question stringlengths 14 1.69M | answer stringlengths 1 40.5k | meat_tokens int64 1 8.18k |
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All Lin<|fim_middle|> to differing amounts of impurities. | seis Differential Thermal Analyzers (DTA) comprise the advantages of latest technology, highest resolution and a robust easy to use instrument design.
The modular concept allows configuration of different furnace types for an extremely wide temperature range from -150 °C up to 2400 °C. Therefore many different sensors and types of crucibles for the DTA are available. The vacuum tight construction of this system allows the implementation of quantitative enthalpy and Cp determinations in a pure gas atmosphere or under vacuum of 10-5 mbar. Additionally, the system can always be coupled with a mass spectrometer or FTIR to obtain further information.
Broad range of crucibles made of gold, silver, platinum, aluminum, stainless steel (high pressure), etc.
All thermo analytical devices of LINSEIS are PC controlled and the individual software modules exclusively run under Microsoft Windows operating systems. The complete software consists of 3 modules: temperature control, data acquisition and data evaluation. The Linseis 32 – bit software encounters all essential features for measurement preparation, execution and evaluation with a DTA run, just like with other thermo analytical experiments. Due to our specialists and application experts LINSEIS was able to develop this easy understandable and highly practical software.
The Linseis DTA PT 1600 uses a dynamic measuring principle. It can measure endothermal and exothermal heat flows between the sample and the reference. These heat flows are result of physical or chemical changes of the samples. Very often a DTA is used for purity measurements of mixtures of metals. This is due to the fact that the melting point changes in dependence | 333 |
Superior Air Freight is an International Air Transport Association (IATA) endorsed agent offering complete export and import air freight services. We can pick up shipments from any city in the U.S. and provide door-to-door or door-to-airport service to cities in over 180 countries. Superior Air Freight specializes in time sensitive international shipments above 100 kilograms in total weight.
Every shipment is individually tracked by a member of our Operations Department who feeds up-to-the-minute shipment details into our computerized tracking system, SAF-TRAC.
Our "International Shipment Update" is sent daily to both the shipper and consignee so that everyone involved can monitor a shipments' progress. This daily update comes to you automatically, which eliminates the time you spend calling us for the latest details. And, because the consignee also receives the updates, it will eliminate many of the calls that you normally receive from customers inquiring about the status of their shipment. If you prefer, you can track your shipment 24 hours per day at http://www.superiortrack.com.
Superior Air Freight has access to<|fim_middle|> major markets within 3-5 days. This service is available for Door-to-Airport Service and Door-to-Door Service.
A member of our Operations Department is available around the clock at (800) 676-7772 to take your call. | every major passenger and cargo airline in the world. We never combine your freight with that from other shippers, and therefore avoid the delays caused by some air freight consolidators. Each shipment moves on its' own airline bill of lading.
We offer assistance with all international documentation including the Shipper's Export Declaration, Commercial Invoice, Certificate of Origin, Consular certification, and banking services.
You can choose the level of service that best suits your current needs.
Express Service: Shipments will move on the next available flight and will arrive at the destination airport of most major markets within 48 hours. This service is available for Door-to-Airport Service and Door-to-Door Service.
Standard Service: Shipments will arrive at the destination airports of most | 152 |
How inflation shrinks your savings, and what to do about it
It's getting harder and harder to grow your money in real terms. Alex Rankine looks at the best savings accounts currently on offer.
by: Alex Rankine
It's getting more difficult to protect the value of cash savings against inflation. UK annual consumer price index (CPI) inflation spiked to 1.5% in April, with the Bank of England forecasting that it will hit 2.5% by the end of this year. Interest rates are not keeping up. The average easy-access savings account pays 0.16% , compared with 0.4% a year ago.
Banks have little incentive to raise rates. Thanks to lockdowns the average UK household has now amassed £4,353 in "excess savings" (extra money saved in addition to normal saving), according to Investec. The banks are swimming in cash. Britain's "big four" lenders (Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds Banking Group and NatWest) collectively took in more than £200bn in new deposits last year.
App-based Atom bank currently offers the best easy-access savings rate, with its Instant Saver paying 0.5%. Savers who don't want to manage their accounts through an app could consider the Charter Savings Bank Easy Access account, which pays 0.45%. Notice accounts, which require advance notice before money can be withdrawn, give slightly better returns. Shawbrook Bank's 120-day notice account offers 0.72%.
Check the small print when you sign up for a savings account, says Will Kirkman in The Daily Telegraph. Andrew Hagger of MoneyComms reports that half of the top 50 easy-access savings accounts carry "restrictive terms… more than one in five charge interest penalties to savers who make more withdrawals than their accounts allow". Keep an eye on bonus accounts too, which pay a high rate up front only to slash it by up to 95% once the bonus period is up. The banks count on consumers' inertia: a study by Investec found that "two-thirds of people with cash savings between 2016 and 2019 opened accounts paying short-term bonuses", but just 42% then "moved the money once the bonuses expired", says John Fitzsimons on yourmoney.com.
Fixed accounts perk up
Things look a bit brighter at the fixed-rate end of the market, says Rupert Jones in The Guardian. Britons have mostly put their excess savings into easy-access savings accounts. Banks now want to tempt some of that money into fixed-rate accounts, which see customers lock away cash for a set period of time (typically between one and five years).
The savings market is "starting to stabilise", says Derin Clark for moneyfacts.co.uk. The number of products has risen for the first time since October 2020. Average rates on one year fixed-rate accounts increased to 0.44% in May, the first rise in seven months. Yet rates are still well short of the 0.6<|fim_middle|>.8%.
With inflation spiking and rates falling, no accounts look set to repeat the feat this year. The best longer-term rate available today is Aldermore Bank's five-year fixed-rate account, which pays 1.45% per year. Yet it seems risky to lock in that rate when inflation is already above that level, and rising. Better to preserve your "optionality" by holding the cash in an easy access account so that if better rates become available, you can move. And if you can really afford to lock up your cash for five years-plus, perhaps consider investing it rather than putting it in the bank.
MoneyWeek magazine | 8% level they hit last autumn. Still, 61 savings accounts beat inflation in the year to April, says Ali Hussain in The Sunday Times. You had to be willing to lock your money away for a long time though. RCI Bank UK's five-year fixed-term account paid 1.9%, while Shawbrook Bank's seven-year fixed rate bond issue returned 1 | 78 |
The 2018 Hockey East Men's Ice Hockey Tournament was played between March 2 and March 17, 2018 at campus locations and at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. Boston University won their 9th tournament and earned Hockey East's automatic bid into the 2018 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament.
The tournament was the 34th in league history.
Format
The tournament included all eleven teams in the conference. Seeds 1–5 earned a first-round bye, and seeds 6–11 played a best-of-three Opening Round played on campus locations. Winners advanced to play the 1–3 seeds in the best-of-three Quarterfinals on campus locations. Winners of those series played in a single-game Semifinal, and those winners faced off in a single-game Championship Final, both at the TD Garden.
Regular season standings
Note: GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; PTS = Points; GF = Goals For; GA = Goals Against
Bracket
Teams are reseeded after the Opening Round and Quarterfinals
Note: * denotes overtime period(s)
Results
Opening Round
(6) Maine vs. (11) New Hampshire
(7) Massachusetts–Lowell vs. (10) Merrimack
(8) Massachusetts vs. (9) Vermont
Quarterfinals
(1) Boston College vs. (10) Merrimack
(2) Northeastern vs. (8) Massachusetts
(3) Providence vs. (6) Maine
(4) Boston University vs. (5) Connecticut
Semifinals<|fim_middle|> Providence vs. (4) Boston University
Tournament awards
All-Tournament Team
F Jordan Greenway Boston University
F Dylan Sikura Northeastern
F Brandon Duhaime Providence
D Chad Krys Boston University
D Jacob Bryson Providence
G Jake Oettinger* Boston University
* Tournament MVP(s)
References
External links
2018 Hockey East Men's Ice Hockey Tournament
Hockey East Men's Ice Hockey Tournament
Hockey East Men's Ice Hockey Tournament
Hockey East Men's Ice Hockey Tournament
Hockey East Men's Ice Hockey Tournament
Hockey East Men's Ice Hockey Tournament
Ice hockey competitions in Boston |
(1) Boston College vs. (4) Boston University
(2) Northeastern vs. (3) Providence
Championship
(3) | 32 |
The UL<|fim_middle|> the men's side highlighted the day of competition for the Louisiana track and field team on Saturday, Feb. 5 in the Jeff Davis Bank McNeese Indoor Meet held at the McNeese Indoor Recreation Complex. Of particular interest, Tarvia Conway, daughter of UL OlympianHollis Conway, won the triple jump.
The Louisiana men's and women's track and field squads opened the 2011 indoor season Saturday afternoon at the Texas A&M Conference Challenge in College Station, Texas, and came away with four first place finishes.
COLLEGE STATION - The Texas A&M Conference Challenge hosted by the Aggies on Saturday, January 15, will include three schools each from the Big 12, Southland, Sunbelt and SWAC schools. Action in the meet, which will be scored by conference, begins at noon with prelims in the 60 hurdles and 60 meters with finals set to begin at 2 p.m. and conclude at 6:30 p.m. in the Gilliam Indoor Track Stadium.
The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns track and field program will be represented in Des Moines, Iowa, this weekend at the 2010 USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships.
The Ragin' Cajuns track and field team finished up its final home meet of the season with winners in a number of different events at the Cole-Lancon Twilight Meet on Thursday night. | men's cross country took first overall at the 2011 Ragin' Cajun Invitational at Acadiana Park on Friday.
Louisiana sophomore Albert Fournette shattered his own school record in the shot put to advance to the NCAA Championships in Des Moines, Iowa on June 8-11. A graduate of Brother Martin in New Orleans, Fournette threw a distance of 59-3 ½ (18.07m).
The final day of the 2011 Sun Belt Outdoor Track & Field Championships were a success for the Louisiana men and women's track & field teams. The UL men finished seventh with 65.5 points, while the women finished eighth with 63.5 points. In total, Louisiana had nine All-Conference selections throughout the three-day event.
Petrona Layne and Zach France earned 1st place honors and Jasmine Anderson broke her own school record while five other Cajuns earned top-five finishes as the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns men and women's track & field team competed at the LSU Alumni Gold meet on Saturday at Bernie Moore Stadium in Baton Rouge.
The University of Louisiana men and women's track & field teams performed well on Saturday as three individual Cajuns claimed titles and six others earned podium finishes in the final day of the annual Louisiana Classics held at the Ragin' Cajuns Track/Soccer Facility.
Three first place finishes on the women's side and 10 total Top 5 finishes on | 303 |
"Road Trip!" Those words have always evoked a spectacular sense of freedom for me. In my day, I've gone a few doosies. There was the high school road trip to mythical South Whidbey. And who can forget Duck Itch Lake up in Canada? Both the eastward and westward Marilyn roadtrips were not to be forgotten as well.
The time has come for a new page in my road trip history. Much like the road trips of yore, this one is about the journey as much as the destination. What makes this one different, however, is that there will be no sleeping in the back of the car, picking up hitch hikers, locking the keys in the car, or blasting the stereo full blast. This road trip is just me, Scoot Scoot, and the open road. So with my sleeping bag bungeed on, a shiny new trunk for my laptop (can anyone say "internet addiction"?), and perhaps an unrealistic sense of enthusiasm, I embark. Stay tuned to BdW for reports from the road.
If you make it all the way to Baltimore you will be my hero!
If you and Scoot Scoot make it to good ole Iowa, we will let you sleep in a bed and give you a meal if you want!
You are so right- I hear the words "Road Trip" put together, and I start packing too!
Wren! Since you'll be going right through the area, let me recommend going to this spot. The earthcache has been deactivated, but that does not matter. This is possibly one of the most amazing spots I have ever visited, and would be a wonderful pitstop on adventures through the area!
I await future (and hopefully regular) updates!
I didn't think of it until now, by my hot spring suggestion goes quite well with your affinity for water features. And unlike your others, in this one, homelessness isn't a prerequisite for bathing!
lo-tech, just what I expected.
As far as public art goes, I would have to say that water features are my favorite (with the exception of maybe functional art like bus shelters, etc.). In my meanderings around and about, a good water feature will always stop me in my tracks. One of my favorite attractions in Rome was Trevi Fountain. The Bellagio's fountain in Vegas captures me. At the mall in Pattaya Thailand, I sat and watched a funky little water feature for hours (while I ate $0.65 oreo blizzards by the dozen).
It isn't just in far away places that water features add to the interest of an urban landscape. Just the other day in Seattle, with a couple hours to kill, I thought I would do a quick tour to see what I could find. Pictured to the right is a calm little fountain next to Key Area at the Seattle Center. Also at the Seattle center is the famous International Fountain which, esp. in the summer, doubles as functional art keeping people cool. Downtown has a couple neat little fountains like this one at the Baimbridge Ferry Terminal, this serene waterfall at the birth place of UPS (privately maintained), and one of my favorites at 5th and James. Also vying for a top spot in my favorites are some of the basalt fountains at Amazon.com. I didn't get a chance to trek up to Cal Anderson Park to snap a picture of that great fountain.
So next time you are scurrying through a city with your head down, look up and enjoy some of the public water features!
I too pay attention to water features, but less for the aesthetic (though not always) and more for the sound and the feeling they elicit. The UPS one is a great example of this. When you walk by that place, you're drawn in by the heavy vegetation and obvious park-ness of it. But once inside, the sound is completely different than the cacophony of the city noises. Water features can express many different types of sound, this particular one suggests being in the forest.
Also, when you walk into the enclosed area of the UPS park (or in proximity to most water features), the air temperature drops a measurable amount that tells you you are in a different place. The smell also changes (sometimes to chlorine). What amazes me is every time I have passed the UPS park, I have only seen one or two people at a time sitting and enjoying it.
Also, I have been by the Amazon fountains countless times on my way to Uwajimaya from the train station, but it wasn't until you brought to my attention that that was Amazon did I have the foggiest clue the purpose of that building.
Imagine a huge waterfall in Spring during the early melt, imagine surround-sound and then you can imagine what a large water feature does in the center of a bustling city. Downtown Minneapolis has such a place as well, next to Symphony Hall--a place to really get away from the city. Also, remember that touch-of-the-wild fountain at REI.
I enjoy peeing from high places.Wren enjoys peeing down his leg. I have pictures.
Speaking of water features, Sean, I happened by the Seattle International fountain again this weekend and realize this was a much better angle for a photo.
Uhhhh that's a lot of peepee.I like the Swiss Family Robinson water gathering contraption.
I often wish that I was more artistically inclined. I've known people in my life who can whip out the coolest sketches in no time. Give me enough time and art supplies, I will just end up with a bunch of paper cuts. Luckily, in<|fim_middle|> like a month of racoon burgers and roadkill sandwiches.
Otherwise, glad to hear you're becoming a nice ol' hippie in both the tree-hugging and twig-eating sense.
Come the end of April look for Wren foraging for meat behind McD's and JitB. Freeganism at it's finest.
That said, very good on you for doing your part and telling people about it. That is definitely a great way to get people to clue in.
Peace man! I am a hippie! Bong, Bong! ...um. wait. i mean, meat is bad.
i'm gonna buy some meat and give it to you.
How did you keep such a straight face with that crazy yoddler music in the background?
GRRRRRR! I'm so mad I'm shaving my beard! Maybe this yodeling will lighten the mood....nope! GRRRRR!
you look older, more chiseled and i never knew you had a dimpled chin or an adam's apple. this video is great!
I never knew you had a chin or lips! when was the last time you shaved that?
What a great prank, Wren! You really had me going... After I watched it the first time I thought you had developed the ancient art of ventriloquist-yodeling as an addition to your act of shaving with juggled knives. But then I realized it was April Fool's Day, and you hadn't really shaved at all. In fact you developed the ancient art of ventriloquist-yodeling as an addition to your act of juggling bits of hair and glue to attach to your face, and then just put the film in reverse. You clever guy, you!
For more comments (from complete strangers), check out the youTube page for this video.
I roofled, but then I hated it.It really does go to show how widespread YouTube is. What would the circumstances be behind someone finding, and later commenting on, a few day old video of someone shaving his beard? Were there any comments on your slideshow video? Are you the next LonelyGirl14? LonelyGuy15, perhaps? ZING!
You know that looney tunes character, the friend of Marvin the martian, the red one who is only red hair and eyes? Then marvin chases him around with a razor and shaves him ? I'm just saying, you ever seen that one?
how did you yodel with your mouth closed?
eeeks, what you doing there bud, trying to scare us all? | lieu of art skills, I was blessed with at least functional skills of persuasion.
So when I got the idea for a comic, I applied those powers of persuasion to convince my very talented neighbor to collaborate* with me. The result turned out very nice, if I do say so myself. See for yourself.
I like to think Wren wanted to keep me, his secret artist, to himself for fear I would get snatched up by somebody else looking to outdo his mad skills as a comic genius.
i like it. it's funny.
Oh wow! that is a cool drawing, and funny comic. New Yorker anybody?
And Deanna, were you 'assciated' with the misspellings as well?
I except all blaim for the mispellings, grammer errosr, and, stuff.
Wren! Those words you just dun' wrote are spelled wrong! So ironic!
hmmm, wonder where you got that idea? now do you see why i turned him down? funny, the waiter in paris also recommended the creme brulee... clairvoyance?? btw, the dude does not look like alex tribec. i love it.
Good cars—I mean cars that we really love—don't come along very often in our lives. It is with great sadness that I had to let Marilyn go this past weekend. She lived to a ripe old age of 309,811 miles. Now she has gone to a better place, the vehicle donation program at KUOW. Hopefully someone out there will find a use for some of her parts, so she can continue to live on in one form or another.
But instead of focusing on the sad, let me look back on the good times she provided. We shared accomplishments,setbacks, learning experiences, and confusion. She took me on adventures and was always patiently waiting for me when I came home. Marilyn, you will be missed.
A great eulogy for a great car! It should also be noted that the fourth BdW post was about the car. God speed old girl!
I spent more than a few hours in that car, and I must say, each was an adventure in it's own right. She shall be missed.
In all honesty I admit that at 250,000 miles with white smoke billowing out her tail pipe I was a non-believer. Marilyn, you have proven that trust alone can make a car go. Wren believed in you to the end.
whoa! new background for the title of BdW? what gives?
whoa! it changes all the time!
Also, since Wren likes statistics, lets take a look at Marilyn's sordid, dirty past.
If Marilyn averaged 30mpg (research shows 27/33mpg city/hwy) she slurped down 10,327 gallons of sweet Middle Eastern nectar in her lifetime. That's a whopping 56800 pounds of carbon she pumped into the ol' atmosphere!
This sounds like a lot, but here is where it shows that Marilyn was an extraordinary car, and Wren an extraordinary car-owner. According to EPA statistics, the average car pumps out 11,681 pounds of carbon per year (at a conservative 12,000mi/year @ 21.1mpg) which means it would take the average driver less than 5 years to generate as much carbon as team Marilyn/Wren.
I gave Marilyn sugar once. Only the best for Marilyn! None of that high fructose corn syrup garbage.
By the way Wren, Honda is still kicking.
I was thinking of Honda when I wrote this. I remember the jump starts they shared back in the good old Bates' days.
Marilyn, there is a huge void in my heart(and behind my house) We will miss ya!
I think Elton John said it best in the song "Candle in the Wind":"Goodbye Norma Jean,Though I never knew you at all.You had the grace to hold yourselfWhile those around you crawled. . .And it seems to me you lived your lifeLike a candle in the wind,Never knowing who to cling toWhen the rain set in.And I would have liked to have known youBut I was just a kid.Your candle burned out long before,Your legend never did."Get it? It's a Marilyn Monroe reference. RDRR.
where will the random drunk guy crash now that she's gone?
Who said sparklers were just for kids or making bombs*? With a little creativity, a fancy schmancy camera, and a little help from the internet, lots of fun can be had.
In honor of the IHJ invasion, Ryan held one of his world renowned Movie Nights. (Casino Royale was this episode's feature.) After the movie (and pizza, cake, and splargus*), Ryan coaxed us all outside for a little sparkler art. While I was a little reluctant at first (partially because of the cold, partially because the chances for undesirable fire consequences were not as slim as one would hope), I quickly got into the spirit once I saw the results.
Outlining was the first course of business. Here's Ryan, me, and Chris and Jenn. (You may notice a bit of a solar flare above Chris in that last one. He took it like a champ!) After we had our fun with outlining, we tried a little skywriting. As you can tell, I was decidedly unsuccessful.
nice pics champ! too bad art is for nerds!
Good times. Next time, we'll do it on a warmer night so we can perfect it!
You're right -- splargus is cran-raspberry. Splongus is cran-apple.
OlogduWon? What the heck does that mean?I did the rhinocerous juggling trick out here. It was a big hit. Poop is universally funny.
wow! you guys look like angels! that is really neat.
but did you actually burn anything?
For anyone who lives in Skagit County, or even in the whole Northwest, it goes without saying that we live in one of the most beautiful places in the world (although it is sometimes worth reminding ourselves of when it has rained for 12 days straight). Tulip time in Skagit County might as well serve as the poster child for the Northwest's beauty, if you ask me.
It wasn't until 2 years ago that I visited the tulips the first time. Of course I had driven through from time to time, but I had never stopped. Since then, I've tried not to miss snapping at least one picture per year. (It makes for a perfect backdrop.) Today, with an out-of- towner in tow, Dave and I played toured guide. He played professional photographer while I attempted to follow his lead. While photography might not be my thing, at least I can do fun computery stuff with pictures. Check out this panorama (Java required).
Java-schmava! I LOVE the pretty flowers! And the beautiful people in them! I wanna go!
funny the posterchild for the northwest is a non native ugly hybrib tulip. I could see it being the posterchild for traffic and general misery for anyone driving in the valley...its colorful but i dont see any beauty lurking there. What say you wren i have a hard time believing you are pro tulip festival. Seems like a waste of good farm land to me.
Those are beautiful! They really should make a festival out of those....How many tourists did you have to elbow out of the way to get those nice shots? It looks like you missed one in your panaroma, sorta looks like Dave Clumpner!
Great photos! Made me smile.
Over the past 7 years or so, I've often dreamed of making a career of independent web work: contracting for a company here, creating small business websites there, working on my own projects in between. While the projects (and therefore income) have been far from steady, I've done some really fun projects. One recent project of note is Cardinal Points, a website for my neighbors' small business.
Do you or someone you know need a website: small business, blog, photo gallery, event announcement? Perhaps just a touch up on your current site, or adding a bit of that fancy Web 2.0 functionality? I'd love to help. I charge about half of what you'll find elsewhere (thanks, in part, to my low overhead*), but have the experience and skillz* that rival the best. I won't go into more of a pitch here (because, let's face it, 98% of BdW readers have as much need for my services as Saxtor has need for a blog (ZING!)), but if you have any interest at all, contact me and I'll answer all your questions.
A water-maker installed on their boat?
Is this where they invite you onto their boat with a case of Mt. Dew in tow?
Maybe you could make me a website! I need it to make loads of money, require no maintenance, and allow me to spread my witty opinions across the web. I am thinking maybe a professional spamming program? or some underhanded bank scheme? maybe a phishing ploy! Or, maybe I will just work for a living...sigh.
P.S. nice site! If i ever get a boat (hence my need to make money using the diabolic schemes in post 1), I will go to Frank for all my drinking water and generator needs.
I don't know what you're talking aboot.
Next time I get paid I'll be calling you wren. I have survived all this time without a web site, how did I do it?
Have you ever wondered where Easter eggs come from?
I am Soooo stealing this one Wren!
I think this bunny's name is HUMPPER!
One of the many benefits of all this free time I've arranged for myself is the interesting projects and experiments I've been able to play around with. I've posted about some of them before (puzzles, games, and food just to name a few). Now I would like to take the opportunity to share with you some of the environmentally related projects/experiments I've been playing around with. Conveniently, they've all been month long projects which has put me into a nice little routine.
In February, I experimented with 2 ideas. Firstly, I wanted to look at my personal transportation impact, esp. regarding automobile driving. I'm a firm believer that one of the best ways to lessen our personal impact (in many cases) is to simplify. In terms of transportation, I felt like simplification is best achieved by driving less. I gave myself the ambitious goal of driving less than 10 miles a day on average. That means a trip to Bellingham on the weekend must be offset by 8 or so days of not driving at all. Over the month of February, I closely watched my miles. By the end of the month, I was slightly over. Perhaps 100 miles a week is a more achievable goal. Give it a try and let me know!
The second February experiment was with home heating. With Ma in NZ, I was in control of the thermostat. As anyone who visited during that time knows, keeping it set to 63 makes an extra sweater a must. But in looking at the bill afterwards, the amount of natural gas saved was nothing to sneeze at.
March's environmental project of the month was unsubscribing from catalog mailing lists. We get tons at the house that we never even look at, so I thought: save the paper, save the fuel to ship and deliver them, and save the mail carrier's back. Done and done.
April's EPotM definitely falls into the experimentation category. I've decided to take a small foray into vegetarianism, at least for the month. (Those who know me know how I have wrestled with this before.) My experimental step for the month is to purchase no meat. I've got too much in the fridge to go cold turkey, and I hate seeing good food get thrown away on my behalf. But to the best of my ability, I will be doing what I can.
I'm curious about the use of the word "purchase" in this post. Is this a new form of vegetarianism where you only eat meat that someone else has purchased?
No more purchases... Mmm... Sounds to me | 2,587 |
Former U.S. Rep. Bob Franks is pictured in 2001. The Union County Republican died in 2010.
UNION TOWNSHIP — Gov. Chris Christie disclosed today that before there was Kim Guadagno vying for lieutenant governor in 2009 on the Republican ticket, there was U.S. Rep. Bob Franks, his first choice as a running mate.
But the late congressman, who was widely respected by Republicans and Democrats alike, felt compelled to turn down the offer.
"Chris, I'm honored, but I really love the job I have now and second, Fran would kill me," Christie said Franks told him.
Christie said he replied, "I can probably do something about the first one, but I can't do anything about the second one."
Speaking at a dedication ceremony at the NJ Transit station in Union Township, named after the four-term congressman, Christie said Franks' wife, Fran, and their two young daughters were his priority.
The event on the campus of Kean University brought out a who's who of New Jersey politics, many of whom started with Franks and now work for the Republican governor, including his political strategist, Mike DuHaime, and his two-time campaign manager, Bill Stepien. State Sen. Joe Kyrillos (R<|fim_middle|> while volunteering for the Ronald Reagan campaign.
The stop in Union was the first of three public events for Christie today. From there, he went to the Essex County Senior Wellness Day at the Richard J. Codey Arena in West Orange. Essex County Executive Joe DiVincenzo joined him there, and then the pair traveled to downtown Orange to campaign for Christie's re-election.
Protesters holding "Christie, Stay out of Orange!" signs waited for the governor's arrival on Main Street. | -Monmouth) and Assemblyman Joe Cryan (D-Union) were there, too.
Christie said Franks also advised him in June 2009, five months before he defeated former Gov. Jon Corzine, to make Senate President Steve Sweeney (D-Gloucester) an ally. The partnership has turned out to be crucial to many of the governor's legislative successes, and has helped him build a national following.
"After you win, it's going to be too late to start making friends with Steve Sweeney, make friends with him now," Christie said Franks told him.
U.S. Rep. Leonard Lance also spoke adoringly of Franks, whom he called an "effervescent personality."
"When you first met him, he shook your hand firmly, he looked you straight in the eye and he knew your name from the point forever forward," said Lance, who first met him | 188 |
Spoiler alert: Tissues are a must-have for 5 Feet Apart, but one box might not be enough.
Stella Grant (Haley Lu Richardson) is just like most teens. She posts on YouTube, she hangs out with her friends, and she's attached to her laptop and her phone. There is one thing significantly different about Grant. She has cystic fibrosis. This means she lives a life in and out of the hospital, faced every day with the challenge of staying alive. Then one day, she meets a guy who will change her life forever.
Grant is obsessed with control and order including her daily medical routine. After Grant takes all her medicines, organizes her room and medical cart she takes a walk through the hospital and meets a fellow cystic fibrosis patient she has not met before. He is around her age, good looking and immediately is interested in Grant. Will Newman (Cole Sprouse) appears as a charming, bad boy and he<|fim_middle|>. What is amazing about watching their relationship grow is it all happens within the walls of a hospital. "I loved watching Grant fall in love with Newman because she was finally having fun and living her life," junior Parmida Khajoee said.
Their connection continues to intensify, leading to an increased temptation to ignore the six-foot rule and connect through human touch. We watch them run around the hospital, spending time together and doing fun things like swimming in the hospital pool. Yet, always staying apart and following the rule as that rule gets harder and harder. Some humor is injected with Nurse Barb who does not want them to risk their health and warns them to stay away from each other. Yet Grant and Newman find ways to get past Nurse Barb and grow their relationship. "It was fun and exciting to feel like I was a part of Will and Stella's journey as they found ways to get to know each other and have fun at five feet apart," junior Lainey Morris said.
One night Nurse Barb catches them and tells them they must end their relationship. In an act of rebellion, and to take back one thing that her illness has taken from her, she decides to "take back" a foot. She believes if they are both very careful, they can stay a distance of five feet apart instead of five. They walk around with a five foot pool table stick at all times, making sure they keep that distance apart. Then tragedy strikes in the hospital.
One of the other teens with the same disease dies after an evening they all spend together. The movie gets more and more intense with a death, a heartbreaking scene, an attempt to save a life and a life changing event.
If you want to spend two hours getting to know these great characters and get an inside look into what it means to have this devastating disease and to embrace the power of love, go see this movie. You won't be disappointed, though you may not leave without shedding a few, or many, tears. | instantly starts a flirty relationship with Grant. She is resistant at first.
Although they are similar in age and both are afflicted with cystic fibrosis, their similarities stop there. Newman is Grant's opposite, not serious about his medical routine and not as optimistic about his future. However, their relationship progresses and they form a bond that transcends their respective disease. Because they both have cystic fibrosis they must remain six feet apart from each other at all times or risk their lives. They are not allowed to hold hands, to hug, to even have the slightest touch.
One of the strong elements in the movie is watching their relationship evolve and grow. They help each other and and their differences become a positive influence to both of them. Grant gives Will the discipline to take his disease seriously and to begin to embrace the idea of survival. He was giving up on himself before meeting Grant. Newman helps Grant embrace life, have more fun and step outside her comfort zone. She was so focused on her disease she was missing out on life in general | 210 |
Americans spend over $100 billion each year<|fim_middle|> on average, or about 10-30 pounds for those with morbid obesity. Further, about 95% of individuals will gain that weight back within 1-2 years. The natural history of morbid obesity demonstrates progressive annual weight gain, so most gain back even more than that which was lost, perpetuating the downward spiral of morbid obesity. Given this, it is difficult to conclude that medical weight loss for morbid obesity is anything less than a complete failure in all but the most rare of circumstances.
Morbid obesity is a complex, multi-factorial chronic disease. Clearly, anything less than radical and permanent transformation will only result in failure to treat this process.
According to the New England Journal of Medicine: "Since many people cannot lost weight, no matter how hard they try, and promptly regain whatever was lost, the vast amount of money spent on diet clubs, special foods, and over the counter remedies, estimated to be in the order of $30 billion to $50 billion yearly, is wasted". | in medical weight loss. This industry is big business in the U.S. and fraught with false claims and inaccuracies. This is an area where those seeking help are routinely mislead and set up for failure and disappointment, only further accelerating the downward spiral of morbid obesity.
Below is a brief description of all of the different categories of medical weight loss, along with some information as to its effectiveness in treating this disease. Most medical weight loss programs are based on some combination of caloric restriction (diets), increased caloric output (exercise), counseling and support (behavior modification), and possibly pharmacotherapy (medications).
There are literally hundreds of diets available ranging from medically supervised and scientifically formulated (Optifast, Physicians Weight Loss) to structured yet unsupervised (Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig, NutriSystem) to self-directed (Adkins, South Beach) and fads (cabbage soup diet).
Low calorie diets (LCDs), usually consisting of 1,200-1,500 calories per day (Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig, NutriSystem).
Very low calories diets (VLCDs), typically limiting caloric intake to 400-800 calories per day (Optifast, Medifast, Physicians Weight Loss Center), and feature high protein low fat liquids.
In general, VLCDs produce greater initial weight loss than LCDs. Unfortunately, despite the multitude of options and strategies offered, no single plan has ever been demonstrated to produce significant, much less sustained, weight loss, especially with morbid obesity. In general, weight loss experience ranges from 5-10% initially and is re-gained in 95-100% of subjects within 1-2 years.
In 2005, a systematic review of the available data on all the major commercially available weight loss programs was conducted by the University of Pennsylvania. This included programs such as Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig, Optifast, Medifast, Tops, eDiets and Overeaters Anonymous. Several conclusions were made. First, there are very few control studies of most programs. Second, of those studies found, weight loss was minimal. Further, these programs were associated with high cost, high attrition (drop out) rates and high probability of weight regain.
The author concluded that "the evidence is inadequate to recommend commercial or self-help programs". Essentially, these dietary programs, albeit very popular, have been shown to be ineffective for the vast majority of dieters. It should be clear that there is no available evidence to show that for one with morbid obesity, any medical dietary therapy will be success in achieving adequate and sustained weight loss.
In addition to caloric restriction, increasing energy expenditure is a basic tenant to affect weight loss. This is generally done through recommending regular exercise. As with diet, Americans spend billions of dollars each year on a multitude of exercise programs to affect weight loss. This is an area that is especially intimidating and difficult for those suffering morbid obesity.
Results in modest weight loss in overweight and obese individuals.
Increased cardiovascular fitness, even when there is no weight loss.
Is very helpful in maintaining weight loss.
Diet plus exercise has clearly been shown to produce more weight loss than exercise alone.
Further, new theories focusing on the body's set point (see Causes of Obesity/Metabolism) underscore the importance of exercise when dieting. When you reduce the amount of calories consumed, the body reacts by burning fewer calories. Daily exercise speeds up the metabolism, offsetting this effect. However, it is important to understand that the increase in metabolism is dependent on both the length and intensity of the bout of exercise and lasts, at best, about 12-24 hours. Therefore, daily rigorous exercise is an essential component to weight loss and maintenance.
This continues to be one of the most difficult areas in treating morbid obesity, both medically and surgically, as consistent exercise has been shown time and time again to be the most challenging habit to maintain. Conversely, daily exercise has consistently been shown to be a habit of those who maintain weight loss long term, with or without surgery.
Indeed, according to the National Weight Loss Registry, 75% of those who lose weight and keep it off long term exercise an hour every day.
That being said, as with dieting, the data concerning exercise for weight loss show a modest benefit and at best outside of the context of weight loss surgery.
Hundreds of over the counter and prescription drugs have been introduced, claiming to affect weight loss. Most of these work by one of two mechanisms. They either affect the brain to suppress appetite, or work within the GI tract to decrease fat absorption.
Regardless of the mechanism, controlled studies have shown that patients on drug therapy lose around 10% of their excess weight, and this plateaus after 6-8 months. When medication is stopped, weight gain usually occurs. These medications may have a role in helping those who need to lose 10-20 pounds, but have essentially no role in treating morbid obesity. Once again, it is profoundly clear in the medical literature that there is no medication, either past, present or on the horizon that has any role in treating morbid obesity long term, and is essentially a complete waste of money and effort.
In summary, the available data demonstrates that all forms of medical weight loss, be it diet, exercise, medications or a combination of these produce around 10% excess weight loss | 1,119 |
Comets devour Yuba in series finale
Denis Perez / The Advocate<|fim_middle|> 2020 measures: From U to X on the Contra Costa County ballot |
Comet Tyler Brown claps his hands in celebration after reaching second base safely during Contra Costa College's 8-2 win against Yuba College Saturday on the Baseball Field.
By Denis Perez, Editor-In-Chief
Contested early innings ending in a 4-2 Comet lead skyrocketed Contra Costa College (6-24 overall, 2-13 in the Bay Valley Conference) to an 8-2 win over Yuba College (13-21 overall, 4-11 in the BVC) during the third game of their three-game series on the Baseball Field Saturday.
After the Comets drew first blood and scored the first run of the game in the third inning, Yuba came back with two runs in the top of the fourth inning. But the Comets responded by scoring four runs in the bottom of the fourth inning and for the remaining five innings the Comet pitching and defense didn't allow a run.
Comet infielder Tyler Brown said a lot of the 49ers' threats were stopped before they became runs because of good pitching and strong communication in the field.
Brown said there were times when they were caught with the bases loaded.
The team has been focusing on learning how to collectively come back and not get "rolled over," he said.
"Even if we lose momentum, we have to get it back and when a man was on base we got the important outs," Brown said.
In fact, losing momentum was a key in their previous games against Yuba College.
In the first game of the series at home on April 10, CCC led 5-1 until Yuba scored seven runs in the bottom of the ninth inning. The Comets could not come back in the bottom of that inning and lost 8-5.
During the game in Marysville on Thursday, the Comets led 4-3 going to the bottom of the eighth inning. But by the end of the inning, Yuba had scored seven runs and defeated CCC 10-4.
Comet infielder London Penland said the third game of the series on Saturday was different.
"The defense played pitch-by-pitch. That way we were ready because we were focused on that pitch alone," he said. "When the ball does get hit against us, the mentality of every player on the field is to get the ball and get an out."
He said defensively and offensively the Comets executed their plays.
And it was in the bottom of the sixth inning when CCC took advantage of its momentum to extend its 5-2 lead to 7-2 and solidify their victory after those two runs were scored.
Comet Antonio Nobriega reached base on an infield single bringing Robert Swanson to bat. On a swinging Swanson strike, Nobriega stole second base. Then Swanson's single to center allowed Nobriega to sprint from second base to home.
After Swanson made an out on the bases, the next hitter, Malik Pruitt, singled, stole second and then scored on a Penland single, giving the Comets a 7-2 lead.
Coach Brian Guinn said the team played up to its potential and got a much-needed win in that third game of the series versus Yuba. The Comets only other BVC win of the season came on April 7, a 5-4 victory over Laney College in Oakland.
Guinn said there are six games left on the BVC schedule — three-game series against Mendocino College and Napa Valley College — and he hopes his players keep executing their plays and keep up the momentum they gained with the win over Yuba.
He said the Comets are finally beginning to understand the game at this level and are clicking as a team.
"We have a young team, but they are getting used to the collegiate level and are getting better as they adapt to it," Guinn said.
The Comets will face Mendocino in a three-game series starting on the road in Ukiah Tuesday (after press time) at 2:30 p.m.
On Thursday they will host Mendocino on the Baseball Field at 2:30 p.m., with the final game of the series at Mendocino on Saturday at 1 p.m.
CCC will play Napa Valley next week, hosting two games, with the season finale on April 27 on the Baseball Field at 2:30 p.m.
comet baseball
series finale
COVID-19 update: Contra Costa County falls back to Purple Tier status
Enholm questions timing of investigation's release
4CD student leaders discuss activism and social justice
Judy Walters and Fernando Sandoval on brink of District Board
District Board Trustees Gordon and Enholm down big margins in county election
Speech and debate team impresses at virtual tournament
California | 988 |
The Tăbăcari Church () is a Romanian Orthodox church located at 9 Ghioceilor Street in Focșani, Romania. It is dedicated to Saint Nicholas.
The church dates to the<|fim_middle|> row. The row is interrupted above the entrance, where a niche is painted with Saint Nicholas.
The church is listed as a historic monument by Romania's Ministry of Culture and Religious Affairs.
Notes
Religious buildings and structures in Focșani
Historic monuments in Vrancea County
Romanian Orthodox churches in Vrancea County
18th-century Eastern Orthodox church buildings | end of the 18th century. Its ktetors came from the guild of tanners (tăbăcari), who worked in the eponymous quarter.
Trefoil in shape, it has a porch that was originally open, a narthex, nave and altar. The porch has three-lobed arches supported by masonry columns. In the 19th century, the porch was walled in and given recessed windows. Also at that time, the bell tower on the narthex was rebuilt in the contemporary neoclassical style. The facades are divided into two horizontal registers by a brick | 131 |
There can't be too many individuals who could so effortlessly slip from one branch of motorsport to another and still be expected to feature among the podium positions.
But Bay of<|fim_middle|> contender in a third dirt biking code, motocross.
The Taupo man eventually settled for fifth overall in the premier MX1 class at the recently-completed New Zealand Motocross Championships and he then immediately refuelled his MC2 Suzuki Racing Team RM-Z450 bike and continued on with his New Zealand Cross-country Championships campaign.
He is unbeaten at the halfway stage of that four-round series, enjoying impressive wins at round one near Huntly in February and repeating the dose at round two near Mosgiel on the first weekend of April.
With points to be counted from only three of the four rounds, with riders to discard their one worst result, he heads to round three in Taranaki this weekend with his confidence at an all-time high.
There is the distinct possibility that he will wrap up his first national cross-country title with a round to spare and he may not even need to contest the final round near Nelson next month.
Perhaps a glutton for punishment, the 25-year-old Groombridge is also fully engaged in the parallel five-round New Zealand Enduro Championships and, after round three at Moonshine, near Upper Hutt, on Saturday, he finds himself well in contention for a national title win there too.
There have been three separate winners in the three rounds thus far of the enduro series – Christchurch's Hamish Macdonald won round one in the Greta Valley, near Christchurch, over the Easter Weekend, while Groombridge won round two at Mosgiel a couple of days later, before Howick's Liam Draper surprised everyone by winning the third round at Moonshine on Saturday.
Just a handful of points now separate these three riders at the top of the expert grade standings, which means anything can still happen in terms of the title chase.
"If third place is going to be my worst result in the enduro nationals this season, then that's still pretty good going," said a philosophical Groombridge. "But I obviously need to get winning again at the next two rounds.
"Moonshine was probably the most difficult event for me. It was slippery, rocky and steep. It's not terrain I'm used to and the rounds coming up will suit me better."
The national enduro championships continue with round four at Waimiha on June 4 and, finally, it all wraps up near Tokoroa on June 5.
After this weekend's third round of the cross-country nationals near Eltham, in Taranaki, the riders head to Nelson for the final round on May 14.
"It has been full-on, so busy for me over the past few weeks that I really haven't had much time to do extra riding during the week and have not been able to prepare properly for the different codes," said Groombridge.
"There's a small break for me after the cross-country race in Taranaki on Saturday and so I will be able to get some enduro practice done and come out firing for the last two enduro rounds." | Plenty's Brad Groombridge is one such individual and, in fact, he has not only featured at the pointy end of competition in the national enduro and cross-country scenes this season, but earlier this year he was also a title | 48 |
STAMFORD, Conn. – December 26, 2018 – On the strength of live streaming three of the biggest sporting events in the world — Super Bowl LII, the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, and Spanish-language coverage of the FIFA World Cup — NBC Sports Digital delivered its best year ever in 2018.
The record year is highlighted by 6.5 billion minutes of consumption for more than 90,000 hours of streaming coverage across more than 30,000 events, all powered by NBC Sports' Playmaker Media. The year also set new streaming records for Sunday Night Football, the Stanley Cup Final, the Stanley Cup Playoffs, Premier League, Notre Dame Football, the Triple Crown, and the NASCAR Cup Series, as well as regional streaming records for MLB, NBA, and NHL.
In 2018, NBC Sports Digital also grew Playmaker Media, its technology service which provides end-to-end support, by adding NBC News, Formula One, and NESN as clients. It also added six sports passes to NBC Sports Gold, expanding its direct-to-consumer streaming service to 14 total passes.
Fueled by NBC Sports' digital coverage of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics and Super Bowl LII, NBCSports.com and Yahoo.com set a new sports category record in February with 93 million unique visitors. This marks the most unique visits since August 2016 when comScore's sports category record was set on the strength of the 2016 Rio Olympics (110 Million).
Sunday Night Football achieved its most-streamed season to date. Through 17 games, SNF live streaming has already delivered 11.8 million uniques and 1.2 billion minutes, up 76% and 72%, respectively, over last season.
The 2017-18 NHL season (194 games) set digital streaming records in all key metrics delivering a record 4.7 million uniques and 753 million minutes, up 80% and 15%, respectively, over the previous season.
Justify's Triple Crown victory set streaming records in all key metrics, delivering 653,000 uniques and 21 million minutes, up 26% and 125%, respectively, vs. American Pharoah's Triple Crown in 2015, making it the most-streamed Triple Crown in history.
Live streaming of the 2018 Notre Dame Football season totaled 768,000 uniques and 53.4 million minutes, up 52% and 54%, respectively, over 2017, the most for a Notre Dame Football season on record.
Across NBC Sports digital platforms, NASCAR saw its best season ever, finishing with 1.2 million uniques and 151 million minutes, up 11% and 14%, respectively, over 2017.
Golf Channel had its best year ever for live streaming, short-form video, monthly uniques, and page views – which crossed the one billion page views annual mark for the first time ever. In total, Golf Channel's digital properties delivered a record 4.5 million uniques and 645 million live minutes, up 62% and 60%, respectively, over 2017.
The 2017-18 Premier League Season (230 matches) set records with four million uniques, up 35% from the previous season. In calendar 2018, the Premier League earned three of its Top 8 most-streamed matches ever.
Through November, <|fim_middle|> world competing 2v2– expanded in its second year, hosting the Grand Finals for the first time at NBC Sports Group's International Broadcast Center in Stamford, Conn. | 2018 is already the most-streamed year in NBC Sports Regional Network history, with 579 million minutes across more than 1,500 MLB, NBA, and NHL games.
Super Bowl LII was the most live-streamed Super Bowl ever and the most-streamed single-game ever among all sports. Fans live streamed 633.7 million minutes of Super Bowl Sunday coverage across 6.1 million unique devices, up 185% and 112%, respectively, from NBC Sports' last Super Bowl live stream in February 2015.
The PyeongChang Winter Olympics delivered 1.86 billion live minutes and was consumed across 32.8 million unique devices. It supported an Average Minute Audience of 211,000 viewers for the primetime presentation of the Games across 10 different platforms. The PyeongChang Winter Olympics delivered more than four times the live minutes of the Sochi Games (420 million minutes).
Telemundo's Spanish-language live streaming coverage of the FIFA World Cup delivered 1.96 billion minutes and reached 15.5 million uniques, generating a record-setting 130 million live streams.
NBC Sports Gold: NBC Sports Gold, NBC Sports' direct-to-consumer live streaming product, added six new passes in 2018 – Figure Skating, Speed Skating, Supercross, Philly, Snow, and PGA TOUR LIVE. It now offers 14 individual sports "passes" – eight domestic (PGA TOUR LIVE, Premier League, Cycling, Track & Field, Speed Skating, Rugby, Supercross, and Snow, consisting of seven Olympic winter sports); two regional (Blazers and Philly); one combination (Supercross and Pro Motocross), two domestic and international (Figure Skating and Pro Motocross); and one international-only (Notre Dame Football). In 2019, NBC Sports Gold will add INDYCAR and Premier Lacrosse League.
Playmaker Media: In 2018, Playmaker Media powered NBC Sports' streaming efforts for Super Bowl LII, the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, and Telemundo's Spanish-language presentation of the 2018 World Cup. The three events combined for an unprecedented 4.37 billion live streaming minutes, while Playmaker totaled 6.5 billion minutes for all of 2018. Playmaker also added three new clients in 2018 – NBC News, NESN, and Formula One. A company owned by NBC Sports Group and operated by NBC Sports Digital, Playmaker Media launched in May 2016 to provide end-to-end video support service for companies in need of best-in-class live streaming and VOD solutions.
Rotoworld: In 2018, Rotoworld introduced daily fantasy sports (DFS) toolkits for the first time ever, adding to its cache of premium products. In November, the industry leader in fantasy sports information launched a redesigned, mobile-optimized beta website, and earlier in the fall debuted Instagram and YouTube accounts. Additionally, Buffalo Wild Wings became a presenting sponsor for Rotoworld Live, the website's weekly NFL Sunday show.
SportsEngine: NBC Sports Group's youth sports technology provider deepened its relationships with the U.S. national governing bodies. By using the SportsEngine.com Youth Sports Directory to feature their sport and promote participation, SportsEngine helped USA Track & Field, USA Swimming, USA Volleyball, USA Diving, U.S. Ski and Snowboard and USA Wrestling learn more about their sports and sign up for affiliated youth sports organizations. In the fall, SportsEngine provided on-site support for NBC Sports' coverage of the Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and used its social and editorial presences to highlight youth athletes throughout America. Over the past year, the company added five million new active athletes to the platform, and now serves 15 million youth athletes.
eSports: Universal Open Rocket League – NBC Sports Group and FACEIT's annual esports tournament which features the best Rocket League players in the | 852 |
<|fim_middle|> its board, and prepares and files financial reporting documents as required. Here are some duties that are typically performed by the Chapter Treasurer.
Other SIG Officers: SIGs are not required to but may have other officers, like those of Chapters. The SIG bylaws should specify any additional officers and how they are elected by SIG members. The descriptions of their roles will be identical to their Chapter counterparts. | Here are sample job descriptions that your Chapter or SIG can use as a starting point for the defining the responsibilities of its officers. The only required Chapter officer is the ICG board representative, and the only required SIG officer is its Chair. The Chapter or SIG can also have other officers than the ones listed here.
Chapter Vice President: The role of the Chapter Vice President vary by Chapter. Some Chapters assign specific responsibilities in their Bylaws, such as event planning, membership, or ICG Board Representative. In other Chapters, the Vice President has no assigned roles and works with the President to identify areas to focus on. The office can be a good training ground for future Chapter Presidents. In some chapters, the Vice President is also the ICG Board representative.
Chapter Treasurer: The Chapter Treasurer is responsible for managing all aspects of Chapter finances. The Treasurer regularly reports on the Chapter finances to Chapter members and | 179 |
Big in Japan, growing in Europe
Under-20 captain finding his feet in Sweden
Yuto Osawa at the U20 World Championship Division II Group A. Osawa had seven points in five games to help his team earn promotion. Photo: Jancsi Kiss
MORA, Sweden - A standout both on and off the ice in his native country, 19-year-old Yuto Osawa opted to travel west to Sweden to continue his development - a move set to pay dividends for Japanese hockey in the future.
When Ronald Sätterman scrutinised his roster ahead of this season, a kid from Hokkaido surprised the newly appointed head coach of Mora IK:s under-20 team.
"I must admit I didn't know enough about hockey in Japan and it was a deal that had been done before I arrived to the club," said Sätterman about the transfer of Osawa to Mora. "So when I saw that there was a Japanese player in our under-20's, I expected him to end up with our affiliate team, Orsa Hockey in division two, but when I then during our first practises I very quickly realised that this kid was good."
The story of how a teenage Asian prospect ended up in small town Sweden has its beginnings at the tail end of last season. The Oji Eagles had then approached Mora about the possibility of sending over one of their youngsters, a highly-rated young playmaker, overseas to develop his game in Europe. With the Japanese club taking care of all costs, the two teams shook hands on a gamble that has since benefited both parties.
Hailing from Tomakomai, a city of some 170,000 inhabitants on Hokkaido, the northernmost of Japan's four major islands, Osawa had just finished his second pro season for Oji. Packing his bags and leaving family, friends and teammates behind for a year in the Northern division of Sweden's top junior league, SuperElit Norra, he immediately found out upon his arrival that being big in Japan wasn't quite the same at his new club.
"In Oji I was much bigger than other Japanese players. In Sweden, all the players are bigger and stronger, so because of their body size and speed of the hockey it was really difficult for me to play my game the first couple of months," said the 181 cm tall Osawa.
Sätterman recalls Osawa's first few practices with his new club as he was trying to come to terms with his new environment: "Yuto was very focused and stayed on after practice to work a bit extra, but I also had to tell him to be a bit more egoistic at times out on the ice and not always look for that pass to his teammates," he said.
But playing out of position was not the only stumbling block for Osawa in his attempts to settle in. Although Mora had a wealth of previous experience of players coming from near and far to play<|fim_middle|> got hard when it came to communication with his teammates. As a coach it was also hard for me to give him more as the small details that I can help him with to improve was sometimes difficult to get across."
While the language barrier contributed in holding back Osawa's game, it was a sudden breakthrough a few months into his career in Sweden that in a flash improved his situation.
"The other foreign guys in the team from Slovenia and Austria who speak English would normally just come up to me and tell me if things were wrong. For Yuto it was different. He started as a forward, and it took up until November before it came out during a personal meeting that his position was center. He had not told us this before," said Sätterman.
After moving back to his favourite position, his game now started to blossom. After captaining Japan in winning gold at the U20 World Championships Division II, Group A in Brasov, Romania in December, Osawa's stock continued to rise following his return to Mora, and very soon he was rewarded for his performances.
After superstars Anze Kopitar and Bobby Ryan, who donned Mora's red and white jerseys during the NHL labour dispute, returned west Osawa's play got him a call-up to the seniors. He made his HockeyAllsvenskan debut for Mora on the road at Tingsryd in mid-January this year and followed it up by scoring his first point for an injury-ravaged Mora team in his second game for the seniors. Both were great performances that not only boded well for the future but also made him feel more at home.
"When I get to play more of my own game as a center, which is my position, I now feel a lot more comfortable and it is now a very good experience for me," he said.
His development in Sweden has been closely monitored by Mark Mahon, the Canada-born head coach of Japan. Pleased with Osawa's progress Mahon hopes the success can pave way for more Japanese players to follow in his footsteps. Following Japan's exit at the Olympic Pre-Qualification tournament on home ice in Nikko in November last year, Mahon addressed that a bigger emphasis should be put on young players to go abroad, experience international ice hockey from an early age, which in the longer run will benefit the Japanese game.
"There is definitely a need for more players to go, but we need to look at the basic life obligations, like getting an education and language barrier," he said. "From a hockey standpoint, it is obviously the best avenue, but it got to make sense in the full package, so we got to challenge our athletes to speak English and just to have the courage to go," said Mahon who can see that Osawa's time in Sweden has had a great impact on his development.
"Definitely, his ability to play in small areas is much better. He is a lot stronger on the puck, and by far our most consistent player in the under-20's as he is challenged every day in Sweden so he has to bring that professional attitude to the rink to be at his best every day, and he played a pretty big role in the Mora team, so he has really shown that he is not intimidated under any circumstances," he said.
So what does the future hold for the Japanese youngster who will turn 20 in October? Sätterman, who recently switched from a position of head coach of Mora's under-20's to lead their under-18 team, would not rule out a continued cooperation effort with Japan.
"Yuto is a very good player, very popular with his teammates and will be important for his team in the second half of the season as they are pushing upwards in the table, and if there would be more players like him available then surely we would be interested," he said.
But with the deal being a one-year agreement, and the added linguistic difficulties on top of that, Osawa's next career move, according to Mahon, should at least in the shorter term to return to Hokkaido to test himself in the Asia League.
"I think the next step he has to do is to play in Oji, and see how he can do as a pro in Japan. Then we can see if he wants to go outside again, which would be, in terms of development the logical next step. He has established himself as a main player at Mora, in the top Swedish junior league, now he should look to established himself as a top line player at Oji, potentially play in the national team within a couple of years and then see if he wants to go abroad again," said Mahon.
Osawa himself sets his sights even further, in an ascending career where he has already proved his doubters wrong once: "I am aiming for the Olympics," he said.
HENRIK MANNINEN | for the club, Osawa was their first player from Japan. Speaking only a smattering of English, and with no Japanese interpreter at hand, communication was a problem, as sometimes not only hockey can do the talking.
Sätterman said: "What I wrote on the board in terms of tactics Yuto would know better than the Swedish players, but things | 73 |
I'm hoping that this, right here<|fim_middle|>'ll lose money because of it?
Once you've identified these moments of worry, you can begin to turn them around and do something about it!
Don't think to much, or you'll create a problem that wasn't even there in the first place. I think it's important to differentiate between real problems and the problems that we've made up in our heads, because sometimes the line can become a little hazy.
Its easy to convince yourself that what you are thinking is real, but the majority of the time its our clever, little brain playing tricks on us. Try to let a situation just BE, because it will be.
Remember that thing about the weather, well overthinking something is like walking around with a sunhat on, an umbrella up, sunglasses on and a giant puffa jacket all at the same time, just incase: pointless and a little bit silly.
What do you do when you're filled with worry?
I'd love to hear if you have enjoyed reading this post, and also what you do in these kinds of situations. Its great to share with each other, you never know who you might help in the process. | , is the start of more meaningful and personal posts on thehoneyblonde. Lets talk about things that really matter to us, things that get us down and pick us up.
Whether you're an over-thinker, worry-wort or lack a bit of self-confidence, then you've probably experienced that horrible, churning-in-the-pit-of-your-stomach feeling of dread when you just can't let something go. I am holding my hands up right now and admitting that i've had that feeling plenty of time and for some reason once I start worrying about something I really struggle to let it go.
There is ALWAYS somebody that will tell you to 'put it in perspective' when you've made a mistake or really cant drop something, and its usually the last thing you want to hear at the time, but it really is 100% true.
Ask yourself if you're going to remember this moment in 2 months, 2 years..even 2 hours? if the answer is no, then girl, you've got to move on.
Try your damn hardest to keep things in perspective and see the bigger picture when you start having these little moments, simply because they are probably NOT worth your thoughts and worries.
Are you worrying about something that is out of your power?
Sometimes its important to ask yourself this question, and instead of spending your time fixated on that one niggling thing in the back of your mind, do something productive! Spend your time doing something thats going to lead to something GOOD.
The future is not written, the world is not out to get you and sometimes you have to just let the chips fall where they may.
Worrying about something out of your control is like worrying about the weather; you could worry all day long but that won't change whether its a glorious sunshiney day or stormy skies ahead. Learn to dance in the rain.
Don't go full speed into a raging panic about something, however big or little it might be. Take a moment and close your eyes. Take deep breaths, calm your breathing. Once you are calm, then you'll know what to do.
There is no denying that these moments of panic and worry are completely awful, but maybe its time to think about what it actually is that you are afraid of?
Maybe something has gone wrong at work and you're in a pickle of worry, take the time to identify what your fear is. Is it that you'll lose your dream job? Is it that you'll let somebody down? Is it that you | 516 |
Surrounded by mountains and regarded as the capital of the French Alpes, Grenoble features many things to see and do. Come and enjoy it with a stay in a Campanile hotel.
Grenoble is located in south-eastern France at the foot of the French Alpes and is the capital of the department of Isère in the Rhone-Alpes region. It has a population of over 150,000 people and is well known for its universities and scientific research centers. There are four Campanile hotels in Grenoble including two in the north: Hôtel Campanile GRENOBLE NORD - Saint Egrève and Hôtel Campanile GRENOBLE NORD - Moirans.
Grenoble became part of the Roman Empire in 43 BC when it was a village called Cularo, and expanded significantly when it became capital of the Dauphiné in the 11th century. Major industrial development took place in the 19th century, during which time the city's glove industry thrived. This was followed by the development of new hydro<|fim_middle|> is the main tourist site in Grenoble and attracts 600,000 visitors per year. There are many museums, including the must-see centre of contemporary art and the museum of Grenoble. Athletic and outdoorsy types can choose from snow activities or hiking in the mountains, depending on the season, as well as rowing, waterskiing and windsurfing on the many lakes and bodies of water.
Take a stroll around Parc Paul Mistral, a big park in the centre of Grenoble that also features a roller skating rink. There is also the Palace of the Parliament of Dauphiné, a 15th century building that was the courthouse until 2002. In winter, try a half or full day of snowshoeing, a good alternative if you don't fancy skiing.
Grenoble's Automaton museum has over 300 automatons, music boxes, and barrel organs, including Vaucanson's digesting duck.
There are three airports near Grenoble and the city can be easily reached by train, car or bus. The city itself has a bus and tram network, and cycling is also a good way of getting around as Grenoble is one of the flattest cities in Europe. If you are looking at staying to the South of the city, Campanile offers you two options: Hôtel Campanile GRENOBLE SUD - Seyssins, and Hôtel Campanile GRENOBLE SUD - Saint Martin d'Hères.
Grenoble city centre boasts many great restaurants, with a wide choice of French, Italian and regional cuisine. Try the typical alpine dishes of fondue and raclette in winter, or the famous tartiflette, which is made from potatoes, reblochon cheese, lardons and onions. The Chartreuse liqueur and the mountain cheeses must be sampled too.
Grenoble hosts many events throughout the year. The Grenoble Jazz festival takes place annually over a two-week period, and the eclectic Rocktambule Festival is also held every year. There is a cycling festival in October and a circus festival in November.
Grenoble's culinary claim to fame is the walnut, one of the rare fruits in France to have AOC (Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée) certification. Between 14,000 and 15,000 tons of walnuts are produced each year. | electric industries in the 20th century. Playing host to the Tenth Winter Olympic Games in 1968 encouraged Grenoble's modernization and the development of new ski resorts.
The La Bastille hill and fortress, which can be reached by cable car, | 55 |
Over the past four years, President Bush has doubled development assistance to the developing world.
President Bush's Administration has created the Millennium Challenge Account to focus on developing countries that are committed to democracy, human rights, the rule of law, and economic freedom.
The United States is contributing $15 million into HIV/AIDS. Development aid and HIV/AIDS are linked because they both relate to alleviating poverty.
The goal is to help these developing countries create functioning economies and a healthy population so people can be educated with development assistance. Then they can create conditions within the country that will attract trade, and allow them to participate in an open trading<|fim_middle|> especially in a place like Banda Aceh.
It is important that the massive outpouring of aid we have seen from the international community to tsunami affected countries be used to reestablish these communities, and to rebuild infrastructure so the people can participate in economic development and in helping their people have better lives. | system.
The goal is to break countries out of the pattern of simply receiving aid and never really improving the lives of the citizens of those countries.
When an unprecedented natural disaster happens over thousands of miles - like the tsunamis - development is immediately set back, | 53 |
The NCGP And Its First 'Champion' Respond To Our Questions
by Leon Chan December 8, 2017 at 8:00 AM
In the last two weeks, we've run two articles about the National Committee for Games Policy (NCGP), an organization formed in response to the ongoing loot box controversy. The self-proclaimed "de facto, self regulatory organization" of the video games industry announced the endorsement of its first "champion" last week. That person is Ryan Reynolds, the mayor<|fim_middle|> then pumping more money into it on gambling boxes, and so on, it wont ever stop. i know many here stop pre-ordering, but if literally no one did that and then refused to buy once early reviews come out explaining it uses such schemes on top of being half finished and littered with bugs........ but alas such fantasies just won't ever happen.....
I strongly suspect this is just a group of friends with truly good intentions, but some lack of knowledge ('naive'). I would certainly support this group, but they are often prone to corruption in the long term.
Not me. Sorry, but I think the naivete is yours. I read self-serving wannabes out to score brownie points by whatever means possible. They have no backing, they have *no* standing. They have no competence. All they can do is scream "Listen to me!"
IMO, this political hack wannabe has gotten 99% of his credibility because of the coverage he's gotten.
@Math Geek: I think the reason there's been little or no regulation is, it's just been too low-key to notice. Yeah, I do remember a few years ago, when a kid ran up a very large tab from IGPs, and that led to some laws about IGPs and minors. But by and large, these have flown under the radar...like poker did. Like daily fantasy did. Until each *exploded* onto our awareness, and after a while, quite a bit of legal consideration.
And even if it is a form of gambling, it may be a form not subject to regulation.
But by and large, I think you're naming the solution. Don't buy the stuff. Beyond that, I would definitely support clearer disclosure of the nature of in-game purchases, and this probably should be codified.
But don't go giving the credit to this clown, if it happens.
Olle P
I strongly suspect this is just a group of friends with truly good intentions, ...
To me it seems more like a "group" of one person looking for some publicity...
Perhaps I am misunderstanding your words, but to be honest your opinion seems pretty much in line with mine. No competence, no backing, no stance. Just some people "wanting" to do something, but with no "means" to do it.
I don't understand what you meant by brownie points, though. Could you please explain? (I am not from the USA, so I might not understand some of the slang)
Here Are The Game Awards Winners For 2017
Highlights From The Game Awards
'Metro: Exodus' Trailer Reveals Fall 2018 Release | of Whitney Point, New York, a village with a population of 964.
We asked Reynolds about his involvement with the NCGP, starting with how he, as a champion, was expected to help the NCGP. He told us that, as he understood it, champions have no formal role in or association with the organization beyond having received an endorsement from it.
A champion to my understanding is simply someone that the NCGP has identified as being worth of their endorsement. In my mind, that means demonstrating a thorough understanding of both governmental policy and the gaming industry.
I have no formal association with the NCGP other than having received their endorsement. I have exchanged a few emails with members of their steering committee and offered my advice and critique on how I think the NCGP should or shouldn't operate, but I have no formal role within their organization.
We asked him what he believed the NCGP could accomplish. He told us that his hope is that the NCGP can become a "neutral and bipartisan organization," which can help "foster a greater understanding of the gaming industry to elected officials." Reynolds believes that as the industry expands and games affect more and more people, the "government will inevitably begin to examine its practices whether it be for safety, fairness, health, etc." Recent developments show that this is already happening. Reynolds believes that current elected officials have little understanding of the videogames industry from either a creator's or a consumer's perspective. He hopes that the NCGP can help bridge that gap.
Reynolds believes his history of working for "various gaming sites", including XBLA Fans, is why the NCGP chose to endorse him. However, he said that the organization hasn't actually asked him to do anything.
They have not asked me to support any specific policies, positions, or organizations, and I would not agree to do so. What I would hypothetically agree to (and they didn't even ask me to) is to continue furthering my understanding of both government and the gaming industry and speak out where the two intersect.
Finally, we asked Reynolds if he believed that the NCGP was associated with any political party. The organization calls itself apolitical, but the past associations and words of its director brought this into question. Reynolds was not able to say if the organization is partisan, but he believes that it must avoid being so if it is to achieve its goals.
If the NCGP acts in a partisan manner, it will lose credibility and turn away people who otherwise may have been interested in their goals. For example, if the party openly supports one party or the other, gamers of other political parties might be "turned off" because of that party's stance on totally unrelated issues.
How Legitimate Is The NCGP?
The question remains: Is the NCGP a legitimate organization? When the organization was announced, we sent it a list of questions. After our previous article, the director of the NCGP, Kenneth Tran, replied to us. In response to the the findings of VentureBeat and Forbes, which we linked to, Tran pointed us to the organization's latest press release. Tran says it was published to correct "what [VentureBeat] and [Forbes] dug up which are inaccurate."
We don't agree. Really, the only point shared with VentureBeat's and Forbes' articles that actually relates to the NCGP is the mention of its roots in another organization called the California Republican Caucus (CRC), which was also founded by Tran. Everything we found about this organization (if you can even call it that) agrees with VentureBeat's findings. Its chairman is Tran, its website's first and only publication is dated for September of this year, and it has zero followers on Linkedin.
The press release mentions that the CRC had a violent video games designation program, which ended after labelling only one game--Dude Simulator. The rest of the acronym-riddled press release, a smorgasbord of defunct or splinter organizations, is more of Tran's personal history than anything related to the NCGP.
Tran did reply our questions about the NCGP, however. Starting with the ITK and SRO abbreviations, which are the two divisions that supposedly make up the NCGP, we now know they stand for "independent think tank" and "self regulatory organization," respectively. As for the NCGP's actual political connections, Tran said that he couldn't disclose those. For the quarterly report of consumer complaints that was mentioned in the NCGP's founding, Tran says he needs "to discuss that with Jack," who we now know is 17 years old. Tran also didn't have any details about the planned whistleblower support program.
Tran also asked us not to call his "friends/associates" because they "have been complaining that the media is bugging them." (Tom's Hardware did not call or contact any of these associates.) Instead, he said, "IT WOULD BE EASIER FOR EVERYBODY IF YOU JUST REQUESTED MY DOCUMENTED PROOFS IN THE FORM OF CHATLOGS, PHOTOS, EMAILS, DOCUMENTS." Formatting is Tran's.
Microsoft Reportedly Working on 'Xbox All Access' Subscription (Updated)
Yes, Downloading Nintendo ROMs Is Illegal (Even if You Own the Game)
Can Parents Trust ESRB Ratings for Games?
Sony Crushes Cross-Play Dreams For 'Fortnite'
Leon Chan
Math Geek
so in other words, the organization is simply smoke and mirrors that intends to pretend it will self-regulate an industry while changing nothing........
almost like i've seen this before somewhere.........
the good news for the profits is that the gov will accept this charade and move on to more pressing matters, like they always do.
anbello262
I strongly suspect this is just a group of friends with truly good intentions, but some lack of knowledge ('naive').
I would certainly support this group, but they are often prone to corruption in the long term.
ubercake
The organization is formed to lobby politicians and financially support the campaigns of those voting in line with the organization's wishes.
the rest of industry employs lobby groups to ensure no law gets made that might impede their profits. gaming industry never had a reason to before now.
not really a surprise they would form such a group as soon as someone is looking into messing with their profits. it's how Washington works.
of course the real answer is for gamers to just stop buying into these schemes. battlefront is a prime example but not the first one. if gamers just refused to buy the half finished bug riddled games, refused to gamble in game and refuse to play pay to win games that you also have to purchase full priced, they'd get the hint quickly.
but until the folks stop pre-ordering games for $100+, | 1,411 |
liz@lizlynne.org.uk
Contact Liz
Liberal Links
Campaigning: Fighting For Business
Campaigning: Working For Disabled People
Campaigning: Representing Farmers
Campaigning: A Peaceful Resolution In Kashmir
Parliamentary Expense Statements
Liz Lynne
Peace efforts must be redoub<|fim_middle|> to decide their own destiny, and any decision
made is respected, they will be free to build a prosperous future for
themselves. This right to self-determination is one enshrined in the
Charter of the United Nations and something I have repeatedly called for
in the European Parliament, along with the appointment of an EU
facilitator to help this happen.
"This summer's violence in Kashmir makes it all the more urgent that we do
not sit back and let this conflict continue indefinitely, although we must
give credit to the Indian and Pakistani for their recent positive talks.
"India for its part must also improve its dire human rights record,
highlighted by the recent discovery of nearly a thousand unmarked graves
near the Line of Control, which have been linked to the thousands of
'Disappeared' in Indian-administered Kashmir in previous years.
"As mentioned in the European Parliamentary resolution I co-wrote, a full
investigation into these graves, and into the attacks on Parvez Imroz who
gathered evidence on them, must be conducted if the Indian authorities are
to regain any credibility in Kashmir and progress towards peace can be
made."
Liberal Democrats Twitter Liz Lynne Twitter
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If you enter your details on this website, the Liberal Democrats, locally and nationally, may use information in it, including your political views, to further our objectives, share it with our elected representatives and/or contact you in future using any of the means provided. Some contacts may be automated. You may opt out of some or all contacts or exercise your other legal rights by contacting us. Further details are in our Privacy Policy at lizlynne.org.uk/en/privacy
Published and promoted by Liz Lynne, c/o 8-10 Great George Street, London SW1P 3AE
Website designed and developed by Prater Raines Ltd, with modifications by Liz Lynne | led for sake of people of Kashmir
Liz Lynne at the Kashmir fringe event, with Paul Rowan MP, Qassim Afzal of the Liberal Democrat Friends of Kashmir, and Pakistani High Commissioner to London Wajid Shamsul Hasan.
LibDem MEP Liz Lynne has said all sides in Kashmir must concentrate their
efforts on peace if a way out of the current unrest is to be found. The
Euro-MP opened a discussion on the troubled region at her party's
conference in Bournemouth, where panellists included the Pakistani High
Commissioner to London Wajid Shamsul Hasan.
Relative calm has prevailed in Kashmir in recent days, after a nine-day
curfew was lifted last week. This was imposed after some of the largest
rallies against Indian rule since the 1989 revolt. At least 40 protestors
have been killed, including Sheikh Abdul Aziz, a senior Hurriyat leader.
Liz Lynne MEP is a member of the European Parliament's Delegation for
Relations with the Countries of South Asia and the Human Rights
Subcommittee. She has campaigned for many years on the rights of the
Kashmiri people and co-authored a recent European Parliamentary resolution
on the need to investigate allegations of mass graves near the Line of
Speaking after the discussion, entitled 'Kashmir in the 21st Century', Liz
"The rights of the Kashmiri people must be put first and Kashmiri people
need to be at the heart of the decision-making process if we are to see
the end of 60 years of conflict.
"If local people are allowed | 338 |
PennPIRG Education Fund Staff
Adam Garber
Consumer Watchdog
Started on staff: 2005
B.A., St. John's College - Annapolis
Adam works to protect everyone from dangers in the marketplace including toxic toys, dangerous cars, contaminated food, unsafe prescription drugs—anywhere consumers are being exposed to<|fim_middle|>Your tax-deductible donation supports PennPIRG Education Fund's work to educate consumers on the issues that matter, and to stand up to the powerful interests that are blocking progress.
You can also support PennPIRG Education Fund's work through bequests, contributions from life insurance or retirement plans, securities contributions and vehicle donations.
PennPIRG Education Fund
1429 Walnut St., Ste. 1100
PennPIRG Education Fund is part of The Public Interest Network, which operates and supports organizations committed to a shared vision of a better world and a strategic approach to getting things done. | dangerous products, unfair practices or risky policies. He is leading our efforts to educate the public about breaking threats, empower consumers to protect themselves, and shift the marketplace to put consumers first. Prior to that, he worked as the field director and deputy director for PennEnvironment. Adam lives in South Philadelphia with his wife and young son, Elon, where he enjoys studying history, exploring the city and hiking.
Full staff list
Our Sister (c)(4)
| 91 |
Well, I am now out of Auckland. I bought a car with help from a backpackers from my hostel. He came with<|fim_middle|> loneliness is the only thing that isn't so great. It's good sometimes, gives me more freedom to do what I want, when I want. Sometimes it's nice to have someone to share the experience with, someone who can understand the beauty of it all, share the emotions with, without having to say a word. I play the radio as I drive, but as I go through the mountains and through the country often the radio will cut out and I will not have any signal at all, I just let the fuzz of the radio play, makes me feel less alone. But it's alright, again, it's all part of the experience and I'm adjusting to it.
I spent one night in Whangarei at a hostel. There were only 4 other people there- 3 girls and 1 guy. The girls were all german but as soon as I came in they switched to speaking English so I could understand. The four of us girls went to the movie room to watch a movie before going to bed. As we were sitting there the outside light came on. We all peeked out the window as the lights are motion censored. Up the walkway came a little possum, just waddling along. he came right up to the window before heading off into the darkness.
As I continued my journey the next day I spotted a sign on the side of the road saying "WOOFERS AND BACKPACKERS WELCOME HERE NOW". I took a drive up. There was an older fellow in the driveway. I asked him about the sign and what kind of work he was looking to have done. For the next few days I am staying at John's (The older fellow) place. I'll be working on his daughters garden at her summer home, with him. In exchange I am given a bed to sleep in and food to fill my belly.
John has so many stories from all the backpackers he has met and worked with. It is a real interesting experience. I am enjoying it so far and don't think that will change any time soon!
My Internet minutes are about to run out, so I must be off for now! | me on endless journeys to hunt for a decent car, I wouldn't know what to look for to see if it would work or not. So it was great having someone to give me a hand. We became pretty good friends and it was sad to say goodbye after the week we had hung out, but again, it's back to the whole 24 hour friendship speal.
I was hoping to buy a stationwagon so I would be able to sleep in the car, but I they were out of my price range, so I just bought a little 2-door dinky car instead. It works great, and if I really do need to sleep in it, I can curl up. I love my new little car a lot. I have put it through a lot already, tearing down dirt roads, gearing up steep hills, but together we have been cruising through beautiful New Zealand. On Monday I headed north. I was aiming for Whangarei by around 5pm. It is normally a 2 hours drive from Auckland but I made my own route around the coast. It said it would be 4 hours. Then when I added all the stops I made I wasn't in Whangarei until 8pm. I left Auckland at 11am. It was an absolutely amazing drive. I stopped in all the towns I came to. Talked to some locals and enjoyed some ice cream and such.
I made a stop in a little town called Puhoi, it was a very very small town. Only made up of a couple streets, it was very nice though. I went to a museum there and talked to the owner. He was the friendliest old man. We had a nice long chat and he invited me for tea, but I am not a coffee or tea drinker, we chatted a bit longer before I headed off again, more north to go. The town of Leigh was quite stunning, beautiful little harbour and turquoise waters that went on for ages.
The whole drive north was like this, constant views that put me in awe. Driving alone, the radio on, windows down, I would burst into laughter. I can't explain what I was feeling, the freedom was amazing, I felt like I was on top of the world. If I could make this trip possible I can do anything I want to do. It's not all easy, but every little bit is part of the experience, part of making it all what it is.
The | 504 |
Amazon Connection - a digital inclusion program initiated by Telefonica Vivo Foundation and Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC) - has won the<|fim_middle|> something as powerful as Amazon Connection. This is what technology for good is all about." | 2013 Global Mobile Award for Best Mobile Product, Initiative or Service for Emerging Markets.
In 2009, Vivo and Ericsson - in collaboration with Brazilian non-governmental agency Saúde & Alegria - initiated a project to enable communications and improved access to health, education and economic growth in a remote part of the world. The technology and expertise in the community eventually led to expanding applications, raising the spirit of entrepreneurship and possibility for employment.
For example, Saúde & Alegria uses the Abaré, a large boat, to provide health-care services to the inhabitants of the more than 70 communities along the Tapajós River. Telefonica Vivo installed an antenna on the boat, ensuring that the 3G signal that was being magnified naturally by the river would be boosted even further. As a result, anyone aboard the Abaré now has access to a reliable mobile broadband connection. Doctors aboard the Abaré can consult with their peers around the world and send X-rays and other images for expert diagnoses. As a result, thousands of people who live in the Amazon now benefit from high-quality medical care.
Caetano Scannavino, Coordinator and Founder of Saúde Alegria, said: "Most of the world thinks that the Amazon is just the jungle, with trees and rivers - that it's like a vacuum. But the Brazilian Amazon is 25 million people. My dream is that all communities in the whole of the Amazon can be connected because the world should know the ability, the beauty, and the intelligence of these people."
Elaine Weidman-Grunewald, Head of Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility, Ericsson, says: "We're honored that the GSMA has recognized our efforts but even more honored to have been part of | 363 |
Interviews Aug. 4, 2010
BlackBoardEats' Maggie Nemser Wants to Make Every Night Like New Year's Eve, If a Restaurant Can Handle It
By Jay Barmann
Maggie Nemser
Maggie<|fim_middle|>@newsletter
blackboardeats.com
BlackBoardEats' Maggie Nemser Wants to Make Every Night Like New | Nemser founded BlackBoardEats last year and New York quickly ate up the exclusive restaurant deals available in their weekly email blast. The company has since added BlackBoard Everywhere, offering national product and travel deals, and expanded to Los Angeles and San Francisco, where participating restaurants have been inundated with business from the discount-hungry populace, all of whom have only a month to use their discount code. Grub Street grabbed a minute with Nemser — who formerly was the editor at Yahoo! Food — to see how the response has been different in the three cities, and to find out which restaurants spent those 30 days totally in the weeds.
What's been different so far between the launches in different cities?
The difference has been vast. New York grew faster than the others as it is an interactive city to the highest degree, where word travels fast. Subscribers in S.F. and N.Y. are less likely to get a special unless they are sure they will use it, whereas L.A. subscribers are more spontaneous in their approach, grabbing most of the twice-weekly deals. Subscribers in L.A. are also more likely to travel outside of their neighborhood for a featured special than diners in S.F. and N.Y.
What's the one deal in particular that's gotten the hugest response, in any of the three cities?
Jar in Los Angeles made $100,000 from the blast and had almost 6,000 requested passcodes. In San Francisco, the first blast with the 30% off deal at SPQR had over 1,500 passcode requests. [Ed. Note: Grub Street has heard from chef Matt Accarrino that the impact was palpable for the month following the blast, and that in general tables using the discount ordered way more food than they normally would have.]
Has there been any negative reaction from chefs or restaurateurs – like from too many people using the service in a month and inundating them with business?
Nope, we work VERY closely with the restaurants to ensure that the traffic is manageable. If they are up for every night being as busy as New Year's Eve…we don't cap. But if they would rather have people trickle in and want more of a steady stream, we offer the option to cap or extend for two months.
Will you limit yourself to certain types of restaurants/certain price points?
We always focus on food first so we welcome dives and fancy joints alike as long as the food sings and we are confident that people will leave singing the restaurant's praises. Price points vary.
How many cities do you foresee bringing BlackBoardEats to?
We aren't looking to dilute the quality and be in every city overnight. We can offer great deals on artisanal foods and cookware on everywhere but the restaurant component of BBE is a very specialized boutique editorial service, so we only plan to enter markets where it makes sense.
Earlier: Blackboard Eats, a New Restaurant Deal Tracker, Launches In S.F. [Grub Street]
| 624 |
Lafayette's Police Officer of the Year
Officer<|fim_middle|> son later at the Art and Wine Festival; he thanked her again for saving his mom's life.
"It's all part of the job," said Dennison. Look for her patrolling the streets of Lafayette in a four door Dodge Charger. With a wry smile, she notes, "it's very maneuverable." C. Tyson
(A letter of commendation for Officer Dennison appears in Letters to the Editor) | Jacqueline Dennison Photo Cathy Tyson
At a recent City Council meeting, Chief Mike Hubbard recognized Officer Jacqueline Dennison as Lafayette's Officer of the Year, "We couldn't be more proud of her."
She's been working in Lafayette for the past five and a half years, and has gone above and beyond the call of duty on more than once occasion. Residents may remember a dramatic car crash into a house on South Silver Springs Road a while ago. The driver had a medical emergency and there was a child in the back strapped into a car seat. Officer Dennison and her partner Officer Ryan Sullivan, rescued both individuals while gasoline was leaking all around. She selflessly volunteered to get the toddler out of the back seat, knowing that a single spark could cause a dramatic explosion.
A second incident occurred at 6:30 in the morning - the first call of the day, there was a medical emergency. "I responded with a Code 3 - sirens and lights." A 63-year-old woman had a heart attack. Dennison used her defibrillator and performed CPR for seven minutes until paramedics arrived. She saw the woman's | 231 |
RF: We are here today with Mr. Matt Schlabig, who is the CIO for Worthington Industries. My name is Ron Ford. I am the Vice President of cybersecurity for Belcan, and a member of the comSpark executive committee. I will be your guest moderator today. Let's get started. Matt, how are you today?
MS: Great, thank you for having me.
RF: Matt, how long have you been the CIO for Worthington?
MS: I've been in place at Worthington for seven years as a CIO.
RF: Great. Um, what do you attribute to your longevity as a CIO? I mean, typically when you look at executives in the IT space, you're looking at an 18 to 24 month career span.
MS: Yeah, we always joke CIO stands for "career is over." Um, I think for me personally and for my team, it's, it's strong business relationships, consistent delivery, high quality, and building a good culture with a good team. That is very<|fim_middle|> partners – anywhere from the guy on the shop floor to the president. Building strong business relationships is, is paramount to success.
RF: Matt, I couldn't agree with you more. That's the one thing most people tend to overlook, is that we are in a relationship business.
RF: absolutely are. It's been great having you here today. Thank you very much for meeting with me. This interview has been with Mr. Matt Schlabig, who was the CIO for Worthington Industries and me, Ron Ford, the VP of cybersecurity for Belcan and a member of the comSpark executive committee. To learn more about this, visit comspark.tech, and goodbye until next time. | important.
RF: That's great. What was your first assignment as a technology executive?
MS: When I started at Worthington Industries, we were relatively far behind in a lot of things. So, we had to build a new data center, had to upgrade a lot of infrastructure virtualization, we did a, just a bunch of, of new, uh, new projects. Our phone system was 30 years old. We had to replace that, you know? So, we went from being, uh, way behind the world, caught up now. We feel pretty good about where we are.
RF: Good for you. And is there any one person you'd like to call out that really was an early mentor or person that gave you your first big break?
MS: Uh, I get most of my advice and counsel from our Senior Vice President of manufacturing. His name is Virgil; he has been at Worthington for over 45 years. He really helped me and coached me on how to navigate a very family-oriented, traditional company, gave me a lot of great advice. I learned probably more from him than I've learned from, from anybody.
RF: Great. As being an, an executive for such a long period of time, um, how have you seen your role change as an IT executive over the years?
MS: We've gotten away from, uh, traditional order taking, to where we're actually working with the business. We have almost 40 plants. We go to the plants, we work side by side with our shop floor employees. That's where all the ideas come from. Um, and then the satisfaction we get implementing solutions and seeing our, our solutions in place is, is really satisfying.
RF: Fantastic. Well, if you don't mind, I'd like to switch directions and just talk about the, uh, Central Ohio region. What do you believe are some of the biggest challenges in working in Central Ohio?
MS: For us, low unemployment – and it's probably the same for everybody – but it's really, for us, finding the right people, and not just finding the right people, but finding the right people at all levels. Even college graduates to more experienced people, you know, finding people that are curious, want to learn. Um, it's been a challenge. As you know, everybody has a job. It's – we make an offer, they may already have three offers on the table. So, that's been our biggest challenge.
RF: Okay. What does Central Ohio and the larger area need to do to become a tech hub and attract talent?
MS: I think we're really getting more and more with the colleges, getting them trained. For example, we're doing Robotics Process Automation. There's not an RPA degree in college. Um, a lot of the analytics we're working on, they're just, the colleges are finally starting to teach that. And then the company's, Worthington, Worthington has a very strong intern program and a rotational program with new hires. So, more companies could do that. It's great to have a new hire, especially younger ones who have experience with different companies, and strong intern programs are really key for Central Ohio to have in partnering with the colleges.
RF: Great. Now, moving in, specifically into Worthington in, in your career – so you've done a lot of upgrades, innovations and stuff at Worthington. How do you see technology changing in the next three years?
MS: Yeah, so, you know, we, we're a traditional ERP company. We've maximized our ERP and optimized it. There's not much more we can get out of it that's gonna really change the game, be a game changer or change our stock price. But our analytics are, um, you know, advanced technology that we're deploying – robotics, manufacturing automation, human augmentation – those are the areas that we're really having a larger impact.
