medical Center where tests reveal her blood- alcohol level to be 0.13% at 06.10
hours (she later testifies she had only 2 shots of liquor).
Attachment M: Michigan Dept. of State Police Original Incident Report 76-1644-05(22)
6/27/05 to 7/3/05 (Approx.): Angela W. is given a thorough follow up examination which finds no
signs of sexual abuse.
8/05: Angela serves a jail term for the 4/13/05 retail fraud, during which she can definitely contact
the police safely (this is successfully kept out of the record and she testifies that she was
never able to safely contact the police).
12/19/05: Joel and Hale Dufresne, minor child, go to Florida to visit family.
12/28/05: Joel contacts Angela, first by telephone and then by logging in together on Yahoo!
Chat. Angela sets up a web cam at Joel's request. The entire episode is a typical
communication between consenting adults and is free of any threats or coercion, as forensic
analysis of Joel's computer later verifies (quite contrary to allegations and testimony by
Angela). This forensic analysis was conducted by the Michigan State Police.
12/30/05: Joel and Hale return home to Michigan.
2/14/06: Joel finds an empty bottle of cough syrup in their home and comes to believe
Angela relapsed by drinking it. Acting in accordance to an agreement reached between them,
following the 4/13/05 retail fraud arrest, to the effect that if Angela has a drug relapse
Joel would leave her. Joel takes his son, their belongings and leaves. Angela contacts
her probation officer, Mark Hopkins, for help. Hopkins sends Det. Sgt. White-Erickson to
her. Angela's father, Fred W., is a friend of Mark Hopkins and is acquainted with White-
Erickson. White-Erickson questions Angela, elicits allegations of criminal sexual conduct
from her, then has her examined by a medical expert in sexual abuse for evidence (the results
proved exculpatory).
2/16/06: White-Erickson re-interviews Angela concerning the 6/25/05 “Cadillac incident” and
persuades her to write a new statement which blames Joel for injuring her and adds
an accusation of attempted rape. This statement is rife with blatant untruths, including the
amount of alcohol that Angela had consumed, the actions of Joel as verified by police
witnesses and pertinent physical details of the scene. White-Erickson files a supplemental
police report.
Attachment N: 2/16/06 Statement of Angela W.
2/18/06: Angela's civil attorney files for custody warrant over Hale Dufresne, Emmet CC (Family Div.)
No. 06-9196-DC and Hon. Frederick Mulhauser issues the warrant.
Recording equipment is set up by the Michigan State Police on a phone line for use in
recording conversations between Angela and Joel.
2/20/06: Angela writes a statement for proceedings in Angela W. v Dufresne, for a personal protection
order, Hon.Charles W. Johnson presiding. This statement alleged threats from Joel that
must have been made after 2/14/06 (the phrase therein, “...if I ever tried to take or see
Hale....” places it after she could and did routinely take or see Hale as she wished, like any
mother normally can), yet as she later testifies, Joel has yet to speak to her since
leaving. Secondly, this statement contains nothing of any criminal sexual conduct
allegations supposedly so weighty in Angela's life. The PPO petition is filed.
Attachment O: Angela W. v Dufresne, Emmet CC No. 06-9199-PP, personal protection order
Later that day, Joel calls Angela from Florida. Any recording of this conversation
is supposedly lost, but phone records confirm it it was exculpatory in content. It did not
contain threats of any kind, by Joel.
2/21/06: The PPO is issued. Joel calls again and speaks, mostly, to Fred W., Angela's father
. The call is recorded and again contains no threats. In this call, Joel promises to say
anything Angela wants if she will talk to him.
2/22/06: Joel calls two additional times, both recorded, both absent of threats. During the first call
Angela repeatedly calls Joel an “evil sick bastard,” making it a theme for
use in the next call. In that second call, Joel repeats what Angela has told him to
say. In isolation, this second conversation (2/22/06) seems inculpatory – as orchestrated by
White-Erickson. Though they testified otherwise, phone records will confirm that Angela
called Joel back to briefly mock him while White-Erickson laughed in the background.
2/24/06: White-Erickson files an affidavit of probable cause based on Angela's revised allegations
from the final phone conversation recorded. The exact content of this affidavit is a matter of
great importance; according to White-Erickson's trial testimony, Eric Kaiser apparently
altered her affidavit without her knowledge or consent by adding eight pages of irrelevant
and very inflammatory material and citing thereof in the affidavit itself.
Attachment P: White-Erickson's Affidavit of Probable Cause, with 8-page Attachment
White-Erickson also writes Attachment Q. Eric Kaiser writes a 21-count complaint, files
it and a 21 count felony warrant is issued
Attachment Q: Michigan Dept. of State Police Original Incident Report No. 78-519-06(DS), File Class
2/25/06: A second examination of Angela is made by a medical expert for evidence of sexual
assault. No rectal exam is conducted. Nothing inculpatory is found.
2/27/06: Joel is arrested in Florida and placed in the Clay County Jail.
3/2/06: A third examination of Angela made for evidence of sexual assault. This examination is made
by Dr. Samuel Minor, Angela's general practitioner. Dr. Minor is not an expert in sexual
assault examinations. The examination finds a small scratch on the rectal lining and nothing
else outside the normal. Like the two prior sexual assault examinations, this one is done at the
request of White-Erickson.
3/8/06: White-Erickson and Trooper Armstrong fly to Florida with a typewritten confession for Joel
to sign.
3/9/06: White-Erickson and Armstrong have Joel brought into an interrogation room in the
Clay County Jail and chained to a chair. Custodial interrogation begins and Joel admits to
some culpability in the 6/25/05 “Cadillac incident” regarding a domestic violence
allegation.
White-Erickson and Armstrong then inform Joel of the CSC allegations and give him the
opportunity to sign the confession. Joel ceases cooperating and requests a lawyer. White-
Erickson and Armstrong contact Eric Kaiser by telephone.
After three additional hours of insisting Joel sign the confession, White-Erickson and Eric
Kaiser mutually agree to give up. Joel is unchained from the chair and returned to a cell.
3/10/06: White-Erickson and Armstrong remove Joel from the Clay County Jail in belly chains and leg
irons (without socks) for transport in custody by air travel. The leg irons inflict bleeding
lacerations around Joel's ankles. Airline personnel insist the leg irons be removed prior to the
flight back to Michigan from Jacksonville, Florida. The leg irons are grudgingly removed.
Joel is transported in custody to Petoskey,Michigan, and placed in the Emmet County Jail.
Trooper Armstrong begins monitoring Joel's calls from jail. Joel's mail is withheld (officially,
yet without any administrative process) for the next six weeks or so.
3/13/06: Attorney George Spanos is appointed to represent Joel. Joel objects to this appointment due
to Spanos previously having represented Angela. Daniel J. Harris is appointed instead of
Spanos. Joel is arraigned and signs a felony advice of rights form (Miranda).
Daniel J. Harris receives a 14-page file from the Emmet County Prosecutor's Office. This file
does not include anything about or from the exculpatory 2/14/06 'rape kit' sexual assault
evidence medical examination.
$500,000 bond is set, pretrial conference is scheduled for 3/20/06 and preliminary examination
is scheduled for 3/27/06.
3/15/06: Daniel J. Harris is removed as counsel for conflict of interest and Bryan Klawuhn is
appointed in substitution.
3/20/06: Pretrial conference held.
3/24/06: Bryan Klawuhn files a proper defense demand for discovery, requesting all police reports,
exculpatory information, etc., with in 7 days.
3/27/06: Preliminary examination convened, Hon. Richard May presiding, Eric Kaiser for Plaintiff.
Due to a family emergency for Bryan Klawuhn, Daniel J. Harris appearing for Defendant.
JOEL REQUESTS A POLYGRAPH EXAMINATION FROM THE COURT. The courty, prosecutor and defense counsel all promise Joel a polygraph examination.
Preliminary examination is rescheduled for 4/3/06. Polygraph examination scheduled for
5/16/06.
Trooper Armstrong travels to Chapel Hill to interview Leon Kerbersky, an ex-boyfriend of
Angela. Kerbersky informs Armstrong that Angela suffers fits of violent rage during which
she must be safely restrained; that she has a history of false accusations (including CSC)
against her ex-boyfriends; that Kerbersky didn't know Joel at all but would believe him over
Angela; and that Kerbersky knew others who would corroborate his statements.
Armstrong writes Incident Report 3 to Incident No. 78-519-06(DS), concerning the Kerbersky
interview. This highly material and exculpatory police report is suppressed.
Attachment R: Michigan Dept. of State Police Supp. Incident Report 3 to Incident No.78-519-06(DS)
File Class 11003
3/31/06: The 7 days for prosecutorial compliance with the defense discovery demand expires. Eric
Kaiser has not disclosed the 2/14/06 'rape kit' results, Armstrong's supplemental police report
of his Kerbersky interview (Attachment R), nor any of the many other exculpatory documents
known to the prosecution (Attachments A through M). This discovery violation is never
substantially remedied, and unknown other exculpatory documents remain unavailable to the
defense still.
4/3/06: Preliminary examination reconvened and held, Hon. Richard May presiding, Eric Kaiser for
Plaintiff, Bryan Klawuhn for Defense. The sole witness is Angela W.
On direct examination Angela testifies that Joel was physically abusive to her and became
sexually abusive, as well, after the 6/25/05 “Cadillac incident”; that the CSC allegations
originated over custody of Hale Dufresne, (Angela would testify to the opposite at trial,
contradicting the register of actions in the civil proceedings); that White-Erickson's affidavit of
probable cause (Attachment P) was consistent with actual events; that she had “medical
corroboration “ of rectal injury from the allegations tried as Counts 3 to 6 (at trial, this
supposed medical corroboration was reassigned to Count 9 after it came out that Angela's
annual gynecological exam, occurring right after the alleged dates of Counts 3 to 6, found
everything normal/unremarkable); and that Angela submitted to CSC out of fear for the safety
of herself and her daughters-particularly during incidents from 2/7/06 to 2/10/06 in which the
children were home throughout (Angela would testify at trial that the absence of the children
was used to control her instead).
On cross-examination Angela testifies that the civil actions of Angela W. v Dufresne began
after the CSC allegations arose (again, contrary to her trial testimony and material to her
credibility and motives); that Angela couldn't safely go to the police prior to 2/14/06 (contrary
to suppressed police reports, including Attachments K and L); that all of her conversations with
Joel after 2/14/06 were recorded phone calls, of which there were a total of three; that
the final call, in that recorded series was “all a lie” contrived at the direction of White-
Erickson, to make Joel appear guilty(at trial, her testimony held that tape, which was
put into evidence without the previous tapes in the series, was all true); that she had hit Joel
in the head with a board during the 6/25/05 “Cadillac incident” (at trial she changed this to
having struck Joel with a mere stick and probably on the shoulder); and that she had not
assaulted Joel by stabbing him with a screwdriver or attempting to gouge his eyes or dig out his
Adam's apple.
Effective cross-examination of Angela was not possible due to the suppression of police
During Angela's testimony, Joel elicited from the court a repeat of the promise he'd
undergo a polygraph examination.
Joel was bound over on 6 counts of CSC1 and 12 counts of CSC3.
After being returned to the Emmet County Jail, Joel telephoned Kerry McGinn.
McGinn was employed at Harbor Hall Outpatient (see 3/1/05) and had not only
witnessed the “Harbor Hall incident” (Attachment K) during which Angela had assaulted and
injured Joel, she had also witnessed other injuries from Angela on herself and on Joel. During
his 4/3/06 phone call- monitored by Trooper Armstrong- Joel requests trial testimony from
Kerry McGinn to impeach Angela's credibility.
4/4/06: Trooper Armstrong travels to meet Kerry McGinn and her supervisors, to try to get McGinn
fired from Harbor Hall if she assists in the defense of Dufresne. Kerry McGinn has, from
4/4/06 to the present, refused to talk without a subpoena.
Among Armstrong's other activities, he also spoke (on or after this date) to other potential
defense witnesses who did not testify, following calls by Joel to contact them. Brandie
Degroff didn't come forward because of the threats to her mother, Kerry McGinn, though after
9/22/06 Brandie expressed willingness to speak with a lawyer. Bobbe Kroll, a former
employer of Dufresne, had an exculpatory interview with the police; the police report
therefrom is suppressed and still unavailable.
4/6/06 (Approx.): Joel is offered a plea deal (5 to 15 years in prison). He refuses it because he is
innocent of the charges.
4/7/06: Eric Kaiser files an 18 count information felony. Although the arraignment (on 3/13/06) was
over 21 days ago, Kaiser adds a 4th-degree habitual offender enhancement. Adding a sentence
enhancement more that 21 days after the arraignment is prohibited by MCR 6.112(F). This
improper enhancement is never corrected.
4/12/06: Scheduling conference is set for 5/1/06; a notice to appear is sent to Eric Kaiser.
5/1/06: Scheduling conference is held; Michael Findlay appears for Plaintiff from this date forward,
placing departure of Eric Kaiser between 4/12/06 and 5/1/06. Findlay continues the
prosecutorial misconduct actively.
5/14/06 (Approx.): Bryan Klawuhn cancels the polygraph examination and sends a waiver form
for it to Joel, enclosing a SASE for returning the form. Joel refused to sign the waiver.
5/15/06: Joel is transported in custody to face aggravated assault domestic charges in
Wexford County, Michigan, for the 6/25/05 “Cadillac incident”. Joel receives and reads,
for the first time, Michigan Dept. of State Police Original Incident report 76-1644-05(22), File
Class 13001; at 6/25/05; at 2/16/06; at 3/9/06; and at 4/3/06.
The parties review the police reports and statements of Angela, and a plea deal is offered
which Joel rejects. The Wexford County charges are then dropped. (In the instant case,
police witnesses and Findlay later imply that the Wexford County charges are still being
pursued).
5/16/06: After spending the night in the jail, Joel is transported in custody from Wexford County
back to the Emmet County Jail. He learns that his polygraph examination was canceled, uses
the SASE from Bryan Klawuhn to send an insistence on the polygraph examination, and
retains the unsigned waiver form. Joel calls Klawuhn on the jail phone and his calls are
refused.
8/17/06: During the jury trial, Det. Sgt. White-Erickson testifies to the effect that her affidavit of
probable cause in this case was altered without her knowledge or consent in a manner that is
attributable, specifically, to Eric J. Kaiser.
9/22/06: Joel, having been wrongfully convicted on 9 of the 12 counts tried, is sentenced to
50 to 75 years in prison under the 4th-degree habitual offender sentence enhancement Eric
Kaiser initiated on 4/7/06 in defiance of MCR 6.112(F), following Joel's rejection of a plea
deal.
Joel Dufresne wrongly convicted in Emmet County, MI
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NATIVE INTELLIGENCE
Observing Los Angeles
LA's river homeless in the New Yorker
By Kevin Roderick | January 11, 2016 12:50 AM
When the first storms thrown our way by El Niño were bearing down last week, the Los Angeles-based staff writer for the New Yorker, Dana Goodyear, went out and gave her readers a short fill-in on the latest in LA's homeless situation. It sets up with the premise that the Los Angeles River that people may have been hearing about is, in real life, home to a lot of people who live outside. They were now in the way of the runoff that races very predictability down the river channel whenever LA gets its periodic heavy rains. The efforts to go out and get people to move out of the river and washes, and to open more shelters and extend the hours when it rains, is really just "the emergency version of a plan that already doesn’t work."
Her piece is an effective summation of LA's biggest embarrassment. Here's an excerpt:
In the past two years, homelessness in the city and the county of Los Angeles has grown by twelve per cent—driven by unemployment, the lack of affordable housing, and by the cloudless days, one after the next after the next. The drought, excruciating for the marginal and landed alike in the agricultural communities of the Central Valley, has made living outdoors a little easier on the urban homeless. To the hardcore long-term unhoused, a flotilla of recruits has been added—some of them presumably locals forced from their dwellings by rising rents, others itinerant young “travellers.” You see the latter in the evening, moving in groups, with skateboards, dreads, and bedrolls, a pit bull or two among them, heading toward the setting sun and the “sandominiums” that spring up on the beachfront after dark. According to a report published in May by the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, there are now forty-four thousand homeless people in the county—a Burlington’s worth of people living in the street—and more than nine thousand five hundred camps, lean-tos, and vehicles serving as shelter.
In September, Los Angeles announced a state of emergency and a hundred-million-dollar budget to address the crisis. The resources will likely swell the ranks again. According to one social worker who does field work among the homeless in West Los Angeles, after the announcement people started turning up from as far away as Las Vegas: their cities had bought them one-way bus tickets to L.A. The result is a huge, often acutely vulnerable population in the path of a storm system already proving itself “brash,” nasty, cold, and fierce.
For months, as El Niño strengthened in the Pacific, police and social workers warned people living in especially precarious temporary riverside dwellings to move. They were out again this week, urging people to take shelter. For service providers, a storm can be an opportunity—the prod that gets someone to come indoors and enter a system where there may be numerous benefits available to them.
But the same tenacity and resourcefulness that make it possible for a person to live without basic comforts can make that person willing to weather seemingly impossibly unpleasant and dangerous conditions. They have built up endurance, because they have had to, and because often the alternatives impinge insufferably on their autonomy. People with homes are often reluctant to evacuate—they want to protect their stuff. For the homeless, this understandable desire is aggravated by the difficulties associated with seeking temporary shelter: there are few safe places to store belongings, and you can’t take with you more than you can carry on your lap. Is it worth starting your life over again for a night out of the rain?
Goodyear talks about how Los Angeles is a progressive city, thus "you can feel the desire of officials to be smart and innovative as a natural disaster collides with a man-made one." But City Hall has been losing the homeless fight for decades now.
Goodyear wrote last year too about rainfall in the LA area, and about the question of whether and how to save the Salton Sea.
Related: An LA County video on preparing for the storms.
Photo above: Shelter scene via LA County video.
More by Kevin Roderick:
'In on merit' at USC
Read the memo: LA Times hires again
Read the memo: LA Times losing big on search traffic
Google taking over LA's deadest shopping mall
Gustavo Arellano, many others join LA Times staff
Recent Observing Los Angeles stories on LA Observed:
Can talk therapy cure LA's civic malaise?
Why Jonathan Gold's body of work will be read by historians
Shadows on Cielo Drive
Drone view: US Bank tower yoga
Returning to LA in sticker shock
Jukebox repair man of West Pico Boulevard
Injured by sidewalk, Fox 11 reporter ready to quit Los Angeles
Another great old map from Glen Creason of LAPL
Previous story: David Bowie, 69, dead after fight with cancer
Next story: Beck calls for charges against officer in Venice shooting
New at LA Observed
Breakouts from Kennedy Center to Disney Hall
SB 50: It will be a fight to remember
'Tis the season...
Don Shirley's theatrical highlights of 2019
About LA Observed | Masthead | Archive | RSS feeds | LAO by e-mail | Email the editor | Twitter | © 2003-2019
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Stemm - "Blood Scent" (CD)
"Blood Scent" track listing:
1. Blood Soaked
3. One King Down
4. Awake
5. The Devil Walks Among Us ...
6. Broken Face Masterpiece
7. As Real As It Gets
8. Wish
9. Beneath My Skin
10. Never Will I Break
11. Casualty For Prayer
Reviewed by EdgeoftheWorld on August 5, 2009
"I actually enjoyed the fact that there were a few fills that sounded like they might be missing a beat, because they made the music sound organic and alive. "
When I read guitarist and singer Joe Cafarella saying "This new Stemm CD is our 'Vulgar Display of Power'" in the promotional materials accompanying the album "Blood Scent," my heart dropped a little bit.
With each comparison of the band to Pantera I read — and there were several — my expectations got lower and lower. It's been my experience that most bands that try to emulate the Pantera formula only get it half right. They've got the crushing mid-tempo guitar riffs a la the late, lamented Dimebag Darrell, and the ferocious, growling vocals in the style of Phil Anselmo. But what most of them are missing is the great groove that came courtesy of Vinnie Paul and Rex Brown.
Hailing from Buffalo, NY, Stemm is the rare band of Pantera admirers that gets the whole picture, with drummer Dan Nelligan providing a strong backbone to the band. Nelligan strives more for grooves and atmosphere, and less for click-track perfection. I actually enjoyed the fact that there were a few fills that sounded like they might be missing a beat, because they made the music sound organic and alive.
The album starts out with the brutal "Blood Soaked," which really does sound like something from "Vulgar Display of Power," with Cafarella screaming "As my blood falls to the floor, I paint the walls with what was" in a manner that does Anselmo proud. Cafarella and Alex Scouten are no slouches in the guitar department either, blasting out riffs that, whether they're fast or slow, are astonishingly heavy.
"House of Cards," the album's next track, might be familiar to those who watch "UFC Wired" on the Fox Network. It shows off the band's ability to come up with a sound that some might call more commercial while retaining a sense of heaviness. It's also where we see that Cafarella's also quite adept at delivering vocals in a John Bush style.
The sequencing on this album is spectacular, in that there are rarely two songs of the same speed or style in a row. The fairly slow "House of Cards" is immediately followed by the blazing fast "One King Down," which is then followed up by the mid-tempo "Awake," which features a great, but simple riff in the Dimebag Darrell Mode, along with a rock-radio chorus.
It's hard to pick a favorite song — the album really doesn't have any bad ones. But, if I had to choose two, the first would be "Broken Face Masterpiece," which is this album's "Fucking Hostile" (if we're going to continue the Pantera comparisons); the second would be the Nine Inch Nails cover "Wish," which starts off with a drumbeat that sounds like it could be a country shuffle and morphs into something that straddles the line between pure metal and Trent Reznor's mechanized variations on the form.
My least favorite track would be "Beneath My Skin," a ballad which is much better in the reprise at the end of the album's final track, which discards the electric guitars and shows that these guys are just as good acoustically.
With "Blood Scent," Stemm has created a near-perfect album that pays tribute to the band's inspirations while branching off into new and interesting territory.
Highs: Uniformly great songwriting and playing, with "Broken Face Masterpiece" and "Wish" especially standing out.
Lows: The ballad "Beneath My Skin," though not bad, is my least favorite track.
Bottom line: Whether you like your metal in the radio-friendly mode of Disturbed, or in the Pantera/Damageplan/Hellyeah vein, this album has something for you.
Get more info including news, reviews, interviews, links, etc. on our Stemm band page.
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ANSWERING FOR CRIME: RESPONSIBILITY AND LIABILITY IN THE CRIMINAL LAW
by R.A. Duff. Oxford: Hart Publishing, 2007. 342 pp. Paper. $95.00/£45.00. ISBN: 9781841137537.
Reviewed by Adil Ahmad Haque, Assistant Professor of Law Designate, Rutgers School of Law – Newark. Email: adil.haque [at] aya.yale.edu.
Every account of the structure of criminal law involves an attempt to explain the content of and relationship between four basic concepts: wrongdoing, responsibility, fault, and punishment. The most ambitious accounts focus on a single concept in terms of which the others can be understood. ANSWERING FOR CRIME contains illuminating discussions of a variety of discrete issues, ranging from the relationship between attacks and endangerments to the difference between strict responsibility and strict liability, to the justification of mala prohibita crimes. But the greatest contribution of this marvelous book lies in Antony Duff’s elegant and arresting vision of criminal law’s conceptual foundation.
Duff argues that the central concept in criminal law is responsibility, understood as the legal demand to provide a rational explanation for our illegal behavior. The criminal trial is not merely an instrument for identifying dangerous individuals; it is a communicative process by which individuals are made to account for their actions to their community. The commission of criminal wrongdoing is that which the law requires us to explain; the denial of fault, through justification or excuse, is the form such an explanation must take; and punishment is the consequence of an unsuccessful explanation.
Duff is not the first criminal law scholar to understand responsibility in terms of accountability or answerability for criminal acts or to identify responsibility as a precondition for fault or liability (Gardner 2003). Nor is Duff the first to argue that to deny responsibility is generally to claim that there is no rational explanation for the offense, or that we currently lack the capacity to provide such an explanation. But Duff is the first to make substantial use of a triadic conception of responsibility according to which agents must answer for their acts to a particular audience. One feature of the triadic account is that it identifies, as denials of responsibility, bars to trial based on various features of the defendant (official and diplomatic immunity), the alleged conduct (double jeopardy, lack of jurisdiction, expiration of a statute of limitations), the prosecution’s case (lack of probable cause), or official misconduct (estoppel, entrapment). On Duff’s view, denials of responsibility include claims that the prosecuting authority has no right to call us to account in the first place.
A second feature, and a more interesting one, is that the nature of the prosecuting authority places certain internal constraints on the substantive scope of criminalization. Duff argues that, in a [*424] democratic polity, the criminal law speaks in the name of the public, and individuals are properly held responsible to the public for the wrongs that properly concern the public. This contrasts with monarchical, authoritarian, and theocratic polities in which individuals are responsible to the ruler, the state, or religious authorities. However, in a liberal polity, respect for individual autonomy and private associations requires that the only moral wrongs that properly concern the criminal law are those related to attacks upon or endangerment of the defining aims and values of the polity. This contrasts with perfectionist polities in which all moral wrongs properly concern the public.
There is a sense, then, that responsibility to is logically prior to responsibility for, for although there can be liberal monarchies and perfectionist democracies, once we identify the type of polity to whom individuals are held criminally responsible we can infer which values are to be promoted, protected, and expressed through the criminal law. So although Duff is correct to say that the bare concept of ‘the public’ cannot fix the scope of criminalization, it seems that particular political conceptions of the public can, albeit with all the indeterminacy of the aims and values which the political conception identifies.
One might think that all this is just a roundabout way of saying that the criminal law of a liberal society should reflect liberal values, but this latter formulation contains an equivocation between the enforcement of liberal morality and the restrictions of political liberalism. For instance, Michael Moore is a legal moralist who believes that all moral wrongs properly concern the criminal law, but who also believes that most impersonal moral norms (for instance regarding consensual sexual relations) simply do not exist (Moore 1998). By contrast, Duff rejects legal moralism and argues that we need not answer to the polity for genuine moral wrongs if the values they implicate, even if real and important, are not among the defining values of the polity. For Moore, autonomy and privacy are countervailing moral values that may override the duty to punish wrongdoing; for Duff autonomy and privacy are political values that determine which moral values the state should even contemplate enforcing through the criminal law.
Duff’s triadic account of criminal responsibility can be seen as part of a broader ‘relational turn’ within practical philosophy as a whole. Moral philosophers seeking to break the stalemate between agent-neutral views such as consequentialism and agent-relative views such as Kantian deontology and virtue theory have tried to recapture the interpersonal aspect of morality. “What we owe to each other” could describe the content of morality, understood in terms of directed duties to others and corresponding rights against others (Kamm 2007), or the justification of moral principles to those affected by them (Scanlon 1998). It has even been suggested that the rational authority of morality itself is grounded in relationships of authority (to make claims or demands on others) and accountability (for our responses to the complaints and grievances of others) (Darwall 2006). Within criminal law theory, a more humble attempt has been made to articulate a relational account of [*425] retributive justice according to which an offender’s violation of a victim’s right gives rise to a duty of the punishing agent, owed to the victim, to punish the offender (Haque 2005).
There is a difficulty lurking here, however, because Duff seems to embrace relational accounts of wrongdoing, responsibility, and punishment involving different relata. Duff insists that criminal wrongs are primarily wrongs to their individual victims and not to the public, and seems to agree elsewhere that punishment is owed primarily to the victim rather than to the offender (Marshall and Duff 1998, p.9), yet maintains that offenders are responsible not to victims but to the polity as a whole. Why, instead, should offenders not be responsible to their victims for the wrongs done to them and for which they may be punished? For centuries, both the common law and Islamic law relied on private prosecution by victims or their families, although in both systems it was left to judges or juries to determine whether offenders had successfully answered the charges against them. What justifies our societies in controlling the criminal process from start to finish?
Duff’s reply is that our polities are not only liberal and democratic but also communitarian. As communitarians we identify and stand in solidarity with our members when they are wronged. As liberals we respond only to those wrongs which implicate our defining values, leaving individuals to respond to other wrongs informally or through private law. Shared membership in a common civic enterprise gives the community sufficient interest both in the wrongs its members commit and the wrongs its members suffer to demand accountability for those wrongs. It is in this sense, Duff argues, that wrongs to victims are also wrongs against the polity as a whole, wrongs which the polity may prosecute and punish on behalf of the victim or on its own behalf if the victim is unwilling or unable to do so.
Just punishment, however, requires both responsibility and fault on the part of the offender. Duff’s account of criminal responsibility informs his account of fault in at least three ways. First, criminal offenses and defenses must be defined in such a way that the offense alone specifies a public wrong for which we can be held responsible by the polity; for this reason, wrong-making features of the offense may not be converted into defense elements simply to ease the evidentiary burden on the prosecution. Second, the doctrine of justificatory intent, which states that a defendant can make out a justification defense only if the considerations that justified her conduct also motivated her conduct, can be grounded in Duff’s position that criminal responsibility demands that individuals provide a rational explanation rather than a post-hoc rationalization for their illegal conduct. Finally, excuses that compare a defendant’s defective conduct with the conduct expected of a reasonable person implicitly require individuals to display a certain level of commitment to the polity’s basic values on pain of public condemnation.
There is every reason to expect that Duff’s triadic account of criminal responsibility and his conception of public wrongdoing will quickly and warmly be embraced by the community [*426] of criminal law theorists. Many will also couch their views regarding justification and excuse within Duff’s framework. It is true that, of the four central concepts with which we began, punishment receives the briefest and most oblique treatment. Some readers may wish that Duff had done more to integrate this well-known theory of punishment into his overall account, and more fully explained why the failure to provide a satisfying account of one’s wrongdoing should result in coercion and
deprivation (Duff 2001). In particular, some may feel that Duff has not yet fully explained how the public’s interest in wrongs to individual victims can be sufficiently strong to permit prosecution and punishment of offenders without the victim’s consent yet sufficiently weak that the public does not displace the victim as the source of the underlying claim that prosecution and punishment seeks to vindicate. These are important questions, but it would be ungrateful in the extreme to ask more from Duff’s magnificent book than it already provides.
Marshall, S.E., and R.A. Duff. 1998. “Criminalization and Sharing Wrongs.” 11 CANADIAN JOURNAL OF LAW AND JURISPRUDENCE 7-22.
Gardner, J. 2003. “The Mark of Responsibility.” 23 OXFORD JOURNAL OF LEGAL STUDIES 157-171.
Haque, A.A. 2005. “Group Violence and Group Vengeance: Toward a Retributive Theory of International Criminal Law.” 9 BUFFALO CRIMINAL LAW REVIEW 273-328.
Darwall, S. 2006. THE SECOND-PERSON STANDPOINT: MORALITY, RESPECT, AND ACCOUNTABILITY. Harvard: Harvard University Press.
Duff, R.A. 2001. PUNISHMENT, COMMUNITY, AND COMMUNICATION. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Kamm, F.M. 2007. INTRICATE ETHICS: RIGHTS, RESPONSIBLITIES, AND PERMISSIBLE HARM. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Moore, M. 1998. PLACING BLAME: A GENERAL THEORY OF CRIMINAL LAW. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Scanlon, T.M. 1998. WHAT WE OWE TO EACH OTHER. Harvard: Harvard University Press.
© Copyright 2008 by the author, Adil Ahmad Haque.
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Maple Syrup Digest
Official Publication of the North American Maple Syrup Council
VOL. 7A, N0. 4 DECEMBER, 1995
December 1, 1995 Written by Editor, Maple Syrup Digest
NAMSC
VOL. 7A, NO. 3 OCTOBER, 1995
VOL. 8A, NO. 1 FEBRUARY 1996
US: 1 year $10.00 USD Canada: 1 year $15.00 USD US: 2 years $20.00 USD Canada: 2 years $30.00 USD US: 3 years $30.00 USD Canada: 3 years $45.00 USD
Digest Issues by Month/Year
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Medical-Legal Consulting Institute, Inc.
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Care Providers of Minnesota
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The Converse Cobweb
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Medical Litigation Review
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Belson-Hanwright Video
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Senior Citizen Medicare Assisted Living Facilities At Colonial Manors Iowa
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Palomar Pomerado Health System
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LINTECH
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MultiMedia HealthCare/Freedom
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Senior Housing Net
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Visiting Association of Hudson Valley
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Inglewood Care Centre Providing Quality Care For Seniors
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Hypertension Self-Care Home Page
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MD-direct
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Lenox Healthcare, Inc.
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Myers & Day, Inc.
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Leader Law Firm
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Acute Healthcare
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Med-Jobs Inc. Medical Job Recruitment
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All Senior Guide
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CDPAP Department of Edison HHC
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Foothill College Pharmacy Technology Program
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Forest Park Hospital - St. Louis, MO
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InfoCare University
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Inter Care Residential
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New LifeStyles Online
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Northern Montana Health Care
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Incontinence: UroMed Home Page
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Lawyers & Judges Publishing Company
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Medical Health Care Jobs Page
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Amber Court Assisted Living
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Birth Matters
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Care Entree
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Lotus Health Care Products
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Phil-e-slide
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Alzheimer's Outreach
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Medical Society - Society of Critical Care Medicine Home Page
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Nurses 123
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Nurse.org
https://nurse.org/
Endocrine Nurses Society
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Access Nurses Travel Staffing
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Geriatric Video Productions
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Northumbria Medical Supplies
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Blood-Brain Barrier Program at OHSU
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Camp Nurse Jobs.com
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Nursing & Allied Healthweek
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License Practical Nurse (LPN) Programs Guide
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Research Nurse
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Cross Country TravCorps
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Empire Home Health Care Resources
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Canadian Nurse and Physician Recruiters
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Host Healthcare
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National Alliance of Certified Legal Nurse Consultants (NACLNC)
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The Thornbury Nursing Portal
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4 Nursing Jobs.Com
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Diploma of Nursing
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www.ayatravelnursingjobs.com
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CanadianRN
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Care Net Holland
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Cuidanet
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Travel Nurses & Therapists Forum
http://www.delphi.com/travelnurses
FlightNursing.Com
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Independent RN Contractor Registered Nurse Career Opportunity Information Packet Nursing Industry Guidelines
http://www.independentrncontractor.com/
mytravelnursejobs
http://www.mytravelnursejobs.com
New Jersey State Nurses' Association
http://www.njsna.org/
NurseGroups
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Lippincott's NursingCenter
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Al & Jane : Nursing
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Top Nursing Schools
http://www.topnursing.org
Visiting Nurse Associations of America
http://www.vnaa.org/
WholeNurse
http://www.wholenurse.com
American Association for the History of Nursing
http://www.aahn.org/index.html
Preemietronics Inc.
http://www.preemietronics.com
National Association for Home Care
http://www.nahc.org
Pleasant Home Dental Care
http://www.augustacosmeticdentist.com/
HomeDNADirect Canada
http://www.homednadirect.ca
HomeDNADirect South Africa
http://www.homednadirect.co.za
HomeDNADirect USA
http://www.homednadirect.com
Home Safety Directory
http://www.tv-hero-product.com/
Medical Student's Internet Home
http://www.youngdoctors.com
Joann Summerlin's Home Page
http://xoom.com/jafss
Next Travel Nursing
http://nexttravelnursing.com
Maryville University Online Nurse Practitioner Programs
http://onlinenursingdegrees.maryville.edu/
Nursing Jobs in UK and USA
http://www.adevia.com/
American Nursing Informatics Association (ANIA)
http://www.ania.org
Barchester Healthcare
http://www.barchester.com/
http://www.enw.org
http://www.excelsior.edu/programs/nursing
Travel Nursing Jobs - Expedient Medstaff
http://www.expedientmedstaff.com
Flight Nurse HQ
http://www.flightnursehq.com/
Ask The Nurse
http://www.med-help.com/Page1A.html
Ask The Nurses
http://www.med-help.net/Ask-The-Nurses.html
Florida Emergency Nurses Association (FENA)
http://www.nehocgroup.com/fena
NurseFindersUK
http://www.nursefindersuk.com
Nurses of Emergency - N.O.E.
http://www.nursesofemergency.org
College of Nursing @ Wayne State University
http://www.nursing.wayne.edu/
New York State Nurses Association
http://www.nysna.org/
Onconurse.com
http://www.onconurse.com/
Onward Healthcare Nurse Jobs
http://www.onwardhealthcare.com
RNWanted.com
http://www.rnwanted.com
Browse The Nurse Directories on: The Nurse Friendly
http://www.lopez1.com/lopez/browse.html
British Nursing News Online
http://www.nurse-nurses-nursing.com/bnno.html
FancyScrubs.com
http://www.fancyscrubs.com
Taylor College for Continuing Education
http://www.homestudy-ceus.com
Linde Healthcare Travel
http://www.lindetravel.com
nurses medical supplies
http://www.needi-supply.com
National Association of Neonatal Nurses
http://www.ajn.org/ajnnet/nrsorgs/nann/
Kaplan College For Legal Nurse Consulting
http://www.kaplancollege.com
Foreign Healthcare Recruitment at William Squibb & Associates
http://www.nurse-nursing.com
Medscape Services Home Page
http://services.medscape.com/home/services/services.html
Home Health Forms
http://www.homehealthforms.com
ELASTIC HomePage
http://www.latex-allergy.org/
http://www.pillarsofhealth.com/homecare2.htm
Home of Refelxology
http://www.reflexology.org/
Home Sleep Study Cincinnati
http://www.homesleepclinic.com/desktop/
Minute Women Non-Medical Home Care
http://www.minutewomeninc.com/
Provident HomeCare Services
http://www.provhcs.com
The Home Care Page's
http://www.ptct.com
A Servant's Heart In-Home Care
http://www.TrustworthyCare.com
USAhomecare.com
http://www.USAhomecare.com/
Home Sleep Delivered
https://homesleepdelivered.com
University of Cincinnati Online Nursing Program
http://nursingonline.uc.edu/
Duquesne University Online Nursing Program
http://onlinenursing.duq.edu
College of Emergency Nurses New Zealand
http://www.emergencynurse.co.nz
Florida Hospital Nursing and Technologist Jobs
http://www.nursingjobsinflorida.com
Professional Staffing Resources
http://www.psrnurses.com
RNvip.com - Travel Nurse Jobs
http://www.rnvip.com/
snurse-l.org
http://www.snurse-l.org
Sweet Dreams Nurse Anesthesia
http://www.sweetdreamsnurseanesthesia.com
JobSites Network
http://www.uniform.ca/nurse_jobs/
Top Ten Nursing Sites
http://www.wwnurse.com/topsites/topsites.cgi?ID=316
CurtinCalls
an occasionally irreverent scan of Nursing
http://www.curtincalls.com/
Success In Business As An Independent RN Contractor
http://www.independentrncontractor.com
International Society of Nurses in Cancer Care (ISNCC)
http://www.isncc.org/
American College of Nurse-Midwives
http://www.midwife.org/
Welcome! American Health and Safety / American CPR Training...Have a Safe Day!
http://www.healthsafety.com/WELCOME!.html
http://cna-classes-online.net
Citus Health - The Home Infusion Support Solution
http://www.citushealth.com
http://www.pulseuniform.com/
ThinkCNAOnline
http://www.thinkcnaonline.com
Nursing Spectrum Career Fitness Online
http://www.nursingspectrum.com
Nurse Practitioner (NP)
https://www.nursingwritingservices.com
First Assist Medical Staffing
http://www.firstassist.com
Happy Career
http://www.happycareer.com
The Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Nursing - University of Manchester
http://www.medicine.man.ac.uk/
Nurses Service Organization
http://www.nso.com
Nurse's Notebook
http://www.nursesnotebook.com
Nurse Practitioner Recruiting|Physician Assistant Recruiting|Jobs
http://www.placementsusa.com
Nursing Research, Recerca en Infermeria, Investigación en Enfermeria
http://www.readysoft.es/joanenric/
Registered Nurse Experts, Inc.
http://www.rnexperts.com
Suwannee Medical Personnel
http://www.suwanneemedical.com
50 States Staffing
https://www.50statesstaffing.com
Guide To Home Remedies And First Aid
http://dr-vijayprakash.hypermart.net
Edmund's Home Page
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EasyHomeDNA
https://www.easyhomedna.com
AllHeart.com - NurseMates Footwear, Scrubs, Uniforms
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Careplans.com
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Canadian Lipid Nurse Network
http://www.lipidnurse.ca
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The Official Carbohydrate Addict's Home Page
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UTHSCSA Dental School Home
http://www.dental.uthscsa.edu/
the Gastrolab Home Page
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InnerPages.com: Your Home for Online Counseling
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POINT Biomedical Home Page
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SBH Queensland home
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sunshinecares
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Home Delivery Incontinent Supplies
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Micronic - Home Sweet Home
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Sleep Apnea Testing
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Westridge Group
http://nursepractitionerandphysicianassistantjobs.com
AllergyNursing.com
http://www.allergynursing.com
American Mobile Nurses & American Mobile Therapists
http://www.americanmobile.com
Welcome To Baptist School of Nursing and Allied Health
http://www.baptistschools.com/
Advantage Medical-Legal Connections
http://www.advantagemlc.com
ceu4u
http://www.ceu4u.com
The 411 on CNA Career, Training and Education
http://www.cna411.org/
Nurisng in Cardiology
http://www.enfermeriaencardiologia.com
Journal of Community Nursing
http://www.jcn.co.uk
Confidential Employment Resources
http://www.orionmedical.com
SEEIUC
http://www.seeiuc.com
TeleTriage Systems - telephone triage products and services
http://www.teletriage.com
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Medscape Cardiology Home Page
http://cardiology.medscape.com/Home/Topics/cardiology/cardiology.html
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Home Page Of Dr Hanish Babu
http://hanishbabu.doct.org
Medscape Internal Medicine Home Page
http://InternalMedicine.medscape.com/Home/Topics/InternalMedicine/InternalMedicine.html
Medscape Managed Care Home Page
http://ManagedCare.medscape.com/Home/Topics/ManagedCare/ManagedCare.html
Dr Becich's Home Page
http://path.upmc.edu/people/faculty/becich.html
Podiatry @ Home - New Zealand
http://podiatry.orcon.net.nz
The Arc's Home Page
http://TheArc.org/welcome.html
Oxygen concentrators, Nebulizers for home health care by Tri-Med, Inc.
http://tri-medinc.com/
Alliance Imaging Inc. Home Page
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Glaxo Wellcome Global Home Pgae
http://www.gsk.com
homeDNAdirect UK
http://www.homednadirect.co.uk
homeDNAdirect Ie
http://www.homednadirect.ie
Indigo Instruments - Magnifiers for Work, Home and Hobby Use
http://www.indigo.com/magnify/magnify.html
Medical Coding and Billing Home
http://www.medicalcodingandbilling.com
The PreMed Zone - Home Page
http://www.netside.net/~hochstim/home.html
Sheth Hospital Maternity Home
http://www.shethhospital.com
Harwich Fire Home Page
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The Winds of Change Bipolar Disorder Online Support Home
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Home Care Pharmacy
https://homecaresv.com/
Besthomecaremn
http://www.besthomecaremn.com/
HomMed - Home monitoring for disease management
http://www.hommed.com
A Dynamite Medical Transcription Home Study Course by Meditech, Inc.
http://www.meditec.com
CNAOnlinePrograms.net
http://www.cnaonlineprograms.net/
midwifery.com
http://www.midwifery.com/
Wild Iris Medical Education
http://www.nursingceu.com
http://www.rnjobs.co/
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UC Davis Center for Continuing Nursing & Medical Education
http://web.ucdmc.ucdavis.edu/edu
Nurse Donna's Baby Land
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Sunbelt Staffing Solutions
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A Banyan Residence
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Assisted Living Homes | Athulya Living | Senior Friendly Apartments
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Ladies' Home Journal Magazine Online
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Mobile Med Care's Home Page
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Your Hospital At Home- The Ontario Hospital Association
http://www.yourhospitalathome.com/mc/yhahome.nsf/htmlpage/frontdoor_right.htm
Home Detox NYC
https://homedetoxny.com/
MD Referral
http://www.mdreferral.com
Nursetown
http://www.nursetown.com
Homecare Planning Solutions
http://www.hpsny.org
Accumedic Services, Inc.: Home Based Medical Claims Billing Business Opportunities
http://www.medicalclaimsbilling.com
Ohio University Online Master of Science in Nursing (MSN)
http://mastersinnursing.ohio.edu/
Medical Placement Agency
http://nursepartners.com/
Regis College Online Nursing Programs
http://onlinenursing.regiscollege.edu
Allnurse - Caring for the Caregiver
http://www.allnurse.com
Chester County Hospital & Nursing Center
http://www.chospital.org
Cross Country Staffing
http://www.crosscountry.com
I European Conference on Computers in Nursing
http://www.csub.scs.es/ceii
National Healthcare Registry
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advice mental health nurse hope
http://www.nursehope.net
National NurseSearch & Physicians
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Right Serve Consortium
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Midlevelpractitioners.com
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Natural Remedies Nurse
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NursesRx
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Auto Control Medical
http://www.autocontrol.com/
Delray Medical Center - Delray Beach, FL
http://www.delraymedicalctr.com/home/home.cfm
Quality Continuum
http://www.qualitycontinuum.com
Hvidegebisser.dk
http://www.hvidegebisser.dk
Medical Illustrators Home Page
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Trustcare Medical Alarms
http://www.trustcare.com
Medscape Infectious Diseases Home Page
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Medscape Oncology Home Page
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Medscape Orthopedics Home Page
http://orthopedics.medscape.com
Medscape Pediatrics Home Page
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Medscape Pharmacotherapy Home Page
http://pharmacotherapy.medscape.com
Medscape's Primary Care Home Page
http://PrimaryCare.medscape.com
Medscape Psychiatry Home Page
http://psychiatry.medscape.com
Medscape Respiratory Care Home Page
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Medscape Surgery Home Page
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Uterine Fibroid Support Group HomePage
http://users.aol.com/peaches735/public/fibroid.htm
Medscape Women's Health Home Page
http://WomensHealth.medscape.com
Allergy Home Care
http://www.ahcp.com
Advanced Medical Systems, Inc Home Page
http://www.ams.com
The official Calgary Paramedic's Union Home Page...
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The Centocor Home Page
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CorporateCompass
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Country Court Care
http://www.countrycourtcare.co
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DITEC Inc. Home Page - Diagnostic Imaging Technical Education Center
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EEG Spectrum Home Page
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Family Home Medical Equipment
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FAMOHIO Hemophilia Home Page
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Have-a-Heart's Depression Home
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Helpmom.com
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Jacksonville Fire Department Home Page
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Kochi Medical School Home Page
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Home of Medical Marijuana
http://www.marijuanaonlineforsales.com
Muscular Dystrophy Association - The "HOME of MDA"
http://www.mda.org.au
Medigrate Corporation Home Page
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MedSupport FSF International - Home
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Midco's Home Page
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Home Care Medical Supplies
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StratCom Home Page
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Canadian Pharmacists Association Home Page
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Prostatitis Home Page
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Protonics Neuromuscular Systems Home Page
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The Angioplasty / PTCA Home Page
http://www.ptca.org
Denver Healthy Homes Allergy Free
http://www.rileyhomeinspections.com
Rootwords.com Home Page
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Senior Housing in Canada
http://www.seniorszen.com
Official SuperGH HGH Home Site
http://www.supergh.com
Medscape Urology Home Page
http://www.urology.medscape.com
Keith Webster's Maxillofacial Home Page
http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~kw/
Home Page Of Primestar Instruments
http://www.webziner.com/psinsts
WHO Division of Mental Health and Prevention of Substance Abuse Home Page
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AMEGAMALL'S N.R.I. UNIFORMS : Medical uniforms, nursing shoes, scrubs,
http://www.amegamall.com
E Online LPN Programs
http://e-online-lpn-programs.net
A.R.S.I
http://perso.club-internet.fr/giarsi
ACLS and PALS online exams
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BasicScrubs.com
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Birth Centers Online
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Clothes for Pros
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healthcareconferences.com
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Linkous & Associates
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ITIN the journal of the BCS NSG
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medconferences.net
http://www.medconferences.net
Medimatch.Com
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Medistaff
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National Council's Review for the NCLEX-RN® Examination
http://www.nclex.com/
Nightime Pediatrics Clinics, Inc.
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Quality scrub set
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Healthcare Recruiting Associates
http://hospitaljobs.com
Southern Medical Recruiters
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RxMedStaf
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FastHealth Corporation
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Scrubs Canada
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a1uniform.ca
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Barton Associates
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Careers at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center
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Cool Nurse
http://www.coolnurse.com
eMedJobs.com
http://www.emedjobs.com
Enfermeria en Internet es Educar en salud
http://www.enfermeriajw.cl
Florence Nightingale Collection Online
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Health Care Recruitment On Line
http://www.healthcarerecruitment.com
Hospital Classifieds
http://www.hospitalclassifieds.com
Hospitalhub.com
http://www.hospitalhub.com
HospitalSoup.com
http://www.hospitalsoup.com
KC Has Jobs
http://www.kchasjobs.com
Miami Children's Hospital Job Site
http://www.mchr.com
Medical Equipment Ltd
http://www.medicalequipment.free-online.co.uk/index.html
Medical Training Schools
http://www.medicaltrainingdirectory.com
MedicalWorkers.com
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Medi-Sim
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Medployment
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Medical Resolutions, Inc.
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pacific rim employment agency
http://www.nurseassist.org
Who Has Jobs
http://www.whohasjobs.com
Boston Sober Living
http://bostonsoberliving.org/
Amazing Mannatech Nutraceuticals -- Home of Phytochemical Ambrotose
http://clever.net/at/mannatech/mannatech.html
Youth Home Page - The CFIDS Association of America
http://www.cfids.org/youth
Fast ForWord: Language-Learning Training Program Home Page; learning disability resource
http://www.fastforword.com
The Healthexcel Home Page
http://www.healthexcel.com
The Chattanooga Heart Institute Home Page
http://www.heartinst.com
1st Holistic-Health-Healing and Wellness Source Home Page
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Home Technology Systems - Personal Emergency Response Systems
http://www.hometechsystems.com
Immunology @ Home
http://www.hometest.co.uk
The Home of DesktopCR
http://www.lumisys.com
Medicor Imaging Home of DICOM and Medical Imaging Development
http://www.medicorimaging.com
MonoGen Home
http://www.monogen.com
Home On The Range 50 - Making Your Own Cookbooks
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Unetixs Inc. Home Page
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Sandostatin Home
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Professional Communications
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Comfort Prosthetics & Orthotics
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CPR + Network
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The Networthy Home Page
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famvi.com
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FSH Menopause Test
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livealittlelonger
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The Consultants Health Network
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Indian Medical Association, Kerala State
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Medical Gear For Life
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Urifunnel Portable Urinal and Splash Guard for Men
http://urifunnel.com
4awareness.com
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Caring Connection, Inc.
http://www.CaringConnectionMD.com
Coral Gables Hospital - Florida
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Cypress Fairbanks Medical Center
http://www.cyfairhospital.com/home/home.cfm
Doctors Hospital of Dallas, TX
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Encino-Tarzana Regional Medical Center
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Hialeah Hospital - Hialeah, FL
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Hollywood Medical Center - Florida
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mabis healthcare
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Market Drugs Medical
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Medical Transcription Online Training
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ABS, INC.: A Medical Billing Software Company!
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North Shore Medical Center - Miami, FL
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OptiMEDirect Billing Software
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Palmetto General Hospital - Hialeah, FL
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Pinecrest Rehab Hospital - Delray Beach, FL
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Tenet - Texas Region
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US MedExpress Online Catalog
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Catholic Healthcare West
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Regional Hospice and Palliative Care
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Arizona State University Online RN to BSN Program
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HealthPros Inc. -- Interactive Self-Directed Learning for Health Care Professionals
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40,000+ Medical Books & Software / Online Medical Research Assistance
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Scrubs-R-US
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STAT Uniform Shop - The online shop for uniforms and scrubs.
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Physician Jobs & Employment
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Jobarama.com
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Mercy College of Health Sciences
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JR Medical Books
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NY Emergency Room RN
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Personnelnet Health
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U-Scrubs
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A convenient way to make pure, natural mineral water at home.
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Nasiff Associates - The Home of the Cardio-Card ECG/EKG, Stress, Holter, Vital Signs and patient EMR
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U.S. Femara Home
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The Florence Project, Inc.
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http://onlinedegrees.bradley.edu/
a1scrubs.com
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Asociación Argentina de Enfermeros en Control de Infecciones
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AirXpanders Inc
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Health Care Research Center
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Coast To Coast Personnel, Inc.
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Reiki Healing Across the Internet
http://www.create.org/healingarts/reiki.htm
Educational Materials for Health Professionals, Inc
http://www.edumathealthpro.com
A Medical Services
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Enfermería en Cardiología
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Essential Staffing
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Flash-Med Medical Information
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Health Connect Staffing
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Health Job Site - Healthcare Employment
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HealthStaf Medical Services
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Healthcare Education Learning and Information Exchange
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A Guide to the Mental Health Internet
http://www.internetguides.com
Virtual Medical Resources
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LWW Medical Education Journals
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British Journal of Midwifery
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Journal of Clinical Effectiveness
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Med Job Louisiana
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Med Options USA
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MEDS Publishing
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MIDIRS (Midwives Information and Resource Service)
http://www.midirs.org
Midwifery Today
http://www.midwiferytoday.com
Continuing Education for Holistic Practitioners
http://www.mindspring.com/~starseed27/workshop.htm
North American Medical Jurisprudence
http://www.namj.com
Nellmark.com
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Onward MD Locum Tenens Jobs
http://www.onwardmd.com
Smith & Associates Health Care Placements
http://www.panpjobs.com
PharmaScribe.com - Your Health and Medical Informa
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Professional Direction Software
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SmartScrubs.com
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Congenital Heart Disease Information and Resources
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http://www.topoccupationaltherapyschool.com/
Healthcare Opportunities Nationwide
http://www.travcorps.com
Epilepsy Advocacy
http://communities.msn.com/epilepsyadvocacy/home.htm
Karla Grimes' Homepage
http://ecnet.net/users/cukk15/home.html
Xgeva® (denosumab)
http://myxgeva.com
Duke Center for Cerebrovascular Disease
http://stroke.mc.duke.edu
ABC's of Parenting
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Paramedic Central - Nova Scotia Paramedics
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ANAPACA
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Berendt Medical Placement Services
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Breast Health Network
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Click Remedies
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ashutoshkumar
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Barbara Etcovitch Classical Homoeopath
http://www.comnet.ca/~barbetco/home.html
http://www.diabetesnews.com/
Express Medical Supply
http://www.exmed.net/
Medical College Kottayam, Kerala, India
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FaceFacts.com
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Funeral Services Directory
http://www.funeralproviders.com/
The Eyes Tester
http://www.glasnet.ru/~eyestester/
Oxyfresh Health Products
http://www.hhnews.com/oxyfresh
Irish Medical Directory
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Licher Medizintechnologie
http://www.lichermt.de
American Liver Society
http://www.liversociety.org
Incontinence and Medical Links Library
http://www.llmedico.com/home/
mabels
http://www.mabels.org.uk
MDSupplies Medical Supply Store
http://www.mdsupplies.com
Continuing Medical Education (CME) at the University of Virginia
http://www.med.virginia.edu/ed-programs/cme/home.html
National Procedures Institute
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http://www.oxylife.com
Paternity.us
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Planyourhealth
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Sprained Ankle Institute
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The Children's Hospital of Denver
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Hip Rehab
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Knee Rehab
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Neck/Back Rehab
http://www.theratip.com/neckback.html
http://LifeScan.com/
AHF, Inc. - The Hemophilia Disease Management Company
http://www.ahfinfo.com
Institute for Cognitive Prosthetics
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Palliative CareCenter of the North Shore
http://www.carecenter.org
Des Peres Hospital - St. Louis, MO
http://www.despereshospital.com/home/home.cfm
International correspondence courses of Vibrational medicine
http://www.essential-oil.org/correspondence/
Florida Medical Center - Ft. Lauderdale, FL
http://www.floridamedicalctr.com/home/home.cfm
HEALTHBANKUSA
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Medword Medical Transcription
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North Ridge Medical Center - Fort Lauderdale, FL
http://www.northridgemedical.com/home/home.cfm
Ohio Professional Education Center
http://www.opecnet.com
Seven Rivers Community Hospital, FL
http://www.sevenrivershospital.com/home/home.cfm
St. Charles General Hospital - New Orleans
http://www.stcharleshospital.com/home/home.cfm
Technical Chemical Products, Incorporated
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Web of Care
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Hospital Christian Fellowship
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Personnel Management Resources (PMR)
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Medical Scrubs R Us
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Learn Medical English from Medical Doctors
http://www.stanleyacademy.ca
Atlanta Medical Academy
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University of Illinois Health Informatics Degree
http://healthinformatics.uic.edu/
America's Healthcare Opportunities
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Faculty of Health Sciences, Queen's University
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http://www.aircare.org
Arabian Careers Limited
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Arrowhead Associates
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Mental Health Continuing Education
http://www.athealthce.com/
Rebecca Tho
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College Universities
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HADASSAH med.org. employment page
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Legal Med Ware Software
http://www.legalmedware.com
MDLinx
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MedCAREERS
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MEDCEU
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Medjobs2000.com
http://www.medjobs2000.com
Florida Medical Recruiters
http://www.mtxgroup.com
The Pharmacystand.com
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PhysicianAssociate.Com
http://www.physicianassociate.com/
Professional Choice Uniform Inc
http://www.professionaluniform.com
Theramax Management, Inc.
http://www.theramaxmanagement.com
Trace Regional Hospital
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Fashion Uniforms
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William Squibb
http://www.wsquibb.com
http://cprcertificationcourses.com
All About Scrubs.net
http://www.allaboutscrubs.net
Audio-Digest Foundation
http://www.audio-digest.org/
Children's Hospital Medical Center of Cincinnati Career Center
http://www.cincinnatichildrens.org/career_center/
EMI Ellis Management, Inc- healthcare consulting and education and mediation
http://www.emimedical.net
Medical software at fantastic low, low prices
http://www.mbisoftware.com
Med2Learn.com
http://www.med2learn.com
Medical Legal Recruitment Solutions Jobs
http://www.mlrsjobs.com/
MyMedEx
http://www.mymedex.com
MySwift
http://www.myswift.co.uk
National Institute for Paralegal Arts and Sciences (NIPAS)
http://www.nipas.net/
medical uniforms(scrubs) by Hampton Scrubs,Etc.
http://www.trendyscrubs.com
Professional Support, Inc. PSI for Healthcare
http://www.psimed.com
24drugtest
http://24drugtest.com/
Advanceer
http://advanceer.com/
Medical Waste Disposal Service in Arizona
http://arizonamedicalwaste.com/
Body Massage Therapy Bangalore
http://californiaspa.in
Clinical Laboratory Net
http://clinicallab.net
Columbia University Gastroenterology Web
http://cpmcnet.columbia.edu/dept/gi
Vagotis Cosmetic Surgery + Skin Center
http://drvagotis.com
http://freenet.vcu.edu/civic/organ/jfsr
Healthcare Supply Pros
http://healthcaresupplypros.com
iONMySleep
http://ionmysleep.com
Leslie S. Ray Insurance Agency, Inc
http://leslieray.com/
Medical Products, Inc.
http://med-pro.com
Nebulizers and Peak Flow Meters
http://nebulizers.healthchecksystems.com
Apuntes de Neurología (David Ezpeleta)
http://personal4.iddeo.es/dezpeleta/index.html
The Pocket Living Will
http://pocketlivingwill.com
familyagency0
http://quezadajacobsfamilyagency.com/
QuickMedical - Tanita Scales
http://tanitascale.com/
Digital Ear Thermometers from Omron
http://thermometers.healthchecksystems.com
Virginia Bariatric Surgery Center: Dr. Matthew Fitzer
http://virginiabariatric.com/our-comprehensive-program/about-dr-fitzer
1Drugs.us
http://www.1drugs.us
1 Whey to Health
http://www.1whey2health.com
First Aid / Safety / OSHA compliance
http://www.321website.com/members/home/data/kyis
4 Adjustable Beds
http://www.4-adjustable-beds.com/
4 Electric Scooters
http://www.4electricscooters.com/
American Academy of Physician Assistants
http://www.AAPA.org
Acarems.com
http://www.acarems.com/
AHC Maternity Products
http://www.ahcproducts.com/maternty.htm
Allergy Store
http://www.allergystore.net
American Medical Alert Corp
http://www.amacalert.com
Department of Anesthesia, Ottawa General Hospital
http://www.anesthesia.org
Apples For Health
http://www.applesforhealth.com
Forensic Associates
http://www.asb.com/com/fa/home/newhome.html
Anencephaly Support Foundation (ASF)
http://www.asfhelp.com/
Aultman Health Foundation
http://www.aultman.com/aultman
Back Pain TV
http://www.backpaintv.com
http://www.beginning.com
Biffy Bidet
http://www.biffy.com
BodyBasic Fitness Training
http://www.body-basics.com
Burns Billing
http://www.BurnsBilling.home.icq.com
International Travelers & Visitors Health Insurance
http://www.champion-ins.com/trav.html
http://www.cheos.ubc.ca/home.html
Novartis: Cholesterol & Health for Professionals
http://www.cholesterolandhealth.com/home1
Novartis: Cholesterol & Health for Everyone
Cintech Surgical
http://www.cintechsurgical.com
College Park Industries, Inc.
http://www.college-park.com
Exemplary Provider Award Program
http://www.complianceteam.com
Urologic Clinic of Democritus University of Thrace
http://www.compulink.gr/users/uclin/uclin.htm
http://www.cprcertificationcourses.com
misc.kids Allergy and Asthma FAQ
http://www.cs.unc.edu/~kupstas/FAQ.html
CSection.com
http://www.csection.com/
DK Medical Services
http://www.dkmedical.com
Egypt's First Online Pharmacy and Drug Information Center
http://www.e-dawa.com/
FireSafe - Fire and Safety Directory
http://www.firesafe.com
Is Homebirth for You? 6 Myths About Childbirth Exposed
http://www.gentlebirth.org/format/myths.html
Homebirth Safety and Benefits
http://www.gentlebirth.org/ronnie/homesafe.html
GetHealthHelp.com
http://www.gethealthhelp.com
Giorgio Fischer,M.D. president of International Academy of Cosmetic Surgery
http://www.giorgiofischer.it
Growth House, Inc., End of life directory
http://www.growthhouse.org
guess-what.com
http://www.guess-what.com
GWU School of Medicine Class of 2005
http://www.gwu.edu/~gwmed05
HealthCareUSA Conference and Exhibition
http://www.hcusa.com
HealthBizNews.com. All Healthcare News, All The Time
http://www.healthbiznews.com
HealthLinc International
http://www.healthlinc.com
http://www.herbalife.com
Highway to Health
http://www.highwaytohealth.com
ChinaHawk Enterprises LTD.
http://www.hkstar.com/~chinahwk/home.html
HOMESAFE - Specialty Web Resources
http://www.homesafe.com/
Hotel Physicians: Mobile Doctors
http://www.hotelphysicians.com
The HSE Group
http://www.hsegroup.com
Novartis: Hypertension & Health for Everyone
http://www.hypertensionandhealth.com/home4
Illinois College of Emergency Physicians
http://www.icep.org
State Institute of Public Health Liptovsky Mikulas, Slovakia
http://www.isnet.sk/szulm
line street billing services
http://www.linestbilling.homestead.com
The Entamoeba Homepage
http://www.lshtm.ac.uk/mp/bcu/enta/home.htm
Magnetic Ink : Streetkids Unlimited
http://www.magnetic-ink.dk/streetkids/
Continuing Medical Education - Dalhousie Medical School
http://www.mcms.dal.ca/home/deptadmin/cme.htm
The Whole Brain Atlas
http://www.med.harvard.edu/AANLIB/home.html
http://www.med.unipi.it/patchir/home.htm
Medfinity- Medical Super Store
http://www.medfinity.com
Medical Encounters
http://www.medicalencounters.com
Mediconsult.com's MediXperts
http://www.mediconsult.com/home/service/
Senior Research Group
http://www.mediconsult.com/srg
CME, Madison, WI
http://www.medsch.wisc.edu/cme/cme.html
Minnesota Safety Council, Inc.
http://www.mnsafetycouncil.org/
www.mrbethlehem.com
http://www.mrbethlehem.com
Phototherapy Experts
http://www.natbiocorp.com
Continuing Medical Education Program
http://www.neoucom.edu/Cont-ed.html
Nutridrip
http://www.nutridrip.com/
medical equipment and safety supplies
http://www.nwmedicalsolutions.com
New York City Fire Department
http://www.nyfd.com
FDNY New York City Fire Department - unofficial site
http://www.nyfd.com/
Finnish Institute of Occupational Health
http://www.occuphealth.fi/e/
Passionate Marriage
http://www.passionatemarriage.com/
Personal Trainers NYC
http://www.PersonalTrainersNYC.com
Office of Outreach Education, College of Pharmacy, University of Minnesota
http://www.pharmacy.umn.edu/outreach
http://www.phototherapyexperts.com
Eryn Welch's Honors Microbiology Project
http://www.picusnet.com/users/putrguru/news.html
Emergency Medicine Residents' Page
http://www.pipeline.com/~djoyce/medical/home.html
Planet Amber
http://www.planetamber.com
Prevention Marketplace.com
http://www.preventionmarketplace.com
100 % Natural perfumes for the body and for the mind by artisan perfumer in Italy
http://www.profumo.it/perfume/home_english.htm
Pulse Metric
http://www.pulsemetric.com
RANA-Medical
http://www.ranamedical.com
Relax your breathing, enhance your feelings.
http://www.respire.net
Royce Biomedical Inc.
http://www.roycebiomedical.com
Drug Abuse Information rehabilitation and research center
http://www.sanskritiindia.com/dairrc/home.html
Hospital de Sant Pau
http://www.santpau.es
First Aid 1st Ltd.
http://www.seadrive.com/first.aid.1st
Secure Seniors, Inc
http://www.secureseniors1.com
Reliable online pharmacy Selectmeds.net.
http://www.selectmeds.net/
Senior Solutions Inc.
http://www.seniorsolutionsinc.com
Data Med Inc.
http://www.skysails.com/datamed/
SPAcloth- The revolutionary washcloth for the 21st century.
http://www.SPAcloth.com
Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital
http://www.spauldingrehab.org/
Star Medical Rx
http://www.starmedicalrx.com
Rexall.com Has Arrived!
http://www.takechargeofyourlife.org
Telemedicine Today Magazine
http://www.telemedtoday.com
TewKewl: Wheelchair Accessories and Artwork
http://www.tewkewl.com
Theratip - Physical Therapy on Demand
http://www.theratip.com
Caregiver Resource
http://www.theratip.com/caregiver.html
Tennessee Occupational Therapy Association
http://www.tnota.org
Harold C. Simmons Arthritis Research Center
http://www.utsw.edu/home_pages/rheumatology
Vita Tanden Tandblekning
http://www.vitatanden.se
Wes-Bar Industries, Inc.
http://www.wes-bar.com/
West Coast Institute of Aroma Therapy
http://www.westcoastaromatherapy.com
Western Drug Medical Supply
http://www.westerndrug.com
Wheelchair Lifts and Ramps
http://www.wheelchair-lifts-ramps.com
Country Health Information Systems
http://www.who.ch/programmes/hst/sci/sci-home.htm
Leprosy - up to date statistical info
http://www.who.ch/programmes/lep/lep_home.htm
Emergency Training Associates of Tennessee
http://www.wix.com/etacpr/home
Wolf Medical Supply, Inc.
http://www.wolfmed.com
Worldtravelcenter.com
http://www.worldtravelcenter.com?scode=MedExplorer
http://www.wvsom.edu
The Robey Group's Homepage
http://www.xprss.com/robeygroup/default.asp
Homepage of a urologist from P.R.China
http://www.zz.ha.cn/grwy/dqf
H2o Labs
http://www/h2olabs.com
DermoCAD
http://xoom.com/dermocad
Bloor West Smiles
https://bloorwestsmiles.com/
Crush Fit
https://crushfit.com/
Whozthedaddy UK
https://whozthedaddy.com
https://www.diagnosticcentres.in
eVaidya
https://www.evaidya.com
Treated.com
https://www.treated.com/
HealthcareMatch.com - Healthcare Jobs Online
http://www.HealthcareMatch.com/
American Jet Air Medical
http://www.iflyaji.com/airmed.htm
Medmole.com Medical Continuing Education Search Engine
http://www.medmole.com
Classifieds Jobs, Employment Listings, Providers for Caregivers, Housekeepers, Eldercare
http://www.nannyclassifieds.com/
Today's Caregiver Magazine
http://caregiver.com
Saudi Doctors Club
http://clubs.yahoo.com/clubs/saudidoctors
Hospital Poetry
http://hospitalpoetry.com/
Jefferson`s College of Heath Professions
http://jeffline.tju.edu/CWIS/CHP/index2.html
MedCare Relief Service
http://medcarerelief.tripod.com
http://medcarerelief.tripod.com./
Rutgers Online
http://online.rutgers.edu
Generations Vitamins and Herbs
http://redrivernm.com/7generations/
stitches.net -- your daily dose of medical humor
http://stitches.net
9-11.com
http://www.9-11.com
Alere Medical Incorporated
http://www.alere.com
AllCLinicalJobs
http://www.allclinicaljobs.com
All Health Net
http://www.allhealthnet.com
All Healthnet.com healthand medical search engine
http://www.allhealthnet.com/
Allied Health Professions Website
http://www.alliedhealth.org/
asha community health & development society
http://www.asha-india.org
Health Employment Internet Project
http://www.bchealthjobs.com
Beck-Field & Associates
http://www.beck-field.com
Berry & Associates
http://www.berrysrp.com
The Beryl Companies, Teleservices for Healthcare
http://www.beryl.net
PS&S Saudi Jobs
http://www.bestsaudijobs.com
Sierra Recruitment Service, Inc
http://www.cbbn.com/sierra.htm
http://www.chwhealth.com
http://www.cincinnatichildrens.org
Children's Hospital Medical Center of Cincinnati
http://www.cincinnatichildrens.org/
CNA Classes and Certification Online - Comprehensive CNA Classes
http://www.cnaclassesandcertification.com/
Colorado Legalcare
http://www.coloradolegalcare.com
CompHealth
http://www.comphealth.com/
Critical Care UK
http://www.critical-care.co.uk/
UK Emergency
http://www.damienvanc.ndirect.co.uk/
de'MEDICI
http://www.de-medici.com
Personal Wellness Consultation
http://www.drconti-online.com
DRUGFACTS.com
http://www.drugfacts.com
Easy Auscultation
http://www.easyauscultation.com
Overcoming Necrotizing Fasciitis
http://www.flesheatingbacteria.net
Fogarty and Associates, Inc.
http://www.fogarty.com
Food Medication Interactions
http://www.foodmedinteractions.com
Foothill College Primary Care Program
http://www.foothill.fhda.edu/bio/programs/primary/
Al & Jane Inc.
http://www.fortunecity.co.uk/picnicpark/doddington/215
Global HealthCare Services
http://www.globalhealthserv.com
Canadian Medical Centres Limited
http://www.globemed.com
http://www.hcjobsonline.com/jobsrecruit/pmr/pmr.html
Health Careers On Line
http://www.healthcareers-online.com
America's HealthCareSource
http://www.HealthCareSource.com
Hepatitis Neighborhod
http://www.hepatitisneighborhood.com
Creative Disability Management
http://www.herndoncc.org/member/creative
Hirehealth.com
http://www.hirehealth.com
HIVline
http://www.HIVLine.com/
Health Network USA
http://www.hnusa.com
HospitalCareers.com
http://www.hospitalcareers.com/
Hospital Jobs OnLine
http://www.hospitaljobsonline.com
Mental Health Providers Needed
http://www.hpscom.com/hmi/hmirecruit.htm
HQHQ Distance Learning
http://www.hqhq.org
Indiana State University Distance Learning
http://www.indstate.edu/distance
Alerta Médica S.A.
http://www.interactive.net.ec/alertamedica
Intrigma Scheduling Software
http://www.intrigma.com
JimBoard
http://www.jimboard.com
Advanced Pharmacology for Anesthesiology
http://www.kumc.edu/instruction/alliedHealth/NurseAnesthesia/NURA851/learning1.htm
The University of Kansas - Continuing Education
http://www.kumc.edu/kuce/kumcce.html
Lifestart Multimedia
http://www.lifestart.com
Adolescent Mental Health Website
http://www.madasafish.com/~markptaylor
Mark Twain St. Joseph's Hospital - San Andreas, CA
http://www.marktwainhospital.com
Johns Hopkins Medicine, Continuing Medical Education
http://www.med.jhu.edu/cme
Welcome to MedHunters
http://www.medhunters.com
Medical Jobs Online
http://www.medicaljobsonline.com
Medical-Posts.com
http://www.medical-posts.com
Medical Replicas
http://www.medical-replicas.com
Medical Schools Directory
http://www.medicalschoolsdirectory.com
MediCenter.com - The Medical Career Center
http://www.medicenter.com
http://www.medicinemeps.com
Medimorphus.com
http://www.medimorphus.com
Medivibe.com
http://www.medivibe.com
The Medical Student Lounge
http://www.medlounge.com
MedWorking
http://www.medworking.com
MiracleWorkers
http://www.miracleworkers.com
MT Desk - Medical Transcription
http://www.mtdesk.com
The Leland Clinic, P.C.
http://www.MyDoctors.com
NZ Health Online
http://www.nzhealth.co.nz
Parkview Community Hospital Medical Center
http://www.pchmc.org
Portalcardio.com: the spanish site for Cardiology
http://www.portalcardio.com
Personnel Placement, Inc.
http://www.ppimed.com
Air Response, Inc.
http://www.proflight.com/
Providence Health Care
http://www.providencehealthcare.org
National Psoriasis Foundation/USA
http://www.psoriasis.org
PulseHR
http://www.pulsehr.com
The R.A.L.E. Repository
http://www.RALE.ca
Alzheimer resources by Reactiivate
http://www.reactivate.com/pg2.htm
Sassy Scrubs
http://www.sassyscrubs.com
The Institute for Integrated Medicine at Sawyer College
http://www.sawyerimed.org
Scrubs Zone
http://www.scrubs.mycanada.com
SeminarPlanet.com
http://www.seminarplanet.com
Springs Center For Women
http://www.springscenter.com
The Society for Vascular Medicine and Biology
http://www.svmb.org/
DocMatch Stethoscopes & Otoscopes
http://www.thedocmatch.com/Merchandise/
TPN Online
http://www.tpn.org.uk
http://www.travelhealth.co.uk
Morrow County Health District
http://www.ucinet.com/~mchd/
Best ANM College in Jaipur
http://www.udaneducation.com/anm/
University of Texas - Houston Health Science Center
http://www.uthouston.edu/
Therapeutic Touch - is there something to it
http://www.voicenet.com/~eric/tt/
Cabinet for Health Services - Commonwealth of Kentucky
http://chs.state.ky.us/
Permanent Mechanical Heart (LVAD) Evaluation Study
http://djsato.home.netcom.com/PHADEdjsato.htm
Bariatric Care Centers: Gastric Bypass
http://drbrianmirza.com/laparoscopic-gastric-bypass-houston
Bringing Wellness To The World With Intrasound from TriStar!!!
http://gateway.to/worldwellness
Endometriosis Awareness & Information
http://HCGResources.com/endoindex.html
Independent Living Specialists
http://ilsau.com.au
Complimentary Diabetes Blood Glucose Meters
http://lifescan-can.com/qualify
Law Office of Louis J. Goodman
http://louisgoodman.com/
Discover the health benefits of oxygenated water!
http://natureswater.com/actimo.htm
John R. Sussman, M.D.
http://pages.cthome.net/jrsmd/
Heart Transplant: Best Survival in the Nation
http://txvad.home.netcom.com/hearttxvad.htm
1FirstAid.com
http://www.1firstaid.com
Acdemy of Continuing Education Programs (ACEP) online
http://www.aceponline.com
The Finest Air Purifiers Available.
http://www.airpure.com/index.html
Continuing Medical Education (CME) Seminar Calendar
http://www.amscme.com
It Really Is Okay To Talk About It
http://www.angelfire.com/ok2/talkaboutit/
Balmoral Child and Adolescent Behavioral Resources
http://www.balmoralfarm.ns.ca
Bertek Pharmaceuticals Inc., Prescription Drug Manufacturer
http://www.bertek.com
buypainmedicines.com
http://www.buypainmedicines.com/tramadol/
Chiropractic LINKS @ Chiro.Org
http://www.chiro.org/places/home.shtml
Choose Fitness - Health Exercise Nutrition Diet Training
http://www.choosefitness.com
CPC Behavioral Healthcare
http://www.cpcbhc.com/cpc/
Dayton Disaster Medical Assistance Team, DMAT
http://www.daytondmat.com/
National Donor Family Council
http://www.donorfamily.org
DragonPack.Com - Our Little Cave On The Web.
