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Home / Winter 2014-2015 Issue / Feature / This Idaho Town - Preston
Feature December 02, 2014
This Idaho Town - Preston
Put on the Map by "Napoleon Dynamite," Preston Endures Its Fame 10 Years Later BY MIKE MCKENNA PHOTOGRAPHY CRAIG WOLFROM
For the most part, there's nothing particularly special about Preston, Idaho. But the pretty and predominantly Mormon town of 5,204 found its own 15 minutes of fame thanks to a hit Hollywood movie; a fame that appears to be lingering. Even though the locals may be a bit tired of it all, being home to "Napoleon Dynamite" will long be Preston's biggest claim to fame.
'Flippin' sweet!'
It's been a decade since "Napoleon Dynamite" found surprising success at theaters nationwide. Written and directed by former Preston residents Jared Hess and his brother Jerusha, the film's quirky humor, memorable one-liners and odd but endearing characters instantly resonated with audiences. The movie has become a cult classic. Its 10th anniversary celebration last summer received loads of press and even included the unveiling of a Napoleon Dynamite statue, wearing a "Vote for Pedro" shirt, of course, in Los Angeles.
The film's widespread popularity instantly made Preston a tourist destination. The town even held a "Napoleon Dynamite Festival" for a few years before interest died down.
While the tetherball may be missing from its post, and Big J Burger has had a facelift, Preston doesn't look much different from the way it did in the movie. So when the odd tourists, like journalists from Sun Valley, still come in search of Napoleon's house or the old bowling alley, they don't leave disappointed. For the most part, locals are still tolerant, if not overly welcoming, about it all. There's even a sign that reads "Heck Yeah, Napoleon Dynamite's House" in the front yard of the brick, ranch-style landmark. The house and dirt road look pretty much the same way they did when Uncle Rico threw a steak like a football at Napoleon's head and a llama named Tina lived in the pasture next door.
The Pop'n Pins Bowling Alley is one place in town that still celebrates its legacy. Movie posters, a guest book for fans and photos from the shoot still adorn the well-maintained, retro bowling alley. But the walls of the Pop'n Pins seem to be more nostalgic for the movie than most of the town folks.
"A lot of people came here for a while because of the movie, so it was a good plus for the town for a while, but it's starting to die down," said Chris Pitkin, who was born, raised and is now raising his own family in Preston, and whose grandfather owns the alley. "But everyone here is pretty much over it. I know I am."
'Heck yeah!'
One of the first things visitors to Preston notice is how pretty the Cache Valley is. The sweeping valley is awash in lush farm fields, sprinkled with deciduous trees and surrounded by mountains—the Bear River Mountains to the east, and the Wellsville and Bannock ranges to the west.
The Pioneer Historic Byway (Highway 34) slices through the Cache Valley, following the Oregon-California Trail for a spell and passing by what the region had been most famous for—before "Napoleon Dynamite" came to town—the Bear River Massacre site. In late January 1863, shortly after Idaho's first permanent settlement was formed in nearby Franklin, U.S.<|fim_middle|>ous
7 Wonders of Idaho BY Kelly Hennessy
Land of the Thunder Dragon BY Laurie Sammis
When Mountains Come Down BY Adam Tanous
Living in the Shadow of the Sawtooths BY Mike McKenna PHOTOGRAPHY Craig Wolfrom | soldiers killed more than 250 Shoshone men, women and children in one of the worst slaughters of Native Americans in the history of the West.
Later that same year, President Abraham Lincoln gave the Gettysburg Address. While Lincoln was extolling that "this nation, under God, shall have a new birth" in Pennsylvania, scores of Mormons were following similar advice from Brigham Young and starting communities throughout the Intermountain West. The Cache Valley to the north of the Great Salt Lake became a popular destination, especially after Young declared, "No other valley in the territory is equal to this."
The Bear River meanders through the northern section of Cache Valley and where it crosses Highway 34 is where you can find the Riverdale Resort. The heated mineral springs resort opened in 1984, after the rancher who owned the property finally figured out why the snow was always melting in one section of his property. The natural hot springs resort is a popular spot for families and is open year-round.
Even though Riverdale wasn't in "Napoleon Dynamite," the director of the film does come for a soak every now and again, according to Sara Argyle, who owns the resort.
"A lot of locals will roll their eyes when you ask them about it," Argyle said of the film, as she gave photographer Craig Wolfrom and me a tour of the property. "But you're in Preston and it's part of the attraction. People definitely still come here because of the movie."
'Whatever I feel like I wanna do, gosh!'
One thing people definitely do not come to Preston for is the party scene. Liquor laws in Franklin County, Idaho, are very strict. Most places, like the bowling alley or the most popular restaurant in town, New York Deli, don't sell alcohol.
The town offers two bars for the general public. Both bars offer beer that's 4 percent alcohol by volume or below. Last year, after jumping through numerous hoops with the town and county, the Owl Club started selling wine as well.
Located in the heart of Main Street, the Owl Club has been a staple of Preston since 1934, although women weren't allowed in the place until 1975, earning the club the nickname "man's last hangout." The pool hall and watering hole is, like many old Western bars, long and narrow. But unlike most, it's exceptionally clean and uncluttered.
Rose and Steve "Buck-O" Berquist have owned the place for close to two decades now.
"It's the 'Cheers' of Preston," Steve Berquist said, and his words were prophetic. As soon as photographer Wolfrom and I entered the bar, all eyes were on us. Several folks even leaned out of their barstools to see what Wolfrom was doing once he began taking photos. Almost instantly, a woman at the bar yelled out, "It's not nice to take pictures of people without their permission!"
By the time we'd finished our first round of beers, explained that we were doing a story for Sun Valley Magazine and would be happy to delete any photos of people unwilling to take part, the bar had basically emptied out. We'd ruined the Saturday night of nearly 20 locals.
Among the handful who remained, one transplanted local offered up some commentary on life in the heavily Mormon community, but asked to remain anonymous. "This is the type of place where they don't ask you your religion, they ask you which ward. Everyone is pretty much LDS around here. Some of us just don't practice it as hard. But if pictures of people drinking showed up in a magazine, it could hurt their businesses or jobs."
The folks over at Preston's other bar, Tattles, take on more of a Napoleon Dynamite approach to their lives and do what they want to do. Catering to a younger crowd and popular with the non-Mormon residents of the area, it has a fun and festive atmosphere.
Tattles offers a breakfast and lunch restaurant on one side and an A-framed bar on the other. Joyce Pitcher has owned Tattles since 1999. She renamed the former Al Joes Bar "Tattles" because she thought the name was a perfect fit for the community. "It's a small town," she said before returning to the kitchen to cook up another breakfast order. "Everybody talks."
Pitcher is certainly right. A decade later, people are still talking about "Napoleon Dynamite" and making pilgrimages to the little Western town where it was made. The local paper, The Preston Citizen, even offers a map of sites from the film and sells related merchandise.
Sure, most people in Preston may be over the town's 15 minutes of fame, but loaded with funny catch phrases and ultimately heart-warming humor, there's no doubt high school kids in Idaho and across the country will be watching and quoting "Napoleon Dynamite" for decades to come. There are, of course, worse claims to fame than being the home of a character about whom movie posters announced: "From rural Idaho comes a new kind of hero!"
This article appears in the Winter 2014-2015 Issue of Sun Valley Magazine.
The Big Boats
Navigating 3,000 pounds of gear down the Middle Fork of the Salmon
Solitaries
Choosing to go it alone in Salmon River country
Making it Snow
Sun Valley's snowmaking team brings technology, hard work, and passion to work every night
Those Who Live to Ski: Kent Hanney
Baldy Boilermaker
Those Who Live to Ski: Dylan Peterson
Skiing with Dylan Peterson– a family affair on Hug Mountain
Those Who Live to Ski: Dan Hawley
Around the World With Dan Hawley
Spirit of the Wild By Bryant Dunn
Room with a View by Karen Bossick
A Culture of Giving By Matt Furber
A Curious Friendship By Adam Tan | 1,236 |
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Wojciechowski previously served as the BSX's Chief Operating Officer, and prior to joining the Exchange held management positions at several US brokerage firms. He was educated in the US, receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Wojciechowski also serves as Chairman of Bermuda's Financial Intelligence Agency and ILS Bermuda Ltd, and sits on the Board of Directors of the World Federation of Ex | 3,605 |
"In working with OAA, it is evident that they not only have a firm grasp of the business environment, but they also display keen insight into the challenges we face."
<|fim_middle|> challenges from their current assignments. The key elements included a three-day training program, preceded by weeks of pre-work engaging the executives and their managers, follow up small group meetings to support their ongoing work on their selected challenges, webinars and culminating with a "skip-level" meeting with their boss's boss to outline what the accomplished and learned about the firm along the way. | A global consumer goods firm was seeking an executive coach for its CEO. It was the board's feeling that he needed to be more "heavy-handed" with his leadership team. The diagnostic interviews uncovered a complex set of pressures on the executive team that were impeding the organization's ability to respond to different pressures in different markets, set priorities, develop new products, and reallocate resources to support those priorities. The behavior of the team at the monthly meetings had disintegrated into turf wars and unproductive bickering. OAA developed an approach that led the team through a series of discovery, clarifying conversations that resulted in better alignment on both decisions and the corresponding implementation of those decisions.
A small human services agency found themselves in a downward spiral of worsening outcomes, morale and readiness to meet the turbulent state and federal regulatory changes in rules and funding. The chief executive found herself needing to be more involved in the day-to-day operations while also trying to manage the political and regulatory landscape that was threatening their very existence. OAA provided executive coaching for key leaders, created a process to improve engagement and leadership skills that helped the agency re-position itself for a more productive future in line with their personal, professional and organizational aspirations.
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A global financial services firm developed an extensive set of executive development experiences for all levels of the company. One element missing was leadership skills for leading in times of rapid change. OAA was retained to develop a concise, high-impact learning experience that helped selected high-potential executives make progress on real | 521 |
This eBook contains chapter 3, 'Roles and Competencies', from the testing book 'More Agile Testing: Learning Journeys for the Whole Team'. Here the authors describe how teams that succeed in creating high-quality software include people in a variety of roles and with a wide range of competencies. You need to form ways to get the ones you need on your team.
Teams whose members have a variety of T-shaped skill sets succeed with testing in fast-changing environments.
All team members need broad agile testing basics, allowing them to collaborate well for improving quality, but each one may contribute a different deep, specialized skill.
Testers communicate better with programmers, business analysts, product owners, managers,<|fim_middle|> the North American agile testing community. | DevOps practitioners, and other team members when they know the basic concepts of those other specialities.
Hire team members who are passionate about quality and learning, whose T-shaped skills complement each other's.
Set realistic expectations for new hires, and build in visibility and feedback.
Lisa Crispin is dedicated to helping agile teams and testers discover good ways to deliver the best possible product. She specializes in showing testers and agile teams how testers can add value and how to guide development with business-facing tests. Her mission is to bring agile joy to the software testing world and testing joy to the agile development world. Lisa joined her first agile team in 2000, having enjoyed many years working as a programmer, analyst, tester, and QA director. Since 2003, she's been a tester on a Scrum/XP team at ePlan Services, Inc. She frequently leads tutorials and workshops on agile testing at conferences in North America and Europe.
Janet Gregory is the founder of DragonFire Inc., an agile quality process consultancy and training firm. Her passion is helping teams build quality systems. For the past ten years, she has worked as a coach and tester introducing agile practices into both large and small companies. Her focus is working with business users and testers to understand their role in agile projects. Janet is a frequent speaker at agile and testing software conferences, and she is a major contributor to | 283 |
Fact or Fiction: Writing the family story--where are the boundaries?
I never met my great grandmother but I inherited her short stories, Leaves from a Reporter's Notebook. Her stories are dramatic and funny. I have no way of knowing if they are<|fim_middle|> details that provide context for their narrative. The difference in focus produces healthy debates over accuracy.
Family stories often present facts and dates that are misremembered and not always verifiable. Our relatives tell stories for effect by embellishing the anecdotes. Regardless, I believe there is more truth in a family's mythology than we give credence.
I took to heart what my mother said when she described her fractious relationship with her grandmother Nellie Belle and then told me I was "just like her." It was eye-opening to discover that the women in my family all display Nellie's attributes to some degree. Respect for education; a facility with language; a killer work ethic; a fighting spirit; a love for beauty and nature; belief in the value of family ties; and a sense that we are not alone in the universe–we are part of a larger plan. These characteristics work both for and against us, as I have tried to show in The Trials of Nellie Belle.
Writing a family story is like working a puzzle. Recently, I linked most of the pieces in a puzzle, but a handful remained. I could not make them fit. A black border framed the image, and it fought me. In an exercise of trial and error, I reworked sections. A few critical pieces fit more that one place! To create the whole, I had to work in the dark areas without a clear image to guide me.
The family story is like that puzzle. Some facts seem to make sense, but when you put them together, there are holes in the story. A writer uses the imagination's creative power to explore alternative ways of arranging the pieces. In the process, she unearths possibilities that produce a story that rings true.
Do you have an ancestor whose life would make a good book? Please reply to this blog and tell me a bit about that person in the comment section below.
Great thoughts on writing historical fiction. I especially loved these lines: "To create the whole, I had to work in the dark areas without a clear image to guide me.
And: "Some facts seem to make sense, but when you put them together, there are holes in the story. A writer uses the imagination's creative power to explore alternative ways of arranging the pieces. In the process, she unearths possibilities that produce a story that rings true." Can't wait to read the Book and see how you put it all together!
Thanks, Marie. You are doing a beautiful job on your work. I listened to the YouTube. You have a lovely reading voice and the way you share your research (photos) in the accompanying slideshow is inspiring. | factual, but they are faithful to the times and worth the telling.
All I know about Nellie Belle I heard from others who knew who her. I could trace some of her movements through genealogy records, but it was family legends, photographs, and scrapbooks that hinted at the drama of her life. The real story lay in what was left unsaid. I had to fill in the gaps with my imagination.
Historical Fiction fans may wonder about the line between fact and fiction in this genre. Accounts of past events fall on a spectrum that ranges from verifiable reports to speculation about events that may or may not have happened.
Historical fiction is subjective. Rooted in the facts of the past and grounded in the manners, mores, and details of a specific period, this literary genre allowed me to tell my story as I wished.
Leora and Nellie Belle, are they the same person?
My readers ask about similarities between Leora Moraga in The Sheep Walker's Daughter and Nellie Belle Carter Scott in The Trials of Nellie Belle. Are they the same person? Leora is an entirely fictional character. I modeled her loosely after Nellie Belle and appropriated some of the details of my great-grandmother's life. The two share some personality traits. They both worked in the court system. They both ditched husbands but under far different circumstances. Still, it's fair to assume they might be the same person. They are not.
The Trials of Nellie Belle tells the story of my great-grandmother written in the context of four generations of women. Characters from earlier generations bear real names as they appear on genealogy charts. As the story moved closer to present times, I changed the names. Famous people whose stories are on the public record I identified by their real names. Less famous people whose stories are mostly conjecture I renamed.
In these present times, the truth is a fluid concept. God, cultural norms, or individuals set the standards. Even facts are disputable. This presents a challenge to both the historian and the novelist. Historians want to animate history with a lively presentation of the facts. Novelists bury facts in the rich | 442 |
formidable collection of impressionist paintings."
2016 marks the centennial celebration of the National Park Service, a vital arm of the Federal Government that is charged with not only preserving over 84-million acres of land but keeping them available and accessible for the public's enjoyment. These beautiful lands have provided vital inspiration to artists and adventurers as far back as the history books can see.
The St. George Art Museum, located in southern Utah's gateway to the National Parks, has organized a year-long series of exhibitions honoring the centennial<|fim_middle|> the entire collection had sold out. 10% of proceeds from the exhibition are being donated to Zion National Park, only an hour from St. George, Utah.
and around the world, who love Zion National Park.
many art initiatives, and help continue the legacy of telling the canyon's story throughthe work of great painters."
giving it an almost fish-eye distortion accompanied by slight vertigo.
while dangling from a sandstone cliff. " | . This series of exhibitions is entitled UNITING AMERICA: 100 Years on Common Ground, and the year kicked off with the January-to-May exhibition, Erin Hanson's Painted Parks.
Painted Parks took over the Mezzanine Gallery of the St. George Art Museum, a structurally striking 1930's building that once functioned as a beet factory.
When Hanson was first contacted by the museum to be a part of the exhibition two years ago, the adventure began. Erin Hanson, a life-long hiker, backpacker and rock climber, began re-exploring the western National Parks, gathering artistic inspiration from parks such as Zion National Park, Cedar Breaks, Monument Valley, Bryce Canyon, Arches, the Oregon Cascades and Joshua Tree, to name a few.
The resulting collection of 38 original oil paintings was at last unveiled on January 16th, 2016. As visitors moved through the large exhibition space, they were transported, moved from an era of cement and metal to a world of sprawling mountain tops, sun-kissed plains and tangerine skies. By the end of the exhibition four months later, | 241 |
A giant of the tech world passed away last night
By Simon Hill March 22, 2016
Bill Gates called him "one of the great business leaders." Tim Cook called him "a giant of the tech world." Yet to many ordinary PC users he was more or less unknown — even though he helped build the PC industry as we know it today.
Andrew Grove, Intel's former CEO and board chairman, passed away Monday at the age of 79. Grove was the first hire at Intel and helped steer the company from making memory chips to its current position as the world's largest manufacturer of semiconductors.
"We are deeply saddened by the passing of former Intel Chairman and CEO Andy Grove," said Intel CEO Brian Krzanich. "Andy made the impossible happen, time and again, and inspired generations of technologists, entrepreneurs, and business leaders."
Born in Budapest, Hungary, Grove arrived in the U.S. in 1956, having survived Nazi and Soviet occupation. He studied chemical engineering at the City College of New York and completed his PhD at the University of California in Berkeley in 19<|fim_middle|>6
The cause of death has not been reported, but Groves had been suffering from Parkinson's disease for a number of years. He had contributed philanthropically to research to study the disease. He also donated $26 million to the City College of New York to establish the Grove School of Engineering.
He is survived by his wife of 58 years, Eva, two daughters, and eight grandchildren.
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The best free recording software | 63. His working life started at Fairchild Semiconductor, where he was hired by Gordon Moore. He rose to assistant head of R&D at Fairchild, and when Moore left to found Intel, Grove was persuaded to join him.
Grove joined Intel in 1968 as director of engineering and went on to serve as president in 1979 and then CEO in 1987. He built a reputation as an effective leader who could be very demanding, but he clearly had a profound impact on the world of tech. His leadership saw Intel produce the 386 and Pentium, ushering in the PC era. Under his leadership, the company increased its annual revenue from $1.9 billion to more than $26 billion. He stepped down as CEO when he was diagnosed with prostate cancer, but he didn't retire. Between 1997 and 2005 he served as chairman of the board.
"Andy approached corporate strategy and leadership in ways that continue to influence prominent thinkers and companies around the world," said Intel Chairman Andy Bryant. "He combined the analytic approach of a scientist with an ability to engage others in honest and deep conversation, which sustained Intel's success over a period that saw the rise of the personal computer, the Internet, and Silicon Valley."
The tech world was quick to pay tribute to Grove.
Andy Grove was one of the giants of the technology world. He loved our country and epitomized America at its best. Rest in peace.
— Tim Cook (@tim_cook) 22 March 2016
I'm sad to hear that Andy Grove has died. I loved working with him. He was one of the great business leaders of the 20th century.
— Bill Gates (@BillGates) 22 March 2016
Andy Grove was an inspiration growing up, his impact will be felt for a long time. RIP Andy Grove https://t.co/FRmzkM4QEP
— sundarpichai (@sundarpichai) 22 March 201 | 430 |
Oyster Award Winner
Melia Castilla
Cuzco, Madrid, Community of Madrid, Spain
See All Cuzco Hotels
Well located for business travelers and the Real Madrid stadium
Most of the interiors updated from 2015 renovation
Spacious rooms with traditional or chic modern decor
Extensive breakfast buffet and three a la carte restaurants
Seasonal courtyard pool, big enough for swimming laps
The Level exclusive floor with free tapas and drinks
Extensive meeting and function facilities on-site
Spa<|fim_middle|>-site parking and buffet breakfast -- at a cost
As one might expect from a hotel of this size and caliber, the Melia Castilla offers an impressive range of facilities. To start the day, the morning breakfast buffet provides 120 dishes (including eggs to order) making it one of the largest in the city. However, it does cost an additional fee. There are three other a la carte restaurants on-site, the traditional L'Albufera, considered one of the best specialist rice restaurants in Madrid, chic El Pelícano with an alfresco terrace, and the minimalist Distrito 798 offering high-end fusion. L'Albufera also has a mini-club for kids on weekends and holidays, while the Lobby Café is a popular meeting spot. Guests with rooms in The Level category also get free tapas and drinks in the exclusive club lounge, free breakfast buffet, plus private check-in and check-out. Room service is available around the clock for all guests, too.
The hotel is no slouch on the leisure front either -- it's one of the few hotels in Madrid with an outdoor swimming pool, large enough for a swim with loungers and a poolside bar (though it's only open in summer). A small spa offers massage treatments and a sauna, and there's a modern fitness room. Business travelers can use the wide range of meeting and function rooms, and Wi-Fi is free and fast throughout. The hotel also has a large car park on-site (though parking is expensive).
Basic Television
Poolside Drink Service
NH Collection Madrid Eurobuilding
Senator Castellana Hotel
NH Madrid Paseo de la Habana | with sauna and modern fitness room
Rooms with kid- and pet-friendly amenities available
Free fast Wi-Fi throughout
Large car park on-site (pricey daily fee)
See More Pros
Far from any tourist attractions
Some rooms showing signs of age
Breakfast not included as standard
See More Cons
The Melia Castilla is a '70s-era, business-oriented hotel set in the Cuzco financial district to the north of Madrid's center. Renovations completed in 2015 give this huge, 15-floor property a new lease of life in its public areas and many of its 915 rooms, though plenty remain in need of a makeover. The breakfast service is a particularly extensive spread (though it's not included in rates), and there are several good dining options on-site. A large outdoor pool is a rare addition, plus there's a spa for post-meeting pampering. Kid-friendly facilities mean it is also an options for families, though tourists will find themselves away from most attractions. Another nearby option to consider that draws corporate guests is the NH Collection Madrid Eurobuilding, featuring Michelin-starred dining and sleek contemporary rooms, though no pool.
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Oyster Hotel Review
Hotel Class: Upscale
Enormous landmark hotel with upscale business-oriented atmosphere
Whether seen as a monolithic eyesore or an exemplary piece of Modernist architecture, it's hard not to be impressed by the sheer size of the 15-story Melia Castilla. A sense of scale certainly doesn't diminish upon stepping in to the cavernous reception area, with polished steel, stone, and glass sparkling from a 2015 update and the sun that pours through prism skylights during the day. Clusters of elegant wingback chairs provide seating areas for the frequent meetings that take place in the lobby, while a long travertine check-in desk is manned with friendly, professional staff and includes a mini-check-in for kids. This landmark chain hotel, however, is principally business-oriented, with a smart, upscale atmosphere that continues through a deluxe spa, numerous function rooms, a swimming pool terrace, and the exclusive "The Level" floor aimed at executives.
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Set in north Madrid's financial district away from the tourist attractions
This hotel is located amongst the office and apartment blocks of the business and financial quarter of Cuzco, part of north Madrid's Tetuán district. While busy and bustling during the day with plenty of dining in the immediate surrounds, it mostly quiets down in the evenings and weekends. It's less that ideal for tourists as it's relatively far from the city center with no obvious attractions nearby. Real Madrid soccer fans are a 15-minute walk of Santiago Bernabeu stadium, and it's also 15 minutes on foot to the city's Golden Mile of high-end outlets and the Moda shopping complex. The dramatic Plaza de Castilla is a 10-minute walk, while two Metro stations -- Cuzco and Valdeacederas -- are six and seven minutes on foot, respectively, and connect to the city center in 15 to 20 minutes. The Madrid-Barajas Airport is 15 minutes away by road, and taxis tend to congregate outside the hotel.
See More Location
Mix of traditional and modern rooms, some with superb city views
The Melia Castilla has a whopping 915 guest rooms across a range of categories starting with the entry-level Classic, through Premium and Deluxe to Junior and Grand Suites. The smallest are a relatively roomy 280 square feet (26 square meters) with suites around double that. With so many rooms modernized, decor is being rolled out in phases; updated rooms are chic and contemporary with calm muted tones and stainless-steel accents, while more classic rooms have antique-style furnishings (some showing signs of age). Most rooms either overlook the street or pool, with the 15th-floor's signature The Level Rooms offering great views over the city.
Standard amenities include 32-inch flat-screen TVs (with pay-per-view movies, though limited English-speaking channels), well-stocked minibars, free Wi-Fi, and electronic safes. Pillow menus and black-out curtains are other helpful extras, especially for light sleepers. Pet and kid-friendly rooms are available with appropriate amenities in each. Higher-category The Level Rooms also add Nespresso machines, tea sets, and bathrobes/slippers. Bathrooms are mostly traditionally styled (though some are more contemporary) all with marble accents, shower/tub combos, and hairdryers; better rooms add separate showers and branded toiletries.
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Large outdoor seasonal pool, plus on | 971 |
If the ship's self-destruct is such a great idea why don't real Navies do this? [closed]
Background to my question:
I watched a recent episode of The Expanse where the ship's captain
self-nuked a main battleship/flagship to keep it from being captured.
It got me thinking, in-universe this appears to make no sense!
Ships having a self-destruct is a thing across many books/movies. Is this done only for "drama"?
Scuttling a ship and/or melting down certain tech (cryptography machinery e.g.) prior to capture makes good sense regardless of setting but blowing everything and everyone up seems a mere conceit to the writers craft.
I can imagine that at times a self-destruct may fit the story - Borg assimilation or other wars of total annihilation of the human species. Otherwise it just seems dumb to me.
Further proof of this device being merely a conceit, and not a coherent in-universe thing, is the fact that no matter how badly damaged the ship is it always retains the capacity to self-destruct. All other systems are fair game for being knocked off line but the self-destruct is somehow indestructible (until it's actually used of course).
Even the movie Galaxy Quest pokes fun at this by having the characters fail to disable the self-destruct at the last moment and it doesn't blow up because, well, it never has before so obviously it's supposed to be built to stop at 0:01:14 time remaining :D
Am I missing something?
~~~ So here's my edit. ~~~
There is lots of talk in answers and comments about "scuttling" a ship. I'm not asking about how one might scuttle a spaceship. If you re-read my question, now helpfully bolded or italicized to show clear emphasis, you will see I call out scuttling as a sensible procedure.
What is not sensible is atomizing the ship in a massive explosion, particularly while friendly people are still on board or near-by. Self-destruct is not scuttling a ship! It's turning it into a crazy up scaled IED. As it is usually presented, self-destruct is simply insane. And itt's the suicide-bomber part that bothers me.
If it was such a great idea it wouldn't be found only in fantasy literature, right?
As for methods of effectively scuttling a spaceship.
"Scuttle" it into a gravity well; "Scuttle" it by radiation "leak"; "Scuttle" it by fusing all critical electrical components; "Scuttle" it by giving it extreme rotational momentum at the time of abandonment; etc.
Excepting in science-fantasy settings, the hard vacuum of boundless space is a great place to scuttle a ship. Especially if you've toasted the critical components, then salvage is of dubitable worth. And for those who think spinning a multi-thousand-metric-ton ship at high speed and sending it off into deep space isn't a good way to scuttle it, then you need to consider how you would actually go about salvaging such a ship. How apart from tech that is really just a different name for magic that is (cough>transporter< cough).
~~~ So here's my 2nd edit ~~~
It seems the USS Halibut may have been under orders to scuttle itself with all hands on board if necessary to avoid capture. While this is seemingly a real example of mass suicide by the decision of one (or a few) senior officer(s) as a standing order,
it still fails as a direct comparison of what happens in The Expanse. Given the tech level exhibited in the show, self-destruct is a completely unnecessary method of keeping secrets IMO.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Halibut_(SSGN-587)
technology trope
Ships on seas scuttle; ships in space 'splode. Simple. – gowenfawr Feb 11 '16 at 21:49
Scuttling ships at sea deny access to the ship. Salvage, while possible, is expensive, dangerous, and may not be possible under conditions of conflict. However, a ship in space merely abandoned is more accessible to salvage - the difference between a ship and a derelict is just the amount of usable propellant that can be applied to it. SO, to get the equivalent "deny to the enemy" capability in space, you need to materially alter it (e.g., BOOM) instead of sinking it... (You could 'sink' it in a gravity hole, of course, but that has other issues) – gowenfawr Feb 11 '16 at 22:02
They do implement a self-destruct on real spacecraft. If a launch is off of intended trajectory and is a potential danger they will order the rocket to self destruct. – CBredlow Feb 11 '16 at 22:25
Except it isn't absurd. If your plan to scuttle a ship is to spin it really fast, then all that is needed to undo that act is to slow down the rotational velocity back to 0. All sorts of science fiction universes have tractor beams. Destroying only certain components might render some things inaccessible, but you'll need to ensure you don't accidentally leave something sensitive available or repairable. Plus, leaving a ship hull intact provides someone with a free ship hull, plus whatever other systems survived. The only way to know for sure a ship is inaccessible is to destroy it. – Ellesedil Feb 12 '16 at 2:42
Well, relativistic speeds is currently magic as well, even more so than tractor beams. I think you're too hung up on "scuttling is more realistic than destroying" and unwilling to see how different ways of scuttling a ship can be countered and ignoring how destroying the whole ship simplifies the whole situation so you don't have to worry about how other sentient space fairing beings might counter your scuttling attempt. Anyway, at this point, I think it's time to agree to disagree. – Ellesedil Feb 12 '16 at 2:56
There's some things that make a self destruct system make sense in SciFi, but not in real life.
Starships are already bombs: Most of the time spaceships use some form of anti-matter, black hole, or highly energetic unobtanium. All of the ship's power engineering systems are designed to continually prevent a catastrophic explosion. A 'self-destruct system' consists of disabling safety systems. These systems generally can't fail, because if the safety systems do fail, they ship blows up right then and there. In the real navy, there is nothing similar. Ships would need to be carrying around extra explosives just to turn themselves into a suicide IED. The space used for those explosives would be far better reserved for non-suicidal weapons.
Starships are fast: Most of the time, if you are going to turn your ship into a kamikaze IED, you want to blow just as you are ramming into your opponent. With FTL, impulse, shields, or other SciFi tech, ramming can be possible. In the real Navy? Ramming isn't a thing. It doesn't happen. Since the Age of Sail no ships have been successfully rammed. With the advent of iron ships and cannons on turrets there is simply no way to get close to another ship from typical naval engagement ranges.
Unknown possibilities: We are talking about ships that are exploring unknown space. Space that might have technologically advanced hostiles. You might not have the time to send your ship spiralling into a gravity well or any of those other options you listed.
Also, I don't know what aspects of them being a suicide bomber is troubling you. If you want to say what exactly is troubling I'll edit this and address it. That being said, from the Kamikazes in WW2 to Muslim Extremists today, when suicide bombing is the tactically superior choice, it will be used. When your ship is being shot out from under you and your tactical options are:
Die with all hands aboard
Suicide bomb, take out the bad guy; still die with all hands aboard
Well, suicide bombing IS the tactically superior option there.
ShaneShane
+1 and best answer here IMO. You are the only person to answer who seems to have largely understood what I was asking. Also, even though we don't view the issue the same way (my question means I think it's a problem; your answer says it's really not) you weren't snarky to me. Is there a Badge for not being a snarkass? If so, you deserve it! :) – user23715 Feb 19 '16 at 0:58
Re suicide bombing -- Both the examples you name IRL (Kamikaze/Muslim) are motivated by religion. In The Expanse this is not relevant. --- Your point #3 is most relevant in general. For point #2 -- With E=MC^2, even a 1-ton ship slamming into something at .1C is big #### boom! – user23715 Feb 19 '16 at 0:59
However, I maintain that for Tech so important that you must mass-suicide before letting it fall into enemy hands, it is easier kept secret by having the crew know how to use the firmware/software but know nothing about how it works/how to fix it. --- Capture looks imminent? Set a thermite charge on firmware/software chip-set. Easy. No one dies in a mass suicide. --- You might also care to read my comments under the answer by Peter and the one by Trenin. – user23715 Feb 19 '16 at 1:01
>>In the real Navy? Ramming isn't a thing. It doesn't happen. Since the Age of Sail no ships have been successfully rammed.<< Tell that to the captain of PT-109, John F. Kennedy! – Alex Mar 12 '19 at 17:16
On the One Hand: Often self-destruct is not a feature of the ship, but is more of an option inherent in the power / propulsion system. If you turn off all the safeties and let the warp core / nuclear reactor / unobtainium go out of control, it will overload and blow up the ship.
You could, in theory, allow a reactor meltdown to happen on a nuclear powered ship and it would melt the reactor chamber and kill everyone on board due to radiation exposure. It may melt its way outside and sink the ship as well.
Such as K-431 which had an unintentional accident during refueling which resulted in an explosion.
At 10:55 AM the starboard reactor became prompt critical, resulting in a criticality excursion of about 5×1018 fissions and a thermal/steam explosion. The explosion expelled the new load of fuel, destroyed the machine enclosures, ruptured the submarine's pressure hull and aft bulkhead, and partially destroyed the fuelling shack, with the shack's roof falling 70 metres away in the water.
You could also kamikaze your ship into another. This will likely result in it being ruined and be detrimental to the crew's health.
On the Other Hand: I think most crew would be very demoralized working on a ship that could at any moment self-destruct. That is why in real life usually a little work is required to destroy an asset, instead of having a button ready to kill the ship should you accidentally lean too hard against it.
And on the Gripping Hand: Traditionally navies have used scuttling to cost effectively destroy assets they don't want falling into enemy hands. Warships could also purposefully detonate ordinance that is on the vessel (be it torpedoes, gun powder, or rockets).
Scuttle:
to sink (a vessel) deliberately by opening seacocks or making openings in the bottom.
Jack B NimbleJack B Nimble
As I said to @gowenfawr "Scuttling ships at sea doesn't atomize the remaining crew. And for that matter nothing prevents a spaceship from being scuttled (i.e. nothing says scuttle=blow up for spaceships)." It's the suicide bomber part that bothers me. If it was such a great idea it wouldn't be found only in fantasy literature, right? – user23715 Feb 11 '16 at 22:00
To the recent edit, Jack says, "Often self-destruct is not a feature of the ship, but is more of an option inherent in the power / propulsion system." -- Yes, but in all the examples I've listed (and ones I haven't but am familiar with) the self-destruct is precisely a feature of the ship's operation. – user23715 Feb 11 '16 at 22:15
@DarkSkyForever I've converted your post to a comment as it did not attempt to answer the question. If you feel otherwise please feel free to answer again. – AncientSwordRage♦ Feb 11 '16 at 22:17
@user23715 - in what way do your examples show self-destruct to be a feature? In Star Trek, the self-destruct is simply allowing an unregulated anti-matter explosion to take place. For a contemporary ship, the only things that would have the equivalent abilities are nuclear-powered carriers and subs - and runaway reactions would tend towards a china syndrome rather than explosion (still leaving a big hole in the hull where the reactor mass burns through) – HorusKol Feb 12 '16 at 1:55
+ 1 just for "On the Gripping Hand". – DrewJordan Feb 12 '16 at 12:49
Historically, scuttling ships has been fairly common. Warships are expensive and valuable assets, if you have one of your ships destroyed then you have just lost one, if it is captured not only do you lose it but your enemy has gained use of it so you are now effectively two ships down.
In 1942 the French Navy scuttled most of their fleet at Toulon to prevent capture by German Forces. Another well known example from WWII is the Graff Spee, scuttled at Montevideo after being trapped in port by a British fleet.
As well as denying the ships themselves to the enemy scuttling could be used to protect secret information or technology eg in the case of U-110 where this was unsuccessful.
Ships may also be scuttled in shallow waters or deliberately run aground for tactical or engineering reasons for example to deny access to a harbour or to quickly create a breakwater.
In practice ships tend not to need a specific 'self destruct' system as they can either use their own munitions to breach the hull or allow the hull to flood, for example a submarine could be quickly flooded by opening both the inner an outer doors of its torpedo tubes.
Clearly there isn't a direct equivalent of 'sinking' a spacecraft so it seems reasonable that they would require something a bit more active to put it beyond use, what this might be would depend on the technology involved.
To answer the question why warships don't self destruct the answer is that sometimes they do (eg the Graff Spee again). This usually occurs in circumstances where the crew have plenty of time to prepare the explosives required and to escape safely and when this would be more effective than simply sinking the ship eg in shallow water.
The 'suicide bomb' aspect of the question depends on whether the crew have any means of escape and some form of escape pods or shuttle craft are common enough in sci-fi. Similarly a space craft offers many situations where the crew are either already dead or have little chance of surviving eg due to hull depressurisation or radiation exposure. Equally any self destruct with a timer implies that the time is for the crew to escape, otherwise what is the point of having a countdown. In any case any measure which puts a ship beyond salvage is going to stand a fair chance of killing any crew left on board.
It may also be that the only way to prevent the ship being captured is to improvise a way to destroy it eg by detonating its munitions on-board, in which case it is not a planned feature but a desperate decision.
Chris JohnsChris Johns
Right, but as others have pointed out in comments on other answers; simply blowing a hole in the side of a star ship is not likely to prevent the enemy from capturing it in the same way that scuttling an ocean going vessel in deep water can do. You'd need to do something more dramatic. Maybe the real question should be, why aren't any of these space-opera star ships equipped with life boats? – Solomon Slow Feb 11 '16 at 23:20
@jameslarge: They almost always seem to have escape pods. Of course, for added drama, there's usually a reason why they can't be used. – Nate Eldredge Feb 12 '16 at 0:28
To add, ships don't have "self destruct" buttons because, 1) That's very easily exploitable by any rogue member of the ship, 2) designing a system to specifically destroy itself when needed proposes some awful problems with the system when it doesn't want to explode (oops, a wire got crossed, goodbye ship!), and 3) When things are designed to do something, they are designed because they need to do it gracefully, efficiently, or robustly. As it stands, blowing something up is mostly neither of those things, and so doesn't require a design. Just use onboard explosives to tear it a new one. – Premier Bromanov Feb 12 '16 at 15:40
Why don't real navies use dedicated mechanisms to allow for quick self destruction when the need arises?
Every naval force still trains its men to scuttle ships, and has in-depth protocols for such a situation, but they don't have a "self destruct" system ready to go at the push of the button for a number of reasons:
Because scuttling a ship is a last resort to keep the ship and/or its cargo from falling into enemy hands, and it doesn't happen very often.