RF: Great. There's a lot of buzz in the news these days about companies being hacked, critical data being, being taken out of the organization. Is this something we should be worried about as consumers?
MS: Yeah. Yeah. Obviously, yes. We really focus on our employees when they're onboarded. They take cybersecurity training, there's cybersecurity training refreshed every year. We do internal phishing. Um, we do education, we share stories. Um, the employees are our biggest defense. Um, and then the traditional events, threat monitoring, all those tools that you need to really, uh, to guard, guard your employees, your information, your intellectual capital – those are important. Protecting devices, um, those are also important. You know, obviously the traditional secure perimeter. And then the biggest thing for security, for us, is being ready. You read the news, people get compromised. And what's, what's in the news though, is how the companies respond. Did they respond timely? Were they honest? Were they open? Who did they respond to? So, we have, uh, we're, we've done at once. We're going to build it even more – a formal incident response plan.
MS: It's who needs to get involved, up to just me or the board of directors. So, we're really working hard to prepare for that day, if it ever comes, to be ready.
RF: Good for you. How has cloud technology changed the approach to security for Worthington?
MS: Uh, it's complicated it. There are products, whether it's Office 365, um, we have hybrid cloud solutions, so not only protecting ourselves, but ensuring that the cloud providers are protected. Um, that's, that's been a big, big topic for us.
RF: Great. Um, in regards to disruptive technologies, in your opinion, what is one of the most exciting disruptive technologies that is beginning to impact our everyday lives, or specifically Worthington?
MS: Augmented reality is something for us. So, we have a lot of use cases where we have experts, but they may not be at our plant. But they could be available via phone via – we have these tools that you can wear, these glasses with cameras on them and, and you can project smart glasses, you can project, uh, maintenance diagrams, you can talk to the technician trying to figure out what's wrong with a piece of equipment. You can see what he's doing, you can have, talk to him and write diagrams. So, we don't really necessarily have to be there all the time.
People at Worthington, especially – just like you'll see anywhere else – our workforce is aging, and they're getting ready to retire, and there's not a lot of maintenance people out there with 20 years' experience on manufacturing equipment. So, we're trying to get more and more to a point where we have an expert who can talk to multiple people at multiple locations to help them, whether it's preventative maintenance, whether it's safety inspection, whether it's fixing a problem, they can, can quickly do that and get our machines back up and running.
MS: Know your stuff. I mean, it's, it's so hard to, keeping up with everything, but you need to spend time learning every week, um, putting time aside, understanding what's out there. That's one big advice I would give them, and also building, building relationships with your own team, a team that you can trust and count on, and then building relationships with your business | 1,562 |
Light and Form
Value, Light and Form
Drawing by Georges Seurat
What does value have to do with light and form?
Everything, really!
Understanding value is almost synonymous with understanding light and form, because one cannot exist without the other two. The combination of light and shadow creates a range of values, which then creates the illusion of form.
Because depicting value and form depends so much on light, we need to understand how light behaves when it illuminates form.
The good news is that when light falls on form, it acts in predictable ways. We can learn to "predict" the behavior of light by studying how light fall on basic forms, such as a sphere.
Why do we need to know how light behaves when it falls across a sphere, a cylinder, and the like? Because everything that we draw can be thought of as being made up of these basic forms, whether it is an object, a face, or a figure:
An egg becomes a ribcage!
A sphere becomes a cheek or the ball of a foot.
A cylinder becomes the framework for an arm or a leg.
These parts of the body are drawn in a similar way that you would draw the basic forms that they consist of. This means that when you study basic forms, you learn much of what you need to know to draw the figure and portrait!
The Elements of Light on Form
We have established that the way light illuminates form is often quite predictable. What does that mean? It means that when forms are lit by a direct light, similar patterns of light and shadow occur. First, we see two "families" of values: the light family, which is the area of the form that receives the most light from the light source, and the dark or shadow family, which is the area of the form that light cannot reach and is therefore in shadow.
Within these two families are smaller, more specific elements of light on form:
Elements of Form in the Light Family:
1. Direct light
2. Highlight
3. Half-tone
Elements of Form in the Shadow Family:
1. Core shadow
2. Reflected light
3. Cast shadow
4. Occlusion shadow
Elements of form in the light areas:
Direct Light
The direct light (also called the center light) is the area of the form that faces the light source and receives the most direct light.
The highlight is the lightest<|fim_middle|> off of it into the shadow on the sphere, and lighten its value.
The cast shadow is the shadow on the surface that the object rests on. It is created by the object itself blocking the light from the light source.
There is a useful trick to finding the shape of the cast shadow. Imagine two light rays projecting from the light source to the core shadow on the form. Continue these lines until they hit the surface on which the object rests, and they will show you the boundaries of the cast shadow.
Occlusion shadow
Part of the cast shadow, the occlusion shadow is immediately below the form. It is the darkest segment of the cast shadow because it is least affected by the light source and reflected light.
The Elements of Light on the Figure
When we draw the figure and portrait, we combine many basic forms to create the intricate, complex forms of the human body.
One of the best ways to become familiar with value, light and form is to draw a sphere.
F R E E D O W N L O A D
Value is one of the essential elements of Realistic Drawing.
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Return to the Homepage from Value, Light and Form | area on the form because it is perpendicular to the light source. It is actually a reflection of the light source, so it moves depending on where you are in relation to it. This is why the highlight should be the last element that you concern yourself with in your drawing.
Half-tone
The half-tone is the gradation between the direct light and the core shadow.
Elements of form in the shadow areas:
Core shadow
The core shadow is the dark band visible where light and shadow meet. It is the point at which light can no longer reach the form to illuminate it. It is the darkest area of the shadow on the sphere (the "form shadow") because it is least affected by reflected light.
Reflected light
Light hitting the surface of an object can be absorbed or reflected. Usually a little bit of both occurs. While direct light from the light source cannot reach the underside of the sphere, it can reach the surface on which the sphere rests, bounce | 194 |
Q: OK to launch background threads from other background threads? (NSObj) This question is for those<|fim_middle|> another background thread.
| of you who, unlike myself, truely understand multi-threading in cocoa apps. Here, briefly, is the situation:
Situation:
My app achieves concurrency by using the methods provided in NSObject. Please tell me if it is OKAY to do the following:
1) My main view controller launches some work in the background to free up the UI:
[self performSelectorInBackground:@selector(loadImages:) withObject:nil];
2) The background work divides its task into several smaller tasks on more background threads so that each task is updated as it finishes (as opposed to when all tasks finish):
[self performSelectorInBackground:@selector(loadOneImage:) withObject:nil];
Rationale:
This was the only way I could invent to get individual tasks (loading/drawing of custom UIViews) in a set to update in UI AS each is completed. Otherwise, all tasks only get updated when the last task in the group has completed...
A: yes, you may use performSelectorInBackground:... calls to spawn secondary threads from secondary threads.
if you have a lot threads to spawn (in this manner), consider an NSOperationQueue. Otherwise, you may end up with a ton of background threads. 100 threads (for example), each loading one image in a mobile device is not a good use of resources - nor will it be responsive. NSOperationQueue allows you to cap the max number of threads/workers, and reuses worker threads.
note: '100 threads' was used because the number is far beyond logical for the hardware (the question is tagged iPhone). if your image loading is all in memory, just use a serial (1 worker at a time) NSOperationQueue - NSOperations may specify priority. if images are being downloaded, then you may want to stick to 4 or less.
things are different on OS X, where there are more cores and resources available, so these numbers will change as the hardware platform change. on OS X, you can successfully use 100 threads in one app, although it is unusual to need anything near that many threads for most apps.
A: There's nothing wrong with this approach as far as I can see. According to the doc, performSelectorInBackground:withObject: just spawns another thread and executes your selector there. It doesn't list any limitations. Just don't forget to set up autorelease pools in each method that you call via performSelectorInBackground:withObject: to not leak any memory.
A: One critical condition you should make sure. Both threads which are running in background should not have any dependency. If they have, then you may end up in inconsistency.
So beter if you go for operation queues rather than spawning thread from | 545 |
'I love snow days': Families make the most of a day off
by: Sydney Moran
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – It was a snow day for many districts across the Ozarks and families were sure to<|fim_middle|>: 'Strong indications' Putin OK'd missile …
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Branson specialist helps a Little Rock Zoo big cat | take advantage of the day off.
Some families took spent the day at Jordan Valley Park sledding and making snowmen.
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"Most of the day is going to be spent outside," Hazel said. "It's really fun playing snow and we don't usually get snow."
Many kids were waiting for their schools to call and cancel classes.
"I woke up at 5:30 a.m., didn't see the call, so I was worried," Missouri State Student Ross Brady said. "I was like, darn. I got to walk to my 8 a.m. I waited a little bit longer and boom, I knew I could go sledding."
But, some families wanted to enjoy the day off inside.
How to make snow ice cream: 5 great recipes to try this weekend
"We try our best to be open to the public," Discovery Center Executive Director Rob Blevins said. "We are open till 6 p.m. so if they need to come get some energy out. We have a lot of great exhibits that are that are geared towards getting kids active and engaged and maybe they'll go to sleep on time tonight."
Blevins said the Discovery School Program remained open today despite other districts closing.
"We wanted to make sure that we were making that available for the families that needed it because, you know, nothing's worse than not having a place to put your kid and your boss expecting you to be in," Blevins said. "We don't want to cause that sort of that struggle."
Families said they decided to get out of the house because the road conditions were not as bad as they thought.
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Q-Bar is a slick straight bar available | 142 |
Ron Burt's theory of structural holes has proven to be influential in explaining how innovation transpires. Burt proposes that gaps in a social network, structural holes, create brokerage opportunities. A structural hole indicates that the people on either side of the hole circulate in different flows of information and advantages accrue to those individuals whose relationships span the structural hole.
In today's digitally connected world, many social relationships are formed and maintained through social media. The reason for the academic partnership is to examine if innovation theories such as<|fim_middle|> holes concept is closely related to the Betweenness network attribute that we have socialized previously. Specifically, network nodes that span structural holes tend to have high betweenness scores.
I'll continue to publish more of these results as the research moves forward.
Steve your post is on the mark. I used Burt's theories and measures of constraint in my dissertation to show how changes in innovation network structure are correlated with subsequent growth in manufacturing employment. You can more details and some compelling images on my websire. | Burt's structural holes apply to networks formed through social media (and specifically Twitter). The researchers are using social network analysis techniques to find correlations between thousands of employee ideas submitted into our Innovation Roadmap framework, and the structure of the submitter Twitter networks. The analysis of this data continues but initial findings suggest that the structural holes theory also applies to Twitter. People with more disconnected twitter networks tend to submit better ideas, as determined by the average number of positive votes received by peers per idea.
in employee B's network are nearly all following each other, hence a low fragmentation rate of 12%. Such cohesive networks provide more redundant information, which the data shows is negatively correlated with ideation.
In reviewing these preliminary research results inside EMC, Distinguished Engineer John Cardente pointed out that the structural | 159 |
MDU Resources Teen of the Week: FFA president leads winning team and her community
From the 2020-2021 MDU Resources Teen of the Week series
ALEX KAUTZMAN
Napoleon High School senior Janae Weigel has been a part of FFA for five years. In that time, she has earned four state champion titles and has been on four first-place teams. The FFA president has also qualified for nationals three times.
FFA adviser Brian Schneider said he cannot give Weigel enough praise for her leadership and dedication to her team. He said he is confident that she could have won at least four more titles if the state convention wasn't canceled due to COVID-19.
"This young lady exhibits leadership ability far beyond her years and is absolutely amazing," Schneider wrote in a letter of recommendation. "I know Janae will continue to do well in the future because of her ability, dedication, work ethic and her desire to learn."
The daughter of Cindy and Randy Weigel, of Kintyre, is this week's Teen of the Week. Thirty-two high school seniors will be recognized by spring, at which time a Teen of the Year will be selected from the weekly winners to receive a $5,000 scholarship sponsored by MDU Resources Group.
Napoleon High School senior Jana<|fim_middle|> a hobby, she found that her true passion is nursing. As a junior, she participated in the Sanford MedX program where she shadowed a variety of health-related careers.
"That's what really helped me decide what to do with my life," Weigel said. "I've always wanted a job that can satisfy my need to help others, and I think nursing solves that goal."
Weigel works as a certified nursing assistant at the Napoleon Care Center and helps out on the family ranch.
"I wouldn't trade it for the world," Weigel said. "I definitely love agriculture and I love helping my dad on the farm and ranch whenever I can. It really instilled in me the principle of hard work and the benefits of agriculture."
Weigel maintains a 3.95 GPA and scored a 28 on her college entrance exam. She is proud to have been on the A honor roll for all four years.
"I love to learn and I strive to be the best that I can be and that really helps me in my extracurriculars as well as my grades," Weigel said.
Weigel plans to attend North Dakota State University and major in nursing. She hopes to one day work as a trauma nurse.
Janae Weigel
Janae Weigel is the Tribune's 17th 2020-21 Teen of the Week, sponsored by MDU Resources Group, which includes Knife River Corp., MDU Construction Services Group Inc., Montana-Dakota Utilities Co. and WBI Energy Inc., along with Cascade Natural Gas Corp., Intermountain Gas Co. and Great Plains Natural Gas Co.
A Teen of the Year will be selected from the weekly winners in the spring and will receive a $5,000 scholarship.
2020-2021 MDU Resources Teen of the Week
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Hear from reporter Bilal Suleiman as he shares his top picks from 2019 | e Weigel is this week's MDU Resources Teen of the Week.
Weigel also dedicates her time to other extracurriculars. Since freshman year, she has been involved with DECA, student council, the acalympics team, varsity basketball, varsity volleyball and National Honor Society.
Weigel serves as the DECA vice president, a student council officer and the basketball team captain. She said she is a people-person and likes being someone her peers can look up to.
"It really shows me how to be a role model," Weigel said. "It drives me to be a better leader for other kids and to be the best that I can be for others."
Outside of school, Weigel volunteers in her community. She was awarded Miss Bismarck's Outstanding Teen 2020 with her platform based on promoting good mental health across the state.
"Giving back to my community is so important to me because it's where I live and I want to live in a prosperous place," Weigel said. "I really like giving back because I can see the change around me when I promote good."
In the summer of 2019, Weigel was selected to be a part of the Yuma Center's Washington Week, during which she explored Washington, D.C. with girls from around the country to meet political leaders and learn about the intricacies of politics.
Weigel said while she enjoys politics as | 294 |
Installation view of RONALD VENTURA's "Territorial Crossing" at Primo Marella Gallery, Milan, 2018. Photograph Francesca Fattori. Courtesy Primo Marella Gallery, Milan.
"Territorial Crossing," Ronald Ventura's latest solo show at Primo Marella Gallery in Milan, gathered<|fim_middle|> hues of gray and luminous white, creating a rich and dramatic chiaroscuro effect. In the work, a young man stands still holding a teacup, the contents of which is scattered upwards into gravity-defying droplets that seem to float in mid-air. In the background, a stormy sky seems about to erupt into a tempest. The man's face is a hybrid of human and feral features; his head morphs into spindly structures resembling thorns or bones. On his shoulder is a half-dissected bird, its innards visible, while a skeletal toy pony rests on the man's head. This strikingly sinister though compelling image seems to condense the sense of impending doom that runs throughout the show.
"Territorial Crossing" provided an in-depth look into Ronald Ventura's ongoing exploration of hybridity and morphing as defining contemporary conditions of humanity. His "creatures of discomfort," as the artist has called them, inhabit a chaotic, nightmarish realm of perpetual uncertainty and threat, mirroring the anxieties of living in an age of rapid, often inscrutable, transformation.
Ronald Ventura's "Territorial Crossing" is on view at Primo Marella Gallery, Milan, until June 1, 2018. | 28 works in painting and sculpture engaging with the idea of dissolving physical and figurative boundaries in contemporary society. The title of the exhibition referred to the concept that the barriers and clear-cut distinctions to which geographical, biological and social categories have been anchored no longer hold.
Born in 1973 in Manila, Philippines, where he is still based, Ronald Ventura is known for his seductive layering of imagery and techniques, and eclectic mix of influences—from popular culture to indigenous and Christian iconography, mysticism and mythology—woven into complex, iconic compositions.
Upon entering the exhibition space, one became immersed in a world of stark black and white: from the corners of the ceiling hung four large, dark, ragged curtains, decorated with hand-stenciled motifs that recur in the artist's work, such as cryptic symbols, fantastical animals and threatening cartoon characters, while the gallery floor was overlaid with a pattern of black and white diagonal stripes.
Installation view of RONALD VENTURA's Crocodile, 2018, fiberglass, charcoal and polyurethane paint, 136 × 40 × 40 cm, at "Territorial Crossing," Primo Marella Gallery, Milan, 2018. Photograph Francesca Fattori. Courtesy Primo Marella Gallery, Milan.
Installation view of RONALD VENTURA's Bull, 2018, fiberglass, resin and polyurethane, 315 × 261 × 218 cm, at "Territorial Crossing," Primo Marella Gallery, Milan, 2018. Photograph Francesca Fattori. Courtesy Primo Marella Gallery, Milan.
A life-sized, black fiberglass crocodile, whose head and back appear to emerge from the floor, immediately captured the viewer's attention in Crocodile (2018), its gaping jaws and sharp white teeth conveying a sense of threat. Nearby, Bull (2018), a massive sculpture of a winged black bovine with pointed spurs sprouting from its limbs, recalling a mythological beast, stands majestically, muscles darting beneath the shiny black coat stained with blood-red patches. Looking more closely, however, a pair of incongruous human feet in place of its back hooves diminishes this initial impression of the creature's mythical power.
RONALD VENTURA, Territorial Crossing 10, 2018, oil on canvas with fiberglass resin frame, 40 × 30 cm canvas, 89 × 71 × 5 cm with frame. Courtesy the artist and Primo Marella Gallery, Milan.
RONALD VENTURA, Territorial Crossing 14, 2018, oil on canvas with fiberglass resin frame, 40 × 30 cm canvas, 89 × 71 × 5 cm with frame. Courtesy the artist and Primo Marella Gallery, Milan.
RONALD VENTURA, Territorial Crossing 3, 2018, oil on canvas with fiberglass resin frame, 40 × 30 cm canvas, 89 × 71 × 5 cm with frame. Courtesy the artist and Primo Marella Gallery, Milan.
The exhibition's titular series of 2018 paintings revolved around the idea of an uneasy identity, subverting classical portraiture to disturbing effect. Fifteen hyperrealist, mostly grayscale portraits were installed in a row on the main gallery's wall, mounted in identical, silvery-black, fiberglass, sculptural frames decorated with wolves, skulls and bones, reminiscent of motives in medieval coats of arms. The installation resembled a classic portrait gallery, but the sitters in the paintings had turned into monstrous creatures from a contemporary urban wilderness. Territorial Crossing 10 is a half-length portrait of a young man gazing steadily out at the viewer, the fur and fangs of a hyena adorning his torso and face like a second skin, revealing a latent aggression. Beauty and ferocity were paired in Territorial Crossing 14, depicting a handsome woman in a t-shirt, her eyes hidden under a pink lace ribbon. The portrait is overlaid with lettering, among which is the word "beauty." The character exudes boisterous menace, her teeth grinding in a red-lipped, feral grimace. By contrast, the manipulation of the body for aesthetic, rather than violent, purposes is shown in Territorial Crossing 3, in which a pin-up girl with full lips and flowing hair turns out, on closer inspection, to be a doll or a dummy.
In the same gallery, the garish, exuberant comic-book hues of Wild Out (2018), a mural-sized painting hung on a wall of its own, stood out against the show's mostly black and white color scheme. A ringmaster with a bulldog's head, wearing a black top hat and scarlet coat, poses on a pedestal in between two standing tigers, realistically depicted except for the fact that their paws have mutated into human hands. A host of human and anthropomorphic cartoon characters populate the canvas, producing a chaotic metaphor for a circus-like world of dissolving biological and cultural borders.
RONALD VENTURA, Breakfast, 2017, oil on canvas, 214 × 153 cm. Courtesy the artist and Primo Marella Gallery, Milan.
Elsewhere, Breakfast (2017), an imposing, large-format painting, was rendered in | 1,158 |
The business-to-business sales environment of today is highly competitive. Buyers have independent access to virtually unlimited information and often do not engage salespeople until late in the purchase process after having extensively researched their purchase decision.
According to a Corporate Executive Board study of 1,400 business-to-business customers, buyers are now at least 57% through their purchase decision before they even first contact the seller. The research firm Gartner surveyed 700 buyers based on recently completed enterprise purchases who reported they spend only 32% of their journey interacting with supplier-side providers or their partners, spending two thirds of the purchasing process with internal assessments, peer networking, and the recommendations of external experts.
Given this era<|fim_middle|> developing early on and intervene before problems escalate whether for the sales people or in the sales process. The sales team is able to see current activities of prospects and customers to know how to respond, as well as current performance indicators showing progress toward attaining individual and company sales and performance goals.
In a competitive environment, the speed with which a seller responds to a potential customer can be crucial. Sales acceleration solutions can enhance responsiveness in a number of ways with real time analytics and automation.
Real time analytics allow the sales team to see and monitor a prospect's behavior – for example, the opening or forwarding of an email; visiting a specific webpage such as pricing or delivery term sheets; or downloading product specification sheets. With this information visible in real time, the sales team can respond immediately in the most effective way relevant to the prospect.
The tools can automate and streamline repeated tasks performed by a sales person, automatically entering data on the tasks into the system so it is quickly available to the sales team and management. These tasks may include basic activities such as call tracking information or follow-up calendaring. With a well-defined sales process, these may also include scoring and prioritizing prospects for quality based upon a matrix of characteristics or behavior; or triggering a specific email response tailored to a discrete action on the website such as a specific document being downloaded.
A sales organization constantly faces decisions of where to allocate available sales resources – money, time and effort. There are always opportunity costs and resources assigned to certain accounts cannot cover others. Sales optimization, the decision process of determining the best resource allocation, can be a significant driver of revenue growth. Sales optimization encompasses actions such as the alignment of sales efforts with business strategy, the selection of customers and how the sales team is deployed across opportunities. A study by the Boston Consulting Group indicates that sales optimization techniques (e.g. targeting high-value customers or deploying sales resources by strategic criteria) can impact revenue growth more than three times sales efficiency practices (e.g. CRM, training or KPI dashboards).
Sales organizations exist in a dynamic world with continuous inputs of new data and must consistently validate and refine even a well-defined sales process. Data driven technologies allow the precise evaluation of a wide range of historical and current metrics, as well as the ability to A-B test specific changes in the process, content or responses to customer behavior against each other and measure the outcomes so that organizations can innovate their processes based on actual data and analytics.
In this day of the educated and empowered buyer in business-to-business sales, organizations must make their sales processes more data and science driven to maintain a competitive advantage. Such techniques include employing technologies and analytics to develop a defined effective sales process that is repeatable and more predictable of success; having visible data in order for management and sales to make data driven decisions; using automation and real time analytics to make quick, informed responses to customer behavior and events; sales optimization to best allocate resources; and consistent validation and refinement of processes. | of the educated buyer, sales organizations need to find ways to gain a competitive advantage in the fast paced business-to-business sales environment. This requires organizations to effectively embrace the technologies, data science and analytics to define a proven, effective sales process; while remaining agile – able to respond to a prospective buyer's needs and reacting quickly with well-informed decisions. The following explores five areas of focus to gain such competitive advantage.
Organizations in business-to-business sales must approach the sales process with data and science rather than emphasizing ad hoc or intuitive decisions. The first step is to collect, access and analyze historical data to inform, define and refine an effective sales process proven to achieve successful goals. Technologies allow an organization to analyze such data to architect the steps of a defined sales process based upon a company's unique and specific historical experience with prospects, customers, outcomes and patterns, which is then repeatable and much more predictable of success.
Management and sales teams must also be able to use data to make and inform the quick decisions that are often required in today's sales environment.
With sales acceleration and automation technologies and tools, management and the sales team can see a wide variety of metrics and key performance indicators on an ongoing, real time basis. Managers can have the visibility to see potential issues or trouble spots | 257 |
Ranscombe House is in a rural setting, very<|fim_middle|> arriving from the East on the A27 (Eastbourne/Hastings), follow signs to Lewes and Brighton. Go as far as Southerham Roundabout on the outskirts of Lewes and turn back on yourself, so you are now driving eastwards. Follow the A27 for a mile down the hill and you will see Ranscombe Lane on your left. Take this road and Ranscombe House will be found at the second entrance on your left – approximately 150 yards from the main road. | close to the South Downs. Historic Lewes is just 1.5 miles away, and the coast at Seaford is about 5 miles away. Brighton is 8 miles, and Eastbourne is 13 miles away.
If arriving from the West on the A27 (Brighton), follow the signs to Eastbourne and Hastings. Do not turn off the A27 at either the Ashcombe or Southerham Roundabouts – continue on A27 for another mile and as you drive down the hill you will see Ranscombe Lane on your left – take this road and Ranscombe House will be found at the second entrance on your left – approximately 150 yards from the main road. If | 148 |
The best water park in Cyprus; attracting over 100,000 visitors every year. It has some really unique water rides including Zero Gravity – speed slide 15m then boomerang back up and get<|fim_middle|>100 grape varieties are amongst the oldest in the World. There are 2 main wine growing areas, the southern slopes of the Troodos Mountains and the south west of the island in the Paphos region.
You can follow one of 6 designated wine routes by the Cyprus Tourism Organisation and choose from 40 regional wineries to visit. You'll see brown road signs containing the name of the wine route which will take you through the scenic landscape and picturesque villages.
Contact Us for info on a Holiday Day Trip our team will be glad to organize one for you. | the feeling of no gravity. Black Hole – is a runaway journey into the darkness, making you lose all sense of space.
The park boasts the largest wave pool in Europe, as well as the biggest family rafting ride, accommodating 4 people. When you've had too much excitement, you can relax in the leisure pool or giant Jacuzzi. Make your day worthwhile by having a free trial dive with qualified scuba diving instructors.
25 km east of Paphos, off the coast along the main road to Limassol, lays Aphrodite's Rock; the legendary birthplace of the goddess of love. The site is known as Petra tou Romiou which means Rock of the Greek, referring to Byzantine frontier guard Dighenis, who threw rocks (petra) at Saracen pirates.
A visit to Aphrodite's rock is a great day out. It's an area of outstanding natural beauty; you can walk the pebble shores and take a dip in the brilliant blue sea. Legend has it, if you swim around the rock 3 times, you'll be blessed with eternal beauty. Couple with a visit to the nearby hill top village of Pissouri for a real taste of rural Cyprus.
Another holiday day trip is the Pafos archaeological Park includes which sites and monuments from prehistoric times to the Middle Ages. The majority of the remains are from the Roman period, you can see 4 Roman villas and their World famous mosaic floors.
Buying the ticket gives you entrances to a whole complex of monuments including, the Asklipieion, the Odeion, the Agora, the Saranta Kolones (40 Columns) Fortress, the Limeniotissa and the Tombs of the Kings.
Nicosia is the capital of Cyprus. Rich in history, it is the world's only divided capital, since the fall of the Berlin wall. The city is split by the Green Line, take a walk along it and you can spot some of the North's well-known sights, like the Agia Sofia mosque. Cyprus Archaeological Museum is a must-visit, housing the archaeological treasures of Cyprus within 14 different galleries.
Step through the stone gates of the old quarter and you can explore the maze of narrow, winding streets. The main shopping district is Ledra Street with big-name department stores and hundreds of smaller outlets. Visit the 16th century Turkish baths at Omeriye Hammam where you can indulge in a range of invigorating treatments.
Very popular holiday day trip is the wine tour. The production of wine in Cyprus dates back some 6000 years, studies indicate that some of the | 542 |
Balio, Tino
United Artists, Volume 2, 1951–1978: The Company That Changed the Film Industry
by Tino Balio
In this second volume of Tino Balio's history of United Artists, he examines the turnaround of the company in the hands of Arthur Krim and Robert Benjamin in the 1950s, when United Artists devised a successful strategy based on the financing and distribution of independent production that transformed the company into an industry leader. Drawing on corporate records and interviews, Balio follows United Artists through its merger with Transamerica in the 1960s and its sale to MGM after the financial debacle of the film Heaven's Gate. With its attention to the role of film as both an art form and an economic institution, United Artists: The Company That Changed the Film Industry is an indispensable study of one company's fortunes from the 1950s to the 1980s and a clear-eyed analysis of the film industry as a whole.
This edition includes an expanded introduction that examines the history of United Artists from 1978 to 2008, as well as an account of Arthur Krim's attempt to mirror UA's success at Orion Pictures from 1978 to 1991.
Tino Balio is emeritus professor of film studies at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He is author of Grand Design: Hollywood as a Modern Business Enterprise and editor of The American Film Industry, also published by the University of Wisconsin Press.
"Balio's [two] volumes are the finest economic and production history of an American studio yet written."—Scott Simmon, Film Quarterly
"Tino Balio's superb narration of events and personalities is must reading for anyone fascinated by the motion picture industry and behind the scenes stories of one of the true corporate giants in the heyday of the movies!"—Bookwatch: The Midwest Book Review
lntroduction
1 Prelude at Eagle-Lion
2 Gambling on Independent Production
3 The Company in Place
4 Making Them Big
5 The Studio without Walls
6 Selling Them Big
7 lnternational Operations, Part 1: Of Art Films and Great Britain
8 "007" A License to Print Money
9 International Operations, Part 2: France and Italy
10 Life with a Conglomerate
11 To MGM and Beyond
Appendix 1 United Artists' Domestic Releases, 1951-1978
Appendix 2 United Artists' Principal Producers, 1951-1978
Appendix 3 United Artists Collection Addition, 1950-1980
Index of Motion Picture Titles
See other books on<|fim_middle|> | Film | Film Industry | Popular Culture | United Artists
More to explore: World War, 1939-1945 | : Balio, Tino | 6 |
Film Review: Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016)
There aren't many films for which I smile at the mere thought of them. It's just so rare to find a comedy that hits the mark at every turn, and this is precisely what makes Taika Waititi such a marvel. His latest effort, Hunt for the Wilderpeople, based on the book by Barry Crump, has been causing spontaneous chuckles for days.
It's about Ricky Baker (Julian Dennison). A bad egg. A menace to society. A gangster. He didn't choose the Skuxx life. The Skuxx life chose him. And he's thirteen years old.
He's been cycled through foster homes and juvenile prison since he can remember, having been given up at birth and signposted as a 'problem child' by<|fim_middle|> Neill, enjoying a second wind in recent years, plays second fiddle with the right amount of bemusement and conviction. Meanwhile Paula Hall as the child services officer might put the New Zealand juvenile correctional system in a fairly brutal light, but she is similarly brilliant as the part of the anchoring villain. Rhys Darby and Waititi also make brief cameos throughout the shenanigans. It may get a bit ridiculous with car chases and shootouts, but surely that's the point.
Of course, that all of this plays out with such frankness and that self-deprecating Kiwi humour we got to know through Flight of the Conchords and then Waititi's Boy and What We Do in the Shadows sets it apart from the pack. Suffice to say that any film where a few sausages and a hot water bottle can make all the difference, and heaven is described as the domain of Doritos, Fanta, Burger Rings and Coke Zero gets my vote.
Hunt for the Wilderpeople is in cinemas from 26th May through Madman Films.
Angus Tonkin
More from Angus Tonkin
Film Review: Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit (2014)
Following on from the likes of Harrison Ford and Ben Affleck in...
Film Review: One Eyed Girl (2015)
Film Review: Deadpool (2016)
Film Review: The Case Against 8 (2014)
Film Review: A Glimpse Inside The Mind of Charles Swan III (2012) | the authorities, and it's not until the kindhearted Bella (Rima Te Wiata) takes him under her wing on her farm in the highlands that Ricky starts to feel at home. Foster uncle to-be Hector (Sam Neill) is less enthusiastic.
But when Bella meets a sudden end and leaves Ricky with a distraught Hector, child services Terminator Rachel House (Paula Hall) threatens to take Ricky back. He's having none of it, and goes on the run. When Hector gives chase and inadvertently sets off a manhunt for a himself, a former convict, and an abducted child, they have no choice but to run.
Narratively, this is a straightforward fugitive buddy film, but there's no substitute for impeccable delivery, and Julian Dennison is a revelation as Ricky. No offence to the rest of the child acting community, but Dennison puts you all to shame with this comically perfect performance.
Ricky is not just a scamp. He's a smart kid led astray. He's a reader. He's known loss and craves a home just like any other kid. He compiles haikus. He is constantly surprising and yet utterly believable, and you won't hear a bigger laugh than when he steps in to help his uncle with a gun-toting "Shit. Just. Got. Real." Ultimately, the comedic value for a film such as this is impossible to replicate in a review, so I won't try.
Sam | 300 |
Friday Find is my collection of interesting articles that I felt worth sharing from the week. An increasing amount of my personal research focus lately has been around Data and how companies are using data to enable change as well as the cultural change needed within a company to support this data evolution. This is an natural movement up the stack from the IoT / Connected Device infrastructure work I have been doing for the past 3 years.
In the era of information overload, the search efficiency of "people in search of information" continues to decline, and the distribution method of "information in search of people" has become more popular. Good algorithms can improve the precision of content distribution and increase user stickiness, thus significantly improving the<|fim_middle|> selling the smart thermostat or the connected machine, though they are building an IoT Solution which is will match some or all of my framework.
I've taken this framework and applied it to various IoT Vendors that I've been talking to over the past few months. That developed into the IoT Vendor Scorecards that I have started to share in the IoT Lab. The scorecards are designed to give you a quick view of how different IoT Vendors compare based on the seven areas of my IoT Solution Framework. This is not a deep technical overview of these vendors, but a higher level abstraction that allows business and technology executives to discuss their IoT Solution within a common framework.
The current list of IoT Vendors is just a sample based on my recent activity and I expect this list to grow (it has been highly focused on the software side of IoT to date). I'm working through a more detailed scorecard for each as my time allows. I'll be updating the list as I publish those scorecards and post updates on the blog.
What part of the framework do you like the most? What part do you disagree with the most? What areas need further explanation? Who are the important vendors that you think are currently missing from the scorecard list? Please let me know by sharing a comment.
If you represent an IoT vendors, on my list or not, and want to chat please contact me directly.
If you like my scorecard concept…please share them with your friends and colleagues.
If you hate my scorecard concept…please share them with your enemies and competition. | ability of the advertisement to be converted (into sales/cash).
We all encounter this daily in our lives, unless you don't use Facebook, Google Search, or a growling list of free services; remember, if you're not paying for the product…you (or your data) are the product.
But the flip side of this is how to effectively use data for maximum [cost effective] results in our businesses. For larger enterprises, this is an evolution of thinking and operating that can't be driven from the top down but enabled and supported from the top with bottom up adoption. Something that a recent McKinsey article on Why Data Culture Matters covered.
The experience of these leaders, and our own, suggests that you can't import data culture and you can't impose it. Most of all, you can't segregate it. You develop a data culture by moving beyond specialists and skunkworks, with the goal of achieving deep business engagement, creating employee pull, and cultivating a sense of purpose, so that data can support your operations instead of the other way around.
I saw this first hand at one of my clients where I helped them implement a big data as a service offering on their private cloud (I was representing the private cloud vendor). There was a general consensus from leadership that big data was key to the company, a research project was lead by IT to understand who was doing that today down at the BU level, that feed into spinning up a private cloud service to make it easier and cheaper for the current BU's doing big data, with the longer term goal being that others could learn from these examples and quickly and cheaply experiment with big data in their own BUs. Unfortunately, I stopped working with that client before I could see if that longer term vision was ever realized (when I left, they were not investing in the enablement infrastructure for that vision).
What has been your exposure to big data usage and strategy within your organization? Leave a comment on how what you're seeing/experiencing relates to the above aspects of big data and data culture.
After a 3 year hiatus from VMworld (It's been that long since I left VMware?) I spent some time this morning catching up on the announcements from VMworld 2018 with theCUBE/Wikibon team. I found the discussion of multi-cloud interesting in that there didn't seem to be a good definition of the term that the discussion was based on (if I've missed that from the analysts during my hiatus, hopefully one of them will post a link to their definitions). So I figured I would also break my blogging hiatus to share some thoughts here.
Enterprise IT decision makers, in their evolved role as a cloud consultant to their BU customers, are thinking of multiple cloud vendors to choose from based on the workload's (aka, application's) needs versus cost points (multi-cloud IaaS). This is largely a vendor management function; just like how the larger, sophisticated enterprises had near equal number of Dell and HP servers in their data center 10 years ago (or was that just 5 years ago?) to get better price points during contract negotiations.
Application Team decision makers, in their drive to get to market faster and scale their applications continue utilizing DevOps and service architectures which pull application functionality from multiple cloud based platforms, build their application using functionality from multiple cloud services (multi-cloud PaaS), or run their functionality on multiple cloud IaaS as a shadow IT or customer of Private Cloud IT teams.
Discussions of multi-cloud SaaS is moot because by definition the decision maker of which SaaS application to use doesn't really care where it is run, just that it's available. Their focus is on the application functionality to meet their business needs. All the multi-cloud discussion is below them.
The difference between Enterprise IT multi-cloud IaaS and DevOps multi-cloud IaaS is that Enterprise IT is most likely running legacy workloads that are not service based (VM is the finest grained abstraction) where DevOps is running the service based applications that their developers are building using CD/CI methodologies (containers are the finest grained abstraction).
DevOps multi-cloud is dynamic (easy to move) by nature…this is the elusive future opportunity which creates a challenge for technology vendors because of the lack of stickiness. But is another important reason why this application development methodology is so important to enterprises who still see software as a key differentiator for them in their industries.
Over the past 2 years I've developed a picture of what almost any IoT Solution, or IoT Application, must have as the various technology bits and pieces. I first created this IoT Solution Framework while working with potential partners as a way to set a foundation for exploring IoT partnerships and explaining where their stuff fit and where my stuff fit. Eventually, I started to use this framework to compare IoT vendors and understand where they fit in the bigger picture of the IoT market.
By IoT Vendors I'm referring to companies that are selling technology that is used to build an IoT Solution, like a smart thermostat, or a connected machine. I'm not referring to companies that are | 1,031 |
Tiger Rock – driven by our passion for delicious fresh East Asian cooking.<|fim_middle|> happy as ever with our food.
favourite restaurant, food and service never disappoints and amazing value for money!
First visit and will not be the last. Food was lovely and great value! | The menu offers the best in Thai, Chinese, Malaysian, Singaporean, Vietnamese, Laotian dishes served with a twist.
For bookings of 6 or more, we require card details to secure your booking. These details are kept securely and your card will only be charged (£5 per person) if we do not receive 24 hours' notice of any cancellation or amendments.
Please contact the restaurant for bookings of 8 or more. We recommend opting for one of the set menus for large bookings. Our small plates menu is more suited for smaller bookings as dishes come as and when.
We are an independent restaurant and rely on reservations being honoured. We kindly ask that you call us as soon as possible if you need to cancel your booking.
Great food as usual. Good value , wide choice of drinks and food. Only niggle we have eaten here many times but staff don't seem to recognise us, at other restaurants we regularly visit the staff recognise us and make us feel quite special.
Excellent food, flavour, authenticity and service. First time visitors, but will definitely call in again.
We ordered 6 plates, all were delicious.
Staff were helpful and the ambience was perfect.
Have been a few times and will be going back.
Fantastic food. Seriously delicious. And our waiter Jamie was really helpful (even going to the trouble of asking colleagues when we asked him what the area was like to live in as we're thinking of moving there!).
Another visit to Tiger Rock which didn't disappoint. Delicious food, quick and friendly service. Would definitely recommend.
Absolutely fantastic service and food. The staff are very polite and accommodating. They show real consideration and want your feedback whilst you're still at your table. Wonderful food. I like a bit of heat but not too much and this falls into that category. Well done.
Great food and service at a good price, as usual.
We are regular customers at Tiger Rock Smithdown, Liverpool. We have enjoyed the menu enormously with the friendly staff and atmosphere. However, we would like the menu to be reviewed and changed with different choices, as it has been the same for the last 2 years or more.
Party of 12 everyone really enjoyed the food, very tasty. The service was excellent, well organised and friendly.
Lovely staff! There was a young man with blonde hair, I think he was a form of management as he wasn't wearing a uniform. He was so lovely and always ensured we were okay and never failed to make sure we were we | 510 |
\section{Introduction}
One of the manifestations of the Aharonov-Bohm (AB) effect
\cite{AhaB59} in the ring geometry \cite{ByeY61,ButIL83} is the
periodic dependence of the transmission coefficient for an electron
traversing the ring on the magnetic flux $\Phi$ through the
ring.\cite{GefIA84,ButILP85} The period of oscillations is equal to
$\Phi_0=hc/e$ --- the universal flux quantum.
For one-dimensional (1D) continuum interacting quantum systems with
translational invariance there is also a periodicity of many-particle
states as a functions of flux.\cite{SutS90,ShaS90,MulWL93,Kus94a} In
1D lattice systems, the lifting of Galilean invariance allows for
various periodicities of the states.\cite{SutS90,ShaS90} For the
ground state, this behavior can be interpreted, according to the above
definition of $\Phi_0$, as a signature of the existence of elementary
excitations with multiple --- sometimes even fractional --- charges
.\cite{SutS90,RomS94b,RomS94c,Kus95,KriSSJ96} In the case of strong
electron-electron interaction the adequate description of the
many-body states is based on excitations of the Wigner-crystal
.\cite{Los92,KriSSG95} Furthermore, the absence of sensitivity to the
flux in such systems is an indication of the onset of the Mott
transition. \cite{ShaS90,Koh64,RomP95} Similarly, the sensitivity of
single-particle energies to the flux \cite{Tho74} can be used as a
criterion of the Anderson-type metal-insulator transition in
disordered systems.\cite{And58} Combined effects of interactions and
disorder in 1D have received much attention in the last decade
.\cite{RomP95,Dor90,She94,LeaRS99,RomLS99b} Numerical studies of
pairing effects for two particles with repulsive interaction in a
disordered environment were carried out using the AB setting
.\cite{WeiMPF95} Other physical manifestations of the AB effect in
the ring geometry considered in the literature include the evolution
of electron states for a time-dependent flux,\cite{GorKGS97} and a
flux-dependent equilibrium distortion of the lattice caused by
electron-phonon interactions. \cite{Kus92}
The physical origin of the flux sensitivity of an electron on the ring
is its charge which couples to the vector potential. Correspondingly,
the coupling to the flux has the opposite sign for an electron and a
hole. For this reason an {\em exciton}, being a bound state of
electron and hole and thus a {\em neutral}\ entity, should not be
sensitive to the flux. However, due to the finite size of the
exciton, such a sensitivity will emerge. This effect is demonstrated
in the present paper.
Below we study the AB-oscillations both in the<|fim_middle|>9732820. RAR
also gratefully acknowledges the support of DFG under
Sonderforschungsbereich~393. We are grateful to M.\ B\"{u}ttiker, A.\
Lorke, T.\ V.\ Shahbazyan, R.\ Warburton, and J.\ Worlock for useful
discussions. We thank A.\ V.\ Chaplik for pointing out Ref.\
\onlinecite{Cha95} to us.
| binding energy and in
the oscillator strength of the exciton absorption. We choose as a
model a short-range attraction potential between electron and hole,
which allows to solve the three-body problem (electron, hole, and a
ring) exactly. From this exact solution, we trace the behavior of the
AB oscillations when increasing the radius of the ring or the strength
of the electron-hole attraction.
Denote with $\varphi_e$ and $\varphi_h$ the azimuthal coordinates of
the electron and hole, respectively. In the absence of interaction the
wave functions of electrons and holes are given by
\begin{equation}
\label{eq-eigen}
\Psi_N^{(e)}(\varphi_e) =\frac{1}{\sqrt{2\pi}}e^{iN\varphi_e}, \quad
\Psi_{N^{\prime}}^{(h)}(\varphi_h)
=\frac{1}{\sqrt{2\pi}}e^{iN^{\prime}\varphi_h},
\end{equation}
where $N$ and $N^{\prime}$ are integers. The corresponding energies
are
\begin{equation}
\label{eq-energies}
E_N^{(e)}=\frac{\hbar^2}{2m_e\rho^2}\Biggl(N-\frac{\Phi}{\Phi_0}\Biggr)^2,
\quad E_{N^{\prime}}^{(h)}
=\frac{\hbar^2}{2m_h\rho^2}\Biggl(N^{\prime}+\frac{\Phi}{\Phi_0}
\Biggr)^2.
\end{equation}
Here $\rho$ is the radius of the ring, and $m_e$, $m_h$ stand for the
effective masses of electron and hole, respectively. In the presence
of an interaction $V\Bigl[R(\varphi_e-\varphi_h)\Bigr]$, where
$R(\varphi_e-\varphi_h)=2\rho\sin(\frac{\varphi_e-\varphi_h}{2})$ is
the distance between electron and hole, we search for the wave
function of the exciton in the form
\begin{equation}
\label{eq-wave}
\Psi(\varphi_e,\varphi_h)= \sum_{N,N^{\prime}}A_{N,N^{\prime}}
\Psi_N^{(e)}(\varphi_e)\Psi_{N^{\prime}}^{(h)}(\varphi_h).
\end{equation}
The coefficients $A_{N,N^{\prime}}$ are to be found from the equation
\begin{equation}
\label{eq-A}
\sum_{N,N^{\prime}}A_{N,N^{\prime}}
\Bigl[E_N^{(e)}+E_{N^{\prime}}^{(h)} - \Delta\Bigr]
\Psi_N^{(e)}(\varphi_e)\Psi_{N^{\prime}}^{(h)}(\varphi_h) +
V\Bigl[R(\varphi_e-\varphi_h)\Bigr]\Psi(\varphi_e,\varphi_h)=0,
\end{equation}
where $\Delta$ is the energy of the exciton. The formal expression for
$A_{N,N^{\prime}}$ follows from Eq.\ (\ref{eq-A}) after multiplying it
by
$\Bigl[\Psi_N^{(e)}(\varphi_e)
\Psi_{N^{\prime}}^{(h)}(\varphi_h)\Bigr]^{\dagger}$
and integrating over $\varphi_e$ and $\varphi_h$
\begin{equation}
\label{eq-formal}
A_{N,N^{\prime}}=
-\frac{1}{2\pi}\int_0^{2\pi}d\varphi_e\int_0^{2\pi}d\varphi_h
\frac{V\Bigl[R(\varphi_e-\varphi_h)\Bigr]\Psi(\varphi_e,\varphi_h)}
{E_N^{(e)}+E_{N^{\prime}}^{(h)} - \Delta}
e^{-i(N\varphi_e+N^{\prime}\varphi_h)}.
\end{equation}
At this point we make use of the assumption that the potential
$V\Bigl[R(\varphi_e-\varphi_h)\Bigr]$ is short-ranged. This implies
that the integral over $\varphi_h$ is determined by a narrow interval
of $\varphi_h$ close to $\varphi_e$. Then we can replace $\varphi_h$
by $\varphi_e$ in the rest of the integrand. As a result, Eq.\
(\ref{eq-formal}) simplifies to
\begin{equation}
\label{eq-simplified}
A_{N,N^{\prime}}= -\frac{V_0}{E_N^{(e)}+E_{N^{\prime}}^{(h)} - \Delta}
\int_0^{2\pi}d\varphi_e\Psi(\varphi_e,\varphi_e)e^{-i(N+N^{\prime})\varphi_e},
\end{equation}
where the constant $V_0<0$ is defined as
\begin{equation}
\label{eq-not}
V_0=\frac{1}{2\pi}\int d\varphi V\Bigl[R(\varphi)\Bigr].
\end{equation}
Finally we derive a closed equation, which determines the exciton
energies. This equation follows from Eqs.\ (\ref{eq-wave}) and
(\ref{eq-simplified}) as a self-consistency condition. Indeed, by
setting in Eq.\ (\ref{eq-wave}) $\varphi_e=\varphi_h$, multiplying
both sides by $\exp(-iN_0\varphi_e)$, and integrating over
$\varphi_e$, we obtain
\begin{equation}
\label{eq-integral}
\int_0^{2\pi}d\varphi_e\Psi(\varphi_e,\varphi_e)e^{-iN_0\varphi_e}
=\sum_N A_{N,N_0-N}.
\end{equation}
Substituting (\ref{eq-simplified}) into (\ref{eq-integral}) we arrive
at the desired condition
\begin{equation}
\label{eq-condition}
1+V_0\sum_N\frac{1}{E_N^{(e)}+E_{N_0-N}^{(h)} - \Delta_{N_0}}=0.
\end{equation}
For each integer $N_0$ the solutions of Eq.\ (\ref{eq-condition}) form
a discrete set, $\Delta_{N_0}^m$. The corresponding (non-normalized)
wave functions have the form
\begin{equation}
\label{eq-wf}
\Psi_{N_0}^m\propto
e^{iN_0\varphi_h}
\sum_N\frac{e^{iN(\varphi_e-\varphi_h)}}{E_N^{(e)}+E_{N_0-N}^{(h)}
- \Delta_{N_0}^m}.
\end{equation}
The exponential factor in front of the sum insures that in the dipole
approximation only the excitons with $N_0=0$ can be created by light.
The frequency dependence of the exciton absorption, $\alpha(\omega)$,
can be presented as
\begin{equation}
\label{eq-spectral}
\alpha(\omega)\propto\sum_mF_m\delta(\hbar\omega-E_g-\Delta_0^m),
\end{equation}
where $E_g$ is the band-gap of the material of the ring; the
coefficients $F_m$ stand for the oscillator strengths of the
corresponding transitions. A general expression for $F_m$ through the
eigenfunction, $\Psi_0^m$, of the excitonic state reads
\begin{equation}
\label{eq-strength}
F_m=\frac{|\int_0^{2\pi}d\varphi_e\int_0^{2\pi}d\varphi_h
\Psi_0^m(\varphi_e,\varphi_h)
\delta(\varphi_e-\varphi_h)|^2}
{\int_0^{2\pi}d\varphi_e\int_0^{2\pi}d\varphi_h
|\Psi_0^m(\varphi_e,\varphi_h)|^2}.
\end{equation}
Upon substituting Eq.\ (\ref{eq-wf}) into Eq.\ (\ref{eq-strength}) and
making use of Eq.\ (\ref{eq-condition}), we obtain
\begin{equation}
\label{eq-new}
F_m=\Biggl[V_0^2\sum_N\frac{1}{(E_N^{(e)}+E_{-N}^{(h)} -
\Delta_0^m)^2}\Biggr]^{-1}.
\end{equation}
The latter expression can be presented in a more compact form by
introducing the rate of change of the exciton energy with the
interaction parameter $V_0$. Indeed, taking the differential of Eq.\
(\ref{eq-condition}), yields
\begin{equation}
\label{eq-last}
F_m=-\frac{\partial\Delta_0^m}{\partial V_0}.
\end{equation}
We note that the summation in Eq.\ (\ref{eq-condition}) can be carried
out in a closed form by using the identity
\begin{equation}
\label{eq-identity}
\sum_{N=-\infty}^{\infty}\frac{1}{(\pi N-a_1)(\pi N-a_2)}=
\frac{1}{(a_1-a_2)}\Biggl(\frac{1}{\tan a_2}-\frac{1}{\tan
a_1}\Biggr).
\end{equation}
For the most interesting case $N_0=0$ the parameters $a_1$, $a_2$ are
equal to
\begin{equation}
\label{eq-12}
a_{1,2}=-\pi\Biggl[\frac{\Phi}{\Phi_0}\pm
\Bigl(\frac{\Delta_0^m}{\varepsilon_0} \Bigr)^{1/2}\Biggr],
\end{equation}
where
\begin{equation}
\label{eq-eps}
\varepsilon_0=\frac{\hbar^2}{2\rho^2}\Bigl(\frac{1}{m_e}+\frac{1}{m_h}\Bigr)=
\frac{\hbar^2}{2\mu \rho^2},
\end{equation}
and $\mu=m_em_h/(m_e+m_h)$ denotes the reduced mass of electron and
hole. Then the equation (\ref{eq-condition}) for the exciton energies
takes the form
\begin{equation}
\label{eq-form}
\Biggl(\frac{\Delta_0^m}{\varepsilon_0}\Biggr)^{1/2}=-\Biggl(\frac{\pi
V_0}{\varepsilon_0}\Biggr)\frac{\sin
\Bigl(2\pi(\Delta_0^m/\varepsilon_0)^{1/2}\Bigr)} {\cos
\Bigl(2\pi(\Delta_0^m/\varepsilon_0)^{1/2}\Bigr)-\cos\Bigl(2\pi(\Phi/\Phi_0)
\Bigr)}.
\end{equation}
This equation is our main result. It is seen from Eq.\ (\ref{eq-form})
that the structure of the excitonic spectrum is determined by a
dimensionless ratio $|V_0|/\varepsilon_0$. From the definition
(\ref{eq-not}) it follows that, with increasing the radius $\rho$ of
the ring, $V_0$ falls off as $1/\rho$. Thus, $|V_0|/\varepsilon_0$ is
proportional to $\rho$. In the limit of large $\rho$, when $|V_0|\gg
\varepsilon_0$, the spectrum can be found analytically. The ground
state corresponds to negative energy and is given by
\begin{equation}
\label{eq-correction}
\Delta_0^0=-\frac{\pi^2V_0^2}{\varepsilon_0}\Biggl[1+4\cos\Bigl(\frac{2\pi\Phi}
{\Phi_0}\Bigr)\exp\Bigl(-\frac{2\pi^2|V_0|}{\varepsilon_0}\Bigr)\Biggr].
\end{equation}
We note that the prefactor $\pi^2V_0^2/\varepsilon_0$ is independent
of $\rho$. It is equal to the binding energy of an exciton on a
straight line. It is easy to see that in the limit under
consideration we have $|\Delta_0^0|\gg|V_0|\gg\varepsilon_0$.
The second term in the brackets of Eq.\ (\ref{eq-correction})
describes the AB effect for the exciton. In the limit of large $\rho$
its magnitude is exponentially small. The physical meaning of the
exponential prefactor can be understood after rewriting it in the form
$\exp(-2\pi\rho\gamma)$, where
$\gamma=\pi|V_0|\Bigl(2\mu/\hbar^2\varepsilon_0\Bigr)^{1/2}$ is the
inverse decay length of the wave function of the internal motion of
electron and hole in the limit $\rho\rightarrow\infty$. Thus, the
magnitude of the AB effect in the limit of large $\rho$ represents the
amplitude for bound electron and hole to tunnel in the opposite
directions and meet each other ``on the opposite side of the ring''
(opposite with respect to the point where they were created by a
photon). This qualitative consideration allows to specify the
condition that the interaction potential is short-ranged. Namely, for
Eq.\ (\ref{eq-correction}) to apply, the radius of potential should be
much smaller than $\gamma^{-1}$. It is also clear from the above
consideration that, within a prefactor, the magnitude of the AB effect
is given by $\exp(-2\pi\rho\gamma)$ for arbitrary attractive
potential, as long as the decay length $\gamma^{-1}$ is smaller than
the perimeter of the ring. In Figs.\ \ref{fig-dbe-x} and
\ref{fig-be-x} we plot the numerical solution of Eq.\ (\ref{eq-form})
for various values of $\Phi$ together with the asymptotic solution
(\ref{eq-correction}) valid in the limit of large $\gamma\rho$. We see
that the maximum possible change in exciton energy by threading the
ring with a flux $\Phi_0/2$ is $25\%$ of the size-quantization energy
$\varepsilon_0$. The asymptotic expression of (\ref{eq-correction})
is good down to $\gamma\rho\approx \pi^{-1}$. In Fig.\
\ref{fig-be-phi-x}, we show the variation of the exciton energy with
$\Phi$ within one period. As expected, the AB oscillations are close
to sinusoidal for large values of $2\pi\gamma\rho$, whereas for
$2\pi\gamma\rho = 1$, unharmonicity is already quite pronounced. The
increase of the exciton energy as the flux is switched on has a simple
physical interpretation. If the single-electron energy
(\ref{eq-energies}) {\em grows} with $\Phi$ then the single-hole
energy is {\em reduced} with $\Phi$ and vice versa. This suppresses
the electron-hole binding. Fig.\ \ref{fig-be-phi-x} illustrates how
the amplitudes of the AB oscillations decrease with increasing ring
perimeter $2\pi \gamma\rho$ as described by Eq.\
(\ref{eq-correction}). The AB oscillations in the oscillator strength
are plotted in Fig.\ \ref{fig-os-phi-x}. As expected, the shift is
most pronounced for $\Phi= \Phi_0/2$, and the relative magnitude is
nearly $80\%$ for the smallest value of $2\pi \gamma\rho$. For larger
values of $2\pi\gamma\rho$, the oscillations in $F_0(\Phi)$ become
increasingly sinusoidal as can be seen by differentiating Eq.\
(\ref{eq-correction}) with respect to $V_0$.
In the consideration above we assumed the width of the ring to be
zero. In fact, if the width is finite but smaller than the radius of
the exciton, $\gamma^{-1}$, it can be taken into account in a similar
fashion as in \cite{WenF95} by adding $\hbar^2 \pi^2 / 2 m_e W^2$ and
$\hbar^2 \pi^2 / 2 m_h W^2$ to the single-electron and single-hole
energies (\ref{eq-energies}), respectively. Here, $W$ stands for the
width of the ring and a hard-wall confinement in the radial direction
is assumed. This would leave the AB oscillations unchanged. In the
opposite case $W \gg \gamma^{-1}$ the oscillations are suppressed. The
precise form of the suppression factor as a function of
$(W\gamma)^{-1}$ is unknown and depends on the details of the
confinement.
Let us briefly address the excited states of the exciton corresponding
to $m>0$. In the limit $|V_0| \gg \varepsilon_0$ for the energies with
numbers $m < |V_0|/\varepsilon_0$ we get from Eq.\ (\ref{eq-form})
\begin{equation}
\label{eq-excited}
\Delta_0^m = \frac{\varepsilon_0}{4} \Bigl[ m^2 +
(-1)^m(m+\frac{1}{2}) \frac{\varepsilon_0}{\pi^2 V_0}
\cos\Bigl(\frac{2\pi\Phi}{\Phi_0}\Bigr) \Bigr].
\end{equation}
In contrast to the ground state as in (\ref{eq-correction}) the AB
contribution to the energy $\Delta_0^m$ is not exponentially small.
Still the AB term is small (in parameter $\varepsilon_{0} / |V_0| \ll
1$) compared to the level spacing at $\Phi=0$.
An alternative way to derive Eq.\ (\ref{eq-form}) is to follow the
Bethe ansatz approach.\cite{Mat93} The intimate relation between Eq.\
(\ref{eq-form}) and a Bethe ansatz equation becomes most apparent in
the absence of magnetic flux, $\Phi=0$, when (\ref{eq-form}) can be
rewritten as
\begin{equation}
\label{eq-bethe}
2\pi\rho k_m= 2 \pi m + 2 \arctan \Bigl(\frac{\rho k_m}{c}\Bigr),
\end{equation}
where $k_m=(2\Delta_0^m\mu)^{1/2}/\hbar$ is the wave vector and $c= 2
\pi \mu V_0 \rho^2/\hbar^2$ parameterizes the strength of the
attraction analogously to the well-known $\delta$-function gas
.\cite{LieL63,Lie63,Mcg64} At finite flux, the structure of the Bethe
ansatz equations will be very similar to the equations for a 1D
Hubbard model \cite{LieW68} in the presence of a spin flux coupling to
the spin-up and spin-down degrees of freedom of the electrons
.\cite{RomS94b,RomP95} We emphasize that in such discrete models the
periodicity will also be influenced by whether the number of sites in
the ring is even or odd \cite{WuM91} in addition to the continuous
situation considered in the present manuscript.
First experimental studies of the AB effect were carried out on
metallic rings.\cite{Was91} The next generation of rings were based on
GaAs/AlGaAs hetereostructures as in Refs.\ \onlinecite{MaiCB93} and
\onlinecite{YacHMS95} and had a circumference of $\sim 6000$nm and
$3000$nm, respectively. For such rings the magnitude of the excitonic
AB oscillations will be very small. However, quite recently much more
compact ring-shaped dots of InAs in GaAs with a circumference of $\sim
250$nm were demonstrated to exist.\cite{LorLFK99,LorLGK99} This was
achieved by modification of a standard growth procedure
\cite{LeoKRD93} used for the fabrication of arrays of self-assembled
InAs quantum dots in GaAs. Recent light absorption experiments on
nano-rings reveal an excitonic structure.\cite{PetWLK00} However, it
is much more advantageous to search for the AB oscillations proposed
in the present paper not in absorption, but in luminescence studies.
This is because near-field techniques developed in the last decade
allow to "see" a single quantum dot and thus avoid the inhomogeneous
broadening. This technique was applied to many structures containing
ensembles of quantum dots ({\em e.g.},
GaAs/AlGaAs,\cite{BruBAW92,BruABT94,BruABT94b,HesBHP94,ZreBHA94,BocRFH96,GamSSK96,GamSSK96b,GamBSK97,WegSAR97,BonEGP98}
ZnSe\cite{KumWBF98}). In particular, extremely narrow and temperature
insensitive (up to $50$K) luminescence lines from a single InAs
quantum dot in GaAs were recorded in Refs.\
\onlinecite{MarGIB94,GruCLB95,DekGES98}.
In conclusion, we have demonstrated the AB oscillations for a {\em
neutral} object. This constitutes the main qualitative difference
between our paper and previous considerations \cite{WenFC95} for two
interacting {\em electrons} on a ring. Lastly, we note that the
possibility of the related effect of Aharonov-Casher oscillations for
an exciton was considered previously in Ref.\ \onlinecite{KriK94}. The
underlying physics in Ref.\ \onlinecite{KriK94} is that even a {\em
zero-size} exciton having zero charge can still have a finite {\em
magnetic moment}.
Upon completion of this work we have been made aware of Ref.\
\onlinecite{Cha95} in which the underlying physics of the AB
oscillations of excitonic levels was uncovered. Although the
analytical approach employed in Ref.\ \onlinecite{Cha95} is different
from ours, the result obtained for the ground state energy is similar
to Eq.\ (\ref{eq-correction}).
\acknowledgements
This work was supported by the NSF-DAAD collaborative research grant
INT-9815194. MER was supported in part by NSF grant DMR | 5,281 |
Lorus is a full-range watch brand that was launched in Europe in 1982 by the Seiko Watch Corporation. The brand had a simple mission: to make low cost watches accessible to all without sacrificing style or technology. For over 30 years this mission has been a success, with more than <|fim_middle|>orus watches, with full warranty of the watch brand itself. All Lorus watches on Masters In Time are in stock. The watch you order will be shipped on working days. | 120 million watches sold worldwide. Lorus takes advantage of the watchmaking innovations that take place within the SEIKO Watch Corporation, and therefore is able to offer kinetic watches in its collections, along with other standard functions such as solar, digital, duo-display and alarm-chronographs. The Lorus collection offers watches for men, women and children with the most innovative designs that feature exceptional quality and great value for a fair price.
Masters In Time is official dealer of Lorus watches, Masters In Time therefore sells only original L | 108 |
Home » Psychology » Burnout: Are we there yet?
At his time of the year, many of us are in the "Are we there yet?" phase. I'd say the majority of my recent therapy referrals are affected in some way or another by burnout. A large percentage of my therapy practice are employee wellness referrals and I often wonder how the HR Managers are doing themselves when referring employees often in crisis, with family and work stress impacting on their work attendance and productivity. It's a heavy load for them to carry.
I was thrilled to see the work of Arianna Huffington (co-founder of Huffington Post) hitting our South African media last week after she spoke at the Discovery Leadership Summit in Johannesburg. As a past sufferer of burnout, Arianna is advocating for lifestyle changes in the crisis of stress and burnout. Her sleep revolution first gained recognition in her TEDWomen 2010 talk. Arianna believes that burnout leads people to walk through life like "zombies," missing out on creativity and opportunities, and failing to realise the meaning and purpose of life. Arianna says that multitasking is a myth, "You're either doing emails or listening to me. You can't do both." She encourages us to get more sleep and to have periods where we switch off from technology (especially at night). Essentially, we need to practice<|fim_middle|> hold off until Christmas to do the operation?! We never take our mental health as seriously as our physical health. They are so interlinked, you cannot ignore the one without the other being affected. Guess what – her team did cope without her. I'm sure she was missed and that they were relieved when she returned to work, but it taught my patient valuable lessons of the importance of self-care and reaching out for help.
You are not indispensable. Life will carry on when you take your much-needed break.
You cannot help others if you can't help yourself.
If you ignore the signs of burnout, it can lead to further psychological and physical problems.
Read Psychology Today's article on the signs of burnout and consider what small changes you can make now to prevent burnout and seek professional help if many of the symptoms resonate with you. If you have a history of depression and anxiety (or previous episodes of burnout) you're particularly vulnerable at this time of year.
And remember, WE'RE ALMOST THERE! | more mindfulness.
I recently saw a patient for burnout. When I initially suggested a week off and a complete digital detox, she was fearful of how her team would react and cope with her absence. I told her that if your appendix was about to burst, would you tell the surgeon to | 58 |
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Tony Lourakis is the founder and CEO of Fleet Complete, the fastest-growing telematics company in the world today. As Chief Executive Officer, he drives the company's vision and inspires various teams to achieve ambitious growth goals, while continuously innovating leading-edge software solutions. His leadership skills, along with his in-depth knowledge of software design, have been instrumental to Fleet Complete's current position as one of the global IoT industry leaders.
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With Tony's vision and strong leadership acumen, Fleet Complete has not only grown continuously since its inception, but has also ranked, year after year, on Profit 100 and 200, Deloitte Fast500, and Branham 300, among others.
Tony holds an Honours degree in Computer Science from Seneca College and has been recognized as one of Canada's best entrepreneurs, featured in numerous publications.
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In his spare time, David is an avid hockey coach and an active participant of the Art of Transition Business Transformation project.
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Well-known in the automotive industry's C-Suite circles as a thought leader, driving clarity in strategic thinking, Sandeep Kar brings unparalleled expertise and experience in propelling growth in global commercial vehicle ecosystems.
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Highly entrepreneurial, Cynthia believes she inherited that mindset from her father, who immigrated to Canada from the Netherlands and was able to jumpstart a successful business in the new country. Today, Cynthia ably balances her family and professional life, still playing ultimate frisbee and supporting her two sons in their hockey and soccer tournaments.
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On behalf of the entire team at Norwalk Dental Care®, let me welcome you to our practice. We are grateful that you have chosen us to meet your dental needs, and trust that you will find your experience in our office to be pleasant, professional, and extraordinary. You may discover that we are different from the average practice. When you visit our office you will find a unique and relaxing environment. Our team<|fim_middle|> assist us in making your transition to our office as smooth as possible. Please read each one carefully so that you can become familiar with our practice philosophy and policies. We are happy to answer questions you may have at any time.
Please download and complete the New Patient Forms, as this will be necessary prior to your first appointment at Norwalk Dental Care®. | is friendly and attentive. All of our treatment is designed to be comfortable, to be long lasting, and to exceed all your expectations. We use the latest technology and techniques our profession has to offer. Our greatest strength lies in the unequaled training in cosmetic and reconstructive dentistry we have received. It is for these simple reasons that "We care about your care".
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Cavs<|fim_middle|> an average of $5,244, is the most valuable shoe available for retail.
Cleveland Cavaliers Culture Dan Gilbert Glenn Erby Latest LeBron James Money NBA Nike Sneakers Style | Owner Dan Gilbert Invests in Site That Tracks Sneaker Resale Value
His star player has been a sneaker giant since he first stepped foot into the NBA, so it makes some sense.
Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert and his venture capital firm have hopped into the lucrative sneaker collector's industry, investing in Campless, a website that tracks sneaker values on the resale market.
Darren Rovell of ESPN.com has more:
Campless.com, a website that tracks the resale value of sneakers, has received a "significant" investment from Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert's venture capital firm, Detroit Venture Partners.
Financial details of the investment were not disclosed.
The website, established in 2012, takes public data from what Campless estimates to be a $6 billion sneaker resale market from sales on sites like eBay and crunches the numbers to establish the true value of the most popular athletic shoes. So far the site has analyzed more than 21 million auctions and tracked more than 1,750 of the most coveted sneakers.
Campless is pretty solid with their valuations, and some of their work includes finding the most expensive shoe in retail, which is the Air Jordan 4 retro UNDFTD, which is worth more than $20,000.
The LeBron 4 "Fruity Pebbles" and the Nike Air Mag "Back To The Future" are the only other shoes worth more than $6,000 apiece, but were limited-edition shoes that never were available to the public.
According to Campless, the Nike SB Low Staple "NYC Pigeon," which was released in 2005 for $200 and today sells for | 355 |
Tag: Ain't No Sunshine
Those We Have Lost in 2020 – RIP Kenny, Bill, John and Richard
Because this year has been one like no other, my blogging has changed tack and I have not been keeping up with the sad roll call of people we have lost from the world of music. It is almost inevitable that many of them would have been written about here before, as most were elder statesmen of their particular genres, but time to pay special tribute I think.
My very first post of this year led me back to the chart music of 1970, and at the top spot was Mr Kenny Rogers with his excellent story song Ruby, Don't Take Your Love To Town. I am not however really that familiar with the First Edition era of Kenny's career. The Kenny I am more familiar with was his late '70s persona which gave us the hits Lucille, The Gambler and Coward of the County. Like Ruby these were<|fim_middle|> hope John is up there right now, sitting with Kenny and Bill, enjoying that cocktail and extremely long cigarette!
When I Get To Heaven by John Prine:
https://jukeboxtimemachine.files.wordpress.com/2018/10/10-when-i-get-to-heaven.mp3
Last but most definitely not least, on the 9th May we lost the artist known best to us as Little Richard. I can't pretend to know that much about Mr Penniman, as he was a bit before my time, but I do know he was an influential figure in popular music, often nicknamed The Innovator, The Originator, or The Architect of Rock and Roll. His best known work dates back to the mid-1950s, when his charismatic showmanship, dynamic music and frenetic piano playing laid the foundation for rock and roll. He influenced numerous singers and musicians across musical genres from rock to hip hop and in a line-up he would have been easily recognisable because of his pompadour hairstyle.
Tutti Frutti became an instant first hit for him in 1955 but as we started off with Kenny Rogers, and mentioned his song Lucille, I think I'll come full circle and end with Little Richard's song of the same name. Lucille became a big hit for him in 1957 but he then abandoned rock and roll for born again Christianity. When he was persuaded to tour Europe in 1962, the Beatles opened for him and Richard even advised them on how to perform his songs. He is cited as one of the first crossover black artists, and his music and concerts broke down barriers, drawing blacks and whites together despite attempts to sustain segregation. How sad therefore to see what is going on right now as I type, 60 years on.
Until next time, RIP Kenny, Bill, John and Richard, you will not be forgotten.
When I Get To Heaven Lyrics
(Song by John Prine)
When I get to heaven, I'm gonna shake God's hand
Thank him for more blessings than one man can stand
Then I'm gonna get a guitar and start a rock-n-roll band
Check into a swell hotel, ain't the afterlife grand?
And then I'm gonna get a cocktail: vodka and ginger ale
Yeah, I'm gonna smoke a cigarette that's nine miles long
I'm gonna kiss that pretty girl on the tilt-a-whirl
'Cause this old man is goin' to town
Then as God as my witness, I'm gettin' back into show business
I'm gonna open up a nightclub called "The Tree of Forgiveness"
And forgive everybody ever done me any harm
Well, I might even invite a few choice critics, those syph'litic parasitics
Buy 'em a pint of Smithwick's and smother 'em with my charm
'Cause then I'm gonna get a cocktail: vodka and ginger ale
Yeah I'm gonna smoke a cigarette that's nine miles long
Yeah this old man is goin' to town
Yeah when I get to heaven, I'm gonna take that wristwatch off my arm
What are you gonna do with time after you've bought the farm?
And I always will remember these words my daddy said
He said, "Buddy, when you're dead, you're a dead pecker-head"
I hope to prove him wrong… that is, when I get to heaven
'Cause I'm gonna have a cocktail: vodka and ginger ale
Author AlysonPosted on June 2, 2020 June 4, 2020 Categories 1950s songs, 1970s songs, 2010s songs, Country, RIP 2020, Songs from Richard Curtis MoviesTags Ain't No Sunshine, Bill Withers, John Prine, Kenny Rogers, Little Richard, Lucille, The Gambler, When I Get To Heaven6 Comments on Those We Have Lost in 2020 – RIP Kenny, Bill, John and Richard
The Bee Gees, Al Green and "How Can You Mend A Broken Heart" | all very much story songs and their lyrics have given us some great lines which are often quoted. After the news of his death on March the 20th, just ahead of all the upheaval and distress caused by the pandemic, there were many who noted that Kenny had followed the advice within his signature song:
You've got to know when to hold 'em
Know when to fold 'em
Ten days after the death of Kenny Rogers, news came through that we had also lost Bill Withers. Last summer, after a particularly lovely day out I shared many pictures in a blog post, so the obvious accompanying song choice was Bill's 1977 song Lovely Day. To be honest I hadn't realised until that point just how respected Bill had been in the music world, having won three Grammy Awards and been nominated for six more. His life was even the subject of a 2009 documentary film called Still Bill. Quite something considering he worked as a professional musician for just 15 years, from 1970 to 1985, after which he moved on to other occupations.
Bill Withers, 1938-2020
My Bill song choice is going to have to be this one however, Ain't No Sunshine. They're not for everyone I know, but I am a bit of a fan of Richard Curtis movies, and the song certainly fitted a particularly poignant scene in the film Notting Hill very well – Poor old lovelorn Hugh Grant straddles all four seasons whilst he walks through the market with Bill's song playing the background [spoiler alert: all turns out well in the end].
Ain't No Sunshine by Bill Withers:
https://jukeboxtimemachine.files.wordpress.com/2020/06/08-aint-no-sunshine.mp3
A week after the death of Bill, we heard of the sad loss of John Prine. John was someone I only discovered since starting this blog, and when I accidentally came across his song When I Get To Heaven one evening when on my way to visit my mum in hospital, I got a bit emotional, all because of these lines of lyric:
And then I'm gonna go find my mom and dad, and good old brother Doug
Well I bet him and cousin Jackie are still cuttin' up a rug
I wanna see all my mama's sisters, 'cause that's where all the love starts
I miss 'em all like crazy, bless their little hearts
Yes, there was nothing more I wanted than to go find my dad who had died 15 years earlier, and ask for his advice on decisions that were going to have to be made. Listening to the song, even us non-believers are almost prepared to be converted, as there is a definite party atmosphere going on. John Prine had apparently been treated for cancer twice, and it was after his second bout that he wrote the song about some of the things he had to give up following his illness. Here is a quote: "I wrote that song because I figured there's no cancer in heaven. So when I get up there, I'm going to have a cocktail and a cigarette that's 9 miles long. That's my idea of what heaven is like."
I | 675 |
REGULATION AND LEGISLATION
SEC chairman says he's not ready to force arbitration
Hazel Bradford
Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Jay Clayton
Barring investor lawsuits is not on his radar, SEC Chairman Jay Clayton told a Senate panel Tuesday.
During a hearing on cryptocurrency held by the Senate Banking Committee, Mr. Clayton was questioned by Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., over a news report that the Securities and Exchange Commission was considering allowing companies to prevent investors from filing class-action lawsuits by requiring arbitration instead.
Asked whether he would support what Ms. Warren said would be an "enormous change," Mr. Clayton said that while he could not dictate whether the issue<|fim_middle|> clarity to that, without jeopardizing investor protection. (The current system) is a combination of an insufficient standard in some places, a lack of clarity and also, the standard is only as good as the remedy," Mr. Clayton said.
Trump's SEC mulls big gift to companies: blocking investor suits
Securities class-action lawsuits set record in 2017, report finds
Commentary: Trump administration could block investor access to courts
SEC exams to focus on retirement savers, markets
When Trump's SEC punishes Wall Street, it's often done quietly
SEC commissioner calls for curb on dual-class 'forever' shares
SEC Chairman Jay Clayton outlines goals for a new fiduciary standard
Commentary: SEC is proving it can be both cop and counselor
Six state treasurers urge SEC against forced arbitration clauses
Investors hail SEC guidelines on exchanges
Standards-of-conduct rules approved along party lines
SEC passes Reg BI package by 3-1 vote | comes before the Securities and Exchange Commission, he is "not anxious to see a change in this area."
"If this issue were to come up before the agency, it would take a long time for it to be decided, because it would be the subject of a great deal of debate. In terms of where we can do better, this is not an area that is on my list of where we could do better," Mr. Clayton told the committee.
Ms. Warren also pressed the SEC chairman on his plans for a fiduciary standard that would be separate from one already issued by the Department of Labor. On June 1, 2017, the SEC issued a request for information to consider promulgating its own rules. Noting that there are five regulators with some degree of oversight of retirement investments, Mr. Clayton said, "My main objective is to bring | 176 |
Thank You to PCC's Student Interns Neil and Andrew!
Student interns Andrew and Neil
PCC would like to extend our deepest gratitude to our student interns, Neil Santos and Andrew Calderon. During the 2022 Fall Semester, Neil and Andrew have supported PCC's projects and activities, using their skills to provide tech support during seminars, creating posters and promotional material, and attending meetings. Their support and knowledge have been invaluable assets to PCC and we would like to take this opportunity to share more about them.
Neil Santos
Neil Santos is currently a student at the University of Ottawa pursuing his Bachelor's Degree and exploring different areas of study. He has significant volunteer experience, having led the English as Second Language Club as<|fim_middle|> their next steps. | a student at St. Pius X High School here in Ottawa. Throughout university, Neil has participated in a two-week volunteer experience in Costa Rica, and is currently attending the Building Young Entrepreneurs (B.Y.E.) Program with the United Nations Association in Canada. Neil has summarized his experience with PCC saying, "My experience with PCC was truly an unforgettable journey, filled with exciting projects and remarkable people."
Andrew Calderon grew up in the Greater Toronto Area. He is on his way to receiving his Honours BSc in Cellular and Molecular Biology at the University of Ottawa. In addition to his volunteer work with PCC, Andrew works as an undergraduate researcher at the University of Ottawa's Harris Lab, is the captain of an intramural
Andrew Calderon
soccer team, and is the VP Logistics of the Health Sciences Networking Association. He also has a black belt in Karate. Of his PCC experience, Andrew said "PCC provided me with many career-developing opportunities which were far beyond my expectations."
Please join PCC in celebrating the contributions of these two hard-working and talented students. We are eager to see their growth and success as they continue their studies and pursue | 241 |
Sometimes it doesn't pay to market research your upcoming products to death, according to Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes.
When deciding what new video services to launch, Bewkes looks at consumer interest in an area and the depth of the intellectual property Time Warner owns, he said at Variety's Tech and Entertainment Summit in New York on Tuesday<|fim_middle|> any of them," he continued. "I never did." And Bewkes has a pretty amazing track record.
As to whether we are heading toward a ceiling in the amount of premium video people want to watch, Bewkes doesn't think so, he said.
"Production is chasing demand," he explained. He went on to say that he thinks we are in the "early stages of continued expansion" of video. "I'm not concerned." | .
But one thing he doesn't do is a ton of market testing. "We don't really do it that way," Bewkes said. They do a bit to refine the service, but it's not a huge focus. The problem is that you can ask someone whether they'd like a thing they've never seen before, and you'll get all kinds of answers, Bewkes said.
"I wouldn't rely on | 84 |
Bill Beck has more than 35 years of experience as a trial lawyer. Bill's national practice consists of trials, arbitrations, administrative proceedings, mediations and negotiations to resolve high stakes, technical, complex<|fim_middle|> and state Superfund sites in more than 25 states. Bill has special proficiency in operator allocation, transporter liability and allocation, municipal solid waste liability and allocation, successor liability, orphan share and natural resource damages issues.
Bill is a former member of the firm's Executive Committee. | disputes involving environmental liability and insurance coverage.
Toxic Tort. Bill is particularly experienced in defending major toxic tort litigation, including both mass actions and class actions. His key wins include summary judgments and voluntary dismissals of a large group of high-profile, Erin Brockovich-created, hexavalent chromium exposure class actions, mass actions and individual suits; defense verdicts in a five-week groundwater jury trial and a complex odor trial; the nominal mass settlement of a 2,000-plaintiff groundwater and air case; and defeating class certification on pleadings alone. He reached and implemented some of the most challenging and controversial class settlements in recent times. Bill is presently defending numerous complex putative class actions, mass actions and individual toxic tort and odor nuisance cases in New York, South Carolina, Alabama, Georgia, Illinois, Missouri and California. Bill is comfortable and experienced cross-examining and developing experts in technical fields such as epidemiology, risk assessment, molecular biology and carcinogenesis, air dispersion modeling, groundwater modeling, geotechnical engineering and analytical chemistry.
Insurance Coverage. Bill has been lead counsel for plaintiffs prosecuting environmental insurance coverage and bad faith lawsuits and claims involving more than 450 sites and the laws of more than 40 states. Bill's insurance coverage team has experience in insurance archaeology, policy analysis, charting, allocation, claim development, settlement negotiations, coverage litigation, and alternative coverage dispute resolution. Together with Barry Scheck and Peter Neufeld, Bill represents innocent people who have been wrongfully imprisoned in obtaining compensation via law enforcement liability and other insurance, working nationally to establish cutting edge coverage theories. Bill has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars from insurers.
Superfund. Bill has defended companies against major environmental liabilities for decades, including more than 80 federal | 359 |
Ella's Room Is Finally Completed!!!
After months and months of being on back order the final touches to Ella's room arrived in the mail a week or so ago. Ga-Ga had ordered these for Ella's room....in January I think. They were so loved by so many people they were completely out of stock. It was worth the wait. I love how whimsical it makes her room feel! And as I'm sure you can imagine she is absolutely in love with them.
Last Thursday and Friday the boys were both out of school due to Student Led Conferences. Because of this Michael thought it would be nice if he took a half day off work so we could go hiking. The weather was so gorgeous we definitely wanted to take advantage of it.
We had been playing around with where to go....Tiger Mountain, Snake Lake. Owen wanted to climb a real mountain so we ended up choosing Little Mt. Si. I have not climbed Little Mt. Si since probably 2004 when we were up there with our friends Micah and Kim. I don't remember much about the trip except I think I lost the cover to where the batteries go on my camera...I found it on the way down and the fact that I seriously thought my heart was going to beat out of my chest. I was not in very good shape then...I sat at a computer for 8 hours a day! This time around I'm in such better shape....who said that homemakers sit around and do nothing all day!
One of the main reason we choose this hike was because it would be a good indicator as to how far the bigger kids could go. It was almost 5 miles round trip and let me tell you they ROCKED IT!!! Ella was the one that needed to stop the most for a rest. She would sit on a rock or a log for a minute or two and then start again. I was so proud of them all! Even people on the trail were cheering them on.
Zeke had the easiest day! Being lugged around in a pack is a cake walk. Although every time Michael did sit down for a minute and start breathing deeply Zeke would start mimicking him....as if HE was doing the work! That kid!!!
The weather was perfect...just warm enough to not need a coat on, but not hot enough to sweat you out! One thing I need to remember next time is to bring tissues. For some reason when I hike my nose becomes a faucet and starts dripping like crazy...super annoying!
Owen kept spotting all kinds of caves...aka leaning rocks...that he just wanted to go in. We were a little freaked about that so no thank you!
This girl is one tough chick!
Me and my sweaty self! See those awesome pink shoes! My Aunt Linda gave me those when we were back in Wyoming for my Grandma's funeral....those pair of shoes and tons more! These shoes are simply the best! They are Merrell's and they have made working out, walking around the neighborhood and hiking so much better. I love them!!!
And here's the view from the top! It took us about an hour and half to reach the top. Not bad really! We sat around on the top for a little bit and then headed down. A little ways from the top Owen realized he left his fleece pull over at the summit. We told him that was something he should have been responsible for. A while later I saw a lady with a boy about Owen's age so I told her when they got to the top if it was still there that she could take it for her son. About 10 minutes or so later we stopped for a rest at a creek and I reached into my back pocket to take a picture with my phone and there was NO PHONE!!!! I literally jumped around and around I was so mad at myself! When I stopped and regained my composure I asked Michael for his phone and then called mine with it. A nice lady answered and I told her she had my phone. She was still at the summit. So Michael gave Zeke to me to wear....I seriously have no idea how he carried him up that mountain...and then he headed back up. I walked the half and hour that was left of the trail with all four kids. Then I got them settled in the van with snacks and a movie while we waited for Daddy. He actually made really great time and was down way faster than I thought he would have been. Not only did he have my phone, but he also had Owen's pull over fleece. I felt so bad that he had to do that, but it was just more proof that he's the most awesome husband ever!!!
I've been thinking about this post for a while now and I'm just gonna type. I remember when Michael first lost his job it was so humbling having to accept help from others and from the state.
Side note...we are almost completely off state assistance....isn't that the goal! Zeke still receives WIC and the kids have state medical as their secondary medical insurance and the boys get free lunch at school. Those couple things are still so very helpful right now, but we are so happy we've come far enough to not need EBT. It was fantastic when we had it, but I love that we can now "stand on our own two feet" per se! I remember when the guy at DSHS had to tell me that we were no longer going to be receiving EBT. He seriously looked scared to tell me. Like I was going to rip his head off or something. It's sad that he is used to that type of response. He looked at me like I had two heads when I said...."Okay that's great!" That was the goal we were working towards from the moment we went on state assistance.
From that humbling experience I learned a very important lesson. If someone wants to give you something, do something for you or buy you something whether it's the gift of food, clothes, dropping something off for you so you don't have to use your own gas, watching your kids or the awesome priceless gift of time....just smile and say, "thank you!"