http://www.dragonpack.com/
easyDNA UK
http://www.easydna.co.uk
easyDNA USA
http://www.easy-dna.com
familymeds.com
http://www.familymeds.com
Fusion Hair Therapy
http://www.fusionhairtherapy.ca/
American Gastroenterological Assn.
http://www.gastro.org
Guardian Services Emergency Medical Instruction Kits
http://www.guardiankit.com
Harmar Mobility- Lifts and ramps for scooter and power chair mobility devices
http://www.harmar.com/
Gender Prediction DNA testing
http://www.homednadirect.ca/baby-gender-test.html
Intelligent Hearing Systems
http://www.ihsys.com/home/
Invisalign London
http://www.invisalign-london.co.uk/
Internet Scientific Publications LLC
http://www.ispub.com
Perspectives in Biology and Medicine
http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/PBM/home.html
Kwiksure - Motor Insurance & Health Insurance
http://www.kwiksure.com
LEANDRO FERNANDEZ, MD. Internal Medicine - Advanced Ultrasonography.
http://www.leandro-fernandez.com/E_home.htm
Lentek - Pest Control. Pest Products, Air Purification Technology-Shopping Online
http://www.lentek.com/
LifeScan Blood Glucose Meters
http://www.LifeScan-can.com/qualify/index36.html
MedicalTranscription.com
http://www.MedicalTranscription.com
Mediconsult.com: Depression Health and Medical Information
http://www.mediconsult.com/defeatdepression/home
Live Events on Mediconsult.com
http://www.mediconsult.com/home/misc/live/
SCHWARZ PHARMA Homepage
http://www.medizinfo.com/schwarz/html/home.htm
http://www.medjobs.com
MedPrompt Medical Paging Services
http://www.medprompt.com
Rehabilitation Products Sent Anywhere in the U.S. by Mercer County Rehab Supply
http://www.mercercountyrehab.com
National Association for Visually Handicapped (NAVH)
http://www.navh.org
Northeast Center for Youth and Families
http://www.northeastcenterforyouthfamilies.org
obriens pharmacy fridges
http://www.obriensminicoolers.co.uk/medicalfridges.htm
Medi-Call medical services in Rome
http://www.olgiata.com/medi-call
Online CPR Certification
http://www.onlinecprcertification.net
Opus Communications' HealthWave
http://www.opuscomm.com
Quality Health Products, Inc.
http://www.qhpinc.com/
Rawleigh and Goldshield Elite Health
http://www.rawleigh.net
Rose Meadow Farm
http://www.rosemeadowfarm.com
Shield Healthcare
http://www.shieldhealthcare.com
The 'Official' Soft Bathtub Homepage
http://www.softbathtubs.com/info
Summit Volunteer EMS (NJ)
http://www.summitems.org
texasfostercare
http://www.texasfostercare.org/
www.tmdnetwork.com
http://www.tmdnetwork.com
A Business CME online from USF
http://www.usfcme.com/medexkw
US Medical Mobility
http://www.usmedicalmobility.com
Webinsurance
http://www.webinsurance.com
Kaire Nutraceuticals
http://www.wekaire.com
Wright Spa
http://www.wrightspa.com
Construction Calculator App
http://www.zaarapp.com/
Zionsville Fire Department - Indiana - Fire EMS Firefighting FD
http://www.zionsvillefire.com/
Young Again Nutrients
http://youngagain2000.com
PoinTIS Rehab Team Site
http://calder.med.miami.edu/pointis/
apogee career search
http://www.apogeecareersearch.com
Medical Resource Reviews Database
http://hpdrc.cs.fiu.edu/med.resource/
Medconnect
http://netmar.com/medconnect
Children's Nutrition Research Center
http://www.bcm.tmc.edu/cnrc
Blackrock Clinic - Dublin providing Medical Excellence through Personal Care
http://www.blackrock-clinic.ie
CardioMed Supplies Inc.
http://www.cardiomed.com/
choosehealing.co.uk - Reiki and Hypnotherapy in Cornwall, UK
http://www.choosehealing.co.uk
CHW Southern California Region
http://www.chwsocalregion.org
Free Continuing Medical Education
http://www.cogenthealth.com/CME/CME.html
Community Health of Colorado Springs
http://www.comhealth.com
Doctor Digest - your professional guide through the Medical Internet
http://www.doctordigest.com
ER RECORDS, INC
http://www.erchoice.com
FRIO - Keeps your insulin cool
http://www.friouk.com
Gemini Executive Search, Inc.
http://www.geminies.com
Guía de Enfermedades y Vacunas
http://www.guiadevacunacion.com.ar
Harcourt Publishers International
http://www.harcourt-international.com
Health Communication Network
http://www.hcn.net.au
HealthCare Professional Providers, Inc.
http://www.hcppinc.com
HealthBond
http://www.healthbond.com
Online Directory of Medical Software
http://www.healthcarecomputing.com/onlindir.html
International Medical Volunteers Association
http://www.imva.org
Indiana State University DegreeLink Program
http://www.indstate.edu/degreelink
http://www.jobsinhealthcare.com/jobsinhealthcare/
1st Congress of the Research Network of the European Association for Palliative Care - EAPC Onlus
http://www.kenes.com/eapcresearch
Kingston Laser Clinic
http://www.kingstonlaser.com
Leeward Radiation Oncology
http://www.lrohawaii.com/
Mayo Clinic Education
http://www.mayo.edu/education/education.html
Medical software at wholesale prices
http://www.mbisoftware.com/listmed.html
Pediatric Cardiac Intensive Care Symposium
http://www.mchpcs.com
med411.com - medical portal and search engine
http://www.med411.com/
Medical Arts Clinic, P.C.
http://www.medicalartsclinic.net
MedicsPro
http://www.medicspro.com/
MedJobCity
http://www.medjobcity.com
Medlink International Recruitment Centre Ltd
http://www.medlink.co.nz
Management Recruiters of Scottsdale Healthcare Division
http://www.mrihealthcare.com
Dental Institute, Kings College London Distance Learning
http://www.mscdentistry.org/
NasalGaurd
http://www.nasalguard.co.uk/Kids_Allergy_Relief_a/269.htm
North Western Health Board careers website
http://www.nwhb.org
Nxmed.com/Next Generation Medical Education
http://www.Nxmed.com
Overlake Hospital Medical Center's Virtual Medical Library
http://www.overlakehospital.org/library/links.htm
Continuing Education Online
http://www.proceo.com
Multi-Cultural Education Services
http://www.pro-ns.net/~larue
A Safe-T-Net (TM) for Restraint Reduction
http://www.restraintfree.com
Spanish for Health Professionals
http://www.significant-learning.com
Snow Tiger Medical Systems--Medical Online Review and Database
http://www.snowtigermed.com
Complementary Medical Association
http://www.the-cma.org.uk
http://www.trvnet.net/~mmcmahon/
University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska
http://www.unmc.edu/
All Smiles Family Dentistry
http://allsmilesdds.net/
247 Medical Billing Services
http://www.247medicalbillingservices.com
Aidkits - First Aid Kits & Supplies
http://www.aidkits.com.au
http://www.baptisthealth.org
C.M.R., Inc. Central Medical Repair Launch Pad
http://www.cmrnet.com
CPR Training Classes and online training quaotes throughout the USA!
http://www.cpr-training-classes.com
http://www.crayola.com
Cut to the Chase(TM): Practical Information for Healthcare Management
http://www.cuttothechase.com
Dentistinfo - Your Dental Information Resource
http://www.dentistinfo.com/index.html
etutoricon
http://www.etutoricon.com/
Fountain Valley Regional Medical Center
http://www.fountainvalleyhospital.com
Health-Minder Family Health Information Manager
http://www.health-minder.com
John Jane Brain Injury Center
http://www.jjbic.org/
Keeping Well With Diabetes
http://www.keepingwellwithdiabetes.com/
New York University Medical Center
http://www.med.nyu.edu/HomePage.html
MedicalEars.com
http://www.MedicalEars.com
rapid tests CLIA waived
http://www.meditests.com
Pioneer Chiropractic
http://www.mornet.com/pioneer
mycity4kids
http://www.mycity4kids.com/
Nashville Fire Department Nashville TN
http://www.nashtnfiredept.org/
A revolutionary water treatment system: filters tap water into mineral water.
http://www.natureswater.com/water.htm
Smoke Evacuation: Evacuators - Niche Medical Inc
http://www.nichemedical.com
http://www.nlm.nih.gov
Nature`s Sunshine in Europe & UK - high quality vitamins, minerals, herbs and cosmetics. All natural. GMP standard.
http://www.nspeu.com
SelfHypnosis.com - Free selfhypnosis training!
http://www.selfhypnosis.com/
Tryon Family Physicians, P.A.
http://www.tryonfamilyphysicians.com
U.S. Femara - Femara and Breast Cancer Information
http://www.us.femara.com/info/page/home
http://www.usdoj.gov
VisionRx.com
http://www.visionrx.com
WoundHEAL.com
http://www.woundheal.com
https://www.healthcheckup.co.in
Cooperative of American Physicians, Inc. (CAP)
http://capphysicians.com/
CrashCards Pediatric Resuscitation Reference Cards
http://CrashCards.com/
HCA Richmond Hospitals
http://hcarichmond.com
MedPix Medical Image Database
http://medpix.net/medpix
Fitness Gain Without The Pain! Why Not Get A Workout With Every Step?
http://www.5pillars.com/cardiostrides/
stop bedwetting services for kids and teens
http://www.dryforgood.homestead.com
Focus77 Medical Multimedia
http://www.focus77.u-net.com
HealthAtoZ.com
http://www.healthatoz.com
HLN Publishing LLC - Federal Reports for Physicians
http://www.hlnpublishing.com
http://www.i-55.com/~stjohns
J&C Nationwide, Inc.
http://www.jcnationwide.com
Seth Gordhandas Sunderdas (GS) Medical College and King Edward Memorial (KEM) Hospital
http://www.kem.edu
medjobpost - No Recruiter's, No Retail, No Hassle
http://www.medjobpost.com
Medical Employment Directory of St. Louis
http://www.medstl.com
Miralux SA is a society with a lot of services
http://www.miralux.ch
RN+ Systems for Patient Safety and Fall Prevention
http://www.rnplus.com
Scrubs And Uniforms
http://www.scrubsanduniforms.com/
Sentara Healthcare
http://www.sentara.com
University of Wales College of Medicine (UWCM)
http://www.uwcm.ac.uk/
American CPR Training offers the least expensive CPR/First Aid/Bloodborne Pat
http://www.healthsafety.com/AmericanCPR.html
Online MBA for Physicians
http://www.mba4mds.com
https://guarddog-security.com/
Fox Meadows Software
http://www.foxmeadows.com
http://www.foxmeadows.com/
ORBIS : Saving Sight Worldwide
http://www.orbis.org/
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NEST Ecosystem
Grind Coffee Shop
Podcast Studio
Coworking Spaces Act as Anchor
Think about the American worker in the 1950s… or the Japanese worker in the 1980s… the workplace was a reliable haven of productivity. Sure, there must have been long hours, office politics, and noisy coworkers slurping soup at lunch, but the office was always there. Today, the vast majority of that reliability is gone. Layoffs, cutbacks, and outsourcing has become commonplace. And even in a big city, finding a cushy replacement when you’ve been laid off from your Fortune 100 job isn’t easy. Plus, there was a time when you and your employer made a pact: you show up to work hard and the company wouldn’t fire you. Today, a bad supervisor can put you out on the street with a few well-crafted emails to HR.
With today’s expensive lifestyle (where hors-oeuvres and a drink can cost $50), most of us need a side hustle. There are likely some mid-level executives flipping on their Uber app while they drive home from work to pick up some extra money for Christmas. And blogger-moms staying up late to get sponsored dinners for a date night with hubby.
So coworking spaces are not just for the full-time entrepreneur. In fact, anyone looking to work a few hours on a blog, ebook, or part-time coding gig needs a desk and a cup of coffee away from the house. Even if you’re a full-time employee, maybe you have a desk for the days when you want to avoid the commute and “work from home.”
Thus, the coworking space becomes the new workplace anchor. It doesn’t matter if you get fired, laid-off, or quit. You keep going to the familiar coworking space, shifting your time and energy to the project at hand.
Coworking spaces have become key for personal productivity. When your employer no longer sees you as a necessary asset, you simply flip the switch and do more work as an independent contractor. In fact, coworking spaces, along with the gig economy, are a tremendous threat to corporate productivity. Coworking offices have leveled the playing field, offering workers the chance to remain productive and happy regardless of where the work is coming from. And the more you are in a coworking space, the more you learn how to source and duplicate work as a contractor.
Take that, corporate America!
October 5, 2017 /by Kiran Modak
http://www.nestcowork.io/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/space-desk-office-hero-7065.jpg 426 640 Kiran Modak https://nestcowork.io/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/nest_logo.png Kiran Modak2017-10-05 12:27:472017-11-02 06:57:49Coworking Spaces Act as Anchor
New Media Rights June 12, 2018
AT & T Hack-o-ween with CyberTECH October 13, 2017
How to Get More Out of Your CoWorking Space October 13, 2017
Who uses CoWorking Spaces in San Diego? October 10, 2017
How CoWorking Makes Remote Sales Feel Less Remote October 10, 2017
Full coffee Shop
Focused Events
Private Phone booths
Printers + 3D Printer
Furniture Included
NEST CoWork
Free Day Pass*
Free 7 Days Pass*
$50 Month Membership*
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New Media Rights
AT & T Hack-o-ween with CyberTECH
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Who uses CoWorking Spaces in San Diego?
How CoWorking Makes Remote Sales Feel Less Remote
Office Space for Freelancers
Welcomes Start Ups and Entrepreneurs
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IBM Turns to WeWork Business Insider Proclaims WeWork is Tremendously Overvalued. Is it?
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2009| April-June | Volume 11 | Issue 43
Noise characteristics of grass-trimming machine engines and their effect on operators
Zulquernain Mallick, Irfan Anjum Badruddin, MT Khaleed Hussain, NJ Salman Ahmed, Jeevan Kanesan
April-June 2009, 11(43):98-102
Over the last few years, interaction of humans with noisy power-driven agricultural tools and its possible adverse after effects have been realized. Grass-trimmer engine is the primary source of noise and the use of motorized cutter, spinning at high speed, is the secondary source of noise to which operators are exposed. In the present study, investigation was carried out to determine the effect of two types of grass-trimming machine engines (SUM 328SE and BG 328) noise on the operators in real working environment. It was found that BG-328 and SUM-328SE produced high levels of noise, of the order of 100 and 105 dB(A), respectively, to which operators are exposed while working. It was also observed that situation aggravates when a number of operators simultaneously operate resulting in still higher levels of noise. Operators should be separated 15 meters from each other in order to avoid the combined level of noise exposure while working with these machines. It was found that SPL, of the grass-trimmer machine engines (BG-328 and SUM-328SE), were higher than the limit of noise recommended by ISO, NIOSH, and OSHA for an 8-hour workday. Such a high level of noise exposure may cause physiological and psychological problems to the operators in long run.
Self-reported noise exposure as a risk factor for long-term sickness absence
Thomas Clausen, Karl Bang Christensen, Thomas Lund, Jesper Kristiansen
April-June 2009, 11(43):93-97
Self-reported noise exposure is on the rise in Denmark. Little is known, however, about the social consequences, including sickness absence, of noise exposure. The aim of this paper was to investigate the association between self-reported noise exposure and long-term sickness absence. The association was investigated using the Cox proportional hazards model to analyze outcomes in Danish register data on the basis of Danish survey data (5357 employees aged 18-69 in 2000). The analyses showed that self-reported noise exposure was significantly associated with long-term sickness absence for both men and women when adjusting for demographic factors and health behavior. After further adjustment for physical workload at work the association between noise exposure and sickness absence disappeared for women, but not for men. Men that reported to be exposed to loud noise between one-quarter and three-quarters of their time at work had an increased risk of 43% (CI: 10-85%) for sickness absence of two weeks or longer compared to men that reported never to be exposed to loud noise. Men that reported to be little/rarely exposed to loud noise had an increased risk of 37% (CI: 7-76%). Men that reported to be exposed to loud noise more than three-quarters of their time at work did not have an increased risk of sickness absence. This latter result might be due a healthy worker effect and/or more frequent use of hearing protection in this group. Along with evidence from previous studies these results provide further support for an association between occupational noise exposure and sickness absence.
4,520 103 14
Noise sensitivity and subjective health: Questionnaire study conducted along trunk roads in Kusatsu, Japan
Hiroki Kishikawa, Toshihito Matsui, Iwao Uchiyama, Masamitsu Miyakawa, Kozo Hiramatsu, Stephen A Stansfeld
April-June 2009, 11(43):111-117
A questionnaire study was conducted in a residential area along trunk roads in Kusatsu, Japan, in order to investigate the association between noise exposure, noise sensitivity, and subjective health. Subjective health of the respondents was measured by the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28) which yields the total score as an index of psychiatric disorder and four subscales. Noise sensitivity was measured by the improved version of the Weinstein's noise sensitivity scale named WNS-6B. The original WNS and a single question directly asking respondents' noise sensitivity were also applied to confirm the validity of the WNS-6B for investigating the effects of road traffic noise on subjective health. Respondents were also asked about disturbances of daily life due to noise exposure to find the cause of the health effects. Three hundred and twenty three answers were entered into the analysis. Applying the WNS-6B as the noise sensitivity measurement scale, a significant correlation was found between subjective health and noise exposure in the noise-sensitive group, while no significant correlation was observed in the insensitive group. These results suggest that the adverse health effects may exist especially in the sensitive group. Application of the other two noise sensitivity measurement scales showed no significant relationship either in the sensitive group or in the insensitive group. The WNS-6B would have greater advantage for detecting adverse health effects than the other scales. Furthermore, the primary cause of the adverse health effect was investigated. The results of the analysis indicated that the adverse health effects were mainly caused by the sleep disturbance and were not caused by hearing interference.
Distortion product otoacoustic emissions in an industrial setting
George S Korres, Dimitrios G Balatsouras, Antonis Tzagaroulakis, Dimitris Kandiloros, Elisabeth Ferekidou, Stavros Korres
Distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs) is an objective sensitive test of cochlear function. The aim of this study was the evaluation of noise-induced hearing loss in a group of industrial workers, using this method in conjunction with standard puretone audiometry (PTA). One hundred and five subjects (210 ears) were included in the study. PTA, tympanometry, and DPOAEs were performed. Results were analyzed using a mixed analysis of variance model, and compared with the data of 34 normal persons of similar age and sex. We found statistically significant lower DPOAE levels in the noise-exposed group than in the control group. Additionally, the effect of frequency was significant, indicating that amplitude varied across frequency, with lower responses observed at 4 and 6 kHz, and maximum response found at 2 kHz. PTA showed a statistically significant effect of Group, owed to elevated puretone thresholds in the noise-exposed subjects, but a Frequency main effect was not found, although the interaction between Frequency and Group was statistically significant, as well as the interaction between Frequency and Ear. A main effect for Ear was found only in puretone thresholds, due to better thresholds in the left ears of the subjects, and not in DPOAE measurements. DPOAE levels were selectively affected at the higher frequencies, whereas puretone thresholds were affected at all frequencies. Direct comparison of the number of significantly affected ears between the two methods at 1, 2, and 4 kHz showed statistically significant differences at all comparisons, with more ears affected in PTA in comparison with DPOAEs at 4 kHz, whereas more ears were affected in DPOAEs at the lower frequencies (1 and 2 kHz). Therefore, it may be concluded that DPOAEs and PTA are both sensitive methods in detecting noise-induced hearing loss, with DPOAEs tending to be more sensitive at lower frequencies.
A national project to evaluate and reduce high sound pressure levels from music
Johanna Bengtsson Ryberg
The highest recommended sound pressure levels for leisure sounds (music) in Sweden are 100 dB LAeq and 115 dB LAFmax for adults, and 97 dB LAeq and 110 dB LAFmax where children under the age of 13 have access. For arrangements intended for children, levels should be consistently less than 90 dB LAeq. In 2005, a national project was carried out with the aim of improving environments with high sound pressure levels from music, such as concert halls, restaurants, and cinemas. The project covered both live and recorded music. Of Sweden's 290 municipalities, 134 took part in the project, and 93 of these carried out sound measurements. Four hundred and seventy one establishments were investigated, 24% of which exceeded the highest recommended sound pressure levels for leisure sounds in Sweden. Of festival and concert events, 42% exceeded the recommended levels. Those who visit music events/establishments thus run a relatively high risk of exposure to harmful sound levels. Continued supervision in this field is therefore crucial.
Chronic exposure of rats to occupational textile noise causes cytological changes in adrenal cortex
Maria Joao R Oliveira, Mariana P Monteiro, Andreia M Ribeiro, Duarte Pignatelli, Artur P Aguas
Chronic exposure to industrial noise and its effects on biological systems. Occupational exposure to noise may result in health disorders. Our aim was to evaluate the effects of chronic exposure to high-intensity noise of textile industry cotton rooms on the adrenal morphology. The environmental noise of a cotton-mill room from a large textile factory of Northern Portugal was recorded and reproduced by an adopted electroacoustic setup in a sound-insulated animal room where the rats were housed. The sounds were reproduced at the original levels of approximately 92 dB, which was achieved by equalization and distribution of sound output in the room. Wistar rats were submitted to noise exposure, in the same time schedule as employed in textile plants. After one, three, five, and seven months, the adrenals were collected and analyzed by light microscopy. Analyzed by multivariate analysis of variance and post hoc Bonferroni correction for multiple comparisons of the means between the groups. Noise exposure induced time-dependent changes in adrenal cortex, with decrease of zona fasciculata (ZF) and increase of zona reticularis volumes, together with a significant depletion of lipid droplet density in ZF cells of exposed rats, in comparison to control rats. Chronic exposure of rats to textile industry noise triggers cytological changes in the adrenals that suggest the existence of a sustained stress response.
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More whackos?
I imagine that most, if not all, MO readers check out Instapundit. In case you don’t, he points out a great post on Random Nuclear Strikes covering a PRO-troop rally staged in Seattle, WA. From what I hear from someone who lives in the region, the area is fairly liberal. Not In Our Name planned an anti-war demonstration in response to the news that around 3000 National Guard members would be reporting for duty on Saturday.
Reportedly, about 30 NIONers showed up (apparently late) and were stunned to find over 1000 supporters (of the troops, of our policy, or of both) lining the exit from I-5 to the National Guard base. They massed on some overpasses so that their flags and signs of support would be visible to the troops as they arrived for duty. There were around 4000 supporters according to this TribNet story.
The post at RNS has a series of great photos covering the event. Check it out.
What does this tell us? Well, for one thing it illustrates clearly that the “organizations” like Not In Our Name and ANSWER are having trouble rallying the masses. When a couple of bloggers and a bunch of patriotic folks can outnumber the career protesters 100-to-1, it says something. And it is certainly easier to be motivated to demonstrate against a war than for a war. Stating support for our action in Iraq is very easily portrayed by opponents as support for death and destruction. Then the end-and-means people will sadly shake their heads and sigh “Is anything really worth doing if it takes a war to do it?” Never mind for a moment that support for troops doesn’t necessarily (and often doesn’t) mean support for war. If most people really thought our means didn’t justify the end we seek, wouldn’t the anti-war crowd have more members?
Contrast this turnout in Seattle with the “huge” rallies organized by the anti-war types that turn out hundreds or a few thousand protesters in Washington, DC or in San Francisco. 4000 pro-troop demonstrators in the Conservative heartland is one thing. In mostly-liberal Seattle it’s something completely different.
This doesn’t really “prove” anything. But it does seem to disprove the claim that the anti-war activists represent the silent majority.
Updated: November 17, 2003 at 11:53 am
◀ Our own worst enemy?
Love that free press! ▶
the Mac guy says:
[lost] ***
Does this mean we should discount ALL demonstrations? Or just those that support the current Iraq policy? Should everyone have realized that it was just pep-rally mentality when folks were protesting the Vietnam war, racial segregation, and British Empire in India? I’ll keep all this in mind if/when 100,000 Brits protest President Bush’s visit to London. Just a high school cheering competition. I’m relieved, because I was afraid that tens of thousands of anti-Bush protesters would have looked bad for the US. I’m glad that we can all pay them no mind whatsoever. I long for the good old days (before the 2000 election, I guess) when politicians where honest, the press was impartial, voters were all fully aware of all the issues, and money didn’t affect anyone or anything. ***
What the hell is wrong with this commenting stuff? ***
I don’t know. I paid a little $$$ to go ‘Pro.’ It definitely runs better, but it still isn’t very good. MO will probalby be moving to a new MovableType-based site on its own domain in the near future. MovableType includes a lot of cool features, including native commenting. We’ll see. ***
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About La Plaza
DSG Latinovations
The latest news relating to the political world as it impacts the US Latino community.
Comentarios from Maria
Something Spanglish
News Makers
Today’s Feature
You are here: Home / Issues / Immigration / Trump administration wants the Supreme Court to act on DACA
Trump administration wants the Supreme Court to act on DACA
November 6, 2018 By Latinovations Staff
The Trump administration urged the U.S. Supreme Court yesterday to take up the legal battle over the future of DACA quickly, asking the justices to consider the issue even before a federal appeals court has ruled on the program’s legality.
If the justices don’t act soon, the Justice Department said, it will probably be too late to get the case on this year’s docket. In that event, the government would likely be required to keep the program going at least another year.
DACA allows children of illegal immigrants to remain here if they were under 16 when their parents brought them to the U.S. and if they arrived by 2007. The Obama-era initiative has allowed 700,000 young people, known as DREAMERs, to avoid deportation.
The Trump administration moved to end the program a year ago, but federal courts have blocked that attempt. The administration also tried to get the case before the Supreme Court while it was pending in the 9th Circuit, but the justices declined that invitation in late February saying they assumed the appeals court would “proceed expeditiously to decide this case.”
But in a legal brief filed in the Supreme Court late Monday, Solicitor General Noel Francisco said, “That has not happened.” The Supreme Court rarely agrees to hear cases before the appeals courts have ruled, but the government’s chances might be better this time, given that the justices said they expected the appeals court to act more quickly than it usually does.
Civil rights advocates condemned the Justice Department’s action. “It is clear that Trump will stop at nothing to get what he and extremists have wanted all along — to deport as many people in our communities, including DREAMERs, as possible. And to do it as quickly as possible,” said Marielena Hincapié, of the NILC Immigrant Justice Fund, an immigrant rights group.
Filed Under: Immigration, Latest Updates, News Makers, Today's Feature Tagged With: #9thCircuit, #JusticeDepartment, #Justices, #SupremeCourt, #TrumpAdministration, DACA, DREAMers
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Sega Dreamcast Collection
Xbox 360 Exclusive
The Sega Dreamcast was one of those candles that burn twice as bright for half as long when compared to other home video game consoles. In less than four years (1998-2001) the system hit the market and then disappeared. The sad part is that some really great games were lost or we got lucky and were released for other systems years later. The Sega Dreamcast Collection gave many of us gamers hope but for some reason many of the really great games were not included and with only four games in the collection we are not sure why they would give us two games that aren't very good.
So let’s start with some good news. Ulala returns in Space Channel 5 Part 2. One of the first rhythm games and at one time a Dreamcast exclusive. The game still has the same craziness that made us laugh the first time. A 1960’s Austin Powers style, funny dialog and pretty good voice acting are all still here and in HD. The stuff we found funny before is still funny now years later. The second great game included is Crazy Taxi. This driving game has one goal get your passengers to their destinations at any cost and the faster the better. Driving underwater to going into train tunnels, the name crazy is perfect. We like when you don’t make it in time the passenger starts yelling at you and then just jumps out of the car even when the car is still moving.
So, we have two pretty good games to start off with but the next two are Sega Bass Fishing and Sonic Adventure. Sega Bass Fishing is, that’s right a fishing game and it is boring. The game is not fun longer than five minutes. We have never heard anybody say “I can’t believe that we stayed up all night and played that fishing game”. Now Sonic on the other hand many people could not put the early games down but Sonic Adventure is a mess. It is considered by most gamers one the worst Sonic games or even one of the worst games ever! The levels don’t look or feel right and the camera is easily one of the worst in all of gaming history and you never feel like the controls are ever inline. We don’t exactly know why Sega keeps putting this game up for everybody to see. Crazy Taxi, Space Channel 5 are the two great games and still fun to play and you can spend under $15 and get both. So paying more than that to get Sega Bass Fishing and Sonic Adventure is a waste of money. Don’t spend more than $15.00 for the Sega Dreamcast Collection or just buy Crazy Taxi, Space Channel 5 Part 2 instead.
T for Teen
Konami Classics Vol 1
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PaperDemon
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And Butterfly Kisses at Night - Chapter 1
Home » Writing » And Butterfly Kisses at Night » Chapter 1
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And Butterfly Kisses at Night
by SaikonoYume
Libraries: InuYasha, One Shots, Romance
Published on 21:48PM, Oct 1, 2005 GMT / 1 Chapter(s) / 7 Review(s)
Updated on 21:48PM, Oct 1, 2005 GMT
(Kagome/Inu Yasha) Camping out one night, Kagome takes a midnight bath in a cold stream, and scares Inu Yasha to death when he realizes she's gone.
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This is my first-ever posting of an Inu Yasha fanfic, probably because it’s the first Inu Yasha story I’ve ever written. It’s a one-shot, but if you can convince me to write more and provide an adequate plot for me to go off of, or at least an idea, I may change my mind. You might also be able to convince me to write more chapters in which I pair up the rest of the world.
The sun had all ready begun to set over the world, casting its orange, red, pink, and purple glow upon the earth. A halo of golden white light was etched around the edges of a forest that stood, looking dark and forlorn, on a hill illuminated by the dying sunlight. Inside the forest, hardly anything moved. The birds had all ready resigned themselves to their comfortable nests, their dusk chorus finished. Animals were curled up in their dens, laying on each other for the warmth that the night never provided. Even the flowers had curled into themselves, hiding from the coldness of the night air, waiting for the next morning when they would be awakened to the live-giving sun by the birds’ chorus.
Along a naked and lonely path walked the only creatures still moving in the forest, their footsteps ringing through the quiet of the night. Each clearly distinguishable from the other, the six walked in companionable silence. The group consisted of three yokai, a hanyou, a priest, two human girls, and a rather disgruntled piece of metal. One of the two girls was beside the piece of metal, pushing it down the path she traveled. One of the yokai was curled in a wicker basket on the front, soft snores emanating from its small body. The other yokai was riding, hidden, in the hanyou’s hair while he stalked forward grumpily, his arms crossed; his eyes narrowed in a glare that could kill.
The other human girl walked behind the piece of metal, deep in thought, completely unaware of the priest who was next to her. Such light acceptance of this particular priest’s presence was something that was, by most, considered foolhardy. The silence of the forest at dusk was shattered, then, by a shout from the second young woman.
“You pervert!” she screamed in an unnaturally shrill voice. This shriek was followed by a firm slap to the man’s face, and it left a red print in the shape of the woman’s hand.
Rubbing his face heartily with his sleeve, the priest looked at the glowering woman. “Sango, I—”
“Say not another word, or I’ll personally disconnect your hand from your arm, you-good-for nothing perverted priest!” Sango growled at Miroku, looking like she was actually going to carry that threat out.
Kagome cleared her throat. “Guys, please. Inu Yasha says there’s a hot spring up ahead and a clearing where we’ll be able to spend the night. Leave each other intact until then, okay?” she suggested with a smile.
Sango turned from Miroku and began speed-walking towards the clearing that was up ahead of her, ignoring the rolled eyes she was getting from Kagome. “I won’t stand for him touching me anymore,” she muttered to herself. “If that man is really a monk, then I’m… then I’m Sesshoumaru’s personal slave!”
Miroku picked himself off the ground and moved to walk beside Kagome. “I really wish I knew why she keeps hitting me,” he said with a smile.
Inu Yasha snorted. “Feh, if you haven’t realized it by now, you’re either incredibly dense or just incredibly oblivious to everything,” he growled.
Miroku’s smile soured and was redirected from Kagome to the hanyou beside her. “You’re too kind, Inu Yasha,” he snarled in reply. He sped up his pace, disappearing around the bend in the path.
“Miroku’s a one-man show, isn’t he?” Kagome asked the air.
“A one-man show?” Inu Yasha asked, staring ahead and arching his perfectly sculpted eyebrows.
Kagome shook her head. “Ignore it, Inu Yasha. Come on, we’re already at the clearing, and I’m dying to wash up.” She leaned her bike against a tree and picked Shippou up from where he was curled in the basket on the front.
Sango and Miroku had all ready laid out the sleeping bags, so Kagome placed the small kitsune yokai on hers before turning to Miroku, who was placing a ward around their camp to make them invisible to dangerous yokai. “Where’s Sango?” she asked.
“Right here,” Sango said from behind Kagome. Her hair fell straight and was still sopping wet from her bath. “I just took a quick dip, nothing serious,” she explained. “There isn’t a hot spring here, just a small lake that’s fed from a mountain stream, so it’s pretty cold.” She winked. “If you think you’re up to it, you can take a dip, too.”
Kagome shivered. “Maybe not… I hate cold baths. I think I’ll pass. I took a bath this morning at the village, anyway, so I should be okay for another day,” she replied to Sango.
From the tree he had decided to take up residence in, Inu Yasha snorted. “You smell like shit, Kagome. You should go take a bath,” his voice said.
Kagome crossed her arms. “Osuwari!” she shouted. A red and silver blur fell from the tree it had heretofore been sitting in and slammed into the ground with considerable force.
“That…really…hurt, you idiot…” Inu Yasha growled.
Kagome didn’t say anything in reply, choosing to slide into her bedroll instead of trading barbs. “Good night, everyone,” she said, settling in and pulling the top over her shoulders.
Shippou curled up against Kagome’s back happily, his little kitsune feet kicking at the air as he dreamed.
Sango crawled into her bedroll as well, which was beside Kagome’s. She glowered at Miroku in his roll on the other side of the clearing. “If I feel anything against my rear end, I’ll be assuming it’s you making an ass of yourself and I’ll rip you apart, got that?” she demanded.
Miroku nodded from where he was laying. “Sure thing, Sango,” he muttered sleepily.
The only source of light came from the moon as it hung in the sky, but clouds covered it, as they covered the numerous stars. But, nonetheless, the moonbeams pierced the gloomy darkness of the almost perfectly quiet forest, bringing a soft, almost romantic light to the earth. The only sounds in the forest were the quiet hooting of owls in the dark as they searched for the foolhardy field mice that dared leave the safe confines of their little hovels. Another sound, strangely alien, rang out like a gong through the forest a moment later.
Kagome’s foot froze above the cold surface of the small lake, not daring to move for fear that she would be heard. There was nothing to give her away, so she did her best to move the rest of the way into the water soundlessly. She failed, obviously, but the noise she made was so minimal that she didn’t think it would matter. It was doubtful that even he would hear her. Besides, he was asleep.
She frowned, wondering why she was allowing herself to fret over him. She didn’t care about him at all, so why should she be thinking about him? Kagome bent her knees and sank into the frigid waters up to her shoulders, shivering.
At any other time, she would have plunged into the small lake head first to get herself acquainted with the temperature instantly. Of course, tonight, that would have been foolhardy. If she dove into the water, she would surely wake all of her traveling companions, and she didn’t want that. She wanted peace and quiet. So she kneeled, with the water up to her shoulders, shivering uncontrollably.
She stifled a sneeze and then sank, in agonizing slowness, under the water to wet her hair. When Kagome felt her lungs would burst, she slowly raised herself from the water. Sopping wet, having been completely covered by the water, she was no longer so affected by the freezing coldness.
Kagome moved slowly through the water, using the frog-like motions of the breast stroke, heading into a strip of moonlight. How romantic, she thought, it would be if Prince Charming appeared now, while she was bathing like this, and whisked her away to his castle in the clouds.
Kagome ducked under the surface again, and then stood, allowing turrets of water to gush off her body and rejoin the water in the lake. She closed her eyes, raising her head to the heavens, bathing herself in the pure light that shown from the moon.
Inu Yasha’s eyes snapped open the minute he heard the sound of someone walking silently through the clearing. He moved noiselessly on his branch, shifting his position so that he could see into the area everyone was sleeping in.
There was nothing out of the ordinary, nothing to make him leave him lofty perch to search more thoroughly. Miroku was sleeping soundly on the right side of the clearing, and Sango was on the opposite side, sprawled out haphazardly. Beside her, Shippou slept with Kagome. Like he thought, there was no need to—wait.
Inu Yasha’s eyes focused on Kagome’s bedroll, his keen eyesight picking up such fine details as the very weaving of the fabric. What was missing from the picture he was looking at, he wondered silently. The realization slammed into him violently, and the shock of the revelation nearly propelled him off his branch.
She wasn’t in her bedroll; it was just Shippou. A yokai must have gotten through Miroku’s ward and stolen Kagome with all of her Shikon shards.
“Damn!” Inu Yasha muttered.
Sitting back on his branch, Inu Yasha quieted himself, listening closely to all the sounds in the forest, searching the sounds of movement. There was a noise in the direction of the mountain that fed the small lake, the noiseless roar of an owl in flight, a field mouse scurrying across the grounds, but all these sounds were inconsequential to him. So he disregarded his sense of hearing and began to sniff the air under his nose.
Inu Yasha caught Kagome’s scent easily and quickly, but, to his surprise, none other with hers. If that was the case, then who took her? A new idea came to him then. She hadn’t been taken; she had gotten up and gone to the spring. But why would she go now, in the dead of night, instead of earlier, when she was protected?
Inu Yasha growled softly and began moving through the treetops, thinking of all the ways he was going to yell at her for being a complete idiot and total fool.
“Sure, fine…” he muttered to himself. “You go now when there’s no one to protect the damned shards from being stolen. I’m positive you planned this. You did, didn’t you, Ka…go…me…” Inu Yasha trailed off as he landed on the nearest tree branch over to lake.
Kagome stood before him, water cascading off her body, flowing into the lake. She was naked in the middle of a shaft of pure, silver moonlight. Inu Yasha almost forgot how to breathe, as he looked at her, all of his carefully buried and locked away feelings towards her shooting up to the surface. He felt himself leaning further forward on the branch, but he couldn’t pull himself back.
Why did she choose to take a bath at night in the moonlight?
Kagome whirled when she heard the same sound that often greeted her ears after she yelled “osuwari” at Inu Yasha. Her heart leaped about in her chest in a most unhealthy manner as she peered at the shore through the dark night.
“Who’s there?” she called weakly, ducking under the surface of the water up to her shoulders.
Before Kagome could move too far forward, she saw a red shape on the shore. Her anger flared instantly and she nearly stormed up to the annoying hanyou who had been watching her. She was so mad at him for watching her bathe that she was sure she would sink down to the most degrading levels imaginable. She was ready to rip Inu Yasha’s head off his shoulders, the perverted voyeur that he was.
“Inu Yasha, what are you doing here?!” Kagome demanded.
He picked himself off the ground, raising his head and staring across the waters at her blankly.
She felt a lump rising in her throat as she wondered why he wasn’t shouting back at her like he always did. There was definitely something wrong, Kagome figured, as she made her way closer.
“Inu… Yasha…?” she queried again, softly, when she was to the limits of how far she could travel.
He moved then, fast as lightning, and he loomed above her. For a moment, Kagome thought he might have been Sesshoumaru, dressed up to fool her and get the Shikon shards. In the same moment she thought that, she also realized the shards on her necklace, and the necklace in general, were the only pieces of clothing she had on.
Kagome felt her face heat considerably and she began to push against Inu Yasha, wanting him to get out of her way so that she could get to her clothes, but he didn’t move. Instead, he picked up his hands and placed them on her icy shoulders.
“You’re cold,” he said to Kagome.
In any other situation, she would have said that he sounded like a complete fool, but not this one. In this situation, he sounded almost sincere.
Suddenly, she found herself wrapped in his robe. “Here, this will keep you warm,” he whispered gently into Kagome’s ear.
His hands closed around hers and tugged at her, urging her towards the shore, but she didn’t move. She was too stunned by what he was doing and how he was acting towards her. Was Inu Yasha truly being kind, or was he simply going after the Shikon shards again?
“Kagome, you’re going to get sick if you stay out here in this lake any longer,” she heard his voice say.
Kagome suddenly had a thought about his voice. It was so delicate and soft, as if it was a volcano rumbling gently as a reminder of its strength. Strength that could be drawn on or ignored at one’s own risk.
“Kagome?”
She chose the former, falling against his warm body. Inu Yasha’s arms closed about her tightly, pulling her against him. Kagome felt his cheek resting against the top of her head, and then his lips fell on her hair. She held tightly to his hakama, shivering violently from the cold that was still around her legs and the warmth that was spreading from Inu Yasha.
“Kagome, come on, let’s get you dressed and back in bed before you freeze into an icicle, okay?” Inu Yasha asked, drawing her towards the shore.
They made it to the edge of the forest before Kagome stopped moving and looked up into his face.
She buried her face in his chest, clutching at him. “Inu Yasha,” she whispered, “I’m so cold.”
“I know, I’m trying to get you back to your bedroll and get you into warm clothes, but you’re not making it easy,” he replied. She couldn’t detect any sarcasm in his voice as he said this, as would have been there at any other time.
“Cold… P-please, w-warm me up…” she stammered.
Inu Yasha sat, pulling Kagome down with him and setting her in his lap. He pulled her legs over his own and laid her head against his shoulders. She turned into his body, thinking about how wonderful it was to be enveloped in such blissful warmth. She never wanted to be let out of it. She wanted to stay in his arms until the world fell apart around her and there was nothing left to sustain her or her lover except their love.
Kagome’s chilled fingers brushed through Inu Yasha’s hair. “Inu… Yasha…”
“I’m here,” he replied, taking her hands in his. “What is it?” he asked.
Kagome opened her eyes, and looked up at Inu Yasha. “I… I… I love… you…” she whispered.
“Don’t say that. You’re in shock from the cold water, Kagome,” he told her, but she heard the longing in his voice, hoping beyond all hope that she was telling him the truth.
Using all her strength, Kagome pulled herself up in Inu Yasha’s lap. “I’ll prove it to you,” she told him. “I’ll keep you warm.”
“Hey, hey, you’re the—” Inu Yasha was cut off by Kagome bringing her lips to his.
She felt him sigh against the kiss, his golden eyes drifting closed. His arms wrapped around her back, clutching her against his body. When he broke away, she felt heat rise to her face; she knew that she was flushed.
“Promise that you’ll keep me warm?” she asked him childishly, leaning her semi-warm cheek against his.
“I promise that I’ll keep you warm, if you promise you won’t run away from me.”
“If I promise that I won’t run away from you, then you have to give me all the love I need…”
“All the love you need…” he whispered against her lips, gently trailing them over hers.
She nodded. “…always and forever…”
~owari~
Like I said, if you want more, convince me with a pliable plot or something or another idea for another pairing. Seriously, if you want a Miroku and Sango pairing, give me a catch phrase, title, three line conversation and I’ll turn something out. It’s the little things that inspire me.
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Snuffy
by Tess Evans-Websdale
Mikey looked at the fishy thing on the computer. It didn’t look much like baby to him, but Daddy had said it was a baby and Daddy wouldn’t tell lies. Just to be sure, he looked to Mummy for confirmation. She was smiling and nodding.
“What’s its name?” Mikey asked.
“It doesn’t have a name yet.”
Mikey considered for a bit. “Snuffy,” he said. “We could call it Snuffy.”
Why were Mummy and Daddy laughing? Snuffy was the name of the rabbit in his favourite storybook. It was a nice name. Not funny at all.
“We”ll see, Mikey,” Daddy said, ruffling his hair.
One morning Mikey woke to find Nana Anne standing beside his bed.
“Hello, Nana,” he said giving her his special bear hug. “Is Grandad here?”
Nana told him that she and Grandad were staying for a couple of days while Mummy was in hospital. He was disappointed to hear that Snuffy was a girl. He’d really wanted a giant green rabbit, a magic one that could make carrots and lettuce appear from nowhere. Mikey didn’t much like carrots or lettuce, but he could appreciate the skill involved. If he had a Snuffy of his own, who knows what it might be able to do? He’d planned start it off with ice-cream and work up to chocolate cheesecake.
When he saw Mummy coming up the drive, he forgot his disappointment and rushed out to give her one of his extra special hugs. She was holding a bundle, though, and couldn’t quite hug him back.
“Careful, Mikey,” Daddy said. “It’s your new sister.”
Mikey looked into the shawl and sure enough, it wasn’t a rabbit, not even a grey one. It was red and wrinkly and bald and its eyes were all squinched.
“It’s very ugly,” he observed. “And it smells like poo.”
“You shouldn’t say mean things about your new sister, Mikey,” Mummy said, but not too crossly. “Would you like to hold her? Her name is Jane.”
Mikey was horrified. Jane was Dead Nana’s name. You couldn’t just give her name away like that.
“I don’t want to hold her,” he sulked. “You said we’d call her Snuffy.” He went off to his favourite sulking corner and glared at the fuss they were all making. No one seemed to notice his displeasure so he reviewed his stock of tricks.
“I can do a somersault,” he announced. They all took proper notice then.
The problem with having a sister was that she needed a lot of attention. And sometimes he had to be extra quiet. They were cross when he made a noise, but when Snuffy cried, they always picked her up, and fussed and petted. A boy could get very tired of that sort of thing.
“How long is she staying?” he asked one day. He couldn’t believe his ears. The baby was going to live with them forever and ever. Until they were all really old.
Mikey didn’t want to leave his house, but he had no choice. He liked his room with the racing car bed and the toy box in the corner. He liked how it used to be when the three of them had their dinner together at the big, square kitchen table. He liked watching cartoons with daddy and helping mummy with the cooking. They used to make little cakes sometimes and he was allowed to put sprinkles on the icing. He liked the back garden with the swing and the dish where birds came for their bath. The problem was, he couldn’t take any of those things with him.
He gave a deep sigh and got out his Wiggles backpack. Socks. Teddy, of course. His new racing car. The Big Green Rabbit book… he put that back on the shelf. He felt badly let down by big green rabbits. He replaced it with The Very Hungry Caterpillar. Oops! Almost forgot food. He checked that Mummy was feeding Snuffy and padded into the kitchen where he put a block of cheese and bottle of orange juice in his bag. There. Tonight, when Mummy and Daddy were watching TV, he’d go away and live with Nana and Grandad. Forever.
Mikey lay in bed, listening for the sound of the TV. He hoped it wouldn’t be too dark before they settled down. There it was. That was the music. He climbed out of bed and struggled into his tracksuit top and pants. Shoes were a bit trickier so he chose the ones with Velcro fasteners. Tiptoeing out into the passage, he paused at his sister’s door, feeling hot with resentment. He wouldn’t have to go if his parents hadn’t brought her here to live forever. It wasn’t fair.
He crept in and glowered down at the little figure in the cot. The night light was on and he could see she was awake, her bright little eyes looking right at him. She blew him a bubble and smiled. He reached down and a little finger curved around his.
“Hey, Snuffy. I’m your big brother Mikey.”
© Tess Evans-Websdale
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Featured: Lysimachia arvensis Image from Stuppy & Kesseler
©Papadakis Publisher
Family: Asteraceae Bercht. & J.Presl
Genus: Centaurea L.
Centaurea pseudreflexa Hayek
This species is accepted, and its native range is Turkey.
Full Distribution Listing
Native to:
Centaurea pseudreflexa Hayek appears in other Kew resources:
IPNI - The International Plant Names Index
Herbarium Catalogue (1 records)
Siehe, W. [14], Turkey K000794110
First published in Repert. Spec. Nov. Regni Veg. 12: 124 (1913)
Roskov Y. & al. (eds.) (2018). Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life Naturalis, Leiden, the Netherlands.
Herbarium Catalogue Specimens
'The Herbarium Catalogue, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the Internet http://www.kew.org/herbcat [accessed on Day Month Year]'. Please enter the date on which you consulted the system.
Digital Image © Board of Trustees, RBG Kew http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Kew Backbone Distributions
The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Selected Plant Families 2020. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/
© Copyright 2017 World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0
Kew Names and Taxonomic Backbone
© Copyright 2017 International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0
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text in Portuguese
Revista Brasileira de Epidemiologia
Print version ISSN 1415-790XOn-line version ISSN 1980-5497
Rev. bras. epidemiol. vol.22 São Paulo 2019 Epub Dec 05, 2019
http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/1980-549720190061
NOTES AND INFORMATION
Prevalence of diabetes in adults and the elderly, medication use and sources of acquisition: a comparative analysis of 2012 and 2016
Priscila Maria Stolses Bergamo FranciscoI
Patrícia Silveira RodriguesI
Karen Sarmento CostaI
Noemia Urruth Leão TavaresII
Vera Lúcia TierlingI III
Marilisa Berti de Azevedo BarrosI
Deborah Carvalho MaltaIV
IFaculty of Medical Sciences, Universidade Estadual de Campinas - Campinas (SP), Brazil.
IIFaculty of Health Sciences, Universidade de Brasília - Brasília (DF), Brazil.
IIISecretariat of Science and Technology and Strategic Inputs, Ministério da Saúde - Brasília (DF), Brazil.
IVSchool of Nursing, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais - Belo Horizonte (MG), Brazil.
Among chronic noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), diabetes mellitus (DM) is distinguished in a heterogeneous group of metabolic disorders characterized by hyperglycemia due to defects in insulin action and/or secretion1. The persistent increase in blood glucose is related to acute or chronic complications in the cardiovascular, renal and neurological system, with high rates of hospitalization and mortality1,2.
Estimates show that between 2010 and 2030 there will be a 69% increase in the number of adults with DM in developing countries and 20% in developed countries3. In Brazil, data from the National Health Survey (PNS) estimate that about 9.2 million Brazilians are diagnosed with DM, with prevalence increasing with increasing age4.
The importance of the disease is highlighted as the main cause of mortality and premature disability in affected individuals in most developing countries, including Brazil5. Its prolonged course is reflected in the increased demand for services6, the high use of medicines, especially in the elderly6,7, its restriction of daily activities6 and significant social impact. Several factors are associated with the disease4,7 and health promotion measures have been implemented in the country in recent years to contain the progression of this NCD as well as others8.
In Brazil, medication for the treatment of DM are freely available in the National Public Health System(SUS), including primary care and, as a complementary strategy, through the Brazilian Popular Pharmacy Program (PFPB). The purpose of this brief communication was to estimate the prevalence of DM in adult and elderly individuals living in the capitals of the Brazilian states and the Federal District, to verify the percentage of diabetics on medication (oral and insulin), to describe the distribution of users according to sources of acquisition and to evaluate the percentages obtained in SUS between 2012 and 2016, from a comparative perspective.
We used data from individuals aged ≥ 18 years from the risk factor surveillance system for chronic noncommunicable diseases via telephone survey(Vigitel), conducted annually by the Ministry of Health since 2006, for the years 2012 (n = 45,448) and 2016 (n = 53,210)9.10. Vigitel has been approved by the National Commission of Ethics in Research on Human Beings (processes nº 13081/2008 and 355.590 / 2013). All individuals were consulted and informed and agreed to participate in the research.
Prevalence of diabetes was estimated for all respondents (age ≥ 18 years), for adults (between 18 and 59 years) and elderly (age ≥ 60 years), as well as the percentage of medication use (oral or insulin). among diabetics. For those who reported tablet or insulin use, the percentages and respective confidence intervals of 95% (95%CI) were also estimated, according to sources. Comparisons were performed using Pearson’s c2 test (Rao-Scott) with a significance level of 5%. All analyzes took into account the weights of the inquiry’s complex sample design. The medicines were obtaining for free in SUS / PFPB pharmacies.
The prevalences of DM were 7.4% (95%CI 6.9 - 7.8) and 8.9% (95%CI 8.5 - 9.4) in 2012 and 2016, consecutively. In men the prevalence was 6.5% (95%CI 5.8 - 7.2) and 7.8% (95%CI 7.2 -8.6) and in women, 8.1% (95%CI 7.5 - 8.9) and 9.9% (95%CI 9.2 - 10.5) in those years. In adults and the elderly, a significant increase was observed, from 4.6 to 5.4% (p = 0.014), and from 22.2 to 25.9% (p = 0.001), respectively, during the study period.
For the group of diabetics aged ≥ 18 years, regarding the exclusive use of oral medication, the percentages observed were 76.8 and 76.4% and, for insulin, 17.6 and 19.7% in 2012 and 2016, relatively, without statistically significant differences for the subgroups analyzed (p> 0.05).
Regarding the sources considered, there was an increase in oral medication among adults and insulin in the elderly in PFPB. Among all diabetics, there was a reduction in obtaining oral medications in SUS pharmacies and an increase in obtaining them in PFPB. An increased in obtaining insulin in PFPB insulin also observed (Figure 1).
Figure 1. Point estimates and 95% confidence interval of the percentage of diabetics undergoing treatment, according to sources. Vigitel, 2012 and 2016.
It is important to mention that 69.7 and 70.3% of diabetics obtained free oral medications (SUS/PFPB pharmacies) in 2012 and 2016, respectively. The percentages for obtaining insulin free of charge were 88.9 and 90.0% in the years considered.
The results revealed an increased prevalence of DM in the period studied, especially among the elderly. They also showed, for the group of diabetic adults, a reduction in obtaining oral medicine in public pharmacies of primary care and an increase in obtaining both (oral and insulin) through the PFPB, without changes in obtaining them via private pharmacies in the analyzed period.
In secondary prevention, strict metabolic control plays an important role in combating the onset or progression of chronic complications arising from type 111 and type 21 DM. Although SUS remains a priority source for obtaining drugs to treat DM in the country, it is important to highlight the importance of the three managing bodies in providing treatment to patients with DM, including access to medicines and necessary supplies with guidance directed to rational use, reinforcing the role of primary care as coordinator of care of the Health Care Network.
1. Sociedade Brasileira de Diabetes. Diretrizes da Sociedade Brasileira de Diabetes 2017-2018. São Paulo: Clannad; 2017 [acessado em 10 mar. 2018]. Disponível em: Disponível em: http://www.diabetes.org.br/profissionais/images/2017/diretrizes/diretrizes-sbd-2017-2018.pdf [ Links ]
2. American Diabetes Association. Classification and Diagnosis of Diabetes. Diabetes Care 2015; 38(Supl. 1): S8-S16. https://doi.org/10.2337/dc15-S005 [ Links ]
3. Shaw JE, Sicree RA, Zimmet PZ. Global estimates of the prevalence of diabetes for 2010 and 2030. Diabetes Res Clin Pract 2010; 87(1): 4-14. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.diabres.2009.10.007 [ Links ]
4. Iser BPM, Stopa SR, Chueiri PS, Szwarcwald CL, Malta DC, Monteiro HOC, et al. Prevalência de diabetes autorreferido no Brasil: resultados da Pesquisa Nacional de Saúde 2013. Epidemiol Serv Saúde 2015; 24(2): 305-14. http://dx.doi.org/10.5123/S1679-49742015000200013 [ Links ]
5. World Health Organization. Global report on diabetes. Genebra: WHO; 2016. [ Links ]
6. Malta DC, Iser BPM, Chueiri PS, Stopa SR, Szwarcwald CL, Schmidt MI, et al. Cuidados em saúde entre portadores de diabetes mellitus autorreferido no Brasil, Pesquisa Nacional de Saúde, 2013. Rev Bras Epidemiol 2015; 18(Supl. 2): 17-32. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/1980-5497201500060003 [ Links ]
7. Prado MAMP, Francisco PMSB, Barros MBA. Diabetes em idosos: uso de medicamentos e risco de interação medicamentosa. Ciênc Saúde Coletiva 2016; 21(11): 3447-58. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/1413-812320152111.24462015 [ Links ]
8. Brasil. Ministério da Saúde. Secretaria de Vigilância em Saúde. Departamento de Análise de Situação de Saúde. Coordenação Geral de Doenças e Agravos Não Transmissíveis. Plano de ações estratégicas para o enfrentamento das doenças crônicas não transmissíveis (DCNT) no Brasil 2011-2022 [Internet]. Brasília: Ministério da Saúde; 2011 [acessado em 10 mar. 2018]. Disponível em: Disponível em: http://bvsms.saude.gov.br/bvs/publicacoes/plano_acoes_enfrent_dcnt_2011.pdf [ Links ]
9. Brasil. Ministério da Saúde. Secretaria de Vigilância em Saúde. Departamento de Vigilância de Doenças e Agravos não Transmissíveis e Promoção de Saúde. Vigitel Brasil 2012: vigilância de fatores de risco e proteção para doenças crônicas por inquérito telefônico. Brasília: Ministério da Saúde ; 2013. 136p. [ Links ]
10. Brasil. Ministério da Saúde. Vigitel Brasil 2016: vigilância de fatores de risco e proteção para doenças crônicas por inquérito telefônico: estimativas sobre frequência e distribuição sociodemográfica de fatores de risco e proteção para doenças crônicas nas capitais dos 26 estados brasileiros e no Distrito Federal em 2016. Brasília: Ministério da Saúde ; 2017. 160p. [ Links ]
11. The Diabetes Control and Complications Trial Research Group. The effect of intensive treatment of diabetes on the development and progression of long-term complications in insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. N Engl J Med 1993; 329(14): 977-86. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJM199309303291401 [ Links ]
12. K Prospective Diabetes Study (UKPDS) Group. Intensive blood glucose control with sulphonylureas or insulin compared with conventional treatment and risk of complications in patients with type 2 diabetes (UKPDS 33). Lancet 1998; 352(9131): 837-53. [ Links ]
Financial support: none.
Received: June 16, 2018; Revised: October 22, 2018; Accepted: October 30, 2018
Corresponding author: Priscila Maria Stolses Bergamo Francisco. Department of Public Health, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Universidade Estadual de Campinas. Rua Tessália Vieira de Camargo, 126, Cidade Universitária, CEP: 13083-887, Campinas (SP), Brazil. E-mail: primaria@unicamp.br
Conflict of interests: nothing to declare
Author’s contributions: Priscila Maria Stolses Bergamo Francisco prepared the proposal and writing of the manuscript, planned, programmed and performed the statistical analyzes. Patrícia Silveira Rodrigues collaborated in the planning, writing of the manuscript and literature review. Karen Sarmento Costa collaborated in the writing and critical revision of the content. Noemia Urruth Leão Tavares collaborated in the writing and critical review of the content. Vera Lúcia Tierling collaborated in the writing and review of the literature. Marilisa Berti de Azevedo Barros reviewed the data analysis and critically reviewed the content. Deborah Carvalho Malta reviewed the data analysis, critically reviewed the content, and approved the final manuscript version.
Av. Dr. Arnaldo, 715 - 2º andar - sl. 3 - Cerqueira César
01246-904 São Paulo SP Brasil
revbrepi@usp.br
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All captured Far East whales released – Russia's human rights body
Russia’s Public Chamber advocates for speedy release of whales held in Far East
Probe opened into alleged abuse of whales in Russia’s Far East
Tags: Animal rights, President's Council for Human Rights, Far East, Russia
MOSCOW, November 11 (RAPSI) – All orca whales and white whales, which had been illegally captured in the Primorsk Territory of Russia’s Far East, were returned to the high sea, the press service of the Presidential Council for Human Rights reports Monday.
The rescue operation was launched in late June.
Earlier, human rights advocates repeatedly called to release captured mammals as soon as possible.
During the probe into a mammal poaching case launched in November 2018 investigators established that 90 white whales and 11 orca whales were mistreated in a local oceanic mammal adaptation center.
In February, President Vladimir Putin ordered Russia’s Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and Ministry of Agriculture to seal the fate of mammals held in the so-called whale prison in the Primorsk Territory of Russia’s Far East.
That same month, investigation was opened into alleged cruelty to captured orca whales and white whales. During the probe into a mammal poaching case launched in November 2018 investigators established that 90 white whales and 11 orca whales were mistreated in a local oceanic mammal adaptation center.
In May, local authorities said that the whales could be released in two months. A court on Sakhalin island held that the mammals were captured illegally but did not seize them from catching companies.
10:58 11/11/2019 All orca whales and white whales, which had been illegally captured in the Primorsk Territory of Russia’s Far East, were returned to the high sea, the press service of the Presidential Council for Human Rights reports Monday.
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Poverty and social media drive mental health problems that make ‘teenage girls significantly more likely to self-harm than boys’
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Eight in 10 young adults feel they are not good enough, poll claims
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Suicides rise to 16-year high across UK
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Mental health services 'putting women at risk' by failing to ask them about domestic abuse
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Two-thirds of students support universities being able to warn parents if students have a mental health crisis, an annual survey suggests.
Self-harm among children doubles at troubled Feltham young offenders' institution
The rate of self-harm among children at Feltham Young Offenders Institution (YOI) has surged amid a deterioration of safety and care at the jail, the prisons watchdog has warned.
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Police officers suffering PTSD on 'alarming' scale, study finds
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More than two hours of daily screen time linked to ‘behavioural and attention problems’ among children
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Psychiatrists urged to consider impact of social media use on all children they assess for mental health problems
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Prince Harry helps shine spotlight on mental health problems facing military veterans
Prince Harry today helped shine a spotlight on the mental health problems facing military veterans.
Mental health services boost for expectant and new mothers
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People with mental health problems pay £1,000 premium for essential services each year, charity says
Vulnerable customers struggle to pay bills on time and solve problems with providers, according to Citizens Advice
Self-harm rate among children in custody soars by 37% in three years, figures show
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Thousands serving community sentences 'have undetected mental health problems'
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UK could ban social media companies over self-harm content, health secretary says
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Cheap common drugs may help mental illness
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Number of hospital admissions for stress and anxiety soars in decade
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Internet therapy reduces symptoms of depression, study claims
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Mental Health Act ‘needs major reform’ as black patients four times as likely as whites to be sectioned
Black people are four times more likely to be detained under the “outdated” Mental Health Act than whites, in a legal process that allows patients to be kept on a secure ward and treated against their will.
Antidepressant withdrawal 'hits millions'
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People with severe mental illness have far worse physical health, officials warn
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Suicide rate among UK men at lowest since 1981
In 2017, there were 4,383 male suicides and the rate was 15.5 per 100,000 men - down from 20 in the late 1980s, data from the Office for National Statistics reveals. Although the male rate is falling, men still account for three-quarters of suicides in the UK.
Fifth of 14-year-old girls in UK 'self-harm'
A survey of 11,000 children found 22% of the girls and 9% of the boys said they had hurt themselves on purpose in the year prior to the questionnaire.
Beano launches new comic strip to support childrens’ mental health
Britain’s longest-running comic, The Beano, has joined forces with children’s mental health charity YoungMinds to create a new character that addresses mental health and wellbeing among young people.
Poor mental health 'part and parcel of childhood'
Poor mental health has become "part and parcel" of childhood for many children, England's Children's Commissioner says.
Universities are being told to "dramatically improve" support for students with mental health issues. The government is announcing it will award a certificate of excellence to institutions which meet new standards of mental health care.
'Sister, you need to pray - depression doesn’t exist in Islam'
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University student suicide rates revealed
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'Why UK Asians need to talk more about suicide'
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Grenfell Tower fire mental health treatment 'to cost £10m'
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Europe's mental health institutions uniformly substandard, says WHO
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Young people can be champions of change in mental health care
New initiatives are helping young people enter the conversation – but there’s still stigma around accessing services
Data obtained by children's charity the NSPCC shows that schools in England have made a total of 123,713 referrals for specialist help since 2014-15.
We should work towards raising mental health awareness: Deepika
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Eighty four harrowing statues depicting male suicide victims appear on ITV's Southbank studios
Project 84 saw bereaved families work with suicide prevention charity CALM to get people talking about the biggest killer of men under 45 in the UK.
Damning report finds ‘serious failings’ in NHS mental health services
Vulnerable mental health patients are suffering serious harm, and in some cases dying, because of “serious failings” in their treatment, the NHS ombudsman has warned.
Depression can cause Memory problems, study finds
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Mental health deaths: calls for inquiry into NHS failings
Opposition parties are demanding an inquiry into the Guardian’s disclosure that 271 mental health patients have died over the last six years after failings in their NHS care.
Scientists say they have settled one of medicine's biggest debates after a huge study found that anti-depressants work.
Eating disorders: NHS reports surge in hospital admissions
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More than half of teachers have been diagnosed with mental health issues, study shows
Three quarters of those surveyed by Leeds Beckett University believe their poor psychological and emotional conditions could have a detrimental effect on pupils’ progress – a situation campaigners have said "cannot go on".
Women 'more likely' to suffer winter depression and mood changes
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Children facing 'significant emotional risk' on social media, report warns
Children are being exposed to “significant emotional risk” on social media, particularly as they transition into secondary school, a report has warned.
Suicide rate among young women doubles in a decade
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Anorexic student Averil Hart 'failed by every NHS body'
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Police reveal 'unlawful' mental health detentions
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Figures show over 45,000 students in Scotland sought counselling over last five years
Student mental health must be treated as a priority, the Liberal Democrats said after figures showed more than 45,000 people have used university counselling services in Scotland over the last five years.
Smartphone use linked to suicide risk for teenagers
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One in 10 teenage girls referred to mental health and learning disability services in past year, finds NHS report
Around 69,000 16- and 17-year-old girls received an open referral to NHS-funded secondary mental health, learning disabilities or autism services during 2016-17 – amounting to 11.4 per cent of this group as a whole new figures show.
Non-white children are less likely to access traditional mental health services, report finds
Ethnic minority children are less likely than their white counterparts to access traditional mental health services, according to new research.
Study finds, Some cancer patients have PTSD years after diagnosis
Becki McGuinness
A fifth of cancer patients experience post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a Malaysian study has found.
Depression link between fathers and teenage children, says study
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LGBT Asians turning to marriages of convenience
The number of LGBT people from South Asian communities going online to find gay partners of the opposite sex for sham marriages is "the tip of the iceberg", a campaign group claims.
Up to 300,000 people with long-term mental health problems have to leave their jobs each year, a report says.
'Steep rise' in self-harm among teenage girls
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The shocking number of Manchester teenagers struggling with poor body image
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Starting school before 8.30am causes depression as students are sleep deprived, claims new study
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A quarter of girls and nearly one in 10 boys show signs of depression at the age of 14, say UK researchers.
Leicester mother's plea for 'mental health awareness' after daughter's suicide
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Nadiya Hussain opens up about her panic disorder 'monster'
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Suicide rates fall to six-year low
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Teenager Eisha Sajid releases anti-bullying song
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Improving student mental health in the UK's universities
Levels of mental illness, mental distress and low wellbeing among students in higher education in the UK are increasing, and are high relative to other sections of the population.
Around three-quarters of adults with a mental illness first experience symptoms before the age of 25.
At least 20 Grenfell Tower fire survivors have attempted suicide, mental health charity says
Yvette Greenway, the founder of Silence of Suicide, said the charity had been told of numerous suicide attempts when speaking to groups supporting survivors of th
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Ambulance call-outs for mental health patients in England soar by 23%
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An additional 55,000 hours were spent supporting people with their mental health last year, compared with 2014-15 – up by 32%. In London the time spent rose by 45%, according to the request for information made by the Labour MP Luciana Berger.
Abuse of mentally ill patients by NHS staff 'jumps by 88% in two years'
Freedom of Information request reveals spike in incidents from 106 in 2013/14 to 199 in 2015/16
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Midwives call for 'urgent' funding for mental health care for new mothers after postnatal depression death
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There is an "urgent need" for more funding for mental health care for expectant and new mothers, leading midwives have said.
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600 City of San Diego
PUBLISHED: Friday December 19, 2003
Date of Notice: December 19, 2003
PUBLIC NOTICE OF A DRAFT
MITIGATED NEGATIVE
Job Order Number 42-0283
A Mitigated Negative Declaration has been prepared by the City of San Diego Land Development Review Division for the project listed below. Written comments regarding the adequacy of this Draft Mitigated Negative Declaration must be received by the Land Development Review Division at the address below byJanuary 17, 2004.
PROJECT No. 2494
SCH. No. (Pending)
COUNCIL DISTRICT: 1
COMMUNITY PLAN AREA:
Villa Costa Monte. COASTAL DEVELOPMENT PERMIT AND SITE DEVELOPMENT PERMIT to develop a 1.0-acre site with a single-family residence/garage, swimming pool with deck and gazebo, sports court, driveway access, and landscaping. The project would include improvements to public facilities (road, sewer, drainage, and fire turnout/access) that would impact approximately 0.3 acre off-site. Total building area would be 7,540 square feet. The project site is located at the future northern terminus of Via del Mar, north of Arroyo Sorrento Road. The project is in the Carmel Valley Neighborhood 8 Community (Parcel 2 of Parcel Map 10227, together with that portion of Via del Mar lying within said parcel map as granted and dedicated as a public street to the City of San Diego on July 22, 1980). Applicant: Myles Cooper.
This recommended finding that the project will not have a significant effect on the environment is based on an Initial Study and project revisions/conditions which now mitigate potentially significant environmental impacts in the following areas: BIOLOGICAL RESOURCES, TRANSPORTATION/CIRCULATION, HEALTH AND HUMAN SAFETY, LAND USE/MSCP, and PALEONTOLOGICAL RESOURCES. The Mitigated Negative Declaration, Initial Study, and supporting documents may be reviewed, or purchased for the cost of reproduction, at the office of the Land Development Review Division, 1222 First Avenue, Fifth Floor, San Diego, CA 92101.
To request the Mitigated Negative Declaration, Initial Study and/or supporting documents in alternative format, call the Development Services Department at (619) 446-5460 immediately to ensure availability. This information is ALSO available in alternative formats for persons with disabilities. To request this notice in alternative format, call (619) 446-5000 or (800) 735-2929 (TEXT TELEPHONE).
For environmental review information, contact Holly Smit Kicklighter at (619) 446-5378. For information regarding public meetings/hearings on this project, contact Derrick Johnson at (619) 446-5238. This notice was published in the SAN DIEGO DAILY TRANSCRIPT and distributed on December 19, 2003. A final environmental report incorporating public input will be prepared after January 17, 2003 for consideration by decision-making authorities.
Chris Zirkle
Assistant Deputy Director
Pub. Dec. 19-k110189
Days in December 2003
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Cannabis Watch Archives | Email alerts
Nov. 13, 2019, 7:42 a.m. EST
Tilray sells five times as much pot, thanks to European efforts and hemp acquisition
Cannabis company’s losses continue to widen despite revenue growth
Tilray Inc. Cl 2 (TLRY)
ETFMG Alternative Harvest ETF (MJ)
Tilray sold $5.7 million worth of international medical cannabis.
Tilray Inc. sold nearly five times more pot than last year, according to a quarterly earnings report released Thursday, in part thanks to the acquisition of the world’s largest hemp-food maker and early returns from selling medical marijuana in Europe.
Tilray /zigman2/quotes/209129655/composite TLRY +0.13% reported a third-quarter net loss of $35.7 million, or 36 cents a share, versus $18.7 million, or 20 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Revenue rose to $51.1 million from $10.1 million in the year-ago period, surpassing Wall Street expectations. Excluding excise taxes, revenue was $48.2 million.
Of its total revenue, $15.7 million is from hemp products, the result of its acquisition of Manitoba Harvest earlier this year. Tilray sold $15.8 million worth of recreational weed. International medical cannabis sales increased to $5.7 million from $949,000 a year ago.
Tilray Chief Executive Brendan Kennedy said in an interview with MarketWatch that he attributes the international cannabis sales to investments the company made in 2017 and 2018 that are now beginning to bear fruit.
Cannabis Watch: How much worse can it get for underperforming weed companies?
“[International revenue] will definitely increase,” he said. “And in Germany, we see continued demand, we see demand for high-quality GMP [good manufacturing practices] flower. We’ve proven we can get product into Germany, it’s more difficult than people understand to get products there and it’s difficult to have sellthrough there.”
Kennedy said selling in Germany can be a challenge because the country expects product sold to match a narrow range of tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, a psychoactive compound found in cannabis. THC content declines over time in cannabis plants, Kennedy said, which creates a challenge when shipping product after promising a certain THC percentage.
Analysts surveyed by FactSet expected losses of 30 cents a share on sales of $49 million. For the fourth quarter, analysts expect a loss of 28 cents a share and sales of $57 million. Tilray shares initially gained about 2% in the extended traded session, then fell to losses of as much as 2%.
/zigman2/quotes/209129655/composite TLRY 21.00, +0.03, +0.13%
Tilray sold roughly 10.9 metric tons of cannabis during the quarter, with the average selling price per gram dropping to $3.25 from $6.21. Adult, recreational cannabis sold for an average of $2.98 a gram.
Like many Canadian public cannabis companies, Tilray has struggled to meet the lofty expectations set around legalization. Kennedy has in the past laid part of the blame on Canada’s other licensed weed companies, saying that they have lied about how much marijuana they can grow. That created problems for Tilray because it had planned to source marijuana from other companies versus planning to grow all of the cannabis it needed.
Kennedy told MarketWatch on Thursday that his view of the Canadian cannabis industry has not changed much from last quarter, when he said he was “less skeptical” of cannabis supply in Canada. However, he said that when Tilray goes to the market to find high-potency weed, there is very little available for purchase, despite a fair amount of product showing up on the balance sheets of Tilray’s rivals.
“If we had access to more of it, we could sell more of it,” Kennedy said.
Lower-quality marijuana suitable for extraction is not difficult to obtain, he said.
Tilray said in August that it was acquiring a cannabis retailer in Alberta for up to C$110 million ($82.9 million) in an all-stock deal. Tilray also signed a deal with a German company to supply $3.3 million worth of weed from its Portugal facility.
Tilray shares have struggled this year, falling 70%, as the ETFMG Alternative Harvest ETF /zigman2/quotes/204332491/composite MJ -2.56% dropped 23.2% and the Horizons Marijuana Life Sciences ETF /zigman2/quotes/208856346/delayed CA:HMMJ -2.93% fell 27.2%. The benchmark S&P 500 index /zigman2/quotes/210599714/realtime SPX -0.33% has gained 23%.
Add to watchlist TLRY
Tilray Inc. Cl 2
Add to watchlist MJ
ETFMG Alternative Harvest ETF
US : U.S.: NYSE Arca
Add to watchlist CA:HMMJ
Horizons Marijuana Life Sciences Index ETF
CA : Canada: Toronto
Get news alerts on Tilray Inc. Cl 2 — or create your own.
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• Sir Peter Fahy says officers have to concentrate on most serious crimes
• Chief Constable likened policy to the NHS treating the most sick
• Critics warn that ignoring most crimes will damage public faith in police
Six out of every ten crimes reported to one of Britain’s biggest police forces are not properly investigated, its chief has admitted.
Greater Manchester’s officers only ‘actively pursue’ criminals in 40 per cent of cases reported to them, its chief constable said, with detectives effectively shelving or ‘screening out’ the rest because there are no witnesses or clues.
It means that more than 106,000 crimes in Greater Manchester were all but given up by the force as lost causes last year.
Justifying the approach, Sir Peter Fahy said officers had to behave like NHS doctors by prioritising cases which were the most serious or likely to end in success.
However, MPs and crime experts last night accused Sir Peter of failing victims of crime and talking ‘bureaucratic gobbledegook’. Defending his force’s approach, Sir Peter said: ‘Most crime is committed by a group of active, persistent offenders who go in and out of the criminal justice system.
‘So in continuing to reduce crime, we balance between investigating offences after they have happened and targeting those who we know are out there every day, looking for criminal opportunities. Some of these we visit twice a day to keep them on their toes.
‘In the same way that the Health Service concentrates on the most serious illnesses and the treatments likely to have most effect, the police have to concentrate on the most serious crimes and those where there are lines of investigation likely to produce evidence of the offender.
‘This translates into about 40 per cent of crime being actively pursued at any time. We look at all crimes to identify patterns of offending and to build the picture of where we need to target patrols. In many crimes there are no witnesses, no CCTV and no forensic opportunities.’
Victims in the shelved cases are given crime numbers so they can pursue insurance claims but otherwise their cases are dropped.
Greater Manchester Police was recently criticised for giving special priority to victims if they are members of ‘alternative subcultures’ such as goths, because this would be classified as a ‘hate crime’.
The practice of ‘screening out’ hard-to-solve crime is also widespread in other parts of the country.