Because our technology is limited. The only means I can imagine by which a ship could be scuttled are:
Rig the bilge pumps, hatches, etc, to allow water in, or actively suck water in.
Rig the hull with explosive charges, and don't arm them until they are needed.
Both of these options are problematic: Both might fail when you need them, after sitting idle for most of the ship's life. Both might trigger when they shouldn't, either through accidental malfunction or malfeasance/sabotage, leading to the loss of the ship and/or some or all of the crew for no reason. And the explosives, even if they aren't armed, might detonate (partially or fully) if the ship is attacked, or even if it hits a patch of rough seas and gets banged around a bit.
Individual ships, in and of themselves, aren't that important anymore, and in the unlikely event that, say, a USN vessel was captured intact, it wouldn't be that big a problem:
The real danger in capture would be the intelligence (data), intelligence gathering devices, and weapons systems on the ship. The crew would almost certainly be trained to render these useless to the enemy before capture. The computers, etc, could be disabled rather quickly, probably according to predetermined protocols which the crew had been trained in beforehand.
The ship's crew would alert command on other ships and on the mainland of the situation, and it would be relatively easy for command to order a strike on the ship after it was captured - either by launching a remote attack via bombers and missiles, or by ordering a special forces assault (probably by Navy Seals, in the USN) to retake the ship.
The smaller the ship, the easier it would be for the enemy to capture - it is hard to imagine a force large enough to successfully overwhelm an aircraft carrier, with hundreds of aircraft, and thousands of crew. And the smaller the ship, the less useful it would be to the enemy, and the less threat would be posed by its capture.
For example: It would be relatively easy to overtake a Navy tug, but why would you bother? If you can afford such an operation, you can probably afford to buy a tug yourself. And even if it was cheaper to steal a tug than buy one, it would make more sense to steal a civilian tug - civilians can't call up the Navy to get their tug back; the Navy can.
In other words, if you have to steal a tug, and you have a choice between stealing it from people who have Navy Seals (or their international equivalents) at their disposal, or people who don't, why would you choose to steal it from the guys who can send in the Seals?
More generally, you can steal a small ship easily, so why steal one from any navy, knowing that it will either lead to serious legal problems (far more serious than just stealing a civilian ship), possibly trigger an international incident, and almost certainly lead to lots of trained military personnel with very big guns trying to murder you?
My buddy who is an officer in the US Coast Guard confirms this:
I can tell you that scuttling plans were still a real thing as of when I left my underway assignment in 2002. We had shallow water and deep water scuttling instructions, and friendly/hostile seas instructions. As the Damage Control Assistant, my job involved running down ladders with a large sledge hammer. My engine room duties involved disabling the heavy machinery in ways that if the ship were recovered by enemies it would be worthless mechanically. The combat officer took steps to prevent sensitive information and systems from falling Into enemy hands - not sure how specific I should get, can't remember how much of a trade secret this was.
As to why we don't have a dedicated system or a button - the basic answer is one of the ones posited [in this answer] - a combination of maintenance and the fact that even if you had explosives without a charge set, if an enemy could learn where those explosives were then sinking a ship and killing many of the sailors on it becomes a LOT easier. Even the important stuff isn't set to fry on its own - it needs some combination of matches, axes, or magnets operated by people to fry it.
In short, scuttling is rarely necessary today, so it isn't worth the risks involved with rigging your ship ahead of time to sink at a moment's notice on the off chance that you'll need to do it. If you try to scuttle your ship when the need arises, you might be overtaken before you can do so, but even so, it isn't as big a problem as it might have been in the past. This doesn't change the fact that sailors are trained in scuttling; however, it is rarely done.
Wad Cheber stands with MonicaWad Cheber stands with Monica
@NateEldredge - That was 70 years ago. – Wad Cheber stands with Monica Feb 12 '16 at 0:35
@WadCheber -- I feel ya. My question is totally misunderstood and about to be edited for "clarity" (I hope). – user23715 Feb 12 '16 at 2:14
With regard to having dedicated ship-scuttling equipment fitted, when your spacecraft has a high-output fusion reactor at its heart, you don't need much else. Just ramp it to maximum, dump a load of fuel in, hold it as tight as you can for a moment, then cut all power to core containment. It might not be as specatacular as Hollywood would have you believe, but it'll make enough of a mess that the ship is unusable without serious (ie. not cost-effective) work. Any decent interplanetary drive system has a lot of power on tap. – anaximander Feb 12 '16 at 10:13
@WadCheber I know. It's just that a lot of the discussion centres around how real-world ships don't explode when you scuttle them, because that would require dedicated self-destruct charges, which are a risk in themselves. My point is that this doesn't make sci-fi self-destructs unrealistic; the sci-fi ships just have other options available when scuttling. – anaximander Feb 12 '16 at 10:20
@WhatRoughBeast if you hit the magazine of a warship, the munitions in there will explode. The difference is that the magazine is deep in the ship, and armoured, whereas scuttling charges would by necessity be right inside the hull plating. – anaximander Feb 17 '16 at 14:51
Credit to @CBredlow (I had no idea): "They do implement a self-destruct on real spacecraft. If a launch is off of intended trajectory and is a potential danger they will order the rocket to self destruct."
Navies can scuttle any seafaring vessel with the help of Poseidon alone. Astronauts need something with a little more kick. It is therefore decidedly not only found in fantasy literature. On the most efficient space-faring warships the option to deploy "Wal-Mart rubber boats" just wouldn't be there.
Because in space you get to drive angry: Mutually Assured Destruction. If Earth ever went MAD we wouldn't be having this discussion.
This is the best tactical decision available to the captain of the ship. Not only can she not risk her ship being captured, she must insure the safe escape of those who can prevent an all out war and also the data to that affect. She knows she's outgunned so she has to press the button.
It's turning it into a crazy up scaled IED. As it is usually presented, self-destruct is simply insane. And it's the suicide-bomber part that bothers me.
Unfortunately, there was a navy that utilized that tactic successfully at least 730 times.
Kamikaze aircraft were essentially pilot-guided explosive missiles, purpose-built or converted from conventional aircraft. Pilots would attempt to crash their aircraft into enemy ships in what was called a "body attack" (体当たり; 体当り, taiatari) in planes laden with some combination of explosives, bombs, torpedoes and full fuel tanks; accuracy was much better than a conventional attack, the payload and explosion larger. A kamikaze could sustain damage which would disable a conventional attacker and still achieve its objective. The goal of crippling or destroying large numbers of Allied ships, particularly aircraft carriers, was considered by the Empire of Japan to be a just reason for sacrificing pilots and aircraft. –Wiki
Yes, it's insane and it bothers me too. Watching videos of them makes me want to throw up.
MazuraMazura
I would like to add that every satellite launched into orbit is required to have a self destruct protocol. – coteyr Feb 12 '16 at 14:59
Likely because a rocket carrying the amount of fuel required to reach orbit is indistinguishable from a weapon if it reaches your city center. – Wayne Werner Feb 12 '16 at 20:06
Also, you should be aware that FTS (Flight Termination System) charges are typically shaped charges of about 1 pound of HE, mounted on the fuel and oxidizer tanks. They don't "blow the ship apart" - they puncture the tanks and let the resulting explosion do the rest. I've been involved in a mission where the destruct command was given right at the end of the burn, and the payload survived and was operational, although attitude control was hopelessly compromised by the spin produced by the squib. – WhatRoughBeast Feb 17 '16 at 16:25
The other answers go into great detail of how scuttling is the modern day self-destruct. As for why on science fiction the have an actual self destruct sequence as opposed to the manual scuttling procedure, it is because they have a viable option that can actually be automated.
Generally in sci-fi the ship's propulsion system makes use of a fuel/energy source that can be highly unstable and is very energetic. I.e, it is a bomb just waiting to go off. The warp core breeches in Star Trek bring a prime example. In this case you just need the self-destruct algorithms to disable the safeties and set the system to go critical and boom. We don't have anything comparable in the modern Navy, hence the manual scuttling procedures.
One would imagine that those future crews also drill on how to manually self-destruct their ships. The primary manual process would probably still be to make the reactor go critical. Secondary methods would exist for when the reactor is offline or maybe previously ejected because invests going critical. Generally, of course, the majority of the crew would evacuate before using the automated or manual methods.
Eric JohnsonEric Johnson
This answer got my first +1. It attempts to answer what I'm asking and I think you're on the right track. It's the IED method of use that bothers me the most. Think about this some more and make and edit (maybe) to your answer. I'll give your thoughts a half a day or so and see what I think then. – user23715 Feb 12 '16 at 3:12
"We don't have anything comparable in the modern Navy" Ahem, nuclear reactors? Not to mention that some ships actually carry nuclear weapons. – jpmc26 Feb 12 '16 at 20:14
@jpmc26 There is also the environmental damage consideration. The sci-fi explosions are generally portrayed as having no negative environmental impact. Turning a naval vessel into a nuclear bomb for most governments would create more problems than it would solve. – Eric Johnson Feb 12 '16 at 21:25
I think I'd add a point to that. Since you do always have an unstable energetic fuel on board, it would be very easy to manually set off an explosion without needing a purpose-built "self-destruct" mechanism. The problem is you also want to keep the crew alive while you do so. That means you need automation to perform the self-destruct remotely. This could be done either through timed detonation or remote detonation. However, remote detonation can too easily fall into enemy hands, so timers make the most sense. This assumes you can't jury rig a remote detonator, which is subject to debate. – 16807 Feb 12 '16 at 21:30
@Eric Johnson says, "The sci-fi explosions are generally portrayed as having no negative environmental impact. Turning a naval vessel into a nuclear bomb for most governments would create more problems than it would solve." -- Indeed. I can just imagine what the Forest Moon of Endor was like after the 2nd Death Star and an armada of space flotsam fell onto its surface. Poor Ewoks :( – user23715 Feb 13 '16 at 0:59
Scuttling starships in a method similar to ships at sea is impossible because there's no guarantee of a nearby ocean to take advantage of. Systematically destroying sensitive material is also rather slow. A lot of the methods the questioner suggested involves the ship having full engine power - in which case, why scuttle at all? Why not just attempt to escape?
The best comparison is not actually ships at all, but instead, tanks.
WWI tank example https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/E04927/
Or this Panther https://i.imgur.com/OkBhKqt.jpg
For tanks, the traditional way to destroy them is by internal explosion, using the tank's own remaining ammunition reserves, or a dedicated scuttling charge.
SQB
FhnuzoagFhnuzoag
@ Fhnuzoag says, "A lot of the methods the questioner suggested involves the ship having full engine power..." -- Not at all. Frying electronics (or their equivalent) would not require full power. -- Both the Rotational Momentum and Gravity Well methods only need thrusters. – user23715 Feb 13 '16 at 1:01
I wanted to address one comment in particular from the question.
"Scuttle" it into a gravity well;
In-universe for The Expanse, there is no FTL travel. More to the point, there is little travel at much more than 1G, except in emergency. This means that you could be days or weeks from the nearest gravity well, assuming your ship is capable of travel at all. (i.e. not incapacitated)
There is also the small matter of what's at the bottom of the well. There are several passages in book 1 in particular where they mention space warfare with rocks. I.e. all that the attackers have to do is start dropping rocks (asteroids) down the well; meanwhile, the defenders must specifically target the (much smaller) ships of the attackers. Damage to the defenders' infrastructure and population would be catastrophic, but the attackers would be relatively unscathed.
So even if you're near a gravity well, it might not be one you want to drop your ship down.
GalacticCowboyGalacticCowboy
@ GalacticCowboy says, "So even if you're near a gravity well, it might not be one you want to drop your ship down." -- True. But in The Expanse in particular it might be equally useful just to point the craft perpendicular to the plane of the ecliptic. That would make it a very costly salvage. – user23715 Feb 13 '16 at 1:02
@user23715 Assuming you can evacuate the crew, and that the ship is still mobile, of course. And an empty, automated or remotely controlled ship wouldn't need to accelerate at a comfortable rate, either. – GalacticCowboy Feb 14 '16 at 0:16
Scuttling is useful, but self-destruct is more of a plot device than anything else.
The goal of destroying valuable information and material before it falls into enemy hands is a very logical scorched earth policy. We see it in militaries all the time. However, it is typically well controlled. The logic is simple. On a normal ship, the vast majority of the ship is not all that sensitive. We don't mind it if the enemy gets their hands on a lot of things. However, there are a few things that are highly sensitive. These are things which, if falling into the hands of the enemy, are unpredictably dangerous. Obviously "a working warship" is something which would have unpredictable costs if the ship was taken over, so crew will go to make sure bringing the ship back into service is a maintenance nightmare. We see a similar policy for military arms which need to be removed from service. They are often rendered unable to fire by welding pieces of metal in places which are very difficult to repair without doing damage to the essential structure of the gun. This is far easier than outright destroying the gun.
The other thing which needs to be protected are secrets. In warfare, knowledge can be well over half the battle. These need to be destroyed to prevent them from falling into enemy hands. Such knowledge items as papers, codes, and sensitive hardware are easy to reproduce back home, but dangerous in the hands of the enemy. People will be told to destroy them.
So why the self destruct? There's a few reasons I think it is popular, all of which stem from the lack of audience understanding of the ship. In a real ship, people have literally spent their careers learning the ins and outs of the ship. All of the little details are in their heads. If they need to destroy it they can be efficient, targeting the weakest parts of the ship. In a show, its hard to convince viewers that just crumpling this one tube over here and filling the gas tank with sugar is going to cause some enemy mechanic to shake their head and say, "This isn't worth repairing." Better to make sure the viewer knows the hardware's going nowhere. Likewise, the viewers are typically not aware of what secrets are most important, and where they are kept, especially since the writers may not know either!
Finally, consider the suddenness. Captains in storylines are often asked to scuttle their ship on a moment's notice. There's a few issues here. First is that a real captain's job is to not get that surprised. The second issue is that real ships get thousands of man-hours dedicated to exploring these what-if situations, and try to make it as reasonable as possible to manage the destruction of what matters. The staff of a writing team and special effects teams may have a total of thousands of man-hours to build the entire ship, if they're lucky. Thus, a realistic captain trying to scuttle the ship in a realistic way would quickly reveal all of the shortcuts the team had to take in using a budget of a few million to write a story about a ship whose budget was in the high billions.
Cort Ammon - Reinstate MonicaCort Ammon - Reinstate Monica
The equivalent of self-descructing a spaceship is scuttling a (sea)ship. Real navies do have that. In fact, all ships can be scuttled.
All ships have a feature called a sea chest, which is a recess in the hull from which water can be drawn for e.g., ballasting and fire-fighting. Water is pumped into the interior of the ship for whatever purposes through pipes, which are, as I recall, typically somewhere in the region of 15-30cm in diameter. To allow these pumps and pipes to be replaced when necessary, there is a valve at the start of the pipe: you close the valve, replace the pipe, then open the valve again. To scuttle the ship, you close the valve, remove the pipe and open the valve: you now have a fairly large diameter connection between the sea and the interior of the ship, and seawater gushes in at a rate of up to tons per second. Ships are sometimes lost because repairs to the sea chest inlet pipes go wrong (e.g., Sea Breeze off south-west England in March 2014.
Perhaps a closer analogy would be aircraft. Some military aircraft, such as the Lockheed U-2 do have a self-destruct mechanism which destroys parts of the plane with explosives to avoid them falling into enemy hands. Likewise, the when a U.S. EP-3 aircraft collided with a Chinese fighter plane sustaining damage that forced it to land, the plane's crew destroyed much of the equipment on board (by pouring coffee into the electronics!) and dumped more into the sea. That probably didn't involve explosives but the crew of the downed helicopter in the Osama Bin Laden raid did use explosives to destroy sensitive parts of that craft after it crash-landed.
David RicherbyDavid Richerby
The benefits to a self destruct mechanism is:
explosions tend to be pretty irreversible for everything you want to destroy
you take out any enemy bad guys that happen to be close enough
explosions are easy to create, especially on war ships with lots of explosive armaments
explosions are quick. Once activated, you don't need to do any additional work to finish them.
explosions are not partial. An explosion will never be interrupted so that only part of the ship is "blowed up".
The down side to alternatives:
gravity well may not be close, or may be a friendly planet, so it wouldn't always be an available option. Also, you would need to drive into it - attacks may foil you by taking out your propulsion early, thus removing this option.
radiation leak may render much of the hardware unsafe for people to be around, but what if they send in a robot to look through computer files and salvage any tech? They may be able to reverse engineer it based on a robots detailed analysis, pictures, and video feeds. Or even through remote operation of the robot.
extreme rotation seems interesting, but not necessarily irreversible. Perhaps throwing a bunch of sticky foam at it until it slows down? If the rotation is so extreme that nothing sticks, the ship will probably fly apart, and how is that different from an explosion? Also, it takes time to ramp up, during which an attacking force could take out the propulsion units providing the rotation. If you have unlimited time to plan your scuttling, then sure. But if you need to make a quick decision, then this might not be an option.
fusing electrical components is fine too, but there are lots of electrical components on a ship. Would you take the time to fuse them all? You'd have to install fusing mechanisms in every hard-drive and media device. What if the the tech you are trying to protect is on a USB stick transported by a VIP? Or it is some documentation? You are not always just trying to protect your ship from falling into the wrong hands. Maybe there is something else on the ship you are trying to protect.
So in my opinion, there are many valid reasons why a self destruct explosion would be a good idea.
In the Expanse, the Mars ship invoked the self-destruct only when the enemy combatants threatened to breach their bridge. If they had succeeded, they might have obtained codes which would put the entire Mars communication systems at risk. Maybe they could have destroyed the codes, but perhaps the captain and officers could be captured and coerced (tortured) to reveal secret information. The self destruct mechanism was suicide, but the officers and captain agreed it was for the best interest. Also, it was a mutual destruction - none of the enemy survived.
In this case, there was a battle and the Mars ship was about to lose. The Martians were being killed and there seemed to be the thought that the attackers would not stop until all were dead. The self destruct transformed the result from a complete defeat to a stalemate. In fact, it was a minor victory if you consider that it enabled Holden and crew to escape.
To me, the plot hole is that the attackers did not anticipate the self destruct, or knew about it and<|fim_middle|> -- See my Endor comment above. :) -- Regarding points 4 & 5. -- Do not address my question. – user23715 Feb 13 '16 at 1:05
@ Jon Hanna -- Regarding point 6. -- You don't have to come anywhere near vaporizing a space ship to make it unsalvageable in practice. -- See some of the methods I mention in my question. – user23715 Feb 13 '16 at 1:05
@ Jon Hanna says, "In all, while both technological and cultural reasons for exploding an entire space-ship would depend on features of the fictional world-building, it's very much a sensible idea." -- I agree. It can be. I even said so in my question. -- My problem is with the way space ship self-destruct is presented in-universe across many stories. I was pretty careful to make that clear in my question. – user23715 Feb 13 '16 at 1:06
4 and 5 both relate to the practicality of self-destruct as an approach, and practicality entails feasibility. I don't see the point of your suggested methods; why go to the bother of complicated procedures that might work when you can just blow it up? – Jon Hanna Feb 13 '16 at 1:07
Self destruct is necessary to avoid having your assets fall into enemy hands. In Sci-Fi, boarding a vessel is usually surprisingly easy. In real life it usually is not. People would not generally attempt to approach an enemy battle ship in order to board and capture it, because it would be suicide.
Capturing a (space)ship provides the following potential benefits:
You can attempt to repair the spaceship and add it to your fleet.
You can learn about it's structural integrity and it's defense systems, stacking all future battles against similar hulls strongly in your favor.
You can learn how to replicate parts of the enemy technology and incorporate them into your own devices.
You can gain captives which, by interrogation, can divulge intelligence.
You can search for classified machinery and data on the ship, hoping that the systems and protocols in place to destroy these failed due to battle damage (see enigma).
You can learn about culture, habits, and weaknesses of the nation fielding the ship, e.g. look at how big the food storage is, and you know how long they can go without resupply.
You can salvage parts of the ship to repair or build your own stuff.
You can use the ship as a trophy for propaganda.
You may even be able to trade the ship back to the enemy if it has some symbolic or other value to them.
On the sea, all of these can be prevented or severely delayed by sinking the ship in any place where the sea is too deep for divers. In space you can't sink a ship. Since you need excessive amounts of energy for propulsion, you just need to release that energy = atomize the ship.
You list the following alternatives to blowing up the ship:
Putting the ship into a gravity well, i.e. crashing into a moon, planet, sun black hole, etc - This offers no benefit to blowing up the ship. It still requires significant amounts of energy to change an object's course, gives the enemy time to react before the ship is destroyed, and can be prevented in various SciFi settings by tractor beams. In contrast, if you blow up the drive instead of using it to change course, the destruction is immediate and final, which is much preferable.
Radiate the ship - Nice idea, until the enemy builds radiation proof drones to capture the now undefended ship. You also need a way to radiate the ship, which might be harder than just blowing up the drive.
Fuse all electrical components - Requires the ability to fuse all electrical components, still provides the enemy with intelligence regarding the hull, can fail due to battle damage, still allows the enemy to learn more about your technology, still allows the enemy to salvage the ship for raw materials, etc. It's just a very bad idea.
Extreme rotational energy - Let's break the 4th wall: Many readers will have difficulties understanding this concept. There's also the issue us tractor beams and similar SciFi technologies which supposedly can undo this. Specialized scanners which scan the spinning ship for weeks may also be able to gain additional information. If the ship spins too fast it's ripped into parts, which are almost certainly bigger and more valuable than the parts left after detonating the drive. Spinning up the ship also needs control of the drive, which you could use to blow up the ship instead. Blowing up the drive and thereby atomizing the ship is much harder to undo.
So finally: Blowing up a spaceship is easy and it works. Other ways of scuttling a ship are difficult and do not deny the enemy from gaining an advantage as effectively as blowing up your ship does.
PeterPeter
-- +1 and Thank you for a complete answer so late in the game (my question is now "on hold" and soon to be "closed" by default). -- In my question I tried mightily to separate out scuttling a ship from using it as an enormous IED that also suicides the remaining crew (who does that?!?). -- But I failed. :( -- I thought my question was a good one. I was enjoying The Expanse until the Donnager explodes into micro-fragments. That event brought me right out of the story. – user23715 Feb 19 '16 at 0:51
You raise some good points with your answer but: In the example from The Expanse it is clear the unknown enemy has, -- Superior navigation / maneuverability -- Superior engines -- Superior stealth tech -- Superior ECM -- Superior tactical breaching and storming capabilities -- Superior intelligence network – user23715 Feb 19 '16 at 0:52
Encryption tech is likely to be almost entirely software. There is no Enigma machine, no code-book, to capture. -- So whatever needs to be kept secret is likely on a single chip/chip-set that would be mighty vulnerable to thermite or the new tech equivalent. – user23715 Feb 19 '16 at 0:54
@user23715 A hint regarding the question: I think it was voted off topic because of the wrong audience. You'd probably get 40 upvotes in a day if you posted this on worldbuilding. – Peter Feb 19 '16 at 1:55
@user23715 But if you are in a battle, your enemies are close by. You can't simply send your ship into the vast expanse of space, because your enemies will simply follow you. A ship that cannot be seen visually can easily lose itself outside the standard shipping lanes. But you can't simply hide a ship when everyone searching for you can see where you are going. – Trenin Feb 19 '16 at 13:00
Scuttling a ship doesn't destroy it, but quite literally sends it to another dimension!
Very few ships are designed to operate successfully in that alternate dimension and return safely (submarines), so rescue operations are difficult and expensive, and too vulnerable to be undertaken during wartime.
If you don't have the technology to shift a spaceship to a relatively inaccessible dimension, then perhaps destroying it is the only suitable alternative.
Brian DrummondBrian Drummond
I'm going to address a slightly different point - aside of material loss/gain or military loss/gain. On planet, you can generally walk off the side of the ship and float around and hopefully get rescued by your side or their side. Most warships don't have a lot of room for the crew of a loosing ship - especially a large one. There's also security issues. As a result, they can let you try to get to land, leave you to float, pick you up, call for someone else to pick you up... and all the while you have some degree of survivability.
Space is a different matter - not easy to breath vacuum and live and the cold/heat/radiation issues... Not good - especially floating in the middle of a bunch of battle clutter. On planet, warheads, torpedoes, missiles, simple bullets sink leaving you able to be approached. In space they would form a cloud of nasty around the battle site - again not really inviting for anyone to come pick you up.
BlackbeagleBlackbeagle
I understand your thinking but space is BIGGER than you think. :) – user23715 Feb 13 '16 at 2:36
Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged technology trope or ask your own question.
Why don't they use gunpowder in the Star Wars universe?
Why did the Resistance automatically assume the use of this tech in The Last Jedi? | tried regardless. A more intelligent attacking force would have retreated with a few of their ships to a safe distance while their boarding units attempted to secure the ship. That way, at least some of them could survive if they were unable to secure the bridge before the self destruct was activated.
In the books, there is a bit more detail to this. There are three main stations on the ship: engineering, the bridge, and one other (I can't recall). Two of these are required to invoke the self destruct, so if one of the three is breached, the other two will destroy the ship before any sensitive data can be collected. Holden likens it to a race where the attacking force tries to secure two of the three before the defending force realizes hope is lost and destroys the ship.
TreninTrenin
+1 and see my comments to Peter; some of those apply to you. -- Storming a ship is much harder than they make it in the show The Expanse. -- If the Bridge, Engineering and the other place are that important to keep from the enemy they could easily be isolated in other ways. At least isolated for enough time to destroy important tech. – user23715 Feb 19 '16 at 0:56
Or to put it another way: If, in-universe, we are to understand that it REALLY was that easy for the unknown attackers, then their tech level is so far beyond that of the Mars group that the mass suicide is a pointless way to protect sensitive info. Just pointless. – user23715 Feb 19 '16 at 0:57
@user23715 They were protecting security codes that would have compromised the MCRN - the entire Mars military. Thus, they weren't necessarily saving their tech, but security codes. Also, they don't mention what the boarders were looking for, although that it what is implied in the book. – Trenin Feb 19 '16 at 12:48
@user23715 I don't think the attackers were superior at all. There were 7 attacking ships and in the show, the Donnager was clearly holding its own by destroying most of them early in the fight. However, they were taken by surprise since they were expecting OPA ships and were equally matched. The attackers had rail guns and their torpedos were almost good enough to evade their Point Defense System (a bunch of machine guns used to take them out when they get close). To me, this meant they were equally matched, but got unlucky in the battle, probably due to underestimating the enemy. – Trenin Feb 19 '16 at 12:53
@user23715 I think boarding a ship in space should be easy. First, you need to take out the drive and external defenses so that you can get close. Then, you attach at an airlock and breach. Alternatively, (I think this happened in the last show of the season, so spoilers) you can launch a pod with people in it at the ship. It attaches and possibly sets off a small explosive device to breach the ship. People enter through the hole once the air has escaped. I am assuming ships can compartmentalize to minimize damage of hull breach. Submarines do it, so space ships should. – Trenin Feb 19 '16 at 13:04
There is a false dilemma here. Your assumption is:
Self destructs are common in scifi
Self destructs are not common in RL
Therefore, it probably doesn't make sense
It is important to consider how in many scifi universes, the time a crew might have to scuttle/incapacitate is on the order of seconds. A crew can be killed or removed much more easily in scifi universes than a real-life world crew removed from a ship. This makes it more important for them to have an option to "scuttle" their ship quickly, reliably, and easily.
Second, in those universes, it is possible and probably that a self-destruct is far more reliable and safe than it would be now. They are all done differently, but it might be completely safe in the their world -- but it would not be safe given 2016 technology.
The purpose of scuttling is to prevent someone else using the ship or getting access to information about how it works, important sensitive information, etc. This works well in oceans where you can put it several thousand feet (or even several miles) below the surface. Or when your crew has time to make an orderly destroy-everything-and-sink-the-ship process.
If it was possible for an aircraft carrier in World War Two to have their crew immediately and entirely removed within a few seconds, I imagine that both the United States and Japan would have considered more "quickly self destruct" types of features on their ships.
In future technologies, a self-destruct can be more reliable and effective than it could be now
Pondering why future tactics aren't currently used when the fundamental technology is different is not a valid comparison in any sense
It's like saying in 1720, "people in the future [2016] use missiles and machine guns, but people in 1700s don't - it must not be a valid tactic to use. If it's a great idea why does no one do it?"
With space and your specifics:
"Scuttle" it into a gravity well
What if you aren't by a gravity well?
"Scuttle" it by radiation "leak"
This is as nice idea in theory, but nearly all scifi series/shows involve some sort of "radiation suit" which makes it invalidated.
"Scuttle" it by fusing all critical electrical components;
Removing the critical components doesn't mean you are blocking the ship from being useful.
"Scuttle" it by giving it extreme rotational momentum at the time of abandonment; etc.
Many scifi shows have some sort of tractor beams. This might be difficult to intercept in real life, but in scifi it normally isn't. Consider that in Star Trek ships intercept each other and close ranges at warp speed.
It's a good place to scuttle a ship using current, real life technology limitations.
enderlandenderland
@ enderland says, "Removing the critical components doesn't mean you are blocking the ship from being useful." -- When was the last time you bought a used car without engine, transmission, doors and wheels? – user23715 Feb 13 '16 at 1:02
@ enderland says, "This is as nice idea in theory, but nearly all scifi series/shows involve some sort of "radiation suit" which makes it invalidated." -- Radiation leaks make places uninhabitable for years, decades or longer. Ever see a ship crewed 24/7 with them wearing rad suits? I guess they could surgically give them all a hollow leg to solve the potty break dilemma? ...yeeeaaaah, no. Just no. – user23715 Feb 13 '16 at 1:03
@ enderland says, "It's a good place to scuttle a ship using current, real life technology limitations." -- Yes, fantasy "sci-fi" settings aren't as big a problem for my question as realistic or "hard" sci-fi. I already stated that in my question. – user23715 Feb 13 '16 at 1:03
@user23715 ... you do realize that scuttling has more purposes than denying someone the ability to actively use a ship, right? That it has other benefits than just that purpose? – enderland Feb 13 '16 at 1:12
In space? -- Self-destruct at the Captain's whim (+ 1st officer) would do nothing but tank moral. Unless you're Klingon I suppose. – user23715 Feb 13 '16 at 1:16
Space is big, harbours are small.
When scuttling in real life one often gains two advantages; keeping the ship from falling into the hands of the enemy, and blocking sea lanes that are of more use to the enemy. Scuttling has in fact been done with blocking a sea lane as the primary objective (e.g. the Skuldelev ships sunk by Vikings around 1070 and now on exhibition in Roskilde were sacrificed to make a waterway impassible).
This wouldn't impact on space battle in the same way, at least not with the sort of manoeuvrability most other spaceships would have in such stories. Hence there's no advantage to leaving a salvageable, but inconvenient, wreck.
Space is big, inhabitable areas of the Earth are (relatively) small.
Navies would not generally scuttle a nuclear-reactor powered ships by deliberately causing their reactors to blow near an inhabited area. Even doing that in enemy territory could be considered illegal. Blowing up a spaceship far away from anyone (or anyone who isn't an enemy anyway) does not have the same issue.
Scuttled ships are stationary or extremely slow, spaceships are fast.
By the opposite token, a scuttled navy ship is not going to hurtle through the atmosphere, explode into the earth and leave a massive crater. A spaceship could though. Some sci-fi ships are of a size comparable to that of the asteroid that created the Chicxulub crater and caused the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction event. This might be considered undesirable.
Even with smaller craft, this is a reason why real space ships have self-destruct mechanisms.
Scuttling a ship is dangerous, scuttling a spaceship much more so.
In the Big Scuttle of 1943, 9 Danish sailors were lost and 10 wounded, in the course of scuttling 32 ships. That's less than one death per 3 ships scuttled. In the depths of space though, scuttling a ship and then somehow surviving is likely either going to be impossible (nowhere to go) or no more difficult than destroying it (whee, super-fast escape-craft). Might as well blow the whole thing up, than be careful in the scuttling plans. (In the same Big Scuttle, 14 ships were taken undamaged, which would probably not have happened if they could have just blown them quickly).
Ships have lots of dangerous things that can blow up. Spaceships likely have even more.
They might essentially be a dangerous thing that can blow up, with a small living quarters attached. Self-destructing might be very much a matter of ceasing the continuous effort normally being put into not exploding. Scuttling a tank or howitzer would often be more comparable to sci-fi self destruct than naval scuttling, for similar reasons. Consider that the self-destruct sequence in Alien worked by stopping the cooling to the ore refinery and letting nature take its course. (Also why the process couldn't be aborted after a certain point, for extra drama).
Ships sink. Spaceships don't have anywhere to sink.
If you scuttle a ship it will sink, making recovery by the enemy likely more difficult than it is worth. A scuttled but unexploded space-ship though would likely just sit there waiting to be boarded. At worse the enemy could repair the scuttling damage, and best they would likely be able to salvage material and/or intelligence to their advantage.
In all, while both technological and cultural reasons for exploding an entire space-ship would depend on features of the fictional world-building, it's very much a sensible idea.
Jon HannaJon Hanna
@ Jon Hanna -- Regarding point 2. -- Indeed. I can just imagine what the Forest Moon of Endor was like after the 2nd Death Star and an armada of space flotsam fell onto its surface. Poor Ewoks :( – user23715 Feb 13 '16 at 1:05
@ Jon Hanna -- Regarding point 3. | 2,529 |
jeffchandlerblog / March 26, 2016
With an estimated 2.5 million people in the UK today who have had a cancer diagnosis, the<|fim_middle|>ie of Hadleigh
Spectacles Spectacular
← Any day now…
In search of the orange shrimp → | number of family members caring for them is also growing. Jeff Chandler takes an intimate look into the life of a local woman who discovered the harsh realities of caring for her sick husband…and what was through the other side.
"Sorry I'm late, I've been in the pub this afternoon. I'm a little tipsy".
She tucked her strawberry blonde hair behind her ears and rummaged deep into her bag for the house keys. She seemed distracted. Then as the front door swung open, she added, "I collected my husband's ashes this morning".
Debbie Connolly is a woman grieving. She is coming to terms with the death of her husband any way she can.
I first met her a week earlier at the Macmillan coffee morning she was hosting. "I raised over £300", she said as she filled the kettle. "When I first put the invitation through people's doors, I had no idea how many neighbours would turn up. The support was overwhelming".
Manchester-born Debbie, 54, originally moved to London to pursue a career in Property Services. It was during a stint of volunteering at a local school, however, that she first met Stephen.
"I had known him all of five minutes when he had me laughing, I knew instantly that this was the man for me".
And they spent a wonderful 26 years living together as partners. "Marriage was never something we talked about. We were happy as we were".
Then one day Stephen started hiccupping. Every time he ate, it would happen again. In the May of 2014 he went to see a specialist and was diagnosed as having cancer of the oesophagus. It was terminal.
"Suddenly our world imploded and everything changed, almost overnight". In the months that followed, Stephen's condition worsened and it became increasingly difficult to care for him. It was during one of his chemotherapy sessions at Guy's hospital that something occurred to Debbie. "I remember a nurse asking me if this was my partner. I suddenly realised that, for me, it wasn't enough anymore. When you're with someone you know is going to die, a part of you is dying too – I'm with this person, I am part of him, and wanted to be recognised as such".
Much to Debbie's surprise, Stephen proposed the following week. The couple got married a month later in an intimate ceremony surrounded by close friends and family.
But the honeymoon period didn't last long.
Romance gave way to drips and commodes and sleepless nights. "I eventually had to make the difficult decision to move his bed downstairs. He didn't like it one bit and we would argue all the time. He was fiercely independent".
As rain began hammering loudly on the conservatory roof, Debbie's mood changed. "It all happened so quickly". Her words came out slow and deliberate as waves of disbelief washed over her face. She was reliving the moment all over again.
"Cancer changed him. It got inside of him and ate him up, in all senses of the word. He was in a constant state of anger and we would fight for no reason".
On the day he died, Debbie had a sense of what was coming. "I was very tearful that morning. We had argued yet again and I was feeling frustrated that he had given up on the fight". They cried. They laughed. They took selfies together. By late afternoon Stephen was growing weaker by the minute. "I knew it was time as he reached up to touch my face. He whispered the words, 'It's been great…been great'. And then he slowly drifted away".
Days turned into weeks into months. Debbie never once left the house.
"Friends would come over all the time with dishes they had prepared. I was surrounded by people who loved me, but I had never felt so alone".
Then, one morning, she found herself watching her usual programme, when a woman started talking about how she had also lost her husband to cancer. "She spoke about her struggles and how she eventually came through the other side. The woman said 'Happiness doesn't come knocking on your door, you have to go out and get it!' And that's when I knew something absolutely had to change".
Bit by bit, she began pulling the pieces of her life back together. She joined a Pilates class, started dancing again and embarked on a fundraising drive.
"I am very excited to be doing the 'Shine Night Walk' in September. I was inspired after the success of my coffee morning. I now realise it's all about giving back and supporting one another. If I can help just one person going through something similar, then I have achieved the wonderful. It feels like I've been given a second chance, and I'm going to grab it with both hands".
March 26, 2016 in Features. Tags: Features
There's something about Helen
The Queen | 1,009 |
Vince Cobalis has over 35 years of martial arts experience and is in charge of the Tukong Tai Chi program in Austin, Texas. Cobalis was awarded the rank of 7th Dan from Grandmaster Wonik Yi, founder of the World Tukong Moosul Federation. Currently, Cob<|fim_middle|> in the Korean mountains. The martial art is a moving meditation that develops self-awareness, confidence, and inner-strength while emphasizing techniques that improve balance, coordination, concentration, and self-defense. Ip Sun fundamentals include breath control, Qigong training, focus, and fluidity of motion. Brought to the United States in 1981 by Grandmaster Wonik Yi, Ip Sun training is included as an integral part of the Tukong Moosul system. Ip Sun training encompasses three basic elements: spiritual philosophy, physical application, and energy flow.
Contact Master Vince Cobalis at 512.775.3341. Also check out the Classes link on this website. | alis teaches classes at Casa De Luz Center for Integral Studies in Austin.
Ip Sun training gives students the opportunity to discover their own internal power. Each student is unique and is given instruction focused on meeting and expanding the individual's potential. The Ip Sun teaching philosophy is less about force and more about power for peace--both in an individual's life and in each person's ability to influence his or her environment in a natural way.