I know it's hard to receive a gift like that especially if you are so used to taking care of yourself or if you feel like you would be putting someone out, but for the most part people wouldn't say they wanted to do something if they didn't want to do it. Now they might not be jumping for joy or anything, but that's not the point they offered so take them up on it. If they are the kind of person that says stuff and doesn't actually mean it then they will figure out really quick that they should be careful with their words.
The blessing of someone saying, "Yes....I'll watch the kids for you" or "Oh sure I can drop that off at the library" isn't necessarily all about you! Yes they are blessing you, but they are also receiving a blessing as well. And if you deny them that, by saying, "No that's okay I can take the kids the with me" or "No I'll just drop it off tomorrow" then they are missing out on something great! I'm not saying it isn't blessing you as well, but it truly is a two way street.
I absolutely love blessing people with these types of things especially watching other peoples kids. I'm not saying that watching other peoples kids is my favorite thing to do, but knowing that I'm blessing another mom with time is so worth it! Most of the time when I do watch other peoples kids it ends up being a blessing to me in regards to my own kids. They get to play and have fun and seriously sometimes I barely see the kids they are playing so well. I've always said it's easier the more you have! I've also been on the receiving end of this so many times and it truly is priceless. To be able to sit at the doctors office and not have to try to entertain 2, 3 or even 4 kiddos in an 8' X 8' exam room is such a blessing. Or to be able to go out to dinner with my husband and not talk about kids or responsibilities or even if we do talk about those things at least not be interrupted 500 times by children....oh man that is so wonderful!
My Pastor did a sermon just yesterday about how the body of Christ is supposed to come along side each other in community with one another. Now that doesn't mean that I need to actually live in your community. It does make it easier, but as believers we are all brothers and sisters in Christ. We are supposed to be the hands and feet of Jesus. We are supposed to see a need and help. Now you might not be the person to be able to help with a particular need....I wouldn't know how to fix a clogged up sink, but I certainly know someone that can. Jesus came as a servant and we are supposed to be servants too. I love serving....it's just part of who I am. I would say yes a million times and then I'd run myself into the ground so I do have to be wise about what I say yes to, but I love to serve. I know that there are personalities that don't love to serve, but God has called all of us in our way to serve.
My point is when someone...your friend, your neighbor, your mom, your husband, your brother, a newcomer at your church...anyone offers to bless you....smile and say, "thank you!" The blessing is for you and them so don't deny them that!
Our last weekday of spring break I wanted to get out and explore. I had plans with a friend to go up to Mount Rainier with the kids, but things changed and they weren't able to make it. I did not want to go up to the mountain by myself with 4 kids so a change of plans was in order. I remembered that I had pinned a website that listed 10 different kid friendly hikes in the Puget Sound so I brought those up and found one that went around Snake Lake in Tacoma. I had never even heard of Snake Lake, but it sounded like it wouldn't be too challenging. I invited the neighbor boys to go with us so we had an almost full van. Me with 6 kids...a few years ago I would have thought a mom<|fim_middle|> as they get older.
They helped me with the bed near the driveway and then they played with the neighbor kids while I filled in the bed under our stairs in the backyard.
Michael came home and added a little bit more since I didn't make it thick enough, but it was nice that he didn't have to do the whole thing by himself. The front bed looks so much better now. There is still a bunch more work to do! It's fun to the progress as we go though.
Riverview Community Church Easter Egg Hunt! | would be crazy for taking out 6 kids by herself, but now it seems so easy for me! I know that I will look back and miss the baby phase, but this older kid phase is pretty awesome too!
To get there I put in Snake Lake on my phone and it told me our destination was on the freeway. I love GPS...said with the utmost sarcasm. So I pulled off the freeway and put in The Tacoma Nature Center and that got us there.
The trail starts out straight and flat.
Of course little man had lots of energy to begin with.
We took a detour off the path a little to see if we could find some turtles.
The first bridge across the lake.
The lake is more of a pond with lots of lily pads....we weren't looking to go swimming or anything so that didn't bother us.
The kids wanted to really go on an adventure so instead of taking the shorter more easy path we went up the switch backs.
If you zoom in on this picture you will see that Zeke is in full out break down mode. He wanted me to carry him most of the way. At one point I was carrying him on my back and he was freaking out and then I put him down and was waiting for his temper tantrum to pass when he finally told me he had to pee. So he peed into a tree and I was hoping that would lighten his mood, but no such luck. I definitely should have brought the pack to carry him in.
I had the older kids pose like this tree was a scary hand come to get them.
We finally made it to the second bridge and crossed back over to the flat side. On the way to the van we saw this pretty bird.
Ella had something stuck in her shoe so at the next bench the kids took a break. I got a cute, happy picture with Zeke. Side note...the coat I'm wearing is the one Ella convinced me to buy at Costco.
Chillin' out and relaxin' all cool!
100 points go to the person who can tell me which TV show that line comes from.
Once we got back to the van we got out our snacks and went across the parking lot to the Discovery Pond playarea to eat and play some more.
He was so much more happy after getting a little food in his tummy!
This area reminded me a miniature version of the Disney California Adventure Challenge Trail. It was way cool. The kids especially loved this slide. It was a log and was lined with metal sheeting so they flew down it.
At the top of this waterfall was an old hand pump.
Here's the top of the water fall.
The kids kept lining up like a train to go down the slide...now that brings back memories!
I challenged Jack to climb up this log.
Zeke decided he'd get to the top as well...he'd just use the stairs though.
We conquered! Actually a few minutes later Zeke climbed up the log as well. I just didn't get pictures because I was too busy holding onto him!
Dominic and Donald climbed up the inside of this hollowed out log.
After a while Zeke disappeared and I looked over and saw him and Donald chilling out snacking some more. I love that the neighbor boys love to include Zeke and don't feel like he's the annoying little brother.
Here is a panoramic view of the park. It was great fun and I will absolutely be bringing the kids back here this summer. I'll definitely be wearing Zeke in the Kelty though!
Even though we snacked the kids were still hungry so we stopped at MCD's and got some cheeseburgers and chicken nuggets. Don't worry we were stopped in heavy traffic on HWY 16 when I took this picture. It was a great 4 hour adventure that topped off spring break on a good note!
I know I might sound crazy, but I absolutely LOVE having my kids home. I'm never in any hurry for winter, spring or summer break to be over. I just want them home and I want to have fun with them. Not saying that they don't drive me bonkers some times, but I just want to enjoy this time while they are little. It's such a precious time!
Thursday night of spring break was my date night with Ella. We went to Costco as well. I had to stop at the Eye Care Center again....post to follow. Then she chose a Berry Smoothie to drink while we shopped. I just had to get a few things, but you know Costco sized stuff means you have to get a cart even if you're just getting two or three things.
Since it was just the two of us and I wasn't in a hurry we took some time to check out the clothes. I usually never do that, but Michael is in need of some jeans. I ended up buying him a pair, but he wasn't impressed with the way they felt. He said they felt like cheap jeans. So I'll be taking those back! I found a cute pink jacket and was contemplating buying it. Ella just kept saying..."buy it". I had to figure out how much money I had left in the clothing budget. I was only $3 short. I did have my own personal money I could chip in, but I still wasn't sure. Then I heard Ella again say, "just buy it" and it occurred to me that she's me! I do the exact same thing when I go shopping with my mom. She'll find something she loves and then talk herself out of buying it while I sit there and say over and over again..."just buy it". So I decided to buy it!
Ella and I get to go out all the time by ourselves so it's more normal for her and I. We didn't go to a thrift store because we went to Lollipops earlier in the day and she got to buy a Typewriter and a Barbie horse. It was nice to have special alone time with her and she was so excited to go on a "date" with me. I love that girl!
That's A Bunch Of Bark!
It's been a while since we've ordered anything from Carpinito Brother's...we love to have dump trucks come to our house. When planning for our home improvements for the year we decided to order 10 yards of bark. The weeds just got out of hand last year...especially in the area where we had the tree cut down. We are hoping this will help with that!
We kept putting off ordering the bark because of weather or due to our schedule being so full. It just worked out that the truck came during the middle of spring break. I'm so happy that we ordered it then because the bigger boys got to see it. They loves this kind of stuff. Who doesn't!
We've had many many dump trucks come down the easement....seriously I didn't know how priceless this easement would be when we bought the house.
It freaks me out every time they come down though...I'm sure they are going to take out our neighbors chimney, but those drivers sure know what they are doing!
The boys said...."Ewww...it stinks" to which I replied...."I love the smell of bark in the mornng!"
It doesn't look like much since I'm standing on the deck, but the top of the mound came up to my neck.
Later that afternoon I put the boys to work shoveling bark into the wheelbarrow. I had promised to help Michael do that later in the evening, but my friend Kim was coming over with her kids so I knew I wouldn't be able to. I still wanted to contribute and it was nice to have the boys helping me.
Eventually the neighbor boys came out to help as well so I had 5 boys helping out. I loved it!
The boys mainly filled the wheelbarrows and then I dumped the bark and spread it around.
Jack looks totally thrilled here! The kids did great and really never complained. My how things change | 1,648 |
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Our Keppel Street building was officially opened on 18th July 1929, by HRH the Prince of Wales. It was listed as Grade II in the 1980s.
The headstone above the Keppel Street entrance shows two Greek gods associated with health, Apollo and Artemis, in a horse-drawn chariot with a fruitful date palm to indicate the tropical | 206 |
Combining firming skincare with microneedling can increase the anti-ageing benefits by up to 200%. This unique reverse emulsion body butter soaks into the skin to keep it<|fim_middle|> day long.
What's more, the Advanced LipoCare formula takes inspiration from clinical concentrations to tackle dimples across the skin and promote an even texture after just one use.
The cream has also been infused with rich emollients that gradually condition the upper and lower layers within the skin to boost the natural healing process.
Following clinical studies, 100% of participants felt their skin looked visibly firmer, and 97% said their skin looked younger too. | feeling soft and thoroughly hydrated all day long.
Packed with soothing ingredients such as organic green tea and aloe vera this rich formula relaxes and enhances all at once.
Designed for use on all skin types, The Sculptor is an essential way to boost your daily body firming routine.
The cashmere silk formula has been specifically engineered with an innovative reverse emulsion body butter technology, boosting your skin's hydration all | 83 |
Dying Light review
By Christopher Livingston published 30 January 15
Despite a clunky story and technical performance, there's a lot of fun to be found in dashing and dodging through a zombie-filled city.
What is it? First-person open world zombie survival
Influenced by: The Far Cry and Assassin's Creed series, Left 4 Dead, Mirror's Edge
Price: $60/£40
Release date: Out now
Publisher: Techland
Developer: Techland
Multiplayer: 4 player co-op and competitive modes
Copy protection: Steam
Link: Official Site
Like its hero, the wall-climbing, sewer-spelunking, city-hopping Kyle Crane, Dying Light has its ups and downs and is kind of all over the map. Techland, creator of the Dead Island series, takes elements from a number of games—especially the Far Cry series—and mashes them together in its open world first-person zombie shooter. It's an uneven mix, bookended by a slow start and an exasperating finish, not to mention a few troubling performance issues, but in the middle lies a sweet spot that provides hours of satisfying, zombie-stomping fun.
Kyle Crane, a secret government operative, has been sent to the city of Harran to retrieve critical data about a virus that's turned most of the population into zombies. Crane, after immediately botching his mission and getting bitten, falls in with a selfless group of survivors, contends with a vicious warlord bent on controlling the medicine supply, and takes orders from an agency superior who would prefer to simply napalm the entire mess. Who will Crane ultimately pledge loyalty to? I wonder.
Crane, despite being what I assumed was a top physical specimen, initially can't run for long<|fim_middle|> zeds occupied.
The true test to find out if zombies feel pain.
Nice to meet you. Now please shut up.
I'll drop my stick if you'll put down, uh... both of your arms and legs. Fair?
Christopher Livingston
Chris started playing PC games in the 1980s, started writing about them in the early 2000s, and (finally) started getting paid to write about them in the late 2000s. Following a few years as a regular freelancer, PC Gamer hired him in 2014, probably so he'd stop emailing them asking for more work. Chris has a love-hate relationship with survival games and an unhealthy fascination with the inner lives of NPCs. He's also a fan of offbeat simulation games, mods, and ignoring storylines in RPGs so he can make up his own.
Best CPU air coolers
Best external SSD for gaming on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X | before slowing and gasping, and can only swing a melee weapon a few times before running out of stamina, which resulted in a slow and awkward first few hours of play. Weapons, at first, are limited to pipes, wrenches, small knives, or sticks of wood, all of which do little damage to zombies and need frequent repair before falling apart completely. The melee combat itself is a bit wonky: sometimes you'll score a staggering hit or grisly decapitation and win your fight instantly. Sometimes you'll just have to spam the mouse until you run out of stamina or your enemy falls. It doesn't feel like precise aiming helps: I've tried very hard to land my strikes perfectly, but the harmless glancing blows and devastating skull-crushers feel like they're randomly determined.
Weaponize yourself
Blueprints can be found or purchased, letting you craft upgrades to electrify pipes, sharpen or poison knives, add nails to a baseball bats, and otherwise beef up your attacks, and better weapons like swords and axes slowly begin to appear as you progress. Flipping through menus to craft gear tends to slow things down a bit, though provided you don't play in marathon stretches like I did, it may not be as tiresome as it eventually felt. It takes hours of play to even get your hands on a gun, and the relief of finally having a firearm somewhat defuses the issue of there being only a couple of pistols, two types of rifles, and a double-barrel shotgun.
Your best weapon is Crane's slowly improving agility coupled with a city perfectly built for climbing and roof-running. Once you get the hang of leaping and climbing and realize that nearly everything in the city that looks like it can be climbed can be climbed, Dying Light opens up and becomes a fun, zombie-infested playground. Techland has done a great job with the running, jumping, climbing, and clambering—zipping up the sides of buildings, sprinting across rooftops, and dodging and dashing through the crowded streets becomes real fun, an instinctive and exciting way to travel.
Skill points are doled out slowly and individually as you play and there's lots to spend them on. The vaulting skill is a useful one: while dashing through the streets you can plant your foot right on a zombie's face and launch yourself over it, leaving it in the dust. A related skill can also stun your targets as you leap off them, so you can land, turn, and bash your wobbling enemy's skull in. A fun, flying, two-footed kick can stagger enemies or knock them off perches, and a sliding kick can shatter a zed's legs. Despite finishing the main story I've still only unlocked about half of the skills available, and uber-skills like stealth kills and the ability to use a grappling hook come very late in the game. The result is a well-paced, gradual increase in skills and a character who markedly improves but never feels like some sort demigod placed on earth to smite zombies.
The complete difference between daytime and nighttime in Harran is remarkable.
Right, zombies! They come in a few flavors. Mostly, they're slow, shambling types, clogging the surface streets and bridges, lurking in buildings and alleys, and occasionally staggering around on rooftops, providing amusement as they flop off ledges or over balconies while mindlessly trying to follow you. There are also specials: huge, durable brutes who swing clubs or hurl hunks of concrete, spitters who barf slime from a distance, bloated blobs who scream and explode, and a handful of freshly-infected citizens who haven't lost their mobility and can still sprint and climb. Distracting them, rather than fighting them, is often the best move; firecrackers will divert zombies for the few important seconds needed to pick a lock (in a Skyrim-style minigame) or force open a door, and the city is littered with other traps like cars rigged to explode and puddles of water that can be electrified. The zombies' attraction to noise is a double-edged sword, of course. Shooting or using grenades is quick and effective, but can draw an overwhelming crowd.
When night falls, the zombie game changes entirely. A new breed of zombie called Volatiles appears, and suddenly Crane is no longer the fastest thing on two legs in Harran. The Volatiles prowl the pitch-black city, and if you wander into their vision cones they pursue you at a lightning-fast pace while screeching to attract other zombies. You can set off traps or distract them while fleeing, but a single stumble usually results in a quick and brutal death. The complete difference between daytime and nighttime in Harran is remarkable, and I always find the approach of night to be genuinely panic-inducing as I hurriedly sprint for the nearest safe zone before the sun goes down. You're occasionally forced to do missions at night, but otherwise you can advance the clock to morning by sleeping in a bed.
Bright frights, big city
Harran itself is peppered with stuff to do, much of it familiar from other open world games. In addition to lengthy story missions, there are multipart side-quests, looting and scavenging expeditions, random encounters with hostile thugs or boss zombies, airdrop recoveries, citizen rescues, hunts for collectibles, securing safehouses, and a few timed challenges. It's all pretty standard open world fare and easily ignored when you're headed to a mission, but if you're just out for a run you'll always find something happening nearby.
As for the story itself, it's a bit of a clunker as Crane, supposedly torn between his loyalties, grapples unconvincingly with his conscience despite very obviously being a complete Boy Scout. Characters are both familiar and forgettable: the reckless kid, the reluctant leader, the soullessly pragmatic government agent, and an assortment of helpless or nefarious NPCs. Of course, there's the evil boss who executes his henchman for minor infractions and taunts you over loudspeakers as you infiltrate his headquarters. At one point, after you slip from his clutches because he wanted to deliver yet another monologue instead of just killing you, he even raises his face to the sky and howls "Craaaaaaane!" Classic.
Considering the formulaic story and the uninteresting characters telling it, I appreciate that Techland let me skip through cutscenes and speed up conversations by tapping the spacebar. That said, Dying Light also contains a series of my personal gaming no-nos. I was stripped of all my carefully collected and crafted weapons and dropped into an deathmatch arena not once but twice. There's no manual or quick saves, only checkpoints, and while they worked reasonably well for most of the game they were mostly absent for the final story mission in a cheap attempt to make the endgame more challenging. A lengthy dream/hallucination sequence, shamelessly ripped from Dishonored's Outsider sequences, slowed my movement to a crawl to forced me to listen to some truly terrible voiceovers. Finally, it made me engage in a stupid QTE-based knife fight with a boss when I had a full load of guns, grenades, and molotov cocktails stuffed in my pants.
performance and settings
Reviewed on: Windows 7, Intel i7 x980 3.33 GHz, 9 GB RAM, Nvidia GeForce GTX 960.
Play it on: Intel i5-4670K 3.4 GHz/AMD FX-8350 4.0 GHz, 8 GB RAM, Nvidia GeForce GTX 780/AMD Radeon R9 290
Variable framerate: Yes
Anti-aliasing: Only on/off
FOV slider: Yes
Misc. gfx options: motion blur / DOF / Ambient Occlusion / Nvidia HBAO+
Remappable controls: Yes for keyboard/mouse, controllers use presets
Gamepad support: Yes
My PC hovers closer to the 'minimum required' end of the specs, and after some very smooth intro missions I was only averaging about 25-35 FPS when turned loose in the city. Turning down my view distance slider helped (and didn't particularly affect the way the game looked other than some occasional late texture pop-ins), and turning off vsync was also necessary. After that, I would generally hover between 50 and 70 FPS, though I regularly experienced sudden framerate dips and drops that didn't seem connected to anything in particular.
Infect your friends
I played a couple hours of co-op, which allows friends to drop in and out of each others' games, team up for missions, engage in competitive challenges, or just run around and bash zombies together. It was fun, though my co-op partner and I both experienced some very heavy lag at various times. I also tried out a couple sessions of the multiplayer Be The Zombie mode, which pits a group of human survivors against a player-controlled uber-zombie who stalks them through the city, but it just feels like a half-baked version of Left 4 Dead.
The lag we experienced was hardly Dying Light's only technical problem. I experienced framerate dips (see the 'Performance and Settings' sidebar), as well as issues in cutscenes. When a scripted scene or a conversation with a character began, the visuals would completely freeze, sometimes for as long as fifteen seconds, while the audio would continue to play. Then the audio would freeze while the visuals struggled to catch up. I eventually found that simply turning off depth of field fixed it, though I have no idea why. I've also seen various reports on forums about the game not being optimized for SLI, to the point that playing with two cards is somehow worse than playing with one. If you're on the fence about buying Dying Light, you may want to hold off to see if patches make any positive changes to the situation.
When it wasn't tripping over its own feet—be it from technical problems or the shambling start and potboiler story—I enjoyed Dying Light. Over the three consecutive days spent playing it almost constantly, I typically came away having had a pretty good time. There are frustrations here, but there's also an exciting movement system and a healthy if familiar list of activities to engage in.
Zombies: I bet you can't burn just one.
Standard zombies are slow on their feet but quick to grab. Also, no sense of personal space.
An electrified puddle can clear the streets without getting yourself messy.
Good loot in those police vans, if you can keep those | 2,191 |
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See photos at
http://scotland.ournews.mobi/photos/index.htm We are unable to put up our videos now as we are in Cambodia and there is not enough band width. The same when we were in Thailand – by the way Thailand blocks youtube.
Here we are, summer 06/07, finally' out the door' again. There was a delay leaving because of thunder storms. When we arrived in Frankfurt, there were major delays for many people, and as a result the airport was pretty chaotic. Luckily we had boarding passes to Edinburgh and our next flight was also delayed. But here's our first big adventure! Our luggage did not arrive. Nor did it the next day…so…life is hard…we had to buy a whole new wardrobe. The airline promised to pay half (and all toiletries) and we discovered some really cool stuff in Scottish shops. So now I have a new colour scheme with lots of brown. Brown is the new black so they say. I feel so very trendy. Terrell looks a treat, in navy, with splashes of red. Hmm …might even go out with him!
Anyway, I can't really keep writing about our new clothes. We did do some good touristy stuff. Checked out the odd castle, stayed at lovely B'nBs. The road led us north to Findhorn, a little village way up there. It was misty all the time, but hey, this is Scotland, and we enjoyed the reprieve from the hot humid weather in NY. My favourite meal was in Edinburgh, tomato soup with coconut, so salty and so yummy! Findhorn is where the old hippies live, but Terrell will have more to say about that. Driving across the top there, we turned left at Inverness and followed the Loch Ness. Beautiful scenery! As we came further south past Fort William the scenery dramatically changed to huge mountains with big sweeping valleys, no tree, .very stark. Impossible to describe and quite breathtaking. So here we are at Arvorlich House on the shores of Loch Lomond, having a lovely rest. We decided on 2 nights, so today is 'down time', with a million dollar view of a mountain and a lake.
Rarely being in a shopping mood – whatever is on the floor of the closet is the right thing to wear for the day – I found a surprising aspect of my personality that either was repressed or was there all along but had yet to find the time to come out and play – the shopper within.
When we discovered the airlines had separated our unfortunate luggage from its cheerful owners (us) whilst we were dressed for the 90-degree weather in New York City and it was rainy and quite cold in Edinburgh we had no choice but to liberate clothing from their imprisonment at the local shopping centre. Many times in my re<|fim_middle|> I always use is closed down so I may not be able to post this until we get to Australia in two weeks. | pressed shopping past, Narda would say I should buy a new pair of this or a quad of that or whatever but I would just reply that I was not in a shopping mood and the clothing would stay on the rack. Edinburgh was different – there is a shopping aura that quickly and firmly drew me in – it was almost spiritual. A new sports coat (within 45 seconds of being in the store I felt the draw to the rack of coats), then socks, various under garments – even pajamas – something I never would buy (Narda had bought me some in some desperate and hopeful fantasy of a well trained and civilized husband but I had never worn them).
Our first night in Edinburgh was interesting in that we stayed at such a typical Scottish bed and breakfast. A stocky shortish couple with such a strong accent I seldom understood a word they said so I agreed with everything they uttered. We had a great breakfast and the host walked us to the door and wished us a safe journey. We found the Scots so friendly and hospitable everywhere we went – such a change from the rude and pushy people in New York City. I never did quite get to understand much of what was said. One shop (we sort of shopped our way across Scotland due to the lostness of our baggage.) the check out chick (I was told in New York that was a sexist line but we are in Scotland so I assume it is OK here) was asking if I wanted a bag and she must have said it four or five times. I thought she was asking if I wanted to go to the bar – which with a wife next to me I thought was strange. I had read in some tabloid or was it one of the racy telly shows that I once saw? that there were some kinky going ons in the British Island but… eventually Narda enlightened me that she was saying 'bag' and not bar. She had asked if I wanted our stuff put in a bag not whether I wanted to go to a bar. Gosh!
After leaving Edinburgh we rambled through various towns in the central of Scotland. At the northern point we stopped in at the Findhorn Foundation in Findhorn. I was on my way to Findhorn at the end of the 1960s. At the time I was in some cult Order in Hawaii when I was hearing about this spiritual place in the North of Scotland and that it was the next great place to go after the hippie migration to India to find one's guru. But somehow I ended up in other places on the mainland (Cheyenne Wyoming, Wichita Kansas, Detroit Michigan, Syracuse New York, Baltimore Maryland, then to Australia for the next twenty-two years) and it was not until the mid-1980's that I heard of Findhorn again. At the time I was making tofu in Adelaide and I rented out the front of my tofu factory to a couple (both named Robin – one was a male) who had met at Findhorn at the end of the 1970's. They were into one of those religious cults, the Church Universal and Triumphant (Summit Lighthouse) of Elizabeth Clare Prophet. It was even more nuts than the Order that I had been in. Reading something I wrote about Findhorn at that time made me want to visit the place if I ever got to Findhorn:
"Looking up today's community news on the Internet for Findhorn we read that,
"Crystal the Cat moves Into the Light: Many of us mourn Eileen's cat Crystal who died earlier this week." [13 Feb 2004].
That just about sums up my knowledge of the place, something about animals and humans and all entering into the light."
View from Ardvorlich House B & B at Loch Lomond
Well here we were at the Findhorn Foundation. There is a community here – it was like a retirement village for hippies – lots of self built houses, a bit of a hippie ghetto and they make their money off of running spiritual guidance courses. Narda bought an expensive dress at their shop that we hope the airlines will pay for as they lost our bags for a week. I looked at their books; the same books I use to purchase decades ago on astrology and reincarnation and enlightenment and yes there was a book on cats, something about how to communicate with your cat on a spiritual level. It was when I was reading about channeling a cat that I realized I had changed and these people had not. We stayed at a very nice bed and breakfast, went to a near by town and bought some more clothes and a suitcase to put all our new stuff in.
The next day, Saturday 24 June, we drove through Inverness where I bought a red jumper with Shetland ponies on it (see photo of horses on a red background somewhere in this blog). The jumper gets added to our list of clothes bought because Lufthansa did not get our bags to us and we are in Scotland where it is bloody cold and raining all the time. This will surely test my macho self-image I have but then again who notices an aging person these days anyway?
We drove around Loch Ness and past all the trashy shops selling monster images and to our next bed and breakfast place on Loch Lomond (see photo below or next or somewhere near these words taken from the front porch).
Loch Shira at Inveraray
We went to the Inverary Castle.
The significance of this place is that I got my first senior discount by saying I was 60. The person at the counter did not believe me so I showed my drivers license which showed I was born in 1947 – I put my thumb over the month as I am not really 60 for another six weeks. We learned something about Dukes as the 14th Duke of Argyll lives with his new wife and some babies – they let us tourists in to raise funds to mow their huge lawns and clean their vast castle.
We got our rental car back to the airport with three miles left of petrol in the tank. We had paid for a full tank and we believed we had given enough money to the rental people already. We recovered our two lost suitcases at the airport and now we have a third suitcase full of new clothes, perfumes, facial scrubs and all the things one would need on their journey when the airlines misplaces suitcases for a few days.
The plane was late as has been our experience all along the way and when we got to Frankfurt for our connection to Amsterdam we missed that connection. Ms. Gabriel, the mean lady at the Lufthansa counter said we should have made the flight and would not put us on the next flight. She told us to go buy a new ticket. We already had been quite upset with Lufthansa for losing our bags and now Gabriel (not related to the archangel that we know of) was giving us stress. We went to another counter and a very nice woman, who incidentally was from New Jersey, had married a German, who had left her for another woman – the things one learns at an airlines ticket counter – was a bit upset with Lufthansa (she said the company "operated like a plumber sent to a job without a wrench" and got us on to the next flight which got us to Amsterdam and we took the train to Utrecht which stopped somewhere in the middle of Holland for half an hour because something was in the tracks and we got to Rienk's house at about one am – some five hours late. Rink waited up for us and now, Tuesday morning, we are looking forward to riding bikes around Utrecht for the next couple of days. This is our fifth year in a row that we have stopped here. The main two differences is that it is cold and raining (just like Scotland) and usually it is very hot and the Internet café | 1,631 |
Sweet Tamales are so incredibly easy to make<|fim_middle|>, in a sink with cool water, and throw a heavy plate on top to keep them somewhat submerged.
In your KitchenAid, cream the butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, heavy cream and cajeta until light and fluffy. Add the almonds, masa harina, and baking powder and mix just until combined.
Add 1 1/2 C. of water to your Instant Pot and place your trivet inside. On the trivet, lay a clean, soaked corn husk as a base.
Prepare to make your tamales: with a husk in hand, point the widest end upwards, and spread 4-5 Tbsp of dough from left to right, keeping at least 3 inches open from the bottom. Fold the tamale in from the left, then from the right, then up from the bottom, and place in a dish/pan. Repeat until all the dough has been used.
Place your tamales open end upwards in the Instant Pot - it can fit up to 18-19 depending on size, but this recipe will make just 9, leaving quite a bit of room. Once they have all been placed in the Instant Pot, close the lid, seal the valve, and set the pot on manual (high pressure) for 26 minutes. Once the pot beeps finished, do a quick release and use a thongs to lift each tamale out onto a platter.
Allow to cool slightly before enjoying. Best eaten warm, drizzled with additional almonds/walnuts and cajeta.
Cajeta is a sweetened liquid made by simmering goat's milk. If you can't pick up the cajeta pictured above (and we don't expect you to have that) you can use dulce de leche in the same quantity. | at home – although I didn't have them growing up as a child, over 16 years ago I met my husband and his mom would always set aside masa when making regular tamales and use it to make sweet tamales.
Tamales were always something that we made around the holidays – Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, Easter and sometimes when family or friends came to spend a week with us during the regular year.
It wasn't long after I met my husband that I started making tamales too… and now, sixteen years later we have made hundreds of tamales – from chicken to beef, green chile and cheese, jalapeño and fresh cheese and even tamales with strawberries.
Of course, it wasn't until early in 2015 that we started making them in our Instant Pot and realized that not only was this pressure cooker pretty incredible, it was the best way to make tamales in the summer months when the temps were soaring.
No more having to steam tamales on the stove and heat up the house, this device cooked them up in less than 30 minutes (plus the time it took the pot to come to pressure).
Instead of using chile and meat, sweet tamales can combine everything from brown sugar to coconut, pineapple, walnuts, cajeta, or even raisins. There are so many ways to make sweet tamales, finding the recipe you like the most is your best best.
Everyone in our family seems to like different combinations making it impossible to please everyone – fun, right?!
This time we used this cajeta that was picked up in Santa María Tule, Mexico and it's very rich, and decadent and you really only need a little bit (1/4 C. for just under a dozen tamales). It's not something we want our kids to break open so we keep it on the top shelf in the pantry.
Nothing like having to clean up sticky sugary syrup – right?!
We started these tamales by soaking our husks in a clean sink for 30-45 minutes. To keep them submerged, I like to throw a plate on top (though the husks like to sneak out) – there is always one or two that like to create problems.
In your KitchenAid, cream the butter, brown sugar, heavy cream, cajeta and cinnamon until light and fluffy. Add in the almonds (or, walnuts if you wish), baking powder and masa just until blended. Do not over mix.
Pull the husks out of the sink and shake off the excess water. Lay them in a baking dish or on two towels so they don't create a watery mess on your counter.
Take a husk, and put the widest part upwards – put 4-5 Tbsp of dough in the husk and leave a few inches of space at the bottom. I like to spread out the dough, then fold the left side in, then the right side, then fold the bottom of the tamale upwards.
Keep all the tamales in a baking pan or on a plate until you have repeated the process above, using all the dough. Place 1 1/2 C. of water in the bottom of the Instant Pot, and then insert your steamer rack. Lay one husk down on the steamer rack (flat – to serve as a base) and then throw the extra husks leftover back in a bag and place in the freezer for another use.
Set your sweet tamales in the Instant Pot – it can fit up to 18-19 if you arrange correctly, and cook them for 26 minutes on manual (high) pressure. Once they are done, use the thongs to remove them and set them on a plate to cool.
A change from traditional Mexican tamales, sweet tamales with cajeta combine brown sugar, cinnamon, and almonds or walnuts cooked in the Instant Pot and drizzled with cajeta and sprinkled with additional almonds.
Open up the corn husks and separate - place them in a large bowl with cool water. Or | 852 |
Requesting your medical records from a hospital is a good step to take in managing your health care. You can use your records<|fim_middle|> in psychology from the Missouri University of Science and Technology in December 2010. She currently works as a software development engineer and has extensive technical writing experience.
How do I Lodge Complaints Against Veterinarians? | to get a second opinion on treatment from another hospital or physician, or store the records as part of your family's medical history. You can sometimes request medical records for family members; however, check with your hospital to see how they handle the next-of-kin order. You often can request the hospital to send the records directly to another medical professional.
Write a letter to the office administrator of your hospital or visit your hospital's website to determine which forms and information you will need to request medical records. They can also tell you the price for copies of the records and the time frame for delivery. You will need to provide your name and birth date, as well as the dates you were in the hospital.
Ask for a request-of-information form from your hospital. You will need to mail this form in or take it to the medical records department in the hospital in person, because a signature is needed to verify identity. Hospitals will not release records through a phone or e-mail request.
Sign and submit a form detailing your authorisation to release medical records. Some hospitals require this type of form for all record requests, while others need it only if you request the medical records be sent to another doctor or hospital.
Pay any fees requested by the hospital. Usually, hospitals only charge fees for sending records to individuals and not to other medical professionals. Hospitals often use a set fee per page, with extra fees for X-rays film copies. Not every hospital charges fees, so check with the medical records department when submitting your documentation.
Usha Dadighat has been writing since 2008. She earned a Bachelor of Science in computer science and a minor | 330 |
Helen Whitney's 'Into the Night' Explores Struggle with Mortality
9:00 pm – 12:00 amBBC World ServiceA one-hour radio program that provides international news, analysis and information in English and 42 other languages. Their global network of correspondents provide impartial news and reports on location.see more
Helen Whitney's films include "Into the Night: Portraits<|fim_middle|>; her newest film is "Into the Night: Portraits of Life and Death"
Adam Frank, featured in "Into the Night"; professor of astrophysics, University of Rochester
"Into the Night"'s website | of Life and Death," "Faith and Doubt at Ground Zero" and "The Choice '96." (Photo courtesy: Helen Whitney )
As award-winning filmmaker Helen Whitney entered midlife she says she felt "mortality press in" and yearned to have conversations about death and dying before it was too late. Her latest documentary, 'Into the Night,' portrays nine people grappling with death's meaning -- from a young mortician who leads the Death Positive movement to a Baptist minister who loses faith after the death of his sons. Whitney joins us to discuss the film and what she learned from her subjects about human mortality.
Helen Whitney, film producer, director and writer | 136 |
$136,205.00 (JOHNSON) v. ST, 848 S.W.2d 888 (Tex.App.-Hous. (14 Dist.) 1993)
LexRoll.com > LexRoll (TX) > Texas Court Opinions > $136,205.00 (JOHNSON) v. ST, 848 S.W.2d 888 (Tex.App.-Hous. (14 Dist.) 1993)
$136,205.00 (Jack Lee JOHNSON), Appellant, v. The STATE of Texas, Appellee.
No. B14-92-00629-CV.Court of Appeals of Texas, Houston, Fourteenth District.
Appeal from 269th District Court, Harris County, P.K. Reiter, J.
Victor R. Blaine, Houston, for appellant.
Alan Curry, Houston, for appellee.
Before MURPHY, CANNON and DRAUGHN, JJ.
DRAUGHN, Justice.
This is an appeal from the trial court's order that $136,000.00 recovered by Houston police officers in the narcotics investigation of Jack Lee Johnson be forfeited to the state. In two points of error, appellant contends the evidence is legally, or in the alternative, factually insufficient to support the trial court's finding that the money was used or intended to be used, or were the proceeds gained from, the commission of a felony. We sustain appellants second point of error regarding factual insufficiency as pertains to a portion of the recovered funds. We, therefore, affirm the judgment in part, and reverse and remand in part.
On February 13, 1991, Houston police officers conducted surveillance of both a business and residence owned by Jack Lee Johnson. The officers believed Johnson to be involved in narcotics trafficking. Later that same day, Houston Police Officer Wall left the surveillance site in order to prepare a search warrant for both locations.
Upon execution of the search warrant for Johnson's home, officers found 97.1 grams of marijuana, 3 sets of scales, a roll of plastic wrap and a serving tray containing marijuana seeds. These items were found in the T.V. room. Further investigation revealed a locked safe, which was located in Johnson's bedroom closet. The officers forcibly opened the safe and found $94,000.00 in currency and several hand guns. The safe also contained a key to a safety deposit box, located at the First Interstate Bank Fairbanks. Approximately $22,220.00 of the money recovered from the bedroom closet safe was found in a cardboard box which had been sealed by tape.
After confiscating the marijuana, the surrounding paraphernalia, and the money from the safe, the officer placed an undetermined amount of the money in a kitchen cabinet. Castor, a trained narcotics detection dog, then made a positive alert upon the money.
That same day, officers searched Johnson's business and seized a pair of scales and a roll of clear plastic wrap.
The following day, Castor, the narcotics detection dog, was taken to the bank containing the safety deposit box to which the
key had been found. Castor alerted upon box # 349, the box which corresponded to the key which had been found in the bedroom closet safe. The officers obtained a search warrant for the box, and upon execution of that warrant, seized $40,000.00 in currency, and $1,485.00 in a savings account pass book. The safety deposit box also contained the titles to several automobiles.
At a subsequent hearing on the forfeiture proceeding, Johnson testified that the $22,220.00 found in the taped cardboard box belonged to a friend who had asked him to keep it while the friend was out of town. The rest of the money found in the bedroom closet safe allegedly belonged to either appellant's business associate, Able Automotive, or had been obtained through inheritance, lawsuits, gambling, or his auto business. Johnson also testified that the guns were part of his collection, or for recreational purposes, and the scales found in his home were used to weigh packages for mailing, or to weigh shrimp. Johnson explained that the marijuana found in his home was for his personal use, and not for sale. The trial court found that both the money recovered from the bedroom closet safe, and that seized from the bank safety deposit box, were contraband, and ordered that the money be forfeited to the state. In its final judgment, the trial court distributed the funds fifty percent (50%) to the City of Houston Police Department, twenty percent (20%) to the Chambers County Sheriff's Department, and thirty percent (30%) to the Harris County District Attorney's Office, Special Crimes Bureau.
In his first point of error Johnson asserts that there is no evidence to support the trial court's finding that the money confiscated pursuant to the narcotics investigation was contraband. In reviewing a no evidence point, we, as an appellate court, may only consider the evidence and inferences tending to support the trial court's judgment and disregard all evidence and inferences to the contrary. Davis v. City of San Antonio, 752 S.W.2d 518, 522 (Tex. 1988). If there is more than a scintilla of evidence to support the finding, the "no evidence" challenge cannot be sustained. Stafford v. Stafford, 726 S.W.2d 14, 16 (Tex. 1987).
The Code of Criminal Procedure defines contraband as, "property of any nature, including real, personal, tangible, or intangible, that is; used or intended to be used in the commission of: any felony . . . or the proceeds gained from the commission of a felony. . . ." TEX.CODE CRIM.PROC.ANN. art. 59.01 (Vernon Supp. 1992). The burden of proof in a forfeiture proceeding is on the state to show by a preponderance of the evidence that property is subject to forfeiture. TEX.CODE CRIM.PROC.ANN. art. 59.05(b) (Vernon Supp. 1992).
In the present case, three triple-beam scales, plastic wrap, and 97.1 grams of marijuana were found in the same home in which a large amount of cash and several handguns were located in a safe in a nearby room. A trained narcotics detection dog alerted upon the confiscated money both at the residence and at the bank. While we agree with appellant that the presence of money at the same location in which narcotics are found does not conclusively establish<|fim_middle|> to the box was found in the safe located in Johnson's bedroom. Several car titles, a gold coin collection, and a plastic savings account passbook were found in addition to the $40,000.00 located at the bank. While the trained detection dog did alert on Johnson's deposit box, the state did not attempt to show that the dog alerted because of the scent of the money, as opposed to marijuana residue on the car titles or the gold coin collection. Furthermore, the safety deposit box was located a distance away from Johnson's residence where the marijuana was found. It is too tenuous to assume that if a quantity of narcotics is found in one's residence, then all money located anywhere outside that location must have been used either to obtain the narcotics, or was received in the sale of such. While we agree with the state that the positive alert upon the deposit box is some evidence that the money is contraband, thereby defeating a legal insufficiency argument, we cannot find that the state proved by a preponderance of the evidence that the deposit box funds were connected to the marijuana confiscated at Johnson's home. Point of error two is sustained as it pertains to the $40,000.00 confiscated from the deposit box at First Interstate Fairbanks.
Accordingly, we affirm that portion of the judgment as relates to the currency obtained from the bedroom closet safe, approximately $94,720.00. We reverse that part of the judgment dealing with the $40,000.00 from the safety deposit box, and remand the cause for a new trial in accordance with this opinion.
The judgment of the trial court is
AFFIRMED IN PART; REVERSED AND REMANDED IN PART. | that the money is used in the commission of a felony, it does, nonetheless, tend to demonstrate some evidence that the money was contraband. The positive alert by the detection dog on the safety deposit box, although tenuous, is more than a mere scintilla of evidence of a connection between the marijuana and the funds. Accordingly, point of error one is overruled.
In point of error two, appellant argues that the evidence is factually insufficient to support the finding that the money confiscated from his home and the safety deposit box was contraband. We hold that the evidence is sufficient to support the forfeiture of the money found in the bedroom closet safe, but falls short with regard to the currency located in the bank safety deposit box.
In determining a factual insufficiency point of error, we must examine and weigh all of the evidence and set aside the verdict only if it is so contrary to the
overwhelming weight of the evidence that it is clearly wrong and unjust. Lofton v. Texas Brine Corp., 720 S.W.2d 804, 805 (Tex. 1986); Cain v. Bain, 709 S.W.2d 175, 176 (Tex. 1986).
The $94,720.00 found in the bedroom closet safe was in close proximity with the 97.1 grams of marijuana and paraphernalia. That is to say that all of this evidence was found in the same residence. Furthermore, the surrounding circumstances such as the handguns, the large quantity of the cash in the bedroom safe, as well as the positive alert of the detection dog when the money was placed in the kitchen cabinet, all tend to establish a connection between the money in the bedroom safe and the marijuana. Additionally, since forfeiture proceedings are civil in nature, the standard of proof is a preponderance of the evidence, as opposed to beyond a reasonable doubt. Thus, the trial court, as the sole judge of credibility of the witnesses is entitled to determine whether the facts asserted by the appellant are believable in view of the surrounding circumstances. In light of the evidence, as well as recent Texas case law, we find that the evidence is sufficient to support the forfeiture of the money obtained from the bedroom closet safe. See State v. $11,014.00, 820 S.W.2d 783, 785 (Tex. 1991); $3,450.00 v. State, 743 S.W.2d 759
(Tex.App. — El Paso 1988, writ denied).
We reach a different conclusion with regard to the money found in the bank safe deposit box, however. Only a key | 586 |
Third Space Books Cle
Memoir & Personal Essay
Cookbook & Coffee Table
The Red Tent by Anita Diamant
Her name<|fim_middle|> Nonfiction
© 2021, Third Space Books Cle Powered by Shopify | is Dinah. In the Bible, her life is only hinted at in a brief and violent detour within the more familiar chapters of the Book of Genesis that are about her father, Jacob, and his dozen sons. Told in Dinah's voice, this novel reveals the traditions and turmoils of ancient womanhood--the world of the red tent. It begins with the story of her mothers--Leah, Rachel, Zilpah, and Bilhah--the four wives of Jacob. They love Dinah and give her gifts that sustain her through a hard-working youth, a calling to midwifery, and a new home in a foreign land. Dinah's story reaches out from a remarkable period of early history and creates an intimate, immediate connection.
Deeply affecting, The Red Tent combines rich storytelling with a valuable achievement in modern fiction: a new view of biblical women's society.
"An intenses, vivid novel... It is tempting to say that The Red Tent is what the Bible would be like if it had been written by women, but only Diamany could have given it such sweep & grace." (The Boston Globe)
Back to | 238 |
Donkijote.org, the winning entry of the open competition Digital_LAB 2009 (curated by Roberta Bosco and Stefano Caldana), is an analogue/digital project that will gather data using altogether innovative techniques during four journeys taken by the artist Cristian Bettini a.k.a. P.ankh and the donkey Minuto through different areas of Asturias.The donkey will operate as a living interface equipped with digital hardware such as a GPS, a mobile Internet connection, a computer, a camera and a video camera with which it will create a memory of Asturias, producing and collecting information, re-mapping the territory and geo-categorising knowledge. The rules of the journey are determined by the natural rhythm of the donkey's pace,<|fim_middle|>. | giving everything that enters into our perception a measure of human attention.
The people that cross their paths, as well as Internet users, will participate in the project by providing advice and suggestions, contributing to the evolution of the project and the enrichment of the audiovisual and anthropological patrimony of Asturias. The travellers will return to LABoral after each journey where they will carry out activities using the material they have collected. In this way, the exhibition, located in the gallery Platform 1 of LABoral, will evolve and grow throughout the length of the journey and the advancement of its digital representation, connecting virtuality to reality in an indissoluble way | 133 |
Our sweeping services are ecology-standard compliant. Let us show you how clean pavement decreases the contamination of run-off water and movement of debris.
There are many reasons besides cosmetic considerations to have your property swept regularly by the East Side Maintenance team. For a PDF handout that details many of these, please use the link shown below.
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East Side Maintenance has been providing standard and customized sweeping programs in<|fim_middle|> needed about when the property was last swept. East Side is glad to provide GPS printouts to our customers whenever they are needed.
For more information about the added value our GPS-equipped sweepers offer, please use the link shown to the right.
As a Founding Member of the World Sweeping Association we are provided with a host of benefits we are able to pass along to our customers. We invite you to view these via our PDF handout on the topic. In addition, as a component of our WSA membership we have affirmed – in writing – our compliance with WSA's 'Ethics in Power Sweeping' initiative. You may also take a look at what that means via our PDF handout on that topic.
Remember that East Side Maintenance also offers construction sweeping services. Today, with increasing concern and regulation surrounding the topic of storm water runoff pollution, construction sites are being required to be swept regularly throughout the building process. For your information, we offer a PDF handout of an article by Better Roads Magazine on this topic. To access it, please use the link shown to the right.
East Side Maintenance offers a variety of flexible sweeping programs to choose from, or we can customize a program that provides you with a maintenance schedule that fits your exact needs and budget.
In addition to sweeping, we provide a wide variety of other services, including snow removal and other exterior maintenance services, including power washing, asphalt repair, parking lot striping and traffic sign installation/repair. | our market area for more than a decade-and-a-half. There are many reasons to specify East Side Maintenance when you choose your sweeping services provider. For a detailed explanation of why the services we offer provide increased value for our many customers, we invite you to download our PDF handout using the link shown to the right.
To maximize the safety and accountability of our sweeping programs, East Side's sweepers are equipped with the latest in Global Positioning Systems (GPS). These monitors allow us to track a wide variety of information on our sweepers, and are invaluable to our customers whenever solid evidence is | 119 |
U.S. Employers Added Fewer Jobs In April Than Forecasted
Published May 7, 2021 at 3:17 PM CDT
The recovery of the nation's job market hit a speed bump last month. U.S. employers added just 266,000 jobs in April. That is far fewer than forecasters were expecting. Speaking to reporters at the White House, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen<|fim_middle|> not found much evidence of that. But Montana and South Carolina plan to cut those benefits off at the end of June in an effort to sort of prod people back into the workforce. The benefits are set to expire nationwide a couple of months later, so we'll get a little experiment here.
SHAPIRO: NPR's Scott Horsley, thank you.
HORSLEY: You're welcome. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR. | sounded confident that the rebound will continue, but she acknowledged that there will be some ups and downs along the way.
JANET YELLEN: We knew this would not be a hundred-day battle. And today's jobs report underscores the long haul climb back to recovery.
SHAPIRO: The country has yet to recover more than 8 million jobs that were lost during the pandemic. NPR's chief economics correspondent Scott Horsley joins us now to explain.
Hi, Scott.
SCOTT HORSLEY, BYLINE: Hi, Ari.
SHAPIRO: In ordinary times, a month when more than a quarter million people found work would be pretty good, but it was really disappointing today. Explain what went wrong.
HORSLEY: More than one economist used the phrase head scratcher to describe this report today because so many of the other signals we've been getting during the spring suggested April would be a blockbuster month for hiring. You know, more Americans have been getting vaccinated. They've been planning vacations. They're going to ball games. They're doing all the things they haven't been able to do for much of the last year. I talked to Jeff Lobdell, who runs 18 restaurants in Michigan. He's seen a big uptick in business.
JEFF LOBDELL: Oh, for sure. There's been a lot of pent-up demand, and people are wanting to go out. I mean, restaurants are the community gathering places not only just to go out and get a meal but to see those neighbors meeting in your neighborhood place. People really miss that.
HORSLEY: And that was expected to translate to a lot more jobs. Now, restaurants and bars did add nearly 200,000 workers last month. But other parts of the economy lost jobs, including grocery stores and delivery services, which thrived during the pandemic. There were also fewer factory jobs, mostly because carmakers have not been able to get the computer chips they need. And then we've heard complaints from some employers who say they do have more job openings. They just haven't been able to find workers to fill them.
SHAPIRO: How do you square that when we know there are millions of people who are still out of work?
HORSLEY: Not everyone is vaccinated yet, and many workers are understandably nervous about going back to work in jobs where they might run the risk of getting infected. You also have lots of parents whose kids are not yet back in school full time. Lobdell says he has rehired about 250 people at his restaurants since things bottomed out last year, but he's got another 200 job openings he hasn't been able to fill.
LOBDELL: In the last six months, our hourly wages have gone up by about, on average, $2.50 or $3 an hour. We're offering pandemic pay, which is an extra pay for our line cooks from now through Labor Day. So we're doing as much as we can to keep our staff and to lure new crew people to come back in and work with us.
HORSLEY: Today's report does show an uptick in wages, although not so big as to suggest a really widespread worker shortage.
SHAPIRO: So the unemployment rate actually inched up to 6.1%. Is that worrisome?
HORSLEY: You know, more than 400,000 people entered the workforce last month. That's actually encouraging even if not all of them found jobs right away. But all those new workers were men. The number of women in the workforce actually shrank in April, and that's been a trend throughout this pandemic. Secretary Yellen says the U.S. needs to make it easier for both women and men who are trying to juggle work and family responsibilities.
YELLEN: Our policy making has not counted for the fact that people's work lives and their personal lives are inextricably linked. And if one suffers, so does the other.
HORSLEY: She notes that of the 4.2 million women who left the workforce during the pandemic, Ari, nearly 2 million have not yet returned. And obviously that's a drag on their family budgets. It's also a drag on the country's economic potential.
SHAPIRO: A couple of states have announced plans to cut back on unemployment benefits in the coming months. Do you think that's likely to have an effect on the job market?
HORSLEY: It's hard to know. Some employers do complain that the pandemic unemployment benefits, including the extra $300 a week that the federal government's been paying, are discouraging people from looking for jobs. Academic researchers have | 971 |
Posted in computer history, family conversations, parents and technology, women and computing, women and math, women mathematicians
Women Mathematicians Who Helped Save Lives During WW II
Posted on November 11, 2015 March 17, 2019 by Marti Weston
If you want to help your kids or grandkids learn more history about interesting ways that women contributed<|fim_middle|> women mathematicians, World War II
Previous Post The Enormous School Cell Phone Conundrum
Next Post My New KarmaGo — It's Here So Watch for My Reports #1 | to saving lives during World War II, look no farther than Top Secret Rosies, a PBS video that tells the story of the women who were a part of a secret project to figure our mathematically various trajectories of weapons during the war. Called female computers — that is people who compute — these women were recruited from all over the country to go to Philadelphia and work in secrecy at a special lab set up just for them.
With so many STEM-in-the-curriculum (STEM is short for science, technology, engineering, and math) discussions and the urgency to encourage 21st Century girls and young women to take more interest in science, math, and technology, it's exciting to discover a resource that shares a story about women and their amazing mathematical achievements. Top Secret Rosies is a one-hour documentary, produced by LeAnn Erickson, a professor at Temple University tells the story.
Trajectories are the paths that projectiles take, once they are fired, to get to a target. Prior to these women calculating the complex mathematical path of these weapons (after testing these weapons at a proving ground, probably in nearby Aberdeen, Maryland), there was no way to know where weapons landed unless soldiers functioned as forward fire spotters.
The spotters were soldiers assigned, at great personal risk, to go ahead of their troops and weaponry, often near or into enemy territory to observe where weapons landed. Their job was to assess where shells landed in relation to the intended target and report back, often via radio, so that the soldiers who were launching the weapons could adjust the launcher's angle.
Then someone got an idea that it might be possible to compute these trajectories ahead of time so that the soldiers could have them as they fired the weapons. Since so many men were already in the military, the project recruited women who were recommended by their math professors. These women came to Philadelphia and proceeded to calculate trajectories. The Top Secret Rosies' calculations were compiled and provided to soldiers on the ground, and on ships, and in airplanes, thereby providing valuable, close-at-hand information that improved accuracy. The mathematical calculations spared the lives of soldiers, many civilians, and not an insignificant number of forward spotters.
Sometimes the women referred to by Army as female "computers," spent the entire day on a single math problem. They were such skilled mathematicians that a small group of the women remained after the war to program ENIAC, the first computer. The Top Secret Rosies documentary tells the story by interviewing some of the women who participated in the project. Erickson, the producer, discovered the Secret Rosies' story when she was interviewing two of the women in Philadelphia on another topic, and the subject of their World War II service came up in conversation.
A CNN Story, Rediscovering World War II's Female "Computers" tells much more and features a terrific slide show. The movie is available to watch on Amazon and you can also watch the trailer.
A Quote from the Trailer
They hoped to help win the war, but they were also helping to usher in the computer age that would change the world.
Tagged: ENIAC, female computers, Lee, media and history, STEM, Top Secret Rosies, women in math, | 655 |
I can't believe that our wedding day was over<|fim_middle|> old Macedonian traditions. My Macedonian heritage/culture is a huge part of me (hence the name of this blog!), so it was really important to include it on our wedding day. My Baba and Aunty both organised a mixture of rice, five cent pieces and sugar coated almonds to be thrown over my husband and I after we married. It was so great to see our guests scavenging around afterwards for the pieces. And you bet we did Macedonian dancing… someone actually had to pull the plug on Baba, that woman could go all night! | three months ago! The whole thing is still so surreal and I often forget I have a husband (soz babe)!! This was definitely one of the best days of our lives and I could do it all over again tomorrow!
Although Frankie and I had been engaged for well over two years (getting married was no surprise there!), late last April we decided to spontaneously get married that same year. We were over the engagement stage, and quite frankly, were just looking forward to sealing the deal as husband and wife. Best. Decision. Ever!! One of the other best decisions we made was keeping it a secret! Weird for a style blogger, right? Well to be honest it made the whole process that much easier.. We really wanted to just surprise people, so the only people we told were our close family and friends. I also felt like it allowed the entire decision making process up to us, without unwanted opinion.
Those who knew me well, would know that I never wanted a wedding! I was never the girl dreaming of the huge white wedding she was going to have one day, that just wasn't me. Instead we opted for an intimate party, with our closest friends and family (Cue the DJ)! And that's exactly what it was! We drank tonnes of wine whilst getting down and dirty with our best friends, we truly danced the night away.
In terms of details, Frankie and I love to do things differently, so instead of the traditional wedding cake, we opted for a tower of cheese. In a room full of wogs….I'd call it a hit! We wanted rustic, intimate and non-traditional, all except a few | 334 |
Thomas Edward Ketchum (known as Black Jack; October 31, 1863 – April 26, 1901) was an American cowboy who later became an outlaw. He was executed in 1901 for attempted train robbery. The execution by hanging was botched; he was decapitated because the executioner used a rope that was too long.
First train robberies and murders
Tom Ketchum was born in San Saba County, Texas. He left Texas in 1890, possibly after committing a crime. He worked as a cowboy in the Pecos River Valley of New Mexico, where by 1894, his older brother, Sam Ketchum, had joined him. Black Jack and a group of others were named as the robbers of an Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway train that was en route to Deming, New Mexico Territory, in 1892 with a large payroll aboard.
The gang supposedly robbed the train just outside Nutt, New Mexico Territory, a water station twenty miles (32 km) north of Deming. Black Jack and his gang would often visit the ranch of Herb Bassett, near Brown's Park, Colorado, who was known to have done business with several outlaws of the day, having supplied them with beef and fresh horses. Herb Bassett was the father of female outlaws Josie Bassett and Ann Bassett, who were girlfriends to several members of Butch Cassidy's Wild Bunch gang. One of Ann Bassett's boyfriends and future Wild Bunch gang member, Ben Kilpatrick, began riding with Black Jack's gang about that time. Outlaw "Bronco Bill" Walters, later noted for the legend of his "hidden loot" near Solomonville, Arizona, is also believed to have begun riding with the gang at this time.
The second major crime attributed to Tom was the murder of a neighbor, John N. "Jap" Powers, in Tom Green County, Texas, on December 12, 1895. However, information at the Sutton Historical Society in Texas, says that Will Carver and Sam Ketchum were the ones actually accused of killing Powers in Knickerbocker. Fearing the law, they closed their joint saloon and gambling venture in San Angelo, and hit the outlaw trail. Within six months, Mrs. Powers and her lover, J. E. Wright, were arrested for the murder, but it was too late for Carver and the Ketchums.
By late 1895, outlaw Harvey "Kid Curry" Logan and his brother Lonnie Curry were members of Black Jack's gang. However, in early 1896, a dispute concerning their share of robbery loot prompted the Currys to leave the gang.
It is alleged that Ketchum was involved with the February 1, 1896, disappearance and presumed murders of Albert Jennings Fountain and his son Henry Fountain of Las Cruces, New Mexico. In early June 1896, after working for the famed Bell Ranch in New Mexico, Tom and Sam Ketchum, and possibly others, robbed a combined store and post office at Liberty, New Mexico, northwest of present-day Tucumcari. According to contemporary accounts, the Ketchums rode into Liberty on June 12 and purchased supplies. That evening, a thunderstorm began, and they returned to the store, owned by Morris and Levi Herzstein, who invited them to take shelter.
Returning the next morning to open his store, Levi Herzstein found that both the store and post office had been burglarized. After gathering a posse, Herzstein set out on the outlaws' trail. The posse, composed of just four men, took the two outlaws by surprise in the Plaza Largo arroyo, where a shootout immediately began. Seconds later both Levi Herzstein and Hermenejildo Gallegos lay dead. Seeing his comrades fall, Anastacio Borgue turned his horse and rode out of the arroyo. Placido Gurulé, the fourth member of the posse, also survived to give an account. Gurulé said he had been struck by a .30-30 bullet that knocked him off his horse. He landed on the ground with a blow that knocked the wind out of him. He lay in a semiconscious state as Black Jack Ketchum emptied his rifle into the bodies of Levi Herzstein and Hermenejildo Gallegos. Tom and Sam Ketchum were never tried for the killings at the Plaza Largo arroyo, but Morris Herzstein reportedly was present to witness the hanging of Black Jack Ketchum in 1901.
Morris Herzstein moved to Clayton shortly after the killing in Liberty, and finally into the Texas Panhandle area. This is memorialized by the inscription on a shoe brush: "Herzstein's Clayton, New Mexico -- Dalhart, Texas. If it's from Herzstein's it's correct." Morris was the father of Albert Herzstein, who became one of the founders of Big 3 Industries in Houston, and is the man who helped the museum in Clayton to become a reality years later.
Joining the Hole-In-The-Wall gang
Following this event, Thomas Ketchum joined other outlaws of the Hole in the Wall Gang and continued a life of crime, focusing on train robberies, although when not robbing trains they worked for several ranches in New Mexico and Texas. Several other notable outlaws operated out of Hole In The Wall, which was a hideout for numerous outlaw gangs which operated separately. The famous Wild Bunch gang, led by Butch Cassidy and Elzy Lay, operated out of there. One Wild Bunch gang member, Kid Curry, along with his brother Lonny Curry, had previously ridden with Black Jack Ketchum and his gang. He and Ketchum did not like each other, and Ketchum avoided Curry as much as possible. Kid Curry would kill nine lawmen over the course of the next eight years.
During this time, Tom Ketchum was once identified mistakenly as "Black Jack" Christian, another outlaw, and that became his nickname as well. Three of the train robberies that the gang committed were near the same location, between Folsom and Des Moines, New Mexico Territory. This was at the point where the old Fort Union wagon road crossed the Colorado and Southern Rail Road tracks near Twin Mountain.
On September 3, 1897, they committed their first robbery at Twin Mountain. Then, on July 11, 1899, the gang, without Black Jack, robbed the train again at Twin Mountain. After the robbery, Sam and several unknown gang members, in addition to Wild Bunch gang members Will Carver and William Ellsworth "Elzy" Lay, headed for the mountains southwest of Raton, New Mexico Territory. The next day, a posse consisting of Sheriff Ed Farr of Huerfano County, Colorado, Special Agent W.H. Reno of the Colorado & Southern Railroad, and five deputies found their trail and tracked them into Turkey Creek Canyon near Cimarron, New Mexico. There, the posse engaged them in a gun battle. Sam Ketchum and two deputies were wounded seriously, and the gang escaped.
Sam Ketchum's wounds slowed the intended escape, and they made it only a short distance from the initial shootout. Several members of the posse cornered the Ketchum gang a few days later, still in the same area of the Territory. Deputy W. H. Love and Sheriff Ed Farr engaged the outlaws in another gun battle, resulting in both Love and Farr being killed, while the posse wounded at least two unknown members of the gang. Sam Ketchum escaped, but was found a few days later by Special<|fim_middle|>etchum in the 1957 American Western film, Blackjack Ketchum, Desperado.
Rhodes Reason played Ketchum in a 1959 episode of the American Western television series Frontier Doctor.
Martin Kove played Ketchum in the 1994 TV movie, "The Gambler V: Playing for Keeps"
See also
List of botched executions
References
External links
Biography
Clayton, New Mexico
The Spradley's Home Page at www.hal-pc.org
1863 births
1892 crimes in the United States
1901 deaths
20th-century executions by the United States federal government
20th-century executions of American people
American robbers
Cowboys
Deaths by decapitation
Executed people from Texas
Fugitives
Gunslingers of the American Old West
Outlaws of the American Old West
People executed by the United States federal government by hanging
People executed for robbery
People from San Saba County, Texas
People of the New Mexico Territory
1892 in New Mexico Territory | Agent Reno at the home of a rancher, where he was arrested.
Sam Ketchum was taken to the Santa Fe Territorial Prison, where he died from his gunshot wounds. He was buried in the Odd Fellows rest Cemetery, now the Fairview Cemetery on Cerrillos Rd. in Santa Fe.
"Elzy" or "Elza" (William Ellsworth) Lay was born November 25, 1868, Mount Pleasant, Ohio. Lay had come out west to Denver, and became an outlaw after mistakenly believing he had killed a man. Jailed for life after the killing of Sheriff Farr after the Folsom robbery, he was released in 1906. He returned to Alma, New Mexico Territory and lived there for two years. He stayed with Louis and Walter Jones, who in 1904 had built a large merchandise store at Alma. Elzy died aged 65 in Los Angeles, on November 10, 1934.
Capture and death
On August 16, 1899, Tom Ketchum, supposedly knowing nothing of the July 11 hold-up which ended in the death of his brother Sam, single-handedly attempted to rob the same train again at the same place and in the same way that he and Sam and others had robbed it just a few weeks earlier. The train conductor, Frank Harrington, saw Tom approaching the moving train. He recognized him, grabbed a shotgun, and shot Tom in the arm, knocking him off his horse. The train continued, and the next day a posse came out and found Tom beside the tracks, badly wounded. He was transported to medical facilities at Trinidad, Colorado, and his right arm had to be amputated. He was nursed back to health and then sent to Clayton, New Mexico Territory, for trial.
At the trial, Ketchum was convicted of attempted train robbery and sentenced to death. He was the only person ever hanged in Union County, New Mexico Territory (now Union County, New Mexico). He was also the only person who suffered capital punishment for the offense of "felonious assault upon a railway train" in New Mexico Territory (which did not become a state until 1912). Later, the law was found to be unconstitutional.
Ketchum was executed by hanging in Clayton. Nobody in Clayton had any experience in conducting hangings; the rope was too long, and since Ketchum had gained a significant amount of weight during his time in jail, he was decapitated when he dropped through the trap door.
Ketchum's last words were reported by the San Francisco Chronicle as: "Good-bye. Please dig my grave very deep. All right; hurry up."
An account of the event from Sheriff Salome Garcia detailed the scene:
"He walked firmly up the steps, saying as he went up, "Dig my grave deep, boys." Stepping upon the trap door he asked for the black cap, and it was placed over his head but [it] had to be removed to permit the rope to be placed on his neck, and while they delayed somewhat he became impatient and said, "Let her go boys.".... The sheriff cut the trigger rope with a hatchet, and his body shot down with all its 215 pounds of weight. Everyone within or without the stockade held their breath, and their hearts gave a great bound of horror when it was seen that his head had been severed from his body by the fall. His body alighted squarely upon its feet, stood for a moment, swayed and fell and then great streams of red, red blood spurted from his severed neck, as if to shame the very ground upon which it poured. The head rolled aside and the rope, released, bounded high and fell with a thud upon the scaffold from whence it came."
A popular postcard was made showing the body. Afterwards his head was sewn back onto the body for viewing, and he was interred at the Clayton Cemetery.
Media portrayals
Western actor Jack Elam portrayed Ketchum in an episode of the 1954–55 syndicated television series Stories of the Century.
Howard Duff played K | 872 |
Phytotherapy is a<|fim_middle|>003. | term coined by the French doctor Henri Leclerc at the beginning of the 20th century, a neologism formed from two Greek words: phyton (plant) and therapeía (treatment). Etymologically, therefore, Phytotherapy refers to the treatment of diseases with plants.
Currently, Phytotherapy is defined as the use of products of plant origin for therapeutic purposes, to prevent, relieve or cure a pathological condition, or with the aim of maintaining health.
At present, there is a scientific basis that supports the efficacy of many phytotherapeutic products for certain indications. The place that Phytotherapy must occupy in therapy must be the one for which it has proven its usefulness.
The effectiveness is achieved only with the proper use of phytotherapeutic preparations, both in terms of the indications and the form of administration. It is necessary to have medicines with proven quality, safety and efficacy, as well as rigorous and reliable information tools for health professionals, in addition to providing them with the opportunity to acquire a solid formation in Phytotherapy.
In herbal medicine, products of plant origin are used that have a basic characteristic: their therapeutic margins are broad. It includes relatively low potency products (for example chamomile chapters, hawthorn sumium and its extracts) or intermediate potency (such as arnica flower and licorice root) and excludes those with a narrow therapeutic margin (eg leaf of digital and its active ingredients, such as digoxin). This characteristic is fundamental since it frames Phytotherapy as a mild therapeutic, not very aggressive, with a low percentage of side effects.
Phytotherapy is used both for health care and improving the quality of life, and in the prevention and treatment of diseases. In some cases it will be enough to cure a pathology and in others it will be the adjuvant of other medications, or it will help to alleviate certain associated symptoms. Its main field of action is mild and moderate affections, as well as chronic diseases, being useful in the therapy of more than 90% of the conditions usually treated in primary care.
Source: Cañigueral S. Vila R. Rational Phytotherapy. In: Vanaclocha B, Cañigueral S. Phytotherapy, prescription Vademecum. Barcelona: Masson, 2 | 477 |
Volunteer Fire Fighter Dies in Tanker Crash En Route to Grass Fire – Indiana
Death in the Line of Duty…A summary of a NIOSH fire fighter fatality investigation
F2012-30 Date Released: March 17, 2014
On November 11, 2012, a 26-year-old male volunteer fire fighter (the Victim) was killed when the tanker he was driving crashed en-route to a grass fire. The Victim drove his personal vehicle to the fire department from his residence upon hearing his department dispatched to the scene of a grass fire. Upon arriving at the department, approximately seven minutes after other fire department members responded, he readied Tanker 64 to respond. He asked other members if they wanted to go with him but they declined saying enough resources were already en route. He boarded the tanker and left the station with lights and siren activated. The apparatus crashed approximately five miles from the department. The Victim was ejected and suffered fatal injuries. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Photo of the crashed tanker at the incident scene.
(Photo courtesy of the police department)
Seat belt – an unrestrained driver risks losing control of the vehicle and being ejected
Speed – travelling too fast for required maneuvers such as turning, stopping, swerving
Roadway intersection protocol – not coming to a stop and then proceeding with caution
risks a collision
Tanker weight and characteristics – high center of gravity and possible weight shifts
affect turning maneuvers and stopping distance
Unnecessary emergency response.
Key Recommendations
Fire departments should ensure that all persons responding in emergency apparatus are wearing, and restrained securely by, seat belts at all times the vehicle is in motion
Fire departments should provide training to driver/operators, incorporating specifics on rollover prevention and maintaining vehicle control
Fire departments should ensure that all fire service vehicles are operated safely, taking into consideration the type of emergency and route of travel to the scene
Fire departments should develop emergency response deployment protocols to prevent resources from unnecessarily responding, unplanned or unknown, to an emergency scene
Fire departments should ensure that a thorough scene size-up is conducted, incident command is established, and risks are assessed and managed throughout an emergency incident
Fire departments should develop policies and procedures that assist with determining replacement cycles for existing fire apparatus
Fire departments should develop policies and procedures, mission and vision statements, and training programs, which promote an institutional safety culture that ensures that all members are empowered to report unsafe practices or actions.
Read the full reportCdc-pdf
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), an institute within the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), is the federal agency responsible for conducting research and making recommendations for the prevention of work-related injury and illness. In 1998, Congress appropriated funds to NIOSH to conduct a fire fighter initiative that resulted in the NIOSH "Fire Fighter Fat<|fim_middle|> purposes of determining any claim or benefit.
For further information, visit the program Web site at www.cdc.gov/niosh/fire or call toll free 1-800-CDC-INFO (1-800-232-4636).
Page last reviewed: November 18, 2015
Content source: National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
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Contact NIOSH | ality Investigation and Prevention Program" which examines line-of-duty-deaths or on duty deaths of fire fighters to assist fire departments, fire fighters, the fire service and others to prevent similar fire fighter deaths in the future. The agency does not enforce compliance with State or Federal occupational safety and health standards and does not determine fault or assign blame. Participation of fire departments and individuals in NIOSH investigations is voluntary. Under its program, NIOSH investigators interview persons with knowledge of the incident who agree to be interviewed and review available records to develop a description of the conditions and circumstances leading to the death(s). Interviewees are not asked to sign sworn statements and interviews are not recorded. The agency's reports do not name the victim, the fire department or those interviewed. The NIOSH report's summary of the conditions and circumstances surrounding the fatality is intended to provide context to the agency's recommendations and is not intended to be definitive for | 186 |
Anime Today: Episode 51
Filed under: Press Releases — S. @ 11:39 am
ight Stuf's ANIME TODAY
Features Anime & Gamers' Guide and Oni-Con Preview Plus contests and reviews in Episode 51!
GRIMES, IA, October 16, 2007 – Anime producer and mega-online anime retailer Right Stuf, Inc. kicks off the fall season with a new ANIME TODAY podcast that focuses on fan pastimes, including a preview of this year's Oni-Con convention in Houston, Texas.
In episode 51 of ANIME TODAY:
- Chad tells listeners "What's Hot" in the world of anime and manga.
- Kris and Judy talk about trends in "edutainment" style Japanese video games in the "Anime and Gamers' Guide."
- Shawne kicks off the "In for a Treat" promotion on Del Rey manga and books.
- Lee Wilson, chairperson of Oni-Con 2007, joins us for a preview of the event's fourth edition, which will take place on the weekend of October 19-21.
- Rich and Nick provide a rundown of upcoming conventions, courtesy of AnimeCons.com.
- Marie reviews Narushima Yuri's Young Magician manga.
- In a new mini-Japanese 101 lesson, Judy-sensei covers the classic game "Rock, Paper, Scissors."
- Rich and Nick announce the winners of our contest for Netcomics totebags and kick off a new contest celebrating the Viz Pictures'
live-action releases of The Taste of Tea and Hula Girls.
- And finally, ANIME TODAY highlights some of the newest fan reviews from RightStuf.com visitors.
Visit www.rightstuf.com for this episode, as well as an archive of all ANIME TODAY episodes and extended liner notes. Listeners can also download and subscribe to ANIME TODAY via the Apple iTunes Music Store.Meet other ANIME TODAY listeners, submit your suggestions for future episodes and more at the official ANIME TODAY forums at AnimeOnDVD.com:
(http://www.an<|fim_middle|> anime and manga. Segments include reviews of titles from all major anime studios, insights into the industry from anime producers, tips on traveling to and around Japan, interaction with listeners, contests, prizes and more.
"If you're into anime and what's happening in the anime market then this is the podcast for you!"
- User review on iTunes
ABOUT RIGHT STUF, INC.
Founded in 1987, Right Stuf, Inc. was one of the first players in the U.S. Japanese Animation ("anime") industry, as both an anime producer/distributor and a retailer. Right Stuf works to promote knowledge of its own products, as well as the anime and manga industry, in general, through its online storefront at RightStuf.com and a variety of media including podcasts and special publications.
Nozomi Entertainment, Right Stuf's production division, is dedicated to the highest quality releases. True to the Japanese word that inspired its name, Nozomi's focus is on "what fans want." By focusing on a limited number of anime properties each year, the Nozomi production team ensures each release receives the care and attention to detail it deserves.
From anime classics like Astro Boy, Kimba and Gigantor to modern comedies, dramas and favorites such as The Irresponsible Captain Tylor, His and Her Circumstances, Gravitation, Comic Party, Shingu: Secret of the Stellar Wars, Ninja Nonsense, To Heart and The Third: The Girl With the Blue Eye, Right Stuf and Nozomi Entertainment produce quality programming for fans of all ages and interests. For more information, visit www.rightstuf.com and www.nozomient.com. | imeondvd.com/forum/showforum.php?fid/57/).ABOUT ANIME TODAY
Released every other week, ANIME TODAY is the first commercially-produced podcast aimed at enthusiasts of Japanese animation and comics ("anime" and "manga"). Each episode features fresh content and gives listeners a glimpse into what's new and what's hot in the world of | 72 |
Ariza ist ein Ort und eine Gemeinde (municipio) mit insgesamt Einwohnern (Stand ) im äußersten Westen der Provinz Saragossa in der Autonomen Region Aragonien im Nordosten Spaniens. Der Ort ist eine Station am Camino del Cid; er gehört zur bevölkerungsschwachen Region der Serranía Celtibérica.
Lage und Klima
Der Ort Ariza liegt im Tal des Río Jalón gut 125 km (Fahrtstrecke) südwestlich der Provinzhauptstadt Saragossa in einer Höhe von ca. . Die sehenswerte Stadt Calatayud ist nur ca. 40 km in östlicher Richtung entfernt. Das Klima ist im Winter rau, im Sommer dagegen gemäßigt bis warm; der eher spärliche Regen (ca. 420 mm/Jahr) fällt übers Jahr verteilt.
Bevölkerungsentwicklung
Als Folge zunehmender Trockenheit, der Mechanisierung der Landwirtschaft, der Aufgabe von zahlreichen bäuerlichen Kleinbetrieben und des daraus resultierenden geringeren Arbeitskräftebedarfs auf dem Land ist die Zahl der Einwohner in der zweiten Hälfte des 20. Jahrhunderts infolge der Landflucht deutlich gesunken.
Wirtschaft und Infrastruktur
Die Einwohner des Ortes waren jahrhundertelang im Wesentlichen Selbstversorger; Märkte gab es nicht. Die wenigen Händler, Handwerker und Dienstleister wurden von Straßenverkäuferinnen mit dem Lebensnotwendigen versorgt. Weinbau und Tourismus spielen wichtige Rollen im Wirtschaftsleben des Ortes.
Geschichte
Bereits in vorgeschichtlicher Zeit gab es in der Umgebung mehrere jungsteinzeitliche und bronzezeitliche Siedlungsplätze; die ersten historisch halbwegs fassbaren Einwohner der Gegend um das heutige Calatayud waren Keltiberer vom Stamm der Lusonen; römische und westgotische Spuren fehlen beinahe völlig. Im 8. Jahrhundert wurde die Gegend von arabisch-maurischen Heeren überrannt, die erst zu Beginn des 12. Jahrhunderts nach Süden abgedrängt wurden (reconquista). In der Folgezeit war die Region jedoch zwischen den Königreichen Aragón und Kastilien umkämpft; aus diesem Grund gewährte Peter II. von Aragón dem Gebiet eine vollständige Befreiung von Steuern und Abgaben. Im Jahr 1251 lösten sich Ariza und einige Dörfer in seiner Umgebung aus ihrer Abhängigkeit von Calatayud – die von den Mauren hinterlassene Burg (castillo) wurde vergrößert. Im Jahr 1361 unterstellte Peter IV. den Ort direkt der Krone von Aragón; wegen Geldmangel verkaufte er ihn jedoch 20 Jahre später (1381) an Guillén de Palafox, der hier eine Grundherrschaft (señorio) errichtete. Ende des 15. Jahrhunderts wurde die Abgabenlast von der Bevölkerung so sehr als Bedrückung empfunden, dass es wiederholt zu Aufständen kam. Die jeweiligen Könige unterstützten jedoch ihre adligen Vasallen und so schuf Philipp III. im Jahr 1611 die Markgrafschaft Ariza (Marquesado de Ariza).
Sehenswürdigkeiten
Zu<|fim_middle|>ster.
Umgebung
Unweit des Ortes überspannt eine einbogige mittelalterliche Steinbrücke den Río Jalón.
Weblinks
Ariza, Tourismusseite – Foto + Infos (spanisch)
Einzelnachweise
Ort in Aragonien | Füßen der Ruine des Castillo de Ariza befinden sich mehrere in das lockere Gestein gehauene Felskeller (bodegas).
Die im 16. Jahrhundert erbaute Kirche La Asunción de Nuestra Señora (manchmal auch Iglesia de Santa María la Real genannt) ist eine nahezu komplett aus Werksteinen errichtete dreischiffige Hallenkirche; lediglich die später hinzugefügte und auf achteckigem Grundriss erbaute Laterne des Glockenturms besteht aus Ziegelsteinen. Die drei Kirchenschiffe werden von Sterngewölben überspannt; das geschnitzte und (heute) unbemalte Altarretabel in der polygonal gebrochenen Apsis stammt aus dem 18. Jahrhundert und zeigt mehrere Heiligenfiguren.
Nach Zerstörungen während der Karlistenkriege (1833ff) ist das Innere der um 1620 erbaute Iglesia de San Pedro in ruinösem Zustand; sehenswert ist lediglich das Portal.
Der außergewöhnlich strenge Palacio de los Marqueses de Ariza stammt in seinem heutigen Zustand aus der Zeit um 1870. Später diente er als Schulgebäude; zwischenzeitlich wurde er zu einem Kulturzentrum umgebaut.
Die heute ruinöse Kirche Convento de San Francisco gehörte zu einem nicht mehr existenten Franziskanerklo | 355 |
Film Spotlight: Schmo Business
By Jeff Niesel on Wed, Jun 10, 2015 at 1:00 am
An Akron/Canton native currently living in Pittsburgh, Michael "Zombo" Devine is a jack(ass) of all trades. He played in "nutty" bands like King Dapper Combo, the Surfaholics and the Graveyard Rockers. He was also on a nationally touring comedy team in the '80s/'90s and worked as a longtime radio DJ at WAPS. And now, with his new documentary film, Schmo Business, he can add "director" to his resume. The movie chronicles his career as a comic.
"It all started after graduating high school and all I wanted to do was comedy," he says via phone from his Pittsburgh home when asked about how he got his start as a comic. "I had this horrible computer job where I worked midnights. Computers were the size of whole floors. They looked they were from The Flintstones. I got this comedy bug and would go to the Cleveland Comedy Club. I would go there every Sunday and do their amateur night. I would get booed off the stage. I just gave up, so I took improv classes and put some plays together."
In the '80s, comedy clubs started springing up and Devine's plays morphed into Those Generics comedy team. He would take this Second City-like show on the road and had<|fim_middle|> a cartoon animation backstory all on iMovie. It took about six months to make."
Devine weaves together live footage and "some aspects that defy description" to make the 70-minute movie something out of the ordinary. It's had two "wild showings" at The Hollywood Theater in Dormont and the Rowhouse Cinema in Pittsburgh and will screen at 9 p.m. on Sunday, June 14, at the Nightlight Cinema in Akron. Admission is $10.
Schmo Business,
Michael "Zombo" Devine, | a "nice little career" playing the crappiest clubs in the country. Schmo Bizness is "a journey back to the cultural phenomenon, the Comedy Boom of 1980s when everyone under the age of 30 still living at home or mooching off a girlfriend was a standup comedian." He also describes it as "an odd chronicle of Those Generics Comedy Team," his 15-year national touring comedy team.
"In the film, we see a reunion of a comedy troupe that pared down to a comedy duo that worked in the trenches of grade-B comedy clubs who haven't seen each other in nearly 30 years," he says. "The original four members got together and we started talking, laughing and rehashing wild road stories we had long forgotten. I didn't know who to make a movie but being a film buff, I caught on quickly. I used iPads for multiple camera angles. Changed that new footage to grainy black and white and then interspersed the old over saturated color VHS and Betamax live footage from some of our live shows and linked it all together with | 231 |
The community of tea shop in Singapore is improving. With many online shops, tea tasting rooms, and tea stores popping out around the country, it's no surprise that many people in Singapore are starting to appreciate tea drinking. All of which delivers gorgeous interiors as well as<|fim_middle|> hesitate tohead over to Arteastiq Boutique Tea. They carry a wide collection of artisanal tea choicesfor everyone to enjoy. Plus, their shops are designed artistically, ideal for hanging out with a friend or relatives after a busy day. You can checkArteastiq Boutique Tea's stores in Orchard, Dhoby Ghaut, and Bukit Timah.
For more options of premium teas, browse through the online store of Tealy. We have a wide selection of teas for your enjoyment. | delicious offerings for everyone's enjoyment. These tea shops are ideal for catching up with your pals on a Sunday afternoon or for grabbing a takeout drink just before you go to the office.
If you are looking for the finest tea experience in Singapore, there's no better way to do it compared to purchasing a premium tea at Tealy. Their loose leaf products come in vast number of tea flavors. Each of these is blended and crafted to perfection, and is made with high quality ingredients. Whether you're in the mood to sip a hot cup of oolongtea or try a new way to brew your rooibos tea, you'll never go wrong with visiting Tealy.Check out their online store for extra convenience in shopping.
TWG Tea Company Pte Ltd.
TWG Tea now has the largest tea assortment in the world. This business was established in 1837here in Singapore. They take pride in presenting exclusive tea blends from source gardens. They collaborate with popular tea estates to ensure that they only deliver top quality service as well as products to their customers. They have over 8 stores in Singapore, prepared to serve those who would want to unwind while sipping a fresh cup of premium tea. TWG Tea's stores even have gifts in case you know a friend or colleague who loves tea or if you're in a rush to buy delicious tea for a simple gathering.
Some people have become so fascinated about teas that they even commit time to study more about it. Good thing there's a tea shop in Singapore that has premium teas as well as workshops to aid you learn more when it comes toChinese Tea Appreciation. Tea Chapter is a great place for tea lovers who are seeking solace after spending a busy day in the bustling city of Singapore. They have diverse tearooms with traditional decors like Queen's corner, Japanese, and Korean rooms. During your stay, don't hesitate to ask more about tea, be it regarding how it's prepared or where it's from. You may even visit their website to find out more about their services or workshop packages. Tea Chapter is set along 9 & 11 Neil Road, Singapore. It is open Monday to Sunday starting from 10:30 in the morning up to 10:30 in the evening.
For the past ten years, Tian Fu Tea Room has been offering quality service and premium tea options to its loyal customers. They present more than thirty types of premium Chinese teaselections, such as yellow, flower, and white teas. Their shops also serve light snacks that go idealy with a hot cup of tea. Visit 1 of their shops in Singapore, especially if you are looking for a place to lounge with your friends or offcemates. Tian Fu Tea Room has stores in Raffles Place, Bugis, and Farrer Park.
For a greatblend of art and tea, don't | 585 |
Home | News Content Hub
BAR Technologies' CTV is faster than a conventional catamaran and has better seakeeping
Yacht-tech spin-off charts course to more sustainable CTV operations
07 Feb 2020by David Foxwell
With offshore wind developers focusing more closely on emissions in their supply chains, a crew transfer vessel designed by a British company has arrived at just the right time
A company with an impeccable pedigree claims a new design it has developed for crew transfer vessels (CTVs) uses less fuel, has lower emissions and is faster and more comfortable for windfarm technicians transported on it. It can also operate in worse conditions than other vessels.
And, as BAR Technologies chief executive John Cooper and chief technology officer Simon Schofield told OWJ in an exclusive interview at the 2020 Offshore Wind Journal Conference in London, the design has already been well received by leading vessel owners, including Seacat Services, and clients contracting for CTVs, including some well-known offshore wind industry leaders.
Led by chairman Martin Whitmarsh, the former McLaren Group team principal and chief executive, who also led development of the Offshore Wind Industry Prospectus commissioned by the Offshore Wind Industry Council, the company believes its design could revolutionise the CTV segment.