In London, 45 per cent of crimes, including a quarter of robberies, two out of five burglaries and three quarters of car thefts were not properly investigated last year.
In total, 346,397 were screened out at an early stage and 424,091 investigated further.
In Bedfordshire 39 per cent are screened out, while in Warwickshire the figure is 37 per cent, Northamptonshire 33 per cent and Hampshire 24 per cent.
Graham Stringer, a local Labour MP, dismissed Sir Peter’s argument as ‘bureaucratic gobbledegook’.
He said: ‘De-prioritising the majority of crime is bound to lead to a loss of confidence in the police force. Those victims whose crimes aren’t investigated have every right to be angry. They have an expectation, having paid their council tax, that they have a better service from the police force.’
Peter Cuthbertson, of the Centre for Crime Prevention, said: ‘This is an appalling admission. Setting priorities because of a heavy workload is sensible, but to drop a large majority of cases can only increase the workload, spurring on criminals who realise the police won’t even investigate them most of the time.’
Criminologist Dr David Green, of the Civitas think-tank, said: ‘Police do not focus on the most serious incidents – they focus on the ones they can solve quickly to boost their detection rates. They are neglecting the crimes which the public is most concerned about.’
For example, burglary has one of the lowest detection rates of all offences. Last year, it emerged only 15 per cent of burglaries are being solved in Greater Manchester.
Tony Lloyd, Police and Crime Commissioner for Greater Manchester, said: ‘Let me be clear that I expect, and the chief constable expects, that with all serious crime no effort will be spared to bring the criminals to justice.
‘What I don’t expect is where there is no evidential trail that the police go through a paper chase to simply tick boxes, but instead use intelligent policing to prevent a recurrence of those types of crime.’
The force said crime had fallen significantly in the past decade despite a £134million cut in its budget.
Thursday, September 5th, 2013 by admin Security
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Jack Beckman on Points, Memories & Show and Tell
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Christopher Bell on Veterans, Cowboys & Outlaws
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Dale Earhardt on Business Attire, Wheels & Art School
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Joe Gibbs NASCAR Driver Erik Jones was in The Freak Nation Sunday night. He’s finishing his third season in NASCAR Cup racing and, for a change this year, he’s not in the post season playoffs. But Jones finds something positive in that negative. And that includes how his team looks at next year. Then there’s Oscar. Listen…
Rob MacCachran on Dirt, Patience & NASCAR Scripts
Four-Time Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series Pro 2 Champion Rob MacCachran was in The Freak Nation Sunday night. MacCachran has raced for more than 30 years winning four Baja 1000s and four Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series Pro2 championships in 2010, 2013, 2015 and 2016. He’s raced and won championships in several other categories but we had the most fun talking about his experiences in racing NASCAR trucks when that series was getting underway. Listen…
Ross Chastain on Watermelons, ISM Menus & Executions
Ross Chastain is considered the busiest driver in the NASCAR/stock car racing industry. But his claim to fame last week was smashing watermelons at ISM Raceway outside Phoenix. The story of that promotion included some wonderful memories and even greater images at the track. Listen…
Ryan Beat on Attitudes, Boxing & Babies
Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series Pro Lite Points Leader Ryan Beat Sunday night talked about his upcoming championship chase at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park in Chandler, Arizona. Beat won the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series Pro Lite title in 2017 and ’18. He leads the points in 2019 with one event to go. Beat admits his success might be tied to the birth of his daughter three years ago. Listen…
Christian Eckes on Food Poisoning, Kansas and Chefs
ARCA Points Leader Christian Eckes came into The Freak Nation Sunday night to talk about his upcoming battle for the title with Michael Self who’s second in ARCA points. The two will face off for the title in Kansas next weekend at Kansas Speedway. It’s been a difficult season for Eckes who had to overcome a bout of food poisoning that immobilized him mid-season. Listen…
Carl Edwards on Bras, Strange Arms & Wedgies
This week we take a Freakin’ Flashback with Carl Edwards, back to April 2013 after he won a Cup race at Texas Motor Speedway. Edwards walked away from the NASCAR Cup Series in 2017 after finishing the 2011 season in a flat tie with Tony Stewart. Stewart was given the title after a lengthy tiebreaker. Carl will always be a Friend of the Freaks. Listen…
Newer Entries
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Sinlung / Manipur
Why Indian state of Manipur is gripped by violence
Eight people were killed and dozens others were injured last week in clashes between the police and protesters over tribal rights laws in the restive north-eastern Indian state of Manipur. Subir Bhaumik explains why the state is in turmoil. For the past few months, the majority Hindu Meitei community in Manipur have been holding protests, demanding promulgation of the Inner Line Permit (ILP) in the state.
The ILP - a system introduced by India's former British rulers and already existent in three north-eastern states of Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram and Nagaland - protects tribespeople by preventing "outsiders" from buying land or settling in their area.
The Meitei community wanted the the system to be introduced in Manipur to prevent unrestricted entry of "outsiders" - settlers from other Indian states or neighbouring countries like Bangladesh and Myanmar - whose numbers have sharply risen between the 2001 and 2011 Census and who now make up a fourth of Manipur's population of 2.8 million.
Upset tribes
During the Meitei agitation, schools were shut for weeks, prices of essential commodities skyrocketed and violence often erupted on the streets.
Then in late August, the Manipur state assembly passed three bills aimed at giving more rights to indigenous groups who accuse "outsiders" of taking land and jobs.
That assuaged the Meiteis, but upset the Nagas and Kukis, the other dominant tribes in the state.
On 31 August, three student organisations representing the Naga and Kuki tribes called a general strike across Manipur, demanding withdrawal of the bills.
Eight people were killed in violence over two days in the Kuki-dominated Churachandpur district.
Homes of Kuki lawmakers and one Kuki minister were burnt down by angry mobs who felt they had not protected "tribal interest" by supporting the bills. Additional security forces were deployed and an indefinite curfew was imposed in Churachandpur.
The tribal student groups claimed the new bills, when made law, would allow Meiteis to buy land in the hill districts of Manipur where the Nagas and Kukis live - something that is not possible now.
Pressures over land
But Manipur human rights activist Babloo Loitongbam says the bills have "nothing against the security or interest of the tribes people".
"Rather, the process of buying land by outsiders in the state has been made more stringent by the new laws," he said.
He blamed the violence on the state government's failure to take the Nagas and Kukis into confidence and explain to them the new proposed laws.
"The government should have explained the content in greater detail as the relationship between the tribals in the hills and the Meiteis in the Imphal valley has always been sensitive," Mr Loitongbam said.
"Earlier the permission to buy land had to be sought from a section or subsidiary of the local cabinet, but now the entire cabinet needs to approve land-buying by an outsider. The tribal areas remain protected and are not disturbed under the new amendments," Mr Loitongbam told the BBC.
The Nagas and Kukis have concerns over a clause setting 1951 as the base year for classing residents as indigenous, with those settling in the state before then given land rights - the groups fear that those who have moved into the state after that date would stand to lose.
Women activist Binalaxmi Nephram blamed the federal government for taking no interest in tackling the unrest - first the Meitei agitation and now the tribal unrest against the bills.
She blamed the violence on the pressures over land.
"About 60% of Manipur's population lives on 10% of its land in the plains. So land is a sensitive issue."
Manipur is not new to conflict - Meitei, Naga and Kuki separatists have run long armed campaigns, often targeting Indian armed forces, protesting against controversial anti-insurgent laws like the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) which gives the security forces the powers of search and seizure.
But Meiteis, Naga and Kuki militias have also fought one another in the 1990s over conflicting homeland demands.
Now Meiteis, upset with demographic changes, are targeting "outsiders" much as they all continue to fight against the AFSPA.
Unless the authorities take quick steps to defuse the situation, these several layers of conflict could explode into huge violence in Manipur.
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[dvdvdwgcardtowallet]
Imagine the best magic, the best magicians, and the best producers all in one place. Imagine no more... If you could have one set of magic, this would be it! This benchmark collection features just about all of magic's most enduring and classic effects and routines. It's a fabulous compendium with m [...]
Imagine the best magic, the best magicians, and the best producers all in one place.
Imagine no more...
If you could have one set of magic, this would be it! This benchmark collection features just about all of magic's most enduring and classic effects and routines. It's a fabulous compendium with many of the top masters in the world of magic teaching their handlings and routines for some of magic's classics. Linking rings, sponge balls, metal bending, cups and balls, thumb tips, Zombie, color-changing knives, and many, many more topics are all gathered in this one terrific reference set. Each volume covers a specific subject and features new, old, and sometimes rare footage by some of the top video producers in magic.
The card-to-impossible-place plot is almost as old as card conjuring itself with the earliest ancestor of the trick we now call the Card To Wallet appearing as "The Card in the Pocketbook" in early magic literature. Over the next two centuries, magicians devised a myriad of ways to create the effect of a selected playing card appearing mysteriously in the performer's wallet and in this collection, you'll find an amazing variety of methods for all skill levels. John Mendoza begins with two selections appearing in the zippered compartment of a wallet that was in plain sight throughout the routine - and there's no palming involved. Likewise, Alexander deCova has devised a way of recreating the famous LePaul effect of a signed playing card appearing inside an envelope and, once again, there is no palming involved. Michael Ammar is next with an extremely logical approach to the effect as a torn playing card visibly changes into a credit card while, naturally, the playing card is found restored in the performer's wallet in the space previously occupied by the credit card. Then, Eddie Tullock, the king of trade show performers, demonstrates how to turn a basic card-to-wallet effect into a powerful promotional tool. Dan Fleshman offers his take on the classic Red Hot Momma effect with a socko wallet finish while Alex Elmsley demonstrates a card-to-wallet effect that uses no gimmicked wallets and is virtually always ready to perform. Finally, Eric DeCamps presents his card in wallet routine with three selections that can play in a stand-up as well as close-up situation.
The discovery of a chosen - and oftentimes signed - playing card in the magician's wallet is a centuries-old crowd pleaser and if you're looking to add this all-time audience favorite to your repertoire, you won't find a better starting point than this collection.
Bendix Bombshell - John Mendoza
Professional Card to Wallet - Alexander deCova (courtesy of Murphy's Magic)
Card In Wallet - Michael Ammar
Card In Wallet - Eddie Tullock
Momma In My Wallet - Dan Fleshman
Card To Wallet - Alex Elmsley
Card In Wallet Routine - Eric DeCamps (courtesy of Murphy's Magic)
Gambling Routines (World's Greatest) video DOWNLOAD
Build Your Own Psychic Calculator by Shawn Evans - eBook DOWNLOAD
Talkmagic ForumShopInstant videosClose Updvdvdwgcardtowallet
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Accueil << 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 >> [11–20]
Auteur Delzor, A.; Couratier, P.; Boumédiène, F.; Nicol, M.; Druet-Cabanac, M.; Paraf, F.; Méjean, A.; Ploux, O.; Leleu, J.-P.; Brient, L.; Lengronne, M.; Pichon, V.; Combès, A.; El Abdellaoui, S.; Bonneterre, V.; Lagrange, E.; Besson, G.; Bicout, D.J.; Boutonnat, J.; Camu, W.; Pageot, N.; Juntas-Morales, R.; Rigau, V.; Masseret, E.; Abadie, E.; Preux, P.-M.; Marin, B.
Titre Searching for a link between the L-BMAA neurotoxin and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: a study protocol of the French BMAALS programme Type Article scientifique
Année 2014 Publication Revue Abrégée BMJ Open
Volume 4 Numéro 8 Pages
Résumé Introduction Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is the most common motor neurone disease. It occurs in two forms: (1) familial cases, for which several genes have been identified and (2) sporadic cases, for which various hypotheses have been formulated. Notably, the β-N-methylamino-L-alanine (L-BMAA) toxin has been postulated to be involved in the occurrence of sporadic ALS. The objective of the French BMAALS programme is to study the putative link between L-BMAA and ALS.Methods and analysis The programme covers the period from 1 January 2003 to 31 December 2011. Using multiple sources of ascertainment, all the incident ALS cases diagnosed during this period in the area under study (10 counties spread over three French regions) were collected. First, the standardised incidence ratio will be calculated for each municipality under concern. Then, by applying spatial clustering techniques, overincidence and underincidence zones of ALS will be sought. A case–control study, in the subpopulation living in the identified areas, will gather information about patients’ occupations, leisure activities and lifestyle habits in order to assess potential risk factors to which they are or have been exposed. Specimens of drinking water, food and biological material (brain tissue) will be examined to assess the presence of L-BMAA in the environment and tissues of ALS cases and controls.Ethics and dissemination The study has been reviewed and approved by the French ethical committee of the CPP SOOM IV (Comité de Protection des Personnes Sud-Ouest & Outre-Mer IV). The results will be published in peer-reviewed journals and presented at national and international conferences.
Editeur Lieu de Publication Éditeur
ISSN ISBN Médium
Numéro d'Appel MARBEC @ isabelle.vidal-ayouba @ collection 818
Auteur Sequeira, A.M.M.; Mellin, C.; Floch, L.; Williams, P.G.; Bradshaw, C.J.A.
Titre Inter-ocean asynchrony in whale shark occurrence patterns Type Article scientifique
Année 2014 Publication Revue Abrégée Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology
Volume 450 Numéro Pages 21-29
Mots-Clés <!–; –><keyword; Handled; id=; Not; Tag
Résumé Abstract The whale shark (Rhincodon typus, Smith, 1828) is a migratory species (classed as Vulnerable by the IUCN) with genetic and circumstantial evidence for inter-ocean connectivity. Given this migratory behaviour, population-wide occurrence trends can only be contextualized by examining the synchrony in occurrence patterns among locations where they occur. We present a two-step modelling approach of whale shark spatial and temporal probability of occurrence in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans using generalized linear mixed-effects models. To test the hypothesis that the probability of whale shark occurrence is asynchronous across oceans, as expected if inter-ocean migration occurs, we used long-term datasets of whale shark sightings derived from tuna purse-seine logbooks covering most of the central-east Atlantic (1980–2010) and western Pacific (2000–2010). We predicted seasonal habitat suitability to produce maps in each area, and then evaluated the relative effect of time (year) on the probability of occurrence to test whether it changed over the study period. We also applied fast Fourier transforms to determine if any periodicity was apparent in whale shark occurrences in each ocean. After partialling out the effects of seasonal patterns in spatial distribution and sampling effort, we found no evidence for a temporal trend in whale shark occurrence in the Atlantic, but there was a weak trend of increasing probability of occurrence in the Pacific. The highest-ranked model for the latter included a spatial predictor of occurrence along with fishing effort, a linear term for time, and a random temporal effect (year), explaining 15% of deviance in whale shark probability of occurrence. Fast Fourier transforms revealed a prominent 15.5-year cycle in the Atlantic. The increase in the probability of occurrence in the Pacific is concurrent with a decrease previously detected in the Indian Ocean. Cyclic patterns driven by migratory behaviour would better explain temporal trends in whale shark occurrence at the oceanic scale. However, despite cycles partially explaining observations of fewer sharks in some years, overall reported sighting rate has been decreasing. As a result, we suggest that the current {IUCN} status of the species should be re-assessed, but more data are needed to examine the flow of individuals across oceans and to identify possible reasons for asynchronous occurrences.
Numéro d'Appel LL @ pixluser @ collection 314
Auteur Poisson, F.; Séret, B.; Vernet, A.-L.; Goujon, M.; Dagorn, L.
Titre Collaborative research: Development of a manual on elasmobranch handling and release best practices in tropical tuna purse-seine fisheries Type Article scientifique
Année 2014 Publication Revue Abrégée Marine Policy
Volume 44 Numéro Pages 312-320
Résumé Abstract The reduction of by-catch mortality is an objective of the ecosystem approach to fisheries and a request made by consumers. Elasmobranchs, an important component of the French tropical tuna purse seine fishery by-catch, are currently thrown back into the sea. Fishers interact with various types of elasmobranchs that range widely in size, weight and shape, and could pose various degrees of danger to the crew. A diversity of discarding practices within the fleet were reported, some practices were considered suitable, others needed to be adapted and improved and others simply had to be banned. The majority of the crews were likely to improve their handling practices if they were presented with practical suggestions that were quick and easy. Combining scientific observations and empirical knowledge from skippers and crew, a manual, providing appropriate handling practices to ensure crew safety and increase the odds of survival for released animals has been developed and disseminated. Bringing these good practices onto the decks of fishing vessels should contribute to the reduction of the fishing mortality of some vulnerable species. It would be positively viewed by consumers as an act that reduces fishing's footprint on the environment and promoting animal welfare which would improve the image of fishing industry. Mitigation research is by definition an iterative process and different complementary methods must be carried out at different levels of the fishing process to significantly reduce the mortality of the by-catch.
ISSN 0308-597x ISBN Médium
Auteur Ban, N.C.; Maxwell, S.M.; Dunn, D.C.; Hobday, A.J.; Bax, N.J.; Ardron, J.; Gjerde, K.M.; Game, E.T.; Devillers, R.; Kaplan, D.M.; Dunstan, P.K.; Halpin, P.N.; Pressey, R.L.
Titre Better integration of sectoral planning and management approaches for the interlinked ecology of the open oceans Type Article scientifique
Volume Numéro Pages
Mots-Clés Areas beyond national jurisdiction; Benthic-pelagic interlinkages; High seas; marine conservation; Marine Protected Areas; sustainable fisheries
Résumé Open oceans are one of the least protected, least studied and most inadequately managed ecosystems on Earth. Three themes were investigated that differentiate the open ocean (areas beyond national jurisdiction and deep area within exclusive economic zones) from other realms and must be considered when developing planning and management options: ecosystem interactions, especially between benthic and pelagic systems; potential effects of human activities in open oceans on ecological linkages; and policy context and options. A number of key ecological factors differentiate open oceans from coastal systems for planners and managers: (1) many species are widely distributed and, especially for those at higher trophic levels, wide ranging; (2) the sizes and boundaries of biogeographical domains (patterns of co-occurrence of species, habitats and ecosystem processes) vary significantly by depth; (3) habitat types exhibit a wide range of stabilities, from ephemeral (e.g., surface frontal systems) to hyper-stable (e.g., deep sea); and (4) vertical and horizontal linkages are prevalent. Together, these ecological attributes point to interconnectedness between open ocean habitats across large spatial scales. Indeed, human activities – especially fishing, shipping, and potentially deep-sea mining and oil and gas extraction – have effects far beyond the parts of the ocean in which they operate. While managing open oceans in an integrated fashion will be challenging, the ecological characteristics of the system demand it. A promising avenue forward is to integrate aspects of marine spatial planning (MSP), systematic conservation planning (SCP), and adaptive management. These three approaches to planning and management need to be integrated to meet the unique needs of open ocean systems, with MSP providing the means to meet a diversity of stakeholder needs, SCP providing the structured process to determine and prioritise those needs and appropriate responses, and adaptive management providing rigorous monitoring and evaluation to determine whether actions or their modifications meet both ecological and defined stakeholder needs. The flexibility of MSP will be enhanced by the systematic approach of SCP, while the rigorous monitoring of adaptive management will enable continued improvement as new information becomes available and further experience is gained.
Auteur Canard, E.F.; Mouquet, N.; Mouillot, D.; Stanko, M.; Miklisova, D.; Gravel, D.
Titre Empirical Evaluation of Neutral Interactions in Host-Parasite Networks Type Article scientifique
Année 2014 Publication Revue Abrégée American Naturalist
Volume 183 Numéro 4 Pages 468-479
Mots-Clés abundance; animal mutualistic networks; community; dissimilarity; effort; food-web structure; geographical variation; host-parasite network; network structure; neutrality; null model; phylogenetic signal; reconciling niche; sampling; scale-dependence; species abundance distribution
Résumé While niche-based processes have been invoked extensively to explain the structure of interaction networks, recent studies propose that neutrality could also be of great importance. Under the neutral hypothesis, network structure would simply emerge from random encounters between individuals and thus would be directly linked to species abundance. We investigated the impact of species abundance distributions on qualitative and quantitative metrics of 113 host-parasite networks. We analyzed the concordance between neutral expectations and empirical observations at interaction, species, and network levels. We found that species abundance accurately predicts network metrics at all levels. Despite host-parasite systems being constrained by physiology and immunology, our results suggest that neutrality could also explain, at least partially, their structure. We hypothesize that trait matching would determine potential interactions between species, while abundance would determine their realization.
Langue English Langue du Résumé Titre Original
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About UA | Search | Ahead of print | Current Issue | Archives | Instructions | Online submission | Login
Testicular epidermoid cyst: A rare case
Kenan B Ashouri, Joshua M Heiman, Emily F Kelly, Angelos N Manganiotis
Department of Urology, Florida Atlantic University, Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine, Boca Raton Regional Hospital, Boca Raton, FL, USA
Date of Submission 13-Mar-2017
Date of Acceptance 09-May-2017
Date of Web Publication 10-Jul-2017
Angelos N Manganiotis
Department of Surgery, Division of Urology, Florida Atlantic University, Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine, 777 Glades Rd Bldg 71, Boca Raton, Florida 33431
DOI: 10.4103/UA.UA_37_17
Testicular epidermoid cysts are a rare cause of testicular pathology. No cases of recurrence or metastasis have been reported in the literature. As a result, inguinal partial orchiectomy with frozen section has recently become standard treatment. A 43-year-old male presented with right testicular discomfort and the presence of mass. Right inguinal partial orchiectomy with frozen section was performed, and the right testicle was preserved. The final pathology report confirmed the diagnosis of an epidermoid cyst. The importance of accurate diagnosis of this benign lesion is crucial for the prevention of unnecessary radical orchiectomy.
Keywords: Cyst, epidermoid, testicular, tumor
Ashouri KB, Heiman JM, Kelly EF, Manganiotis AN. Testicular epidermoid cyst: A rare case. Urol Ann 2017;9:296-8
Ashouri KB, Heiman JM, Kelly EF, Manganiotis AN. Testicular epidermoid cyst: A rare case. Urol Ann [serial online] 2017 [cited 2020 Jan 21];9:296-8. Available from: http://www.urologyannals.com/text.asp?2017/9/3/296/210045
Epidermoid cysts are benign masses of epithelial hyperplasia commonly found in hair-bearing areas.[1] However, testicular epidermoid cysts are a rare cause of testicular pathology responsible for 2.1% of all testicular masses.[2],[3],[4] Both germ cell tumors and epidermoid cysts are seen most commonly in Caucasians, within the second to fourth decade of life.[2],[3] In comparison, germ cell tumors are of malignant etiology and are responsible for 95% of testicular lesions.[3] Dockerty and Priestly are often credited with the intitial description of a testicular epidermoid cyst in 1942.[5] The etiology of epidermoid cysts is still debated in the literature to date.[6],[7]
Testicular epidermoid cysts present most commonly as a painless enlargement of the testis (41%). Less frequently, detection occurs during routine examination (33%). History of a long-standing testicular mass is common ranging from 2 weeks to 7 years, with a mean of 15 months.[8] On physical examination, a firm mass can be palpated in 76% of cases most frequently in the upper pole of the testis.[3],[5],[9]
A 43-year-old male presented with right testicular discomfort and the presence of mass. The patient denied any previous history of scrotal injury or irritative urinary symptoms. Physical examination revealed normal penile structure with bilateral descended testicles, a palpable right intratesticular mass, and no lymphadenopathy in the groin region. Ultrasound showed evidence of a hypoechoic 1.4 cm × 1.3 cm intratesticular mass [Figure 1]. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the scrotum confirmed the presence of an enhancing 1.4 cm intratesticular mass [Figure 2]. Considering malignancy, the right inguinal partial orchiectomy through right inguinal incision and frozen section was performed which revealed no evidence of malignancy. The specimen was a 1.5 cm × 1.4 cm × 0.9 cm oval cyst with tan-gray smooth surface with wall thickness <0.1 cm. As a result, the right testicle was preserved. Final pathology showed a benign cyst with fibrosis and dystrophic calcification with abundant necrotic debris and no viable epithelial lining and confirmed the diagnosis of an epidermoid cyst with no atypical or malignant features identified [Figure 3].
Figure 1: Ultrasound showing evidence of a hypoechoic well circumscribed 1.4 cm × 1.3 cm intratesticular mass
Figure 2: Pelvic magnetic resonance imaging attention of scrotum with and without contrast showing anterior mid right intratesticular mass of 12 mm × 11 mm × 13 mm appear well marginated with a defined capsule, internal slightly T2 isointense signal (a) and no enhancement T1 hypointense (b)
Figure 3: Pathology slides showing a benign epidermoid cyst with dystrophic calcification. There is abundant necrotic debris with no viable epithelial lining of the cyst. A small amount of normal testicular parenchyma and seminiferous tubules seen on the outside of the cystic mass. No atypical or malignant features identified
Ultrasound is the first step in the diagnosis of a testicular mass. Specifically, the sonographic appearance of a well circumscribed hypoechoic lesion with hyperechoic margins is suggestive of an epidermoid cyst.[2] An “onion ring” or “bull's eye” appearance describing the alternating hypo- and hyperechogenic layers consistent with of keratin deposition within the lumen may also be seen.[6],[10] MRI can help in the diagnosis showing hyperintense T1-weighted areas representing intracystic lipid aggregates of proteinaceous cystic contents. Ultimately, the histological analysis is required to confirm the diagnosis and is done intraoperatively through frozen section. Gross findings include a well circumscribed or encapsulated round, oval mass with a 1–4 mm thick wall. A complete or incomplete lining of squamous epithelial filled with white/gray desquamated keratinized debris or proteinaceous material is seen.[1],[8],[9] The mass is surrounded by compressional atrophy while the seminiferous tubules located away from the mass are normal in appearance.[3],[11] Histologically, immunological staining for placental alkaline phosphatase shows the absence of testicular intraepithelial neoplasia.[2] Price described five criteria for diagnosis; the lesion must be cystic and located within the testicular parenchyma, the cystic lumen be filled with keratin, the wall be comprised fibrous tissue predominantly lined by squamous epithelium, the cyst must be devoid of teratomatous features or adnexal structures inside either the cystic wall or parenchyma, with the absence of a scar throughout the entire testicular parenchyma.[3]
No reported cases of local recurrence or metastasis have been found in the literature, thus, testis-sparing excision has recently become the treatment of choice.[6] This treatment method requires partial orchiectomy followed by intraoperative frozen section to rule out malignancy. If the pathology is reported as benign the procedure can be terminated, however, if the final pathology describes a teratoma or malignant pathology, radical orchiectomy is required.[2] This requires the absence of mitotic activity, cytological atypia, skin, adnexal structures, necrosis, hemorrhage, and epithelial hyperplasia for avoidance of radical orchiectomy.[4],[5],[12]
Several theories have been postulated describing the potential etiology of testicular epidermoid cysts.[2] First, several reports have claimed that these cysts are teratomatous in origin arising from a monodermal proliferation of epidermal (ectoderm) cells. Unlike true teratomas which contain at least two different embryonic germ layers, epidermal cysts lack mesodermal, and endodermal components. Monolayer teratomas have also been reported in the ovary as struma ovarii and pseudomucinous cystadenoma of the ovary.[8] Teratomas are considered malignant and are classified as a subtype of germ cell tumors of the testis. Both epidermal cells and teratomas occur in the same patient age range, have a preference for the right testicle, and occur most commonly in Caucasian males.[4] Epidermal cells, unlike teratomatous lesions, are benign, do not metastasize, and do not recur. In addition, epidermal cysts do not have markers of chromosome 12p anomalies seen in germ cell tumors, such as increase in alpha-fetoprotein and beta human chorionic gonadotropin.[4] Epidermal cysts, also, lack testicular intraepithelial neoplasia and carcinoma in situ of the surrounding seminiferous tubules of teratomatous lesions and 80%–100% of germ cell tumors.[2],[6] Therefore, this theory has been rejected by the current literature. A second supported theory is described as a metaplasia of epidermal cells from the rete testis secondary to an obstruction of the epidermal tube. However, the different locations of the cysts reported do not support this theory.[9] The third is the development of epidermoid cysts from keratinization of the rete testis. This theory does not describe the development of squamous metaplasia of the epithelium seen on histology.[8] Finally, the fourth theory is the displacement of embryological derived squamous cells from the scrotal skin to the testis. However, there is still lack of evidence to support this theory.[4]
All testicular masses are considered malignant until proven otherwise. The importance of accurate diagnosis of this benign lesion is crucial for the prevention of unnecessary radical orchiectomy.
Park KK, Hyun CL, Kim SD, Kim YJ, Huh JS. The testis completely replaced by a huge epidermal cyst in an older man. World J Mens Health 2015;33:117-20.
Dieckmann KP, Loy V. Epidermoid cyst of the testis: A review of clinical and histogenetic considerations. Br J Urol 1994;73:436-41.
Shah KH, Maxted WC, Chun B. Epidermoid cysts of the testis: A report of three cases and an analysis of 141 cases from the world literature. Cancer 1981;47:577-82.
Umar SA, MacLennan GT. Epidermoid cyst of the testis. J Urol 2008;180:335.
Dockerty M, Priestly JY. Dermoid cysts of the testis. J Urol 1942;48:392-7.
Çakiroglu B, Sönmez NC, Sinanoglu O, Ates L, Aksoy SH, ízcan F. Testicular epidermoid cyst. Afr J Paediatr Surg 2015;12:89-90.
Cook FE Jr., Kimbrough JC. Epidermoid cysts of the testicle. J Urol 1954;72:236-8.
Gonzalez BL, Ross LS. Epidermoid cysts of testis: Rationale for conservative management. Urology 1977;9:456-8.
Price EB Jr. Epidermoid cysts of the testis: A clinical and pathologic analysis of 69 cases from the testicular tumor registry. J Urol 1969;102:708-13.
Muoka OE, Dahar N. Testicular epidermoid cysts. BMJ Case Rep 2013;2013. pii: Bcr2013009103.
Halley JB. Epidermoid cyst of the testicle. J Pathol Bacteriol 1961;82:73-6.
Ewen SW. Epidermoid cyst of the testis. Scott Med J 1969;14:57-8.
Ashouri KB
Heiman JM
Kelly EF
Manganiotis AN
epidermoid
© 2008 Urology Annals | Published by Wolters Kluwer - Medknow
Online since 25th September, 2008
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To the humor impared, this is a joke
artist unknown
RocketCat sez
Alright, space cadets! This is the way it is. If your ship is bigger than a space taxi you gotta have more than one crewperson. There are lots of critical jobs (or "hats") on a spacecraft, the more hats a given crewperson wears the lower will be their job performance. They hafta sleep sometime.
What kinda jobs are we lookin' at here? Well:
They are the absolute ruler of the spacecraft, their word is law.
But don't get the wrong idea, captains often have a boss as well. If the skipper of a Cosmi-Hauler Incorporated cargo ship fails to deliver the cargo on time the corporation will fire the captain's sorry behind.
The captain's job is things outside of the ship, mostly where the ship is going and whatsit gonna do when it gets there. Such as "fly to Deimos and load a cargo of water-ice" or "fly to Mars and drop bombs on those accurséd Arean Independence Revolutionaries."
The captain's right-hand person. The first officer's job is things inside the ship, mostly crackin' the whip to make sure the crew does their jobs.
But the first officer also has to draft the "watchbill", make sure the blasted ship is adequately stocked with life support and other supplies so you don't all suffocate or starve to death, keep an eyeball on those lazy engineers to make sure they are keeping up with maintenance and repairs, ensure that the vacuum moonshine 'still on Z deck (that you officially don't know about) is making just enough space booze to stave off boredom but not enough to endanger the ship, and otherwise keep up the beatings until the morale improves.
The captain tells the astrogator where the ship has to go, the astrogator's job is to figure out how. Once en route, the astrogator keeps a sharp eye to make sure the blasted ship stays on course, giving the pilot mid-course corrections if need be.
When the destination is ordered, the astrogator will draw a pork-chop plot for the cap'n. From that the cap'n can chose the trip with the best possible combination of launch date, arrival date, and delta V cost. Or discover there ain't no acceptable trip so it's time for a captain-astrogator conference.
Once the trip is chosen, the astrogator breaks it down into "maneuvers" and feeds them to the pilot. During the trip the astrogator watches the ship's position and vector like a hawk, since starving to death after you've eaten all your crewmates is such a nasty way to die. If the ship drifts out of the groove, the astrogator will calculate a special maneuver called a "mid-course correction" to get the blasted ship back on track, and feeds it to the pilot.
The astrogator will be occasionally feeding to the pilot a maneuver to be done. Maneuvers have three parts: [1] direction to point the ship's nose, [2] how much delta V to burn, and [3] exact time to do it.
The pilot uses attitude controls and the attitude display to point the ship's nose (and make darn sure it stays pointed the right way), plus thrust controls, chronometer, and delta V display to start the burn at the right time and keep it burning long enough for the required delta V.
If the thrust controls are too darn complicated then the pilot job will be split into two jobs: helmsman handles the attitude controls and lee helmsman handles the thrust controls.
In between maneuvers the pilots play a lot of solitaire and surf Facebook.
The engineer's main job is to look after the engine, duh. The lee helmsman is almost always an engineer, unless the first officer is really stupid. Engineers inspect all the ship systems, do maintenance, repairs, and otherwise keep the blasted ship from falling to pieces.
If the ship is a warship, the chief engineer is also the chief damage control officer. Different skill set is required. Fixing a clogged toilet is quite different from fixing a laser cannon crater in the hull.
Doctor/Medic
Ya gotta have a doc, expecially if it is 2.7 years before you can get the sick person to a hospital. The doc might be only a hospital corpsmen, but that is light years better than nothing.
Sparks in the radio shack if you want to talk to anybody, radarman if you want to spot anything coming, life-support techs so you can breath, cargo-masters to arrange trading and to pack the cargo so the blasted ship doesn't fall off her tail, cooks and pursers.
If this is a warship you'll have gunners, electronic warfare officers, espatiers, and other types of astromilitary.
artwork by Joe Fugate?
Where your ship goes, you go. If the pilot swings the vessel into an asteroid belt and butts it up against some rook, that's where they'll find you later. There are simulators that'll start someone off, but the only way to learn to fly is to punch the board.
But how to learn safely, that's the life-and-death question. Sure there's a way. He's called the copilot. More about that later.
Right now I think I'll let you in on a little secret. I've got the best pilots of any ship in the Marches. For that matter, I've got the best damned bridge crew of any ship in the Marches. It's not too hard to spot real ability it you know how.
When I've got an opening, I put out the word at places where I know spacers hang out, then I wait for somebody to show up. If he's worked on a sub, he never gets aboard (subsidized ships have the safety net of government money. So they tend to slack off). That's the first trick. (Forgive an old man a few preiudices — but I'm set in my ways.)
The next thing is to bring the candidate onto the bridge, set him down in the chair, and ask him to demonstrate what he knows against a simulation. Then keep your eyes open. The computer will score him, sure, and you can doublecheck that number later, but watch him right now and you'll know whether you want him or not.
Does he reconfigure the board? If he doesn't, show him the hatch. That's my secret. A man who knows his business chooses his tools carefully. They've got these wading birds on Kinorb. You walk in among a flock of them, and you might never get loose. Walk left, the flock walks left. Walk right, the flock walks right. Speed up, and they all hurry along beside you. Stop, and the whole flock waits.
That's not what I want in a crewman. I want somebody who makes up his own mind and does what he thinks best, in the way that be thinks best. If a man doesn't have the confidence to reconfigure a board on your ship so that he can do it his way, he's not the best you can get.
As an added test (once he's passed this one), pick another config at random and set the panel up that way. Run the simulation again, and see how much his performance drops off. An experienced hand won’t suffer more than, say, 25%, and that should decrease over the course of the test. "Judge a workman by his tools," they say, and that's the first hurdle, but I say a good man can use whatever he's got to his best advantage.
From MEGATRAVELLER STARSHIP OPERATOR'S MANUAL by Digest Group Publications (1988)
Crew Candidates
One of the earliest uses of the term "astronaut"
Buck Rogers Sunday comic strip (1936)
artwork by Rick Yager
If your spacecraft have particularly weak propulsion systems, the ugly spectre of Every gram counts appears when you select your crew. Particularly with the crewperson's waistline. Put simply: the fatter you are, the more grams you mass, therefore the more propellant will have to be expended to propel your obese derrière through space.
The astromilitary will probably have a maximum weight limit on rocketmen. An enlisted person who puts on a kilo or two will have the sergeant wondering out loud how they can stand to carry around all that penalty-weight. If the enlisted person continues to gain, they will suddenly find themselves put on a diet and assigned all sorts of weight-losing exercise.
One hopes that there will not be a chronic problem with anorexia nervosa in the astromilitary.
So rocketeers would tend to be short and wiry. In Sir Arthur C. Clarke's classic THE OTHER SIDE OF THE SKY, space station construction crews got a pay bonus if they kept their weight below 68 kilograms (150 pounds).
Potential crew members will also have to be able to withstand the rigors of space travel. Things like:
Enduring multiple gs of acceleration with no injury
No claustrophobia from the cramped living conditions. And no agoraphobia if you have to do a space walk
The ability to endure long periods of boredom without psychologically cracking
Being in good health so as to minimize the risk of medical emergencies when the ship is months away from the nearest hospital
The ability to handle handle unexpected drops in atmospheric oxygen level
Resistance to drop sickness
Resistance to psychological problems
A low cumulative lifetime radiation dose
Bonus points if the crewmember is a space-adapted cyborg which does not need incidentals like a breathable atmosphere or comfortable temperatures.
Allen Steele puts forth the interesting possibility that for a prolonged commercial mission, psychological problems can be avoided by ensuring that the entire crew is part of a single group marriage. Sounds extreme but in his science fiction novels he makes a good case for it.
Note that the restrictions on body mass and claustrophobia would also be a good argument for rocketeers being:
Female OR
As it turns out, on the average, females mass less, eat less, and are more immune to boredom that males. As are people of the oriental persuasion, especially Japanese.
This turned up in a 1995 novel and anime television series called Rocket Girls. Maybe not so surprisingly, Japanese media in general is noted for its high standards of scientific accuracy. In this case the anime series had JAXA (the Japanese Aerospace eXploration Agency) and real-life Japanese astronaut Naoko Yamazaki as technical advisors.
The fictitious Solomon Space Association is developing the low-mass suits since their anemic one-lung LS-5 rocket can barely lift itself off the launch pad, let alone any payload. In a further desperate attempt to save on mass, they are reduce to using 16 year old girls as astronauts (which is a predictable development for a Japanese anime). They only weigh 38 kilograms, instead of the sixty-odd kilograms of the adult male astronauts. They take up less room in the control cabin as well.
AN ALL-FEMALE MISSION TO MARS
But why would anyone think a woman would be the first to space, anyway? Medical studies, for one thing. Some studies in the 1950s and ’60s suggested female bodies had stronger hearts and could better withstand vibrations and radiation exposure. Moreover, psychological studies suggested that women coped better than men in isolation and when deprived of sensory inputs.
Some of these investigations were limited in their design and sample sizes. But there was another, more compelling reason that women might outshine men as potential astronauts: basic economics. Thanks to their size, women are, on average, cheaper to launch and fly than men...
...Last year I took part in a NASA-funded research project called HI-SEAS (Hawaii Space Exploration Analog and Simulation). It required that I and five other crewmembers live as astronauts on the surface of Mars...
...Week in and week out, the three female crew members expended less than half the calories of the three male crew members. Less than half! We were all exercising roughly the same amount—at least 45 minutes a day for five consecutive days a week—but our metabolic furnaces were calibrated in radically different ways.
During one week, the most metabolically active male burned an average of 3,450 calories per day, while the least metabolically active female expended 1,475 calories per day. It was rare for a woman on crew to burn 2,000 calories in a day and common for male crew members to exceed 3,000.
The data certainly fit with my other observations. At mealtime, the women took smaller portions than the men, who often went back for seconds. One crew member complained how hard it was to maintain his weight, despite all the calories he was taking in.
The calorie requirements of an astronaut matter significantly when planning a mission. The more food a person needs to maintain her weight on a long space journey, the more food should launch with her. The more food launched, the heavier the payload. The heavier the payload, the more fuel required to blast it into orbit and beyond. The more fuel required, the heavier the rocket becomes, which it in turn requires more fuel to launch.
Every pound counts on the way to space. NASA was keenly aware of this, and that’s why in the early 1960s it nearly considered a female astronaut corps...
...In the early 2000s, Alan Drysdale, a systems analyst in advanced life support and a contractor with NASA, was thinking about the problem of astronaut bodies. He turned to a NASA document on physiological metrics called STD-3000, Man-Systems Integration Standards (now revised to STD-3001), which details needs and effluents for a range of body types. The STD-3000 gave the stats for women whose size was in the fifth percentile to men sized in the 95th percentile, a range from about 4-foot-11 and 90 pounds to 6-foot-3 and 215 pounds. He crunched the numbers.
Drysdale found that a fifth-percentile woman would use less than half the resources of a 95th-percentile man...
...Drysdale, who no longer works with NASA, is emphatic that the space agency wastes money and doesn’t consider cost-saving approaches like a Mars crew of smaller astronauts. He says his calculations suggest all things being equal, such a crew would launch for half the payload cost. “Small women haven’t been demonstrated to be appreciably dumber than big women or big men, so there’s no reason to choose larger people for a flight crew when it’s brain power you want,” says Drysdale. “The logical thing to do is to fly small women.”
From AN ALL-FEMALE MISSION TO MARS by Kate Greene (2016)
Then the ship's braking program hit us and I stopped shaking. Eight gees, I would say, or maybe ten. When a female pilot handles a ship there is nothing comfortable about it; you're going to have bruises every place you're strapped. Yes, yes, I know they make better pilots than men do; their reactions are faster and they can tolerate more gee. They can get in faster, get out faster, and thereby improve everybody's chances, yours as well as theirs. But that still doesn't make it fun to be slammed against your spine at ten times your proper weight.
But I must admit that Captain Deladrier knows her trade. There was no fiddling around once the Rodger Young stopped braking.
From STARSHIP TROOPERS by Robert Heinlein (1959)
Foot Skills
One of the stranger specialized skills a spacecraft crew member might have is using ones foot like a hand. Could come in handy in free fall.
THE SPACE BEYOND
Putney went back to the lock, opened the inner chamber, closed the door behind him, and cautiously opened the outer door. A breath of their own air swept out, to be replaced in a moment by a dry, but invigoratingly cool breeze of this other atmosphere. As he glanced out he saw that the two men in the plane had already opened their door, and were coming out. They were walking along unconcernedly head down along the wing of the ship, which was equipped with a rail of some sort, evidently for this purpose. Their feet were bare, and equipped with a broad calloused palm, a strong, long and supple great toe, and the four lesser toes were all well developed and highly flexible.
To Putney's amazement one of the men let go with one foot, reached into his pocket with a contortionist motion that seemed easy and perfectly simple, and took out a heavy clip. In the meantime his hands had been busy unwinding a thin, strong line from his waist. The clip was fixed to one end of the line with the aid of one hand and one foot, while the other foot was engaged in holding him up, and the other hand adjusted the leather belt to which the other end of the line was fastened. Then with a single motion the man restored his foot to the rail, leapt, and landed lightly and safely on the threshold of the Prometheus' lock. He straightened up, and smiled engagingly...
..."Come," Putney beckoned Thaen on, and through the locked door to the interior of the ship. As the inner door opened Thaen entered the power room and stopped in amazement. He was staring with both mobile eyes at the ten-foot Flame, a perfect sphere on which sparkled little winking lights. He listened to the soft sigh of the swirling, iridescent iron atoms. MacLaurin was looking at him interestedly.
"A queer body. His toes are long."
"Uses them for fingers. I envy him. He can untie knots with them or run four-dimensional controls all at the same time."
From THE SPACE BEYOND by John W. Campbell jr. (1976)
THE BORDERLAND OF SOL
artwork by John Schoenherr
Ships fly themselves in hyperdrive. All a pilot need do is watch for green radial lines in the mass sensor. But he has to do that frequently, because the mass sensor is a psionic device; it must be watched by a mind, not another machine.
As the narrow green line that marked Sol grew longer, I became abnormally conscious of the debris around Sol system. I spent the last twelve hours of the flight at the controls, chain-smoking with my feet. I should add that I do that normally, when I want both hands free; but now I did it to annoy Ausfaller. I'd seen the way his eyes bugged the first time he saw me take a drag from a cigarette between my toes. Flatlanders are less than limber...
...Ausfaller grinned. He took the top and bottom buttons between his fingers and tugged hard. They came off. The material between them ripped open as if a thread had been strung between them.
Holding the buttons as if to keep an invisible thread taut, he moved them on either side of a crudely done plastic touch-sculpture. The sculpture fell apart.
"Sinclair molecule chain. It will cut through any normal matter, if you pull hard enough. You must be very careful, it will cut your fingers so easily that you will hardly notice they are gone. Notice that the buttons are large, to give an easy grip." He laid the buttons carefully on a table and set a heavy weight between them...
...I couldn't see Carlos. Forward and Angel had tied us to opposite sides of the central pillar, beneath the Grabber...
...I began trying to kick off my shoes. They were soft ship-slippers, ankle-high, and they resisted.
I locked the left foot free just as one of the tugs flared with ruby light...
...I peeled the other slipper off with my toes...
...I reached up with my toes, groping for the first and fourth buttons on my falling jumper.
The weaponry in my wonderful suit hadn't helped me against Julian's strength and speed. But flatlanders are less than limber, and so are Jinxians. Forward had tied my hands and left it at that.
I wrapped two sets of toes around the buttons and tugged.
My legs were bent pretzel-fashion. I had no leverage. But the first button tore loose, and then the thread. Another invisible weapon to battle Forward's portable bottomless hole.
The thread pulled the fourth button loose. I brought my feet down to where they belonged, keeping the thread taut, and pushed backward. I felt the Sinclair molecule chain sinking into the pillar.
The Grabber was still swinging.
When the thread was through the pillar I could bring it up in back of me and try to cut my bonds. More likely I'd cut my wrists and bleed to death; but I had to try. I wondered if I could do anything before Forward launched the black hole.
A cold breeze caressed my feet.
I looked down. Thick fog boiled out around the pillar.
Some very cold gas must be spraying through the hair-fine crack.
I kept pushing. More fog formed. The cold was numbing. I felt the jerk as the magic thread cut through. Now the wrists—
Liquid helium?
Forward had moored us to the main superconducting power cable.
That was probably a mistake. I pulled my feet forward, carefully, steadily, feeling the thread bite through on the return cut.
The Grabber had stopped swinging. Now it moved on its arm like a blind, questing worm, as Forward made fine adjustments. Angel was beginning to show the strain of holding himself upside down.
My feet jerked slightly. I was through. My feet were terribly cold, almost without sensation. I let the buttons go, left them floating up toward the dome, and kicked back hard with my heels.
Something shifted. I kicked again.
Thunder and lightning flared around my feet.
I jerked my knees up to my chin. The lightning crackled and flashed white light into the billowing fog. Angel and Forward turned in astonishment. I laughed at them, letting them see it. Yes, gentlemen, I did it on purpose...
From THE BORDERLAND OF SOL by Larry Niven (1975)
The Mouse walked beside Hell3, his boot heel clicking, his bare foot silent (as in another city on another world, Leo had walked). This was his latest travel acquisition. Those who worked under free-fall in the ships that went between planets developed the agility of at least one set of toes, sometimes both, till it rivaled world-lubbers' hands, and ever after kept that foot free. The commercial interstellar freighters had artificial gravity, which discouraged such development.
From NOVA by Samuel R. Delany (1968)
When Charlie had dug his scooter out of the floating junkyard moored to his home they soon saw why he had refused to lend it. It seemed probable that no one else could possibly pilot it. Not only was it of vintage type, repaired with parts from many other sorts, but also the controls were arranged for a man with four hands. Charlie had been in free fall so long that he used his feet almost as readily for grasping and handling as does an ape; his space suit had had the feet thereof modified so that he could grasp things between the big toe and the second, as with Japanese stockings.
From THE ROLLING STONES by Robert Heinlein (1952)
Disabled Or Not?
Jessica Cox
Actress Angel Giuffria was born missing the left arm below the elbow. She wears an arm from Advanced Arm Dynamics with a hand from Bebionic. It is controlled by myoelectric muscle signals.
IMDB, Twitter, Instagram
A person who has a "disability" on Terra might actually have an asset in the space environment. For example, somebody with non-fuctional inner ears have problems keeping their balance in a gravity field. But in free fall they are immune to drop sickness.
In 1961, a college student named David Myers traveled from Washington, DC, to the US Naval School of Aviation Medicine in Florida to take part in a new experiment. “I had a very limited understanding of what I was getting myself into,” Myers told me recently over email. “So I was extremely curious and mildly excited that first day.”
Myers was one of 11 men specifically recruited by Dr. Ashton Graybiel to help test the feasibility of human spaceflight, at a time when nobody knew whether the human body could withstand a trip beyond our atmosphere. For nearly a decade, the US Navy put 11 eleven men through countless tests. Four of the men spent 12 straight days inside a 20-foot room that rotated constantly. In another experiment, they were sent out to notoriously rough seas off the coast of Nova Scotia. On the boat, the men played cards while the researchers were so overcome with seasickness that they had to cancel the test and go home. Others were sent up in the so-called “Vomit Comet,” an aircraft designed to simulate zero gravity. That’s the test Myers is still most fond of. “This free floating was a fascinating experience,” he says. “No other tests came close as my favorites.” But Myers and the other men would never go to space. In fact, they would never be allowed. They were recruited for these tests for the exact reason they would never pass the NASA astronaut qualification exams: All 11 men were deaf.
Now known as the Gallaudet Eleven, Myers and his colleagues were recruited from Gallaudet College (now Gallaudet University), a school for d/Deaf students. (“Big D” Deaf refers to Deaf culture and community, while “small d” deaf refers to people who don’t identify with that community.) Ten out of the 11 men had become deaf because of spinal meningitis, an infection of the fluid in the spinal cord. The infection ultimately damaged each man’s inner ear, including their vestibular system, which also happens to be the system that is mainly responsible for motion sickness. This made the men perfect test subjects for a space program that was trying to understand what might happen to people in places where the inner ear can’t sense up and down. “Through their endurance and dedication, the work of the Gallaudet Eleven made substantial contributions to the understanding of motion sickness and adaptation to spaceflight,” wrote Hannah Hotovy of the NASA History Division. Harry Larson, another one of the Gallaudet Eleven, put it this way: “We were different in a way they needed.”
It’s no secret that it’s incredibly difficult to become an astronaut. NASA’s selection process is notoriously rigorous—strict enough that it was the most plausible kind of place to set the movie Gattaca, where only the perfectly genetically engineered get to board rockets bound for space. Writer Tom Wolfe documented the space program’s strenuous astronaut training program in his book The Right Stuff.
The assumption has long been that this training is a necessity—traveling to space is a mentally and physically grueling endeavor. We need the strongest, smartest, most adaptable among us to go. But strength comes in many forms, as do smarts. And if you want to find people who are the very best at adapting to worlds not suited for them, you’ll have the best luck looking at people with disabilities, who navigate such a world every single day. Which has led disability advocates to raise the question: What actually is the right stuff?
"Crip bodies were built for space travel. Crip minds already push the outer limits,” Alice Wong, founder of the Disability Visibility Project, tweeted last year. “We already master usage of breathing apparatuses and can handle challenging situations.” Wong went on to coedit an issue of the literary magazine Deaf Poets Society called “Crips in Space” with writer and performer Sam de Leve.
Take, for example, people who use ostomy bags. Right now, pooping in space is actually an important technical challenge. During takeoff, landing, and spacewalks, astronauts wear diapers. While in the space station, they use a toilet that requires a fair amount of precision and training to use. Astronauts have told all kinds of stories about rogue poop, or situations in which the toilet has backed up or generally gone awry. In 2008, NASA spent $19 million on a Russian toilet for the International Space Station. None of this would be an issue for an astronaut with an ostomy bag. “I could plug into the wall and just empty the container that’s been collecting,” says Mallory K. Nelson, a disability design specialist who uses an ileostomy bag—a pouch that connects to her intestine and collects waste. “I’ve moved the output location of poop, which creates a lot more flexibility in the kind of systems I can have. I could attach it to a space suit.”
Or consider movement in space. You’ve certainly seen videos of astronauts zipping around the space station using their arms and legs to push off surfaces and direct their motion. This is a type of movement that people who use wheelchairs and other mobility aids are already familiar with. In fact, the various devices and ways of moving the body in space are likely more familiar to people with disabilities than to able-bodied people. “We move our bodies in so many different ways, and the disabled community has an exuberant amount of options,” says Nelson, who is an amputee and who has used crutches, a wheelchair, a scooter, and a prosthetic to get around. Nelson even coined a term for this recently: transmobility, the idea that there are lots of ways to get around besides putting one foot in front of the other.
Nelson also points out that most astronauts have no prior experience relying on technology for their movement and lives, whereas people with disabilities do so every day. In a space suit, for a space walk, an astronaut has to be trained in how to move their body in unison with a piece of technology. They have to get used to the idea that, if that technology should fail, they could be in grave danger. This, again, is an experience people like Nelson live with every day. “I’m always moving my body in motion with another object. That’s all we do,” Nelson says.
Or take blind astronauts. In a piece for Scientific American, Sheri Wells-Jensen lays out the case for designing spaceships for blind space travelers:
“After all, in a serious accident, the first thing to go might be the lights! This generally means that the first thing a sighted astronaut must do for security is ensure visual access to the environment. He hunts for a flashlight, and if emergency lighting comes on, his eyes take a moment to adjust. Meanwhile, the blind astronaut is already heading toward the source of the problem. In the fire aboard the Russian Mir space station, in 1997, the crew struggled as smoke obscured their view. The blind astronaut, while still affected by the lack of good air, would not be bothered by either dim lighting or occluding smoke. She would accurately direct the fire extinguisher at the source of heat and noise.”
In the Mir fire that Wells-Jensen mentions, one of the problems that arose was the sighted astronauts’ inability to locate the fire extinguisher through the smoke. Had the ship been laid out with a blind participant in mind, there would have been a nonvisual signal already built in to such a critical piece of equipment.
Or consider d/Deaf astronauts once again. The Gallaudet Eleven were tapped for their immunity to motion sickness—John Glenn even reportedly said he was envious of their ability to withstand the tests without getting sick—but there are other reasons why bringing a d/Deaf astronaut along could be useful. “Studies have shown that using sign languages confers cognitive advantages in one's visual working memory, enhancing how we see, remember, and manipulate objects in our mind,” says Joseph Murray, a professor at Gallaudet University and the scholar behind the term Deaf Gain, the idea that deafness should not be considered a loss of something but, rather, a gain of a whole host of other things. “The challenge Deaf Gain offers for NASA and all workplaces is to rethink their automatic assumptions about deaf people's capabilities,” Murray says. “If there is a mission need for people with advanced spatial processing skills who do not get motion sick, then there are quite a few deaf people ready and willing to serve.”
And it’s not just on a trip to space that people with disabilities might have an advantage. Take a situation in which astronauts are going somewhere to settle: Able bodies might no longer behave the way we expect. “Humans have an environmental niche on Earth, like all other creatures do, and we exploit it in different ways,” says Ashley Shew, a professor at Virginia Tech. Mars, or even a space station, is nothing like that niche. “The conditions in which our bodies have grown up are so drastically different that our existence in space will be much more like being a disabled person on Earth than like being an abled person on Earth.” Who better to send than those who are used to navigating environments not built for them—those who experience that every day on Earth? “Disabled people will fare better in space because disabled people have learned to negotiate hostile situations in ways that able bodied people are completely unaware of,” Shew says. Wong agrees. “The way we communicate, function, and exist with our diverse bodyminds sets us up as ideal space explorers and ambassadors of Earth, ready to make first contact with sentient beings,” she told me.
Whether this will actually happen is hard to say. NASA didn’t respond to my request for comment on their astronaut selection policy (like all government agencies, NASA personnel are currently not working due to the government shutdown). Nor did Mars One or SpaceX. Online, Mars One has a whole page of qualifications for candidates for their proposed Mars mission, stating, “In general, normal medical and physiological health standards will be used” and disqualifying anybody without “normal range of motion and functionality in all joints,” anybody with less than 20/20 vision, and anybody who is deemed not “healthy.” NASA’s FAQ section says that “for maximum crew safety, each crewmember must be free of medical conditions that would either impair the person's ability to participate in, or be aggravated by, space flight, as determined by NASA physicians.”
Changing these requirements won’t be easy. Spacecraft are designed with certain assumptions about what kinds of bodies will be sitting in the seats and operating the controls. The opportunity to change those parameters is small and must be seized while ships are being designed, not down the road. Plus, many people with disabilities who might want to go to space can’t get access to the pipeline that delivers so many astronauts: “Astronauts come via the military and that’s a closed door for disabled individuals,” Myers says. “Those kinds of obstacles need to be removed for those individuals who are otherwise qualified.” And NASA itself has had no reason to rethink their stance, because no one has really pushed them to. Yet, that is.
But all that could change. In 2017, Johanna Lucht became the first Deaf engineer to work at NASA. Eddie Ndopu, a South African activist and humanitarian, has said he wants to be the first disabled person in space. He plans to book a flight on a commercial trip into space and deliver an address to the UN while he’s up there. (MTV is slated to film the entire thing.) Julia Velasquez, a Deaf woman from California, has gone through many of the steps traditionally taken by astronauts—she’s interned at NASA, recently received her pilot’s license, and even lived in a simulated Mars colony in Hawaii.
When I asked Myers if he ever wished he could have been an astronaut, he said, “Yes, absolutely. At one point I told Dr. Graybiel, ‘If you ever develop an experiment involving a flight into space, I want to be first in line.’” Myers likely won’t wind up in space in his lifetime. But he might live to see a disabled person make the journey, opening up space to a whole new set of uniquely qualified astronauts.
From IT’S TIME TO RETHINK WHO’S BEST SUITED FOR SPACE TRAVEL
by Rose Eveleth (2019)
COLORBLIND, WITH BENEFITS
(ed note: color blindness can be a handicap in space, especially if designers have been unusually stupid in their selection of color for warning symbols and control panel user interfaces. But in some cases it may come in handy.)
Steena of the spaceways—that sounds just like a corny title for one of the Stellar-Vedo spreads. I ought to know, I’ve tried my hand at writing enough of them. Only this Steena was no glamour babe. She was as colorless as a Lunar plant—even the hair netted down to her skull had a sort of grayish cast and I never saw her but once draped in anything but a shapeless and baggy gray space-all.
All the boys who had profited by her queer store of knowledge and her photographic memory tried at one time or another to balance the scales. But she wouldn’t take so much as a cup of Canal water at their expense, let alone the credits they tried to push on her.
For I was there, right in the Rigel Royal, when it all began on the night that Cliff Moran blew in, looking lower than an antman’s belly and twice as nasty. He’d had a spell of luck foul enough to twist a man into a slug-snake and we all knew that there was an attachment out for his ship. Cliff had fought his way up from the back courts of Venaport. Lose his ship and he’d slip back there—to rot. He was at the snarling stage that night when he picked out a table for himself and set out to drink away his troubles.
However, just as the first bottle arrived, so did a visitor. Steena came out of her corner, Bat (the cat) curled around her shoulders stole-wise, his favorite mode of travel. She crossed over and dropped down without invitation at Cliff’s side. That shook him out of his sulks. Because Steena never chose company when she could be alone. If one of the man-stones on Ganymede had come stumping in, it wouldn’t have made more of us look out of the corners of our eyes.
She stretched out one long-fingered hand and set aside the bottle he had ordered and said only one thing, “It’s about time for the Empress of Mars to appear again.”
Cliff scowled and bit his lip. He was tough, tough as jet lining—you have to be granite inside and out to struggle up from Venaport to a ship command. But we could guess what was running through his mind at that moment. The Empress of Mars was just about the biggest prize a spacer could aim for. But in the fifty years she had been following her queer derelict orbit through space many men had tried to bring her in—and none had succeeded.
A pleasure-ship carrying untold wealth, she had been mysteriously abandoned in space by passengers and crew, none of whom had ever been seen or heard of again. At intervals thereafter she had been sighted, even boarded. Those who ventured into her either vanished or returned swiftly without any believable explanation of what they had seen—wanting only to get away from her as quickly as possible. But the man who could bring her in—or even strip her clean in space—that man would win the jackpot.
“All right!” Cliff slammed his fist down on the table. “I’ll try even that!”
It was the first time she had decided to cash in on her own tip and she was there—that was all. Maybe that point weighed with Cliff, maybe he just didn’t care. Anyway the three were together when they sighted the Empress riding, her dead-lights gleaming, a ghost ship in night space.
She must have been an eerie sight because her other lights were on too, in addition to the red warnings at her nose. She seemed alive, a Flying Dutchman of space. Cliff worked his ship skillfully alongside and had no trouble in snapping magnetic lines to her lock. Some minutes later the three of them passed into her. There was still air in her cabins and corridors. Air that bore a faint corrupt taint which set Bat to sniffing greedily and could be picked up even by the less sensitive human nostrils.
Cliff headed straight for the control cabin but Steena and Bat went prowling. Closed doors were a challenge to both of them and Steena opened each as she passed, taking a quick look at what lay within. The fifth door opened on a room which no woman could leave without further investigation.
I don’t know who had been housed there when the Empress left port on her last lengthy cruise. Anyone really curious can check back on the old photo-reg cards. But there was a lavish display of silks trailing out of two travel kits on the floor, a dressing table crowded with crystal and jeweled containers, along with other lures for the female which drew Steena in. She was standing in front of the dressing table when she glanced into the mirror—glanced into it and froze.
Over her right shoulder she could see the spider-silk cover on the bed. Right in the middle of that sheer, gossamer expanse was a sparkling heap of gems, the dumped contents of some jewel case. Bat had jumped to the foot of the bed and flattened out as cats will, watching those gems, watching them and—something else!
Steena put out her hand blindly and caught up the nearest bottle. As she unstoppered it she watched the mirrored bed. A gemmed bracelet rose from the pile, rose in the air and tinkled its siren song. It was as if an idle hand played…. Bat spat almost noiselessly. But he did not retreat. Bat had not yet decided his course.
She put down the bottle. Then she did something which perhaps few of the men she had listened to through the years could have done. She moved without hurry or sign of disturbance on a tour about the room. And, although she approached the bed she did not touch the jewels. She could not force herself to that. It took her five minutes to play out her innocence and unconcern. Then it was Bat who decided the issue.
He leaped from the bed and escorted something to the door, remaining a careful distance behind. Then he mewed loudly twice. Steena followed him and opened the door wider.
Bat went straight on down the corridor, as intent as a hound on the warmest of scents. Steena strolled behind him, holding her pace to the unhurried gait of an explorer. What sped before them both was invisible to her but Bat was never baffled by it.
They must have gone into the control cabin almost on the heels of the unseen—if the unseen had heels, which there was good reason to doubt—for Bat crouched just within the doorway and refused to move on. Steena looked down the length of the instrument panels and officers’ station-seats to where Cliff Moran worked. On the heavy carpet her boots made no sound and he did not glance up but sat humming through set teeth as he tested the tardy and reluctant responses to buttons which had not been pushed in years.
To human eyes they were alone in the cabin. But Bat still followed a moving something with his gaze. And it was something which he had at last made up his mind to distrust and dislike. For now he took a step or two forward and spat—his loathing made plain by every raised hair along his spine. And in that same moment Steena saw a flicker—a flicker of vague outline against Cliff’s hunched shoulders as if the invisible one had crossed the space between them.
But why had it been revealed against Cliff and not against the back of one of the seats or against the panels, the walls of the corridor or the cover of the bed where it had reclined and played with its loot? What could Bat see?
The storehouse memory that had served Steena so well through the years clicked open a half-forgotten door. With one swift motion she tore loose her spaceall and flung the baggy garment across the back of the nearest seat.
Bat was snarling now, emitting the throaty rising cry that was his hunting song. But he was edging back, back toward Steena’s feet, shrinking from something he could not fight but which he faced defiantly. If he could draw it after him, past that dangling spaceall…. He had to—it was their only chance.
“What the….” Cliff had come out of his seat and was staring at them.
What he saw must have been weird enough. Steena, bare-armed and shouldered, her usually stiffly-netted hair falling wildly down her back, Steena watching empty space with narrowed eyes and set mouth, calculating a single wild chance. Bat, crouched on his belly, retreating from thin air step by step and wailing like a demon.
“Toss me your blaster.” Steena gave the order calmly—as if they still sat at their table in the Rigel Royal.
And as quietly Cliff obeyed. She caught the small weapon out of the air with a steady hand—caught and leveled it.
“Stay just where you are!” she warned. “Back, Bat, bring it back!”
With a last throat-splitting screech of rage and hate, Bat twisted to safety between her boots. She pressed with thumb and forefinger, firing at the spacealls. The material turned to powdery flakes of ash—except for certain bits which still flapped from the scorched seat—as if something had protected them from the force of the blast. Bat sprang straight up in the air with a scream that tore their ears.
“What…?” began Cliff again.
Steena made a warning motion with her left hand. “Wait!”
She was still tense, still watching Bat. The cat dashed madly around the cabin twice, running crazily with white-ringed eyes and flecks of foam on his muzzle. Then he stopped abruptly in the doorway, stopped and looked back over his shoulder for a long silent moment. He sniffed delicately.
Steena and Cliff could smell it too now, a thick oily stench which was not the usual odor left by an exploding blaster-shell.
Bat came back, treading daintily across the carpet, almost on the tips of his paws. He raised his head as he passed Steena and then he went confidently beyond to sniff, to sniff and spit twice at the unburned strips of the spaceall. Having thus paid his respects to the late enemy he sat down calmly and set to washing his fur with deliberation. Steena sighed once and dropped into the navigator’s seat.
“Maybe now you’ll tell me what in the hell’s happened?” Cliff exploded as he took the blaster out of her hand.
“Gray,” she said dazedly, “it must have been gray—or I couldn’t have seen it like that. I’m colorblind, you see. I can see only shades of gray—my whole world is gray. Like Bat’s—his world is gray too—all gray. But he’s been compensated for he can see above and below our range of color vibrations and—apparently—so can I!”
Her voice quavered and she raised her chin with a new air Cliff had never seen before—a sort of proud acceptance. She pushed back her wandering hair, but she made no move to imprison it under the heavy net again.
“That is why I saw the thing when it crossed between us. Against your spaceall it was another shade of gray—an outline. So I put out mine and waited for it to show against that—it was our only chance, Cliff.
“It was curious at first, I think, and it knew we couldn’t see it—which is why it waited to attack. But when Bat’s actions gave it away it moved. So I waited to see that flicker against the spaceall and then I let him have it. It’s really very simple….”
Cliff laughed a bit shakily. “But what was this gray thing? I don’t get it.”
“I think it was what made the Empress a derelict. Something out of space, maybe, or from another world somewhere.” She waved her hands. “It’s invisible because it’s a color beyond our range of sight. It must have stayed in here all these years. And it kills—it must—when its curiosity is satisfied.” Swiftly she described the scene in the cabin and the strange behavior of the gem pile which had betrayed the creature to her.
Cliff did not return his blaster to its holder. “Any more of them on board, d’you think?” He didn’t look pleased at the prospect.
Steena turned to Bat. He was paying particular attention to the space between two front toes in the process of a complete bath. “I don’t think so. But Bat will tell us if there are. He can see them clearly, I believe.”
From ALL CATS ARE GRAY by Andre Norton (1953)
WHO NEEDS LEGS ANYWAY?
These astronauts actually do have legs, but their space suits do not.
artwork by Alex Schomburg
Presently we emerged into a wide metal tunnel, one of the station's main passageways, I guessed. Cables and pipes ran along the walls, and at intervals we passed through great double doors with red EMERGENCY notices painted on them. I didn't think this was at all reassuring. We met only two people on our journey. They flashed by us with an effortless ease that filled me with envy, and made me determined to be just as skillful before I left the station.
"I'm taking you to Commander Doyle," the pilot explained to me. "He's in charge of training here and will be keeping an eye on you."
"What sort of man is he?" I asked anxiously.
"Don't you worry—you'll find out soon enough. Here we are."
We drifted to a halt in front of a circular door carrying the notice: "Cdr. R. Doyle, i/c Training. Knock and Enter." The pilot knocked and entered, still towing me behind him like a sack of potatoes.
I heard him say: "Captain Jones reporting, Mr. Doyle—with passenger." Then he shoved me in front of him and I saw the man he had been addressing.
He was sitting at a perfectly ordinary office desk, which was rather surprising in this place where nothing else seemed normal. And he looked like a prize fighter. I think he was the most powerfully built man I'd ever seen. Two huge arms covered most of the desk in front of him, and I wondered where he found clothes to fit, for his shoulders must have been over four feet across.
Altogether, as you'll probably have gathered, Commander Doyle wasn't a very handsome man. But he was certainly a striking one, and my biggest surprise was still to come.
"So you're young Malcolm, eh?" he said, in a pleasant, quiet voice that wasn't half as fearsome as his appearance. "We've heard a great deal about you. O.K., Captain Jones—I'll take charge of him now."
The pilot saluted and glided away. For the next ten minutes Commander Doyle questioned me closely, building up a picture of my life and interests. I told him I'd been born in New Zealand and had lived for a few years in China, South Africa, Brazil and Switzerland, as my father—who is a journalist—moved from one job to another. We'd gone to Missouri because Mom was fed up with mountains and wanted a change. As families go these days, we hadn't traveled a great deal, and I'd never visited half the places all our neighbors seemed to know. Perhaps that was one reason why I wanted to go out into space.
When he had finished writing all this down, and adding many notes that I'd have given a good deal to read, Commander Doyle laid aside the old-fashioned fountain pen he was using and stared at me for a minute as if I was some peculiar animal. He drummed thoughtfully on the desk with his huge fingers, which looked as if they could tear their way through the material without much trouble. I was feeling a bit scared, and to make matters worse I'd drifted away from the floor and was floating helplessly in mid-air again. There was no way I could move anywhere unless I made myself ridiculous by trying to swim, which might or might not work. Then the commander gave a chuckle, and his face crinkled up into a vast grin.
"I think this may be quite amusing," he said. While I was still wondering if I dared to ask why, he continued, after glancing at some charts on the wall behind him. "Afternoon classes have just stopped. I'll take you to meet the boys." Then he grabbed a long metal tube that must have been slung underneath the desk, and launched himself out of his chair with a single jerk of his huge left arm.
He moved so quickly that it took me completely by surprise. A moment later I just managed to stifle a gasp of amazement. For as he moved clear of the desk, I saw that Commander Doyle had no legs.
When you go to a new school or move into a strange district, there's always a confusing period so full of new experiences that you can never recall it clearly. My first day on the Space Station was like that. So much had never happened to me before in such a short time. It was not merely that I was meeting a lot of new people. I had to learn how to live all over again.
At first I felt as helpless as a baby. I couldn't judge the effort needed to make any movement. Although weight had vanished, momentum remained. It required force to start something moving, and more force to stop it again. That was where the broomsticks came in.
Commander Doyle had invented them, and the name, of course, came from the old idea that once upon a time witches used to ride on broomsticks. We certainly rode around the station on ours. They consisted of one hollow tube sliding inside another. The two were connected by a powerful spring, one tube ending in a hook, the other in a wide rubber pad. That was all there was to it. If you wanted to move, you put the pad against the nearest wall and shoved. The recoil launched you into space, and when you arrived at your destination you let the spring absorb your velocity and so bring you to rest. Trying to stop yourself with your bare hands was liable to result in sprained wrists.
It wasn't quite as easy as it sounds, though, for if you weren't careful you could bounce right back the way you'd come.
It was a long time before I discovered what had happened to the commander. The scar he'd picked up in an ordinary motor crash when he was a young man, but the more serious accident was a different story, having occurred when he was on the first expedition to Mercury. He'd been quite an athlete, it seemed, so the loss of his legs must have been an even bigger blow to him than to most men. It was obvious why he had come to the station; it was the only place where he wouldn't be a cripple. Indeed, thanks to his powerfully developed arms, he was probably the most agile man in the station. He had lived here for the last ten years and would never return to earth, where he would be helpless again. He wouldn't even go over to any of the other space stations where they had gravity, and no one was ever tactless or foolish enough to suggest such a trip to him.
From ISLANDS IN THE SKY by Arthur C. Clarke (1952)
PARAMEDIC MISSING A FOOT
(ed note: Hocksmith is trying to build the first orbital solar power station. According to ISHA regulations he has to set up a hospital at GEO base to deal with health and injury needs of the construction crew. Hocksmith enlists the help of his old friend Dr. Tom Noels. After some preliminary work, Dr. Tom takes a trip up to LEO base to get some first-hand info about medical issues in free fall. While he is there, one of the construction crew has a severe accident.)
Four people were jammed into First-Aid when he arrived, and the place was filled with a pink mist. All four people wore pressure suits, but three were without helmets. The exception was a short, stocky person whose utterly relaxed position, afloat in the compartment, spelled "unconscious" to Tom.
"Get that off!" Tom snapped to a young woman who was holding the man by his pressure helmet. "What happened here?' Then he saw that the right leg of the man's pressure suit terminated at the lower end of the calf, just above the ankle. So that was the source of the pink mist.
"Fred was working on the power-control junction and must have had a suit radio failure," the young woman remarked. There was no panic in her voice. "Some yo-yo was trying to mate the attach points of another submodule, and he didn't see Fred's leg in the way. When I saw it and yelled, Fred didn't hear me. His radio must have been out."
The man's foot was sheared through just above the ankle, and it had not been a clean severance. Somebody had acted fast out there, and the conipartmentation of the pressure suit had saved the man. A rough tourniquet of electrical cable had been wound around his leg, the only thing that had prevented the pressure in his suit from pumping all his blood out into vacuum. Nonetheless, he had lost a lot of blood.
Moving in a hurry in weightlessness was difficult and bordered on the impossible because Tom wasn't used to it. Several times he pushed off too robustly and ended up banging hard against bulkheads or cabinets. The equipment he removed from cabinets wouldn't behave itself. Fitzsimmons was in shock, and it was important that Tom get oxygen and stimulants into the man immediately, but the hose on the oxygen mask wound itself all over the place. Finally, with Lucky Hertzog's help, he managed to get the oxygen mask securely in place.
There was no way that an IV was going to work, Tom discovered. Without gravity, it wouldn't drip. He thought of injection, then discovered he couldn't get the air bubbles out of the syringe in the usual manner. He ended up swinging it at the end of his arm and squirting most of the injection into the compartment before he felt it had been deaerated enough to prevent an embolism. Getting the IV working was strictly a lash-up, and he didn't have time to be neat. He had to start lactate of Ringer going right away, followed by whole blood—if there was any—followed by closing or cauterizing the severed blood vessels that, in spite of the tourniquet, were still seeping. He called in one of the men from the passageway and instructed him on how to inject the IV solution gently and slowly into Fitzsimmons' arm.
No whole blood was available in the First-Aid Center. Tom cursed himself for not specifying that there be some. It was, therefore, vitally important that he tie off the blood vessels as quickly as possible.
When Torn couldn't find any sutures in the cabinets, he yelled for the remaining man waiting in the passageway. "You, get up to my quarters and bring back my flight kit. I don't know the compartment number—ask a steward. And hurry!"
After ten minutes passed and the man had not returned, Tom was in a bind. He had to stop the bleeding. "I've got to cauterize! Is there a welding torch around here?"
"Nobody in his right mind would do oxyacetylene welding here," Lucky told him.
"If I don't, this man's going to die from blood loss!"
"How about an arc welder?"
"Get it in here!" Tom didn't know how he was going to cauterize the stump of a leg with an electric arc welder, but he would try to figure something out. Unfortunately, there wasn't an arc welder within three hex modules of First-Aid.
Tom didn't panic, but he was slowly coming to the conclusion that his worst fears would be realized. He was going to lose this man because he hadn't been able to assess the medical requirements of a space facility accurately.
Lucky Hertzog released Fitzsimmons' head and moved toward the compartment door, maneuvering easily in zero-g.
"Where are you going?" Tom asked.
"You've got to seal that stump, right?"
"Right, but—"
"I'm going over to the beam builder three modules away. I'll bring back enough activated epoxy to cover that whole stump." And she was gone.
But the man returned with Tom's bag before Lucky did. Tom kept packaged sutures and needles in his kit, along with the necessary surgical tools. He always tried to go prepared to handle emergencies, a habit born from his life in the Southwest, where towns and doctors were far apart.
Tom was in the process of tying off arteries when Lucky Hertzog floated in, both hands full of a lump of curing epoxy.
"How long before that cures?"
"About fifteen minutes, Doc. It's got maybe ten minutes' working life left."