Ip Sun, a Tai Chi training program in the Tukong Moosul sytem, is an internal martial art developed by Buddhist monks living at the Dae-yeon Sa Temple located | 124 |
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Does your room display space needs? Are you inclined to toss a slumber party within the light of the absence of room to | 1,323 |
Holidays on Ice è una raccolta di brevi racconti scritti da David Sedaris. La prima edizione americana risale al 1997 e contiene sei racconti, mentre la prima edizione italiana è del 2003 e contiene solamente quattro racconti. Tema centrale della raccolta sono le festività natalizie, analizzate con spirito dissacrante e spietato umorismo nero.
Racconti presenti nell'edizione italiana
Dinah, la zoccola di Natale
Sedaris racconta di una nottata ins<|fim_middle|>.
Season's greetings to our friends and family!!!
Una lettera di Natale scritta dalla signora Dunbar, matriarca del clan Dunbar.
Raccolte di racconti di autori statunitensi | ieme alla sorella Lisa nel tentativo di liberare una prostituta dal suo fidanzato violento.
Al centro della prima fila con Thaddeus Bristol
Un resoconto del pessimo spettacolo natalizio messo in scena dai bambini di una scuola elementare.
Tratto da una storia vera
Il produttore esecutivo di un'importante televisione, parlando dal pulpito di una chiesa, cerca di convincere i fedeli a dargli tutte le informazioni relative a una ragazza della loro comunità che ha una storia straziante da raccontare: intento del produttore è quello di costruire un programma televisivo intorno a questa disgraziata vicenda.
Natale significa dare
Due famiglie di vicini benestanti rivaleggiano in una gara di generosità durante le festività.
Racconti non presenti nell'edizione italiana (ma presenti in "Ciclopi")
SantaLand diaries
Sedaris racconta della sua esperienza di lavoro come elfo presso un centro commerciale Macy's | 241 |
I must confess that when it comes to new gadgets or technology that will make my life easier, more fun, or more convenient I'm usually an early adopter. There are a litany of consumer electronic stores and I have found that most feel run down, are poorly managed, and never cutting edge... with one exception, BestBuy. I must admit I'm not the biggest fan of BestBuy but I certainly enjoy the fact that I can pop in and out really quickly, get what I need, see the latest and greatest things, and all in a clean well managed store. In other<|fim_middle|> it right with their Apple, Wall Street Journal, and New York Times partnerships. | words their brand and brand values really grab my attention.
I don't subscribe to a newspaper (where most consumer product inserts appear) preferring instead to get my news online and this creates a problem for BestBuy: How do I get Brian to see my advertising? Unfortunately, this is where they go very, very, wrong. I have noticed that they insert their weekly ad circular into free ad circs like SmartBuy and PennySaver The difference between the types of ads usually featured in those publications compared to the typical BestBuy ad really highlights that this is a mismatched partnership. However, the larger problem seems to be frequency. In my mailbox I can expect to receive 2-3 of these ad circulars and apparently so does everyone else by the look of the constantly overflowing trash bin next to my community mailbox (I'll attach a picture later). I could be wrong but this strikes me as tragically bad advertising for BestBuy whose ad isn't even given a chance because it is stuck in the middle of a publication whose entire life-cycle consists of being printed, mailed, delivered, and immediately thrown away without even being brought indoors first.
Advertisers need to constantly focus their attention not just on the relevant communication but also the context of the delivery of that message to see effective results in a world increasingly governed my varied media consumption and market fragmentation. Marketing remember: a new day has dawned with consumers who are much less tolerant to push marketing and are much less tolerant to non-relevant advertising. Don't destroy the your relevant advertising it by using an irrelevant or non-contextual delivery method. Also, realize how your brand and it's products are impacted by what they are associated with. I look to some good friends at Audible.com as good marketers who are doing | 354 |
Eva Rijser on How Flexport Capitalized on its Big Moment
Mixing Board Studio Session
Mixing Board Member Eva Rijser recently left her role as VP of Global Brand at Flexport, where she built the comms function from the ground up and oversaw creative, content, PR, and more. Before Flexport she spent over a decade at Edelman as EVP & Group Director of Corporate Affairs where she was responsible for client service and operations across Corporate Affairs where she worked with companies like Genentech, McKinsey and ServiceNow. Eva will be starting a new leadership role soon.
In this Studio Session, Eva and Mixing Board founder Sean Garrett talk about her Flexport experience, why you should invest in data to tell great stories, the importance of integrating demand-gen and brand work, and how being Dutch helps you in comms.
Thanks for reading Mixing Board! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.
SG: Let's start with your time at Flexport. You spent the vast majority of your career up until that point at agencies, specifically Edelman. How did you come about the Flexport opportunity? What was happening at Flexport when you joined?
ER: Flexport reached out to me a couple of months before they got their billion dollar round from SoftBank. There was this sense that we need to get some experience in the door.
I had been at Edelman for a long time and I was ready to make a move in-house. I talked to Brooke Kruger, who was one of the few recruiters that was just real with me. She said, you've been at agencies for a very long time, you're senior enough to be a Head of Comms, but you don't have that in-house experience. So we're going to need to find someone who's willing to take a gamble on you. That was the word she said. And I was like, whoa, okay. That's different from what I'd heard from all these other people who were impressed with my experience. One day she calls me up. She said, okay, I know this is going to sound boring, but there's this logistics technology company. And I said, "Oh I actually love supply chain."
My father was a trader, a very Dutch profession. He moved the raw ingredients for cattle feed — he would buy bulk ships full of it in Indonesia and other parts of the world and then ship it to Europe. I grew up with my dad on the phone at four in the morning yelling at someone at a port. There was this enormous romance around it for me. I had done some work in supply chain for different clients. I started referring to it quite quickly as the supply chain apology, because everyone I talked to was like, "I know what you're thinking…" I would say, "No, you don't have to do that." I met with their CEO, Ryan Petersen, their CMO at the time, and a few other folks. Then I really quickly put together a plan for what an internal and external announcement of the billion dollar round could look like. I joined the company on January 28th and I think we announced on February 14th. It was a running start.
At that time there were 1600 employees but there was no comms function. Some folks from the marketing team had dabbled in comms and there was a PR agency in place, but they just didn't have a good client and they were not able to be effective. I stood that function up, brought internal and external comms together. That was one of the things that was really important to me. We did the first integrated launch where things happened at the same time, and employees got to hear about it before the rest of the world did. We did an exclusive with Alex Konrad at Forbes which was great. And people were like, oh wow. If you don't just let it happen then this can actually be really meaningful. It was a great way to start.
SG: With a company that's moving at that velocity and has all that funding, how were you able to create the room and the space to create that integration? Versus just jumping in and being reactive yourself? What were you able to do to force people to say, "Well, let's just slow down a little bit, think this through, and plan this out. If we do that, it's going to work much better."
ER: I think about this a lot when I hire and when I do performance reviews. Comms is so often a clarifying function and a function that has license to ask questions other functions aren't asking. But you've got to do it in a way where you're never seen as a speed bump. Or you play that speed bump card very selectively, at the right time. There are some people who are just excellent at doing that and bringing people along in their way of thinking. This is actually feedback I gave someone on my team at their review a couple weeks ago. One of the great blessings for me is that comms had not been a real function before and so there was all this pent up demand.
I hired a small team, two folks on internal and two folks on external, which is all I wanted. When I talked to people at Flexport and explained what our team was there to do, they were like oh my god, yes, please come into my business. That was a huge blessing versus why are you here and why do we have to do all these things? Our founder and CEO, Ryan, is a strong brand thinker himself. He's very sold on the value of brand and the value of earned media, and his wife is a reporter. All those things really helped because I came in with the CEO backing the effort that we were there to kick off.
SG: Fast forward a few years later. There's more magazine covers but even more importantly, there's these Twitter threads and these conversations that Flexport is leading around the supply chain crunch. People are likely just beginning to get their heads around what that means, and yet Flexport is right there as one of the organizations — if not the primary organization — helping to explain what may be happening during the holiday season, what the ramifications are, the downstream inflation impacts.
How did you get from a place where comms had never been done before to actually driving what was one of the most thoughtful, proactive programs in the last couple years?
ER: It's the best example I've ever seen of never letting a good crisis go to waste. A lot of us joined the company three years ago, or well before that, and had to explain to our friends and family why it was compelling and why you should care. Cut to us getting daily inbound from top tier media. We would say, "Oh, now you love us, huh? Now you care about the supply chain." So for sure, there was a huge element of luck and timeliness.
But two other factors — one was that Ryan invested a great deal of his own time and his personal capital in explaining to the world what's going on. And that comes from his origin story as a founder. He was an importer/exporter. He had bought goods in China, found the supplier, and thought OK we're good now. But then he realized that the hardest part was actually getting them into the country. And no one was willing to help him. Everyone who wanted to work with him had an incentive. He started to wonder, why won't anyone just explain to me how this works? So Flexport's mission, as a company, is making global trade easy for everyone. And that lends itself very well for editorial brand building. Everything we did was about — how is this helping people make better decisions about their trade or their supply chain?
Quite quickly after I joined, we hired a Chief Economist, who built out his team over the years. That team now runs three or four indicators that Bloomberg just picks up every week. It's just a part of their reporting. So when the time came, and people started to ask, why is this so messed up? We had spent years, before my time and during my time, building up all these efforts to explain to people, "Did you know that it takes 20 parties to move a single shipment? All those handoffs are people on different systems." So by the time people were asking the<|fim_middle|> to someone joining a company, like Flexport, or any new company that has this big opportunity in front of it, what advice would you give?
ER: Like we talked about, if you think there is a data play to be made, invest early. I remember writing in one of our Slack channels on a day when Bloomberg covered two of our indicators. And we had been at this for years — a chief economist had to build a team, the whole team had to figure out what is compelling data, and then figure out what we can share and what we don't want to share. And comms had to build the relationship. I wish that we had started that earlier, now that I see how fruitful that was.
Second, you want to quickly find out the tolerance the company has for what you can either call clarifying questions or speed bumps. How many speed bump cards do you get to play this year? How is that perceived? Maybe you work with the world's most understanding executive team and they're like, oh yes, thank you for asking 10 questions. Or maybe you don't. That will greatly impact the success of your whole function, if you're clear from the start what kind of team you're working with.
There is such enormous excitement around comms and what comms means. There's a little bit of dark arts mystique. I had a boss once who said, your work is the company's playground. Be aware of that privilege and share the joy a little bit. Talk about how you are making certain stories happen or why they didn't happen, because accounting doesn't get that. They don't get that love. Let them share in that excitement. If you are more aware of that, comms can be this enormous unifying force for good. Use that more actively.
SG: How does being Dutch impact your perspective in American bloodsport?
ER: Even for a Dutch person, I am very direct. That has served me well. Going back to my agency days, there's a type of client that wants bubbly vibes. But especially on the corporate reputation side, more often than not we would work with leaders who just really wanted to know what you were thinking. If you came in and said, here are my concerns, here's why, here's an alternative, it was very well received. I'm not going to humor you, I'm not going to kiss your ass. Just direct — here's the risks of the path you're taking. That played very well.
And now, that translates itself to having very high authenticity at work. Leaving Flexport and just the outpouring of love that I have received from people who were like, I was in this meeting with you five months ago and you said this thing and it really opened my eyes. Well, I don't remember saying that, but it sounds like something I would have said, so thank you. So much of that has been, you showed me that I could be myself and that it's okay to talk about the stuff I like or to make a lame joke or whatever. Dutch people aren't good at pretending to be something they're not, and that's helpful in our profession.
Previous Mixing Board Studio Sessions are here.
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https://www.mixingboard.co/ | question, we were prepared, credible, and just very ready.
At that point we were able to move very quickly. We had switched agencies and started working with Strange Brew Strategies, who were phenomenal. And Ryan was like, put me to work. And all our other executives had the same mentality. It was so ingrained in people that they're there to help. They're there to help people do a tough, necessary job, just like two percent more easily.
SG: A lot of startups, who might be perceived as boring, are actually sitting on so much data. Of course you can tell a big story in a flowery, vision-y way. But you can also tell a story with data. Obviously, you have to structure it in a way that makes it understandable and useful for people. Let's say you were talking to a company that thinks — we could be the next Flexport. We're super early and we're sitting on all this interesting data. At what point do you think companies should start taking that data and thinking about what they can do with it to inform people? Because the more people are informed the more it will support us and allow us to more credibly tell our story, which has all these follow-on effects. But it's a hard thing for some CEOs to get their heads around.
ER: It's the highest ROI investment you can make in storytelling. If you're spending money hiring comms people, or you're hiring an agency, you also need to hire a data analyst. You need brain power at every part of the chain. But even if you can bring on a data analyst that can go well beyond data and is delivering insights, you still need someone in the business who can translate that into a story. And of course your comms team can help, but I have found this to be an unmissable step. I tried to do it by connecting a PR person with my data person, thinking they'll figure it out. They did not. Short story, they did not figure it out.
But the minute you're investing in that tail end and you're thinking, you know what? PR could be right for us. We need to start building a brand. You then also have to open up some brain space on the data side. It will be worth it.
SG: That's so true. And I think even hiring someone who does some data visualization is just such a great hire.
ER: I would actually say that that's something that Flexport did not do very well at all. We have a really great design team, especially if you look in the context of supply chain. It's pretty dreadful out there and we really stand out. We weren't as strong on legitimate data viz, not just data storage and — hey this graph looks real nice — but actual data viz. But honestly if you have a hard-to-convince CEO, you could just have three killer stats that no one else has.
SG: Something we talk a lot about at Mixing Board is the harmonization of comms, brand marketing, and all the other elements of the marketing rainbow. And whether it's all one thing or different things. During this time of acceleration for both the company and how you guys communicated, you took on different roles. Can you explain the evolution of your role at Flexport?
ER: After I had run comms for a year, there was a rift between our company's leadership and the marketing team's leadership. And the executive team subsequently asked me to take over. There were just no great alternatives. I was the first to say, I'm not a marketer. But I do know how to lead teams, I do know how to keep people together. That was in February of 2020. And of course in March, we all got sent home.
COVID hit and no one knew what was going on. We did know goods were no longer coming out of China. So in addition to the pressures of, "what do you mean I'm working from home for the rest of my life," if you're an importer, you weren't importing. And if you're a company that makes its money on imports, we're potentially not making any money. It was all pretty crazy. We were working through a seismic shift — but at that point, what we needed most was to stick together. And the one thing I knew that we could do as a team was to continue to deliver on the mission and help people understand what's happening.
It was the hardest thing I've ever done in my life, to keep that team together, to restore the trust, and break down the silos. Things had been pretty messy for a while. After about a year of doing that, I realized that I don't wake up thinking about the funnel. I wake up thinking about reputation and the experience people have when they interact with us. How does it make you feel to be a Flexport client? So I said, this is too important to let me, an amateur, handle it and it's just not what I want to do. It's not what gives me joy. I want to be here to help build this company, but if I keep holding on to this demand generation bit, I'm going to quit. That's when we carved out the role that I have on LinkedIn, which is VP of Brand. I still kept product marketing and events, which was beyond my scope (internal and external comms, content and creative). Effectively up until about two weeks ago, I ran marketing at Flexport. That's how the role evolved.
SG: These are not unique situations. Comms people, especially at tech companies, are often the most trusted front and they begin to get asked to do more things. And there is some friction between performance and brand. You could ask some people, even within Mixing Board, and they would say, performance is brand. That you have to be good at performance to be a good marketer. But then there's other people, who would say — it's not in my DNA. I can do a really excellent job at certain things, but once I start thinking about performance, I can no longer be excellent at all this other stuff. I don't have that many sides in my brain. There's something really interesting about that and how you navigated it. What was it that made you finally say this demand gen stuff is actually diminishing my ability to do these other things?
ER: If you're doing brand work that doesn't drive demand or if you're doing demand work that doesn't build the brand, stop 100%. But there's often a growth marketing mindset that is very hacky, opportunistic, and short term. If you partnered that with someone who has their eyes on the long game, it can actually be great. Those are some of the demand gen interactions I enjoyed the most. Where my partner in demand gen was like, we just need to pump out 50 landing pages that say, "Are you shipping freight from [insert destination]?" Just so that we're the first one to come up. Straight up SEO play.
I've done all flavors of comms at Edelman, but most of it has been in corporate comms. When you come from a corporate reputation mindset, you know the biggest good that you have to lose is your credibility and your trustworthiness. And I'm not willing to surrender that for a higher clickthrough rate on an email. But you also need someone who is just mercenary, who's mindset is to push it through no matter the cost. And 99 out of 100 times, they're right. I hate to use this word, especially now, but I think I'm a little too conservative for it. I remember we ran an email after the election that had Biden in the headline, which if I had seen it, I would've gotten in front of it. It evoked a ton of response. From a corporate perspective, I would've said absolutely not. We cannot go there. Everyone ships freight, it's not just Democrats.
On the PR side, the content side, any of the other sides — we over delivered. Of course there was always someone who felt they weren't getting what they needed, but in general, people were like, "I can't believe they're pulling this off." It bought us enormous credibility. So I could say to people, I hear what you're saying, but just give me a minute and let me finish this thing. This is the larger story we're telling. But on the demand gen side, I never got to the point of having that benefit of the doubt, because we were always on the back foot. This is very specific to my Flexport situation. If we had been able to let them loose a little bit, I would've had more fun with it. But it always felt like a defensive exercise.
SG: How did you have fun on the brand side?
ER: I've never seen an industry where there are so many memes about how much this job sucks. Reddit is full of "supply chain sucks" memes. But people revel in it. They're like, yeah, we're in the trenches. We started to think, maybe making global trade easy for everyone is the wrong thing to do. Instead we should celebrate that it's tough as hell, but we're here for it. I started doing some of that work with another Mixing Board member who joined as our creative director, Angelica Triola. She's so bright and so thoughtful. And that really lit me up.
SG: You mentioned the founder's role and how engaged he was. What could other executives learn from that?
ER: Ryan is a uniquely good spokesperson, just in terms of his capability to tell a story. He is incredible. Even when no one understood what was going on, we were getting daily inbound from top tier media, really great opportunities with new reporters — he put in the work, he put in the time. He got very good at explaining what was going on in a way that positioned Flexport as a thought leader. While it is hard, there's definitely some natural ability in being a great spokesperson. To strike while the iron is hot is not rocket science. It would've been easy for him or anyone else in the organization, frankly, to say, look, the world's on fire. I have to focus on my business. But we were able to curate these great opportunities for spokespeople at any level that felt appropriate to them, that felt fun and exciting to them. And they put in the time. As a result, we became this very reliable go-to. Our people were unafraid to take a stand, say the words, make a joke, have a pun.
You have to invest the time in identifying your story, which any PR person will help you do, and then make yourself available. Put in the effort. You don't become famous overnight. There can be some faux coyness around being famous, people saying, "I don't want to be famous, that's for sure." OK, I don't need you to become famous. But I actually need the CEO, and other members of the executive team, to be out there. That is part of your job and I need you to fill that role. That was always very well understood.
SG: If you were giving advice | 2,322 |
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The Importance of the Hunter Education Program to the Development of Ethical Literacy Among the Hunting Community
Samsara Chapman, University of Montana
The fall 2000 hunting season in Montana started out poorly. On the first day two unfortunate events occurred: a llama, mistaken for a mule deer, was shot by a young hunter (Anon.); and a bull elk was killed, while the young man only had a cow license (Clawson). Then, on November 19, a hunter shot and killed his brother while tracking a wounded elk (McCarty). These three events are isolated, but indicate a partial failure of the ethical paradigm associated with hunting. The primary ethical paradigm associated with hunting involves respect for the land, animals, and other humans. In these cases the person who shoot the llama did not show knowledge of being able to identify shootable wildlife. The other young hunter became excited, fired in his excitement, and killed a bull instead of a cow; and the brother fired on what he believed to be their injured elk in the bushes.
Hunting is an activity where one of the beings involved, usually the non-human animal, often loses its life. The aspect of taking a life has brought about debates in cultural settings, usually over questions of the ethics of the activity. Histor<|fim_middle|>'s Sons, 1972.
Papp, Dan. "Mentoring Comes Full Circle." Idaho Wildlife. 14.6(1994): 8-11
Posewitz, Jim. Beyond Fair Chase. Helena, MT: Falcon Press Publishing, 1994.
—. Inherit the Hunt: A Journey into the Heart of American Hunting. Helena, MT: Falcon Press Publishing, 1999.
Schmidt, Robert H. 1996. "A Modest Proposal to Assist in the Maintenance of a Hunting Culture." Wildlife Society Bulletin. 24.2(1996): 373-375
Shepard, Paul. The Tender Carnivore and The Sacred Game. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1973.
Smith, Bradley F. "Improving Program Implementation in Hunter Education." Journal of Environmental Education 16.1(1984):24-28
Swan, James A. 1995. In Defense of Hunting. HarperCollins Publisher. San Francisco, CA
Thompson, Therese R., and G. D. Lapointe. "Wildlife is About as Exciting as Recycling: and Other Viewpoints from the "Uncommitted Public." Transactions of the 61st North American Wildlife & Natural Resources Conference. 61(1996):155-161
Vitali, Theodore. "Sport Hunting: Moral or Immoral?" Environmental Ethics. 12(1990):69-82
I do not use the term "game" for the same reasons I dislike calling hunting a "sport." The fact that hunting is not a "sport" will be addressed in the main body of the text under the section of ethical hunting.
This is a statement about wildlife only, not access to private land. Many states, Montana included, have laws that require hunters to gain written permission from the landowner to hunt on his land.
Exceptions to this statement occur in the form of native subsistence hunting rights both in Glacier National Park (currently under debate) and in parks in Alaska.
In class discussion with Dr. Jack W. Thomas, Boone & Crockett Professor of Wildlife. Spring 1999.
As mentioned earlier, this paper focuses on the acts of the individual hunter, not on the motivations.
For this discussion please see Swan, Causey, Bekoff and Jamieson, Posewitz (both works), and Shepard.
For examples see Ortega y Gasset, Kerasote, Posewitz (both citations), Causey, Huddleston, Good, and Jackson
Father of Aldo Leopold. The book Game Management is dedicated "To My Father Carl Leopold, pioneer in sportsmanship."
Tagged Ethical Literacy, Hunting community
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© 2009, Ohio University. All rights reserved. | ically, hunting provided the primary source of protein for humans. The necessity of this form of protein has diminished in contemporary culture with the advent of animal husbandry, but questions concerning how the activity is carried out and what attitudes hunters exhibit have gained prominence.
Once questions in the moral realm are raised, they cannot be easily dismissed. Because the activity of the hunt relies, in part, on the good-will of lawmakers and non-hunters, the need for increased ethical understanding and behavior in hunters has been recognized and programs are beginning to be implemented, usually under the auspices of the state hunter education program. Two tools that could be highly effective in promoting ethical literacy and ethical actions are hunter education programs and mentoring programs, but the ethical aspect of the activity of hunting needs to be recognized and emphasized by all persons engaged in hunting, including those who may not be affected by the hunter education programs.
In developing an understanding of the role of hunter education courses in working toward increased ethical literacy, I will first examine what ethical literacy is, and follow with the development of the modern ethical hunter. Finally, I will conclude by looking at the history of the hunter education program and an analysis of how this program can contribute to ethical literacy.
The Importance of Ethical Literacy for Developing a Hunting Ethic
Ethical literacy is a process of learning and being able to articulate your own moral life. There are three main points in the process: (1) explication, (2) clarification, and (3) illumination. The results of this process are to allow a person to easily comprehend moral controversies, to be able to respond to those controversies, and to allow the person to express himself in reasoned discourse. Ethical literacy is not necessary for ethical actions, but the reflection required by the process of ethical literacy encourages ethical, reasoned actions.
This process is encouraged by personal reading, dialogues with other people, and reflection on the individual's moral state. Explication is the process of raising a person's awareness of his or her own moral life. His or her moral norms are examined and tested for rigor in the clarification process. In the testing process, it is necessary to reflect on these norms. This reflection leads to consistency in the person's moral life. Finally, the illumination process includes looking at personal moral norms in the context of history and how the history has contributed to the development of those norms.
This process is important in a growing climate of polarized thinking about hunting, especially with the increasing demands that hunters be ethical. With increased ethical literacy within the hunting community, an individual will be able to articulate why he or she hunts, and to hold or to work toward a consistent ethic. Hunters will come to understand their privilege in light of the historical context, and to recognize that history's contributions to the developing hunting ethic.
Hunting in the United States
A hunter is part of a larger community that has its own history. This history includes self-imposed limits on the killing of animals, and a growing emphasis on respect for other hunters and non-hunters. This historical information begins to provide a base for this respect while instilling an idea of the importance of heritage in the modern hunter.
The roots of American hunting lie in Europe where wildlife belonged to the king and the common man had no access to hunt legally. If an animal was killed, the peasant faced penalties as severe as death (Posewitz Inherit the Hunt (IH) 35 – 37). When America was colonized in the 1600s, everything the settlers encountered here was seen as a resource without limits. Most of the resources were free of royal monopoly. The only exception were trees that would make good masts for the sailing ships, called the "broad arrow policy" because the trees would be blazed with an arrow by the royal navy. Other timber could be cut with little care–there was always more. The same was true with wildlife (Dana and Fairfax 3-5). Unfortunately this use ethic has predominated for most of our nation's history, leading to massive declines in numbers of most of the native, shootable wildlife, and the extinction of a few species, notably the passenger pigeon.
Early U.S. hunters can be categorized into three groups: market hunters, subsistence hunters, and sport hunters. Market hunters, as the name implies, provided meat for buyers. One species (of several) that was highly impacted by market hunters was the American bison. In 1876, 80,000 bison hides were shipped down the Missouri from Fort Benton (Posewitz IH 52-54). In many cases bison were shot and only the hides and tongues were taken (Mussehl and Howell 8). By 1884 the bison-hide shipments had ceased: there were no more bison to be killed (Posewitz IH 52-54). The decimation of the bison was also a result of the U.S. Government attempting either to eradicate or to break the plains Indians to its rule.
Subsistence hunters were the men who hunted primarily to feed their families. These hunters had a much lower impact on wildlife species, but still had the common attitude that wildlife was limitless. Of the three classes of hunters, this one is considered to be more similar to early human hunting and gathering societies than the other forms recognized today (see Causey, King, List, and Vitali). In some ways, this presents a paradox: 45% of hunters cite getting meat as their primary purpose in hunting; 38% are recreational hunters, for whom hunting is a hobby; and 17% are nature hunters, or cite a wish to play the role of a natural predator (qtd. in Swan 17 – 19). This is a paradox because the original hunter-gatherer position is one of living with nature, or having an intimate role in the course of natural events. Now, many people view subsistence hunters as being outside of nature and less answerable to ethical claims (Causey 330-333). Today, members of this group are also called "utilitarian hunters."
The third class of hunters borrowed the British term "sport hunter" to differentiate themselves from the subsistence and market hunters. The hunters that usually fell into this category were well-to-do, and considered their "sport" to be a form of recreation. These men did not need the meat to survive, but used hunting as a diversion. So-called "trophy" hunters fall into this class. Many sport hunters recognized the need for a sustainable hunting ethic and, subsequently, provided the funding and incentives necessary for the current state of wildlife through a voluntary tax on hunting and fishing equipment. The rise of conservation of wildlife also had an economic aspect: gun manufacturers realized that with fewer animals to shoot, their sales were declining, and the trend would continue (Gilbert and Dodds 10).
Today, people generally hunt for "sport" or for subsistence. Dr. Stephen Kellert describes these kinds and their percentages of the total hunting population: meat hunters (45.5%), recreational hunters (38.5%), and nature hunters (17%). Meat hunters, as the name implies, hunt primarily for the purpose of putting meat on the table. This group includes subsistence hunters. The recreational hunters are those who hunt to have fun and often regard hunting as a sport and a hobby. The final group of nature hunters is described as those hunters who have a deep affection for nature and wish to be part of the natural cycle of life and death (qtd. in Swan 17 – 19).
The history of hunting and its associated science, wildlife biology, began to take shape in legislative bodies in the middle of the 19th century. The saga leading up to the first court ruling that shaped the future of wildlife began in 1664 when King Charles II of England made a land grant to his brother. The land was located in what is now New Jersey. In addition to the land, King Charles also granted "full and absolute power . . . to correct, punish, pardon, govern and rule" all persons that might enter or use the land, or hunt the wildlife (Posewitz IH 46). An oyster-rich river flowed through that land. At the mouth of the river were large meadows and marshes that provided habitat for waterfowl.
The land grant and trespass rights were haggled over for the next century and a half as the property was bought and sold by the colonists. In 1821 the dispute over gathering oysters at the mouth of the river was mentioned by the New Jersey Supreme Court. That court was amazed that the taking of a few bushels of oysters presented a question of such magnitude. Finally, in 1841 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the state of New Jersey was the successor to the powers of sovereignty of the crown or the parliament (Posewitz IH 45-48). This ruling placed the wildlife in the hands of the state, in trust for the citizens as common property, even if located on private land.
In 1872 Congress passed the Yellowstone Park Act. It states that "[the Secretary of the Interior] shall provide against the wanton destruction of the fish and game found within said park, and against their capture or destruction for the purposes of merchandise or profit." As a result, there is no human hunting in most National Parks and the wildlife is viewed as a national treasure. This act initiated some forms of wildlife protection, but the Department of Interior was under-funded and Yellowstone Park was distant from Washington D.C., so little enforcement of this law occurred for the first twenty years of the park's existence.
In 1887 the Boone and Crockett Club was founded by an enthusiastic hunter: Theodore Roosevelt. The founding members of the group were all "sport" hunters from wealthy families (Gilbert and Dodds 10-11). They campaigned against market hunting and worked for wildlife conservation (Posewitz IH 57-67). One of their first campaigns was to protect Yellowstone from squatters and hunters. To further this end, after extensive lobbying by the club, Congress sent the military west to protect the park.
One piece of early national legislation of importance for and by hunters, was the Lacey Act of 1900, the author of which was also a member of the Boone & Crockett Club. This act prevented the interstate marketing of dead birds and banned certain market hunting. This act was in response to overhunting, particularly of migratory bird populations. The law worked, among other things, to protect the birds from the being killed for ladies' hats (Dana and Fairfax 79). In 1900 wildlife numbers were deplorably low, with many species we take for granted today at an all-time low. The following table gives the numbers of some of the shootable species then and now in the United States (Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks (MTFWP) 44; Economist 102).
Numbers in 1900
Numbers Today
White tail Deer 300,000 20 million
Wild Turkeys 30,000 4 million
Elk 41,000 1 million
Pronghorn 12,000 1 million
Canada Geese 1.1 million 2.3 million
In 1937 one of the most important hunter-initiated bills was passed into law: the Wildlife Restoration Act (also called the Pittman-Robertson Act). This act, lobbied for by hunters, imposed a 10% tax on hunting equipment. This tax provides matching funds for wildlife programs, nationwide (Huddleston 6). In addition to providing dollars for state budgets, the federal government allows the state matching to be in the form of volunteer hours (O'Hara 8). Aside from voluntary bag limits, this act is probably the most important legislation ever passed to provide for a continuation of hunting. The funds from the act are used, in part, to provide education. Later bills added taxes on handguns, archery and fishing equipment (Huddleston 6).
In 1956 the Fish and Wildlife Act formed the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) under the Secretary of the Department of the Interior. This act called for freedom of enterprise, protection of opportunity, and government assistance in order to "accomplish the objective of proper resource development." Today the primary duties of the FWS are to research and manage threatened and endangered wildlife. They also provide consulting for states and other federal agencies on wildlife matters.
The most influential act passed by Congress is the Endangered Species Act of 1973. This act recognizes that, because of human activity, some species are in danger of becoming extinct. Of all the wildlife and resource policy acts, this one is the most far-reaching: all land management actions must be considered in light of threatened and endangered species. By 1978 the FWS had listed 672 animal species, almost 30,000 more were nominated for similar designations, and 1850 plant species were proposed for listing (Dana and Fairfax 261-264). The primary impact this act has on hunters is forbidding the "taking" of threatened or endangered species, and the act allows for the prosecution of illegal taking.
While this series of legislation was being debated and passed on a national level, Montana had enacted hunting regulations as early as 1869. While many species were recognized as important and deserving of protection, the American bison was being slaughtered at astounding rates. Other animals were being protected by imposed seasons and bag limits. In 1869 the Territorial Legislature closed the season on hunting introduced game birds:
Grouse hunting seasons were set in 1870 and by 1872 the hunting season on buffalo, moose, elk, deer, bighorn sheep, mountain goats, antelope and hairs was closed from February 1 to August 15 of each year. Market hunting for game birds was prohibited in 1877. Bounty payments for predator control were authorized in 1879. In 1895 the first bag limits appeared and in 1897 the sale of all game animals and birds was prohibited. (Mussehl and Howell 9)
Other developments in Montana included the formation of the Board of Game Commission in 1895 and the first game warden was hired in 1901 (Mussehl and Howell 10-11). Today the Fish and Game Commission, a governor-appointed body, has the power to close seasons, set bag limits, and make the final decision on the number of hunting licenses sold each year.
What is an Ethical Hunter?
One of the roots for being an ethical hunter comes from the notion of respect. A person who respects the land views the area as something other than a dead, spiritless object provided for his enjoyment. Respect dictates that he or she acknowledge the evolutionary histories of species, and his or her role in the environment. The land takes on a life of its own and provides "gifts" for the hunter.
Calling an animal's death a gift is an expression of respect for the animal. An important show of this respect is by preparing for the hunting season by knowing the animals. This knowing is not just being able to identify what is being shot, but knowing the habits and habitats of the prey. By knowing the habitat and habits a hunter shows respect for the animal by spending time getting to know the animal, respecting it as a being, not an object. A hunter who respects his prey will clearly identify what he or she is shooting, but will also allow an animal to pass if he or she is not absolutely certain of what he or she is shooting at (e.g. it may be his brother in the bushes).
By respecting the laws of the state in which the hunter is hunting, he or she is, again, less likely to shoot the wrong species. He or she will also be more inclined to encourage legal hunting in his or her hunting partners and report poor behavior he or she observes in the field. By setting a good example for other hunters, a hunter provides lessons in following the social laws and personal norms. By acting ethically, a hunter can also influence other people. He or she can teach other hunters what it means to hunt ethically and he or she can show non-hunters that there are good, ethical hunters in the fields. This aspect takes on a new dimension when an ethical hunter becomes a mentor to a young hunter: the older hunter leaves a legacy. The results of consistency, or coherence, and articulation also become important when dealing with other people. If a hunter can articulate his or her norms, he or she is on firm ground for discussing why he or she hunts. If his or her norms are consistent, he or she should feel no shame or fear in defending his or her hunting practice.
The last facet of an ethical hunter is respect for other humans, hunters and non- or anti-hunters alike. The hunter does not have to agree with the other people, but must acknowledge the other person's position on the issue of hunting. This cannot be a one-way respect. Non- and anti-hunters must also respect a hunter's decision to hunt. A background of respect opens the possibility of constructive dialogue between the different groups. If the hunter refuses to listen to the anti-hunter, both will be arguing about, not discussing, the issue. If arguments occur, the individuals involved are more likely to work toward, in the anti-hunter's case, getting hunting banned altogether, based on an interaction with maybe as few as one hunter.
Animal rights groups quite often reject hunting as being immoral and causing pain to animals. Animal welfare groups may only support hunting as long as the hunter works to cause the least pain and fastest death possible. Other people judge the ethicality of hunting based on the hunter's motivations: sport, meat, trophy, or subsistence. So-called "slob hunters" may believe that it is ethical to shoot at anything that moves, legal or not. He or she may also not consider the morality of his or her actions or deem them to be important. The new emerging "ethical hunter" is a mix of animal welfare and "good" hunting stances.
There are as many reasons why a person hunts as there are hunters. But, while it is relatively easy to answer why people hunt, the question of why people should hunt remains the focus of many ethicists. Some authors claim that hunting is a genetic necessity or is a goal of evolution, and believe this defense covers the should question. Unfortunately most of these arguments are not well reasoned and do not show that hunting is essential to modern human health, or really suppport the position that people should hunt. The best defense is provided by James Swan (1995), an environmental psychologist, but focuses on the should at the level of the individual hunters, not on the activity as a whole. Another notion that has arisen in this debate is that the modern sport of hunting (not so much subsistence hunting) is a "spandrel," or a fortunate side-effect of evolutionary pressures that has no direct effect on survival. If the hunting instinct is the result of evolution, no author has begun to adequately defend the position, much less shown that evolutionary pressures abrogate actions from the realm of ethics.
The necessity of killing an animal to authenticate the hunt is itself an area of debate. Many hunter-philosophers claim that the kill does authenticate the hunt, but the hunt is so much more than just the kill. Many of these writers also place a high significance on the value of the hunt as a whole, not just the kill for the meat, some even claim that a successful hunt can be one where no animal dies. A favorite quote of many authors is from Meditations on Hunting by Jos? Ortega y Gasset (1972): ". . . [O]ne does not hunt in order to kill; on the contrary, one kills in order to have hunted" (110 – 111). Unfortunately, in using only this quote, the authors miss the rich discussion he gives on this topic at the beginning of the book. Earlier in the work, he writes that certain kinds of hunting are concerned with "bringing the animal back alive" (53). The hunt, he writes, "ends simply in the hunter's taking possession of the prey, dead or alive" (56).
In considered normative justification for the hunt, a person begins the process of working toward ethical literacy. For hunters and non-hunters alike, the university system provides access to portions of the process in the form of one required ethics course. For hunters, the hunter education program is beginning to provide an atmosphere of encouragement for the hunters to begin reflection on personal norms and the activity of purposefully taking a life.
The Hunter Education Program
The earliest hunter education program (HEP) was called "hunter safety." The first state to require the safety program was New York in 1949. It offered classes on basic gun safety techniques (MTFWP 4). In Montana, the first required courses were offered in 1957. The classes were designed for all hunters between the ages of 12 and 17. The course consisted of four hours of gun safety training (MTFWP 119). In 1957 the state Legislature required the course before a hunter between the ages of 12 and 14 years old could purchase a big game permit. For the year 1958, hunters between 15 and 17 years old did not have to take the course if they had purchased a permit the year before. The law was amended in 1963, making the course mandatory for anyone under 18 who wanted to purchase a hunting license (qtd. in Bradshaw 3).
The state considers the HEP to have been a success with the number of hunting-related firearm accidents dropping from a high of 60 to 11 accidents per year, 1.3 per year resulting in a fatality. Another sign of success is that over 220,000 individuals have completed the course and have been certified since it became required in 1957 (qtd in Bradshaw 4). Today the HEP can vary in length from 10 to 25 or more hours per course. These courses include hunter responsibility and gun safety.