BAR Technologies was formed in 2016 to make available a wealth of design knowledge, technical skills and intellectual property developed through involvement in Britain's attempt to win back the America's Cup. It draws on the combined experience of a team of naval architects<|fim_middle|> as a marine fuel in the Americas. | and experts in related disciplines. For the offshore wind industry, the result of this high-level expertise is a new craft that is genuinely innovative, that the company claims can reduce vertical accelerations by 35-70% at the passenger location with operations in 2.5 m significant wave heights, and is between 30% and 50% more fuel efficient than a conventional CTV, depending on operating speed.
That means BAR Technologies' CTV would be less expensive to operate and has much lower emissions than a conventional design. It also means being able to operate in more challenging sea states with less motion sickness, delivering more operational days, while consuming much less fuel.
BAR Technologies' design, which has multiple patents, combines a slender monohull with a highly responsive foil optimisation and stabilisation system (FOSS), and a smaller hull known as a small water plane proa outrigger. The company calls it a 'FOSS SWA Pro Stabilised Monohull.' The main hull and the outrigger both have the FOSS, which corrects pitch and roll and provides exceptional seakeeping and fuel efficiency.
As Mr Cooper and Mr Schofield explain, the foil stabilisation system has already been adopted and used successfully on Princess Yachts' R35 motor yacht, which uses an active foil system (AFS) developed in partnership with the company.
On the motor yacht, the AFS works in conjunction with the hull to dramatically improve stability, comfort and seakeeping while reducing drag by up to 30%. Port and starboard foils adjust independently of each other, their positions calculated 100 times per second by an onboard computer.
Foils are not by any means a new feature in the marine industry, but the way the foils BAR Technologies developed works is. The T-shaped, carbon fibre foils the company developed do not lift a vessel out of the water like a hydrofoil, but they do produce additional lift at the stern of the main hull. The really clever part of the process is a control system that adjusts the foils in real-time to take account of the sea state.
The foils adjust the heel angle and attitude of the vessel on which they are installed to ensure the most effective contact area at the bow at any speed, for what Princess Yachts describes as "extreme levels of grip." On the R35, the AFS "works with the sea rather than battling against it," the UK-based boatbuilder says.
"On the CTV, together, the slender hullform and outrigger and foils combine to make a fast, stable, seaworthy platform that can also carry cargo," Mr Cooper tells OWJ. About 10% of the vessel's displacement is on the outrigger, which is sufficient to enable it to adjust to different cargo and loading states and carry deck cargo equal to that of a 24 m catamaran.
Like the foils on the R35, those on the CTV adjust the heel angle and attitude of the vessel so that less of it is in contact with the water. Resistance is reduced, enabling greater speeds or reducing fuel consumption – and hence emissions – for the same speed.
Mr Schofield says the company estimates the design can provide fuel savings of up to 50% at 15 knots and up to 22% at 30 knots. It is also capable of providing up to a 70% reduction in push-on thrust required compared to a conventional design and has slow speed manoeuvrability equal to that of a 24 m catamaran. Simulations the company has produced demonstrate the innovative design's manoeuvrability is at least as good as a catamaran, an assertion multiple operators that have been introduced to the design agree with.
BAR Technologies conducted a like-for-like evaluation of the new CTV with a best-in-class catamaran with the same engines and found that it could provide a 600-tonne reduction in CO2 emissions per annum, assuming a vessel working regular, 12-hour shifts.
With a length overall of 30 m, the 24-passenger vessel has a beam of 10.0 m and draft of 1.5 m. The powerplant would take the form of MTU/MAN/Caterpillar engines, providing 2,160 kW for a maximum 31 knots speed and 770 kW at 20 knots.
In the longer term, Mr Cooper expects that BAR Technologies' new design might have a quite different powertrain to existing designs like catamarans, taking advantage of the efficiencies and redundancy in new forms of propulsion.
Mindful of trends in marine propulsion and of the growing use of new fuels such as hydrogen and hybrids that make use of batteries, the company has not ruled out such an option in due course and describes the design as 'hybrid ready.'
"We have talked to leading windfarm owners about the usage profile of a CTV and they are open to a variety of solutions. I always ask them to help us lower their emissions by insisting on more efficient boats in their tenders," Mr Cooper says.
Build cost should not be an issue, either. BAR Technologies has spoken to a number of boatbuilders about the vessel and believes it would as economical to build as a conventional design and its construction cost would approximate to that of a typical 24-m catamaran.
Crewboat also takes advantage of foil technology
Other potential applications of the FOSS concept include larger offshore vessels such as crewboats for the offshore oil and gas sector or larger vessels for windfarms that are further offshore.
With this market in mind, the British company has developed the design of a 50-m crewboat for the Gulf of Mexico, a market that a number of well-known designers and builders have targeted with designs they believe would be more cost-effective than helicopters for crew transfers.
BAR Technologies' 50-m unit is capable of 45 knots while transferring 40 passengers offshore. Designed to transport passengers in business-style seating, it is capable of transiting in a 3 m significant wave height (Hs) at 35 knots and of conducting transfers in 3 m Hs.
It would be available with options for push-on, 'Frog'-type basket transfer and walk-to-work capabilities. It can also be configured for DP2 dynamic positioning. The company describes its fuel consumption as "exceptional." Like the CTV, it is ready for hybrid propulsion, if required.
Caterpillar - OSJCOffshore WindOffshore Wind JournalOffshore Wind Vessels
UltraShip opts for Wärtsilä fleet operations solution
First vessel with Raven integrated bridge delivered
Forth Ports acquires Targe Towing
Wilson Sons starts building escort tug fleet
Floating wind to provide mid-decade boost to AHTS demand
Training institute will support emerging US offshore wind industry
Huisman crane selected for OIM turbine installation ship
50Hertz and Energinet sign LOI for Baltic energy hub
Bulk Carriers Webinar Week
26 Jan 2021 ONLINE
Riviera's Bulk Carriers Webinar Week focuses on what's needed for safe and successful bulk carrier operations today and tomorrow. Each 45-minute webinar transmits essential information and sees lively interaction between the expert panel and audience.
Ship Recycling Webinar Week
Riviera's Ship Recycling Webinar Week cuts through the regulatory complexity to give vital insights into what's required for safe, green, compliant and commercially viable ship recycling operations. Each 45-minute webinar features a panel of maritime professionals expert in their chosen field.
Container Ships Webinar Week
Riviera's Container Ships Webinar Week focuses on what's needed for safe and successful container ship operations today and tomorrow. Each 45-minute webinar transmits essential information and sees lively interaction between the expert panel and audience.
LNG Bunkering & Refuelling Conference, Americas
18 Feb 2021 EST
Bringing together key industry players from across the supply chain to examine the opportunities, the challenges to overcome and the experiences to date in the development of LNG | 1,673 |
We've been graced with a mild fall this year; most days are sunny and<|fim_middle|> week here as well and this looks like a great antidote for the cold.
Love that you used brown rice in the pudding. Also, where do you get your whole spices from? I've gotten some from an Asian store back in Alberta but I don't even know where to start looking for them here.
I love the use of turmeric in this recipe — spiced perfectly for autumn!
Love the spices and a good warm pudding anytime.
I find rice pudding to be so soothing to make it has become my go-to comfort cooking over the last few years. There's just something very relaxing about standing over the stove stirring it for 20 minutes or so. I love the combination of spices you used-I can't wait to try this!
I have never made rice pudding, but I think I would LOVE it! This look so creamy and cozy. Plus, I love the fall spices!
I'm not a huge fan of rice pudding ever since my Danish sister-in-law introduced me to the evil Christmas rice pudding game (hiding a whole almond amongst haphazardly chopped almonds in a monstrously giant vat of rice pudding, which everyone has to eat down until the whole nut is located and the winner declared).
However, if I were only give a simple bowl of this, not a vat, I'd love it as it looks wonderful. Thanks!
This fall has been so long and mild – love it. I've never had brown rice pudding and certainly never added turmeric. Will definitely be making this for my family as it sounds so satisfying and rich but wholesome.
Rice pudding is my all time favorite dessert. Funny that I've never tried it with brown rice . . . going to remedy that today. Looks perfect!
In a word: Delicious!! I actually had left over brown rice that I made in a rice maker to go with curry. I skipped the first couple steps and just put the cooked rice with the spices and liquid. I used skim milk with a little bit of Pumpkin Spice Creamer. I didn't have to use any other sweetener, and it was so creamy! It took longer than 20 minutes, but that's fine by me. Definitely a keeper!
This looks delightful, thanks for the recipe 🙂 I'll be using it soon!
Not normally a fan of the store-bought rice/tapioca puddings, so I'm going to give this one a try. Maybe my boyfriend would relax his aversion to the texture of rice pudding and give me an insight to what he truly does and doesn't like, as well. | balmy, the brilliance of the orange trees enhanced by the watercolour blue skies.
The warm weather has been a bit of a mixed blessing, making it all too easy to ignore the approaching winter. So last week when the first frost struck, it left us quaking in our boots, literally.
A bowl of comfort food was in order and rice pudding was the obvious choice.
I haven't stopped thinking about rice pudding since I bought a copy of Faith Durand's cookbook Bakeless Sweets . There is a whole section just on rice, tapioca and whole-grain puddings which has been so inspired. Salted Caramel Risotto anyone?
I was looking for something simple, and not too rich. Ideally an afternoon snack that would nourish as well as comfort. I took the basis of Faith's splendid Gingered Brown Rice Pudding and added my own spices: cardamom, cloves, cinnamon and turmeric. I always prefer fresh ground spices over the often-stale pre-ground options, and they really shine in this recipe.
Turmeric is a root that I've been trying to incorporate more often into my foods – both savoury and sweet – as it has so many health benefits. Once you start using it, you'll find it is quite versatile, too, so keep it around for more than just curries. Try grating it into root vegetables soup or simmer it into a spiced chai for starters.
The turmeric gives this spiced brown rice pudding a gentle golden colour, perfectly suitable for fall – but without the pumpkin that we see so prevalent this time of the year. You can add a spoon or two of pumpkin purée if you choose, but the rice pudding is delicately flavoured and lovely on its own.
An egg yolk is added during the last five minutes of cooking time, which helps give the rice pudding a rich, creamy texture. It's honey-sweetened, gently spiced, and the ideal comfort food for a damp, grey fall day.
My boys scooped up a bowlful each after school – and I let them sprinkle little cinnamon sugar on top. It would be delicious with a dash of homemade pumpkin pie spice also.
I prefer brown rice for my pudding, it's much more substantial and lends a great nuttiness to the snack. Use short grain when you can, although this version is made with what I had on hand – long-grain – and turned out just fine.
This dessert also falls in the Snack category as it is made with wholesome brown rice and very little sweetener. Fall comfort food at its finest. Adapted from Faith Durand's cookbook Bakeless Sweets.
In a medium pot, combine 1/2 cup milk, 1 cup water, brown rice, salt and cinnamon stick. Bring to a rapid boil, then cover, and reduce heat to low.
Cook rice for about 40 minutes or until it is tender and most of the liquid has been absorbed. Meanwhile, crush the cardamom and cloves in a mortar and pestle.
Stir in the remaining 2 1/2 cups milk, the crushed spices, turmeric and honey. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat and cook, stirring often, for twenty minutes or until the pudding is thick and soupy.
Whisk egg yolk and vanilla together in a small bowl and add a little of the cooking liquid from the pudding to temper the mixture. Add about a cup of rice pudding to the egg, stir well, then transfer the mixture back to the pot.
Cook the rice pudding for another five minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from heat and taste for seasoning. Add more sweetener or a pinch of salt if desired.
Remove the cinnamon stick and serve warm.
I made do with long-grain brown rice for this recipe, but short-grain would make it a little stickier. Pre-ground cardamom and cloves (1/2 teaspoon of each) may be used instead of the whole spices.
Does rice pudding fall into your comfort food category?
Aimee — we have an egg and dairy allergy at our house. Do you think we could improvise with coconut milk or rice milk, and use cornstarch or another thickener at the end?
I make rice pudding with a coconut/almond milk blend all the time. It's delicious.
You could use either, yes! There's no need to thicken with anything at the end. The egg adds a richness, but it's not totally necessary for consistency.
All the spices in this are fabulous! Awesome idea!
Love, warm, spiced foods! This sounds absolutely delicious and comforting, Aimee!
I'm a baked rice pudding gal myself. But I am definitely intrigued by the addition of turmeric. This spice splend since it sounds so warm and comforting!
Er, I guess I'm not completely awake this Monday morning…Hopefully you caught my drift anyway.
The weather is supposed to dip low this | 1,005 |
https://www.entrepreneur.com/video/332046?utm_source=HearstNewspapers&utm_medium=related&utm_campaign=syndication
Want to Build Your Brand on Social Media? Here Are Some Quick Tips.
Make connections, not just ads.
Published 9:45 am EDT, Tuesday, April 16, 2019
Photo: Entrepreneur Network
While social media continues to evolve such as in terms of the popularity of certain platforms, the ways in which social media algorithms prioritize content and the types<|fim_middle|> some of the preeminent social media marketing experts to get their insights into how to be successful business-wise on social media.
One of those individuals is Roberto Blake, a creative entrepreneur who has built a large social media following and is the owner of digital agency Create Awesome Media. As he explains, attaining long-term business success on social media requires building relationships with people regardless of the platform you're using.
"You also have to account for the fact that there might not be a long shelf-life to these platforms, and people are scared to invest and commit there, whereas I am not. Because what I'm going to get is the relationship value while I'm there, and I'm going to take those relationships with me wherever I go," says Blake. "And that's where I think the future is for marketers and people in the social media world, to move away from vanity metrics, to move away from the fear and anxiety of what platforms and algorithms are going to do in the future."
Blake says brands need to understand how to translate the relationships they've built and the lessons they learned using the platform into the larger ecosystem outside of specific platforms.
Similarly, marketing experts such as Jay Baer and Andrea Vahl note that the business model of social media networks like Facebook is changing from a focus on mass communication to fostering one-to-one or small-group communication.
"People are realizing you don't have to be super big, you can just have influence on a smaller group and have a wonderful business," says Vahl.
Leverage the power of connections.
By connecting with a smaller group but creating deeper relationships, brands can tap more into word-of-mouth marketing, which goes further in an era where people trust businesses less and place more emphasis on what individuals say.
"The trick to everything in social now is to get your customers to do your marketing for you, to get them to create content, to get them to tell your story," says Baer.
In addition, the people behind brands should focus on consuming content from others to keep up with what's relevant and to understand how to create content that other people want to share. Baer says he spends at least two hours per day on this endeavor.
Attending conferences like Social Media Marketing World can be part of that content consumption, but in doing so, marketers should keep a similar focus on creating connections rather than passively absorbing information.
"Definitely get out and meet as many people [as you can] because amazing connections and synergies and even businesses are built from this conference," says Vahl.
Watch more videos from Carlos Gil on his YouTube channel here. Follow Carlos Gil on Instagram @CarlosGil83.
How to Get More From Your Influencer Marketing Investment
Save Time and Money With This Social Media Automation Tool
Copyright 2019 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved
This article originally appeared on entrepreneur.com | of content users want to engage with, brands need to recognize that the business of social media is still built on community and human-to-human engagement.
In other words, even though social media looks quite different now than it did on early-internet communication mediums such as chatrooms and bulletin boards, the social aspect still remains. People use social media because they want to connect with other individuals, and they want to be entertained, inspired and form emotional bonds with others.
That means that being successful on social media requires humanizing your brand through people rather than acting like an advertiser. And this principle will likely only become more important as social media shifts from a one-to-many communication style to focus more on one-to-one interactions.
Focus on building relationships.
Recently, I attended the seventh annual Social Media Marketing World conference in San Diego, which has grown to almost 5,000 attendees comprised of marketing professionals from around the world. There, I connected with | 190 |
I love today's Scripture reading that<|fim_middle|> presence of the Godhead in you and around you wherever you go. | describes our elder brother Jesus Christ. This is part of a larger text which I will write about in another posting. But take a moment to read these two verses and reflect on their meaning.
And verse 17 goes onto say that He is before all things and in him all things are held together. The very life of God is the glue that keeps the universe from spinning out of control. Whenever you feel like your own life is spinning out of control, remember this passage of Scripture. It is Jesus Himself that holds everything in this earth together. His very presence is in you and around you whether you feel Him or not.
My prayer today is that we would know that He created all things for His pleasure... and that includes you and me! He loves you with all of His heart and His passion is that you would live an abundant, fruitful life which brings glory to His Father and your Father (John 15:8). He is close to you. Very close. Closer than you could possibly imagine. May you always feel the abiding | 212 |
Police believe missing 16-year<|fim_middle|> you download our app, you can sign up for push notifications, which means you'll get alerts about the biggest breaking news stories.
We've also got Facebook groups for traffic and travel , crime , things to do with the kids , shopping and homes for sale .
Missing People | -old girl could be in Leicester area
Officers are becoming increasingly concerned for her safety
Trinity Gibbs (Image: West Mercia Police)
Police are becoming increasingly concerned for the welfare of a 16-year-old girl who has been missing since Friday.
Trinity Gibbs was last seen in the B&M store in Lancaster Road, Shrewsbury, at about 7.15pm when it is believed she may have left the car park as a passenger in a blue 58 plate Vauxhall Corsa.
West Mercia Police have appealed for help from people in Leicestershire as they believe she may have links to the Leicester area.
Leicestershire Police have published the appeal on their social media sites.
Trinity is described as white, around 5ft 3in tall, with burgundy coloured hair cut into a bob.
She was last seen wearing black leggings, white Air Force One trainers, a grey Puma top and a grey scarf.
Officers are asking anyone who sees her to please get in touch as soon as possible.
The teenager has links to the Sussex or Leicester areas so it is possible that she may have travelled there.
Anyone who has information on Trinity's whereabouts is asked to call West Mercia Police on 101.
What's happening in your area
Local crime statistics
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We want you to be able to get your news whenever and however you want it.
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If you prefer to use an app, we've got apps for both Android and Apple devices which can be tailored to deliver the news and sport that you're interested in.
And if | 367 |
San Carlos School District Fall Enrichment Classes Registration Is Open!
Registration for the Fall Enrichment is now open through KidzToPros.
Looking for a little extra something for your child to do after school? SMART-E is excited to be partnering with KidzToPros for after school enrichment registration and programs. Through this partnership with KidzToPros we are able to provide even more enrichment opportunities, while continuing partnerships with many returning vendors. A wide variety of after school enrichment classes will be offered, from sports, to creative arts, to science. Some enrichment classes will start the week of October 1, others start the week of October 8.
Registration for these courses is now open! To learn more about each of the activities - descriptions, cost, location, etc. - please visit the KidzToPros website at www.kidztopros.com. Also, keep a look out for the school-specific hard copy flier that will<|fim_middle|>. | be sent home with all students on Wednesday.
If you have any questions about the enrichment opportunities or registration, please send an email to contact@kidztopros.com or call (877) 202-1554 or (510) 356-8726 | 64 |
The Liberator
Dress Code Changes Perspectives
Luci Garza, Staff Writer
Dress codes are inherently restrictive of students' clothing choices, especially when implemented in a system that already heavily mandates student behavior. The manner students choose to dress is one of the ways they are able to express themselves and their interests.
New Austin Independent School District (AISD) dress code policies were introduced and put into effect during the 2019-2020 school year with assistance from senior Daylyn Gilbert. Before the recent change, AISD's dress codes had not been altered since 2007. Gilbert's efforts to change the dress code began with an experience she had with the previous dress code.
"I got the motivation to speak out against dress code when I was personally dress coded, and I felt it was invalid," Gilbert said.
After this experience, Gilbert began to look into dress coding policies throughout the district to gain more information. She says the results she found motivated her to speak about what she saw.
"When I looked at the data, it showed how many kids were discriminated against due to gender, race and religion." Gilbert said. "It made me want to speak out for everyone who couldn't."
She created a petition that gained hundreds of signatures and caught the attention of various media outlets. She was interviewed by KXAN and The Austin American-Statesman, among other Austin publications. As the dress code petition gained more and more signatures, other students began to voice their opinions.
"I felt really excited when it started to fully gain momentum, but even with that I faced a lot of backlash from people," Gilbert said. "Teachers and administrators were very hesitant because of the school policy and didn't want it to change or to get in trouble for supporting it."
Senior Sruthi Ilangovan worked with Gilbert on the petition. She and other LASA students supported Gilbert throughout the process of revision.
"I had worked and talked with Daylyn about the dress code change… since we sat in chemistry together, and that's where she was dress coded," Ilangoven said. "She talked to me about how she felt it was invalid and we came up with things to change it."
The dress code reform received backlash from staff and others. They found issues with the student-made petition or the changes it suggested to the dress code.
"Teachers and other people would tell me it was stupid and would never change, but it wasn't on Daylyn's level," Ilangoven said. "People from all over Austin would voice their opinions on the dress code change, and Daylyn became the face of [the movement]."
Soon enough the petition drew enough attention to become successful. The district adjusted the dress code for the 2019-2020 school year.
"When the dress code was changed, it made me feel free and relieved, like any change could be possible," Ilangoven said.
Assistant principal San Czaplinski enforced the previous dress code. Throughout her career, Czaplinski has seen both sides of the dress code debate.
"When I was a teacher, I just told kids that if they came to school, I would be happy," Czaplinski said. "But when I got into administration<|fim_middle|> ways, but if you let a mob rule, sometimes bad things happen that nobody intends to happen…. Sometimes they don't always know what's best for them, and that's a weird way to think about it, but in my opinion that's still true in some cases."
School administrations may have different reactions to the new policy updates. However, Czaplinski believes changes will be beneficial for LASA as a campus.
"Every campus is different, so in some campuses it won't matter, and in some campuses it will matter more than others, but I think LASA is very relaxed, so I think for us, it can be a good thing, but for other campuses it might not be," Czaplinski said.
AISD
Campus Sad To Say Goodbye To Mr. Ephraim
DIVCO Gives Thanks
UIL Sports Split Hits Orchestra and Band Hard
Spotlighting Race at LASA
LASA Roadshow Takes Off
Global Youth Rise Up: Teens in the Fight Against Climate Change
The Fight for Family Land on the Texas Border
Proactive Not Reactive Safety
<# print( 'The Liberator' ) #> | , I saw the other side of that, and how if the school or campus has rules, I want to enforce them. If you're going to make a rule for me to follow, you have to support it too."
Czaplinski worked at other schools before coming to LASA, and she believes LASA has a more relaxed environment than other schools. These restrictions were not limited to strictly clothing, either.
"At the campus I was at kids couldn't wear headphones, they could not have a beard, they couldn't wear hats, it was much more strict than it is here," Czaplinski said. "Really, I was often the teacher that would get in trouble because they would have these dress code checks and in the middle of class they would come over the announcements and say 'teachers at this time, please have every student stand in your classroom' and then we were supposed to send kids out that were out of dress compliance. We were supposed to call students out… it was absolutely ridiculous. And at that point I used to get really frustrated with that."
Glen McNeil, a teacher who has worked at LASA for over a decade, noted a difference between the way students dressed in previous years and the way he's seen them dress recently. He feels the new dress code is too relaxed and can distract some students.
"They don't ever voice it, but there are more instances of comments and things about people and how they look than there ever have been," McNeil said. "But more people are caught up in how they look, and yet they are wearing less and less. In order to be fashionable, they still make themselves uncomfortable. And to me, that makes no sense whatsoever."
McNeil believes that while the district listening to students is generally a good thing, they shouldn't agree to implement changes solely because those changes are popular.
"This present administration, not Ms. Crescenzi, but the ones downtown– they actually listen to the public a lot more than others did before," McNeil said. "Obviously it's good in a lot of | 419 |
The terrific space age appearance of this vintage Italian Sciolari style chrome and glass chandelier fixture circa 1970 is marvelous to see. The vintage Italian light fixture has twelve lights and each arm has a shaped profile set to create a perfect sphere. Please enlarge and zoom on the photographs to see the excellent craftsmanship and unique hand made pieces of glass that give this modern light fixture its tactile appeal.<|fim_middle|> discs also contribute to the modern quality of this Italian light fixture. In the centre of the fixture there are twelve bulb receptacles and because this is a vintage Italian chandelier the bulbs need an extra long threaded chandelier base (easily available online). The sparkling light produced by this vintage chandelier is quite exceptional and will be a focal point in any interior. | Each of the large glass rings set at the outside of the chandelier were hand made giving each of them a unique appearance and contributes to their individual manner in which they reflect and refract light. The chromed metal gives exciting reflection and the outer chromed metal | 52 |
A "Brief" History of the Doobie Brothers
The Doobie Brothers have been entertaining audiences for over 50 years with their unique blend of rock, folk, and country music. Throughout their career, the band has released 14 studio albums, each one showcasing their evolution as musicians and their ability to adapt to changing music trends. In this blog post, we will take a look at each of the band's studio albums and the impact they had on the music industry.
Starting with their debut album, "The Doobie Brothers" was released in 1971 on Warner Bros. Records. The album featured a mix of rock, folk, and country music, which set the band apart from their contemporaries, and while it didn't achieve commercial success, it did establish the band as a force to be reckoned with in the music industry. This album was a true representation of the band's roots and showcased their skills as musicians, and it set the tone for their future albums.
Their second album, "Toulouse Street" was released the following year and featured a more polished sound than their debut. The album reached number 35 on the Billboard 200 chart and helped to solidify the band's place in the music industry. The album included hit songs like "Listen to the Music" and "Jesus Is Just Alright", which helped to establish the band as a household name.
"The Captain and Me" was released in 1973 and featured the hit single "Long Train Runnin'." The album reached number 7 on the Billboard 200 chart and helped to establish the band as one of the top rock groups of the 1970s. With the success of this album, the band went on tour to promote it and played in front of large crowds, which helped to increase their popularity.
1974's "What Were Once Vices Are Now Habits" featured the hit single "Black Water" and reached number 13 on the Billboard 200 chart. The band continued to evolve and experiment with different sounds and styles on this album. This album marked a significant change in the band's sound, and it was a true representation of their growth as musicians.
1975's "Stampede" featured a more country-influenced sound and reached number 18 on the Billboard 200 chart. The band continued to experiment with different sounds on this album, and it helped to establish them as one of the most versatile and adaptable bands of the decade. The album's hit single, "Sweet Maxine," helped to further increase the band's popularity.
1976's "Takin' It to the Streets" featured the hit single "Takin' It to the Streets" and reached number 13 on the Billboard 200 chart. The band continued to evolve and adapt their sound on this album, and it helped to establish them as one of the top rock groups of the 1970s. The album's title track, "Takin' It to the Streets", became one of the band's most popular songs and helped to cement their place in the industry.
1978's "Minute by Minute" featured the hit single "What a Fool Believes" and reached number 1 on the Billboard 200 chart. The band continued to evolve and adapt their sound on this album, and it helped to establish them as one of the top rock groups of the 1970s. The album's hit single, "What a Fool Believes", was a massive success, winning the Grammy award for Song of the Year, and helped to cement the band's place in the industry. The album also featured the hit songs "Minute by Minute" and "Dependin' on You" which helped to further increase the band's popularity.
1980's<|fim_middle|> with multiple participants. Unfortunately, the process is not yet to the point where Martin would feel comfortable trying to make similar separations in the quieter, more controlled setting of a studio recording.
"I took the crowd [noise] off and and then I sort of put the crowd back on again," Martin said. "With the source-separation software, I need to make absolutely sure that it does no harm to the audio whatsoever. With things like Hollywood Bowl, to be honest, the audio is pretty cruddy anyway. So it was actually making the audio sound better, because I was reducing the screaming. I think if you compare it to the Hollywood Bowl release my dad had to work through in the '70s, it's far better."
The earliest Beatles sessions were recorded the same way, with studio performances blended onto a single track in order to take advantage of the limited tape space provided back then. On George Harrison's "Taxman," for instance, "the guitar, the bass and drums are all on one track," Martin noted. "That's why the record is basically on the left-hand side, and then there's a shaker on the right-hand side of the center."
Top-down remixes of Rubber Soul and Revolver will have to wait, he said, until each of those things can be given its own individual platform.
"Despite the constant requests I get on Twitter or whatever to do these albums," Martin added, "I want to make sure that we can do a good job and do a beneficial job. You've got to make sure that you're doing things at the right time for the technology."
In the meantime, Martin is updating the Dolby Atmos version of the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, which debuted in June on Apple Music. That particular mix was done as part of a theatrical presentation, and Martin wants to adapt it for home and headphone listening.
Billy Gibbons Reflects On The Last Year With Bandmate Dusty Hill
Following the death of his bandmate Dusty Hill, ZZ Top guitarist Billy Gibbons has opened up about his friend's health struggles in the last years of his life, saying that it was "no secret" that Hill was dealing with some issues, including a dislocated shoulder, broken hip and ulcers.
"He's been kind of tiptoeing through keeping himself ship-shape, best he could," Gibbons told Variety. "But I think that this was a real challenge. And by throwing in the towel, it might've caught up with him. Who knows? I'm just glad he's in a good spot."
The news of Hill's death came just a few days after the recent launch of a ZZ Top tour — the band had played two shows when Hill requested a dismissal, citing health reasons.
"Of course I said, 'Hey, man, health is number one. Go do your thing,'" Gibbons recalled telling him. "And I could tell through those first two valiant attempts, if he's not giving it 110%, he was the first one to kind of say, 'Gee whiz. Let's go take care of this.'"
In 2016 and 2017, ZZ Top had to postpone or cancel tour dates due to Hill's health issues, but this time, according to Gibbons, Hill insisted that the band continue touring during his absence. "He was adamant," Gibbons remembered, noting that Hill himself appointed ZZ Top guitar technician Elwood Francis to play in his place. "He said, 'I'm going to go down and see what's up. In the meantime,' he said, 'the show must go on. Don't forget it.' And he was pointing his finger and shaking it."
At the moment, the exact cause of Hill's death remains undetermined, though it's been reported the bassist passed in his sleep. "Let's face it, you don't necessarily pass away from a broken shoulder or broken hip," Gibbons said. "Although the attending physician had earlier warned him that bursitis was not uncommon, even arthritis, and they said it's not a very comfortable place to be. And I could tell that he was moving a little slow. He said, 'Boy, this shoulder and hip are really starting to become a problem.' But, as of this juncture, yeah, it was off to dreamland and beyond."
Moving forward, Francis will continue to serve as Hill's replacement as the band resumes its rescheduled tour, which will go into 2022. The band performed its first show last night since Hill's death, in Tuscaloosa, Ala. "Got a new guy up here, as you know," Gibbons said from the stage. "Dusty gave me the directive. My friend, your pal, Elwood Francis is gonna hold it down behind me.
Your Own FM - Chosen to Deliver Voice Work For Wittmann Battenfeld Group & Siemens
Simpsonville based, "Your Own FM" has been chosen to supply voice over work for The Wittman Battenfeld Group. Wittmann Battenfeld is a worldwide firm that uses Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology by Siemens.
"Your Own FM" founder, Larry Tallant, will serve as the primary voice for a series of product videos which will be made available to Wittmann's world wide client base.
"It's truly an honor to be chosen to represent Wittmann Battenfeld and Siemens for the rollout of this groundbreaking technology. Both are world class companies and we appreciate the opportunity to be part of their team", says Tallant.
Your Own FM is based in Simpsonville, South Carolina. It has two divisions, Voice Over Services for businesses, IVR, radio and TV imaging. The second as the designer, marketer, and programmer of streaming radio station for personal use, business, and non-profits.
The Wittmann Battenfeld Group with headquarters in Vienna/Austria and Kottingbrunn/Austria is a worldwide operating company with 8 production facilities in 5 countries and 32 subsidiaries in all major plastics markets in the world.
Siemens is a technology company focused on industry, infrastructure, mobility, and healthcare.
Creating technologies for more resource-efficient factories and resilient supply chains to smarter buildings and grids, to cleaner, comfortable transportation and advanced healthcare, the company empowers customers to transform the industries that form the backbone of economies, transforming the everyday for billions of people. | "One Step Closer" featured the hit single "Real Love" and reached number 18 on the Billboard 200 chart. The band continued to evolve and adapt their sound on this album, and it helped to establish them as one of the top rock groups of the
1982's "Farewell Tour" was a live album that was released as the band was going on hiatus. It featured live recordings of some of the band's most popular songs and helped to solidify the band's place in the industry.
1987's "Cycles" was the band's first album after their hiatus and featured a more contemporary sound. It reached number 27 on the Billboard 200 chart and helped to establish the band as one of the top rock groups of the 1980s.
1989's "The Doobie Brothers" was a greatest hits album that featured some of the band's most popular songs and helped to solidify the band's place in the industry.
2010's "World Gone Crazy" was the band's first album of new material in almost a decade and featured a mix of rock, folk, and country music. The album received positive reviews from critics and helped to establish the band as one of the top rock groups of the 2010s.
In conclusion, The Doobie Brothers have had a successful career in the music industry, releasing 14 studio albums throughout their 50-year tenure. Each album showcases the band's evolution as musicians and their ability to adapt to changing music trends. The band's versatility and ability to adapt to different sounds and styles have helped to establish them as one of the top rock groups of all time and solidify their place in the music industry.
Your Own FM & Country Barnyard Begin Voice Tracking Agreement
I'm pleased to "announce" I'm doing voice tracking for Rory Heath and his "Country Barnyard Radio."
They are located in Somersworth, New Hampshire and hopefully this South Carolina bumpkin will fit in. I will be doing a 5 night a week program.
Looking forward to being part of the air schedule.
One type of Voice Tracking is to provide smaller-market radio stations with a polished, "big city" sound using experienced disc jockeys from larger cities who can produce content quicker than younger or less-experienced (often local) talent.
Voice-tracking refers to the process of a disc jockey prerecording his or her on-air "patter." It is then combined with songs, commercials, and other elements in order to produce a product sounding like a live air shift.
Voice-tracking has become common on many music radio stations, particularly during evening, overnight, weekend, and holiday time periods. Most radio station owners consider it an economical alternative to employing live disc jockeys around the clock
Lynyrd Skynyrd cancels string of concerts
Lynyrd Skynyrd canceled a string of concerts after learning guitarist Rickey Medlocke tested positive for COVID-19.
"Rickey is home resting and responding well to treatment," the band wrote Saturday on Facebook. "We will continue to update you on his condition."
The four affected dates are Canton, Ohio (Aug. 9); Jackson, Miss. (Aug. 10); Atlanta (Aug. 13) and Cullman, Ala. (Aug. 14). The Atlanta date is "being rescheduled" for Oct. 23, and the group's next show is currently booked for Aug. 19 in Canandaigua, N.Y.
Tour Canceled for 2021
Stevie Nicks has canceled all of her 2021 tour plans.
The Fleetwood Mac star had five solo shows planned for the year, but tweeted that she wants to play it safe "so I can continue singing for the next decade or longer.
I'm devastated and I know the fans are disappointed, but we will look towards a brighter 2022."
Why the Beatles Haven't Remixed 'Rubber Soul' or 'Revolver'
Producer Giles Martin has recently overseen the release of a series of newly remixed and expanded box sets devoted to some of the Beatles' most beloved later albums. But don't expect him to dig further back into four track-era gems like 1965's Rubber Soul or 1966's Revolver anytime soon.
The technology, he says, isn't there yet.
"That's a good example of, 'How do we do that?'" Martin told Rolling Stone. "How do I make sure that John [Lennon] or Paul [McCartney]'s vocal isn't just in the right-hand speaker, but also make sure that his guitar doesn't follow him if I put it in the center?"
Martin began experimenting with new software at Abbey Road Studios that might help while completing 2016's remix of The Beatles: Live at the Hollywood Bowl. The original tapes, which Giles' late father George Martin oversaw for release in 1977, had guitars and voices on the same track. Crowd noise was also mixed at distractingly high levels.
The younger Martin used this emerging technology to basically reverse engineer a new stereo mix by decoupling the individual elements on the old audio tracks | 1,096 |
Dee Dee Bridgewater, jazz singer<|fim_middle|>.
Like what you hear? Find more music stories. | for the ages, arrives at Vancouver's Chan Centre along with Irvin Mayfield and the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra, this Saturday evening, February 27. They are on tour as part of an homage to the city of New Orleans on the 10th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. The main focus of the music for the evening is the Bridgewater and Mayfield collaboration, an album called Dee Dee's Feathers.
She is frank about how a concert works. "When I am performing live, I try to involve the audience, share with them, let the music speak to them," Bridgewater says. "It is also about communication with the musicians onstage. I concentrate on that individual evening, which is always unique, different than the others." This Saturday is a fantastic opportunity to experience the great Bridgewater, and to witness something unique, firsthand | 171 |
Do you need new or more comfortable seating for your home? Are you looking to complete your decor with the right lamps and pillows? Or maybe you'd like to take advantage of our furniture sets for your whole living room. Find style, savings, and comfort with our living room furniture. Thanks to your Rutland Rent-A-Center, finding the right furniture is easy. We carry top furniture brands like Ashley, Powell, and Classic Flame so you get the best combination of quality and style. Rent-A-Center has what you need, thanks to our wide selection of furniture for rent. With items like living room sets, sofas, sectionals, accent chairs, recliners, end tables, and side tables, and fireplaces, we really do have it all!
We're all about bringing comfort right into your living room. You want your living space to be well-styled and fashionable, but still relaxing. Because every home, condo, or apartment interior is unique, our living room furniture is available to suit a variety of tastes. The styles we carry suit a wide range of tastes, so you get contemporary styling that's also flexible.
Check out our entire inventory of living room furniture for rent online or at your Rutland<|fim_middle|> out the right furniture for your living room, family room, or den at the right price. Contact us to learn about our easy payment options. Renting new living room furniture has never been so simple! | Rent-A-Center to browse in-person. And if you find an item on our website that isn't in your store, simply talk to a store associate about special-ordering it for you. No matter your needs, we can help you pick | 49 |
Super CEO Matthew Fleeger
August 17, 2021 by daytobeyou
CEO's often receive bad reputations in movies and TV shows, being shown as greedy money hungry men or woman who don't care about anyone but themselves and their company. This However cannot be said about CEO and president of Gulf Coast Western, Matthew Fleeger. Matthew received his schooling from the Southern Methodist University-Cox School of business with a BBA in Finance and Marketing, and clearly he was meant for the business world. From starting Med Solutions, running Gulf Coast Western and working with charities, Matthew Fleeger is not the typical CEO they show on screen.
Along with running a successful oil business in Dallas Texas, Matthew has a<|fim_middle|> during such a hard time, which was even harder due to the pandemic. It cannot be said that Matthew Fleeger is not a giving person, and his reputation speaks for itself, and I'm sure he will continue to be generous for years to come.
How Andrea Natale's Dedication and Compassion Enabled Him Get Several Accolades
Jake Medwell Speaks to Freightwaves
How Gary McGaghey And Other CFOs Prepare For A Potential Change In The Tax Policy Arena | soft spot for a charity called the Sadie Keller Foundation. This foundation helps families of children that are fighting cancer, something she knows all to well. The Gulf Coast Western and Sadie Keller foundation partnered together and a 25,000 dollar donation made to help them go way beyond their goal. Matthew also bought paintings that Sadie had done, another benefit to the foundation. Having battled cancer he and Sadie had that in common, which led to the partnership. Sadie Keller Foundation and Matthew coming together has increased the amount of toys that they could bring to kids stuck in the hospital | 120 |
<|fim_middle|> plate | Green buzzword
Staff Sept. 19, 1994 From the print edition
The Grand Canyon Trust and the National Park Service will hold a three-day symposium to explore the untested concept of ecosystem management as it applies to public and private lands in the West. "Ecosystem Management: Buzzword of the "90s," which runs Oct. 6-8 in Flagstaff, Ariz., features National Park Service Director Roger Kennedy; Ray Rasker, an economist with The Wilderness Society; and Johanna Wald, an attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Council. The program also includes an evening of chamber music preceding a speech by University of Colorado law professor Charles Wilkinson and a wine and cheese reception honoring the Arizona congressional delegation. The conference, to be held in Cline Auditorium on the campus of Northern Arizona University, costs $125. For more information, contact the Grand Canyon Trust, P.O. Box 30848, Flagstaff, AZ 86003-9962 (602/774-7488).
More from Books
How beef colonized the West and America's dinner | 242 |
Whenever I make a trip to the East coast, specifically the Northeast I try to pack in as much as I can. This recent trip was no different with stop is in New York City, Vermont, Quebec City and Maine. It's<|fim_middle|> nice compilation video. Available HERE.
A really nice piece written by Christopher Clarey with the NY Times. Captures the past 12 months since winning gold in Pyeongchang, South Korea. Great photo's by Squamish, BC based Alana Paterson. | busy days but somehow I come out more energized than when I arrived.
On Wednesday, March 20, 2019, Skirack and theSleepy Hollow Inn Bike and Ski Center had the honor of hosting one of the most inspirational and influential nordic skiers of our time. It was a perfect, blue bird day. The snow was soft and the sun was shining when I arrived at Sleepy Hollow to set up for what promised to be an exciting event. People were already materializing with an hour still to go before the start. You could feel the anticipation building as everyone eagerly waited for the Fischer SUV to appear. I busied myself setting up tables and erecting wind blades that proudly proclaimed Fischer and One Way. When next I looked out the window of the barn, there it was, shining black in the sun, and as I scanned the scene I finally spotted her: Kikkan Randall, winningest American Nordic Skier, Olympic Gold Medalist and determined cancer fighter.
Sometimes we choose to do things that push us out of our comfort zones. Sometimes those things happen to us and we have to dig in, embrace the discomfort and use all of our tools to push through. Kikkan Randall has experienced both categories. Kikkan is a lifelong skier. Her family moved to Alaska when she was young so most of her formative years were spent there. She's a talent. Pure and simple. A natural athlete who gravitated to skiing. She has competed in 5 Olympic games. FIVE! While she raced at the top level in the world for over 15 years, it wasn't until 2018 when she and her teammate Jessie Diggins won gold in the Team Sprint – the first ever gold medals in that event!
Kikkan's athletic career alone is something we can all glean knowledge and inspiration from. But the next chapter of her life started three months after her gold medal. She was officially retired when she felt a lump on her breast and was diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer at 35 years old. This is the chapter she's still writing. Through it all, she has used exercise as a tool to help during treatments and guess what? Just for kicks, she jumped into her first endurance race – the 50km Birkie! Like me (racing the 29km Korte), she was also stepping outside of her comfort zone and doing a long distance race for the first time.
Her non-profit Fast & Female – Kikkan is empowering girls everyday!
I think Kikkan is just one of those people who on the outside is like the girl next door, so she's real and approachable, but on the inside is like a superhero, able to push herself mentally and physically further than most people can ever imagine. But the effect is real. Her Positivity is contagious.
Post-Note: Back to the Birkie for a minute. It's funny. We texted before and after the start. I told her there was a bet to see who would win – me in the 29k or Kikkan in the 50k. At 2:48, she texted me this sentence, "That was hard." I wrote back, "I can't wait to hear about it. But the most awesome thing is that I beat you." Of course she averaged 3:22 per k for 50k and I averaged 5:13 per k for 29k but a bet's a bet. So the Kikkan effect has begun!
A MAJOR PROTAGONIST ON THE WORLD CIRCUIT IN HER SPECIALTY OF CROSS-COUNTY SKI SPRINT FOR A DECADE, THE BEST US CROSS-COUNTRY ATHLETE IN HISTORY, KIKKAN RANDALL WON GOLD IN THE TEAM SPRINT WITH JESSICA DIGGINS AT PYEONGCHANG 2018 AND THE FIRST US VICTORY IN THE SPORT FOR 94 YEARS AT THE WINTER GAMES. SHE TALKS TO OLYMPIC.ORG ABOUT THIS FEAT, AS WELL AS HER ELECTION TO THE IOC ATHLETES' COMMISSION AND HER BATTLE AGAINST ILLNESS.
Kikkan Randall had everything — a long-awaited Olympic cross-country skiing gold medal in Pyeongchang, a family life with her husband and toddler son. And then she had breast cancer.
By Bonnie D. Ford and photo's by Anchorage based Ash Adams.
ESPN has put together a very | 933 |
You're in a job search routine where you submit several online applications daily – one after the other – yet you have not heard back from anyone. You're starting to feel like your applications are being sucked into a black hole. Bad news: this feeling can actually be a reality – and it's called an applicant tracking system (ATS).
In our Google-reliant world, the ATS has dominated the job search, because it simplifies hiring like Yelp simplifies restaurant-selection. Hiring managers type in what they want, and the ATS screens out candidates who do not have the required skills and reveals the "perfect candidate." Sounds pretty appealing, right? According to Recruiting Daily, 75 percent of large companies use an ATS. However, like any technology, and ATS does have its downside – qualified candidates can be overlooked if they don't have the right information on their resume.
An ATS is the obstacle between the job seeker and the hiring manager. They scan applications by using keywords selected by hiring managers and then eliminating applications that lack those keywords. They leave only the ones that seemingly fit the requirements for the hiring manager to review and determine who to interview.
Keywords can be anything from a specific computer program, educational background or general experience. But there can be many ways to write about a skill or communicate an experience – how do you know you're using the right keywords?
It doesn't take a mind-reader to determine which keywords an ATS is looking for; hiring managers usually just tell you what they are via the job description! For example, let's say you're applying to a payroll position, and the job requirement mentions Microsoft Excel knowledge, the ability to multi-task and attention to detail. In your resume, you would highlight these specific three things to have a better shot at having your resume seen by the hiring manager.
Only include keywords in a place that makes sense and flows with the rest of your resume<|fim_middle|> you a job. At the end of the day, the best candidate will get hired – it could be you, but it could be someone else – but if you take the extra steps, like including keywords, you have a better shot at shining as a qualified candidate.
Have any additional tips or insights? Leave us a comment!
This entry was posted in Job Seekers and tagged Application Tracking System, ATS. Bookmark the permalink.
What are the key words for a woman's fashion designer.?
That depends on the position. The best way to determine what they are is to study each job description, pinpoint the language used in key responsibilities/requirements and integrate that language into your resume. Hope that clarification helps!
Thank you so much for this article. I have been seeking employment for a little over three months now, and apply for jobs that I know I am qualified to perform and mostly tailor my resume. I do usually get an automated confirmation afterwards but nothing after that. I find this article extremely helpful and will continue to keep an eye on those key words! Wish me luck.
Thank you so much for your comment; I'm happy you found the advice useful. Best of luck during your search!
That varies from job-to-job and company-to-company, but you can figure them out by carefully reading a job description. There are many different ways to describe one responsibility, so tailor your experience to the language the job description uses. Hope that helps!
The information given is very helpful Thanks a million.
Glad you enjoyed it! You're very welcome!
I am a new MBA graduate looking to gain employment in H.R. I have been a social service employee (11 years) and administrative secretary (medical & business) for 20 years. How do I show my experience and employment longevity in combination to my recent academic accomplishment in my resume?
Definitely add your new degree to your resume! I would put it below your work experience.
It seems like you have great work history! However, I would only include experience relevant to the jobs you're applying to. Perhaps there was an aspect of your administrative and social services positions that helped prepare you for a future HR role – highlight that experience and parse out the rest.
How do I emphasize my desire for an HR position if I have an MBA and Masters in Human Resource Management but no experience in HR. I worked for the same company for 19 years in Account Management, AR, Client Relations Analyst and Billing specialist? | . You don't want to compromise readability because you jammed in as many keywords possible. Why? If it is parsed out by the ATS, and your resume looks like a keyword mess to the hiring manager, you probably won't earn an interview.
Do not lie about your experience and skills for the sake of including keywords. Candidates who lie on their resumes will get caught and their candidacy will abruptly end.
Including keywords on your resume only increases the change of your resume being selected by the ATS – it does not guarantee | 103 |
Home / Current Titles / Biographies and Memoirs / Don't Tell'em You're Cold: a Memoir of Poverty and Resilience
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Don't Tell'em You're Cold: a Memoir of Poverty and Resilience
Don't Tell'em You're Cold: a Memoir of Poverty and Resilience quantity
Category: Biographies and Memoirs Tag: Katherine P. Manley
Don't Tell'em You're Cold: a Memoir of Poverty and Resilience is an uplifting story of survival from abject poverty, set in the hills and coal camps of southern West Virginia. Katherine Manley and her family faced extreme challenges and struggles with ingenuity and traditional Appalachian stoicism. Beyond the poverty, other obstacles compounded Katherine's life: a severely disabled father and a mother who struggled with the day-to-day survival. On a cool October morning, she left in a taxi and never returned, leaving 14-year-old Katherine to take care of her father and raise her siblings in her mother's stead. Katherine went on to become an award-winning teacher, paying forward her hard-learned lessons to thousands of lucky students. This is a story of triumph that encourages everyone to never give up.
"Kathy Manley's compelling memoir ought to be required reading for every person in America today—especially every person in high school. Not a shred of sentimentality or self-pity mars this beautifully written account of an Appalachian childhood spent in deepest poverty, yet Manley's narrative is neither pitiful nor sad<|fim_middle|> beloved teacher, Freida J. Riley of Coalwood, West Virginia. She is married and the mother of three adult children and has two precious grandsons. In her spare time, you'll find Katherine hiking the heavenly mountains of West Virginia, reading by a cozy fire, or relaxing at the beach, taking a well-earned rest.
Hero Birds
We Were Legends in Our Own Minds
Hero Birds We Were Legends in Our Own Minds
You're viewing: Don't Tell'em You're Cold: a Memoir of Poverty and Resilience $19.99 | , it is courageous and loving, filled with hope for the future. Read this book."
— Lee Smith, author Dimestore: A Writer's Life
"West Virginians are among the very best story tellers in the world, and Kathy Manley is clearly a West Virginian. Her story rings with vibrancy and truth. Highly recommended."
— Homer Hickam, Author of Rocket Boys/October Sky.
"Kathy Manley's astonishing and moving memoir Don't Tell'em You're Cold is the story of a family with so many strikes against it that even a five year old's contribution is essential to putting food on the table. This is a record of resilience and love, told with unwavering honesty in a powerful, resonant voice that the reader will live with for a long time."
— Meredith Sue Willis, author Their Houses
Katherine Manley lives in southern West Virginia and has been an educator in Logan County schools for over 35 years. Earning degrees from Marshall University and West Virginia State University, she is a National Board Certified Teacher. She is a fellow of the 1995 West Virginia Writing Project directed by Dr. Fran Simone and the 1996 West Virginia Humanities Council Appalachian Seminar directed by Dr. Judy Byers. Her writing has been featured in Hamilton Stone Review, Traditions: A Journal of West Virginia Folk Culture and Educational Awareness, The Guyandot Observer, and Fearless: Women's Journeys to Self-Empowerment. Her short stories have placed in West Virginia Writers' Contests, and her memoir was a semi-finalist in William Faulkner's Writing Competition. Katherine has won several prestigious teaching awards including finalist for West Virginia Teacher of the Year, Arch Coal Teacher of the Year, and The Prodigy Foundation Teacher Achievement Award given in memory of the Rocket Boys' | 378 |
Big Lonely Doug
The Story of One of Canada's Last Great Trees
Harley Rustad
Copyright © 2018 Harley Rustad
Published in Canada in 2018 and the USA in 2019 by
House of Anansi Press Inc.
www.houseofanansi.com
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
Distribution of this electronic edition via the Internet or any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal. Please do not participate in electronic piracy of copyrighted material; purchase only authorized electronic editions. We appreciate your support of the author's rights.Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication
Rustad, Harley, author
Big Lonely Doug / Harley Rustad.
Issued in print and electronic formats.
ISBN 978-1-4870-0311-1 (softcover). — ISBN 978-1-4870-0312-8 (EPUB). —
ISBN 978-1-4870-0313-5 (Kindle)
1. Old growth forest ecology—British Columbia. 2. Old growth
forest conservation—British Columbia. 3. Logging—British Columbia.
4. Ecotourism—British Columbia. I. Title.
QH106.2.B7R87 2018 577.309711 C2018-900673-0
C2018-900674-9
Library of Congress Control Number: 2018943835
Book design: Alysia Shewchuk
Map of Vancouver Island: Mary Rostad
Cover design: Alysia Shewchuk • Cover image: TJ Watt — Ancient Forest Alliance
_We acknowledge for their financial support of our publishing program the Canada Council for the Arts, the Ontario Arts Council, and the Government of Canada._
For Dad, who taught me how to name the trees
Contents
Prologue: A Seed
Chapter 1: The Ribbon
Chapter 2: Evergreen
Chapter 3: A Tree of Many Names
Chapter 4: Green Gold
Chapter 5: War for the Woods
Chapter 6: A Forest Alliance
Chapter 7: The Logger
Chapter 8: Last Tree Standing
Chapter 9: Growing an Icon
Chapter 10: Big Tree Hunting
Chapter 11: Tall Tree Capital
Chapter 12: A New Ecosystem
Epilogue: A Giant
_Notes_
_Acknowledgements_
_Index_
Prologue
A Seed
A calm wind ruffled the branches of some of the largest trees in the world. It twisted and turned through the forest, picking up scents of cedar and fir and spruce — even a faint tinge of salt, this close to the Pacific Ocean. Late afternoon sun had burned off any lingering mist, leaving a clear blue sky.
Nearly every branch on nearly every tree held cones that dangled like ornaments. On one tree, a Douglas fir growing in a valley on Vancouver Island, a cone shook and bounced in the breeze. It began to open. The warm season had caused the cone's colour to gradually turn from green and sticky with sap to brown and papery dry, its thumbnail-shaped scales to separate, and the species' telltale trident-like bracts to curl — the final stage in the cone's year-and-a-half cycle to maturation.
As the temperature fluctuated between the early autumn's hot days and cool nights, the cone responded accordingly, opening and closing so slightly it would be nearly imperceptible to the eye. One degree of seasonal difference could spell disaster for the precious seeds held within the cone: too hot and they might dry out; too cold and wet and they might rot.
As the sun began to drop behind the forested hills, and when the moisture in the air was just right, a seed dislodged from between the scales and began tumbling earthwards alongside the great trunk of its parent tree. Its feathery tail twirled slightly in the freefall towards a dense undergrowth of salal, sword fern, and huckleberry — a fall where the randomness of nature would determine its fate.
The vast majority of the fifty thousand seeds that fell from each tree that year would die. They would be eaten by birds or squirrels or would simply not be lucky enough to find the optimal conditions to sprout. But this one survived. This one landed softly on a patch of moist, green moss growing on the rotting bark of a tree that had been blown over by a fierce wind a century before. Feeding off nutrients in the log, the seed pushed through the moss and into the light. The seedling, barely an inch tall, spread its first pair of glossy green needles.
In time, the seedling would enter an exalted arboreal pantheon, which included some of Canada's biggest trees: western red cedars so wide that it would take ten people holding hands in a chain to encircle their bases; Sitka spruces so tall that their tops would rival towers of a city core; and Douglas firs so old they would outlive more than a dozen human generations. In the wet valleys would grow the epitomes of their respective species — great, hulking masses of nature.
These trees would come to attract the attention of loggers, who would put axe and saw to trunk to harvest the warm wood that could be cut and manipulated for innumerable uses. These trees would be surrounded by protestors fighting for their protection, seeing more value in keeping them alive than in their immediate utility. And these trees would attract visitors who wanted little more than to feel awe and wonder in the shadow of one of nature's giants.
The seedling grew into a sapling — and then it grew into a tree.
Chapter 1
The Ribbon
On a cool morning in the winter of 2011, Dennis Cronin parked his truck by the side of a dirt logging road, laced up his spike-soled caulk boots, put on his red cargo vest and orange hard hat, and stepped into the trees. He had a job to do: walk a stand of old-growth forest and flag it for clear-cutting.
In many ways, this patch of forest was unremarkable. Cronin had spent four decades traipsing through tens of thousands of similar hectares of lush British Columbia rainforest, and had stood under hundreds of giant, ancient trees. Over his career in the logging industry, he had seen the seemingly inexhaustible resource of big timber continue to dwindle, and the unbroken evergreen that once covered Vancouver Island reduced to rare and isolated groves.
Known as cutblock number 7190 by his employer, one of the largest timber companies operating on the island, the twelve hectares represented a small sliver — around the size of twelve football fields — of the kind of old-growth forest that once spanned the island nearly from tip to tip and coast to coast. But this small patch of trees fringing the left bank of the Gordon River, just north of the small seaside town of Port Renfrew, was a prime example of an endangered ecosystem. Black bears and elk, wolves and cougars passed quietly under its canopy. Red-capped woodpeckers knocked on standing deadwood; squirrels and chipmunks nibbled on cones to extract seeds; and fungi the size of dinner plates protruded from the trunks of some of the largest trees in the world.
Cronin brushed through the salal and fern undergrowth, his jeans wet with dew that even during a hot summer forms every morning in these forests of perpetual damp. Underfoot, mounds of moss covering a thick bed of decaying tree needles were soft and spongy. Sounds don't linger in these forests, arriving and dissipating quickly — absorbed by thicket and peat and mist before they're allowed to swell. For now, the forest was still.
Cronin began the survey along the low edge of cutblock 7190, where he could hear the Gordon River thundering on the other side of a steep gorge. Come spring, salmon fry would be wriggling free of the pebbled river bottom and making their first swim downstream to open water; come fall, mature fish would hurl themselves upstream to spawn. The ancient trees, with their dense tangle of roots growing along the banks of the river, would filter out sediment and loose soil so that even during a rainstorm the forest kept the waters running clear.
As a forest engineer, Cronin's job involved walking the contours of the cutblock, taking stock of the timber, and producing a map for the fallers to follow. At regular intervals of a couple dozen metres or so, he reached into his vest pocket for a roll of neon orange plastic ribbon and tore off a strip. The colour had to be bright to catch the eye of the fallers who would follow in the weeks or months to come. He tied the inch-wide sashes around small trees or the low-hanging branches of hemlocks or cedars to mark the edges of the cutblock. "FALLING BOUNDARY" was repeated along each ribbon. Timber companies in the province follow a forestry code stipulating that forest engineers must leave an intact buffer of fifty metres of forest up from a river, especially one that is known to be a spawning ground for salmon. Some engineers keep tight to those regulations to try to extract as much timber as possible from a given area. Known as "timber pigs," they work the bush under a singular mantra: log it, burn it, pave it. The sentiment is twofold: ecology is secondary to economics, and these forests exist to be harvested. But Cronin was often generous with these buffer zones, leaving sixty to seventy-five metres — as much as he could without drawing the ire of co-workers or bosses.
There were trees of every age: a handful of exceptionally large cedars and firs, many younger and thinner hemlocks, and saplings filling in the gaps. The sun broke through the canopy in long beams that spotlit sword ferns and huckleberry bushes on the forest floor. Patches of lime-green moss turned highlighter-fluorescent in the sun. Scattered clouds broke an unusually clear blue sky; Cronin was more used to working amid thick mist and showers on winter days, emerging from a forest soaked and chilled.
Once the boundary of the twelve hectares was flagged with orange ribbon, Cronin criss-crossed the cutblock, surveying the pitches and gradients of the land. It was a slow task, clambering over slippery fallen logs and through thickets of bush. At one point, he climbed up onto a log to determine where a road could be ploughed into the forest. In many cutblocks, the first step in harvesting the timber is to construct a road — a channel through the bush where logs can be hauled, loaded onto trucks, and transported to a mill. It takes a specific skill to see through dense forest and haphazard undergrowth and plot a sure course that will allow for the safest and easiest extraction of logs. Maneuvering over undulating land layered with deadfall and vegetation, Cronin marked a direct line through the forest with strips off another roll of ribbon, this one hot pink and marked with the words "ROAD LOCATION." He traversed any creek he came across and flagged it with red ribbon. When the flagging was done, the green-and-brown grove was lit up with flashes of foreign colour.
As Cronin waded through the thigh-high undergrowth, something caught his eye: a Douglas fir, larger than the rest, with a trunk so wide he could have hidden his truck behind it. He scrambled up the mound of sloughed bark and dead needles that had accumulated around the base of the giant tree.
Dennis Cronin looked up.
The tree dominated the forest — a monarch of its species. Its crown of dark green, glossy needles flitted in the breeze well above the canopy of the forest. Like many of the oldest Douglas firs he had come across in his career, the tree's trunk was limbless until a great height. The species often loses the lower branches that grow in the shadow of the forest's canopy. Many of these large and old Douglas firs have clear marks of disease, with trunks that are twisted and gnarled. This tree's trunk sported few knots and a grain that appeared straight: it was a wonderful specimen of timber, Cronin thought.
With his hand-held hypsometer, a device to measure a standing tree's height using a triangulation of measurements, Cronin took readings from the base and the top of the tree and estimated its stature at approximately seventy metres — around the height of a twenty-storey apartment building. Using a tape, he measured the tree's circumference at 11.91 metres, and calculated the diameter to be 3.79 metres; if felled and loaded onto a train, the log would be wider than an oil tank car. The tree appeared just shy of the Red Creek Fir, the largest Douglas fir in the world, located a couple of valleys away. Cronin didn't know it then, but he had not only stumbled upon one of the largest trees he had ever seen in his career — he had found one of the largest trees in the country. It was surely ancient as well, Cronin knew. A Douglas fir of such height and girth, growing in a wet valley bottom on Vancouver Island, could easily prove half a millennium in age. But to the experienced forester, this one looked much older. _A thousand years?_ he wondered.
The logger could have moved on. He could have brushed his broad shoulders past yet another broad trunk and continued through the forest, leaving the giant fir to its fate. He could have walked through the undergrowth, across log and stream, to finish the job of mapping and flagging the cutblock. Fallers would have arrived; the tree would have been brought down in a thunderclap heard kilometres away, hauled from the valley, loaded onto logging trucks, and taken to a mill to be broken down into its most useful and most valuable parts.
Over forty years working on timber hauling crews and as a forest engineer, Cronin had accrued countless days working in the forests of Vancouver Island — he had encountered thousands of enormous trees over his career. But under this one, he lingered. He walked around its circumference, running his hand along the tree's rough and corky bark. He looked up at a trunk so broad and straight it would hold some of the finest and most valued timber on the coast.
Instead of moving on, Cronin reached into his vest pocket for a ribbon he rarely used, tore off a long strip, and wrapped it around the base of the Douglas fir's trunk. The tape wasn't pink or orange or red but green, and along its length were the words "LEAVE TREE."
Chapter 2
Evergreen
The western coastline of Vancouver Island ripples like the scalloped blade of a serrated knife, with hundreds of bays, harbours, and estuaries plunging deep into the island. Along the outermost fringe of the craggy shoreline, precariously perched on rocky points, little trees eke out an existence with roots in a crack of soil, bearing the full brunt of the near-constant lashing of storms off the Pacific Ocean. They cling to a life that never allows them to realize their full potential. Often, the side of the tree facing the turbulent water is entirely devoid of branches, or the trunk leans back from being relentlessly pushed by wind and spray. Even on a calm, clear day these small trees appear to shy away from the ocean — as if permanently wincing from the punch they know will come.
Behind these stunted specimens grow sentinels that guard their backs — trees both tall and broad, stoically awaiting the coming storms. They benefit from fertile soils, temperate climates, and nourishing rain. When tempests arrive, they do so with relentless force, battering and drenching without respite. But this wall of wood extending from the northern tip of the island to the southern rim endures — as it has for millennia.
Here, seasons aren't marked by sudden changes of colour or temperature; instead they blend together seamlessly and subtly with demarcations disappearing in the mist. Even at the height of summer, while parts of British Columbia's West Coast glisten like a temperate California, the Pacific rim of Vancouver Island can remain enveloped in grey — locals affectionately call the month after July "Fogust." Waves that crash upon this coast don't immediately roll back to hammer it once again but are left vaporized — suspended in the air as thick banks of mist whose hoary tendrils penetrate deep into the forests. As the trees are draped in this damp, dense white, their spiky forms soften into green-blue silhouettes that gradually fade into nothing.
The valleys of Pacific temperate rainforest can feel both Edenically inviting and primordially ominous. There is alluring comfort among these great trees that embraces your presence and softens your footsteps. What lies beyond the curtain of mist and trees are unknowns: great treasures to be found, or great dangers lurking. One of the largest trees in the country could be hidden a few dozen metres away, obscured in the fog, but so could a bear, a cougar, or a wolf. The canopy above disappears into a grey ceiling and the forests begin to appear manageable. Everything feels within reach.
When the conditions are right, this coastline offers a spectacular sight. It is a brilliant culmination of three of the West Coast's most iconic and characteristic elements — sun, fog, and trees — meeting in perfect unison and producing a result that can be as awesome as a fireworks display or as haunting as an aurora borealis. On a cool, misty morning with a warm, clear forecast, the sun will rise behind the shoreline's forest wall as tree branches bifurcate the rays into hundreds of filigreed beams — each one illuminated by the lingering coastal fog — creating a natural laser light show.
While the fog is the texture of this coastline, it is the rain that is the driving force of life. Vancouver Island rises from the Pacific Ocean like the back of a grey whale breaching the surface of the water. Storms brew in the ocean before hammering the island's west coast with wind, enveloping it in fog, and disgorging rain as the systems hit the Vancouver Island Ranges, mountains and hills that run like a spine down the island's length. This unsheltered rim can receive more than ten times the annual rainfall of the eastern side of the island — and gives truth to the name Canada's Wet Coast.
Nourished by a near-constant supply of rain and sustained by a climate that rarely peaks above thirty degrees Celsius or dips below minus ten, the forest ecosystem of Vancouver Island is never offered a dormant season. For thousands of years, leading up to the arrival of European settlers, the island continuously produced an unbroken evergreen of tangled forest that filled almost every corner of the 31,285-square-kilometre island, and that formed part of a solid band of Pacific temperate rainforest ecosystem that fringed the northwestern edge of the continent. Half of the world's temperate rainforest grows along the west coast of Canada and the United States, from Alaska in the north, through British Columbia, and ending in northern California. The rest is found in small pockets around the world, in countries including Norway, Chile, Ireland, Japan, and New Zealand.
While "Pacific temperate rainforest" is a designation recognized by international organizations such as the World Wildlife Fund, for forest and wildlife management purposes British Columbia has separated itself into fourteen biogeoclimatic zones — depending on a region's climate, geography, and natural characteristics — since 1976. These include the higher-altitude Alpine Tundra zone, the interior Sub-Boreal Spruce zone, and the rare Coastal Douglas Fir zone, found in small pockets of Vancouver Island and mainland B.C. Most of the coastal regions of the province from Haida Gwaii to Victoria fall into the Coastal Western Hemlock zone — named after the species of tree found most commonly throughout its range. This region is the wettest zone of the entire province, with annual rainfall of up to 4,500 millimetres. Here, mounds of moss growing on tree branches twenty storeys high hold moisture long after rains have ceased. Even when the sun has taken the place of the clouds, water can still fall like rain in these forests. Nearly the entirety of Vancouver Island is in the Coastal Western Hemlock zone, with the exception of patches of higher-elevation alpine regions and a thin band of a Coastal Douglas Fir zone that runs along the southeastern coast down to Victoria. It is here that the trees, when left for centuries, can achieve truly tremendous growth — wider than an SUV is long, and taller than two blue whales stacked nose to tail.
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The words "old-growth forest" evoke a Tolkien-esque grove of trunk-to-trunk behemoths separated by flat patches of easily traversable mossy ground. But in Pacific temperate rainforests, like those found on Vancouver Island, the reality is much more complex.
There is no order in these forests: trees of every size and age grow here, and windfall litters the ground in various stages of decomposition. Under a canopy of dark green foliage, thick salal bushes make one section impenetrable to pedestrians, next to another that opens into a small clearing. Some trees appear painted in moss, while grey lichen known colloquially as "old man's beard" droops from branches of the older trees like tinsel left long after Christmas. The largest trees pierce the canopy, allowing long beams of light to penetrate the forest floor.
The term "old growth" had been used casually by forestry professionals in British Columbia's timber industry throughout the twentieth century. But in the 1970s, it began to be employed by ecologists and scientists as a loose definition of any forest undisturbed by significant human impact. Predominantly, the definition has come to encapsulate any forest untouched by commercial logging. But while historical signs of human impact within these forests are less obvious than a clear-cut, these ecosystems do show the scars of human presence. Before the arrival of European settlers, Vancouver Island's forests were not "untouched" or "unspoilt" landscapes, as they are often referred to. For as long as there have been humans on the island, trees have been felled, bark harvested, and innumerable aspects of the forests used.
More than fifty First Nations have inhabited the island, collectively in three Indigenous peoples: the Kwakwaka'wakw to the north, the Coast Salish to the south, and the Nuu'chah'nulth along the west-central coast of the island. There are dozens of nations among them. Along the coast, many of the larger nations, each with populations numbering in the thousands, became fragmented after a great flood in 1700 — the result of a cataclysmic earthquake and tsunami that forced salt water nearly half a kilometre inland. Along the island's southwest coast, one nation — the Pacheedaht, or the "people of the sea foam" — rebuilt at two estuary sites around the mouth of the Diitiida River, also now known as the Jordan River, and within a large bay that centuries later would be named Port San Juan by Spanish colonialists. Throughout the twentieth century, as development and industry — mining, logging, and hydroelectric operations — increased around the Jordan River, the Pacheedaht saw the salmon stocks, which would run up the river to spawn every fall, begin to dwindle. The volume of fish became so depleted that the Diitiida community relocated north up the coast, to the head of Port San Juan.
The Pacheedaht can trace their history along this coastline for millennia. Their recorded presence is more often found not by uncovering anything constructed — houses eventually crumble and rot away — but within the region's forests, within the very trees themselves that bear the scars of harvesting or logging. Wherever patches of Pacific temperate rainforest grow, archaeological evidence of the Indigenous population can be found. On Vancouver Island, these marks — a strip of bark peeled from a live trunk; a "window" carved into a tree to test its solidity for canoe building; an entire plank removed from the side of a tree — are most commonly found in western red cedars. These culturally modified trees (CMTs), as they are known, bear evidence of procedures that were done carefully, to remove a part of the tree without killing it, and have been documented across the island — on mountainsides and in valleys, along the coast and in the interior — and provide clues about how forests were used before the arrival of European settlers. Many archaeological finds, be they a fragment of pottery or a stone wall, point to a vague date range, a decade or two at best, but a CMT can offer a specificity of age down to the year, simply by a researcher counting the rings of the tree.
In 1996, the British Columbia government issued a directive regulating how culturally modified trees should be handled and protected: any site that predates 1846 is protected under the Heritage Conservation Act. In 2001, a logger named George Halpert was the first person charged with cutting down protected CMTs — the trees, located near Terrace, British Columbia, dated back to the 1600s. He was sentenced to six months' probation and required to make a formal apology to the Kitsumkalum First Nation.
When CMTs are found, often by timber workers, they must be recorded in their company site plans and the local First Nation notified, but CMTs dating to after 1846 hold no formal protection. Often, timber companies incorporate them in a riparian area — a buffer of trees left standing around a river, lake, or wetland — and exclude the historic trees from their cutting plan. The company must apply for a permit to alter the site plan if they want to cut down the CMT, which has to be agreed upon by the First Nation. But a First Nation's desire to understand its past can supersede the push to preserve every tree possible. A CMT left standing can only offer so much. It can show how a bark strip was cut away from a cedar to be turned into baskets or clothing. It can show how Indigenous peoples probed a live tree to determine whether or not it was fit to be turned into a canoe. But a felled tree can reveal much more. A cut log can be accurately dated through its rings, to reveal new information about the age, scope, or reach of a First Nation. In particular, was the CMT pre-contact or post-contact?
In a forest south of Port Renfrew, the Pacheedaht culturally modified tree crew, which works in conjunction with regional timber companies, found 180 CMTs within a single thirty-hectare patch. The density was surprising, but it was the location — far inland from the seaside hamlet of Jordan River — that helped redefine the nation's understanding of their historical range.
Culturally modified trees are as much a part of an old-growth forest as any great tree that has been left unmolested to grow for hundreds of years or any grove that has remained predominantly undisturbed by human impact. Rather than being "original" or "untouched" or "virgin," as these forests are often described, old-growth forests are complete, and every stage of growth — from seedling to skyscraper — is represented.
Old-growth forests can be found across Canada — in the stubby spruces of the Maritimes, in the vast expanse of the northern boreal, and in the squat, high-altitude stands of the Rocky Mountains. The term can be appropriately applied to each forest, despite the radical differences in appearance. Even within Vancouver Island, forests that are considered old growth range from scraggly stands clinging to a mountainside to stunted forests growing out of bogs — as well as the more identifiable, high-productivity valleys that produce the country's biggest trees. The size of a grove's trees is not the principal factor in an old-growth forest.
In drier climates, forests are kept youthful by fire that constantly scrapes the land clear and creates a blank slate for new growth. But along the western half of Vancouver Island, in the lee of the interior mountains, plunging valleys of deep green are rarely touched by the ravages of fire. Compared to the interior of the province, or even the eastern side of the island, lightning doesn't present much of a threat. There are groves that have never seen fire in their entire existence — ever since tree seedlings first sprouted out of glacial sediment as the last ice age retreated northwards around twelve thousand years ago.
Without the refreshing cleanse of fire, the forests in these wet valleys are allowed to continuously grow with little disturbance. As a result, Pacific temperate rainforests hold the largest biomass — the total amount of flora and fauna, alive and dead — of any ecosystem on the planet. They even hold more biomass than forests found in the tropics, where the greater heat breaks down dead matter more quickly, in a rapid churn from life to death to life again. But in the rainforests of Vancouver Island, this cycle is decelerated — a fallen cedar log will gradually decompose, but can remain virtually intact for well over a century — and biomass is allowed to accumulate. Each discernible characteristic of an old-growth forest — the biodiversity, the complexity of structure, the presence of both live and dead matter — is a product of a singular unhalting force: time.
In British Columbia's drier interior, a forest is considered old growth when it is more than approximately 150 years old. On the province's coast and islands, it is when a forest is more than 250 years old. But apart from age, neither the province of British Columbia nor timber companies have agreed upon a formal and universally accepted definition of what constitutes an old-growth forest. Various ecosystems around the province, and indeed the country, may satisfy the age requirement but look wholly different whether found in the wet valleys of western Vancouver Island or in the high-elevation coastal mountains or in the dry interior.
Timber companies have used this imprecision to their advantage. They often speak of forests that have partially succumbed to the destructive natural forces of fire or wind within the 250-year window not as an "old-growth forest" but as a forest that may hold "old-growth characteristics," with several "veteran trees." It is a classification that suits their purposes: they aren't cutting tracts of old-growth forest, it is often presented; they are cutting younger, second-growth stands with a handful of old-growth trees.
Clear definitions are crucial, for both environmental activists trying to protect this precarious ecosystem and timber companies trying to extract hard value from it. Monitoring deforestation is challenging when parameters and interpretations vary between local organizations and companies, and also around the world. On a global scale, according to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, what constitutes a forest can include an ecosystem with as low as 10 percent tree cover. There exist more than eight hundred definitions of "forest," based upon a number of factors, including location, climate, temperature, soil condition, and the presence of human activity. On a local scale, the lack of a clear definition and set of parameters means environmental groups argue that there is very little old-growth forest left, while timber companies maintain that there is plenty, by including old-growth forests growing in bogs or in high-alpine regions, where trees are often stunted and difficult to access and are therefore of little timber value. Environmental activists become frustrated with this inclusion. To them, the immediate focus lies on the high-productivity areas that offer the most ideal conditions for trees to grow big. There lies a different kind of value: one that can be extracted not in terms of cubic metres of cut timber but in terms of cultural, social, and environmental returns.
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On the floor of Vancouver Island's old-growth forests, life teems in every square metre. One researcher calculated that when he goes walking in these coastal forests, eighteen thousand invertebrates wriggle within the column of soil under each step of his size 9.5 shoes. In this verdant and lively layer, sword ferns erupt out of the damp, peaty earth as curly fiddleheads, before growing into waist-high thickets of bracken. Salmonberry bushes form tangled and impenetrable walls, while delicate huckleberries sprout from moss-covered trunks. Mushrooms unfurl overnight, revealing caps as pure white as fresh snow or as glossy black as obsidian. Among it all, black bears bound through the bush to make their dens in hollow trees, while elk rub their antlers against the tree trunks and deer nibble on new shoots. Squirrels and chipmunks drop detritus from snacking on seeds into piles on the forest floor. And above, great trees grow so large they block out the sun. The rainforests of Vancouver Island are one of the few environments on the planet that hold some of the world's biggest trees alongside large carnivores including mountain lions, wolves, and bears, and ungulates such as elk and deer. These forests are home to species that depend entirely on ancient characteristics. The marbled murrelet, a seabird that migrates along the coast, doesn't nest on cliffs but builds them out of lichen and moss in the very tops of old-growth trees — often only on Douglas firs that are more than 150 years old. The Queen Charlotte goshawk, a yellow- or red-eyed raptor, lives and nests in older forests along the coast from Vancouver Island to Haida Gwaii — and typically in the tallest trees. The hawk is classified as "threatened" under the federal Species at Risk Act, whose registry states that "continued logging of low-elevation, old growth coniferous forest" is the bird's most significant danger to its survival.
But this ecosystem is not defined by its black bears or elk, nor its tens of thousands of species of invertebrates, insects, and birds. These are forests, after all, where every aspect — the nourishing rain, the moderate seasons, and the supporting biomass — contributes to the gargantuan growth of this environment's signature feature. The western red cedar, the Sitka spruce, the Douglas fir — within this ecosystem, these trees grow not just voraciously but continuously, into the planet's largest expressions of their respective species. The tallest Douglas fir ever measured anywhere in the world was a 126.5-metre behemoth — the size of one and a quarter football fields — found in 1902 in Lynn Valley, on the North Shore of Vancouver. To encounter a great tree in a forest, one that is three metres in diameter and a hundred metres tall, is to come face to face with one of nature's grandest creations.
There are few things on the planet that have been growing and thriving for a millennium. To some, stepping into an ancient forest can evoke a sense of religious or spiritual awe, as if entering a church or mosque or temple — columns replaced with trunks, marble floors and pews with soft soil and leafy undergrowth, and altars with trees. Old-growth Pacific temperate rainforests are cathedrals of nature, awesome in their grandeur and yet humbling in their structure. Throughout history, such aged forests have represented something dark and mysterious, dangerous and unknown.
But individual trees have always held an allure that provokes curiosity. They have been sources of wonder and magic, and of perceived wisdom through age. To see and touch these ancient trees is to confront centuries of history, technological progress, and social and cultural evolution — the light and the dark of human development. To stand next to a tree that has withstood everything nature and humans have thrown at it — fire, storm, industry, climate change — is to be reminded of our capacity to nurture as well as our capacity to destroy. To be dwarfed by a tree that would dominate most city blocks is to have any form of hubris quashed.
Hemlocks, ubiquitous and opportunistic, sprout out of a dead log seemingly the hour after it falls to the forest floor. They grow ready and able to survive and thrive in nearly any condition, filling in the gaps. While not the most outwardly grand, they are sturdy and applicable, recognizable by their delicate tops that arch over as if bowing subserviently to the larger trees. Among the conifers grow the odd deciduous trees: alders, often the first to regrow in a clear-cut, spring up to attention like a company of soldiers with their spear-shaped leaves; and the colourful and colour-shifting maples ignite the green with flashes of fire and movement. Magnanimous and regal at the top are three species that make these forests Brobdingnagian in scale. A grove of Sitka spruces, with their columnar trunks and finely scaled bark, grow into natural pillars as true as any stonemason's creation. Cedars, sporting their multi-pronged crowns and fine bark, conceal warm-coloured wood, ready to be transformed into boats, baskets, building materials, and instruments. And Douglas firs, with their wide and hulking trunks, cracked bark, and dominant forms, protrude through the canopy like towers.
For millennia, the Indigenous people on Vancouver Island have held the cedar in exalted status. They used the versatile tree — in its yellow and western red species — in innumerable ways. They split its bark and wove it into baskets and clothing; they harnessed the wood's flexibility and steamed it into boxes and containers so tightly fitted they could hold water; and they sought out the prime specimens with which to build houses and carve canoes. A single tree, with its light and rot-resistant wood, could produce products that spanned a spectrum of uses.
The eighteenth- and nineteenth-century British settlers arrived with a more brutish approach. They brought with them smallpox, which wiped out nearly a third of the province's Indigenous population, and they brought people to build towns and cities, as well as a view that forests were to be managed, nature was to be controlled, and the wild was to be tamed. This view was reflected not in the soft and malleable wood of the cedar, but in the hard and sturdy wood of another tree. While this tree could be found across the province, it was along the coasts and on the islands where it achieved the pinnacle of its growth. Since its inception, around the middle of the nineteenth century, British Columbia's commercial timber industry has been dominated by one species, the tree of a thousand uses: the Douglas fir.
Chapter 3
A Tree of Many Names
On March 29, 1778, Captain James Cook sailed his ships, HMS _Resolution_ and HMS _Discovery_ , into a broad inlet two-thirds up the west coast of Vancouver Island. The region would come to be known as Nootka Sound, based off either an anglicization of Nuu'chah'nulth, the name for the local First Nation, or from an Indigenous word meaning to "go around." The mountain Cook had seen at the head of the inlet was in fact a large island. The British vessels were in need of repairs, with broken masts and spars from their crossing of the Pacific via Hawaii, known then as the Sandwich Islands. The crew immediately went ashore in search of timber.
"I raised my eyes to the sky and could see nothing but the worthless timber that covered everything," one British man remarked. Furs were the primary target, highly prized for their low weight and high value — as ships began to be used not only to transport explorers but also to return with valuable commodities in their holds — but it wasn't long before expedition financiers began to see value in the endless forests. Timber could be strapped to the deck of a ship and fetch a significant price in places like Western Europe, where trees of the magnitude found on Vancouver Island were the stuff of legend. When British captain and fur trader John Meares left Nootka Sound in 1788 with a ship laden with raw timbers, he remarked, "Indeed the woods of this part of America are capable of supplying, with these valuable materials, all the navies of Europe."
After several decades of burgeoning colonial settlement along the coast, in the spring of 1825 the Hudson's Bay Company ship _William and Ann_ sailed into the mouth of the Columbia River, the largest river that spills into the Pacific Ocean, located in modern-day Washington state. The vessel had left England nine months prior with a mission to resupply the forts and trading posts along this coast, one of the most remote corners of the company's expansion. On board, a man named David Douglas gazed across the tranquil waters to the impenetrable-looking forests that fringed the riverbanks. There lay trees taller and larger than any he had seen in his career as a budding botanist.
His mission was simple in its goal but challenging in practice. A year before leaving England, Douglas had quit his job as gardener at the Glasgow Botanic Garden to accept a position at the Horticultural Society of London. Established in 1804, the society was beginning to expand and form a mandate: to promote the study, discussion, and discovery of new plant species. The society's burgeoning gardens had been created by the samples that had been collected by roving botanists sent around the world. There, in his first year tending the gardens, Douglas mastered the care of plants and trees and began pushing himself to learn more experimental techniques in breeding, cloning, and propagation. But Douglas had grown up tramping the highlands and moors around his hometown of Scone, Scotland, and his ambition could not be contained to the orderliness of a city. He set his sights on one of the coveted positions of "society explorer," a post that would allow him to leave the greenhouse and garden. These intrepid envoys were dispatched on botanizing expeditions to document previously unknown species of plant growing in the farthest reaches of the British Empire — South Asia, East Africa, the Far East, Australia, and the Americas. They returned with drawings, paintings, and descriptions that delighted and enthralled naturalists. More important to the society, however, was to return, if possible, with not just drawings but samples — seeds that could be sown and nurtured in the greenhouses of London, and eventually studied, classified, and propagated.
With glowing recommendations from some of the field's most respected members, Douglas was deemed by the Horticultural Society a keen and ideal candidate to join a ship to the northwest coast of North America. The society bestowed on him an ambitious assignment: after acquiring a brief taste of the natural bounty that grew along this coastline — unusual flowers and trees of unimaginable heights — it now needed to confirm the documentation of species amassed on previous expeditions that it held in its archives. For an experienced botanist, collecting plants and seeds in a location like the west coast of North America was relatively simple, especially for a Scot working in a familiar climate. This was not the humid tropics, after all. But ensuring the survival of the samples during the three-month return voyage around Cape Horn to England was a complicated gamble. Months, if not years, of work could be destroyed in an instant. Moisture meant ruin, so samples, cones, and seeds were kept as dry as possible in order to stave off rot or mould. In one doomed instance, another Scottish botanist, Robert Fortune, had laboured over the collection of tea seeds from deep in China's interior. But his specimens, which he had planted in glass terrariums known as Wardian cases, were ruined after being opened upon arrival in muggy Calcutta, India, rather than the cool climate of hilly Bengal, which would have been similar to their origin. He had to replicate the whole ordeal before the plantations in Darjeeling could be started — and eventually produce world-famous tea.
The European botanizing missions of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries weren't purely scientific — sending out seemingly benign botanists into the forests and fields was also the act of a colonizer. David Douglas's job was to accurately describe the terrain and its potential — floral, faunal, and mineral — for the advancement of science as well as for the possible development of resource extraction. Along this northwest coast of North America, the borders between British, American, and Spanish conquest were just being drawn — erasing those that had been adhered to by Indigenous people for centuries — and the wealth that lay both below and above ground was beginning to be realized.
As Douglas sailed up the Columbia River, he was overwhelmed with excitement at the possibilities on offer. "The scenery," Douglas wrote in his journal, "round this place is sublimely grand — lofty, well-wooded hills, mountains covered with perpetual snow, extensive natural meadows, and plains of deep, fertile, alluvial deposit, covered with a rich sward of grass, and a profusion of flowering plants." On his botanizing missions he travelled throughout the Columbia region, which covered what is now northern Washington State and southern British Columbia, with near free rein.
Within six months of landing, Douglas had collected 499 species of flora, which he pressed and dried between sheets of paper and described in remarkable detail in his journal. For the species that were known to the botanists of the Horticultural Society, he added more detail or more accurate information. But many he documented were hitherto unknown to British botanists, including some species that are now iconic of the natural landscape of the North American coast, like the orange California poppy and several species of the multicoloured lupin; and shrubs such as salal, ocean spray, and Oregon grape. But it was the trees — including the peely-barked arbutus and the columnar Sitka spruce — that fascinated him deeply, in this land of never-ending giants.