"Okay, I can get these arteries tied off by then. Stand by."
But doing so wasn't as easy as he had thought. Blood spurted everywhere. It was almost impossible to keep the working area clear of blood, which formed drops and globules, its surface tension making it creep along the exterior of every object it touched. But he managed to get the main arteries tied, then formed a base to the stump with the glob of epoxy.
The procedure worked. The blood flow stopped, and Tom was able to remove the tourniquet. It hadn't been sterile, and it hadn't been neat, but Fitzsimmons was still alive.
Then his heart stopped in shock from general loss of blood.
"CPR!" Tom snapped.
He quickly discovered CPR wouldn't work in weightlessness. When he punched down on Fitzsimmons' chest, he and Fitzsimmons flew apart.
Lucky quickly jammed Fitzsimmons' body into a locker along one side of the compartment and jammed herself in with him. With her back against one side of the locker and his against the other, she began CPR.
"Spell me," she gasped to Tom after about five minutes, during which time he had been trying to get the leads of the defibrillator untangled. One of her men moved in and took over, leaving Tom to his struggle.
But between Lucky Hertzog and her two workers, they managed to get Fitzsimmons' heart going again without the need for Tom to defibrillate—a risky business in the metal-walled compartment.
Charlie Day stuck his head into the First-Aid-Center. “Will he make it, Doc?”
Tom shook his head. “Not unless I can get him back to Jornada fast.”
“I’ll hold the departure of the Salkeld. It’s ready to undock in ten minutes.” The LEO Base boss disappeared.
Tom vented a sigh of relief. “Good. If I can get him on that StarPacket, he has a good chance.”
“Your first time in zero-g, isn’t it?” Lucky Hertzog asked.
“Yes, and I’m afraid I botched a lot of things.”
She shook her red curls, obviously having adjusted to the disorientation brought on by rapid head movements that plagued newcomers. “Not as bad as some others I’ve seen. You’re clumsy, and you’re still gripping gravel. But you’ll adapt. What the hell, I can’t complain. Fred would be dead it you hadn’t been here.”
“Maybe,” Tom admitted, “but I’ve got to do better than this at GEO Base. We won’t be able to hop a StarPacket and head for help out there.”
“You’re going to be the doctor at GEO Base?”
“If I don’t accidentally kill myself in this screwy environment first.”
“We’ll teach you, Doc.”
There was one helpful characteristic of weightlessness, Tom decided. It was possible to move the seriously injured Fitzsimmons easily without putting him under any additional stress. The two men who were bumped from their seats on the Salkeld didn’t complain. As the stews were strapping Fitzsimmons next to Tom, the doctor turned to Charlie Day. “Get on the horn to Jornada. I want Dr. Vanderhoff and a paramedic team standing by at the edge of the runway when this bird stops rolling. And a medevac helicopter waiting to lift us all to Beaumont General in El Paso and a trauma team standing by there. This man isn’t out of danger yet!”
“I haven’t exactly been sitting on my can, Doc,” Charlie Day told him. “They’re already waiting. By the way, they found the foot.” He took something out of a plastic sack—the severed right foot of Fred Fitzsimmons was still in the boot of the pressure suit. Tom took a quick look, then closed the sack and handed it to a stew. The foot had been completely dehydrated from its exposure to vacuum. “Stick this somewhere. Fitzsimmons may not want it, but I do. I’ll need it to train my medical staff, if Fitzsimmons will let me use it for that, if he lives.”
The next ten hours were a confused blur to Tom. The return flight and landing of the Salkeld, the transfer of Fitzsimmons to El Paso, the hours of surgery that miraculously saved the stump of the leg without necessitating a full amputation to the hip despite the fact that Tom had had to work without asepsis at LEO Base, and the moments when the injured man faltered, then recovered—Tom didn’t remember exact details and was rather surprised when he woke up the next day, checked the record, and discovered he had forgotten almost everything he had dictated into the hospital reoord the night before. He went to see his patient.
Fitzsimmons was conscious, though heavily sedated, and was being maintained by two IVs as a plethora of instruments measured his vital signs. “You the doctor who saved me at LEO Base?” he asked haltingly.
Tom nodded. “With the help of Lucky Hertzog, who knew a lot more about how to work in weightlessness.”
“Lucky's a good gal. Knows her stuff. Good person to work for, Fitzsirmnons remarked. He managed to glance down at his right leg, then sighed. “Looks like I won t be going back up there to work for her again. Dammit; that was a good job.”
Don't worry about it now,” Tom told him. “You’ve lost a lot of blood, and you ve got to rest. Eden Corporation will take care of things.”
"Who's going to hire a man with one foot?”
"You'll have a prosthesis. A year from now, nobody'll know. Besides, this is a big project. Eden Corporation has work for you here on Earth.”
Fred Fitzsunmons shook his head slowly from side to side on the pillow. “Doc, I quit my work here and took that job with Eden Corporation as an electronic instrument installer because I wanted to go into space. I’ve wanted to go into space ever since I was a kid. I saw Eden Corporation recruiting interviewers turn down experts who’d lost a finger or were handicapped. I know I won’t get back into space again—and just because of some damned radio failure that I should have spotted!”
“Look, things will work out.” Tom made a mental note to prescribe some neotriptyline antidepressant. Discouragement and feelings of inadequacy usually accompanied the loss of any part of the body, and Tom wanted to head off the problem with Fitzsimmons. The man would live, but he faced a major hurdle if his attitude didn’t change. “I’ve got to report the accident to Owen Hocksmith himself, so I’ll do what I can.”
Fitzsimmons looked up at “Thanks, Doc.”
Tom had heard that phrase many times in his career. In most cases, it was an automatic response from a patient. But there was something in the tone of Fitzsimmons’ voice that made Tom realize the man really meant it.
For the first time in many years, Doctor Tom Noels felt good.
On the same day, he received a videophone call from El Paso. It was Fred Fitzsimmons.
“You’re looking good, Fred,” Tom told him.
“Feeling good, too. They’re discharging me today. I’ll be on crutches until they fit me with the prosthesis and teach me how to use it,” the spaceman replied. But the grin on his pudgy face quickly disappeared. “Doc, I don’t want to sit on my ass the rest of my life, living off the disability payments. And I’m having one hell of a time convincing people to hire me.”
"Well, why don’t you talk to some of the rehab people and get them to retrain you for a new trade, using your instrument tech background as a foundation?”
“That’s not what I am,” Fitzsimmons replied frankly. “I knew enough about it so that Eden hired me, but my background’s in electronic medical instrumentation, especially the gear associated with intensive care and trauma. Uh, look, Doc, I want to get back into space in the worst way. In fact, worse than ever now, because down here I’m a guy without a foot and considered to be handicapped. But in weightlessness, that condition doesn’t make a damned bit of difierence.”
Tom sighed and shook his head sadly. “Damn, Fred, I wish I had an opening for an instrumentation man, but I don’t.”
“Can you use a paramedic?"
Tom nodded. “I do need one more.”
“I’m your man,” Fitzsimmons stated bluntly. “Look, Doc, to qualify to wire up patients in trauma, I had to go through paramedic training in Los Angeles. And believe me, Doc, a paramedic doesn’t have to have both feet on the ground in weightlessness!”
“Fred, grab the next corporation courier and haul up here to Albuquerque.” Tom was happy that he’d completed the search for his paramedics, but he was elated that he would have one who had been in orbit and understood the environment.
Tom was an unusual doctor; he didn’t play golf. He had never had time—and he didn’t have time that day, either. He had assembled his staff in Albuquerque and was running short of time in which to train them in what little he knew about orbital medicine. He was really counting a great deal on Fred Fitzsimmons, who had already had four weeks of work in LEO Base with Lucky Hertzog. Fred was the only member of the team who had had any experience living in zero-g.
MANNIE'S ARMS
artwork by James Warhola
But most Loonies never tried to leave The Rock—too risky for any bloke who’d been in Luna more than weeks. Computermen sent up to install Mike were on short-term bonus contracts—get job done fast before irreversible physiologlcal change marooned them four hundred thousand kilometers from home.
But despite two training tours I was not gung-ho computerman; higher maths are beyond me. Not really electronics engineer, nor physicist. May not have been best micromachinist in Luna and certainly wasn’t cybernetics psychologist.
But I knew more about all these than a specialist knows—I’m general specialist. Could relieve a cook and keep orders coming or field-repair your suit and get you back to airlock still breathing. Machines like me and I have something specialists don’t have: my left arm.
You see, from elbow down I don’t have one. So I have a dozen left arms, each specialized, plus one that feels and looks like flesh. With proper left arm (number-three) and stereo loupe spectacles I could make untramicrominiature repairs that would save unhooking something and sending it Earthside to factory—for number-three has micromanipulators as fine as those used by neurosurgeons.
I wondered about his life expectancy. Tourists often remark on how polite everybody is in Luna—with unstated comment that ex-prison shouldn’t be so civilized. Having been Earthside and seen what they put up with, I know what they mean. But useless to tell them we are what we are because bad actors don’t live long—in Luna.
But had no intention of fighting no matter how new-chum this lad behaved; I simply thought about how his face would look if I brushed number-seven arm across his mouth.
And computerman-of-the-watch comes banging and ringing at door. I took my time answering and carried number-five arm in right hand with short wing bare; this makes some people sick and upsets almost everybody.
She asked how I felt. Told her I was right, just hungry. “Sister, did you see some prosthetic arms in our luggage?”
She had and I felt better with number-six in place. Had selected it and number-two and social arm as enough for trip. Number-two was presumably still in Complex; I hoped somebody was taking care of it. But number-six is most all-around useful arm; with it and social one I’d be okay.
But this time we were searched—and a recorder removed from my pouch.
I surrendered it without much fuss; was Japanese job supplied by Stu—to be surrendered. Number-six arm has recess intended for a power pack but near enough size of my mini-recorder. Didn’t need power that day—and most people, even hardened police officers, dislike to touch a prosthetic.
From THE MOON IS A HARSH MISTRESS by Robert Heinlein (1966)
On the topic of crew size, Matt Picio said that a modern wet-navy warship averages 15-20 crew members per kiloton of displacement.
However, a more accurate measurement takes into account "core crew", the minimum number of watch-standers to steer and fight the vessel. Core crew is about 80, and represents the minimum number of crew for a long-duration warship. Additional crew is fairly linear, at 1 crew per 100 tons of vessel. Automation will eventually halve these figures.
Ken Burnside says that for routine operations of a warship, you need a minimum of 10 people. Combat is, of course, far from routine. There are many complicated factors involved. For a back of the envelope calculation, figure roughly 10 to 16 crewmen per kiloton, though the lower end figure presupposes that most of the tonnage consists of armor and other things that do not require babysitting. If it sucks current, has moving parts, or works with a pressure or temperature differential, it needs babysitting.
For estimating the crew size of a long-duration military vessel, Sean Schauer has created a nice Excel spreadsheet (instructions are on last page). You'll have to decide how many shifts or "watches" there will be in a 24 hour period, generally from three to six. The spreadsheet was designed for a real-life wet navy vessel, so you may have to adapt it a bit. If you use this spreadsheet please give Mr. Knight credit for it.
Civilian ships average 10 to 25 crew members, depending on size (container ships and supertankers). Liners have about 0.8 to 1.2 crew for every passenger.
Adjust these figures to match your vision of spacecraft crews.
LIFE IN THE LONELY VOID
In Children of a Dead Earth, most capital ships run between 40 to 80 crew, and are based heavily on modern nuclear submarine crews.
These numbers are based on a tally of all the jobs needed, which scales based not by mass of the ship, but on the number of subsystems, type of subsystems, and several other factors. Thus, an enormous 10+ kiloton methane tanker can run on a tiny crew, while a small, 1 kiloton fast attack craft may require a much larger crew.
With such small crews, they would have to be highly trained to take over multiple jobs in case of injury or death of other crew members. Similar to modern nuclear submarines, crew members live 18 hour days, 6 hours on watch, and 12 hours off watch. Meals between each watch, with the enlisted men and women hot bunking to save on the precious space.
Crew complement of a very large capital ship massing about 10 kt
From LIFE IN THE LONELY VOID by Zane Mankowski (2016)
Figure on crew members being from 68 to 113 kilograms each (150-250 pounds).
Keeping in mind that everybody knows the Polaris only needed Tom Corbett, Roger Manning, and Astro for crew. Tom was the captain/pilot, Roger was the astrogator/communications/radar man, and Astro was the propulsion system engineer. And on the StarDuster, you only had Scott McCloud (the Space Angel) as captain/pilot, the lovely Crystal as communications/radar/nav, and Taurus as the engineer/gunner.
Forbidden Planet (1956)
And don't forget the crew in FORBIDDEN PLANET. As in many wet naval vessels, a lot of the enlisted men are going to be boys around 18 years old.
Once you have established the size of the crew, you can start allocating space for their quarters and supplies for food & life support.
THE SANDS OF MARS
Artwork by Robert Schulz
The maiden flight of a new spaceship is always an occasion and the Ares was the first of her line, the first, indeed, of all spaceships ever to be built primarily for passengers and not for freight.
When she was fully commissioned, she would carry a crew of thirty and a hundred and fifty passengers in somewhat spartan comfort. On her first voyage, however, the proportions were almost reversed and at the moment her crew of six was waiting for the single passenger to come aboard.
“This,” said Captain Norden, working round the cabin from left to right, “is my engineer, Lieutenant Hilton. This is Dr. Mackay, our navigator — only a Ph.D., not a real doctor, like Dr. Scott here. Lieutenant Bradley is Electronics Officer, and Jimmy Spencer, who met you at the airlock, is our supernumerary and hopes to be Captain when he grows up.”
Gibson looked round the little group with some surprise. There were so few of them — five men and a boy!
His face must have revealed his thoughts, for Captain Norden laughed and continued.
“Not many of us, are there? But you must remember that this ship is almost automatic — and besides, nothing ever happens in space. When we start the regular passenger run, there’ll be a crew of thirty. On this trip, we’re making up the weight in cargo, so we’re really travelling as a fast freighter.”
Gibson looked carefully at the men who would be his only companions for the next three months. His first reaction (he always distrusted first reactions, but was at pains to note them) was one of astonishment that they seemed so ordinary — when one made allowance for such superficial matters as their odd attitudes and temporary baldness. There was no way of guessing that they belonged to a profession more romantic than any that the world had known since the last cowboys traded in their broncos for helicopters.
Captain Norden, thought Gibson a little ruefully, was not fitting at all well into the expected pattern. The skipper of a space-liner, according to the best — or at least the most popular — literary tradition, should be a grizzled, keen-eyed veteran who had spent half his life in the ether and could navigate across the Solar System by the seat of his pants, thanks to his uncanny knowledge of the spaceways. He must also be a martinet; when he gave orders, his officers must jump to attention (not an easy thing under zero gravity), salute smartly, and depart at the double.
Instead, the captain of the Ares was certainly less than forty, and might have been taken for a successful business executive. As for being a martinet — so far Gibson had detected no signs of discipline whatsoever. This impression, he realised later, was not strictly accurate. The only discipline aboard the Ares was entirely self-imposed; that was the only form possible among the type of men who composed her crew.
“We keep normal Earth-time — Greenwich Meridian aboard the ship and everything shuts down at ‘night.’ There are no watches, as there used to be in the old days; the instruments can take over when we’re sleeping, so we aren’t on continuous duty. That’s one reason why we can manage with such a small crew.
“I’ll get Jimmy to take you to your room. He’s our odd-job man for this trip, working his passage and learning something about spaceflight. Most of us start that way, signing up for the lunar run during college vacations. Jimmy’s quite a bright lad — he’s already got his Bachelor’s degree.”
By now Gibson was beginning to take it quite for granted that the cabin-boy would be a college graduate.
And its crew no longer consisted of Norden, Hilton, Mackay, Bradley, and Scott — but of John, Fred, Angus, Owen, and Bob.
He had grown to know them all, though Hilton and Bradley had a curious reserve that he had been unable to penetrate. Each man was a definite and sharply contrasted character; almost the only thing they had in common was intelligence. Gibson doubted if any of them had an I.Q. of less than 120, and he sometimes wriggled with embarrassment as he remembered the crews he had imagined for some of his fictional spaceships. He recalled Master Pilot Graham, from “Five Moons Too Many” — still one of his favourite characters. Graham had been tough (had he not once survived half a minute in vacuum before being able to get to his spacesuit?) and he regularly disposed of a bottle of whisky a day. He was a distinct contrast to Dr. Angus Mackay, Ph.D. (Astron.), F.R.A.S., who was now sitting quietly in a corner reading a much annotated copy of “The Canterbury Tales” and taking an occasional squirt from a bulbful of milk.
The mistake that Gibson had made, along with so many other writers back in the ‘50’s and ‘60’s, was the assumption that there would be no fundamental difference between ships of space and ships of the sea — or between the men who manned them. There were parallels, it was true, but they were far outnumbered by the contrasts. The reason was purely technical, and should have been foreseen, but the popular writers of the mid-century had taken the lazy course and had tried to use the traditions of Herman Melville and Frank Dana in a medium for which they were grotesquely unfitted.
A ship of space was much more like a stratosphere liner than anything that had ever moved on the face of the ocean, and the technical training of its crew was at much higher level even than that required in aviation. A man like Norden had spent five years at college, three years in space, and another two back at college on advanced astronautical theory before qualifying for his present position.
From THE SANDS OF MARS by Sir Arthur C. Clarke (1951)
Standing Watch
Traditional US Navy watches
0000 (midnight) - 0400
Mid watch
Morning watch
0800 - 1200 (noon)
Forenoon watch
Afternoon watch
First Dog watch
Last Dog watch
The problem with having one crew member for each ship function is when do they sleep? Obviously you need at least two crewmembers for each post that has to be constantly manned, or hope that the mission doesn't last longer than a day. Caffeine only goes so far.
So what you do is divide a day into a number of "watches", and for each post that must be constantly manned there will be a number of crew members sufficient to fill all the watches. "Standing a watch" means being on duty at a specific station during a particular portion of the day. Crewmembers who are currently on watch are called "watchstanders." Under normal conditions, a crew member standing watch is relieved of all other duties. Please note that "General Quarters" is NOT a normal condition.
At the end of their watch, a crew member will wait until they are "relieved" by the crew member in the next watch. The first crew member will tell the second that "all is well". What that actually means is "everything is OK, if anything goes wrong it's your problem now."
The crew will be divided into "duty sections" and each duty section is assigned to one or more watches. A ship will have three, four, or six duty sections, with each duty section assigned to a number of watches to ensure full coverage. That is, if a ship has six watches in a day, and there are three duty sections, each duty section will be assigned to 6 / 3 = 2 watches. There are more details here.
Generally a 24 hour "day" will be divided into six 4-hour watches. However, depending on the ship, the number of watches in a day can be anything from three to six. Sometimes the watch that occurs during dinner time is split into two "dog watches." This allows the people assigned to that watch to eat their evening meal. Dog watches also ensure that there is an odd number of watches in a day, which ensures that a duty section is not stuck with the same watches every day.
On the Starship Enterprise, there are six watches: Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, Epsilon and Zeta. They have no dog watches because dinner is available from a replicator at any hour. And since there is no day and night in space, there is no way that a duty section can even tell if it is standing the same watch every day.
Some posts do not need to be manned round the clock, so there will be fewer crew assigned than the number of watches in a day.
The watch system works nicely with the "hot bunk" system. This is where several crew members in different duty sections share one bunk in a desperate attempt by spacecraft designers to reduce crew quarter mass. (Barry Messina explained to me that watch standing and hot bunking are totally independent of each other)
The first officer on a small ship is responsible for creating the "watchbill" for all crew members. This is a document specifying the watch rotation for the crew, it tells the crew who has to be where and when. On a larger ship, the department heads will be responsible for creating the watchbill for their department. There will be a different watchbill depending upon whether the ship is in space or on a planet.
Watchbill for the 6 crew Aeronutronic EMPIRE dual planet flyby mission (1962)
Duties for Aeronutronic EMPIRE dual planet flyby mission (1962)
Dark Star (1974)
Atari 2600 game Starship Engineering Future Challenge!
Wing Commander (1999)
Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979)
As usual, when you ask me a question, the correct answer is: it depends.
US Navy practice is to design a Watch, Quarter and Station Bill during the ship design process. Imagine a poster board three feet long and two feet high. Each person has an individual horizontal line. The columns, from left to right, begin with the billet sequence number (something the personnel accounting folks use to keep track of requirements before any actual names are assigned), then the name of the person, then the general quarters station. The next set of columns will be assignments for other 'stations', like various steaming conditions (Condition 2, 3, 4, 5) then various other events (underway replenishment, flight quarters, cleaning stations) and places (berthing assignment, import duty section, underway duty section) and on and on. The WQ&S bill as originally planned covers where every body is supposed to be for every type of watch station and evolution the ship is intended to accomplish. It is normally based on the notion that everyone has a place to be for general quarters, the ship will operate with 3 equal sections for normal at-sea ops, and 4 or 5 (depending) sections when in port. The WQS Bill also has listings for abandon ship stations: which lifeboat are you supposed to be in? This should be updated every single time the ship gets underway.
Of course, once the ship gets turned over to the Commanding Officer, changes start. If the ship does not have enough qualified bodies to man 3 underway sections, then you'll slide to 2 sections (known as port and starboard watches). Some parts of the ship could be standing port and starboard watches while other parts of the ship, with more qualified bodies, might be in a 4-section rotation. Depending on how the Commanding Officer (CO), Executive Officer(XO) and department heads decide to run things, the entire WQS Bill might be centrally managed by the Senior Watch Officer (typically the most senior department head). An alternative is to have the departments each run their own watch bills, with the Senior Watch Officer (and the department heads) providing a watch bill for the CO that lists the key bridge, CIC, and engineering watches. Over time, the WQS bill becomes fractured, with some parts being updated by some groups, and the rest being ignored. A newly reported person will be assigned an empty bunk, but the WQS Bill may or may not be updated.
Note: in the day of data bases and computerization and networked admin aboard ship, it may be possible now to actually maintain the entire WQS Bill up to date all the time. That would be great, and I'd love to see it. It's a great management tool when it is up to date, and a monster to have to update across all departments and all possible watches, quarters, and stations. Just keeping track of who is assigned where in a five-section inport rotation can keep 5 chiefs busy. A number of these watch teams have to accomplish team training, particularly for damage control and fire-fighting. As an example, if one of those teams has 14 bodies, and the number of bodies assigned to the team that went to the team training as part of the team drops below 10, then the team gets decertified and all 14 have to go through another team training session. Many of these team training sessions are held off the ship, so the training management folks on the ship have to get a quota, make sure all 14 bodies are available and actually show up for the team training, blah blah blah.
Now we get to the question of how to organize the watch sections. One of the key considerations for this is the issue of when the galley is operating, which is the subject of negotiation between the XO and Supply Officer. The watch schedule has to provide enough time for the on-coming watch section to eat and get up on watch and for the off-going section to get out of their watch spaces and over to the mess decks to eat. Therefore, even if each department is running their own watch bills, and various timing schemes for watches are in effect, some mechanism needs to exist to ensure everyone has a chance to get something to eat. No matter what, for some part of the 24-hour day the galley (or galleys, on larger ships) and the places where people eat have to be shut down for cleaning. These spaces are also used to host training sessions and various meetings.
In my experience, one frequent method to deal with the watches in Combat Information Center (CIC: part of the Operations Department) is to have all the Operations Specialists in a port and starboard rotation. That means half of the folks are on watch, and the rest of the group is off watch. One reason this can work is that normally there are more bodies available than actual watch positions: more bodies than seats. Since the Operations Specialists have lots of other admin and training and cleaning things to do in CIC, the folks 'on watch' actually are being rotated around by the Chief: some folks are in chairs, with headphones on, staring at scopes, talking on inter phones or radios, and so forth. Other folks may be preparing charts, reviewing message traffic, preparing for exercises, cleaning, training, or any number of other odds and ends. While the OS types used to try and convince people that they really had it rough being on watch 12 hours at a time, in fact that's not remotely what they were doing. Most of the sit-down, be-on-watch activities have human performance limits: the individual performance starts to degrade after 45 minutes. The wise Chief will therefore rotate people around between the various positions and the other admin duties. Because there are an excess of bodies, sending some of the 'on-watch' folks down to eat does not impair the watch team performance. After eating, those folk return to CIC and slide into chairs so others can go eat. If a special evolution, such as flight quarters or underway replenishment, is called away then the extra bodies from the watch section fill in. This can be a problem when we recognize that there are job training requirements for the individual positions on the special evolutions, and merely sending the two bodies closest to the hatch when the evolution is announced is actually the wrong way to do it. However, it's also my experience that the Ops guys get away with this crap all the time unless somebody senior is paying attention. The real reason the Ops types like port and starboard is the 12 hours off watch when they can sleep, play cards, and otherwise not be under the eye of some supervisor. The Ops and CIC leadership tends to be in CIC, and guys hanging out in berthing have a pretty good chance of remaining unmolested.
The situation is usually different in engineering, where having enough qualified folks to get into a 3-section rotation is not guaranteed. Or, some individual watch stations may be in a 3-man rotation, while others are in port and starboard.
I'm used to seeing the surface ships use a dog watch, which is doing the short watches around the time of the evening meal. My most recent time underway was in July this year, and the crew was running dog watches. The bridge and engineering people in a 3-section watch will use this short rotation, while the CIC people running port and starboard will ignore the whole thing. The start and stop times of the short watches will vary, mostly driven by how the supply department leadership makes their arguments to the XO and command master chief. Remember that the supply department has to provide 4 meals per day, not 3.
The bottom line is that there's no one way to run watches, and even within one hull, different parts of the organization may be on different watch and/or shift schedules. Another factor can be how close you are to a major inspection, and the amount of time required (as recommended by the department heads, and approved by the XO and CO) to run drills. Some training evolutions can be hazardous to the fancy electronics, so the smart combat systems officers will try to manage the schedule so that all the expensive electronics can be shut down while the engineers are messing with the electrical distribution system. If the ship conducts and all-hands evolution like general quarters, you have to have a plan for how goes on watch once the General Quarters (GQ) is over, and depending on how long you spent at GQ, it may have an impact on when the supply department can have lunch ready, and you still have to get guys fed before they go on watch, and still stay open till the folks that have been on watch get off watch and come in to eat. It's complicated.
The watch stations to be manned vary by unit employment (operating independently or as part of a group), threat level, weather, manpower and the qualification levels of all the various bodies, and on and on. Engineers might be in port and starboard, while all the department heads are totally off the watch bill. I've also seen times when there are only two qualified Tactical Action Officers (the XO and the Combat Systems Officer) because the CO disqualified the Ops officer and told the Chief Engineer to stand Engineering Officer of the Watch watches because the CO didn't trust the rest of the engineering department junior officers. This was NOT a happy ship.
It is a mistake to confuse the watch rotation with hot bunking. Hot bunking means you have more bodies than bunks. Period. This will have to get managed, normally within each department, but it may not have watch rotation as a solution: the folks without bunks tend to be junior and unqualified and not particularly useful.
My personal preference for CIC is a 3-section rotation of 6-hour watches. This is intended to thin out the excess bodies in CIC: if you are on watch, then that's what you are doing. When you get off watch, you grab something to eat and report back to your space for training, cleaning, maintenance, and are the 'ready duty' pool to fill in for underway replenishment and/or flight quarters duties. If the section leader says you are done, then you can take off. At most, you work 4 1/2 hours, then eat and you are off for 6 hours. This may not be such a good idea for bridge watches: you don't get to sit down, and the watches can be massively boring as you stare out the windows watching the waves go up and down. It just depends on where the ship is and what it's doing. It's up to the senior petty officers and chiefs to monitor how people are doing, and have the discretion to allow somebody to slide out and catch some extra rack time. The further along in a deployment you get, the more bodies get qualified, and the flexibility to manage people increases.
Barry Messina
PASSAGE AT ARMS
It's not as bad as I expected. Piniaz is the sort of watch officer who stays out of the way. He makes his presence felt only when he joins Chief Nicastro by making sure Westhause's preprogrammed jumps are putting the ship into the right places in the search pattern. The astrogator can't be on the job all the time, though he does sleep less than anyone else.
Yanevich's shipboard title is a misnomer this patrol (First Watch Officer). The Commander himself has taken the first watch. Yanevich really has the second. Piniaz has the third. In Line ships the Astrogation Officer normally stands the third watch. In Climbers that usually falls to the Ship's Services Officer. The Commander is kept free.
The Old Man thinks our Ensign too green. In the quiet passages, though, he brings Bradley in for a watch. He hands it to me at times, too. Sometimes Diekereide takes a turn "just in case." The Commander has even dragged Varese in on rare occasion. One of an officer's unwritten duties is to learn everything possible. It may save your ship someday.
Watch schedules don't mean much aboard a Climber, except to officers, who assume four-hour chunks of responsibility. The men come and go. In Ops Chiefs Nicastro and Canzoneri just make sure that the critical stations are manned. In Weapons Chiefs Bath and Holtsnider do the same.
In Engineering, where they stand six on and six off and most of the stations must be continuously manned, life is more structured.
From PASSAGE AT ARMS by Glen Cook (1985)
YESTERDAY'S CHILDREN
A chime sounds, a bell-like tone. (First officer) Korie's gaze strays automatically to the clock —abruptly he checks himself. (It isn't my relief that's coming.) The thought echoes rudely in his mind.
The bridge of the starcruiser is a bowl-shaped room. The wide door at the rear of it slides open to admit four low-voiced crewmen. They cut off their talk, move quickly into the room, and separate.
Two rows of gray-blue consoles circle the bridge, the outer row surrounding the room on a wide raised ledge, the other just inside and below. Despite the spaciousness of the room's original measurements, the additional consoles and equipment that have since been added force a cramped feeling within.
Brushing past their shipmates, two of the men move around to the front of the ledge, called the horseshoe. They tap two others and step into their places at the controls. The other relief crewmen step down into the circle of consoles in the center, a lowered area called the pit. They too tap two men. Dropping easily into the quickly vacated couches, the new men settle into the routine with a familiarity bred of experience.
The men going off watch exit just as quickly, and once more the bridge is still. The crew are sullen figures in the darkened room, sometimes silhouetted against the glare of a screen.
One man —a small man on the left side of the horseshoe —is not still at his post. He glances around the bridge nervously, looks to the Command and Control Seat just above the rear of the pit.
Working up his courage, the man steps forward. "Sir?"
Korie peers into the darkness. "Yes?"
"Uh, sir. . . my relief —he hasn't shown up yet."
"Who's your relief, Harris?"
"Wolfe, sir."
"Wolfe?" Korie frowns. He rubs absentmindedly at his nose.
Harris nods. "Yes, sir."
Korie sighs to himself, a sound of quiet exasperation, directed as much at Harris as at the absent Wolfe. "Well.. . stay at your post until he gets here."
"Yes, sir." Resignedly, Harris turns back to his waiting board.
At the same time, the door at the rear of the bridge slides open with a whoosh. Red-faced and panting heavily, a short, straw-colored crewman rushes in, still buttoning the flap of his tunic.
Korie swivels to face him. "Wolfe?" he demands. He touches the chair arm, throwing a splash of light at the man.
Wolfe hesitates, caught in the sudden glare. "Yes, sir. .. ? Uh, I'm sorry I'm late coming on watch, sir."
"You're sorry. . . ?"
"Yes, sir."
"Oh." The first officer pauses. "Well, then I guess that makes everything all right."
Wolfe smiles nervously, but the sweat is beaded on his fore head. He starts to move to his post.
"Did you hear that, Harris?" Korie calls abruptly. "Wolfe said he was sorry...."
Again Wolfe hesitates. He looks nervously from one to the other.
"Harris?" Korie calls again. "Did you hear that?"
"Uh, yes, sir." The answer is mumbled; the man is hidden in shadow.
"And that makes everything all right, doesn't it, Harris?" Korie's eyes remain fixed on Wolfe.
"Uh, yes, sir," Harris answers. "I guess it does —if you say so —"
The first officer smiles thinly. "I guess it does then." His voice goes suddenly hard. "In fact, Mr. Harris, Mr. Wolfe is so sorry that he says he's going to take over your next five watches for you. In addition to his own. Isn't that good of him?"
"Sir!"
"Shut up, Wolfe!"
"Uh, sir —" insists Harris. "You don't have to do that—"
"You're right, Harris. I don't have to —Wolfe does."
"Sir!" Wolfe protests again.
"I don't want to hear it."
"But, sir, I —"
"Wolfe. . .!" says Korie warningly. "You are now ten minutes late in getting to your post. Are you trying for twenty?" He cuts off the spotlight, darkening the bridge back to Condition Red, and swivels forward.
Wolfe stares at the first officer's back for a moment, then mutters a nearly inaudible, "Yes, sir. . .!" He steps across the horse shoe and ritually taps Harris's shoulder.
From YESTERDAY'S CHILDREN by David Gerrold (1972)
Discovery's Schedule
Bowman goes to sleep
Poole inspects ship
Poole reports to Mission Control
Bowman awakes, breakfast
Bowman relieves Poole
Bowman checks instruments
Start Poole's 6 hr off-duty
Bowman study period
Bowman's lunch, Poole's dinner
Bowman inspects ship
Poole goes to sleep
Bowman reports to Mission Control
Poole awakes, breakfast
Poole relieves Bowman
Poole checks instruments
Start Bowman's 6 hr off-duty
Bowman dinner, Poole lunch
Poole study period
The day-by-day running of the ship had been planned with great care, and — theoretically at least — Bowman and Poole knew what they would be doing at every moment of the twenty-four hours. They operated on a twelve-hours-on, twelve-hours-off basis, taking charge alternately, and never being both asleep at the same time. The officer on duty remained on the Control Deck, while his deputy saw to the general housekeeping, inspected the ship, coped with the odd jobs that constantly arose, or relaxed in his cubicle.
Bowman’s day began at 0600, ship’s time — the Universal Ephemeris Time of the astronomers.
His first official act of the day would be to advance the Master Hibernation Timer twelve hours. If this operation was missed twice in a row, Hal would assume that both he and Poole had been incapacitated, and would take the necessary emergency action.
Bowman would attend to his toilet, and do his isometric exercises, before settling down to breakfast and the morning’s radio-fax edition of the World Times.
At 0700 he would officially relieve Poole on the Control Deck, bringing him a squeeze-tube of coffee from the kitchen. If — as was usually the case — there was nothing to report and no action to be taken, he would settle down to check all the instrument readings, and would run through a series of tests designed to spot possible malfunctions. By 1000 this would be finished, and he would start on a study period.
So for two hours, from 1000 to 1200, Bowman would engage in a dialogue with an electronic tutor, checking his general knowledge or absorbing material specific to this mission. He would prowl endlessly over ship’s plans, circuit diagrams, and voyage profiles, or would try to assimilate all that was known about Jupiter, Saturn, and their far-ranging families of moons.
At midday, he would retire to the galley and leave the ship to Hal while he prepared his lunch. Even here, he was still fully in touch with events, for the tiny lounge-cum-dining room contained a duplicate of the Situation Display Panel, and Hal could call him at a moment’s notice. Poole would join him for this meal, before retiring for his six-hour sleep period, and usually they would watch one of the regular TV programs beamed to them from Earth.
After lunch, from 1300 to 1600 Bowman would make a slow and careful tour of the ship — or such part of it as was accessible. Discovery measured almost four hundred feet from end to end, but the little universe occupied by her crew lay entirely inside the forty-foot sphere of the pressure hull.
By 1600, he would have finished his inspection, and would make a detailed verbal report to Mission Control, talking until the acknowledgment started to come in. Then he would switch off his own transmitter, listen to what Earth had to say, and send back his reply to any queries. At 1800 hours, Poole would awaken, and he would hand over command.
He would then have six off-duty hours, to use as he pleased. Sometimes he would continue his studies, or listen to music, or look at movies. Much of the time he would wander at will through the ship’s inexhaustible electronic library.
The last hours of Bowman’s day were devoted to general cleaning up and odd jobs, followed by dinner at 2000 — again with Poole. Then there would be an hour during which he would make or receive any personal call from Earth.
Just before he signed off Bowman would make his final report, and check that Hal had transmitted all the instrumentation tapes for the day’s run. Then, if he felt like it, he would spend a couple of hours either reading or looking at a movie; and at midnight he would go to sleep — usually without any help from electronarcosis. Poole’s program was a mirror image of his own, and the two schedules dovetailed together without friction.
From 2001 A SPACE ODYSSEY by Arthur C. Clarke (1968)
ALERT STATUS WATCH
Nor did she greatly enjoy standing four-eight-four-eight watches, but she didn’t see much choice in that matter, either. There just weren’t enough command and ops personnel available to keep the ship running on alert status any other way. Four hours of general supervision where needed in the ship, eight hours on bridge duty, then four hours of dealing with whatever low-priority matters and office work had cropped up during the day. Then—in theory—eight hours to eat at least one decent meal, wash, and grab some kind of sleep before starting it all over again. Not that she had gotten eight hours of downtime since they had started the approach to Earth.
Something always came up. Last night, for example, she had spent half the time she was supposed to be sleeping sweating out the closest approach of CORE 219.
From THE SHATTERED SPHERE by Roger MacBride Allen (1994)
FAST-FLIP WATCH
I settled down to check the logs and make a list of tasks. My brain slid back into a familiar script, running through the overnight logs and checking the maintenance schedule for the next twenty-four stans (hours). It was one of my “fast-flip” days—the name I’d given to the six-on-six-off-six-on portions of the watch cycle. At the end of a fast-flip, I would get either a break of either twelve or twenty-four stans. I’d just slept through most of a twelve, and I had eighteen to go before the twenty-four. I made a note on my tablet to change the number two water intake filter on this watch and clean the number three scrubber’s field plates during the evening’s leg.
Watch standing is like riding a merry-go-round. The repetition of the activities day after day and the way the other crew members fall into their own patterns provides a structure that becomes one long blur. You regularly see the people who are in your watch section, but the full complement of the crew is only really apparent to the mess deck worker. It’s here that we all gather for meals on a cycle that isn’t always set by the rotation of watches but on a convention that goes much deeper.
From FULL SHARE by Nathan Lowell (2011)
MIKEYS
DAMN, but it stuck in Don Lawson’s craw—largely because Chuck Zakarian was right. After all, Zakarian was slated for the big Mars surface mission to be launched from Earth next year. He never said it to Don’s face, but Don knew that Zakarian and the rest of NASA viewed him and Sasim as Mikeys—the derisive term for those, like Apollo 11’s command-module pilot Mike Collins, who got to go almost all the way to the target.
Yes, goddamned Zakarian would be remembered along with Armstrong, whom every educated person in the world could still name even today, seventy years after his historic small step. But who the hell remembered Collins, the guy who’d stayed in orbit around the Moon while Neil and Buzz had made history on the lunar surface?
Don realized the point couldn’t have been driven home more directly than by the view he was now looking at. He was floating in the control room of the Asaph Hall, the ship that had brought him and Sasim Remtulla to Martian space from Earth. If he looked left, Don saw Mars, giant, red, beckoning. And if he looked right, he saw—
They called it the Spud. The Spud, for Christ’s sake!
Looking right, he saw Deimos, the outer of Mars’ two tiny moons, a misshapen hunk of dark, dark rock. How Don wanted to go to Mars, to stand on its sandy surface, to see up close its great valleys and volcanoes! But no. As Don’s Cockney granddad used to say whenever they passed a fancy house or an expensive car, “Not for the likes of us.”
Mars was for Chuck Zakarian and company. The A-team.
Don and Sasim were the B-team, the also-rans. Oh, sure, they had now arrived at the vicinity of Mars long before anyone else. And Don supposed there would be some cachet in being the first person since Apollo 17 left the Moon in 1972 to set foot on another world—even if that world was just a 15-kilometer-long hunk of rock.
From MIKEYS by Robert Sawyer (2004)
You Gotta Have Crew
Which would you like to read about?
Unmanned or manned space exploration?
Image courtesy of NASA
Science fiction authors would do well to follow Burnside's Zeroth Law of space combat: Science fiction fans relate more to human beings than to silicon chips. Aerospace combat fans want to read about hot-shot Top Gun fighter pilots, not The Adventures of Droney, the unmanned combat aerial vehicle.
The trouble is that scientific realism is on the side of Droney.
RICK ROBINSON: Fighters substantially outperforming big ships can be justified, though. Big ships (presumably) need crew habitability for extended voyages, fuel for same, usually an FTL gizmo, and crew including maintenance types, etc. All of which are mass penalties. A fighter is pretty much just drive engine, enough delta v for its mission profile, minimal habitability for a minimal crew, and ordnance carried.
ME (being a spoil sport): The question then becomes why doesn't the designers replace the minimal habitability crew space with some electronics and turn the fighter into a missile bus.
RICK ROBINSON: What a rude question. {grin}
(ed note: but then Rick checkmated me by invoking Burnside's Zeroth Law)
Since science fiction authors are trying to make a living, they favor the Zeroth Law. Given the sorry state of the audience it is possible for writers to simply ignore the problem, most of the audience won't even notice. But if the writers want some kind of fig-leaf, there are a few tricks that can be used.
Yes, there are exceptions to Burnside's Zeroth Law in science fiction, but they are few, far in between, and the result of exceptionally skilled authors. These are the "exceptions that Test the rule" (the original aphorism is from the Latin, and the word "probat" in this context should be translated as "test", not "prove"). Examples include "Longshot" by Vernor Vinge, "Sun Up" by A. A. Jackson and Howard Waldrop and the Bolo stories by Keith Laumer et al.
Automated Space Exploration, Not
In the real world of space exploration, there is an furious on-going debate about unmanned exploration vs. manned exploration. Space probes vs. space men.
The manned camp points out that robot probes are so pared to the bone that often they have the wrong set of sensors to spot the important stuff. Humans are far more versatile, and can spot things that are unexpected. Plus men in space are really really kewel.
The unmanned camp points out that you get several orders of magnitude of bang-for-your-buck when you use robot probes. The mass cost for the life support system to keep the astronauts alive and healthy is hideously expensive. You can send thousands of space probes for the cost of a single manned mission.
But I point out the pragmatic fact No Buck Rogers = No Bucks. If NASA eliminates all its astronauts, it will quickly find its budget cut to the bone, or even find itself closed down. The great unwashed masses are not going to have their tax money going to fund silly satellites sending back boring scientific data. They want to see spacemen!
Stephen Hawking put it this way: "Robotic missions are much cheaper and may provide more scientific information, but they don't catch the public imagination in the same way, and they don't spread the human race into space, which I'm arguing should be our long-term strategy. If the human race is to continue for another million years, we will have to boldly go where no one has gone before."
Which is plenty of ammo for a science fiction author to use to silence their critics. Stephen Hawking sez so!
Automated Crew, Not
Rick Robinson notes that nobody navigates a boat by shooting the sun with a sextant anymore, instead you turn on your GPS unit. Most of the labor will be automated and computerized.
Rick has a brilliant solution with is Mission Control Model (see below). And in the case of space combat, there are drawback to using robots and teleoperated drones.
I didn't do this cover, though. Artwork by Jim Talbot
Hyperspace game section from Avalon Hill's Quest of the Space Beagle. Gamewise it was a simplistic version of Simon.
Automated Pilots, Not
A one man fighter spacecraft would be a more effective weapon if you removed the fighter pilot, their life support, and their acceleration limits, and then replaced them with a computer. You would basically be converting the fighter spacecraft into a roving missile bus, and removing the logical justification for the existence of fighter spacecraft altogether. But fighter spacecraft have to exist, according to the Zeroth Law (well, actually not. Fighters don't have to exist if there are humans on the carrier/missile boat and/or the target ship).
In a discussion I witnessed, Henry Cobb described a combat spacecraft with a Magic Fusion Torch (i.e., an exceedingly powerful unobtainium propulsion system). Eric Henry asked why not replace the human pilot with a computer. Henry Cobb correctly noted: "By the Zeroth Law, the Magical Fusion Torch only works when there is somebody on board to maintain the enchantment."
Eric Henry then wisely observed: "Ah. The Schrödinger Drive."
The above exchange may seem humorous, but I have seen the same concept actually used in science fiction.
In Larry Niven's The Borderland of Sol, he postulates a technobabble gizmo called a "mass sensor" which is a "psionic" device. It warns of gravity fields which will destroy starships using Niven's FTL drive. The psionic device can only be watched by a living being, a computer cannot use it for some silly hand-waving reason or other. Niven invented it because he wanted to write about human starship pilots, not write about starships that flew themselves under computer control. Burnside's Zeroth Law strikes again.
In the 1984 Atari 800 computer game Quest of the Space Beagle, the FTL drive requires a human pilot. As the ship enters FTL, the jump must be balanced or the ship goes off course. The only way to to detect an imbalance is by noticing alterations in the flow of time. And computers cannot notice such alterations since their only sense of time is measured by ticks of their system clock. (In my long and misspent youth, I did the illustrations for that game's manual.)
In the DUNE novels, Guild Steersmen are humans mutated by massive consumption of the spice melange. Starships move FTL by folding space but the limited computers allowed are not powerful enough to calculate a safe path (Butlerian Jihad, y'know). The Guild Steersmen have an ability to see into the future and thus plot a safe journey.
In Grimspace by Ann Aguirre, FTL starships can only travel long distances in hyperspace (called "Grimspace") by using "beacons." These are navigational beacons placed all over the entire known Grimspace by some long dead forerunners. Lamentably these beacons cannot be used by machines, they can only be detected by human beings who were born with the Jumper gene. These "Jumpers" are in short supply, especially since they generally have to retire after a ten-year career or go permanently insane. Which means the supply of operational FTL starships is in exactly the same short supply.
In the depressing universe of the Warhammer 40,0000 game, FTL starships attempt to fly through that chaotic dimension called Warpspace. Early starships didn't last long since another name for Warpspace is Hell, hideous demons and all. Devils apart, it is almost impossible to navigate in Warpspace due to the raging tides and currents of raw psychic energy. To tame this, the Emperor of Man created the Astronomican. This is a beacon powered by 10,000 specially-selected psykers and directed by the Emperor of Man. On board a starship, special psionic mutants called Navigators can perceive the beacon and use it like a cosmic GPS to guide starships through the fury of Warpspace.
Some science fiction novels take this to the next level, where human beings are actually irreplaceable components of the starship's FTL propulsion.
Of course I personally would be thrilled to have some sort of hand-waved FTL drive that has the side effect of forcing the use of slide rules. I keep trying to come up with one, but so far none my inventions has been free of unwanted side effects. It's hard to think of something that will kill a computer but not the crew.
Late breaking news: Karl Gallagher figured out a plausible reason for forcing slide rule use, which can be found in his Torchship series.
The mass pointer is a big transparent sphere with a number of blue lines radiating from the center. The direction of the line is the direction of a star; its length shows the star’s mass. We wouldn’t need pilots if the mass pointer could be hooked into an autopilot, but it can’t. Dependable as it is, accurate as it is, the mass pointer is a psionic device. It needs a mind to work it. I’d been using mass pointers for so long that those lines were like real stars.
From AT THE CORE by Larry Niven (1966)
Unfortunately, as a Hyperspace-driven vessel accelerates into the fourth-dimension, temporal perturbations occur that "wobble" the vessel off-course. These perturbations must be compensated for if the ship is to arrive at its chosen destination. A computer (such as Space Beagle's Beagle) is unable to adjust the temporal imbalance because time is an aspect of organic awareness and must therefore be adjusted by an organic awareness; in other words, you!
From the manual for QUEST OF THE SPACE BEAGLE by Scott Lamb (1984)
Area of Responsibilities
Like any other living system, a spaceship crew can be analyzed with Living Systems Theory, to discover sources of interesting plot complications.
In other SF, one will find Captains, Pilots, Owners-Aboard, Astrogators, Doctors/Medics, Engineers (propulsion engineers are sometimes called "Jetmen"), sensor officers/radarmen, Cargo-masters (also in charge with negotiating trades), communications-techs, turret-gunners, life-support techs, marines (space-ines?, Espatiers?), cooks (could be a rotating job), and pursers. Maybe a science officer if you have one of those unvirile exploration ships.
Of course if this is a tramp freighter, one person might have to do several jobs at once (wear several "hats"). Often the Captain, the Pilot, and the Astrogator are the same person. Or if things are really tight on the tramp, some of the jobs might be omitted (e.g., don't carry a doctor and hope nobody gets sick/injured and similar insanely dangerous decisions).
If the spaceship is large enough to have auxiliary craft (launch, pinnace, cutter, ship's boat, surface-to-orbit shuttle, etc.), it is common for each craft to have permanently assigned crews. At a minimum such crews commonly have a pilot/coxswain/helmsman, engineer/lee helmsman, and bowhook/sensor-lookout/communication tech. Larger ones may have a chief petty officer as commander. Bowhook and Sternhook are EVA specialists to make the boat fast to a spacedock or the berth inside the mothership.
For purposes of comparison, here is a list of the crew complement of a World War II LST ship. Interesting jobs you will note are Shipfitter, Motor Machinist and Fireman. The LST has seven officers and 104 enlisted men.
Christopher Weuve has a good description of life on a US Naval vessel here.
COMMERCIAL CREW
(ed note: Ismael Wang is a new crewmember on the commercial cargo-hauling starship Lois. Specialist Three Sandra Belterson is explaining the crew situation. Crewmembers are called "spacers" or "ratings", as opposed to "officers")
(Sandra said) “So there’s no problem then. Stay and enjoy your life aboard. But let me ask you something. Have you ever wondered why there aren’t any old spacers?”
(Ismael said) “What do you mean? We have some old spacers aboard the Lois.”
“Really? Who? And if you look in my direction, buddy, you’re going to be plucking that plate out of your rectal region.”
“Well, Francis is fifty,” I said while I tried to think of anybody older.
“How long do you think he’ll live, Ish?
“One thirty, one forty, maybe,”
“So fifty makes him old? He’s still in the first half of his life.”
She had me on that one and she knew it. “Okay, I guess you’re right. But what’s your point?”
“You consider him an old spacer because you don’t have anybody to compare him to. The only people older are the captain and (First Officer) Mr. Maxwell. Francis is actually still a pretty young man.”
I thought back to mom’s colleagues at the university and realized she was right. Many of them had been over a hundred and still teaching full-time.
“There are older people working in the Deep Dark but you don’t find them on ships like the Lois. They run their own mom-and-pop ships. You won’t run across them in a spacer bar and you won’t find them at the Union Hall.”
“Think about it. If you worked for yourself and have your family around you, why would you go to a spacer bar and get into that whole scene? Why would you look for a new berth?”
“Oh, indeed. Ish, most people work commercial like this for maybe ten, twenty stanyers (standard years), then they get out. Crew is, ultimately, a dead end job. It’s fun for a while as you found out in Dunsany Roads, but it gets old fast. Eventually you get tired of chasing and want to start building. Brill’s coming up on her ten stanyer mark. I’ve only been doing this for five and I’m already thinking about getting out and settling down myself. I’m not officer material. I just don’t have any interest in that.”
“Yeah, what about officers? There are a lot of older people doing that.”
“Officers are different. It’s the difference between labor and management. We’re labor. They’re management. They make a lot more money and have a lot more opportunities. They work very hard for both, but if you’re an officer, you can always get your master’s ticket and get your own ship and run it the way you want to.”
COMMERCIAL CREW 2
(ed note: Same as above. This is the crew on a commercial cargo-hauling starship. Crewmembers are called "spacers" or "ratings", as opposed to "officers")
“Now what’s with the table?”
“Well, that just struck me odd, Captain. I’ve never been on a ship where officers dined with ratings.”
“They had two tables on the Hector?”
She shrugged and nodded. “Yes, Skipper, they did.”
“Small ships have different rules, Ms. Thomas. Organizationally, these ships are a mess. We’re desperately top heavy. They’re just big enough to need a specific officer corps and not big enough to warrant sufficient ratings. That’s why Mr. Wyatt is acting like a commissary man and I’ve (the captain) been cooking meals.”
“I can see that, Captain.”
“We, as officers, need to acknowledge the value and contribution of the ratings. None of us gets home alive if we don’t all pull together. That larger table is part of it. It represents something significant–as your reaction to it underscores.”
She looked down at her hands but nodded. “I can see that, too, Captain.”
From CAPTAIN'S SHARE by Nathan Lowell (2013)
The Ship's Captain is the officer in ultimate command of the ship. They are at the top of the ship's chain of command.
For starters, it is a myth that Captains are allowed to perform marriages. Sorry kids, you'll have to find somebody else to marry you.
If the spacecraft has a large enough crew, there will be a Chief Mate or First Officer.
Generally the Captain's job has to do with things external to the spacecraft (where the ship is going, what it does when it gets there, etc.) while the First Officer's job has to do with things internal to the ship (ensuring that the crew can and will do their jobs, keeping the ship supplied and in good repair, etc.) The first officer on a small ship is responsible for creating the "watchbill" for all crew members. On a larger ship, the department heads will be responsible for creating the watchbill for their department.
The Officer of the deck or "conning officer" is the direct representative of the captain, having responsibility for the ship. Various officers hold this job at different watches as assigned by the watchbill. In space the OOD is stationed in the bridge, while docked they are stationed on the quarterdeck.
After the first officer the Second Mate is the third in the chain of command. They are usually the astrogator or the ship's medical officer.
The old term for ship's officer is "Mate."
The captain barely paused before giving her answer. Floyd had often admired Tanya Orlova's decisiveness, and had once told her so. In a rare flash of humour, she had replied: 'Woody, a commander can be wrong, but never uncertain.'
From 2010: ODYSSEY TWO by Arthur C. Clarke (1982)
(First Officer)Korie knocks gently on the captain's door. After a minute, be knocks again. A pause, then a muffled voice asks, "Who is it?"
"Korie, sir."
"Just a minute." Another pause, then the door slides open.
Inside, Brandt is just buttoning the top button of his tunic. His iron-gray hair is mussed; he brushes a hand stiffly through it. "Yes, what is it?" He sits down on one of his precious wooden chairs. He does not offer his first officer a seat.
The captain's cabin has a stale smell. Somewhat uneasily, Korie begins, "Sir, I was wondering what we were going to do about Wolfe."
"Wolfe?" A slight frown accompanies this echo.
"The crewman who was negligent on the bridge."
"Oh, yes. Him. Mmm…" Brandt's voice trails off; he focuses thoughtfully on the dark mahogany surface of the table. Idly, he brushes at a speck of dirt. "What would you suggest, Mr. Korie?"
Korie hesitates. (All right, if you won't say it, I will.) "Bust him." After an almost imperceptible beat, he adds, "Sir."
Still not looking at him, Brandt shakes his head, "Uh uh. I don't see it."
"Sir—"
"It's not necessary, Mr. Korie." He glances up. "Just confine him to quarters for a week and dock his pay for the time off duty."
"Sir!" Korie is outraged. "Negligence is an offense requiring court-martial. And—it would demonstrate to the crew that we mean business."
"I'm familiar with the regulations," Brandt sighs. He wipes at his nose. "But in this case, we might find it very difficult to prove."
Korie allows himself the luxury of an oath—a single sharp syllable.
The captain raises a shaggy eyebrow. "Mr. Korie!" he says in mock horror. "Such language from an officer and gentleman?"
Korie ignores the jibe. "It's pretty obvious, sir, that Wolfe was negligent in not showing Rogers the complete setup on the G-control board."
"Can you prove it?"
"Of course—"
"If I were Wolfe's counsel," the captain puts in, "I'd plead that it was Wolfe's every intention to complete Rogers' training at a more opportune time in the immediate future."
"That's an awfully thin thread to hang a case on."
"Strong enough," Brandt counters. "After all, he doesn't have to prove it. But we—as prosecutors—would have to disprove it.
"Besides, Mr. Korie—and you'd better learn this now if you ever hope to have a ship of your own—convening a court is a headache. And the resultant upheaval in morale is an even bigger one." He cuts off the other's objection with a brief gesture and adds thoughtfully, once more staring into the table top, "So, rather than reach for a possibly untenable position, this gives us instead an opportunity to show that we are both just and merciful. The man saves face and we save ourselves one competent crewman."
"Competent?" Korie snorts.
"Relatively speaking," Brandt concedes. "I'm sure I don't have to tell you how bad the replacement situation is. We're at war. Everything has to be stretched a little, even regulations."
"Yes, but—"
"Ah, there's always the 'yes, but—' Isn't there, Mr. Korie?" A hint of a smile starts to flicker across the captain's face, but it dies before it has a chance to be realized. "Give him a chance, give him a chance. If he's smart enough to take it, we all benefit. And if not—if he turns out to be as big a wobblehead as you seem to feel… well, then we'll only be giving him enough rope to hang himself."
"Then, if we do have to court-martial him," says Korie, "we'll have two incidents instead of one…"
Pilots and helmsmen direct the spacecraft. Pilots might be rated according to the deltaV levels, ship classes, and trajectories that they are qualified to handle. Master Pilots are rated for any and all. The captain give the astrogator the destination. The astrogator plots the course, tells the pilot where to go, and notifies the pilot of navigational hazards.
Pilots direct the spacecraft by controlling the ship's attitude and thrust. If the thrust control is sufficiently complicated, the pilot gives thrust commands to the on-duty engineer, and the engineer controls the thrust. "Sufficiently complicated" usually means there is a fission or fusion reactor involved in the thrust.
On US Naval vessels, the Helmsman controls the ship's attitude and the Lee Helmsman controls the ship's thrust. The bridge officer who currently has the Conn (the Conning Officer) is the only person the Helmsman and Lee Helmesman listen to for orders about the direction of the ship.
A related term is Coxswain.
A Maritime or Harbor pilot is a pilot rated to maneuvers ships through dangerous or congested areas, such as crowded orbits around heavily trafficked planets and docking with an over-full orbital spaceport.
The old term for Astrogator is "Sailing Master." The Pilot Major is a chief navigator of a ship or fleet.
The Chief Engineer are in charge of an engineering department. They will be in charge of engineering officers from the First assistant engineer down to the Wiper. The third assistant engineer is the most junior marine engineer of the ship so is in charge of such undesirable jobs as the sewage plumbing (which is where the get their insulting nick-name of "turd engineer").
The bulk of the engineer's time is taken up by maintenance. Every single piece of equipment and installation has its own maintenance schedule, and it must be inspected, cleaned, serviced, or replaced as per schedule. Sometimes non-engineer crewmembers are assigned some maintenance tasks. A basic preventative maintenance task is simple cleaning. Not only does dirt cause malfunctions, but it also lowers morale.
"Captain Suvuk," Scotty said, sounding very distressed, "wi' all due respects, that's extraordinarily dangerous for two ships of the same model, let alone ones with different engine specs-- "
"-- which we now have," Suvuk said. "Granted, Mr. Scott, but we cannot leave Bloodwing behind, either. Do you wish to speak to your Captain?"
"Not now," Scotty said, "but I will later... Implementing, sir. Scott out."
Suvuk looked at [Captain Kirk] with calm approval. "Sir, have you ever noticed that while we run our ships, our engineers own them?..."
From MY ENEMY, MY ALLY by Diane Duane (1990)
The other critical task of the engineers is damage control, although all crew members have some basic DC training. The focus is on fire-suppression, controlling decompression, and keeping the ship operational. The idea is to stabilize the damage as quick as possible until time allows more permanent repairs.
Belowdecks during a damage control operation the chain of command may shift. The Damage Control Officer (DCO, often but not always the chief engineer) has the authority to yank personnel from whatever department is needed in order to keep the ship operational. The DC officer creates damage control parties, each of which is responsible for a particular section of the spacecraft. The parties get their orders from Damage Control Central (DDC) which is a watch center generally in the hardest-to-damage section of the ship. The parties give progress reports to the DCO so the ship's status can be tracked. The parties utilize the damage control lockers in their assigned section. The crewperson in charge of each party generally is well trained in shipbuilding, firefighting, and team management.
Other Official
Doctors/Medics see to the health of the crew, and treat wounds/diseases. They are never risked on any hazardous non-medical task or possibly dangerous environment. A first-in scout mission on a newly discovered planet could be in deep doo-doo if the doctor takes a stroll and is suddenly eaten by the Giant Trap-Door Spideroid (link trigger warning: spiders).
Sensor officers are the spacecraft's eyes, they are sometimes called the Lookout. Quartermasters are in charge of ship's stores, and are generally stuck with all the odd jobs that don't fit in any other jurisdiction (e.g., laundry). Life support techs maintain the breathing mix and temperature of the habitat module, and tend to any CELSS algae reactors or hydroponic farms.
Communication techs are the ship's ears and mouth. They direct incoming messages to the proper departments and send outgoing messages in the proper format to the proper channels. Communication noise must be monitored and auxiliary channels used if required. All messages must be logged. Distress signals are sent to the watch officer, but never responded to without authorization. Responding binds the ship to render assistance, a decision reserved for the captain. John Reiher points out that given the reality of the spartan limitation on a ship's delta-V, there is probably little they could do to render assistance besides helpful advice over the radio. If they tried to match postion and vector they'd use up all their delta-V, so now there are two ships in distress. The best they can do is notify the Orbit Guard.
The communication tech must also maintain the ship's transponder, which broadcasts the ship's ID. The tech may also be responsible for encrypted communications, using the proper keys to encrypt and decrypt, and destroying the code book if the ship is captured by a hostile power.
The Cargo Master is in charge of the cargo: finding people with cargo who are willing to pay the the ship to transport, purchasing cargo for trade and speculation, selling ship-owned cargo at the destination, ensuring the safety of the cargo, and ensuring it is properly stowed in the cargo holds. Currently a "Loading master" is the officer in charge of loading petroleum products into a supertanker. However, in a rocketpunk future, the name is more suited for the officer in charge of ensuring the cargo mass is evenly distributed such that the center of gravity is on the spacecraft's thrust axis. Otherwise the ship will tumble and everybody will die.
If the ship is privately owned, the owner might be along for the trip as the "owner-aboard". If the owner is not aboard, they will sometimes appoint a "ship's husband". This is a crewmember who represents the owner, and who manages its expenses and receipts. The purser is the officer responsible for handling money and accounting. Boatswain is the seniormost rate of the deck department and is responsible for the components of a ship's hull. Master-at-arms is responsible for law enforcement, regulating duties, security and force protection. Chief Cook directs and participates in the preparation and serving of meals; determines timing and sequence of operations required to meet serving times; inspects galley and equipment for cleanliness; and oversees proper storage and preparation of food. Without the cook the crew will be stuck living off of pre-packaged food ration packs
The concept of a spacecraft version of a passenger liner or an ocean cruise ship is a little science-fictional for the near future. But if your science fiction universe has such, you will definitly need Stewards to take care of the paying passengers. After all, said passengers are the revenue stream for such spacecraft. In a larger ship there may be a Cruise Director, whose main job is being the public face of the company but is also in charge of hospitality, entertainment and social events.
When dealing with frontier planets (perhaps with human or alien indigenous inhabitants) an expedition may employ the services of an indentured Engagé, a free, licensed Voyageurs and/or an independent merchant Coureurs des bois.
An officer that started their career as an unlicensed merchant seaman instead of in a maritime college/academy is called a Hawsepiper or Mustang. They tend to be far more experienced than fresh-out-of-college officers, but of course are looked down upon. "Hawsepiper" comes from an unkind analogy to entering a ship by climbing up the anchor chain and sneeking in through the hawse pipe instead of being conducted aboard the ship with honor by the main gangplank.
He nodded, too weak to be greatly surprised. “I’ve been sick, too, I guess. What day is it?”
(the nurse said) “The ninth.”
It shocked him. He’d been sure that weeks had passed, but it had been only two days. “Am I all over it now?”
She smiled again, and there was the total assurance of mercy itself in her voice. “Of course, you’re going to be all right, Bob. You just rest until the doctor comes back.”
He’d been to visit one of his friends in a hospital often enough to know how to read what nurses said. Her words meant that he was still sick and she didn’t know what would happen. If he’d really been well, she would have laughed at him. And if he’d been going to get worse, she’d have been twice as sweet about it.
“Where’s the other Lemonn?”
“Shh.” She shook her head and reached for the thermometer, This time he let her insert it under his tongue.
So Roger Lemonn had died. The plague really could kill!
From OUTPOST OF JUPITER by Lester del Rey (1963)
SHIP STEWARDS
Topper pushed his plug hat down a little. It helped him keep a pokerface. He studied the cards before him. Luch waited for Tulip’s steward to do the math. Elf was not as patient. Furry Freddy from the Inside Strait already had folded and left in disgust to go walkies.
“Fold or meet the wager good sirrah,” Elf snapped.
“I thought elves were good at waiting,” Topper muttered.
“For something worthwhile, perhaps!” Elf spat. Topper tsked and finally with much flourishing removed his top hat and added it to the pile of clothing. Elf sighed and began removing her left ear. After a moment Luch removed his mask. Rubbing his scalp vigorously, he added his leather mask to the pile.
“Both ears sweetheart,” Luch said.
The Deck Department and the Steward Departments are two vital sections of a merchant ship. Both do not concern themselves with minor matters such as fuel and courses but dealing with the commodities that actually generate money.
Not generating money can kill a ship faster than not generating power in some situations. Of course one department has to deal volatiles and other dangers. The other is the Deck Department.
Stewards must deal with passengers, anyone of which could be a pirate saboteur, indie hijacker, nut case or just plain obnoxious. A good steward is better than an anti-hijacking program. Having a program deny you access is just not the same as a steward toting a shotgun denying you access. (If you doubt this then you never aimed a shotgun at a person or had one aimed at you. I turned around and had one pointed in a guy's general direction by accident in my reckless youth when he surprised me. The irate neighbor got very polite and reasonable with no transition.)
Most of the time the passengers are just passengers and the worst problem that comes up is jump sickness (and guess what, if you have an understaffed free trader, Mr. Steward becomes Dr. Steward.) Besides cooking the meals for passengers and crews stewards can provide a variety of services: hairstyling, tailor, makeovers, personal trainer, sparring partner among many others. Scouts with their jack of all trade skills make excellent stewards.
Long ago the question was raised, "Shall we provide such services seamlessly, blending into the background? Shall we be ghosts in the sleep cycle and keep the down low?" The stewards on the big liners indeed do just that. They are another all purpose fixture. The big companies insist on standardization, making passengers feel they provide a second home or at least familiar surroundings. Some lines even coax or demand their stewards undergo plastic surgery to better fit a template the line deems the most commonly accepted.
Free trader stewards call b******t on all that for one reason: tips! They believe the way to tip success is personality! Make them remember you! They invent an in your face persona and run with it, often winning cosplay awards inadvertently. So Topper goes for a steampunk vibe. Elf is an elf (what'd you expect? A hedge troll?). Luch is a luchador. Furry Freddy ... let's not talk about Furry Freddy. Suffice to say, he has his fans. That's enough.
Passengers on free traders: tramp freighters have no call to demand the comforts and privileges of the big liners (even the low berths have pillows and silk sheets). But they can have a fine show. So the families fortunate to travel together might want to buy passage on the ship with the lovely Elf (who babysits as events allow). The more refined passengers might find Topper to their liking. Luch appeals to those with a sense of humor and eager to have a trained martial artist look out for them (note he also makes the best creme brulee around). Furry Freddy ... has his own clientele.
Stewards often assume their roles completely. They are on call 24/7 during passages after all. It's easier mentally not to shift gears. It's also a lot of fun. Crews overlook this eccentricity, at least if the Steward is a good one. Ask Sandoval what Luch's real name is or hair color and you'd probably get a blank stare. It's not discussed to the point of being a superstition. If Luch lost his leather mask no one on the crew would look at him. As long as they keep the persona sacred good fortune will be theirs.
Okay, I'm writing the stories, but they at least figure they'll avoid outright disaster.
The antithesis of this is the poser. A poser or a faux steward does not develop a persona. They have a whole wardrobe of different clothes and accessories which they will pick and choose from to maximize their appeal for the cultures they are dealing with. The persona school regard them as con artists, and tip whores. To them they are not putting on an act, they are living the life. Being entertaining tip magnets is just a benefit. Besides, how can you play so many roles adequately, maintain them and practice your many other skills?
Besides entertaining the passengers a good steward will combat boredom and space fatigue in their crews before it even comes up. It's hard to be bored when the crazy Elf woman goes running around the ship shooting arrows at those tetra-crabs you picked up and calls them baby goblins, or Topper figures out a way to shovel coal into the ship's power plant, or Luch wears the Camazotz mask to to the formal dinner, or furry Freddy ... never mind. You get the idea.
One of the most unforgivable insults is to poach another steward's persona. They have an unofficial record of stewards and their costumes. New stewards are advised to research it before choosing their own style. Poaching will quickly result in other stewards imposing all manner of sanctions on the poacher. They vary with circumstances but siffice to say, you better not try to borrow a cup of sugar from any of them. Violence is not unheard of if the poacher runs into the wrong person. Some stewards have a strong reaction to even similar roles. When Elf heard about Fae she demanded sanctions. The other stewards were undecided so a duel was called. In a masterful show of immersion they had a magical duel with Elf declared the winner when Fae's entire crew came down with food poisoning to various degrees. Most people considered it a coincidence but no one else (not even Luch) has screwed with Elf since.
Of course if your steward is playing a wizard or magical type and has psionics, well that's the hat trick.
From ROLE CALL by Rob Garitta (2017)
Spaceport Crew
A spaceport (ground or orbital) will have a Harbormaster and each docking complex will have a Dockmaster. Another term for Harbormaster is "Shahbandar" who main job is dealing with traders and collecting import tariffs. A more obsolete term for Harbormaster is Wharfinger.
Dockworkers are sometimes called Khalasi. A second-class orbital spaceport that does not have the ability to dock large cargo ships will sometimes use small cargo transport space taxies, tugs or tankers called "lighters" which are run by a Lighterman.
There are also "unofficial" jobs onboard. These are colorful characters often found among the enlisted men. Preacher, Loan Shark, Moonshiner, Peddler (the man who always has something to sell, and who can get you anything you want), Bookmaker (place your bets, gentlemen...), Thief, Coward, and Gritch. The latter is the man everyone loves to hate, and the most important character in any small, closed social system.
For standard stereotypical crew characters, refer to the definitive TV Tropes site under the headings Ragtage Bunch of Mistfits, The Squad, and Command Roster.
Artwork by Ed Valigursky, Contraband Rocket by Lee Correy (aka G. Harry Stine), 1955
Artwork by McConnell, The Ultimate Weapon by John W. Campbell, 1966
Synthesists
On whussy exploration ships, in addition to a large number of specialist scientists drawn from various fields, it might be advisable to add a researcher who's job title is "Synthesist". This is a person who can correlate apparently unrelated facts from different areas of science. For example: a Synthesist might notice that a new statistical technique developed by life insurance adjustors to deal with populations of people could be used by astronomers doing surveys of populations of stars. Ordinarily the astronomers would never learn about this technique since they have no area of overlap with life insurance science, but the Synthesist could make that correlation.
There were Synthesists in John Brunner's STAND ON ZANZIBAR, Synthesists in James Hogan's Inherit The Stars, "Nexialists" in A. E. van Vogt's VOYAGE OF THE SPACE BEAGLE, and members of the Mnemonic Service in Isaac Asimov's "Sucker Bait."
SYNCRETIST
I think because it’s an old Terran Authorized Version—very rare on a dependency world. Only an intellectual like Haltern could be expected to understand it.
“Bit of a queer bird, this Haltern character.”
But brilliant. He’s a master syncretist—probably one of the best alive today.
“What’s a syncretist?"
One who works across the channels of scientific specialization rather than along them. To qualify for mastership you need at least ten honors degrees in unrelated subjects and the proven ability to think freely across the lines of the various disciplines as well as with them.
From PATTERNS OF CHAOS by Colin Kapp (1972)
SUCKER BAIT
"Mnemonic Service," said Sheffield, patiently. "Emm-enneee- emm-oh-enn-eye-see Service. You don't pronounce the first emm. It's from a Greek word meaning memory."
The captain's eyes narrowed. "He remembers things?"
"Correct, captain. Look, in a way this is my fault. I should have briefed you on this. I would have, too, if the boy hadn't gotten so sick right after the take-off. It drove most other matters out of my mind. Besides, it didn't occur to me that he might be interested in the workings of the ship itself. Space knows why not. He should be interested in everything."
"He should, eh?" The captain looked at the timepiece on the wall. "Brief me now, eh? But no fancy words. Not many of any other kind, either. Time limited."
"It won't take long, I assure you. Now you're a space-going man, captain. How many inhabited worlds would you say there were in the Confederation?"
"Eighty thousand," said the captain, promptly.
"Eighty-three thousand two hundred," said Sheffield. "What do you suppose it takes to run a political organization that size?"
Again the captain did not hesitate. "Computers," he said.
"All right. There's Earth, where half the population works for the government and does nothing but compute and there are computing subcenters on every other world. And even so data gets lost. Every world knows something no other world knows-almost every man. Look at our little group. Vernadsky doesn't know any biology and I don't know enough chemistry to stay alive. There's not one of us can pilot the simplest spacecruiser, except for Fawkes. So we work together, each one supplying the knowledge the others lack.
"Only there's a catch. Not one of us knows exactly which of our own data is meaningful to the other under a given set of circumstances. We can't sit and spout everything we know. So we guess, and sometimes we don't guess right. Two facts, A and B, can go together beautifully sometimes. So Person A, who knows Fact A, says to Person B, who knows Fact B, 'Why didn't you tell me this ten years ago?' and Person B answers, 'I didn't think it was important,' or 'I thought everyone knew that.'"
The captain said, "That's what computers are for."
Sheffield said, "Computers are limited, captain. They have to be asked questions. What's more the questions have to be the kind that can be put into a limited number of symbols. What's more computers are very literal minded. They answer exactly what you ask and not what you have in mind. Sometimes it never occurs to anyone to ask just the right question or feed the computer just the right symbols, and when that happens the computer doesn't volunteer information.
"What we need . . . what all mankind needs . . . is a computer that is nonmechanical; a computer with imagination. There's one like that, captain." The psychologist tapped his temple. "In everyone, captain."
"Maybe," grunted the captain, "but I'll stick to the usual, eh? Kind you punch a button."
"Are you sure? Machines don't have hunches. Did you ever have a hunch?"
"Is this on the point?" The captain looked at the timepiece again.
Sheffield said, "Somewhere inside the human brain is a record of every datum that has impinged upon it. Very little of it is consciously remembered, but all of it is there, and a small association can bring an individual datum back without a person's knowing where it comes from. So you get a 'hunch' or a 'feeling.' Some people are better at it than others. And some can be trained. Some are almost perfect, like Mark Annuncio and a hundred like him. Some day, I hope, there'll be a billion like him, and we'll really have a Mnemonic Service.
"All their lives," Sheffield went on, "they do nothing but read, look, and listen. And train to do that better and more efficiently. It doesn't matter what data they collect. It doesn't have to have obvious sense or obvious significance. It doesn't matter if any man in the Service wants to spend a week going over the records of the space-polo teams of the Canopus Sector for the last century. Any datum may be useful some day. That's the fundamental axiom.
"Every once in a while, one of the Service may correlate across a gap no machine could possibly manage. The machine would fail because no one machine is likely to possess those two pieces of thoroughly unconnected information; or else, if the machine does have it, no man would be insane enough to ask the right question. One good correlation out of the Service can pay for all the money appropriated for it in ten years or more."
From "SUCKER BAIT" by Isaac Asimov (1954)
VOYAGE OF THE SPACE BEAGLE
artwork by Richard Powers
Elliott Grosvenor remained where he was, well in the rear, near the gangplank. He was becoming accustomed to being in the background. As the only Nexialist aboard the Space Beagle, he had been ignored for months by specialists who did not clearly understand what a Nexialist was, and who cared very little anyway. Grosvenor had plans to rectify that. So far, the opportunity to do so had not occurred.
“Nexialism? What’s that?”
“Applied whole-ism,” said Grosvenor, and stepped across the threshold.
The trouble with what the scientists had agreed on was that it was not thorough enough. A number of specialists had polled their knowledge on a fairly superficial level. Each had briefly outlined his ideas to people who were not trained to grasp the wealth of association behind each notion. And so the attack plan lacked unity.
It made Grosvenor uneasy to realize that he, a young man of thirty-one, was probably the only person aboard with the training to see the weaknesses in the plan. For the first time since coming aboard six months before, he had a sharp appreciation of what a tremendous change had taken place in him at the Nexial Foundation. It was not too much to say that all previous educational systems were outdated. Grosvenor took no personal credit for the training he had received. He had created none of it. But as a graduate of the Foundation, as a person who had been put aboard the Space Beagle for a specific purpose, he had no alternative but to decide on a definite solution, and then use every available means to convince those in authority.