The use of the HEP as a platform to encourage ethical literacy depends on the attitudes of the instructors toward ethics and alternative teaching methods. The Hunter Education: Gun Safety and Hunter Responsibility Handbook (MTFWP 1996) provides rich information for the young hunter, and could provide some lessons for older hunters, too. The book is divided into ten chapters, among which some are titled "What is a good hunter?" and "The wildlife." In the book, the largest chapter is dedicated to firearms and fills 24 pages (of a total 128) of text. A majority of the balance of the book deals with ethics, responsibility, history, and wildlife. Actual wildlife identification only fills five pages (120 – 125). The chapter on wildlife discusses habitat requirements for wildlife, habitat conservation, and the role of hunters as conservationists. The book is a good beginning for a person willing to learn how to be an ethical hunter, but the book is not the course. It is required reading by the students, but the instructors can pick and choose which portions of the handbook to teach from.
In a recent survey, Bradshaw (1999) asked HEP instructors how their time was used, what teaching methods they preferred, and an open-ended evaluation of the strengths and weaknesses of the program. Instructors claim, on average, to spend 40% of the class time teaching gun safety and approximately 25% of the time teaching ethics and responsibility. He also found that almost 80% of the instructors agreed that hunter ethics should be taught with equal time as the gun safety sections, but that belief was not reflect in actual class time (39). In another section of the survey, the instructors were asked about the weaknesses of the program. This question was open-ended, unlike the others on the survey. Fifty-two of the instructors felt that the greatest weakness was the lack of time for teaching, and they would like more time to teach the topics instead of reducing the amount of information being taught (60).
Bradshaw also examined how the instructors believed ethics should be taught. The survey showed that 52% of the instructors did not believe lecturing to be the best way to teach ethics and preferred role playing (44). Actual teaching methods used were lecturing, interactive methods, educational videos, and field trips. Of these, lecturing composed 48% of the teaching methods with interactive methods ranking at 30% (42).
The next set of questions Bradshaw analyzed dealt specifically with the book Beyond Fair Chase (Posewitz 1994). It is one source provided by the state for beginning discussions on ethics. The state hunter education officials encourage use of the book, but its use is not required. Students are required to have read the book before the courses began, but with no set curriculum; discussions based on the book are not required. The instructors were asked if the book was an effective teaching tool, and 71% believed it was, while 11% did not (51).
The HEP provides a wonderful platform from which to launch a new hunter in the direction of ethical hunting. The program is constantly changing, so as the notions of hunting ethics change over time the program can adapt. Unfortunately a one-time course offering may not be sufficient to aid in the retention of the ideas expressed and discussed in the program.
One of the methods the HEP can use to help initiate the process of ethical literacy is to incorporate a mentoring program. This program is beginning to be used in conjunction with the state HEP in Idaho (Papp 10). Mentors could be encouraged to promote ethical hunting by state-provided incentives such as a reduced-price, or free, hunting license every year the hunter agrees to be a mentor. Traditionally, mentors came in the form of parents, usually fathers. Mentors today include mothers, husbands, and other family relatives. Notable historic figures who have served as mentors include Carl Leopold and Theodore Roosevelt.
While there is not a specific program for training mentors, parents or partners are encouraged to attend the HEP with their child or partner. This allows the beginning hunter an opportunity to discuss what is covered in the classes, but does not address who a mentor should be or what his or her training might entail.
Methods I would recommend for strengthening the HEP could include:
integrating the program into the public schools, as an elective, or an after school elective;
teaching standards for the instructors;
a set curriculum;
requiring a hunter under the age of 18 either to have hunted the year before, or to take a refresher course before receiving a permit;
an advanced hunter education course that either provides information as a refresher course, for violators of conservation laws, or for older, first-time hunters;
a requirement for all first-time hunters in a state to have passed either a written test or a HEP before being able to purchase their first license; and,
a class specifically directed toward mentors, including an honorary certificate upon completion of the class.
If the HEP was incorporated into the public schools, young hunters would learn that hunting is a year-round activity, not a two- or three-month hobby. Teaching standards for the instructors would help weed out the poor teachers that were mentioned as a program weakness. A set curriculum would give FWP more control over the content that reaches the new/young hunters. More time for the program would have to be included in this recommendation. The repeated courses would reinforce the lessons of previous classes, stressing the importance of both gun safety and hunter ethics. An advanced hunter education program would provide a solution to the problems presented by conservation law violators, and for adults who have taken a "vacation" from hunting for many years. Older, first-time hunters may feel more comfortable and accepted among older hunters, providing an atmosphere more conducive to teaching ethics and responsibility. Finally, a national standard for the HEP would allow state agencies to feel confident that out-of-state hunters are not ignorant of local wildlife and conditions. Local refresher courses would be helpful as well.
Hunting is an ancient form of gathering food. However, few people now hunt for that reason. Concurrent to this is the rise in numbers of people who advocate for animal welfare and animal rights. As the numbers of the non-hunting public grow, this facet of society has a growing effect on the privilege of hunting. One way of combating adverse emotions to hunting is by encouraging hunters to be ethical and to have a high degree of ethical literacy. There is an as-yet not fully tapped source of ethical support in the communities, volunteer instructors, and mentors that compose hunter education programs. The state-run hunter education programs provide a wonderful springboard to encourage the development of ethical literacy among young and new hunters.
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Benson, Delwin E. and S. White. 1995. "The Status of Advanced Hunter Education Programs in North America." Wildlife Society Bulletin 23.4 (1995): 600-608
Bradshaw, Blaine C. 1999. Review of Montana's Hunter Education Program with Recommendations for Improvement. Thesis. University of Montana.
Byrne, Robert L., G. J. Taylor, P. T. Seng, and K. C. Young. "Status of Hunter Education in the United States and Canada." Transactions of the 61st North American Wildlife & Natural Resources Conference 61 (1996):345-357
Causey, Ann S. "On the morality of hunting." Environmental Ethics. 11(1989): 332-333
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Connelly, Nancy A., D. J. Decker, and R. J. Stout. 1996. "Overcoming Constraints to Women's Participation in Consumptive Uses of Fish and Wildlife." Transactions of the 61st North American Wildlife & Natural Resources Conference. 61(1996):379-387
Dana, Samuel T., and Sally K. Fairfax. Forest and Range Policy. 2nd edition. New York: McGraw-Hill Publishing, 1980.
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Duda, Mark D., and D. J. Case. "Illinois Fur Hunting and Trapping Project: A Case Study in facing Reality." Transactions of the 61st North American Wildlife & Natural Resources Conference. 61(19960:150-154
—, S. J. Bissell, and K. C. Young. 1996. "Factors Related to Hunting and Fishing Participation in the United States." Transactions of the 61st North American Wildlife & Natural Resources Conference. 61(1996):324-337
Economist, The. "Hunting v Shooting." The Economist. December 12, 1992: 102
Gilbert, Frederick F., and Donald G. Dodds. The Philosophy and Practice of Wildlife Management. 2nd edition. Malabar, FL: Krieger P. Co., 1992.
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Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife & Parks. Hunter Education: Gun Safety and Hunter Responsibility. Helena: Falcon Press Publishing Co., 1996.
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O'Hara, Michael. "Sportsman Education Program." The Conservationist 46.5(1992):7-8
Ortega y Gasset, Jos?. Meditations On Hunting. Trans. Howard B. Wescott. New York: Charles Scribner | 7,382 |
I recently attended a Cynefin and Sense-Making Workshop given by Dave Snowden and Michael Cheveldave of Cognitive Edge. It was an excellent course and a useful introduction to how to apply concepts from complex adaptive systems, biology, and anthropology to better understand human approaches to problem solving.
The Cynefin framework is an elegant expression of these ideas. It posits five domains that reflect the three types of systems we encounter in the world. There are ordered systems, in which outcomes are predictable and repeatable. There are chaotic systems, which are inherently unpredictable and temporary; and there are complex systems, in which the system and the actors within it interact to shape an unpredictable future.
We can use the Cynefin framework to help us make sense of our current situation and understand what course of action might be best at a given moment. If we are dealing with an ordered system, then we are in one of the ordered domains, either "Obvious" or "Complicated." In either of these circumstances, we can reason our way to the right answer, provided we have the necessary experience and expertise. The predictability of the system permits this.
If, however, we are in the "Chaotic" domain, the system is wholly unpredictable. The "Complex" domain embraces complex adaptive systems: those that are governed by some level of constraint yet remain unpredictable. Think of the foot traffic in your local shopping mall, and you can get some idea of how these systems manifest: you can purposefully walk from one end to the other, but if the mall is crowded, you can't predict the course you'll have to take to get there.
A fifth domain, "Disorder," exists to explain those times where our current state is unknown.
To increase our familiarity with how to use the Cynefin framework, we performed a number of exercises. In one of them, my tablemates (including Adam Yuret and Marc Burgauer) and I tried to make sense of the final, climactic scene of "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly." Spoilers follow, so if you haven't seen it, now's a good time to bail out.
The scene involves a three-way standoff between "Blondie" (Clint Eastwood), "Angel" (Lee Van Cleef<|fim_middle|> time to unload Tuco's weapon. As we watch the scene, we don't know this, but for Blondie, the situation is well-ordered. All he needs to do is pick the right time to gun Angel down. Blondie knows Tuco's not a threat.
The other two must deal with more unknowns. It's not a chaotic system for them. There is a certain level of predictability. Someone will shoot. But the details of who that will be—and when he will fire—are uncertain. What happens after that is anyone's guess. Both Tuco and Angel want to trigger a specific outcome—their survival and the death of the other two—but exactly how to manage this outcome is impossible to predict given the other elements of the system. It's a perfect example of a complex adaptive system.
We thought this was an extremely useful example to help us "make sense" of Cynefin and the concepts it embraces. I hope you do too. | ), and "Tuco" (Eli Wallach). The three gunslingers stand in a rough triangle at the center of a graveyard. Blondie's written the location of the treasure on the bottom of a rock, and placed it at the center of the triangle. None of them wants to share the treasure.
At first blush, it seems to be an ideal example of a complex system. As soon as any one of them acts, the others will fire, and the standoff will end, but no one can predict how. That's why each of them stands there, eyeing one another cautiously, as the tension builds to Ennio Morricone's music.
But that's not the truth of the matter. Blondie is no fool. He'd gotten the drop on Tuco and had | 161 |
Classical music: The Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society offers an clever program that mixes outstanding performances of "primitivistic" modern music with rarely heard cabaret songs | June 19, 2017
This review is by guest contributor Kyle Johnson (below), who also took the performance photographs. As a pianist since elementary school, Kyle Johnson has devoted most of his life to music. Born and raised in Lexington, Kentucky, he is now a doctoral candidate in piano performance at the UW-Madison, where he studies with Christopher Taylor and specializes in modern and contemporary music. He participates in many festivals and events around the U.S. and Europe. Recently, he co-founded the Madison-based ensemble Sound Out Loud, an interactive contemporary music ensemble. For more information, visit: www.kyledjohnson.weebly.com
By Kyle Johnson
If the rule of real estate is "location, location, location," perhaps the rule for concert planning is "programming, programming, programming."
Until the finale of Friday night's Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society performance, the directors lived up to that mantra.
The first half of the program was primarily devoted to greats of the modernist chamber music repertoire: Chansons madécasses (Madagascan Songs) by Maurice Ravel (1875-1937) and the Contrasts by Bela Bartok (1881-1945).
For the former, Emily Birsan, a Chicago-based soprano who was educated at the UW-Madison, provided a dynamic, sensuous rendition even in the score's most economical, lithe moments.
At the end of the work, Ravel's inclusion of piccolo (played by Stephanie Jutt) and cello harmonics (played by Jean-Michel Fonteneau at a much higher than the fingered pitch) created an evocatively primitive effect, as the songs detail life in newly colonized Madagascar.
The final line of the piece, "The evening breeze rises; the moon begins to shine through the trees of the mountain. Go, and prepare the meal," received nervous chuckles from several audience members.
(You can hear the Ravel songs performed by Christa Ludwig in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
The effect was also a transition to the Contrasts (1938), a trio for clarinet, violin and piano that was commissioned by jazz great Benny Goodman. As the title aptly describes, the three-movement work cycles between jovial, intense and playful moods.
Most striking in this rendition — played by Axel Strauss on violin, Alan Kay on clarinet and Christopher Taylor on piano (below) — was the second movement, entitled "Relaxation." Moments of hushed and moody tones created an atmosphere that historians have referred to as Bartok's "night music."
The audience responded with excitement, applauding through two curtain calls, to the climactic and frenzied close of the piece.
The theme this year is "Alphabet Soup" for the 26 letters marking the BDDS' 26th anniversary. So after intermission, BDDS directors Jutt and pianist Jeffrey Sikes introduced the audience to Madison's four-time Spelling Bee Champion, Martius Bautista).
The soon-to-be eighth-grader at Edgewood Campus School tested his spelling of a variety of musical terms like crescendo (growing louder) and sforzando (marked emphasis) while Jeffrey Sykes played the theme from Jeopardy on the keyboard. Bautista (below) was successful and, when given a paper crown, turned to place it on the head of Samantha Crownover, who is celebrating her 20th year as executive director of the BDDS.
Sykes and Birsan served the audience a collection of cabaret songs by English composer Benjamin Britten, American composer William Bolcom and Austrian-American composer Arnold Schoenberg. The only thing missing from this portion of the program was chinking wine glasses and swirling smoke.
The programming of cabaret songs with the musical "primitivism" of Ravel and Bartok was a clever idea, and one that had similar roots at a recent concert at the UW-Madison, in which the Chansons madécasses were paired with Schoenberg's Pierrot luna<|fim_middle|>, or songs were light, at all, this weekend. And this writing is substantial enough to make me believe the reviewer felt the same. That Brahms trio was the only thing I knew at the concert. I don't need a review to make me feel good about it…but I do like this conceptual approach to thinking about the structure of a program
Comment by madtownharper — June 19, 2017 @ 2:34 pm | ire (while some consider Pierrot a feat of highbrow expressionism, a strong case can be made for its cabaret nature – however grotesque and dark it may be).
Anyone weary of Arnold Schoenberg's oftentimes deterring development of 12-tone and atonal music need only look as far as his own cabaret songs, which are as melodious and lush as music heard in the great black-and-white musicals of early film.
The programming of the final work, Johannes Brahms's Piano Trio No. 2 in C Major, Op. 87 (1880-1882) – played by the San Francisco Trio (below) — was problematic in a number of ways.
The monolithic nature of the work – a staple of high Romanticism you can hear in the YouTube video at the bottom – seemed off-putting, after the intimacy of works such as the Ravel songs, the Bartok Contrasts, and especially the cabaret numbers.
In a perfect world, Friday evening's concert would have foregone an intermission and ended with the cabaret hodgepodge. The quirky and understated close would have certainly left the audience charmed and ever-enticed to attend the remainder of BDDS's programs – the final weekend, of which, runs June 23-25.
For more information about the concluding BDDS weekend and its dates, times, venues, programs and performers, go to:
http://bachdancing.org
Tags: 12-tone, Alan Kay, algorithm, alphabet alphabet soup, America, American, Ancora String Quartet, Arts, atonal, Austria, Austrian, Axel Strauss, Bach, Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society, Bartok, Beethoven, Benjamin Britten, Benny Goodman, British, cabaret, Cello, Chamber music, champion, chanson, chansons, Chicago, Christa Ludwig, Christopher Taylor, clarinet, Classical music, Concert, contemporary, Dvorak, Edgewood Campus School, Edgewood College, elite, elitism, Emily Birsan, England, English, Expressionism, film, finale, grotesque, harmonics, Haydn, highbrow, Hunt Quartet, irrelevant, Jacob Stockinger, Jazz, Jean-Michel Fonteneau, Jeffrey Sykes, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johannes Brahms, Kentucky, Lexington, Ludwig van Beethoven, lush, Madagascar, Madison, mantra, Martius Bautista, melodious, melody, model, mood, movement, movie, Music, musical, musicals, New Music, Piano, Piano Trio, piccolo, Pierrot, Pierrot Lunaire, pitch, primitive, Pro Arte Quartet, program, programming, Ravel, real estate, Romantic, Romanticism, San Francisco Trio, Schoenberg, singer, smoke, song, soprano, Sound Out Loud, spelling, spelling bee, Stephanie Jutt, stock, trio, UK, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Violin, vocal music, WILLIAM BOLCOM, Wine, winner, Wisconsin, YouTube
How I wish the lights were kept on so that those who wanted to follow the text of Emily Birsan's songs, so beautifully sung, could do this.
Comment by Lynn — June 19, 2017 @ 2:17 pm
I shouldn't be surprised by how consistent this review is with how Kyle generally speaks about music. My first impression of the man came when he so eloquently reflected on the famous Boulez quote about burning the history books and rejecting tradition.
I was not at the concert, but this writing is fun to read. I would imagine Kyle is somewhat content with the little bit of "controversy" stirred up in the comments. It's opinions, folks.
Comment by aneciabennett — June 19, 2017 @ 9:49 am
I'm not certain what point you are making in your second paragraph. Of course we are debating opinion – you just happen to agree with Mr. Johnson, while some of us do not. Does the fact that the instigator of the discussion might enjoy a lively debate make the discussion less valuable? Discussion of these issues is deeply important to the arts community in Madison (or in any city). As classical musicians attempting to make a living in our chosen field, we constantly struggle with the many factors that go into programming concerts: What do we want to play? What does the audience want to hear? How can we garner personal satisfaction from our craft and also pay the rent? It is never simply a matter of personal taste.
Comment by ivy — June 19, 2017 @ 11:27 am
Ivy- Please don't put words into my mouth. I was not at the concert, therefore I'm not in a place of agreeing or disagreeing. I simply find the perspective interesting & different from the few reviews I've read in some free publications in Madison. Maybe part of a larger conversation: but to me, the questions you raise don't seem at odds with Kyle's perspective. It sounds like you're a musician so please let us know what we can support, if you have anything upcoming. thank you
Comment by aneciabennett — June 19, 2017 @ 2:55 pm
First of all, I would advise Mr. Johnson to refrain from discussing his own performances in future reviews. A concert critique is no place for self-promotion.
If only we'd gotten to read an actual critique of the Brahms. Instead, we read the same tired discussion that has always made critics (of all kinds) feel self-important and cultured: an automatic dismissal of anything in the standard repertoire and frequently programmed. Never mind that the majority of the audience does not share the same level of pretention and was likely delighted to hear a wonderful work at the end of a well-balanced program.
Comment by ivy — June 19, 2017 @ 9:15 am
It was refreshing to get a different take on this concert.
But there were a couple of small points where I didn't agree with Kyle.
Do we really need to know about the higher than fingered pitch? That's pretty technical.
In the Madegascar Songs, I think the nervous chuckles weren't about the words — since it was dark, we couldn't read them anyway — it was because the song was so weird.
I think the Schoenberg song with its lush sonorities must have been written during his Romantic period.
For me the playing of the Brahms trio was the high point of the program — a lovely end to a rather taxing evening. And how about a comment on the ingenious and charming projected panels that formed the backdrop?
Comment by Ann Boyer — June 19, 2017 @ 8:12 am
Very good, thoughtful review.
I suspect the reason that the programmers thought the Brahms piece would make a good end for the program is that it as something "serious" it would hold the audience whereas the cabaret/"lighter" music might not. I don't agree with that thinking but this is the trend of programming today: "fluff" followed by the serious stuff.
Which, of course, is nonsense.
Comment by FFlambeau — June 19, 2017 @ 2:40 am
I think Mr. Johnson intended to make rather the opposite point: that he wanted only what you called the "fluff," and was offended by the inclusion of weightier material on the second half – never mind that, as you pointed out, the Brahms was probably the big draw for much of the audience. If I'd been served half a meal, as Mr. Johnson suggests he would have preferred, rather than being "ever-enticed" to attend future BDDS concerts I might have gone home hungry, feeling robbed of the main course.
I can't help but feel the performance (particularly the Brahms) deserved to be reviewed on its merits, not dismissed for the sake of a self-aggrandizing reviewer who spent two paragraphs praising his own concert in a review of another. (Or did nobody notice the "recent concert at the UW-Madison" of Pierrot Lunaire was his own ensemble, since he neglected to provide that information himself?)
Comment by madstringplayer — June 19, 2017 @ 5:25 am
I don't see the word "fluff" used once in the review. I didn't think Ravel, Bartok | 1,791 |
Note velocity is an element of music production that many of us take for granted, lumping it in with its invariably accompanying pitch messages as nothing more than the means for controlling individual volumes in a MIDI performance or programmed part. While governing the amplification of synths and samplers is, indeed, its most commonly served purpose, there's actually much more to this misleadingly modest spark of data than just that.
Here, then, is a quickfire collection of tricks and techniques to help you get more out of the modest MIDI velocity message, from tarting up drum rolls and crossfading synths, to performing vocal cut-ups and editing velocity more efficiently in your MIDI editor.
To read the full Velocity Secrets feature, pick up the September edition of Computer Music (cm233).
When programming elaborate snare rolls, rather than endure the tedium of drawing in velocity values by hand, why not set them flat but automate a velocity MIDI plugin to do the job instead? With Live's Velocity MIDI Effect, you can automate the Out Hi or Lo setting, depending on where your note velocity is set; the Drive and Compand knobs for a different kind of control; or the Random dial if consistency isn't a priority. Logic Pro X's Velocity Processor plugin offers an even more playful set of parameters, including a pair of very handy sliders for Scaling and offsetting input velocity.
Most of the time, multisampled instrument designers use velocity to make emulated drums, guitars, strings, etc, behave and sound<|fim_middle|> - the point at which the vocal starts playback will depend on how hard you hit the keys. As ever with this sort of thing, don't forget to disconnect velocity from the amp envelope or volume, or you'll find your vocal jumping around in level as well as start position. | like the real thing. That might just mean setting up multiple sample layers with velocity splits, so that different playing intensities trigger different samples rather than just modulating the volume of a single sample; or it could go deeper, with velocity controlling envelopes, filters and other parameters to achieve acoustic/electric realism.
It goes without saying that if you're looking to trigger a multisampled instrument with an authentic-sounding 'live' MIDI performance, the best way to do it is to actually record the part on your keyboard, e-drums or other MIDI controller. If that's not an option, though, or if your chops aren't up to it, you can still achieve a high level of realism and human variation using the drawing tools in your DAW's MIDI editor by turning off snap-to-grid and subtly varying the velocity from note to note. The latter can be done manually, or automatically by inserting a velocity plugin with its randomising function set to a narrow range.
Using an Instrument Rack and the Velocity MIDI Effect, you can quickly and easily create a velocity-controlled crossfading synth combo in Ableton Live. Make an Instrument Rack containing the two synths you want to mix, and make sure both are set up so that their amps respond to velocity in the normal way - ie, the sound gets louder as the velocity increases. Place Velocity plugins at the front of both chains in the Rack, and invert the mapping curve of one of them by setting Out Hi to 0 and Out Low to 127. Now, the volume balance of the two synths shifts with incoming note velocity, but the overall volume level of the Instrument Rack as a whole stays constant.
Almost all modern DAWs feature a 'musical typing' keyboard, enroling your computer's QWERTY keyboard into service for MIDI note entry. Of course, said keys are in no way velocity-sensitive, so two of them will be assigned to shifting the global output velocity up and down in steps of 20 or so. Although no one's ever going to pull off any kind of virtuoso performance using such a restrictive system, with practice you should be able to record simple leads and basslines with it, quickly flicking the velocity around between notes.
Most DAWs these days feature preset and user-definable groove templates, enabling the timing and dynamics of live drum loops, classic drum machine swing settings and any other musical material to be imposed on MIDI and audio clips. With Live's Groove system, amongst others, you're handed independent control over the depth of (pre-)Quantise, Timing, Random and - yes - Velocity alteration applied. If your programmed drums are in need of dynamic movement, apply the groove of a sample you particularly like, but dial in the Velocity aspect only, giving you the 'vertical' variation but retaining your original timing.
The standard velocity response curve is linear, with input matching output. One of the main functions of any velocity-altering MIDI plugin is reshaping this response curve in order to change the dynamic range of the notes passing through it - boosting the output velocity of gentler key presses, for example. If you find yourself using this feature a lot simply to adapt your soft synths to your particular keyboard playing technique, investigate the velocity curve options built into the keyboard itself - you'll likely be able to set an appropriate one up there permanently instead.
While the default assignment of velocity to volume is fine for many synthesised and sampled instruments, more ear-pleasing results can often be had by assigning it to low-pass filter cutoff - either as well as volume or instead of it. The opening and closing of the filter will brighten the sound as the velocity increases, and dull it as the velocity falls, emulating the natural timbral change of a realistic instrument (eg, piano) being played at various strengths.
Investigate your DAW's velocity editing shortcuts, because it almost certainly includes several. For example, holding down the Cmd/Ctrl key and dragging a line with the pointer tool in Ableton Live's velocity editor creates a ramp, while dragging the pointer with Cmd/Ctrl+Shift held sets all encountered velocities to a flat level. Most other DAWs feature similar systems, and some even have dedicated Velocity tools for adjusting velocity by dragging up and down on the notes themselves.
You can use velocity modulation to jump playback around within a single sample - just the thing for jittery vocal cut-ups. All you need is a sampler with the facility to assign velocity to sample start point, such as NI Kontakt, Apple EXS24 or Ableton Sampler. Load your vocal sample, crank up the Velocity-to-sample-start mod depth and play your keyboard | 945 |
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Soderbergh adapts Elmore Leonard in this caper movie that features great performances, gritty milieus, and clever creative flourishes.
"...and more trouble in the form of Deputy Federal Marshall Karen Sisco (Lopez), who just happened to be in..."
June 26, 1998 Movie Review by Marc Savlov
Austin Film Festival Full Slate
Marquee names include Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone, Patton Oswalt
"...Gosling, plus a special talk with legendary producer Frank Marshall...."
End of the Century: The Story of the Ramones
The scruffy, seminal punk band that put the Bop in the Blitzkrieg is given its due in this treasure-laden doc.
"...Directed by: Michael Gramaglia and Jim Fields. You can't help but feel conflicted watching this..."
Oct. 22, 2004 Movie Review by Marc Savlov
'The NFL Beat': USFL Making NFL Inroads
First NFL minor league in the works
"...Jim Steeg oversaw the creation of an annual holiday that..."
May 16, 2012 Sports Post by Alex Dunlap
Sweet Blues: A Film About Michael Bloomfield
Director Bob Sarles' backstory on the box set DVD doc
"...Hello Jim,..."
July 3, 2014 Music Post by Jim Caligiuri
Faster Than Sound: Cracking the SXSW Music Algorithm
If my phone broke and clickbait subsided, where would bring me joy at SXSW?
"...Pub history Nothing Stays the Same, legendary music photographer Jim Marshall capture Show Me the Picture, and The Boy..."
March 15, 2019 Music Column by Rachel Rascoe
Le Draft 2007
"...or the lightning-fast lad from San Diego State called Marshall Faulk. The year 1995 was much more interesting. This..."
April 29, 2007 Sports Post by Timothy Braun
SXSW Says...
"...Jimmie Dale Gilmore is expected to follow Kelly Willis' lead..."
Oct. 23, 1998 Music Column
Unconventional werewolf story turns the beast on its head
"...Directed by: Jim Cummings. Starring: Jim Cummings, Riki Lindhome, Robert Forster, Chloe..."
Oct. 9, 2020 Movie Review by Josh Kupecki
ACL Music Fest Preview
"...it to No. 1 on XM Kids radio. – Jim Caligiuri The Dears 1:30pm, AT&T Blue Room stage..."
Metal and alt-rock collide and flourish during the Back Room's glory years
"...where so many would suck down habañero-infused chili with Jim Ramsey, Mark Olivarez, and Jason McMaster every Super Bowl..."
July 28, 2006 Music Feature by Ray Seggern
"...majority leader. DeLay and two associates, John Colyandro and Jim Ellis, face money-laundering charges in connection with their efforts..."
Jan. 13, 2006 News Feature
What's Wrong with Public Housing?
The remarkable turnaround of the city's Housing Authority
"...releases its scathing audit of HACA, new Executive Director Jim Hargrove has already started cleaning house...."
Aug. 31, 2001 News Feature by Mike Clark-Madison
Arts Critics Poll BIGGEST ARTS STORY OF 1998
"...Cari Marshall - ARGH! I'm stumped. Perhaps getting closer to building..."
Jan. 8, 1999 Arts Feature
The Benda Mask
Untold secrets of Jean Arthur
"...(1936), Arthur face to face to face with Herbert Marshall and Leo Carillo, both suitors covered with lipstick traces...."
Oct. 22, 2004 Screens Feature by Raoul Hernandez
Rights and Consequences
The Redistricting trial pits "partisan gerrymandering"<|fim_middle|>4 5 6 NEXT › 6 »
Ivester Contemporary: Songs with Creature
Ivester Contemporary | against the Voting Rights Act.
"...Texas. Thanks to testimony by U.S. Rep. Max Sandlin, D-Marshall, the Harrison Co. Commissioners Court was embarrassed into reconsidering..."
Dec. 19, 2003 News Feature by Michael King
2001 Texas Book Festival Schedule
"...Suzanne Frank, Rick Riordan, Jim Sanderson, Moderator: TBA..."
Nov. 16, 2001 Books Feature
"...in October. Organizations benefiting from his efforts are the Marshall Legacy Institute (www.marshall-legacy.org) and the Slovenia-based International Trust Fund..."
Feb. 16, 2007 News Feature
Food-o-File
As 2003 swiftly comes to a close, I've taken a few minutes out of the holiday madness to ponder things I'd like to see in the coming year.
"...1) A food and wine radio program for Wes Marshall and myself. I think we'd have a blast...."
Dec. 26, 2003 Food Column by Virginia B. Wood
The Other Stars in the Galaxy
"...RUNAWAY BRIDE D: Garry Marshall; with Julia Roberts, Richard Gere, Joan Cusack, Hector Elizondo,..."
May 21, 1999 Screens Feature
History of racism lives on in UT monuments
"...and "not a matter of opinion," according to spokesperson Marshall Davis, who was quoted in a Huffington Post article..."
May 29, 2015 News Feature by Mac McCann
New Name but Same Mission for aGLIFF
The All Genders, Lifestyles, and Identities Film Festival embraces the diversity of queer culture
"...Jim Brunzell III is not one to sit still. There..."
Sept. 7, 2018 Screens Feature by Josh Kupecki
Wednesday Picks & Sleepers
Wednesday night SXSW blurbs
"...Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter says are personal reflections inspired by nighttime. Jim Caligiuri League of Extraordinary Gz..."
SXSW Film Releases Full Feature Lineup
Slate includes everyone from Wes Anderson to the Zellners
"...Beginning With the End Director: David Marshall Beginning With the End takes viewers on a profound,..."
Jan. 30, 2014 Screens Post by Monica Riese
The Great Debaters
Denzel Washington directs and stars in this inspirational but predictable drama set in the Jim Crow South of the Thirties.
"...to unseat the reigning champions at Harvard. The small Marshall, Texas, college is set in the Depression-era, Jim Crow,..."
Dec. 21, 2007 Movie Review by Marjorie Baumgarten
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Home › Discover Lasell › News › Tribute 2020
Tribute 2020
In an effort to honor the Lasell University Class of 2020<|fim_middle|> and gowns on her own. Haleigh West '17, a fashion design and production alumna, created 800 masks through her family business, Sew What, in Vermont. Fashion Lecturer Tenneh Wilkins pivoted a class assignment to focus on this project, as well.
Outside the School of Fashion, Lasell community members jumped at the chance to commemorate the Class of 2020 and support efforts to help during the pandemic. Megan Mahoney '21 created and donated 350 pieces of PPE to Beverly Hospital, Winchester Hospital, Massachusetts General Hospital, Residence at Pearl Street Assisted Living, and Med Tech Ambulance Service EMTs. Corey Zemke '20 created and donated 180 pieces to Masonicare and Bristol Adult Resource Center in Connecticut, while Massimo Cugno '20 has taken the lead on transporting and organizing materials. Donahue Institute interns Alanis Perez '21, Annamarie Seiler '20, Cindalis Cepero '21, Geralson Withrow '20, and Krista Roman '20 have helped with a number of tasks, including PPE creation and organization (pictured right), to keep the momentum going.
Brand and Identity Center | , the institution united to create and donate more than 5,000 articles of PPE to healthcare workers and community members.
Spearheaded by AVP and Chief Diversity Officer Jesse Tauriac; Lasell's Donahue Institute for Ethics, Diversity and Inclusion; and Byrd Hughes, associate director for the Center for Community-Based Learning (CCBL), the work stands "as a tribute to our graduates' kindness, selflessness, and stellar efforts to make it to this point," said Tauriac. The group's original goal was to donate 2,020 articles of PPE, which was quickly surpassed.
The team began the initiative by consulting with Assistant Professor of Fashion Gail Jauregui, who had been making and donating face masks and medical gowns out of her home. She shared patterns, material recommendations, and tutorial videos so that the community could participate in a variety of ways.
"So far, we've donated pieces to dozens of health care facilities, hospices, senior living facilities, immunocompromised students and employees, and Lasell Village," said Tauriac.Lasell community members pitched in by donating fabric, purchasing materials such as elastic, sewing the PPE, and safely transporting both materials and finished products between locations.
The construction and creation of PPE came naturally thanks to Lasell's School of Fashion. Jauregui made more than 100 masks | 287 |
ST TWROG'S CHURCH;ST TWROG AND ST MARY'S CHURCH, MAENTWROG
Digital Images 5
Archive Records 14
Associated Sites 1
Map Reference SH64SE
Grid Reference SH6641440544
Unitary (Local) Authority Gwynedd
Old County Merioneth
Community Maentwrog
Type of Site CHURCH
Period 19th Century, Post Medieval
Site Description St Twrog's Church is situated within a rectilinear churchyard, bounded by a 1m high stone wall. It is accessed via a timber framed lych gate (1897) in its eastern boundary, to which there is a narrow path between two houses. The churchyard is located less than 100m from the high water mark of the Afon Dwyryd, and is likely to have been liable to flooding in the past. There are three old yew trees to the south of the church.<|fim_middle|>02918), a sandstone pillar, stands to the east of the south porch (adjacent to the oldest gravestone, dated 1691). The standing stone features in the Mabinogi as the burial place of Pryderi, slain by Gwydion. According to local legend, Twrog threw the stone down from the top of the Moelwyn, crushing a pagan altar in the valley.
Few details are known of the medieval building, although it is known to have had two aisles.
The church was rebuilt in 1814, on the footprint of its medieval predecessor. The building is depicted on historic (1889) Ordnance Survey mapping as rectilinear in plan.
The present church is a Grade II listed building, constructed of rubble stone with sandstone dressings. It dates to 1896, and replaced the 1814 building. It possibly incorporates medieval fabric in the lowest courses of its north and east walls. The current building consists of a nave with narrower chancel, north vestry, south porch, and a square tower with spire. The porch is half-timbered on a stone plinth base. Its inner doorway has a datestone above it, which bears the inscription 'THE NAVE OF THIS CHURCH WAS / REBUILT ON OLD FOUNDATIONS / WITH THE ADDITION OF CHANCEL / TOWER AND SPIRE · AD · 1896 ·'.
Cadw, Listed Buildings Database
Beverley Smith, J, Beverley Smith, Ll, 2001, History of Merioneth II, 364-5
Gwynedd Archaeological Trust, 2000, Historic churches of Gwynedd: gazetteer, 391
Ordnance Survey, 1899, first edition 25inch
Nikki Vousden, RCAHMW, 27 April 2012 | The stone of Twrog (Maen Twrog) (NPRN 3 | 17 |
"Severance incentive draws 54 takers" More than a few Clarkston school employees were taking advantage of a one-time severance package to save on the next year's budget. The monthly personnel report included 39 certified teachers and 15 support staff to leave in June.
"Helping Lighthouse" Third graders from Independence Elementary in Cub Scouts, from Den 5 and Den 7 from Pack 163, visited Lighthouse Emergency Services to present a donation of $160 and several bags of canned food.
"Veteran teacher: 'It hasn't been<|fim_middle|>"Schools to seek 18 mills in June election" Clarkston Community Schools planned to ask the voters for 18 mills in non-homestead properties in the June election and planned to approve the wording for the ballot at their next meeting.
"Reschke honored by his peers" David Reschke, Clarkston Schools assistant superintendent for curriculum and staff development, was named administrator of the year for the Oakland County region by the Michigan Association of Middle School Educators.
"Dirty hands? No problem for girls in shop" Clarkston High School students Dana Wall and Becky Whetstone shared their experiences and what they had learned in the machine technology class at Oakland Technical Center.
"Further honors" Six Clarkston High School students won first place finishes in the state finals for the Student Industrial Competition.
"Around the town" While many Clarkston families were preparing to leave town for Easter, Mr. and Mrs. George Lang were busy preparing to welcome 15 relatives and friends to their Orion Road home.
"Interesting people" Bob Wilkinson, son of Mr. and Mrs. Bob Wilkinson, shared his poem "Room 13" with The Clarkston News to publish. Young Bob was a sixth grader at Bailey Lake Elementary at the time. | that long'" When Howard Webster began his teacher career in 1966, he was Clarkston High School's only special education teacher. He reflected on his time with students and with the district including supervising 15 special education teachers as chairman of the high school special education department as of 2004.
| 66 |
Top: Lactic acid concentrations were measured in whole lung homogenates using ¹H-PASS nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy obtained from patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and compared with healthy control subjects. Bottom: Lactate dehydrogenase-5 (LDH5) expression is elevated in fibroblasts and lung tissue from IPF patients. LDH5 is responsible for the generation of lactic acid. Immunohistochemistry is shown for LDH5 performed on lung tissue sections from a healthy control subject (left) and a patient with IPF (right). LDH5 expression, shown as the reddish-brown stained area, is increased in the lung tissue of patients with IPF.
Results: Expertise at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory contributed to the understanding of the role of cellular metabolism in the pathogenesis of a currently untreatable lung disease. This research, reported in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, highlights the importance of PNNL's nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) metabolomics in the field of biomedicine.
"This work was, in fact, stimulated by the findings from our metabolic profiling studies," said Dr. Jianzhi Hu, a PNNL NMR expert and physicist who, with NMR spectroscopist and biochemist Nancy Isern, provided the study's NMR metabolomics data. The work was led by University of Rochester researchers Drs. Patricia Sime (MD), R. Matthew Kottmann (MD), and Richard Phipps (PhD) and included researchers from Inova Fairfax Hospital Heart & Vascular Institute and George Mason University.
Why It Matters: Scientists increasingly recognize that dysregulated, or impaired, cellular metabolism impacts disease processes. However, they know little about the role of cellular metabolism as it relates to lung disease. Greater understanding of the dysregulated processes in human diseases will help in developing improved diagnostic and treatment strategies.