When the _William and Ann_ embarked on its return journey to England, within her hull were boxes and crates of Douglas's acquisitions: sixteen large bundles of dried plants, as well as preserved samples of birds and mammals. But the most significant chest contained more than a hundred varieties of seeds. The Scottish botanist was also a cautious man — he retained a small collection of seeds from some of his most prized species, which he intended to carry personally by land across North America as a precautionary measure in case the ship was lost at sea. He sent so many conifer seeds and samples back to England that he remarked to William Jackson Hooker, his mentor at the Horticultural Society, "You will begin to think that I manufacture pines at my pleasure."
Some of the species David Douglas encountered were uncommon, like the purple wild hyacinth, and some otherworldly, like the sequoia — the tallest tree species in the world. While Douglas undoubtedly came across specimens of this species that were taller than any building in existence anywhere around the world, he returned time and again to another species of tree that he encountered throughout his travels and that grew in great quantities and to great heights — a large conifer with thick bark and dark green needles. It was a tree that the botanist would be best known for, and would eventually colloquially bear his name: the Douglas fir.
He found the species growing in the two most common climates of this region: along the wet coasts and throughout the drier inland hills:
The trees which are interspersed in groups or standing solitary in dry, upland, thin, gravelly soils or on rocky situations, are thickly clad to the very ground with widespreading pendent branches, and from the gigantic size which they attain in such places and from the compact habit uniformly preserved they form one of the most striking and truly graceful objects in Nature. Those on the other hand which are in the dense gloomy forests, two-thirds of which are composed of this species, are more than usually straight, the trunks being destitute of branches to the height of 100 to 140 feet, being in many places so close together that they naturally prune themselves, and in the almost impenetrable parts where they stand at an average distance of five square feet, they frequently attain greater height . . . In such places some arrive at a magnitude exceeded by few if any trees in the world . . .
Douglas described one sixty-nine-metre-tall specimen he came across — one that he remarked was exemplary for its girth: 14.6 metres in circumference at its base. While walking in the fir forests that surrounded Mount St. Helens, in modern-day Washington State, Douglas noted: "A forest of these trees is a spectacle too much for one man to see."
The collecting of cones from this tree proved difficult, due to its great height and lack of low branches. As a botanist, Douglas was unequipped to fall such a tree — or even one much smaller than the one he stood before — possessing neither the equipment (he carried only a small hatchet) nor the will to climb one. He tried using his gun to shoot at the high branches in an attempt to dislodge a cone, but the buckshot he had brought for hunting birds and ducks proved ineffective. He resigned himself to collecting cones from much smaller examples of the species.
But while the specimens Douglas encountered along the Columbia River were grand, the ideal climate for the tree was farther north — in the wet, lush rainforests of Vancouver Island, where the species had first been documented by another Scottish man. Botanist Archibald Menzies had tracked the island's forests — first in 1786 with the crew of the _Prince of Wales_ and again in 1792 under the captainship of George Vancouver aboard the _Discovery_. Near Nootka Sound, Menzies traversed Vancouver Island collecting samples of tree, flower, and plant. He described in his journal and collected seeds from one tree previously unknown to botanists in Britain. But the seeds Menzies sent to London never arrived; it wasn't until April 1826 that the first samples and seeds of this great conifer, sent by David Douglas, were successfully delivered to the Horticultural Society of London.
Douglas returned to England in October 1827, but after two years, he boarded another ship and returned to the Columbia River. In all, he set a record for the most species ever introduced by a society explorer. "The botanical world was literally startled by the number and importance of his discoveries," wrote a biographer. He was admitted to the Linnean Society, the Zoological Society of London, and the Geological Society of London.
On January 1, 1826, during his first visit to the northwest, Douglas wrote in his journal:
Commencing a year in such a far removed corner of the earth, where I am nearly destitute of civilized society, there is some scope for reflection. In 1824, I was on the Atlantic on my way to England; 1825, between the island of Juan Fernandez and the Galapagos in the Pacific; I am now here, and God only knows where I may be next. In all probability, if a change does not take place, I will shortly be consigned to the tomb. I can die satisfied with myself. I never have given cause for remonstrance or pain to an individual on earth. I am in my 27th year.
David Douglas died eight years later, on June 12, 1834, while hiking a volcano in Hawaii in search of new plants.
A coastal Douglas fir, originally from the west coast of North America, is now the tallest conifer in Europe. The tallest tree growing anywhere in the United Kingdom is a Douglas fir that was planted in the 1880s in Reelig Glen, a grove in Scotland that lies two and a half hours from the birthplace of David Douglas.
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For nearly two hundred years, what is now commonly called the Douglas fir held numerous taxonomic names. In the early 1800s, years after Archibald Menzies had sent back drawings and descriptions to Britain, the tree was classified as a pine and given the name _Pinus taxifolia_. Throughout the nineteenth century, the tree was bounced from classification to classification, including _Abies_ as a fir, _Tsuga_ as a hemlock, and _Pinus_ as a pine. During the expeditions of David Douglas in the 1820s and '30s, the tree went by several names, including _Pinus douglasii_ — which Douglas himself used in his journals, a bit self-servingly. While his name didn't stick, the specimens Douglas collected and shipped back to the Horticultural Society of London helped reveal a surprise about the tree — that the Douglas fir, the king of the firs, was not really a fir at all.
In 1867, it was proposed to rename the tree _Pseudotsuga douglasii_ — _pseudo_ , Greek for "false," and _tsuga_ , Japanese for "hemlock" — to mark that, nearly eight decades after it was first documented, the tree had been found to be an imposter that had fooled many early botanists. (Today, the tree is often written hyphenated, Douglas-fir, as a signal of its outlier status.) The tree's cones hung below its needled branches, unlike those of true firs which stand above.
The species stands as an example of the trials and uncertainties of taxonomy. The confusion may have arisen because the Douglas fir appeared to have several varieties. At higher elevations and in rockier soils, the tree grows to a considerably more stunted version than the gargantuan specimens found in damp valley bottoms. Along the coasts, salt-laden spray and air tinges the tree's needles a noticeably bluer hue than those trees that grow away from the ocean, which appear as a truer dark green. The smell of the foliage of those found in dense, lush valleys has a distinct citrus tone; whereas those that grow closer to the sea or on more exposed hillsides offer a more pungent, turpentine odour. These inconsistencies, among others, confused botanists and taxonomists for decades.
In 1892, the _Journal of the Royal Horticultural Society_ highlighted the complicated issue of taxonomic naming with regards to David Douglas's work in documenting the Douglas fir:
It is unfortunate, and it seems unjust, that the discoverer of an object in natural history — one who, like Douglas, has the energy and daring to explore, the intelligence to comprehend when he has an object in sight that is new to science, and, moreover, the ability to describe and name it correctly, referring it to the proper genus in vogue at the time of publishing — it seems unjust that such a namer should subsequently lose the honours of discovery and of authorship, because, forsooth, another view of the relative importance of groups places the object in another category, and therefore another person, to wit, the one who so places it, becomes the author of the species. Such is the latest usage, however, based upon lately revived ancient laws of nomenclature; and, in the long run, it works less mischief than would a reverse rule, whereby pseudo-scientists could air their vanity by foisting upon us a host of unfounded terms at will.
In 1950, David Douglas and his work to help classify the species was officially stripped of recognition. The tree was renamed _Pseudotsuga menziesii_ in honour of Archibald Menzies, who had been the first European botanist to document the tree when he encountered it on Vancouver Island.
Still, in the end Douglas came out on top, in perhaps what matters most: vernacular rather than technical usage. At times, the tree has been colloquially called Oregon pine or red fir, but most people today know of the species by one name: the Douglas fir — the fir of Douglas.
* * *
Various large trees dominate the forests of Vancouver Island — western red cedars, Sitka spruces, bigleaf maples, western and mountain hemlocks — but the Douglas fir is the grand, albeit humble, icon of coastal British Columbia. Douglas firs can be found in B.C. in two regions, with geography and climates producing variations among the species. In the province's interior, the drier environment produces trees that are stubbier and shorter, appearing in a more classic Christmas tree form, with branches of needles growing from near the base to the very top. This variation is more resistant to frost and cold, as temperatures in the Rocky Mountains often dip well below freezing.
Along the province's coast, by contrast, grows a variety of Douglas fir that thrives in wetter environments such as the deep and damp valleys of Vancouver Island. Because of the density of these forests, the older examples of coastal Douglas firs often shed their lower branches below the forest's canopy level, creating a clean trunk with a crown of branches and needles and resembling a Corinthian column. The combination of more stable climates, plentiful rainfall, and nutrient-rich soils produces specimens of more than double the size of their interior cousins. It is along the coastline and on the islands of British Columbia where the Douglas fir earns its place as one of the largest trees in North America, with historical records of some pushing forty storeys tall.
In 1895, a logger named George Cary felled a gargantuan Douglas fir outside Vancouver. The tree was said to have been nearly 8 metres in diameter at its base and 127 metres tall — about one-quarter the height of Toronto's CN Tower. The Cary Fir, as it became known, remained little more than a story of great accomplishment told among timber workers — for bringing down a tree of such proportions quickly became lore. Then, in 1922, a photograph supposedly of the legendary fir graced the August cover of _Western Lumberman_. The image depicted an enormous log lying on its side, upon which six men, two women, six children, and a baby sat or stood. One man balanced on the sixth rung of a ladder leaning up against the log — apparently George Cary — was still several metres from reaching the top.
After publication, however, doubts were raised as to the authenticity of the photograph. Some claim the image is not of a Douglas fir but of a coast redwood, commonly known as a sequoia. Many of these ochre-coloured giants are located in Redwood National Park in northern California — including Hyperion, the tallest living tree in the world at more than 115 metres in height. But foresters and experts were uncertain, and the debate about the species of the photographed tree raged, to no universally agreed-upon conclusion. Ecologists and silviculturists also disagreed on whether the standing trees behind the log appear to be that of a Douglas fir forest found along British Columbia's coast or of a forest found in northern California.
Rumours also bubbled that the image was simply a fake, created by superimposing out-of-scale human figures onto a photograph of a large log, and used as a tool by British Columbian businessmen to lure American investors to their province's timber ventures — an attempt at manipulation akin to evoking a nineteenth-century "strike it rich" frenzy with an image of someone holding a gold-painted rock the size of a grapefruit and calling it a nugget. However, experts have concluded that period technology in image manipulation would have been detectable. The source of the image remains a mystery, but the story, to many, was plausible. There are countless other trees of truly tremendous heights — well documented with photographs and anecdotes — that had been felled, having grown in ideal conditions in the valley bottoms of coastal British Columbia.
Despite being moved by the scale, grandeur, and uniformity of the large conifer that would bear his name, David Douglas also recognized that underneath the thick bark was immense value.
"The wood," he wrote in his journal, "may be found very useful for a variety of domestic purposes: the young slender ones exceedingly well adapted for making ladders and scaffold poles, not being liable to cast; the larger timber for more important purposes; while at the same time the rosin [resin] may be found deserving attention."
In the winter of 1847, tests were conducted in the dockyard of Portsmouth, on the south coast of England, to determine if the Douglas fir logs from Vancouver Island were stronger and better-suited as spars than those that shipbuilders had been importing from the shores of the Baltic Sea. The North American fir proved superior, and the British Admiralty placed an order paying up to a hundred pounds (around $12,000 today) for a single twenty-one-metre log, sixty centimetres in diameter.
Throughout the nineteenth century, the Douglas fir was prized by the settlers who built along the western Canadian and American coast. In his 1918 book, _Steep Trails_ , the Scottish-American naturalist John Muir, renowned environmentalist and father of the U.S. National Parks, praised the species as "tough and durable and admirably adapted in every way for shipbuilding, piles, and heavy timbers." Loggers and millers found the wood dimensionally stable — it doesn't twist or warp when drying — while consumers prized its pronounced grain and warm colour, which made it ideal for flooring, doors, windows, and beams. Because of its resistance to fire, the timber was advertised to early twentieth century builders as preferable to steel, which would bend and buckle. The Douglas fir, by contrast, would char but remain intact. Many living veterans of the species bear the black scars of a fire that once raged through the forest.
Streets were even paved with Douglas fir. Over the course of the nineteenth century, roads in towns and cities from Victoria to San Francisco were laid with wooden planks. In 1908, Waddington Alley — a narrow passageway connecting Yates and Johnson Streets in downtown Victoria — was paved with creosote-soaked blocks of Douglas fir, stacked with its strong edge-grain facing upwards. The alley underwent a full renovation in 1992, and continues to be maintained with wooden cobbles from Douglas fir trees harvested on Vancouver Island.
The species grew to such iconic status that at Expo 67, the World's Fair held in Montreal in Canada's centenary year, the Western Provinces pavilion featured Douglas fir trees so tall their tops protruded out of the roof of the structure. Visitors passed under their branches and around a genuine logging truck fully loaded with wood, while sounds of a timber camp — chainsaws, falling trees — played through the speakers.
As British Columbia's logging industry expanded, the species grew to become its number-one resource, with coastal and interior varieties of Douglas fir producing more timber than any other tree in North America. The coastal Douglas fir ecosystem is one of the most threatened in the country, in the hallowed company of the "Pocket Desert" in British Columbia, the Tall Grass Prairie in Manitoba, and the Carolinian Forest in Ontario. Today, 99 percent of the original Douglas firs on Vancouver Island and British Columbia's south coast have been logged.
Chapter 4
Green Gold
While driving the logging roads offers an intimate portrait of the state of Vancouver Island's forested landscape, the scope of timber harvesting is best realized from the air. Looking out of a plane window at a thousand feet up, the southern half of Vancouver Island appears as a patchwork quilt, simultaneously ragged and ordered from industrial logging. Some hillsides appear as if shaved by a fifteen-year-old boy with his first razor: small tufts and patches here and there, often in the most inaccessible places. Others are puzzle-like in the uniformity of the clear-cuts. Cutblocks are easily discernible in their various stages of use: freshly cut are orange, recently cut are grey, light green are regrowing, and darker green are re-established.
At first glance, many areas of the island appear covered in trees. But with a keen eye, the reality comes into focus: nearly every tree has been planted by human hands. There's a saying among West Coast ecologists: in a second-growth forest, a deer would have to pack a lunch. There just isn't enough to eat. Even at high noon, a replanted forest is a dark place: the uniform canopy formed by even-aged trees creates a thick barrier that blocks most sunlight from penetrating to the forest floor, resulting in an environment often bare of the substantial and complex undergrowth found in old-growth forests. The biodiversity of plant species is replaced with a monocrop of trees growing closely together and at the exact same rate, in unison, as grass does in a lawn. The complexity of structure is lost without the benefit of time and death. Second-growth forests are grown not to be self-regenerative or as a replacement for original stands — they are grown to be harvested. Every clear-cut will regrow, whether naturally over time or with the assistance of a silviculture program. But many questions remain: What will a regrown 250-year-old forest look like? Will it have the same biodiversity or the same depth of biomass as one never touched by commercial logging? Will it have the same complex structure and interwoven networks? We have yet to arrive at a point where any commercial clear-cut has regrown long enough to tell.
When a patch of boreal — the forest that covers much of Canada's sub-Arctic north — is harvested, what grows back will look relatively similar to its original form in around a century. In West Coast forests, however, estimates project that a replanted cutblock will begin looking as it once did in closer to half a millennium. On Vancouver Island, second-growth forests are allowed to grow for only fifty or sixty years before they are logged once again. For the vast majority of replanted regions, the plan is never to regrow forests like those that once stood.
From the ground or from the air, it takes an even keener eye to see the vestiges of original forest on Vancouver Island. Often, they appear as a small patch at the top of a mountain or down a steep hillside — places more difficult for loggers to access. Provincial parks, with their protected trees, stand out of the landscape like Central Park does in an aerial view of New York City. But if hikers and visitors were to walk towards the edge of a provincial park, they would meet the end of the green. Sky would appear through the trees, and the reality of the extent of forest loss would become shockingly clear as they stepped into a clear-cut.
* * *
On November 24, 1848, a few kilometres west of the fledgling British colony known as Fort Victoria on the southern tip of the island, a waterwheel-powered sawmill began operations. It was the first mill in the territory that nearly a quarter of a century later would become the province of British Columbia. From this Millstream facility, the first commercial shipment of timber ever sent from Vancouver Island across the channel to the mainland reached the Hudson's Bay Company outpost of Langley. In Nanaimo, a hundred kilometres north along the eastern coast of the island, the Hudson's Bay Company opened a second mill in 1854. While most of the mill's logs were cut by settlers, some were traded by local Indigenous communities. At that time, eight logs — each four and a half metres long, and forty centimetres in diameter at the narrow end — would fetch one Hudson's Bay blanket. The most famous mill was the Anderson sawmill opened by Captain Edward Stamp, a British lumberman, in 1861 along the Alberni Inlet. Within its first year, it was producing fourteen thousand board feet (a unit of measuring timber, twelve inches by twelve inches by one inch thick) of lumber every day, which was being shipped as far abroad as Australia and Peru.
But it was the discovery of gold that ignited the region's timber trade. Stories of riches in the Cariboo in the Fraser Valley during the late 1850s, and in the Yukon's Klondike region in the final years of the century, fuelled the need for timber in order to turn backwater outposts and fledgling colonies into bustling towns with general stores, saloons, and hotels in support of the prospectors going north.
When word of the initial discoveries of gold along the North American coast crossed the Atlantic, British botanists at the Horticultural Society of London remembered something they had seen in a shipment of trees they had received years prior. When they examined the collection of pines from California that David Douglas had sent, within each sample's bundled-up mass of root and soil were flakes of gold.
At the time, the London botanists who received Douglas's samples had ignored the glittering flakes tangled in the roots of the seedlings. They weren't interested in the potential riches that they could have exploited years before prospectors flooded the river valleys. Instead, they saw value in the fragile seeds and seedlings they held in their hands. But as the California Gold Rush grew, and news of the riches being earned began to circulate, both the botanists who had been in the field and their colleagues back in England who had received the gold-laden samples seventeen years prior became the target of blame. Their omission is understandable, considering small samples of gold had been uncovered across California throughout the decades leading up to the 1848 rush. Still, the oversight shows how focused these men were on floral rather than mineral discoveries; they couldn't even be distracted from their goals by the most glittering and beguiling of natural treasures.
And it's unlikely Douglas himself realized the magnitude of his discovery when he was making his collections — whether he deemed his accidental mineral-finding insignificant or whether he was simply too preoccupied with documenting new species of tree and flower. His journals are noticeably absent of mentions of hitting pay dirt of that kind. Naturalist explorers of his ilk and era were discouraged from scouring the creeks, rivers, and caves for gold; they were botanists, after all, with a scientific mission and a mindset of gradual, rather than immediate, discovery. Decades later, in 1935, an American magazine quietly ran a tourism advertisement titled "More Curious Facts About Southern California," highlighting the counterintuitive discovery. Chief among these facts was a note that read: "First discovery of California gold was made _in England_ in 1831. (Found on the roots of trees sent back by a Scottish botanist.)"
Douglas and Menzies saw value in the great trees that grew along the coast not solely as a resource or commodity or product, but in the details of their seeds and bracts, in the specific formation of their needles and the varying textures of their bark. But by the middle of the nineteenth century, eyes had begun to fall on Vancouver Island's trees in earnest. Once again, the search for gold led the initial exploratory push. "So exciting is gold hunting that men are willing to leave the certainty of good wages to take the uncertainty of poor ones, led away by the hopes of striking large ones," wrote botanist and explorer Robert Brown in an 1864 resource survey of the island. In the Nitinat Valley, one of the largest watersheds on the west coast of the island, just up the coast from Port Renfrew, he remarked how the terrain was rough but the vast quantity and quality of forest he encountered held standing wealth beyond the uncertainty of a gold rush.
"The timber was however of the most magnificent description," Brown wrote. "Spars of Douglas pine and hemlock 100 to 150 feet in height & even higher, & from 2 to 3 feet in diameter, without a twig for 80 to 100 feet were shady in every direction, and the difficulty would not be in getting good ones, but in selecting among so many magnificent sticks . . . The timber alone would be a certain fortune."
Interest was budding, but the vast tracts of big timber had yet to be commercially exploited on a great scale. Trees larger than colonists had ever seen were useless without a method of extraction. What was principally needed was a means of transporting logs from the remote valleys and mountainsides to the coast, where they could be processed at mills or loaded onto ships. The job of constructing and maintaining the island's railroad fell to the Esquimalt & Nanaimo Railway Company. As compensation for the task, in 1884 the province of British Columbia handed over more than 750,000 hectares of land to the company, which began constructing lines and trestles into the heart of the island. Empty railcars went in and returned laden with logs. At thirteen years since the British colony became the sixth province of Canada, British Columbia was beginning to realize the magnitude of wealth that could be exploited in its forests.
Beginning in 1905, the province began selling timber licences (TLs) — one square mile of forest for ten dollars apiece — to prospectors or "cruisers." These leases allowed holders to cut, process, and sell any timber harvested off their TL, but once the trees were gone, the land would revert back to the province. Over the next century, this relationship has remained virtually the same: approximately 95 percent of British Columbia is publicly owned or Crown land, with leases granted to companies or individuals through a tenure agreement managed by the provincial government.
A Victoria-based timber operator named H. H. Jones wrote in _British Columbia Magazine_ : "It was in 1906, when the timber fever was at its height! Cruisers, many of them of the tenderfoot order, were everywhere staking land, rock or water — anything that could be placed on paper, for the buyers were mostly of the same class as the cruisers: taking everything in sight, or, rather, out of sight, so long as it was called timber."
Even as early as 1912 there was concern over the rate of harvest, marked by British Columbia's minister of lands, William Roderick Ross, advocating for the passing of the Forest Act on the floor of the provincial legislature:
An epoch, sir, is drawing to a close — the epoch of reckless devastation of the natural resources with which we, the people of this fair young Province, have been endowed by Providence — those magnificent resources of which the members of this Government and this Assembly are but the temporary trustees. That rugged rudimentary phase of pioneer activity is doomed to end. The writing is on the wall; the writing — to put the simple fact — is in this Forest Bill. Armed with that weapon, as forged by this honourable Assembly, the Government of British Columbia will undertake the work: of forest conservation.
The Forest Act appeared to signal an end to the Wild West of timber cruising in British Columbia, an era of "cut and get out." Ross spoke of "a past epoch condemned" and "a new epoch inaugurated" in terms of how British Columbians were going to see and value their forest lands.
"We glance down the vista of the years to come, and, turning from that vision of the future, we call the world to witness that we legislate today," the minister concluded, "not only for ourselves and for the needs of this day and this generation, but also, and no less, for our children's children, and for all posterity — that we may hand down to them their vast heritage of forest wealth, unexhausted and unimpaired."
While Ross spoke of conservation, he was actually more concerned with economics — with reinventing a forestry system that had led to a commercial shortfall for the provincial government, and therefore the public, for years.
To spur economic growth, the Forest Act attached strict requirements on the timber company holding a licence. "All timber cut on Crown lands . . . shall be used in this Province or be manufactured in this Province into boards, deal, joints, lath, shingles, or other sawn lumber," the original 1912 Forest Act stated, noting a few exceptions such as telephone poles. What were known as "appurtenancy clauses" required some licence holders to invest not just in the mechanisms for resource extraction but in communities themselves. Timber companies were required to saw or pulp their logs at mills within the very area that was being logged. A tree cut in the town of Lake Cowichan would have to be milled in Lake Cowichan. These rules led to a decades-long employment boom across Vancouver Island, turning backwater communities into thriving timber towns. Throughout the 1970s, Port Alberni had one of the highest per-capita incomes of any community in British Columbia — based primarily on the region's valley-bottom big timber.
To manage the resource and develop its extraction and processing, the provincial government created an institution alongside the 1912 Forest Act, the Forest Service. It also began collecting "stumpage fees" — a form of tax paid by timber companies to the government. Initially determined by the number of trees cut, "per stump," the fee became based on the volume of timber cut off a company's leases, measured in cubic metres or board feet. By measuring a tree's circumference with a tape and its height with a hypsometer, forest engineers could estimate the volume of wood held within to assess the total value of a stand. Stumpage fees created economic incentives for the government to support its timber industry, even when cries of concern arose over both the depletion of a resource as well as degradation of the environment.
In 1918, the Commission of Conservation in British Columbia published a report of the province's forest inventory. Even then, the commission recognized a dire state: "When one considers that the total stand of saws material in the whole Dominion probably does not greatly exceed this amount now, the seriousness of this loss, which can be attributed very largely to public carelessness, becomes apparent." But this "loss" in question was not because of logging but from fire, and it highlights the foundational principal for Canadian forestry at the beginning of the twentieth century: cut it before it burns. Forest fire was an unpredictable force but a known entity. It would return, to some degree, each hot summer — devouring what was becoming the province's most valuable resource.
To lead the Forest Service, the government appointed as its first chief forester Harvey Reginald (or "H. R.") MacMillan. The Ontarian would go on to become one of the pioneers of private timber companies in British Columbia with the establishment of H. R. MacMillan Export Company Ltd. — a precursor to MacMillan Bloedel, one of the foremost timber companies working up and down the coast from 1951 to when it was sold in 1999. But in 1912, MacMillan began his career on the political side of timber with a report to the provincial legislature encouraging further and urgent development of the industry:
The annual growth of the forests of British Columbia is even now, before they are either adequately protected from fire or from waste, certainly not less than five times the present annual lumber cut . . . It is not merely advisable to encourage the growth of our lumber industry until it equals the production of our forests — it is our clear duty to do so, in order that timber which otherwise will soon rot on the ground may furnish the basis for industry, for reasonable profits to operator and Government, for home-building and, in the last analysis, for the growth of British Columbia.
This "clear duty," as MacMillan called it, framed much of British Columbia's perspective towards logging through the twentieth century — that it was the province's obligation to cut and use its primary resource before it was too late.
The end of the First World War saw a rapid expansion of timber harvesting on Vancouver Island and across the province. During the first four decades of the twentieth century, whoever held leases on land could cut whatever was desired at a rate regulated entirely by what they could sell. As long as a licence had been granted by the provincial government, nearly any tree, or any amount of trees, was up for grabs. What held the period in relative check wasn't forethought or restraint or resource management, but technology. Logs were not nuggets of gold that could be transported with ease. The process of felling a tree and moving a log to mill was a tedious and tiresome act.
* * *
Cutting a tree began as an intimate task: one man and an axe. While pairs or teams often worked to take down a large tree, every swing and blow of the axe was felt and every chunk removed was hard-earned. But throughout the twentieth century, technological evolution and development in machinery refined the process of falling a tree from a plodding chore to a swift act. Photographs of loggers of the late 1800s and early 1900s, first with axes and then with crosscut handsaws, depict men balancing on springboards — planks of wood wedged into notches carved into a tree's trunk as high as three metres off the ground — slowly chipping away or gradually cutting into a behemoth fir or cedar or spruce. When the tree came down, it would have been the culmination of days of work — marked by a soft crack as the trunk finally gave way, a silence as the tree floated weightless for a moment, and an earth-shattering boom as the log struck the ground.
The 1970s saw the development of feller bunchers — backhoe-like vehicles with extendable saw arms capable of chopping, de-limbing, and cutting trees to length. These efficient machines cut forest like a combine harvester cuts wheat, and made it possible for loggers to clear an entire hectare of trees on level ground within a day. But in the Pacific temperate old-growth forests of coastal British Columbia, there is no machine capable of felling trees on such uneven ground. And more simply, the trees are just too big. Every great tree growing on Vancouver Island is brought down by hand — by a logger standing beside a colossal trunk with a saw.
Over the course of the twentieth century, the falling of a tree changed dramatically. In 1905, Samuel J. Bens of San Francisco, California, began experiments with mechanizing the laborious task of felling a tree by crosscut saw. His goal was to create a machine — an "endless chain saw" — capable of taking down his state's giant redwoods. Over the next two decades, various versions of a gasoline-powered small-engine saw with a sharp-toothed chain were tested. One, developed in 1918, weighed 210 pounds and was mounted on a 4.5-by-6-foot frame. Still, it wouldn't be until after the Second World War that anything resembling a modern chainsaw began to appear on the Canadian market, and by 1960 it still weighed more than twice a twenty-first-century model. Each development in technology allowed for more timber to be more effectively harvested — turning what might have taken a full day's work into a task accomplished in mere minutes. While it could take five hundred years for a tree to reach fifty metres in height and two metres in width, it could take five minutes for a skilled faller with a chainsaw to bring it down.
Falling big timber is an act similar to hunting big game. There is a quest to locate the prime of the species; there is a gradual approach towards a calm moment when the trigger is pulled; and there is a rumble and crashing to earth when the great beast is bagged. Except, on the open savannah, an elephant or a rhino can flee from hunters, possibly even fight back. In timber there is no chase — just a search and a kill.
The men who stalked the forests of British Columbia in search of big timber weren't the legendary lumberjacks of eastern Canadian folklore, magnanimous in iconic plaid shirts while running logs down the river. The lumbermen of the west were _fallers_ — who lived and breathed the bush, without glamour or glory. They were rough-and-tumble men of work who burned their years with hands perennially coated in pitch, hair smelling of cedar, and burned their earnings on whiskey and sex in the saloons of Vancouver and Victoria. Companies capitalized on this machismo. In the 1970s, one of the largest chainsaw manufactures, Stihl, produced an advertisement featuring hard-hatted fallers standing on an enormous cedar stump while cutting into another tree. The tagline read: "We Came. We Saw. We Conquered."
Despite the technological limitations of the early twentieth century, by 1920 British Columbia was producing half of all timber around the country, surpassing production in every other province. Locating the towering stands of timber took great effort, and falling trees was laborious; but the greatest challenge was engineering a way to move a log weighing thousands of kilograms out of the forest. At every level, working in timber has been one of the most dangerous jobs, with forestry still holding the highest percentage of work-related deaths from injury than any other sector in British Columbia.
One of the first jobs for someone entering the industry has been a chokerman, someone whose responsibility was to set (or "choke") cables around logs so that they could be pulled out of the forest. In charge of a team of "chokers" was a hooktender who oversaw the crew working the lines. Communication between workers was done by a series of commands shouted over hundreds of metres through the forest. Logs would be rigged up with cables and hauled by horse trains to a centralized collecting point and then loaded onto railcars. Because of the rough terrain and roads often strewn with slash, horses wore shoes studded with hobnails, just like a logger's caulk boots.
In 1897, the first steam-powered engine — called a "donkey engine" — was introduced to West Coast logging, replacing the animal trains as the primary means of hauling logs. It was more reliable, efficient, and didn't need to be fed. A simple engine that turned a spool to recoil a cable, the donkey engine transformed the ease with which logs were acquired from previously inaccessible locations. But if a log became stuck or pinched among the rough terrain, disaster could strike when it finally broke free and the tension in the cables propelled the log like a multi-tonne bullet through the forest.
To alleviate this danger, timber crews looked to the trees themselves. Sometimes, crews employed the strength and stability of large standing trees to help haul logs from a cutblock, by wrapping a cable around the trunk to use it as an anchor or yarding point. Standing trees used in logging operations needed to be sound and secure, healthy, and large enough to withstand the stress.
The most dangerous, and thus highest-paid, position was that of a high rigger. Using specialized boots with metal spurs attached at the inner ankle, and a loop of cord around the trunk, a high rigger would ascend a selected tall tree. With a hand axe and single-person cross-saw, the rigger would denude the tree of branches and chop off its top to create a freestanding pole — a "spar" — that was secured to the earth by its own natural root system and stabilized through a set of guy-lines. A series of cables and pulleys were rigged to the spar, allowing logs to be lifted into the air. This "high lead" system was much more stable and controlled than dragging a log along the ground, and removed any danger of one becoming caught on debris or rough terrain. Increased mechanization brought heavy machinery, namely the yarding tower, in which up to four cables could haul logs simultaneously to an extraction point.
At times the process of falling timber can appear clumsy, with trees tumbling this way and that, one on top of another, to the ground. At times it can appear indiscriminate, as if a bulldozer and wrecking ball would suffice. But there is a method, in which minuscule adjustments can be employed by the faller so that a tree lands exactly where intended. At other times the network of cables and pulleys extracting logs from the base of a mountain slope to a road appear as if part of a high-wire act in a big top tent. Cables can span a valley, known as "skylines," where logs are attached to dangling cables off a mainline and gradually removed from the cutblock that can be hundreds of metres away. It is a delicate process, from falling to extraction, where mistakes at any stage in the operation could lead to death or maiming. Fallers need to be cautious of dead treetops or limbs — known in the industry as "widowmakers" — that could break off and plummet earthwards. For choker crews, in attaching and managing cables there are risks of logs twisting or rolling, of one becoming loose and tumbling free.
Alongside the twentieth century's technological evolutions of how trees were felled and collected were developments in transportation — how to move a log from a deep valley at the heart of Vancouver Island to the mills on the coast. Even before the modern chainsaw revolutionized the industry, falling a tree was a straightforward task. But a fallen log in the middle of a forest is of no use to any timber company.
Along the coasts of Vancouver Island, companies would seek out stands growing on hillsides where the trees, once felled, would tumble down by their own great momentum into the ocean. They would then be rafted together into large booms and maneuvered around the island to the mainland mills. But the process was a delicate one: at any moment the log could be set loose, and in a flash begin its violent slide. A logger would have to keep an eye out for an unexpected shift, and deftly leap to safety or else be caught by a passing branch. When a log is loose, it "runs" down the hillside with such power and such force it can shatter another large tree if hit head-on or plough through smaller trees, creating a wake of destruction similar to a jetliner crash-landing in the forest.
Groves deeper in the interior of the island were accessed by railcar. The area around Shawnigan Lake, just outside Victoria, holds one of the most spectacular remnants of twentieth-century logging engineering anywhere in the world. In 1920, Canadian National Railways completed the longest wooden railway trestle not just anywhere in the country but in the entire Commonwealth, at 188 metres. It was also one of the tallest in the world, built 44 metres above the river. The Kinsol Trestle saw millions of logs of some of Vancouver Island's finest old growth shipped by railcar across its breadth, until it started to fall from use in the 1950s. Following the Second World War, many deactivated military trucks were sold cheaply to timber companies, converted to logging trucks that soon replaced the railcar as the primary means of transporting logs. This flexibility allowed companies to access groves that were previously unreachable. As the forests of the eastern half of Vancouver Island began to dwindle, and with new technology and methods of harvesting, timber companies began to slowly expand into the lush rainforests of the western edge, where some of the province's biggest and most valuable timber was found.
Increased mechanization in falling, and a transition away from more cumbersome means of transportation, turned British Columbia's timber industry into a commercial harvest that was the driving force of the province's economy. At the industry's pinnacle in 1966, B.C. produced nearly three-quarters of all sawn lumber in Canada. Despite ups and downs over the subsequent decades, by the end of the twentieth century, forest products accounted for 30 percent of all British Columbia's exports, the industry was producing more than $10 billion in total revenue, and one out of every ten jobs in the province was related to timber. Every old-growth cedar, spruce, and fir was vital to the industry, but each ancient tree's value extended well beyond what could be felled, milled, and sold — into the ground below and the air above.
* * *
At first glance, the old-growth forests of Vancouver Island seem defined by life: deer and elk browsing on the tender tips of forest grasses, red-and-white spotted mushrooms erupting from the earth, and towering trees trembling in the wind. But it is death that makes these forests complex. "The woods are full of dead and dying trees, yet needed for their beauty to complete the beauty of the living . . . How beautiful is all Death!" wrote John Muir in his journals. That is the positive death of the coastal old-growth forests of British Columbia, the kind that feeds the next round of inhabitants, both floral and faunal. The churning in these forests is nearly imperceptible. It would take years of patient study to notice the movement. But it is there — turning and folding and regenerating without respite. While some of the giant trees live for many centuries, even a millennium, they will fall. And when a structure as tall as an apartment building comes down, shattered by lightning or forced over in a gale, it crashes to the forest floor with thunderous applause — for the metre-tall saplings growing in the dappled shadow welcome the sunlight that beams through the new gap in the canopy.
Every tree that falls naturally in an old-growth forest remains. Their hulking corpses sometimes break and shatter, while others hold nearly intact from root to tip. Instantly, after a fall, the moment the forest returns to silence, that log becomes a feeding ground for the pileated woodpecker and the red-tailed chipmunk, and home to the black bear and the marten. It also becomes a "nurse log" — a rotting tree that offers its tonnes of nutrients to opportunistic seedlings. A common sight in an old-growth forest is a dead cedar with hundred-plus-year-old hemlock trees with roots growing out of and hugging the log, the cedar's natural preservative — an anti-fungal and anti-bacterial chemical called thujaplicin — keeping the log nearly entirely intact for more than a century. Each natural death begets life. But these forests also play host to another kind of mortality. Unlike those trees that tumble naturally and become part of the biomass, those felled by human hands are hauled away. Not only is the life lost, but so is the life-giving death.
Since the early days of logging in British Columbia, one sentiment has been common in the timber industry: that old-growth forests are "decadent" and have a shelf life with an expiry date. If not redeemed, the value of the forests will be lost. By the middle of the twentieth century, this perspective became firmly entrenched as the principal perspective of timber companies. In 1949, a classification system was proposed to determine "cull factors" for older trees. Features including broken tops, swollen knots, burls, and trunk cracks were used as examples that a tree was rapidly losing its value.
The governing ideology was that old-growth forests were diseased and dying ecosystems that needed to be converted into fresh, lively, and vibrant new stands through harvesting and replanting. While words like "decadent" and "over-mature" eventually faded from common use, in practice the perspective remains.
That argument has often been presented by members of the logging community — that the big, old trees are not as ecologically valuable as younger ones. On the surface, new seedlings planted in a clear-cut appear to grow more voraciously than the grandparents that once stood in their place. However, these surface-level conclusions are based on little more than casual observations, as opposed to scientific fact.
Through the latter half of the twentieth century, scientists began looking closely at the ecological mechanisms and forces at play in these old-growth forests, making discoveries that would eventually redefine how we understand the ecosystems. In a global study of 403 temperate and tropical tree species, including plots of Douglas fir, Sitka spruce, western red cedar, and western hemlock planted as early as the 1930s, researchers found tree growth to accelerate with age, rather than slow down, in 97 percent of the species examined — busting the myth that ancient trees are ecologically decadent. This rapid growth means that the oldest trees sequester an increasing amount of carbon with every passing year, becoming more and more important as sentinels against climate change. Replanted, second-growth forests, therefore, cannot match the productivity and ecological value of an unmanaged forest.
Even on a miniature scale these big trees play a crucial role. Researchers uncovered species of plant and insect that are endemic to the forest canopies of old-growth trees, living only in suspended soil on tree branches hundreds of feet above the ground. From moss on the forest floor to the tip of the tallest tree, this layer teems with obvious life. And here also lies the value: timber, pulp, and fibre for the loggers; or trees and forests that could be protected for environmentalists. But underground — supporting this layer of giants — is a structure as complicated, vast, and crucial as anything sprouting or frolicking above ground.
In 1997, a professor of forest ecology at the University of British Columbia named Suzanne Simard published a study that popularized a radical notion of the depth of ecological relationships in forests. What started as a chance observation ended up revealing a profound interconnectivity between trees. It began when she was a child, on holiday in British Columbia's interior rainforests, when her family dog, Jiggs, fell into an outhouse. A messy rescue ensued, with members of the family putting mattock and shovel to earth in a mad dash to free their beloved beagle. As the pile of dirt grew, Simard's attention turned to the multicoloured layers of excavation and the dense mass of tree roots. Jiggs was eventually freed, but Simard focused on a filigree of white strands running through the soil. The strands — a kind of fungi —<|fim_middle|> The work he produced that summer depicted a grey and scattered cutblock above a panel of intact forest.
Artists had always been drawn to these forests, to capture the wilds of British Columbia. Chief among them was Emily Carr. Born in Victoria in 1871, Carr built a career on condensing the scale and depth of the province's expansive nature onto her canvases. Her paintings plunged viewers into the heart of the forest, revealing the untamed and impenetrable aspects of the natural world as being both ethereal and inviting. In the darkest places, she found light: a beam through a canopy, or a highlighted branch. Carr also documented the destruction of these forests. In her 1966 book, _Hundreds and Thousands_ , she wrote:
Yesterday I went into a great forest, I mean a portion of growth undisturbed for years and years. Way back, some great, grand trees had been felled, leaving their stumps with the ragged row of "screamers" in the centre, the last chords to break, chords in the tree's very heart. Growth had repaired all the damage and hidden the scars. There were second-growth trees, lusty and fine, tall-standing bracken and sword ferns, salal, rose and blackberry vines, useless trees that nobody cuts, trees ill-shaped and twisty that stood at the foot of those mighty arrow-straight monarchs long since chewed by steel teeth in the mighty mills, chewed into utility, nailed into houses, churches, telephone poles, all the "woodsyness" extracted, nothing remaining but wood.
In 1931, Emily Carr painted _Scorned as Timber, Beloved of the Sky_ — an image of a single slender tree with a hat-like crown, standing in a clear-cut surrounded by stumps.
Before Carmanah, campaigns to save British Columbia's old-growth forests rarely extended beyond the borders of the province. In the summer of 1988, several dozen activists were arrested for blockading roads in Clayoquot Sound, a mountainous watershed and forested archipelago on the west coast of Vancouver Island near Tofino, and were sentenced to between three and forty-five days in jail. The pattern was repeated in numerous other skirmishes across coastal British Columbia, including the Lower Tsitika Valley in 1990 and the Slocan Valley in 1991. But Carmanah, in part because of the celebrity artists and high-profile activists like David Suzuki, made the issue international. Canadian singer Bryan Adams took a tour of the valley and held a benefit concert in support of the Western Canada Wilderness Committee's campaign. Companies offered support as well: Mountain Equipment Co-op, the outdoor retailer founded in Vancouver in 1971, gave the activist organization access to its mailing list to use for a newsletter campaign, only to receive numerous complaints from people who were gear consumers but not preservationists.
The original artwork produced during the summer of 1989 was auctioned off to raise money for the legal battles over protecting the Carmanah Valley, and was later turned into a book, _Carmanah: Artistic Visions of an Ancient Rainforest_. __ "Campfire conversations would often turn to the stark contrast between the haunting beauty of Carmanah's virgin forest and the slash-choked, burned and blackened clear-cuts that lie just outside the watershed," the WCWC wrote in their newsletter that autumn. "The artists spoke of how the distant growl of heavy logging equipment, carried by the wind from the next valley, affected them . . . a constant reminder as they sketched and painted, of why they were there."
* * *
In the fall of 1990, a group of loggers blockaded the entrance to the Carmanah Valley, stopping the activists from reaching their treetop research station for two days. When the loggers relented, the activists found the Western Canada Wilderness Committee's research tent near Camp Heaven had been burnt to the ground, boardwalks had been axed, and bridges had been toppled into the creek — damage the WCWC estimated at more than $30,000.
But the battle for British Columbia's trees was waged not only along the dusty logging roads or deep in the forests of Vancouver Island, but on the airwaves and in advertising that could offer greater reach. While activist organizations marketed the value of protecting these big trees, logging companies launched campaigns that extolled the virtues of bringing them down. In the 1970s, MacMillan Bloedel produced _The Incredible Forest_ , a film that rhapsodized about British Columbia's timber industry.
"This is the age of a new breed of fallers, buckers, skinners, choker-setters, and he comes with an army of foresters, logging engineers, cruisers, tree markers, and other scientists — armed with barometers, binoculars, microscopes, surveying instruments, thermometers, and test tubes," reads the narrator over romantic scenes of a logger hiking through a forest and felling a large Sitka spruce with his chainsaw.
"Timber!" the man shouts as the tree falls into a clear-cut.
"These are the loggers of today," the narrator continues, "living with and caring for the forests of tomorrow."
In another film produced by MacMillan Bloedel, titled _The Managed Forest_ , the narrator calmly reads: "Forest managers know that seeing a freshly logged site can be a distressing emotional experience. The site looks utterly devastated. But forest managers also know clear-cutting is not only ecologically sound but also the safest and most economical way of logging B.C.'s coastal forest."
The most significant investment in marketing timber came in the late 1980s, leading up to the eruption of the movements to protect Carmanah Valley and Clayoquot Sound. In fear of losing the public relations battle, the Council of Forest Industries in British Columbia invested $1.5 million in an advertising campaign called "Forests Forever." The commercials featured plaid-wearing timber workers strolling happily through the forest, and hard-hatted children holding Douglas fir seedlings, while the voiceover praised the industry's responsible forest management and care for the environment. One even included what appeared to be a stuffed deer and a fake eagle. Many of the public — not just environmental activists — weren't convinced. They saw the advertisements as simple greenwashing: timber companies attempting to glamorize their work and paint over its faults. Soon, it became apparent that the campaign had produced the opposite effect than intended: even less trust of the forestry industry. As public opinion was beginning to shift, advertisements were created to counter to the "Forests Forever" campaign, including one featuring an animated young sapling asking his "grandfather" — who appears to be an aged spruce — if he will grow up to be just as big and strong.
The old tree expresses doubt: "Unless something is done soon, big old trees like me will be nothing but a memory . . . "
"What would the forest be without old ones like you?" the little sapling asks.
"I think they call it a tree farm, son."
The tagline read: "A Tree Farm is Not a Forest."
The so-called subvertisement, however, never saw airtime after being rejected by networks; it had been produced by Kalle Lasn, who shortly thereafter, in 1989, co-founded the Vancouver-based social activist media company Adbusters, in part over conservation battles with B.C. timber companies.
In 1990, a consortium of timber companies hired the New York public relations firm Burson-Marsteller, which had represented Union Carbide six years prior, after the gas leak in Bhopal, India, that caused between two thousand and four thousand immediate deaths and tens of thousands of long-term health issues. The firm formalized the consortium into the B.C. Forest Alliance and began a widespread marketing campaign to re-establish the timber industry's dominant and proud allure of decades past — when communities were expanding, jobs were plentiful, and resource tensions were nonexistent — and to undercut the growing environmentalist wave. Millions of dollars was invested into advertisements in print and on TV.
On the ground, timber companies tried to break the image of the peace-loving activist by driving the narrative of the radicalized anarchist. Protestors were called "eco-terrorists" in Carmanah, and likened to "anti-abortion protesters" in Clayoquot. Some tactics employed in Carmanah, Clayoquot, and Walbran were simply an attempt to stop loggers from accessing the trees. "Tree sitting" involved protestors climbing into the branches and remaining there for days or weeks on end as a human shield. In Carmanah, a twenty-year-old protester had to be medically evacuated by helicopter after sustaining injuries to her back and leg from falling out of her treetop perch. But the tactic that caused furor among timber communities and companies was much more assertive. "Tree spiking" involved someone hammering iron spikes into the base of large trees. These spikes would likely be harmless to such an enormous tree, but could be fatal to a faller who might hit a four-inch bolt of metal with their chainsaw. If the machine's chain, moving at more than eighty-five kilometres per hour through a soft cedar trunk, were to impact a solid piece of metal, the violent kickback could potentially lead to the amputation of an arm of a faller, or even death. In September 1991, a MacMillan Bloedel faller in the Walbran Valley narrowly escaped disaster when his chainsaw hit one. "It's like planting landmines or leaving little time bombs around," MacMillan Bloedel forester Gord Eason told the _Vancouver Sun_.
While tree spiking was roundly denounced by less radical activists, the practice continued regardless. Accusations about who exactly was spiking trees were thrown across the protest lines: loggers accused the activists, while Syd Haskell, president of the Carmanah Forestry Society, was certain that the timber workers planted the spikes themselves in an effort to paint the environmentalists as sinister. "I'm alleging that someone sympathetic to timber-cutting in the Walbran did this in order to discredit our image," he told the _Vancouver Sun_ in the fall of 1991. "If there are trees being spiked, I have no doubt where they are coming from."
In the spring of 1992, after eighty-five spikes were discovered embedded in trees in the Walbran Valley, Joe Foy, campaign director of the Western Canada Wilderness Committee, condemned the act, calling it "a form of terrorism" and offering a $1,000 reward for information that would lead to arrests. His denunciation of this form of protest raised the ire of more radical anti-logging activists. Weeks after Foy's statement, someone filled the locks of the WCWC's downtown Vancouver office with glue and attached a poster to the door that bore his face and flipped his $1,000 reward onto Foy himself. "Responsible environmentalists work for the Earth, not for the police," read the poster. "Which side are you on? Remove the bounty."
Foy was unmoved. "You learn the most important things in the sandbox of a playground," the activist told the _Vancouver Sun_. "You don't hurt people and you don't put people at risk. Tree spiking creates fear and unnecessary stress for forest workers and their families."
The early 1990s were a period of intense fervour over the future of Vancouver Island's forests, but they ultimately ended with thousands of hectares of old growth off limits to logging. In June 1990, the province tabled a bill to establish Carmanah Pacific Park, removing the entirety of the valley from MacMillan Bloedel's tree farm licence. Five years later, portions of the neighbouring Walbran Valley were incorporated, forming the 16,365-hectare Carmanah Walbran Provincial Park. But the timber companies didn't leave Carmanah and Walbran empty-handed. The government of British Columbia paid MacMillan Bloedel $83.75 million for income lost.
Today, the Carmanah Giant still stands, but the trail along Carmanah Creek to the tree quickly became overgrown once the activists had achieved their goal of protecting the valley. Ferns and brambles reclaimed the track. The tree is only accessible along a two-kilometre detour off the West Coast Trail, far enough that few hikers opt for the diversion as they trudge along the coast. No activists or loggers lurk around its trunk, no helicopters hover at its top — the tallest tree in Canada, the Sitka spruce of legend, grows quietly once again.
* * *
Carmanah was the spark for forest activism on Vancouver Island that reached full flame farther up the coast of Vancouver Island, near the world-renowned surfer town of Tofino. The logging of Clayoquot Sound, which had been spurring minor protests since the early 1980s, turned the battle for Vancouver Island's old-growth forests into what was called the War in the Woods. The head-to-head between activists and timber workers culminated in the summer of 1993, with two hundred litres of excrement being dumped near the Western Canada Wilderness Committee's staging site, and around 950 protesters being arrested and 850 convicted of defying a court injunction against blockading logging roads. The protests were one of the largest acts of civil disobedience in the country's history. Greenpeace pushed for a boycott of forest products from British Columbia to pressure the industry to back down. In one of its more international campaigns, the WCWC dug up a nearly four-hundred-year-old cedar stump, loaded it onto a flatbed trunk, named it Stumpy, and toured it from the B.C. legislature in Victoria across the country to Ottawa under the banner "Clayoquot Sound NOT Clearcut Sound." It was then loaded onto a ship and toured England and Germany. In 1995, Clayoquot Sound was protected by provincial order, and in 2000 it was designated a UNESCO biosphere reserve.
For years, Carmanah and Clayoquot remained in the memories of both activists and timber workers. To activists, these battlegrounds became legendary as examples of how a handful of plucky environmentalists can stand up to Big Timber, how a war can be fought and won. Not only were trees saved, but the actions forced the Ministry of Forests to re-examine its policies. The same year as the formation of Carmanah Walbran Provincial Park, the Forest Practices Code of British Columbia Act became law, establishing new regulations for logging companies, reforestation policies, road construction, and the treatment of wildlife habitats and watersheds.
In 1991, the Forest Resources Commission had released _The Future of Our Forests_ , a report that made it clear that B.C.'s timber industry was approaching a cliff edge. Forestry practices were focused on short-term returns, without considering long-term consequences or how these forests might offer sources of value other than planks and pulp.
For the fallers, hauling crews, and truck drivers, Carmanah represented a dark scar on British Columbia's timber history — a significant concession to appease environmentalists, one that took available resources off the table and therefore affected jobs. After decades working in the industry on Vancouver Island, one timber worker summarized that time of tension: "Boy, we lost that war."
Chapter 6
A Forest Alliance
While the 1990s was a decade of feverish activity around Vancouver Island's forests, the 2000s saw a dip in attention. The pro-forest focus began to migrate north up the coast, towards the region known as the Great Bear Rainforest. There, the elusive and mysterious "spirit bear," a subspecies of black bear with white fur, became a symbol of the rarity of these forests and helped galvanize the public to protect the region.
At the same time, the logging industry began to make its move. In the early 2000s, some of the province's largest timber companies — including Weyerhaeuser (which had purchased MacMillan Bloedel), Interfor, TimberWest — promised that if the government agreed to certain changes in the Forest Practices Code of British Columbia Act, they would invest a billion dollars in the industry by building mills and investing in the research and development of value-added products, including engineered timbers (beams made from lower-value wood glued together). In 2002, the provincial government made good on its promise with the most significant amendments to forestry regulations in half a century, with the reformation of the Forest Practices Code into the Forest and Range Practices Act. After a series of clarifications and amendments, the act came into effect in 2004 and heralded a period of deregulation for the province's forestry industry, where the onus was placed on the individual forester or forestry company to follow regulations. "It was like putting a fox in a chicken coop and saying 'only take one,'" as a long-time forest engineer put it. Despite these changes to the code, of the $1 billion pledged by the logging companies, only a small fraction of the promised investment has materialized.
The changes also removed the appurtenancy clauses, which required timber cut on Crown lands to be "used" and "manufactured" in the province, clauses that had been in place since 1947, when the last major amendments were made to the 1912 Forest Act. Companies that held a licence to cut in a specific region had been required to invest in the construction and maintenance of mills, forcing companies to invest heavily in communities. After 2004, timber companies were no longer required, or penalized for failing, to maintain their existing mills or upgrade and retool them to accommodate smaller second-growth logs, a necessary condition to moving away from old-growth logging. Between 1997 and 2001, twenty-seven mills had closed across the province; between 2001 and 2011, seventy more were shuttered. Thousands of jobs were lost. In 2001, TimberWest closed its mill in Youbou, near Dennis Cronin's hometown of Lake Cowichan, which had been in operation since 1913. The year before, the company announced it was increasing its raw log exports by 85 percent.
Raw logs — trees felled, limbed, and loaded onto a truck or ship for export without processing — are the most basic product that can be harvested from a forest. Such a base form of a resource holds the potential to have many more value-added layers. Processing the log into dimensional lumber is one; turning the waste into pulp products is another; and finally, the wood can be manufactured into high-value goods like furniture and guitars. Though some raw logs have been shipped abroad for as long as there has been commercial logging on Vancouver Island, throughout the twentieth century the majority of trees were processed at local mills into timber products that were then sold domestically and internationally. Some companies — such as Teal Jones, which processes what it cuts on Vancouver Island at a mainland mill in Surrey, near Vancouver — have resisted the export of raw logs. Many other companies have not.
Any log removed from Crown land has to pass a surplus test: if the harvests exceed the needs of the province, then those surplus logs can be legally exported. The logs have to be put up for sale to provincial mills first, but if timber companies are no longer legally required to erect or maintain mills, there will be fewer places locally to buy and process logs. More and more wood, therefore, becomes surplus.
To Arnie Bercov, it's a "self-fulfilling prophecy." Bercov worked as a chokerman on a logging crew early in his career, before transitioning to work at a mill near Nanaimo and becoming president of the Public and Private Workers of Canada (PPWC), a union once known as the Pulp, Paper and Woodworkers of Canada. While some have blamed environmental movements for job losses and mill closures, Bercov has attributed the blame to government changes that have been undermining its most valuable industry.
Instead of employing thousands of mill workers and running dozens of production facilities, companies can simply export the wood and export the job. In 2016, the volume of raw logs exported from British Columbia had risen to 6.3 million cubic metres, which means that roughly one out of every three trees cut was shipped abroad — predominantly to China, Japan, and the United States — without any value added locally. Despite it being among the most renowned in the world, for every dollar of British Columbia timber, the province adds approximately thirty cents of value added, whereas Ontario and Quebec add $1.50. The province that once lured timber workers from across the country and turned remote communities into thriving towns has become one that places little value in the full potential of its resource.
But policies and practices of forestry companies themselves have also faced blame, above strictly environmental concerns. One Vancouver Island timber worker pointed to a flaw in the stumpage fee, the tax the provincial government levies based on volume of timber cut off Crown land. Some avaricious timber companies, when negotiating cutblocks with the provincial government, have been known to combine stands of valley-bottom old growth with those of a much lower value with no intention of cutting anything but the biggest and best. The government then calculates and charges a stumpage fee based on a considerably lower total average — and the company never cuts the less valuable stand, deceiving the government and maximizing profits.
* * *
As timber companies and governments shifted the values they placed on British Columbia's forests, so too did the environmental movements. In the early 2000s, one environmental story dominated headlines: climate change. Activists were struggling to draw attention to massive global forces affecting the planet — the deterioration of the ozone layer, atmospheric carbon dioxide, rising ocean temperatures, acid rain — and local battles became dwarfed. On the coast, Western Canada Wilderness Committee activist Ken Wu watched as each environmental issue splintered and support began to be stretched thin. Wu felt that the ideological, social, or political needle towards ending old-growth forest logging wasn't moving.
Wu began his work as an activist canvassing in Vancouver for the WCWC during the Clayoquot Sound movement in the early 1990s. He was an ideological advocate for civil disobedience and blockades — a "serial protester," by his own definition. But a conversation during a car ride with WCWC co-founder Paul George lit a spark. George told him that while direct action — protesting, barricading logging roads, rallying — was an important component of environmental campaigns, the most crucial aspect was curating an educated and motivated public. Direct action can play a role, he told Wu, if it focuses the issue and drives people to action, but to change legislation requires considerable momentum and stamina in order to exert pressure on government. Their work wasn't just about bringing activists or even tourists into the forests, but to convince people — across the country and across the world — to care.
After two decades working as part of West Coast environmental movements, Wu found himself preaching to the converted and attracting few new acolytes. The organization's base was firmly established: a left-leaning, CBC-listening, Green Party–voting, environmentally conscious public. With the WCWC focused on shoring up its base and spreading its reach to cover new causes, including the expansion of oil pipelines to the coast and the proliferation of tankers, Wu saw an opportunity to expand into new demographics. He left the Western Canada Wilderness Committee to launch a new, forest-first organization.
On January 19, 2010, the Ancient Forest Alliance (AFA) was born. "The new organization will undertake expeditions to document the endangered ancient forests, heritage trees, and clear-cuts destroying the remaining old-growth forests on Vancouver Island and in southern B.C., and work to undertake public education and mobilization campaigns to ensure their protection," the organization's first statement read. The AFA was initially founded on four principal platforms: establish a provincial strategy to inventory the remaining old-growth forests; promote sustainable second-growth logging, including the retooling of mills to handle these logs; end the international export of raw logs to ensure local jobs are maintained; and support any Indigenous communities' land-use plans that focus on protecting old-growth forests.
The AFA was registered as a provincial non-profit society instead of a national charity, which allows it to openly support political parties and politicians who advocate old-growth protection — or condemn those who don't. The Western Canada Wilderness Committee, by contrast, holds charitable status, which allows them to speak in favour of or against policies but not vocally support parties or candidates. In effect, it means the Ancient Forest Alliance can be more overtly political. In its initial mandate, the organization stated it would "not be constrained by charitable status that forbids organizations from rejecting or endorsing politicians and parties due to their stances on important issues."
Wu's focus began to shift towards mobilizing a broader demographic. He started with an ambitious goal of expansion: to convince those British Columbians who typically put business or social interests above environmental ones to care about old-growth forest protection. He knew that he needed to break ground with three key groups: business owners, people of faith, and those of multicultural backgrounds. The rapidly growing Chinese and Indian communities in the Lower Mainland presented an opportunity for Wu to captivate a new generation of Canadians, many of whom became enamoured with British Columbia's big nature. Wu, who is of Taiwanese descent, began offering big-tree tours in Mandarin. Likewise, he figured people of faith who were part of the growing trend away from structured religion to a more broad spirituality might find resonance within the forests. Activities including "nature therapy" and "forest bathing" — immersing oneself in a forest as a tool for healing, stress relief, and mindfulness — were on the rise. Taking a walk in the woods became a spiritual act, a way to connect with forces greater than the individual.
But it was the business groups that proposed the greatest challenge and the greatest reward. Wu saw that if a movement is purely based on ideals that are divorced from the economy, it will never be seen as anything other than an echo chamber. But if he could connect the two, if people's livelihoods were at stake, they would fight as hard and as passionately as the ideologues and idealists. The obstacle was changing the minds of people who have for generations relied, culturally and financially, on timber rather than trees.
For many British Columbians, the battles for Carmanah and Clayoquot felt like a lifetime ago and an issue more or less settled — the wars were won and the old growth was saved. The cause was fading from media and public attention. Being in emergency mode all the time is not only exhausting — for activists as well as supporters — but unsustainable. This palpable sense of fatigue brought rise to one of the more fundamental shifts, both organizationally and personally, for Wu. The Ancient Forest Alliance needed to focus not just on the negatives — clear-cutting, job losses, ecological impacts — but on the positives. Wu realized he needed to focus on what he and the AFA were in favour of, rather than hammering on about what they stood against. There had to be green among the grey. His fledgling organization needed to find and document the remaining exceptionally large trees and intact stands, and bring evidence of what was at stake into people's homes. These remaining trees and groves, rather than stumps and clear-cuts, would be the spark that would reignite the movement.
His first hire was twenty-five-year-old photographer TJ Watt, who Wu had previously contracted to take pictures of protests and forests for WCWC campaigns. Watt was born in Metchosin, a leafy coastal community just outside Victoria, close to the location of some of the island's first logging mills. When he was a kid, he would climb a large cedar in the backyard of his house until he could see over the rooftops. Watt's father told him that the forest behind the house, which looked so wild, had once been logged. It took a moment, but then Watt saw it: springboard notches and an old logging road. It was the first time he saw historical layers in a forest.
In high school, Watt grew interested in photography, buying disposable cameras at the gas station with Petro-Points. After earning a diploma in professional photography at the Western Academy of Photography in Victoria, he joined the AFA as a campaigner and photographer with the principal job of seeking out old-growth forests, big trees, and recent clear-cuts. Photography was a tried-and-tested method of raising awareness for an environmental cause, but there were new tools that had appeared on the scene since Ken Wu had campaigned in Carmanah and Clayoquot, including social media.
"You can find the trees," Wu said, "but you have to know how to market them."
Half of Ken Wu's job at the AFA is spent trying to draw attention, trying to sell the forests and sell the trees. He hired Watt to find them.
* * *
In December 2009, a month before the Ancient Forest Alliance was established, TJ Watt grabbed his camera and headed into the forests of southern Vancouver Island. He went to photograph the Walbran Valley, a region that had been a focal point of environmental activism since the early 1990s. As a self-proclaimed "big-tree hunter," even while not on assignment for the AFA he would still spend free weekends hiking and exploring. Watt had been to the Walbran before, but this excursion was his first of many into the bush with the express purpose of locating old-growth forests that stood awaiting the saw. After a night sleeping in his Subaru with a friend, with temperatures dropping to where his socks froze to the windows, he decided to take the backroads south in the direction of Port Renfrew. Hillsides were patched with clear-cuts, some containing enormous cedar stumps, and most of the forests he passed — even stands that towered above his vehicle — were second growth.
He checked his map, noticing that he was in the Gordon River Valley just outside of town. As the winter sun was beginning to set, something caught Watt's eye: grey spikes sticking out above the canopy of the forest along the logging road. While many forests in central and eastern Canada undergo a radical and all-consuming colour shift, turning a riotous spectrum of reds, oranges, and yellows in the fall, the forests of Vancouver Island remain predominantly green year round. But within this unwavering colour, hills of old-growth Pacific temperate rainforest appear variegated and motley. The canopy is dappled: dark green for the conifers (the firs and hemlocks and cedars), and lighter for the deciduous (the maples and alders). From a distance, it is often hard to tell a five-hundred-year-old forest from one that is seventy-five years old. But there is one clear marker of Pacific temperate old-growth forest: the spiky, dead tops of ancient cedars. These multi-tipped crowns — known as candelabra tops — are a characteristic of age. When a cedar is several hundred years old, its fragile tip often breaks off in fierce wind or from a lightning strike. From the fractured top sprout new branches that turn skywards, and after decades these often dry out and die themselves. The spiky crowns become bleached grey in the sun, and stand out from the dark green conifer forest like splintered popsicle sticks.
Watt knew what to look for, and here, along the side of the road, multiple candelabra tops emerged from the dark green foliage. He parked his car and scrambled down a slope into the forest. Almost instantly, he came across an enormous, burly cedar and a towering Douglas fir, both with tops protruding through the well-established canopy. For a region that had seen extensive logging for the better part of a century, it shocked Watt that a stand of old growth containing valuable timber not only still stood so close to Port Renfrew, but also alongside a well-used logging road. Within an hour, he had located more than a dozen trees three to four metres wide — some with great twisted forms and burls erupting from their bases.
Knowing Ken Wu would be interested, Watt returned to Victoria and went straight to the seasoned activist to tell him of his find. Wu initially didn't believe that a grove of old-growth forest stood fifteen minutes from Port Renfrew. He had to see it for himself. Around a month later, when the pair found time to drive up the coast from Victoria to Port Renfrew, Wu was dumbfounded at the size of some of the trees and the density of the grove. But while they were walking through the forest, something jumped out at Watt. Scattered throughout the grove hung the familiar orange "FALLING BOUNDARY" and pink "ROAD LOCATION" ribbons placed by Teal Jones's forest engineers. Large cedars were marked with spray paint, identifying the largest trees in the cutblock or other markings for the fallers. Within the short period between his visits, timber engineers had been sent to flag the forest and lay out a cutblock map. To Watt and Wu, it was a clear sign that the company intended to return with fallers and trucks and turn this patch of old growth into a familiar grey sight.
The Ancient Forest Alliance had found its inaugural ancient forest.
Weeks after the organization's founding, the AFA issued a press release that announced a new battleground for the fight to protect old-growth forests on Vancouver Island. They called it Avatar Grove, after the James Cameron sci-fi epic that had been released just months prior and was already starting to break box-office records. Beneath the flare of 3-D filmmaking was a not so thinly veiled message: it is possible to fight back against a company that is exploiting land and extracting resources without regard for Indigenous peoples or the environment.
Twentieth Century Fox had been taken aback by the strong ecological message in the draft script of _Avatar_. "When they read it, they sort of said, 'Can we take some of this tree-hugging, _FernGully_ crap out of this movie?'" director James Cameron said in an interview. "And I said, 'No, because that's why I'm making the film.'"
In addition to identifying with the film's environmental message, the AFA likened the unusually shaped cedars found in Avatar Grove to some of the alien trees growing on Cameron's fictional moon Pandora. It was also a catchy name — one that would resonate with the public and attract the attention of the media. To further link _Avatar_ 's environmental message to their cause, the AFA held a rally in Vancouver where dozens of participants painted their bodies blue in emulation of the Na'vi, Cameron's forest-dwelling aliens. The organization even invited the famous director to attend, but he didn't show up.
It was the second time Ken Wu had used pop culture as a conduit for a pro-environment protest. In 2004, while working for the Western Canada Wilderness Committee, he organized a rally at the B.C. legislature in Victoria — the largest at that location since the Clayoquot Sound protest in 1993 — where participants dressed in papier-mâché costumes of Ents, the giant tree creatures from J. R. R. Tolkien's _Lord of the Rings_ trilogy. The protestors acted out a battle against dark forces that were destroying the forests.
During the wave of West Coast forest activism that began in the 1980s, names for big trees and groves were bestowed principally based on location. In Randy Stoltmann's pioneering book, _Hiking Guide to the Big Trees of Southwestern British Columbia_ , his descriptions of some of the province's grandest groves shy away from flash or glamorous identification. Trees held names such as the San Juan Spruce, Red Creek Fir, or Lynn Creek Cedar, as well as many with Indigenous roots such as Carmanah, Koksilah, and Cheewhat.
More recent activist organizations have felt that aggressive marketing is needed in order to turn these trees into symbols. Organizations such as the Ancient Forest Alliance don't have the luxury of being timid. They must create a splash.
"Avatar Grove would probably be a sea of stumps right now had we called it Gordon River Valley Grove," said Ken Wu. "If you don't know how to build a communications campaign around them, then they're just another big tree, ultimately."
But not everyone views the marketing of these big trees and old-growth groves as positive. One central point of tension is the language used in some environmental activist campaigns, primarily around the word "discovery." Indigenous people point to their history on the land — long before any timber worker or activist — and the evidence that can be found in the markings and remnants of culturally modified trees. Activist organizations often defend the language by saying that their "discovery" is not to say they were the first to ever see the tree or walk the grove, but that they are the first to recognize the tourism or recreation potential and significance of the trees.
The naming of places has always been a fraught process in Canada, where thousands of years of Indigenous history and presence have been erased by placing a single word on a map. It is a subject that splits Vancouver Island's environmental activist community, with each organization trying to push forcibly for results while being cautious not to step on cultural toes. For some, naming groves or trees after Western movies or literature applies yet another layer of Western presence on Indigenous land. The text on the wooden sign at the trailhead to Avatar Grove includes "T'l'oqwxwat" — the Pacheedaht name for the site of a long-time summer fishing camp along the Gordon River. But the Indigenous word has never found its way into colloquial usage.
"They were 'finding' something that's well documented within Pacheedaht history and likely has a name and likely has uses," said Kristine Pearson, a representative for the First Nation. And the propensity to label the forests with a Western name has never sat well either. "It would be one thing if you came to the nation first and asked about the history," she said. "It's a very colonial attitude to come in and rename an area."
Avatar Grove was more than just marketing: the forest contained some three- and four-metre-wide cedars that were easily several hundred years old. The AFA declared it "the most accessible and finest stand of ancient trees left in a wilderness setting on the South Island." To Ken Wu and TJ Watt, the forest held everything they needed to create a tourist destination. Places like Carmanah or Walbran or the islands of Clayoquot Sound are the cream of Vancouver Island's old-growth forests, but their remote locations, down dozens of kilometres of logging roads, act as a deterrent to most. People are less inclined to visit one — even to view the largest tree in the country — if it's a three-hour drive down bumpy, tire-flattening roads, or if it requires bushwhacking on foot or taking a boat across a choppy channel. Avatar Grove lay just beyond where the pavement ends, an easy drive outside Port Renfrew. With minimal effort, visitors could explore a prime example of untouched Pacific temperate rainforest. They could also see first-hand what is in danger of being lost, without having to delve deep into Vancouver Island's interior. The value in Avatar Grove — not only from an ecological or tourism perspective, but for the AFA's cause — was as staggeringly obvious as the towering trees.
The subsequent press releases caught the attention of the media, who were eager for stories about a new war in the woods, or at least a fresh skirmish. With British Columbia's history of timber and forest activism, a rapt audience was guaranteed. "I know that we would've succeeded in building a powerful movement anyways, but Avatar Grove was rocket fuel," Wu said.
On a spring day, after showing reporters the forest, Watt and Wu decided to check out the north side of the road, where another patch of old growth extended up a hill. As they hiked through the salal undergrowth, they passed even more giant cedars, one after another. Then, as they crossed Baird Creek, a seasonal trickle of water that flows into the Gordon River, Watt spotted something up a hill: an enormous, stout, burly cedar. While western red cedars can grow straight and branchless, with a grain eloquent enough for guitar making or true enough for canoe building, the aged examples of the species are known for more erratic and misshapen growth. After hundreds of years, the centres of cedar trunks often rot away, leaving hollow cavities that offer ideal dens for a family of black bears. On some cedars, the grain twists and turns, creating folds and mounds in the bark that from some angles make the trees look like sitting Buddhas meditating in a forest.
Most of the ancient cedars in Avatar Grove were impressive in their girth and stature, but this one tree was so unusual in its shape that the activists knew they had found this forest's protagonist. The cedar appeared squashed by some unseen force from above that was pushing bulbous lumps out from its base. A few metres off the ground, a burl the size of a small car protruded from the trunk like a giant's goiter. Cedar burls were once thought to be an infection in the bark or some kind of arboreal tumour, but recently the protruding lumps have been thought to be stores of regenerative cells that a tree can access when it is damaged in the wind — when its top is broken or its trunk split. Some burls swell and shrink over time.
The cedar growing on the slope in Avatar Grove wasn't the largest or tallest, but it broke the mould for how a tree should look. So the AFA presented the specimen to the world as "the gnarliest tree in Canada." The organization suggested having an online vote or competition to name the unusual tree, but "Canada's Gnarliest Tree" — or more colloquially, "the Gnarly Tree" — stuck. The campaign to save Avatar Grove exploded like wildfire. To TJ Watt, the movement was beginning to feel like a "mini Carmanah." Everything was coming together: the exceptionality of the stand of giant trees, the accessibility of the short drive from Port Renfrew, and the fact that an environmentally minded blockbuster movie was breaking box-office records in theatres. It was the perfect moment to launch a powerful pro–old-growth forest campaign.
* * *
The Ancient Forest Alliance led its first hike through Avatar Grove that same spring, guiding nearly a hundred people through the rain and bush. The organization set a goal of leading at least one hike every month for a year. People who could see first-hand the size and rarity of these trees were key to spreading the word and furthering the cause. Still, every time TJ Watt drove over the bump separating pavement and dirt logging road on a visit to Avatar Grove, he felt anxiety build in him. He didn't know if one day he would turn his van around the final corner and find the trees he was working to protect had been cut and hauled away. They needed to find a way to ensure this patch of forest was officially off limits to logging.
At first, the move to protect a small patch of old-growth forest was met with a familiar tepid response from the provincial government. "I think it is important to mention that not all old-growth forests can be protected," wrote Pat Bell, the British Columbia minister of forests and range, in response to a letter from the Sooke Region Tourism Association and Port Renfrew Chamber of Commerce, which extolled the broader economic benefits of leaving old-growth forests that held recreation values. "A certain amount must be harvested to provide a viable and sustainable wood supply to the forest industry, which is an important component of the provincial economy."
As news began to circulate more widely about Avatar Grove, writer and former environmental auditor Hans Tammemagi drove out to see the forest in the summer of 2010. He was shocked that an old-growth forest or a five-hundred-year-old tree held no formal protection. Those within parks or protected areas did, but the trees carried no weight in and of themselves. Tammemagi continued farther up the Gordon River Valley to a recent clear-cut that contained several cedar stumps approximately three metres wide. One stump was nearly five metres in diameter — nearly wide enough for three people of average height to lie head to toe across its cut. Harvested that spring, cutblock 7184 lay just down the road from 7190, which was awaiting a pair of forest engineers to lay out its cutting map.
For Tammemagi, who had worked in and around forestry issues in Canada for decades, the contrast between the intact forest and recent clear-cuts was staggering. When he called the office of the logging company that held the tree farm license, Teal Jones, they were adamant that what they had done was entirely legal. They had submitted a cutting application to the ministry, received approval, and set to work. There existed no legal mechanism or requirement for timber companies to save or exclude big trees. They may set aside a bear den here or there, or extend a riparian zone, but it is done at the discretion of the forest engineers.
In June 2010, Tammemagi filed a complaint to the Forest Practices Board (FPB), the province's independent watchdog for forest and forestry issues. Formed in the wake of the Forest Practices Code of British Columbia Act, which came into effect in 1995, the board's responsibilities included ensuring the act was being followed; reviewing complaints and conducting audits into forest and range practices; and issuing reports and recommendations to the provincial government. The FPB received nineteen complaints within the first year of its establishment. Tammemagi's demands were threefold: a full stop on cutting the most "ancient" trees, a long-term strategy to protect old growth, and the immediate safeguarding of Avatar Grove from logging.
In their report, released in February 2011, the Forest Practices Board highlighted a number of problematic issues, including the fact that forest policy "does not classify old growth in a sufficiently refined way to capture the full range of old forest values." A forest that is 250 years old is treated the same way as one that is more than 500 years old. Similarly, a tree that is 250 years old is treated the same way as one that is a thousand years old. If they're not protected in a provincial park, wildlife habitat zone, or old-growth management area, the most ancient and rare of Vancouver Island's trees can simply be cut.
The FPB recognized that "certain individual, or small groups of, exceptional trees on the timber harvesting land base may provide a higher social and economic value if they are treated as a special resource feature and excluded from timber harvesting." Teal Jones responded to the board that these larger trees are often dying or rotten and are consequently felled not for timber value but as a safety measure for its employees working in the field. In its recommendations, the FPB encouraged "government, forest professionals, and forest licensees to seek creative means to conserve trees of exceptional size or form, age or historical significance and, where appropriate, the forest stands that contain them." It was a move that excited pro–old-growth environmentalists.
The Forest Practices Board submitted their report to minister of forests and range Pat Bell, who requested a review of the government's existing legal mechanisms to protect big trees. The review determined that the tools and processes — the formation of old-growth management areas or recreation sites, for example — were only sufficient when the big trees were identified prior to the onset of logging operations in the area. No legal process required timber companies to set aside a thousand-year-old tree, for example, once harvesting had begun. Nor was there a mechanism for the provincial government to intervene once operations were underway. The pressure was placed on the public — activists, environmentalists, hikers, and the like — to find and identify these monumental trees before the process was initiated.
When the province opened up a public review process, 232 out of 236 comments submitted were in favour of protecting Avatar Grove. Under public pressure, Minister Pat Bell called Ken Wu and set up a meeting. Bell made it clear to the activists that broad legislation to halt old-growth logging was not on the table. But setting aside Avatar Grove — the small patch just outside Port Renfrew — was.
The AFA's request was straightforward: a small protected area along Baird Creek could be extended to encompass the entire grove. The thin band had been designated an old-growth management area (OGMA), a patch of forest recognized by the provincial government to contain old-growth attributes. Some OGMAs are intact groves untouched by commercial logging, while others are younger second-growth stands that are off limits to logging and maintained to achieve old-growth characteristics. There are more than fifty thousand OGMAs around the province, representing nearly four million hectares of forested land, but an investigation in 2010 by the Forest Practices Board found that approximately 30 percent of these OGMAs had protection by a government order, while 70 percent held no legal status — likely a result of government land-use plans acting not as legal requirements but as guidelines. Timber companies could build roads through or even harvest two-thirds of OGMAs. However, in their investigation, the board found that most licensees tended to avoid all OGMAs, even though they were not legally required to. Still, that the responsibility to protect forests is largely to the discretion of the logging industry left activists uneasy.
Following negotiations, the minister agreed to extend the protected area to cover the entirety of what the activists were asking for, creating a fifty-nine-hectare old-growth management area. In February 2012, two years to the month after the AFA announced its identification of the old-growth stand, Avatar Grove was officially given protected status.
The gnarly cedars within this patch of forest had found their shield — but safety came at a cost. To appease Teal Jones, which was now out of a lease to cut approximately sixty hectares of forest, Pat Bell offered compensation in exchange, by adjusting the borders of existing OGMAs to open them up for logging. Half of this compensation consisted of forest more than 250 years old, and half of older second growth, including one area of approximately one-hundred-year-old Douglas firs — a rarity on Vancouver Island.
Just outside Lake Cowichan, a three-thousand-person town northeast of Port Renfrew in the middle of Vancouver Island, Mark Carter was running Teal Jones's operations for tree farm licence 46 out of a small trailer office, managing the company's forest engineers, including Dennis Cronin. Carter described the deal with Avatar Grove as an "easy call." Even though the Ancient Forest Alliance said in early 2010 that "the Grove is slated for logging any day now," representatives for Teal Jones have tempered this claim. When the company sent in their timber cruisers to do a value assessment, the cutblock didn't register as anything exceptionally significant — particularly in a region that contained sections of forests of much higher value. There were large cedars, but they were old, misshapen, or broken. The land was uneven, too, sloping down a mountainside with many gullies and depressions, which would make it more difficult to fall and extract than other patches in the valley. Carter called the deal a "win-win," where the AFA received a grove of old growth within a short drive from Port Renfrew that they could market and publicize to tourists, and the logging company received stands of higher-commercial-value timber farther from town. Still, the deal was a tough pill to swallow for the activists, and a precedent Ken Wu felt uncomfortable setting. With so little of Vancouver Island protected in parks or old-growth management areas, and so much of it fragmented and disconnected, every stand of old growth or older second growth counts.
* * *
In the two years after Avatar Grove was first announced, thousands of people hiked the forest, creating two paths: one leading to TJ Watt's Gnarly Tree in the upper half of the grove, and another in a loop around the largest trees of the lower half. But the only way into the grove was for visitors to haul themselves up a slippery, often muddy slope, using a rope. It was a less than an ideal — or safe — entry point to what was becoming the West Coast's new _it_ -forest. The need to establish a more official trail system grew.
In the summer of 2013, the Ancient Forest Alliance received confirmation from the B.C. Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations that Avatar Grove would be an official recreation site, and permission was given to begin constructing a formal trail. The Pacheedaht First Nation donated cedar planks for the first phase of a boardwalk, which was expanded to include a number of viewing platforms and benches. But the First Nation was also not without concerns, pointing to the lack of toilet and refuse facilities, which are often found in provincial parks and managed by parks services. More importantly, Jeff Jones, chief of the Pacheedaht, pointed to a missed or yet-to-be-developed opportunity: there is nobody more experienced and knowledgeable about these forests than the Indigenous people who have lived, used, and worked within them for millennia. He said the Ancient Forest Alliance initially suggested that during the summer high season, a permanent representative of the First Nation would offer guided walks through Avatar Grove, providing information both historical and ecological, and diminishing the impact of tourists who might otherwise wander off trail. With limited funding, guides have yet to be hired.
The AFA has also received criticism from some who point to the thousands of tourists traipsing through a once-pristine old-growth forest as a mark of hypocrisy. If these organizations are truly for the protection of sensitive and dwindling forests, then why allow hordes of tourists to trample the undergrowth and clamber up the burls of trees to take photographs? It is an argument that Ken Wu easily dismisses: a thin trail through the forest is a small measure of impact compared to what might have befallen the grove. And with time, the impact of the initial hikers and the construction workers will fade. Some of the first boardwalks built in Carmanah Walbran Provincial Park in the mid-1990s have slowly been enveloped by the forest green, to the point where traversing the walkways in Carmanah feels like strolling on top of a cloud of undergrowth without disturbing anything living. Given time to heal, nature will reassert its dominance.
Following Avatar Grove, the AFA announced the identification of two other groves in the region that also held potential as tourist destinations. The first was a section of old-growth forest, seventy hectares of which was a protected wildlife habitat, while another sixty hectares lay within a tree farm licence with no protection. Off Highway 14, just south of Port Renfrew on the road to Victoria, down a path frequented by in-the-know surfers heading to a secluded beach, was a grove of ancient cedars, firs, and spruces tightly clustered like the monoliths of Stonehenge. When it came to adding a name, Ken Wu knew exactly what to call it — a name that he had been looking to attach to a stand of old growth for years: Jurassic Grove. Plus, as the organization stated, if the British Columbia government decided to expand nearby Juan de Fuca Provincial Park to include the grove, the area could be renamed Jurassic Park.
The second location featured centuries-old Sitka spruces rather than the bulbous western red cedars of Avatar Grove. One spruce was nearly four metres in diameter, almost big enough to break into the top-ten widest known Sitka spruces in the province. TJ Watt called the grove the "Serengeti of Vancouver Island" because of its biodiversity of fauna — elk, black bears, and wolves. The AFA named it FernGully Grove, after _FernGully: The Last Rainforest_ — the 1992 animated film that centres around an alliance between fairies and animals as they fight to protect the destruction of their forest from loggers and an evil entity bent on its eradication.
Still, not every campaign took off like Avatar Grove. A few kilometres farther into the Gordon River Valley lay a section of old-growth forest that rivalled any in the region. It held big trees and bear dens, bubbling streams and waterfalls. The AFA nicknamed it the Christy Clark Grove, after the then premier of British Columbia who, after being elected in 2011, had shown little interest in shifting policy away from old-growth logging. The organization even named one of the grove's largest Douglas firs the Clark Giant, and a burly western red cedar the Gnarly Clark, thinking that the premier couldn't let trees named after her be cut down. It was a bid to draw the attention of the province's highest politician to these vanishing forests, but the campaign never got off the ground. The name confused some left-leaning supporters, who accused Ken Wu of honouring the British Columbia Liberal premier instead of singling the politician out. The AFA eventually renamed the premier's unwanted eponymous forest the more tame and apolitical Eden Grove.
It wasn't the first time an environmental activist had tried this tactic with little success. In the summer of 1988, Randy Stoltmann found a Sitka spruce in the Carmanah Valley that had one of the largest circumferences he had ever come across. The tree was dead, a standing snag, so he named it the Dave Parker Tree after the minister of forests who had called the forests of Carmanah "over-mature" and therefore of little value and in need of immediate harvesting. The name never stuck.
Public attention on its own can rarely lead to formal protection for these forests. For each of the AFA's identified ancient groves near Port Renfrew, Ken Wu tried to court the Pacheedaht First Nation, who he said has held the "trump card on the issue" of pushing for protection. In some instances, support was forthcoming — from supplying wood for boardwalks to lobbying the government — while in others the Pacheedaht have been cautious about wholly taking the activists' side. Support from the nation meant that the activists wouldn't have to engage in any direct-action forms of protest or hold rallies. Instead, the Pacheedaht could push for the groves to be turned into old-growth management areas in their negotiations with timber companies. That way, the AFA wouldn't have to make concessions to the British Columbia government as they did with Avatar Grove, trading nine cutblocks to save one.
* * *
Avatar Grove arrived at a time of widespread skepticism and doubt within the environmental community in Canada. Three months after the AFA's flagship forest was formally protected, the country's elder of environmentalism, David Suzuki, was struck with defeatism. "Environmentalism has failed," he boldly declared in May 2012. He cited many successes, but noted that "we were so focused on battling opponents and seeking public support that we failed to realize these battles reflect fundamentally different ways of seeing our place in the world." But within this handful of hectares of old-growth forest near Port Renfrew was an optimistic model of collaboration among activists and timber workers, Indigenous groups and businesses.