His high-probability chart contained, among other things, check marks in the proper printed spaces showing the amount of volcanic dust in the atmosphere of the planet, the life history of various plant forms as indicated by preliminary studies of their seeds, the type of digestive tracts animals would have to have to eat the particular plants examined and, by extrapolation, what would be the probable ranges of structure and types of the animals who lived off the animals who ate such plants.
Grosvenor worked rapidly, and since he merely put marks on an already printed chart, it was not long before he had his graph. It was an intricate affair. It would not be easy to explain it to someone who was not already familiar with Nexialism. But for him it made a fairly sharp picture. In the emergency it pointed at possibilities and solutions that could not be ignored. So it seemed to Grosyenor.
Under the heading of “General Recommendations,” he wrote, “Any solution adopted should include safety valve.”
Grosvenor stood up shakily. He began, “At the Nexial Foundation we teach that behind all the grosser aspects of any science there is an intricate tie-up with other sciences. That is an old notion, of course, but there is a difference between giving lip service to an idea and applying it in practice. At the Foundation we have developed techniques for applying it. In my department I have some of the most remarkable educational machines you have ever seen. I can’t describe them now, but I can tell you how a person trained by those machines and techniques would solve the problem of the cat.
Nexialism is the science of joining in an orderly fashion the knowledge of one field of learning with that of other fields. It provides techniques for speeding up the processes of absorbing knowledge and of using effectively what has been learned.
Grosvenor couldn’t help remembering what a Nexial-trained government executive had said to him on the eve of departure.
“It won’t be easy, this job you’ve taken aboard the Beagle. Nexialism is a tremendous new approach to learning and association. The older men wifi fight it instinctively. The young men, if they have already been educated by ordinary methods, will automatically be hostile to anything which suggests that their newly acquired techniques are out of date. You yourself have still to use in practice what you learned in theory, although in your case that very transition is part of your training. Just remember that a man who is right often enough gets a hearing in a crisis.”
Pleased, he launched into his lecture on the conditioned reflex, and its development since the days of Pavlov into a cornerstone of the science of Nexialism.
Afterwards, McCann came up and talked to him. He said, “I noticed that part of the technique is the so-called sleep machine, whicheducates you while you sleep.” He chuckled. “I remember one of my old professors pointing out that you could learn all that is known about science in just under a thousand years. You didn’t admit that limitation.”
Grosvenor was aware of the other’s gray eyes watching him with a kindly twinkle. He smiled. “That limitation,” he said, “was partly a product of the old method of using the machine without preliminary training. Today, the Nexial Foundation uses hypnosis and psychotherapy to break initial resistance. For instance, when I was tested, I was told that normally for me the sleep machine could only be turned on for five minutes every two hours.”
“A very low tolerance,” said McCann. “Mine was three minutes every half hour.”
“But you accepted that,” said Grosvenor pointedly. “Right?”
Grosvenor smiled. “I didn’t do anything. I was conditioned by various methods until I could sleep soundly for eight hours while the machine ran steadily. Several other techniques supplemented the process.”
The geologist ignored the final sentence. “Eight solid hours!” he said in astonishment.
“Solid,” agreed Grosvenor.
The older man seemed to consider that. “Still,” he said finally, “that only reduces the figure by a factor of about three. Even without conditioning, there are many people who can take five minutes out of every quarter hour of a sleep period without waking.”
Grosvenor replied slowly, studying the other’s face for reaction. “But the information has to be repeated many times.” He realized from the staggered expression on McCann’s face that the point had been made. He went on quickly. “Surely, sir, you’ve had the experience of seeing or hearing something-once-and never forgetting it. And yet at other times what seems to be an equally profound impression fades away to a point where you cannot recall it accurately even when it is mentioned. There are reasons for that. The Nexial Foundation found out what they were.”
McCann said nothing. His lips were pursed. Over his shoulder, Grosvenor noticed that the four men from the chemistry department were gathered in a group near the corridor door. They were talking together in low tones. He gave them only a glance, and then said to the geologist, “There were times in the beginning when I thought the pressure would be too much for me. You understand, I’m not talking only about the sleep machine. In actual quantity of training, that was just about ten per cent of the total.”
McCann was shaking his head. “Those figures almost overwhelm me. I suppose you get your largest percentage figure from those little films where each picture stays on but a fraction of a second.”
Grosvenor nodded. “We used the tachistoscopic films about three hours a day, but they constituted some forty-five per cent of the training. The secret is speed and repetition.”
“An entire science at one sitting!” McCann exclaimed. “That’s what you call learning-as-a-whole.”
“That’s one facet of it. We learned with every sense, through our fingers, our ears, our eyes, and even from smell and taste.”
From VOYAGE OF THE SPACE BEAGLE by A. E. van Vogt (1950)
STAND ON ZANZIBAR
There was one talent Donald Hogan did possess which the majority of people didn't: the gift of making right guesses. Some mechanism at the back of his mind seemed ceaselessly to be shifting around factors from the surrounding world, hunting for patterns in them, and when such a pattern arose a silent bell would ring inside his skull.
Factors: Washington, the absence of the Dean, the offer of a salary competitive with what he could hope to earn in industry, but for studying, not for working ... There were people, extremely top people, whom specialists tended to refer to disparagingly as dilettanti but who dignified themselves with the title "synthesist", and who spent their entire working lives doing nothing but making cross-references from one enclosed corner of research to another. It seemed like too much to hope for, coming on top of his expectation, moments back, that his grant was to be discontinued. He had to put his hands together to stop them trembling.
"You're talking about synthesis, aren't you?"
"Yes, I'm from the Dilettante Dept—or more officially, from the Office of Research Co-ordination. But I doubt if you have in mind exactly what I'm going to propose. I've seen the graphs of your scholastic career, and I get the impression that you could make yourself into a synthesist if you wanted to badly enough, with or without a doctorate." Dr. Foden leaned back in her chair.
"So the fact that you're still here—griping, but putting up with things—makes me suspect you don't want to badly enough. It'll take a good fat bribe to make you opt for it I think nonetheless you may be honest enough to stay bribed. Tell me, given the chance, what would you do to round out your education?"
Donald stammered over his answer, turning crimson at his own inability to utter crisp, decisive plans. "Well—uh—I guess ... History, particularly recent history; nobody's taught me about anything nearer to home than World War II without loading it full of biased dreck. All the fields which touch on my own, like crystallography and ecology. Not omitting human ecology. And to document that I'd like to delve into the written record of our species, which is now about eight thousand years deep. I ought to learn at least one non-Indo-European language. Then—"
"Stop. You've defined an area of knowledge greater than an individual can cover in a lifetime."
"Not true!" Donald was gathering confidence by the moment. "Of course you can't if you've been taught the way I have, on the basis of memorising facts, but what one ought to learn is how to extract patterns! You don't bother to memorise the literature—you learn to read and keep a shelf of books. You don't memorise log and sine tables; you buy a slide-rule or learn to punch a public computer!" A helpless gesture. "You don't have to know everything. You simply need to know where to find it when necessary.''
Dr. Foden was nodding. "You seem to have the right basic attitude," she acknowledged. "However, I must put on my Mephistopheles hat at this point and explain the conditions that attach to the offer I'm making. First, you'd be required to read and write fluent Yatakangi."
Donald blanched slightly. A friend of his had once started on that language and switched to Mandarin Chinese as an easier alternative. However ...
He shrugged. "I'd be willing to shoot for that," he said.
"And the rest of it I can't tell you until you've been to Washington with me."
Where a man called Colonel—Donald was not told if he had a name of his own—said, "Raise your right hand and repeat after me: 'I Donald Orville Hogan ... do solemnly declare and attest...'"
Donald sighed. Back then, it had seemed like the fulfilment of his wildest dreams. Five mornings a week doing nothing but read, under no compulsion to produce any kind of results—merely requested to mention by mail any association or connection he spotted which he had reason to believe might prove helpful to somebody: advise an astronomer that a market research organisation had a new statistical sampling technique, for instance, or suggest that an entomologist be informed about a new air-pollution problem. It sounded like paradise, especially since his employers not only did not care what he did with the rest of his time but suggested he make his experience as varied as possible to keep himself alert.
From STAND ON ZANZIBAR by John Brunner (1968)
THE SKYLARK OF VALERON
"Folks, we have got something! That's the sixth-order pattern, and thought is in that level! Those were thoughts - Shiro's thoughts."
"How did you work it out?" asked Crane. "You said, yourself, that it might well take lifetimes of research."
"It would, ordinarily. Partly a hunch, partly dumb luck, but mostly a combination of two brains that upon Norlamin would ordinarily never touch the same subject anywhere. Rovol, who knows everything there is to be known about rays, and Drasnik, probably the greatest authority upon the mind that ever lived, both gave me a good share of their knowledge; and the combination turned out to be hot stuff, particularly in connection with this fifth-order keyboard.
"Oh, wonderful-wonderful!" exclaimed Rovol in ecstasy, his transcendental imperturbability broken at last. "Think of it! Our knowledge extended one whole order farther in each direction, both into the small and into the large. Magnificent! And by one brain, and that of a youth. Extraordinary! And we may now traverse universal space in ordinary time, because that brain has harnessed the practically infinite power of cosmic radiation, a power which exhausted the store of uranium carried by Skylark Three in forty hours. Phenomenal! Stupendous!"
"But do not forget that the brain of that youth is a composite of many," said Fodan thoughtfully, "and that in it, among others, were yours and Drasnik's. Seaton himself ascribes to that peculiar combination his successful solution of the problem of the sixth order. You know, of course, that I am in no sense belittling the native power of that brain. I am merely suggesting that perhaps other noteworthy discoveries may be made by superimposing brains in other, but equally widely divergent, fields of thought."
From THE SKYLARK OF VALERON by E. E. "Doc" Smith (1949)
SATAN'S WORLD
Artwork by Douglas Chaffee
The door he reached at length was broad, of massive bronze, decorated with an intricate bas-relief circuit diagram. Stereoprojection spelled SERENDIPITY, INC. a few centimeters in front.
Well, Falkayn thought, in a free-market economy, if you see a widespread need and can fill it, you get rich fast. Actually, when Old Nick organized his trade pioneer teams, like mine, he set them to doing in a physical way what Serendipity was already doing in its computers.
A certain irony here. Adzel, Chee Lan, and I are supposed to follow up whatever interesting reports our robot probes bring back from hitherto unvisited planets. If we see potentially valuable resources or markets, we report back to van Rijn, very much on the q.t., so he can exploit them before the rest of the League learns they exist. And yet I, the professional serendipitist, have come to Serendipity, Inc., like any hopeful Earth-lubber businessman.
Thea Beldaniel folded her hands in her lap, sat back, and said, "Perhaps, coming from the frontier as you do, Freeman, you don't quite understand the principle on which Serendipity, Inc., works. Let me put it in oversimplified language.
"The problem of information retrieval was solved long ago, through electronic data storage, scanning, coding, and replication. But the problem of information usage continues acute. The perceptual universe of man and other space-traveling species is expanding still more rapidly than the universe of their exploration. Suppose you were a scientist or an artist, with what you believed was a new idea. To what extent has the thought of countless billions of other sophonts, on thousands of known worlds, duplicated your own? What might you learn from them? What might you contribute that is genuinely new? Well, you could ransack libraries and data centers, and get more information on any subject than is generally realized. Too much more! Not only could you not read it all in your lifetime, you could not pick out what was relevant. Still worse is the dilemma of a company planning a mercantile venture. What developments elsewhere in space will collide, compete, conceivably nullify their efforts? Or what positive opportunities are being overlooked, simply because no one can comprehend the total picture?"
"Obvious, of course," she said imperturbably. "And in principle, the answer is likewise obvious. Computers should not merely scan, but sift data. They should identify possible correlations, and test them, with electronic speed and parallel-channel capacity. You might say they should make suggestions. In practice, this was difficult. Technologically, it required a major advance in cybernetics. Besides . . . the members of the League guarded their hard-won knowledge jealously. Why tell anything you knew to your rival? Or to public data centers, and thus indirectly to your rival? Or to a third party who was not your competitor but might well make a deal with your rival—or might decide to diversify his interests and himself become your rival?
"Whether or not you could use a datum, it had cost you something to acquire. You would soon go bankrupt if you made a free gift of every item. And while secrets were traded, negotiations about this were slow and awkward.
"Serendipity, Inc., solved the problem with improved systems—not only better robotics, but a better idea for exchanging knowledge."
Falkayn got a word in fast while she caught up on her breathing. "That makes it to everybody's advantage to consult you on a regular basis. And the more your machines are told during consultations, the better the advice they can give. Uh-huh. That's how you grow."
"It is one mechanism of growth for us," Thea Beldaniel said. "Actually, however, information theft is very minor. Why should Freeman van Rijn not sell us the fact that, say, one of his trading ships happened upon a planet where there is a civilization that creates marvelous sculptures? He is not in the art business to any significant extent. In exchange, he pays a much reduced fee to learn that a crew of hydrogen-breathing explorers have come upon an oxygen-atmosphere planet that produces a new type of wine."
Falkayn leaned back and struggled to relax. Behind that panel, these walls, electrons and quanta hurtled through vacuum; charges and the absence of charges moved through crystal lattices; distorted molecules interacted with magnetic, electric, gravitational, nuclear fields; the machine thought.
The machine dreamed.
He wondered if its functioning was continuous, building immense webs of correlation and inference whether or not a client sat here. Quite probably; and in this manner, it came closer than any other entity to comprehending our corner of the universe. And yet the facts must be too many, the possible interconnections between them uncountable. The fruitful few were buried in that sheer mass. Every major discovery has involved a recognition of such rare meaningful associations. (Between the water level in a bath and the weight of gold; between the pessimism of a small-town parson and the mechanism of organic evolution; between the Worm Ouroboros, that biteth its own tail, and the benzene molecule—) Living creatures like Falkayn, coming from the living cosmos to the cave where this engine dwelt, must be what triggered its real action, made it perceive the significance of what had hitherto looked like another isolated fact.
From SATAN'S WORLD by Poul Anderson (1968)
Working Animals
A working animal is a creature (usually domesticated, but tamed will do) that is kept by people and trained to perform tasks.
Capt. Riley and the Ship's Cat by Drell-7
Ripley and Jones the cat from movie Alien. Officially for rodent control, but purring helps with stress relief.
A cat trained to use a free-fall suction toilet. From the manga Planetes, vol 03 (2003). Artwork by Makoto Yukimura.
Concept art for Jones the cat carrying case. Note oxygen tanks. Artwork by Ron Cobb.
Jones the Cat
artwork by Laurie Greasley
Dogs might have been the first friends of Man, but surely cats were the second. Though generally cats consider human beings to be convenient slaves with opposable thumbs.
Primitive man was a hunter, dogs fit in like a hand in glove. But the problems started with the invention of agriculture. You have to store the grain somewhere, and that somewhere would instantly become the rat's all-you-can-eat grain buffet. Farmers grew livid.
Lucky for the farmers, all the feral cats in the neighborhood would consider the barn to be an all-you-can-eat rat buffet. This was the origin of the farm cat. Good kitty!
Even in the real world many sea-going vessels have a ship's cat to control the rodent infestation. Blasted rats can do major damage to ropes, woodwork, electrical wiring, food supplies, not to mention huge cargo holds full of grain.
In the cargo hold of an interstellar trading starship one will sometimes find a ship's cat (to catch those pesky alien rats). Or even more serious ship vermin.
In Niven and Pournelle's The Mote In God's Eye, anti-rat ferrets are standard equipment on imperial warships. In Andre Norton's Solar Queen novels, she mentions that the ship's cat is trained to present the carcasses of the vermin they kill to the captain. This allows the captain to be aware of what sort of alien rats and cockroaches infested the ship at last planet-fall.
Space engineers may be faced with the daunting task of designing a microgravity cat litterbox that a cat will actually use. Since there do exist some modern-day cats that have been successfully toilet-trained, it is not impossible to imagine a cat trained to use one of those free-fall suction toilets such as are used on the Space Shuttle.
Just don't let a pregnant space cat evolve for three million years or you'll end up with The Cat from Red Dwarf.
Artwork by Tess Garman
ANTI-RAT SHIPCATS
Idly, he tugged loose his hair-ribbon and his implanted static charge fanned his hair into a leonine mane, a style popular with his age group in recent years. On Derek it looked better than on most. His strong face,with its broad brow and wide cheekbones, was equally leonine. He tossed the white ribbon away, and it was attacked before it could settle to the deck. A furious furball shot through the air, squalling hatred of anything small, white and moving. The shipcat was nearly spherical, with a flat, wide tail that paddled the air for added velocity. It caught the ribbon with its forepaws and tore at it with needlelike fangs. The cat twisted in air and cushioned its impact against a wall with its hind paws.
“Good move, Carruthers,” Derek said. The shipcat ignored him and batted the wadded ribbon across the chamber, giving it a tiny head start before setting out in pursuit. In the early days of Lunar settlement, white lab rats had escaped and infested first Luna, then all other settlements and ships. They were a mutated stock, unnaturally intelligent, and all attempts to eradicate them had failed. Cats, mankind’s oldest ally in the war with rodents, became the third spacegoing species to spread from Earth. Much research had been devoted to developing a suitable cat box.
From BETWEEN THE STARS by John Maddox Roberts and Yoji Kondo (1988)
CATS ARE ALIENS 1
But a shadow gliding in the panel to his left brought him out of his absorption. Sinbad, the Queen's cat, leaped gracefully to the top of a case and sat there, regarding the apprentice. Of all the native Terran animals the one which had most easily followed man into space was the feline.
Cats took to acceleration, to free fall, to all the other discomforts of star flight, with such ease that there were some odd legends growing up about their tribe. One was that Domestica Felinus was not really native to Terra, but had descended from the survivors of an early and forgotten invasion and in the star ships he was only returning to his former golden age.
(ed note: I looked up at RocketCat and raised my eyebrow. He just game me a disturbing enigmatic smile.)
But Sinbad and those of his species served a definite purpose on board ship and earned their pay. Pests, not only the rats and mice of Terra, but other and odder creatures from alien worlds, came aboard with cargo, sometimes not to be ordinarily detected for weeks, even months after they had set up housekeeping in the hidden corners of the ship. These were Sinbad's concern. When and where he caught them the crew might never learn, but he presented the bodies of the slain to Van Rycke. And, from all accounts, on past voyages some of the bodies had been very weird indeed!
From SARGASSO OF SPACE by Andre Norton (1955)
Garver and the skipper momentarily forgot what they were doing and watched Cosmo in his act. It was a welcome break in the monotony. The cat kept it up until he tired, then curled up in a ball about a stanchion to give itself a bath.
“Cats are fine people,” Vanderhoff remarked, closing the log and lighting a cigarette.
Garver gave up too and snapped off the viewer. He took the cigarette the skipper offered him. “You know, skipper, that display of Cosmo’s helps prove my theory about cats being an extraterrestrial race.”
“You don’t think they’re native to Terra?” Vanderhoff asked in bewilderment.
“Right. Look, they’re too well-adapted to spaceships, free-fall, and changing accelerations. They never get their directions mixed up; they always know which way is ‘down,’ ” Garver explained with a smile. “I think Cosmo’s ancestors either conquered space, or were symbiotes of a race who did.”
“Tigers and leopards as well?” Vanderhoff asked. “ Same family.”
“Yeah, but they’re merely mutations of the original strain, Felis domestica," the jetman went on, tongue in cheek.
“I don’t agree with you,” the skipper said, watching Cosmo give himself a cleaning job. “I will admit they’re perfectly adapted for space travel. Cosmo keeps himself clean and does a good job keeping the ship the same way. Why, I remember once when we lifted from Terra with a load of wheat for Luna. Had rats. Space knows how they got aboard, but Cosmo —”
From ...AND A STAR TO STEER HER BY by Lee Correy aka G. Harry Stine (1953)
CATS ARE FROM WHERE?
Living as we do mostly in space, Free Traders might be expected to have little contact or interest in animals. Long ago all ships carried felines for the protection of the cargo, since they hunted to rout out any pests stowing away. For centuries they were inseparable crew members. But their numbers grew less and less; they did not have as large or as many litters any more. We had forgotten where that animal had originated, so fresh stock could not be obtained to renew the breed. There were still a few at headquarters, highly prized, protected, tended, in hope that the breed might be reinstated. And we had all tried from time to time to replace them with various hunters from many worlds. One or two breeds had promise, but the majority could not adapt to ship life.
Perhaps this desire for companion animals gives us a strong pull toward alien beasts.
From MOON OF THREE RINGS by Andre Norton (1966)
SPACEMAN'S CAT
Ordeal in Space
artwork by Jack Wilson
(ed note: the protagonist is suffering from a pathological fear of heights due to a little incident)
He shook his head, then listened. It was real all right. Now he had it identified — a cat, a kitten by the sound of it.
He sat up. Even if he had not had the spaceman’s traditional fondness for cats, he would have investigated. However, he liked cats for themselves, quite aside from their neat shipboard habits, their ready adaptability to changing accelerations, and their usefulness in keeping the ship free of those other creatures that go wherever man goes. So he got up at once and looked for this one…
…In some impossible way the cat was just outside his window, thirty-five stories above the street…
…After a time the sill seemed to steady a bit. He opened his eyes, gasped, and shut them again. Finally he opened them again, being very careful not to look out at the stars, not to look down at the street. He had half expected to find the cat on a balcony outside his room — it seemed the only reasonable explanation. But there was no balcony, no place at all where a cat could reasonably be.
However, the mewing was louder than ever. It seemed to come from directly under him. Slowly he forced his head out, still clinging to the sill, and made himself look down. Under him, about four feet lower than the edge of the window, a narrow ledge ran around the side of the building. Seated on it was a woe-begone ratty-looking kitten. It stared up at him and meowed again.
From ORDEAL IN SPACE by Robert Heinlein (1948)
FRED THE TALKING CAT
In the case of Fred the Cat: vermin are a really bad thing to have on a space colony, such as the one Wednesday grows up on in "Iron Sunrise". They chew wiring, potentially causing hideous equipment failures. So it's a good idea to have a self-sustaining vermin control program. It's a waste of human resources to spend working lives on rodent control, especially when cats are available off-the-shelf — but you don't want unmodified cats on a space station, either: you want cats with boosted linguistic abilities and opposable thumbs, so that they can read the warning signs, flush the toilets, and drag their prey to the correct recycling point rather than leaving them to rot in situ. Unfortunately, a sub-culture of semi-intelligent feral cats is also something you don't want on board a space colony ...
from BOOKS I WILL NOT WRITE, #2: IRON SUNRISE VARIATIONS by Charles Stross (2010)
Animal Sentinel
This is more than just guard dogs. In his short story "Feathered Friend", Arthur C. Clarke remembers the history of mining, and suggests that a pet canary might be a cheap back-up for an atmosphere monitor. If the bird keels over, grab an oxygen mask and check the life support, pronto! This is an example of an animal sentinel, commonly called "a canary in a coal mine".
Another example is Bat the Cat from "All Cats are Gray". Bat is color-blind, like all cats. But he can also see frequencies outside normal human vision, which comes in handy to detect invisible space monsters.
CANARY IN A COAL MINE
artwork by Michael Whittlesea
Certainly when I woke up that "morning" it felt like 6:00 A.M. on Earth. I had a nagging headache, and vague memories of fitful, disturbed dreams. It took me ages to undo my bunk straps, and I was still only half awake when I joined the remainder of the duty crew in the mess. Breakfast was unusually quiet, and there was one seat vacant.
"Where's Sven?" I asked, not very much caring.
"He's looking for Claribel," someone answered. "Says he can't find her anywhere. She usually wakes him up."
Before I could retort that she usually woke me up, too, Sven came in through the doorway, and we could see at once that something was wrong. He slowly opened his hand, and there lay a tiny bundle of yellow feathers, with two clenched claws sticking pathetically up into the air.
"Give her a shot of oxygen," suggested somebody, pointing to the green-banded emergency cylinder in its recess beside the door. Everyone agreed that this was an excellent idea, and Claribel was tucked snugly into a face mask that was large enough to serve as a complete oxygen tent for her.
To our delighted surprise, she revived at once. Beaming broadly, Sven removed the mask, and she hopped onto his finger. She gave her series of "Come to the cookhouse, boys" trills — then promptly keeled over again.
"I don't get it," lamented Sven. "What's wrong with her? She's never done this before."
For the last few minutes, something had been tugging at my memory. My mind seemed to be very sluggish that morning, as if I was still unable to cast off the burden of sleep. I felt that I could do with some of that oxygen — but before I could reach the mask, understanding exploded in my brain. I whirled on the duty engineer and said urgently:
"Jim! There's something wrong with the air! That's why Claribel's passed out. I've just remembered that miners used to carry canaries down to warn them of gas."
"Nonsense!" said Jim. "The alarms would have gone off. We've got duplicate circuits, operating independently."
"Er — the second alarm circuit isn't connected up yet," his assistant reminded him. That shook Jim; he left without a word, while we stood arguing and passing the oxygen bottle around like a pipe of peace.
He came back ten minutes later with a sheepish expression. It was one of those accidents that couldn't possibly happen; we'd had one of our rare eclipses by Earth's shadow that night; part of the air purifier had frozen up, and the single alarm in the circuit had failed to go off. Half a million dollars' worth of chemical and electronic engineering had let us down completely. Without Claribel, we should soon have been slightly dead.
So now, if you visit any space station, don't be surprised if you hear an inexplicable snatch of bird song. There's no need to be alarmed: on the contrary, in fact, it will mean that you're being doubly safeguarded, at practically no extra expense.
From "FEATHERED FRIEND" by Sir Arthur C. Clarke (1957)
Canary Resuscitator made by Siebe Gorman & Co. Ltd, London
The circular door is open while you explore the mine. If the canary keels over you shut the door and turn on the oxygen supply. While you run for safety, of course. This type of cage allows one to re-use the canary.
Sergeant Stubby (1916 – March 16, 1926) was a dog who is the official mascot of the 102nd Infantry Regiment (United States) and was assigned to the 26th (Yankee) Division in World War I. He served for 18 months and participated in seventeen battles on the Western Front. He saved his regiment from surprise mustard gas attacks, found and comforted the wounded, and once caught a German soldier by the seat of his pants, holding him there until American soldiers found him. His actions were well-documented in contemporary American newspapers.
Stubby has been called the most decorated war dog of World War I, and the only dog to be nominated for rank and then promoted to sergeant through combat, a claim having no official documentary evidence, but recognized in connection with an exhibition at the Smithsonian Institution.
Stubby is the subject of a 2018 animated film.
Stubby was described in contemporaneous news items as a Bull Terrier or Boston Terrier. Describing him as a dog of "uncertain breed", Ann Bausum wrote that "The brindle-patterned pup probably owed at least some of his parentage to the evolving family of Boston Terriers, a breed so new that even its name was in flux: Boston Round Heads, American Bull Terriers, and Boston Bull Terriers." Stubby was found wandering the grounds of the Yale University campus in New Haven, Connecticut in July 1917, while members of the 102nd Infantry were training. The dog hung around as the men drilled and one soldier, Corporal Robert Conroy, developed a fondness for him. When it came time for the outfit to ship out, Conroy hid Stubby on board the troop ship. As they were getting off the ship in France, he hid Stubby under his overcoat without detection. Upon discovery by Conroy's commanding officer, Stubby saluted him as he had been trained to in camp, and the commanding officer allowed the dog to stay on board.
Stubby served with the 102nd Infantry Regiment in the trenches in France for 8 months and participated in four offensives and 17 battles. He entered combat on February 5, 1918, at Chemin des Dames, north of Soissons, and was under constant fire, day and night for over a month. In April 1918, during a raid to take Seicheprey, Stubby was wounded in the foreleg by the retreating Germans throwing hand grenades. He was sent to the rear for convalescence and, as he had done on the front, was able to improve morale. When he recovered from his wounds, Stubby returned to the trenches. He ultimately had two wound stripes.
In his first year of battle Stubby was injured by mustard gas. After he recovered, he returned with a specially designed gas mask to protect him. Also, he learned to warn his unit of poison gas attacks, located wounded soldiers in no man's land, and—since he could hear the whine of incoming artillery shells before humans—became very adept at letting his unit know when to duck for cover. He was solely responsible for capturing a German spy in the Argonne, leading to the commander of the 102 Infantry to nominate Stubby for the rank of sergeant. However, whether Stubby was actually promoted or even an official member of the Army has been disputed. Following the retaking of Château-Thierry by the US, the women of the town made Stubby a chamois coat on which were pinned his many medals. He also helped free a French town from the Germans. He was later injured in the chest and leg by a grenade. At the end of the war, Robert Conroy smuggled Stubby home.
From the Wikipedia entry for SERGEANT STUBBY
BAT THE CAT
All the boys who had profited by Steena's queer store of knowledge and her photographic memory tried at one time or another to balance the scales. But she wouldn’t take so much as a cup of Canal water at their expense, let alone the credits they tried to push on her. Bub Nelson was the only one who got around her refusal. It was he who brought her Bat.
About a year after the Jovan affair (when Steena warned Bub about Jovian moon-rites, saving Bub's life six months later) he walked into the Free Fall one night and dumped Bat down on her table. Bat looked at Steena and growled. She looked calmly back at him and nodded once. From then on they traveled together—the thin gray woman and the big gray tom-cat. Bat learned to know the inside of more stellar bars than even most spacers visit in their lifetimes. He developed a liking for Vernal juice, drank it neat and quick, right out of a glass. And he was always at home on any table where Steena elected to drop him.
However, just as the first bottle arrived, so did a visitor. Steena came out of her corner, Bat curled around her shoulders stole-wise, his favorite mode of travel. She crossed over and dropped down without invitation at Cliff’s side. That shook him out of his sulks. Because Steena never chose company when she could be alone.
(ed note: Steena had a hot tip for Cliff. The legendary ghost-ship Empress of Mars was due to appear again. It is known to carry vast wealth, but some unknown horror killed the crew and passengers. And killed everybody who tried to salvage it. But Cliff is desperate. They find the ship. Cliff checks out the control room while Steena and Bat enters one of the passenger cabins.)
(ed note: Bat can see the invisible space monster, Steena can faintly see it. She manages to fry the monster with a blaster. Cliff wants to know what the heck is going on.)
But there weren’t any more and two weeks later Cliff, Steena and Bat brought the Empress into the Lunar quarantine station. And that is the end of Steena’s story because, as we have been told, happy marriages need no chronicles. And Steena had found someone who knew of her gray world and did not find it too hard to share with her—someone besides Bat. It turned out to be a real love match.
The last time I saw her she was wrapped in a flame-red cloak from the looms of Rigel and wore a fortune in Jovan rubies blazing on her wrists. Cliff was flipping a three-figure credit bill to a waiter. And Bat had a row of Vernal juice glasses set up before him. Just a little family party out on the town.
And in the "practical but disgusting" catagory, you have genetically engineered roaches.
CLEANING ROACHES
One of the shipboard roaches woke Lindsay by nibbling his eyelashes. With a start of disgust, Lindsay punched it and it scuttled away.
... He shook another roach out of his red-and-silver jumpsuit, where it feasted on flakes of dead skin.
He got into his clothes and looked about the gym room. Two of the Senators were still asleep, their velcro-soled shoes stuck to the walls, their tattooed bodies curled fetally. A roach was sipping sweat from the female senator's neck.
If it weren't for the roaches, the (spacecraft) Red Consensus would eventually smother in a moldy detritus of cast-off skin and built-up layers of sweated and exhaled effluvia. Lysine, alanine, methionine, carbamino compounds, lactic acid, sex pheromones: a constant stream of organic vapors poured invisibly, day and night, from the human body. Roaches were a vital part of the spacecraft ecosystem, cleaning up crumbs of food, licking up grease.
Roaches had haunted spacecraft almost from the beginning, too tough and adaptable to kill. At least now they were well-trained. They were even housebroken, obedient to the chemical lures and controls of the Second Representative. Lindsay still hated them, though, and couldn't watch their grisly swarming and free-fall leaps and clattering flights without a deep conviction that he ought to be somewhere else. Anywhere else.
(ed note: Alistair Young calls those "cleaning roaches")
From SCHISMATRIX PLUS by Bruce Sterling (1996)
Living Tool
Interstellar colonists on planets with little or no infrastruture will favor animals over machines. Tractors require steel mills, petroleum refineries, factories, repairpeople, and spare parts. Horses just require grass and a breeding pair.
An ironic use of the phrase "Get a horse!". Art by Ed Emshmiller
The Human Interference Task Force had a proposal involving genetically engineering cats so they would change color if exposed to radiation. Living geiger counters, in other words. Get one as a mascot for the nuclear engineering room.
Oakland Raycat T-shirt
This is a little Dachshund in a car repair shop presumably in Russia, helping the mechanic. Note this is not a good idea because Dachshund's spines are vulnerable. This one isn't carrying much weight and the load is balanced, but still.
Anyway, as a science fictional detail for your next scifi novel, imagine that the dog helps out in a starship maintenance dock, or in a ship's engineering deck. Uplift it so it is smarter than the average dog, and can speak a few words. Perhaps an opposable thumb. The legendary keen nose of canines can be used to detect microscopic leaks.
And since the dog is working in an atomic starship dock, it might be a good idea to give them the Raycat gene.
Tourmal from Murray Leinster's Med Service Series. The animal has a special ability: if exposed to any disease (known or unknown), it will produce antibodies in quantity against it in about thirty seconds flat. The antibodies can be used to make a serum to protect against the diseease. Tourmals are used by the Med Service when they encounter planetary pandemics.
A common error is mistaking a Caduceus for the Rod of Asclepius. Especially in the United States.
artwork by Stephen Hickman
Tourmals love coffee
Jack the one-eyed Jack Russell terrier from Tales of the Gold Monkey. Can answer questions by barking once for "no" and twice for "yes". Or the opposite if he is feeling contrary.
Ein, a Pembroke Welsh Corgi "Data Dog" from Cowboy Bebop. Very intelligent (can steer a car, play Shogi, use the internet). Occasionally answers questions with one bark for "yes" and two barks for "no".
In the movie Tron, Flynn is accompanied by Bit, who is a binary digit. As such it can only answer "yes" or "no".
Lying Cat from Saga. Lying Cat is a large feline who is sort of a walking lie detector. She can only say the word "Lying", which she does every single time somebody utters a lie.
Lying cat even detects her partner's lies. She is most annoying to be around, but does often prove useful
Companion/Sidekick
In the movie A Boy and His Dog, the dog Blood telepathically talks to his companion, the boy Vic. Blood is actually the more intelligent of the two so it is more like Vic is his sidekick.
The Road Warrior's dog, holding a stick attached to the trigger of a sawed-off shotgun, aimed at a prisoner. The dog keeps the prisoner quiet, allowing his master to concentrate on driving.
In the Flinx series by Alan Dean Foster, Flinx is accompanied by an pet Alaspinian Miniature Dragon named Pip. Minidrags are about one meter long, and can spit a highly corrosive neurotoxic venom at anybody who threatens her master. In addition, Flinx and Pip amplify each other's empathic powers.
She was on her feet before she quite realised what was happening. There was a wooden baseball club thing she made in a crafts class, learning to use a lathe on real synthetic wood — she took it, silently but sure in the darkness of her own room. Who's there? Her chest felt tight and her guts bubbled loose. Someone was in the kitchen...She yanked the door open with one hand and palmed the light switch, bringing the club up —
— And a very large tabby cat looked guiltily at her from the food preparation surface. The cat had a long, well-groomed coat, large paws, and a slightly bulbous forehead; he wore a waistcoat, pockets bulging with small power-tools. In one remarkably humanoid hand, he held a can opener. In the other hand, he clutched a brightly coloured tin with a cartoon picture of a grinning fish on the label.
"Who the f**k are you and what are you doing here?" she demanded, glaring.
"Through hole in roof. I'm a cat, me." He clutched the tin protectively. "Food? Eat!"
The ceiling air duct gaped open: the contents of a drawer lay scattered on the floor below. Wednesday took it all in with a glance. The cat burglars had been getting dangerously smart, stealing survival tools and blinding surveillance cameras — but they were still cats. The beast was probably frightened half out of his mind: she outmassed him ten to one. "You won't get far with that tin," she warned.
The cat put it down between his hind legs and clutched the can opener in both hands. "Food! Mine! Escape-fear-pounce-jump!" When he became agitated his stream of consciousness sprayed everywhere: his ears folded flat and his tail began to puff up. Then he glanced up at the hole in the ceiling. Morris and Indica couldn't afford a good neighbourhood; the cubic they lived in was under point eight gees and it was nearly two metres straight up to the roof.
His expression was so worried that Wednesday couldn't hold it in any longer: she laughed aloud. When she stopped the cat was glaring at her aggrievedly. "What you've got there is a tin of spaghetti shapes. Want to tell me what you're doing here?"
"Food — " He glanced away and licked at the back of one furry hand. "Not me. Was some other cat." Lick lick lick. "Didn't do it. Not see me. Jump-escape."
While the cat was in denial, a thought occurred to Wednesday. "Someone sent you, didn't they? Who was it? Tell me and I'll get you some real food. Good food, not like that."
"Me hungry." The cat glanced down at the tin between its feet. She could almost see the gear wheels whirring busily between its ears. "Food?"
"First tell me who sent you," she repeated.
"Boy," said the cat reluctantly. He held up the tin opener. "Feed me!"
"What did the boy tell you to do?" demanded Wednesday.
The cat reached into its harness, produced a small black bead: an eyebug of some description. "Put in shower," he said. His voice was throaty but not deep, like a human child with laryngitis. "Go back, jump-escape, boy feed me. I'm a good cat!" He paused, then picked up the tin. "Food now?"
"Not that tin." She put down the baseball bat, opened a cupboard door... "Here." Wednesday found what she was looking for.
"Meat?" the cat asked suspiciously.
"Give me the can opener," she said. For a wonder, the cat passed it to her. You could never tell with a cat: they were just smart enough to think everyone else was dumber than them. Wordlessly she wrapped the can opener around the lid and gave it a brief squeeze. The lid lifted free and she passed the container to the cat, who emitted a deep grumbling noise and took it in both hands. "Fork's in the draw below you," she said before he could dig his face in. "This boy. Was he fat?"
"Eating. Go 'way." The cat chewed as he talked, dripping fragments of fake fish flakes all over the worktop. Wednesday's stomach grumbled. The cat burped and stopped eating for a moment. "Fat boy," he said. "Me smart cat." With a can of ersatz tuna in his hands and an electric screwdriver in his belt he was a lord of infinite space. "Rrrrr. Pig boy. Eat pig?" One ear twitched.
"I don't think so," Wednesday said drily. She picked up the bug and scrutinized it. "Hmm. Remember to put the duct cover back before you leave," she said and, closing and locking the kitchen door, went back to bed.
TREECAT
Honor Harrington and her bonded treecat Nimitz (Laughs Brightly). Not telepathic with humans, but certainly an empath, and quite capable of ripping out the throat of an assassin sent to kill their human.
Artwork by David Mattingly
(ed note: Honor Harrington and her treecat Nimitz are at an official dinner with the Protetor of Grayson. Understand that treecats are as intelligent as humans, if not more so. A team of assassins dresses as security guards enters to try and kill the Protector. They dismiss the treecat as just a harmless pet. Nimitz's empathic abilities warn him and he teaches the kill-team the error of their ways.)
“On the contrary,” Mayhew said as the dining room door opened and two uniformed Security men stepped into the anteroom-like entry alcove. He glanced up casually as the newcomers walked towards Captain Fox and a second pair followed them into the dining room. “I expect they’ll be highly beneficial, though it may take some of us a while to-”
Fox frowned as the new arrivals approached him, then relaxed as one of them extended a dispatch case. He reached out to take it … and Nimitz suddenly catapulted from his stool with a snarl like tearing canvas.
Honor’s head whipped around as the treecat landed on the back of the Security man closest to her. The guard howled as the treecat’s true-feet sank centimeter-long claws bone-deep into his shoulders, and his howl became a shriek of raw, terrified agony as Nimitz’s uppermost limbs reached around his head and scimitar-clawed fingers buried themselves to the knuckles in his eyes.
Blood and fluids erupted down the shrieking guard’s cheeks, and his hands rose frantically to clutch at his assailant. But his sounds died in a horrible, whistling gurgle as the clawed hand-paws of the treecat’s middle limbs ripped his throat open to the spine.
The dead man crumpled like a felled tree, but the ‘cat was already somersaulting away from him. His rippling snarl rose even higher as he slammed into a second newcomer, all six sets of claws ripping and tearing, and Fox and his men stared at him in horror. They’d been surprised by the length of his sixty-centimeter body when he uncoiled from Honor’s shoulder, but he was narrow and supple as a ferret, and they hadn’t realized he massed over nine kilos of bone and hard muscle. It wasn’t really their fault—Honor had grown so accustomed to his weight over the years that it scarcely even inconvenienced her, and they hadn’t made sufficient allowance for how easily her own Sphinx-bred muscles let her carry him.
Yet whatever their reasoning, they’d dismissed him as a simple pet, without guessing how powerful and well-armed he actually was. Nor had they even suspected his intelligence, and the totally unexpected carnage stunned them. But they were trained bodyguards, responsible for their head of state’s safety, and their hands jerked to their weapons as the beast ran amok.
Captain Fox grabbed the Protector without ceremony, yanking him out of his chair by brute force and throwing him behind him as he went for his own sidearm. Lord Mayhew recoiled as the dead man’s blood splashed the tablecloth and spouted over him, but he, too, reacted with admirable speed. He grabbed both his sisters-in-law, shoved them under the table, and fell across them to protect them with his own body.
Honor saw it all only peripherally. She’d always known Nimitz could feel her emotions, but she’d never knowingly felt his.
This time she did—and as she also felt the emotions of the fresh “Security detachment” through him, she exploded out of her chair. The heel of her hand slammed into the face of the newcomer closest to the Protector, and cartilage crunched horribly as she drove his nose up into his brain—just as his companion dropped the dispatch case, raised his other hand, and fired at pointblank range into Captain Fox’s chest.
The handgun made a whining noise and a sound like an axe sinking into a log, and the Security captain flew backward, his pistol less than half-drawn. His corpse knocked Mayhew to the carpet, and a corner of Honor’s mind cringed as she recognized the sound of an off-world sonic disrupter.
From THE HONOR OF THE QUEEN by David Weber (1993)
Police/Military
Police have had K-9 units for a long time, because they work incredibly well. Their duties include searching for drugs and explosives, searching for lost people, looking for crime scene evidence, and protecting their handlers. Specialized types include sentry and attack dog, search and rescue dog, detection dog or explosive-sniffing dog, arson dogs, and cadaver dogs.
Dog also have an continuing role in the military. Land-mine and booby-trap detection, tracking enemy troops, scouts, sentries, very useful creatures. In the US upon retirement military dogs can be adopted by their former handlers or a new family, providing the lucky owner with a highly skilled pet.
During World War 1 dogs not only acted as standard rescuers and sentries, they also did more uncommon jobs like laying battlefield telephone lines and alerting soldiers if they smelled deadly mustard gas.
World War 1 also used tens of thousands of homing pigeons to relay messages, because they were agile and could fly high enough above the trenches to (mostly) avoid being shot by the enemy. A pigeon named Cher Ami delivered his message despite suffering three gunshot wounds, which saved Battalion 194 (being shelled by friendly fire from allied artillery). The heroic one-legged bird lived for another year before succumbing to his wounds, you can see his taxideried body at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History.
Conditions for soldiers were so horrfic during WWI that many regiments adopted animals as mascots, as sources of consolation, familiarity, and morale. Not just dogs: cats, foxes, raccoon, bear cubs, baby alligators, and even lion cubs. When you are stuck in the middle of a nightmare composed of trench warfare, barbed wire, machine guns, and mustard gas you take your mascot in whatever form it comes in.
In the second World War there were a couple of misguided attempts to use animals to carry bombs to the enemy, neither the anti-tank dogs nor the incindiary bats worked particularly well.
Currently the US (wet) Navy has a program using dolphins and sea lions, locating underwater mines and enemy swimmers. This one is apparently more successful since it is on-going and still classified.
In the classic "The Game of Rat and Dragon" by Cordwainer Smith, cats and humans team up to defend starships from a malevolent life form called "Dragons."
MUTATED WOLVERINES
Survey teams had early discovered the advantage of using mutated and highly trained Terran animals as assistants in the exploration of strange worlds. From the biological laboratories and breeding farms on Terra came a trickle of specialized assistants to accompany man into space. Some were fighters, silent, more deadly than weapons a man wore at his belt or carried in his hands. Some were keener eyes, keener noses, keener scouts than the human kind could produce. Bred for intelligence, for size, for adaptability to alien conditions, the animal explorers from Terra were prized.
Wolverines, the ancient “devils” of the northlands on Terra, were being tried for the first time on Warlock. Their caution, a quality highly developed in their breed, made them testers for new territory. Able to tackle in battle an animal three times their size, they should be added protection for the man they accompanied into the wilderness. Their wide ranging, their ability to climb and swim, and above all, their curiosity were significant assets.
From STORM OVER WARLOCK by Andre Norton (1960)
Unmutated Sand Cat
‘Hosteen Storm. Rank: Beast Master. Race: Amerindian. Native planet: Terra of Sol —‘...
...Of course Storm was a special case — as if they weren’t all special cases. There had been only a handful of his kind. Less than fifty, the Commander understood, had qualified for the duty this young man had performed. And of that fifty very few had survived. That combination of unusual traits of mind that produced a true Beast Master was rare, and they had been expendable men in the last frenzied months before the spectacular collapse of the Xik invaders...
...‘Saaaa —‘ That hiss, which was also a summons, was answered eagerly.
A flapping of wings and talons, which could tear flesh into bloody ribbons, closed on his padded left shoulder as the African Black Eagle that was scouting ‘eyes’ for Sabotage Group Number Four came to rest, sleek head lowered to draw its beak in swift, slight caress along Storm’s brown cheek.
Paws caught at his breeches as a snorting pair of small warm bodies swarmed up him, treating his body like a tree. Those claws, which uncovered and disrupted enemy installations, caught in the tough fabric of his uniform as he clasped the meerkats in his arms.
Baku, Ho, and Hing — and last of all — Surra. The eagle was majesty and winged might, great-hearted and regal as her falcon tendencies dictated. The meerkats were merry clowns, good-humoured thieves who loved company. But Surra — Surra was an empress who drew homage as her due.
Generations before, her breed had been small, yellow-furred sprites in the sandy wastes of the big deserts. Shy cats, with hairy paws, which kept them from sinking into the soft sand of their hunting grounds, with pricked fox ears and fox-sharp faces, possessing the abnormal hearing that was their greatest gift, almost unknown to mankind, they had lived their hidden lives.
But when the Beast Service had been created — first to provide exploration teams for newly discovered worlds, where the instincts of once wild creatures were a greater aid to mankind than any machine of his own devising — Surra’s ancestors had been studied, crossbred with other types, developed into something far different from their desert roving kin. Surra’s colour was still sand-yellow, her muzzle and ears foxlike, her paws fur sand-shoes. But she was four times the size of her remote forefathers, as large as a puma, and her intelligence was higher even than those who had bred her guessed. Now Storm laid his hand on her head, a caress she graciously permitted.
To the spectator the ex-Commando might be standing impassively, the meerkats clinging to him, his hand resting lightly on Surra’s round skull, the eagle quiet on his shoulder. But an awareness, which was unuttered, unheard speech, linked him with animals and bird. The breadth of that communication could not be assessed outside a ‘team’, but it forged them into a harmonious whole, which was a weapon if need be, a companionship always...
...‘Yes. I don’t think any yoris can beat Surra. Saaaa —‘ He hissed the rallying call and Ho and Hing tumbled into the firelight, climbing over his legs to rear against his chest and pat him lovingly.
‘What are they good for?’ Ransford asked. ‘They wear pretty big claws, but they’re small to be fighters —‘
Storm fondled the grey heads with their bandit masks of black about the alert eyes. ‘These were our saboteurs,’ he replied. “They dig with those claws and uncover things other people would like to keep buried. Brought a lot of interesting trophies back to base, too. They’re born thieves, drag all sorts of loot to their dens. You can imagine what they did to delicate enemy installations in the field —‘
Ransford whistled. ‘So that’s what happened when the power for those posts on Saltair failed and our boys were able to cut their way in!’...
From THE BEAST MASTER by Andre Norton (1959)
THROG HOUND
(ed note: The protagonists are from the Scout service, preparing a new planet for colonists. But an invasion force from the insectoid Throg Empire blasts the scout base and are pursuing the protagonists. The Throgs are using one of their dreaded Throg Hounds as trackers.)
Behind them, far away but too clear, sounded that eerie howling, topping the sigh of the night wind.
"I saw—" Thorvald gasped, pausing as if to catch full lungfuls of air to back his words, "they have a 'hound'! That's what you hear."...
..."What hound?" the younger man demanded more sharply when there came no immediate answer.
"The Throgs' tracker. But why did they import one?" Thorvald's puzzlement was plain in his tone. He added a moment later, with some of his usual firmness, "We may be in for bad trouble now. Use of a hound means an attempt to take prisoners—"...
...They haven't too many of those hounds, and they don't risk them on petty jobs...
"Suppose that thing—" Shann pointed upstream with his chin—"follows us? What is it anyway?" "Hound" suggested Terran dog, but he couldn't stretch his imagination to believe in a working co-operation between Throg and any mammal.
"A rather spectacular combination of toad and lizard, with a few other grisly touches, is about as close as you can get to a general description. And that won't be too accurate, because like the Throgs its remote ancestors must have been of the insect family. If the thing follows us, and I think we can be sure that it will, we'll have to take steps. There is always this advantage—those hounds cannot be controlled from a flyer, and the beetle-heads never take kindly to foot slogging.
PARAHUAN TARM
In the water of the lagoon beyond the reeds something was moving. Nile couldn’t make out details, but it was a very large creature, dirty white in color. As she stared, it sank slowly below the surface and was gone...
...In their first campaign the Parahuans had brought a formidable creature along with them which took part effectively in the fighting. It was animalic in behavior, though there was some evidence that it was a gigantic adaptation of the Parahuan life form. Reportedly it had sharp senses, was equally agile on land and in water, and difficult to stop with ordinary weapons.
What she’d seen out in the lagoon just now was one of those creatures—a Parahuan tarm...
...The tarm had been like the tip of a fog bank swirling into sight around a floatwood bole above her. It was rushing by overhead as she dropped, so close that it seemed almost impossible she’d remained unnoticed—close enough, she thought, for one of its pale tentacles to have reached down and plucked her from the air. But it had moved on...
From THE DEMON BREED by James Schmitz (1968)
Bloodvark (aka "walking noses" or "Hoovers") Megalorhinos osmichnilatis claudii. A sort of super-bloodhound used by police forces in the Traveller universe.
From The Journal of the Travellers' Aid Society No. 12. Concept and artwork by William Keith (1981)
In Andre Norton's The Beast Master the protagonist Hosteen Storm is a former galactic commando telepathically bonded to Sabotage Group Number Four: Baku the African Black Eagle (aerial scout), Ho and Hing the meerkats (sabotage), and Surra the sand cat (combat). Originally developed for scouting new planets but now pressed into combat.
from Quentyn Quinn, Space Ranger
Genetically Engineered
In science fiction, things can get a little more interesting. Genetic engineering can enhance the working animal's useful abilities. In Andre Norton's The Beast Master one of the working animals in a galactic commando sabotage group are mutated sand cats. The original species are cute little furry things the size of house cats, the mutants are deadly combat creatures the size of a puma. Mistress Norton's stories also often have such working animals gifted with telepathic communication with their "owners" (in addition to the protagonist).
But things really get tense when the working animals are mutated to increase their intelligence. Yes this makes them more useful, but make one mistake and suddenly you have a Rise of the Planet of the Apes situation on your hands. The furry tool turns into a terrible master.
A related situation is "Uplift." In this case the goal is not to make a smarter tool, the whole point is to create a fellow intelligent race. Only doing your best to avoid the uprising part.
unknown artist, looks like Ed Emshwiller to me
(ed note: Villain Kyger on the planet Kowar has a cover of owning a fancy pet store, catering to the upper crust. Including many important planetary leaders. Kyger sells the VIPs exotic animals from Terra. Little do the purchasers know that the "pets" are secretly genetically engineered to spy and assassinate. Sargon and Sheba are a mated pair of foxes, Simba and Sahiba are a mated pair of cats, Shang is a kinkajou.
But the illegal labs that created the animals did their job a little too well. The animals are more intelligent than they realized. And the animals dislike being enslaved. When the criminals discover this they start panicking.
Protagonist Troy Horan was hired as a cage-cleaner for Kyger, but unexpectedly finds he can telepathically communicate with the animals. He and the animals form an alliance to escape. The only one who even part-way understands how special the animals are is Rerne the Ranger.)
Troy sat down again to study both cats. The injured one was still eating, with neatness, but hungrily. He was sure that it was not unaware of the exchange between its mate and himself.
Horan had no control over the five Terran animals, and he knew it. By some freak of chance he was able to communicate with them after a disjointed fashion. But he was very sure that their communication with Kyger had been much clearer and fuller—perhaps through the aid of that odd summoning device he had seen in the dead man's hands.
They had accompanied him in the flight from (the city of) Tikil because that had suited their purpose also, just as they had guided him to this particular hole. Yet he knew well that if they wished they would leave him as readily, unless he could establish some closer tie with them. The position was changed—in Tikil he had been in command because that was man's place. Here the animals had found their own; they no longer needed him.
It was disquieting to face the fact that his somewhat rosy dreams of cooperation between man and animal might be just that—dreams. He could fly the fussel (hawk) to his will and that bird would know the pleasure of the hunt and still return on call. But these hunters had wills and minds of their own, and if they gave companionship, it would be by free will. The age-old balance of man and animal had tipped. There would be a cool examination from the other side, no surrender but perhaps an alliance.
And such thoughts could lead Troy now to understand (the criminal) Zul's demand that the animals be killed. Few men were going to accept readily a copartnership with creatures they had always considered property. There would lurk a threat to the supremacy man believed in.
Yet Troy knew that he could not have left any of the animals in Tikil, nor yielded to Zul's demands. Why? Why did he feel that way about them? He was uneasy now, almost unhappy, as he realized that he was not dealing with pets, that he must put aside his conception of these five as playthings to be owned and ordered about. Neither were they humans whose thinking processes and reactions he could in a manner anticipate.
The black cat ceased washing, sat upright, the tip of its tail folded neatly over its paws, its blue eyes regarding Troy. And the man stirred uneasily under that unwinking stare.
"You wish a way out?"
"Yes." Troy answered that simply. With this new humbleness he was willing to accept what the other would give.
“You are not of those we know.” That was the black cat. Troy discovered that he could now distinguish one’s thought touch from another’s. The animals had come to be definite and separate personalities to him and closer in companionship because of that very fact. Sometimes he was so certain of a comrade at hand that it was a shock to realize that the mind he could touch was outwardly clothed in fur and was borne by four feet, not two.
“Few men know our speech — and those must use the caller (device used by Kyger to enslave and communicate with the animals). Yet from the first you could contact us without that. You are a different kind of man.” That was the gray-blue cat.
“I do not know. You mean that you cannot ‘talk’ to everyone?”
“True. To the big man we talked — because that was set upon us — just as we had to obey the caller when he used it. But it was not set upon us to talk to you — yet you heard. And you are not one-who-is-to-be-obeyed.”
Set upon them — did they mean that they had been conditioned to obey orders and “talk” with certain humans?
“No,” Troy agreed. “I do not know why I hear your ‘talk,’ but I do.”
“Now that the big man is gone, we are hunted.”
“That is so.”
“It is as was told us. We should be hunted if we tried to be free.”
“We are free,” the black cat interrupted. “We might leave you, man, and you could not find us here unless we willed it so.”
Again the pause, those unblinking stares. The black cat moved. It came to him, its tail erect. Then it sat upon its hind legs. Horan put out his hand diffidently, felt the quick rasp of a rough tongue for an instant on his thumb.
“There will be a way out.”
The cat’s head turned toward the fungus town. It stared as intently in that direction as it had toward Troy a moment earlier. And the man was not surprised when out of that unwholesome maze trotted the fox pair, followed by the kinkajou. They came to stand before Troy, the black cat a little to one side, and the man caught little flickers of their unheard speech.
“Not one-to-be-obeyed — hunts in our paths — will let us walk free — ”
It was the black cat who continued as spokesman. “We shall hunt your way for you now, man. But we are free to go.”
“You are free to go. I share my path; I do not order you to walk upon it also.” He searched for phrases to express his acceptance of the bargain they offered and his willingness to be bound by their conditions. (in the wilderness, Troy knows that he needs the help of the animals more than they need his)
(ed note: Troy improvises a trap, which snares forest ranger Rerne.)
His gaze swept from Troy to a point nearer ground level. Troy follow the path of his eyes. Shang, Simba, Sargon, and Sheba had materialized in their usual noiseless fashion, were seated at their ease inspecting Rerne with that measuring stare Troy could still find disconcerting when it was turned in his direction. Sahiba came limping from the place where he had left her for safety.
“So — ” Rerne returned the steady-eyed regard of the animals, his expression eager. “These are the present most-wanted criminals of Korwar.”
“Most wanted, maybe,” — Troy’s voice was soft, cold, one he had never used before to any man outside the Dipple — “but not criminals, Rerne.”
“You know how they served Kyger?” Rerne asked almost casually.
“But you could not have been a part of that — or could you?” That last portion of the question might be one Rerne was asking himself — had been asking himself — for some time. He was studying Troy with a stare almost as unblinking as that Simba could turn upon one.
“No, I was not a part of Kyger’s schemes, whatever those were. And I did not kill him — if you have any doubts about that. But neither are we criminals.”
Troy took a step backward to join the half circle of animals. They stood together now, presenting a united front to the ranger. Rerne nodded.
“I see, it is indeed ‘we’.”…
…Troy sat back on his heels. Had Rerne been able to tune in on that conversation between Troy and the animals? But he was certain that the animals would have known of such eavesdropping and would have warned him.
“You communicate with the animals somehow,” Rerne continued. “And now you suspect that I can also.”
Troy nodded.
“Mental contact.” That was a stated fact, not a question. “No, I have been guessing only.”…
…“A truce, until we are out of here,” Rerne suggested. “I am willing to swear knife oath if you wish.”
Troy shook his head. “Your word, no oaths — if I accept.” He paid that much tribute openly to the ranger. “Truce and a head start for me, with them.”
“The chase will be up again,” Rerne warned. “You have no chance with the Clans out to quarter the field. Better surrender and let the law decide.”
“The law?” Troy laughed harshly. “Which law, Hunter Clan right, patrollers’ code, or Zul’s extermination policy? I know we are fair game. No, give me your promise that we can have a start of at least half a day.” (the forest rangers are the law outside of the cities, the police patrollers are the law inside the cities, Zul is part of the local organized crime syndicate who think "dead men tell no tales". Troy is from the slums of the Dipple, who are oppressed by all three)
“That is freely yours, for what you can make of it, which I am afraid will be very little.”
“We shall take our chances.”
“Always we. Why, Horan?” Rerne rubbed his wrists.
“Men have used animals as tools,” Troy said slowly, trying to fit into words something he did not wholly understand himself. “Now some men, somewhere, have made better tools, tools so good they can turn and cut the maker. But that is not the fault of the tools — that they are no longer tools but — ”
“Perhaps companions?” Rerne ended for him, his fingers still stroking his ridged flesh, but his eyes very intent on Troy.
“How did you know?” the younger man was startled into demanding.
“Let us say that I am also a workman who can admire fine tools, even when they have ceased, as you point out, to be any longer tools.”
Troy grasped at that hint of sympathy. “You understand — ”
“Only too well. Most of our breed want tools, not companions. And the age-old fear of man, that he will lose his supremacy, will bring all the hawks and hunters of the galaxy down on your trail, Horan. Do not expect any aid from your own species when it is threatened by powers it cannot and does not want to understand. But you will have your truce — and your head start — and what you do with them is up to you. Now, let us see what we can do about getting a clear road out of here before what prowls over there takes a fancy to come out.” Rerne waved a hand toward the jungle.
From CATSEYE by Andre Norton (1961)
INTELLIGENT OTTERS
artwork by Bob Eggleton
“Forget it, Sweeting. We’ll try calling the sledmen. Maybe they can help us find Ticos.”
“Find Tikkos!” Sweeting agreed. The furred shape shifted, flowed, came upright. Bracing short sturdy forelegs against the control panel, Sweeting peered at the sections of seascape and sky in the viewscreens, looked over at Nile. Seven and a half feet in length from nose to the tip of her muscular tail, she was the smaller of Nile’s pair of mutant hunting otters.
The otter snorted, dropped her head back on her forepaws, pretended to close her eyes. Sweeting’s kind might be the product of a geneticist’s miscalculation. Some twenty years before, a consignment of hunting otter cubs had reached (the planet) Nandy-Cline. They were a development of a preserved Terran otter strain, tailored for an oceanic existence. The coastal rancher who’d bought the consignment was startled some months later when the growing cubs began to address him in a slurrily chopped-up version of the Hub’s translingue. The unexpected talent didn’t detract from their value. The talkative cubs, playful, affectionate, handsomely pelted, sold readily, were distributed about the sea coast ranches and attained physical maturity in another year and a half. As water hunters or drivers and protectors of the sea herds, each was considered the equivalent of half a dozen trained men. Adults, however, sooner or later tended to lose interest in their domesticated status and exchanged it for a feral life in the sea, where they thrived and bred. During the past few years sledmen had reported encounters with sizable tribes of wild otters. They still spoke in translingue.
Nile’s pair, hand-raised from cubhood, had stayed. She wasn’t quite sure why. Possibly they were as intrigued by her activities as she was by theirs. On some subjects her intellectual processes and theirs meshed comfortably. On others there remained a wide mutual lack of comprehension. She suspected, though she’d never tried to prove it, that their overall intelligence level was very considerably higher than was estimated.
“Many thorns here,” the male (wild otter) assured Nile. “Stick in ten, twenty, and the tarm no trouble.”
She studied him thoughtfully. Sweeting could count … but these were wild otters. Attempts had been made to trace the original consignment of laboratory-grown cubs to its source. But the trail soon became hopelessly lost in the giant intricacies of (interstellar) Hub commerce; and no laboratory was found which would take responsibility for the development of a talking otter mutant. The cubs which had reached Nandy-Cline seemed to be the only members of the strain in existence.
For all practical purposes then, this was a new species, and evidently it was less than fifty years old. In that time it had progressed to the point of inventing workable dart blowguns and poisoned daggers. It might have an interesting future. Nile thought she knew the yellow bladder gum to which they referred. It contained a very fast acting nerve poison. What effect it would have on a creature with the tarm’s metabolism couldn’t be predicted, but the idea seemed worth trying.
Dr. Bowman secretly gave away the 14 Bowman's Wolves as pets, so they could learn socialization from humans. He didn't tell the humans that there was anything special about the pets, nor did he tell the corporation he was working for. Why spoil the surprise?
From FREEFALL by Mark Stanley
WOLVERINE SCOUTS
(ed note: Shann is up in the hills over the Survey base on a soon-to-be colonized planet. He is trying to find the two mutated wolverines that were maliciously set free by that rat bastard Thorvald, in an attempt to get Shann fired. Instead, Shann is safe as a Throg invasion force suddenly attacks the Survey base and blows it to Em-See-Squared.)
None of the men below who had been alive only minutes earlier had been close friends of his (especially that rat bastard Thorvald). Shann had never known anyone but acquaintances in his short, roving life. Most people had ignored him completely except to give orders, and one or two had been actively malicious—like Garth Thorvald. Shann grimaced at a certain recent memory, and then that grimace faded into wonder. If young Thorvald hadn't purposefully tried to get Shann into trouble by opening the wolverines' cage, Shann wouldn't be here now—alive and safe for a time—he'd have been down there with the others.
The wolverines! For the first time since Shann had heard the crackle of the Throg attack he remembered the reason he had been heading into the hills. Of all the men on the Survey team, Shann Lantee had been the least important. The dirty, tedious clean-up jobs, the dull routines which required no technical training but which had to be performed to keep the camp functioning comfortably, those had been his portion. And he had accepted that status willingly, just to have a chance to be included among Survey personnel. Not that he had the slightest hope of climbing up to even an S-E-Three rating in the service.
Part of those menial activities had been to clean the animal cages. And there Shann Lantee had found something new, something so absorbing that most of the tiring dull labor had ceased to exist except as tasks to finish before he could return to the fascination of the animal runs.
Wolverines, the ancient "devils" of the northlands on Terra, were being tried for the first time on Warlock. Their caution, a quality highly developed in their breed, made them testers for new territory. Able to tackle in battle an animal three times their size, they should be added protection for the man they accompanied into the wilderness. Their wide ranging, their ability to climb and swim, and above all, their curiosity were significant assets.
Shann had begun contact by cleaning their cages; he ended captivated by these miniature bears with long bushy tails. And to his unbounded delight the attraction was mutual. Alone to Taggi and Togi he was a person, an important person. Those teeth, which could tear flesh into ragged strips, nipped gently at his fingers. They closed without any pressure on arm, even on nose and chin in what was the ultimate caress of their kind. Since they were escape artists of no mean ability, twice he had had to track and lead them back to camp from forays of their own devising.
SUPERCHIMPS
The USAF wanted to use Chimpanzees on board of the Manned Orbital Laboratory. But if the chimpanzees would be cooperative with the USAF Astronauts is another question. Artwork by Michel Van (2014)
There were four superchimps ("simps") aboard Endeavour, though strictly speaking the name was inaccurate, because the ship’s non-human crew was not based on chimpanzee stock. In zero gravity, a prehensile tail is an enormous advantage, and all attempts to supply these to humans had turned into embarrassing failures. After equally unsatisfactory results with the great apes, the Superchimpanzee Corporation had turned to the monkey kingdom.
Blackie, Blondie, Goldie and Brownie had family trees whose branches included the most intelligent of the Old and New World monkeys, plus synthetic genes that had never existed in nature. Their rearing and education had probably cost as much as that of the average spaceman, and they were worth it. Each weighed less than thirty kilos and consumed only half the food and oxygen of a human being, but each could replace 2.75 men for house-keeping, elementary cooking, tool-carrying and dozens of other routine jobs.
That 2.75 was the Corporation’s claim, based on innumerable time-and-motion studies. The figure, though surprising and frequently challenged, appeared to be accurate, for simps were quite happy to work fifteen hours a day and did not get bored by the most menial and repetitious tasks. So they freed human beings for human work; and on a spaceship, that was a matter of vital importance.
Unlike the monkeys who were their nearest relatives Endeavour’s simps were docile, obedient and uninquisitive. Being cloned, they were also sexless, which eliminated awkward behavioural problems. Carefully house-trained vegetarians, they were very clean and didn’t smell; they would have made perfect pets, except that nobody could possibly have afforded them.
Despite these advantages, having simps on board involved certain problems. They had to have their own quarters — inevitably labelled ‘The Monkey House’. Their little mess-room was always spotless, and was well-equipped with TV, games equipment and programmed teaching machines. To avoid accidents, they were absolutely forbidden — to enter the ship’s technical areas; the entrances to all these were colour-coded in red, and the simps were conditioned so that it was psychologically impossible for them to pass the visual barriers.
There was also a communications problem. Though they had an equivalent IQ of sixty, and could understand several hundred words of English, they were unable to talk. It had proved impossible to give useful vocal chords either to apes or monkeys, and they therefore had to express themselves in sign language.
The basic signs were obvious and easily learned, so that everyone on board ship could understand routine messages. But the only man who could speak fluent Simpish was their handler — Chief Steward McAndrews.
It was a standing joke that Sergeant Ravi McAndrews looked rather like a simp — which was hardly an insult, for with their short, tinted pelts and graceful movements they were very handsome animals. They were also affectionate, and everyone on board had his favourite; Commander Norton’s was the aptly-named Goldie.
But the warm relationship which one could so easily establish with simps created another problem, often used as a powerful argument against their employment in space. Since they could only be trained for routine, low-grade tasks, they were worse than useless in an emergency; they could then be a danger to themselves and to their human companions. In particular, teaching them to use spacesuits had proved impossible, the concepts involved being quite beyond their understanding.
No one liked to talk about it, but everybody knew what had to be done if a hull was breached or the order came to abandon ship. It had happened only once; then the simp handler had carried out his instructions more than adequately. He was found with his charges, killed by the same poison. Thereafter the — job of euthing was transferred to the chief medical officer, who it was felt would have less emotional involvement.
From RENDEZVOUS WITH RAMA by Sir Arthur C. Clarke (1973)
Lumenna-Súnáris System
Talentar High Orbit
Liméri Station
Agricultural Torus B
Bícek-Qor-Eleven’s nose quivered. The dried liquid that had left these marks on the floor of the conduit smelled… sweet, and sharp. Not food. Trouble. His trouble. Sniffing, he set off down the line, following it back to its —
The trail ended. Eleven stopped, raised his head, sniffed again. Above. He scampered up the wall, and took a firm grip on a cableway with his tail, metallic skin-threads glistening. His front paws patted the insulation of the pipes, seeking moisture. There. He parted the insulation, pulling it aside, and touched his nose to the pipe surface. Leak.
Eleven pulled the tiny, half-inch canister of repair-spray from his jacket, applied it to the pipe, and listened to it hiss for a moment. He gripped the insulation with his teeth, pulling it back into place, then uncoiled his tail and dropped back to the floor of the conduit.
Central Operations
“Estrey? Take a look at this. That intermittent coolant leak we couldn’t find in the ag section; it looks like BQ11 just fixed it for us.”
“Well, I’ll be — see he gets some extra cheese at shift-end. Smart rat, that smart-rat.”
From QUIVER by Alistair Young (2015)
Stuff that went on the cutting-room floor included the entire sub-plot about the Final Structures left behind on Earth by the Eschaton (gates or wormholes leading ... somewhere else), the exploration team waiting for one to open so that they could go through them, and of course Fred.
Fred, Wednesday's talking cat sidekick and comic relief.
Non-human sidekicks have a long history in SF, for obvious reasons; there's a whole sub-genre of companion-animal fantasy (most recently skewered mercilessly by Elizabeth Bear and Sarah Monette in A Companion to Wolves). In the Eschaton universe there's a somewhat more clear-headed rationale for the existence of smarter-than-normal animals; they're tools, engineered for a purpose.
The High Evolutionary
Uplift is his jam
Genetically engineering a working animal is trying to walk the fine line of making a smarter living tool but not making the Conquest of the Planet of the Apes.
In an Uplift situation, the entire point was to engineer an animal species into a fellow intelligent race. Things are marginally less tense due to the fact that no attempt is being made to keep the animals enslaved.
Though in David Brin's science fiction universe when Species A uplifts an animal into Species B, by galactic law Species A has the right to hold Species B in indentured servitude for a mere 100,000 years as payment.
The earliest known example of the concept was H. G. Well's The Island of Doctor Moreau.
Other notable examples:
L. Sprague de Camp's "Johnny Black" stories (beginning with "The Command")
Olaf Stapledon's Sirius
Cordwainer Smith's Instrumentality of Mankind series features the "Underpeople:" various uplifted animals held in slavery. Most prominent is C'Mell, where the "C" denotes "uplifted cat".
David Brin's eponymous Uplift series. The amusing part is apparently every species in the galaxy arose from uplift, except for human beings. And of course the legendary sacred Progenitors.
Robert Heinlein's Jerry Was A Man.
In the Marvel Comics Universe, the High Evolutionary's main goal is uplift.
In Arthur C. Clarke's 2001 A Space Odyssey, humanity was uplifted from the apes by the star god monolith makers.
In Howard Taylor's Schlock Mercenary many of the mercenaries are uplifted species, such as elephants, gorillas and polar bears.
FLORENCE THE BOWMAN'S WOLF
Florence Ambrose is a Bowman's Wolf, a wolf uplifted by Dr. Bowman in the webcomic Freefall.
Character on the left is Florence, a Bowman's Wolf.
In other words, a local critter on planet Terra uplifted up to human, as proof-of-concept to uplifing a local critter on planet Pfouts.
Remember Franklin's 50/500 rule?
All of the robots on planet Jean have the same neural architechture as in Florence's genetically engineered brain. Which is hardly surprising since both were made by Dr. Bowman. Bowman's Wolves were a proof-of-concept for engineering creatures on planet Pfouts.
Dr. Bowman secretly gave away the 14 Bowman's Wolves as pets, so they could learn socialization from humans.
artwork by Jack Faragasso
artwork by Rick Sternbach
artwork by Richard Hescox
Note uplifted dolphins' proto-fingers
artwork by Jim Burns
Masters of Evolution
Concept art for GunBuster
From The Ballad of Lost C'Mell
Red Dressed Lady: C'Mell the cat-woman
Yellow Winged Man: E'telekeli the eagle-man
Border: various underpeople
artwork by Virgil Finlay
from The Beast-Jewel of Mars by Leigh Brackett. Artist unknown
In pulp scifi, Uplift's dark sibling is the dread horror of induced atavism. I specify pulp scifi because the concept is total bovine excreta. I mention it just in case you run across it.
It generally takes the form of some sort of drug or ray that will cause the victim to gradually "de-evolve" down the "evolutionary path" (which should alert you right away that this is total nonsense. Because there ain't no such thing as an evolutionary path.) The victim will first transform to become brutish, then turn into a pre-human ape, then into a giant lizard, and so on.
ATAVISM 1
artwork by Johnny Bruck
In the open door stood a hideous and incredible figure, a monstrosity out of a nightmare. It was a giant, hunched ape, hairy and abhorrent. Its squat figure wore a man’s zipper-suit of white synthesilk. In the too-tight garment, the creature looked like a gruesome travesty on humanity, its brutish, hairy face a bestial mask, jaws parted to reveal great fangs. Its eyes blazed with a cold glitter as it started into the room.
“Look out!” Bonnel yelled frantically. A white-faced guard in the dark uniform of the Planet Police appeared in the door. He leveled his flare-gun swiftly at the monstrous ape.
“Wait — don’t shoot!” James Carthew cried suddenly, as he looked into the monster’s hairy face. His warning was too late. The guard had seen nothing but an incredible, menacing creature advancing toward the President. He had squeezed the trigger. The little flare from the pistol struck the ape’s broad back. The creature’s bestial face contorted in sudden agony. With a deep, almost human groan, it collapsed.
James Carthew, with a cry of horror, jumped forward. His face was paper-white as he bent over the creature. The ape’s eyes, strange blue eyes, had a dying light in them as they looked up at the President. The creature strove to speak. From the hairy throat came a hoarse, gurgling rattle — dying words, thickened to a brutish growl, but dimly recognizable. “Jupiter — the Space Emperor — causing atavism —” the thing gasped hoarsely in dying accents. It sought to raise its head, its fading blue eyes weirdly human in agonized apprehension and appeal as they looked up at the President. “Danger from —” And then, as it sought to form another word, life ebbed swiftly, and the creature sank back, its eyes glazing.
“Dead!” Carthew exclaimed, trembling violently.
“My God, it talked!” cried the white-faced guard. “That ape — talked!”
“It’s not an ape. It’s a man!” said James Carthew hoarsely. He got to his feet. Guards and officials were running alarmedly into the office. “Get out — all of you,” Carthew whispered, making a gesture with his trembling hand. Horrified, still staring at the monstrous, hairy corpse on the floor, they withdrew and left the President and his secretary alone with the macabre corpse.
“Good God — those blue eyes — it couldn’t be Sperling!” cried the shuddering young secretary.
“Yes, it’s Sperling all right,” James Carthew said softly. “I recognized him, by his eyes, a moment too late. John Sperling, our best secret agent — transformed into that dead brute on the floor!”
“You sent him to investigate the horror on Jupiter, and he fell prey to it!” Bonnel exclaimed hoarsely. “He changed, like those others out there, from man to brute. Yet he was still man enough to try to get here and make his report!” The pale young secretary looked beseechingly at his chief. “What is it that’s causing that horrible wave of monstrosities out on Jupiter? Hundreds of cases in the last month — hundreds of men changing into apish brutes!”
“Whatever it is, it’s something bigger than just Jupiter,” Carthew whispered haggardly. “Suppose this strange plague spreads to the other planets — to Earth?” James Carthew was feeling the awful weight of his responsibility, in this moment. The nine planets from Mercury to Pluto had entrusted their welfare to his care. And now he felt the approach of a mysterious, dreadful peril, a dark and un-guessable horror spreading like subtle poison.