Methods: The researchers investigated how the metabolite lactic acid contributes to pulmonary fibrosis, or scarring of the lung. They identified increased<|fim_middle|> Matthew Kottmann, Patricia Sime, Ajit Kulkarni, Katie Smolnycki, Elizabeth Lyda, Thinesh Dahanayake, Rami Salibi, Sylvie Honnons, Carolyn Jones, and Richard Phipps (University of Rochester); Jianzhi Hu and Nancy Isern (PNNL); Steven D Nathan (Inova); and Geraldine Grant (George Mason University).
Reference: Kottman RM, AA Kulkarni, KA Smolnycki, E Lyda, T Dahanayake, R Salibi, S Honnons, C Jones, NG Isern, JZ Hu, SD Nathan, G Grant, RP Phipps, and PJ Sime. 2012. "Lactic Acid is Elevated in Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis and Induces Myofibroblast Differentiation Via pH-Dependent Activation of Transforming Growth Factor-β." American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine 186(8):740-751. DOI: 10.1164/rccm.201201-0084OC. | levels of lactic acid and increased expression of the enzyme responsible for the production of lactic acid, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), in the lung tissues of patients with idiopathic—from an unknown cause—pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) compared to healthy controls. Lactic acid, which is typically produced via LDH during vigorous exercise or other anaerobic conditions such as hypoxia, was also elevated in scar-forming cells in the lung called myofibroblasts.
The team further demonstrated that the concentrations of lactic acid present in the diseased lung tissue activated an important fibrosis-promoting molecule, transforming growth factor beta (TGF-b). Furthermore, TGF-b was shown to increase the expression of LDH, thereby potentially contributing to a pro-fibrotic feed-forward loop. More important, the team also demonstrated that inhibition of LDH significantly reduced the fibrosis-promoting effects of TGF-b, thus identifying LDH as a novel potential target for therapy for patients with IPF.
These data support the role of lactic acid and LDH5 in the initiation and/or progression of pulmonary fibrosis. While the concept of lactic acid elevation in tissue with restricted blood flow is not new, the concept that the elevated lactic acid concentrations are playing a key physiologic role in a lung disease represents a broader understanding of lung physiology. This work also highlights the importance of combining metabolomics studies with translational and clinical research.
What's Next? This study provides an exciting first step for a novel, direct measurement of metabolites and their associated metabolic pathways that are dysregulated in human lung disease. Many more metabolites have been identified as being either increased or decreased in IPF compared to healthy controls. Interrogation of their associated metabolic pathways is ongoing. This investigation is expected to help identify additional novel treatment targets for patients with IPF. In addition, the researchers are expanding their analyses to include other lung diseases, such as chronic obstructive lung disease (COPD), sarcoidosis, and other idiopathic lung disorders.
Sponsors: The work was funded by the Buswell Medicine Fellowship, Department of Medicine, University of Rochester; the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences Center; Empire Clinical Research Investigator Program Career Development Award; The Connor Fund; The Chandler and Solimano Fund; and the National Center for Research Resources. The nuclear magnetic resonance metabolic profiling experiments were performed in EMSL, a national scientific user facility sponsored by the DOE's Office of Biological and Environmental Research and located at PNNL.
Research Team: R | 521 |
In this short history I hope to trace the founding of the Cundy's Harbor Library. Many changes have occurred, and there have been lapses in library service.
My first association with the library was in 1955, soon after we became year-round Harpswell residents, having been summer residents since 1946. At that time, with the new Community Hall being built, there was talk of space for a library, using a legacy that had been left for its establishment. It developed, however, that the small room allotted was not large enough for an expanding book collection or for tables and chairs.
In 1953, the books that had been in a library room in the old schoolhouse had to be moved to make room for more classroom space. Until space could be found, the books were moved to the upper floor of Holbrook's Store, where they remained until 1960. According to the owner, Christine Miller, books were available during this period to anyone who cared to look for them. Meanwhile, interest in having a permanent home for the books continued.
In January, 1958, following the death of Hale Pulsifer, bequests in his memory were incorporated into a fund to be administered by the trustees of the memorial fund for the Cundy's Harbor Library. The trustees present at the first meeting were: Margaret S. Pulsifer, president; Paul Burbank, vice-president; Lorene Kitchin, secretary; Jonathan C. Pulsifer, treasurer. Others at the meeting were: Marian W. Jordan, Lillian M. Smith, Burton W. Taylor and Margaret C. Wayson. Others who later served as trustees were: Ethel Doughty, Elmer Drew, Christine Miller, Nathaniel Pulsifer, Richard Pulsifer, Alice Swallow, and Richard Taylor.
Plans immediately were begun to find a suitable site and building. Soon Richard Hatch agreed to sell, for half price, a small house on his land on the Cundy's Harbor Road. Robert S. Watson and Marian W. Jordan deeded a parcel of land opposite the old schoolhouse for the site. The building was moved to its present foundation in October, 1959. Volunteer help was employed in constructing the foundation. After that, remodeling progressed rapidly.
In March, 1958, the library association met and elected the following officers: president, Susan Pulsifer; vice-president, Gareth Anderson; secretary, Guy E. Johnson, Jr.; and treasurer, Ruth Burbank. Margaret Pulsifer was at the meeting and reported on the business of the memorial fund. From that time on the two organizations worked to consolidate their efforts. The first meeting of the Cundy's Harbor Library group in the new building was on May 5, 1960.
The grand opening of the building was June 30, 1960. A small cannon was fired to let the community know the library was open and functioning. It was a gala occasion with many interested patrons and visitors present.
During the first few months, interest was high and there were many gifts of books, including a new set of the Encyclopedia Britannica. Because so many volumes were received, the book committee decided that, with limited shelf space, duplications and other books not suitable for a permanent collection would be sold at a discount, and donors were so advised. We have continued this practice and have found it a good source of income. Gradually, a collection of books by Maine authors and books about Maine have been collected and are an attractive feature of the reading room.
Library hours the first summer included one or two afternoons and evenings each week. During the school year one afternoon a week seemed adequate. Many volunteers worked at the desk when the library was open and aided in getting books catalogued and<|fim_middle|> reading room five days a week. Shortly thereafter the following officers were elected: president, Alice Swallow; vice-president, Muriel Daughan; secretary, Barbara Pianka; and treasurer, Lee Doughty. I was elected historian.
Each summer since 1969, we have had an annual arts and crafts and food sale which has helped pay for fuel and building maintenance. On July twenty-third (1981) we will have our twenty-first annual sale, which we hope will be a special as well as profitable occasion. | on the shelves in proper places. As our collection grew, shelving was a constant problem. We were grateful to Susan Houghton, long-time librarian at Orr's Island, for her helpful suggestions and a gift of books.
Several organizations used the library as a meeting place and contributed to the upkeep. Among those were the cemetery association, the fisherman's association, and the Sebascodegan Garden Club. Classes in arts and crafts and in embroidery were held during the summer months.
Susan Pulsifer organized a Saturday Children's Reading Club, which was especially worthwhile as the schools had not yet built up their libraries. Teachers at Harpswell Islands School were given library cards. The first winter Rita Allard had a story hour for primary grades in the school building across the street.
Our book collection continued to grow as individual donations and memorial gifts were received. In 1961 a constant source of money was started with the establishment of the W. H. Stuart, Jr. Fund by Mrs. Stuart to be administered by Elizabeth S. Pratt as trustee.
Both the memorial fund and the library organizations were grieved by the death of Margaret S. Pulsifer in January, 1961, and resolved to carry on the work she had begun. She was truly an inspiration to us all.
At the annual meeting of the trustees of the memorial fund on February 13, 1970, it was voted to dissolve this organization inasmuch as it had accomplished its purpose. Accordingly, all funds, as well as land and building was deeded to the Cundy's Harbor Library.
In 1979, interest in operating and maintaining the library seemed to be waning. Officers elected in 1961 were still serving. It was decided it was time for a change. Letters were sent out to interest others in helping keep the library open longer hours in summer and to arouse public interest in general. A morning coffee brought out many volunteers, and we were happy to have enough helpers sign up to staff the | 416 |
In memory of Leslie Feinberg, who saved so many lives. Ze healed the world beyond any one person's due.
I am a man. I used be a stone butch. Sifting through my gender issues as a young adult, the stone butch was the model that first moved me.
Feinberg's Stone Butch Blues changed my life. For the first time, I saw a reflection I didn't have to squint at too hard to recognize. I embraced the identity as fully as I could.
There came a time that model didn't fit me anymore. I realized<|fim_middle|> same spiritual lineage, as butch people.
My choice to transition was as affected by social norms, technology, and the accidents of history as it was by my deepest self. It is easy for me to imagine making different choices, were I living in a different time, with different options. Who would I be in a society that held places of honor for three or four genders? Who would I be before medical transition was an option?
I don't know, and I don't need to. What I know is that those of us who were made a little different have a lot in common. And we have a special role to play in the great, strange game of history. | I am most comfortable moving the world as a man. I pursued medical, legal and social transition, and have been all the better for it.
I am grateful for the time I spent inhabiting a butch identity. It was butches, and the model of butchness, that taught me masculinity. I learned to be a gentleman. I learned that the truly strong, masculine person has the utmost respect for femininity, for all kinds of queerness, and for women. I learned that the truly strong, masculine person is a patient and attentive lover, an oasis of safety in a world full of violence. I am a much better man for having been a butch.
I wouldn't use the language of butchness to describe myself today. But I still feel a deep sense of connection and affiliation with that experience. I still see myself reflected in my butch sister-brothers. I honor the beauty, strength, and courage of these proud beings, who have walked every corner of the earth, in every era of history. And I still see myself as part of the same tradition, the | 223 |
The Happy Prince (2018)
Biography, Colin Firth, Colin Morgan, Drama, Edwin Thomas, Emily Watson, France, History, Oscar Wilde, Passion project, Review, Rupert Everett
D: Rupert Everett / 106m
Cast: Rupert Everett, Colin Firth, Emily Watson, Colin Morgan, Edwin Thomas, Tom Wilkinson, Béatrice Dalle, Anna Chancellor, Julian Wadham, John Standing, Ronald Pickup
Oscar Wilde (Everett) has served his time in Reading Gaol and is living in France, supported by the kind attentions of one of his few remaining friends, Robbie Ross (Thomas). Suffering from ill health as a result of his stay in prison, Wilde is a shadow of his former self, wracked by torment and disillusionment, and his passion for writing exhausted. Against the better judgment and advice of his friends, including Reggie Turner (Firth), and his estranged wife, Constance (Watson), Wilde is reunited with the source of his downfall, Lord Alfred 'Bosie' Douglas (Morgan). They live together, though the relationship is strained, and Douglas's selfish behaviour begins to drive an irreversible wedge between them. When their families each threaten to remove their financial support for the pair, the relationship founders completely, and Wilde becomes a lonely figure wandering from café to café spending what little money he has on alcohol. With his health deteriorating even further, Wilde becomes incapacitated, and is forced to see out the remainder of his days in a dingy Paris hotel room…
When actors or directors announce that their next movie will be a long cherished passion project, it's often time to nod sagely and mutter, "that'll be nice". Rupert Everett had been trying to get a movie made about the final three years in the life of Oscar Wilde for over five years, and he's finally succeeded. You can imagine the pitch to potential investors, though: a movie about an alcoholic writer in the decrepitude of his final years, and without any chance of a happy ending. Full marks then to Everett for his perseverance, because despite the downbeat nature of the material, and the sadness of seeing a once great man reduced to abject penury, The Happy Prince is a fascinating and poignant examination of the last three years of Wilde's life, and how those years took a further, irrevocable toll on him after two years in prison. It's a largely melancholy, subdued account, but there are moments of joy and laughter and hope in amongst the heartbreak and despair, as Wilde reflects on his success and his subsequent downfall. Unafraid to show Wilde at his worst, and with the worst happening to him, Everett presents an unflinching portrait of the artist as an old man robbed of all his powers.
The movie has all the hallmarks of a grim tragedy, from Wilde, Turner and Ross being pursued in Italy by English thugs looking to intimidate and bully a great man brought low, to the inevitability of Douglas' rejection of Wilde when money becomes an issue. Everett is magnificent in a role that he's often unrecognisable in, the quality of the make up obliterating the actor/director's angular features; he's like a poster child for rampant, self-inflicted dissolution. What Everett captures perfectly is the sense of a man who knows his life is effectively over, but who clings to it, desperately, and however he can, even if it's inappropriate (his drinking etc.). Everett, who also wrote the script, is a confident, detailed director, and he has a good eye for composition that some more practiced directors would be envious of. He's an unselfish actor too, allowing the likes of Morgan and Thomas to shine in roles that might otherwise have appeared to be in subservience to the orbit of Everett's own. That the movie isn't as heavy going as it looks is another testament to the skill with which Everett assembles the various elements of Wilde's post-prison experiences, and the way he weaves the story of the Happy Prince through the narrative,<|fim_middle|> possible.
Rating: 8/10 – though the movie examines the tragedy of Wilde's final years, The Happy Prince isn't the depressing, maudlin experience that some viewers might be expecting, and instead is a quietly powerful expression of the will to survive in the bleakest of circumstances and surroundings; with effective supporting turns from the likes of Firth, Watson and Wilkinson, and appropriately gloomy cinematography by John Conroy, this is yet another potent reminder of Wilde the man, and his legacy. | and has it reflect the state of Wilde's own life depending on where the story has gotten to. For a first-time writer/director, Everett has revealed himself to be someone who should be encouraged to get behind the camera again as quickly as | 48 |
PHILADELPHIA, June 6 — Since the first amphibian pushed its head through the murky surface of a primeval ocean and took a breath of air, land animals have been plagued by a variety of lung diseases.
While doctors can treat many of the diseases, their therapies are unsuccessful against others.
In an experimental pro cedure, some medical research ers are trying to treat one rare lung disease by completely fill ing the patients' lungs with the very substance their ancestors escaped from eons ago — salt water.
The salt water is in the form of a solution, called saline, that is administered through a tube in the patient's throat. The tube, a Carlen catheter, is de signed so that, when properly inserted into the trachea, or windpipe, it can ventilate one lung with oxygen and an anes thetic, and lavage, or wash,<|fim_middle|>edure for each lung. | the other lung.
For the purposes of this treat ment, called a bronchopulmon ary lavage, the saline solution flows out of a bottle through tube and fills one lung. The saline stays in the lung for moment, and by gravity then flows out another tube. In effect, the lung is washed.
The procedure is based on the fact that, in many respira tory ailments, a surfeit of mucus, or mucouslike secretions, blocks the air passages. In some cases, as in the rare disease called alveolar proteinosis, these secretions even crowd the spaces where the gas ex change with the blood occurs.
In the past, physicians have tried to relieve the congestion with inhalants, forced coughing, deep breathing or several other treatments.
These methods must be used continuously. Because they do not always reach all remote areas of the lung, they may not be successful in some cases.
With the lavage, a doctor can reach every part of the patient's lung, and he can treat the patient with a different pro c | 216 |
The Ordnance SBML 2-inch light mortars were developed in the mid-1930s, with the design's foundation based on a license of a 50-millimeter mortar design by the firm Esperanza y Cia of Spain. Ten examples were built for trials in Nov 1937, along with 1,600 rounds of high explosive shells and 1,600 rounds of smoke shells. In Feb 1938, the trials were deemed successful, and an order for mass production was given. Typically, they were each operated by a crew of two, with one man holding and aiming the<|fim_middle|> by British and Commonwealth units during WW2, and many saw action in the subsequent Korean War. After the Korean War, they remained in British service as launchers for smoke and illuminating shells until the 1980s. Indian Army's 51-millimeter E1 mortars, still in production and still in operation at the time of this writing, were developed from the Ordnance SBML 2-inch mortar design. | barrel, while the other dropping the shells into the barrel. By 1939 when the European War of WW2 began, about 500 of them were in service with the British Army. These weapons of the initial variant were designated as Mk II despite being the first variant of the design; the designation Mk I was used by a unrelated WW1-era launcher of similar caiber. These weapons' greatest advantages were their operational simplicity (painted white lines to indicate firing direction, rather than the use of sights) and their light weight (no bipods; curved base plates). Several different variants were produced, including short-barreled variants for airborne use and variants designed specifically for mounting on vehicles. They typically fired 1.02-kilogram high explosive shells, but they could also employ a wide range of alternate ammunition, including smoke shells, illuminating shells, and the atypical shells that could cast net filled with explosives meant to detonate mines in suspected enemy minefields. They were used widely | 205 |
There have been many stunning half-centuries at Adelaide Oval over the years but those reached by South Australian Cricket Association members also have been deservedly recognised.
SACA hosted a three-course luncheon to salute members of 50-plus years in the Ian McLachlan Room at Adelaide Oval on Thursday 8 February. The event coincided with day one of South Australia's Sheffield Shield clash with Victoria.
Ten new 50-year<|fim_middle|> of them at the lunch to receive their certificates. Over 250 50-year members and their guests enjoyed the day, with only a few no-shows because of the hot weather.
SACA president Andrew Sinclair spoke at the event, highlighting what has been a very successful summer. As an establishment that holds tradition in high regard, Sinclair tipped his cap to the value and experience these collective years bring to the SACA membership.
Andrew Sinclair addresses the distinguished group of SACA Members. | members and 22 who have reached the remarkable milestone of 65 years of membership have been honoured, 19 | 25 |
Twitch Prime Members Will Soon Be Able To Get More Overwatch Loot Boxes
By ComicBook.com Staff - September 5, 2017 02:<|fim_middle|> month (plus tax), or even less if you go for a multi-month program in advance.
Overwatch is available now for Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC. | 37 pm EDT
A while ago, Twitch formed a partnership with the publishers at Blizzard to provide some fun little bonuses for Twitch Prime subscribers, in the form of special loot boxes. That promotion has since come to an end, but it looks like it's making the rounds again.
Starting next week, on August 10th, and running all the way through September 10th, members of Twitch Prime will be able to score a redeemable code that will earn them five free loot boxes for the month. In addition, they'll also be eligible for five additional loot boxes in October, though a specific date wasn't given.
The program is meant to serve as an initiative to get more Twitch Prime members on board. It's already a pretty big service, with Amazon Prime streaming services (including music and video), one Twitch subscription thrown in, a 20 percent discount on select games, and several other benefits. No doubt this Overwatch deal will help out.
The boxes contain at least one legendary skin for one of the 25 characters within the game, along with other goodies that haven't been disclosed just yet.
Blizzard did make it clear that the loot boxes in the promotion won't be tied in with the forthcoming Summer Games event that's set to kick off in a few days. Still, it's a good promotion that'll give you additional goodies for no extra cost, so kudos to that.
There's still time to jump in to Twitch Prime, which goes for around $11.99 a | 309 |
Krepps Corporation produces a single product. Last year, Krepps manufactured 27,540 units and sold 2
Krepps Corporation produces a single product. Last year, Krepps manufactured 27,540 units and sold 22,200 units. Production costs for the year were as follows: Direct materials $ 214,812 Direct labor $ 121,176 Variable manufacturing overhead $ 239,598 Fixed manufacturing overhead $ 302,940
Sales totaled $1,098,900 for the year, variable selling and administrative expenses totaled $115,440, and fixed selling and administrative expenses totaled $176,256. There was no beginning inventory. Assume that direct labor is a variable cost.
The contribution margin per unit was: (Round your intermediate calculations to 2 decimal places.)
Corbel Corporation has two divisions: Division A and Division B. Last month, the company reported a contribution margin of $47,800 for Division A. Division<|fim_middle|> 27,540 units and sold 2
A put option gives its owner the _____ to _____ a stock at a predetermined strike... The title of the Practicum project is "Education Program on the Subject of... | B had a contribution margin ratio of 25% and its sales were $235,000. Net operating income for the company was $35,700 and traceable fixed expenses were $55,400. Corbel Corporation's common fixed expenses were:
PLACE YOUR ORDER TO GET STARTEDThe post Krepps Corporation produces a single product. Last year, Krepps manufactured 27,540 units and sold 2 appeared first on Essay Gem.
https://superbprofessors.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Superbprofs-logo-300x120.png 0 0 Superbprofessors https://superbprofessors.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Superbprofs-logo-300x120.png Superbprofessors2020-12-18 17:34:232020-12-18 17:34:23Krepps Corporation produces a single product. Last year, Krepps manufactured | 237 |
The nuk massage brush is a great oral motor tool for moms and therapists to use for oral stimulation, sensory issues and even for teething.
The Nuk™ brush massager is used for oral massage, oral stimulation and exploration. It stimulates lateral molar ridges, reduces oral hypersensitivity, and helps develop a tongue groove. The flexible, nubby texture offers valuable sensory input for the child's mouth. Though this brush was designed initially for teething infants, it has made its way into therapeutic settings as an invaluable tool for sensory exploration. The nubby surface can hold tastes of liquid, purees or crumbs while<|fim_middle|> Is this product designed only for kids with sensory issues?
A. No, this item has multiple uses, from Oral stimulation and teething to tactile awareness .
Q. Is the Nuk brush made of safe materials?
A. Latex free, the head is made out of craton and the handle, polypropylene.
Q. is the Nuk brush dishwasher safe? | it is used with supervision as a "spoon" for initial feedings. The NUK brush is approx. 5" long. Use only under adult supervision.
The Nuk™ brush massager is used for oral massage, oral stimulation and exploratio. The flexible, nubby texture offers valuable sensory input for the child's mouth. Though this brush was designed initially for teething infants, it has made its way into therapeutic settings as an invaluable tool for sensory exploration. The nubby surface can hold tastes of liquid, purees or crumbs while it is used with supervision as a "spoon" for initial feedings. Have them available in clinics, classrooms and for families to take home! One per child, All kids Love the Nuk brush.
"Our two-year-old has sensory processing issues and needs to have safe "chewies." The nuk brush is one of his favorites. We also feel that it has helped to get him more used to tooth brushing."
"My son has oral sensitivity. This brush is a great product. We have been told that it helps in reducing texture issues and it seem to be helping. Great product! I wish they have more options like these for the kids to over come oral aversion!"
"This product is great for kiddos who need help developing their senses in their mouth. My boy has oral motor (tongue) issues and may not be able to feel things inside his mouth like the typical 3 year old. I use it after brushing every night to help improve his oral motor and sense. My kid has no problem brushing, so it's easy to use this Nuk brush with him."
"This is great for oral sensory stimulation for my sensory kiddo."
Q. What is the manufacturer age recommended for the Nuk brush?
A. 6 months+ with adult supervision of course.
Q. | 373 |
Carina Millstone
Executive Director, Feedback Global
Carina's career began in the business world working as a sustainability consultant for Environmental Resources Management, before she realised our<|fim_middle|>96203ab | planetary ecological crisis would not be solved in the corporate boardrooms in which it was created. She has since worked with several system change campaigning and movement building organisations, including Changing Markets in the UK and the New Economy Coalition in the US. A committed permaculturalist, she founded The Orchard Project, a charity working with community groups in cities across the UK to plant and nurture community orchards in public urban spaces. Carina has also been a Visiting Research Fellow of the Global Development and Environment Institute of Tufts University and is a Research Fellow of the Schumacher Institute. Her book, Frugal Value: Designing Business for a Crowded Planet (Routledge, 2017), provides a blueprint for organisations in an ecologically viable system of production and consumption. More information Website – www.feedbackglobal.org Twitter – @feedbackorg Facebook – @feedbackorg LinkedIn – carina-millstone-a | 184 |
Of all the sectors where digital is having an impact, financial technology or "fintech"<|fim_middle|> London, the Polish startup provides tools to financial services companies to help them communicate better with SME customers. Its Momentum software bridges the gap between SME and bank, helping with the planning of business models and monitoring cash flow in and out. Users can share selected information with their bank to get bespoke offers and real-time support. | has been one of the biggest growers in recent years. Here are some of the finest fintech startups currently in the business.
No list of the hottest fintech startups would be complete without TransferWise, which recently attracted over $58 million in a new round of funding, attracting investment from Andreessen-Horowitz, Richard Branson and Valar Ventures. Its innovative service bypasses banks through direct peer-to-peer transfers, avoiding hidden fees. Founded by Taavet Hinrikus and Kristo Käärmann, TransferWise claims to offer faster international money transfers and savings of up to 90 percent compared to bank services.
The first start-up to be funded and supported by the University of Cambridge, Cytora provides banks and other organisations with real-time data about geopolitical risks such as invasions or insurrections. Its detection technology is deployed against the contents of the entire web to monitor events as they unfold and provide updates. The web-based programme was recently selected to participate in Accenture's FinTech Innovation Lab London.
This app gamely tackles the relatively unglamorous but admittedly vital world of invoicing. Yes, it would be a stretch to call it the Tinder of the FinTech world, but its target audience will find much to get excited about in this free platform. Invoiceable increases convenience for businesses by allowing users to manage and send professional-quality invoices in a small amount of time.
Founded by Alick Varma, an alumnus of Spotify and Mendeley, this startup opts for a family focus, aiming to educate children about saving money and effectively running their finances. Osper is a prepaid Debit Card for under-18s to get to grips with controlling their purchases. It comes with a mobile banking app so that the young users and their parents can keep track of expenditure.
Another participant in the Fintech Innovation Lab | 378 |
OTHER HUNTING TOPICS
Growing up in the Canadian arctic
Thread starter Griggs
kansasdad
Wow, its almost as if you grew up on another planet.
I bet that most of your AZ friends haven't heard many stories of your upbringing as it seems that most TCK (third culture kids) keep the most "foreign" parts of their lives mostly hidden.
Do you have vestiges of local language(s) still rambling around in your head?
Griggs
bobbydean said:
A look at a different world.
Your comment that you rarely stayed in an igloo. Could you construct one. I think it would require considerable skill.
THANks for letting me look at your world.
They weren't that difficult, we used to make them as kids for forts, same as kids anywhere I presume, just a different shape, lol.
kansasdad said:
I still speak a little, not near what I could when I was young. But the language was always easy, I've ben multilingual my whole life. But you're completely correct, most of my friends have never heard anything of my formative years, some don't even know I was born in Canada.
Blockcaver
Griggs,
ULUKHAKTOK/HOLMAN, NWT: A friend and I drove up to Yellowknife in late August 2016, then flew to Copper Mine (Kugluktuk) before flying on to Ulukhaktok up on Victoria Island for the musk ox hunt. The first day we went a long ways North from town by quad, each driving across the gravel and rocky undulating barrens at 72* N, wondering what musk ox ate. We built a comfortable tent camp with small wall tents covered in blankets...the "original Arctic Oven tents" I think. It was late August and the weather was freezing nights and cold to cool windy days with no bugs, and no snow yet. The next day was extremely long with much glassing from each high point across never ending vistas. My buddy spotted two bulls way out, maybe 5 miles and he and his two Inuit guides planned a stalk. My two Inuit guides and I headed on and covered an incredible amount of country glassing. We did spot 18 muskox, but no big bulls in the herd. We kept going, finally in the late afternoon we located the other group, busy skinning my buddy's bull. He'd gotten to within 40 yds or so, arrowing a dandy.
The other bull had run off, but we soon located him. I was able to use terrain to get about 80 yards before he busted me and moved off. We relocated him with enough light for another stalk and I finally got him, another old bull, with a 45 yd shot. We didn't get back to camp until really late. Really an exciting hunt with two good archery bulls the first day. It started sleeting the second day but broke out better by the time we decided to head back to town since we were tagged out and had really seen the area.
A cruise ship was docked in the harbor. Apparently it was traveling from Anchorage to New York via the NW passage with over a thousand passengers on board plus the staff. Costs for the 30 day cruise was $18k to $100k per person from what I heard. When they were docked, they only let about 20 passengers at a time come into Ulukhaktok to keep from overwhelming the town. The local artists had their best day ever with over $40k in sales when the ship was there. I think the population was about 400 Inuits. We stayed in a nice B&B in town with an Inuit lady that was a fine cook. There were not many vehicles (RCMP and water truck were all I remember), but everyone had a quad and snow machine. They put the quads up on blocks in the winter to prevent the rubber tires from cracking in the cold.
The Inuits still pull wooden sleds with mild steel strapping on the runners with their quads in the summer and by snowmobile in the winter. After about 40 km across the gravel the steel on the runners would wear out and require rebuilding. The sleds were mainly roped together rather than screwed or nailed, which promoted flexibility. Being 12' or more long they spanned the undulations in the ground fairly well. Evidence of sleds that fell apart and were abandoned was found a few times on the trip. The guides were very resourceful and a pleasure to spend time with.
I asked where the polar bears were at the time of year, and they said 300 miles north. That said an Inuit lady killed a "Pizzly" or maybe it was a "Grolar" bear 3 km from town that was harrassing her around her summer cabin. It was mounted in the airport, and looked a whole lot like a very light colored tundra grizzly, but apparently was a cross....one of the first identified up there.
Reactions: Griggs
Blockcaver said:
Blockcaver,
That's really interesting! Also sounds like a great time on the hunt! You don't happen to remember the name of the lady that put you up, by chance? There was no bed and breakfast when we were there; usually you stayed with someone you knew in town, but the population has since grown by approximately 300% since then. I'd be interested to see what family has branched out now, if you remember feel free to PM that to me.
The food was good, although I never developed a taste for musk ox or caribou, and the raw seal and whale was never something that I liked. I always liked the rabbit and ptarmigan though, and I did love bannock, I still make it to this day for my kids, especially prior to or during a hunt.
That's funny about the musk ox diet, because there really never appears to be much there aside from the occasional grasses, moss and lichen, lol. Seems like the camp setup hasn't changed any at all, we still have the canvas tent sitting in the garage.
Good job on getting close in for a good shot.
I remembered reading about the upcoming cruises, but the price being astronomical. There was a boat that came through when I was really young (I can't for the life of me remember what kind) where all the kids (myself included to help out) to sell the wares. So I was the only white, blonde haired, blue eyed kid helping hawk carvings.
We had heard in the later years of grizzly mating with polar bear, but I had never seen one. That sounds like a great time. If I could afford to fly up there now I would love to, although my wife would die of shock up there. My father had made mention in his last few years of wanting to go back up there and live off the land again with some of our friends there. Any pictures from the hunt?
BearFoot
A fantastic share Griggs! Nice snapshot of your upbringing. I never cared for seal, whale, or Muktuk. Seagull egg yokes have that fishy taste.
BearFoot said:
@Blockcaver, you made mention of abandoned parts, and such. We found a rifle with a broken stock once, out in the middle of nowhere, I think we still have it. Along with some other things from a while back, such as ulus, etc.
And just since I have more pics laying around...
A more traditional style of hunting equipment.
which I think is still kicking around in the garage somewhere alongside the kayak.
Caribou freezer.
And interestingly enough, the soapstone for the carvings isn't even local, it has to be shipped in for them to carve it to ship it out. Horn and whalebone obviously are from there.
ewludwig
Outstanding thread. Thank you for sharing. I rough it for a week and think I'm doing something difficult. All about perspective.
neffa3
Wow. Thanks for sharing.
Griggs said:
Griggs..not sure how to send you a private message...(I typed one out to you but it appears it may be a public "conversation"?) I don't understand the site as I am new here.
AZBridger
those are some incredible photos. i could look at them endlessly. thank you for sharing them.
A wonderful thread. Thank you.
I have a friend who is a first nation individual living in The Yukon Territories and thanks to her we had the opportunity to experience your "way of life" in small doses, but loved it. We traveled through a lot of the three Territories and absolutely loved the Mackenzie mountain range/river basin, but Nunavut and even Greenland were interesting visits. Great times, even better hunts and wonderful memories---thanks to your posts many of them I was able revisit in my mind. Thank you
SnowyMountaineer
Amazing thread.
BrentD
There are spectacular posts, Griggs. I could ask a dozen or more questions, but I'll settle for just one. What are the fish that look sort of like big lake trout, and how do you catch them, hook and line, or net or spear or.. ?
BrentD said:
Thanks all, I just figured I would share some of my Dads pictures and stories. Although he's likely rolling in his grave because he would never have talked to people he didn't know about any of this. Although he certainly had a collection of great stories from the years up there.
Feel free to ask all the questions you want. Many people have lived there or in places like this before, or still do, but I have no issue answering any questions as best I can.
We generally had arctic char and lake trout. Our fishing was predominantly with nets, except of course for ice fishing. It was just easier to go check the nets rather than spend time out on the water fishing, as it was more for food than to fish.
and just some more pics, which is why I started the thread so I didn't hijack another one.
As Blockcaver pointed out, the sleds were lashed together.
Much less TV watching back then, and<|fim_middle|> out as, with subsistence hunting still being pretty much a necessity, as in my experience no family ever wasted any parts of a kill. We used the hides for clothing (rabbit made for great gloves), bone for carvings, guts for dogs, etc.
Bear was never hunted for meat in my recollection, but more as a precautionary measure, i.e. harassment. Although I had polar bear meat, and I did not like it in the least.
As for a show, my Dad was a great orator, but I could never retell his stories and do them even one iota of justice. Although I am writing a biography for my kids about him, as he did many other things including a decade as a consultant in Moscow after his retirement.
Dave N said:
Thanks! I watch some of those shows now merely to be reminded of how it was. If you treat it like a movie of sorts, just like "Ice lake rebels" if you pan to the right 5 degrees you can see downtown, that sort of thing.
I will have to ask my Mom about this one, as my Dad is not around to ask and they were not my hunts. I cannot remember the seal hunts, as they stopped occurring for us when I was very little. I'm not sure if it was increasing regulation, or changes in the law or what but I was about 2 when we stopped hunting seal, but the Inuit continued. The dogs continued to eat other parts of the animals, like fish guts, etc. but nothing was better than seal fat for them. So I will get back to you on the specifics of the hunts.
ETA: Spoke with my Mom briefly today, my Dad did "accompanied hunts" for seal, as a non native he was not allowed to hunt seal, so it was the "guides hunt". But he was allotted 1000 lb. of trout and char on his permit, if memory serves...
Also, according to mi madre, apparently that was "everything needed to hunt a seal - harpoon with long lead on it, the tip of the harpoon stays in the seal and the long cord is used to pull it in. The caribou pads are for kneeling on the ice and waiting for it to appear (assuming you are hunting seal on land - looking for seal that come up and sit on the ice). They used the same harpoon when in a boat."
Reactions: BrentD
Northwoods Labs
Danbury, Wisconsin
Tremendous post. Very cool pictures and insight into a very unique lifestyle that the vast majority will never experience
elkrchr
Priceless photos! Thank you for sharing. I love looking at those kind of photos and reading about the history behind them. | no one on Twitter or Facebook at the table.
Reactions: Big Fin
This has been a really cool thread to follow. Some great pictures from back in the day showing a lifestyle most of us would never even think of. You see stuff on TV now and then, but this is the real deal. Thanks!
Those fish super tasty to me. I suppose eating them as often and you did might make them seem pretty ordinary, but lake trout are a favorite of mine.
I was particularly surprised to see your dad's sailboat. I don't think I have seen a picture of a sailboat in that part of the world. Makes lots of sense since parts and fuel for motor boats would be expensive and hard to come by, but I'd like that boat on any water.
Do you know if rising sea level a bit concern up there now?
There must be some stories behind those bear skins. Were they hunted for food at all?
You certainly had some adventures. I hope you record a few of them permanently. I'd love to hear you tell a few stories on The Moth radio show. Maybe I will some day.
I am guessing that this is a seal hunting set up and you have an indicator of sorts in that small pin with the flat top on the right side of the picture.
What are some of the other parts? Looks like a club maybe net to the reindeer covered "stool".
How is it to pull a seal up through the hole and snow?
My Dads boat was more of a nautical interest to him. There were few sailboats, mostly canoes, kayaks and outboard motor types (at least 40 years ago). You are correct on the parts issue though. One example was our snowmobile caught on fire, we covered it in snow to put it out. My Dad pieced it back together from scraps and kept it running for many years afterwards.
I still like the fish now, an at the time it was ok to me. But I know my Dad loved it, and very often would reminisce about the giant slabs of fish and how much he liked it. I am not sure of how the rising sea levels are a concern, although one of our friends still there that we spoke with recently, ha made mention of some significant changes there. Aside from the population growth, other issues associated with that, the caribou herds were "almost gone", musk ox weren't as numerous, due to overhunting. I'm sure that stems from a population that is far larger than it started | 520 |
It's not a piece of news for anyone involved in the mining equipment business that this is a highly competitive marketplace which is subject to many changes and fluctuations and dependant on a lot of factors. To succeed here one must, firstly, like his job. The other "secret" is the quality and we<|fim_middle|> issues or delivery of spare parts are all the questions to solve in close contact with our customers. | are trying to provide better quality of all the services for our valuable customers.
Personnel. To follow serious tasks, the highly-skilled staff is one of the most concurrent provision. To meet this criteria we are able to provide a balanced combination of a long experience in mining equipment business and fresh views and thoughts. For implementation of the South African project we are offering a high professional level of our staff and what is not of less importance – we do our best to keep our people motivated for development and improvements.
Development. Both ourselves and BELAZ factory gained good results during last years but it's not a good time to stop and enjoy ourselves. One of our basic priorities is a sustainable development and we try to go head in our business. We try to develop both the array of the markets where we operate and the line of the products we offer.
Customers. We appreciate our customers and do our best to allow for their requirements and recommendations. The points of major importance, like selection of optimal specification and optional equipment, requirements to financial facilities or scope of technical service and back-up (not mentioning all of the of course!) are all subject to careful consideration together with the customer and his interests shall be a fundamental point for that.
Our relationships with the customer do not end with supply of the equipment. Further operation of the fleet, technical back-up which may range from , warranty | 273 |
Rated M. Starring Teresa Palmer, Gabriel Bateman, Billy Burke. Directed by David F. Sandberg.
Horror films are fairly divisive. Generally you either love them or you hate them and for the most part I've not been a fan. The first horror flick I saw was A Nightmare on Elm Street when I was about 11. Rather than get scared, I laughed through most of it and I certainly didn't lose any sleep afterwards. The new horror film Lights Out is cut from a similar cloth to Elm Street, but without quite so many 'so schlocky it's funny' moments.
Lights Out, directed by David F. Sandberg, centres on Rebecca (Palmer) and her younger step-brother Martin (Bateman) who are stalked by a spirit that can only be seen in the dark. Rebecca realises that the same creature haunted her as a girl and now that Martin is being terrorised by the same shadowy figure, she must face the terrors she thought she had escaped<|fim_middle|>, especially when the worries and hardships of life and the temptation of sin can feel like an overwhelming darkness.
Lights Out releases in cinemas worldwide later this week.