Still, not everyone immediately swooned at the tourism potential of marketing Vancouver Island's big trees. Greg Klem, who moved to Port Renfrew from Kitchener, Ontario, in the mid-1990s, had driven by what became Avatar Grove many times while working in tree planting, up and down Vancouver Island — part of the hordes of seasonal workers contributing to the 200 million seedlings that are planted every year across the province.
Klem was surprised by the attention Avatar Grove was receiving. In his estimation, the stand wasn't even that special. He had walked through dozens of old-growth groves that were grander and more varied than the one attracting the media and the public. The forest, according to him, is based on a lie — he claims it is not entirely old growth but a handful of ancient cedars interspersed with much younger hemlocks, which led him to dub it "Avafraud Grove."
In an opinion article for the _Sooke News Mirror_ , a local paper, in the spring of 2011, Klem wrote, "Unfortunately, much of the campaign has been based on misinformation, falsehoods and 'spin.' The 'Avatar Grove' is neither ancient nor endangered. The handful of damaged, old survivors are surrounded by 100-year-old diseased hemlock that grew after a major windstorm." He wrote that there were other forests in the area that were more spectacular than Avatar but were logged without fanfare or opposition, noting that "some trees must be more equal" than others, in a reference to George Orwell's _Animal Farm_.
The Ancient Forest Alliance defended their campaign by focusing on Avatar Grove's location, saying it is "particularly valuable because it is the easiest to access monumental stand of ancient trees near Port Renfrew. Other old-growth stands are farther away along rough logging roads, on steep slopes."
While forests untouched by commercial logging may not bear the scars of chainsaws or heavy machinery, they still demonstrate natural wounds. No old-growth forest on Vancouver Island stands utterly unblemished, with every tree being allowed to grow unmolested. There are always young trees alongside the ancients.
But Klem's frustration had a deeper cause. These forests had formed the foundation of an eco-tour company that he had casually established a decade before Avatar Grove was brought into the limelight. He would explain logging practices and history to visitors, all the while driving the bumpy backroads more often frequented by hulking trucks laden with logs than tourists. He would point out big trees, but also big clear-cuts. He would guide groups through old growth while explaining the problems with today's timber harvesting. He would show the grey as well as the green.
The centre point of his tour was a massive, twisted cedar that he nicknamed "Lumpy," a tree whose location he has kept a relative secret — rather than publicizing the tree for anyone else or any organization to use for their benefit. On the side of his white pickup truck he scrawled in green paint his email address, in case a passerby might be interested in a Lumpy Tour. But Klem's exasperation boiled as he saw the attention on TJ Watt's "Gnarliest Tree in Canada" grow from local to national — with hundreds of visitors on busy summer weekends clambering into the forest to see the unusual tree. "It's not even the twelfth-gnarliest in the district," Klem said, without offering examples or recognizing the complete subjectivity of the designation. To make a point, Klem retrieved his can of green paint, and along the tailgate of his truck wrote a new slogan for his Lumpy Tours: "Bigger. Better. Knarlier [ _sic_ ]."
Once Avatar Grove started to pick up momentum as a focus for tourists — and the AFA began giving free hiking tours — Klem found it harder to compete to the point where his business dried up. He has no Instagram page or fancy website; his only advertising is a small listing in the business directory in the Port Renfrew Chamber of Commerce's brochure. Rather than polished activist-speak, he'll give you a reality check from someone not shy with the contradictions: that some of the highest-productivity forest regions are also where we have built our communities; that a gradual weaning away from old-growth logging is more likely than a cold-turkey full stop; and that environmentalists will always look to polish a feature in order to market their cause.
Klem has been imagining a reality show based on the premise of hunting Canada's next biggest trees. "More than likely you'll find it right on Mount Edinburgh, in that goshawk preserve," he said, speaking about the mountain that rises above the Gordon River Valley. "There's giants in there."
The elusive big trees that may stand somewhere within a remote valley on Vancouver Island have always inspired Klem to seek them out. There is power in stumbling upon a natural skyscraper in a dark forest — maybe not power to push change, but at the very least power to inspire. "Fewer people are going to church anymore, so they're looking for something to grasp on to. Forests is the new cause for them."
For the Ancient Forest Alliance, encouraging tourists to visit Avatar Grove was out of hope that each person would come away with an impression — awe at the very least, vexation that these forests are still being cut at best, and ideally something approaching anger that could be harnessed into action. But mostly, people come to see the trees. They come to wander in the woods and look up at the towering Douglas firs and take photographs beside the plump western red cedars, their tiny frames juxtaposed with some of the largest examples of these species on the planet. It is the story of the trees that people are drawn to.
While the organization was writing press release after press release and feverishly petitioning the provincial government to protect Avatar Grove, timber workers continued to delve deeper into the valleys of Vancouver Island, flagging and cutting hundreds of other patches of old-growth forest. In late January 2011, a few kilometres down the dirt road from Avatar Grove and across a bridge high over the Gordon River, Dennis Cronin stepped out of his truck, quietly put on his caulk boots and hard hat, and began preparations to bring down cutblock 7190.
Chapter 7
The Logger
Dennis Cronin stepped back from the giant Douglas fir he had just flagged with green ribbon, and continued on through the forest. As he was marking the cutblock with orange and pink and red ribbons, he noticed he was being followed. It was common to encounter a bear in these remote valleys; cougars and wolves were more rare. But this time it was a bird. Wherever he went in the cutblock, a blue and black Steller's jay — the official bird of British Columbia — took particular interest in his work.
"He would follow me around like a dog," Cronin later said. "I would be traversing creeks, taking my measurements and bearings, and he's hopping behind me, picking up the bugs as I stirred them up."
The bird would stop when he stopped, cock its crested head to the side, and follow along. Even when he returned the following day to finish the site plan, at some point the jay would appear and Cronin would toss a piece of his peanut butter sandwich to the bird. But when Cronin and his partner, Walter Van Hell, found a way over the creek that acted as the boundary of 7190 to flag a neighbouring section of old growth, the jay stopped. As the pair completed their work in the two cutblocks near the base of Edinburgh Mountain in the Gordon River Valley, traversing back and forth across the creek boundary, the bird always remained in 7190.
"He would never cross that creek. We would pick him up again when we crossed back," Cronin said.
At the Teal Jones office, a teal-coloured office located fifty kilometres away from cutblock 7190, near Lake Cowichan, Cronin and Van Hell transcribed their field notes of the forest's features and contours on a computer map of the cutblock. They added thin red lines for the creeks and rivers, to mirror the red flagging they had placed in the forest. They marked where an access point should be built, where a cable yarder could be positioned to haul the logs to the road. And they calculated the merchantable cubic metres of wood within the cutblock. At roughly the size of twelve football fields, cutblock 7190 was a tiny sliver of the great forests that had once covered the island. But it held some towering and valuable trees. The price of timber fluctuates every year, depending on species and market, but that year, old growth was fetching between $80 and $100 per cubic metre of wood. (One cubic metre is roughly the size of a telephone pole.) West Coast old-growth forests produce between 800 and 1,200 cubic metres of wood per hectare, roughly twice as much timber as second growth.
The gross value of the wood in this one cutblock could yield approximately one million dollars.
* * *
Dennis Cronin spent the majority of his life walking through old-growth forests, under the canopies of some of the largest trees in the country. He was born in the spring of 1954 in Toronto, and his family moved out of the city when he was five. In 1972, when he was eighteen years old and living in the small farming town of Whitby, Ontario, he headed west, where he had a choice of towns on Vancouver Island which were booming under the banner of falling trees. At the time, the West Coast timber industry was raging, with big money to be made. Unlike other resource surges across the country — in oil production, mining, or seasonal fishing — the move to work in the forests was more often than not a permanent one. Towns across the island had sprouted out of the sawdust of timber mills. Work camps situated in remote locations in the bush had evolved into communities with schools, shops, post offices, and hospitals. Holding everything together was the local timber company, which provided jobs and incomes to keep families not only afloat but flourishing. Some towns, such as Mill Bay on the east coast of the island, bear names that reflect their timber history.
For Cronin, a secure job was only half the draw. He wanted to work in the great outdoors of British Columbia, with pitch on his hands and mud on his jeans. He settled in the tranquil community of Lake Cowichan. The town was not only located in the heart of southern Vancouver Island's forested hills but for decades had been one of the region's most important timber hubs. For a decade and a half, through the heyday of West Coast logging, Cronin walked the forests as a hooktender, leading a crew that hauled logs out of cutblocks. "It was continuous clear-cut back then," Cronin said. "You just cut everything down. If it was there, you mowed 'er all down."
As the eastern half of Vancouver Island began to run out of the high-value, old-growth forests so coveted by timber companies, operations started delving into the plunging and wet valleys of the island's west coast. "I logged some big dough in the valleys," said Cronin, with both a touch of pride and a touch of regret. "You'd only be six hundred feet from the landing and there'd be just monsters." In the sluice flats of the Nitinat Valley, west of Cowichan Lake and up the coast from Port Renfrew, he remembered Sitka spruces so big they defied standard operation. "You'd have to get low beds to come in," he said. "You couldn't get the logs high enough to get them onto a logging truck. You'd need two machines picking it up at the same time."
In the late 1980s, after years of back-breaking work hauling logs, Cronin wanted a change. The B.C. government was formalizing the role of forest engineers and they recognized his experience, like that of many others, and counted it as training. It was a calmer job, and one less taxing on the body.
Forest engineers are often the first wave of loggers to enter a cutblock. Their job is to survey the land, design where roads should go, mark any unusual features, and build a layout map for the fallers. "We might walk around for three days scratching our heads, looking at the ground, looking at the trees," Cronin said. In this role, he began seeing trees differently. "Fallers see them lying on the ground, not standing up," he said. "So it's quite a difference being the first ones in." In his previous role, he worked in cutblocks that had been clear-cut, but as an engineer he worked in intact forests untouched by commercial logging.
In the bush, Cronin looked every bit of a West Coast logger. When he went to work, he wore jeans and a plaid or work shirt, with the sleeves rolled up when the weather was warm. He wore a hard hat and a timberman's spike-soled caulk boots so he could traverse the forest with ease. He shaved clean, except for a bushy moustache. He never left for work without a loaf of bread and a jar of peanut butter for his lunch.
For fifteen years, he had one main partner while working in the woods of Vancouver Island, forest engineer Walter Van Hell. The pair became so comfortable in the bush that when they came across a bear den in a hollow cavity of a large cedar tree, they would reach inside and feel around, or even poke their heads in, without any fear that a bear would come tearing out or tear something off.
Cronin didn't just work the forest; he lived and breathed the bush. Few weekends passed without at least one excursion into the vast network of unpaved logging roads around Lake Cowichan or Port Renfrew. He would go hunting up the mountains with friends, or fishing with his two sons along the hundreds of creeks and rivers that drain into the Pacific. One of his favourite activities was shed-antler hunting, where he would hike around looking for deer or elk racks that the animals would naturally drop in early spring. Or he would simply wake up on a Saturday morning and say to his wife, Lorraine, "Come and see my new patch," which referred to either a grove of old growth he had recently flagged or a forest that had recently been cut. They would often hop in their truck and head out for the day, to hike through a grove Cronin had been working or to a point of interest — maybe it was a sliver of Pacific Ocean that had recently been exposed after loggers had done work to a cutblock. Maybe it was a bear den. Or maybe it was a tree he deemed unusual.
Over decades, Cronin developed a deep understanding of these forests. There were some who just went to work and got the job done, but Cronin wanted to know the details. He could recite the names of every species in the rainforest and the regulations within the governing codes. When his co-workers had a question, they would seek out Dennis.
Cronin had seen hundreds of giants, but this one Douglas fir in cutblock 7190 stood above the rest. "When I walked up to it, I passed some big firs and some really big cedars — twelve-footers, maybe," Cronin said, referring to the diameter of neighbouring trees. But this one fir dominated the rest. "He towered above the forest. He stuck out like a sore thumb."
Douglas firs and western red cedar are the two species in this area that are the most wind resistant, so are often stable enough to outlast storms and continue to grow through several iterations of a forest over a millennium. Still, many of the larger, centuries-old examples of these two species break off at their more fragile tops, and over time their centres fill with water and rot. They become unstable and prone to blowdown, and the timber inside slowly begins to lose its value. After decades as a timberman, Cronin could tell by looking at a tree's bark and the knots along its trunk if there was rot inside. The big Douglas fir held just the faintest twist in its trunk, which was free of limbs or blemishes up to its crown. When Cronin wrapped the green "LEAVE TREE" ribbon around its base, he secured it tightly with a knot.
Over the course of his career, Cronin had flagged other trees with green ribbon, but they were ones that he considered to hold non-merchantable wood: their trunks were too twisted or too flawed. When he laid eyes on the big Douglas fir in cutblock 7190, he could see immense timber value. "I'm a logger and I've taken out millions of trees. But I was impressed." He couldn't know with 100 percent certainty — "You don't know until you put a saw into it and by that point it's too late" — but the tree exhibited few of the telltale signs of rot or disease.
He had an encyclopedic knowledge of these forests, but could also see beyond a tree's rough bark to the dollar value of the timber within. "I can look at a tree and tell if it's got value or not. If it's not twisted, if the bark is healthy, if the limbs are healthy," Cronin said. "That one had value." Encased within the deeply crevassed bark of this Douglas fir lay enough wood to fill four logging trucks to capacity, with some to spare. If milled into dimensional lumber — two-by-fours, two-by-sixes, and the like — it could be used to frame five 2,000-square-foot houses. At first glance, he assessed the single tree in unprocessed log value at around $20,000. But since it was a Douglas fir, with its coveted warm colour and pronounced grain, the tree could be turned into higher-priced beams and posts for houses in Victoria and Vancouver. This single tree could fetch more than $50,000.
A site plan for the fallers had already been drawn, but at Cronin's insistence it was redone to take into account the Douglas fir he had flagged in the middle of the forest. It cost Teal Jones around $1,000 to redraw the site plans alone. In the middle of the map, Cronin and Van Hell dropped an icon the shape of a single tree, marking the location of the designated Douglas fir. The falling crew would be forced to honour this map: a single icon on a page, and a thin, tearable ribbon around a broad trunk — that would prove the strongest form of protection.
* * *
Less than a year after Cronin wrapped the green flagging around the big Douglas fir, the trees of cutblock 7190 were gone. Throughout the summer of 2011, the grove of old-growth forest stood awaiting its fate. When the October rains turned heavy, a sound erupted in the cool morning air: fallers, contracted by Teal Jones, were starting up their chainsaws. Following Dennis Cronin's ribbon markers and the map drawn by Walter Van Hell, the fallers began bringing down the trees. The teeth of the saws bit into half-a-millennium-old trunks, casting arcs of sawdust that settled over sword fern and moss. The cut conifer quickly filled the air with a thick, woodsy perfume. The giant cedars and firs hit the forest floor with thunderous thuds, but the trees might as well have made no sound at all.
A crew of hooktenders wrapped cables around the trunks of the fallen trees, attaching the lines to a cable yarder positioned on the road above the clear-cut. One by one the logs were hauled and loaded onto trucks, driven across the bridge over the Gordon River, past a group of anti-logging activists standing next to a grove of old-growth forest, and across the island to the town of Lake Cowichan, where Dennis Cronin lived. From there, the logs were trucked up-island to Nanaimo, where they were dropped into the ocean and incorporated into a boom. Tugboats hauled the boom across the Strait of Georgia, under the bridges of Vancouver, and up the Fraser River to the Teal Jones mill on the mainland. Unlike many logs that are exported whole, or raw, for processing and manufacturing, those of cutblock 7190 remained in the province. They were de-barked and run through a milling machine, which dissected them into timbers of various lengths and dimensions. There are beams of houses or pieces of furniture, windows or doorframes, guitars or works of art, that are made from the wood harvested from cutblock 7190.
After a few months, silence returned to the base of Edinburgh Mountain. The fallers had long since packed up their chainsaws and gear; the trucks, laden with logs, had departed. A faint dusting of snow fell onto the clear-cut. As spring came, any remaining mounds of moss and bushes of salal crackled and dried up in the unfiltered sun. Bears that had called this patch of forest home found other hollows to den, while birds sought other branches to roost. Every wiry cedar, every droopy-topped hemlock, and every great fir that once made up this rainforest grove was gone — every tree, except one.
Chapter 8
Last Tree Standing
Dennis Cronin's big Douglas fir swayed quietly on its own in the middle of cutblock 7190. Winds swirled, grey mist rolled off the Pacific to fill the valley, and the sun rose and set. But the tree stood.
One morning, the sun rose behind Edinburgh Mountain, rays fragmenting through the trees that cap its ridge. In the valley below, near the mountain's base, a single tree stood in darkness. Across the Gordon River, sunlight hit the tops of the hills before slowly descending down the slopes. Then, after most of the hills across the river were warmed with an orange glow, the broken top of a towering tree in the middle of a clear-cut was illuminated, like the lighting of a solitary candle. The sun climbed higher above the mountain until the entire great Douglas fir was gradually revealed from under the mountain's shadow.
Along the rutted, principal logging road that ran through the Gordon River Valley, TJ Watt navigated his blue, right-side-drive Mitsubishi Delica, scanning the hills on either side through the windows. The tall van bumped this way and that, over a road that in parts had been packed smooth by heavy logging trucks laden with timber, while other areas were washed-out rough, as if paved with petrified loaves of bread. The hillsides in the Gordon River Valley were a patchwork quilt of cutblocks in various stages of regrowth. Some hills appeared cartoonish, as if drawn in a child's scribble book, with canopies of replanted saplings growing in unison to form a single layer. From a distance, the second growth looked less like forests than fields of even-aged wheat.
There were fresh cutblocks, too, with stumps and scraps of cedar and fir, bright orange and ochre as if still warm from the chainsaws and machines that had cut them down. There was little remaining in these patches — a few fragments and splinters left behind after the logs had been hauled away.
And there was old growth, when Watt looked closely, clinging to the very tops of a steep mountainside or down the plunging bottom of a gorge. These were the inaccessible trees, too far or too difficult or too costly to access by a timber company.
It was a cool day in February 2012 as Watt approached Avatar Grove. The forest he had helped protect was drawing tourists from afar. This time he kept going past the grove, farther into the spiderweb of dirt logging roads that covers much of the southern half of the Vancouver Island.
Watt had grown used to seeing trees disappear. In his role as campaigner and photographer for the Ancient Forest Alliance, he had driven thousands of kilometres of logging roads looking for the island's dwindling old-growth forests. Over the years, his expeditions to find groves untouched by commercial logging had forced him to delve deeper, along the rough backroads of the island, up mountainsides and down valleys, in search of Canada's last great trees.
More often than not, what Watt found was not intact forests but fresh clear-cuts. Driving along these roads felt like peering into a post-apocalyptic future: dry, dusty, barren — a wasteland of destruction. But every so often, at the end of a road, he found a glimpse of a glimmering and verdant past — a remnant of a forest that had been left largely undisturbed for millennia. When he spotted the telltale signs of large, ancient trees emerging from a canopy, he would park his vehicle alongside the dirt road and head into the tangled forest on foot. It was no easy job to traverse some of the densest forest ecosystems in Canada, where an hour can pass, and you've advanced only a couple hundred metres, where undergrowth forms impenetrable barriers of bracken and bush, and where wild animals of tooth and antler lurk. But possibility compelled him farther, up hill and over creek, in the hope of finding some of the largest trees in the world — placid leviathans waiting in the forest.
With each kilometre he drove and every ramble he took, the clock kept ticking. Logging companies continued to build new roads in a feverish bid to access new groves. Watt was trying to find them before a logger did. With each expedition into the bush, he could feel the race to locate, and hopefully protect, a small fraction of the province's arboreal legacy before it was permanently cut away. His goal was to bring back evidence not only that clear-cutting old growth continues to occur, but that there are still forests that can be saved from the saw.
If you aren't familiar with the roads and terrain here, it is easy to become lost. Take one wrong turn and you can drive for hours, switchbacking up and down hills before arriving at one of the thousands of dead ends that mark the extremes of a logging company's reach. But Watt was familiar with this area. He had explored the valley that follows the Gordon River dozens of times, and he knew where he was going: to a patch of forest at the base of Edinburgh Mountain that was part of one of the largest continuous unprotected tracts of old-growth forest on the island. Located alongside the river, on a gentle slope, it was a prime candidate for producing big trees.
Out the window to his right, something caught his eye: the unmistakable orange of a fresh clear-cut. He knew the road would lead to the stumps, to where he had been hoping to find trees. After turning onto a spur road he was forced to stop at a locked gate, a clear sign that there was current logging activity in the area. Watt grabbed his camera and continued on foot, across a single-lane wooden bridge. A hundred feet below, the emerald-green waters of the Gordon River thundered towards the Pacific Ocean a few kilometres away. On either side of the road grew young alders, often the first species to regrow after a cut. The area had seen much logging over the years, with replanted forests filling in the blanks.
Farther down the road, the smell of conifer grew stronger, of cut wood and glossy needles releasing their oils into the air. He rounded a bend, glanced to his right, and stopped. The patch of old growth he had come to hike through was gone — a bite had been taken out of the forest. It was a familiar feeling for Watt, to return to photograph a lush ancient forest only to find it levelled. If you make enough trips off the island's main roads, the excursions begin to feel like surprise funerals. Watt often returned home from a weekend to compare his photographs of a recent clear-cut with images he had taken only months previous. It was jarring to witness: before and after, green and grey.
Before him, this time, was a scene altogether different from any he had ever photographed. It wasn't a forest or a clear-cut; it wasn't an unblemished ecosystem or the scarred remains of an industrial harvest, but something he had never seen. What stood out to Watt wasn't the fact that yet another section of old-growth forest had been decimated, but that in the middle of the cutblock a single tree remained standing. It was a Douglas fir — and it was enormous. The tree was limbless from its base to 80 percent of its height, where a crooked crown of branches held dark green needles that ruffled gently in the breeze. One of the branches — which bent down and then up like a flexed arm — could have been a tree in and of itself. He brought his camera to his eye. Through the viewfinder, he framed an image unlike any he had taken before.
In the middle of the clear-cut, the giant fir stood like an obelisk in a desert.
* * *
From the road above the cutblock, the scene looked like the aftermath of a nuclear detonation: a blast of destruction that ended abruptly at the shockwave's farthest point. But at the centre was not a crater but a single tree. The clear-cut was fresh: branches that had been cut off from logs still held their green needles, and fractured remnants of hundreds of firs, cedars, and hemlocks had yet to turn from warm orange and yellow to sun-bleached grey. The clear-cut was scattered with trunks, branches, and shattered wood — anything deemed of little or no value to the timber company that had come and gone. An excavator had been left within the cutblock and a cable yarder on the slope above, where the clear-cutting extended across the road and up the hillside. Cut and branchless logs lay in haphazard piles, the scene like a game of pick-up-sticks abandoned by a giant.
A fresh cutblock is a jarring sight to behold. Along each colossal stump runs a ridge of splintered wood, marking as far as the chainsaw can enter the trunk and where the tree fractured as it fell. Emily Carr, in her wanderings of Vancouver Island in search of landscapes to paint, called these remains "screamers." They are "the cry of the tree's heart," she wrote, "wrenching and tearing apart just before she gives that sway and the dreadful groan of falling, that dreadful pause while her executioners step back with their saws and axes resting and watch. It's a horrible sight to see a tree felled, even now, though the stumps are grey and rotting. As you pass among them you see their screamers sticking up out of their own tombstones, as it were. They are their own tombstones and their own mourners."
This was part of what the Ancient Forest Alliance was calling the Christy Clark Grove, the campaign that wasn't resonating with the public like Avatar Grove. The reality was settling upon TJ Watt. He had driven along this very logging road many times in the previous two years. He had crossed the bridge high above the Gordon River, followed the bumpy track flanked by second growth, and driven between two towering groves of old growth at the base of Edinburgh Mountain. He had passed cedars and Douglas firs that flanked the road as if he were driving between skyscrapers of a downtown core. He had hiked down into the old growth, taking pictures of any big tree he came across. If he had only crossed a small creek and continued through the bush for a hundred metres or so, he would have found himself standing under the second-largest Douglas fir in the country.
Or he might have walked close but never seen it, as he focused on not breaking an ankle in a crevasse made by moss and root, or as he trudged around impenetrable barriers of undergrowth and deadfall. He could have been within a few dozen metres of such a gargantuan tree and walked right past it — the forest forcing him to follow its own paths, which may lead to danger or discovery. Watt had been so close, and yet he might as well have been another valley away.
As he stared across the ruin of a forest, a familiar feeling of frustration and anger set in — at the logging company for harvesting yet another old-growth grove, and at himself for not identifying it or protecting it in time. But he could only do so much. The rate at which forests were being cut far exceeded the ground a few eager activists could cover.
Dispirited, Watt continued down the road to hike in the adjacent grove of intact old growth. He wanted to feel the soft, spongy earth under his boots, smell the conifers and peat, and hear the creeks babbling between the trees. He wanted the comfort of being in an intact forest.
When Watt returned to Victoria, he mentioned the clear-cut with the solitary big tree to Ken Wu. But with the campaign to protect Avatar Grove reaching its climax, and an announcement imminent, it was shrugged off. Wu knew that timber workers sometimes leave individual trees or patches of trees, so it didn't sound that unusual. All attention was on developing Avatar into a premier tourist destination.
A month later, while accompanying a documentary-filmmaking student who was interested in filming clear-cuts, Watt finally descended into cutblock 7190 to stand under the towering Douglas fir, which stood on a flat plateau at the bottom of a slope. Dried twigs and slash snapped loudly under his boots. He scrambled over the jumble of deadwood and past three-metre-wide cedar stumps. He tiptoed along what had once been a nurse log, now scrubbed of the miniature forest of seedlings that had been growing along its length. With every step farther down into the clear-cut, the tree kept getting bigger and bigger and bigger until it towered above him, blocking out the sun.
TJ Watt looked up. In that moment, he knew he had stumbled upon something significant. To his eye, as someone who had spent years documenting Vancouver Island's big trees, this fir looked to be one of the largest in Canada. He had visited the largest known Douglas fir in the world many times — the Red Creek Fir, a giant 73.8 metres tall and 4.2 metres in diameter, located an hour away down several twisty turns of logging road. This one appeared roughly the same size.
Watt's initial photographs of the tree had no point of reference, and without a forest to compare it to, no scale. But this time, Watt returned to Ken Wu with a photograph of him standing on a cut hemlock stump adjacent to the enormous Douglas fir, leaning in and touching the tree's broad trunk. The photograph sent tingles down Wu's spine. The scale was key. Seeing a human dwarfed by the tree made all the difference.
Wu had to see it for himself.
"This could be the biggest Douglas fir in the country!" Wu said to Watt, after the pair made the trip to Port Renfrew to stand in the middle of cutblock 7190 and look up at the solitary tree. In that moment, the two activists realized that this tree presented a different opportunity than an intact old-growth forest.
The pair stumbled around the cutblock. Among the discarded branches were the stumps of once-ancient cedars and firs. Wu and Watt climbed on top to examine each one's rings. Some trees, they estimated, had been around five hundred years old.
It is a challenge for any environmental activist to motivate the public into action — to write to a politician, to join a protest, or simply to vote in an election with an issue such as old-growth protection in mind. For Wu, activists need something for the public to rally around: a point of tension, a symbol, an icon. The general concept of protecting old growth can never resonate as much as a place that people can walk through, touch, and see.
Environmental photographers can help bring what is often a remote issue into the home. But images of a babbling creek surrounded by forest, of a bear being dwarfed by a tree, of an eagle soaring over a valley, these all tend to blend together. They can be beautiful, but they are rarely effective. The challenge, for an activist pushing a cause, is to find an image — a symbol — that transcends nature and starts making people think.
There, in the middle of cutblock 7190, stood something different. Hope amid devastation. Life enduring against the odds. This tree provided exactly what the Ancient Forest Alliance needed: an image that symbolized its cause. What TJ Watt hadn't fully recognized on his first visit now became clear: this was an opportunity.
Chapter 9
Growing an Icon
On March 21, 2014 — timed to the International Day of Forests — the Ancient Forest Alliance issued a press release titled "Canada's Most Significant Big Tree Discovery in Decades!" Attached was the self-portrait of TJ Watt leaning against the tree, and the claim that it was possibly the second-largest Douglas fir in the country, just behind the Red Creek Fir, measured by calculating its total volume.
The tree was perfect. It was a near record-breaker. It was close to Port Renfrew, a town humming with activity around big-tree tourism after Avatar Grove. And it was alone. It was a site that could be visited by tourists, whose photographs wouldn't even need a caption. The tree summarized the entirety of the AFA's old-growth forest conservation issue in a single staggering blink. The Ancient Forest Alliance gave it a name: Big Lonely Doug.
"The days of colossal trees like these are quickly coming to an end as the timber industry cherry-picks the last unprotected, valley-bottom, lower-elevation ancient stands in southern B.C. where giants like this grow," Ken Wu stated in the release.
"It's time for the B.C. government to stop being more enthusiastic about big stumps than big trees, and for them to enact forest policies that protect our last endangered ancient forest ecosystems," TJ Watt noted, hoping this single tree might push a change in legislation.
Big Lonely Doug instantly became a celebrity. This wasn't just any tree in a forest. This was a sole survivor standing amid ruin. And its anthropomorphization resonated with people. It had a name, and a sad one, too. The press release remarked that the tree's trunk bore a scar in its bark around the base. Throughout Vancouver Island's logging history, large Douglas firs have often been used for their strength and stability as an aid in hauling felled logs from a cutblock. A crew might wrap cables around a prominent trunk to use it as an anchor for hauling logs. The cable would dig into the thick bark of the tree as a steam donkey or machine hauled.
The scar around the base of Big Lonely Doug wasn't there when Dennis Cronin wrapped green ribbon around its trunk. If the tree had been used as a yarding point by the hauling crew of cutblock 7190, that wasn't his intention.
But the logging crew saw strength in the tree's size and girth that could be employed. As its first act as a solitary tree, it was turned into a spar to haul logs from the cutblock. The image of the tree presented by the AFA was not only that of a survivor but a victim — forced to bear witness to the razing of its forest, while simultaneously being used as an aid in its destruction. The story rippled through the media, with the _Globe and Mail_ calling the tree "sad" and "perhaps the loneliest tree in Canada."
Many timber workers, including some of Dennis Cronin's co-workers, met the media attention with little more than eye rolls. Fallers and forest engineers immediately questioned the "second-largest Douglas fir" designation given to Big Lonely Doug. To many people in the industry, "tallest," "largest," "widest," and perhaps especially "gnarliest" are little more than monikers that help promote an activist cause and attract attention — just another way of commercializing the trees. Activists may not sell the timber, but they sell the trees.
During more than a century of commercial logging on Vancouver Island, timber workers have encountered hundreds if not thousands of trees larger than Big Lonely Doug. Nearly every single one has come down. Mike Pegg, who worked with Cronin at Teal Jones, noted another Douglas fir, just off a spur road and up a hillside nearby in the Gordon River Valley. He said it was bigger than Big Lonely Doug. But the tree had been blown over by the wind. There have existed much wider and taller Douglas firs, but apart from a handful, including the Red Creek Fir, none of them are still standing. They've been felled by chainsaw or axe, or have succumbed to a vicious storm. Regardless of their size, they have fallen. A tree cannot be a record holder if it no longer exists. The oldest person in the world does not retain her crown when she dies.
The difference is one of perspective: to those in the industry, a record tree is a record tree, regardless of whether it is alive and standing or fallen and dead. But to activists and ecologists, the value in these trees isn't finite. The return on these forests doesn't have to end when the wall of a house is erected.
As soon as Big Lonely Doug hit the media, questions began to surface about its survival. Amid the wonder and awe at such an unusual sight was concern for the tree now that its forest buffer had been cut. "The fact that all of the surrounding old-growth trees have been clear-cut around such a globally exceptional tree, putting it at risk of being damaged or blown down by windstorms, underscores the urgency for new provincial laws to protect B.C.'s largest trees, monumental groves, and endangered old-growth ecosystems," Ken Wu said in the press release.
"Lonely Doug is far more susceptible to blow-down in a serious wind now that his forest mates are gone. There's a metaphor there for us on the planet," one commenter posted under a news article about the tree.
"If there is a major storm in summer or winter, sadly this great tree that has seen history could keel over," another wrote.
These gargantuan trees, despite having endured for centuries, do fall. On New Year's Day 1997, a fierce windstorm tore through MacMillan Provincial Park, home to Cathedral Grove — a stand of easily accessible ancient Douglas firs situated alongside the narrow cross-island highway to Tofino. The wind knocked down some of the grove's largest trees and reshaped the structure of the park. In 2003, a sixty-metre-tall Douglas fir in Cathedral Grove came crashing down onto a parked car, killing two people inside.
Along the Koksilah River, less than an hour's drive north of Victoria, stood a Douglas fir that had been left by timber workers who proceeded to cut most of the surrounding forest. The seven-hundred-year-old tree blew down in a storm in 1979 because, ecologists asserted, it was without its protective buffer. At nearly four metres in diameter, the Koksilah Tree was one of the largest Douglas firs ever documented, and at the time held the record of being the second-largest Douglas fir in Canada, at 69.2 metres tall. Its fallen log became incorporated into a nature trail where hikers could walk along its length, gripping the furrowed bark of a ruined tower of old growth with their boots. Many activists point to the Koksilah Tree as an example of why saving individual trees — whether by activists or by loggers — is a more short-sighted approach to protecting old growth.
The projection that Big Lonely Doug would suffer the same fate appeared on the surface to make logical sense, but it overlooked several less-obvious ecological forces at work. Storms off the Pacific Ocean have hammered southern Vancouver Island for millennia. One sudden and riotous wind can be found just up the coast from Port Renfrew, where high pressure on the west side of the island forces wind through the Alberni Valley and across the entire island. The system is known as a Qualicum, after the beach and surf town on the island's eastern coast where the wind disgorges into the Strait of Georgia. But ferocious winds are known to race up every valley that runs perpendicular to the Pacific, battering the trees that stand dozens of kilometres from the coast. Over time, this strength training creates robust root systems, and while branches may occasionally blow off, those trees that endure grow thicker with each passing storm. Wind also acts as a form of brute natural selection, picking off the weaker and older trees with rot in their centres, or those that never had strong root systems to begin with. Wind is a relentless force along the coast, and if a tree cannot withstand the torture, it falls. Those that can, survive.
Many of the large trees that have fallen in storms have blown down not because of exposure but because of age. While these giants may seem to be god-like eternal beings that have survived a thousand years, and should therefore survive a thousand more, they are impermanent, with an inevitable death — just like anything crawling or growing or lurking in a forest, regardless of size or stature.
Big Lonely Doug had endured strong winds for as long as its latest apple-green needles protruded above the forest canopy. Before cutblock 7190 was felled, the tree's crown stood well above the treetops, where it bore the full brunt of winds that coursed through the valley every year. The tree bears several scars from the wind that predate the loss of its forest buffer, including a broken top — as many of the largest Douglas firs do — like the chipped turret of a castle constantly under siege.
When Dennis Cronin first walked the stand, among the dozen or so exceptionally large cedars and firs he noticed something unusual about this particular patch of forest: there was a significant gap in the age range between the largest trees — some three metres wide — and the rest of the grove. There was a collection of large cedar and fir stumps, around or greater than five hundred years old, but the majority of the stumps were from hemlocks of about one hundred years old. To an experienced forester, it was a clear sign that the majority of the forest had grown back after some kind of hurricane-force gale had torn through the valley and knocked down the weaker and less-established trees. The great trees, including Big Lonely Doug, withstood the storm.
"Ninety-nine percent of that forest would've been flattened right at the turn of the century," Cronin said. He could see it in the forest as clearly as seeing grandparents among a group of children. "But that tree," he added, referring to the Douglas fir he had flagged, "it probably lived through four or five rotations of the forest in the time that it was alive."
When forest ecologist Andy MacKinnon saw a picture of Big Lonely Doug, his first thought was that the tree would not remain standing for long with its companions gone and its location in a notoriously windy place. But when he visited the cutblock, he noticed a pattern in the age range as Cronin had, and one that he could measure in the rings of the remaining stumps.
What both men observed, before and after the clear-cut, was that a cataclysmic storm had ripped across southern Vancouver Island perhaps a century ago. It was a storm that the Pacheedaht remembered, that ecologists could see evidence of in the forest, and that Teal Jones had noted on its maps when estimating the dominant age of the stand. But the specifics — the first-hand written account — had long been forgotten.
In 1906, the Victoria-based timber operator H. H. Jones was hired by a businessman out of Minneapolis named T. W. Welter to locate some fine timber on southern Vancouver Island. Welter was one of many Americans who saw untapped wealth within the forests of British Columbia and began cruising for land claims. Jones knew of some stands of big timber that lay on the way to the headwaters of the Gordon River, most easily accessible at that time via the interior of the island rather than the coast. He enlisted one of Welter's timber cruisers, a man named John McClure, who would assess the value of the trees for his boss, and formed a group with an Indigenous man named Fred who they met in Duncan and a Swedish man named Henry.
After days of trekking through the forest with their gear, the foursome made camp along the Gordon River and set about surveying the timber. Before crawling into their tent for the night, they laid out "forty-five sections of as fine timber as every grew," as H. H. Jones wrote in "A Cyclone Among the Timber Titans," an article for a 1911 issue of _British Columbia Magazine_. As darkness fell, the weather turned.
The air was still; in fact, there was no sound, save the cry of a timber wolf or the thud of a lump of soft snow dropping from its perch high in the tree-tops to the earth beneath, breaking the silence. But a storm was coming in from the Pacific — a storm without a precedent in the centuries in which those gigantic specimens of forest trees had made their growth, and one not likely to be repeated for centuries to come. A runaway from its natural course was upon us. It had no introduction — and certainly required none. I have been in some very bad storms; have seen houses swing from their foundation, roofs removed, trees shattered, and have witnessed the death of both man and beast during terrible storms, but I never knew of one which had not given some warning of its approach.
The timber workers were stuck, precariously situated with little more than a canvas tent as protection, as trees crashed to the earth around them. The trunks hit the ground like blasts of dynamite, which Jones likened to the shocking spontaneity of a fireworks display. In three gargantuan waves the storm hammered the forest, until finally it subsided. When the same storm passed south over Washington State, it claimed the lives of three men who were killed when a tree fell on their shack.
"It would be equally difficult to estimate the velocity of the fiend which laid waste so much wealth in its mad frolic," Jones wrote. "Had it struck the wind gauge at the meteorological office, it certainly would have heated the bearing of that instrument."
In the morning, Jones and his companions rushed outside to assess the destruction.
The storm, on a line from west to east, running within ten feet of our tent, had cut every tree and left them piled in a tangled mass in places fifty feet high. They were not uprooted, but broken off from ten to thirty feet above the ground. Trees from three to five feet in diameter were smashed as if but twigs. The mighty rush of the storm allowed no chance for the forest giants to sway and loosen their roots. They were pushed forward with one mighty strain until they broke.
But the storm had not destroyed every tree. Some of the oldest and largest trees — western red cedars with broad bases, Douglas firs with deep roots, and Sitka spruces with columnar trunks — remained.
Dennis Cronin and Andy MacKinnon, from their two perspectives as forest engineer and ecologist respectively, had found evidence in the Gordon River Valley of a legendary great wind that tore across southern Vancouver Island — in some places devastating entire forests. After taking into account the forest's ecological history, and walking the cutblock himself, MacKinnon quickly changed his perspective on Big Lonely Doug's situation — it was not as bleak as he had originally thought.
Cronin never had doubts about the stability of such a healthy, substantial Douglas fir that had withstood storm after storm battering its branches. "He's used to the wind," he said, "so he's got a chance."
Further evidence of Big Lonely Doug's survival can be found even further back in the dendrochronology of this particular patch of the Gordon River Valley. The tree is estimated to be approximately a thousand years old, but the stumps of the next-oldest trees in the cutblock were dated to around five hundred years. The evidence suggests that these trees — around a dozen western red cedars and Douglas firs — sprouted through the wreckage of another hurricane-force storm, that lashed the region half a millennium ago. But amid the ruin, one tree had survived.
It wasn't the only time the tree that would be known as Big Lonely Doug would stand alone.
* * *
In the spring of 2014, Dennis Cronin was at home watching TV when a news program came on. The screen flashed with an image of the misty hills of the Gordon River Valley that he knew so well, of a clear-cut, and of a single enormous Douglas fir towering above someone standing at its base. He started laughing and called his wife, Lorraine, into the room.
"There's my tree!" the logger exclaimed.
He was shocked but not surprised. After cutblock 7190 was harvested, he had returned to the tree and noticed bootprints in the mud around its base — possibly from wood salvagers but more likely from activists. It was only a matter of time, he'd thought, that the tree would be found by an organization like the Ancient Forest Alliance.
On screen came TJ Watt and Ken Wu, talking about the last remaining old-growth forests in the region. Wu pointed to a large branch, nearly a foot thick, lying on the ground at the base of the Douglas fir, saying that it had been ripped off of Big Lonely Doug by a recent storm due to the loss of its forest buffer.
"And potentially the tree itself could be blown down," Wu said as he was being interviewed near the tree.
"To lose Big Lonely Doug would be a tragedy," Watt reiterated in the news clip. "It's a sad enough scene as it already is."
It was a claim that struck Cronin as he watched. The excitement over seeing the tree he'd saved on TV soon turned to resentment. He was one of the few people to have walked the forest before it was cut and knew that particular tree had grown well above the canopy, feeling the full brunt of winds against its branches for centuries. To him, the claim that it was now more vulnerable was just another example of activist "doom and gloom-ers" using "scare tactics," as he put it, to galvanize the public into action. Trees lose branches every blustery season or succumb to the wind entirely, even when they are standing in an intact forest. The broken branch lying at Big Lonely Doug's base was not a consequence of loggers isolating this one tree, Cronin maintained, but simply an occurrence within the natural cycle of these forests.
He had met many environmental activist groups over the years. Like other timber workers — fallers, truck drivers, engineers — he would pass them in his truck on his way to a cutblock while they were out looking for old growth. Maybe they would exchange a wave; maybe not. Still, Cronin had a job to do, and that job, at least superficially, was at odds with what the activists were trying to achieve. He disagreed with many of their tactics, remembering the fear he'd felt when working in the Carmanah region during the early 1990s and the worry that someone he knew, one of his co-workers and friends, might hit a spiked tree with their chainsaw and be seriously hurt or even killed. Elsewhere, including in the Walbran Valley, he had come across activists having tampered with the loggers' work by painting over their spray paint with brown in an attempt to camouflage the markings. Or they would remove the brightly coloured flagging tape — sometimes even retying the pink "ROAD LOCATION" tape to branches that would steer timber workers down an errant path through the forest, eventually leading to the edge of a cliff. There was little Cronin could do amid an increasingly negative climate that was turning loggers into villains. He would just keep working.
Cronin had figured he would hear about the big fir in cutblock 7190 eventually, just not it being presented as a new "discovery" of an organization ostensibly at odds with his work. It was he who had wrapped the green ribbon around its base and pushed his bosses to set it aside. Without him, the Douglas fir would be planks and boards and beams. Lorraine was keen to set the record straight, and emailed the Ancient Forest Alliance to let them know that the tree wouldn't be standing if not for her husband — a logger.
But it was too late: Big Lonely Doug had become an unwitting mascot for an environmental cause.
Chapter 10
Big Tree Hunting
For thousands of years the residents of Vancouver Island have hunted big timber. It began with the coastal First Nations, who sought out large cedars deep in the forests, carefully selecting ideal specimens of western red cedar from which to carve their canoes. Then, Scottish botanists headed into uncharted bush with notebook and pencil to track down, document, and collect samples of some of the biggest trees in the world. Next, as the forest became a commercial resource, settlers delved deeper into the island's heart to locate the highest-value stands and brilliantly engineered how to extract the mammoth trees. And when environmental activists of the 1980s and '90s began to realize the scope of what was being logged — and of what remained — they found immense groves, like those in Carmanah and Clayoquot, and singular specimens to be at the centre of their campaigns. Now, tourists are going off the well-trodden paths to find the latest record-breaking tree.
In the mid-1980s, as eyes began falling on valuable regions of old-growth forest on Vancouver Island such as Carmanah and Clayoquot and Walbran, the question of how much remained arose. After decades of timber harvesting, there was no universally accepted record of forest untouched by commercial logging, nor of remaining big trees. The most comprehensive archive had been casually collected by Randy Stoltmann, the activist who had first alerted the threat of logging Carmanah and who first began documenting the large trees around his home as a high school student in West Vancouver. By the age of twenty-four, he had personally visited, searched out, and collected information on many of the remaining significant trees in British Columbia.
Stoltmann's records and notes formed the foundation of the province's first prominent inventory in 1986, in partnership with the B.C. Forestry Association. The B.C. BigTree Registry's goal was to encourage outdoor and environmental enthusiasts to locate, describe, and catalogue the largest trees of each species "to produce an official register, and to provide protection for these special trees," read a WCWC pamphlet, and to mail in their findings. But on May 21, 1994, Stoltmann died in an avalanche while ski-mountaineering. Recognizing his efforts to protect the Carmanah Valley, the provincial government renamed Heaven Grove, the patch of Sitka spruces once the location of Camp Heaven in Carmanah Walbran Provincial Park, the "Randy Stoltmann Commemorative Grove." At Stoltmann's funeral, his friend and fellow activist Clinton Webb, who had been with Stoltmann the day the pair stumbled upon evidence that MacMillan Bloedel was moving towards logging Carmanah, concluded his eulogy: "Let us make sure that in the falling of a great tree to the earth, the hole in the forest canopy is soon filled with the vigorous growth of many saplings."
After Stoltmann's sudden death, the B.C. BigTree Registry fell from priority, and some of his handwritten records, research, and maps went missing. Some, however, he had copied into a report for the B.C. Conservation Data Centre, which was passed to the Ministry of Forests and Range, and then, in 2010, to the University of British Columbia's faculty of forestry. In October 2014, seven months after Big Lonely Doug was presented to the public by the Ancient Forest Alliance, the registry was launched online, becoming a searchable database of record for the province's largest, tallest, and widest trees. True to its original ethos, the registry remains open to the public for additions. Newly identified trees can be submitted online with measurements, descriptions, and photographs, which are assessed, confirmed, and added to the registry.
Trees that make it to the registry are approved based on certain superlatives — tallest, largest base circumference, or largest in total volume — and ordered in top-ten lists. Using a method devised by an American forester named Fred Besley in 1925, each tree is awarded a score based on tree height, circumference, and crown spread, with the greatest appointed a "champion." Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands boast eight champions. The largest shore pine grows in Esquimalt, just outside Victoria, and the largest Pacific dogwood flowers every spring on Salt Spring Island. But the forests around Port Renfrew hold the region's most impressive trees. An hour east of town, down several twists and turns of logging roads flanked by clear-cuts, grows the Red Creek Fir, the world's largest Douglas fir. The Cheewhat Giant grows off the logging road to Carmanah Walbran Provincial Park, and is the largest western red cedar as well as the largest tree by volume in the country. And the Carmanah Giant, not only Canada's tallest Sitka spruce but also the country's tallest tree at more than ninety-five metres, grows just up the coast from Port Renfrew.
Many of the province's most significant trees are growing on Crown land — and possibly available to timber companies to cut. They were also likely found and nominated to the BigTree Registry by activists, environmentalists, or people who have an interest in protecting the trees and the forests. Since its inception, the registry has meant not just to be a record but also a tool for conservation. For a tree like Big Lonely Doug, its "second-largest Douglas fir in Canada" moniker is only true as long it remains undisputed. In all likelihood, at the bottom of a valley just beyond the furthest logging road's reach lies a record-breaking tree somewhere on southern Vancouver Island: a Douglas fir with a total size greater than the Red Creek Fir, a Sitka spruce even taller than the Carmanah Giant, or a western red cedar with a gnarly and twisted base even wider than any tree already identified. The wind is tickling their fragile tops while mist enshrouds their trunks. There may be record-breakers that reshape our understanding of their growth and their role in the forest. They may have been passed by Indigenous peoples many times over, but they have yet to be assessed with an eye for either commercial logging or large-scale protection.
For TJ Watt, the possibility of finding more giant trees spurs him on — to drive to the very end of a rocky logging road and continue on farther into the bush on foot. He has identified many; he could identify more. But Watt recognizes that the people who spend the most time in the remotest forests of the island aren't activists; they're loggers: "Often the first and last people who are seeing these forests are the people who are cutting them down." But for Watt, it doesn't have to be.
To find a giant is one step, to recognize its rarity and ecological value is another. But to turn the trees themselves into destinations would offer the greatest return; it would not only excite the new generation of environmentalists but would turn tourists into activists, hikers into big-tree hunters.
* * *
Two months after the Ancient Forest Alliance introduced Big Lonely Doug to the world, TJ Watt stepped into a climbing harness on a sunny spring day, buckled a blue helmet under his chin, slung the strap of his bulky DSLR camera over his shoulder, and looked up. Cotton balls of white cloud rolled across a blue sky. He was about to climb one of the largest trees in the country.
Watt clipped into an ascender — a mechanism used to facilitate climbing by gripping and locking onto a rope — slipped his foot into a sling, and hauled himself up off the ground. Inch by inch, he slowly but surely ascended. The apparatus and technique were meant to summit a mountain, but were ideal for climbing a tree. The high-rig loggers of old would have used spiked boots and a sling wrapped around a tree to shimmy their way to the top, but the ascender allowed for the barest minimum of impact upon the tree.
Up Watt went. From a distance, he was a spider climbing a thread of silk beside a telephone pole. The wide trunk blocked out the sun like the moon in a solar eclipse. Even as he neared the crown of branches, despite tapering slightly the trunk still loomed beside him. The bark was close enough to touch.
It took Watt around fifteen minutes of hard work to reach the first branches. There, inside the canopy, he met Matthew Beatty — a co-founder of the Arboreal Collective, an informal network of like-minded professional arborists who advocate for the protection of old-growth forests through climbing big trees. The collective was one of several that had emerged in British Columbia, Washington, and Oregon — with names like Expedition Old Growth and Ascending the Giants — that aimed to add big-tree climbing to the roster of adventure tourism. To these tree climbers, seeking out and climbing the largest western red cedars, Sitka spruces, and Douglas firs on Canada's West Coast and in the United States' Pacific Northwest is to experience nature in a more intimate way. There lies great tourism potential, Beatty has seen — to bring people typically disconnected with the wilderness, these trees, and the issues surrounding the protection of old-growth forests into the treetops. It isn't standing at the base of a mountain looking up, but at the top of a mountain looking down.
There exists a deep history of activists around the world using sit-ins in trees as a protest tool. In 1971, in what was known as the Elm Conflict, people in Stockholm, Sweden, climbed into the treetops of several urban elms to protest the proposition to cut them down to make way for a subway expansion. In 1985, an activist named Mikal Jakubal climbed a Douglas fir in Oregon's Willamette National Forest to protest clear-cutting — sparking a series of similar tree sit-ins along the U.S. coast. The longest and most notorious was by Julia "Butterfly" Hill who, beginning in 1997, spent 738 days in the tops of a fifty-five-metre-tall coast redwood in California to save it from being felled. Her action led to the timber company placing the estimated 1,500-year-old tree, named Luna, and a buffer of forest around it off limits to logging.
Matthew Beatty sees tree climbing organizations in small part as an extension of that activist ethos, but more about connecting the public with these trees emotionally.
Beatty had brought his team of experienced tree climbers to Port Renfrew to climb Big Lonely Doug, to accurately measure its height and to create a promotional package of video and photography of the tree for the Ancient Forest Alliance. For Beatty, there was urgency to climb such an unusual tree as well. He, too, worried that Big Lonely Doug's isolated existence might not last long, that its lack of forest buffer would eventually prove fatal for the tree. Standing at the base, Beatty had pulled hard on a high-powered slingshot and let it fly. A beanbag attached to a thin line sailed more than fifty metres up and over one of Big Lonely Doug's thick branches. Using the line, he had hauled up a climbing rope and set the rigging to climb the tree. Taking care to minimize impact on the tree itself, the tree climbers employed a stationary rope system, where one end is anchored to avoid friction on the branch.
A woodpecker landed on one of the tree's limbs, before flittering off confused by the newcomers in the treetops. Beatty and Watt hung suspended among the branches. The two could see the entire valley. They could see the old-growth trees of Eden Grove, and the other cutblock flagged by Dennis Cronin and Walter Van Hell. They could see patches of replanted second growth, light green and verdant and uniform, around the valley.
Dozens of storeys in the air, even the light breeze caused the tree to sway side to side; they could feel the tree twist as it moved. Big Lonely Doug trembled as the valley stirred, but the breeze was a mere whisper of the great winds that had once knocked down the entire forest, leaving only a few aged giants behind.
Watt snapped photographs of small ferns and young honeysuckle bushes growing out of a moss-covered branch. But the ferns looked crinkled and dry without the moisture emanating from a rainforest below. He turned his camera down, to take the kind of photograph that he often uploaded to his website and Instagram page. Below him, there was only one thing that caught a shadow. Stretching across cutblock 7190 to nearly touch the patch of dark green old-growth forest next door was a long silhouette of a giant tree — like the shadow of a great sundial ticking and ticking around the clear-cut.
After months of speculation, Watt would finally have confirmation of the height of Big Lonely Doug. He had watched as another tree climber ascended higher through the canopy to reach the fractured tip that had broken off years, maybe decades, before. Only a twisted burl remained — bleached grey in the sun. Still, a few small huckleberries had sprouted in the fold of deadwood. Even at the pinnacle of the tree, twenty storeys above ground, death had fostered life.
The climber had shimmied his way up to the very top, steadied himself, and dropped a yellow measuring tape down alongside the trunk. Big Lonely Doug's height — from the tree's point of germination several metres under the mound of needles and shed bark up to its broken top — was confirmed at sixty-six metres tall, just shy of Dennis Cronin's estimation with his hypsometer the day he flagged the tree.
Climbing a skyscraper-sized tree requires some technical skill and experience, but the method to accurately measure its height is straightforward. Determining age, however, is a more challenging task. Dendrochronology, the study of a tree's age based on its growth rings, can be accurate to the year. Much can be learned by examining the rings of a tree — primarily any major environmental events that affected the tree's growth. A temperate and wet year during which the tree grew rapidly will form a thicker ring, while a drier year with more extreme seasons will produce a thinner ring. The appearance of thin lines on a stump or cut log are in reality variations in density and colour that form the tree's distinctive and countable rings.
To age a living, standing tree, however, is much more difficult. Using a technique called "core sampling," dendrochronologists employ a drill that bores into a trunk to harmlessly remove a pencil-thin column of the tree's core. This method was used to date what for decades was thought to be the oldest known tree, determined to be nearly five thousand years old. It sprouted through the earth around the same time as the bricks of the Great Pyramid of Egypt were being methodically stacked. The bristlecone pine, nicknamed Methuselah, grows somewhere within Inyo National Forest, California, but its exact location has never been made public out of concern that it might be assaulted by trophy hunters keen on pilfering a branch of the ultimate record-breaker. It's a legitimate fear: in 1964, a dendrochronologist graduate student cut down the oldest known tree at the time, named Prometheus and also a bristlecone pine, when reportedly his core sampling bit failed. He determined the tree's age by killing it. In 2013, another example of the species was assessed to be older than Methuselah — more than five thousand years old — earning the crown as the oldest known tree in the world. The tree has yet to be given a name. These trees grow slowly in the harsh, high-elevation mountains, which is reflected in their dwarfed size compared to the great towers growing in the lush valleys of the Pacific temperate rainforests. For trees like Big Lonely Doug, with its nearly four-metre diameter, this method of dating is simply not possible; no bit is long enough to core through its enormous girth.
When Watt first stumbled upon Big Lonely Doug, he and several ecologists estimated the tree to be approximately a thousand years old, after comparing its width to the stumps of five-hundred- and six-hundred-year-old Douglas firs nearby. It would have been a seedling around the time the Viking Leif Erikson first landed on the east coast of North America and began building sod houses at L'Anse aux Meadows in what is now Newfoundland. It would predate the formation of Canada by seven times. It would have been seven hundred years old, already a titan of the forest, when the great flood of 1700 surged along the coast.
Dennis Cronin had stood on more stumps than most, after decades working in the timber industry. He knew that on a rich, well-draining plateau in the lee of a mountain, Douglas firs grow well beyond how they would on a rockier, more arid slope. He maintained that the tree could easily prove to be more than a thousand years old. But until the tree falls — blown over by the wind when it finally becomes too old to repel the storms — how many times its shadow has been cast across the land will remain a mystery. Only with the fall of a giant will its impact really become known. Only death will reveal how long Big Lonely Doug has lived.
The image of a single surviving giant tree standing in the middle of a clear-cut began drawing tourists away from the beaches and hiking trails along the famed West Coast, and into logging country at the heart of Vancouver Island. Big Lonely Doug captivated people not because of a catchy cultural reference but because it held emotion. Visitors began asking at Port Renfrew's tourist-office-cum-community-centre for directions to the tree, wanting to "keep him company." People would go to hug the tree. They would go to sit underneath its canopy and look across the empty clear-cut. They would go to scramble over the scraps of forest for a picture where they appear the size of an ant.
The tree, and its name, had become the Ancient Forest Alliance's new Avatar Grove — the hook that drove attention to the organization and to the cause. To attract donations, the AFA began an Adopt-an-Ancient-Tree program, in which supporters could choose between eight individual trees — including the Red Creek Fir, the Cheewhat Giant, and Canada's Gnarliest Tree — or six groves and pay a minimum fifty dollars. Anyone who selects Big Lonely Doug, the campaign's spokesperson, receive a dedicated colour certificate marking him or her as "an adoptive guardian of Canada's 2nd largest Douglas fir tree, Big Lonely Doug" and someone "helping to support the Ancient Forest Alliance's campaign to protect British Columbia's endangered old-growth forests." The certificate is printed with a photo of the giant tree standing "lonely as ever" in a clear-cut. More generous donors are bestowed with a title: "Ancient Forest Defender" ($100) or "Ancient Forest Protector" ($200). It was a tried-and-tested marketing tactic by environmental non-profit and for-profit organizations to encourage participation in a cause. The World Wildlife Fund has been offering a similar "adoption" program for decades, where the donor receives a plush stuffed animal — a panda, a snow leopard, an orca — in return for their contribution.
Big Lonely Doug also lies in the ideal location for tree-hunting visitors who don't want to drive for hours through a warren of logging roads or trek for kilometres through thick bush to take in the sight. And the tree stands far enough off the main paved road that finding it feels like an adventure — a mini-expedition just off the beaten track. It feels like a search for an endangered beast that was thought to have died out long ago. When the tree comes into view, there is as much relief as there is awe: Big Lonely Doug is still there. It is still standing.
Big Lonely Doug began to appear in the marketing campaigns of a variety of organizations and companies. Expectedly, numerous environmental advocacy groups used photographs of the tree to elicit donations. Businesses saw value in the tree as well. Sitka, a Victoria-based clothing company, started a funding campaign to raise money to improve the trail through the cutblock and construct a viewing platform around the tree to protect its roots, "now that people are coming to visit Big Lonely Doug to keep him company." They used a photo of the tree in the clear-cut, writing, "Doug is lonely because his old-growth friends were clear-cut all around him in 2012." The campaign also helped raise $4,000 towards the construction of the boardwalks through Avatar Grove. Similarly, when the American outdoor gear company Patagonia opened a Victoria location, it decided to commit 1 percent of the store's sales — which the company typically donates to environmental non-profits — to the Ancient Forest Alliance. On the wall of its store hung a photo of Big Lonely Doug.
Perhaps less expectedly, the feminine hygiene company o.b. released a social media advertisement promoting its more environmentally friendly, applicator-free tampons.
"A woman uses 10,000 of these in her lifetime," the ad read, showing a graphic of an applicator. "That's 18x the height of Big Lonely Doug in British Columbia." And there it was, the unmistakable big tree, with its branch that looks like a flexed arm, silhouetted in white over o.b.'s iconic teal branding. The ad concluded with o.b.'s trademarked catchphrase: "Only what you need, nothing you don't."
The commercial wasn't met with universal praise. "How much bleach and chemicals go into your tampons? How much plastic? What are you doing for reforestation efforts? Do you use tree farms or old growth trees?" one commenter questioned under the ad. "DIVA CUP all the way!!!!! Why not save ALL the trees," another posted, referring to the reusable silicone alternative. Another commenter was simply shocked that this single tree standing in a valley near Port Renfrew had been used in such an unlikely marketing campaign: "I can't believe lonely Doug was just featured in a tampon commercial."
To some activists, there is a danger with focusing on a single tree and ignoring the forest. These charismatic arboreal protagonists can become so big on their own, they cast the issue they represent into shadow. People become tree-centric — focusing on individual trees and not the entire ecosystem. Tourists journey to see the record-breakers while driving past a clear-cut or a second-growth forest or even an old-growth forest without stopping.
In 2015, the AFA applied to the South Coast Recreation District branch of the Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations to turn Big Lonely Doug into a recreational reserve. The organization needed approval if it wanted to construct a wooden viewing platform around the tree to protect its roots and base from visitors. Recreational reserve applications often come from environmental activist groups, but also from non-commercial recreation clubs hoping to build a dirt bike trail or an informal ski run, or from regional districts looking to increase tourist opportunities in their communities. They must show they will manage the site, repair boardwalks and trails, and oversee any facilities. Unlike Parks Canada, the recreation site system is not a conservation model but one that works in conjunction with various resource players.
Big Lonely Doug was approved as a recreational reserve, meaning that if a timber application, a mineral claim, or a hydroelectric proposal for the tree's immediate area is ever submitted, the recreation officer will be notified. If it is promoted to a recreational site, while the designation affords little in the way of formal protection, it would allow an organization like the Ancient Forest Alliance to legally begin constructing trails and boardwalks. The organization had received approval in 2012 for Avatar Grove to be promoted from a recreational reserve to a full recreational site, and soon began to enjoy marketing by the Ministry of Tourism.
When the application for a recreational reserve around Big Lonely Doug was circulated, representatives of the Pacheedaht First Nation approved but Teal Jones expressed concern about the bridge over the Gordon River leading to the tree. The company has moved its operations elsewhere in the valley, stating no immediate plan of returning to the spur road along the river, and so would not be maintaining the bridge. They posted bright yellow signs informing visitors that visitors assume all liability for using the road and bridge. Their concern was that if Big Lonely Doug was turned into a formal recreational site, where it would be developed with a trail and viewing platform and benefit from official provincial advertising, the bridge wouldn't be stable enough for more tourists, despite being built to carry fully loaded logging trucks. The short guardrail would need to be updated. Some saw the move by the company as a tactic to discourage people from making the pilgrimage to see the solitary tree.
The application revealed a paradox: the timber company would only update and manage the bridge if there were plans for them to return to work in the neighbouring cutblocks, including the grove of old growth next to Big Lonely Doug. The only way the tree could be granted full provincial protection in becoming a formal recreational site was if the timber company returned to clear-cut more old-growth forest at the base of Edinburgh Mountain.
Chapter 11
Tall Tree Capital
In Port Renfrew, with the successful launch of their Big Lonely Doug campaign, resulting in a furor of local interest and tourism, TJ Watt and Ken Wu began to see a movement building. They noticed two factors were resonating most strongly with the public: emotion and money. Civil disobedience can often be swept aside by government injunction or dismissed by the conservative end of the public spectrum, but when environmental issues are entrenched in business, there exists economic incentive for change. These trees could be transformative, they thought, not just for their cause but for an entire town and region, as a "first-rate potential destination" for tourists.
Port Renfrew is a place where two rivers meet — the San Juan from the east and the Gordon from the north — and spill their melt and rain water, carried from deep inside the island, into the plunging harbour of Port San Juan. In the fall, salmon return to the harbour's head and hurl themselves into the air on their soldier-like march upriver to spawn and die. Black bears feed along the shores. Bald eagles survey the coastline from atop droopy cedars. Elk and deer graze in the grassy marshes and estuaries. Cougars and wolves lurk in the forests.
But the soggy and wind-beaten town would not exist if not for its bounty of big trees. The region's first colonial logging activity was carried out in the 1880s by Alfred Deakin, who cut trees in the Gordon River Valley and shipped timber from the port. The region's logging industry was a modest venture until 1914, when the British Columbia Lumber Company and a crew of 125 opened a camp not far from present-day Avatar Grove. In 1929, a shingle mill began operation in town, and ever since, Port Renfrew has revolved around timber — every one of its residents in some way connected to bringing trees down.
For a century, all focus was on harvesting the great trees and shipping timber from its port. Planks, beams, posts, and raw logs were loaded onto ships bound for mills and markets in urban hubs, including Victoria, Vancouver, and Seattle. In the 1930s, a rail line was built that extended twenty-two kilometres to access the heart of the region's finest timber stands. One rail trestle over Bear Creek was used so frequently that uneasy train crews would disembark, send one conductor across the bridge, and let the train pass unmanned — fearful that the bridge might give way and the load would topple into the river. Numerous logging camps were erected around Port Renfrew: along Bear Creek, Harris Creek, and the Gordon River. For decades, the town remained a backwater, a bustling but isolated community.
But through most of its history, the town existed in a liminal space. When its first post office was established in 1895, mail addressed to Port San Juan — the original name of the settlement — was erroneously being delivered to the San Juan Islands, an archipelago belonging to the United States, southeast of Vancouver Island. At the urging of the perturbed postmaster, the settlement was renamed, after Baron Renfrew, one of the titles held by the Prince of Wales.
It wasn't until 1958 that a road was extended north from Jordan River, pushing through the coastal forest to finally connect Port Renfrew with Victoria. Up until then, residents relied on weekly ships for supplies. Still, for decades the road remained a treacherous track — weaving along the jagged coast, up and down gulley, and across rickety bridges over creeks and rivers until finally the port came into view. Drivers would pass a concrete guardrail on which someone had painted: "Hang on to your beer!"
While the town remained a timber hub, most outsiders came to Port Renfrew to hike along one of the most famous trails in the world. Across the bay is the southern terminus of the West Coast Trail, a seventy-five-kilometre hike that draws thousands of visitors every year. The path was originally a trade and travel route used by coastal First Nations, and was adopted by early colonists as a telegraph trail to assist survivors of shipwrecks. This stretch of coastline was known as the Graveyard of the Pacific because of the frequency of ships hitting rocky reefs in the mist. In 1973, the hiking trail was incorporated into Pacific Rim National Park. Port Renfrew either bids good luck to trekkers setting forth, smelling fresh and with an eager spring in their step, or welcomes them out of the trail at the conclusion of their week-long hike — sore, wet, muddy, hunched, and hungry. Here, in one of the wettest places in Canada, rain falls two out of every three days a year.
The region was also known for attracting people looking to live freely off the land. Since the 1960s, Sombrio Beach, just south of Port Renfrew and one of the coastline's premier surfing destinations, had been a draw for squatters, back-to-the-landers, and free-spiriters looking for a co-operative but disengaged-from-the-world way of living. What started as a few ramshackle huts grew into a small community along one of the most postcard-perfect crescents of sand anywhere on the island — people living off Crown or unused private lands for free. One couple raised eleven children along Sombrio. But in 1996, with the establishment of the Juan de Fuca Provincial Park and a sister route to the West Coast Trail south of Port Renfrew, the Juan de Fuca Trail, the squatters were evicted. Those tied to the area moved to Port Renfrew. But throughout the coastal community, the lure of escaping still hangs in the air: you can disappear among the misty forests or at least have your unwanted past carried away by the waves and wind.
By the middle of the 1980s, the B.C. timber industry was worth more than $20 billion per year, but increasingly this money was being centralized into a handful of companies. Throughout the 1980s and '90s, smaller companies merged to form conglomerates that controlled increasingly large tree farm licences across the island. Like many once-bustling timber towns, some with mills that supported near-entire communities, Port Renfrew saw its jobs dry up and its population shrink to just a few hundred people.
An hour down coast, the seaside community of Jordan River met a similar fate. It had been a bustling logging community since it was established in the 1880s, around seventy kilometres up the coast from the Hudson's Bay trading post turned provincial capital of Victoria. With upwards of a thousand residents, who flourished up until the 1970s, Jordan River kept as its mainstay the shipping of logs south to the mills that had opened in Victoria and Vancouver. But Jordan River also began to dwindle in the 1980s, to approximately one-tenth its size — eventually becoming known more for surfing than logging. The area has since been deemed the most seismic-prone region in British Columbia, with the so-called Big One expected along the West Coast. Out of fear that the hydroelectric project upriver, built by the Vancouver Island Power Company in 1911, would breach if a magnitude 9.0 earthquake struck the region, BC Hydro bought out nearly all of the remaining residents, effectively turning the community into a ghost town.
While some timber jobs in Port Renfrew held in certain sectors, such as contract fallers, the town started seeing an upturn in a different form of commercial interest beginning around 2010. A new wave of business erupted in town — one centred around the value not of trees lying on the ground but the value of the ones left standing.
"The trees give name to Port Renfrew," said Dan Hagar, who was elected president of the town's chamber of commerce in 2013. "People are coming not just for the trees, but also the reason they know about Renfrew is because of the trees." Over his time as chamber president, he noticed thousands of tourists making the drive north along Highway 14, not just to hike the famous West Coast Trail or fish the shoals off coast, but to head inland to stand under some of the largest trees in the world.
Since the boom began, Port Renfrew has been heralded as "the next Tofino," a nod to the thriving surfing destination up coast that shot to global recognition following the protests in Clayoquot Sound. For Ken Wu, Tofino became a model for turning a former timber town into a tourist destination in the wake of an environmental movement, where "with every arrest, the community's GDP went up."
In marketing Port Renfrew, however, the Ancient Forest Alliance found that their early supporters were people already inclined to be voices for old-growth forest protection. So, rather than repeating the tired adage of trees versus jobs, the AFA took a different approach to court the skeptical. The organization held talks and slide shows at restaurants and cafés in town, where timber workers and environmentalists, residents old and new, met face to face. So often these duelling groups only see each other through the windshield of a logging truck as it speeds past hauling a load of timber, while activists are out searching for big trees or embarking on trail-building expeditions. Instead, the AFA positioned themselves not as the truck-blocking tree-huggers of old, but as an organization that was concerned with the future of the trees as well as the people and communities that depended on them.
But to many in Port Renfrew, including Dan Hagar, "the next Tofino" moniker is despised. For him, a more appropriate comparison for the rapid rise in development and attention in Port Renfrew lies on the mainland, not Tofino but Whistler. Tofino is a five-hour drive from Victoria, or a three-hour drive from the nearest mainland-connected ferry. Whistler — one of the most renowned ski and snowboard destinations in the world — is easily accessible to Vancouver urbanites, just an hour-and-a-half drive north of the city. For those looking for outdoor recreation — skiing and snowboarding in the winter; hiking and climbing in the summer — Whistler is far enough away for an escape, but close enough to reach after work on a Friday evening. Hagar started seeing Port Renfrew, just a two-hour drive north along the coastal highway from Victoria, in roughly the same place as where Whistler was in the 1980s: a beautifully set location that is both close to a major urban centre and well connected by multiple access roads, and somewhere that offers a bounty of outdoor activities and growing amenities. In 2010, Port Renfrew launched the Tall Tree Music Festival, a weekend-long, early summer gathering of local and international bands and musicians, who perform on a stage erected in a clear-cut now just down the road from Avatar Grove and Big Lonely Doug.
Born on the Saskatchewan prairies, Hagar moved to the West Coast and purchased a single cottage in a development that was being built out of an old campground in the summer of 2010. By 2012, he had purchased four and started a business, Handsome Dan's, which manages rental units and cottages. Many of the sea-view cottage owners live out of town — a niche in property management that Hagar stumbled upon by chance. He now runs the logistics — booking, cleaning, servicing — of more than forty rental properties, and has seen the town's exponential growth first-hand. His revenue in 2016 was ten times what it was in 2012. Thanks in part to the popularity of the big trees and the activist campaigns creating interest, local hotels and bed and breakfasts have seen a surge in demand and revenue.
"Think about how much money we would have had to spend in order to get the advertising we got as a result of Avatar Grove, Big Lonely Doug, the controversy around logging in the Walbran," Hagar said. "It was probably in the hundreds of millions of dollars in the amount of advertising that we got for Port Renfrew organically."
Two days after the Ancient Forest Alliance issued the press release announcing Big Lonely Doug, Hagar registered biglonelydoug.com and mapped the domain so that any clicks redirected to the webpage of his cottage rental management business.
* * *
In December 2015, the Port Renfrew Chamber of Commerce called for a moratorium on logging old growth in the region, citing the business and tourism potential of keeping the big trees standing. The statement, clear and direct, came as a paradox to some residents: the chamber is meant to support businesses, the largest of which — in thousands of small towns up and down Vancouver Island and across British Columbia — has always been timber. But the statement signalled the beginning of a shift across the province. The town of Port Renfrew stood tall, and British Columbia followed. Six months later, the B.C. Chamber of Commerce, representing 36,000 businesses across the province, passed a resolution calling on the provincial government to increase old-growth protection, stating, "The local economies stand to receive a greater net economic benefit over the foreseeable future by keeping their nearby old-growth forests standing." They cited Big Lonely Doug as an example.
The chamber also noted an economic analysis conducted by a kayaking company located in the Discovery Islands, between Vancouver Island and the mainland. When, in 2012, a logging company expressed interest in cutting sixty hectares of old-growth forest, which would have negatively impacted the tourism industry, the kayaking company crunched the numbers on this particular plot of trees. If logged, the sixty hectares would initially produce a timber value of $3,600,000 — or $60,000 per year over the sixty-year regeneration cycle until the forest could be harvested again. The kayaking company, however, was earning $416,000 per year off of operations around the un-logged islands, which would amount to $24,960,000 over the same sixty-year period. To harvest the sixty hectares, the logging company would provide three hundred full-time days of employment, while the kayaking company would provide 20,160 days of employment if the trees were left standing. In addition, the numbers cited were for just one tourism company — and forty were in operation in the region.
The B.C. Chamber of Commerce recommended to the provincial government to "support the increased protection of old-growth forests in areas of the province where they have or can likely have a greater net economic value for communities if they are left standing for the next generation and beyond" and "protect endangered old-growth forests by enacting new regulations such as an Old-Growth Management Area, Wildlife Habitat Area, or Land Use Order, with the intent to eventually legislate permanent protection for areas through provincial park or conservancies." To activists it was seen as an enormous win to gain the support of a significant provincial business body.
Still, before the year was out, timber workers and companies protested, forcing the B.C. Chamber of Commerce to issue a follow-up release titled, "B.C. Chamber Does Not Support Ban on Old-Growth Logging." To "clarify its policy position on conservation of old-growth forests," it stated that while the chamber maintained support for conservation in communities where the tourism potential is high, it also supported the province's "vibrant forestry industry," which creates jobs, powers the economy, and is "world-renowned for its sustainable forest management practices." The win, such as it was, came and went swiftly.
Dan Hagar and the Port Renfrew Chamber of Commerce decided on another approach, by redesigning the town's tourist brochure to highlight the one feature that was rapidly becoming the region's principal draw. They came up with a moniker for the town: Canada's Tall Tree Capital. The brochure included driving directions and a map, developed by the AFA, to Avatar Grove and the area's largest trees, including Big Lonely Doug. On the back cover was a picture, taken by TJ Watt, of the solitary Douglas fir.
All the big trees near Port Renfrew — and all the other great firs, cedars, and spruces across Vancouver Island, in the forests of Carmanah and Walbran and Avatar Grove — grow within intact forests. Their trunks appear smaller when surrounded by other trees, and their heights shorter with undergrowth growing around them. Their tops are often obscured by a canopy. None of these trees, as tall or as wide or as gnarly as they are, create the stark contrast that sets Big Lonely Doug apart: one of Canada's largest trees standing alone in a clear-cut.
Sold at the small gift shop in Port Renfrew, novelty T-shirts read, "Port Renfrew: a drinking town with a fishing problem." While some of the West Coast's best fishing can be found along the rocky shores, a more fitting shirt for the future of Port Renfrew might be: "A logging town with a big-tree problem."
Port Renfrew — and the valleys that extend inland, including San Juan, Gordon, and Walbran — were becoming ground zero for the new battle over Vancouver Island's remaining old-growth forests. The region had the most to gain, and the most to lose.
* * *
While many families and businesses have profited from the rebranding of Port Renfrew as the Tall Tree Capital, the benefits have only helped the Pacheedaht First Nation in a small measure. Years before Dennis Cronin flagged cutblock 7190, Bear Charlie walked that forest along the Gordon River looking for CMTs — a bark strip tree or maybe even the remnants of a dugout canoe. Originally from Ahousaht First Nation in Clayoquot Sound, he moved to the Port Renfrew area to work on the Pacheedaht's culturally modified tree crew, and was hired by Teal Jones as part of the company's CMT requirement before clear-cutting began in cutblock 7190. He undoubtedly walked under the branches of the second-largest Douglas fir in the country, but the great tree didn't register as anything special to him or his crew partner.
"When we go in, we go more for the cedar content," he said. He found several CMTs within the cutblock.
The Pacheedaht have been managing their forest resources since long before the arrival of Europeans, but amid pressure from timber companies and activists they have remained primarily concerned with the prosperity of their people. In the spring of 2017, the First Nation opened a sawmill near Port Renfrew, minutes down the road from Avatar Grove. Jeff Jones, chief of the Pacheedaht First Nation, asked Ken Wu and the Ancient Forest Alliance if they wanted to go on a tour. Wu expected that they might head out to walk through an old-growth forest. Instead, Jones wanted to show him their mill.
"It was the most spectacular ancient cedars that they're milling," Wu said. "It was essentially Avatar Grove laying down on its side in their yard."
The mill buys logs from local tree farm licence holders, including Teal Jones, as well as private landholders. Rather than two-by-fours, pulpboard, shakes, or other low-value lumber products, the Pacheedaht mill is turning the old-growth cedar logs into larger dimensional timbers that are sold to a supplier on Vancouver Island. They are making the best use they can out of their wood.
The tour was eye-opening for Wu, not only to see such large trees lying waiting for the saw, but because it showed that First Nations can simultaneously be advocates and allies for old-growth forest protection while also profiting from its timber. Ken Wu sees a simple way forward where both values can be protected: taking a portion of the "stumpage fees" that timber companies pay to the provincial government, and redirecting the money to non-timber revenue generation for First Nations. Wu has been proposing the option for years. But the mill offered the Pacheedaht something tangible and immediate that the activists didn't: jobs. Seasonal employment in tourism may help a few, but their mill provided year-round jobs for 10 percent of the entire nation.
Jones has tried to remain "neutral" when the Pacheedaht have been placed between environmental activists and timber companies. "We as a nation are trying to benefit from the resource itself by providing stable jobs, even if that has to do with harvesting old growth," he has said. The area that became Avatar Grove was well known to the Pacheedaht for centuries before Watt noticed the candelabra tops in the winter of 2009; their seasonal fishing camp had been located at the site long before either activists or loggers arrived. While the nation supports the desire to create more recreation sites, there is also a degree of caution.
Bear Charlie would chuckle at some of the activists' tactics. In one location in the Walbran Valley, activists had camped out in the trees in a forest that the logging company had already set aside for the Pacheedaht to manage. "They were protesting something that was already saved," he said. The logging trucks just drove by, knowing that their company had no intention of entering that particular stand. But Charlie also has had serious concerns: "If you're not going to monitor your own Avatar Grove, you're destroying it just as much as a logging company — just in different ways." He has seen tourists walking off trail, relieving themselves in the forest, and camping at the site. "You're not doing the same damage that a logging company does, but at the same time the company is coming back later to replant when they cut." He heard talk about the AFA hiring Pacheedaht guides for Avatar Grove — in a similar way that Parks Canada has hired Indigenous people to be guardians of the West Coast Trail — but it never materialized.
To Jeff Jones, there's a more fundamental issue for his nation than squabbling over individual trees or specific groves. "Our vision here is to get as much control of our territory as possible, by either management or ownership," he said. "That's our ultimate goal." Activists and loggers have been fighting over the forests for a few decades, but the Indigenous peoples of Vancouver Island have watched these forests ebb and flow for millennia. Many see the trees on a much longer time-continuum. In 2005, the Pacheedaht launched a four-hundred-year cedar conservation plan, where a percentage of tree farm licence holdings of existing old growth, or replanted forests that are at least ninety years old, is set aside by timber companies for the Pacheedaht. One of the biggest contributors of old growth and second growth to this conservation plan has been Teal Jones, the holder of TFL 46.
The companies started by setting aside individual trees, but the nation wanted forests — small areas with good cedar of various ages that would be ideal for the nation's future use. To some on the outside, opening a mill was self-interested, without regard for supporting old-growth protection; but for more than a century the nation has seen timber companies harvest trees off their traditional lands with little or no say. Jones is looking ahead — at the urgent needs of his people, as well as hundreds of years in the future and the generations to come. The immediate goal is to keep the mill operating, even if stalwart environmentalists might not entirely agree with the kinds of trees that are sawn.
Jones has seen the benefits that increased big-tree tourism can bring to the Pacheedaht-run campground that spans a crescent beach at the head of Port San Juan, and to the restaurants and services in town, but he has been cautious about blindly supporting Victoria-based activists who market a portion of forest, encourage people to visit, promote their cause, and then leave the tourists unmanaged. There have never been official guides at Avatar Grove, no signs with rules or historical information, and no washrooms. The nation has not opposed the creation of recreational sites, but questions who benefits.
"There is a fine line between conservation and economics," said Pacheedaht representative Kristine Pearson. "The activists do really well as a non-profit, and individually they make careers out of the issue."
For Jones and others in the nation, the phrase "old-growth forest" is a construction that holds less weight than it does for activists or timber companies or governments. It is a recent phrase as well, when looking through at a forest through a lens of at least four hundred years. Even a replanted cutblock of knee-high seedlings will eventually return to resemble those untouched by commercial logging, with enough of the one element that has always defined these forests: time.
Chapter 12
A New Ecosystem
Among the black bears and towering trees, the ferns and fungi, a new ecosystem has emerged from the forests of Vancouver Island. There are forces strong and weak, cataclysmic movements and hidden repercussions. There are threads that form connections that could be severed in an instant, or gradually eroded over the near-imperceptible passing of time.
This ecosystem includes the rights of Indigenous peoples to monitor and manage their lands and resources. It includes timber workers concerned with getting their jobs done, providing for their families, and keeping their communities afloat. It includes activists and environmentalists who fight to protect rapidly dwindling habitats and species, and who seek a compromise with an industry that has enjoyed an unchecked reign for nearly all of its existence. This new ecosystem also includes businesses looking to the forests for new sources of revenue; tourism companies using the icon of the tree to promote resilience, determination, and strength; and towns rebranding, transforming themselves from places that value their trees cut and horizontal to places that value forests left intact and standing. At the heart of this ecosystem stands Big Lonely Doug.
It has been rare that individuals in nature transcend their ecosystem. For our oceans there was Moby Doll, an orca intended to be killed and used as the model for an exhibit at the Vancouver Aquarium, but which instead was harpooned off the Gulf Islands and dragged across the Strait of Georgia to the city. Over less than two months in 1964, tens of thousands of visitors came to see the "blackfish" — a beast from the depths — struggle to survive in a makeshift dockyard enclosure. But in its brief time as one of the first orcas in captivity, the whale came to symbolize our quest to capture and train these animals for show and profit, as well as to represent the spark to further understand and protect them.
For our north there was Knut, the polar bear that never walked free. In 2006, a cub was born in the Berlin Zoological Garden that was rejected by its mother. The animal quickly became a media sensation, with approximately four hundred reporters covering the cub's public unveiling. But when an animal rights activist suggested that Knut should have been put down rather than raised by humans, protests erupted. At age four, the first polar bear to survive past infancy at the facility died, with the zoo stating that Knut's untimely passing was due to "significant changes to the brain, which could be seen as the reason for the sudden death," and PETA claiming the animal had gone "crazy." Over his short life, Knut not only became beloved but was registered as a trademark by the Berlin zoo, generated more than $7 million in revenue, and was photographed by Annie Leibovitz for _Vanity Fair_ 's Green Issue.
For our forests there is Big Lonely Doug, a survivor standing resolute. No matter the storm, whether nature's wrath or human greed, that courses through these valleys, life can endure if given a chance.
* * *
Many people speculated as to why a logger, whose job it was to extract as much monetary value from the forests as possible, would save such an enormous tree. The most common assumption is that Big Lonely Doug was left as a wildlife tree, a specimen of great age set aside by timber companies to help reseed a cutblock. The Ancient Forest Alliance's initial press release stated that Teal Jones likely left the tree in order to satisfy requirements for "variable retention" timber harvesting, a practice where individual trees or clumps of trees are left standing in a cutblock in order to maintain diversity of species and age. If a few of the older trees are kept, it is thought, the forest will at least carry on some of its ecological heritage. The practice was introduced in 1995 by the Clayoquot Scientific Panel in the wake of the War in the Woods protests. According to the B.C. Ministry of Forests, "The broader focus of retaining structure within the stand results in the maintenance of a much wider variety of forest values, including wildlife habitat and aesthetics. In short, the retention system shifts the management focus from what can be removed to what can be retained."
It is a timber harvesting practice that has never sat well with activists. The AFA wondered if Teal Jones had left Big Lonely Doug in an attempt to absolve themselves of the "clear-cutting" label. Variable retention harvesting, however, has set restrictions, chief among them being that at least half of a cutblock's trees must be retained, each within a tree height of each other. If the trees are approximately thirty metres tall, for example, that much space must be left between. Leaving one or a few scattered individual trees in a cutblock would not qualify. While the terms are not synonymous, "variable retention" is what most people imagine when they hear the words "selective logging," which is where loggers remove only some of the trees in a forest and leave a substantial portion remaining to reseed, maintain age diversity, and retain at least some of the structural integrity of the forest.