The first reports of the blight had come from Jupiter, weeks before. Out on that mightiest of planets, whose vast jungles and great oceans were still largely unexplored, there flourished a sizable Earth colony. Centering around the capital of Jovopolis were dozens of smaller towns of Earthmen, engaged in working mines, and timbering, and in great grain-growing projects.
From one of those colonial towns near Jovopolis had come the first incredible reports. Earthmen — changing into beasts! Earthmen inexplicably being transformed into ape-like animals, their bodies and minds becoming more brutish each day. A horrible retracing of the road of human evolution! The victims had become atavisms — biological throwbacks hurled down the ladder of evolution.
“There’s only one thing left to do,” he said purposefully. “I’m going to call Captain Future.”
The secretary stiffened. “Captain Future? But the whole world will know this is a perilous emergency, if you call him!”
“This is a perilous emergency!” exclaimed his superior. “We’ve got to call him. Televise the meteorological rocket-patrol base at Spitzbergen. Order them to flash the magnesium flare signal from the North Pole.”
They stepped into the cell-block. It was a windowless barracks with solid metal walls, lighted by a half-dozen glowing uranite bulbs in the ceiling. Cell doors were ranged along either side of the corridor which they had entered.
“These are cases of varying dates,” the pale girl told Curt. “Some of them are recent and are only apelike, but others are — you can see for yourself.” Curt went down the row of doors, peering through the gratings into the cells. The cells contained a nightmare assortment of ghastly horrors.
In some were huge ape-like creatures standing erect and beating with hairy fists at their doors, roars of rage coming from their throats. In others were creatures that were even more bestial, quadrupedal hairy brutes with pouched bodies and blazing feral eyes and wide jaws bristling with fangs. Still other cells held scaled green reptilian monsters shuffling forward on four limbs and crawling with their talons to reach Curt and Joan Randall.
Captain Future hung a curious lamp over the unconscious man. It was a long cylindrical glass tube that could project “tuned” X-rays which made either bone, blood or solid flesh tissue or nerve-tissue almost invisible, at will. Curt set the rays to block out the whole skin, skull, and outer tissues of the victim’s head. Then he donned the fluoroscopic spectacles that were part of the equipment, and slipped similar spectacles over the eye-lenses of Simon Wright. They could now look deep into the head of the victim as though he were semi-transparent.
“I believe,” Curt said tersely, “that this evolutionary blight is caused by a deep change in the ductless glands. We know that slight malfunctioning of the pituitary gland will produce acromegaly, in which the victim becomes brutish of body and mind. Suppose that the pituitary is really the secret control of physical evolution?”
“I understand,” said Simon, his lenses glittering. “You think that acromegaly, which has always been considered a mere disease, is really a case of mild atavism?”
Curt nodded his red head keenly. “That’s it, Simon. And if a man found a way to paralyze the pituitary gland completely, then the resulting atavism would not be just mild but would become worse each day, the victim reverting farther each day to the brute!”
“Let’s look at the pituitary gland and see,” said Simon Wright. Intently, they scrutinized the big gland that was attached to the base of the victim’s brain by a thin stalk.
“See the dark color of the gland!” Captain Future exclaimed. “That’s abnormal — the pituitary of this man has been subjected to some freezing or paralyzing radiation!” He straightened his big figure, and there was a gleam in his gray eyes as he took off the fluoroscopic glasses. “What we’ve got to do is to devise some way of starting the paralyzed pituitaries of the stricken man,” he said. “Do you think we could find a counter-radiation that would do it?”
“I doubt it, lad,” muttered Simon Wright. “It seems to me that our best chance would be to devise a chemical formula that could be injected directly into the victims’ bloodstream and which would reach their glands in that way.”
From CAPTAIN FUTURE AND THE SPACE EMPEROR by Edmond Hamilton (1940)
In a rocketpunk future where there exists civilian and corporate owned spacecraft, a ship owner won't hire a new crew-member if they are unqualified for the job. Crew-members will be "certified" for various positions: pilot, engineer, medic, etc. A spacer will have their certifications in something like a resume. The owner will want to see the resume of all potential hires to filter out unqualified applicants.
Some certifications will have to be kept current with periodic re-testing. This is much like how modern-day people have to periodically renew their drivers license. This is to prove: [a] the spacer still remembers how to do that job and [b] the spacer is up to speed on any new equipment or other innovations that have appeared since their last renewal.
If things have become really fossilized, spacers may be forced to join some species of Spacer's Guild.
SPACER'S TICKET
(ed note: Moses is at the spaceport starship crew hiring hall, looking to hire a pilot)
And it was to the ground floor of Government House that Moses Callahan came, to the offices of the Bureau of Shipping and Mariner’s Hall: two small, aged rooms, all the space deemed necessary to attend to the shore-side end of the thread that linked the worlds. The holograms in Mariner’s Hall parted as he walked through them, looking for the roster of available pilots. Deck crew, engineers, stewards…the listings were thin, shot through with large gaps where blocks of names had been stricken oil. The arrival of the major lines was having its effect. The pool of available independent spacers was draining rapidly as trained men and women anticipated the coming dearth of independent berths and lifted out in the first available spaces. The independents were fleeing Hybreasil. Sometime in the next year or so they would begin to cluster again, on some less prominent world farther out, and the cycle of development and supplantation would recommence, closer to the expanding frontier.
The pilot’s block was empty—almost.
There was one name, far down the translucent blue block, on a line with Moses’ knee. He knelt and stared unhappily at the line of pale script. Deacon James Hallorhan—the name meant nothing to Moses, conjured up no face out of the circle of spacers Callahan had met in his twenty-nine years of faring. But he was there on the board, with a valid certification code and a current registration number—and according to the date displayed he had been sitting inport for the last three months, in subsidized Mission lodgings. Moses didn’t have to look up at the master board to check his numbers—there had been one independent and three corporate ships through Hybreasil in those three months, and none of them had seen fit to sign this pilot. That just didn’t happen; everybody needed pilots. They jumped from independent to independent the way fleas jumped from dog to dog, and the bigger corporate-line ships would always sign on a licensed pilot, if only for deep manpower reserve. The turnover was such that a good pilot could write his own ticket and a merely competent one was still assured of a berth on some ship or other. Only the dregs, the incompetents, the druggies, the heavy drinkers, or the bizarros sat grounded for any length of time, particularly on a corporation-served world. Moses wondered what was wrong with this Deacon James Hallorhan—and then he wondered why he bothered to wonder. He was in no position to be fussy.
He stood and brushed through the holograms to the waiting clerk.
"I'm Moses Callahan, captain, of the Wild Goose, registered on Og Eirrin. I’d like to meet with Ship’s Pilot Deacon Hallorhan, if he's available, with a view toward his signing articles.”
“Certainly, Captain,” the clerk said. “I'll have him paged, if you’d care to wait here.”
“No, that’s all right,” Moses said. “Have him meet me in the lounge, please.”
“Of course, sir. Anything to get him off our hands.”
“Oh, wonderful.”
“Captain Callahan?”
He was a young man, tall and slightly stooped, with a shock of unruly black hair escaping from under the brim of his crumpled Fleet Issue yard cap. His tunic hung loosely on wide, bony shoulders, its empty folds suggesting that there might once have been more to Deacon Hallorhan than now met the eye.
He looked as though he hadn’t slept a day in his life.
“Deacon Hallorhan?” Callahan asked.
“Deke,” he said, shrugging. “Or Deacon. Whatever. You’re Captain Callahan?”
“The same. Take a seat.” Callahan signaled for the waiter. “What’ll you have?”
“Richfield, as long as you’re buying.”
"You’ve got expensive tastes for someone who’s been grounded for three months.”
“There isn’t much to spend back pay on in a House flat.”
“No."
“Besides, try drinking the local stuff and you won’t have any taste at all. I think they put the cans inside the beer down here.”
Moses chuckled. “You’re the second person who’s told me that today.”
“So consider yourself warned.”
“Thanks.” Moses’ grin faded. “To business, then. I’m after needing a pilot, Deacon, and Mariner’s Hall shows you as the only one available.”
“Uh-huh. For the last three months. And that worries you.”
“Just so.”
Hallorhan reached into his tunic. “I guess you’ll want to see my book.” He pulled out a slim bound folio, his spacer’s ticket—identification, passport, and job history all in one. No honest spacer ever willingly parted with it, or hesitated to show it to a prospective employer.
It told Moses nothing he wanted to hear.
Deacon James Hallorhan, thirty-four, one meter ninety-one centimeters tall, weight ninety-eight kilograms (that had certainly changed), hair black, eyes blue. Served with the Confederate Fleet Arm, Mishima Flotilla, honorably discharged with a small pension, medical reasons, mustered out with the adjusted rank of lieutenant—
Moses frowned at the book. If it was an honorable discharge, why the pension? Why not a medical discharge? Why the adjusted rank upon mustering out? Moses had never heard of a rank adjusted in the individual’s favor…
—attended the Merchant Academy of Nova Genoa on veteran’s benefits; picked up his pilot’s ticket there. Nova Genoa had a fine academy. A ticket from NGMA was a plus for any spacer. But—
“You picked up your ticket after your discharge, Deacon?”
“What was your occupation with Fleet?”
“Marine Infantry. The Two-twenty-third.”
“From Marine Infantry to pilot?”
“It’s easier on the feet. And I figured the hours would be better.”
Moses touched the page tab and the infinitely divisible hologram block flickered to display Hallorhan’s employment history: The Amerigo from Nova Genoa to Hansen System, eighteen months aboard. The Datter Mi from Wolkenheim to the Arcadian Worlds, nine months aboard. The Industrious from Peng’s Paradise to the West Star system and Hybreasil.
And not one ship's master had a negative word to say about Deacon Hallorhan. All his releases were on good terms, his profit shares and salary well within the expected range for a competent pilot. And the reference comments were the same for each ship. “Services Most Acceptable.” “Entirely Competent.” “Performance Entirely Adequate,” Yet for all that acceptability, competence, and adequacy, each ship had let him leave—and that just didn’t ring true.
Shipmasters simply didn't let go of capable pilots without a fight; they were too valuable. Captains might handle a ship’s profits and losses, and handle the actual FTL transitions themselves; engineers might keep a ship running; stewards might keep a ship’s passengers fat and happy. But pilots got the ships on and off the ground in one piece. If a pilot could find the ground right side up, captains would raise their salaries, fatten their shares, even alter their routes if the pilot was good enough. Yet Industrious, Datter Mi, and Amerigo hadn’t done that. “You’re a perfectly good pilot,” they had said to Deacon Hallorhan, “good-bye.”
It was wrong. Moses found himself suddenly, intensely suspicious of the bland, approving tone of those brief recommendations. A spacer’s ticket was a permanent record. Faced with that permanence, a great many masters had let go marginal crew in the past with an attitude of saying nothing at all if they couldn’t say anything nice. Moses had fattened more than one ticket in just that manner himself in his day.
“I'm afraid I’m going to commit a breach of spacer’s etiquette,” Moses said. “Why did you leave Industrious?”
Hallorhan smiled, without much enthusiasm. “I walked out, Captain, I wasn’t thrown out. Do the details matter?”
“Maybe they do.”
Hallorhan nodded, once. “You’re right. That is a breach of etiquette, Captain.”
“I know it,” Callahan said, “and I wouldn’t ask, usually. But you've got an uncommon book here, Deacon. You go from playing soldier to piloting starships. You’ve got discharge terms I’ve never heard of. And you’ve got three captains here that each say you’re a perfectly good pilot, and each one of them let you go. Now, what kind of captain lets a perfectly good pilot go?”
“Those three did. Maybe you should ask them that.”
“And wouldn't it be nice if I could?” Moses said. “But I can’t. So I’m asking you.”
Hallorhan stood. “I think this was a mistake. Thanks for the beer.”
“Hold it there,” Callahan said. “I am getting very tired of everybody I meet on this slag heap carrying on as if they haven’t a care in the world when they’re in as deep a hole as I am. Now if I don’t take you on, Deacon, chances are very, very good that there won’t be another independent through here for another six months. This planet’s going corporate-line, and the smart folk are getting out of the way. On top of that, Mission House isn't going to be too happy if you keep hanging around here. They don’t like people setting up housekeeping in House lodgings for life, and if you try to hang on here much longer, they’re just liable to line you up a charity berth on the next scow as comes inport, and see that you get on it. They can do that, you know.”
“Yeah,” Hallorhan said glumly. “I know they can.”
“Now, I need a pilot, and you’re the only pilot available, but I’ll be damned if I’ll put you under articles before I’m certain you’re no hazard to my ship. So if you don’t want to answer my question, you go ahead and walk. But if you want a berth on my ship, you will by God talk to me.”
Moses watched as Hallorhan stared past him, coming to a decision.
“They’d gone as far as they were going,” he said. “They were going to start back toward Mishima Sector, complete their circuits. I’ve been there, Captain. All I want from Mishima Sector is away.”
“Old war stories, Lieutenant?”
“Something like that,” Hallorhan said.
“Well, that’s nothing I have to know about. So you’ll only work the outbound leg? You’ll out a hell of a piece off your share that way.”
“The money doesn’t matter. The going does.”
“All right.” Callahan put out his hand. “You’re under articles, if you want to be.”
“I want. What are you flying?”
“The Wild Goose, Dock Nine. She’s a, Wander Bird short-vector tramp, you can’t miss her.”
“A Wander Bird? That's a pretty well-established class.”
“Which is your polite way of saying she’s a prehistoric tub.”
“Hell, no. I’ve seen—and flown—older, Captain.”
“But not much,” Callahan said.
“Well, no…”
“I thought not. She’s an antique, all right. But she’s my antique.”
From THE SHATTERED STARS by Richard S. McEnroe (1984)
SPACE PAPERS
Early morning found Captain Steve Strong in his quarters, standing at the window and staring blankly out over the quadrangle. In his left hand he clutched a sheaf of papers. He had just reread, for the fifth time, a petition for reinstatement of space papers for Al Mason and Bill Loring. It wasn’t easy, as Strong well knew, to deprive a man of his right to blast off and rocket through space, and the papers in question, issued only by the Solar Guard, comprised the only legal license to blast off.
Originally issued as a means of preventing overzealous Earthmen from blasting off without the proper training or necessary physical condition, which resulted in many deaths, space papers had gradually become the only effective means of controlling the vast expanding force of men who made space flight their life’s work. With the establishment of the Spaceman's Code a hundred years before, firm rules and regulations for space flight had been instituted. Disobedience to any part of the code was punishable by suspension of papers and forfeiture of the right to blast off.
One of these rules stated that a spaceman was forbidden to blast off without authorization or clearance for a free orbit from a central traffic control. Bill Loring and Al Mason were guilty of having broken the regulation. Members of the crew of the recent expedition to Tara, a planet in orbit around the sun star Alpha Centauri, they had taken a rocket scout and blasted off without permission from Major Connel, the commander of the mission, who, in this case, was authorized traffic-control officer. Connel had recommended immediate suspension of their space papers. Mason and Loring had petitioned for a review, and, to assure impartial judgment, Commander Walters had sent the petition to one of his other officers to make a decision. The petition had landed on Strong's desk.
Strong read the petition again and shook his head. The facts were too clear. There had been flagrant disregard for the rules and there was no evidence to support the suspended spacemen’s charge that they had been unjustly accused by Connel. Strong's duty was clear. He had to uphold Major Connel's action and suspend the men for a year.
From DANGER IN DEEP SPACE by Carey Rockwell (1953)
SPACE RATING
artwork by Frank Kramer
(ed note: wet-behind-the-ears angry-young-man Lieutenant Riggs is upset with space academy instructor Major Phil Hawley. Riggs is too stupid to realize there might be a method in Hawley's madness.)
Burt continued to laugh as they walked across the paved court toward their barracks. “I guess we all feel the same way about the old boy (Major Phil Hawley). He sure lets you know he doesn’t think much of your mental capacity.”
Riggs flared up again as they turned into the walk leading to the long translucent building where they lived. “Why, hell, it’s just his inferiority complex. He feels funny about being short, that’s all. That’s the only reason he keeps on trying out for his space rating year after year. He likes to wave it in front of us. It makes him think he’s better than he knows he is. The dope.”
Burt looked over at his roommate. “Well, I don’t know. You can’t blame him much for being proud of that. He’s the oldest man ever to hold a rating. Most pilots are washed out five years before his time. He must be thirty-five by now,”
“Sure, sure, I know. It’s remarkable for a man to keep his responses, and all that, but it’s the way he does it.”
(ed note: Lieutenant Riggs is ordered to report to Major General, base commander of Patrol Base Terra)
Conklin reached over to a basket and picked up several sheets of typed paper. “You’re leaving on patrol duty in two weeks,” the commander announced. “This is to notify you of your temporary promotion to the rank of captain, for the ninety-day duration of the patrol.”
Riggs blinked at the unexpected news, and managed to gurgle, “Yes, sir.”
Conklin laid the paper down and leaned forward. “This is also to notify you. Captain Riggs, that you have been selected as examiner for your alternate pilot when on patrol. You. of course, know the obligation of keeping this appointment absolutely" confidential,”
“Yes, sir,” Riggs said again.
“You've been promoted, captain, so that you may be first officer and copilot. You are to observe the technique of your superior officer at the controls and decide whether his space rating should be continued for another year.” He looked up at the erect figure before him. “Major Hawley" will be in command.” He said, noticing Riggs’ start as he did so. “I don't need to tell you that your mission will be of more than usual delicacy, and for reasons that I don’t have to bring up at this time.”
He paused for a moment, while Riggs’ whirling mind reflected that “unusual delicacy" was hardly the epithet. Examiner for Philo Hawley! What an assignment!
Riggs saluted. “Sir,” he said diffidently, “may I have a few words with you, off the record?”
“Certainly. Go ahead.”
“Well, sir, much as I appreciate this temporary" promotion, and a chance to show that I deserve it. I think it only fair to make clear that I may be a rather poor choice for examiner. Major Hawley and I don’t get along very well together. To be frank, we don’t get along at all, and I’m afraid I would be rather prejudiced.”
Conklin leaned back in his swivel chair and laughed. “Well, Riggs," lie chuckled, “I don’t know whom I could have selected from his classes who would not have felt the same way. Hawley’s classroom technique is just a little this side of brutal, but I think you'll find him a very good man to work under on patrol. As a matter of fact, I have reason to believe that Hawley respects you as much as any of his students. I don’t think you’ll have any undue difficulty. I’m glad you had the honesty to admit your bias, captain,” he said in conclusion.
(ed note: translation: It's A Trap)
Hawley looked across to Riggs, who was trying to make his twenty-four years look sufficiently dignified to justify his rank. “You take this one,” the commander said, “I'm a little stale, I haven’t shot a landing in nine months.”
“Yes, sir,” Riggs replied, wondering whether Hawley would keep pushing the landings off on him. They were approaching the second planet of the greenish sun, a barren orb, with no atmosphere to complicate the landing. Price and Mercer had already located the observatory, on the light side of the planet, and were calculating their position, both calculating machines alternately clicking and whirring as the co-ordinates of position were entered and run off.
Now less than a hundred kilometers from the smooth and barren surface of their objective, Riggs threw over the landing rocket switch, cutting in the hydrocarbon steering rockets for the landing. “O. K., Price,” he snapped, his voice hollow and strange inside his helmet.
The computer (meaning the crewperson with the job title "computer", not some kind of electronic device. This is 1939 after all) immediately clipped out three figures, designating their position relative to their objective.
Motions automatic from long and constant practice, Riggs soon had the Little Falls directly over the landing base next to the observatory, lowering the ship vertically in the simplest kind of a landing. Price's voice barked three figures into Riggs’ headset every fewr seconds, but now two of them were always zeros as Riggs kept the ship directly over the field, indicating that there was no northsouth or east-west displacement. As they came within hundreds of meters of the surface, velocity almost killed, Riggs laid the ship over on its side and lowered it smoothly on flaring steering rockets, grounding it with scarcely a jar.
Hawley glanced at the gauge before he left the board. “You used almost all the fuel allowed for a point six G landing. Riggs,” he noted.
The copilot nodded. “Yes, sir, no sense cutting the first one too fine. Landing is no time to make a mistake.”
Hawley smiled archly. “Wise words, captain,” he drawled.
Riggs kept his eyes averted to conceal his ire, mentally kicking himself for the slip. Conklin’s words that Hawley was |b good man to work under on patrol rang mockingly in his ears. He was thankful that the routine of servicing the observatory kept them apart for the next few minutes, until he had time to cool down.
The copilot, ever conscious of his secret mission, made every effort to keep his' relations with his superior as impersonal as possible, always fearing an open rupture between them. He was forced to admit, however, that Hawley was apparently all that a pilot should be. After the first landing, which he had wished off on Riggs, the commander alternated on landings with his copilot, making smooth, sound approaches under varying conditions of gravity and atmospheric pressure, never showing the slightest hesitation or confusion.
Riggs secretly permitted himself to wonder, however, just how Hawley would fare should he have to land the ship from any position other than the vertical. The commander had made no “fancy” approaches, always carefully bringing the Little Falls directly over their objective before letting down. Riggs, as a matter of policy, had not attempted any angle approaches, afraid that Hawley would look upon them as a personal challenge, and even more afraid of his subtly scornful remarks, so delicately concealed beneath routine conversation.
The navigator and computer were unable to get adequate observations on the observatory, with the result that Hawley was forced at the last moment to change his course and attempt an angle approach. Riggs tensed himself as Mercer finally located the observatory, well off to one side—too far to permit a vertical descent.
To the copilot’s surprise, Hawley did not ask the computer for an equation to express the optimum course of the Little Falls through the moon's atmosphere to the ground. Instead he sat silently at the controls, listening to the co-ordinates Mercer snapped out from instant to instant. Riggs’ mind flew as he tried to work out the equation in his head, as Hawley was undoubtedly doing;—the equation which would describe the parabolic curve that they were following through the murk. He marveled at the major's confidence in his mental computations, descending as he was, to an objective that was completely shrouded in mists. He felt the ship lay over on its side and waited tensely for the crash as it grounded. But Hawley dropped it to the muddy surface with scarcely a jar. In spite of himself, Riggs could not repress an ejaculation of relief and amazement at the landing.
He regretted it in an instant as Hawley shot him a twinkling glance, a glance that made his “Not bad for an old man, eh, Riggs?’’ completely redundant.
Riggs seethed inwardly at Hawley’s all-too-apparent condescension, wishing fitfully that he could talk to somebody about it. The old dope, proud of his mental calculation, was he? Thought he was pretty good to hear a computer snap out three co-ordinates every five seconds and to transform them into a fourthpower parabolic equation. Well, there was more than 'one man in the world who could do it, Riggs reflected. He had kept abreast of Hawley’s mental mathematics. If he hadn’t known they were making the grade, he would have taken those controls away, major or no major.
Although Riggs was pleased to find that his superior could act and talk like an ordinary human being if given chance enough, he retained his resolve to at least equal Hawley’s approach on the next landing he shot. Accordingly he approached the second planet of Rigel II at a sharp angle to the surface, and, like Hawley, requesting no predetermined equations from the computer, quickly set up a parabolic equation of the fifth power of the potential series to describe the course of the spaceship, and began the necessary mental substitutions and subtractions as he tried to determine how far the Little Falls was departing from the course he had set up. Almost subconsciously he could hear Mercer working his calculator (mechanical adding machine, there are no electronic computers in the story), while Price called out the co-ordinates. That meant that Mercer didn’t trust him, that the navigator was substituting the co-ordinates that the Little Falls was cutting in an effort to determine whether Riggs was conforming to any general equation.
In spite of the apparent doubts of the navigator, Riggs successfully landed the Little Falls without further aid from either the navigator or the computer than the co-ordinates that Price called.
Hawley made absolutely no comment on the landing. The rather pointed silence of the computer and navigator, who both were well aware that the two pilots had performed remarkable feats of mental calculation under extreme pressure, made it clear that all four in the control room realized that Riggs had accepted Hawley’s challenge. They realized Riggs was willing to match any feats of piloting the older man performed.
THE copilot was not to be disappointed. Shooting the next landing, on planet three of Rigel II, Hawley performed the almost impossible feat of using only one steering jet until he laid the ship over on her side for the grounding.
The strain, while hard on the two pilots, was worse on the computer and navigator. After a particularly spectacular exhibition of a spiral approach at high velocity by Hawley on planet seven of Rigel II, Mercer approached Riggs while Hawley was leading the service crew to the observatory.
"Pardon me, captain,” he said, saluting. “Perhaps I’m speaking out of turn, but this contest between you and Hawley rs getting pretty extreme.” He stopped and gulped, half expecting a severe reprimand. Riggs grimaced for a moment before he answered the navigator.
“You’re right, Mercer,” he finally said. “Hawley undoubtedly can do anything any pilot in the Patrol can. I don’t think he’s run out of tricks yet. I suppose I could match that one of mentally calculating a three-dimensional curve to a blind spot, but I'd like to do it alone, instead of with nine other guys behind me. I think I’ll call the whole thing off at the next landing.”
“Yes, sir,” Mercer murmured. “I hope you don’t think I've been impertinent, sir,” he half asked.
“Oh, no, Mercer.” the copilot answered. “Hell, I don’t see how you guys have stood it this long. It’s damned lucky that the boys in the back end didn't know what was going on. Some of them who don’t have space ratings would have gone nuts.”
“That’s just it. captain,” Mercer said, a little smile forming in the corners of his mouth. “Price let on that you two were having a sort of contest, and Clark has gone half insane every time one or the other of you tried something harder. It wouldn’t have been so bad if you were just filling in co-ordinates on some curve equation I’d figured out for you, but this stuff of forming your own equation as you landed had them all scared. I don’t think I would have spoken if the men below hadn’t asked me to.”
Shooting the landing in his regular turn, Hawley's approach was entirely conventional, dropping straight down from over his objective. But as the Little Falls lowered on drumming rockets, the ship swung from line, and the long succession of zeros with which Price had prefixed his altitude figures rapidly became numbers indicating that Hawley had badly botched the approach. Instead of altering his approach into a sharp angle, and repeating his performances on the planets of Rigel II, the commander blasted the Little Falls back to altitude and started his approach once more, only to become badly confused again. This time he attempted to save the landing by converting it into an angle approach, but the tense Riggs, following the co-ordinates that Price was barking out, quickly realized that Hawley was still messing the landing.
The commander shook his head savagely and swore. He took his hands from the controls and snarled, “Take over!” to Riggs, who elected to blast back to altitude and try a straight approach to straightening out Hawley’s extremely incorrect position.
The silence that reigned in the control room after Riggs grounded the ship made those that had regularly occurred during the landings of the planets of Rigel II seem trifling. All four carefully kept their eyes averted to prevent what each knew would be the exchange of a knowing glance. Hawley made matters no easier by remaining in a surly and disgruntled mood, obviously disturbed over his clumsy mistake.
Contrary to what Riggs had expected, Hawley’s next approach was excellent, in spite of the fact that it was made under extremely unfavorable conditions of gravity and visibility. He had half expected Hawley to become confused again, remembering how easy it was to lose that keen edge of self-confidence and instantaneous, doubt-free response necessary to land a spaceship on her rockets. The commander, while rather, sullen, grounded the ship perfectly, and repeated the performance three times thereafter in his turn.
The copilot found himself worrying long before they headed back for Earth, what he would report to the board of examiners. One bad landing was usually enough to cause at least a complete examination of the case, Riggs knew, even in the case of young pilots, and in Hawley’s instance, he felt sure, any report of loss of confidence might suffice to cost the aging pilot his space rating.
(ed note:like I said, it was a trap. Riggs thought he was giving Hawley the space rating exam. Actually it was the other way around. Hawley's failed landing was a put-up job, just to see how Riggs would react. Riggs got his space rating, but Hawley noted while Riggs was a great pilot, he was a bit naïve not to recognize that the failed landing was a deliberate test.)
From SPACE RATING by John Berryman (1939)
I’d spun out my cash as far as I could by helping in a bar on the port—discovering that what went over with the Bears (humans of sector Ursa Major) failed miserably here—when Lugath turned up.
Lugath was so unlike the Centaur (humans of sector Centaurus) officers I’d met until then that, had he not been commanding a ship under Centaur registry, I’d hardly have credited his claim to citizenship in this sector. For one thing, he showed harrassment, which Centaurs regarded as undignified. For another, he addressed me as a fellow man. And he came rapidly to the point.
“They tell me you can handle four-space drivers (starship engines).”
I produced my certificates. Of course, the fact that they were heavily overstamped with Bear merit endorsements had weighed against me in Centaur space. Still, they were what I had—and they were good.
I half expected Lugath to curl his lip and walk away on seeing so many Bear stamps. Instead, he merely commented, “You’ve served mostly in Bear space, I see.”
I shrugged and nodded—as Thoder would have said, to no point.
She drew back. Peter said sharply, “Are you afraid that we did? Are you a criminal?”
“No. But as my body has told you, even if my papers do not, I’m a Martian, and we have our own ways of arranging matters.”
It was a trouble-saver that the screened interrogators had not taken or destroyed my papers. I could have got others easily, but they would have lacked the many merit stamps the Bears had added lately.
From BORN UNDER MARS by John Brunner (1966)
SERVICE BRACELET
If the yellow man was an oddity, the man who sat waiting for Troy to cross his office was almost as great a surprise. Horan had seen many of the merchants of Tikil, and all of them had been glittering objects indeed. Their jewels, their ultrafashionable dress, their eye-catching coiffures had all been designed as advertisements to attract general attention.
But Kyger, if this was Kyger, was no such starburst. His muscular body was covered with a hora-silk half tunic and kilt, but the color was a dark and sober blue, and he wore no jewels at all. On his right wrist was the broad service bracelet of a veteran spacer with at least two constellations starring its sweep, while his skull was completely shaven as if to accommodate the helmet of a scout-ship man. The bareness of that deeply tanned stretch of skin made the red, puckered scar down along his right ear the more noticeable. Troy wondered fleetingly why he chose to keep that disfiguring brand; plastic surgery could have erased it completely.
SPACER'S BRACELET
When the hiring light on the big board lit up, Torwald sauntered toward the office. The man behind the desk was typical of those who worked for the port authorities or spacing companies but never got into space themselves: neat uniform, bored face. Torwald unclipped the gold spacer’s bracelet from his wrist and handed it to the officer, who fed it into his computer console. The bracelet carried his naval and merchant service records—at least the official parts of both. His eyebrows rose fractionally as he read the printout. “There are two Class Ones of the Satsuma Line out there,” he said, “and the Four Planet Line Starvoyager. With your qualifications, I could line you up with a berth in any of them.”
“Not interested. What about the tramps?”
“Oh, sorry,” the young officer said affably. “You have a psych problem?”
“Yeah, I hate stuffed uniforms.”
“Well, let’s see. There’s the Space Angel. She’s looking for a quartermaster. Captain interviewed all day yesterday and rejected everybody we sent over. Granted, they had ail been rejected by the lines, but that’s getting awfully picky. None of them had your skills, though. I’d say she’s your best bet.”
“Sounds good. Captain interviewing yet?”
“In about an hour. I’ll page you when I get the word.”
When Torwald and Kelly were far forward on the ship, Torwald took a ladder leading to the upper deck. The ladder ended a few paces from the bridge. Torwald knocked at the hatch again.
“Stand inside,” They entered.
“So, this is the new boy?” The woman looked Kelly up and down, without expression. “What’s your name?”
“Kelly, ah, Ma’am.”
“The proper form of address is Captain or Skipper. There’s also Gertie, but I’ll kick your behind the length of this ship if you ever use it while aboard. On this ship, Skipper is customary. Kelly what? Do you have another name?”
“No, Ma—Skipper. It was the only name I had when the orphanage picked me up in the refugee camp, so…”
“Kelly it is, then,” she said, punching some keys on her console. With a click, a thin, flexible gold band extruded from a slot. She took the band and clipped it around Kelly’s right wrist.
“You are now a spacer aboard the tramp Space Angel. Your rank is Probationary Spaceman, Second Class. Once per ship-month you and the rest of the crew will turn in your bracelets to me to have your record updated.”
From SPACE ANGEL by John Maddox Roberts (1979)
ID PLATE
THE LANKY, VERY young man in the ill-fitting Trader’s tunic tried to stretch the cramp out of his long legs. You’d think, Dane Thorson considered the point with a certain amount of irritation, the man who designed these under-surface transcontinental cars would take into mind that there would be tall passengers — not just midgets — using them. Not for the first time he wished that he could have used air transport. But he had only to finger the money belt, too flat about his middle, to remember who and what he was — a recruit new to the Service, without a ship or backer.
There was his muster pay from Training Pool, and a thin pad of crumpled credit slips which remained from the sale of all those belongings which could not follow him into space. And he had his minimum kit — that was the total sum of his possessions — except for that slender wafer of metal, notched and incised with a code beyond his reading, which would be his passport to what he determined was going to be a brighter future.
They had come by air — the best was none too good for Artur and his crowd. Why hadn’t they been to the cargo department assignment Psycho before this? Why had they waited the extra hour — or had they spent their last truly free time sightseeing? Surely — Dane knew a little lift of heart at the thought — it couldn’t be that they were dubious about the machine’s answer too?
But that hope was quenched as he joined them in time to hear Artur expound his favourite theme.
“The machine impartial! That’s just the comet dust they feed you back at the Pool. Sure, we know the story they set up — that a man has to be fitted by temperament and background to his job, that each ship has to carry a well integrated crew — but that’s all moon gas! When Inter-Solar wants a man, they get him — and no Psycho fits him into their ships if they don’t want him! That’s for the guys who don’t know how to fire the right jets — or haven’t brains enough to look around for good berths. I’m not worrying about being stuck on some starving Free Trader on the fringe — “
Ricki and Hanlaf were swallowing every word of that. Dane didn’t want to. His belief in the incorruptibility of the Psycho was the one thing he had clung to during the past few weeks when Artur and those like him had strutted about the Pool confident about their speedy transition to the higher levels of Trade.
He had preferred to believe that the official statements were correct, that a machine, a collection of impulses and relays which could be in no way influenced, decided the fate of all who applied for assignment to off-world ships. He wanted to believe that when he fed his ID plate into the Psycho at the star port here it would make no difference that he was an orphan without kin in the service, that the flatness of his money belt could not turn or twist a decision which would be based only on his knowledge, his past record at the Pool, his temperament and potentialities.
But doubt had been planted and it was that lack of faith which worked on him now, slowing his pace as they approached the assignment room. On the other hand Dane had no intention of allowing Artur or either of his satellites to guess he was bothered.
So a stubborn pride pushed him forward to be the first of the four to fit his ID into the waiting slot. His fingers twitched to snatch it back again before it disappeared, but he controlled that impulse and stood aside for Artur.
The Psycho was nothing but a box, a square of solid metal — or so it looked to the waiting apprentices. And that wait might have been easier, Dane speculated, had they been able to watch the complicated processes inside the bulk, could have seen how those lines and notches incised on their plates were assessed, matched, paired, until a ship now in port and seeking apprentices was found for them.
Long voyages for small crews sealed into star spacers, with little chance for recreation or amusement, had created many horrible personnel problems in the past. Some tragic cases were now required reading in the “History of Trade” courses at the Pool. Then came the Psycho and through its impersonal selection the right men were sent to the right ships, fitted into the type of work, the type of crew where they could function best with the least friction. No one at the Pool had told them how the Psycho worked — or how it could actually read an ID strip. But when the machine decided, its decision was final and the verdict was recorded — there was no appeal.
That was what they had been taught, what Dane had always accepted as fact, and how could it be wrong?
His thoughts were interrupted by a gong note from the machine, one ID strip had been returned, with a new line on its surface. Artur pounced. A moment later his triumph was open.
“Inter-Solar’s Star Runner. Knew you wouldn’t let the old man down, boy!” He patted the flat top of the Psycho patronizingly. “Didn’t I tell you how it would work for me?”
Ricki nodded his head eagerly and Hanlaf went so far as to slap Artur on the back. Sands was the magician who had successfully pulled off a trick.
The next two sounds of the gong came almost together, as the strips clicked in the holder on top of one another. Ricki and Hanlaf scooped them up. There was disappointment on Ricki’s face.
“Martian-Terran Incorporated — the Venturer,” he read aloud. And Dane noted that the hand with which he tucked his ID into his belt was shaking. Not for Ricki the far stars and big adventures, but a small berth in a crowded planetary service where there was little chance for fame or fortune.
Hanlaf started to walk away and Ricki was already at the door, as if his assignment had removed him forever from the ranks of those who mattered — when the gong sounded for the fourth time. With a speed the average observer would not have credited to him, Dane moved. His hands flashed under Artur’s fingers and caught the ID before the smaller youth could grab it.
There was no bright line of a Company insignia on it — Dane’s first glance told him that. Was — was he going to be confined to the system — follow in Ricki’s uninspired wake?
But, no, there was a star on it right enough — the star which granted him the Galaxy — and by that emblem the name of a ship — not a Company but a ship — the Solar Queen. It took a long instant for that to make sense, though he had never considered himself a slow thinker.
A ship’s name only — a Free Trader! One of the roving, exploring spacers which plied lanes too dangerous, too new, too lacking in quick profits to attract the Companies. Part of the Trade Service right enough, and the uninitiated thought of them as romantic. But Dane knew a pinched sinking in his middle. Free Trade was almost a dead end for the ambitious. Even the instructors at the Pool had skimmed over that angle in the lectures, as carefully as the students were briefed. Free Trade was too often a gamble with death, with plague, with hostile alien races. You could lose not only your profit and your ship, but your life. And the Free Traders rated close to the bottom of the scale in the Service. Why, even Ricki’s appointment would be hailed by any apprentice as better than this.
He should have been prepared for Artur’s hand over his shoulder to snatch the ID, for the other’s quick appraisement of his shame.
“Free Trader!”
It seemed to Dane that Sands’ voice rang out as loudly as the telacast.
Ricki paused in his retreat and stared. Hanlaf allowed himself a snicker and Artur laughed.
“So that’s how your pattern reads, big boy? You’re to be a viking of space — a Columbus of the star lanes — a far rover! How’s your blaster aim, man? And hadn’t you better go back for a refresher in X-Tee contacts? Free Traders don’t see much of civilization, you know. Come on, boys,” he turned to the other two, “we’ve got to treat the Viking to a super-spread meal, he’ll be on con-rations for the rest of his life no doubt.” His grip tightened on Dane’s arm. And, though his captive might easily have twisted free, the prisoner knew that he could better save face and dignity by going along with the plan and bottling down all signs of anger.
Sure — maybe the Free Traders did not rate so high in the Service, maybe few of them swanked around the big ports as did the Company men. But there had been plenty of fortunes made in the outer reaches and no one could deny that a Free Trader got around. Artur’s attitude set Dane’s inborn stubbornness to finding the good in the future. His spirit had hit bottom during the second when he had read his assignment, now it was rising again.
Dane found his tongue. “Apprentice-Cargo-Master Thorson come aboard, sir,” again he tendered the ID.
Captain Jellico caught it up impatiently. “First voyage?”
Once more Dane was forced to answer in the affirmative. It would have been, he thought bleakly, so much better had he been able to say “tenth”.
At that moment the blue thing sirened an ear piercing shriek and the Captain swung back in his chair to strike the floor of the cage a resounding slap which bounced its occupant into silence, if not better manners. Then he dropped the ID into the ship’s recorder and punched the button. Dane dared to relax, it was official now, he was signed on as a crew member, he would not be booted off the Queen.
artwork by Chris Foss
(ed note: This is for interstellar mercenaries, but they use similar IDs)
The man before him moved suddenly and Kana hurried to close the gap between them. They were at the enlistment barrier. Kana pulled at the lock on his armlet to have it ready to hand to the Swordtan on duty there. That strip of flexible metal, fed into the record block, would automatically flash on the assignment rolls all the necessary information concerning one Kana Karr, Australian-Malay-Hawaiian, age eighteen and four months, training: basic with X-Tee specialization, previous service: none. And once that went into Hiring there was no turning back. The Swordtan took the band, allowed it to rest on the block for an instant, and handed it back with the lackluster boredom of one condemned to a routine job.
Within there were plenty of empty seats—Mechs to the left, Archs to the right. Kana slipped into the nearest seat and dared to stare about him. Facing the tiers of seats was the assignment board, already blinking orange signals and, although he knew his number could not possibly come up yet, he felt he must watch that steady stream of calls. Most seemed to be for the Mechs—sometimes four and five arose together and went through the door at the far end.
Kana’s attention went back to the board just in time. Three more veterans had arisen on his own side of the hall, and, trailing their numbers, came the familiar combination he had answered to for the past ten years, almost more his name than the one his mixed island ancestry had given him.
Once through the other door he slackened pace, keeping modestly behind the rankers who had answered the same call. Third Class was Third Class and ranked nobody or nothing—except a cadet still in training. He was the lowest of the low and dared not presume to tread upon the heels of the man who had just stepped onto that lift.
The other was an Afro-Arab by his features—with maybe a dash of European blood bequeathed by one of the handful of refugees fleeing south during the atomic wars. He was very tall, and the beardless, dark skin of his face was seamed with an old scar. But the loot of many campaigns blazed from his helmet and belts and—Kana squinted against the light to be sure—there were at least half a dozen major notches on his rank sword, although he could not be very far into his thirties.
They lined up in an upper hallway, the Archs who had responded to that last call. And the veterans presented a brilliant array. Both Arch and Mech who served in the field off Terra were accustomed to carry their personal savings on their bodies. A successful mission meant another jewel added to the belt, or inset in the helmet. A lean season and that could be sold for credits to tide its owner over. It was a simple form of security which served on any planet in the Galaxy.
It was two minutes after twelve before Kana came inside the assignment officer’s cubby. He was a badge Swordtan, with a plasta-flesh hand which explained his present inactive status. Kana snapped to attention.
“Kana Karr, Swordsman, Third Class, first enlistment, sir,” he identified himself.
“No experience”—the plasta-flesh fingers beat an impatient tattoo on the desk top—“but you have X-Tee training. How far did you go?”
“Fourth level, Alien contact, sir.” Kana was a fraction proud of that. He had been the only one in his training group to reach that level.
“Fourth level,” the Swordtan repeated. From the tone he was not impressed at all. “Well, that’s something. We’re hiring for Yorke Horde. Police action on the planet Fronn. Usual rates. You embark for Secundus Base tonight, transship from there to Fronn. Voyage about a month. Term of enlistment—duration of action. You may refuse—this is a first choice.” He repeated the last official formula with the weary voice of one who has said it many times before.
He was allowed two refusals, Kana knew, but to exercise that privilege without good reason gave one a black mark. And police action—while it covered a multitude of different forms of service—was usually an excellent way to get experience.
“I accept assignment, sir!” He pulled off his armlet for the second time and watched the Swordtan insert it in the block before him, pressing the keys which would enter on that band the terms of his first tour of duty. When he checked out at the end of the enlistment, a star would signify satisfactory service.
From STAR GUARD by Andre Norton (1955).
Collected in Star Soldiers (2001), currently a free eBook in the Baen free library.
The Mission Control Model
In a post to his always insightful blog Rocketpunk Manifesto, Rick Robinson points out how cruel reality has stolen the romance from space crews in general and astrogation in particular. In the classic Tom Corbett Space Cadet books, spacecraft had a pilot, an engineer, and an astrogator for crew. In Robert Heinlein's immortal novel Starman Jones, in the days before a ship reached the FTL jump point, the astrogators worked 24 hours a day, leafing through books of ten place logarithms until the pages fell out and working slide rules until they got hot enough to catch on fire. The only computers they had were hulking brutes that only accepted numeric input in binary via flipping toggle switches on the panel. Certainly nothing resembling a GUI interface with a mouse and keyboard.
But this seems so quaint now. On the high seas, it is considered passé to shoot the sun with a sextant and sweat over a chart with a pair of dividers. Instead you turn on your GPS unit and use your favorite navigation software on your laptop. Unless you are writing a hard-core rocketpunk SF novel, it will be odd to find a slide rule on a starship.
The same goes for most other jobs: much labor will be replaced by automation and computerization.
Rick's solution is brilliant. He notes that current NASA space probes are not navigated by on-board computers. They are navigated by Mission Control. The idea is that the ship is not run by crew members doing things manually. The ship is run by system managers who oversee and command the computers who directly run the ship. This is not quite as nostalgic as the "war movie bomber crew" model of spacecraft crews, but it is far better than a ship with a single button on the control panel labeled "Do Mission".
(note: if you want the precise details of every single control panel in Mission Control, you can find the details here)
The worry gang on the control deck of the Asgard.
Starman Jones by Robert Heinlein (1953)
Artwork by Clifford Geary
NASA flight control room for the International Space Station in 2006.
A single button on the control panel labeled "Do Mission".
From So Beautiful And So Dangerous by Angus McKie (1979)
HARD SF: SO HARD IT'S IMPOSSIBLE ...?
(ed note: Asgard and Starman Jones are references to the novel Starman Jones by Robert Heinlein)
Are there other ways out? One way out might be to observe that our current unmanned space probes are not in fact navigated by computers. They are navigated by people, at JPL, who use computers to do a job that would be impossibly complicated without them. Unless you assume semimagical computers (and so far as I can tell, the AI people aren't even much pursuing HAL style quasi-human intelligence any more), Mission Control is going to be around for a long time to come.
So if you're building a large passenger-carrying spaceship anyway, it could make perfectly good sense to put Mission Control, or at least part of it, on board the ship, making it that much less dependent on control facilities at its ports of call — especially since these may not always be up to the very highest standards. This is Romance, after all.
What the control room crew does on watch, however, is probably not just a jazzed up version of the Enterprise bridge crew or the Asgard's worry gang. (Off watch is another matter, humans being humans.) Computers will indeed do nearly all the piloting and navigating in the usual sense — handflying a spaceship is a ding waiting to happen, as the Mir-Progress collision already demonstrated. So what are the people doing?
Oddly enough we are very hazy on that, or at least I am. I imagine much of their duties will involve monitoring and controlling the computers that actually fly the ship — maintaining software and the like, but especially performing tasks such as simming possible future maneuvers. More direct intervention will be called for only in circumstances that fall outside the flight plan, including all precomputed variations. Which is a technical way of saying "story conditions" — because if your story involves the control crew in their professional capacity, it is a pretty good bet that the ship's regular flight plan is about to get nullified.
As for the part that intuition might play in all this, in skills like navigation, intuition is what you fall back on when the problem you need to solve is not in the manual. (Or, as in Starman Jones, when the manual has been disappeared.) It may be worth noting here that computer programming itself is a notoriously intuitive art, filled with what programmers themselves call deep magic — which is why there are still so many rich geeks in Silicon Valley. No one has yet managed to automate software design, and few are holding their breath for it.
From ROCKETPUNK MANIFESTO by Rick Robinson
Raymond McVay of Blue Max Studios took this idea and ran with it. In a series of blog posts he actually did some research on NASA's mission control with an eye to adapting it to spacecraft crews.
Mission Commander (MCOM)
This is the overall director of the entire operation, the big boss. If there are several spacecraft in a task force, there will only be one MCOM as task force commander, aboard the flagship. In other words, not all spacecraft will have an MCOM on board.
Flight Commander (Flight)
This is the director of the spacecraft in particular. They supervise all aspects of the ship's preparedness and abilty to perform the mission given by MCOM. This would be the ship's "captain".
Integrated Communications Officer (INCO)
This is the supervisor of all exterior and interior communications. They are the bridge between all the spacecraft's computer networks, the ship's personnel, MCOM and Flight. This is partially the equivalent of a Naval vessel's executive officer. INCO is also in charge of administrative details and discipline among the other departments.
Flight Engineer (Chief)
The supervisor in charge of all engineering systems. If this is a huge spacecraft or space station, this job might be split into several Flight Engineer positions: power, propulsion, maintenance, etc.
COMMUNICATION AND ASTROGATION (COMAST) (subordinate to COMMAND)
Guidance Procedures Officer (GPO or Guidance)
They monitor the navigation of the spacecraft, ensuring that the guidance control software is operating properly, and keeping an eye out for hostile electronic warfare.
Guidance, Navigation and Control Systems Engineer (SYS or System)
They are responsible for the guidance, navigation, and control system hardware. This includes flight computers, radar, lidar, flir sensors, attitude jets, and all the connections. They direct repair robots perform spot inspections.
Spacecraft Communications (SCOM)
The communicator between the spacecraft and other ships or stations.
ENGINEERING (subordinate to COMMAND)
Propulsion Engineer (Prop)
Officer in charge of the entire conventional propulsion system, from propellant to exhaust nozzle. They also keep track of remaining delta V capacity.
Drive Engineer (Drive)
Responsible for hand-waving FTL star drive, heat radiators and maintenance on weapons systems.
Electrical Engineer (EE)
Responsible for power plant, power plant fuel supply, and electrical systems. They are also responsible for monitoring radiation if the power plant or propulsion system emits any.
LIFE SUPPORT (subordinate to COMMAND)
Environmental Consumables Manager (ECM)
This officer ensures that there is enough food, water, heat, and breathing mix to keep the crew alive. Everything from food storage to air vents to water faucets to air scrubbers.
Closed-Ecology Life-Support Systems (CELSS or "Cells")
Responsible for the hydroponics and algae tanks, if the ship is equipped with such.
Flight Surgeon (Doc)
Medical officer. They deal with disease, injury, ship cleanliness, and radiation.
PAYLOAD (subordinate to COMMAND)
Payload Officer (PLO/Payload)
They are actually the weapon officer in charge of firing weapons at hostiles.
Payload Deployment and Retrieval Officer (PDRO or "Padro")
In charge of loading and unloading cargo. Robots do all the work. Also in charge of ensuring that the cargo is stored in a balanced manner so the spacecraft does not fall off it's tail.
Maintenance, Mechanical Arms, and Crew Systems Officer (MMACS)
Officer oversees the maintenance of all the spacecraft's robots, robotic arms, and associated systems.
Naturally on smaller spacecraft some officers will be responsible for several positions (they will wear more than one "hat"), and some positions will have no human officers.
On larger spacecraft, Raymond thinks that they will have two full mission control teams on board for redundancy. This means six staffers per department instead of three, no officer will wear more than one hat, and all positions will be filled. Raymond figures that if the ship is in a non-combat situation, you'll only need one crew member per department on duty at any given time. This means the normal crew per watch is five. All staffers will be qualified to stand watch for their entire department under normal operations. With low ranking crew members, their main job will be deciding whether to wake up their superior to deal with any sudden situations.
With a full set of 16 filled staff positions, this will boil down to a watch bill with 6 four-hour shifts. Each member of the Command Department functions as Flight Director for their Watch, though only the two Flight Commanders are referred to as "Flight". The INCO is the de facto Executive/1st Officer of a spacecraft, and the Chief is the de facto 2nd Officer. The Watch bill is staggared as well, with Flight 1 directing the first Watch and Flight 2 directing the 4th.
Outside of their four-hour watch, each crew has four to eight hours of specialty work. This boils down to supervising teams of robots and performing spot inspections.
The most important part of a crew member's job — indeed, the entire reason for having an organic crew at all — is to spot potential problems before they happen. Space is an uncaring mistress, many problems are lethal and impossible to fix by the time they actually occur. The two Flights have the task of not only handling the details of their respective commands but also being on the planning staff of the MCOM, along with the Flight Commanders of any auxiliary craft and the commanders of the Espatier attachments.
Raymond McVay
The watchbill is different under non-normal high-priority combat conditions. Combat ships should be designed with two separate Flight Control Rooms (FCR) spaced widely apart so that a lucky hostile laser strike does not wipe them both out with one bolt (in Star Trek the second room is called the Auxiliary Control Center). During combat both FCRs will be fulled crewed. The FCR crewed by Flight 1 (and MCOM 1 if present) will be the primary control room, Flight 2 and the deputy MCOM will be in the secondary control room. The secondary control will be on standby, ready to immediately assume control if the primary control room is quote "lost" unquote. "Lost" means anything from "the communication lines were cut" to "the room and everbody in it was just vaporized by a casaba howitzer."
During non-combat periods the two control rooms will conduct regular wargames against each other to keep the teams honed and in fighting trim. And of course the MCOMs and Flights will spring drills and suprise inspections on the rest of the crew to keep them on their toes.
Robert Davidoff said:
Something that occurs to me: this is all well and good for a combat ship operating as part of a fleet, but what about cruising stations and a proper watch bill? Flight here appears to have no backup, which means that there will be time when Flight is asleep. In Mission Control, this is not allowed: there are usually at least 3 Flight Directors who trade shifts, and in fact full teams of controllers to do the same at all critical stations. Perhaps with your settings level of computers, not every station is required full-time, with its specific monitoring subsumed into the section lead's duties tempororily or something, but the top of the structure needs a full watch bill, I think.
Three is best, enough for a standard watch bill, and suggests the CO, the XO, and a third officer, possibly selected from the wardroom at the CO's discretion subject to some standards — Flight needs some proficiency on every major area to know accurately what his/her controllers are recommending, and so that if he/she has to over-rule a controller's recommendations, it's an informed decision. Third Flight would be a good learning spot for potential XOs and COs — responsibility, but the decision in the most serious cases would be to wake the CO and XO for a consult.
Robert Davidoff
Control on a Budget
As previously mentioned, things are different on a small spacecraft with limited crew. Please note that Raymond has added an external constraint. On the one hand he wants something logical and plausible. On the other hand he is using this to design a role playing game, where the average number of players is about five but occasionally an even lower number (down to one). This somewhat arbitrary limit is also useful for SF authors in order to keep the number of characters down to a manageable level. Of course in reality each additional crew member does add a sizeable mass-penalty with the body mass and the mass of the consumables they will require. So reality also has motivation to make the number of crew members as small as possible, in order to maximize the amount of mass devoted to payload. Emphasis on the "pay", as in "units of stuff that our clients will pay us money for delivering with our spacecraft."
Raymond examined the crew positions on NASA's Space Shuttle to get an idea of what was required. This is what he came up with:
Flight Commander (FCOM)
The Skipper, and maybe emergency pilot. Not to be confused with "Flight" on a spacecraft carrying smaller spacecraft.
Guidance Procedures Officer (Guidance)
Primary pilot. Monitors flight computers, does incidental manual maneuvering, and lands the spacecraft during ionization blackout. Also electronic warfare, if this is a military spacecraft.
Flight Engineer (Booster/Chief/Drive)
In charge of maintenance, electrical systems, propulsion, and power reactors. Supervises large teams of maintenance drones and robots.
Payload Officer (PLO)
In charge of cargo (including proper weight distribution) and weapon systems.
Life-Support Officer (LSO)
In charge of consumables, breathing mix, CELSS, toilets, et al. Also the Medic.
The small spacecraft watchbill will have 3 eight-hour Watches staffed by Guidance, PLO and Chief in rotation. Neither the FCOM nor the LSO stand watches; the FCOM is too busy being in charge and the LSO is not qualified.
Robot Crews
From Star Trek comic issue 9 by Golden Key (1971)
So the Mission Control Model demonstrates that a ship mostly crewed with robots and teleoperated drones does make more sense than an all human crew. But having said that, things get a bit more problematic if the spacecraft is a combat spacecraft. That is, a craft that will often suffer random damage from hostile weapons fire. You are going to need very sophisticated robotics or the crew will need to do lots of hands on teleoperating. It is easy for a robot to unplug a malfunctioning module and inserting a new one. It is hard for the robot's AI to figure out how to splice a new cable on the burnt ragged end of the old one and re-routing it around the random jagged hole that just got shot out of the hull.
In principle Defiant was a better ship than she'd been when she left New Chicago. The engineers had automated all routine spacekeeping tasks, and no United Republic spacer needed to do a job that a robot could perform. Like all of New Chicago's ships, and like few of the Imperial Navy's, Defiant was as automated as a merchantman.
Colvin wondered. Merchantmen do not fight battles. A merchant captain need not worry about random holes punched through his hull. He can ignore the risk that any given piece of equipment will be smashed at any instant. He will never have only minutes to keep his ship fighting or see her destroyed in an instant of blinding heat.
No robot could cope with the complexity of decisions damage control could generate, and if there were such a robot it might easily be the first item destroyed in battle. Colvin had been a merchant captain and had seen no reason to object to the Republic's naval policies, but now that he had experience in warship command, he understood why the Imperials automated as little as possible and kept the crew in working routine tasks: washing down corridors and changing air filters, scrubbing pots and inspecting the hull. Imperial crews might grumble about the work, but they were never idle. After six months, Defiant was a better ship, but...
From REFLEX by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle (the deleted first chapter of The Mote in God's Eye)
ROBOT TASK FORCE
He raised his voice, jocularly. "You don't spot any starships, do you, Muddlehead?"
"No," said the computer.
"Good." Falkayn eased back on his pillows. This craft was equipped to register the quasi-instantaneous "wake" of troubled space that surrounded an operating hyperdrive, out almost to the theoretical limit of about one light-year. "I hardly expected—"
"My detectors are turned off," Muddlehead explained.
Falkayn jerked upright. The soup spilled from his bowl, across Chee Lan, who went into the air with a screech. "What?" the man cried.
"Immediately before our run to take orbit, you instructed me to keep every facility alert for local dangers," Muddlehead reminded him. "It followed that computer capability should not be tied up by monitoring instruments directed at interstellar space."
"Judas in a reactor," Falkayn groaned. "I thought you'd acquired more initiative than that. What'd those cookbook engineers on Luna do when they overhauled you?"
Chee shook herself, dog fashion, spraying soup across him. "Ya-t'in-chai-ourh," she snarled, which will not bear translation. "Get cracking on those detectors!"
For a moment, silence hummed, under the shriek outside. The possessions that crowded Falkayn's cabin—pictures, books, taper and spools and viewer, a half-open closet jamful of elegant garments, a few souvenirs and favorite weapons, a desk piled with unanswered letters—became small and fragile and dear. Human and Cynthian huddled together, not noticing that they did so, her fangs shining within the crook of his right arm.
The machine words fell: "Twenty-three distinct sources of pulsation are observable in the direction of Circinus."
Falkayn sat rigid. It leaped through him: Nobody we know lives out that way. They must be headed here. We won't be sure of their course or distance unless we run off a base line and triangulate, or wait and see how they behave. But who can doubt they are the enemy?
As if across an abyss he heard Chee Lan whisper, "Twenty . . . mortal . . . three of them. That's a task force! Unless—Can you make any estimates?"
"Signal-to-noise ratio suggests they are within one-half light-year," the computer said, with no more tone in its voice than ever before. "Its time rate of change indicates a higher pseudo-speed than a Technic shipmaster would consider wise in approaching a star like Beta Crucis that is surrounded by an unusual density of gas and solid material. The ratio of the separate signal amplitudes would appear to fit the hypothesis of a fleet organized around one quite large vessel, approximately equivalent to a League battleship, three light cruisers or similar units, and nineteen smaller, faster craft. But of course these conclusions are tentative, predicated on assumptions such as that it is indeed an armed force and is actually bound our way. Even under that class of hypotheses, the probable error of the data is too large at present to allow reliable evaluations."
Muddlin' Through was plunging along a curve that would soon intercept one of the fleet's outriders. She must have been detected, from the moment she went on hyperdrive. But none of those vessels had altered course or reckless pseudospeed. Instead, they proceeded as before, in a tighter formation than any Technic admiral would have adopted.
It looked as if the alien commander wouldn't grant his subordinates the least freedom of action. His entire group moved in a unit, one hammer hurled at target.
"The entire group remains together," Muddlehead interrupted. "Evidently they will meet us as one."
"What?" he choked. "But that's ridiculous."
He concentrated on observing what he might about the strangers.
It was little. A scanner could track a ship and magnify the image for him, but details got lost across those dimly lighted distances. And details were what mattered; the laws of nature do not allow fundamental differences between types of spacecraft.
He did find that the nineteen destroyers or escort pursuers, or whatever you wanted to call them, were streamlined for descent into atmosphere: but radically streamlined, thrice the length of his vessel without having appreciably more beam. They looked like stiffened conger eels. The cruisers bore more resemblance to sharks, with gaunt finlike structures that must be instrument or control turrets. The battleship was basically a huge spheroid, but this was obscured by the steel towers, pillboxes, derricks, and emplacements that covered her hull.
You might as well use naval words for yonder craft, even though none corresponded exactly to such classes in the League. They bristled with guns, missile launchers, energy projectors. Literally, they bristled. Falkayn had never before encountered vessels so heavily armed. With the machinery and magazines that that entailed . . . where the devil was room left for a crew?
Instruments said that they employed force screens, radars, fusion power—the works. It was hardly a surprise. The unorthodox, tight formation was. If they expected trouble, why not disperse? One fifty-megaton warhead exploding in their midst would take out two or three of them directly, and fill the rest with radiation. Maybe that wouldn't disable their computers and other electronic apparatus—depended on whether they used things like transistors—but it would give a lethal dose to a lot of crewfolk, and put the rest in hospital.
Falkayn tuned in the signal and set the sled to home on it. He got busy photographing the battleship as he neared, studying the fortress-like superstructures himself, stowing every possible datum in memory. But part of his mind freewheeled, wondering.
That Latimer is sure one overworked chap. He acts like a kind of executive officer for Gahood, whatever Gahood is. But he also acts like the communications officer, boatswain . . . everything!
Well, given sufficient automation, you don't need much crew. The all-around Renaissance man has come back these days, with a battery of computers to specialize for him. But some jobs remain that machines don't do well. They haven't the motivation, the initiative, the organismic character of true sophonts. We—each civilized species man's encountered—we've never succeeded in building a hundred percent robotic vessel for more than the elementary, cut-and-dried jobs. And when you're exploring, trading, conducting a war, anything that takes you into unpredictable situations, the size of crew you need goes up. Partly to meet psychological necessities, of course; but partly to fulfill the mission itself in all its changing complexity.
Look how handicapped Chee and I have been, in being just two. That was because of an emergency, which Gahood did not face. Why is Latimer the only creature I've spoken to in yonder armada?
His approach curve brought Falkayn near a cruiser. More than ever he was struck by the density of her armament. And those fin-shaped turrets were thinner than he had imagined. They were fine for instruments, with that much surface area, and indeed they appeared to be studded with apparatus. But it was hard to see how an animal of any plausible size and shape could move around inside them. Or, for that matter, inside the hull, considering how packed it must be.
The thought did not jolt Falkayn. It had grown in him for a while and was quietly born. He plugged the jack on his helmet into the maser unit locked on Muddlin' Through. "You read me, Chee Lan?" he asked.
"Aye. What report?"
Falkayn switched to the Eriau they had learned on Merseia. Latimer would scarcely know it, if he had ways to monitor. The Hermetian described what he had seen. "I'm damn near convinced that everything except the battleship is strictly robot," he finished. "That'd account for a lot of things. Like their formation. Gahood has to keep closer tabs on them than he would on live captains. And he cares less about losses in battle. They're merely machines. Probably radiation-proof anyhow. And if he's got a single crewed ship, it'd be easy—even natural—for him to charge off the way he did. Of course, no matter how his race has organized its economy, a fleet like this is expensive. But it's more replaceable than several hundred or thousand highly skilled crewpeople. For a prize like Satan, one might well take the gamble."
"I-yirh, your idea sounds plausible, David. Especially if Gahood is something like a war lord, with a personal following ready to go anywhere at any moment. Then he might not have needed to consult others. . . . I feel a touch more hope. The enemy isn't quite as formidable as he seemed."
There was not much to see. A corridor led off, bare metal, blazingly lit. Footfalls rang on its deck. Otherwise a quiver of engines, hoarse murmur of forced-draft ventilation, were the sole relief in its blankness. No doors gave on it, merely grilles, outlets, occasional enigmatic banks of instruments or controls. Another robot passed through a transverse hall several meters ahead: a different model, like a scuttling disc with tentacles and feelers, doubtless intended for some particular kind of maintenance work. But the bulk of the ship's functioning must be integrated, even more than on a human-built vessel; she was herself one vast machine.
Falkayn kept impassive. But a new excitement boiled within him. Latimer's initial reaction confirmed what had already begun to seem probable, after no one heard the racket here and came to investigate, or even made an intercom call.
Gahood and Latimer were alone. Not just the other craft, the flagship too was automatic.
But that was impossible!
Maybe not. Suppose Dathyna—or Gahood's Neshketh barony, at least—suffered from an acute "manpower" shortage. Now the Shenna did not expect that anyone from the League would be at Beta Crucis. They had no reason to believe Serendipity had been exposed. Assuming a rival expedition did appear, it would be so small that robots could dispose of it. (Serendipity must have described this trait in Technic society, this unwillingness to make large commitments sight unseen. And, of course, it was the case. No League ship except Muddlin' Through was anywhere near the blue star.) Rather than go through the tedious business of recruiting a proper complement—only to tie it up needlessly, in all apparent likelihood—Gahood had taken what robots he commanded. He had gone off without other live companionship than the dog-man who brought him the word.
What kind of civilization was this, so poor in trained personnel, so careless about the requirements for scientific study of a new planet, and yet so rich and lavish in machines?
"Which'll take it aboard," Falkayn predicted without difficulty. Things were going as he'd anticipated . . . thus far. The (robot) Dathynan ships were delayed in their recovery operation by the need to get detailed instructions from Gahood.
They had electronic speed and precision, yes, but not full decision-making capacity. No robot built in any known civilization does. This is not for lack of mystic vital forces. Rather, the biological creature has available to him so much more physical organization. Besides sensor-computer-effector systems comparable to those of the machine, he has feed-in from glands, fluids, chemistry reaching down to the molecular level—the integrated ultracomplexity, the entire battery of instincts—that a billion-odd years of ruthlessly selective evolution have brought forth. He perceives and thinks with a wholeness transcending any possible symbolism; his purposes arise from within, and therefore are infinitely flexible. The robot can only do what it was designed to do. Self-programming has extended these limits, to the point where actual consciousness may occur if desired. But they remain narrower than the limits of those who made the machines.
To be sure, given an unequivocal assignment of the type for which it is built, the robot is superior to the organism. Let Gahood order his fleet to annihilate Muddlin' Through, and the contest became strictly one between ships, weapons, and computers.
Now that I thought about it, the only two types of space craft in any future Orbital Defense Force that could require an onboard crew would be the command craft and the tender/repair craft.
The needs of a human mind to command the front have already been addressed, however ingenuity of the technicians and engineers would have to be noted. A computer, AI or not, would only know how to repair and with what depending upon what is part of its programming and in some cases where byte budgeting is an issue, the computer will only be able to repair simple, routine tasks that would have been regulated to interns and green enlisted personnel once upon a time. Human crew members, meanwhile, are tasked with the repair of complex, difficult repair tasks that would otherwise be impossible for the computer to think "outside the box" due to software and hardware limitations.
Resupplying a combat craft within a Task Constellation would predominately be within the realm of the computer and its more sophisticated AI kin and overseen by humans if only because the humans can use their brains to solve or counter any problems that could arise such as blockage in the refuel and re-remass lines. An engineer designing the ship class could create a fully automated system to correct blockages, however a problem could be better corrected with onboard crew with (arguably) the same amount of mass and without that many joints and other machinery that must be maintained as well.
One would argue that the boarding craft is also another spacecraft that could potentially require an on board crew, but from what I've been reading, that would only be possible for patrol and law enforcement craft. If a missile or any other drone is unable to get close enough to the hull of an enemy combat spacecraft with adequate defenses, how would a boarding craft?
from a comment from SPACE WARFARE III – 'WARSHIPS' IN SPACE?
That Special Breed
artwork by Hubert Rogers
In many science fiction novels spacecraft crew are a breed apart.
In the early days of space travel, you will have crew with odd reflexes. They will spill their full glasses of beverages by their habit of just letting go, as if they expected the glass to float in space station free fall instead of plummeting to the ground under Terran gravity.
After a few decades of space travel, you will start to see crew retiring from active duty. You'll be able to tell by how they suffer from Old Astronaut Syndrome.
After a few generations you will see crew that has started to be genetically different from your run-of-the-mill terrans, with changes adapting them better to the space environment. Especially if they have a tendency to marry each other instead of marrying a ground-gripping Terran. And have crew children.
And once relativistic starships become common, you will have crew returning to Terra after a hundred year interstellar trip (coordinate time) but the crew is only ten years older (proper time). Terrans will be bemused at these old fogey starship crew with fashions, slang, and popular culture references a century out of date. Starship crew will experience serious cultural shock, and be all maudlin about all their stay-at-home friends who died so long ago that all the letters have worn off their tombstones. The crew will be tempted to join relatvistic world ships which carry an entire society inside. At least that way cultural shock is avoided, the society travels with the crew and thus changes at the same rate.
Science fiction can get even more extreme.
As previously mentioned in many science fiction stories FTL starships require human pilots and navigators with special human abilities, since these abilities mysteriously cannot be duplicated by computers. Thus giving the science fiction authors a handy way of avoiding Burnside's Zeroth Law of space combat.
In The Starmen of Llyrdis there exists FTL starships. Unfortunately unless you have the starman gene in your chromosomes FTL flight will kill you in seconds.
Some science fiction stories postulate that special human being are the faster-than-light drive. No humans, no starship.
In Robert Sheckley's short story Specialist (1953) starships are composite creatures. Many planets are home to "wall" aliens who form the hull, some planets have "atomic engine" aliens who are the normal space propulsion system, some have "eye" aliens who are sensors, some have "network" aliens who plug into the minds of all the components for coordination, and some have food producer aliens. As it turns out, Terra is planet home to "pushers", who are the FTL drives of starships.
In the wargame StarForce Alpha Centauri starships are "shifted" instantly across the light-years by teams of women with psionic powers. Such women cannot be created by genetic engineering nor can their abilities be duplicated by machines. This means the only valuable thing on a colony planet is its population size.
In the role playing game SPI's Universe, if a starship is at a jump point and it has a functional jump pod, a psionically gifted person with the Psi Naviation skill can instantly "jump" the starship to another star system. The supply of psionic people is again the bottleneck.
Please note the implications of this. If a specific crewperson is also part of the FTL drive, the captain is never going to let that person risk their well-being. Especially if the captain does not have a spare FTL crewperson. They will never have to perform heavy manual labor or do risky EVA repairs. If another crewperson deliberately harms FTL-person the penalty may be death, certainly if it results in the starship being stranded in deep space for all eternity. They probably won't be allowed to go to Star-town for a beer, not if an unexpected bar brawl can give FTL-person a concussion or worse. And there is exactly zero chance that the captain of a Survey ship will even let FTL-person step outside the airlock to walk on an unexplored planet. Remember that the ship's medic is never risked, that goes double for your walking-talking FTL drive. If your doctor is killed on an unexplored planet, the expedition will have to be careful about medical emergencies. If your FTL-person is killed, the survey expedition has just turned into an impromptu interstellar colony because the ship ain't going anywhere.
There will be other implications because conventional mechanical FTL drives do not form labor unions. If FTL-persons are part of a guild, that guild (or whoever controls it) will wield great power. A strike of FTL Union local 23 can bring the economy of a planet to its knees. And if the guild has a monopoly on FTL-persons you will have a full fledged Thalassocracy on your hands. In StarForce Alpha Centauri all the ships on both side of the conflict used FTL-women from the guild, which means all the anti-ship weapons were non-lethal. And the Spacing guild in the DUNE novels was one of the major political powers.
SPACE PEOPLE
The crews of the starships are funny that way
When they're not on a deck they do not like things quiet
They'll turn first a glass then a whole tavern over
Get thrown in the lockup, confined to the field,
And then, in a rush of filled forms and paid prices,
They exit, all quickly, with nothing to say
— Sestina: Midnight stations, Gurps Traveller Starports
In most Space Opera settings space travel is commonplace and routine, but in some settings there are people who spend almost their entire lives in space. These people were born and raised on a starship or space station and can't imagine living on a planet or natural satellite. Often they act as traders, with an extended family owning and operating a ship. Recently, with knowledge of the ill effects of extended periods in space, Spacers are increasingly portrayed as a genetically engineered subspecies that does not experience muscular and skeletal degeneration from zero-gravity, is immune to radiation, has prehensile toes, and so on. In softer settings, however, they may still be portrayed as normal humans who happen to live in space, perhaps thanks to Artificial Gravity. Even if they may be Transhuman, their main reason for living in space is usually cultural: they consider it their own place. Even if they visit planets occasionally, they do not feel particularly attached to them, and may even consider them unpleasant.
If a Fantasy Counterpart Culture, they may be comparable to Romani or other nomadic Earth-cultures. They often makes excellent engineers and pilots. They usually won't have any government beyond clan elders.
Compare Generation Ship, where multiple generations are born and live out their entire lives on board a slow-moving ship headed for a distant planet.
Space Nomads are a common subtrope.
(ed note: see TV Trope page for list of examples)
From TV TROPES: SPACE PEOPLE
HABBERS
The man frowned, looking as though he did not believe her, not that it mattered whether he did or not. He and his companion were Habitat-dwellers, or Habbers as they were derisively called. Their ancestors had abandoned Earth centuries ago for the Associated Habitats, the homes they had made for themselves in space, and there were many who believed that, despite their appearance, the Habbers were no longer truly human, that their genetic engineering had far surpassed what Earth allowed among its people. Habbers might have their uses; some of them worked with the scientists and specialists of the Venus Project, and having them ferry settlers from the camps to Venus was certainly a convenience. Changing the orbits of a few asteroids so that they would come nearer to Earth and could be more easily mined had been another service of the Habbers to the home world.
Alonza could grant all of that, but loathed the air of superiority that Habbers exuded, as if the resources they provided and the necessary tasks they voluntarily undertook for Earth’s benefit were little more than crumbs thrown to beggars. She thought then of how the home world must seem to Habbers, with its flooded coastlines, melting ice caps, and an atmosphere that was still too thick with carbon dioxide six centuries after the Resource Wars. They probably thought of themselves as fortunate for having abandoned what they must see as a played-out world populated by deluded die-hards. Even these two Habber pilots had that look of superiority in their eyes, the calm steady gaze of people who seemed to lack any turbulent and upsetting emotions.
From FOLLOW THE SKY by Pamela Sargent (2004)
THE STARMEN
artwork by Paul Orban
(ed note: Protagonist Michael Trehearne knew since he was a child that he didn't fit in. He had no idea that his ancestry was not strictly terrestrial. He attempts to trace his family tree and winds up in Brittany. At the festival of Midsummer, he encounters some people who seem to share his ancestry.
As it turns out, they ain't from Terra. Aldebaran, actually.
They are Vardda, a race of star travelers. As a matter of fact, Michael has some Vardda blood in his family tree. The result of a one-night stand near Brittany about a century ago. The thing about Vardda, they alone can survive the stress of FTL starship travel. All other people die hideously in a few minutes.
Has the Vardda strain bred true in Michael Trehearne or not? There is only one way to find out.)
Trehearne’s throat was strangely tight. He stammered in his speech, finding it difficult to breathe. “Star-flight? An alien race coming and going on Earth—and all this in secret, no one knows of it?”
Edri laughed. “Oh, billions of people know about it, from Cygnus to Hercules. We Vardda trade openly between the star-worlds of the galaxy for we’ve an unbreakable monopoly on interstellar flight.”
“You mean you’ve conquered all those stars and worlds?”
Edri snorted. “That’s your Earth war-obsession talking. War is not only backward, it’s damned unprofitable. We Vardda aren’t conquerors, we’re merchant-adventurers.”
He added patiently, “It’s this way—there are hundreds of inhabited star-worlds. They’re most of them civilized and proudly independent. We Vardda rule our own world but no other.
“But we have something the other star-worlds don’t have. We’ve got a monopoly on interstellar travel for certain reasons. We Vardda and we alone can travel and trade between the galaxy’s worlds—the richest monopoly of all time!”
(ed note: And obviously the planet-bound people do not like the Vardda very much. Even the Earth people of Brittany think the Vardda are devil's-spawn, and they don't even know about the Vardda monopoly.)
“But if you come and go like that, why not openly to Earth?”
Edri shrugged. “You can’t trade profitably with worlds still in their war-ridden phase. Such worlds we prefer to visit secretly. Your Earth is one of them.”
Shairn broke in. “It’s true, Michael! We keep Vardda agents here secretly to gather from Earth whatever of value its civilization produces. We’ve done that for several centuries.”
(ed note: The Vardda cannot let Earth know about them. The choice is to either kill Michael, or take him with them on the starship. Michael is glad to go. Because nobody has explained to him that if does not carry the Vardda gene FTL flight will swiftly kill him.)
Edri asked them earnestly, “What do you think? Is he Vardda or isn’t he?”
A man shook his head. “You’ll soon find out.”
A woman, looking soberly at Trehearne, said, “It's cruel to find out that way. But there’s nothing else you can do with him.”