Posted in 2016, Film ReviewsTagged christian, film review, Lights OutBookmark the permalink.
It is a great scary movie! The director did a great job with the lights on off treatment and it made me jump 10 times. It's not exactly Academy Awards material, but it definitely will keep you on edge. The ending is a touch similar to a few other movies (wont say which) but it is still a good rental. | when she left home. As the two siblings, their mother and Rebecca's boyfriend try to uncover who the ghost, called Diana, is and her link to their family, they have to try to stay in the light and stay alive.
It's an interesting idea for a film and one with which a director could have a lot of fun. Lights Out doesn't rewrite the book on scary though, which is a shame given that Aussie filmmaker and modern horror heavyweight James Wan (Saw, The Conjuring, Insidious) was one of the producers. In a lot of ways it ticks many of the boxes for a horror film. There's a creepy house with a chandelier, a sequence in the basement and a chilling opening sequence in a room full of mannequins. There are plenty of scares but they're the predictable 'no don't open that door' kind of moments and don't leave much of a lasting impression.
The filmmaker's decision to leave out gore from the movie was a nice touch. In fact the film has very little violence at all, and most of it is either off camera or in the shadows. Instead, the film relies on creating suspense and big frights to keep audiences' hearts racing. Diana herself is a nightmarish figure and her design is probably the scariest aspect of the film. Like the shark in Jaws, the audience doesn't see Diana fully until the third act, which makes her all the more frightening for the first hour of the film.
That's a comforting reminder | 307 |
As we start 2018 excited for the year ahead, we've taken a minute to reflect<|fim_middle|>, design events and industry conferences, from Glug to NUX, as well as hosting plenty of team nights out, lots of wine tasting and an abundance of delicious takeaways. 2017 was a great year and my gosh are we looking forward to a brilliant 2018. | on a busy 2017 which was one of our favourite years to date.
Creating an interactive digital newsletter was an exciting edition to our ever-expanding online magazine portfolio.
Following the success of the Recipro web build, we were pleased when Trustland Group awarded us two further website projects – a rebuild of their Trustland Construction site and a new website for the Coach House Restaurant, also owned by the Group. Both sites had to stay true to the businesses' respective brands, whilst ensuring that the user could easily navigate through the site.
We worked with Today's for a third year running to deliver their conference branding across all marketing communications. Combining Barcelona's colourful character and design with the strong conference strapline and key things helped us bring the branding to life and implement it across a number of marketing communications. This was one of our favourite projects to work on in 2017.
We launched the 10th issue of M World in 2017. Building on the popularity of the past nine issues, the magazine gives our design team time to explore and hone their skills in new and emerging areas. Our festive edition was a great way to round off the year whilst getting everyone in a festive mood.
Our team took part in training courses | 254 |
I have a (possibly) unhealthy obsession with bananas. As a kid<|fim_middle|> a tasty dessert treat! | , anytime I was playing with my brother and I got hurt, he would run to get my a banana and would tell me that bananas were magical and healed people. Yes, that's ridiculous, but I think it created some sort of placebo effect where bananas now make me feel better. I also happen to love the taste, so that helps. There's not much better than a perfect banana (thank you, Chiquita, for teaching me how to recognize perfection: "When they are flecked with brown and have a golden hue, bananas taste the best and are the...best for you!"). Granted, when it comes to baking, you want a little past perfect in your bananas - in fact, they can be downright brown and mushy.
If you're a banana fan, you'll love this banana bread - and bananas have natural sweetness, so they make easy tasty treats that aren't overloaded with bad sugars. Give this recipe a try - it's easy and tasty and it'll make you feel better!
Preheat oven to 350F and line a 9x5 loaf pan with parchment paper/nonstick foil (or grease with melted coconut oil). In a medium bowl, whisk together your dry ingredients (flours, baking soda, baking powder, spices, salt).
In a small bowl, mix together your wet ingredients (coconut oil, eggs, mashed bananas, maple syrup, vanilla).
Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and mix until combined (don't over mix or your bread might get tough). Stir in walnuts (or other nuts or chocolate chips).
Pour batter into your lined/greased pan and bake at 350F for 45 minutes (or until a toothpick comes out clean). Let cool for a few minutes, then remove from pan and cool on a wire rack.
Enjoy a slice for breakfast or spoon a dollop of coconut whipped "cream" on top for | 389 |
How Do Students Meet with the Counselor?
Kelsey Badger, AgrAbility graduate intern and occupational therapy student, visited agriculture students at Sullivan Middle School to raise awareness about disabilities within the agriculture profession.
Get to know SMS science teacher, John Nave!
Blue, the official mascot of the Indianapolis Colts, visited SMS to share an important message!
SMS students find success at Beta!
The mission of Sullivan Middle School is to meet each student's needs with the best education possible, through programs that promote knowledge, self-esteem, initiative, and life skills. Our students are given a foundation in basic skills in order to pursue academic, creative, and vocational success in a global<|fim_middle|> development of our programs, policies, staff, and facilities.
Sullivan Middle School, where we "Aim High with Arrow Pride"! | society. In recognition of this philosophy, our school seeks, in partnership with family and community, to provide continuing | 22 |
Specialising in French woven tapestries, Fleur de Lys Tapestries is the largest importer of tapestries to Australia. From French tapestry cushions to woven wall hangings, we guarantee that you'll find exactly what you're looking for at Fleur de Lys Tapestries – or even something completely unexpected!
Tapestries conjure to mind medieval castles, marvellous churches and grandiose designs, but these lovely portable artworks aren't just for the grand homes of Europe. These works of art can look just at home in your house, teamed with everything from French-provincial to traditional country furnishings. They create a versatile platform for decorating, featuring a range of colours that tie-in with existing fixtures and cover bare walls with a pictorial story. They<|fim_middle|> or woven. Silkscreen tapestries are reproductions of the original works hanging in places such as the Louvre, Chateaux in the Loire Valley and in private homes in Europe. These tapestries are high quality, with the emphasis on recreating the atmosphere and visual impact of the classic masterpieces.
Based on a weaving method invented in 1804, loom-woven tapestries are produced on Jacquard looms, involving the interweaving of warp and weft yarns of different colours to create the design. The setting up and control of the looms is a highly skilled and delicate operation requiring much attention to detail.
Both types are ideal investment and heirloom pieces, which are major talking points in any house or office. Due to the nature of tapestry fabric, nobility and scholars throughout history have collected and preserved these works of art. Now you can see these works of art in palaces and museums throughout the world. Or you can own a piece of history and culture to savour and preserve for yourself. Here are most of history's finest tapestries reproduced for you. Each tapestry comes in different sizes as detailed in the enlargements. These works of art are the finest made in the world. We hope you enjoy them as much as we do. | are perfect wall hangings for large walls and curved large stair-wells. Tapestries are a wonderful form of 'portable art' that you can roll up and move around the house when you feel like a change without the risk of breakages! Fleur de Lys Tapestries have made these works of art affordable and are providing an easy way of viewing these tapestries in your home without any obligation to buy. By viewing them in your home, before any purchase, you would ensure that the woven tapestry fabric itself fits in with your décor. Also the size of the tapestry has to fit in with the space and size of the wall. All this, before any purchase or obligation to buy! We are in the area and would love to show you these works of art for no obligation.
Fleur de Lys Tapestries is now offering specially designed hanging rods and woven tapestry cushions free with every tapestry sold. Please see more details below or call us on 0407 526 186 for an obligation free viewing.
Fleur de Lys exquisite Tapestries capture the atmosphere and charm of the originals and are created by skilled craftsmen in small 'ateliers' working in many attractive textures. Choose from hundreds of designs, colours and sizes to add that luxurious touch to your décor.
These tapestries have been hand-picked as being the most beautiful and most artistic of all tapestries still being made by French, English and Flemish weavers. Tapestries are magnificent and are suitable for entrance halls, dining areas, lounge rooms and other areas of your home where an object d'art can be appreciated.
The tapestries are either silkscreen | 350 |
Q: What "call" function do in js? I saw code:
Host.call(this, logger, config);
Host is a function name with no parent.
call seems not defined in the function's definition.
Is call a special function? As call is a highly used word, it seems not easy to search "JS call" for any<|fim_middle|>);
this.a = a;
this.b = b;
}
var obj = {};
Host.call(obj, 1, 2);
console.log(obj.a, obj.b); // set at `obj` : `this` at call to `Host`
| useful explanation.
A:
All functions have two built-in methods that allow the programmer to supply arguments and this variable also: call and apply.
So in your question, the Host method is being called with thelogger and config arguments, but you're also passing in a reference to whatever is currently this.
A: .call() sets this within Host function to this passed at first parameter where logger, config are additional parameters passed to Host function
function Host(a, b) {
// `this` : `obj`
console.log("in Host", this, a, b | 117 |
Movie Review: Oculus
I had really high hopes for Oculus. It seems to have had so much going for it: Great early buzz, a creepy, cursed antique, and Karen Gillan. What's not to like? Oculus is an interesting film as while it initially seems to be more of a ghost story, it actually feels like more of a psychological thriller. Directed by Mike Flanagan and based off of his short film Oculus: Chapter 3-The Man with the Plan<|fim_middle|> a bit more satisfying. It's never a bad thing when a film leaves you wanting more, but Oculus ultimately seems a bit disappointing because it never reaches the potential which the first two thirds of the film suggest. It's not a bad film by any means, but it ultimately isn't scary, interesting or clever enough to distance itself from the horror herd.
Confirmed: Good
Posted by Barbecue17 at 7:00 AM | , the film revolves around an 18th century mirror called the Lasser Glass that has a long history of tragedy attached to it. Like baby dolls and jack in the boxes, mirrors are just another of those fairly mundane objects that somehow end up being exceedingly creepy when put into a horror context. Is Oculus worth a look or is this one looking glass you should just pass right by? Read on and fight out after the break...
The storyline of Oculus follows siblings Kaylie (Karen Gillan) and Tim (Brenton Thwaites) during two different periods in their lives, both involving their interactions with the malicious Lasser Glass. As pre-teens Kaylie and Tim witness the effect that the mirror has on their parents (Katee Sackhoff and Rory Cochrane), slowly turning their childhood and family life into a nightmare. As young adults, we see how Kaylie and Tim are both trying to cope with their traumatic childhoods. Their perceptions as to what happened to their family, however, are quite different. While Kaylie is convinced that the Lasser Glass is truly evil and has spent her life tracking it down in order to destroy it, years of therapy and treatment have left Tim convinced that the true evil that destroyed their young lives came from their father.
As we watch the now adult siblings once again confront the mirror, we also witness them confronting eachother with their own versions of what happened eleven years prior. Did the family dog die mysteriously becase its life was sapped from it by the mirror or did it suffer from parvovirus? Was their father having an affair or was there really a mysterious feminine entity in their home? One of the strengths of Oculus, at least for the first half of the film, is that it explores the very different ways in which two siblings perceive the tragedies of their childhoods. Twisting and warping perception is a key feature of the film and it works really well most of the way through. As Kaylie and Tim attempt to study the Lasser Glass, they find a growing disconnect between their true actions and their perceptions of their actions. Like a funhouse mirror, something sinister is warping and twisting the world around them. I don't want to spoil anything, but at one point someone eats a light bulb.What can you do when you can't even trust your own eyes or taste buds?
Oculus has some real strengths to it. First, the cast is quite good. Gillan is really quite excellent as someone who seems normal, but whom you slowly realize is truly methodical, manipulative, and obsessed with the past (it's also weird to hear her talk without her accent). Sackhoff and Cochrane probably give the best (and creepiest) performances. Playing the parents as remembered by their children, they get the chance to really offer up some oddly menacing moments. I really appreciate the way director Mike Flanagan chose to weave together Kaylie and Tim's stories rather than having them simply occur as just flashbacks or as an introduction to the film. It really works here and helps to build the suspense as both stories come to a climax simultaneously. Unfortunately, when that climax is reached it seems somehow anticlimactic. The film doesn't have a bad, gimmicky twist ending or anything, but once it's over you'll be wishing for something | 674 |
This is the second in a progression of posts in which I share my guidance for hopefuls meeting for tech organizations, drawing on my experience as a specialist and questioner at Google. On the off chance that you haven't as of now, investigate the prologue to this arrangement.
Before I begin, a disclaimer: while talking with competitors is one of my expert duties, this blog speaks to my own perceptions, my own tales, and my genuine beliefs. Kindly don't confuse this with any kind of authority proclamation by or about Google, Alphabet, or some other individual or association.
It's anything but difficult to state and get it.
It has various arrangements, each requiring shifting degrees of calculations and information structures learning. Additionally, a tad of understanding goes far.
Every arrangement can be actualized in generally few lines, making it ideal for a period compelled condition.
In case you're an understudy or generally applying to tech occupations, my expectation is that you'll leave perusing this having gained a superior comprehension of what's in store from meeting issues. In case you're a questioner, I'd get a kick out of the chance to share my point of view and elaborate way to deal with talking, the better to illuminate others and request remarks.
Note I'll be composing code in Python. I like Python since it's anything but difficult to learn, reduced, and has a completely enormous standard library. Applicants like it, as well: despite the fact that we force no dialect requirements, 90% of individuals I talk with utilize Python. Likewise I utilize Python 3 in light of the fact that c'mon, it's 2018.
Assume you dial keys on the keypad utilizing just jumps a knight can make. Each time the knight arrives on a key, we dial that key and make another jump. The beginning position considers being dialed.
What number of unmistakable numbers would you be able to dial in N jumps from a specific beginning position?
Each meeting I lead fundamentally separates into two sections: first we locate an algorithmic arrangement and afterward the competitor actualizes it in code. I say "we" discover an answer since I'm not a quiet onlooker: <|fim_middle|> this way and drawing the tree as I did above will see you composing the subtree for C(6, 2) on different occasions, which you're certain to take note. This is some of the time enough of an understanding to enable possibility to sidestep arrangements 1 and 2 inside and out and hop directly to this stage. Obviously, that is an enormous time spare in a meeting where you just have 45 minutes to take care of an issue.
Okay, what's the runtime multifaceted nature (Big-O) now? That is harder to reply. For the past execution, registering the runtime was as basic as checking the occasions the recursive capacity was called, which was constantly a few times for every call. This time checking is more confounded in light of the fact that the recursive call is monitored by a restrictive. On the substance of it there's no undeniable method to check work calls.
We can settle this riddle by rather taking a gander at the reserve. Each capacity call's outcome is put away in the reserve, and it's embedded there precisely once. This enables us to reframe the inquiry as "how does the extent of the store develop with the span of the information?" Given that the reserve is keyed by position and number of jumps, and there are actually ten positions, we can infer that the store develops in direct extent to the quantity of asked for bounces. This pursues from the categorize standard: when we have a passage in the store for each blend of position and bounce check, all calls will hit the reserve as opposed to result in another capacity call.
Direct time! That is not terrible. Truth be told, it's amazing: the expansion of a basic store changed the calculation's runtime from exponential to direct. On my revered old MacBook Air, the recursive execution takes around 45 seconds to keep running for twenty bounces. This usage can deal with 500 jumps in around 50 milliseconds. Not awful by any means.
Notice that the outcomes for N jumps depend just on the outcomes for calls with N-1 bounces. In the mean time, the reserve contains passages for each (nonzero) number of jumps. I call this a minor issue since it doesn't really cause any genuine issues, given that the store becomes just directly with the quantity of bounces. Requiring straight space isn't the apocalypse, yet at the same time, it's wasteful.
In the event that you envision the whole capacity call chart as a kind of virtual tree, you'll rapidly observe we're playing out a profundity first traversal. This is fine, it gives a legitimate arrangement, yet it doesn't exploit the shallow reliance property I brought up above.
Would you be able to play out a broadness first traversal rather, where you begin at the best and "visit" work calls for N-1 bounces simply after you've visited those for N jumps? Tragically, no. The estimations of capacity calls with nonzero jumps totally require the qualities from littler bounce tallies, so you won't get any outcomes until the point when you achieve the zero-jump layer and begin returning numbers as opposed to extra capacity calls (take note of the zero-jump layer isn't portrayed here).
So what's preferred about this form over the recursive, profundity first arrangement? Not a ton, but rather it has a couple of advantages. Most importantly, it's not recursive, which means it can keep running for amazingly substantial qualities without slamming. Second off, it utilizes steady memory, since it just ever needs two varieties of settled size instead of the regularly developing store of the memoization arrangement. At long last, it's as yet straight time: I can figure 200,000 jumps in just shy of twenty seconds.
So we're done, isn't that so? Practically. Planning and executing a direct time, consistent space arrangement in a prospective employee meet-up is a decent outcome. When I was utilizing this inquiry, I gave applicants who gave the dynamic programming arrangement a great rating.
Shouldn't something be said about alternate arrangements, you may inquire? Sadly it's difficult to rate a conceptual applicant. Meetings are disorganized things; they can begin late, individuals can be apprehensive, and they regularly touch base at bits of knowledge and arrangements late in the session, abandoning them with brief period to code anything. There's likewise a discussion occurring: I focus on how well the applicant conveys their musings and consolidates thoughts and input. I generally consider these components previously making a contract/no-employ proposal, and you can't do that in theory.
Rather than potential proposals, I'll center around the things I'd jump at the chance to have the capacity to state. While surveying calculations and information structures, I need to state something like "TC (The Candidate) investigated the issue and created an answer that tended to all edge cases, and enhanced the arrangement when given its deficiencies. At last, they touched base at an ideal arrangement." I likewise need to have the capacity to state "TC picked suitable information structures for the arrangement, and effectively addressed inquiries regarding the Big-O of their answer's runtime and space necessities."
While surveying coding, my optimal articulation would be "TC rapidly and succinctly made an interpretation of their thoughts into code. The code utilizes standard dialect builds and is anything but difficult to peruse. All edge cases are tended to, and TC strolled through their code to investigate it and confirm it's right." For passage level jobs I give extra focuses if there's some kind of testing, however more experienced jobs I punish hopefuls who don't in any event list significant experiments.
Concerning velocity of advancement, I'd love to have the capacity to state "TC drove the critical thinking process: they grew the greater part of their own answer, and could distinguish and address inadequacies without my pointing them out. TC required just negligible indications to make them move the correct way."
Anybody I can say these things in regards to gets a "Solid Hire" in my book. In any case, "Contract" and "Inclining Hire" are additionally positive supports. On the off chance that you miss the mark in one territory however sparkle in another, I can presumably still legitimize a positive proposal.
This issue may appear to be overwhelming, particularly given that this post has progressed toward becoming as long as it has. Remember, notwithstanding, that this post is intentionally considerably more exhaustive than any meeting will ever be. I'm not spreading out all that I hope to see, I'm analyzing an issue into its best subtle elements to forget nothing.
Continuously begin by explaining a little occasion of the issue by hand. In this issue the repeat connection and the reiteration of capacity calls turned out to be substantially more clear when you hand-take care of an issue.
Focus on when your answer is processing things you needn't bother with, similar to how the innocent checking arrangement creates the successions however doesn't really utilize them. Decreasing pointless calculation can frequently give less complex arrangements, if not open the way to more proficient ones.
Know your recursion. It's relatively pointless in most creation code since it impacts through the stack, however it's an amazing calculation plan strategy. Recursive arrangements can regularly be adjusted and enhanced: the distinction between the exponential time guileless arrangement and the straight time almost ideal memoization arrangement is negligible.
Know your Big-O examination! You're for all intents and purposes ensured to be asked this sooner or later amid the meeting procedure.
Continuously be watchful for chances to memoize. In the event that your capacity is deterministic and you'll be considering it on numerous occasions with similar data sources, your answer may profit by memoization.
Find and work out the repeat connection. For this situation composing it out makes it clear that means N bounces depend just on means N-1 jumps.
On the off chance that you loved this post, extol or leave a reaction! Nothing makes me feel warm and fluffy inside like got notification from perusers. Likewise, if this is the kind of stuff you jump at the chance to peruse, and in case you're the distance down here there's a decent shot it is, give me a pursue! There's significantly more where this originated from.
Be that as it may, Wait, There's More!
Alright, so I said we were done, yet it turns out this issue has one more arrangement. In the entirety of my time meeting with this issue I've never observed anybody give it. I didn't realize it existed until the point when one of my associates returned to his work area with a stunned look all over and declared he had quite recently met the best applicant he'd ever observed. | 45 minutes isn't a ton of time to structure and actualize anything under the best conditions, don't bother under strain. I given hopefuls a chance to lead the pack in the dialog, creating thoughts, tackling occurrences of the issue, and so forth., however I'm glad to give a bump the correct way. The better the competitor, the less indications I will in general need to give, however I still can't seem to see an applicant who required no contribution from me by any means.
I should underscore this, since it's vital: as a questioner, I'm not in the matter of kicking back and watching individuals come up short. I need to compose as much positive criticism as I can, and I endeavor to give you chances to enable me to compose beneficial things about you. Insights are my method for saying "alright, I'm going to give this bit to you, however just so you can proceed onward and demonstrate to me what you have on alternate parts of the inquiry."
… for a sum of six arrangements. In case you're following along, take a stab at taking a pencil and paper and determining these. This doesn't make an interpretation of well into a blog entry, however trust me when I say there's something otherworldly in regards to working out an issue by hand that prompts a lot a greater number of experiences than simply gazing at it and thinking discreetly.
One of the amazements I had when I begun utilizing this issue is the manner by which frequently hopefuls stall out on registering the keys to which we can bounce from a given position, otherwise called the neighbors. My recommendation is: if all else fails, compose a vacant placeholder and inquire as to whether you can execute it later. This current issue's unpredictability does not lie in the neighbor calculation; I'm focusing on how well you check full numbers. Whenever spent on neighbor calculation is adequately squandered.
Additionally, you don't generally lose much by requesting to utilize a stub: if the inquiry's multifaceted nature is somewhere else I'll permit it. If not, I'll ask you to really actualize it. I wouldn't fret when competitors don't understand where the unpredictability of an inquiry lies, particularly in the beginning times when they probably won't have completely investigated the issue.
Alter note: I made a mistake in the first form of this code. It used to be 4: (3, 9, 0) I've rectified it since. Sorry about that.
This works, and it's a typical beginning stage I found in meetings. Notice, nonetheless, that we produce the numbers and never really utilize them. This issue requests the check of numbers, not simply the numbers. When we check a number we never return to it. When in doubt of thumb, I prescribe focusing on when your answer processes something it doesn't utilize. Regularly you can remove it and show signs of improvement arrangement. We should do that now.
This is naturally evident when you think about what occurs with one bounce: 6 has 3 neighbors (1, 7, and 0) and in zero jumps you can achieve one number for each, so you can just dial three numbers.
How can one touch base at this understanding, you may inquire? On the off chance that you've contemplated recursion, this ought to wind up apparent after some investigation on the whiteboard. Numerous applicants who've polished recursion promptly see this issue separates into littler subproblems, which is obvious. In case you're in a meeting with me and you can't land at this knowledge, I will for the most part offer clues to help get you there, up to and including inside and out giving it away if goading falls flat.
That is it! Consolidate this with a capacity to process the neighbors and you've delivered a working arrangement! Now, you should congratulate yourself. On the off chance that you look down you'll see despite everything we have a ton of ground to cover, however this point is a breakthrough. Creating any working arrangement as of now separates you from an amazing number of applicants.
This next inquiry would one say one is you will hear a ton from me: what is the Big-O multifaceted nature of this arrangement? For the individuals who don't have the foggiest idea, Big-O multifaceted nature is (casually) a kind of shorthand for the rate at which the measure of calculation required by an answer develops as an element of the span of the info. For this issue, the span of the info is the quantity of jumps. In case you're occupied with the best possible scientific definition, you can peruse more here.
For this execution, each call to count_sequences() recursively calls count_sequences() somewhere around twice, on the grounds that each key has no less than two neighbors. Since we recurse various occasions equivalent to the coveted number of bounces, and the quantity of calls to count_sequences() at any rate copies with each call, we're left with a runtime unpredictability of at any rate exponential time.
This is awful. Requesting an extra bounce will twofold, if not triple, the runtime. For little numbers like 1 through possibly 20 this is satisfactory, yet as we request bigger and bigger quantities of jumps, we hit a stopping point. For example, 500 jumps would require until well after the warmth passing of the universe to finish.
You may see something impossible to miss: the C(6, 2) call is performed multiple times, and each time it plays out a similar calculation, and returns a similar esteem. The critical knowledge here is that these capacity calls rehash, each time restoring a similar esteem. After you register their outcome once there's no compelling reason to recompute them.
In case you're considering how you should touch base at this, the most effortless route is through great out-dated whiteboarding: gazing at this issue proclamation in theory is decent, yet I generally urge possibility to toss an example arrangement up on the board. Tackling out an issue | 1,229 |
Auctions Results
Auctions Calendar
Experts & Teams
Free Valuation Days
Since 1979, Antiquorum has been holding auctions in Hong Kong and the result of the April 25, 2021 sale, close to HKD 49 million (approx. CHF 5.7 million), confirms its strong position on the Asian continent.
REF. 5970P PERPETUAL CALENDAR CHRONOGRAPH PLATINUM, FACTORY SINGLE SEALED
Sold: HKD 1,750,000
The auction once again crowned the Patek Philippe name with no less than seven of the top ten lots, including two Ref. 5970P-001 that sold for over HKD 1.5 million (lot 124 and 127), a Ref. 5160G for HKD 1,187,500.00 (lot 119) and a Nautilus Ref. 3712/1A-001 for over HKD 1 million (lot 266).
REF 2915-2 SPEEDMASTER, STEEL
REF. 3712/1A-001, NAUTILUS, STEEL
Among the results, it is worth noticing that lot 248, an Omega Ref. 2915-2, was sold for almost three times its low estimate at HKD 1,125,000.00. Bids were also brisk for the two historic watches that were presented: Henri-Ernest Bouvier's chronometer, made by Paul Distisheim, celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Republic of Neuchâtel (lot 137) found a buyer for HKD 337,500 and the pocket Breguet of Louis-Alexandre Berthier (1753-1815), first Prince of Wagram and Prince of Neuchâtel, (lot 138) went to a connoisseur for HKD 300,000, twice its high estimate.
PAUL DITISHEIM
Historical pocket chronometer offered by the Canton of Neuchâtel in July 1898 for the 50th
Anniversary of the Republic of Neuchâtel (1848-1898); 18K yellow gold and enamel.
Sold: HKD 337,500
Historical pocket watch, quarter-repeater, ruby-set cylinder escapement; "Répétition à ponts, boîte or"; 18K yellow gold.
The highlight of this event was the sale of the Patek Philippe reference 5207 in platinum, for over HKD 10 million, Antiquorum's highest bid in Asia since 2002 and a world record for this reference. Such a success is an opportunity to look back at the top hammer prices from our Hong Kong office. Actually, this Ref. 5207 is fitted with nine horological complications, including a minute repeater, a leap-year perpetual calendar with moon phases and a one-minute tourbillon regulator. It was delivered in December 2013 to the Sultan of Oman, Qaboos Bin Said (1940-2020). It should be noted that only a few units of this model were produced by the Genevan manufacture and that it is the only example known to date with a platinum bracelet.
Ref. 5207 / 1P-001, minute-repeater, perpetual calendar àguichets (with apertures), leap-year indication, moon phases, AM-PM indication, tourbillon regulator, platinum bracelet; possibly piece unique; platinum
Sold: HKD 10,110,000
Under the hammer of Arnaud Tellier, Antiquorum's Asia-Pacific Director, a long bidding battle was followed live by thousands of Internet users. In the auction room, telephone biddings were relayed by Antiquorum executives. Giulio De Lucia, Chairmain, Romain Réa, CEO, Julien Schaerer, Etienne Leménager and Connie Siu, respectively Directors of the Geneva and Hong Kong offices, were on the line with important clients from all over the world, Swiss, European, American, Middle Eastern or Asian. After several minutes, the hammer finally fell in favour of Mrs. Siu and her buyer at a price of 8.3 million.
For comparison, a platinum reference 5207 on a leather strap was sold by Antiquorum Hong Kong a few years ago for HKD 5 950 000.- / ~ USD 767 150.- / ~ EUR 559 650.- / ~ CHF 682 500.- (February 22, 2014, lot 238).
REF. 5207 TOURBILLON MIN<|fim_middle|> series, sold on Octo-ber 2, 1972, probably made on special order.
To complete this quintet of Patek Philippe watches, we must mention one more exceptional piece that sold for over HKD 5 million. It is a fan incorporating a watch in its handle; a wonderful object attributed to James Cox of London, made around 1780 (October 23, 2011, lot 379, sold for HKD 6 020 000.- / ~ USD 773 750.- / ~ EUR 560 750.- / ~ CHF 690 150.-).
LA COLÈRE D'ACHILLE
Attributed to James Cox, London, made in the late 18 century. Magnificent and extremely rare 20K gold, silver, ivory, enamel, diamond, ruby, emerald and agate-set fan with a watch, Hong Kong, Oct 23, 2011
This establishes the "Top 6" of the most successful auctions obtained by Antiquorum in Hong Kong.
Antiquorum Genève SA
info@antiquorum.swiss
© Antiquorum Genève SA, 2022 Private Policy Cookie Policy | UTE REPEATER PERPETUAL CALENDAR HONEY GOLD DIAL PLATINUM
Hong Kong, Feb 22, 2014
Sold HKD 5,950,000
The importance of the watch presented on Sunday, its rarity and its historical affiliation have therefore attracted the covetousness of the great lovers of Haute Horlogerie.
We have to go back to 1997, still under the hammer of Arnaud Tellier, to find a "millionaire" wristwatch in Swiss francs at Antiquorum in Hong Kong: a Patek Philippe reference 2497 in platinum from 1953 on a platinum bracelet (June 9, 1997, lot 199, sold for HKD 5 850 000.- / ~ USD 757 750.- / ~ CHF 1 088 350.-). At the time, it was the most expensive watch ever auctioned in Asia.
PATEK PHILIPPE & CIE
Geneve, Ref. 2497, made in 1953, sold on 22 octobre 1953
Hong Kong, Hotel Furama Kempinski, Jun 09, 1997
These wristwatches are nevertheless outdone by an impressive pocket watch from the same manufacture: the "Grande Complication" made for Jean de Gradowski in 1890. This exceptional timepiece, auctioned under the hammer of Osvaldo Patrizzi, the co-founder of Antiquorum, is probably the most complicated watch ever made by Patek Philippe up to 1932 (June 8, 2002, lot 423, sold for HKD 19 600 000.- / ~ USD 2 512 850.- / ~ EUR 2 658 550.- / ~ CHF 3 910 700.-). At the time, it was the most expensive watch ever auctioned in Asia.
Genève, No. 80897, case No. 204270, made especially in 1890 for Jean de Gradowski.Extremely rare, probably unique, 18K gold Grande Complication
The Ritz-carlton Hotel, Hong-kong, Jun 08, 2002
Sold HKD 19,600,000
In the same sale, a Patek Philippe reference 2499 in yellow gold, with black dial, from 1972, on a leather strap, was also sold for a then record price (June 8, 2002, lot 211, sold for HKD 5 520 000.- / ~ USD 707 700.- / ~ EUR 748 750.- / ~ CHF 1 101 400.-).
Genève,Ref. 2499, third | 685 |
We have come a long way. From just a few laps around Regents Park to cycling a distance which trains were invented for: 54 miles from Clapham to Brighton Pier! Truth be told, training was a struggle for us.
Fitting it in around work, BBQs and excuses meant there was little cycling done at all. But luckily, like every novice rider with big dreams, we bought every single bit of fancy kit to ease our rides. Amazon and Halfords quickly became our best friends and our bank accounts' worst enemies.
From the very start the atmosphere was buzzing, with people out in droves to show the 20,000+ riders support in the form of cheering, snacks and even a quick hose down. The forecast predicted temperatures of 30 degrees - fabulous for gliding downhill without a care in the world but when you're slowly roasting your skin whilst painstakingly walking up the Ditchling Beacon it feels more like 40 (admittedly, we walked most of that hill - it's a monster).
We set off at 9am and made a few stops to fuel up on<|fim_middle|>. Amazingly we arrived at the finish line in good time, without any injuries, punctures or tears. As you know, we left it a bit late fundraising wise, but miraculously we smashed our target and raised nearly £3k! So thank you to everyone who supported us. | water, snacks and even electrolytes | 7 |
The sense of<|fim_middle|>CSR). It is the first publication collecting projects targeted at employees and the external environment. | social responsibility is a part of our corporate governance and DNA. This makes us a responsible employer and a good neighbour. As a commercial vehicle factory, we are aware of the impact we made on our environment and we would like to balance that impact by searching common solutions.
In December 2014 the Management Board of our company with the directors of the Plants and the chairman of OM NSZZ Solidarność approved the Sustainable Development Strategy which determines key challenges for us and clearly defines the most important objectives. The document was created after nearly a year of intense works and numerous consultations with representatives of different areas of expertise. The strategy and a set of indicators constitute the basis for responsible management of our company.
We encourage you to read the new brochure describing the operations of Volkswagen Poznań in terms of social business responsibility ( | 163 |
Home Family Fun Grand Rapids Family Activities Grand Rapids Ice Rinks for Indoor and Outdoor Skating Fun
Grand Rapids Ice Rinks for Indoor and Outdoor Skating Fun
No matter the season, there are plenty of Grand Rapids ice rinks awaiting eager skaters. Browse this list.
Kristy Case
Get out the ice skates! The snowy season's nearly here. But while you wait for Rosa Parks Circle to open Thanksgiving weekend, there are plenty of local ice rinks open year-round. So start perfecting that pirouette and shredding ice now. Between all the sports complexes and arenas listed below, newbies, seasoned skaters and hockey gurus alike can find a host of lessons, leagues, drop-in games and open skate sessions.
Note that the hours and prices listed are for open skate only. Additional hours and fees for other programs may apply.
Cedar Rock Sports Plex
Address: 4758 Cornfield Drive, Cedar Springs
Hours: 1-3 p.m. Saturdays
Costs: $6/person, $5/ages 7 and under, $3/skate rental
Shed your shoes and lace up your skates at this sports complex for<|fim_middle|> & Puck, freestyle and skating lessons, too.
Kentwood Ice Arena
Address: 6230 Kalamazoo Ave. SE, Grand Rapids
Want to learn how to ice skate? Kentwood Ice Arena offers camps, clinics, beginner and figure skating lessons, as well as drop-in hockey and adult leagues for seasoned skaters.
Lakeshore Sports Centre
Address: 4470 Airline Road, Muskegon
Hours: noon-1:30 p.m. Sunday
Get out and skate with the family after Sunday brunch. Want to practice your technique during the week? Find ice skating and ice hockey lessons, after-school programs and adult leagues here.
Patterson Ice Center
Address: 2550 Patterson Ave. SE, Grand Rapids
Hours: 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 11 a.m.-1 p.m. and 10 p.m.-midnight Friday, 1-3 p.m. Saturday-Sunday,
Costs: $5/adult, $4/ages 12 and under, $3/skate rental
At this rink, break a sweat on your lunch break or drop off the kids for a late-night skate session on the weekend. Want to hit a puck around? Find Stick & Puck hours every Monday and Friday, lunch hockey hours during the week and open hockey on Fridays, Saturdays and Mondays.
Rosa Parks Circle
Address: corner of Monroe Avenue and Pearl Street, downtown Grand Rapids
Hours: Vary, Nov. 24, 2017-Feb. 25, 2018
Costs: $1/ages 17 and under, $3/ages 18-plus; free skate rentals with admission
Rosa Parks Circle offers up the outdoor skating experience those in Grand Rapids look forward to every year. Rein in the holiday cheer and skate in the midst of downtown under festive lights during winter break and into the new year.
Southside Ice Arena
Address: 566 100th St. SW, Byron Center
Hours: 4-6 p.m. Sunday
Costs: $5/adult, $4/ages 5-12, $2/skate rental
Skate circles around family on Sunday afternoons at this rink in Byron Center. Newbies can take lessons and hockey enthusiasts can hit a puck around here.
Walker Ice & Fitness Center
Address: 4151 Remembrance Road NW, Walker
Stay fit by working out at this gym, then get on the ice to round out your cardio routine. Skating programs include open and senior skate, drop-in hockey and freestyle.
February Events in Grand Rapids for Families
Grand Rapids Charity Events and Giving Opportunities
Restaurants Serving Thanksgiving Dinner in Grand Rapids
Eton Academy
Children's Hospital of Michigan Detroit Specialty Center
Gateway Pediatric Therapy | open skate every Saturday. On Friday evenings starting at 4:30 p.m., get the gang together for Stick & Puck hockey for ages 13 and older. Ice rentals and party packages available.
Georgetown Ice Center
Address: 8500 48th Ave., Hudsonville
Hours: Vary
Costs: $5/person, $3/students with ID, $3/skate rental
Featuring programs like open skate, drop-in hockey, Stick & Puck and freestyle, there are plenty of reasons to get out on this ice rink. Ice rental and party packages available.
Griff's Icehouse
Address: 30 Coldbrook St. NE, Grand Rapids
Hours: 11:30 a.m.-12:50 p.m. Monday-Friday, 7-8:20 p.m. Saturday, 5:40-6:50 p.m. Sunday
Costs: $3/person, $2/skate rental
Practice your pirouette any day of the week at Griff's Icehouse. Find drop-in hockey for adults, Stick | 238 |
Texas State Department of Campus Recreation About Staff Directory Mitzie Rojas
Mitzie Rojas
Mitzie Rojas is the Assistant Director for Fitness & Wellness and is a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist in the state of Texas. Her goal is to provide a welcoming environment for her group exercise instructors, personal trainers and dietetic interns. In this role she plans to grow the fitness & wellness program to better serve the Texas State community.
She holds a B.S. in<|fim_middle|> wildcat to a Texas State Bobcat! | Kinesiology: Exercise Science from the University of Texas-El Paso (UTEP). Shortly after graduating from UTEP, she moved to the little apple, Manhattan, KS to attend Kansas State University. There she was quickly hired as a personal trainer in campus recreation while pursuing another degree in Dietetics with a minor in Nutrition. She later expanded into instructing group exercise classes and has continued to teach ever since. Mitzie brings with her 10+ years' experience as a personal trainer and group exercise instructor and has taught a variety of classes like: HIIT, Boot Camps, Zumba, Cycling, and Yoga.
In her prior role as a Fitness & Recreation Coordinator in city recreation, with the City of Manhattan, she had the opportunity to build a fitness program for the Douglass Community Recreation Center.
Mitzie's first taste in the gym started with the desire to compete in a pageant and prepared by exercising regularly, and eating a vegetable or two when she could. She loved it so much she switched her major and is happy to have made a career in fitness because of it.