In 1995, the provincial government also released the _Biodiversity Guidebook,_ a lengthy set of recommendations for forest engineers, planners, and managers to meet ecological goals outlined in the Forest Practices Code of British Columbia Act. The guidebook was meant to be exactly that, a guide with practices "designed to reduce the impacts of forest management on biodiversity, within targeted social and economic constraints." It defines a "wildlife tree" as
any standing live or dead tree with special characteristics that provide valuable habitat for conservation or enhancement of wildlife. These trees have characteristics such as large size (diameter and height) for site, condition, age, and decay stage; evidence of use; valuable species types; and relative scarcity. They serve as critical habitat (for denning, shelter, roosting, and foraging) for a wide variety of organisms such as vertebrates, insects, mosses, and lichens.
The spectrum of nine categories described in the _Biodiversity Guidebook_ runs from a dead, branchless tree — commonly called a "standing snag" — that offers habitats for insects and amphibians, to a healthy tree with no decay or rot that is ideal for reseeding a cutblock. Above all, the guidebook marks the oldest and largest trees as the best candidates for retention and recommends that they are left at the edges of a cutblock, incorporated into a riparian buffer. Timber companies prefer to leave trees along the perimeters as well. Loggers have to work around a wildlife tree standing in the middle of a cutblock, and it can often be damaged during the process. While companies may not suppress the inclination to save certain trees, they are far from encouraging of the practice. Forest workers are under no requirement to set aside a particular number or percentage of individual or clusters of trees within a cutblock. It is left to the discretion of the logger.
When Dennis Cronin wrapped a green ribbon around the big fir in cutblock 7190, it was not without precedent. Like many timber workers, Cronin was not immune to pressure once the confrontations between environmental activists and loggers that had occurred predominantly on Haida Gwaii, then the Queen Charlotte Islands, in the late 1980s, began expanding to Vancouver Island — especially when conflict erupted near his hometown of Lake Cowichan.
"Everybody was trying to get dirt on you all the time," he said. "They had cameras on you."
The job became scrutinized by the media and by the public. Cronin looked back at Carmanah and the War in the Woods as a pivotal moment that sparked much-needed change. The industry needed a shakeup, he said. In the wake of these movements, Cronin and his partner Walter Van Hell began saving more trees, usually ones on the edges of a cutblock that held little value to their company. On one job in the Cowichan Valley, the pair left a patch of trees surrounding a Douglas fir nearly as large as Big Lonely Doug. On another, he worked in a small cutblock that held more than fifteen bear dens, including some several metres off the ground in slits in the side of large hollow cedars. It was impossible not to be affected by the realization that after leaving a cutblock, the inevitability of logging would set in.
Just outside Port Renfrew, Van Hell helped promote the formal protection of an approximately eighty-metre-tall Sitka spruce growing within a thin sliver of forest sandwiched between Harris Creek and the road that connects the town to Lake Cowichan. In his office and among friends, the tree was known as the Van Hell Spruce, but it was eventually named the Harris Creek Spruce.
Dennis Cronin and Walter Van Hell weren't alone in their desire to protect a few exceptional trees. Just outside Victoria, along the Koksilah River grew a stand of Douglas firs that held some towering and ancient specimens. Without the damp and fruitful conditions of the west coast of the island, the trees on the southeastern rim of Vancouver Island grow more slowly. One Douglas fir near the river, while only forty-five metres tall, was deemed by MacMillan Bloedel as worthy of a bronze plaque. Affixed on October 4, 1957, it noted the Douglas fir "is believed to be the oldest living tree of its kind in Canada." The tree blew down in the winter of 1985, allowing it to be dated at 1,340 years old. The plaque also mentioned that "the area is now set aside to remain in its natural state." Later reports stated the plaque could "no longer be found."
By the late 1980s, patches of untouched coastal Douglas fir forest similar to Koksilah Grove were rapidly dwindling across Vancouver Island. But the value remained. In the spring of 1989, the timber company that had assumed timber rights in the Shawnigan Lake region sent two of its fallers into what had become known as Koksilah Grove. But the grove growing alongside the Koksilah River was supposed to have already been protected. Apart from MacMillan Bloedel's bronze plaque, a forest engineer named Don McMullan had recommended two years prior that a small patch of forest around the largest trees be set aside, but the recommendation was supposedly misplaced. And so the timber company, Fletcher Challenge, sent in its fallers. Don Hughes and Louie Van Beers were immediately struck not only by the grandeur of the forest but by the rarity of such old Douglas firs. Defiantly, the two men put down their saws and refused to cut the stand.
"You don't find old-growth timber like this anymore," Van Beers told the _Times Colonist_. "There are old firs seven to eight feet through, and some cedar. It is very accessible to the public and alongside the river. And we both felt they could put aside a little piece of that." With mounting public pressure, Fletcher Challenge agreed not to cut four hectares of trees along the river and mark it as a land reserve. It was a company designation that was little more than a promise not to harvest that particular area.
For two decades, timber companies paid little attention to the patch of great firs growing along the Koksilah River. Locals continued to enjoy recreating along the river and under the trees, until 2007 when a hiker, to his surprise, noticed a logging road that appeared to have been recently laid out, and trees flagged with ribbon and sprayed with light blue paint — clear signs of imminent logging activity. Once again, another company was pushing forward plans to log Koksilah. Amid renewed public and media pressure, the company relented — agreeing to set aside the patch of forest — and the provincial Ministry of Forests placed the Koksilah Grove on its list for park acquisition.
Modern environmental activists often point to the story of the Koksilah Grove as a cautionary tale of why timber companies cannot be trusted with policing or protecting the forests. Their word, or even a company designation such as "wildlife zone" or "wildlife tree," holds no formal protection and offers no assurance to those fighting for their conservation. A plaque can disappear in a windstorm, paperwork can be misplaced in the turmoil of acquisition and merger, and the story of the dissenting act of two timber workers can fade from memory.
Dennis Cronin didn't flag the big Douglas fir in cutblock 7190 to satisfy a code or management policy for the company he worked for. It wasn't a wildlife tree in his eyes. In the end, it may help repopulate the clear-cut, dropping its feather-tail seeds from its branches, but to him the tree didn't hold any kind of future utility that could be exploited. It didn't tick a box on a form.
"It's like a legacy, ya know?" Cronin said, four years after he saved the tree. "You're saving something special. Even though I'm a logger and I've taken out millions of trees, you won't see anything like these trees again."
In a March 18, 1923, article in the _New York Times_ , a reporter asked British climber George Mallory, after two unsuccessful expeditions to attempt to climb Mount Everest, why he wanted to try again the following year — why the alpinist felt compelled to summit the tallest mountain in the world. "Because it's there," Mallory is quoted as saying. The now-legendary retort has been called "the most famous three words in mountaineering," and reduced the world's greatest sporting feat to its fundamental motivations. The climber didn't need a grand reason. He didn't need to make a point or push a cause. He didn't need to puff his chest or inflate his accomplishments. He just had a job to do: put on his spiked boots and step into the mountains.
A foreman on the crew that was hauling the logs from cutblock 7190 asked Dennis Cronin why he saved that particular tree. Cronin offered a response with a similar rationale.
"Because I liked it," he said.
* * *
Throughout his career, Dennis Cronin stumbled upon other unusual finds while working in the forests of Vancouver Island. He noticed countless examples of Indigenous people using the trees as a resource: holes that had been drilled into cedars to test their density; or stacks of cedar shakes, split and ready to use to construct houses. On one occasion, he found an unfinished ocean canoe partially dug out of a felled cedar located two and a half kilometres from the coast. The Indigenous carver had sought out the most ideal piece of timber, even if it would produce a canoe that would eventually have to be hauled through thick forest for days to be launched at the shoreline. But the canoe had been abandoned — likely from a defect that had appeared in the wood — more than a century ago, Cronin estimated, judging by the one-hundred-year-old tree that was growing out of the log.
"They were just starting to carve it out, but left it," Cronin said. "It was _exactly_ ten metres."
He uncovered pre–European-contact stone tools and hundreds of culturally modified trees. On October 23, 2013, while surveying a patch of forest on a mountainside overlooking Port Renfrew, he stumbled upon a remarkable archaeological find: the wreckage of an airplane. Cronin and his partners had just laid out a cutblock near the top of a mountain, which held less timber than they were expecting, when they began cruising down the slope in search of a high-value stand that could be incorporated. As Cronin scrambled down through the salal bushes, he spotted bright yellow among the green and brown. He picked up a piece of twisted aluminium and called to his co-workers, including his partner Walter Van Hell.
"There's an airplane here!" Cronin yelled out.
One piece of metal led to another, and another even larger still, until the timber workers were surrounded by fragments of a fuselage, wings, and two distinct propeller engines. The wreck looked old, overgrown as if it had been there for decades.
By happenstance Cronin had solved a decades-old mystery: the disappearance of Avro Anson L7056, a Second World War–era British training aircraft that had vanished. Just after 9 a.m. on October 30, 1942, the plane had taken off from RCAF Station Patricia Bay, now the site of Victoria International Airport, on a three-hour navigational training flight. It never returned. A number of other planes had been lost at sea during similar exercises; the same was assumed to have happened to L7056, but Cronin's discovery proved otherwise. The pilot had likely become disoriented in the thick fog that often forms a bank along the coastline and crashed into the forested mountains just inland. The aircraft would have entered the forest like a lightning bolt, carving a line through the trees before disintegrating. Four airmen, two of them just twenty-one years old, died.
Within a sprawling debris field spread throughout the forest, the three timber workers found a leather boot, a first-aid kit, and what looked like a bomb protruding from the earth. The men left the wreck and called the RCMP. Seventy-one years to the day after the plane crashed, they led members of the Canadian Forces to the site, which had been kept from the public to ensure artefact hunters wouldn't prowl the wreckage looking for trinkets, and closed the chapter on an enduring mystery.
But of all Cronin's findings, it was the big Douglas fir in cutblock 7190 that stood out. During that sunny winter day in 2011, he unintentionally created a monument that is drawing pilgrims away from the famed coastlines and over to the frontlines of old-growth logging in the heart of Vancouver Island.
"Back in the day, that tree would've been cut down," Cronin said. "I'm glad it grabbed everybody's attention. Nobody would have ever seen it if we hadn't logged that piece."
It is a statement — that logging was responsible for revealing the second-largest Douglas fir in the country — that is hard to hear for activists like TJ Watt, who continue to spend weekend after weekend in the hope of finding and saving not just the big trees but the forests around them.
And yet if Big Lonely Doug was a twenty-metre-tall fir standing alone in a cutblock, it would not have attracted as much attention; if it was growing at the edge of a clear-cut, it would not have offered such a stark image; if it was found deep in the hills of Vancouver Island, far from a town like Port Renfrew, it would never have brought so many visitors to stand at its broad base; and if the tree was found in an already-protected forest, never in danger of being cut down, it would never have been given its name nor made headlines. The tree that is known as Big Lonely Doug is a product of many factors that began when a logger stood beside its trunk and looked up.
* * *
Big Lonely Doug is one of the last remaining great specimens of an endangered species. If it had the face and white fur of the spirit bear, it would have governments partnering with environmental groups to protect its habitat. If it swam in pods and leapt from the ocean like an orca, it would have documentaries made about its plight that sparked public outcry and protesters outside aquariums. But Big Lonely Doug is endangered nonetheless. It is one of the last of its kind — the great trees of Vancouver Island; an example of natural grandeur and history that will soon only be found in a few protected zones and seen by only the most intrepid among us. For now, Big Lonely Doug stands tall. The tree's thick roots, as wide as a person, draw groundwater from deep underground and up seventy metres to nourish its crown of dark green needles and the mosses, lichens, and ferns that cling to its high branches.
In the years since cutblock 7190 was logged, life has slowly returned to the barren twelve hectares alongside the Gordon River. Around the base of the great tree, huckleberry and salmonberry bushes bristle through sun-bleached fragments and dead branches of the great cedars, hemlocks, and firs that once stood shoulder to shoulder in this valley. Trees are growing there, too. The replanted seedlings are inching upwards, filling the blank space and returning green to the cutblock with every year that passes. Because life is opportunistic. The network of underground fungi will eventually return to connect the great fir's broad roots to those just starting out. Water and nutrients will begin to flow through the subterranean network to once again connect the trees.
There are other knee-high trees growing in cutblock 7190 that are undoubtedly the offspring of Big Lonely Doug. When a seed falls from a tree growing in an intact forest, it tumbles directly down through the canopy, protected from winds that otherwise can carry it afar. But for an isolated and exposed tree bearing the full brunt of the winds, its seeds may well be caught up in a torrential updraft and carried as far as a kilometre away.
There are still days every autumn when little more than a cool breeze will enter the valley and ruffle the branches and cones of the lone tree in the cutblock, dislodging seeds that tumble the sixty-six metres to the ground. Most of the tens of thousands of seeds will never sprout, finding the ground inhospitably dry or overexposed, but some will find a niche of tolerable conditions and thrive.
A forest will return to cutblock 7190. It will take decades — maybe close to a century — for the seedlings to become saplings and eventually grow into trees that will begin to fill in the blank space around Big Lonely Doug. The forest that became a clear-cut will become a crop — and the trees that will eventually surround the single towering fir will never be the same as those that once stood. The majority of the seedlings, all planted at once, will grow in unison and create an even-aged canopy that blocks the beams of sunlight that so commonly penetrate the variegation of old-growth forests. Moss and lichen and undergrowth will struggle to fully establish in the drier and darker conditions.
In several decades, these twelve hectares along the northeast bank of the Gordon River will look much like the rest of the second-growth forests found across Vancouver Island. Eventually, the replanted seedlings will mature into trees substantial enough to once again draw the attention of the timber industry. We won't let this stand grow for centuries and centuries until it begins to resemble what it once did — natural deadfall becoming nurse logs for the next generation of trees, mounds of moss and thickets of salal covering the forest floor, lichens dripping from branches — with all the depth of character that can be achieved only with time. Instead, our impatience will overrule once again. The next generation of foresters will be sent to the valley with their orange and pink flagging, to plot out the boundaries of a new cutblock and create a map depicting how the logs can be extracted. The cruisers will arrive next to assess the value of the stand, now ripe to be cut. The dollar figure will be much less than any patch of old growth that once stood on Vancouver Island, but it will be all the industry can get by that point. Machines will come next — hulking loaders and trucks will be driven across the bridge high above the Gordon River and along the road at the base of Edinburgh Mountain to their next job site. Under a new name, cutblock 7190 will be logged once again. The trees will come down more easily than the ancients that stood before, most likely with the help of a machine that can saw through the narrow trunks with ease. But before the regrown patch of forest disappears, under the canopy will walk a logger — an engineer, a timber cruiser, a faller — with a job to do. Each tree they weave around will be identical to the last, looking like stalks of giant corn growing uniformly in a field. But they will come upon one, a Douglas fir with a girth and height that dwarfs its neighbours; it will protrude from the uniform canopy like a monolith. The logger will stand under the big tree and stop — and gaze from broad base to broken top.
What kind of value will that logger see?
* * *
Like the great fir he saved, Dennis Cronin was the last of his kind. If the remaining old growth is eventually brought down, the generations of loggers who put axe and chainsaw to trunk will have no more great trees to cut. The West Coast fallers who stalked the forests of Vancouver Island in search of big timber will find only small trees left to cut. The shift to cutting second growth exclusively will arrive — if not by choice then by necessity — and with it a continued shift towards mechanized falling.
When that happens, Vancouver Island's old-growth legacy — save for a few scattered parks and protected areas — will be lost, and with it, any potential for communities similar to Port Renfrew to build new economies out of groves left intact and trees left vertical. And so the race continues to find Vancouver Island's last great trees. Down kilometres of logging roads, far from public view, timber workers search for pockets of dense green worth millions. Activists are on the hunt, too, for the same trees but with a different vision. They hope a few can be saved as small groves or larger forest tracts, to be preserved, enjoyed, and appreciated for centuries to come.
Over his career, Cronin saw thousands of hectares of forest up and down Vancouver Island disappear — ancient trees in great stands felled, limbed, hauled, and loaded onto trucks destined for the mill. He walked some of the grandest forests on the West Coast, and loved every second of it. After he flagged the big Douglas fir in cutblock 7190, Cronin would often return to stand beside its wide trunk and under its crooked canopy. One weekend, shortly after the clear-cut, he took his wife, Lorraine, and their friends Joe and Karen Simpson to the tree. They drove to Port Renfrew and out onto the bumpy logging roads, with Cronin describing the details of the landscape they passed and where he had worked.
"He was a master of the backroads," Joe Simpson remembered the day. "I can't tell a rose from a thorn, but he knew all the plants, all the trees, and all the flowers."
Cronin spotted a small herd of elk grazing in a marshy meadow before anyone else did.
They parked on the road and walked down into cutblock 7190, past stumps of giant cedars and firs. Cronin was proud, Karen Simpson remembered, to show them the tree that was still standing. He told his friends how there are only a few of these exceptionally large and old Douglas firs remaining on Vancouver Island. Originally from Ottawa, the Simpsons were astounded — standing back and looking up at a thousand-year-old tree more than two-thirds the height of the Peace Tower on Parliament Hill in their hometown.
"These guys that work in the lumber industry see all sorts of trees, but Dennis obviously recognized this one as a very, very special tree that should never be cut down," Joe Simpson said.
The four of them joined hands to try to encircle the tree. They came up several people short.
Sometimes Cronin and his wife took the drive from their home in Lake Cowichan to visit Big Lonely Doug. Sometimes they brought their sons. But Cronin would always remember to pack a bag of bread for the Steller's jay. After cutblock 7190 was harvested, the jay that followed him around like a dog moved to the grove of old growth next door. The bird finally flew over the creek it would never cross — by force rather than by will — after the trees it had called home disappeared. Cronin would stand on the road alongside the droopy limbs of hemlocks and cedars, and the bird would fly out of the forest and eat from his hand.
After four decades working in the forests of Vancouver Island — first as a hooktender for a crew and then as a forest engineer — Cronin's career ended abruptly. On September 5, 2012, seven months after tying the green "LEAVE TREE" ribbon around the base of the second-largest Douglas fir in the country, he was diagnosed with colon cancer. He stopped work the following week. Like many cancer treatments, it came with ups and downs. Positive results were met with optimism; negative ones with increasing concern. He tried conventional treatments as well as non-traditional ones. As the chemicals that were fighting his disease coursed through his body, the man grew thinner. But it was a seemingly minor consequence of his disease and treatment that hit him hard — Cronin's moustache, which he hadn't shaved since he was old enough to grow one, began to fall out. He was devastated.
The town of Lake Cowichan, despite losing its mill located up the lake in the small community of Youbou in 2001, had remained a logging town through and through. The town rallied to help the Cronins. A bottle drive, where people donated their refundables, and a hot dog sale were held to raise money to help the family cover costs. Timber workers filled their trucks with scrap wood gathered from cutblocks around the Lake Cowichan and Port Renfrew area that was then split and sold as firewood to help fundraise.
Through it all, Cronin wanted desperately to return to work, to be healthy and back in the bush with his co-workers, his forests, and his peanut butter sandwiches. When treatments worked, he returned to work; it was during one of these returns, when his cancer had gone into remission, that he stumbled upon the wreck of the Avro Anson plane. But when the cancer came back, Cronin could delay his official retirement for only so long. He finally accepted that the odds were against him and that he might never return to work in the forests of Vancouver Island. He retired in the spring of 2015. Less than a year later, on April 12, 2016, Dennis Cronin died in the living room of his home in Lake Cowichan. His spike-soled logger's caulk boots and red vest lay at the ready.
The valleys of Vancouver Island can be ruthlessly windy places and the Cowichan Valley is no different. That spring, a cool wind swirled in the valley, churning up white-capped waves on the long lake. The wind tore southwest over the hills — through ancient forest and over fresh clear-cut — towards the Pacific Ocean. It rose over Edinburgh Mountain, where Queen Charlotte goshawks caught the up-currents, twisting and turning in the air above their nests in the tallest trees. The wind rushed down the mountainside, dispersing the morning fog that hugged the trees in the Gordon River Valley before erupting into open space where a forest once stood. The wind swirled in the clear-cut and around the trunk of a single tree standing on its own. The tree's glossy green needles ruffled, its broad trunk swayed ever so gently back and forth — another force pulling at its limbs — but the tree stood. Still tied at the base of the great Douglas fir, Dennis Cronin's green ribbon fluttered in the wind.
Epilogue
A Giant
It takes great effort to leave footprints in an old-growth forest in a valley on Vancouver Island, where every mark in the moss and soil from a heavy step is near-instantly absorbed. A simple stroll is always an ordeal. Vines and bramble snag at boots, damp ferns soak through pants, and every apparent way through ends up being blocked by a tree or fallen log or thicket. It is what painter Emily Carr called "perfectly ordered disorder designed with a helter-skelter magnificence."
It was a sense of the unknown — what may lie hidden around the next turn — that kept bringing TJ Watt back again and again to Port Renfrew's forests. One grey September day, Watt dipped under damp hemlock branches and into Eden Grove. This forest had always held a particular pull for him. It was where he came so close to stumbling upon the second-largest Douglas fir in the country but came too late. It was where a photograph had changed the course of his organization.
Scattered groves similar to Eden stand flagged and ready to be razed. They are tucked away down kilometres of remote logging roads across Vancouver Island, far from where the pavement ends. These forests will fall in a quiet thunder, like thousands before them.
Vancouver Island has already entered the twilight years of its old-growth logging. Most of the great trees are already gone: cut, hauled, milled, and sold. The magnificent towers of nature broken down and reassembled into great manmade towers in their stead. But the tipping point is coming. It is only a matter of time. The question of Vancouver Island's timber industry shifting from old growth to second growth is not one of _if_ but _when_. The finite supply of ancient, big trees will, when exhausted, force that change. Both activists and loggers agree that the days of old-growth logging are approaching the horizon. Some say within ten years, while others more optimistically say twenty.
Like cutblock 7190, the southern half of Eden Grove was flagged and surveyed by Dennis Cronin and Walter Van Hell; their orange, pink, and red ribbons were still tied to the branches and fluttering in the light breeze. Teal Jones, the licensee for this stand of old growth, holds the power to send in fallers with their chainsaws at any moment. Watt photographed a series of pink "road location" ribbons dangling in a line through the old-growth forest like a trail of ominous breadcrumbs. It was a picture that hinted at what could come next: the thin pieces of ribbon replaced with a road cut through a previously undisturbed forest.
There is a stoicism in Watt, a self-assurance from knowing that more can be gained in the fight to protect Vancouver Island's dwindling old-growth forests by gradually and patiently taking steps forward. The best campaigns take time to conceptualize, design, and implement. Clever marketing can be as effective as bullish activism, and there is sometimes more power in a picture than in a protest.
"You go to Egypt to see the pyramids, but people are coming here to see the trees," Watt said, standing before a western red cedar nearly as burly and twisted as his Gnarly Tree. After Avatar Grove hit the news, he began receiving calls from tourists from as far as Russia, Australia, and Switzerland asking to hire him as a guide to see Port Renfrew's great trees.
The ground under his boots was spongy and sodden; the bushes of salal and huckleberry dripping with dew. He tiptoed along a fallen cedar log, slowly rotting but acting as a veritable nursery for hundreds of hemlock seedlings. Watt continued down towards the Gordon River, farther into the forest, until a large cedar came into view through the tangle of undergrowth and trees. A metre-long slit in the tree's trunk created an opening, around which were layers of scratches and claw marks. A bear den. Watt had visited this tree often since his first forays into the forests of this valley. Nearby, a narrow creek rushing water towards the river acted as a demarcation line between the two cutblocks — between intact forest and clear-cut, between what he was fighting to protect and what had fallen, between past and future. He peered through a window in the forest made by drooping branches, and across cutblock 7190, to spot the silhouette of Big Lonely Doug against the grey sky.
Watt bent down to remove a field camera he had wired to a small cedar trunk on a previous visit. He was hoping to capture video of the black bear entering her den. He pressed play and the small LCD screen flashed on, and the one-minute video began: rain patters down through the canopy, as the mother bear lumbers into the frame next to the giant cedar with the hollow. She is quickly followed by her cub, likely born that spring, which stops suddenly in the forest after noticing the camera, a foreign object, attached eye level to a tree. The cub approaches, licks the lens, and gnaws for a second on the metal box before realizing it has fallen behind its mother. It bounds off after her. With no more motion in the frame, the video cuts to black.
The megafauna that inhabit the Pacific temperate rainforests often leave traces of their existence — scat, claw marks, dens, disturbed earth. But they remain hidden and quiet, lurking just out of sight of the humans who thrash clumsily about. But they are there. For Watt, ecstatic as he tucked the full memory card into his camera backpack, to see a mother black bear and her cub among these giant trees, their fur wet with rain, was a reminder that these forests hold value for more than just humans.
Watt descended farther into the forest, from colossal cedar to towering fir to colossal cedar, weaving through the underbrush as if he were following a well-marked trail, until he reached a pebble-bottomed creek. In a flash of blue and black, a Steller's jay landed on a mossy branch above him, looked down, and cocked its head expectedly.
* * *
As the Ancient Forest Alliance's director, Ken Wu has always seen his job as similar to a filmmaker's. "The big trees are sort of like an actor, but you still have to have the script, the directing, the producing, and the cinematography," he says. A narrative is needed to fill in the blanks, superlatives to provide the hook, and tension to add the drama — but it all needs to be framed around a tree or grove that will evoke awe. "We can't use an encrusted lichen as the most charismatic character."
In the narrative of Big Lonely Doug, there was obvious tension, but Wu hopes his campaigns focus on the beauty rather than the destruction. "We have to include enough destruction in there that it's compelling and motivating and urgent," he says. With Avatar Grove, the layer of destruction in the narrative was a looming one — a question of what is at stake of being lost. With Big Lonely Doug, it was a glimpse of the stark reality of timber harvesting on Vancouver Island.
Arnie Bercov at the Public and Private Workers of Canada has forged a relationship with the AFA to achieve similar goals: sustainable management of British Columbia's forests as well as development of communities. Many see the friendly relationship between a labour union representing timber industry employees and an environmental activist group pushing to save the trees as an unlikely alliance — but the two organizations have found common ground at an intersection where clichéd rhetoric is replaced with no-nonsense pragmatism. The relationship has revealed that the age-old image of burly loggers facing off against dreadlocked tree-huggers is largely a construct, and the environment-versus-jobs argument a smokescreen.
While the PPWC has been supportive of the Ancient Forest Alliance's call for an increase in old-growth forest protection and a decrease of raw log exports, it is still a labour union — it represents workers and jobs above all else. For Bercov, where the provincial government has failed is not in the forests that we are not cutting but in the forests that we _are_ cutting.
"If we're going to make the effort to cut a tree down," Bercov says, "then we better make sure we use it to the fullest extent."
Vancouver Island has the potential to arise as a model not just for British Columbia or Canada but North America, in which a longstanding industry based on a primary resource not only adapts to meet the changing environment but also looks to the future. It could stand as a model where healthy ecosystems and healthy timber workforces are not mutually exclusive. For Bercov, there lies potential in innovation in sustainable second-growth forestry, in investment in new mills tied to timber leases producing high-value products such as laminated beams made from second-growth trees, and in diverting stumpage fees to support Indigenous communities pursuing more diverse economic models. If properly managed, Vancouver Island's forests stand to be the epitome of a renewable resource.
"The industry is a shell of what it should be," Bercov says. "Not what it _could_ be but what it _should_ be." It should be creating jobs, addressing climate change, providing opportunities for the next generation, working with Indigenous communities, and seeking out alternative sources of income from our forests. It should be valuing every part of a tree — whether cut or standing.
* * *
The value the Ancient Forest Alliance has gleaned from Big Lonely Doug, in awareness and attention, has spread their cause of protecting the region's old-growth forests well beyond Vancouver Island's coastlines. Port Renfrew's big trees have caught the eye of filmmakers and photographers around the world.
In 2016, acclaimed filmmaker and artist Kelly Richardson took a hike though Avatar Grove and found herself overwhelmed, physically and emotionally. To celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of IMAX in 2019, she partnered with Christian Kroitor, the grandson of Canadian filmmaker and IMAX co-founder Roman Kroitor, to begin filming a moving-image installation that would highlight not only the size of the region's trees but also their predicament — "why we continue to define progress through the conversion of nature."
It was an image of Big Lonely Doug that excited world-renowned environmental photographer Edward Burtynsky. Over a career dating back to the 1970s, Burtynsky, originally from St. Catharines, Ontario, has travelled around the globe producing images that are hauntingly beautiful in their depiction of destruction, corrosion, and consequence. Often shot out of a helicopter or plane window, his photographs take on an otherworldly veneer, where the subject and scene isn't immediately clear. It takes a moment to realize what exactly is in the frame. _Is that water? Is that oil? Are those trees?_ And then, like a Magic Eye autostereogram, the reality comes into focus. His photography has been exhibited at the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa, the Bibliothèque nationale in Paris, and the Guggenheim Museum in New York City.
Burtynsky starred in the 2006 documentary _Manufactured Landscapes_ , __ set on one of his shoots in China, which took the viewer from an appliance factory to the Three Gorges Dam to highlight the impact of mass industrialization. In 2013, he co-directed _Watermark_ , which visited nearly a dozen places around the world to show how water is used, consumed, and tainted by humans.
While doing research for possible subjects and locations for his next film and visual project, _Anthropocene_ , Burtynsky felt that one of the more pressing issues of humans transgressing the boundaries of the planet is deforestation. He considered the forests cut for palm-oil production in Borneo and the destruction of rainforests in the Amazon — two subjects with plenty of media attention — but ultimately settled on a location closer to home: Canada's West Coast. One image and story stood out: that of a single Douglas fir left standing in the middle of a cutblock near Port Renfrew, British Columbia.
Big Lonely Doug offered an opportunity for Burtynsky to employ a new way of communicating an image and an issue. While staying true to his well-known ethos — large-scale photographs depicting the often unseen and fraught intersections where humans and environments meet — he employed new technology. Rather than trying to come away with a singular photograph that encapsulated the story, the place, and the issue, he set out to capture the tree in new ways that would highlight its scale and individuality on a level people hadn't seen before.
Over several visits to the tree, Burtynsky gathered footage for his documentary but also used a drone to capture high-resolution images of Big Lonely Doug's trunk that can be stitched together. Spanning 1.5 metres high and up to 12 metres long — the length of the tree's circumference — the image will be a life-size representation of the tree's girth that can be printed and displayed flat against the wall of a museum, business, or institution.
"It's a little more conceptual in its origins than trying to be accurately representational," Burtynsky says about the image. "It's more about trying to represent a tree in a different way."
Big Lonely Doug also presented an opportunity for Burtynsky to represent the tree in three dimensions. Using hundreds of images he has taken of the tree, he has created an augmented reality object, where people can download an app to their smartphone or tablet, stand back, and be able to see through the camera on their device a life-size 3-D virtual image of Big Lonely Doug standing before them on the street. They will be able to walk around its massive trunk and take photos of their friends alongside the second-largest Douglas fir in the country. It could take the issue of Vancouver Island's old-growth destruction and preservation to people anywhere in the world.
"It will bring the scale of this tree into public consciousness," Burtynsky says.
Big Lonely Doug is one of several of his augmented reality installations, including a mound of automotive parts in a scrapyard in Ghana and a pile of tusks from poached elephants Burtynsky photographed in Kenya that were confiscated by officials and set alight. People will be able to walk up to and around the thousands of tusks piled twenty feet high. "It's a way to speak about extinction. And cutting down these thousand-year-old trees is the same." He hopes that his projects will inspire change, both in perspective and policy, and help spur a moratorium on old-growth logging in British Columbia. "Big Lonely Doug is a hopeful symbol. It represents that these amazing ecosystems are still among us — and that they are truly our responsibility to preserve."
If Big Lonely Doug had never been found, never flagged, and never protected, it would have lived out its natural life, no doubt as one of the last exceptionally large Douglas firs on Vancouver Island. It would never have been climbed and measured, never been added to the B.C. BigTree Registry alongside its elite brethren. It would never have been turned into a symbol, marketed, and promoted. Big Lonely Doug was erected like a tower. It was a calculated creation to highlight the plight of an entire species — the Douglas fir — of an entire landscape — the hills and valleys of Vancouver Island — and of an entire ecosystem — the Pacific temperate rainforests of Canada's West Coast.
And it has worked. Few single trees in Canada have ever enjoyed such a reputation.
Still, in a heartbeat TJ Watt would trade the single tree as it stands now for the forest that was razed around it. He still shakes his head when he thinks about how close he came, while hiking through Eden Grove mere months before Dennis Cronin, to saving both: "I went left instead of right."
For Ken Wu, so much of the forest industry and the dominant paradigm have been focused on the tree rather than the ecosystem, which has allowed the timber companies to claim that old growth can be easily replaced by plantations, and that leaving Big Lonely Doug is a fundamentally good deed. But Wu still sees value in these individual trees.
For years, Wu has been petitioning British Columbia's Liberal government to create a Big Tree Protection Order, a piece of legislation that would shield the province's biggest trees for good. Specimens of a certain diameter would be untouchable to timber companies, in recognition of their superior ecological and cultural value — above and beyond what they are worth as boards and posts. Additionally, each tree that met the size and age requirements would be left with a surrounding buffer of forest. In many areas that hold a high density of large trees, these buffer zones would overlap to effectively place the entire grove off limits to logging. In 2009, British Columbia Minister of Forests and Range Pat Bell tempered the appeal. "We're confident these trees won't be harvested," he told the _Vancouver Sun_ about the record-holders listed in the BigTree Registry. "They're tagged, they're named, we know exactly where they are and we're keeping track of them . . . No district manager would dare approve a cutting plan or permit that would allow for the harvesting of any of these trees." But Wu wasn't concerned with those already recognized and named by the public; he was worried about the trees nobody knew about — ones that could be felled before anyone noticed.
Two years later, with public pressure mounting following the rise in popularity of Avatar Grove, Bell hinted that the government was considering a legal tool that would protect the largest trees in the province from logging. New optimism bloomed in 2017, when a coalition of New Democratic Party and Green Party was elected to replace Christy Clark and the Liberals, to much celebration from West Coast environmentalists. While the new government quickly stated it could not commit to a full moratorium on old-growth logging, it announced "a new policy is being developed to protect iconic trees in B.C." On January 1, 2018, B.C. Timber Sales, the agency that has managed the timber harvested off public land on behalf of the provincial government since 2003, released a best-practices guideline for retaining "legacy trees" — those exceptionally large trees on the coast that "are increasingly supporting the growing ecotourism economy as valuable destinations in and of themselves." The guideline noted minimum diameters for various species including western red cedar, Sitka spruce, and Douglas fir that would place them off limits to logging, but noted that "it is up to the judgement of the assessor to use both estimated measurements and quality indicators to determine if a tree qualifies as a legacy tree suitable for retention."
It was a step forward, but one that gave little assurance to activists concerned about placing the onus of protection into the hands of a logger. Just months after the guideline was released, the ninth largest Douglas fir in British Columbia was felled along with its old-growth grove in the Nahmint Valley on Vancouver Island. In the wake of public outcry, the B.C. government announced that it will review its policy.
As governments delay, timber companies continue to cut ten thousand hectares of old-growth forests on Vancouver Island every year — three square metres every second. But Ken Wu can't help but look to one tree as a symbol of hope, the one tree at the centre of this legislative push: "This will be the legacy of Big Lonely Doug."
It will also be the legacy of the logger who saved one tree, but in the end might protect many. The way forward through the seemingly impenetrable forest may not be sparked by a protester chaining herself to a logging truck, but from the simple act of a logger saving a single tree — and doing more for the protection of old-growth forests than any march or barricade.
* * *
A year after her husband died, Lorraine Cronin made the short drive from her home in Lake Cowichan to visit Big Lonely Doug. It was a cloudy day, overcast and dreary as so many spring days are on the West Coast. But the low cloud and pillows of mist softened the edges and brought the world in close. The last time she had stood under the tree was with Dennis, in his final year.
Lorraine took a detour first, up the steep switchbacks to near the top of a mountain where the head of Port San Juan and a few buildings of Port Renfrew came into view in the distance below. She parked her truck along the side of the logging road by a recent clear-cut. The clouds threatened a downpour but held back. The path to the wreckage of the Avro Anson plane found by her husband and his crew was marked along the scattered clear-cut with small holes in the logs from the spikes of timber workers' caulk boots — some undoubtedly left by Dennis. She moved slowly over the logs, careful not to slip, until she found the forest trail marked by a piece of ribbon dangling from a tree.
The first sign of anything unnatural within the forest was flakes of yellow paint, some the size of a fingernail, others as large as a hand. After more than seventy years, the Second World War aircraft appeared to have been well consumed by the undergrowth. But with each step closer to the crash site, bent pieces of metal stuck out among the salal and sword fern. A large cedar broken halfway up its trunk marked the beginning of the wreckage — Dennis Cronin had wondered if the plane had struck the tree when it ploughed through the forest.
Then, among the trees: an engine with a bent propeller, parts of the wooden fuselage still intact after three-quarters of a century, an electronic board with circuits and wires, and an unbroken lightbulb. A mound of metal fragments lay collected to one side from when the military team and archaeologists had combed the wreckage, looking for remains or personal effects. Lorraine beamed with pride at the thought that her husband had helped solve the mystery of the missing plane, and helped descendants in Britain find closure.
The mist on the mountain grew thicker as Lorraine returned to her truck and began the cautious drive down the steep logging road. She drove past a line of cars parked at the trailhead to Avatar Grove, where hikers and tourists were taking pictures under Canada's Gnarliest Tree. She kept going without pause. After fifteen minutes, she took the first right off the Gordon River Main Line logging road and crossed the bridge high over the churning water.
"My kids used to call this Daddy's Bridge," she said, explaining how Dennis had been part of the crew that had it initially installed.
She continued on as the road steepened to a grade only manageable by a four-wheel-drive vehicle, past the plantations of second-growth forest, and past the overlook built by Teal Jones road builders to haul the logs out of cutblock 7190.
Two vehicles were parked alongside the dirt road near the trail leading down to Big Lonely Doug. The first belonged to the crew of photographer Edward Burtynsky, whose team was operating a drone to capture images of the tree. The second vehicle, a blue Mitsubishi Delica van, belonged to TJ Watt, the Ancient Forest Alliance activist and photographer who had helped launch the tree into the limelight.
Lorraine sighed. She was hoping for a quiet moment. She parked her truck, put on her jacket, and started down the trail to the tree. Squatting on a stump halfway down was Watt, who was providing an overview perspective to help the drone operator.
"My husband saved that tree," Lorraine said, her voice quivering yet direct. The activists claiming the "discovery" of the tree always made her feel like what Dennis had done was being overshadowed.
"We're thankful for it," Watt replied.
For years, Watt had wanted to sit down with Lorraine Cronin to have a conversation about how their work isn't meant to be combative or aggressive towards timber workers and their families. On that misty day, the two forces that made Big Lonely Doug — the widow of the logger who flagged it and the activist who promoted it — had collided by happenstance under the great tree's boughs.
Lorraine looked across the cutblock to Big Lonely Doug, turned, and headed back up the trail to her truck. Halfway down the path was as close as she could get to the tree her husband had saved. It was a start.
The whirl of the drone kicked up, its helicopter-like blades buzzing as the man with the controller navigated it up and down and around the trunk of the enormous tree. The photographs were to be stitched together to form the high-definition, 360-degree image for their augmented reality exhibition.
Lorraine shut the door to her truck. The fog had condensed to a light drizzle and tears began welling in her eyes. It was an odd moment for her. Big Lonely Doug is more than just a big tree her husband saved. It has become a monument of sorts — a twenty-storey-tall tombstone to a man who loved the forests.
That same month, the South Island Natural Resource District designated Big Lonely Doug a recreational reserve as per the Forest and Range Practices Act. From there, the "minister may order the establishment of Crown land as an interpretive forest site, a recreation site or a recreation trail." It is a designation that has been given to other significant trees in the area, including the Red Creek Fir and the Harris Creek Spruce, which stand outside formal protection areas such as a provincial park. If turned into a recreational site, it would be promoted and advertised formally by the provincial government, luring a new wave of tourists to keep the lonely tree company. The recreation officer gave the reserve the forest file identification number REC230530 — not quite as emotive as the name bestowed by the activists. Despite expressing caution about the bridge leading to the tree, Teal Jones was not void of support for turning the tree into a destination — only the timber company's representatives preferred not to use the name "Big Lonely Doug" but "Dennis Cronin Memorial Tree" instead.
It took a millennium for this Douglas fir to turn from one of a million seedlings sprouting along the Gordon River near Port Renfrew into one of the largest trees in Canada. But within the few short years since Dennis Cronin paused under the tree and tied a piece of green ribbon around its base, the tree has grown exponentially in renown. It became Big Lonely Doug — a tourist site and a rallying point for environmental activists; a symbol of the future of logging and the future of Vancouver Island's ancient forests. It went from a tree surrounded by forest to a tree in a wasteland to a tree known around the world.
Sitting in the cab of her truck, Lorraine Cronin stared with watery eyes at the Douglas fir in the middle of a clear-cut, watching the branches softly tremble in the breeze. She thought of her husband, Dennis, and shook her head ever so slightly.
"It's just a tree."
Notes
Chapter 2: Evergreen
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Jones, Charles. _Queesto: Pacheenaht Chief by Birthright_. British Columbia: Theytus Books, 1981.
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Chapter 3: Tree of Many Names
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Chapter 4: Green Gold
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Gillis, R. Peter, and Thomas R. Roach. _Lost Initiatives: Canada's Forest Industries, Forest Policy and Forest Conservation_. New York: Greenwood Press, 1986.
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Mackie, Richard. _Mountain Timber: The Comox Logging Company in the Vancouver Island Mountains._ Winlaw, B.C.: Sono Nis Press, 2009.
Pearce, Peter H. "Evolution of the forest tenure system in British Columbia." Vancouver: February 1992.
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Faculty of Forestry, University of British Columbia. "The Pacific Salmon Ecology and Conservation lab." _Branchlines_ 27, no. 1 (Spring 2016).
Adams, Megan S., Christina N. Service, Andrew Bateman, Mathieu Bourbonnais, Kyle A. Artelle, Trisalyn Nelson, Paul C. Paquet, Taal Levi, and Chris T. Darimont. "Intrapopulation diversity in isotopic niche over landscapes: Spatial patterns inform conservation of bear–salmon systems." _Ecosphere_ 8, no. 6 (June 2017). https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.1843.
Babikova, Zdenka, Lucy Gilbert, Toby J. A. Bruce, Michael Birkett, John C. Caulfield, Christine Woodcock, John A. Pickett, and David Johnson. "Underground signals carried through common mycelial networks warn neighbouring plants of aphid attack." _Ecology Letters_ 16, no. 7 (July 2013): 835–843. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.12115.
Beiler, Kevin J., Daniel M. Durall, Suzanne W. Simard, Sheri A. Maxwell, and Annette M. Kretzer. "Architecture of the wood-wide web: Rhizopogon spp. Genets link multiple Douglas-fir cohorts." _New Phytologist_ 185, no. 2 (January 2010): 543–53. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-8137.2009.03069.x.
Simard, Suzanne W., Kevin J. Beiler, Marcus A. Bingham, Julie R. Deslippe, Leanne J. Philip, and François P. Teste. "Mycorrhizal networks: Mechanisms, ecology and modelling." _Fungal Biology Reviews_ 26 (2012): 39–60. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fbr.2012.01.001.
Twieg, Brendan D., Daniel M. Durall, and Suzanne W. Simard. "Ectomycorrhizal fungal succession in mixed temperate forests." _New Phytologist_ 176, no. 2 (October 2007): 437–47.
Simard, Suzanne W. "Unseen Connections." In _We Discover_ , edited by Marc Guttman. 2016. www.wediscover.net.
Sierra Club B.C. "Twenty-five international environmental organizations call for urgent action for Vancouver Island's rainforest and communities." April 10, 2017. https://sierraclub.bc.ca/25-international-environmental-organizations-call-for-urgent-action-for-vancouver-islands-rainforest-and-communities/.
Sierra Club B.C. "Sierra Club B.C.'s Google Earth tool shows Vancouver Island old-growth in a state of emergency." March 30, 2016. https://sierraclub.bc.ca/sierra-club-bcs-google-earth-tool-shows-vancouver-island-old-growth-state-emergency/.
Chapter 5: War for the Woods
Sloan, Gordon McG. _Report of the Commissioner, the Honourable Gordon McG. Sloan, Chief Justice of British Columbia, relating to the Forest Resources of British Columbia,_ _1956_. Victoria: Don McDiarmid, 1957. https://www.for.gov.bc.ca/hfd/pubs/docs/mr/rc/rc004/Rc004-1.pdf.
Utzig, G. F., and D. L. Macdonald. _Citizens' Guide to Allowable Annual Cut Determinations: How to Make a Difference_. Vancouver: British Columbia Environmental Network Education Foundation, 2000.
Hume, Mark. "Tree team tracking giant spruce." _Vancouver Sun_ , May 14, 1988.
Western Canada Wilderness Committee. _Carmanah Forever_ (film). 1988. https://www.wildernesscommittee.org/video/1988_04_15_carmanah_forever.
George, Paul. _Big Trees Not Big Stumps: 25 Years of Campaigning to Save Wilderness with the Wilderness Committee_. Vancouver: Western Canada Wilderness Committee, 2006.
Hume, Mark. "Carmanah road building halted." _Vancouver Sun_ , May 19, 1988.
Hume, Mark. "Record spruce elusive, but big ones abound." _Vancouver Sun_ , May 17, 1988.
Hume, Mark. "Woodsman spare that tree." _Vancouver Sun_ , June 11, 1988.
"Most of the valley productive forest," _The Province_ , April 11, 1990.
"Save the Carmanah and save the murrelets," _Vancouver Sun_ , December 2, 1989.
Stanbury, William T. _Environmental Groups and the International Conflict over the Forests of British Columbia, 1990 to 2000_. Vancouver: SFU-UBC Centre for the Study of Government and Business, 2000.
Salazar, Debra J., and Donald K. Alper, eds. _Sustaining the Forests of the Pacific Coast: Forging Truces in the War in the Woods._ Vancouver: UBC Press, 2000.
Western Canada Wilderness Committee. _Visions of Carmanah_ (film). 1989.
Carr, Emily. _Hundreds and Thousands: The Journals of Emily Carr_. Vancouver: Douglas & McIntyre, 1966.
Western Canada Wilderness Committee. _Suzuki Kids in Carmanah Valley_ (film). 1990. https://www.wildernesscommittee.org/video/1990_05_23_suzuki_kids_carmanah_valley.
MacMillan Bloedel. _The Incredible Forest_ (film). __ Canadian Forest Industries Films. Montreal: 1976.
MacMillan Bloedel. _The Managed Forest_ (film). 1986.
Rowell, Andrew. _Green Backlash: Global Subversion of the Environment Movement_. New York: Routledge, 1996.
Niosi, Goody. _Magnificently Unrepentant: The Story of Merve Wilkinson and Wildwood_. Surrey, B.C.: Heritage House Publishing, 2001.
Meikle, Graham. _Future Active: Media Activism and the Internet_. New York: Routledge, 2002.
Wilson, Jeremy. _Talk and Log: Wilderness Politics in British Columbia_. Vancouver: UBC Press, 1998.
Bohn, Glenn. "Arrests, injury, and tree spiking escalate battle over Walbran." _Vancouver Sun_ , September 24, 1991.
Bohn, Glenn. "Environmentalists spiked for bounty." _Vancouver Sun_ , April 24, 1991.
Boei, William. "Clayoquot Sound: 200 litres of human excrement dumped at anti-logging group's information tent." _Vancouver Sun_ , August 4, 1993.
Forest Resources Commission _. The Future of Our Forests: Executive Summary_. Victoria: B.C. Ministry of Forests, 1991.
Chapter 6: A Forest Alliance
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Ancient Forest Alliance. "An exceptionally spectacular and accessible stand of newly located old growth redcedars and Douglas firs near Port Renfrew has recently been marked for logging." February 18, 2010. https://www.ancientforestalliance.org/news-item.php?ID=10.
Ancient Forest Alliance. "Earth Day media release: Avatar's James Cameron invited by environmental group to visit the endangered 'Avatar Grove' of ancient trees." April 22, 2010. https://www.ancientforestalliance.org/news-item.php?ID=55.
"James Cameron: Fox didn't want Avatar's 'treehugging crap,'" _USA Today_ , February 19, 2010. http://content.usatoday.com/communities/greenhouse/post/2010/02/james-cameron-fox-didnt-want-avatars-treehugging-crap/1#.WvsjZjKZP-Y.
George, Paul. _Big Trees Not Big Stumps: 25 Years of Campaigning to Save Wilderness with the Wilderness Committee_. Vancouver: Western Canada Wilderness Committee, 2006.
Ancient Forest Alliance. "The 'gnarliest tree in Canada' found in the endangered 'Avatar Grove' on Vancouver Island in British Columbia." March 25, 2010. https://www.ancientforestalliance.org/news-item.php?ID=33.
Lavoie, Judith. "B.C. chops down bid to protect 'Avatar Grove.'" _Vancouver Sun_ , August 5, 2010.
Forest Practices Board. _Logging Old-Growth Forest Near Port Renfrew_. Victoria: February 2011.
Ancient Forest Alliance. "Breaking News: Avatar Grove might get saved — please write a letter now!!" February 12, 2011. https://www.ancientforestalliance.org/news-item.php?ID=196.
Lavoie, Judith. "Island version of Avatar Grove given provincial protection." _Times Colonist_ , February 17, 2012.
Gardner, Sheila. "Forest alliance welcomes government announcement to preserve Avatar Grove." CFAX, February 16, 2012.
"Protection of Avatar Grove will boost tourism." _Sooke News Mirror_ , February 22, 2012. https://issuu.com/sookemirror/docs/snmn_2012_02_22.
"British Columbia: clearcutting the 'Avatar Forest.'" _Pacific Free Press_ , February 19, 2010.
Ancient Forest Alliance. "Stunning grove of unprotected old-growth trees located near Port Renfrew." May 11, 2017. https://www.ancientforestalliance.org/news-item.php?ID=1120.
Ancient Forest Alliance. "Magnificent Old-Growth Forest found on Vancouver Island — 11 foot wide, near-record size Sitka spruce towers in 'FernGully Grove.'" December 15, 2017. https://www.ancientforestalliance.org/news-item.php?ID=1156.
Ancient Forest Alliance. "Christy Clark Grove." April 20, 2012. https://www.ancientforestalliance.org/news-item.php?ID=413.
"Ancient grove named for premier." _Sooke News Mirror_ , April 25, 2012. https://www.sookenewsmirror.com/news/ancient-grove-named-for-premier/.
Klem, Greg. "Avafraud Grove." _Sooke News Mirror_ , April 13, 2011. https://www.sookenewsmirror.com/opinion/avafraud-grove/.
Wu, Ken. "Avatar Grove must get saved." _Sooke News Mirror_ , April 20, 2011. https://www.sookenewsmirror.com/opinion/avatar-grove-must-get-saved/.
Chapter 9: Growing an Icon
Ancient Forest Alliance. "Canada's most significant big tree discovery in decades!" March 21, 2014. https://www.ancientforestalliance.org/news-item.php?ID=753.
Hume, Mark. "Canada's loneliest tree still waiting on help." _Globe and Mail_ , June 9, 2014. https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/british-columbia/canadas-loneliest-tree-around-1000-years-old-still-waiting-on-help/article19064507/.
Stoltmann, Randy. _Hiking Guide to the Big Trees of Southwestern British Columbia_. Vancouver: Western Canada Wilderness Committee, 1987.
Jones, H. H. "A Cyclone among Timber Titans." _British Columbia Magazine_ , vol. VII (1911).
Chapter 10: Big Tree Hunting
The University of British Columbia. B.C. BigTree Registry. http://bigtrees.forestry.ubc.ca.
Chapter 11: Tall Tree Capital
Goldman, Josephine. _Pioneer Days of Port Renfrew_. Privately printed, 1973.
Norcross, E. Blanche, and Doris Farmer Tonkin. _Frontier Days of Vancouver Island_. Courtenay, B.C.: Island Books, 1969.
Lunman, Kim. "Life at sawmill faces final cut." _Globe and Mail_ , January 20, 2001. https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/life-at-sawmill-faces-final-cut/article1029767/.
Parfitt, Ben. _Getting More from Our Forests: Ten Proposals for Building Stability in B.C.'s Forestry Communities_. Vancouver: Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, December 2005.
Ancient Forest Alliance. "Horgan, Hicks, and Cash join Ancient Forest Alliance on tour of Avatar Grove and to Canada's biggest trees and stumps." September 28, 2010. https://www.ancientforestalliance.org/news-item.php?ID=136.
Britten, Liam. "BC Hydro buys out properties below Jordan River dam." CBC News, May 17, 2016. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/b-c-hydro-jordan-river-1.3585351.
Chapter 12: A New Ecosystem
Leiren-Young, Mark. _The Killer Whale Who Changed the World_. Vancouver: Greystone Books, 2016.
"Berlin zoo: Brain problems led to death of polar bear Knut." _Toronto Star_ , March 22, 2011. https://www.thestar.com/news/world/2011/03/22/berlin_zoo_brain_problems_led_to_death_of_polar_bear_knut.html.
B.C. Ministry of Forests and B.C. Ministry of Environment. _Forest Practices Code of British Columbia: Biodiversity Guidebook_. Victoria: 1995. https://www.for.gov.bc.ca/hfd/library/documents/bib19715.pdf.
British Columbia Forest Service. "The Retention System: maintaining forest ecosystem diversity." _Notes to the Field_ 7 (March 2002). https://www.for.gov.bc.ca/hfp/publications/00095/note_07.pdf.
Stoltmann, Randy. _Hiking Guide to the Big Trees of Southwestern British Columbia_. Vancouver: Western Canada Wilderness Committee, 1987.
Lavoie, Judith. "Retired logger ready to renew fight to save fir; magnificent old-growth stand viewed as being under threat despite logging company's denials." _Times Colonist_ , __ May 23, 2007.
Bainas, Lexi. "Old-growth grove faces saws yet again." _Cowichan News Citizen_ , May 25, 2007.
"Old-growth trees not coming down." _Cowichan News Citizen_ , May 30, 2007.
Wilson, Carla. "Fallers persuade logging bosses to spare centuries-old fir grove." _Times Colonist_ , May 4, 1989.
"Climbing Mount Everest is work for superman." _New York Times_ , March 18, 1923.
Epilogue: A Giant
B.C. Timber Sales. "Best Management Practices for Coastal Legacy Trees." https://www.for.gov.bc.ca/ftp/tsg/external/!publish/EMS2/Supplements/TSG-BMP-CoastalLegacyTrees.pdf.
Pynn, Larry. "Call to protect B.C.'s 100 top heritage trees." _Vancouver Sun_ , January 31, 2009.
Acknowledgements
I am so grateful for all the timber workers, environmental activists, members of the Pacheedaht First Nation, residents of Port Renfrew, ecologists, and experts in their various fields who took the time to speak or take a walk in the woods with me, with special mention to Dennis and Lorraine Cronin, TJ Watt, Jeff Jones, Mark Carter, Ken Wu, Walter Van Hell, Dan Hagar, Greg Klem, Kristine Pearson, Bear Charlie, Arnie Bercov, Torrance Coste, Andy MacKinnon, Hans Tammemagi, Joe and Karen Simpson, Matthew Beatty, and Ray Travers, among many others.
I am thrilled that _Big Lonely Doug_ is the inaugural title in the Walrus Books imprint at House of Anansi Press. Thanks to Shelley Ambrose, executive director and publisher of _The Walrus_ , and Sarah MacLachlan, president and publisher of Anansi, for their enthusiasm for this story. Research and reporting for this book simply would not have been possible without support from the Chawkers Foundation Writers Project, for which I am deeply grateful.
A special thanks to Carmine Starnino, deputy editor at _The Walrus_ magazine, for editing my original article that appeared in the October 2016 issue, and for helping me hone the story into one about us — our relationships, our motivations, our emotions — as much as one about a tree. I'm so proud the article resonated with so many people, won a silver National Magazine Award, and was reprinted in _Reader's Digest Canada_ — and I owe a great deal to him for championing the story.
I am exceptionally grateful to Janie Yoon, my editor at House of Anansi, for her vision when it came to expanding this story and for her sharp yet kind editing. I could not have asked to be in better hands for my first book. And to everyone at Anansi — including managing editor Maria Golikova, for patiently fielding all my extremely basic questions about how a book is made, Alysia Shewchuk for the beautiful cover design, Gemma Wain for her detailed copyediting and vital fact-checking, and Peter Norman for the final proofread.
I have been extremely fortunate to have learned from and worked under some generous and talented journalists and writers early in my career. I would like to thank University of King's College professor David Swick for his mentorship and friendship; Stephanie Nolen for accepting my plea to intern for her at the _Globe and Mail_ 's South Asia bureau in New Delhi, India; and Matthew McKinnon, editor and former colleague at _The Walrus_ , for his guidance and encouragement in writing and editing. And thanks to author Kevin Patterson for lending me his sailboat, where I managed an important breakthrough in the writing of this book despite never untying from the dock, and for being so relentlessly positive.
Writing this book was often an isolating experience. I was so grateful for a group of friends in Toronto who met in the University of King's College's journalism program — Geoff Lowe, Julia Pagel, Thea Fitz-James, Miles Kenyon, Laura Bain, Kevin Philipupillai, and Laura Armstrong — who have all made that big city with its tiny trees feel like home.
To my sisters, Britta and Clare, for adventuring in the forests together, looking for "watermelon slices," when we were young, and to my mum and dad for constantly surrounding me with books and magazines and newspapers and stories — and for never telling me to climb down from that tree.
Index305
activists vs. loggers
arrests of activists, , , ,
Avatar Grove value,
Carmanah Valley, –, , –
Clayoquot Sound, –
loggers' cynicism, , , , –
meaning of trees,
media campaigns, –
saving Big Lonely Doug,
_See also_ direct action; environmental activists; loggers
Adams, Bryan,
adopt-a-tree campaign, ,
alder trees, ,
allowable annual cut (AAC),
Ancient Forest Alliance (AFA)
AFA platforms, –
Big Lonely Doug recreational reserve application, –
broader mobilization, –, –, –, , , –,
campaigns with Big Lonely Doug, –, –, ,
community meetings, –
Eden Grove, –, –
speculating about Big Lonely Doug, –
tourism, –
_See also_ Avatar Grove; Watt, TJ; Wu, Ken
Anderson sawmill,
_Anthropocene_ (film),
Arboreal Collective,
artists, –
augmented reality installations, –
_Avatar_ (film), –
Avatar Grove
AFA finding, –
cynicism regarding, –, , –
the Gnarly Tree, –
managing,
naming of, ,
Pacheedaht people and, –, –
protection of, –,
Teal Jones and, –
as tourist destination, –, –
Avro Anson L7056 airplane, –, –
Bateman, Robert,
B.C. BigTree Registry, –, –
B.C. Forest Alliance,
B.C. Timber Sales,
bears, –, –
Beatty, Matthew,
Bell, Pat, , , , –, –
Bens, Samuel J.,
Bercov, Arnie, , –
Big Lonely Doug
in 3D, –, –
age of, –
as anchor, –
Burtynsky and, –
as captivating, , –, –
climbing, –
Cronin finding, –, –
as endangered, –, –, ,
height of, –
leaving intact, –, , ,
location and visitors,
logging responsible for,
marking,
as monument,
as recreational reserve, –, –
root networks,
status and,
sun catching,
as symbol, –, –, –, , –
in tampon commercial,
Watt finding, , –
Wu first view, –
Big Tree Protection Order,
biodiversity,
_See also_ biomass
_Biodiversity Guidebook_ , –
biogeoclimatic zones, –
biomass,
botanizing missions, –
bristlecone pine trees, –
British Columbia, –, –
_See also_ Vancouver Island
British Columbia Lumber Company,
Brown, Robert,
burls,
Burson-Marsteller company,
Burtynsky, Edward, –
California Gold Rush, –
Cameron, James,
candelabra tops,
_Carmanah: Artistic Visions of an Ancient Rainforest_ ,
_Carmanah Forever_ (film), –
Carmanah Giant, –, –, –,
Carmanah Valley, –, –
Carmanah Walbran Provincial Park, , ,
Carr, Emily, –,
Carter, Mark,
Cary, George,
Cary fir,
cedars, , , , , –, –
chainsaws, –
chambers of commerce, –
Charlie, Bear, ,
Clark, Christy,
Clayoquot Sound, , ,
clear-cutting
artists' views of, –,
early concern, –
inventory on Vancouver Island, –
marking trees, –,
monitoring,
roads, –
root networks and,
second-growth forests, –, –, , , –
timber companies' views of,
visual descriptions, , , –, ,
_See also_ activists vs. loggers; cutblock 7190; cutblocks; environmental activists; loggers; logging industry; old-growth forests; timber companies
Coastal Douglas Fir zone,
Coastal Western Hemlock zone,
Coast Salish people, –
colonization,
_See also_ botanizing missions; settlers
Columbia River, ,
cones, –, –
conservation
B.C. BigTree Registry,
early, –, –
and economics,
as emotional, –, ,
for root networks, –
_See also_ environmental activists
Cook, James, –
Council of Forest Industries,
Cronin, Dennis
activists and, –
captivated by Big Lonely Doug, , –
cutblock 7190 trees, –
death of,
Eden Grove and,
finding Avro Anson L7056, –
finding Big Lonely Doug, –
finding CMTs, –
guessing age of Big Lonely Doug,
illness, –
as logger, –, –
protecting Big Lonely Doug, –, –, ,
Steller jay and, –
Cronin, Lorraine, –, , –, –, –,
culturally modified trees (CMTs), –, , , –
_See also_ Indigenous Peoples
cutblock 7190, –, –, –, –,
_See also_ Big Lonely Doug
cutblocks, –, , ,
_See also_ clear-cutting; loggers; logging industry
"A Cyclone Among the Timber Titans" (Jones), –
Deakin, Alfred,
"Dennis Cronin Memorial Tree"
_See_ Big Lonely Doug
Diitiida River/Jordan River, ,
direct action
against activists,
blockades Clayoquot Sound,
blockades of Queen Charlotte Islands,
confusing loggers, –
dismissed,
vs. education, –
GDP and,
Pacheedaht support and,
tree sitting, ,
tree spiking, –,
_See also_ activists vs. loggers
donkey engine, –
Dorst, Adrian, –
Douglas, David
collecting samples, , –, –, ,
on the Columbia River, , –
death of,
description of Douglas fir, –
as Horticultural Society explorer, –, –, –
interest in Douglas fir, ,
taxonomic name Douglas fir, ,
value of wood, –
vernacular name Douglas fir,
Douglas fir
description of, –, –, ,
diameter of,
falling, –
heartiness of, –, –
height of, , , –, –, –
lifespan, ,
locations of,
logging industry and, –,
and marbled murrelets,
oldest in 1957, –
photograph controversy, –
Red Creek Fir,
as roads,
root networks, ,
in shipbuilding,
taxonomic names of, –
_See also_ Big Lonely Doug
economics, –, , –, –, , –,
Eden Grove, –, –,
Edinburgh Mountain, –, , , –, ,
_See also_ Big Lonely Doug
Elm Conflict,
environmental activists
broader mobilization, –,
( _see also_ Ancient Forest Alliance)
Carmanah Valley importance,
Clayoquot Sound,
climate change,
definitions of old-growth, –
as "eco-terrorists," –
focus on positives,
Indigenous Peoples and, , –,
photography as effective,
rise of, –
as salespeople,
Sierra Club B.C. and Vancouver Island,
subvertisements, –
symbols needed,
tree-centric concerns,
tree sitting,
tree spiking, –
unions and, –
variable retention and,
_See also_ activists vs. loggers; Ancient Forest Alliance; Avatar Grove; direct action; Stoltmann, Randy; Watt, TJ; Western Canada Wilderness Committee; Wu, Ken
Expo 67,
fallers
_See_ loggers
FernGully Grove,
fire, –, –, –
Fletcher Challenge, –
fog, –
Forest Act, –,
forest buffers, –, –, , ,
forest engineers, –,
_See also_ Cronin, Dennis
forest management, –, –
Forest Practices Board (FPB), –,
Forest Practices Code of British Columbia Act/Forest and Range Practices Act, , –
forestry code,
forests
death in, –
definitions, –
as spiritual,
Forest Service, , ,
"Forests Forever" campaign,
Fortune, Robert, –
Foy, Joe,
fungi, , , –, –,
_The Future of Our Forests_ (Forest Resources Commission),
George, Paul, , , –, ,
Gnarly Tree, –
gold rush, –
Gordon River, –
Gordon River Valley, , , ,
_See also_ Avatar Grove; Big Lonely Doug
Great Bear Rainforest,
Greenpeace,
greenwashing,
Gye, Mike,
Hagar, Dan, –, –,
Haida people,
Halpert, George,
Heaven Tree,
hemlock trees, ,
high riggers, –
_Hiking Guide to the Big Trees of Southwestern British Columbia_ (Stoltmann), ,
Hill, Julia "Butterfly,"
historic logging
early concern, –
early falling methods,
Indigenous Peoples, –, , , –
settlers, , –, –
_See also_ loggers; logging industry
Hooker, William Jackson,
Horticultural Society of London, –, , , –, –
Hudson's Bay Company, ,
Hughes, Don, –
_Hundreds and Thousands_ (Carr),
Hyperion,
_The Incredible Forest_ (film),
Indigenous Peoples
as activists,
activists and, , –,
_Avatar_ film and,
botanists and,
culturally modified trees (CMTs), –, , , –
as early loggers, –,
passing big trees,
settlers and,
stumpage fees, ,
West Coast Trail,
_See also_ Nuu'chah'nulth people; Pacheedaht people
Interfor, –
Jakubal, Mikal,
Jones, H. H., , –
Jones, Jeff, , , –, –
Jordan River (town), –
_Journal of the Royal Horticultural Society_ (journal), –
Jurassic Grove,
kayaking,
Kinsol Trestle,
Kitsumkalum First Nation,
Klem, Greg, –
Knut (polar bear), –
Koksilah Grove, –
Kroitor, Christian,
Kwakwaka'wakw people, –
Lake Cowichan, ,
Lasn, Kalle, –
legacy trees, –
lightness/darkness, –
loggers
antipathy towards activists, , –, , –
in British Columbia, –
chainsaws, –
chokermen jobs, ,
early tree cutting,
( _see also_ historic logging)
faller jobs, –,
feller bunchers, –
Forest Act and, –
high rigger jobs, –
hooktender jobs, ,
job losses, –, –
jobs in British Columbia, –
media usage, –
as protectors, –
refusing to cut, –
sentiment on old-growth,
in storm, –
transportation,
tree spiking and, –,
unions, –
work-related deaths, , –,
_See also_ activists vs. loggers; clear-cutting; Cronin, Dennis; timber companies; Van Hell, Walter
logging industry
best-practices guide,
conglomerates,
deception,
deregulation, –
evolving communities, –
expansion, –
expansion and Douglas fir, –
expectations of, –
historic logging, , , , –
impatience, –
local processing, –
logging as obligation, –, –,
loopholes for clear-cutting,
mandatory replanting,
selective logging, –
transportation, –, –, –, –
trusting,
variable retention,
( _see also_ clear-cutting)
_Lord of the Rings_ (Tolkien),
Lumpy tree,
MacKinnon, Andy, –, –
MacMillan, Harvey Reginald (H. R.),
MacMillan Bloedel
Carmanah Giant and, , –, ,
Carmanah Valley logging, –,
marketing films,
oldest Douglas fir and,
on tree spiking,
_See also_ Weyerhaeuser
Mallory, George,
_The Managed Forest_ (film),
_Manufactured Landscapes_ (film),
maple trees,
marbled murrelets,
McClure, John, –
McMullan, Don,
measuring trees, , , , –,
Menzies, Archibald, , ,
Methuselah tree, –
Moby Doll orca,
Muir, John, , ,
mycorrhiza, –, –,
new ecosystem, –
Nitinat Valley,
Nootka Sound, ,
nurse logs,
Nuu'chah'nulth people, –,
o.b. company,
old-growth forests
age of, –, –
animals in, –, , –
composition of, , –, –,
culturally modified trees and,
( _see also_ culturally modified trees)
death in, –
definitions, , –
as disordered, –
dwindling, ,
( _see also_ clear-cutting)
as ecological emergency,
inventory on Vancouver Island, –, ,
legacy trees, –
locations of,
logging industry sentiment and,
pictures evoked,
vs. second-growth forests, ,
as soil filter,
sounds in,
underground structure, –, –
_See also_ rainforests (temperate)
old-growth management area (OGMA), –
Pacheedaht people
activists and, –, –,
benefits of Tall Tree Capital, –
controlling territory, –
as guides, –
as loggers, , –
protecting Big Lonely Doug,
sawmill, –, –
Teal Jones and,
Pacific Ocean, –, , , ,
Pacific temperate rainforests
_See_ rainforests (temperate)
Patagonia company, –
Pearson, Kristine, ,
Pegg, Mike,
photography
_See_ Burtynsky, Edward; Watt, TJ
Port Alberni,
Port Renfrew, , , –, –
_See also_ Avatar Grove; Big Lonely Doug; cutblock 7190
Port San Juan,
Prometheus tree,
Public and Private Workers of Canada, –
Queen Charlotte goshawk,
rain, , ,
rainforests (temperate)
animals in, ,
artists' views of,
Big Lonely Doug and,
biomass,
canopy of, ,
as cathedrals, –
colours in, –
composition of, –
historic logging, , –,
locations of, –
tree cutting processes, –
tree growth, , , –,
valleys of, –,
_See also_ old-growth forests
raw logs, –
Red Creek Fir,
replanting,
Richardson, Kelly,
root networks, –, –
Ross, William Roderick, –
salmon, –, , –
sawmills, –, , –,
_Scorned as Timber, Beloved of the Sky_ (Carr),
second-growth forests, –, –, , , –
seedlings, –
seeds, –
_See also_ cones
sequoia trees,
settlers, –,
Shadbolt, Jack,
Shawnigan Lake, –
Sierra Club,
Simard, Suzanne, –, –
Simpson, Joe, –
Simpson, Karen, –
Sitka clothing company,
Sitka spruce
Carmanah Giant, , , –
Cronin and,
description of,
Douglas and,
FernGully Grove, –
Heaven Tree,
height of,
Van Hell Spruce,
Sloan, Gordon, –
Sloan Commission, –
social media,
Sombrio Beach, –
Species at Risk Act,
Stamp, Edward,
_Steep Trails_ (Muir),
Steller jay, –
Stoltmann, Randy, , –, , , , –
storms/wind, , , , –, –, ,
stumpage fees, , ,
Stumpy (tree stump),
sun,
Suzuki, David, –,
Tall Tree Capital
_See_ Port Renfrew
Tammemagi, Hans, –
taxonomy, –
Teal Jones
Big Lonely Doug bridge and, –
compensation to, –
culturally modified trees and,
logging practices, , , –
marking trees,
Pacheedaht people and,
processing logs, –
protecting Big Lonely Doug, –, –
_See also_ Cronin, Dennis
threatened species,
thujaplicin,
timber companies
definitions of old-growth, –
media campaigns, –,
pressure within, –
stumpage fees,
_See also_ clear-cutting; Forest Act; Forest Service; logging industry; MacMillan Bloedel; Teal Jones; TimberWest; Weyerhaeuser
timber industry
_See_ logging industry
timber licences (TLs),
TimberWest, –,
timber workers
_See_ loggers
Tofino,
tree climbing, –
tree farm licences (TFLs), , , , ,
tree hugging,
tree hunting, –, –, –, –, –, –,
_See also_ tree registry
tree registry, –
_See also_ tree hunting
trees (general)
coastline trees, –
wildlife tree, –
tree sitting, ,
tree spiking, ,
trucks,
unions, –
Van Beers, Louie, –
Vancouver Island
coastline of, –
fires in, –
inventory of old-growth,
as model,
old-growth decline,
Vancouver Island Ranges, –
Van Hell, Walter, , , –, ,
Van Hell Spruce,
Victoria, B.C.,
Waddington Alley,
Walbran Valley, , , –,
War in the Woods, , ,
_Watermark_ (film),
Watt, TJ
about, –
climbing Big Lonely Doug, –,
discovery and, –
dispirited about Big Lonely Doug, –
in Eden Grove, –,
enthusiasm for Big Lonely Doug, –,
on FernGully Grove,
finding Avatar Grove,
finding Big Lonely Doug, –
finding the Gnarly Tree, –
meeting Lorraine, –
photographing Big Lonely Doug, –
as tree hunter, –, –, –, –
TV interviews,
urging governments,
_See also_ Ancient Forest Alliance (AFA)
Webb, Clinton, –,
Welter, T. W.,
West Coast Trail,
Western Canada Wilderness Committee (WCWC)
about, ,
B.C. BigTree Registry, –
B.C. legislature protest, –
broader mobilization, –
Carmanah Giant protests, –, –, –,
as charity,
War in the Woods,
Wu and George, –
_See also_ Stoltmann, Randy
_Western Lumberman_ (magazine), –
western red cedars, , , –, –
Weyerhaeuser, –
_See also_ MacMillan Bloedel
Whistler,
wildlife tree, –
wind/storms, , , , –, –, ,
Wu, Ken
about, –
B.C. legislature protest, –
on Big Lonely Doug legacy,
Big Tree Protection Order,
dismissing hypocrisy,
on destruction,
Eden Grove and, –
as filmmaker, –
first view of Big Lonely Doug, –
on logging industry practices,
meeting with Bell,
on Pacheedaht sawmill, –
promoting Avatar Grove, –, , ,
starting AFA, –
Tofino and,
TV interviews,
urging governments,
_See also_ Ancient Forest Alliance; Avatar Grove
The Walrus Books
The Walrus sparks essential Canadian conversation by publishing high-quality, fact-based journalism and producing ideas-focused events across the country. The Walrus Books, a partnership between The Walrus, House of Anansi Press, and the Chawkers Foundation Writers Project, supports the creation of Canadian non-fiction books of national interest.
_Big Lonely Doug_ is the first in this series.
thewalrus.ca/books
Harley Rustad is an editor at _The Walrus_ magazine. His articles and photography have been published in _The Walrus_ , _Outside_ , the _Globe and Mail_ , _Geographical_ , CNN, and elsewhere. He has reported from India, Nepal, Cuba, and across Canada. Born on Salt Spring Island, B.C., he lives in Toronto.
@hmrustad
harleyrustad.com
House of Anansi Press was founded in 1967 with a mandate to publish Canadian-authored books, a mandate that continues to this day even as the list has branched out to include internationally acclaimed thinkers and writers. The press immediately gained attention for significant titles by notable writers such as Margaret Atwood, Michael Ondaatje, George Grant, and Northrop Frye. Since then, Anansi's commitment to finding, publishing and promoting challenging, excellent writing has won it tremendous acclaim and solid staying power. Today Anansi is Canada's pre-eminent independent press, and home to nationally and internationally bestselling and acclaimed authors such as Gil Adamson, Margaret Atwood, Ken Babstock, Peter Behrens, Rawi Hage, Misha Glenny, Jim Harrison, A. L. Kennedy, Pasha Malla, Lisa Moore, A. F. Moritz, Eric Siblin, Karen Solie, and Ronald Wright. Anansi is also proud to publish the award-winning nonfiction series The CBC Massey Lectures. In 2007, 2009, 2010, and 2011 Anansi was honoured by the Canadian Booksellers Association as "Publisher of the Year."
Culturally modified trees, like this one found on Flores Island in Clayoquot Sound, Vancouver Island — where the anti-logging campaign known as the War in the Woods was sparked — are used by many First Nations in coastal British Columbia as records of their historical presence and forest use. (Photograph by Harley Rustad)
The controversial photograph of the Cary Fir, an allegedly 126.2-metre-tall Douglas fir said to be felled near Vancouver in 1895 by logger George Cary, has been widely accepted as a hoax. (Image C-06489 courtesy of the Royal BC Museum and Archives)
Timber workers for A And L Logging Co., circa 1926, using a large Douglas fir on Vancouver Island as a spar tree, an anchor point for cables pulled by a steam "donkey" to haul logs out of a cutblock. (Image D-04875 courtesy of the Royal BC Museum and Archives)
Logger Dennis Cronin beside the large Douglas fir in cutblock 7190 that would come to be named Big Lonely Doug — pictured here the day he wrapped the green "Leave Tree" flagging around its trunk. (Courtesy of Lorraine Cronin)
Big Lonely Doug surrounded by the clear-cut remains of cutblock 7190. Around the cutblock is the old-growth forest known as Eden Grove and the replanted second-growth forests in the Gordon River Valley, near Port Renfrew. (Photograph by TJ Watt)
Activist, photographer, and big tree hunter TJ Watt in Eden Grove, an intact patch of old-growth forest next door to Big Lonely Doug. (Photograph by Björn Hermannes)
A tree climber, part of a group of forest activists that accurately measured the height of Big Lonely Doug in May 2014, hauls himself towards the canopy of the second-largest Douglas fir in Canada. (Photograph by TJ Watt)
Ancient Forest Alliance founder Ken Wu alongside the stump of a western red cedar that was cut near Big Lonely Doug and that sparked the petition for formally protecting Avatar Grove. (Photograph by TJ Watt)
## Contents
1. Big Lonely Doug
2. Copyright
3. Dedication
4. Contents
5. Prologue
6. Chapter 1
7. Chapter 2
8. Chapter 3
9. Chapter 4
10. Chapter 5
11. Chapter 6
12. Chapter 7
13. Chapter 8
14. Chapter 9
15. Chapter 10
16. Chapter 11
17. Chapter 12
18. Epilogue
19. Notes
20. Acknowledgements
21. Index
22. The Walrus Books
23. About the Author
24. About the Publisher
25. Image Gallery
## Landmarks
1. Cover
2. Body Matter
# List of Pages
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| were about the diameter of a human hair and exceptionally fragile. The moment of panic had turned to inspiration for Simard, who went on to complete a degree in forestry at the University of British Columbia and would eventually teach and work in silviculture across the province — in a job assessing the successes and failures of reforestation after logging.
Simard's fascination with root networks led to work at the university, studying the relationship between fungi and trees. Fungi were once considered parasitic to a tree, but experiments by Simard and her team demonstrated a complex symbiotic relationship, called mycorrhiza. While the term had been coined in 1885 — from the Greek _mykós_ for "fungus" and _rhiza_ for "root" — and associations between fungi and trees had been documented, it wasn't until the mid-1990s that the depth of this relationship began to be realized.
In an experiment, Simard and her colleagues set out to map these mycorrhizal networks. In the relationship between fungus and tree, thin strands of mycorrhizal fungi attach on a tree's roots and spread throughout the forest to connect with other fungi that have colonized other trees. After injecting a tree with a harmless radioactive isotope, they were able to trace the isotope using a Geiger counter, as the tree photosynthesized carbon dioxide into sugars. As the sugars descended the tree's trunk, so too did the isotope — into the ground, into the network of mycorrhizal fungi, and up into neighbouring trees. The strands of fungi were in fact tubes of a superhighway tunnel system, a massive underground network that connected trees together.
Both organisms benefit from this relationship: the trees provide much-needed sugars to the fungi, and the fungi absorb nutrients, including nitrogen and phosphorus, from the soil that they provide to the trees. Nitrogen, in particular, is a key building block for trees to grow big; without the mycorrhizal fungi, the trees of the Pacific temperate rainforests of Vancouver Island would never achieve such great heights.
The interconnectivity extends throughout the entire forest column, below ground and above, best illustrated in the relationship between the region's top three natural icons: trees, bears, and salmon. Along the coast, streams and rivers connect the Pacific Ocean to their mountain sources and provide the breeding grounds for salmon to lay their eggs. Old-growth forests that fringe these rivers and estuaries are key to a successful salmon run, by stabilizing the banks with their root networks and filtering meltwater that trickles down from the mountains or rainwater that falls throughout the forest. With healthy salmon populations come healthy bear populations. But when the salmon are plentiful — leaping in great numbers against the current to reach the cool, calm pools in which they lay their eggs — the bears become selective. It is common to see a bear catch a fish in its mouth, carry it ashore, and feed only on the richest and fattiest part: its brain. After a feed, corpses of headless salmon lie scattered along riverbanks and become a source of food for scavengers such as ravens and crows. But the protein-rich flesh also decomposes into the soil. Typically, the nutrient injection of the salmon's natural death cycle benefits plant growth within a thin riparian zone around a river, but bears have been seen carrying fish nearly a kilometre into the forest — as if they were gardeners dumping fertilizer directly onto the bases of trees. And because salmon can travel rivers to return to spawning grounds up to a thousand kilometres inland, this relationship can penetrate far from the immediate coastline.
Scientists could not only imagine a benefit to tree growth, but were also able to document a particular nitrogen molecule found in salmon within the very rings of the trees themselves. As the salmon decomposed, the mycorrhizal fungi absorbed the nitrogen and fed it to the trees. Not only did this process provide a historical record of which years were a salmon boom, for example, but it also revealed a measurable and profound connection between three key features of coastal forests: the bears eat the salmon; the decomposing carcasses of the salmon feed the trees; and the trees stabilize the habitat for the salmon and provide homes for the bears. At the pinnacle of this triangle are the large Sitka spruce, western red cedar, and Douglas fir.
The level of connection extends beyond resource-sharing. In times of drought or seasonal change, trees can use their mycorrhizal network as a storehouse for sugars accumulated during growth seasons, until they are needed. The networks have also been found to be used for a kind of arboreal 911 call between trees. When a tree is attacked by an insect, it can send a chemical signal through the mycorrhizal network to its neighbours, triggering them to release a defence mechanism such as a volatile organic compound that is harmful to the insect.
The concept of a whole ecosystem with organisms dependent on one another was not new, but research by scientists such as Suzanne Simard helped change how forests had previously been seen: as clusters of trees growing independently and even competing for resources, space, and light. There is less a life-or-death race to the top than a collaborative effort for success.
What became clear was that the largest trees were the nuclei of this network — drawing nutrients from their great height to sustain those growing in the shadows below. Over time, Simard discovered that the largest and oldest trees in the forest contained the most expansive networks of mycorrhizal connections. She found one Douglas fir to be linked with forty-seven other trees in its neighbourhood.
"Although trees from all cohorts were linked, large mature trees acted as hubs with a higher degree of connectivity," Simard and her colleagues wrote in their cleverly titled follow-up study "Architecture of the wood-wide web" __ in 2009. The largest mature trees had the most-developed root systems and therefore the deepest networks, and "they accounted for most of the connectivity and centrality among nodes in the network."
Also critical to the optimal functionality of this network is a range of ages among the trees. A replanted, second-growth forest composed of single-age trees does not benefit as much as one with a spectrum of generations.
When an old-growth forest is clear-cut, more than the trees disappear. Without the trees providing sugars, the mycorrhizal fungi die — and it can take years, if not decades, after a cutblock is replanted for the underground network to re-form. Over time, fungi may eventually creep in from neighbouring forests, but the young seedlings are on their own in more ways than on the surface. They are tasked with not only regrowing into a forest, but also helping to re-establish a subterranean network critical to the health and sustainability of the broader ecosystem.
Simard's 2009 study concludes: "To ensure that old-growth Douglas fir forests remain resilient and self-regenerative following disturbance, our findings support a management approach that conserves large trees or groups of trees and their mycorrhizal fungal associates."
When left standing, the oldest and largest trees of these coastal forests play perhaps the most critical role: as the stewards of the forests, they ensure the viability of the forest, both in the present and in the future. The argument to protect the largest trees isn't purely a sentimental one. They aren't simply the last of their kind or an example of a species that we will never see again if completely harvested — these big trees are vital to the stability of our coastal forest ecosystems. Their vast networks of roots bind the landscape together and offer the foundation on which every kind of smaller life — mammals, fish, insects, other trees — can thrive.
In 1954, the British Columbia Ministry of Forests inventoried Vancouver Island's forests and produced a map of the existing supply. Its assessment placed the number of hectares of old-growth forest — those untouched by commercial logging — at 1.69 million, or approximately half of the island's total area. Over the following four decades, 24,000 hectares of the island's old-growth forests were cut annually — an amount equal to sixty Stanley Parks, Vancouver's iconic urban green space. By 1990, there was only 829,000 hectares of old-growth forest; more than half had been logged. And in the southern half of the island, where the hub of the region's timber history had buzzed for a century, it was estimated that only 25 percent of the original forests that had been standing in 1954 remained.
In the early 1990s, environmental groups were estimating that if the annual cut continued at the rate and volume it had maintained over the preceding four decades, Vancouver Island's unprotected old growth would be eliminated by 2022. All that would remain would be the few patches in provincial parks and recreation sites. The rest would be replanted clear-cuts in various stages of regrowth. Between 1990 and 2015, the island saw its remaining old-growth forests decline by approximately 30 percent. By comparison, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations found that over the same twenty-five-year period, primary forests — those that are "globally irreplaceable with unique qualities that make significant contributions to biodiversity conservation, climate change mitigation, and sustainable livelihoods" — located in tropical countries declined by only 10 percent. While deforestation in Latin America and Southeast Asia often attracts attention, the forests of Vancouver Island are disappearing at a faster rate. In 2016, the British Columbia chapter of the Sierra Club, the U.S.–based environmental advocacy organization founded in 1892 by John Muir, announced Vancouver Island's old growth was in a "state of ecological emergency." Catastrophic ecological damage, including species loss, was imminent if the timber industry was left unchecked.
The Sierra Club B.C. subsequently released a map of the island's remaining old-growth stands, calling them "as rare as white rhinos." In the island's highly productive valleys, decades of commercial logging had reduced this specific slice of old growth — where the oldest, largest, and consequently rarest trees grow — to less than 7 percent of what originally stood. What had occurred was a century of furious harvesting on the island, fed by an overarching notion that these trees will never be extinguished and this seemingly inexhaustible resource will never be depleted.