Muttering an all-but-silent thunder the ship rushed upward into the sky. For the first time in history Earthborn ears listened to the banshee scream of atmosphere past a cleaving hull.
The weight on Trehearne’s chest seemed as heavy as all Earth but he supported it and breathed and did not black out. His gaze did not waver from Kernel’s.
The wailing shriek rose to a crescendo and died away.
Earth was gone. They had stepped away from it. Even its sky was behind them. He was horribly afraid.
He waited for the pressure to ease. It did not. There was a change now in the pitch of the motor-vibration. It seemed to climb higher and higher in a sort of demoniac frenzy.
Shairn was bending forward, watching him. Her face was tense, without color. All the Vardda were peering at him now in a sort of climax of halffearful expectation. What was it that they were afraid was going to happen to him?
The pressure grew and grew.
He labored to breathe. Something happened to his vision. The faces around him began to waver and grow vague, to recede slowly into a reddish twilight.
And still the pressure grew.
Fear became near-panic. Something was happening to him—something unearthly and strange. He was a flier, a test-pilot. He had known pressure before. He had taken all the gravs a power-diving plane could bear and he had never come close to blacking out. But this was different.
Speed, he thought. Light-years of speed—a long way between stars!
He felt it in the fibers, the very atoms of his being. The incredible accelerations of interstellar speed were tearing at the separate cells of his flesh, riving them apart, rending the tissues of physical existence.
He knew that the Vardda still watched him half-fearfully. This is what they were afraid of. They're used to it but I’m not. I’m going to die.
He thought he heard a voice saying, “Fight, Michael! Fight!”
“Shairn,” he muttered. The word never got beyond his throat. Because a girl in a white dress had beckoned to him he was going to die in an alien ship between the stars.
Kerrel settled back. He began to smile. With almost the last of his sight, Trehearne saw that smile. Kerrel knew that he was going to die. And he was glad.
Kerrel—Shairn—the Vardda—death. Kerrel had known it all along. They all had. That was why the others had looked at him with that half-guilty troubled pity. They had known that he would die.
Fierce resentment blazed up in him like a sudden fire.
Shairn with her lying tears. She must have known it would come to this when she had drawn him to the tower. Yet she had done it, coolly gambling with his life.
Rage shook him. Some buried part of his mind broke free and fury spurred it on. Why must he die? Why should he not live? The Vardda lived and their blood ran in him.
Anger—anger such as he had never known. He would not die under Kerrel's smiling eyes. He was filled suddenly with a raging determination to survive. He began to fight the pressure.
He had nothing to fight with but willpower. It seemed a frail thing to pit against the unthinkable powers of velocities such as the men of Earth had never dreamed possible. Reason told him that but he was beyond reason. He fought and it was a strange inner struggle without sound or motion—a blind battle to regain control of his own flesh.
He fought against the unseen force that sought to destroy the very cohesion of his body cells. Anger flogged him on and the instinctive will to live. He set his muscles and forced himself to breathe and his flagging heart stumbled, steadied and began to beat more evenly.
He did not understand then what happened. He only knew that strength came to him from somewhere, a strength he had never known he possessed. It was physical strength—not the sort that can move great weights but a more subtle kind, a tensile force that strung his body taut against the terrible vibrations of speed and fought them back.
He did not understand, not then. But he caught at that unguessed core of strength within him and drew upon it and it was simple, so simple, just a matter of tensing the muscles in a certain way. Suddenly the ghastly sense of his atoms falling apart was gone and the battle he had thought impossible was won. It was easy and he was strong—strong as any Vardda!
It was then that he came near blacking out from sheer reaction. And he knew the victory had not been easy but very hard. The opening of that buried well of strength had left him paradoxically as weak as a newborn lamb.
Some deep ancestral wisdom told him that he had been newly born in a way that was still beyond his knowledge. He was a different man now. He would never be the same again.
He knew now that this was the important thing his body had been designed for—this proud ability to race between the stars.
Shairn’s voice rang out. “He lives! He lives! I told you he was true Vardda!”
Shairn said, “It’s quite simple, Michael. Controlled hereditary mutation, altering slightly the form and structure of the body cells so that they have enormous resistance to pressure and vibration. The other races of the galaxy are tied by their human weakness to their own solar systems—only the Vardda have the freedom of the stars!”
“Then,” said Trehearne, “if the mutation had not bred true in me I would have died.”
Trehearne took one and lit it. He sat for some time in silence, remembering. He remembered most clearly Kernel’s angry threat. He asked, “What did Kernel mean by Vardda law ? What will they do with me when we reach Llyrdis ?”
Edri looked worried. “I wish to Heaven I knew.”
“What can they do? I’m a Vardda. I’ve proved it.”
“Ye-es,” Edri agreed dubiously. “Actually, you’re all Vardda, a complete atavism. But legally—”
He began again. “You see, the law Kerrel referred to is a prohibition against admitting non-Vardda strains of any kind. Cross-breeding is forbidden under penalty of death, is the one unbreakable law. Keeping the Vardda blood pure isn’t just pride, it’s an economic necessity.”
“Then that was true about the mutation?”
Edri nodded. “It's the foundation upon which the Vardda monopoly is built. No one else can fly at interstellar speeds and live, so we are the only species of Galactic Man, holding the stars in our two hands.”
“A star-flight monopoly of the galaxy, built on a simple mutation in body-cells!”
“Yes,” said Edri. “Simple—but fundamental. Tissues having a certain cellular structure possess a tensile strength in their cell-walls that can withstand incredible acceleration-pressure without collapse. You’re lucky that the mutation was a recessive that finally bred true in you.”
He paused, then added somberly, “So, Trehearne, though actually Vardda, you’re legally not one. It will be up to the Council. I have no influence there but Shairn has some.”
Trehearne stood for hours in the observation dome. He haunted the bridge, watching the intricate controls, the staggering complexities of astrogation. In the generator rooms he learned by heart the pulse of the ship, listening to the silence of free flight after acceleration was complete. He learned much and yet it was nothing and he was mad for learning, mad to hold under his own hands one of these proud giants of the stars.
And the Vardda saw and understood his hunger and warmed to him. They accepted him, these gusty eager folk whose pride was as great as their cosmic horizons. He learned the Vardda tongue from Edri and his head spun to the tales he heard then from these mariners of the galaxy, of peril in far-off clusters of suns, of lonely dead stars booming forever dark through darkness with their frozen worlds, of tricky routes through nebulae, of all the thrill and danger that was life to them.
“But damn it, I’m one of you !” Trehearne said. “They can’t deny that after the ordeal I passed. And why should one more Vardda make a difference?”
Edri shook his head. “To recognize an Earthborn man as a Vardda? No—it might inspire vain hopes in all the peoples of the Galaxy who are bitterly envious of our monopoly.”
That was something Trehearne hadn’t thought of. He thought of it, now. “I suppose the non-Vardda do envy your power of interstellar flight.”
“Would you like to be prisoned in your own solar system and have strangers carrying on all your commerce with other stars?” Edri countered.
He added, “And there’s more to it than the economic problem. You’re mad over this star-voyaging, Trehearne. I’ve watched you. Well, do you think other men can’t feel the same way? Do you think the young men of all those star-worlds like to see the Vardda starships come and go and know that they can never take that road?”
From THE STARMEN by Leigh Brackett (1952)
BATTLEFIELDS OF SILENCE
(ed note: The protagonists are going to visit a space colony around Saturn populated by a space nation called the Istini.)
"And the Isinti?"
"They haven't isolated themselves. They've been isolated by an almost superstitious fear of the unknown. They're the first people to live entirely in a gravity-free environment. And you know what's been said about that."
Moore had heard the conjecture. The human body had been designed by eons of evolution to function within a gravitational field. Regardless of what had become of the Isinti, it was generally accepted that no Isinti would ever again function within, or even survive within, a gravitational field. The Isinti, unlike the rest of humanity living in space, had utterly and irrevocably cut their bonds with man's biological heritage. For the remaining span of their existence, they would survive only by their skills in providing an artificial environment in the hard vacuum of space.
(ed note: Upon arrival at the colony, the protagonists find themselves in a room. A large video display lights up and they hear the voice of their Istini host.)
The screen before them danced with white snow on a dark-blue background. Suddenly, the screen came to life. A white line drawing of a naked male figure on a dark background appeared.
"The form of the human body evolved to function in the Earth environment. The Isinti live within the psyche of Homo sapiens, but our bodies live in new environments. Consciousness must expand to fill previously unconscious roles.
"Many changes are necessary for a human body to function in a zero-gravity field and utilize inherent advantages fully, most involving body chemistry, internal structure, and functioning of the organs, especially the cardiovascular system. Certain structural modifications were deemed advantageous. First, a smaller overall size."
The line drawing shrank to half its former size, but the head remained the same, giving the line drawing a childlike appearance with the facial features occupying the lower third of the skull.
"Next, the elimination of body rigidity and excess muscular development."
The body thinned down considerably, the arms long and curved with an apparently flexible bone structure, but with proportionately oversized hands and long, slender fingers.
"The legs, designed primarily for support and locomotion upon a two-dimensional plane within a gravity field, can be entirely reconfigured."
The drawing changed again. Now, the legs extended perpendicular from the torso, parallel to outstretched arms, the entire pelvis changed. The feet became another pair of hands complete with five long and slender fingers.
"These changes are on a genetic level. We give live birth to children like ourselves. You have requested to speak with me in person. You are curious and fascinated, but shocked and uncomfortable as well. We seem to have destroyed our natural beauty and denied our human heritage. A deep level of your mind protests the sacrilege that which we have committed upon ourselves, a biological prejudice that cannot be countered by intellectual rationalization. You do not wish to meet me in person. I would not appear to be human to you."
From BATTLEFIELDS OF SILENCE by William Tedford (2007)
SPACEMAN TELLS
If a man walks in dressed like a hick and acting as if he owned the place, he's a spaceman.
It is a logical necessity. His profession makes him feel like boss of all creation; when he sets foot dirtside he is slumming among the peasants. As for his sartorial inelegance, a man who is in uniform nine tenths of the time and is more used to deep space than to civilization can hardly be expected to know how to dress properly. He is a sucker for the alleged tailors who swarm around every spaceport peddling "ground outfits."
But I kept my opinion to myself and bought him a drink with my last half-Imperial, considering it an investment, spacemen being the way they are about money. "Hot jets!" I said as we touched glasses. He gave me a quick glance.
That was my initial mistake in dealing with Dak Broadbent. Instead of answering, "Clear space!" or, "Safe grounding!" as he should have, he looked me over and said softly, "A nice sentiment, but to the wrong man. I've never been out."
But my vocal cords lived their own life, wild and free. "Don't give me that, shipmate," I replied. "If you're a ground hog, I'm Mayor of Tycho City. I'll wager you've done more drinking on Mars," I added, noticing the cautious way he lifted his glass, a dead giveaway of low-gravity habits, "than you've ever done on Earth."
"I'll show you," I said. "I'll walk to the door like a ground hog and come back the way you walk. Watch." I did so, making the trip back in a slightly exaggerated version of his walk to allow for his untrained eye — feet sliding softly along the floor as if it were deck plates, weight carried forward and balanced from the hips, hands a trifle forward and clear of the body, ready to grasp.
There are a dozen other details which can't be set down in words; the point is you have to be a spaceman when you do it, with a spaceman's alert body and unconscious balance — you have to live it. A city man blunders along on smooth floors all his life, steady floors with Earth-normal gravity, and will trip over a cigarette paper, like as not. Not so a spaceman.
From DOUBLE STAR by Robert Heinlein (1956)
Example Crews
Eldraeverse Command Roster
TROPE-A-DAY: COMMAND ROSTER
(With many thanks to Atomic Rocket and Raymond McVay of Blue Max Studios, whose Mission Control Model I drew upon heavily for inspiration while working out this alternate-style command structure.)
Command Roster: The command roster of an Imperial starship, civilian or military, looks something like this – with variations, as specialized ships require:
(Above this entire structure, potentially, a Mission Commander (Admiral, Commodore, etc.), in charge of a task force of multiple ships.)
Flight Commander: The overall director of the operation, the big boss. In charge of everything.
Flight Executive (Exec)
In charge of supervising all exterior and interior communications (the bridge between the ship’s Shipboard Information System, the ship’s crew, other ships, and the other departments; the equivalent of a Naval vessel’s executive officer, without their administrative role, which is the responsibility of the Flight Administrator. Since there is only one Flight Commander per ship, the officers in the role of Exec serve as officer of the deck when the FC is not present; other posts tend to have a first, second, and third occupying them.
Spacecraft Communications (Comms)
Communicator between the spacecraft and other ships or stations; also in charge of tangle communications and cryptography.
Docks and Locks (Locks)
On ships large enough to have other vessels docking to them and thus requiring the eponymous department, in charge of docking cradles, airlocks, shuttle bays, and the associated requirements in terms of atmosphere management and body shops. If the ship has no dedicated Small Craft Operations officer, also looks after what small craft there are, if any – i.e., carried cutters.
Small Craft Operations (Air)
On carriers (or megafreighters using the LASH model), in charge of carried interceptors, lighters, and other small craft and their operations.
Flight Director (Flight)
In overall charge of navigating the ship and engaging in flight operations as the FC and/or exec direct.
Pilot/Sailing Master (Helm)
Actively pilots the spacecraft, performing maneuvers and managing the attitude control systems.
Astrogation and Guidance (Guidance)
Navigates the spacecraft, operates the flight computers – and monitors their continued correct operation – and inertial/star tracking platforms, maintains position records, plots courses and orbits, and so forth.
Relativistics (Time)
Manages the ship’s timebase and maintains the systems that properly compensate for relativistic variation, including maintaining lock on the empire time/wall-clock time differential and other reference frame corrections.
Sensor Operations (Sensory)
In charge of all non-navigational sensors (and non-navigational uses of the navigational sensors), and maintaining the current picture of near space; this requires considerable creative interpolation to overcome light-lag, which is Sensory’s job.
Tactical/Payload Operations (Guns – even on non-military vessels)
On military vessels, in charge of weapons and firing them at the enemy; and defenses and using them against incoming fire. On all vessels, in charge of operating any and all modules plugged into the ship and any “active cargo” being carried.
Data Operations (Data)
In charge of setting up whatever programs or other complex computations the rest of the bridge officers need, ad hoc, critical path management, resource allocation, the ship’s library, etc.
In overall charge of all engineering systems.
Propulsion Engineer (Drive)
In charge of the entire spacecraft propulsion system, from propellant to nacelle, including navigation hardware. Also responsible for tracking remaining Δv capacity.
Power Engineer (Power)
Responsible for power plant, power plant fuel supply, electrical systems, other power systems, and also monitoring internally-generated radiation if relevant.
Thermal Engineer (Heat)
In charge of all thermal control systems, including but not limited to heat sinks, radiators, heat pumps, and other thermal transfer systems.
Data Systems Engineer (Comps)
In charge of the ship’s primary data systems, including the Shipboard Information Service.
Mechanical Arms and Non-Sophont Crew Engineer (Mechs)
Responsible for the maintenance of all the ship’s robotic arms, robots, cyberswarms, and associated systems.
Sensory and Guidance Systems Engineer (Systems)
Responsible for all the sensory and guidance systems hardware; flight computers, laser grid, telescopes, radar, star-tracking platform, etc., etc.
Environmental Engineer (Life)
In overall charge of all life-support systems.
Closed-Ecology Life Support Systems Manager
Responsible for the environmental systems; heat, air, water, recycling, and the ongoing provision of same.
Galley Manager
Responsible for the carniculture vats, hydroponic systems, and other on-board food production equipment, as well as the galleys and other means of cooking it, and the slop chest.
Auxiliary Systems Engineer (Aux)
Responsible for maintenance and upkeep of all other ship’s systems, and general maintenance and stores, including the ship’s locker.
Flight Administrator (Admin)
In charge of all administrative details, ship’s paperwork, and discipline among the other departments.
Cargomaster (Cargo)
In charge of loading and unloading cargo; also in charge of ensuring that the cargo is stored in a proper balanced manner, center-of-mass-and-moment-of-inertia-wise.
Purser
In charge of self-mobile cargo; i.e., passengers and all their foibles.
Medical officer. In charge of dealing with disease, injury, ship’s cleanliness, and environmental radiation.
The usual bridge crew/command conference, in which the posts are filled for each watch, consists of the Captain/Flight Commander, the Flight Executive and his immediate subordinates, the Flight Director and his immediate subordinates, the Flight Engineer, and the Flight Administrator.
Lesser positions may be merged, either with each other or their superior position, on smaller ships. Minimum crew size for anything above a small craft is four; one Captain/Flight Commander, three Flight Directors (one per watch, assuming necessary sleep patterns; only one digisapient FD would be permissible, for example) – if maintenance and operational requirements can be met.
From TROPE-A-DAY: COMMAND ROSTER by Alistair Young (2012)
War Movie Bomber Crew
In spacecraft as shown on movies and TV, they often use the "war movie bomber crew" model, also known as "tramp freighter crew" or Ragtag Bunch of Misfits. That is, a crew like a World War II bomber aircraft as depicted in old war movies. This generally takes the form of a crew of half a dozen misfits each with some specialized talent needed for a successful finish to the mission. Rick Robinson calls it the Rocketpunk challenge of specialization. Mr. Robinson points out that on wet navy ships during the Age of Sail the crewmembers were interchangeable. Every able-bodied man could do any of the jobs (except for navigator). But in later vessels in general and in science fiction in specific all crew members are assumed to be specialists.
This is used in media science fiction so often because seeing the equivalent of dysfunctional families fighting each other is very entertaining. Especially if they are simultaneously dodging German soldiers. According to TV Tropes: "Your basic Ragtag Bunch Of Misfits consists of a Hero, a Sidekick, a Big Guy, a Smart Guy, an Old Guy, a Young Guy, and a Funny Guy — But you can call them The Magnificent Seven Samurai."
For more standard stereotypical crew characters, refer to the definitive TV Tropes site under the headings The Squad, and Command Roster.
Starjammers from The Uncanny X-Men (1977). Including Sikorsky a dragonfly-like alien doctor named after a helicopter and Hepzibah (named after a Pogo character)
Quark (1977). The crew of an intergalactic garbage scow. Includes Betty I and Betty II (clones), Gene/Jean (a "transmute" with both male and female genes), and Ficus the emotion-less intelligent plant alien.
Dark Star (1975). The crew was probably pretty competent at the start of the mission, but 20 years of boredom have driven them insane.
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986). They ain't on the Enterprise, but each crew member is very good at their particular skill. Abet a bit off stride in the primitive world of 1986.
Firefly (2002). Every single crewperson is a very quirky character, but very skilled. From the chipper tom-girl who can fix any engine to the boyish pilot who can fly anything to the naive city-slicker out-of-his-element doctor who can heal anything, Firefly delivers the trope.
Cowboy Bebop (1997). Motley is not the word for this. Two bounty hunters, amnesiac femme fatale con artist, a barefooted preteen computer hacker, and a hyper-intelligent genetically-engineered Welsh Corgi dog
Tales of the Gold Monkey (1982). This is not science fiction, but it would be easy enough to transpose it. Alcoholic Corky is the miracle mechanic, Sarah is a singer at the bar but really a secret agent, and Jack the dog barks once for "no" and twice for "yes" (just like the bit in Tron)
Crusade (1999). Set in the Babylon 5 universe, 1st officer John Matheson is a level 6 telepath, Max Eilerson is a genius with experience in alien paleotechnology, Dureena Nafeel is a young but skilled member of the Thieves Guild, and Galen is one of the last Technomages.
Blake's 7 (1978). A group of renegades and convicted criminals fighting the corrupt Terran Federation. Bank computer hacker, thief and lock-picker, smuggler, you name the crime and one of them is an expert.
Stargate SG-1 (1997). The team who does exploration in force through the Stargates includes a world-weary hard-core army man, a brilliant civilian linquist who is somewhat naïve and idealistic, and an alien warrior who has defected to the US.
Saga (2012). The Will is a freelance bounty hunter, Sophie is a six-and-a-half-year-old with the power of psychometry, and Lying Cat is a large talking feline who is sort of a walking lie detector.
Artwork by Robert Fuqua, Amazing Stories May 1938.
Just a coincidence, I'm sure. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)
In Andre Norton's THE SARGASSO OF SPACE, a small Free Trader class starship has twelve crew members.
Captain-Pilot
Astrogator (badge: Chart) second in command
Apprentice astrogator
Com-Tech (badge: Lightning bolt) communications officer
Chief Engineer (badge: Cog wheel)
two Engineers
Apprentice Engineer
Cargo Deck
Cargo apprentice
Cook-Stewart
And of course the ship's cat
THE SARGASSO OF SPACE
The two he left behind were both apprentices. One bore on his tunic the chart insignia of an astrogator-to-be and the other an engineer's cogwheel. It was the latter who caught and held Dane's gaze.
Dane's head snapped up. Was this to be more of Artur's pleasantries? But now he was looking at the open face of the astrogator-apprentice from the neighbouring table. He lost part of his bristling antagonism.
"Just been assigned to her." He passed his ID across to the other.
"Dane Thorson," the other read aloud. "I am Rip Shannon — Ripley Shannon if you wish to be formal. And," he beckoned to the Video hero, "this is Ali Kamil. We are both of the Queen. You are a cargo-apprentice," he ended with a statement rather than a question.
Compared to the big super ships of the Companies the Solar Queen was a negligible midget. She carried a crew of twelve, and each man was necessarily responsible for more than one set of duties — there were no air tight compartments of specialization aboard a Free Trader spacer.
They were space borne before Dane met the other members of the crew. In addition to Captain Jellico, the control station was manned by Steen Wilcox, a lean Scot in his early thirties who had served a hitch in the Galactic Survey before going into Trade, and now held a full rating as Astrogator. Then there was the Martian Com-Tech — Tang Ya — and Rip, the apprentice.
The engine-room section was an equal number, consisting of the Chief, Johan Stotz, a silent young man who appeared to have little interest save his engines (Dane gathered from Rip's scraps of information that Stotz was in his way a mechanical genius who could have had much better berths than the ageing Queen, but chose to stay with the challenge she offered), and his apprentice — the immaculate, almost foppish Kamil. But, Dane soon knew, the Queen carried no dead weight and Kamil must — in spite of his airs and graces — be able to meet the exacting standards such a Chief as Stotz could set. The engine room staff was rounded out by a giant-dwarf combination startling to see.
Karl Kosti was a lumbering bear of a man, almost bovine, but as alert to his duties with the jets as a piece of perfectly working machinery. While around him buzzed his opposite number, a fly about a bull, the small Jasper Weeks, his thin face pallid with that bleach produced on Venus, a pallor not even the rays of space could colour to a natural brown.
Dane's own fellows housed on the cargo level were a varied lot. There was Van Rycke himself, a superior so competent when it came to the matters of his own section that he might have been a computer. He kept Dane in a permanent state of awe. There appeared to be nothing concerning the fine points of Free Trade Van Rycke had ever missed hearing or learning, and, having once added any fact to his prodigious store of memories, it was embedded forever, but he had his soft spot, his enduring pride that as a Van Rycke he was one of a line stretching far back into the dim past when ships only plied the waters of a single planet, coming of a family which had been in Trade from the days of sails to the days of stars.
Two others who were partly of the cargo world shared this section. The Medic, Craig Tau, and the Cook-Steward Frank Mura. Tau Dane met in the course of working hours now and then, but Mura kept so closely to his own quarters and labours that they seldom saw much of him.
Normally a spacer of the Free Trader class would carry — Charis reckoned what she did know about such ships — normally a captain, cargomaster, assistant pilot-navigator, (com-tech,) engineer and his assistant, a jet man, a medico, a cook — perhaps an assistant cargomaster. But that was a fully staffed ship, not a fringe tramp. She thought there had been four men on board beside Jagan...
They were too far from the spy post for their features to be distinguished, but while they wore uniforms of a similar cut to those at the post, Charis had never seen these before. The black and silver of Patrol, the green-brown of Survey, the gray and red of the Medical service, the blue of Administration, the plain green of the Rangers, the maroon of Education — she could identify those at a glance. But these were a light yellow.
From ORDEAL IN OTHERWHERE by Andre Norton (1964)
Space Angel
The rest of the crew was gathered around a big rectangular table, drinking coffee and tea. Torwald found a vacant seat and sat down. After hesitating self-consciously, Kelly did the same. Torwald opened the conversation: "Torwald Raffen, quartermaster. This is Kelly, new ship's boy. Call me Tor."
"Ham Sylvester," offered a great black gorilla of a man at one end of the table. The other end, the captain's seat, was unoccupied. "I'm mate and ship's husband." This last was an ancient rank still sometimes used on old ships. Sylvester's smile looked like a piano keyboard. He gestured toward a stunning woman on his left. "This is Michelle LeBlanc, med officer and cook." She smiled radiantly. Kelly could see that Torwald was hooked already.
"Achmed Mohammed, chief engineer and pilot of our atmospheric craft." This was from the little man with the big mustache who had been at the top of the gangway when they boarded. He gestured toward a rather chubby red-headed boy a year or two older than Kelly, who sat next to him. "This is Lafayette Rabinowitz, my assistant."
"Finn Cavanaugh, navigator and distiller," said a tall, black-haired and dark-eyed man who sat next to Lafayette.
"Bertrand Sims," an elderly white-haired man next to Finn announced. "I am supercargo, accountant, and philosopher. The exotic beauty seated across from me is Nancy Wu, officer of Communications and Hydroponics and sometime specialist in alien botany." Petite, raven-haired, and almond-eyed, Nancy seemed far too young to be a ship's officer.
"Does everybody double up on duties here?" asked Torwald.
"Usually," Ham replied. "We're a multitalented bunch. Michelle's a zoologist, Finn's a chemist, I'm a heavy-weapons specialist, Bert knows history, Nancy plays the violin, and Achmed's a holographer. What do you do besides what you signed on for (quartermaster), Torwald?"
"Should I tell you? I'll get roped into a lot of stuff that's outside my duties."
"That's for sure," Ham said blandly. "But you might as well own up to it now. We'll find out eventually."
"Well, just about everything. I was on solo, two and three-man scoutships for most of the War. That took training in just about every ship's position. I'm good at reconnaissance and charting, I know a little geology, and I can handle mining and quarrying. I can pilot atmospheric craft and small watercraft. I can handle light weapons and explosives."
In the game GURPS: Traveller Starships are the following rules for the size of spacecraft crews.
For spacecraft under 140,000 cubic meters.
Basic Bridge jobs: Captain, Pilot, Navigator, Sensor Operator/Officer, Communication Operator/Officer. In many cases one person will fill several of the jobs.
Command Bridge jobs: all the Basic Bridge jobs, plus one to three extra sensor operators, one to three extra communication officers, a computer officer, and a science fictional defensive force field officer.
Sickbay: two medics for the first sickbay, at least one for each additional sickbay, one sickbay per 120 passenger staterooms.
Engineering: about one Engineer for each 500 cubic meters of propulsion system.
Weapons: one gunner per weapon turret.
Cargo: one cargo master (may be another job taken by the Captain).
Passenger Staterooms: One master steward. One additional steward per 50 middle class passengers and one per 20 high class passengers.
For spacecraft over 140,000 cubic meters. These numbers are averages, military vessels will have larger crews to allow for multiple shifts.
Command Section: Commanding officer, Executive officer, two Navigation officers, Communication officer, as support personnel a number of rating crewmen equal to 50% of the number of officers. On ships over 3,000,000 cubic meters the number of personnel in command section should be about five per 1,400,000 cubic meters.
Engineering Section: about one Engineer for each 500 cubic meters of propulsion system.
Gunnery Section: One chief gunnery officer. One petty officer for each kind of weapon the ship is armed with. For "spinal" weapons (where the ship's spine is composed of one huge weapon) one crew man per 14,000 cubic meters. Each weapon "bay" requires two crew men, each battery of turrets requires one crew man. The total crew complement in gunnery section will be about 10% officers, 30% petty officers, and 60% crew men.
Medical Section: One chief medical officer. One full time medic or assistant per 50 people on board.
Service Section: For shops, storage, security, food service, etc. If there are no troops, 3 service crew per 140,000 cubic meters or 100 other crew, whichever is larger. If the ship carries troops, 2 service crew per 140,000 cubic meters or 100 other crew, whichever is larger. A luxury liner will have even more service crew.
Troop Section: Military vessels over 140,000 cubic meters will have "marines" (space-ines?). The number will range from 3 per 140,000 cubic meters to 3 per 14,00 cubic meters.
Specialist Section: Cargo specialists, science crew, intelligence officers, liaison officers, electronic warfare officers, etc. As needed.
Robert Heinlein's Stranger In A Strange Land suggested these crew skills as a minimal list for an interplanetary exploration spacecraft:
ship's commander
semantician
atomics engineer
hydroponicist
rocket engineer
In the novel the ship could only carry a maximum of eight crewmembers, so each person filled a minimum of three of these jobs, and most of them did four or more.
2010: Odyssey Two
In Sir Arthur C. Clarke's 2010, they had these crew positions:
Crewmember
Engineering-Propulsion
Captain Tatiana Orlova
Navigation-Astronomy
Dr Vasili Orlov
Engineering-Structures
Dr Maxim Brailovsky
Engineering-Communications
Dr Alexander Kovalev
Engineering-Control Systems
Dr Nikolai Ternovsky
Medical-Life-Support
Surgeon-Commander Katerina Rudenko
Medical-Nutrition
Dr Irma Yakunina
Aeronutronic EMPIRE
Crew Roster for Aeronutronic EMPIRE dual planet flyby mission (1962)
Young People's Science Encyclopedia
The Young People's Science Encyclopedia, vol 17 Sp-Su, suggest these crew positions:
Crew composition for interplanetary flights
Primary Professional Responsibility
Organizational Responsibility
Pilot & Engineer Mechanical & Nuclear Overall vehicle systems, propulsion Command of spacecraft
Pilot & Engineer Electronics Guidance, control, navigation on board electronic computer system First deputy commander
Pilot & Engineer Electrical & nuclear All electrical systems, cable systems, converters, generators, auxiliary power supply Second deputy commander
Pilot & Engineer Nuclear Propulsion specialist Specialist
Pilot & Engineer Mechanical All mechanical subsystems Specialist
Pilot & Engineer Electronics Instrumentation communications, robot systems Specialist
Pilot & Physician Medicine, Dentistry, Psychiatry, Radiology, Biology, Medical technology Biotechnical life support systems, food and sanitary control, health and morale of crew Medical officer
Crew composition for Terra-Luna flight
Pilot & Engineer Mechanical & Nuclear Vehicle systems, all mechanical and electric subsystems and propulsion Command of spacecraft
Pilot & Engineer Electronics & Electrical Guidance, control, navigation, all instrumentation and communication First deputy commander
Pilot & Physician Medicine, Radiology, Biology, Medical technology Biotechnical subsystems of life support systems, food and sanitary control, health and comfort of crew Medical officer
Artwork by John Schoenherr for "The Trouble with Telstar" (1963)
Artwork by Ed Valigursky for "The Transposed Man" (1955)
Artwork by Herbert J. "Jonny" Bruck for "Captain Future's Challenge" (1969)
Northshield's Triumverate
artwork by Rodger MacGowan
In the old days, before the war, the starships had carried three kinds of men serving three different functions. Planetary engineers worked on the barely habitable and the actually uninhabitable planets, changing their ecologies so that human beings could eventually live there. Planetary engineers; releasing water from the rocks of oceanless worlds, creating arable land on desert worlds, bringing the right balance of oxygen and nitrogen to the atmospheres of deadly worlds, bending the natural ecological development of a planet so that it grew into a place where men could live.
The colonists followed the planetary engineers. Escaping from overcrowded, congested, regimented inner worlds these men organized governments and social institutions which could grow and absorb their populations. These worlds were located and given a preliminary survey by the third group, the explorers, the loners who took the scientists’ analyses of the light from the stars and the computers’ analyses of the probability of planets around any given star and went out to see for themselves.
Northshield could understand the attraction of planetary engineering, the challenge of remaking a useless world. But planetary engineers spent their whole lifetimes on just one world, barely beginning the long process of making one planet habitable. The colonists were even worse off, from Northshield’s point of view. Even before the war, being a colonist meant one world, one sunset, one distribution of continents and oceans and plants and animals. Since the beginning of the war, the colonists had become sitting ducks for Confederation raids. Living year after year dreading the day when the enemy starship would come and destroy everything they had built out of so much time and hard work.
No, Northshield knew he could never love one world enough to risk everything on it. He loved space. The thrum of the generators during a hyperspace run. The excitement of blinking back into regspace with a whole new planetary system out there to be experienced. Different worlds, different sunsets, different skies. To be the first to see a new planet, to map it from high orbit, to test its atmosphere and sample its soil and roughly classify any life forms it might have. To gather the data for the planetary engineers or the colonists who would follow. Northshield could not understand how anyone could choose to moulder on one planet with all this to be done.
But of course, he had not been able to become an explorer. The war drained men away from what they might have liked to accomplish and forced them to do what had to be done. Northshield had become a Captain, the leader of a military Triumvirate. In some ways it was the closest thing available to what he really wanted. Besides, explorers weren’t going out any more, and planetary engineers were dying in the engine rooms of United Stellar warships.
And the colonists were coming back to the inner worlds. Leaving their hardwon homes and coming back to a way of life they despised, coming back simply because it was life, and the outer worlds held only death from the Confederation
Only one thing really differentiated the ships; the quality of the men inside them. The men who fought in this interstellar warfare did so out of pride and confidence in themselves and in their ships. If the battles were short, violently swerving periods when whirring computers directed laser beams and nuclear-armed missiles to the enemy’s weakest points, then the days and weeks in hyperdrive before and after engagements were lonely periods of work, preparing for battle, repairing after battle. Men could do nothing during those raging minutes, but men did maintain the ship and its military capabilities. All things being equal, as they usually were, the best maintenanced ship had the best chance for survival.
The captain of an interstellar warship did not fight. The computers did that. He did not decide the course or the targets or the weapons. The computers did all those things. The captain was a chief maintenance engineer in charge of the human components on board his ship. During a battle he remained in the Communications Center, desperately trying to keep track of the damage situation so that he could send crews wherever they might be needed. The First Exec was stationed with the hyperdrive unit and did what he could to handle any immediate damage there, while the Second Exec was with the computers, trying to maintain the purity of the programming inserted by United Stellar in the face of heat, radiation and excessive gravity strains caused by battle maneuvers. This arrangement also distributed the members of the Triumvirate throughout the ship and made the survival of at least one of them more likely.
From NORTHSHIELD'S TRIUMVIRATE by Joseph F. Patrouch, Jr. (1975)
Job Names
There are some standard nick-names for various jobs (some of these are strictly military).
Nick-name
Black Gang
Engine room crew (reference to shoveling coal)
Boats, Bos'n
Boatswain
Surgeon/Doctor
X Bubbas
Generic term for group of officers. May apply to segment of the warfare community, or officers assigned to a specific location or command. (e.g., Orbital Warfare Bubbas, J9 Bubbas, etc.)
Chief Snake and his boy
(aka Ratfink and Dob-in)
Coxwain (in charge of ship's discipline and also steering the ship) and assistant
Chief Mess Officer
Deck Apes
Boatswains mates, Flight deck crew, Aviation Boatswains Mates
Fuelies
Aviation Boatswain's Mate - Fueling
Guns, Gunner, Gunny
Gunnery officer, Gunner's Mates
Jack in the Dust
Knuckle dragger
Crewmember with more brawn than brain
Mess Cranks
Non-rated men assigned to assist in the galley
Nuclear power techs
Ordies
Ordnance techs
Sparks, Sparky
Radio officer or Electronics tech
Intelligence, Electronic Warfare and Cryptography officers
Twidgets
Electronic Warfare officers
Crewmember of limited intelligence who is safer away from
anything more hazardous than a pencil
X Weenie
Generic Term. The "Intel Weenie" is the Intelligence Specialist
Officers (used by enlisted men only)
Space Battleship Yamato Note the "cross-draw" sidearm holsters. It makes the butt of the gun jut forward like a samurai sword.
In the game SPI's Universe, there are some colorful names for various professions.
Astroguard
Member of a planet's or star system's local military spacecraft force.
Member of the federal spacecraft navy.
Freefaller
Soldier in the zero-gravity branch of the federal armed forces.
Soldier in the standard ground branch of the federal armed forces.
Spacetrooper
Soldier in the assault force branch of the federal armed forces.
Member of the exploration branch of the federal armed forces.
Future job terms
Tyge Sjostrand suggest the term Espatiers for space marines, since after all the term "marine" implies the ocean (French marine, from Latin marinus, derived from mare "sea"). The best guess I have at how it is pronounced is "Ess pa tee yea". Rick Robinson really likes Mr. Sjostrand suggestion:
"Espatier" is a twofer. Its formation exactly parallels "Marine" (also French-derived, as are nearly all basic military terms), and it also parallels the English word "spacer," but with a nice shade of meaning - a spacer is anyone who lives/works in space; an espatier is a space soldier.
Tyge Sjostrand
Frederik Vezina disagrees about the pronunciation.
While the suggested "Ess pa tee yea" isn't especially unlikely, the French would be much closer to "Ess pa cee yay", as the t in the French "spatial" is pronounced like an s or a soft c.
The English adaptation would almost certainly end in "yea", because that's what usually happens to French words, but the c sound would likely remain, IMO.
Frederik Vezina
And in the anime Macross, the (Japanese) writers noted that the military on the ground is called the "Army" and the military on the ocean is called the "Navy", so logically the military in space would be called the "Spacy" (alternatively it could be a contraction of "Space Navy"). Since the release of Macross, the term has been used in other works: Martian Successor Nadesico, Voices of a Distant Star, and Mobile Suit Gundam.
Alas, "Spacy" is a little too similar to "Spacey", which in the slang of the United States means "vague and dreamy, as if under the influence of drugs".
Female Hero Gallery
Sidearms: Introduction▶
◀Mining
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By Rnation@2017
TRENTON — For the second time this year, top Democratic lawmakers in New Jersey pulled the plug on legislation to legalize cannabis sales for recreational use, killing any likelihood Gov. Phil Murphy will deliver on a key campaign promise before 2021.
Instead, legislative leaders introduced a resolution Monday that would put a recreational use question on the November 2020 ballot. The resolution would need to pass both houses of the state Legislature by three-fifths majorities in one year or by simple majorities in consecutive years to make it onto the ballot.
“We made further attempts to generate additional support in the Senate to get this done legislatively, but we recognize that the votes just aren’t there. We respect the positions taken by legislators on what is an issue of conscience,” Senate President Steve Sweeney said in a joint statement with Sen. Nicholas Scutari (D-Union), who had been the lead sponsor of the cannabis legalization bill, NJ S2703 (18R), in the upper house.
While senior lawmakers had telegraphed the possibility that they’d move forward with cannabis legalization through a referendum, Monday’s announcement came less than three hours after Scutari held a press conference with Assemblyman Jamel Holley (D-Union) and pro-cannabis groups to demand action on the recreational use bill.
Continue reading at Politico
Find cannabis dispensaries
Find marijuana dispensaries
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local marijuana dispensaries
Marijuana Dispensaries Directory
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Marijuana Industry
medical and recreational marijuana dispensaries
medical marijuana dispensaries
recreational cannabis dispensaries
recreational marijuana dispensaries
Rise Of The Marijuana Industry
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Kerry looks to revive two state solution
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry speaks at Chatham House in London, Britain October 31, 2016. REUTERS/Peter Nicholls
Text by: Fabien Jannic-Cherbonnel
Israel delayed a vote this Wednesday on permits for settler homes at the request of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. This comes as US Secretary of State John Kerry prepares to give a speech on his vision for peace in the Middle East.
John Kerry's position
Well Kerry is expected to outline guidelines on how the peace-process could be restarted, without getting too specific,"Hugh Lovatt, a policy fellow with the European Council on Foreign Relations said.
"We need to acknowledge that the peace process, under its Oslo configuration has failed. The two state solution however is still alive. So through Kerry's initiative, the emphasis is not so much on trying to restart negociations in the short term, but rather to defend the long-term viability of the two states solution."
Experts say US President Barack Obama and Kerry want to leave t a mark on the Israel-Palestine peace process, before Donald Trump takes office in a month.
Trump has alredady signaled he will take a much softer line, nominating an ambassador who wants to move the US embassy to Jerusalem.
Trump's role
Israel's right-wing has already welcomed his election.
"It appears that Mr Trump wants to move the US embassy from Tel-Aviv to Jerusalem," says Karim Emile Bittar, an expert with the French Institute for International and Strategic Affairs.
"This will create unprecented havoc in the Middle East. It's a very charged decision that will be rejected by most countries in the region. There's not Trump doctrine or Trump's strategy."
Nonetheless, Kerry's speech is yet another cause of worry for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Last Friday, the UN security council voted a resolution demanding a halt to Israeli settlement building in Palestinian territory.
It passed thanks to the US abstaining, a first since 1979.
The move was strongly condemned by the Israeli authorities and this Wednesday it appeared they were softening their stance after Netanyahu delayed a local vote on settlement permits.
"I think they want to try not to pour more gasoline on the fire," says Hugh Lovatt. "The key word here is delayed. This steps are anticipated to go forward once Donald Trump reaches the White House. Let's not forget that there is continued settlement activity elsewhere in the West Bank."
While a Jerusalem planning committee postponed requests for building permits for nearly 500 homes in east Jerusalem, it did approve the building in the Palestinian neighbourhood of Silwan.
The White House's role
France will hold an international Middle East peace conference on January 15, but it will be hard to revive the talks, and the idea of a two state solution with such a short deadline.
"What is important is to reignite the peace process at the European level," says Karim Emile Bittar. "John Kerry is offering support to this conference. This could be significant, because if Donald Trump decides to focus on domestic issues, Europe and the International community could play a bigger role."
Finding a solution won't be easy.
One of the sticking point is Israeli settlements... Settlements built on land the Palestinians view as part of their future state and seen as illegal under international law.
Some 430,000 Israeli settlers live in the West Bank and 200,000 Israelis live in east Jerusalem, which Palestinians see as the capital of their future state.
France - Israel
Israel labels Paris peace conference new 'Dreyfus trial'
Landmark UN ruling on Israeli settlements
Israel objects to French labelling of settlement goods
Iran's Foreign Minister claims Iranians were "lied to" over jetliner crash
The death of Soleimani: Israel’s perspective
Qassem Soleimani attack: the Iranian perspective
Iraqi parliament votes to expel US-led coalition troops
EU invites Iranian foreign minister to Brussels in bid to ease tensions
France raises human rights concerns as Dakar Rally begins in Saudi Arabia
Soleimani strike: Why now and what next?
US denies fresh strike on pro-Iran convoy in Iraq ahead of Soleimani funeral
Who was Qassem Soleimani, head of Iran's Quds Force?
France warns citizens in Iran after US air strike kills top military commander
Turkey’s vote to send troops to Libya sparks condemnation
Iran says France 'interfering' in case of jailed academic
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A solitary figure crouched in an alcove on the 35th floor of the Continental Oil Tower. A gleaming skyscraper of glass and steel buried deep in the heart of the Houston business district. Counting the seconds, the expected footsteps of the night security guard grew louder as the watchman entered from the far end of the hallway. Every so many footsteps brought silence while the guard paused briefly at each office door rattling the doorknobs to ensure the doors were locked. Then the steps would start again repeating the process. The man could be heard humming as he made his rounds, the jangling of keys on his belt adding to the rhythm of another monotonous evening.
Soon the humming and the footwork stepped to the same beat while the sentry performed his hourly ritual. The level of attention paid to the tedious task by the bored security guard adequate, but routine. In his ten years on the job, not a single event had broken the time-tested pattern, so the night watchman walked his rounds with the voice of latest country artist filling his earphones, the man's mind miles away in thought.
The figure shrunk into a tighter ball hidden at the bottom of the dimly lit alcove. As the guard approached, she held her breath worried that the even the quiet exhaling of breath might alert the guard of her presence. With eyes cast down, her sightline tracked the dimly lit shadow of the guard as it slid across the carpet, moved past the corner and then was closely followed by the physical form.
The guards timing was impeccable. The strict routine of the building patrols carried out like clockwork every hour of the night. The female figure started the countdown again and at the predetermined amount of time eased from the shrunken position to cautiously peek into the hallway. She watched the back of the guard disappear down the opposite end of the corridor.
Glancing back to the direction the man had started, the figure eyed the cameras in the ceiling. Her mind studiously plotting out a course that would take her undiscovered into the office of the Continental Oil’s CEO. With the route memorized, Netanya Kalb slowly rose, checked once again on the guard's progress then on soft-soled shoes moved quickly from the alcove. Her carefully placed footsteps resembling a macabre dance as she traced a zigzagged trail to her destination. The trek to the office a time restricted game of hide and seek with the rotating cameras.
Stopping tight to the wall adjacent to the CEO’s door, Netanya waited while the ceiling camera swept passed the office door and continued on its endless circuit. A new countdown began in her head as she rushed to the door, a pair of long thin picks ready to attack the lock. She had 20 seconds before the camera finished its arc and reversed directions. Her last attempt took close to 18 seconds. A time she hoped to better this time around.
…17…18…the lock tumblers clicked. Netanya dove into the office shoving the door closed then engaging the door lock. Resting on the floor, she calmed her breathing and in her mind ran through the room's layout. Now that she was out of the camera's view, she had time to complete her task. Her last visit to this office was one month ago, and she hoped that the tiny cameras she had planted were worth the effort.
Sliding the CEO’s chair close to the desk, she climbed onto the solid top and stretching on her toes reached a hand above the twin ceiling lights, her fingers feeling for the small shape of the hidden camera. For a brief second, she felt a stir of panic before the tips of her fingers rubbed against the tiny plastic box.
Netanya spent the next few minutes gathering the rest of her concealed arsenal of electronic recorders. With all the devices accounted for, she returned to the desk digging a specialized thumb drive from the inside of her suit. The drive was a model often used by the agents at Shabak. It served a dual purpose. When first installed it transferred the computers files to a predetermined email address and once the download was complete the drive released a virus that melted the circuit board when the computers password was next entered.
The downside to the drive, it had to be simultaneously installed when the power button was activated. If her timing were off, any safeguards built into the computer would come into play rendering her task pointless and without a doubt notifying the buildings security.
Netanya breathed air deeply forcing a calm to flood her body. Slowly exhaling she gently lifted the laptops cover enough to display the power button then with steady hands she lined the drive up with the computers port while her right hand hovered over the power symbol.
Netanya let out the last of her breath, then with skilled hands moving in perfect harmony her left hand slipped the drive into the waiting slot while her other hand depressed the metal button. A flashing light indicated the laptop’s response. She stood motionless. The screen flashed to life then just as quickly returned to sleep mode.
Retracing her steps to the buildings 10th floor, the Israeli agent crept back into a supply closet, exchanged her gear for a set of street clothes. The change complete, Netanya casually walked to the stairwell and down to the lobby, straight past the front security desk, her face partially shielded from the desk attendant. She paused at the main doors, her hand resting on the handle while she waited for the guard to remotely release the door lock.
“Leaving early tonight?” the voice of the attendant questioned assuming she was part of the night cleaning staff. Netanya remained facing the door, mumbled a barely audible reply, flashing her hand in the air waving the forged security card. Her heart sped faster. A tense silence chewed up seconds before the metallic click of the lock signified her release.
In a house on the outskirts of the city, Netanya sat hunched over a kitchen table reviewing camera video from the CEO’s office. A second figure sat mesmerized by pirated files from the same office.
Charles Ryan whistled in enthusiasm at the information garnered from the hacked computer of the Continental Oil’s CEO. Damning information laying proof that Continental Oil had sold out years earlier to the People Of The Earth Foundation. Under the guise of the independent holding company, false reports were produced showing a severe shortage of oil stock while millions of barrels of black gold left the state for a facility in the western part of the country.
The video Netanya studied contained even more damaging information for the oil company and the POTE. The acting CEO discussed the illegal transactions with directors of other major oil companies. A bevy of executives who, with the help of Netanya’s colleagues in Israel were discovered to be appointed figureheads, the leaders of an oil cartel operating under the umbrella of the POTE Foundation. A disruptive collusion aimed at starving the North American free market of oil products.
FBI agent Charles Ryan hid a smile as he sat at his desk in the Colorado field office. The FBI agent sat at his desk reading stories obtained from newspapers across the country. Ryan scoured the Internet on his latest purchase, a digital reading paper.
The FBI agent marveled at the timely invention from the techs at Silicone Valley. A small square of material that was the thickness of a few sheets of paper combined with the computing power of a modern laptop. Since the start of the climate struggles the use of paper products had grown scarce. The fuel to manufacture pulp became too expensive and with the decimation of forests for heating fuel created a void for innovation to fill.
A week had passed since he had met Netanya in the house on the edge of Houston. He returned to his home state and back to work while she traveled to New York and with the assistance of an anonymous group of hackers released the damaging files and videos to the World Wide Web. Links and videos appeared on several national news outlets.
The greatest pleasure to Ryan arrived from the saturation of the nation's press with follow up stories of outrage and protests from shocked American's left without jobs and homeless due to the subterfuge of the POTE and the undermined oil industry.
Protests not unlike the ones of years past but the storyline differed. People were now marching against the lying corporations and the corruption leading to a false green future.
Karma at its best, Ryan supposed. When Netanya had reappeared into his life a scant few months ago with the suggestion that a change of tactics may be needed to halt the undermining of the world economy, he had his doubts. With the recent cyber attacks against the left, anti-oil establishment, he now found a new hope growing.
Fight the establishment with the same deviousness and false truths invented by the green movement she had said. So far her tactics were paying off. Thus began the crucial game consisting of one side moving followed by the other faction providing countermoves.
A global round of chess where the world’s well being became the end game.
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Canadian airmen served in the British flying services during the Great War of 1914-1918 in surprisingly large numbers and in virtually every theatre of the war.
Many of them entered service by volunteering for the Canadian Over-Seas Expeditionary Force. To do so, they were required to complete an Attestation Paper in which they declared an oath of allegiance to King George the Fifth and agreed to serve in any arm of the service for the duration of the war between Great Britain and Germany.
61 Waddington, Melville Wells 12
62 White, James Butler 12
63 Banbury, Fred Everest 11
64 Chadwick, Arnold Jacques 11
65 Davison, Hiram Franklin 11
66 Duncan, William James Arthur 11
67 Green, Charles Duncan Bremner 11
68 Irwin, William Roy 11
69 James, Mansell Richard 11
70 Johnson, George Owen 11
71 Oaks, Harold Anthony 11
72 Bell, Hilliard Brooke 10
73 Breadner, Lloyd Samuel 10
74 Brown, Arthur Roy 10
75 Brown, Frederick Elliott 10
Manitoba Free Press, Winnipeg, Wednesday, January 16, 1918
Canadians were invited to join the R.F.C.
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The Court Jeweller
Bringing you sparkling heirloom jewels of royal and noble families from across the globe
The Tiarapedia
The Congo Diamond Necklace Tiara
Keystone Pictures USA/Alamy
Convertible tiaras are often some of the most popular jewels in royal vaults, but it's been quite a while since we've seen the Congo Diamond Necklace Tiara, one of the heirloom wedding tiaras of the grand ducal family of Luxembourg.
The piece dates to the middle of the twentieth century and was made by Van Cleef and Arpels using Congolese diamonds. In 1953, the necklace/tiara and its matching bracelet were given by the Belgian Congo as a wedding present to Princess Joséphine Charlotte of Belgium, who was marrying Hereditary Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg.
As a sidenote: the now-Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Belgian royal family have a complicated and often tragic historical relationship. While many colonies were claimed by countries, the Congo was personally owned by Leopold II of the Belgians himself. The history of the lucrative ivory and rubber trades and the atrocities that occurred as a result have had long-lasting consequences, to say the very least.
The Belgian Congo gained its independence seven years after Joséphine Charlotte's wedding. Although the pieces were a gift from a then-colony, they are not, as is often stated, set with "blood diamonds." Blood diamonds (or "conflict diamonds"), by definition, are gems mined in a war zone and sold on the black market to finance insurgencies. Although the DRC has had issues with conflict mining in more recent decades, the gems in this suite of jewelry are not conflict diamonds. They have a colonial history, which brings along many other issues, but blood diamonds they're not.
Joséphine Charlotte began a family tradition when she wore the diamond sparkler as a tiara during her religious wedding ceremony. (She changed into the Belgian Scroll Tiara for portraits afterward.) The marriage ceremony itself, however, wasn't precisely the most joyful of weddings. The bride struggled through the ceremony, appearing shaken and confused, leading the groom to inquire after her health multiple times at the altar. The press had a field day with Joséphine Charlotte's tears, murmuring that she was upset because the relationship had been a political arrangement. The official excuse was that she was ill; one diplomat's wife even claimed that the bride's new contact lenses had caused her to cry during the wedding.
Whatever the true cause, Joséphine Charlotte was stressed enough that the couple's honeymoon was postponed. She and Jean were eventually able to embark on their trip to Africa, and their marriage lasted for more than half a century, producing three sons and two daughters.
A generation later, both of Joséphine Charlotte's daughters would anchor their veils with the Congo Tiara for their religious wedding ceremonies: Princess Marie Astrid wed Archduke Carl Christian of Austria in February 1982, and Princess Margaretha (pictured above) married Prince Nikolaus of Liechtenstein a few weeks later.
Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
The tiara was also the wedding diadem of choice when Maria Teresa Mestre y Batista married Joséphine Charlotte's eldest son, the future Grand Duke Henri, in Luxembourg in February 1981. Henri and Maria Teresa, who are now the reigning grand ducal couple in Luxembourg, were college sweethearts.
Although the piece has been used four times as a bridal diadem, it has generally been worn more often as a necklace than as a tiara. Above, Joséphine Charlotte wears the necklace with the Belgian Scroll Tiara during a banquet held the night before the wedding of her brother, King Baudouin, in December 1960. (She's escorted here by her husband, Grand Duke Jean, and her youngest brother, Prince Alexandre of Belgium.)
Here, for a gala event in 1967, she pairs the necklace with the grandest sparkler in the grand ducal vaults, the Luxembourg Empire Tiara.
Ron Bell/PA Images/Alamy
In November 1976, the necklace made an appearance during a state visit from Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom and the Duke of Edinburgh. For this occasion, she wore the necklace with another convertible jewel, the Emerald Peacock Necklace Tiara, as well as diamond and emerald earrings from the collection of her mother, Queen Astrid of Belgium, and an emerald and diamond brooch.
It's been quite some time since we've seen the necklace/tiara worn in public, in part because the Luxembourgish grand ducal family narrowly escaped losing the sparkler entirely a few years ago. Dividing up Joséphine Charlotte's effects after her death in 2005 proved to be problematic, and the family quietly arranged the sale of many of her jewels, including this tiara. When the press found out about and reported on the planned auction, the public reaction was so overwhelmingly negative that it compelled the family to cancel the sale. (A significant number of jewels, however, were still quietly sold later.) But the necklace/tiara still hasn't been used on a regular basis since, and all of the family's brides in recent years have chosen to wear other tiaras, including the family's two floral tiaras.
Posted by The Court Jeweller
Labels: Belgium , luxembourg , Saturday Sparkler
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© 2014-2019 The Court Jeweller
Content may not be reproduced without permission.
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by Storm Richards
A couple of weeks out of Porterville, two riders rode silently into the setting sun. The warmth of the sun vanishing as the wind picked up and the clouds rolled in from beyond the horizon. Pulling up their collars, they hunched slightly over in an effort to keep warm. The rider on the left shot a glance out of the corner of his eye, checking on his partner. Neither one had spoken for over an hour. There were no more words left which to speak. There was nothing left to debate. Talking wasn't going to give any answers, so they continued on in silence.
Seeing a familiar group of rocks, the riders turned off the main path into the trees. After weaving in and out of trees for a short time, they pulled up their mounts. They looked at the worn and battered line shack, not much but it would protect them from the rain that was coming their way. Dismounting, they went about settling the horses in under the nearby shelter of trees. Working in tandem, almost as one as they had done this routine so often, they didn't have to talk to know what the other was doing or what needed to be done. They closed the door just as the heavens opened up for the fourth night in a row.
The partner with the dark hat used his finger to push the brim of his hat back after he placed his saddle, saddlebags and bedroll on the floor. He scanned the small shack. Seeing what he was searching for brought a small dimpled smile to his face. "Well," he said, "there is plenty of dry wood." Stepping towards the pile he added, "We'll be dry and warm tonight."
"Yeah," the partner with the brown hat said less enthusiastically as he dumped his belonging on the floor.
Heyes clenched his jaw, not looking back at his partner; he began to build a fire. He didn't want to get into a fight. He didn't want to get into the same argument the two of them had been having for the past week. Well, really ever since they left Porterville. Ever since Lom came back and told them they would be granted amnesty if and only if they proved to the Governor they could stay out of trouble. Heyes took a breath in and blew it out. Standing up he turned to face Kid. With his best disarming voice and the Hannibal Heyes charm that had gotten them out of more trouble than either could count he stated, "We'll be nice and toasty in no time."
Kid rolled his eyes and went to check out the cupboards. "Empty," he groaned, slamming the door shut, he watched as the door broke, crashing to the floor.
"More firewood," his Heyes quipped, still trying not to be goaded into the ongoing argument.
Blue eyes glared at at his partner; the cold calculating stare that would have most men running the other way as fast as possible. Heyes' shoulders slumped. Pointing towards the door, "You want to spend another night in the rain? I thought it would be nice to have heat, hot coffee, warm food but hey if you want to keep riding, let me know. I'm your partner. You lead, I'll follow." What had started quietly ended with a flourish and wave of his hand as he could feel his blood beginning to boil. More accurately he felt his head banging into the brick wall; better known as Kid Curry!
"No I don't want to go back into the rain, again," Kid snapped. "I want to be in a hotel, havin’ a nice steak dinner and maybe play some poker tonight. Instead I'm in this line shack that could blow over any minute, eatin' beans, drinkin' your coffee, and sleepin' on the floor!"
"Kid," Heyes sighed. "We've been through this over and over again." He paused, waiting for his cousin to reply. When he didn't he continued, "It was your idea to go for amnesty, I don't know what you want me to say."
"Maybe you could explain to me why we had to leave Porterville. Why we're ridin' all over the place. Why we can't get near let alone stop at any of the towns we've past." Kid threw his hand up in the air. With the fire doing its job, he began to unbutton his sheepskin coat. "We had jobs in Porterville; a hotel room and the Sheriff knew who we were and didn't care. Why couldn't we stay?"
Heyes removed his hat, placing it on a chair and then removed his coat, staling for time so that he could once again answer his partner instead of yelling at him. "Lom didn't care who we are, that's true, but," he paused for emphasis. "If someone else recognized us, Lom would have no choice but to arrest us. The Governor said it was a secret. No one can know. Lom couldn't turn his back and even if he did, our amnesty would be out the window." He walked across the shack and threw another log on the fire even though it didn't need it. "He stuck his neck out for us. Did you really want to put him in that position?" he turned back towards his cousin. "If you remember, the jobs you keep bringing up were at the bank. Do you remember what the bank looked like when we left?"
Kid shrugged his shoulders ever so slightly, raising his eyebrows.
"Don't really think those jobs are available right now."
"So why can't we stop in a town? Why do we keep ridin' south?"
"Did you know all the towns we passed?"
"Yeah," Kid groused.
"Why, cause we robbed the banks in most of them?"
"Yeah," Kid chuckled lightly.
"Then there are probably a few people in town, maybe a sheriff or two who can recognize us? Not the best idea when we are trying not to be noticed."
"Yeah," Kid sighed sounding dejected.
"Look," Heyes said walking towards his friend. "I'm tired of riding. I'm tired of sleeping in the rain. I want a nice steak dinner and a nice bed in a hotel. We just have to ride far enough south so we won't be recognized so easy."
Kid nodded his head.
Heyes sighed in relief, finally a break through. "How about I make some coffee? We can make some bacon and biscuits for dinner."
"Sounds like a Plan."
The two once again settled down into being partners, working along side of each other making dinner. They didn't talk, but they didn't have to; the tension that filled the silence before, was gone or at least put aside for the time being. After biscuits, bacon and coffee they set up their bedrolls and lay down. With full stomachs, dry clothes and a warm cabin, they gave into their bodies scream for sleep. Kid fell asleep almost as soon as his head hit the bedroll; while Heyes, though tired, couldn't stop his mind from working overtime. The amnesty was his partner’s idea at first but after they discussed it, it became their idea. Now Kid was questioning the rational behind the decision. Heyes reasoned to himself that Kid's feeling made sense; he was tired and grouchy. Since they left Porterville, the weather had been horrible. They rode almost continuously, when they did stop, they had the cold wet ground to try to sleep on. Both Lom and the Governor told them to stay out of trouble and they were too well known in these parts. Trouble would surely come to them if they tried to stop in any of the towns they past along their journey so far. At first his cousin agreed, but as the weather got worse, his mood got worse. It rained so hard for the past three nights; they couldn't even get a fire going. They found the best cover they could under trees but sleep was almost impossible. Heyes sighed; three days of only eating jerky would make anyone grumpy. Three days of only jerky made Kid almost unbearable. He hoped a good night sleep would help change his partner's attitude.
As brown eyes stared at the ceiling, he wondered if they could make it; would they be able to stay out of trouble for a year. He figured at this point they really didn't have a choice. Stopping the rest of the gang from robbing the Porterville Bank twice probably didn't go over well with the boys. He wasn't so sure how welcome they would be back in Devil's Hole right now. Wheat had taken over and although Wheat had been posturing for sometime, he was never really a threat when they were on the inside. Now that he and Kid were on the outside, Heyes wasn't sure that was still the case. Besides, he told himself, this is a chance they never figured they would have. Now that they do, they have to give it a go, it was a challenge but he always liked a good challenge!
Heyes' eyes were getting heavy; his eyelids were beginning to sag as thoughts swirled around in his head. First thing they had to do was to find a town that no one would recognize them in and get jobs. Right now, money was okay. They still had some from the robbery before their infamous last train robbery, but that would run out soon. He rolled his eyes, if anything told them they should get out of the business, that day certainly did. He could always play poker for money he thought, his eyelids shut as he dreamed of the perfect poker game.
The morning came and the sun shone through the cracks in the line shack. Kid rolled over and groaned. "Mornin'," Heyes said cheerfully. "Coffee?"
Kid put his hand up to block the sun shinning in his eyes; he opened an eye and glared at his partner. "You're in a good mood," he accused.
"Sun's up, not a cloud in the sky. What's not to be in a good mood about?" he replied as he held out a cup of coffee for his partner.
He ran a hand through his blond curls as he and sat up. Taking the cup he grumbled, "We're in a line shack."
"Kid," Heyes interrupted before his partner had a chance to say anything else. "We've been through all of this over and over. Do you really want to start on it again? I mean we can go ‘round and ‘round in circles over this or we can wake up today, look at the sunny sky and say we have a chance. We have a chance we never thought we had. I said it last night and I'll say it again, we're partners. You decide you don't want to try for amnesty; I'll be right by your side. I just want you to think about what you're giving up."
"Ridin’ all the time. No place to go back to. Sleepin’ on the floors," Kid began to rattle off a list of complaints.
"No one shooting at us, a chance to settle down, maybe a family down the road," the brown haired man countered as he turned around.
Kid looked at the back of Heyes, he was packing his saddlebags. He shifted on the floor as he took a sip of coffee. He studied his partners back. He knew Heyes wasn't going to turn around and look at him until he agreed. Whenever Heyes was done with an argument, he would turn his back to him and busy himself with something. Somehow what ever he was doin' never got done until Kid agreed. He also knew Heyes was right. "What are we gonna do for money?"
Heyes smiled to himself as he slowly continued to pack his saddlebags. Most days it would have been done ten times by now, but he knew Kid needed time to think; time to come around. "Well, I figured we got jobs in Porterville, we can get jobs anywhere."
"We're friends of the sheriff in Porterville and experts. We can't go around boastin' that we're experts in the bankin' business now can we."
"No," Heyes agreed. "But we are."
Kid could tell by the sound of Heyes' voice, the size of the smile on his face and the glint in his eyes. He sighed, "Heyes."
"Yeah, Kid."
"What are you thinkin' now?" Kid asked almost reluctantly.
Heyes finally turned to look at him. "I figured we're far enough south to be able to ride into the next town without everyone knowing who we are. Get a hotel room, hot bath and a nice steak dinner."
Kid smiled, then frowned, "Money's gonna run out if we don't get jobs."
"True, but maybe they'll be a game or two of poker tonight."
Kid smiled again as he stood up. Grabbing his bedroll, "Well what are you waitin' for? I wanna be in a nice soft bed tonight!"
Heyes suppress a smile as the two rode further and further away from the line shack. Kid had been talking almost none stop since they left a couple of hours earlier. He was content to listen to his partner talk for a change. He was just happy Kid's mood had improved and they were no longer fighting. The fact that the sun was high in the sky and a gentle breeze was blowing certainly didn't hurt. Heyes began to think of the possibilities the two of them had in front of them.
"Heyes," Kid said. "Heyes," he yelled louder.
"Ah-what," Heyes replied sounding confused.
"You ain't been listenin'," Kid accused.
"Yeah, I have," Heyes stated defensively.
"Then what did I say?" Kid demanded.
"Ah, you were talkin' bout things," Heyes said sheepishly.
"What things?"
Heyes frowned, "Last I recall you were talking about what you were having for supper."
"That was ten minutes ago," Kid growled as he pointed his finger at Heyes. "You ain't been listenin'."
"Well, you're thinking got me thinking."
"Heyes..."
"I'm serious, Kid," he interrupted. "All this thinking by you, well it got me thinking too. Got me thinking about what we're gonna do when we get to town."
"If you'd been listenin' to me, you'd know exactly what we're gonna do."
Brown eyes turned to meet blue eyes, waiting for him to continue.
"First we're gonna ride in and check out the Sheriff. Make sure we don't know him."
Heyes nodded.
"Then I'm gonna get me the biggest steak I can get," Kid said enthusiastically."
"Looking like we do?"
Kid looked at Heyes and then himself. "Okay, we check out the sheriff, check into the hotel, get baths and THEN go get the biggest steak we can find."
"Anything else?"
"That's about it for me," Kid happily stated. "Maybe we can find a poker game in the saloon. Oh, I want some whiskey. We ain't had none since we left Porterville." Kid thought for a moment as they continued to ride further away from the line shack and closer to town. "I guess tomorrow we should look for some jobs." Turning towards his partner, he asked, "What kinda jobs do you think we should look for this time?"
"Let's see what the town has to offer before we decide. I might be able to make enough playing poker."
"Now that sounds like my kinda work. Not hard on the back at all."
Heyes chuckled.
They rode for a few minutes lost in their own thoughts when Heyes said, "There's one thing we have to do before we get to town."
Kid pulled his horse to a stop. "What?" he asked concerned.
"We have to get ourselves some names," he replied, continuing forward.
Confused, Kid nudged his horse to catch up. "We have names. You're Smith, I'm Jones."
"Not those names."
"Lom gave us the names and told us to use them. We can't use Heyes and Curry and there are a lot of Smith and Jones out there."
"Yeah, but how am I supposed to introduce you to anyone?"
"You say this is my partner Mr. Jones."
"Okay, say we're in the saloon and I'm playing poker. A pretty saloon girl walks up to you and starts to talk to you. How are you going to introduce yourself? Hi, I'm Mr. Jones? Don't think calling yourself Kid is a good idea. Jeddidiah and Hannibal are out of the question. So Mr. Jones, I ask you again, how do I introduce you?"
"Never thought about it. I've been Kid longer than I was ever Jed."
"Yeah, well I've been Heyes for forever but we have to come up with names that sound as normal as Smith and Jones."
Kid thought for a minute, "How about Harry?"
Heyes creased his brow as he studied Kid's face. "No. You don't have beady eyes and a pointy nose," he asserted. "No one would believe you were a Harry."
Kid shrugged. "How about Tom or Thomas."
Heyes nodded his head. "Thomas Jones. You could pass as Thomas Jones. Normal everyday guy."
"What about you Heyes? What do you want to be called?"
Heyes contemplated a minute, opened his mouth and then shaking his head closed it. Finally he said, "John, John Smith."
"Thomas Jones and John Smith," Kid agreed.
Continuing to ride towards town, they were once again both lost in their own thoughts. Seeing a fork in the rode up ahead, Kid asked, "Tom, which way?"
Heyes continued forward without answering.
"Tom," Kid said louder, "Which way?"
Confused, Heyes looked at his partner.
"Tom," Kid yelled. "I thought we should get used to callin' each other by our names."
Heyes gave a short nervous chuckle, "You're Tom, I'm John."
Kid closed his eyes. "How am I gonna remember you're John? You don't look like John to me. You look like Heyes."
"We've used aliases before; there's never been a problem."
"Yeah, well that was just last names and once maybe twice. I'm gonna have to remember to call you John all the time," Kid said sounding worried.
Heyes pulled his horse to a stop. "Maybe we just need names easier to remember."
"John is hard?"
"Cause you don't got nothing to remind you its John."
Kid nodded in agreement.
"We need to come up with names that we got something to remember them by."
"How we gonna do that?"
"It can't be anything hard and it can't be anything too close," Heyes stopped and smiled. "How about Joshua and Thaddeus?"
"You did it again, Heyes," Kid smiled. "All I got to do is think of the stories Grandpa Joshua and Grandpa Thaddeus used to tell us while we sat on the porch."
Heyes produced his hand to shake.
Kid looked at it curiously, then shook it.
"Please to meet you Thaddeus Jones," Heyes stated.
"It's good to know ya, Joshua Smith. Now which way do you want to go Joshua?"
"Sign says 15 miles west to Gila City and 10 miles south to Johnson City. I vote for Johnson City."
"Sounds like a plan Joshua."
The two rode to town, talking back and forth using their new names the entire way. As the sun began to set, they could just make out the outline of Johnson City.
"Joshua," Kid said wistfully, "I can just smell the steak dinner." He took a deep breath in, "To cut into a big juice steak." He kicked his horse and urged him on faster.
"Thaddeus," Heyes yelled from behind. "Slow down."
Kid continued to race forward.
"Thaddeus!"
Kid pulled on the reins to slow down his horse. He turned his head towards his partner and looked at him in disgust. "I just want to get to town. I want to eat a steak, I want to sleep in a bed," he growled.
Heyes put his hand up to stop the onslaught of words. "I know, but remember, no trouble."
Kid glowered at him.
"All I'm saying, is we got to remember we have to stay out of trouble. The first thing we have to do is check who the sheriff is. Then we can go to the hotel, get cleaned up and then we can get that steak you want so bad."
Kid softened his glower and almost mimicked Heyes.
"All I'm sayin'...I know all you're sayin' Heyes. It's all you've been sayin'…Stay out of trouble."
"It's not me that's saying it Kid, its Lom and the Governor. If you don't want the amnesty...."
"What I want is a nice hot juicy steak," Kid spat.
"You don't have to get all proddy," Heyes said meekly.
"Heyes," Kid whined. "I want the amnesty. I just want a good meal tonight. Can we get to town so I can get it."
"Sure Kid," Heyes stated lightly. "You just had to say so."
Kid bit his tongue and they rode to town.
Heyes nudged his horse to quicken the pace, he was just as eager for a nice dinner and a warm dry bed to sleep in, maybe even a game or two of poker tonight. He smiled to himself as they reached the first buildings in town.
Johnson City was a fairly typical town in the west. They passed a small church and graveyard at the entrance of the town. The general store, a dress shop and the bank lined one side of the street while the hotel and saloon were on the opposite side. The sheriff's office and jail sat separated from the other buildings on the boardwalk next to the bank. The livery and blacksmith were at the end of the town.
As they rode by the sheriff's office, Kid asked, "Joshua, ever hear of a Sheriff Ethan Adamson?"
"Sheriff Ethan Adamson," Heyes repeated. Smiling he replied, "No, I don't believe I have. Have you Thaddeus?"
"Can't say I have." Kid smiled back.
"Well then, let's get these horses to the livery and us cleaned up so we can have that steak dinner you have been wanting."
"Sound like the best plan you've had in a while Joshua."
Heyes and Kid settled their horses, checked into the hotel, took the quickest baths they ever had and went to get dinner where they lingered enjoying every bite of the biggest steaks they could order. Then it was off to the saloon for poker and whiskey. The night was good and got even better when they laid their heads down on the nice soft pillows on their extremely comfortable beds.
Kid sighed with contentment, "Heyes."
"Maybe goin' for amnesty's not such a bad idea after all."
"You know Kid, I think you're right." Heyes smiled and closed his eyes.
Just as his partner was about to drift off, Kid called out, "Heyes."
"Yeah Kid," he mumbled, half a sleep.
"Guess we have to start lookin’ for jobs tomorrow."
"Yep."
"What kind of job, should we look for?"
"You're in a talkative mood tonight," Heyes grumbled.
"Just thinkin'," Kid stated as he folded his hands behind his head.
"I thought we had an agreement about that."
"Fine," Kid huffed.
Trying to smooth Kid's ruffled feathers Heyes finally answered, "Something not too hard on the back."
"You asked me what kind of job we should look for and I said something not too hard on the back," Heyes stated innocently.
Kid bent his elbow and propped his head up on his hand.
"If I had it my way, I'd just keep playin' poker."
"You think you can keep winnin'," Kid asked.
Heyes glared at Kid incredulously.
"What I meant is, can you keep winnin’ enough money so we can keep livin' like this?"
Heyes thought about it for a minute. "I don't know the town well enough yet. I won tonight, and not too much so that I'll still get a seat at a table tomorrow. I'm not sure if there are enough new bodies willing to keep playing if I keep winning." Heyes shrugged, "We'll have to wait to see what tomorrow brings. In the meantime, we still have enough money not to have to jump at the first job, if it's too hard on the back."
"Alright Heyes, whatever you say," Kid said sleepily, rolling on his back.
Just as his partner's breaths got heavier and he was drifting off to sleep Heyes whispered loudly, "Kid." When there was no answer he called louder, "Kid."
"Huh, what?" he blurted out startled as he bolted straight up in bed, gun in his hand.
Heyes chuckled. "Kid, you can relax."
"Oh," he said, somewhat confused looking at the gun in his hand. Holstering his gun, he lay back down.
"Kid," Heyes called again.
"What?" Kid grumbled.
"Just remember, tomorrow, when we're not in the room, call me Joshua."
Blue eyes glared at Heyes.
"Night, Kid." Heyes said cheerfully and rolled over on his side away.
Kid glowered at his partner. Angrily he hit his pillow attempting to fluff it, snorted, then plopping his head down he turned his back to Heyes.
The next couple of days were quiet and peaceful. Heyes and Kid casually asked around town for any jobs but weren't successful. If they stayed around long enough, they could help out at the feed store when Mr. Booker had to go back east for a short visit and there was a cattle drive forming to the north in Clearwater in a couple of weeks or so. With a little money still in their pockets, nice beds to sleep on and good food, Heyes and Kid spent most of their days lazily relaxing on the hotel porch; sitting back, smoking cigars and watching the people of Johnson City. All in all, Johnson City was a nice pleasant place. Everyone was very nice and better yet, kept to themselves. At night, the partners would wander over to the saloon to play poker. They were very careful not to win too much money, as they were not ready to move on yet. Heyes figured as long as the locals didn't loose too much money at any one time, they wouldn't object to them playing.
Eating breakfast in the café on the fourth day, Mr. Stanton, the town lawyer approached them. "Good morning gentlemen. May I have a word with you?"
Gesturing with his hand towards the open seat across from them Heyes replied, "What can we do for you?"
"I understand the two of you are looking for jobs?"
"That's right. Do you have somethin' for us?" Kid asked.
"I have some important papers that need to be taken out to the Circle R ranch. I need them signed and returned to me as soon as possible. I'm waiting for a telegram so I can't go," the lawyer answered.
"Where's the circle R?" Heyes inquired.
"It's about two hours south of town. Big ranch," Stanton stated.
"Who owns it?" Kid asked.
"Roscoe Taylor."
"Can't say I've heard of him," Heyes smiled.
"Didn’t think you would have," Stanton explained. "He just moved from the east. That's what the papers are for; he's transferring everything out here now. He wants to be a real western cowboy."
"Yeah, not sure how long he will make it, but I'm getting paid to get everything set up, so that's what I'll do. So, do we have a deal?"
"How much?" Kid asked.
"Fair wages and I'll give you a bonus if you can get back before the stage leaves at four," Stanton said.
Heyes looked at Kid and nodded. "We'll take the job."