Her favorite hobbies include dancing Bachata, and experimenting with new music genre's in her group exercise classes, as she has previously worked as a DJ. For now, she only plans to be the DJ in her exercise classes. Her favorite exercise class to instruct-Zumba! She also now eats more than two vegetables most days. #workinprogress
Mitzie has always loved campus recreation and is happy to go from being a K-State | 312 |
City Hall, news, Social Justice 1 Comment
The Police Say CompStat Saved NYC, So Why Do NYPD Captains Want to Pull the Plug?
September 2, 2020 By Alexander Jusdanis
Bill Bratton (left), Bill de Blasio (second from left) and others after an active shooter training exercise in 2015.
One day in 1995, two officers from the New York Police Department walked up to a podium at Harvard University's Ash Center. Louis Anemone and John Yohe were representing the department as a finalist in the Kennedy School's Innovations in American Government competition, and their excitement about the force's new, computerized crime-fighting system was palpable. "It's revolutionizing the way the NYPD polices the city of New York," Anemone told the judges. Giving officers rapidly-updating maps of crime all over the city, the system was "a shot of adrenaline to the organization of the NYPD," the officer stressed, "right to the heart." Previous decades had seen a tremendous rise in crime, but with the advent of CompStat, as it was called, the police said they were finally able to flatten the curve.
CompStat not only won the competition; it went on to become the new gold standard for measuring and combating crime. Most major cities in America have adopted forms of the system, and so have many world capitals. By bringing crime-fighting into the age of big data, CompStat led a global revolution in policing, homegrown in New York City.
But 25 years after Anemone's laudatory speech—June 24, 2020, to be exact—the NYPD captain's union was singing a different tune. "I believe Compstat to be the primary driving force in undermining police/community relations," wrote union president Chris Monahan in a letter to Mayor Bill de Blasio and Police Commissioner Dermot Shea. "This inherently creates tensions between black and brown communities and the police. Compstat has always been used as a means of embarrassing and coercing commanders into more proactive policing. Simply put, the NYPD MUST find another way."
In other words: end CompStat now.
In its short life, the NYPD's technological golden child has garnered as much criticism as it has praise, with opponents in and outside the force. Some, like the captain's union, claim it encourages racial profiling, blaming it for the outgrowth of stop-and-frisk under Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Others say the system has led to widespread manipulation of crime statistics. Still others question whether CompStat can really take credit for the massive decrease in crime it supposedly precipitated.
In a time when police tactics are coming under intense scrutiny, when people across the country are calling for comprehensive reform or even total abolition, CompStat—one of the most influential innovations in modern policing—deserves a hard look. And the only way to do that is to go back to the beginning, to when CompStat was just a couple pins on a map.
Jack Maple, a subway cop who'd joined the force at age 18, was not a computer geek. Officers on other beats looked down on the so-called "cave cops," but Maple made up for his low status by living beyond his means, frequently donning a Homburg hat and wing-tip shoes to get a drink at the Plaza Hotel's Oak Bar. "I always felt I belonged there," he told New York magazine for a 1983 profile.
As he chased after pickpockets and purse thieves in the 1970s and early '80s, he began to develop what he called "Charts of the Future": 55 feet of maps of the city plastered over his office walls, with color-coded pins marking the date and time of each crime reported. Instead of blindly making patrols through the subway, police could station themselves at hotspots—"putting cops on the dots," as Maple would say. They moved from simply reacting to crime to anticipating it.
The results Maple reported were remarkable, but they went unheralded until Bill Bratton, formerly transportation police head in Boston, was hired as NYPD transit commissioner in 1990. Like Maple, he was dead set on success. "My whole career," he would later write, was about "making it to the top." Like Maple, he saw the crime charts as the way to get there, and he gave the then-transit lieutenant 100 cops to implement them throughout the "caves." According to the magazine Government Technology, they quickly reduced robberies and felonies in the subways by about one-third.
When Bratton was promoted to NYPD commissioner by Mayor Rudy Giuliani in 1994, he took Maple with him as his deputy commissioner. Both promotions received sneers throughout the force: Bratton's for his perceived lack of dues paid on the street, and Maple's for his rapid jump through the ranks. Maple would write in his memoir that it was like "an ensign in the Coast Guard waking up as a three-star admiral in the Navy." But they were intent on shaking up the department, by computerizing and automating Maple's Charts of the Future into the digital screens of CompStat. Where crime statistics were once cobbled together every few months, every precinct was now responsible for collecting and reviewing them each week.
The real revolution, though, was not so much the data collection as what Bratton and Maple did with it. To ensure that their cops were actually taking advantage of the statistics, Bratton and Maple held weekly meetings at 7 a.m. where they would grill precinct commanders on the nitty-gritty of what crimes were happening under their watch, why, and what they were doing about it. NYPD brass used CompStat to both track and measure productivity.
The intense interrogations could make or break careers, and not without pushback. Police columnist Leonard Levitt wrote that the early meetings were "literal free-for-alls," complete with fistfights<|fim_middle|> poverty or racial oppression, but by a "disordered" environment. The theory has been accused since its inception of unfairly targeting people of color and the working class, but Maple and Bratton were pious adherents. In order to curb serious crimes like drug trafficking, sexual assault, or murder, the duo pressed commanders to scrupulously clean the city of small-time offenses like graffiti, public drinking, and the well-known squeegee men.
And, by their account, clean up they did. In the first nine months of 1995, barely a year after CompStat was implemented, murders fell by nearly 30 percent, car thefts by 25 percent, and robberies by 20 percent. Over the rest of the decade, the city's crime rate dropped to record lows not seen since the mid-1960s.
Bill Bratton even made the cover of Time magazine in 1996, under a caption declaring, "Finally, we're winning the war against crime." New York was becoming the poster child of a new era of proactive policing and safe cities. And yet, Giuliani was irked. Rumors spread that he coveted the spotlight shining on Bratton. He launched a probe into some of his commissioner's questionable conduct, like signing a $350,000 book deal about his successes and vacationing in the Bahamas on the dime of wealthy financiers. Rather than weather an investigation, Bratton resigned in March 1996, just 27 months after becoming commissioner. Maple left soon after.
Nonetheless, CompStat's renown, as well as its inventors', was sealed: Bratton and Maple's crime-fighting computer had made New York safe again. The duo took it to the private sector. Bratton consulted for the LAPD before becoming their commissioner, while Maple and one of his colleagues received a $1 million contract to implement CompStat in New Orleans. Bratton's book, Turnaround: How America's Top Cop Reversed the Crime Epidemic, came out a few years later and was a bestseller. Maple's own memoir, The Crime Fighter: How You Can Make Your Community Crime Free, was not, but before his death in 2001 he helped develop a television series, "The District," partly based on his life. If CompStat could make or break careers, it certainly made theirs.
By the turn of the millenium, police commanders across the country were visiting CompStat meetings hoping to adopt the system, and even the CIA was showing interest. A whole "cottage industry" of NYPD consultants, in the words of sociologist Andrew Karmen, had developed to implement the system throughout the U.S. and abroad. But the cracks in the system were already starting to show. In 2003, the NYPD admitted that 203 crimes reported to police on the West Side the year prior had been improperly downgraded—felonies had been changed to misdemeanors in order to artificially maintain the decrease in crime. This kind of intentional misclassification had been discovered at least five times since CompStat's inception in 1994, but the police insisted that the bulk of their data was accurate. Besides, a spokesman assured the press, "the citywide misclassification rate has steadily declined in recent years."
The question of data manipulation nevertheless remained open. In 2010, criminologists Eli Silverman and Joe Eterno released a study that they said demonstrated endemic data manipulation within CompStat. They had surveyed hundreds of retired senior NYPD officers who admitted being aware their colleagues were cooking the books. When a robbery was reported, an officer might search for the stolen item on eBay to find lower prices that would let them downgrade the crime. Or they might just refuse to report the crime, telling the victim it just was a case of lost property. Either way, the pressure to keep crime numbers low was encouraging police to shirk their responsibilities. Many officers in the survey said that the biggest challenge on the job was not risking violence in the field but rather facing upper management at the 7 a.m. meetings. "My job is to make sure we don't take a hit on a number unless we have to," said one.
"We were actually attacked in the press" for releasing the study, Silverman recalled to Bedford + Bowery. Op-eds appeared in local tabloids and the New York Times decrying the professors' "anti-cop idiocy." Mayor Michael Bloomberg questioned the legitimacy of the research, claiming incorrectly that it had been funded by a police union, while the NYPD defended themselves with a previous NYU study that purported to find no manipulation, without mentioning that that study was sponsored and overseen by the department itself.
The official denial of wrongdoing was swift and unequivocal, likely because another even more outrageous controversy had already been brewing. In 2010, the Village Voice released tapes made by officer Adrian Schoolcraft showing that cops in his precinct, the 81st, were being instructed to make arrests simply to keep up arrest numbers, typically in Black and Latinx neighborhoods. "Everybody goes," the precinct commander orders in one recording. "I don't care. You're on 120 Chauncey and they're popping champagne? Yoke 'em. Put them through the system. They got bandannas on, arrest them. Everybody goes tonight. They're underage? Fuck it." Before going to the press, Schoolcraft had reported these issues within the department. In response, members of his precinct dragged him out of his apartment while handcuffed and committed him to a psychiatric ward for six days.
This shooting-from-the-hip policing wasn't limited to the 81st precinct. Under NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly, who took over from Bill Bratton in 2002, stop-and-frisks—where police detain and search people without warrants—had skyrocketed, from 97,296 stops per year in 2002 to 685,724 in 2011, according to the NYCLU. Eighty-eight percent of those stopped in 2011 were innocent, and the majority were Black or Latinx. Criticism grew that the stops were the very essence of racial profiling. Mayor Bloomberg came to the NYPD's defense, claiming that what looked like racial profiling was simply more of Bratton and Maple's "putting cops on the dots"—the police were searching people where crime was known to happen more. "Incidentally," the mayor said in a 2013 radio interview, "I think we disproportionately stop whites too much and minorities too little."
NYPD officials have been adamant that arrest quotas do not exist, and that officers are not instructed to target specific racial groups. But Schoolcraft's revelations and other lawsuits that followed bely that claim.
Silverman believes that Compstat was a victim of its early successes. Once the crime numbers start dropping, no one wants them to stop. "Every mayor and every police commissioner since 1994 has said, 'I was responsible for crime declining,'" said the professor. So they increase the pressure on beat cops to deliver good numbers, to not only maintain the current low but make it even lower. "It's like squeezing an orange," he said. "When you first start squeezing, the juice comes out quickly and readily." But as you tighten your grip, the fruit dries up.
In our 21st-century world of big data, careers in government rest on good-looking numbers. This holds as true for mayors seeking reelection as it does for beat cops trying to hold on to their posts. Even doubt about data manipulation can become a political tool. In 2015, a year after Mayor Bill de Blasio kicked out Ray Kelly as commissioner, brought back Bill Bratton, and dramatically cut stop-and-frisk rates, Kelly accused the mayor of playing with the numbers to create record lows. He made the comments as he was preparing for a mayoral run, which he later aborted.
Cops have long been frustrated by the pressure cooker of CompStat meetings. A 2016 NBC News report shows police preparing by pouring over their neighborhood stats like teenagers at a debate tournament, before facing the wrath of the top brass the next morning: "This is going on too long," the current commissioner, Dermot Shea, tells one police inspector. "We need it fixed yesterday!" Memes have even been made satirizing the tense meetings.
If this has been going on for decades, then why the call to end CompStat now? With the NYPD under intense scrutiny over its response to the George Floyd protests, the captains are in a tough spot, said Silverman. According to the professor, they are still getting pressed to bring their crime numbers down, but many feel their patrolmen have been more hesitant to take action.
But change looks unlikely. If you ask Commissioner Shea, who rose through the ranks on a reputation for intense analytic acuity, ending CompStat is out of the question. "There is an assumption, that I disagree with, that CompStat is directing activity," he told Pix11. "That is the furthest from the truth. It was never about summonses and arrests for the sake of numbers. It's about improving the quality of life. So there is no plan to cancel CompStat."
After all, who would want to get rid of the one thing that finally made New York City safe again? Yet, even CompStat's role as city savior must be put into question. The reality is there was a massive drop in crime all across the nation beginning the late 1980s and early 1990s; New York's began in 1991, two years before Bill Bratton became commissioner and three before he and Maple began CompStat. Cops columnist Leonard Levitt noted that in 1995, the first full year the system was in place in the city, the leading city in decreased crime was not New York, but Seattle. The police there did not attribute the success to a fancy policing innovation, nor, in fact, to anything at all. "In all honesty," the Seattle police spokeswoman told Levitt, "we don't know why. It's too soon to tell whether it's a trend or a fluke."
The economist Steven Levitt (no relation) found that while innovative policing strategies like CompStat were given the most credit for the crime drop by the media, there is little data to support these claims. He concluded that "the impact of policing strategies on New York City crime are exaggerated, and that the impact on national crime is likely to be minor." Likewise, Patrick Langan, former senior statistician at the Department of Justice, wrote in a study of New York's crime decline that "scientific proof of CompStat's success is hard to find."
Crime is a nebulous thing to measure and an even harder one to explain, but nonethetheless scholars have put forth myriad hypotheses for the crime rate plummet that began in the 1990s, some straightforward and some rather kooky: economic growth, an aging population, mass incarceration, an increase in executions, a growing police force, wider access to abortions, and, strangely but convincingly, the phasing out of leaded gasoline. Each of these theories has its critics and counter-theories, but it is easier to entertain the idea that multiple factors worked in tandem to decrease crime rather than insist that only one did.
Despite these debates, CompStat has maintained its shining status within the police. If anything, it's only gained esteem nationally after cities like New Orleans and Santa Cruz made controversial forays into predictive policing. Even though CompStat provided the data-collection infrastructure that predictive policing is based on—Bratton himself pioneered it in Los Angeles and cited sci-fi film The Minority Report as inspiration—early-adopter cities have seen backlash over the idea that police strategy would be driven by computer algorithms. Now, some police departments are promoting a "return to CompStat" as a more humanistic approach, said Andrew Guthrie Ferguson, a professor of law at American University and author of The Rise of Big Data Policing. These departments are not giving up on collecting data—that is only increasing—but they are making sure the analysis will be done by human beings.
If the top brass of the NYPD is adamant about keeping CompStat, then why would the captain's union call to end it? Ferguson wonders if it isn't a scapegoat. "They are looking for justification for why they've treated the citizens of New York like statistics," he said. "CompStat wasn't looking at the individuals underneath it. They were looking for numbers—are your numbers going up, or down?" Now, with outrage over police abuse growing exponentially, the union is calling CompStat the "primary driving force in undermining police/community relations," almost to say, "Hey, it's not our fault—we were just following the numbers."
In this way, CompStat—a mechanism created to hold police accountable—can also be used to skirt accountability. In 2015, Michael Bloomberg defended stop-and-frisk to an audience at the Aspen Institute: "One of the unintended consequences is people say, 'Oh my God, you are arresting kids for marijuana that are all minorities.' Yes, that's true. Why? Because we put all the cops in minority neighborhoods. Yes, that's true. Why do we do it? Because that's where all the crime is."
For Bloomberg, you can't debate the data. Yet Ferguson argues that data is not neutral. Numbers tell stories, but the story changes depending on what numbers you choose. "When you're only focused on numbers," said the professor, "you stop thinking about the context of how crime numbers arrive." It has been argued time and time again that communities of color and the working class are locked in cycles of poverty and unemployment, conditions that "breed crime," in the words of Patrick Langan. And likewise, that incarceration drives recidivism. Simply mapping reports of crimes does not tell you why those crimes are happening. And making more arrests does not tell you what impact you are having on the communities you police.
"We didn't have a number for that," said Ferguson. "Community trauma numbers were never counted. The humiliation-of-stop-and-frisk-for-the-30th-time numbers were never counted."
There are initiatives to change what numbers police count as important, like CompStat for Justice, developed by the Center for Policing Equity, and CompStat 360, by the Vera Institute of Justice and the National Policing Center, which track parameters like police bias, community satisfaction, abuses of power, and officer well-being, though they are not yet widely implemented.
Just judging by the names of these projects, it is clear that CompStat is not going away any time soon. We long since crossed into the era of big data, where numbers drive the decisions of major institutions as much as they do cops patrolling the subway. Instead of laying the blame on CompStat, perhaps the captain's union should ask themselves if they are counting the numbers that matter, and if there is more to fighting crime than putting cops on the dots.
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NYPD Police Officer Manfro (ret.)
I became a New York Cop in 1986, to capture violent criminals and save lives. I would do it till 2003 until when osma bin laden, 9/11 ground zero illnesses took my health away.
I worked in the subway and earned 60 commendations and awards. Became its most respected member. I was Hated by the varies command staffs. I had refused to cover up felony arrests and reports. Routinely I would suffer discrimination for reporting my supervisors misconduct. I captured hundreds of violent criminals without using deadly physical force. And saved countless lives.
The most productive honest cops and bosses effected real crime. The least productive bosses and cops pretended to. The article is extremely accurate. New York City during my time was lawless. A million criminals were wanted and still are. | , chair-throwing, and accusations of "treason" and "heresy." Eventually the force accepted the new reality. "Most captains, including myself, would rather have had monthly root canals," recalled NYPD Captain Ernie Naspretto in 2013. "But we soon realized that the process made us all sharper, more focused and, quite frankly, smarter."
Coming hand-in-hand with CompStat was the advent of "broken windows" policing, which posited that crime at its core was driven not by | 108 |
What you should know about our election system
By Perry Willis
Former Chair
RealCampaignReform.org
Our election process is rigged, and you are being disenfranchised. You need to understand how this is being done and what you can do about it. The first thing you need to know is that . . .
Politicians have little need for vote fraud because they control the election laws.
If voters have no effective way to influence elections, then the elections are effectively rigged, and the voters are disenfranchised. Politicians can rig elections in two ways:
They can engage in vote fraud, and risk scandal and imprisonment, or . . .
They can pass election laws that give themselves an unassailable legal advantage.
Election rigging through vote fraud may occur from time to time, but election rigging through law making is safer, more effective, and sadly, far more prevalent.
Our elected office holders have made it effectively illegal for challengers, independent candidates, and third parties to compete with them. The list of their unconstitutional, anti-democratic, and monopol<|fim_middle|> of our efforts and the latest developments on this issue. You'll join thousands of other freedom loving people. Click here.
You can email your friends to tell them about our work. There's strength in numbers.
You can visit this web site regularly to read the reports, studies and proposals we post on a regular basis. Knowledge is power.
You can contribute to our educational efforts to inform journalists and the American people about the election rigging activities of the incumbents and ruling parties. The problem can't be corrected until more people know about it and understand what's at stake. Click here.
And last, but far from least, you can support a lawsuit that is being filed to overturn all of these election rigging laws. Click here.
READ ON: For a thorough but highly readable FAQ on campaign finance, please read the original RealCampaignReform.org article, "Liberty for citizens or only for politicians?"
RCR HOME • WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW • ARTICLES & ESSAYS
THE LAWSUIT • CONTRIBUTE • SUBSCRIBE • ABOUT US | istic transgressions against the American voter is lengthy and highly disturbing.
What follows is a partial list of the many ways in which lawmakers have acted to protect themselves from competition, at your expense.
Two sets of ballot access laws
Incumbent politicians have passed two sets of ballot access laws, easy laws for themselves, and hard laws for independent and third party challengers. The effect of these laws is to limit your choices, as well as the amount of competition incumbents face on Election Day.
Challengers must spend a large portion of every dollar they raise petitioning to get on the ballot. Very little is then left over for communicating with voters. This means that you are denied access to fresh ideas, and incumbents are free to continue with politics as usual, safe from effective competition.
But this problem is made even worse by the fact that incumbents have made it practically illegal for their competitors to raise money, while conferring huge fundraising advantages on themselves.
A protection racket
It's not surprising that incumbents hardly ever lose. By violating constitutional restrictions on the size and scope of government they are able to dispense favors and impose punishments like Mafia Godfathers running a protection racket.
Incumbent politicians use their ability to bestow government handouts and pass harmful legislation to subtly coerce people into financing their campaigns.
As a result, many businesses, wealthy individuals, and special interests contribute preferentially to incumbents, even if they prefer a challenger's stands on the issues. For many contributors with vested interests it is vitally important to not offend the incumbent office holder lest government favors be denied, or harmful legislation passed.
Worse still, even though most of the money goes to incumbents, many contributors "hedge their bets" by giving to both major parties, even though these parties are supposed to represent polar opposites. As a result, political contributions have become a form of insurance, instead of an expression of deeply held convictions.
By contrast, challengers have no ability (and often no desire) to use government power to reward friends and punish enemies. As a result, they have less ability to raise money.
The law requires the names and addresses of campaign contributors to be reported to the government. This is somewhat akin to providing accused criminals with the names, addresses, and phone numbers of the members of their jury so they can send people around to intimidate them, or make threatening phone calls.
In the case of government mandated campaign finance reports the process is far subtler but just as intimidating. Incumbents have access to these reports and can use them to punish contributors who support their opponents. Contributors know this potential exists and this awareness has a chilling effect on donations to challengers, independents, and third-party candidates.
Politicians claim these reports are vital because voters need to know who is funding whom, but the truth is that few voters ever look at these reports (have you ever looked at one?), and the media does so only selectively. Instead, the most likely use of this information is by the politicians themselves.
More importantly, the supposed aim of the reports could be entirely met through voluntary disclosure (coupled, perhaps, with independent audits, although it must be noted that the reports filed with government are not audited). In the business world millions of dollars are invested everyday on the basis of this kind of information, so it is more than adequate for political contributions.
If voters really care about disclosure they can vote against the candidates who don't provide public reports. And contributors who don't want their names made public would also be free to not contribute to the candidates who do report. It really is that simple. Freedom works. But voluntary reporting would not serve the interests of the incumbents and ruling parties, because then challengers could raise more money. Their potential contributors would no longer have any reason to fear reprisals from incumbent office holders.
But the Mafia-like approach of the ruling parties doesn't end here. They even reach into your pockets and force you to fund candidates that you may bitterly oppose.
A fraudulent campaign funding system
Perhaps you've heard stories about organized crime raiding union pension funds to finance their operations. Well, the ruling parties do the same thing with the public treasury, under cover of law.
The politicians have led people to believe that those taxpayers who check-off a box on their tax forms voluntarily donate the money the major parties receive. This is untrue.
Taxpayers do not voluntarily give more money to the government to fund campaigns, instead the check-off box on the tax form simply allocates money from the U.S. Treasury for that purpose.
This is an unconstitutional transfer of the appropriations power of Congress to the small minority of taxpayers who check the box.
Worse still, if the number of people who check the box declines, as it has steadily since the program was created, Congress simply raises the amount of money transferred by each individual check-off until it matches the amount of funding they think is needed. There is nothing voluntary about this program.
In essence, the ruling parties have voted themselves access to government money for their own purposes, and hidden the theft behind a fraudulent cloak of voluntary taxpayer participation. But the extent of their legalized criminality doesn't end here.
Incumbents have used their law making abilities to give themselves and their parties hundreds of millions of dollars in taxpayers' money to run their conventions and presidential campaigns. This means your tax money is used to support candidates that you oppose.
Worse still, equivalent sums are not made available to third parties, and some third parties refuse, as a matter of principle, to take what little taxpayers' money is available to them. They believe it is unethical to force taxpayers who may oppose their campaigns to fund them.
The third parties that believe the campaign funding system is unethical are placed in a terrible bind. If they accept the government money they look and feel like hypocrites. But if they don't accept it they are placed at an even greater competitive disadvantage. While the major parties receive tens of millions of dollars in taxpayers' money for free, the principled third parties must spend a good third of their income on fundraising. Add these fundraising costs to the expense of ballot access petitioning and little remains for campaign outreach. This means that major party presidential candidates are effectively protected from third party competition, and voters are denied access to fresh ideas and new choices.
Death by red tape
A large portion of the money challengers have left over after they've paid their ballot access and fundraising costs is consumed complying with the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA). These costs are incidental to the incumbents and ruling parties, but burdensome to many challengers and all third parties.
The FECA effectively strangles challengers in red tape. Among other things . . .
Candidates must ensure they do not take contributions from corporations or foreigners, forcing them to inquire if a contributing business is incorporated, and if an individual with a non-generic name is an American citizen. This last question can be highly insulting to some. And asking these questions and recording the answers takes time and money, and has a chilling effect on contributions.
Any candidate raising or spending more than $5,000 is required to comply with complex regulations and file extensive reports with the government. This burden causes many third party and independent candidates to raise less than $5,000 in order to avoid the government imposed complications. This means that independent and third party candidates accomplish less to spread their ideas than they otherwise could in the absence of these burdens.
The names and addresses of anyone who contributes more than $200 must be reported to the government. Many donors who could give more than $200 give less in order to avoid having their name appear in a government report. Contributors to the ruling parties often want their names to be seen, as this can be beneficial to their dealings with lawmakers and regulators. But potential contributors to challengers, independents, and third party candidates may view it as a liability.
Candidates are also required to ask each contributor for the name of their employer as well as their occupation, and to report this information to the government. These questions also have a chilling effect on the desire to contribute.
These regulations, and others, are so intimidating, time consuming and expensive to comply with that many potential challengers who would make good elected representatives quickly abandon their plans to run for office.
The regulations are especially burdensome for third parties that must recruit candidates from the ranks of hardworking taxpayers. The average citizen doesn't have time to earn a living, and comply with bureaucratic regulations, and run for office, all at the same time.
Thus, the would-be citizen representative is driven from the field, and only millionaires, celebrities, and special interest candidates are allowed to serve.
But these bureaucratic barriers are actually the least of the problem. The most devastating harm to voters and challengers is the part of the law that limits contributions. These limits, more than anything else, are what place incumbents, the major parties, and the established corporate media, in complete charge of the political process, leaving challengers and voters powerless.
The media can do what you cannot
The First Amendment to the Constitution protects the right of the corporate news media to provide unlimited coverage to candidates of their own choosing. This is as it should be.
But if you, as an individual, support a candidate the media does not cover, your First Amendment right to buy compensating publicity for that candidate is severely limited by law (through contribution limits and other obstacles that will be described below). And this is not as it should be.
The established corporate media have an unrestricted right to free speech, but you do not.
Your freedoms of speech and association are severely limited
The law only allows you to give $1,000 per election to the candidate of your choice, not nearly enough to counteract the publicity the corporate media gives to the candidates it chooses, or the legal advantages the ruling parties have conferred on themselves. And it would take 100,000 contributions of $1,000 to equal the money the major parties take from the taxpayers for their campaigns and conventions each election cycle.
If you join together with others to raise money to support the candidates you favor you become a Political Action Committee (PAC), and then the law only allows you to contribute $5,000 per year to the candidate of your choice, which again, is not nearly enough to counteract the influence of the news media and other legal advantages the incumbents and ruling parties have given themselves. It would take 20,000 contributions of $5,000 to equal what the major parties take from the taxpayers for their campaigns and conventions - but there are only 3,706 PACs registered with the Federal Election Commission.
You can give a legal limit of $20,000 per year to party committees to support federal candidates, but it is illegal for you to direct the party to spend that money on a particular candidate or in a particular way. And it would take 5,000 contributions of $20,000 to equal what the major parties take from the taxpayers for their campaigns and conventions.
So called soft money contributions to party committees can be made in unlimited amounts, but they cannot be used to promote or oppose candidates for federal office, and many wealthy people will decline to contribute to challengers and third parties so as to avoid becoming the target of the incumbents and the ruling parties.
The law does permit you to make unlimited personal expenditures on behalf of or in opposition to federal candidates, but only if you do not have any communications about your expenditures with the candidates you support. You cannot tell them what you are doing, ask their advice, or coordinate your message with their message in any way. You may lack expertise in public relations, ad production, or ad buys, but that doesn't matter as far as the law is concerned. You must still communicate your support for your candidate without seeking the candidate's assistance. Or, you can hire consultants to do it for you, even though there may be an absence of people with the political experience required to do a good job at a price you can afford. But you must make sure any consultant you hire has never worked for the candidate you support, or you could be charged with collusion.
If you run afoul of any of these complex regulations you will not be tried by a jury of your peers, but by a bi-partisan governmental board called the Federal Election Commission (FEC). The FEC is composed of exactly three Democrats and three Republicans. There is no odd-numbered member to break tie votes, and no third parties or independents are represented on the Commission.
In addition, the president is the official who is constitutionally charged with making appointments to the Commission, while the Senate is charged with approving or rejecting those appointments after the fact. But this isn't how it works in the case of the FEC. Instead, major party leaders get together and agree on whom the president should appoint. The president then does as the party leaders have asked. This procedure violates the constitutional separation of powers.
The FEC exists, in effect, to serve the interests of the ruling parties, to the detriment of challengers and voters. But the FEC is not the only government sanctioned body that serves this purpose. The so-called Commission for Presidential debates serves the same purpose.
Limiting choice
The Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD) is structured in the same duopolitistic way as the Federal Election Commission. It is run entirely by leaders from the major parties for the exclusive benefit of those parties.
The CPD routinely ignores the expressed desire of the voters to have independents and third parties included in its debates, and establishes criteria designed to exclude competitors.
In addition, the CPD has been granted exemptions to contribution limits and tax breaks that are not available to any other group desiring to host presidential debates. The CPD is the cover for a governmental grant of preferred status to the major parties at the expense of challengers and voters.
Who can compete?
Who can compete with these monopolistic forces? Only billionaires and celebrities are permitted to use their resources to match the self-conferred advantages of the major parties, and then only if they run for office themselves. They are not allowed to provide financial aid to other candidates beyond the low limits set by law. Grassroots, citizens' campaigns are completely prohibited from marshalling the resources they would need to compete effectively with the ruling parties.
Fair elections?
America's elections are rigged. Our ruling parties have passed so many laws to protect themselves from competition that America now looks more like a banana republic than the nation of free and open elections it once was.
The deck is so stacked against non-incumbents and third parties that if politics really was a game, as the media seems to think it is, the Las Vegas Gaming Commission would be called in to investigate.
Or, if the major parties were made subject to the federal anti-trust laws the Justice Department would prosecute them for monopolistic practices.
One could also imagine foreign nations sending observers to monitor our elections for fairness, as our own hypocritical rulers do to so many other countries. These foreign observers would find that American elections are among the least fair and open of any in the world.
The situation is grave, but not hopeless. There are several things you can do to restore the power of your vote.
This archival web page was frozen in its current form for historical record in January, 2004, and is provided courtesy of the Downsize DC Foundation.
You can subscribe to our free email newsletter, RCR Report, to keep track | 3,157 |
Seamount discovered beneath Arctic
September 18, 2009 Posted in News<|fim_middle|> meters from the ocean floor is called a seamount and can be named, although that's usually a long process.
The only indication of the seamount before the Healy's excursion was a 2002 Russian map that showed a "bump" in the middle of a flat plain. Indeed, the Healy confirmed that the sea floor around the seamount is flat, making its existence all the more remarkable. |
Carmel teacher Christine Hedge never dreamed of helping to discover a mountain on the floor of the Arctic Ocean when she boarded the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Healy early last month.
Learning to sleep through the constant chirping of the echo-sounding instruments that aid in such discoveries was unthinkable enough.
But on a cold day in late August, Hedge — taking part in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Teacher at Sea program — ended up in the right place at the right time.
And Thursday, it earned the 51-year-old a bit of fame during a conference call with U.S. and Canadian government officials and journalists.
She was to talk from the Healy during the call, but the satellite signal kept dropping when she was to speak.
"We were traveling over a flat plain and having a very uneventful watch," Hedge recalled via e-mail after the call. "At lunch time, I stayed to man the watch station while others went to eat.
Suddenly, everything happened at once.
"The phone rang twice with a request to deploy a sonobuoy, the radio reported a change in course, and the computers showed a sudden change in water depth," she continued. "It looked like the feature we were passing over might be missed if we did not redirect the ship."
Hedge alerted the Healy's co-chief scientist, and a decision was made to change course.
"The feature slowly unfolded before our eyes on the computer screen," she said in her blog Aug. 25. "It got taller and taller, and excitement grew as people realized this might be over 1,000 meters tall."
What the crew found was an underwater mountain or "seamount" 3,609 feet, or 1,100 meters, tall. Any land mass that juts more than 1,000 | 376 |
October is National Cyber Security Awareness Month (NCSAM), which you can follow on Twitter using the hashtag #CyberAware, and we are excited to be a 2016 Champion! NCSAM was put together by the Department of Homeland Security and the National Cyber Security Alliance to help educate people on ways to improve their online safety and security practices.
As a participating company in this important initiative, we will post blogs throughout the month that correspond with NCSAM's selected weekly themes.
This week's theme is Stop. Think. Connect. The Basic Steps to Online Safety and Security. We will discuss simple steps that anyone can follow<|fim_middle|> Session hijacking is a way that a threat actor can access and hijack your account. Depending on the website, closing out the browser may not end the active session that you are logged into. Bottom line, always take the extra time to log out of any active session, particularly when banking online.
While this is by no means an exhaustive list of how to protect yourself online, they are basic steps you can take to make online browsing more secure.
In our next blog, we discuss factors that organizations must consider to drive better cyber security education and awareness from the break room to the board room.
Stay on top of the rest of the NCSAM schedule here, and learn how you can also get involved as a champion. | to make their online activity more secure based on the stop, think, and connect concepts.
The first thing to do before you go online is to stop and ensure that basic security measures are in place. Are you running an anti-virus program on your laptop? Are all your programs and applications up-to-date?
Another area to consider is passwords. They are the veritable keys to the kingdom, yet many people still use passwords that are easy to crack. Two of the most commonly used passwords are (still) "123456" and of course, "password." A few people think they're clever and use "qwerty" without realizing that it's the fourth most commonly used password. What's more, 73 percent of accounts use duplicate passwords. If you're using the same password across accounts, you're far more likely to get hacked.
1. Create Your Core Credential. Create a random sequence of words, an acronym, or phrase that is unique to you. Let's use HoneyBadgerInPajamas as an example.
2. Develop a Padding Pattern. Like the approach you would take for creating a standard password, your padding pattern should include uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, symbols, and/or special characters. For example, creating the padding pattern +1No- -oN1+ and combining it with my previous core credential would create the password: +No-HoneyBadgerInPajamas-oN1+ which would take a computer years to crack.
3. Use Different Passwords for Each Account. The average person has more than 24 online accounts, making the management of passwords an overwhelming task. That's why password padding comes in handy. It allows you to create unique passwords that are easier to remember but difficult to crack. Let's say the previous example is for my email; I can make a secure password for my bank with $Mo+ThisIsWhyICantHaveNiceThings+oM$, and so on.
4. Regularly Change Your Passwords. While the security team at work frequently gives this recommendation, 47 percent of consumers use a password that hasn't been changed in five years, and 77 percent use a password that is over a year old. Most experts recommend changing your password every 3-6 months.
5. Consider a Password Manager. Password managers have their had their share of detractors and advocates over the years. If you have dozens or passwords to keep track of though, you can use them to generate strong, unique passwords and easily keep track of hundreds of websites. Most offer a mobile application as well to help you manage your passwords when you're on your phone.
Imagine this scenario: you attempt to log into Facebook but you're locked out. After finally recovering your account and logging back in, you find that all your photos and memories were wiped clean. This could have been avoided with two-factor authentication (2FA), also known as multi-factor authentication.
While improving password strength is a simple first step to securing your online accounts, adding 2FA will help to ensure no one can easily hijack your accounts.
What is 2FA? It is an extra layer of security that not only requires your initial password but also a piece of information that you have, such as a physical token or your mobile device.
How does 2FA work? The most common type of 2FA sends a unique code to a your mobile phone that you must enter before the site allows you to fully log in. The only drawback to setting up 2FA on is that you must have access to the device where the code is being sent. If you've set up 2FA to send a code to your phone, and you don't have cell coverage, you may be temporarily locked out of the account.
Here are some tutorials on how to activate 2FA for many popular sites.
1. Verify the Wi-Fi Hotspot is Legitimate. It's far too easy for someone to setup a Wi-Fi hotspot and name it in a way that makes you think it is associated with a legitimate business (i.e., Starbucks). Before accessing the hotspot, be sure you have asked which network to connect to from an employee.
2. Access Secure Sites Only. Make sure that the website you are browsing is using HTTPS to encrypt the data being transmitted, particularly when you're transmitting data such as forms, passwords, etc.
3. Invest in a Virtual Private Network (VPN). One of the best ways to ensure your data is secure is by using a VPN. A VPN encrypts the data from your device to the VPN server, making it even more difficult for someone to intercept the data. Many companies provide a corporate VPN on company laptops for work use, but for personal use, you can set up your own. Luckily, there are several companies that offer VPN services that are relatively easy to set up and that offer very inexpensive monthly subscriptions.
4. Log Out of Every Session. This is another extremely easy step to follow, but one that is often overlooked. | 1,019 |
Smithsonian<|fim_middle|> caring for collections, collecting research data, program administration, and other critical functions.
Spark the interest of people from all over the world by participating in short-term seasonal opportunities. | volunteers play essential roles in sharing our rich collections, exhibitions, research, and educational programming with the public. We are always on the lookout for dynamic, curious individuals who want to be a part of the Smithsonian team. Each year, more than 6,000 volunteers work onsite at our facilities and another 7,500 participate in projects online.
We invite you to explore our many volunteer opportunities, and to discover the right one for you.
Use the links below to view a list of our current volunteer opportunities and to find the online application. Current volunteers and applicants may log in to their profile to apply for additional opportunities, see their schedules, and more.
You can share your knowledge and love of learning with visitors to Smithsonian museums and the zoo. With guidance from staff experts, our more than volunteers advise trip planners, lead tours, give gallery talks, offer fun hands-on experiences, and more. You'll meet people of all ages from across the U.S. and around the world and help them make memories of a lifetime.
Consider which roles and locations might fit your interests.
Smithsonian volunteers can serve in many important, non-public roles, working onsite at one of our facilities or even online from home. Join our staff in | 249 |
News Data Security
SecureKey designated PbD ambassador by privacy commissioner
By Canadian Security
Secure<|fim_middle|> Design framework. SecureKey recognizes that personal data are best protected when strong privacy safeguards are built into new technologies, without sacrificing client convenience."
The objectives of Privacy by Design's seven foundational principles are:
1. Proactive not Reactive
2. Privacy as the Default Setting
3. Privacy Embedded into Design
4. Full Functionality
5. End-to-End Security
6. Visibility and Transparency
7. Respect for User Privacy
"SecureKey's innovative solutions for authentication, payment and identity are, at their very core, intended to proactively address privacy. This philosophy is central to the entire culture of the organization," said Charles Walton, CEO, SecureKey. "We are honoured to be a Privacy by Design Ambassador."