To sail along the serrated west coast of the island, watching the wall of grand trees that buffer the storms pass by, is to be misled. These are among Vancouver Island's finest forests, but they are little more than a mirage — a thin fringe of lush, complex rainforest that obscures a harsh reality. Behind that wall of green gold lies the truth of Vancouver Island's forest legacy.
Chapter 5
War for the Woods
In 1945, a commission was held to assess the future of British Columbia's forestry industry. The Sloan Commission, named after provincial chief justice Gordon Sloan, brought one issue into focus: the management and sustainability of harvesting the highest-value timber reserves, the old-growth forests.
Sloan's report marked the first earnest push to change forest policy in British Columbia: "At present our forest resources might be visualized as a slowly descending spiral," it read. "That picture must be changed to an ascending spiral. Differently phrased, we must change over from the present system of unmanaged and unregulated liquidation of our forested areas to a planned and regulated policy of forest management, leading eventually to a programme ensuring a sustained yield from all our productive land area." The consensus was that forests must be seen "as the source of renewable crops and not as a mine" — in other words, a resource that can be managed and replenished rather than drained.
Based on Sloan's recommendations, the Forest Act was amended in 1947 to create a form of tenure known as tree farm licences (TFLs), large blocks of Crown land leased to timber companies on a long-term, renewable basis. These blocks are broken up into individual cutblocks of one or two dozen hectares. TFL 33 surrounds Kamloops in the province's interior. TFL 39 encompasses much of the northern half of Haida Gwaii. And TFL 46 runs north of Port Renfrew and includes some of the most productive valleys on Vancouver Island. To manage the rate of harvest, the Sloan Commission suggested that the province's forest harvesting be regulated by an allowable annual cut (AAC) — a maximum volume of timber that can be extracted in a given year, as set by the chief forester. The AAC was meant to serve as a regulatory measure to limit the amount of trees that could be cut by timber companies to avoid overharvesting, but still allowed for controversial techniques, including clear-cutting.
The focus of the commission was more on managing and re-establishing the resource than any kind of environmental degradation. Out of fear that the harvest was unsustainable long term, Sloan recommended an increase in the rate of tree planting, as well as a greater diversity of species planted. Of the seven million seedlings that were planted in 1955, the vast majority were Douglas fir that companies had been casually planting after cutting, as a means to ensure future supply. Sloan's objective of 38.4 million seedlings planted annually was never met, and it wasn't until 1987 that timber companies were required by law to replant their cutblocks.
Sloan's objective was for planted second growth to eventually replace the original old growth so that, as the latter decreases, the former is supplanting the timber supply. But there was concern that by the time all the old growth was cut, the second growth wouldn't be ready, and this gap would lead to a "fall down" effect — a social and economic collapse.
With burgeoning economic tensions coupled with a rise in North American environmentalism (precipitated in 1962 by the publication of American biologist Rachel Carson's _Silent Spring_ ), alongside the furious pace of resource extraction on Vancouver Island came a more gradual rise in anti-logging activism. Environmentalists — often starting out as recreational hikers — began to delve deeper along logging roads and came to realize the extent to which the timber companies had cut away the forests.
Both activists and loggers were hunting for the same thing: the island's lush valley bottoms, where trees of the Pacific temperate rainforest not only grow well, they grow big. There stood great value for both parties. To the loggers, each great tree, if felled, represented tens of thousands of dollars in prized timber. And to the environmental activists, the groves, if left standing, could be turned into a park or recreation zone for tourists and hikers.
In the spring of 1988, environmental activist Randy Stoltmann went looking for Canada's tallest tree. Rumours had been swirling for years that a giant Sitka spruce had been identified in the 1950s in one of the major watersheds on the southern half of Vancouver Island — in the Carmanah Valley. Few places on the entire coast are quite as sublime an exemplar of Pacific temperate old-growth forest than that which grows along the banks of the Carmanah Creek. The valley is broad and flat, with rich silt banks, accumulated over centuries of flooding, that offer the ideal canvas to grow a forest.
"It was an incredibly inspiring place; a living cathedral. None of us had seen groves of trees that tall in B.C.," wrote Paul George in his history of the Western Canada Wilderness Committee (WCWC), an environmental education and activism organization he co-founded in 1980.
Legends of the giant tree date back to 1956, when Mike Gye, a twenty-nine-year-old timber surveyor for MacMillan Bloedel, was working in the lower reaches of the Carmanah Valley. Around two kilometres inland from the Pacific Ocean, where the West Coast Trail would eventually be formalized by the establishment of the Pacific Rim National Park Reserve in 1970, Gye stumbled upon an enormous tree. He measured the Sitka spruce a couple of times, concluding that the tree exceeded ninety metres in height. If confirmed, it would not only be the country's tallest tree but the tallest known Sitka spruce in the world.
Over the following decades, MacMillan Bloedel turned its attention away from the forests of Carmanah to those more easily accessed elsewhere on Vancouver Island. The record-breaking spruce wasn't even entered into the company's official inventory; in the mid-1950s there were still many trees of similar stature. Gye's spruce faded from story to myth: Canada's tallest tree was out there, somewhere within a dense forest spanning thousands of hectares, waiting to be found once again.
Based on everything Stoltmann knew about the geography and ecology of Carmanah, if the country's tallest tree would be growing anywhere, it would be there, in the wet trough of the valley. As a member of the WCWC and an avid big-tree hunter, Stoltmann had explored much of Vancouver Island's forests. And the spring of 1988 wasn't the first time he had gone looking for the legendary tree of Carmanah. Six years earlier he had been dropped by helicopter on one of the gravel bars along the creek. He'd hiked up and down the valley, and while he never located the record-breaker he did document some towering Sitka spruces. In his 1987 book _Hiking Guide to the Big Trees of Southwestern British Columbia_ , he described how after only eight hours in the valley he was left stunned by what he had found, calling it "perhaps the finest remaining stand of virgin Sitka spruces in Canada." The size of the trees was remarkable, but so was the density of the grove: hundreds of Sitka spruces, with their column-straight trunks covered in scale-like bark, appeared at every turn through the lush undergrowth. Still, among pages of descriptions, directions, and hand-drawn maps dedicated to the great trees and forests of the island, Stoltmann only mentioned the forests around Carmanah Creek in an appendix. While tens of thousands of hikers walking the West Coast Trail crossed the creek as it spills into the Pacific Ocean along the coastline, few ventured inland. For decades, even timber companies had focused their operations elsewhere.
When Stoltmann returned for his second excursion into the valley, with fellow activist Clinton Webb, he noticed the great trees of Carmanah Valley were under imminent threat. Hundreds of hectares of forest around the valley had already been clear-cut, and a road had been constructed right to the edge — directly above the grove of huge Sitka spruces he had previously strolled through. And when he hiked down into the valley itself, he found flagging and spray paint on trees. To the activists it was clear: MacMillan Bloedel, the company that owned the tree farm licence for that area, was hoping to log the towering trees of Carmanah before anyone noticed.
* * *
After Stoltmann discovered the logging road and flagging, he went to check on MacMillan Bloedel's five-year cutting plan. In December 1984, the company had received approval from the provincial Forest Service for their proposal, which included every region that the company intended to log within tree farm licence 44, a massive 450,000-hectare holding in southern Vancouver Island. There was no indication that Carmanah was part of that five-year plan. Stoltmann found out, however, that shortly after receiving approval following a public review period, MacMillan Bloedel had adjusted the boundaries of its plan. The company had made the modification with the consent of the provincial government, which agreed to approve logging in Carmanah as early as 1989. The move placed the lower portions of the valley — that "living cathedral," as Paul George would call it — under imminent danger of being cut. The _Vancouver Sun_ ran an article shortly thereafter titled "Tree hunter's claim of forest giants sparks preservation plea," in which a MacMillan Bloedel spokesperson said that he "would be surprised if we can't find spruce of equal size already preserved," in an attempt to downplay the ecological significance and rarity of Carmanah's forests.
To the activists, it became clear not only that Carmanah would be a new battleground but that it could also could be turned into their flagship campaign. While it was less than a decade old, the Western Canada Wilderness Committee had already achieved success in activism campaigns focused on protecting biodiversity and wilderness areas. In the mid-1980s, protests led by the WCWC on South Moresby on Haida Gwaii, then known as the Queen Charlotte Islands, included dozens of arrests for violating an injunction against blocking logging roads, but ultimately led to the establishment of the South Moresby National Park Reserve.
In May 1988 in Carmanah, amid growing pressure, MacMillan Bloedel agreed to a month-long stalemate and to temporarily halt the construction of three logging roads around Carmanah. The decision was made to avoid confrontation with protestors, but also so the company could conduct a thorough assessment of the timber value in the valley. It wanted to know exactly how much money was at stake. The WCWC rushed to do the same — not to determine the monetary value but to gauge the potential usefulness to their cause. They wanted to find and measure as many giants as possible — the bigger the trees, the bigger the public outcry. The organization began by sending groups, spearheaded by Stoltmann, to build a trail into the valley. The protestors built two base camps. One, down near the river in the middle of the old growth, was known as Camp Heaven, and another, out of the valley alongside the muddy logging road in a clear-cut, was dubbed Camp Hell. While remnants or traces of each have long since been cleaned up or overgrown by the forest, the first is memorialized by one of the broadest Sitka spruces in the valley, known as Heaven Tree, with a base diameter of 3.5 metres and a height of 77 metres.
Quietly, both activists and timber workers were also looking for the fabled giant Sitka spruce. Since Mike Gye had stumbled upon the tree in 1956, it had only continued to grow. But in the spring of 1988, for both groups, Gye's fabled spruce became a Holy Grail. While the environmentalists were hiking the valley searching for big trees on foot, MacMillan Bloedel was buzzing above the canopy in a helicopter. From their aerial view, the magnitude of the grove of Sitka spruces became clear. It was a collection of such density, it rivalled the great groves of old that early twentieth-century loggers had put their axes to. After a reconnaissance flight, a MacMillan Bloedel forester remarked that just one of these spruces could fetch $40,000; but processed and sold as higher-market products to companies that build furniture or guitars, it could be worth double that. With each venture farther up and down the valley, more enormous trees were identified and recorded. They found them in dense groves that, if uprooted and planted in downtown Victoria, would be landmarks seen from anywhere the city.
Still, they hunted for the big one, the rumoured Sitka that would shatter records. One MacMillan Bloedel forester commented at the time: "We hope that these trees aren't the biggest or the tallest, so that we can just come in here and log them." But in early June, a MacMillan Bloedel helicopter circled over a portion of the Carmanah Valley just inland from where the creek trickles into the Pacific Ocean. The team located one tree with a delicate top well above the forest canopy, dropped a chain, and were stunned when it touched the ground: ninety-five metres. It was the tallest Sitka spruce in the world. They had found Gye's legendary tree.
It was members of the timber company who gave the tree a name — the Carmanah Giant — but it was activists who were most excited by the confirmation. The tree, estimated to be between five hundred and seven hundred years old, became a rallying point for the entire anti-logging protest. Public attention intensified. Nearly every news article about the conflict included mention of the record-breaking tree. It was called the "king of the valley" and a "national treasure." It was a single tree that people could unite around and that petitions could be written about. It had a legendary story, a name, and a superlative. _How could we possibly cut down Canada's tallest tree?_
In the face of mounting pressure, MacMillan Bloedel needed to relieve the tension. "It's very unlikely it would be cut," Dennis Bendickson, a manager for the timber company, told the _Vancouver Sun_ shortly after the Carmanah Giant had been found. "It's a significant tree and our policy always has been to protect trees like that." It was an admission that gave few assurances to activists watching trucks continue to haul logs out of the region's forests.
The Western Canada Wilderness Committee recognized the potential this one tree held as a symbol. "You have to make a poster of that tree and get it out right away," one member of the organization told Paul George. "It'll become the icon that saves the whole valley." The WCWC hired a helicopter for a photographer to shoot the tree and turn the image into a poster. George had high hopes, but admitted that when the photographer's images were developed he wasn't impressed — the tree looked like a "giant shrub." The tallest tree in Canada didn't look that tall nestled in a thick forest along a riverbank. George was hoping for awe, but was left underwhelmed. And even Randy Stoltmann, who was photographed at the tree's base to provide scale, didn't look as small as the organization was hoping for. The poster project cost the organization $4,000 and was never printed for public sale. Still, even without an evocative image, the story of the Carmanah Giant spread well beyond the confines of the valley — becoming a legendary beacon for visitors to the area. By the end of the summer, the trail from Camp Heaven to Canada's tallest tree would be completed.
* * *
Up until the summer of 1988, timber companies across Vancouver Island had enjoyed near-unchecked reign. There had been minor protests, mere blips in their relentless harvest of big timber, but it wasn't until Carmanah Valley that the battle over the island's old-growth forests became a national and international issue. But pressure within the logging industry was also mounting. Mills were beginning to be closed around the island and timber workers were starting to feel a change in the air — one that with enough momentum could threaten their employment. Giving up even a few hundred hectares to environmental activists didn't just represent a concession; it represented the snowflake that could cause the avalanche. One tree didn't just represent several hundred cubic metres of timber; it represented a job.
In late June, MacMillan Bloedel put forward their first of several offers to placate the activists. The proposed nine-hectare protected zone around the Carmanah Giant and a ninety-hectare one in the valley — representing just 1.4 percent of the entire Carmanah watershed — was rejected by the Western Canada Wilderness Committee outright. In October, the timber company offered to increase the protected zone to 2 percent, and then in January 1989 to 7 percent. Both were dismissed by the environmental group as token offers that would allow the vast majority of the valley to be cut.
As the WCWC fought MacMillan Bloedel in the courts, activists doubled their efforts to begin turning Carmanah Valley into a park — in appearance if not in title. In part because people wanted to participate in the anti-logging protests, and in part to stand among the valley's legendary trees, visitors began flocking to Carmanah. To accommodate them, and lessen the environmental impact of hundreds of people traipsing through the forest, activists began formalizing the trail that connected Camps Heaven and Hell, activity that MacMillan Bloedel officials strenuously opposed.
Over the summer of 1988, volunteers continued to carve out trails to create a network leading to the most significant and largest trees. In August, protestors focused on blazing a path to the West Coast Trail, one of the most famous hiking trails in the country, as well as connecting Carmanah with Walbran Valley to the south. In one steep section of the ravine, they used a chainsaw to cut steps into a fallen cedar log to create a dramatic natural staircase into the valley.
Constructing path networks in proposed logging sites became an effective tactic of environmental groups. Activists recognized that if they could establish even informal recreation sites in Carmanah, Walbran, and elsewhere, hikers and campers frequenting the area would act as a deterrent to timber companies. Promoting a forest for its tourism potential, in a bid to establish a near-permanent presence of visitors, would in theory force a timber company to reassess their cutting plans. Or, more simply, it would establish a platform on which the value of a particular forest could be conveyed to the greatest number of people. But the activists knew the clock was ticking, and they opted not to wait for official government permission to build trails on Crown land, instead organizing numerous expeditions into Carmanah Valley to clear paths to many of the watershed's most spectacular features: trees, pools, waterfalls. After just one year in the news, Carmanah was called "one of Canada's most popular wilderness destinations." Recognizing that with an influx of visitors would come greater public awareness of their logging plan to fell some of the country's largest trees, in response MacMillan Bloedel called the trail "dangerous to hike" in an attempt to discourage people from visiting.
On one expedition, a caravan of 150 WCWC trail builders, activists, and supporters ran into a locked gate, as well as a piece of heavy machinery and a pile of logs blocking the road several kilometres before the trailhead to the valley. Paul George saw it as an ideal opportunity: they had travelled with a camera crew, to gather footage for a documentary called _Carmanah Forever_. In the film, an activist presents George with a letter from MacMillan Bloedel, which he reads aloud: "Please be advised that persons engaged in unauthorized construction activity, including trail construction within the vicinity of Carmanah Creek, are to cease and desist immediately. These activities are unauthorized and therefore illegal under the current management working plan and under the current cutting permit for tree farm licence 44." The shot took several takes, but in the end was a perfectly choreographed moment that demonstrated the tension between the two groups and their fight for the valley. To host _Carmanah Forever_ , the WCWC turned to David Suzuki, renowned environmental activist, author, and host of CBC's hit documentary series _The Nature of Things_. The iconic — and familiar — face and voice described scenes of dusty clear-cuts juxtaposed with those from the verdant valley bottom. Suzuki called the region "irreplaceable" and argued that "preserving a single tree or isolated grove will not ensure the forest's survival." The film was a success as a tool for activism as well as for education, being shown in classrooms across British Columbia.
But most people around the country, even many who lived in Victoria and Vancouver, had never stood beside a tree with a trunk wider than their vehicle or taller than their office building. Without standing under them, tracing a long gaze from root to tip, the size of the trees was hard to convey. The WCWC campaign in Carmanah needed to show people who would never make the journey, which included a three-hour drive on bumpy logging roads, the scale of these trees.
Paul George commissioned nature photographer Adrian Dorst to photograph Carmanah for a poster. "As luck would have it," George wrote in his history of the WCWC, "on the same day Adrian arrived to pick up the camera and film, a petite biology student from eastern Canada serendipitously walked into our office." She became the model, the point of scale that would demonstrate the size of Carmanah's behemoth trees. The result was a simple but evocative image that depicted a young woman dwarfed by a towering grove of trees. With the tagline "Carmanah: Big Trees not Big Stumps," the poster was a hit, reprinting many times and selling tens of thousands of copies.
Carmanah became a hotbed for biologists interested in studying the canopy ecosystems of Pacific temperate rainforests. To raise funds to build and maintain a research station in the treetops of a seventy-five-metre-tall Sitka spruce — in what would become the first research platform in the canopy of a temperate rainforest anywhere in the world — the WCWC began an adopt-a-tree campaign. Thousands around the country mailed in twenty-five dollars with a chosen name and received a certificate in return.
The main argument for protecting Carmanah was emotional, centring on the rarity of the trees and the rarity of the grove. It marked a spark of an internal confrontation within many Canadians, between what kind of country Canada has always been — rich through its resources — and what it was working to become: environmentally progressive. Carmanah epitomized this strife. Simply standing under its towering trees and looking up was to be forced to grapple with a country's dark past in resource extraction. It was to imagine two possible futures: one where Canadians will never again experience a feeling of awe at some of nature's biggest creations, and another where these rare trees are recognized for their enduring value and protected.
Over the summer of 1989, four expeditions made up of some of Canada's most renowned artists ventured into the Carmanah Valley. Acclaimed Canadian painters Robert Bateman, Jack Shadbolt, and Gordon Smith were among the approximately one hundred artists who camped along the riverbank to paint, photograph, and sketch. The artists focused on a variety of aspects of the Pacific temperate rainforest: the massive trees, the subtle details in the undergrowth, the scope of the forested hills, the contrast in a clear-cut.
In an interview at the time, Jack Shadbolt summarized the experience: __ "Standing with my back to this big tree that's behind here, how can I help but feel something of a tremendous grandeur of natural growth — that the world has a certain kind of meaning? . . . I like to live somewhere near that kind of feeling as an antidote to all the practical things I have to do in life just to survive."
Robert Bateman, known for his realistic paintings of animals and landscapes, found himself drawn to the clear-cuts — it was as if he were looking at piles of bones. | 7,338 |
We at Costa Rica Beach Rentals know that vacation is all about treating yourself. Taking a break from the daily grind and getting away from it all is about replenishing our souls and filling our glass of happiness to overflow. That said, it doesn't have to break the bank either. Once you've made it to our little piece of paradise, Santa Teresa, with its beautiful beaches and top surf breaks, there are plenty of things to do to help balance your vacation budget. Fine dining, craft beer, massages, and retreats are all the rave and easy to find from Mal Pais to Playa Hermosa, but there are a multitude of activities just as entertaining that won't cost you a dime! Feel free to leave your wallet at home because we've got your guide to the top free activities in the area.
It's low tide twice a day, and what better way to relax than in one of many local tide pools. The rocky outcrops of Santa Teresa do more than provide excellent surf breaks and well-defined beaches and bays. They also provide privacy for those looking to soak their bodies and soak up the sun at the same time. Pack a picnic, complete with a bottle of wine, and wonder out onto the rocks to<|fim_middle|> a dollar spent. Time to kick back and relax in your amazing beach rental. Plenty of memorable sights to behold that you'll be able to make all your friends back home jealous with, and the best part about it is all the money you have left to treat yourself tomorrow. If you haven't made your way here yet and you're just checking into things, now is the time to rent. Costa Rica Beach Rentals is your place to find luxury rentals for a great price to push that happiness meter to overload. Santa Teresa is exactly the paradise you've dreamed of and we'll be happy to help guide you to adding amazing details to that dream you've never even imagined. Now is the time, so don't hesitate, even though in Costa Rica there is no such thing as too late. Pura vida! | find your own personal swimming pool with waves crashing just yards away. Often containing colorful tropical fish like you'd find in a city fish tank, these pools are the perfect temperature to relax in all day long and there are so many scattered around the area, there will always be one waiting just for you.
Another highlight on any tourism list for the area is consistently the Montezuma waterfalls. A three-tiered waterfall with gradually increasing drops are perfect for a swim or, if you're the thrill seeker type, a bit of cliff jumping. Park in town to save a buck or pay just $2 for all-day parking close to the base, a short hike alongside a rocky riverbed opens into an awe-inspiring valley with a 60-foot waterfall. With multiple semi-submerged boulders perfect for the kids to jump into the cool waters or some simple sun tanning, the base pool will be where you'll find a crowd during a holiday weekend. If you're looking for more privacy, that can be easily remedied with a short hike around to the top where a 25-foot waterfall spills over the edge into another large pool. Trees perfect for hanging a slack-line across and a rope swing already in place makes this the hangout for more active participants. There's even a small 10-foot waterfall where kids can safely jump and little wading pools above to soak in. The Montezuma waterfalls are a must-see budget or no budget, so be sure to check this one out.
If you're looking for near complete isolation and beautiful vistas, a great activity can be the Manzanillo beach drive. While most all the beaches in the area are restricted to vehicles, an old thoroughfare to a nearby town Coyote allows vehicles to drive on the Manzanillo beach when it's not turtle mating season. Vehicles can drive all the way to the Rio Bongo before having to turn back meaning you can put multiple kilometers between you and civilization. Perfect for taking a rented motorcycle or quad out, you'll be able to open on the throttle and feel the wind in your hair. Stop off in a shady spot for a weekend picnic and some snorkeling around the reef or turn back and take a ride through the hills, this is a complete experience hard to find elsewhere in the world.
Last but certainly not least there is a highlight show every evening on the beaches here. The world-renowned sunsets of Mal Pais, Santa Teresa, and Playa Hermosa are so impressive that many businesses willfully close down from 5 to 6 so even local employees don't miss the show. Whether it's a heavenly golden glow shining up beneath the clouds, bathing the beaches in soft light or it's the layered purples, pinks, and oranges that artists around the world attempt to capture in their paintings, the sunsets here are beyond the imagination. Every evening is something different with people often applauding as the sun sinks below the horizon, kids hoping to catch their first glimpse of the legendary "green flash" that's a rare special treat. And it doesn't end once the sun has gone to bed. The hour following sunset is known as "magic hour" due to that constantly changing color pallet of the sky. This is a highlight for photographers basking any subject in the perfect light and is often the time of day destination weddings are centered around.
So, there you have it, a complete day with not | 694 |
INCIPIT, the Milan-based design company, presents its 2017 collection during the Design Week, exploring the pleasure of a 100% Mediterranean know-how. Brand-new projects where warm and earthy colours are matched with natural materials, a constant reference to the sun and the sea are on display with the installation Mediterraneo Contemporaneo.
Thanks to a richer and more decorative design Inc<|fim_middle|> diffuser and the bent metal handle create a beautiful tone-on-tone effect of different surfaces.
An apparently flat clock, that thanks to an unexpected 3D effect (due to a simple play of folded metal sheets), comes off the wall acquiring depth and volume and becomes an object with a strong graphic impact. | ipit rediscovers its identity linked to the Mediterranean Sea, a crossroad of different cultures and influences. Small details refine and distinguish the products, the result of the best Italian craftsmanship and manufacture.
Family of terracotta vases, featuring warm colours and textured details, which takes inspiration from the «nassa», the traditional fishing tool typical of the Mediterranean Sea. Available in two dimensions and many different colours, it is characterized by a nautical rope in chromatic contrast with the materiality of the vases.
A versatile system of cylindrical stackable containers with several sizes and colours, suitable to embellish different home spaces. The lid, enriched by a small brass handler, hides a rounded mirror.
A new version of the table lamp Elmetta where the lamp acquires an even younger and more pop soul through the vivid colours of anodized aluminium. The colorful | 175 |
Theater Review: Jewel Theatre's 'All My Sons'
Strikingly staged postwar drama 'All My Sons' launches new JTC season
Left to right: Allen Gilmore, Sierra Jolene and Nancy Carlin in Jewel's 'All My Sons.'
Jewel Theatre Company continues to offer local audiences an interesting mix of lesser-known modern works and vintage stage classics reimagined for the modern audience. To launch its 13th season, JTC turns to playwright Arthur Miller, and the early drama that helped establish him as the American bard of postwar, middle-class malaise, All My Sons.
JTC and Santa Cruz Shakespeare veteran Art Manke directs this strikingly staged production of Miller's second play. Originally produced in 1947, it tells the story of the Keller family, whose experiences during and after the devastations of World War II not only haunt their family and community, but also reflect the shifting moral universe created in the wake of war's upheaval. The play is very much of its era,<|fim_middle|> visual design for this past-haunted play.
The Jewel Theatre Company production of 'All My Sons' plays through Oct. 1 at the Colligan Theater at The Tannery; 425-7506. jeweltheatre.net.
Related Items:Jewel Theatre Company, lead, Theater, theater review | but a typically reliable JTC cast delivers the gravity of epic Greek tragedy that the playwright intended.
As in classical drama, the action takes place in a single day, at a single location—the backyard of the Keller home in a suburban American town, circa 1947. Joe Keller (the dynamic Allen Gilmore) is the genial patriarch, joking around with the neighbors, but concerned for his fragile wife, Kate (an excellent Nancy Carlin); three years after the war, Kate still desperately believes that their MIA son Larry will one day come home.
Their second son Chris (Tommy Gorrebeeck) has returned from the war and gone back to work at the manufacturing plant his father runs. (Gorrebeeck is tentative at first, but brings depth and shading to the part in the crucial second act.) Focused on the future, Chris invites his former neighbor Annie (spirited Sierra Jolene), who had been Larry's girlfriend, for a visit, intending to propose to her. Annie is willing, and Joe approves, despite the objections of Kate, who still considers Annie "Larry's girl."
Beneath this domestic drama, a thornier conflict surfaces. Annie's father, Joe's former business partner, is in prison, after it was discovered their plant sold faulty aircraft parts to the military. Joe was tried at the same time, but exonerated. As the Keller family's fateful day heads toward its climax, they receive an unexpected visit from Annie's jittery brother George (a serious turn from Brian Smolin, last seen in The 39 Steps and The Two Gentlemen of Verona at SCS). Fresh from visiting his father, George blames Joe for destroying his family.
The story ignites at the place where blame, idealism, justice, and truth collide, where the necessity of moving forward confronts the inability to let go of the past. JTC stalwart Diana Torres Koss has some effective scenes as a cheery new neighbor with a WASPish side. And a bubbly Audrey Rumsby, along with Shaun Carroll, lightens the mood as neighbor Lydia, formerly George's girlfriend, and her horoscope-casting husband, Frank.
This realistic drama plays out in contrast to Kent Dorsey's highly stylized set. The shape is a frame house with shutters, windows, a screen door and a porch, but every surface is papered over with oversized newspaper clippings about the war, the trial, and stories of MIAs returning home. The backyard furniture is painted in the same buff shade of faded newspapers, as if the war and its aftermath have quietly engulfed the entire house and its inhabitants.
Modern's costume design extends this idea, with the Keller men and their longtime neighbors in muted plaid shirts in the same off-white color range, and khaki slacks. Kate Keller's beige and blue dressing gown and grey suit also connects her visually to the family's past. Only the vibrantly colored dresses of the young women, Annie and Lydia, provide a sense of life and forward-looking optimism against the monochromatic stasis of the Keller family home. It's a smart | 642 |
Ad<|fim_middle|> | inath Temple, Madhya Pradesh
Location: Adinath temple was constructed in the 11th century and it is positioned in Khajuraho in Madhya Pradesh.
Description: devoted to saint Adinath who is considered a great religious person in Jainism, It is a magnificently decorated temple with wonderful sculptures. This temple is also considered as a part of the group of Jain temples in India. The temple walls are decorated with attractively carved figures of the musicians of the court. Originally the temple had a great shape and served as a great work of art but it could not stand the ravages of time and half of the sanctum was ruined. It has undergone a major change after renovations and now it is gaining its former shape and glory. The vestibule and the sanctum of the ancient shrine are the only things that exist from that era. Now a chamber that has arch doorways replaces the mandapa as well as the entrance porch, lime-plastered masonry is used in this chamber. An important feature of this temple is that it has been built in the form of sapta-ratha. The single towered shikhar provides a graceful look to the temple.
Activities: People of Jain religion can visit this temple to pay their homage to the Lord Adinath of Khajuraho. | 268 |
Concord Hospital is a regional<|fim_middle|> Organizations (JCAHO).
Concord Hospital accepts both Medicare and Medicaid patients. | medical center and leading healthcare facility in Merrimack County, New Hampshire. It is the second busiest acute care hospital in the state. As a charitable organization, the hospital serves the healthcare needs of Merrimack and surrounding communities in a healing and cost effective manner.
Behavioral health, breast care, heart care, occupational health, orthopedic, rehabilitation, sleep care, surgery, women's healthcare, wound care are the services provided. A range of educational health programs and services on the topics of fitness, nutrition, parenting, asthma, chemical dependency, cancer, stress management and addiction-free pain management are sponsored.
Concord Hospital is an affiliate of the Capital Region Health Care and is fully accredited by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare | 148 |
Carrying on from my previous blog entry, I awoke the next morning with the sudden realization that I didn't know what I would have for breakfast or lunch. Whenever I did wadi hikes previously, it was with a house of my own and a<|fim_middle|> plate of fu'ul, baba ganooush, fetteh, and bread at me. "No one is going to want to sit next to you on the plane, you're eating so many kinds of beans," he laughed.
I departed Jordan at 2:30 in the morning, more or less the same time that I arrived 8 days prior. Even though I hadn't been able to do quite as much wadi walloping as I would have liked, in exchange I got to see many more people and more frequently then I had planned. So in all, I think the trip went better than I thought. After all, the wadis will hopefully be there for at least the rest of my life (even after the Dead Sea dries up entirely and vanishes) but the people that made Jordan special to me might not choose to spend their lives there – they could be anywhere in the Middle East or the world – and I can't necessarily easily get into the other Middle Eastern countries as easily as Jordan!
Looks like your night time bike route took you over the lovely Abdoun Bridge, which Mom & I crossed for the first time as we were leaving Amman. Seems you made the most of your 8 days!
You left a big cliffhanger with those beans, but never described in detail and with many pictures all the different kinds of beans. I'm giving it a B+. | well-stocked fridge. I decided to test my luck and hope that Abu Jbara would be open already at 7:40 in the morning – and they were! Six falafel sandwiches over the course of 12 hours? No problem!
Grace and I rendezvoused with her friends at 7th circle on the way out of town, heading towards the Dead Sea. I had the opportunity to see how the recycling drop-off point, constructed by Entity Green, had changed over the years. When I left, it was a couple of bins with a big sign over it right next to the Cozmo grocery store. Now it had been moved further away into a parking lot, but it didn't seem to be a slight – the bins had changed into a mobile home-sized green-painted building with separate room, diagrams of how recycling helps the environment, and separated slots for 5-6 different items. I noted they were still collected stale old bread, something that EG used to collect when I was around and resell to farmers to use as feed.
Entity Green's Cozmo recycling center - it's so big!
All told, we were eight intrepid hikers heading south through the surprisingly green countryside toward the less-green slopes near the sea. Only a month ago, Jordan had issued a minor "emergency" of several inches of snow, causing school to be closed for two days and throwing the city into chaos. Jordanians barely are able to keep from crashing into each other in good weather days; the addition of any extra element into roads is understandably a recipe for disaster. However, the added moisture had done wonders for the appearance of the rocky terrain, and the weather was warm and sunny.
When our two cars reached the point that Nelle had told us about, precisely at the "55km to Amman" road marker across the highway from the Dead Sea's "O Beach", we found a nice little semi-cleared flat lot. We could expect to see Bedouin on the trip, as Nelle had pointed out a watermelon patch that her groups had walked through on their way back out of the wadi on the northern cliff overlooking the wadi. The Bedouin's influence on this area would turn out to be quite beneficial to us later in the day.
At first, I have to admit that we were disappointed. Although there was the usual concrete bridge holding up the highway and allowing the wadi to drain into the Dead Sea…it was absolutely dry. I'd never seen that before in any of the Dead Sea wadis we'd visited before, and I worried that this was going to be more of a rock climb that anything else. Grace even called Nelle (thankfully for us, the nearby hotels mean that there are plenty of cell towers nearby to prevent any loss of coverage, in case of any accidents) to make sure that we were in the right place.
We shouldn't have worried – the ground grew damp bit by bit, and finally a small trickle of water was found vanishing into the dust. From there, the trickle turned into a small but steadily gurgling stream, filled with the typical thick green strings of algae so common in Jordan's wadis. As pretty as it is, it's probably caused by the overuse of fertilizers by Bedouins – it's commonly known fact in Jordan that crop farmers receive water and fertilizer subsidies from the government even though the GDP from crops in the country is quite small. Many activists in the country wish the government would stop the subsidies in order to try to encourage Jordanians to grow crops more suited to the desert, but of course that's not likely to happen anytime soon.
As we walked through the canyon, we passed in and out of shade quite frequently, a sign of fluctuation in the width and height of the canyon walls. The high exposure to sun, the small amount of water, and the numerous waterfalls, big and small, reminded me a lot of the Wadi Himara hike I'd taken a few weeks before my departure in 2010. Truth be told, although we saw a lot more frogs and crabs than any other wadi hike I'd been on, there was nothing particularly special about the wadi. It boasted several very large waterfalls (probably in the top five in the country, after the country's largest which is in Himara) that made for a good place to relax and snack in the pleasant shadows of the 40 meter tall canyon walls.
If you squint, I'm the tiny black dot on the wall of the canyon. It was a slippery climb!
It wasn't without dangers, either. One of our eight members, a tall and quiet Asian fellow named Charles, nearly slid to his death (or at least probable injury) as we were climbing up an almost sheer rock face that Nelle had aptly named "the sketchy part" of the wadi hike. Basically, in order to reach the sought-after deeper water pools further up the stream, getting to the top of that 40 meter waterfall was necessary and the sketchy route was the only one we knew. A slight misstep and a strangled "whoa" and I saw Charles begin to bounce down the slope. He was saved by a large fern plant which stoically grabbed at the edge of the canyon wall, and its large fronds waved in his face as he shakily pulled himself back to his feet. I was the last one in the line of our party of eight – Grace and I probably had the most wadi-hiking experience, and some of the members, including Charles, had none at all. None of us had ever been to the wadi before. The only other close calls that we had – and me personally, too, was people bouncing baseball sized rocks past my head as we struggled up the side of the cliff. I encouraged us to fan out as much as possible on the cliffside to prevent a misstep from dislodging killer rocks on each others' heads.
It was odd, and exhilarating, to be both an old hand at wadi hiking, yet new at it all over again. The practiced tapping of the rocks with feet to test for stability, the hot sun above us, the smell of the oleanders all around – it was like I had never left, yet I was vividly happy to be back after my long absence. After another 20 minutes of walking above the wadi, we reached what Nelle had called the campsite, a cleared area with plenty of shelf-like flat rocks directly above the waterfall. You don't want to be a camper who sleepwalks at that campsite, to be sure. I hesitantly gulped down the rest of my falafel sandwiches and watched the water shoot off into space below us, hitting the ground far below beyond our viewpoint. The sun was broiling hot by that point, but there was a small cave that provided some shade at the entrance. No one went too far in, because it appeared that the Bedouin's sheep had been using it as a public toilet as well.
The others were ready to call it a day, and decided to use the goat tracks on the opposite side of the cliff to make their way to the watermelon patch that we could clearly see in the distance; a little green patch in the red and brown stones. Grace, in her immense kindness, humored my urge to see the pools of water that Nelle had said were still higher above us, but the hike had been easier than I thought and we had gotten farther than I had thought we could in such a short period of time – it was hotter than I figured it would be by the time we reached the campsite. The pools were 45 minutes away, but I decided they would be there the next time I was in the neighborhood, and half an hour after everyone else, we headed back the same way they did.
Back in Amman, I had time to gingerly lie on my bed for half an hour before heading over to Cycling Jordan for a night ride. Whereas my morning companions had all been fellow foreigners, it was time for me to be the only ajnubee in a group of young sporty Arabs. Sa'ad knew I was in the area and was there at his shop to greet me, but to my surprise he told me that he had mostly "retired" from biking. He was sporting hair longer than I'd ever seen on him and was wearing business casual clothes, too – I was sad that he couldn't join us, but happy to see my old friends Sari, Hussein, and other old biking pals. Instead of posting the Google Earth .kmz file here like I used to do, I've tried my hand at making the route in Google Maps instead, and just linking you to a page instead of a file! We started at Cycling Jordan in West Amman, went through the equally-rich and foreigner-filled Abdoun district in the south, and then finally ended up in the belaad for famous knaffeh pastries from Habibeh.
Three of our riders were recently-arrived Iraqis who had heard about Entity Green (Training) from friends. We've become a legend!
After a well-deserved rest the next morning (and, um, early afternoon as well) I did a bit of wandering about the city, trying to manage my remaining few dinars carefully so that I could be assured a taxi or bus ride's worth back to the airport the next day. I couldn't believe how fast the trip had gone by, but those are the breaks when you're a professional I.T. guy in Wisconsin – no more telling Wajih "I'll be in Central Asia for oh, two or three weeks or something, just pay me a little bit next month" and having that be good. I fit another trip to al-Borij in with Rami (my Dead 2 Red friend; he's the one on the far right in the above picture) and we saw our friends Mai and Rula in a women's classical Arabic concert – the two of them also played classical Arabic instruments in Dozan for our trip to Germany in 2010. Here's one of the pieces below – Deggo al-Mahabeej.
I had a chance to stop by my old house and chat with Magid. He was busy with his own recycling company, "Green Future" at the time - but it looks like Philip's old garden is doing well.
I took a servicee shared-taxi out to the north part of Amman, so I get baklava from a store that Rami had recommended to me – Tahoona Shamieh, or the Levantine Mill, more or less. It was pretty close to my old go-to store for computer parts, too – PC Circle – so I thought I'd stop by and say hello to my old supplier, Mohammad. I'll admit it never got old throughout the past week to be given so many warm and heartfelt welcomes, and Mohammad was no exception. The young muhejibeh woman working the checkout counter recognized me at once, and when I asked her, "where's the boss man himself?" Mohammad immediately emerged from his office in the back and said "Zach! You've come back to Jordan!" His father owned the grocery store next to us, so he immediately sent someone over (through a cool secret sliding wall behind us that apparently opened directly into his father's office) to get some juice for us. I asked him how business was, and whether anything exciting had happened. He and his aid exchanged wry glances. "There was a gas tanker truck that exploded about a block away from here, a few weeks ago." I knew exactly the kind of trucks he was talking about, and although I was shocked to hear it, and see the videos and photos of the massive explosions that had sent 50 kg gas tanks shooting in all directions from the truck like missiles, I had always wondered why it didn't happen more often. You see these bored truck drivers smoking cigarettes all the time, screeching to stop signs, and generally behaving in a way that we would term "reckless." Mohammad took me to the site of the explosion, which I had walked right past on the way there. I never would have guessed that there had been an explosion like what you see below (multiplied by about 30 for the number of tanks that actually ruptured) there.
Night had fallen on the city when Jen and I drove back to her house so I could finish packing. A few of my old biking friends who had been out of the country on business during the night ride wanted to take me out to dinner and catch up, so I selected Abu Jbara as my traditional "last meal in Jordan" stop. I've eaten there alone, with Haitham, and now with Wafa' and Mohammad. At least this time the employees of the restaurant didn't request that I sing Michael Jackson songs, which has definitely happened a few times. Wafa', an investor and architect only a few years older than me, pushed plate after | 2,690 |
Commonweal Foundation Honors Its Past, Redefines Future By Launching New Name
Bethesda,<|fim_middle|> escape poverty through educational programs and services for 47 years. For more information, visit www.bainum.wearevanish.com/.
For press inquiries, please contact:
Rozita Green
Bainum Family Foundation | Maryland — Commonweal Foundation, which gives children living in poverty access to high-quality educational opportunities and services that will help them to break the bonds of their circumstances, announced today that it has changed its name to the Bainum Family Foundation.
"Our new name honors our founders, Stewart and Jane Bainum, and allows us to evolve ourselves for the future," said Barbara Bainum, CEO. "It reflects our heritage, distinguishes us in the community, and is unique and memorable."
"Even though we have a new name, our passion for helping children break the bonds of their circumstances will remain the same. I'm excited about the future of the Bainum Family Foundation and the opportunities it will provide for our children today," said Bainum.
About Bainum Family Foundation:
The Bainum Family Foundation, formerly Commonweal Foundation, combines proven expertise with a passion for helping the whole child by going beyond academics to help them thrive. Their circle of collaboration includes investments and support in early learning, wrap-around services and knowledge building. Founded in 1968 by Stewart and Jane Bainum, it was originally known as The College Foundation and has helped children | 232 |
News Animals
New Firefly Species Discovered in California
Russell McLendon
Russell McLendon is a science writer with expertise in the natural environment, humans, and wildlife. He holds degrees in journalism and environmental anthropology.
Updated June 5, 2017 11:58AM EDT
This story is part of<|fim_middle|> famous for scenes like this, Western varieties tend to be subtler. (Photo: Matt MacGillivray/Flickr)
For many Americans, it wouldn't feel like summer without the ethereal glint of fireflies at twilight. The bioluminescent beetles are warm-weather icons in many Eastern states, but they're rarely seen west of the Rocky Mountains.
Despite a common misconception, however, a few fireflies do live in the U.S. West. They may be less abundant and less conspicuous, but they're out there — even in the arid, urban and light-polluted landscapes of Southern California.
In fact, a new species of firefly was just discovered in Los Angeles County, hiding in the shadow of America's second-largest city. The firefly was found in May by Joshua Oliva, an undergraduate student at the University of California-Riverside who was collecting insects in the Santa Monica Mountains for an entomology class.
"He wasn't 100 percent certain it was a firefly, and brought it to me for confirmation," says Doug Yanega, senior scientist at the UC-Riverside Entomology Research Museum, in a press release about the discovery. "I know the local fauna well enough that within minutes I was able to tell him he had found something entirely new to science. I don't think I've seen a happier student in my life."
Lightning in a bottle
Southern California is home to several varieties of fireflies, also known as lightning bugs, but not all of them glow. Even the glowing ones keep a lower profile than their Eastern relatives, flying for only brief periods after dusk. They also tend to live in small, highly localized clusters near springs and seeps, where they feed on snails. This limited range can make them especially vulnerable, Yanega points out.
"One reason we are bringing this discovery to the public's attention is that it seems likely that this beetle may be highly restricted in distribution," he says, "and the habitat where it occurs may require consideration for some level of protection, at least until we can learn more about it."
Experts have confirmed this firefly is a new species, but little else is known about it. (Photo: Joshua Oliva/UC-Riverside)
The newfound firefly (pictured above) is about half a centimeter long, according to UC-Riverside, with a mostly black body and an orange "halo-like" pattern on the shield over its head. It has a small bioluminescent organ at the tip of its tail.
Oliva, who moved to the U.S. from Guatemala when he was 9 years old, says he has been fascinated by insects since childhood. He found the firefly over Mother's Day weekend, and his own mother was there to witness the discovery firsthand.
"My mom has been asking me about what I am doing in school," he tells the San Bernardino Sun, "so I thought I'd take her out catching insects with me."
Baptism by firefly
Not only is it rare for an undergrad to discover a new species, Yanega says, but it usually takes much longer than a month for scientists to recognize a previously unknown insect. "It's pretty typical for specimens of new insect species to sit in a collection for a decade or more before an expert comes along who has enough familiarity with that particular type of insect to be able to recognize that it's something new," he says. "I was able to tell this one was interesting right away, and compared it to reference material in our museum."
Firefly experts in Florida have confirmed this species is unknown, although it probably won't be named anytime soon. Formally naming a new species is like "gathering evidence for a court case," Yanega says, requiring a detailed list of distinguishing characteristics and possibly even DNA sequencing.
While it's too early to know if the firefly might be named for Oliva, "it's not unusual for new species' names to honor the person who first collected them," Yanega adds.
Oliva graduated from UC-Riverside earlier this month, but he doesn't plan to go far. His next goal is to apply for the university's graduate program in entomology, and as he tells the Sun, he may already have a leg — or six — up on the competition. "Discovering a new insect sure looks good on the application," he says.
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While fireflies in the Eastern U.S. are | 32 |
Download Biomaterials The Intersection Of Biology And Materials Science ebook PDF or Read Online books in PDF, EPUB, and Mobi Format. Click Download or Read Online button to BIOMATERIALS THE INTERSECTION OF BIOLOGY AND MATERIALS SCIENCE book pdf for free now.
Intended for use in an introductory course on biomaterials, taught primarily in departments of biomedical engineering. The book covers classes of materials commonly used in biomedical applications, followed by coverage of the biocompatibility of those materials with the biological environment. Finally, it covers some in-depth applications of biomaterials. It does all of this with an overall emphasis on tissue engineering. Co-authors, Johnna Temenoff and Antonios Mikos, are the 2010 Meriam/Wiley Distinguished Author Award Recipients for Biomaterials: The Intersection of Biology and Materials Science.
Facts101 is your complete guide to Biomaterials, The Intersection of Biology and Materials Science. In this book, you will learn topics such as Physical Properties of Biomaterials, Mechanical Properties of Biomaterials, Biomaterial Degradation, and Biomaterial Processing plus much more. With key features such as key terms, people and places, Facts101 gives you all the information you need to prepare for your next exam. Our practice tests are specific to the textbook and we have designed tools to make the most of your limited study time.
Success or failure of biomaterials, whether tissue engineered constructs, joint and dental implants, vascular grafts, or heart valves, depends on molecular-level events that determine subsequent responses of cells and tissues. This book presents the latest developments and state-of-the-art knowledge regarding protein, cell, and tissue interactions with both conventional and nanophase materials. Insight into these biomaterial surface interactions will play a critical role in further developments in fields such as tissue engineering, regenerative medicine, and biocompatibility of implanted materials and devices. With chapters written by leaders in their respective fields, this compendium will be the authoritative source of information for scientists,<|fim_middle|>.
Conjugation of synthetic materials with cell-responsive biologically-active molecules, in addition to providing structural support and release of biomolecules in the regenerating region, can provide the signaling factors required to initiate the cascade of cell migration, adhesion, differentiation, maturation, growth factor modulation, maintenance of matrix integrity, and tissue morphogenesis. Nanoparticles conjugated with ligands that preferentially interact with cell surface receptors in the tumor environment have the potential to drastically improve bioavailability, selectivity and residence time of the chemotherapeutic agent in the tumor microenvironment, while limiting their peripheral toxicity. Multivalent presentation of tumor-associated antigens on a targeted delivery system containing T and B cell epitopes can result in strong, long-lasting, self-adjuvant immunity against cancer and other diseases in vaccination. These examples demonstrate that cell-responsive conjugate biomaterials have profoundly impacted the medical field.This book is divided into three sections. In the first section, synthesis and characterization, conformation, structure-activity, self-assembly, and host response of conjugate hybrid biomaterials are covered. The second section is dedicated to the applications of conjugate biomaterials in drug delivery and vaccination while the last section is devoted to tissue engineering applications including cell adhesion, control of the stem cell niche, cartilage regeneration, neural and vascular tissue engineering, and dynamic cell culture systems for functionalized biomaterials.There is no doubt that biologically-responsive conjugate biomaterials play a key role in the design of biologics and medical devices, and this pioneering reference book provides a comprehensive review on synthesis, characterization, structure-activity, 3D assembly/fabrication, host response and the emerging applications of conjugate hybrid biomaterials.
Takes a materials science approach, correlating structure-property relationships with function across a broad range of biological materials.
Nanostructured materials with designed biofunctions have brought about rapid and significant changes in materials science. "Nanostructured Biomaterials" provides up-to-date reviews of different methods for synthesizing new types of such materials and discusses their cutting-edge technological applications. The reviews mainly focus on potential applications of nanostructured materials in biology and the medical sciences. The book is of general interest to a broad audience of graduate students and researchers active in chemistry, materials science, engineering, biology, and physics. Dr. Junbai Li is a professor at the National Center for Nanoscience and Technology and the Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China.
Assembling Health Care Organizations combines an institutional theory perspective with a materialist view of the technologies, devices, biological specimens, and other material resources mobilized and put to work in health care work. | engineers, and medical researchers seeking not only to understand but also to control tissue-biomaterial interactions | 19 |
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Admin_Staff_Handbook
Administrative Staff Handbook 2022-2023
UoS Staff Handbook Page 1 Contents 1. About the University.............................................................................................................. 3 1.1 Overview ....................................................................................................................................... 3 1.2 Vision............................................................................................................................................. 3 1.3 Mission.......................................................................................................................................... 3 1.4 Goals ............................................................................................................................................. 3 1.5 Core Values ................................................................................................................................... 5 1.6 Campus Map and Directory .......................................................................................................... 5 2. University Administration ...................................................................................................... 9 3. Employment ........................................................................................................................ 10 3.1 Institutional Diversity and Equal Employment Opportunity....................................................... 10 3.2 Employee Grades at the University ............................................................................................ 11 3.3 Categories of Employee at UoS................................................................................................... 11 3.4 Definitions of Categories of Staff ................................................................................................ 13 3.5 Employment System ................................................................................................................... 14 3.6 Applying for Employment ........................................................................................................... 15 3.7 Contracts ..................................................................................................................................... 15 3.8 Probationary Period and Renewal .............................................................................................. 15 3.9 Transfers and Promotions........................................................................................................... 17 3.10 Guidelines for New Employees at the University ..................................................................... 23 3.11 Faculty and Staff Records.......................................................................................................... 25 4. Staff Rights and Responsibilities ........................................................................................... 26 4.1 Salary, Benefits and Compensation ............................................................................................ 26 4.1.1 Salaries and Wages .............................................................................................................. 26 4.1.2 Salaries and Wages Policy .................................................................................................... 26 4.1.3 Benefits ................................................................................................................................ 26 4.1.4 Salary Payment Policy .......................................................................................................... 38 4.1.5 Overtime .............................................................................................................................. 38 4.1.4 Demise Policy ....................................................................................................................... 39 4.2 Staff Responsibilities ................................................................................................................... 40 5. Staff Development ............................................................................................................... 41 5.1 By-laws article ............................................................................................................................. 41 5.2 Procedures for supervision of staff............................................................................................. 41 5.3 Disciplinary Measures ................................................................................................................. 41 5.4 Raises and Allowances - In-Kind Advantages.............................................................................. 42 6. Code of Conduct .................................................................................................................. 43 7. Conflict of Interest ............................................................................................................... 59 8. Staff Evaluation ................................................................................................................... 61 8.1 Measures to Evaluate Employees ............................................................................................... 61 8.2 Evaluation Scores and Distribution ............................................................................................. 61 8.3 Employment Termination ........................................................................................................... 62 9. Staff Disciplinary and Grievance ........................................................................................... 76 9.1 Staff Disciplinary Measures......................................................................................................... 76 9.2 Staff Grievance Measures ........................................................................................................... 79 9.3 Nepotism and Employment of Relatives..................................................................................... 79 10. Safety .................................................................................................................................. 81 11. Staff Communication and Representation............................................................................. 81 11.1 Role of Staff in Governance ...................................................................................................... 81 11.2 Staff Affairs Committee ............................................................................................................ 81 11.3 Staff Satisfactions Survey.......................................................................................................... 82
UoS Staff Handbook Page 2 11.4 Communication by E-mail ......................................................................................................... 82 11.5 Suggestions and Recommendations ......................................................................................... 82 11.6 Collegiality................................................................................................................................. 83 12. Staff Services and Facilities................................................................................................... 83 12.1 Human Resources Department................................................................................................. 83 12.2 Counseling and Career Services ................................................................................................ 83 12.3 Financial Department................................................................................................................ 83 12.4 Physical Plant Department........................................................................................................ 84 12.5 Information Technology Center................................................................................................ 84 12.6 Public Relations Department .................................................................................................... 85 12.7 Medical Services Administration .............................................................................................. 85 12.8 Media Center ............................................................................................................................ 86 12.9 Sport Facilities........................................................................................................................... 86 12.10 Center for Continuing Education and Professional Development.......................................... 86 12.11 Food Services .......................................................................................................................... 87 12.12 Grocery (Sharjah Cooperative Society) ................................................................................... 87 12.13 Banking Services...................................................................................................................... 87 12.14 Laundry and Barbershop......................................................................................................... 87 12.15 Disability Services.................................................................................................................... 87 12.16 Safety and Security ................................................................................................................. 88 13. Remote Working.................................................................................................................. 88
UoS Staff Handbook Page 3 1. About the University 1.1 Overview The University of Sharjah was established as a non-profit institution for higher education in October 1997 by His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan Bin Mohammed Al Qassimi, Member of the Supreme Council, Ruler of Sharjah and Supreme as the first university in the Emirate of Sharjah. In less than 20 years, the University has achieved academic accreditation for all its programs at the bachelor's, master's and PhD levels. The University of Sharjah aims at becoming an institution of higher education utilizing the most modern educational means and curriculum. The student is the University's number one priority. The University endeavors to have students reach their highest potential through strengthening interaction between students, urging them to work hard, and instilling in them the desire to develop their own personal and cognitive skills so that they may become active members of the society. The University is conscious of its leading role in the society-at-large. Hence, it seeks to create an atmosphere conducive to developing its students' intellectual capabilities driven by scientific and logical reasoning. 1.2 Vision The University of Sharjah is an innovative world-class teaching, learning and research institution providing a distinctive, inspirational, creative and supportive environment. 1.3 Mission The University of Sharjah is committed to providing a world-class educational experience that prepares lifelong learners and leaders with integrated knowledge and skills. We are passionate about building a collaborative and sustainable environment that cultivates twenty-first century skills and fosters pioneering research and scholarship. We seek to serve the current and future needs of our local community and beyond by offering innovative academic and professional programs. 1.4 Goals The University goals are categorized as follows: Student 1. Make the University of Sharjah campus more welcoming and supportive for all, focusing on the wellbeing of our students. 2. Enhance programs, services and facilities for people of determination. 3. Enhance student advisory and support for academic achievement. 4. Increase the employability of University of Sharjah students, while improving internship and cooperative opportunities. 5. Enhance facilities and services at our branches.
UoS Staff Handbook Page 4 People 1. Recruit, develop, retain talented faculty and professional staff. 2. Empower faculty and professional staff through professional development. 3. Develop the Emiratization program. 4. Enhance employee wellbeing, safety and healthcare. 5. Develop an environment of service excellence. Innovation 1. Build an agile governance and operating model with the aim of establishing a robust and efficient operations platform on which to grow. 2. Unify and integrate IT systems to serve education, research and operation activities. 3. Establish a financially sustainable institution with diverse sources of income. 4. Efficiently manage resources to establish a sustainable financial base and examine the distribution of resources across programs, revising uneconomical academic programs. 5. Improve the University of Sharjah branding and internationalization. 6. Develop an environmentally sustainable campus. Research 1. Support research management and dissemination. 2. Support and reward researchers, while engaging students. 3. Establish sustainable dynamic priority research areas in service of the community. 4. Expand and equip state-of the-art research facilities. Industry and Community 1. Communicate more effectively with society to increase local, regional and international relations in a bid to foster research and innovation through greater collaboration. 2. Establish a philanthropy and endowment program. 3. Increase alumni involvement in fundraising and networking. 4. Provide professional development, continuing education and consultancy services for industries, the community and society. Teaching and learning 1. Enhance our teaching and learning environment by incorporating leading edge technology. 2. Develop and support innovative teaching methodologies and course design and delivery. 3. Review, develop and accredit academic programs to meet the 21st century job market. 4. Strengthen the pedagogical knowledge and skills of faculty members.
UoS Staff Handbook Page 5 1.5 Core Values The University of Sharjah is united by six core values that underpin our daily actions as students, staff, faculty, administrators and alumni. They are as follows: 1. Integrity and Ethics: Ethical standards at the University of Sharjah are founded on ethical and civic responsibility in accordance with progressive Arab and Islamic ideals. 2. Dedication: Dedication to providing students with knowledge and support, so they are fully prepared to be the leaders of the future. 3. Inclusiveness: We welcome and value each other and embrace the diversity of ideas and people. 4. Excellence with limitless Drive: For quality enhancement and continuance improvement. 5. Accountability and Transparency: We pride ourselves on our responsibility, and transparency in our actions, providing a fair and positive work environment. 6. Innovation and Creativity: We work without bounds to improve lives through creativity and innovation in the pursuit of academic excellence 1.6 Campus Map and Directory University Campuses
UoS Staff Handbook Page 6 Telephone Directory University of Sharjah P. O.Box 27272 Sharjah United Arab Emirates Tel: +971 6 5585000 Fax: +971 6 5585099 Email: info@sharjah.ac.ae Office / College / Department Telephone Number Fax Number Chancellor's Office +971 6 5050001 +971 6 5585185 Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs +971 6 5053032 +971 6 5053034 Vice Chancellor for Medical & Health Sciences Colleges +971 6 5057201 +971 6 5585879 Vice Chancellor for Finance & Administrative Affairs +971 6 5050103 +971 6 5050101 Vice Chancellor for Community Affairs +971 6 5050524 +971 6 5050523 Dean for Academic Support Services +971 6 5053014 +971 6 5050139 Call Center for New Students 600-522251 Admissions and Registration +971 6 5050735 +971 6 5585184 Disability Resource Center +971 6 5053028 +971 6 5053112
UoS Staff Handbook Page 7 New Dental Hospital Call Center 06-5057666 (External) Ext 7666 (Internal Within UOS Campus) Students Housing Men +971 6 5052778 Women +971 6 5051500 +971 6 5585487 +971 6 5585419 Passport Unit +971 6 5050066 +971 6 5050026 College of Shari'a & Islamic Studies +971 6 5050181 +971 6 5050334 College of Sciences +971 6 5050226 +971 6 5050225 +971 6 5050489 College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences +971 6 5053301 +971 6 5050644 College of Business Administration Men Women +971 6 5053500 +971 6 5053522 +971 6 5050100 College of Engineering Men Women +971 6 5050901 +971 6 5050952 +971 6 5585173 +971 6 5585191 College of Health Sciences Men Women +971 6 5057501 +971 6 5050801 +971 6 5057502 +971 6 5050802 College of Law Men Women +971 6 5050195 +971 6 5053187 +971 6 5050140 +971 6 5053155 College of Fine Arts & Design +971 6 5053441 +971 6 5053444 College of Communication +971 6 5050695 +971 6 5050688 College of Medicine +971 6 5057201 +971 6 5585879 College of Dental Medicine +971 6 5057301 +971 6 5585641 College of Pharmacy +971 6 5057401 +971 6 5585812 College of Sciences +971 6 5050225 +971 6 5050224 +971 6 5050489 College of Graduate Studies and Research +971 6 5050550 +971 6 5050552 Deanship of Student Affairs Men Women +971 6 5050759 +971 6 5050701 +971 6 5585174 +971 6 5585160 Information Technology Center +971 6 5050014 +971 6 5585101
UoS Staff Handbook Page 8 Physical Plant +971 6 5050058 +971 6 5050051 Human Resources +971 6 5050023 +971 6 5585200 Public Relations +971 6 5050020 +971 6 5585099 Media Center +971 6 5050020 +971 6 5585099 Finance Department +971 6 5050048 +971 6 5585183 Alumni Association +971 6 5050527 +971 6 5050523 Office of Grants and Sponsorships +971 6 5050530 Center for Continuing Education and Professional Development (CCE) +971 6 5057081, +971 6 5057087 +971 6 5057078 Central Laboratories +971 6 5053453 +971 6 5050444 Medical Service Department Men's clinic Women's clinic Emergency Phone Numbers Emergency Males Emergency Females Ambulance Medical Laboratory Pharmacy +971 6 5050207 +971 6 5050642 050/3619222 050/3619333 050/5272233 +971 6 5585416 +971 6 5053272 +971 6 5053222 +971 6 5053250 Libraries Medical Colleges College of Fine Arts & Design Men Women +971 6 5057161 +971 6 5053190 +971 6 5050245 +971 6 5050673 +971 6 5585186 +971 6 5053167 +971 6 5050249 +971 6 5050671 Business Services and Purchases Dept. +971 6 5050081 +971 6 5050419 University City Security- Sharjah Main Number (Operator) is 06-5059555 Offices Extension No. Head of the Station 00 Secretary 89 Force Officer 91 Head of Traffic and Patrols Branch 33 Traffic Cases Follow-Up 21-20 Operations 55 Investigation Offices- 1 51-50 Investigation Offices- 2 61-60
UoS Staff Handbook Page 9 2. University Administration The organization of the University of Sharjah is composed of the President, Board of Trustees, Chancellor, Vice Chancellors, Associate Vice Chancellors, Deans of Academic Units and Directors of Administrative Units. The President and founder of the University is the highest authority in the institution and acts as the chair of the Board of Trustees. The Board consists of fourteen members and holds the power of legislation, approving policies and supervising University performance. With the exception of the Chancellor, no board members are involved in the day-to-day operations of the University. The Chancellor is the chief executive officer of the University. The Chancellor is appointed by the Board of Trustees and is empowered to head all academic and administrative staff, implement policies and represent the University in national and international settings. The Deans' Council, which is chaired by the Chancellor and includes the Vice Chancellors and College Deans. The Council is responsible for approving study curricula, study plans, academic calendar, faculty appointments, promotions, extra curricula activities, research and scholarship activities. There are six Vice Chancellors and one Assistant Chancellor for Branches. The Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and The Vice Chancellor for Medical and Health Sciences Colleges are delegated academic responsibilities, while The Vice Chancellor for Financial and Administrative Affairs is delegated the non-academic responsibilities along with The Vice Chancellor for Community Affairs which is responsible for Alumni and community relations and the Vice Chancellor for Public Relations. Moreover, there is Vice Chancellor for research and graduate study to be responsible for all graduate and research activities. In addition, the Chancellor appoints the Assistant Chancellor for Branches, Legal Advisor and Director of the Enrollment Management & Academic Guidance Unit. Academically, the University is composed of fourteen colleges divided into two sectors. The first sector reports to the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and includes: College of Shari'a and Islamic Studies, College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, College of Business Administration, College of Engineering, College of Law, College of Communication, College of Fine Arts and Design, College of Sciences, College of Computing and informatics and the Center for Continuing Education and Professional Development. The second sector reports to the Vice Chancellor for Medical and Health Sciences Colleges and includes: College of Medicine, College of Dentistry, College of Pharmacy, College of Health Sciences, Medical Education Unit, Medical Services Department, Clinical Training Center, Dental Hospital and Institute of Medical Research. The UoS has also Vice Chancellor office for Institutional Effectiveness and Accreditation responsible for all quality assurance activities related to institutional research, institutional effectiveness, Policies, and Procedures, faculty development related to the program and course enhancements and academic accreditation.
UoS Staff Handbook Page 10 The University organization also includes four Deanships. The Deanship of Academic Support Services supervises the Admission, Registration, IT, Libraries and Laboratories services. The Deanship of Student Affairs supervises students' activities in the male and female campuses and administers issues related to Career Advising, Sports Complex, Student Counseling and Student Dorms. The Deanship of Graduate Studies and Research overlooks the research and scholarship activities in the institute. UoS Organization Chart 3. Employment 3.1 Institutional Diversity and Equal Employment Opportunity As an institution dedicated to teaching, research, and community service, the University of Sharjah strives to provide its faculty and staff members with the most rewarding and fulfilling employment experience possible in order to allow all employees to work and achieve to the full extent of their capabilities. Equal employment opportunities and fair treatment are principles embodied in the UAE's national laws and set out in the heart of the University's policies and regulations. The University will recruit, hire, train, promote, and compensate employees in all job classifications solely on the basis of qualifications and productivity. No employee or prospective employee will be discriminated against because of race, color, religion, national origin, gender, age, or disability. The
UoS Staff Handbook Page 11 University has clear and published policies regarding ethical code of conduct and conflict of interest, ensuring a working culture of integrity, mutual respect, and transparency. The Human Resources Department applies up-to-date recruitment methods, applying both technical and scientific analysis in reviewing and evaluating applicants. This comprehensive and dynamic recruitment system ensures hiring the most qualified and skilled employees possible to help fulfill the University's mission of providing academic services of the highest quality. 3.2 Employee Grades at the University The University has two pay scales for administrative staff members, one for UAE nationals and the other for non-national UAE employees, while grade categories are the same for both: Grade Category From grades 1 to 3 Leadership Positions From grades 4 to 7 Intermediate Positions From grades 8 to 14 (for nationals) and From grades 8 to 12 (for non-nationals) Support Positions Authority for appointing staff at the University shall be according to the following job grades: 1. Employees in grades 1 and 2: by decision of the Chancellor, based upon the approval of the Finance Committee. 2. Employees in grades 3 and lower: by decision of the Vice Chancellor upon recommendation of the Committee. 3.3 Categories of Employee at UoS Category 1: Academic staff This category includes: 1. Faculty (PhD holders) 2. Clinical faculty (carefully defined according to international standards and practices as this will have financial and professional consequences) 3. Research faculty 4. Postdoctoral fellows 5. Lecturers (Master holders) 6. Teaching assistants (includes also tutors) 7. Research assistants 8. Clinical tutors Category 2: Administrative staff
UoS Staff Handbook Page 12 Subject to the provisions of this decision, administrative staff members shall be classified according to the following categories: A) First category: Vice and Assistant Chancellors. B) Second category: Directors of departments and centers. C) Third category: Other staff. The third category includes other employees except certain positions, such as drivers, office attendants, and similar. The category includes: - Academic Accreditation Officer - Academic Applications Analyst - Academic Records Officer - Academic Support Officer - Accountant - Acquisition Specialist - Administrative Assistant - Administrative Officer - Admission and Registration Officer - Admission and Registration Specialist - Admission Officer - Admission Specialist - Alumni Officer - Archiving Officer - Athletics Coach - Career Advancement Officer - Coach - Coach-Athletics - Community Affairs Officer - Community Cooperation Officer - Compliance Officer - Contract Management Officer - Counselor - Counselor - Counselor - Counselor - Counselor - Customer Service Officer - Customer Services Officer - Customer Services Officer - Customer Services Officer - Customer Services Officer - Customer Services Officer - Data Analyst - Director - Engineer - Financial Planning Analyst - Fixed Assets Officer
UoS Staff Handbook Page 13 - Graphic Designer - Head of Department - Health and Safety Officer - Human Resources Officer - Laboratory Officer - Library Officer - Library Specialist - Marketing Specialist - Nurse - Office Manager - Project Management Officer - Project Manager - Public Relations Officer - Purchasing Officer - Receptionist - Registration Officer - Registration Specialist - Secretary - Security Guard - Student Activities Officer - System Analyst - Technician - Web Officer - Web Specialist 3.4 Definitions of Categories of Staff By-Laws article Based on the Article (38) from UoS of Sharjah By-Laws University President Decision No. (4) of 2019 In Issuance of the Administrative Employee Bylaws at the University of Sharjah 1. Subject to the provisions of this decision, administrative staff members shall be classified according to the following categories: a. First category: Vice and Assistant Chancellors. b. Second category: Directors of departments and centers. c. Third category: Other staff. 2. Delegation of staff members in the first category shall be by decision of the Chancellor. For all other categories, delegation shall be by decision of the Vice Chancellor. The decision shall include details on the nature of the mission, names<|fim_middle|> notice period indicated in the employment contract. 9. In cases of non-renewal, termination procedures will be carried out by Employee Engagement at the end of the contract period - refer to Employee Separation Policy. 3.9 Transfers and Promotions An employee may apply for a transfer to another department in the University upon approval from both the departments from/to which he/she would like to transfer, provided that he/she has completed three (3) years in his/her current position. Further, the University may transfer an employee from one department to another, provided that the transfer is viewed as being in the best interest of the University. In all cases, the transfer of an employee shall not affect or cause a setback in his/her seniority required for promotion. Policy for Staff Promotion 1. Promotions and Rewards are critical to enable the recognition of good performers financially as well professionally, which enhances employee engagement and satisfaction. 2. Implementing an effective promotion process ensures the availability of internal talent to fill vacancies thus lowering the cost and risk of recruitment. 3. UoS recognizes that its professional staff are fundamental to its success. The purpose of this document is to provide a sound framework for managing the promotion and reward of top performers by administering the following: a. Promotion b. Acting Roles c. Merit Based Increments d. Financial Awards
UoS Staff Handbook Page 18 4. The contents of the Promotions and Rewards Policy will be revised upon the completion of the Talent Management Policies and may be subject to amendment. A. Promotion Eligibility 1. Promotions will be based purely on merit and the employee fulfilling the prerequisites for the position nominated for. 2. Employees will only be nominated for a promotion after the: a. completion of 3 years at the current position b. achieving a performance appraisal rating of "Exceed Expectations" for 2 years in a row 3. Employees nominated for promotion must meet the job's requirements and competencies detailed in the job description 4. An employee facing allegations related to honor or integrity should not be nominated for a promotion until a final verdict is issued either internally or by the courts. Procedure for Staff Promotion Promotion Nomination Process: 1. Promotion nominations must be made by Line Managers and must be aligned with the nominee's career progression plan, which is developed as part of the employee's performance management plan. 2. Employees should be encouraged to take an active role in improving their readiness for career progression through acquiring the required knowledge and competencies. The employee's learning and development plan should be developed to prepare the employee for their current role as well as enable career advancement. 3. Promotion nominations should highlight the eligible employee's readiness to perform in the new role. This includes: a. Performing some of the new role's duties under the current role. b. Actions taken by the employee to acquire the required knowledge and competencies through learning and development, on the job training, special assignments / projects. c. Self- initiated achievements and contributions to UoS. 4. If more than one employee is eligible for the promotion nomination, the following factors could be considered to make the nomination: a. Number of years at the current position (in addition to the mandatory 3 years) b. Level of knowledge and competency (highlighted through interviews and formal assessment). c. Personal achievements and contributions. 5. Promotion nominations are made as a result of the annual employee performance assessment. Promotion nominations to fill a vacancy as replacement can be made when needed. 6. HR will be responsible for reviewing the promotion nominations and ensuring the following: a. Availability of approved vacancies as per the Recruitment / Workforce Plan. b. Nominees' eligibility for promotion.
UoS Staff Handbook Page 19 c. Alignment to the employee's performance management and career progression plan. 7. HR recommendations are submitted for review and approval as per the approved guidelines and DoA(Delegations of Authority). 8. The promotion and rewards budget is determined as part of the yearly budgeting process after the review of HR recommendations as per the approved guidelines and DoA (Delegations of Authority). Promotion Implications: 1. The promoted employee is eligible for one grade higher than their current grade and a minimum equivalent to the starting point of the new position's salary. 2. The financial implication of the promotion will be determined annually based on the available budget. 3. Promoted employees are eligible for the new remuneration and benefits from the effective date of promotion, which is the first day of the month in which the promotion is approved, unless otherwise specified. 4. No promotion should result in a salary reduction or adversely affect the accrued rights of the promoted employee. 5. A job promotion may not be awarded in combination with a merit based incentive. Exceptional/Double Promotion: 1. In order to enable the attraction and retention of exceptional talent, employees who demonstrate an outstanding performance may be eligible for: a. Double promotion - promoted to 2 job grades above their current position. b. Fast tracked / accelerated promotion – promoted before the completion of 3 years at the current position Leadership Promotions Assessments Centers: 1. When being nominated for a promotion to a leadership position (Directors and above), a comprehensive assessment is developed and conducted to evaluate the employee's managerial competencies through a series of tests, interviews, simulations, and exercises. 2. HR will be responsible for developing and conducting the assessments as per the approved competency framework. The results are used to determine the nominee's readiness and identify areas of improvement. B. Acting Roles Eligibility Acting Roles Eligibility: 1. Acting roles are assigned in order to: a. Temporarily replace full time employees who have been granted long leaves (maternity, study, medical). b. Fill a vacant position temporarily until identifying a suitable candidate.
UoS Staff Handbook Page 20 c. Assess the employee's readiness and capabilities before prompting them to the position. 2. Nomination for acting roles will be based purely on merit and the employee fulfilling the prerequisites for the position nominated for. 3. Employees will only be nominated for an acting role after the: a. completion of 2 years at the current position b. achieving a performance appraisal rating of "Exceed Expectations" for 2 years in a row 4. Employees nominated for an acting role must meet the job's requirements and competencies detailed in the job description. 5. An employee facing allegations related to honor or integrity should not be nominated for a promotion until a final verdict is issued either internally or by the courts. Acting Nomination Process: 1. The Line Manager should nominate the employee who performs the role of a deputy as part of his role (if any) for the acting role. In instances where there is not a formal deputy to actup, nominations of potential candidates must be made by the Line Manager. 2. Acting nominations must be aligned with the nominee's career progression plan, which is developed as part of the employee's performance management plan. The acting role should be part of the nominee's career progression. 3. Employees should be encouraged to take an active role in improving their readiness for acting roles through acquiring the required knowledge and competencies. The employee's learning and development plan should be developed to prepare the employee for their current role as well as enable career advancement. 4. Acting nominations should highlight the eligible employee's readiness to perform in the acting role. This includes: a. Performing some of the acting role's duties under the current role. b. Actions taken to acquire the required knowledge and competencies through learning and development, on the job training, special assignments / projects. c. Self- initiated achievements and contributions to UoS. 5. If more than one employee is eligible for the acting nomination, the following factors could be considered to make the final nomination: a. Number of years at the current position (In addition to the mandatory 2 years). b. Level of knowledge and competency (highlighted through interviews and formal assessment). c. Personal achievements and contributions. 6. HR will be responsible for reviewing the acting nominations and ensuring the following: a. Nominees' eligibility. b. Alignment to the employee's performance management and career progression plan.
UoS Staff Handbook Page 21 7. HR recommendations are submitted for review and approval as per the approved guidelines and DoA(Delegations of Authority). 8. The promotion and rewards budget is determined as part of the yearly budgeting process after the review of HR recommendations as per the approved guidelines and DoA (Delegations of Authority). Acting Implications 1. The employee appointed to an acting role is eligible for an acting allowance equivalent to 20% of the basic salary entitled to the acting role position from the effective date of appointment, which is the first day of the month in which the appointment is approved, unless otherwise specified. 2. No acting role appointment should result in a salary reduction or adversely affect the accrued rights of the promoted employee. C. Merit Based Increments Increments Eligibility: 1. Employees will only be nominated for a merit based increment after the: a. completion of 3 years at the current position. b. achieving a performance appraisal rating of "Exceed Expectations" for 2 years in a row. 2. Upon granting an employee a promotion, they will only be eligible for a merit based incentive after 2 years have passed. 3. A period of 2 years should be allowed before granting an employee another merit based increment. 4. An employee facing allegations related to honor or integrity should not be nominated for a promotion until a final verdict is issued either internally or by the courts. Increments Nomination Process: 1. Merit based increments constitute granting the employee a salary increase to recognize and reward high performers. 2. Merit based increments are not a contractual entitlement and will be determined based on organizational performance results. 3. Merit based increments nominations must be made by Line Managers as a result of the annual employee performance assessment. 4. HR will be responsible for reviewing the nominations and ensuring the following: a. Availability of approved increments budget. b. Nominees' eligibility. 5. HR recommendations are submitted for review and approval as per the approved guidelines and DoA(Delegations of Authority).
UoS Staff Handbook Page 22 6. The promotion and rewards budget is determined as part of the yearly budgeting process after the review of HR recommendations as per the approved guidelines and Delegations of Authority. Increments Implications: 1. Employees granted an increment are eligible for an increase of the basic salary which will be determined annually based on the available budget. 2. Employees are eligible for the merit based increment from the first day of the month in which the increment is approved, unless otherwise specified. 3. A merit based incentive may not be awarded in combination with a promotion. D. Financial Awards Financial Awards Eligibility: Employees may be nominated for the award of an incentive if outstanding contributions and selfinitiated projects have been carried out to advance UoS and enhance its offerings to its stakeholders and community, in addition to performing the job duties. Financial Awards Nomination /Application Process: 1. Financial awards constitute granting the employee a financial payment as a lump sum to recognize exceptional achievements. 2. Financial awards are not a contractual entitlement and will be determined based on organizational performance results and management's discretion. 3. A framework to administer the process of nomination and application for financial awards will be developed and implemented by HR. The framework will outline the following: a. The Purpose of the Financial Awards Framework b. Scope of Application c. Roles & Responsibilities d. Awards Categories e. Awards Eligibility / Conditions f. Awards Criteria g. Awards Application / Nomination Review & Assessment Process h. Types of Awards 4. The promotion and rewards budget is determined as part of the yearly budgeting process after the review of HR recommendations as per the approved guidelines and Delegations of Authority. Types of Recognition Programs: 1. Employee Excellence Award: A yearly award has been developed to acknowledge outstanding employees and their achievements / contribution to UoS. 2. Appreciation Certificate: Line Managers are expected to demonstrate recognition / appreciation of special performance/contribution by issuing Employee Appreciation Certificates.
UoS Staff Handbook Page 23 3.10 Guidelines for New Employees at the University The HR Department will familiarize new employees with all of the information that they will need during the hiring process and any required documents, summarized as follows: Stage One: Before Commencing Work at the University: After a candidate has been nominated for a position and the Chancellor has approved the appointment, an official decision will be issued by the Employee Affairs Committee upon which the candidate will receive both the decision and offer of employment. 1. Calculating Salaries The salary of a candidate is determined according to an approved table of salaries based upon provisions issued by the Employee Affairs Committee with regard to appointing employees and grade availability in the department of hire. 2. Obtaining National Security Approval 3. Preparing the Offer of Employment HR undertakes preparation of the offer of employment to the candidate, which clearly states the position title, department/unit to which he/she has been appointed, position grade, salary and other benefits, and entitlements to regular vacation. The candidate is given approximately one week to respond to the offer after which the offer will be considered void. 4. Submitting Required Documents for Employment HR will request some supporting documents from the candidate through the offer of employment with which a new file for the candidate will be opened. 5. Completing Required Forms HR will require the candidate to fill out certain forms before he/she commences work. 6. Opening a Bank Account 1. All newly appointed employees joining the University are required to open a bank account and to provide the account information to the Salaries Section in HR no later than the 15th of each month. 2. If an employee wishes to change his/her account number or change his/her bank account from one bank to another, he/she must visit the HR Department to finalize arrangements upon which he/she will be asked to provide a bank release statement from his/her previous bank and an official letter from the new bank authorized for the direct deposit of his/her monthly salary. Stage Two: Commencing Work at the University After the employee has completed the first stage, and has submitted all documents to the HR Department, he/she may commence work in his/her department or unit, which will undertake the following:
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RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTQ1NzAwMQ== | of the persons to whom the mission is assigned, whether it is a delegation or one person, the destination and the period required to complete the mission. Definitions Staff (Non Academic Staff): University employees who are employed full-time and are not classified as faculty. All non-faculty appointments are included.
UoS Staff Handbook Page 14 Admin Staff: an employee in administrative jobs or in jobs of technical nature of all kinds Such as administrative assistant, administrative officer, executive officer, Coordinator, unit officer, specialist and technician. Professional Staff (Directors-Leaders-Supervisors): Persons employed for the primary purpose of performing academic support, student services, and institutional activities, whose assignments would require either college graduation or comparable experience. These activities are classified as one of the following: Executive, administrative and managerial or other professional duties. Clinical Tutor: Person employed to provide students with high-quality tutoring, training and development opportunities, as well as manage and organize assessment activities. Laboratory Supervisor: Person employed to supervise, maintain and upgrade the laboratory facilities, support faculty and students who are using them, as well as safely test the labs and assure proper functioning of facilities, materials and equipment. Support Staff: an employee in service support or technical support jobs such as driver, security officer, professional/craftsman, helper, users and office boys. Academic Staff: People who teach courses at UOS colleges. Faculty members may include professors, associate professors, assistant professors, Lecturer and instructors. Full Time Staff: The one who works at least 40 hours weekly with full time contract and has specific duties to do according to the position title and job description illustrated before in the contract. Part Time Staff: Persons on the payroll of the institution for specific period and classified by the institution as part time. 3.5 Employment System Through the Department for Human Resources (HR), the University recruits and appoints various administratively qualified personnel both from inside and outside the country. Priority is given first to UAE nationals, followed by nationals from GCC countries, Arab nationals, and other nationalities, respectively. The University adheres to the most up-to-date methods, applying both technical and scientific analysis in reviewing and evaluating applicants, to ensure hiring the most qualified and skilled administrative personnel possible to help fulfill the University's mission. Positions are announced once approved in the University's annual budget according to the following: A. Announcements are made on the University's website and in local and foreign newspapers (if required). B. All announcements must be made locally (if not filled by someone in the University). If a suitable individual is not found locally, the vacancy must be announced outside the country. C. An employee within the University may apply for a position which is announced by the University if he/she meets the qualifications in accordance with the University By-Laws for reappointment.
UoS Staff Handbook Page 15 3.6 Applying for Employment Anyone interested in joining the University may visit the University's website through the following link: http://newhr.sharjah.ac.ae/en/Pages/JobOpportunities.aspx or enter the Job Opportunities page. Here one may fill out an application on the website, which will allow the University to contact the applicant for any additional information. Likewise, anyone interested in employment at the University may visit HR at the University to complete an application form by hand and submit the necessary documents. An employee shall have attained the following qualifications to be appointed at the University: 1. Appropriate qualifications and experience, for job grades (10 through 12). 2. High school certificate/diploma, or the equivalent, for job grades (7 through 9), in addition to the appropriate work experience in the job specialization. 3. University degree, or the equivalent, for job grades (1 through 6 and above). 4. University degree, or the equivalent, for job grades (1 through 6 and above). 3.7 Contracts The period of contract is two years renewable for similar periods based on the employee performance. 3.8 Probationary Period and Renewal Employees at the University in all grades are subject to a compulsory probationary period for six (6) months from the date of commencing work. If an employee does not demonstrate full competence in his/her position, the University reserves the right to end his/her services during the probationary period. Otherwise, the employee will be considered instated in his/her position and the probationary period will be included as a part of his/her period of service, provided that the employee passes his/her evaluation by the concerned college dean, department director, or immediate supervisor and is recommended to the HR Department. Policy 1. The duration of the probation period for professional staff hired under full-time contracts (Admin Positions) and Special Contracts is (6) months. The duration of the probation period for professional staff positions hired under fixed-term contracts is (1) month. 2. During the probation period, the new professional staff's performance will be monitored by the line manager as per the approved Performance Management Framework (Probation Period). 3. Successful completion of the probation period will result in the confirmation of the professional staff as a full time employee. 4. The new professional staff must be notified in writing of their employment confirmation or termination before the end of the probation period. If neither takes place, the new professional's employment will be considered confirmed.
UoS Staff Handbook Page 16 5. The new professional staff may be terminated by UoS at any time during the probation period. They will be notified (5) working days in advance. 6. The new professional staff who resign during the probation period must give (2) months' notice; however, UoS at its sole discretion may accept or request a shorter period. 7. If the new professional staff employment is confirmed, Employee Engagement will conduct a Stay Interview to ensure capturing the professional staff's feedback which enhances employee engagement and retention. 8. If the employment is not confirmed, termination procedures will be carried out by Employee Engagement after the end of the probation period - refer to Employee Separation Policy. 9. If the employment is confirmed, the probation period will be included when calculating the professional staff's End of Service Benefit. Procedure 1. Contract renewal for professional staff entails the renewal of a professional staff's employment at UoS. The contract renewal should be for the same job but the contractual terms and conditions remain the same or be revised. Contract renewal takes place when: a. There is a need for the position to remain active b. The professional staff's performance meets expectations c. The professional staff agrees to contract renewal 2. Employment contracts renewal terms are outlined below. Employment Category Employment Duration UAE Nationals Indeterminate Permanent (Professional Staff Positions) (1 to 3) years / Renewable Full Time (2) Years Part Time (1) Year Fixed-Term (1 to 2) Years Maximum/ Renewable With No Limit on the Number of Renewals Full time Part time Casual - Term (3 to 6) Months (1) Year Maximum/ Renewable for (1) Year Maximum Full time Part time Special Contracts (1 to 3) Years / Renewable 3. The decision to renew employment contracts' will be determined based on performance and work requirements. 4. Employment contracts renewal terms will be detailed in employment contracts and communicated to new joiners by Employee Engagement. 5. Employee Engagement will be responsible for monitoring the status of employment contracts on monthly basis and identifying those which end within (3) months.
UoS Staff Handbook Page 17 6. The concerned professional staff will be notified of the end of their employment contract (3) months before the end date. 7. Line managers will be notified of the end of the concerned professional staff's employment contract (3) months before the end date. Line managers will be advised to inform Employee Engagement of the recommendation to renew / extend the employment contract within (1) week of being notified. Justification of the recommendation must be presented and should be determined based on: a. Financial budget b. Business requirements and needs c. Professional staff's performance assessment d. Professional staff's agreement to the renewal 8. Upon receiving the line manager's recommendation, Employee Engagement will commence the employment contract's renewal procedures. The concerned professional staff should be informed of the final decision (renewal/non-renewal) as per the | 1,703 |
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