"Good. I'll head back to my office to get the papers together. Meet me there in fifteen minutes." Stanton stood up, shook their hands and left.
"Well we got ourselves a job, we better get moving," Heyes stated. "We got time to stop back at the hotel."
The partners walked across the street towards the hotel. As they were walking up the steps, six riders rode in from the east.
Approaching the hotel, one of the riders out front did a double take. "What's the matter Toby?" his brother asked.
Toby turned to look at the rider along side of him and then looked back at the hotel porch. The door was shut and the two men he just saw had disappeared.
"Toby," Sticks called louder.
"Huh?" Toby responded sounding confused.
"What's the matter?" Sticks barked.
"Nothin'," Toby replied to his brother.
"What were you lookin' at?" Sticks demanded.
Toby shook his head, "I swear I jist saw Hannibal Heyes an' Kid Curry."
"Where?"
"On the hotel porch."
Sticks looked around his brother and back in the direction of the porch. "There's no one there."
"I know," Toby said scratching his head.
"Then where are they?"
"Don't know."
Sticks turned to the four riders following, "Anyone see anyone on the hotel porch?"
"Nope," the riders replied in unison.
Sticks turned back to his brother, "Think you was imaginin' things."
"I'm tellin' ya, I saw Hannibal Heyes an' Kid Curry."
"Well they ain't there now and anyway, what would Heyes and Curry be doin' all this way south? They's workin' out of Devil's Hole?"
"I don't know what they're doin' here, but I'm tellin' ya they're here," Toby insisted.
"Well fine then. We could use a couple more men on the bank job anyway."
"Really?" Toby's eyes lit up with excitement of the idea. "Us working with Hannibal Heyes and Kid Curry. Ya think they'd work with us?"
Annoyed at his brother's exuberance at the thought, Sticks grumbled, "Well if you see ‘em again, you can ask. And why wouldn't they work with us? We're robbin' the bank, that's what they do."
Sticks, Toby and the gang checked into the hotel and then checked out the bank. They busied themselves around town all day, trying not to be noticed. Trying to be as casual as possible, Toby and Sticks wandered into the bank while the rest of the gang went to the General Store looking for supplies they needed. All day, Toby kept an eye out for Hannibal Heyes and Kid Curry. They were nowhere to be seen and he began to believe he must have imagined them. He had wished he had kept his mouth shut since every time they crossed paths with someone different in town, Sticks would blurt out, "Oh look Hannibal Heyes and Kid Curry," to the hootin' and hollerin' of the rest of the gang.
At three thirty the stage pulled into Johnson City with a load of new passengers to drop off. Mr. Stanton looked out the open door of his office, his packed bags at his feet. There was no sign of Mr. Smith or Mr. Jones. He paced, he stopped, looked out the window, paced some more, looked out the door. He saw new horses being harnessed to the stage. Pulling his pocket watch out, he anxiously looked at the time - three fifty. Sighing, he resigned himself to loosing the bonus he was promised for making the four o'clock stage. Placing his watch back in his pocket, he bent down to pick up his bags; he would have to wait two days for the next stage. Standing up, he caught of glimpse of a dust cloud moving left to right behind the livery. Straining his eyes, he noticed two riders rounding the livery and quickly racing his way. A smile spread across his face as he grabbed his things, closed the door of his office and headed towards the stagecoach. He reached the stage just as the two riders pulled up.
"Mr. Smith, Mr. Jones," he shouted above the noise.
Dismounting with a flourish, Heyes greeted the man with his hand, "Mr. Stanton."
Kid dismounted, walking up along side of his partner.
"I was getting worried you wouldn't make it," Stanton stated as he turned and handed his bags up to the stagecoach driver.
"You should have had faith Mr. Stanton. We told you we would make it back by the four o'clock stage," Heyes informed the man. Taking out his watch he added, "By my accounts, we're six minutes early." He reached into his shirt and pulled out an envelope of papers. Holding them out for the lawyer he said, "I believe we made it in time for the bonus."
"That you did," Stanton chuckled. Reaching into his pocket he pulled out an envelope and exchanged it with Heyes. "It's all there plus the bonus."
Heyes opened the envelope and counted the money.
"It's been a pleasure doing business with you Mr. Smith, Mr. Jones. If you're still around when I get back I'm sure we can work together again. If you ever need anything, let me know."
The partners laughed nervously at the thought of having to do business with a lawyer again.
"If you're ridin'," the stagecoach driver yelled. "We're leavin'."
"Mr. Smith, Mr. Jones," Stanton tipped his hat and stepped into the stage just as the driver urged the horses forward.
Heyes opened the envelope, pulled out a couple of bills and handed them to Kid. Closing the envelope, he placed it in his shirt pocket. "Think it's time for a drink." He started off towards the saloon.
"Sounds good to me," Kid started following, then stopped. "I'm gonna head over to the General Store to get some gun oil. I'll meet you in the saloon."
Turning towards his partner, Heyes groaned, "Don't you have some?"
"I'm almost out."
Brown eyes rolled.
"I don't go botherin' you ‘bout stuff you need. I don't ask you why you need another book."
"You don't need to be getting all proddy. I just asked if you had some already."
Kid relaxed a bit.
"I'll take the horses to the livery while you go to the General Store. I'll meet you at the saloon."
"Sounds like a plan," Kid smiled, patting Heyes back as he walked past him.
Heyes grabbed the reins of the horses and headed towards the livery while Kid walked in the opposite direction.
Walking into the General Store, Kid was almost run over by the first four unpleasant people he had met in Johnson City. The snarls and the sneers on the men's face made him take note. Stepping aside to let them by, he noticed the tied down guns on the scruffy men. Shaking his head he hoped they weren't there for trouble. He watched them for a moment as they walked down the boardwalk. Seeing no indication of trouble, he went into the store.
Momentarily blinded by the setting sun, Kid stopped as he left the General Store. As his eyes adjusted, he noticed the group of men being joined by two others. Squinting as he shielded the sun's rays with his hand he stared at the group. Sucking his breath in, he quickly stepped back into the shade and cover of the door. Peering at the gang from behind the door, his head dropped - his first instincts were right, they were trouble! The two men joining the four he had seen earlier were Sticks and Toby Burrows.
The Burrows brother's gang usually worked south of Devil's Hole, but had wandered up into their neck of the woods a few times, waiting for the heat to settle down. They stuck mostly with holding up stagecoaches but recently they had heard rumors that the gang were getting into bigger things. Kid watched as the group walked to the side alley of the bank. Groaning to himself he shook his head, Heyes was not going to like this at all. They were supposed to stay out of trouble and the Burrows brothers were nothing but trouble.
Grumbling and mumbling to himself, with purpose in his stride, he headed to the saloon to tell Heyes. Neither brother had ridden with the Devil's Hole Gang, but they had crossed paths enough times for both to recognize both he and Heyes on sight.
"There he is," exclaimed Toby, pointing towards Kid as the gang stood at the entrance way to the alley.
"You sure," Sticks replied skeptically as he could only see the man's back.
"I'm sure," his brother reiterated.
"Follow him," Sticks ordered. "I'll be there in a minute."
Toby nodded and quickly set off across the street to catch up with the man that just entered the saloon.
Stepping inside the saloon, Kid once again stopped to let his eyes adjust from the bright sunlight of the day to the dark and dank saloon. The smell of whiskey and cigars hung in the air. Scanning the interior, he checked out the few patrons that occupied the saloon at this hour. The bartender was busy moving glasses behind the bar. A lone man sat at the poker table playing solitaire. There were three men standing at the bar drinking beer and one man at the end of the bar having a hard time warding off the attentions of one of the working girls. Kid spotted Heyes sitting at a table in the back corner. Taking a step towards him, he felt a slap on the back and froze.
"Hey Kid, I thought that was you and Heyes I saw earlier," Toby said as he greeted the ex-outlaw with an enthusiastic slap.
"Sshh," Kid glared, looking to see if anyone overheard the use of their names.
"Oh oh," Toby stammered. "I'm sorry," he continued as he put his hands up in front of him apologetically.
"It's okay," Kid said quietly, trying to calm the man down. Turning he placed his arm over Toby's shoulder in a friendly manner. "Let's have a seat and I'll buy you a beer." Talking quietly, he ushered the man to where Heyes was sitting and out of earshot of the few patrons in the establishment.
"Hhhh," Toby caught himself. Swallowing hard, he looked into the penetrating brown eyes looking back at him.
Standing up, Heyes presented his hand to shake, "Joshua Smith."
Toby nervously looked down at the outstretched hand and then back up to the eyes that could bore a hole straight through him. "Toby Burrows," he gulped.
Never taking his eyes off of Toby's, Heyes indicated for him to have a seat. Toby slid into the chair across from Heyes. Kid walked around the table and sat next to his partner. Before anyone had a chance to say anything, Sticks walked into the saloon. He stopped and called out, "Toby."
Heyes rolled his eyes as he shook his head. Taking in a breath, he flexed his hand before settling it on his chin.
"Over he....re," Toby called out loudly only to have his voice fade away with Heyes' expression. Seeing his brother, Sticks headed to the back corner of the saloon.
"Well I'll be," Sticks called out loudly as he approached the three sitting men. "Dang if you weren't right."
Heyes clenched his jaw as he stood up. "Joshua Smith," he stated forcefully as he presented his hand. Slightly tilting his head toward Kid as he stared into Sticks' eyes, "This is my partner Thaddeus Jones."
Sticks looked between the two men. Neither showing any indication they knew him, or pleased to see him.
Kid pushed the chair next to Toby out with his foot as his ice blue eyes told the man to sit.
Sticks looked down at Toby, and then back at the two men before sitting down quietly.
Never taking his eyes off of Sticks, Heyes sat back down.
Confusion was apparent on Sticks face as he asked, "Smith and Jones?"
Kid gave a nod.
"Not..."
Heyes' eyes became darker as he focused on Sticks'. He barely moved his head side to side indicating no, but he got the full implication of the meaning.
Sticks swallowed hard.
Kid waved his hand at the bartender indicating three more beers. The four sat in silence waiting for the beer to arrive. Kid staring the two into submission, Heyes figuring out what to tell them since the deal with the governor was a secret. Toby and Sticks sat nervously waiting to know why their friends had turned on them.
The bartender handed the men their beer and headed back to the bar. Heyes leaned in quietly and asked, "What are you doing in town?"
"Shouldn't we be askin' you that?" Sticks replied. "This ain't Devil's Hole."
"Will ya keep it down," Heyes growled between gritted teeth. "I'm Smith, he's Jones and we don't know anything about Devil's Hole."
Sticks looked nervously around the saloon; looking for a sheriff, bounty hunter, someone that would get Hannibal Heyes and Kid Curry to act this way. Seeing only the few patrons in the saloon and no one paying attention to them he turned his focus back on Heyes. "Riiiigggghhhht," he dragged out as he slowly nodded his head. He looked at Heyes and then at Kid, "Heat's on?"
Heyes figured it was as good an explanation as he could come up with, nodded his head once.
"Okay, Mr. Smith," Sticks announced loudly enough for the rest of the saloon to hear.
Heyes closed his eyes and scrunched his face; Kid rolled his eyes and leaned forward. "How ‘bout keepin' it down. We're just tryin' to blend in here," Kid stated firmly.
"Oh," Sticks and Toby said as they nodded their heads in unison.
Heyes looked at Kid; this wasn't going to be easy. Heyes leaned in, "We got chased by a posse for weeks. We kept loosing ‘em and then they would catch up with us."
"Apache?" Toby interrupted.
"Yeah," Kid replied quietly.
Sticks and Toby nodded their head in understanding.
"Anyway, Kk," Heyes caught himself and stopped. "Thaddeus and me decided we would come down here for a while. Relax, sit back and put the feet up." Heyes paused and looked at the two men. "So what's your story?"
Sticks looked around the saloon again. Leaning into the table he whispered, "We're gonna rob the bank."
Heyes pushed back from the table. He ran his hand across his face, he didn't hear that correctly. He looked at Kid's expression, he did. The Burrows brothers planned on robbing the bank in the town they were in. Thoughts flooded Heyes' brain. They travel all this way just to be in the same town as a bank robbery? How were he and Kid gonna explain this to Lom and the Governor? If they got up and left now, did anyone recognize them? Would they be blamed anyway? Heyes calmly leaned back in, "Come again?"
"We're," keeping his finger right in front of him, Sticks pointed back and forth between himself and Toby. Then very slowly continued, "Gonna rob the bank."
Toby shook his head enthusiastically, blurting out, "Wanna help?"
Heyes and Kid's eye bulged at the comment. "Didn't you just hear me say, we came to relax, let things cool down a bit?"
"There ain't nobody lookin' for ya down here," Sticks stated as he looked around the near empty saloon.
"And we'd like to keep it that way for a few days," Kid replied.
"Oh we ain't gonna rob it today," Toby informed them. Looking at both Kid and Heyes Toby's heart sank, "You won't even consider it?"
Sticks sneered at Toby. "We can do it without them."
"I know but I just thought how great it would be ridin' with Hhhh," Toby stopped when Heyes turned his gaze on him. "I just thought it would be great ridin' with the two of you," Toby stuttered.
"Appreciate the sentiment," Heyes stated as he softened his glare. "Think we'll sit this one out."
Feeling a little hurt being so abruptly turned down, Sticks stood up. "Well, we'll be seeing you. Mr. Smith, Mr. Jones." Sticks turned and started to stalk out the saloon. When he realized Toby wasn't following, he called over his shoulder for him. "Toby!" Toby jumped to his feet and quickly was at Sticks side as they left the saloon.
"Oh Heyes," Kid moaned.
"I know Kid, I know."
The ex-outlaw partners sat in silence as they nursed their beer. After finishing the first beer, they nursed the second. Kid looked at Heyes occasionally but didn't speak. He could see his partner deep in thought, desperately trying to figure out their next move. The saloon slowly began to fill as the sun set.
With one last swallow of his beer Heyes shook his head. "I just can't work it out Kid."
Curry looked at him but didn't speak. He knew Heyes wasn't done talking, in fact he knew he had just begun; just begun to verbalize the thoughts that he had been trying to reconcile. He waited quietly.
Brown eyes stared at the mug in front of him. "I just can't work it out," Heyes repeated himself. "Everything I come up with," he let the sentence hang in the air, exasperated as he was. "If we stay; we'll get blamed. If we leave; we'll get blamed." He ran his hand threw his hair and finally looked at Kid. "I even tried to figure out how to talk them out of robbing the bank, but why? Why should they listen to me? What do I have to offer?"
"Your expertise," Kid replied.
His partner listened intently.
"Toby was sure excited to work with you."
"Sticks wasn't," Heyes reminded Kid.
"Yeah, but maybe the rest of the gang is."
Heyes snickered, "I don't see how this is helping us. The idea is NOT to work with them."
"If you tell them it's dangerous, maybe they would listen."
Heyes chuckled. "Yeah, that's gonna work." His sarcasm apparent as he continued, "Boys, I don't think you should rob the bank, it's dangerous."
Kid scowled at his partner. "Not if you do it that way. Use your silvery tongue. Tell them you heard the Sheriff was all set up for a robbery. Something, I don't know, you're the one that thinks things up."
Heyes gave a small nod to Kid. "Yeah, that's what I'm worried about." He tapped the mug in front of him sighing as he looked around the saloon. Where did all these people come from he wondered. Hearing Kid's stomach rubble, he chuckled to himself. "It's getting late, let's get something to eat. Maybe I can come up with something then."
"I always think better with a full stomach," the blond man stated as he stood up.
Heyes chuckled again; he patted Kid's back as he followed in step.
They ate dinner in relative quiet. Well Kid ate as Heyes pushed his food around the plate taking a bite here and there but mostly just moving it around. Coffee was poured and Heyes instinctively raised it to his lips. Taking a sip he gasped as the heat hit his mouth.
Kid smiled, "Welcome back."
Confused, brown eyes stared at blue.
"Even you have to admit, you were a million miles away since we sat down."
His partner smiled and nodded. "That obvious?"
Kid returned the smile.
"Thaddeus," he stated placing his coffee cup on the table. "I think we've outstayed our welcome here. There are no jobs in the future so I think it's time to move on. I know you aren't too fond of cattle drives but the one forming up in Clearwater might be our best bet."
"When do you want to leave?"
"At first light."
Kid nodded.
Heyes looked at his partner. Seeing the displeasure on his face he leaned in. "Look Kid, I know it's not what we want to do but I think it's our best shot."
Kid listened.
"We get out of town before anything happens. If people think back on it, they won't think of us. We're leaving for a cattle drive. Since when would Hannibal Heyes and Kid Curry join a cattle drive and announce that's where they're going."
"Heyes what if someone does put us together. We'll be sittin' ducks on the cattle drive."
"We have to hope no one does," Heyes emphatically stated. "It certainly doesn't look like anyone knows now, so we just have to believe no one will when we leave." He paused for a second and then continued. "Sticks, Toby and the gang will still be here when we leave. None of them looks like our descriptions on the wanted posters."
Kid looked at his partner for a long minute. "Alright, but if they try to have me ride drag, I'm outta there."
Heyes smiled, "I'll be right behind you."
Leaving the café and entering the quiet street Kid stopped. "Heyes, no one said goin' straight was gonna be so hard on the back."
"We knew it wasn't gonna be easy."
"Yea, but I didn't realize I was gonna have to give up sleepin’ in beds and eatin' good food."
"It's character building."
Kid glared at his parnter.
Heyes' smile slipped some before returning bigger. "No one says we have to give up all the comforts tonight. Can I interest you in going to the saloon Mr. Jones?"
Kid smiled broadly, "Sounds like a plan Mr. Smith."
The partners stepped off the boardwalk just as their names were called out. "Mr. Smith, Mr. Jones."
Stopping they looked at each other before turning around. Seeing the tin star pinned to the man's vest Heyes pasted a smile on his face. "Good evening Sheriff. What can we do for you?"
"You Smith and Jones?" Sheriff Adamson inquired.
"Yes sir," the silver tongued partner replied in his best disarming voice. "I'm Joshua Smith. This is my partner Thaddeus Jones. Is there something we can help you with?"
"I'd like a few minutes of your time if you wouldn't mind."
"Don't mind at all," Heyes stated; smile still plastered on his face, hands resting on his belt buckle.
"Good," the Sheriff replied. "Why don't you just come to my office."
"We can't talk here?" Heyes meekly asked, the smile vanishing from his face.
"No. My office would be better."
"Oh," he gulped as he glanced at Kid. "After you Sheriff."
"I think after you, Mr. Smith," the lawman stated firmly.
Heyes nodded as he and Kid turned towards the jail and started walking.
Walking into the office, they startled the deputy sheriff who was sitting with his feet up on the desk nodding off. The young man jumped to his feet, fumbling as he tried to draw his gun. "Settle down Jimmy," the Sheriff bellowed. Seeing the Sheriff and the two men with him, Jimmy nodded. "I need a few minutes with Mr. Smith and Mr. Jones. Why don't you get some fresh air and stretch you legs."
The young man stared at the Sheriff for a moment. "Oh, all right, Sheriff," he stammered as he tripped over his feet trying to leave the office. Stopping at the door he turned around, "Is it okay if I stop in on Melissa? She was making a pie when I came in today."
"Sure thing Jimmy. Just be back before its time for rounds." Jimmy nodded, bumping into the door before he left.
Sheriff Adamson shook his head and laughed. "He's a good boy. Just got two left feet." He chuckled some more before turning his attention back on Heyes and Kid. Pointing to the chairs by his desk, "Have a seat." The lawman made his way to the chair his deputy had just vacated.
Sitting down, Kid scanned the jail. Noting the wanted posters on the wall, he glanced at Heyes who had also seen their posters predominately posted in the middle of the wall right next to the Sheriff's desk. Confidently, Heyes sat up straight and looked the lawman in the eyes. "So Sheriff, what can my partner and me do for you?"
"Got some questions to ask you."
"About what?" Kid inquired.
Adamson looked at Kid. He was not the nice pleasant one of the two. The Sheriff studied the steel look in his eyes.
"What my partner means, Sheriff," Heyes smiled broadly as he talked in a soothing voice trying to remove the scrutinizing eyes from his partner, "Is what possible questions could you have of us? We've only been in town a few days and don't know anybody."
Taking his eyes off of Kid, the Sheriff turned towards Heyes. "You were seen in the saloon talking to two men earlier today."
"Yes sir," he replied wondering where the question was leading.
"Who were they?"
Heyes opened his mouth to speak then closed it, he was going to have to make this look and sound convincing. Confusion spread across his face. "I don't know."
"You don't know?"
"No. I don't think they ever told us." Heyes looked at Kid for confirmation, knowing his partner would follow his lead. "Thaddeus, did they tell us?"
"No, can't say they did."
"They didn't tell you their names but you were seen talking to them," the Sheriff said suspiciously.
"Yes sir. They heard we were looking for jobs," Heyes explained.
"Jobs, they were offering you jobs?"
"Hmm, that's the strange thing," Heyes stated. "Now that I think about it they didn't offer us any jobs."
The Sheriff creased his brow, totally confused.
"I mean when they sat down, first the one and then the other, they mentioned maybe having a job for us. We talked for a few minutes and then the one guy got up." Heyes sat pretending to contemplate the situation. "I guess they must not have liked us. When the first one got up, he seemed angry and yelled for the other one to follow. That's the last we've seen of them."
The Sheriff looked at Kid, "Is that how you remember it?"
"Yes sir."
"No jobs?"
"No sir." Heyes once again answered. "We're leaving in the morning for Clearwater. We hear there's a cattle drive forming in a few weeks."
Adamson nodded. Looking at Kid he asked, "Do you ever talk more than a word or two?"
Kid glanced at Heyes then back at the Sheriff, "Don't usually have the opportunity to."
The Sheriff looked at Kid and then at Heyes. "No, I guess you don't. So you haven't seen either men since then?"
"No sir," Heyes jumped in.
Kid smiled, the Sheriff gave a knowing nod.
Heyes frowned.
"Well that's all boys, you can go."
Standing up, Heyes couldn't resist asking, "They do anything bad Sheriff?"
"Not yet, they just look the type."
Heyes nodded in agreement.
"I didn't think the two of you were involved with them, but I had to check you out. I hope you understand."
"Not a problem Sheriff," Heyes smiled. Tipping their hats they left closing the door behind them.
"You still think we should stay until mornin’?" Kid asked quietly.
"More than ever," Heyes stated. "I just told the Sheriff that’s when we were leaving."
"Think we should head back to the hotel?"
"No I think the saloon is the perfect place tonight. The more people that see us, the better and a whiskey sounds really good right now."
The saloon had filled up rather nicely since the two had left. The bar was lined completely with men leaning against it drinking beer or whiskey. There were three tables of poker going, and the lone saloon girl from earlier had been joined by four new girls. Heyes stopped as he walked through the batwing doors and smiled. "Think this is going to be a good night, Kid."
Eyeing a particularly pretty blonde saloon girl Kid smiled and agreed. "Yeah, Heyes I think you're right."
Seeing an opening at the end of the bar as one of the saloon girls took the attention of one of the men propped up against it, the partners grabbed the spot. Kid motioned to the bartender for two whiskeys. The bartender placed two glasses down and poured. They both downed the drinks in one swallow and nodded for another.
"That's all for now, Jack" Heyes told the bartender as he placed the money on the bar. Jack nodded and headed back down to the other end.
The ex-outlaws turned and leaned against the bar, whiskey glasses in hand as they watched the patrons of the establishment. "Do you really think we can do it?" Kid asked.
"Hmm?"
"Amnesty," he whispered. "Do you think we can do it?"
Heyes shrugged, his on focused on the poker game to the left. "I think we aught to give it a try. Why?"
Blue eyes followed his parnter's gaze to a large sum of money sitting in the middle of the poker table. "Did you see the bank?"
"You thinking of joining Sticks and Toby?"
Kid thought for a moment. "It's gotta be easy money. Just lookin’ at the outside, you can tell it's an easy hit."
Heyes chuckled lightly, "No, now that pot over there, that's easy money. The guy took two cards and was looking for an inside straight." Turning to look Kid in the eyes he stated, "No bank is that easy. We make it look easy cause of all the planning and precautions we take."
Kid shrugged.
"You know I'm right."
"I know you're right but do you think we can make it as model citizens?"
"I think we can do anything we set our minds to." He turned his attention back to the poker table. "Right now I have my mind set on getting into that poker game." Seeing another large pot won with just a pair he stated, "Nothing can be that easy." As they looked on, one of the men pushed himself away from the table. "See, Thaddeus," he said as he walked to the table. "We just gotta set our minds on it and anything is possible." He smiled as he reached the table and sat down.
Kid grinned at his partner's pleasure and then at the pretty blonde who had just slinked next to him.
"I thought he would never leave," she whispered as she wrapped her arm around his. "How about buyin' a girl a drink?"
Kid smiled and motioned to Jack.
"Where have you been all my life?" she cooed as she leaned into him.
"Here and there," he responded. "But I'm here now." Staring into her blue eyes, he ran his thumb down the side of her face.
"Mmm," she practically moaned. "I think you have the bluest eyes I have ever seen." She leaned into him harder. "What's your name sugar?"
"Thaddeus Jones."
"Well Thaddeus, I'm sure glad you're here tonight."
"That makes two of us."
Heyes reached into the middle of the table and pulled the large pot towards him. He glanced up at Kid and smiled; guess we're both going to have good nights he thought to himself.
This was the place to be as the rest of the town shut down; the saloon was filled with patrons and noise. The drinks were flowing, the girls were flattering and cards were being played. Heyes and Kid were in their element and enjoying every minute of it.
As the night wore on, most of the people had found their way to the door and hopefully home. The saloon girls had called it a night and the last poker game ended about a half hour ago. Once again, there were only a handful of people in the saloon. Heyes and Kid sat at the back table sipping one last whiskey while the bartender cleaned up. It was a good night.
"Sure is a shame we have to leave tomorrow," Kid sighed.
"Had a good time tonight?" Heyes smiled.
Kid grinned ear to ear and took a sip of his whiskey.
"Yeah, we could make a good living here if they play cards like this every night."
"Win big?"
"Big enough that we can forget about the cattle drive," Heyes replied with a sparkle in his eyes.
"That good?"
"Kid it was like taking candy from a baby. They bet like they had great hands and had nothing. I had to try hard not to win every hand," Heyes chuckled.
"What about the Sheriff?"
The sparkle left Heyes' eyes. "What about him?"
"You told him we were headed for the drive."
"Oh," Heyes relaxed and smiled as he raised his eyebrow. "That was before tonight." He took a sip of whiskey. "We'll still leave town heading in that direction, but I don't think once we leave he'll think about where we're going."
"Not even after the bank is robbed?"
"Ya had to bring that up."
"Nah, even after the banks robbed. We told the Sheriff we didn't know who they were and we told him we were leaving town. That should be enough," he explained trying to convince himself as much as he was trying to convince Kid.
Jimmy sat in the Sheriff's office drinking coffee. He had been stuck on the overnight shift ever since the other deputy sheriff went to visit his folks back east. He was getting tired of staying up all night alone; Johnson City just wasn't exciting and after dark it was downright boring. He couldn't remember the last time they actually had someone in the jail that wasn't there sleeping off a night at the saloon.
He took out his gun and twirled it a time or two then checked to make sure it was loaded. Chucking to himself, he wondered why. Getting up to stretch his legs, he looked out the window and then at his watch. He would do rounds in about fifteen minutes; he could stop by the saloon to see if anyone needed a bed to sleep it off. With any luck, he'd have company for a little while, well until the guy passed out. Jimmy sat back down at the Sheriff's desk, propped up his feet and took a sip of coffee.
"Do you think we should've told the Sheriff what they were plannin'?" Kid asked.
Heyes thought for a moment. "No. He would just wonder why they would be asking us."
"Cause we're lookin' for jobs."
"There's lots of folks looking for jobs. Only two people who got asked to rob a bank."
Kid nodded and took the last sip of his whiskey. He looked over at his partner; he was staring at the half filled shot glass. "What's wrong?"
"Hmm," Heyes responded, not really hearing or paying attention.
"Joshua," Kid said loudly enough for the bartender to look over towards them.
"What?" Heyes asked, having his concentration broken.
"What's wrong?"
Heyes swirled the brown liquid in his glass, sighed and then swallowed it in one gulp. "Gotta a feeling."
"Oh," Kid groaned. "I hate when you gotta feelin'."
"But Sticks," Toby said sounding very confused. "You said we was gonna check the place out for a couple of days before we robbed the bank."
"That was before," Sticks replied sternly as he continued to lead the gang through the back of town.
"Before what?" Toby questioned.
Sticks didn't answer he just glared at his brother.
"But we told Heyes and Kid we wasn't gonna do nothin' tonight. What if they changed their minds and wanted in?"
"They had their chance," Sticks barked. He pulled his horse up and dismounted. "Okay, we'll tie the horses up here and then go down the side alley to the bank."
Jimmy looked at his watch again; time sure was slow when you were bored. Finally it was time; he put his coffee cup on the Sheriff's desk and stood up. Removing his gun from his holster, he checked it to make sure it was loaded. Why, he wasn't sure since he had already checked it several times, but that's what he always did before he did rounds.
He opened the door just as the large boom from the bank was heard, jolting him backwards as the walls rumbled. Realizing what must be happening, Jimmy bolted through the door.
Still sitting in the back of the saloon, Heyes and Kid heard the loud noise; a boom they knew all too well. "Damn," Heyes growled. "They said nothing was happening tonight!"
Time seemed to slow down and all noise except the gunfire ceased. Bang, bang, bang. Their eyes grew wide upon hearing the rapid gunfire. Pushing themselves back from the table, their chairs tumbled backwards as they stood; they heard it again. Bang, bang, bang. Jack grabbed his shotgun from behind the bar as he headed for the batwing doors. Bang, bang. Heyes and Kid reached the doors just as Jack lifted his shotgun and pointed it at a rider. The rider was pointing his gun at a man down on the boardwalk near the Sheriff's office. BOOM! The man arched his back and fell face forward off his horse as smoke rose from the shotgun. Then there was silence.
"Jimmy!!" a voice from past the bank yelled.
"Over here Sheriff," Jimmy yelled from the boardwalk. "I think I got'em all."
"Get the Doc!" the Sheriff yelled as he ran towards him.
Heyes and Kid stood at the batwing doors, guns in hand, stunned by the bodies littering the street. Sheriff Adamson looked their way as he ran towards his deputy. Then all of a sudden, things sped up and people were shouting. Men were running towards the street.
"This one's dead."
"So is this one."
"Yep. These two are gonners."
"Think this one’s alive, but it don't look like for much longer."
"Boy Jack, you made a mess of this one."
Six bodies; all but one dead, one injured deputy. Heyes and Kid holstered their guns and made their way to the street, to the lone survivor of the gang. They reached the steps of the bank. Toby lay in a pool of his own blood. They looked down at him; he smiled and then coughed his last breath.
"See you boys are still up," the Sheriff said as he walked up behind them.
"Huh?" a startled Heyes replied. Turning to see the Sheriff, Heyes replied, "Yeah." Moving his hand in the direction and pointing with his thumb he continued, "We were just finishing up at the saloon."
"Really?" Sheriff Adamson said in an accusatory tone.
"Really," Kid stated defensively. "We've been in there since we left your office. You can check with Jack or anyone else that was in there tonight."
Adamson put his hand up. "Whoa, son; I'm not accusing you of anything."
Heyes put his hand on Kid's arm. "I'm sure the Sheriff didn't mean anything Thaddeus." He turned to look the Sheriff in the eyes. "I guess nerves are a little on edge right now."
"That they are Mr. Smith." Looking down at Toby he asked, "Do you know him?"
"He's one of the men we talked to in the saloon," Heyes replied.
"Do you see the other?" Adamson asked.
Heyes looked around and finally spotted Sticks. "He's the one Jack shot."
"Do you recognize anyone else?"
Heyes shook his head.
"Mr. Jones?"
"No Sheriff," Kid replied quietly.
Heyes sighed and looked around; the doctor was attending to Jimmy. "How's Jimmy?"
"Oh he'll be fine," the Sheriff visibly relaxed. "He got lucky; he just got grazed by a bullet."
"Did he?" Heyes asked looking around.
"Two left feet but the fastest draw I've ever seen. Accurate too," Sheriff Adamson stated.
Heyes looked at Kid. Adamson missed the look as the doctor called for him.
"Excuse me," he said, turning to walk away.
Heyes and Kid were left alone, standing next to Toby. They looked at the bodies strewn about. "Still wondering about the amnesty," Heyes asked glumly.
"No," Kid replied. "Sleepin’ on the ground doesn't sound too bad right now."
Heyes and Kid packed their bedrolls and saddlebags on their horses. They looked around the quiet town. A couple of men were washing down the stairs to the bank and the boardwalk, trying to remove some of the blood. They were both deep in their own thoughts.
"Leaving so early?"
Heyes looked up to see the Sheriff approach them. "Yes sir." He smiled tightly. "Didn't think we would be getting much sleep after last night so we might as well be moving on." Heyes paused, "How's Jimmy."
Sheriff Adamson chuckled. "He's doing fine. Got all the women in town up in arms, being so young and shot. Now he's the hero and they're lining up to bake him pies and take care of him."
"He deserves it," Kid replied.
"Yes he does but I think he's gonna have his hands full tryin’ to fend off some of those women," he chuckled.
Heyes smiled in agreement.
The Sheriff became serious, "I checked with Jack, your story pans out, says you were in the saloon all night." He paused for a moment, "Sure glad you weren't involved. You seem like nice fellows, I'd hate to have had Jimmy shoot you."
"That makes three of us," Heyes smiled, producing his hand to shake. "Sheriff."
"Mr Smith, Mr. Jones," Sheriff Adamson shook their hands.
The partners mounted their horses.
"Heading up to Clearwater for the cattle drive?"
Heyes smiled. "Not sure where we're heading Sheriff."
Adamson looked on with interest.
"Did pretty good last night, might be able to avoid the cattle drive."
The Sheriff nodded.
"Maybe the next town's got some work, not too hard on the back."
"Maybe," Sheriff Adamson chuckled. "Good luck boys." He tipped his hat to them.
Heyes and Kid tipped their hats at the Sheriff and rode out of town. Reaching the fork in the road they looked at each other. Heyes looked at Kid, "Red Rock or Devil's Hole?"
It was a long ride to Red Rock; Kid figured there was a glass or two of whiskey for him when he got there.
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The invention relates to an electric switch (1), especially for an electric tool with an electric motor (2), e.g. an electric drilling machine, a hammer drill, an electric screwdriver or the like, comprising an actuating element (4) which can be adjusted between an initial and a final position. A set-point value device (6) actively cooperates with the actuating element (4) for the production of a set-point value associated with the adjustment path of the actuating element (4). The switch (1) also comprises a control device (8) for operating, especially for controlling and/or regulating, the electric motor (2) according to the set-point value. The adjustment path is divided into several sections, particularly into at least two sections, between the initial and final position in a step-like manner, each section being associated with a different digital code. The set-point value device (7) produces the digital code associated with the adjustment path of the actuating element (4) as a set-point value. The control device (8) subsequently processes the digital code so that the electric motor (2) can be operated accordingly.
Hafen, Daniel (Dreifaltigkeitsbergstrasse 15, Hausen o.V., 78595, DE)
Bufe, Michael (Weberstrasse 33, Dürbheim, 78589, DE)
Broghammer, Peter (Weissdornweg 5, Wurmlingen, 78573, DE)
PCT/DE2002/003368
MARQUARDT GMBH (Schlossstrasse 16, Rietheim-Weilheim, 78604, DE)
H01H19/58; H01H9/06; H01H15/12; (IPC1-7): H01H19/58
GB2168862A
Otten, Herbert (Karlstrasse 8, Ravensburg, 88212, DE)
1. A scotching or supporting wedge (1) for filling in a space between two constructional parts, in which each wedge face is provided with transverse and transversallyoriented teeth (2, 5) having predominantly a serrated profile, the serrations of which point towards the thickest end (4) of the wedge, and in which each wedge face is provided throughout its length with guide mechanisms, characterised by the fact that the guide mechanisms are comprised of at least one slot (3) having a rectangular transverse profile, a depth smaller than or equal to n , where A is the height of the transverse serrated teeth (2, 5), and a width of XA, where X > 0.
2. A scotching or supporting wedge (1 ) according to claim 1, characterised by the fact that the longitudinal slot (3) which acts as a guide mechanism is constructed in such a way that the upper sections of the opposing vertical end faces of each serration (2,5) make contact with the similarly vertical, side faces of the slot in the complemental wedge face.
SCOTCHING OR SUPPORTING WEDGE
This invention relates to a scotching or supporting wedge for filling in a space between two constructional parts, as for example in scotching of building components, installation of thermal windows, or placement between floorboards and underlying joists as support for parquet flooring, in which such scotching is commonly effected using two wedges, the faces of which are provided with transverse and transversally-oriented teeth having predominantly a serrated profile with serrations pointing towards the thickest end of the wedge, and in which each wedge face is provided throughout its length with guide mechanisms so that in the scotched position the two wedge faces are securely locked together by means of the transverse teeth and the guide mechanisms.
Such scotching wedges are known for example from Danish patent application no. 861/72, and from Danish publications no. 141414 and 144280. Danish patent application no. 861/72 relates to a supporting wedge made of plastic, with wedge faces constructed as alternate projections and recesses in order to save on material and increase lightness and sound insulation when installed. Danish publication no. 141414 relates to a wedge which is similar, but which by slightly offsetting the centre row of blocks of serrated teeth, prevents transverse displacement of the complemental wedge during scotching. Finally, Danish publication no. 144280 relates to a scotching wedge of basic wedge shape, in which transverse displacement of the complemental wedge is prevented by means of guide mechanisms constructed as a longitudinal profile in the wedge face.
Whereas the first of the three known wedge constructions referred to above does not contain guide mechanisms to prevent transverse displacement of two complemental wedges during erection thereof, the two other constructions mentioned each evidence solutions to this problem. The drawback with both these solutions, however, is that - particularly in the event of a slight transverse displacement of one wedge relative to the other - there is the possibility that the guide mechanisms for preventing such displacement may at the same time also prevent a number of transverse serrated teeth from locking firmly with the corresponding serrated teeth in the complemental wedge due to "riding" of the teeth on the guide mechanisms. This leads to a defective interlock between two wedge faces in those areas of these faces where the serrated teeth are prevented from engaging. This causes slightly distorted scotching of the relevant constructional parts during erection, and in the case of for example parquet flooring this may therefore give rise to floor creaking which is often very annoying and difficult to remedy.
It is therefore the object of this invention to establish a scotching or supporting wedge of the aforementioned type which remedies the described drawbacks associated with usage of the wedge while retaining the otherwise well-known advantages of such wedges. This object is realised by means of a wedge of the type which is described in the introduction to claim 1 and which is characterised by the features specified in that claim.
A further special feature of the wedge according to the invention is stated in claim 2. A more detailed explanation of the invention will be given below with reference to the diagram in which:
Fig. 1 is a perspective picture of a wedge, and
Fig. 2 shows a scaled-up detail of Figure 1, also in perspective.
Figure 1 shows a wedge (1) in which each face is provided with transverse and transversally-oriented serrated teeth (2, 5) which point toward the thick end (4) of the wedge. The wedge faces embody at least one longitudinal slot (3) which acts as a guide mechanism for a corresponding slot in a complemental wedge face.
The transverse profile of the slot (3) is of rectangular construction, cf. Figure 2, and has a depth which is equal to n , where A is the height of a serrated transverse tooth (2, 5), and a width which is equal to X-A, where X > 0 and in practice will often be around 1.5. The construction of the slot (3) means that serrations 2 and 5 respectively engage corresponding serrations in the complemental wedge face as guide mechanisms in established fashion when two wedge surfaces are placed against each other during erection, thus preventing longitudinal displacement. At the same time, according to this invention their respective, outer, upward- and downward-facing serration parts in a groove between two serrations on the complemental wedge face descend on either side of the half-height serration slot in this wedge face, as the top parts of the opposed vertical end faces on each serration (2, 5) make contact with the similarly vertical, side faces of the slot in the complemental wedge face, thus preventing relative sideways displacement of the wedges. The construction of the wedge according to this invention will thus always ensure that two complemental wedge faces with serrated teeth are fully interlocked with each other on their common contact surfaces.
Previous Patent: INPUT DEVICE OF AN ELECTRONIC DEVICE
Next Patent: A METHOD OF AVOIDING ELECTRIC ARC AND A TRANSIENT ARC SUPPRESSION MEANS WITH THE SAME
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VALVE FOR VENTILATION OF A TANK
A ventilation valve (100) for ventilation of a tank (not shown) containing a liquid where the liquid surface fluctuates over time at the same time as the ventilation valve (100) obstructs external liquid to enter into the tank through the ventilation valve, is described. The ventilation valve (100) comprises a structural main housing (1, 2) containing a valve unit (3, 4, 5) and respective ventilation channels (6, 7, 9, 10, 13, 14, 16) providing open communication between the tank and the atmosphere, and the valve unit includes a movable float body (4) obstructing liquid ingress into the tank through said ventilation valve (100). The valve unit is in the form of a replaceable valve module which includes the float body (4) which is received in a valve housing (3). The structural main housing (1, 2) includes a socket part (2) and one from the socket part (2) releasable cover part (1) in order to provide access to the replaceable valve module (3, 4, 5).
JPS55106895 VENTILATING DEVICE FOR SMALL BOAT
GJERDE, Mathias (Gjerdsvika, 6083 Gjerdsvika, N-6083, NO)
NO2015/050144
VENTIQ AS (Gjerdsvika, 6083 Gjerdsvika, N-6083, NO)
B63J2/02; F16K24/02; F16K27/12
See also references of EP 3186145A4
PROTECTOR IP CONSULTANTS AS (Oscarsgate 20, 0352 Oslo, NO-0352, NO)
P a t e n t c l a i m s
A ventilation valve (100) for ventilation of a tank (not shown) containing a liquid where the liquid surface fluctuates over time at the same time as said ventilation valve (100) obstructs external liquid to enter into said tank through said ventilation valve, which ventilation valve (100) comprises a structural main housing (1 , 2) containing a valve unit (3, 4, 5) and respective ventilation channels (6, 7, 9, 10, 13, 14, 16) providing open communication between said tank and the atmosphere, said valve unit includes a movable float body (4) obstructing liquid ingress into said tank through said ventilation valve (100), characterized in that said valve unit is in the form of a replaceable valve module which includes said float body (4), which is received in a valve housing (3), that said structural main housing (1 , 2) includes a socket part (2) and one from the socket part (2) releasable cover part (1 ) in order to provide access to the replaceable valve module (3, 4, 5), that the respective ventilation channels (6, 7, 9, 10, 13, 14, 16) to the atmosphere are established between said valve module (3, 4, 5) and said cover part (1 ) when said cover part (1 ) is arranged on said socket part (2) in its operating state, and that the ventilation channel (13) towards the atmosphere extends through the bottom of the valve module (3, 4, 5), where external water that might enter through said same ventilation channel (13) elevates said float body (4) to sealing against said valve housing (3) and prevents inflow to said tank. 2.
The ventilation valve according to claim 1 , characterized in that said cover part
(1 ) is releasable via hinging means (1 1 ) pivotally arranged to said socket part
(2) . 3.
The ventilation valve according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that said cover part (1 ) is via a locking device (12) is lockable arranged to said socket part (2).
The ventilation valve according to claim 1 , 2 or 3, characterized in that said valve body (4) is in the form of a float valve and performs controlled motion within said valve housing (3) via an axle shaft (8).
The ventilation valve according to any of the claims 1 -4, characterized in that said cover part (1 ) and said socket part (2) include surfaces designed to be lying complimentary adjacent to each other when the parts (1 , 2) are locked to each other, said surfaces include a gasket being sandwiched between said surfaces.
The ventilation valve according to any of the claims 1 -5, characterized in that said valve module (3, 4, 5) is manufactured of a suitable plastic material, such as polyethylene, impact resistant polystyrene or polyurethane.
The ventilation valve according to any of the claims 1 -6, characterized in that said cover part (1 ) and said socket part (2) are manufactured of a suitable metallic material, such as acid proof steel, Inconel, aluminum or cast iron.
The ventilation valve according to any of the claims 1 -7, characterized in that the ventilation channels (13, 14) towards the atmosphere extend substantially 90 degrees vertically relative to a ship deck.
The ventilation valve according to any of the claims 3-8, characterized in that said locking means (12) is manually operated by easy finger grip.
The ventilation valve according to any of the claims 1 -9, characterized in that said valve housing (3) has an annular opening (7) in its top surface and said float valve (4) has an onion configuration with a circumferential surface designed for internal sealing against said annular opening (7) in said top surface.
The present invention relates to a ventilation valve for ventilation of a tank (not shown) containing a liquid where the liquid surface fluctuates over time at the same time as the ventilation valve obstructs external liquid to enter into the tank through the ventilation valve, which ventilation valve comprises a structural main housing containing a valve unit and respective ventilation channels providing open communication between the tank and the atmosphere, and where the valve unit includes a movable float body obstructing liquid ingress into the tank through this ventilation valve.
Ventilation valves of this nature, is related to a valve for safe ventilation of service tanks onboard ships. A ship in operation has a requirement for a number of service tanks for use in operating the ship. It could be lubricating oil, ballast, diesel, drinking water and so on. Ventilation of such tanks is necessary for several reasons. Firstly, there is a need to provide for that air migrates freely when filling up or draining off the content of the tank. A lack of pressure equalizing in these tanks may result in structural damages on the tanks and the ship hull. Moreover, it is important that a certain stirring of the air above the liquid level is provided for to avoid unfortunate concentrations of gases in the tanks.
It has to be emphasized that these valves are not used for ventilation of inflammable and/or toxic cargo, since this belong to a different and much higher safety class.
The ventilation of service tanks is ensured in that a ventilation pipe is extending from the tank and up and out at deck level and terminates in a safety valve. This valve provides for open ventilation until the ship moves in such a way that the deck level gets in contact with the sea level.
In practice, this means that when the ship is forced deeper into the sea, a situation can occur that the sea enter onto the deck and threatens to flood the ventilation pipes projecting from the tank in the ship. In this case, the safety valve provides for baring out the sea from the tank when the different levels are crossing each other. Examples on ventilation valves of this type are shown in EP 1 130298 and WO 2013/120987.
Among the challenges with such valves, is the fact that the maintenance often is neglected since this, in practice, results in many work hours for checking all the valves onboard a ship. In addition, one can only test if the float itself is floating and not its ability to keep closed against the gasket, since the gasket is fixed to the valve. The alternative is that the entire valve is being disassembled and brought to a water basin where the entire functionality is tested. The need for testing both the float and the gasket finds its background in that the floats over time will lose their buoyancy and that the gaskets lose their ability to seal against the float, when the float is lifted up by its floating. The result may be that the tanks, which the valve shall keep free for contaminating sea water, gradually are filled up with sea water and in a fatal way influences on the stability of the ship. Also a risk exists that the fuel tanks are contaminated and, with the wide fetched consequences this entails, makes the ship engine to stop.
In order to provide a ventilation valve being able to take care of the mentioned challenges, i.e. is easy to inspect and maintain, a new solution is provided. This solution is a ventilation valve of the introductory said kind, which is distinguished in that the valve unit is in the form of a replaceable valve module which includes the float body, which is received in a valve housing, that the structural main housing includes a socket part and one from the socket part releasable cover part in order to provide access to the replaceable valve module, that the respective ventilation channels to the atmosphere are established between the valve module and the cover part when the cover part is arranged on the socket part in its operating state, and that the ventilation channel towards the atmosphere extends through the bottom of the valve module, where external water that might enter through the same ventilation channel elevates the float body to sealing against the valve housing and prevents inflow to the tank. With other words, one may say that the valve is mainly divided in three sections: two outer structures and one internal part, which part can be characterized as the «brain» of the valve and is securely clamped between the two main structures. In contrast to other corresponding valves having fixed channels, the internal part can now be pulled out for closer inspection. If desired, one may then replace the "valve brain" in its entirety and in this way obtain a totally upgraded valve by only replacing one single component.
In that the internal part and the corresponding lower structure has its opening from the underside, the air flow and possible out flowing liquid from the tank will have its orientation towards the ship hull. This in contrast to existing design which has to add guiding screens in order to direct the outgoing flow down towards the ship deck. In some countries the legislation is very strict regarding emission of most liquids coming from the ship. In one embodiment, the cover part can be releasable via hinging means pivotally arranged to the socket part. Alternatively, the cover can easily be lifted off.
Conveniently, the cover part can via a locking device be lockable arranged to the socket part.
The valve body can be in the form of a float valve and may perform controlled motion within the valve housing, for example via an axle shaft or different form for guiding or control.
The cover part and the socket part may preferably include surfaces designed to be lying complimentary adjacent to each other when the parts are locked to each other, said surfaces receiving a gasket being sandwiched between said surfaces. It is also possible to use gasket sealant, all according to the circumstances.
The valve module may as an example be manufactured of a suitable plastic material, such as polyurethane, polyethylene and impact resistant polystyrene.
The cover part and the socket part can in turn be manufactured of a suitable metallic material, such as acid proof steel, Inconel, aluminum or cast iron. The ventilation channels towards the atmosphere may extend substantially 90 degrees vertically relative to a ship deck.
As an example, the locking means can be manually operated by easy finger grip.
In one embodiment, the valve housing can have an annular opening in its top surface and the float valve can have an onion configuration with a
circumferential surface designed for internal sealing against the annular opening in the top surface.
As an example, with a view to the handling of ballast water where coast near ballast water is replaced with ocean based ballast water, it is normal procedure to pump in the new ballast water from the underside of the tank and urge the old ballast water out from the top of the tank. In such a situation, the unwanted ballast water needs to be pumped out via the ventilation pipes and out on the deck. In order to be able to handle such a huge pump capacity, the ventilation pipe valves are normally completely disconnected from their ventilation pipe, such that the pressure drop becomes as small as possible. This is due to the fact that the pressure drop in traditional valves is too high for the ballast water pumps to be driven with sufficiently high capacity. The solution then will be to remove the entire valve, or in some instances, to arrange for a separate drainage under the valve in the form of a hatch or similar. For the valve herein described, such a procedure is not required. By separating the two main structures, i.e. by lifting the upper part, which is hinged to the lower part, and then remove the «valve brain >>, which is clamped between those two structures, the restriction creating said pressure drop, is removed. By the fact that the valve now stands open, the ballast water to be driven out from the tank, can flow freely out on deck without any pressure restrictions within the valve.
Another aspect with the invention, is that the valve by virtue of its design, allows for quick check of the state or condition of the valve. As mentioned, the design of today's valves suffers in that the maintenance is very time consuming and the labor is then often neglected. With the new design, minimal efforts will be needed to open up and separate the two structures, and with great ease be able to inspect and possibly replace components to perform maintenance.
The configuration of the valve also makes possible that the inner and active part of the valve can be replaced to a material which is more adapted to the environment in which the valve is operating. It be plastic or various metals. By altering the inner configuration, also the characteristics of the valve, conf.
pressure drop, can be changed to a more appropriate configuration. Other and further objects, features and advantages will appear from the following description of preferred embodiments of the invention, which is given for the purpose of description, and given in context with the appended drawings where: Fig. 1 shows a cross sectional view through the ventilation valve according to the invention,
Fig. 2 shows a longitudinal cross sectional view through the ventilation valve according to the invention 90 degrees on the section shown in fig. 1 ,
Fig. 3A shows a cross sectional view through the ventilation valve along line B- B in fig. 3B in a second position,
Fig. 3B shows where the section B-B extends through the valve,
Fig. 4 shows a longitudinal cross sectional view through the ventilation valve along line A-A in fig. 4B and 90 degrees on the section shown in fig. 3A, and Fig. 4B shows where the section A-A extends through the valve.
With reference to fig. 1 , the ventilation valve 100 will now be described in closer detail. As mentioned, such ventilation valves are primarily used for ventilation of a tank (not shown) containing a liquid and are used because the liquid surface in the tank fluctuates over time. At the same time the ventilation valve 100 needs to be able to prevent that external liquid, typically sea water, enters into the tank through the ventilation valve 100. The ventilation paths in/out are indicated with various arrows P.
The ventilation valve 100 is assembled by a structural main housing 1 , 2 which forms an enclosure around a valve unit made up by a valve housing 3, a moveable buoyant body 4, also called a float, and a sealing element 5 in top as the float 4 can be lifted up against and create a seal. The seal thus impedes ingress of liquid to the tank through the ventilation valve 100.
Further, the ventilation valve includes respective ventilation channels 6, 7, 9, 10, 13, 14, 16 creating open communication between the tank and the atmosphere. The ventilation valve 100 is deliberately designed such that the valve unit is in the form of a replaceable valve module. As mentioned, this includes the float body 4 and the valve housing 3 in which the float is received.
The structural main housing 1 , 2 includes a socket part 2 and one from the socket part 2 releasable cover part 1 . The cover part 1 is releasable in order to gain access to the replaceable valve module 3, 4, 5. In particular, it is to be noted that the respective ventilating channels 6, 7, 9, 10, 13, 14, 16 towards the atmosphere are established between the valve module 3, 4, 5 and the cover part 1 when the cover part 1 is arranged on the socket part 2 in its operational state.
It is further to be noted that the ventilation channel 13 towards the atmosphere extends through the bottom of the valve module 3, 4, 5. Thus external water (sea water in heavy sea) that might enter in through the same ventilating channel 13, will lift the float body 4 to sealing contact against the valve housing 3 and impede further inflow to the storage tank itself. This situation is illustrated in fig. 3A and 4A. The peripheral top surface of the float body 4 seals against the sealing element 5.
The cover part 1 is shown on the figure releasable arranged via a hinge means 1 1 which is pivotally arranged on the socket part 2. The cover part 1 is via a locking means 12 lockable provided to the socket part 2. The locking means 12 may preferably be manually operated by simple finger grip, though other alternatives are fully possible.
The valve body 4 is here shown in the form of a float valve that can perform controlled motion in the valve housing 3 via a centrally located axle shaft 8, or guide pin. This could also have been guided externally.
The cover part 1 and the socket part 2 has particular designed surfaces which are intended to lay complementary adjacent to each other when the parts 1 , 2 are locked to each other. The surfaces then have a gasket 15 which is sandwiched between them in order to create said ventilation channels without leakages in any direction.
The valve module 3, 4, 5 is conveniently manufactured of a suitable plastic material, such as polyethylene, impact resistant polystyrene or polyurethane.
The cover part 1 and socket part 2 can in turn be manufactured of a suitable metallic material, such as acid resistant steel, Inconel, aluminum or cast iron.
Pure practically, it will be convenient that the ventilating channels 13, 14 against the atmosphere extend substantially 90 degrees vertically to a ship deck.
Typically the valve housing 3 has an annular opening 7 in its top surface and the float valve 4 has a typical onion configuration having a circumferential surface intended for internal sealing against the annular opening 7 in the top surface. It is to be understood by the person skilled in the art that other designs of the float valve and the sealing is fully possible.
Previous Patent: SWIVEL FOR MOORING ARRANGEMENT
Next Patent: FIRE AND EXPLOSION-PREVENTING COVER
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Swept Away TV-The Rock Star Stories
artists, music
Singer / Songwriter V.V. Brown talks touring with Maroon 5, her upcoming album, and why she misses London
August 26, 2010 the rock star stories Leave a comment
By Liz Newman
So things have really been taking off for you lately, and there was a time you were considering just chucking it all and head back to London – what has made you stick with it and adjust to the hurtles?
I think the success of how things were going in Europe gave me the confidence to believe in myself again – so coming to America was a lot different the second time around. I was a lot older too, so I knew who I was. Also, this time around I had a different record company who I think was a better fit. And generally, it just worked out.
This is your biggest tour to date, correct?
Yes, this is the biggest tour I have done in America; I’ve done tours like this in the UK. But America is definitely different because America is massive. And it is really hot because we are touring in the summer. A lot of the places we go to it is 100 degrees – it is definitely, whoa.
How has it been touring with Maroon 5 – were you nervous at all?
No, I’m not nervous – I am quite relaxed, actually. They’ve treated us really well, and they’re lovely guys. I think it is more a small apprehension because we are still a new band here; I am still a new artist, so not everyone knows the songs so we always have our fingers crossed hoping that there will be some sort of connection with the crowd. But we are here to spread the word, get it out there – so I am grateful to just be on this tour.
I know your music has been featured on popular T.V. shows like “The City” and “Cougar Town” – but is there anything else you have done up to this point that has been a big turning point for you career-wise?
For me, David Letterman was massively big thing; I have always wanted o go on that show. And I think the Degrassi connection – where the songs played on the show – that has been a massive help to people finding out about the songs, so I am really grateful to Nickelodeon for that.
Now that you are getting more and more recognition, have you had any issues adjusting to limelight?
No, I don’t really go to all the clubs and bars where there this paparazzi…I am a quite private person. I don’t think we are big enough yet to have them swarm us. Life has obviously changed because I am traveling a lot and sometimes it is a bit weird when people treat you like they know who you are – even though they haven’t even met me. But I take everything with a pinch of salt, it doesn’t feel too drastic because everything I’m doing is very gradual, everything is a stepping stone.
You have also become known as a fashion icon. Does that show in your music or vice versa?
I think the two are married’ they are very much connected. Both bounce off each other – the music and fashion both come from the individual so it is all coming from me and my identity. I think am moving more into a simplistic sense of fashion, I have just bought loads and loads of black clothes and I think the next album I am going to where black all the time; I really like that simplicity. The next album is gong to be a bit more serious, this one is very fun, colorful and very pop – there is quite a youthful nature to it. The second album is going to reflect where I am at now, I am a much more mature individual know and learned a lot more about life than I did before.
Any pop icons that influence you or you hope to collaborate with?
I love Daevid Allen, he is a fantastic producer and artist and think he’d be a really great collaboration. I am huge fan of Imogen Heap and I do love Lady Gaga as well. I think she is fantastic; she is a great songwriter. And Grace Jones – there’s lots of different people out there.
What about Lady Gaga’s outfit risks?
I am not a huge fan of her fashion sense, but I do respect her boldness and I love the fact she is herself completely and I think she is a true artist and she does what she wants. And she is very hands on with her projects and I think that is a very inspiring things she gives off; you have to respect her for that.
You’ve called yourself a control freak in the past – do you think that helps you maintain calmness on stage?
I am definitely a control freak, it is something that I am dealing with. I think I just really, really want to make sure everything we do is represented correctly. But we have really great team of managers, record company, my band is really fun and great too – so you don’t have to worry so much because everyone is so great at what they do and I just have to make sure that I do my bit as well and then the train moves smoothly. I think the more success we’ve had, the less I’ve felt the need to control everything because it makes me have trust in other people that they can do their job properly.
You’ve been a long way from home for a while now – what’s your favorite part about being on tour?
The traveling part is really fun because you get to see so much of America, but at the same time the traveling is the worst part because you’re not traveling and actually seeing the towns you are waiting around in your tour bus to do your sound checks. So, on he flip side, it can get a bit boring. But I love meeting new people and I love playing the songs. But I am really looking forward to going home; I have been in the states for nearly a year now. I miss London. I miss my cat, my boyfriend and my family – I need a week of normality like cups of tea. But anytime you get homesick, you always kind of remember to be grateful for where you are and what you are doing because at the end of the day, despite it being difficult, you are doing what you love.
Also check out Liz’s blog on NBC-6.
liz newmanloonatictv.comswept away tvthe rock star storiesv.v.brown
artists, music, youth media
Musicians on Why the World Would be Better without Nuclear Weapons
Main PSA (7.14.10) from TakePart on Vimeo.
Maroon 5 PSA from TakePart on Vimeo.
justin bernsmaroon 5no nuclear weaponsswept away tv
artists, broadcast tv, cast members, music
Katie Stevens Interview American Idol 2010
August 7, 2010 the rock star stories Leave a comment
american idolkatie stevensmelanie baeswept away tvthe rock star stories
Big Mike Interview by Melanie Bae
american idolbig mikemelanie baeswept away tvthe rock star stories
artists, cast members, music, youth media
Siobhan Magnus Interview American Idol Interview
Interview by Melanie Bae
american idol 2010idol tourloonatictv.comsiobhan magnusswept away tv
youth created music and pop culture television
View Swept-Away-Tv-The-Rock-Star-Stories’s profile on Facebook
View sweptawaytvnow’s profile on Twitter
View Sweptawayfl’s profile on Instagram
View sweptawaytv’s profile on YouTube
Watch this scam unfold https://t.co/ol7pR6y6E3
Vote out Moscow Mitch https://t.co/6Xf7ftTlM1
Scram perpetrated by Moscow Mitch https://t.co/RlEDmnAJZS
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Transportation Research Board > Blurbs > Guide to Truck Activity Data for Emissions Modeling
Guide to Truck Activity Data for Emissions Modeling
http://onlinepubs.trb.org/onlinepubs/nchrp/nchrp_rpt_909.pdf
TRB’s National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Research Report 909: Guide to Truck Activity Data for Emissions Modeling explores methods, procedures, and data sets needed to capture commercial vehicle activity, vehicle characteristics, and operations to assist in estimating and forecasting criteria pollutants, air toxics, and greenhouse gas emissions from goods and services movement.
Goods movement is a vital part of the national economy, with freight movement growing faster than passenger travel. The growth in freight traffic is contributing to urban congestion, resulting in hours of delay, increased shipping costs, wasted fuel, and greater emissions of greenhouse gas and criteria pollutants. The limited national data on urban goods movement are insufficient for a thorough understanding of the characteristics of the trucks operating in metropolitan areas and the complex logistical chains that they serve.
For instance, there are at least three different segments of urban freight—long haul, drayage, and pickup and delivery. It is believed that truck fleet characteristics differ between the segments, but only local registration data exist at a level of detail needed to support regional transportation plans, transportation improvement plans, and state implementation plans. The lack of data on all types of commercial trucks affects model estimation and results in inaccurate base year emissions inventories, limiting the ability to design and implement effective policies to reduce freight-related emissions.
NCHRP Research Report 909 enumerates various sources of truck data and how they can be obtained and used to support emissions modeling.
NCHRP Web-Only Document 210: Input Guidelines for Motor Vehicle Emissions Simulator Model (Porter et al., 2014a, 2014b, 2014c) provides guidance on developing local inputs to the MOVES mode. It covers all vehicle types, but is not specific to trucks. NCHRP Research Report 909 supplements NCHRP Web-Only Document 210 by describing the use of various data sources to obtain truck-specific inputs.
Appendices A through G to NCHRP Research Report 909 are published as NCHRP Web-Only Document 261 and contain seven case studies that serve as the basis for much of the guidance provided in NCHRP Research Report 909.
NCHRP Research Report 909 is also supplemented by three MS Excel files that contain data from the case studies:
Case Studies #1 and #7
Case Study #2
Case Studies #3, #4, and #6
Project Number: 08-101
TRB Publication Type: NCHRP Report
This Summary Last Modified On: 6/12/2019
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Home Featured Destinations Destination Indonesia
With travellers worldwide crossing oceans to experience the wonders of Indonesia first-hand, the celebrated island destination is striving for major touristic development to complement its natural resources. Aleksandra Wood explores.
Indonesia, the world’s largest island country comprised of over 17,000 islands, is a vision of untainted nature, teeming with incredible opportunities for tourists. Set between the Indian and Pacific Oceans in Southeast Asia, this wondrous destination is growing in popularity due to its unique and highly eclectic offering, which quenches the thirst of adventure travellers the world over.
Director of communications, Hotel Mulia Senayan, Jakarta, Hanny Wahyuni Gunawan shed light on the destination’s appeal: “Tourism in Indonesia is rapidly growing, as Indonesia doesn’t just boast exquisite sceneries, but also diverse, rich cultures across the archipelago that attract tourists looking for an experience, not just a beach holiday.”
Statistics show that the destination has been growing from strength to strength over the past four years, with a recorded increment of 71 per cent in foreign tourist arrivals. Last year alone, a total of 15.8 million international arrivals were recorded, representing a growth of 12.58 per cent in comparison to 2017, with top markets including Malaysia (2.5 million arrivals), China (2.2 million arrivals), Singapore (1.8 million arrivals) and Australia (1.3 million arrivals).
This year, this verdant haven has set a target of welcoming 20 million travellers, and according to Gunawan, possesses all the necessary attributes to achieve this.
“Indonesia’s vast tourism resources are inclusive of diverse habitats, eight UNESCO World Heritage sites, affordability, a large and well-educated workforce, and a well-developed industry,” he explained.
MULTI-FACETED DEVELOPMENT
Famed for its buzzing capital, Jakarta, and the captivating island of Bali, which is now being developed to serve as a main gateway to Indonesia and a hub for the eastern part of the archipelago, the country is currently working on increasing the visibility of the rest of its 17,000 islands, as confirmed by Deputy Minister, Tourism Indonesia Marketing Region II, Nia Niscaya: “We are now focusing on developing the country’s multitude of touristic destinations. We divided
development programmes into two categories: destination development and destination branding.”
As part of the destination development project, entitled ‘10 New Balis’, Indonesia’s Ministry of Tourism has initiated the enlargement of attractions, accessibility and amenities on 10 islands, which include Tanjung Kelayang, Borobudur, Lake Toba, Mandalika, Labuan Bajo, Bromo Tengger Semeru, Thousand Island, Tanjung Lesung, Wakatobi and Morotai.
Concurrently, the Ministry is banking on the branding of destinations that already boast the tourism infrastructure to welcome an influx of arrivals, such as Medan, Great Riau Island, Great Jakarta, Bandung (West Java), Banyuwangi (East Java), Joglosemar (Jogja-Solo-Semarang),
Great Bali, Lombok, Makassar and Coral Pearl (Bunaken-Wakatobi-Raja Ampat).
“The project has also established programmes to improve infrastructure, increase financing for tourism to around $177 million, implement sustainable tourism in 16 destinations, develop 10 special economic zones and develop nomadic tourism,” senior vice president, operations and development – Indonesia, Malaysia and Cambodia, Swiss-Belhotel International, Emmanuel Guillard revealed exclusively to TTG.
Right on cue for the big transformation, major hospitality brands have been making their presence known on the archipelago with newsworthy openings, including two very familiar players in the Middle East region – which could perhaps play a pivotal role in enticing travellers from the region to Indonesia. Dubai’s renowned Jumeirah brand is gearing up to inaugurate the long-awaited Jumeirah Bali this year, an opulent property that will grace the exclusive Jimbaran district, which will be home to 123 private villas set amidst lush and tropical gardens.
Meanwhile, Swiss-Belhotel International has substantially expanded its foothold in the region, with three openings on the island just last month.
Swiss-Belhotel Bogor in West Java launched in July following the rebranding of a 20-storey property, while Swiss-Belinn Gajah Mada Medan, the brand’s second hotel in the capital of North Sumatra, opened its doors a few days later. That same month, the thriving city of Serpong embraced the upscale Swiss-Belhotel Serpong, ultimately underlining Swiss-Belhotel International’s deep commitment to expansion in Indonesia, where the hospitality expert now operates more than 70 hotels and 10,000 rooms nationwide.
Indonesia’s aviation industry is next in line for substantial improvements, Swiss- Belhotel International’s Guillard told TTG: “The new Yogyakarta International Airport (NYIA) in the coastal area of Kulon Progo Regency [began] operating its international terminal in April this year, offering direct flights to and from Kuala Lumpur and Singapore. There are also future potential opportunities for route launches from countries such as Qatar, Turkey, the UAE, Japan and Australia.”
Further to this, starting from September 1, 2019, Malaysia’s leading low-cost airline, AirAsia, will adopt flights from Jakarta to Sorong, West Papua; Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara; and Semarang, Central Java, offering a capacity of 180 seats each way.
Road infrastructure has not been overlooked by Indonesia’s leading entities, with the Jakarta Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) having been introduced in March, whilst the Light Rapid Transit (LRT) is anticipated to be operational by the end of this year as well. And with new toll roads to support mobility currently in the process of completion in regions such as Sumatera, Java, Kalimantan, Sulawesi, Papua, connectivity is in for a major upgrade.
“The development of infrastructure, especially on the eastern part of Indonesia, will provide easier access from one point of interest to another. On the other hand, the creation of some new attraction spots, such as waterfalls and recreation parks, will boost local tourism,” general manager, The Oberoi Beach Resort, Bali and The Oberoi Beach Resort, Lombok, John Halpin opined.
NATURE-TOURISM SYMBIOSIS
Indonesia would not be the touristic oasis that it is today were it not for its natural beauty of green fertile rice fields, glimmering white sand beaches, vast savannahs and tropical rainforests. So, it is only expected that the destination should keep the sustainability of its natural surroundings at the forefront of its touristic development.
Halpin stated: “Well-travelled tourists are becoming more conscious on the importance of contributing to sustainable tourism. They are keen to support or revisit the place where the locals are taking care of the environment, as they will get the benefit of it too.”
The environment represents a very real tourism asset for Indonesia, as it is inseparable from its offering and therefore incredibly fragile.
In a comprehensive analysis, Deputy Minister Niscaya elucidated: “In theory, the relationship between the natural environment and tourism must be mutual and beneficial. Visitors enjoy the beauty of nature and the income paid by tourists is utilised to protect and preserve nature for the sustainability of tourism. The relationship must be a symbiotic one that is supportive and profitable so that conservation, appreciation and education efforts are carried out.”
Hospitality brands within the country, such as Swiss-Belhotel International, remain fully dedicated to sustainable practices through initiatives such as regular beach clean-up drives, as well as the elimination of single-use plastics, as Guillard explained.
In accordance with this, Gunawan of Hotel Mulia Senayan, Jakarta, said: “We put a comprehensive effort towards environmental awareness, starting from something as simple as the towel replacement initiative, which involves the participation of guests, to energy saving and selecting products that are easy to recycle.”
In a befitting conclusion, Deputy Minister Niscaya shared encouraging words of the archipelago’s touristic prowess to TTG: “Having stopovers in a myriad of places in Indonesia is what makes this country a wonderful place to visit – the beauty of scenic natural landscapes, blended with the uniqueness of its people. Enjoy the untouched beaches, mountains, lakes and many more pleasing destinations, as well as the magnificent city skylines throughout the country. And when you decide to see them all, a single visit will not be enough to embrace the wonders of Indonesia.”
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LOOKING BACK: Vintage, yet timeless advice
August 25, 2014 alemily advice, attitude, human equation, photography, planning
While working here and there on updating the tags on older “tip of the week” posts on this site that date back to 2010, I also had the opportunity to re-read them as well. Pages after pages of advice about attitude and aptitude, both of which have roots deep within our history.
So for this post, I went digging through my archives to pull examples of advice of the same nature given to generations past from names that were once as well known as their modern counterparts on this site are today.
1916 – Paul Hugon, managing editor of Pathe News in a booklet written by him called “Hints to Newsfilm Cameramen”:
Make as good a picture for others as you would like others to make for you.
Nothing but the best is good enough. Think and think hard how you can make the best picture. Put it all down in writing in advance; plan your scenes…
There is plenty of room at the top of your profession, but you will not get there by standing about or just grinding away.”
1956 – Norman Alley, cameraman for Hearst’s News of the Day newsreel and freelancer for CBS News in an American Cinematographer interview containing his views on the transition photogs were facing going from theatrical newsreels to TV news:
“..today’s newsreel cameraman must be first a news reporter and second a good photographer, capable of putting a story together in sequence as he shoots it.
…the news photographer today must have, in addition to imagination and initiative, the determination to knock on doors, to “dig” to get results. Above all things, he must omit the phoney. It’s too obvious.”
1957 – Ted Genock, former Paramount News and March of Time cameraman in an interview for a USAF newsfilm training course:
“…Again, I come back to the phrase I have used before, “think vicariously.” Get some facts about what material will be available for photography. Then, develop a story just as you would were you a reporter on a newspaper: the why, the how, the where.
Now we come to this controversial question of “continuity.” A newsreel has continuity; it has to have continuity. It must because of the shortness of screen time. And this is what I referrer to in my opening definition. We need to get the information across in the fastest possible way. Therefore, it is sometimes necessary to break continuity. If we do, then we need a bridge to make this break more acceptable. How do we do it? There are two ways: there is the “cut-away” and there is the “cut-in.”
The “cut-away” is a scene of people’s reactions, either watching the main event, or handling the equipment – something which will bridge the time-gap between those two shots which do not have continuity.
The “cut-in” would be a close-up of the particular thing that is being worked on or looked at. These things present themselves within the story. Remember, a large number number of close-ups adds impact and excitement and importance to the subject.
Thus, when constructing the newsreel story, we move from the establishing shot, to report shots. And finally as in any essay, we must build to a logical conclusion. The final shot should have some visual strength of its own. If it isn’t there, try to plan it.”
1960 – Leo Willete, WWL-TV news director in an RTNDA-sponsored book he authored called “So You’re Gonna Shoot Newsfilm”:
“In covering any kind of calamity, remember the story is only as good as its human equation. The burning down of an empty house may be good footage. But a similar blaze in which a family is forced to flee with only a handful of possessions is a human story. On all stories, shoot the people first and fullest. The wrecked train, burning house or whatever will still be around, minutes after the human factor is beyond camera range.
The news cameraman-director-editor-script team should also digest one more reminder: People are most interested in other people.
The human denominator is the best known and often least-used device to which to explain a community problem. Imagine a water main rupture. An entire sections of the city is without water service. How does a family adjust to living without water? Where do they get this commodity which we take for granted? These are the human aspects to the story. These are the angles that will sink in and make an impression on the viewers – not the reams of statistics as furnished by the Water Board.”
← The Demo Reel – Getting your next job as a storyteller Pt.3
TIP OF THE WEEK: Dave Wertheimer (WCCO) — “Thoughts on the ‘Job'” →
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Cannes: Screenplay for option or sale
Posted on Jan 7th, 2013 | Category: Rebirth historical notes
What Johnny Depp and Others Need to know of their proud heritage:
REBIRTH: The True Story: The Huguenot fight for civil liberty that altered the fate of nations.
When one law, one faith, one king is the rule of the day, those who dare to think otherwise risk being the targets of terror and intolerance. Soon, the name Huguenot (pronounced hoo-guh-no) is applied to these reformers and dissenters, and many Huguenots and Humanists alike stand together in civil disobedience against the combined corruption and and cruelty of church and state.
In this world torn between renaissance and genocide … a true story unfolds of undying love and an unyielding fight for freedom. Set in a time when only a few have the courage to question the corruption of popes or the commands of kings. These few noble “heretics” will give up fortune and fame in a stand against intolerance, daring to speak their conscience — but not without the risk of death or dungeon.
“Rebirth’s” history also includes the heritage of Robert Duval, Johnny Depp, Warren Buffet, Steve Forbes, Kenneth Branagh, Winston Churchill, over a dozen American Presidents, millions of U.S.and world citizens ( as well as over 75 percent of England’s indigenous population — many of which– unknowingly, share this legacy of honor.) ALL those living in freedom and those longing for freedom will be outraged and ultimately inspired by this provocative true story.
“Rebirth” inspired by a true story with Iternational Appeal, Five First Place Wins, excellent coverage, reviews and recommends. Awards from the U.S., Canada and France.
REBIRTH is a passionate love story and the provocative true story that sparks the American and French Revolutions, as these hard fought ideals will change political thought thereafter and alter the fate of generations.
“BEYOND REASON”(The Science of Seduction) A true love story. The witty writer/philosopher Voltaire finds the love of his life, a scientist before her time — Emilie du Chatelet: First Place Winner, Wildsound FF, Toronto, 3rd place Script Vamp, Griffith FF, U.S. Audience Choice Award. More: www.tllewis.net/beyond-reason
Tags: a, An original, An original screenplay, award Winning Screenplay for option., Cannes, Cannes screenplays for option or sell, Emilie du Chatelet, Johnny Depp ancestry, Johnny Depp at Cannes, Johnny Depp France, Johnny Depp French, Johnny Depp has a proud heritage to share with his own children., Screenplay in the vein of Game of Thrones, Screenplay in the vein of Gone with the Wind, Screenplay in the vein of Les Miserables, Screenplay in the vein of Titanic, Screenplay with academy award potential, Screenplay with Awards, Screenplay with Commercial Appeal, Screenplay with International appeal, Voltaire, www.tllewis.net/beyond-reason
Gratitude is the bubbling spring of platitude, from it flows from humility into the well of wisdom.
~T.L. Lewis
Rebirth, the story, while currently structured as a screenplay, is complex and multi-layered, full of historic and dramatic resonance and could easily spin off and extend in many directions over numerous episodes and seasons. — Joseph Kenny, Award-Winning Screenwriter
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