SecureKey recently launched a new authentication service for the Government of Canada that allows Canadians to use their bank authentication credentials to obtain access to online government services using Privacy by Design principles.
Route1 receives purchase order from U.S. DoD | Key Technologies has been named a Privacy by Design (PbD) ambassador by the Ontario Information and Privacy Commissioner, Dr. Ann Cavoukian.
Privacy by Design is a concept that was developed by Cavoukian in the 1990s to address the ever-growing and systemic effects of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and of large-scale networked data systems.
"I am delighted to welcome SecureKey Technologies as a PbD Ambassador," said Cavoukian in a statement. "The company has built strong cryptographic authentication into its innovative products that is consistent with the principles of my Privacy by | 123 |
Henryk Mikołaj Górecki (født 6. december 1933 i Czernica, død 12. november 2010 i Katowice) hørte til de mest betydende polske komponister efter 2.<|fim_middle|> blandet kor og orkester
Symfoni nr. 3 "Symfoni af triste sange" (1976) - for sopran og orkester
Symfoni nr. 4 (2006) "Tansmans episoder" - for klaver, orgel og orkester
Referencer
Bibliografi
Adam Mickiewicz Institute. 2004. "Henryk Mikołaj Górecki". Polish Music Information Center, November 2001; updated 2004.
Howard, Luke B. 1998. "Motherhood, Billboard, and the Holocaust: Perceptions and Receptions of Górecki's Symphony No. 3", Musical Quarterly 82, no. 1 (Spring): 131–59.
Mirka, Danuta. 2004. "Górecki's Musica Geometrica". The Musical Quarterly 87:305–32.
Perlez, Jane. 1994. "Henryk Gorecki". New York Times (27 February).
Steinberg, Michael. 1995. The Symphony: A Listener's Guide. New York: Oxford University Press.
Thomas, Adrian. 1997. Górecki. Oxford Studies of Composers. Oxford: Clarendon Press; New York: Oxford University Press. (cloth) (pbk.)
Wierzbicki, James. "Henryk Gorecki". St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 7 July, 1991.
Eksterne henvisninger
Henryk Mikołaj Górecki interview with Bruce Duffie
USC Polish Music Center biography
Komponister fra Polen
Klassiske komponister fra det 20. århundrede
Klassiske komponister fra det 21. århundrede | verdenskrig. Han var mest kendt for sin 3. symfoni, Sorgens sange.
Han fik i 1984 en invitation fra Danmark med en bestilling til Lerchenborg Musikdage, det resulterede i Rezitative und Ariosos. Lerchenmusik for klarinet, cello og klaver.
Stil
Góreckis værker fra 1950'erne 60'erne var inspireret af komponister som Nono, Stockhausen og hans landsmænd Penderecki og Serocki. Fra midten af 1970'erne bevægede Górecki sig fra den dissonante modernisme mod en slags religiøs minimalisme, med hans berømte 3. symfoni fra 1976 som det mest kendte værk i den stil. Med sit inderlige tonesprog, der kendetegnes ved en glødende ekspressivitet og vældig dynamisk spændvidde, fremtræder han i dag som en af den nye polske musiks stærkeste profiler.
3. symfoni
1992-indspilningen
Før 1992 var Górecki kun kendt af en ret begrænset skare, som en blandt flere klassiske polske komponister fra efterkrigstiden. Men en cd-udgivelse af den på det tidspunkt 15 år gamle 3. symfoni fik komponistens popularitet til at eksplodere. Indspilningen, med London Sinfonietta, David Zinman som dirigent og sopranen Dawn Upshaw kom på førstepladsen af de klassiske hitlister i såvel USA som Storbritannien, og den solgte mere end 700.000 eksemplarer de første to år – mindst firehundrede gange mere end det forventede totale salg for en cd med en forholdsvis ukendt komponist fra det 20. århundrede. Cd'en har til dato solgt mere end én million eksemplarer – et exceptionelt højt salgstal for en cd med moderne klassisk musik. Den store interesse smittede dog ikke af på komponistens øvrige værker. Górecki var lige så overrasket som alle andre over indspilningens succes og udtalte "Måske finder folk noget de har brug for i dette stykke musik…på en eller anden måde ramte jeg den rigtige tone, noget de savnede. Et eller andet der var blevet væk. Jeg føler at jeg instinktivt vidste hvad de trængte til."
Om Symphony of Sorrowful Song
Symfonien, med undertitlen Sorgens sange (polsk: Symfonia pieśni żałosnych), består af tre satser og er skrevet for sopran og orkester. De tre tekster – henholdsvis en Maria-klagesang fra det 15. århundrede, en tekst fra en Gestapo-celle under 2. verdenskrig og en Schlesisk folkesang – kredser om adskillelsen af mor og barn i krigstid. I første og tredje sats er det moderen der begræder tabet af sit barn, og i anden sats hører man barnet der er adskilt fra sine forældre.
Henryk Górecki færdiggjorde kort før sin død en 4 symfoni.
Symfonier
Symfoni nr. 1 (1959) - for slagtøj og strygerorkester
Symfoni nr. 2 "Copernicus" (1972) - for sopran, baryton, | 877 |
Aura Cacia German Chamomile in Jojoba Oil Description: Soothing The warm herbaceous aroma of German chamomile has rich, sweet, tobacco-like nuances. This exceptionally calming oil has a beautiful deep indigo color. Add a few drops of German chamomile to skin care oils to make them especially soothing. The precious essential oils used in Aura Cacis's Precious Essential Oils are all<|fim_middle|> and German chamomile pure essential oil. | tested with gas chromatography to ensure purity and quality. The jojoba oil used as the carrier for the precious oils is highly regarded by aromatherapists for skin application because its unique composition of proteins, liquid waxes and fatty acids closely resembles the skin's own emollients and isn't excessively oily. These aromatherapy formulations are ideal for every kind of skin application, from massage to use as a natural perfume. Combining our high-quality precious oils - the most expensive and difficult-to-obtain essential oils with jojoba oil results in a more attractive price and an easily-used product that appeals to both experienced and new aromatherapy users. Essential oils may well be the ultimate gift from nature. Made from the aromatic essences of plants, they have a remarkable ability to affect a person's well-being and improve the environment around them. Explore the many essential oils offered by Aura Cacia, that can help you achieve physical, emotional, mental and spiritual well-being. Disclaimer These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
Ingredients : Jojoba oil | 231 |
One of the best indicators for a good contractor is someone that is too busy to take your job. That might seem counterproductive but if you can schedule with a contractor that is always working, then you know they must be doing something right. A contractor will also take on several projects at once. This doesn't mean they're going to ignore your remodeling job but instead they're going to delegate the work to trusted employees. Often that means hiring out to subcontractors. Junk King Monterey is a perfect example. Professional contractors know they can always depend on Junk King Monterey to provide quick and efficient cleanup of any<|fim_middle|> your junk taken away the right way, then do what contractors do and hire Junk King Monterey from the start.
This entry was posted in Monterey Junk Removal and tagged contractors, Junk King, Junk Removal on January 25, 2017 by Mario Guzman. Last updated January 25, 2017 . | construction waste. You can also count on Junk King Monterey to get rid of all your unwanted junk and you don't have to be a contractor!
Junk King Monterey isn't limited by weight or size. They can clean up the demolition from a kitchen remodel down or an entire home renovation project. They're not to charge by the pound. Instead, they have a price scale that is based upon how the crews pack up the truck. This isn't something that is determined after the truck is loaded but before. Junk King Monterey crews have a lot of experience with this type of packing. They can look at any pile of junk and know exactly how it will fit onto the truck. They can say whether it will be one quarter, one-half, one third or the entire truck bed.
Once it has been determined they will present you with a written estimate of that fee. This is a number that will be locked down and. You not to find any hidden charges at the end of the job. In fact, if your stuff takes up more room than what was estimated you're still be paying that original price.
Included in that affordable fee are all the drop off stops the Junk King might make on your behalf. They are dedicated to keeping the environment around Monterey as green as possible. That means avoiding the landfills and instead dropping your things off at a recycling center or charity. If you want to get | 280 |
Five takeaways from Florida's fiery final gubernatorial debate
0 0 Thursday, October 25, 2018 Edit this post
© Getty Five takeaways from Florida's fiery final gubernatorial debate
DAVIE, Fla.
Democrat Andrew Gillum and Republican Ron DeSantis engaged in a volatile and often angry war of words in Florida on Wednesday, ending the final debate in the state's gubernatorial race before Election Day on a bitter note.
Even as the candidates faced questions about widening political divisions - underscored by recent bomb threats against multiple prominent Democrats - Gillum and DeSantis traded personal attacks and accusations, touching on everything from race to corruption allegations.
But the debate also touched on policy disagreements on issues ranging from gun control to environmental protections, allowing the candidates a final chance to make their cases to voters side by side.
Here are five takeaways from the final Florida gubernatorial debate:
It was the most bitter exchange yet
In the first debate, both Gillum and DeSantis traded jabs. In the second debate, they tried to knock one another out.
The full force of the partisan and ideological division present in Florida's gubernatorial race were on display on Wednesday night. But policy wasn't at the center of the disagreements.
Instead, the candidates opted for more personal attacks, focusing on issues like an FBI probe into suspected corruption in Tallahassee City Hall or allegations of DeSantis harboring racist views.
At times, the candidates butted heads with the debate's moderator, news anchor Todd McDermott. Gillum demanded more time to respond to DeSantis' attacks and, at one point, DeSantis lashed out against what he called the media's attempt to "smear" him.
Florida's gubernatorial race has already brought to the forefront the intense political divisions at play nationwide. But Wednesday's debate - the last major debate before Election Day in the state - appeared to be a tipping point for Gillum and DeSantis.
FBI probe puts Gillum on the defensive
It didn't take long before Gillum was charged with addressing the ongoing FBI investigation into<|fim_middle|> fiery final gubernatorial debate
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https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ulli_tt9AhI/W9GEjxMxJUI/AAAAAAABFx4/H6QSmqdHRa4br-jLKepJ3nhQMYZvSRx2wCLcBGAs/s72-c/2.jpg
https://politics.dailynews.us.com/2018/10/five-takeaways-from-floridas-fiery.html | possible corruption in Tallahassee City Hall
And that's not surprising, seeing as how the debate came a day after various media outlets reported that the Tallahassee received a ticket to the musical "Hamilton" from an undercover FBI agent whom he believed was a local developer.
The FBI probe has loomed over Gillum's campaign for months. But he's begun facing more and more questions about it amid attacks from Republicans.
Gillum has insisted that he's not a target of the the probe. On Wednesday, he sought to downplay the weight of the investigation, saying there were bigger issues to deal with in Florida.
"I take responsibility for not having asked more questions," he said. "But let me tell you, I'm running for governor. In the state of Florida we have 99 issues. And tickets to Hamilton ain't one of them."
DeSantis, however, repeatedly asserted that Gillum himself is under investigation.
"He wants you believe that he's not under investigation," DeSantis said. "Why would an undercover FBI agent posing as a contractor give you a ticket to Hamilton?"
Race takes center stage
Since the first days of his general election bid against Gillum, DeSantis has struggled to move past allegations of racist behavior and remarks.
And the issue of race surfaced once again on Wednesday.
From the first question of the debate, DeSantis drew criticism from Gillum for race-related controversies, like the former congressman's suggestion in August that voters should not "monkey this up" by voting for Gillum in November.
"I'm not calling Mr. DeSantis a racist," Gillum said at one point. "I'm simply saying the racists believe he's a racist"
The talk of race appeared to get under DeSantis' skin. Asked by the moderator about his past comments praising a conservative writer who had made racist remarks, the former Republican representative lashed out.
"How the hell am I supposed to know every statement that somebody makes?" DeSantis shouted, prompting gasps and jeers from the audience.
"As a governor i will represent all the people. Everyone will get a fair shake," he added. "But I am not going to bow down to the altar of political correctness. I'm not going to let the media smear me."
Immigration becomes a flashpoint
Immigration sparked a heated exchange on Wednesday after DeSantis suggested that a Gillum had let his "dislike" of Trump to cloud his views on federal immigration enforcement.
"He will support sanctuary cities. He said he will not cooperate with Donald Trump's [Immigration and Customs Enforcement]," DeSantis said. "He hates Donald Trump so much."
"Why would you allow your dislike for the president to knowingly put communities at risk?"
The debate over immigration has periodically emerged as a flashpoint in the Florida governor's race. Gillum's past call to abolish U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in its current form has fueled intense attacks from the GOP.
DeSantis, on the other hand, has been steadfast in his support for Trump's immigration agenda, including the president's proposal to build a massive wall along the U.S. border with Mexico.
Gillum expanded on his call on Wednesday, saying that ICE should be absorbed into the Justice Department as a matter of practicality.
"Immigration and border control has an important job to do and we ought to empower them to do that job," he said, arguing that merging the agency with the Justice Department would allow it to more effectively combat drug and human trafficking.
Climate change is a hot topic
Climate change and environmental issues are playing an outsize role in Florida's political races this year and Wednesday's debate was no exception.
DeSantis sought to defend his record on the environment, touting himself as the only candidate who "fought Big Sugar," which the candidate has derided for contributing to Florida's toxic algae crisis.
"They came after me in my primary with millions and millions of dollars attacking be every which way," he said.
But Gillum worked to undermine DeSantis' boasts, saying that the former Republican representative has no record to back up his assertions and that he had, in fact, taken campaign money from "the biggest polluters" in the state.
"The saying goes the proof is always in the eating, right?" Gillum said. "That you got to test it all the way out."
The two candidates also talked about the need to protect Florida's environment in different terms. DeSantis warned that the state would "lose our status as a tourist destination" if it failed to clean up its waters and fight environmental degradation.
Gillum, on the other hand, has talked up the potential for Florida to play a leading role in the clean energy sector.
Get breaking news and in-depth coverage at Daily News
Politics - U.S. Daily News: Five takeaways from Florida's | 987 |
Big Sky Conference Gear
Top Of the World Championship
by wiviking | Nov 19, 2007 | Portland State
As this tournament ends, I believe the Vikings can hold their heads high. They came into it after a loss against a vastly superior UCLA team, and their was little way to gauge their chances this season. I felt that some games against some teams more at their level could do that. PSU really showed some good teamwork, and was able to pull out two difficult games against teams that were probably favored. They ended up losing by one point to a team that was probably the favorite going in, so they can't feel too bad.
As I didn't listen to this game live, I'm not sure I can give a proper perspective to it, but I'll try. The Viks appeared to again be the more talented overall team, and through the first half held a seven point lead. However,<|fim_middle|> into the rest of the season with confidence in that regard. So, although it's tough to stomach a loss in a game the team really should have won, they know they can compete against some good teams, and make a run at the Big Sky crown. We can all take solace in Ian Ruder's points today, especially the one about Weber State.
Good photos of the game available at: http://csurams.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/recaps/111907aab.html#
Click on photo gallery.
BigSkyFans.com is not affiliated with the Big Sky Conference, we are merely a fan site for the BSC! | the lead, which had been as high as seven, proved not to be enough as the Vikings lost the game in the last minute.
As far as stats go, this was a great game. Neither team shot the lights out, but both hit a good percentage. The teams were basically even in almost every statistical category except free throws, and this one really could have gone either way. Ken Bone knows that he's really going to need to make the guys work at the free throw line, as that cost them tonight, and could have cost them against Akron as well. 64% isn't going to win the tough games. Against Linfield maybe, but after that, they'll have to get their act together.
All of the Viks' players have now had solid offensive games, so they should head | 163 |
Two diamond-producing countries offer contrasting ways of dealing with powerful multinational companies.
Botswana was pit<|fim_middle|>ouncements, while his country starves. Who would have thought demanding 1% more could make such a difference between two countries? | ifully poor when it became independent and for some ten years after that. Then they discovered large deposits of diamonds. Its government had followed the best kind of conservative economic policies, the most important part of which was avoiding falling deep into debt, so they were well prepared to make good use of their new wealth.
But first, to maximise income from the mines, they made a deal with De Beers, the company who controls the legal worldwide market in diamonds. They wanted De Beers' expertise and were ready to give them a share of the profits, but they did not want to be dominated by them. They set up a mining company in which De Beers and the Botswana government each held 50% of the shares.
When you are dealing with a company as big as De Beers, you need to negotiate both cautiously and shrewdly. Botswana's leaders succeeded in doing this, so that in reality, and not just on paper, neither party could overrule the other. That meant that both had to make compromises, but Botswana has gained a lot from this arrangement. It can now afford an independent Press and radio stations, freeedom for opposition politicians to campaign on radio and Tv at election times and freedoms for ordinary citizens which they did not allow in the early years of independence.
Botswana now has one of the highest per capita Gdps in Africa and, although the gap between the incomes of the rich and poor is still wide, extensive free social services, especially medical, educational and the food relief that is so often needed in a drought-prone country spread the benefits of diamond wealth.
Neighbouring Zimbabwe discovered large diamond deposits much more recently, when Mugabe's Zanu-Pf party was conducting a noisy and often violent campaign to «indigenise» foreign-owned businesses, though chinese and nigerians are not considered foreign. All businesses must be at least 51% locally-owned.
Zanu-Pf have always shown that if they control 51% of anything, they believe this gives them the right to ignore the wishes of the other 49%. As a result, for years there has been negligible investment in a country that was 30 years ago, second only to South Africa in industrial development. Now Zimbabwe is one of Africa's six poorest countries, depending on imports of food and even of such simple products as matches. Their diamonds are sold at a discount and, since Zanu-Pf restored their sole control of government last July, government has received no revenue from the diamond mines. Nobody will risk their money by investing it in Zimbabwe and, whether we like it or not, development is very slow without some investment from outside.
So Mugabe remains ideologically pure, at least in his public pron | 562 |
The first call between an agent and an author is full of noise. Of nerves and gushing and questions that border on<|fim_middle|>, and the book isn't close to being done, that moment of silence is when we know that together.
Wow this post gave me chills. One day! | excited panic. Without fail, it consists of two people talking over each other, frantic to ensure that they talk about everything important in 30-60 minutes.
It's pretty much a nerve-wracking first date with a proposal (sometimes) at the end of it.
After an author signs on with me, they go out on submission. And when that submission process goes well, an editor contacts me with an offer.
And once that offer comes through, I get to have a completely different type of call with my author. This one is short—usually 5 minutes or so. It's almost completely one-sided.
It first begins when they hear that it's me on the phone, and there's sharp, quiet intake of breath. Then I jump right into it: there's an offer on the table from X editor at Z house.
And that silence stretches until I break it, because I have effectively rendered my wonderful, wordy author speechless.
That silence is my favorite part of the job.
It's a silence full of hope. Of flattered excitement. Of gratitude. Of dreams coming true.
And even though nothing is official yet | 233 |
Monday morning, we woke to warm sunshine in the Hills.
when we wanted to be tourists.
how do I entertain myself on his work trips?
For starters, I<|fim_middle|>ough garlic medallions.
Good thing it was our only meal for the day!
and I, this beautifully presented Caprese Salad.
It was a great way to end our mini-vacation in the Black Hills. | seek out the Fitness Center at the Hotel.
fill me in on what's happening in the world.
I sometimes go out to shop in nearby stores and boutiques.
those communities are preparing for half a million bikers.
however, we found parking in this public lot.
We enjoyed walking in and out of the shops and casinos.
Spearfish was next along our route.
a great place for a late lunch.
We sat 'at the rail' so hubby could watch golf.
The server asked if we would like a basket of 'bar muffins'?
made with a box of yellow cake mix added.
That is Maple Butter on the side.
For lunch, Hubby and I shared their mussels.
sweet onion and basil sauteed in garlic Black Butte Porter cream sauce.
On the side, sourd | 164 |
Hot 8 will be touring the UK<|fim_middle|> a cheeky cut'n'paste hip hop vibe, scratching and a big ol' beat. One of the most out-there remixes on this collection is Aldo Vanucci's makeover of "What's My Name", with an insistent hook and a dancehall-style vocal taking it to another sphere. | between 29th July – 10th August, including a high profile spot at The Big Chill festival (2nd August); gigs including Brighton (30th July) and London (31st) and a host of other festivals. They have also had requests to play on major UK chat shows and in the BBC's Electric Proms so you may be seeing them from the comfort of your living room soon.
Available as a digital download-only release to coincide with their forthcoming UK tour, this remixes album kicks off with the seriously funky, hi-energy Lack Of Afro Remix of "It's Real", with wayward wah wah guitars and heavy hitting drums; ditching the vocal for a full on instrumental jam.
Tru Thoughts label-mate Natural Self applies his innately classy beat-making and production skills to "We Are One", laying a stripped back, bassy reggae-style groove under the lush, multi-layered horns. Those who are familiar with Natural Self's latest album 'The Art Of Vibration' – which came out in June to great reactions and radio play from Mark Lamarr (Radio 2) and Gilles Peterson (Radio 1) – will know that a strident, funky horn section is a prominent feature in his own compositions.
Hint's rework of "Jisten To Me" has got his light yet energetic touch running right through it, transforming the flowing big brass number into a cheeky dancefloor track, isolating a single horn hook and fashioning a catchy break. All the tricks and quirky electronic touches that have made Hint's own tracks, such as "At The Dance" and "The Tremmuh" such massive DJ weapons in recent years, are out in force. Hint's hotly-anticipated new album 'Driven From Distraction' is out on 28th July.
The famously wonderful Hot 8 Brass Band cover of "Sexual Healing" features here too, edited to a slightly more manageable five minutes by Me&You – aka Tru Thoughts' TM Juke and Robert Luis.
Unforscene seamlessly weave their trademark atmospheric textures through "Mish Mash" and give "Get Up" an eerie, ominous edge, cranking up the marching beat and the tension levels to eleven.Diesler takes the chunky jazzy hip hop of "Get Up" and gives it a dusting down for the dancefloor, while "It's Real" comes out of Palov & Mishkin's studio with | 501 |
Tonight the Rec Center hosted a "Minute to Win it" fundraising event to benefit our local Relay for Life Chapter. As a cancer survivor myself (2 years now!) I am grateful for the generous efforts of people<|fim_middle|> myself and the cheering crowd by landing all eight pencils into the containers in under a minute. (Now people know what I truly do in my office all day!) I didn't fare so well later in trying to slide a cookie from my forehead into my mouth. But, everyone had lots of laughs for a great cause. | in our community in solidarity with those battling the disease. Many of our campus homes baked treats to sell in the concession stand and folks made a free will offering as they came in the door. We had plenty of laughs as students, staff and people from the community competed in fun and silly games.
I arrived in the middle of the competition, and was immediately dragged into a game where I had to bounce a pencil on the eraser end and land it in a plastic drinking glass ahead of me. I astounded | 102 |
So you made it! One more visitor clicked on the "order" button, in order to purchase the product you're offering. If everything goes as planned, you will increase your e-shop's awareness and gain more customers. However, you need to focus on the online engagement with visitors and -of course- your social media strategy. Do it the wrong way and you'll take a risk. Do it right and you will have an epic win.
Interacting with visitors on your website has never been easier, thanks to all the latest tools and technology. As a business owner (or a Marketing Manager) you need to invest time in building a relationship with your site's visitors.
If you're looking for ways to make your customers more engaged, you are in the right place, keep reading! We've gathered 10 ways to<|fim_middle|> and creativity flurish. | engage your visitors.
Market analysis is not always enough! In order to get to know what your audience needs, you have to connect with them and show your human side at the same time.
Start by introducing yourself! Whether it's an e-mail, a message, or a new Twitter account, welcome the new members of your online community. Moreover, select someone from your team -that could be you as well- and make him brand ambassador, the face of the community.
There are various social media platforms out there (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn Groups, WhatsApp, Viber) which give you the opportunity to create awesome online groups. What would be the first step in creating an online community? To enhance your e-mail list and invite all of your visitors and customers to join you. You can easily start gathering more e-mails through a Sign up Widget. Do not forget to explain to your visitors the value of joining your online community. If they see the value your conversions will jump high to the sky!
Who doesn't enjoy receiving gifts? We certainly do! Take advantage of that and run a special contest for your visitors. Not only you will grab their attention but you'll also engage them by rewarding them for their participation. You can easily setup a Contest via Viral-Loops. Or consider using a Spin the Wheel & Win widget. A smart widget like this one, will help you through the process.
How do you keep it fresh and simple? You can show customer testimonials or your latest & greatest offerings. Keep the content simple and straightforward. The results will surprise you.
Create content that is not available to everyone -a piece of content that is so special and unique that only members of your community can have access to it. This content could be a case study, or an e-book (eg. e-book: The holy bible of Fashion).
One of the best ways to interact with customers is blogging. So, make sure to add a blog section to your e-shop and add content regularly. If you actively keep up a quality blog, not only your customers will come back to your site to read your content, but they will react to it. This will create a communication flow – full of positivity.
These little helpers enable us to be in touch with people online. One of the main purposes of popups is to ask visitor to become your subscriber. However, make sure that overusing popups will make people hate them.
Offer special discounts for registered members. You can also build a member's only forum where they can discuss certain topics and engage with each other (or you and your team).
One of the most common reasons why customers never complete the checkout process is because at some time throughout the flow they felt "insecure". Make sure that you display a notice to your customers that they are using a secure checkout process. Display an SSL Certificate symbol and also a Security icon.
Keep in mind that technology today offers amazing ways to interact and engage with our customers. Not all business owners take advantage of the tools and resources available. Make sure you are not left behind. Make sure you use tools wisely and never forget to be creative. Tools are just tools. The ways each and every one of us uses those tools however …is truly… a place where imagination | 656 |
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Talent / All MCP Talent / Entertainers / Comedians / Stand Up Comedians<|fim_middle|> Butt
The Creator, Star, And Executive Producer Of The Hit Comedy Series Corner Gas.
Big Daddy Tazz
Performed At The Prestigious Just For Laughs Festival In Montreal, The Moncton Comedy Festival And The CBC Winnipeg Comedy Festival. Mental Health Speaker.
Bob Beddow
Bob has been wowing audiences with homespun humor, story telling style, and easy going nature for over 20 years.
info@mcptalent.com
MCP Talent Agency © 2020 |
Dean Jenkinson
Gemini-Nominated And Canadian Comedy Award-Winning Comedian And Comedy Writer For CBC's "This Hour Has 22 Minutes".
Talent is already in list
Categories: Musical Comedians, Stand Up Comedians Tag: Manitoba
Experience of Dean Jenkinson
Since starting his comedy career over two decades ago, Dean Jenkinson has gone on to television appearances on The Comedy Network's Comedy at Club 54 and Global's Comedy on Stage. In 1998, he was featured in his own 30-minute episode of CBC's COMICS. CBC news viewers recognize his award winning satirical commentaries on shows like Canada Now and Saturday Report.
Dean has also appeared at The Winnipeg Folk Festival as a main stage host since 1999. His 1998 play How Do You Know When You're Done along with Al Rae was named among the Top Ten at the Winnipeg Fringe Festival. Jenkinson is also a sought-after comedy writer, having written on the Global TV sitcom "Big Sound" and the CBC Radio programs "What a Week" and "The Irrelevant Show". Currently he is a staff comedy writer for CBC's This Hour Has 22 Minutes. Stage Appearances With Canadian and US recording artists; Great Big Sea, The Commitments, The Nylons, "Weird Al"" Yankovic.
Comedy Style of Dean Jenkinson
Often described as a classy gentleman with a sharp, intelligent and humor-filled act. Smart and witty with a delicate delivery that slides the punch line into your eager ears, he is the epitome of a Canadian entertainer. In addition to performing his stand up comedy show, Dean is a highly sought after corporate host and emcee.
Why Hire?
He'll make you think, make you laugh, make you think you're laughing, while he delivers a clean comedy performance. As a host emcee Dean will keep your program on schedule
Works Well in this Type of Event
Special Events, Corporate Events, Private Events, Casino Shows, Charity Events, Celebrity Speaking Events, Conventions, Trade Shows, and Award Shows.
You can request information on our entertainment options through our on-line request form. Or, you can call us Toll Free at 1.800.693.6665
Stand Up Comedy Show
Corporate Host & Emcee
"Thank you for an excellent performance last night at our conference. As in the previous times we've hired you for special events, you were able to get the crowd laughing hysterically and raise their spirits. You're becoming the entertainer of choice for the City of Winnipeg. It's always great to end an evening on such a positive note and have people buzzing about your performance for days afterward. I would highly recommend your services to anyone wanting to entertain a group of people at any kind of gathering or conference."
Canadian Public Works Association – Manitoba Chapter
"Thank you for an excellent performance that left our customers laughing out of their seats, even though it was only 8am!"?
Canadian Tourism Commission
"Top-notch entertainment your comedy was unsurpassed by any others we have had. When people are re-telling the comic's stuff three days later you know he has had an impact."
Western Canada Dental Association
"The Sears group found your show very funny and entertaining, they wanted to keep you on stage longer."
"We wish to express to Dean's future clients a hearty recommendation, and to ensure them that they can be confident of a great performance by a sensitive and capable professional."?
"You did an amazing performance! I would highly recommend your show for any church non-profit group at any time. You are an entertainment with a keen sense of your crowd in a few moments, and communicate very effectively. You are great!"
Youth For Christ, Steinbach
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Newfie Stand Up Comedian Living In Alberta. Lisa Has That Renowned Newfoundlander Sharp Wit And Sense Of Humour.
Steve Brinder
As Well As Being A Stand Up Comedian Steve Is A School Teacher, A TV Host, A TV Reporter, And An Actor.
Toronto-based Stand-up Comedian, Host, And MC. As A Comedian, Evan Carter Has Been Called "a Classic In The Making".
Lars Callieou
From His Humble Beginning In A Pub To Headlining His First Club, Lars Has Compiled An Impressive List Of Comedy Credits And Has Received Countless Awards.
Matthew DiSero
Both A Comedian And Magician, Blending The Two Disciplines Together To Create The Perfect Interactive, Clean, And Funny Show.
Brent | 942 |
A 12-volt, portable car battery charger offers an efficient source of power for reviving dead batteries in a vast array of situations.
Car battery chargers are available in a multitude of different configurations, from those that sit on a docking station for an instance source of power, a multi-purpose tool offering a compact air compressor and jump starter in single package, or a combi unit with Jump-starter and built in radio.
A car charger unit can sit on an integrated dock station to offer constant starting power for a Car, SUV or Truck, while offering a perfect place to store and<|fim_middle|>. A perfect tool for those in need of portable air and power needs.
Portable power can also come in the shape of a Jump-starter with built-in radio, with ample power to jump-start a vehicle, as well as to power USB devices. Power sources include twin 12-volt DC outlets, a 12-volt charger, and twin 120-volt AC outlets. A versatile tool offering instant jump starting power – without a need for another vehicle, a source to power ordinary household objects, and an ultra bright LED light is there for roadside assistance.
Auto battery chargers make the ideal tool for resuscitating flat batteries when a vehicle wouldn't start in the mornings due to cold weather or in times of emergencies. These portable chargers are also suited to recreational vehicles, small travel trailers, or on a boat when away from shore power. | charge when not in actual use. A dock station is a perfect solution for instantly starting a vehicle, without need to rely on a almost dead back-up starter. In addition, a re-charge is often very quick after a jump-start. Battery charge level is determined via an easy-to-read LED display, color indicators can give a low-charge, medium, and full-charge status. A built-in halogen light can offer emergency lighting in all low-light or extreme conditions.
A jump starter and air compressor multi-purpose tool offers a powerful source of air and power in a single, convenient package. These units are equipped with DC power source for 12v accessories, and high-pressure air compressor unit. Constructed in a rugged polypropylene case for a lightweight, and portable build. Status of a batteries charge is determined via 3 LED's (100%, 75% or 50% or less charged). Safety features exist on these combi units, such as jump-start protection to avoid clamp shorting, reverse hook-up protection, and overload alert | 217 |
\section{Introduction}\label{sec:introduction}}
\IEEEPARstart{A} wide variety of ``big data'' such as simulations of
diesel combustion and images of tissue from biopsy, are spatiotemporal in
nature~\cite{Cressie:2011:SST, wu2011finding}. When analyzing these
data sets, a common task is to find coherent structure in space and
time, for example, ignition kernels in combustion, and cancerous cells
in medical images. There are many possible approaches to identify such
a feature based on the application requirements~\cite{chandola2009anomaly, Han2011Data, Gupta2014Outlier, yang2005generalized}. However, when
faced with tight time constraints many of these techniques are too slow
to produce an satisfactory answer.
Our work was originally motivated by the need to detect spatio-temporal
feature associated with instabilities in fusion plasma. Magnetic
confinement fusion has the potential to be an inexhaustible source of clean
energy; and billions of dollars have been invested in developing fusion
reactors, like the ITER project \cite{aymar2002iter}.
However, steady-state plasma confinement
is often interrupted by blob filaments driven by the edge turbulence. A
blob filament (or blob) is a magnetic-field-aligned plasma structure
that appears near the edge of the confined plasma, and has significantly
higher density and temperature than the surrounding plasma
\cite{d2011convective}. Blobs can also be considered as outliers
because they are rare events that convect filaments of plasma outwards
towards the containment wall, causing substantial heat loss, degradation
of the plasma confinement, and erosion of the containment wall. By
identifying and tracking these blob filaments from fusion plasma data
streams, physicists can improve their understanding of the dynamics and
interactions of such coherent structures (blobs) with edge turbulence.
Fusion experiments and simulations could easily produce many terabytes
per second; and features such as blobs have to be detected in
milliseconds in order for the control system to have a chance to take
mitigating actions. Though there are many well known feature extraction
methods for detecting outliers, they often have some shortcomings.
Classical multi-dimensional outlier detection techniques are designed to
detect global outliers. However, these techniques do not distinguish
between non-spatial attributes and spatial attributes and do not
consider apriori information about the statistical distribution of the
data \cite{shekhar2003unified}. Since spatio-temporal data types have
unique characteristics and their relations are more complicated than
ordinary data, dedicated outlier detection techniques are typically
required to examine anomalies in data across space and
time\cite{Gupta2014Outlier}. In this work, we propose an approach for
detecting and tracking spatio-temporal features such as blobs by breaking
down the process into three steps: (1) find cells that satisfying
application specific requirements, (2) group cells into spatial features,
and (3) track features by the amount of overlap in space. By
varying the first step, this procedure could be applying to different
applications. Earlier, this
approach was applied to data from regular meshes~\cite{wu2009fastbit,
wu2011finding}. In this work, we will demonstrated that it can also
be effectively applied to irregular mesh data.
\begin{figure}[!h]
\centering
\includegraphics[width=3.4in]{PosterFigResource/FusionDataStream}
\caption{A real-time data analysis frame for finding blob-filaments in fusion plasma data streams}
\label{fig:fusion data stream}
\end{figure}
This work addresses several challenges exemplified by
the detection of blobs in fusion plasma. First off, fusion experiments
and numerical simulations can easily generate massive amounts of data
per run. During a magnetic fusion device experiment (or "shot"),
terabytes of data are generated over short time periods (on the order of
hundreds of seconds). In the XGC1 fusion simulation
\cite{chang2009compressed,ku2009full}, a few tens of terabytes can be
generated per second. Timely access to this amount of data can already
be a challenge \cite{Dong2013Expediting,Dong2013SDS}, but analyzing all
this data in real time is impractical. Currently, there are three types
of analyses in most of fusion experiments: in-shot-analysis,
between-shot-analysis, and post-run-analysis. All existing blob
detection methods address post-run-analysis, but in this work, we focus
on the more challenging first two cases to provide a real-time analysis
so that scientists can monitor the progress of fusion
experiments. Figure \ref{fig:fusion data stream} presents a real-time
analysis frame for finding blob-filaments in fusion plasma data
streams. To perform this data analysis in real time, we utilize
effectively modern supercomputers to address the high volume and
velocity challenges arising from fusion plasma big data.
This work has been integrated into the International Collaboration Framework for Extreme Scale Experiments (ICEE), a wide-area in-transit data analysis framework for near real-time scientific applications \cite{choi2013icee}. ICEE takes advantage of an efficient IO solution ADIOS \cite{lofstead2008flexible}, and a cutting-edge indexing solution FastBit \cite{wu2009fastbit}, to design and construct a real-time remote data processing framework over wide-area networks for international collaborations such as the ITER project. In this system, a blob detection algorithm is used to monitor the health of fusion experiments at the Korea Superconducting Tokamak Advanced Research (KSTAR). However, existing data analysis approaches are often single-threaded, only for post-run analysis, and take a long time to produce results. Also, compared to the simulation data, the resolution of the raw camera data may be coarse, but interesting features can still be identified after normalization. In order to meet real-time feedback requirement, we develop a real-time blob detection method, which can leverage in-situ raw data in the ICEE server and find blob-filaments efficiently during fusion experiments. Our blob detection algorithm is not limited to KSTAR only, and can be applied to other fusion experiments and simulations.
In this research, we apply the three-step approach to detect and track blob structures in
fusion data, with the goal of achieving millisecond response time on terabytes of data.
With this response space, it is possible for the control system of the magnetic confinement
fusion reactor to implement mitigating strategies in real time. To the
best of our knowledge, this is the first time a blob detection method
could satisfy the \emph{millisecond time requirement}. Additional
contributions of this work include:
\begin{itemize}
\item We illustrate how to adopt the three-step approach to detect and track blob-filaments as an example of spatial-temporal feature on an irregular mesh.
\item We propose a two-phase region outlier detection method for finding blob-filaments. In the first phase, we apply a distribution-based outlier detection scheme to identify blob candidate points. In the second phase, we adopt a fast two-pass \emph{connected component labeling} (CCL) algorithm from \cite{wu2009optimizing} to find different region outliers on an irregular mesh.
\item We develop a high-performance blob detection approach to meet real-time feedback requirements by exploiting many-core architectures in a large cluster.
\item We propose a scheme to efficiently track the movement of region outliers by linking the centers of the region outlier over consecutive frames.
\item We have implemented our blob detection algorithm with hybrid MPI/OpenMP, and demonstrated the effectiveness and efficiency of our implementation with a set of data from the XGC1 fusion simulations. Our tests show that we can achieve \emph{linear time speedup} and complete blob detection in \emph{two or three milliseconds} using a cluster at NERSC. In addition, we demonstrate that our method is more robust than recently developed state-of-the-art blob detection methods in \cite{davis2014fast,myra2013edge}.
\end{itemize}
The rest of paper is organized as follows. In Section II, we give the problem formulation of the blob detection and discuss related work. In Section III we describe in detail our three-step approach consisting of a two-phase region outlier detection algorithm and a tracking scheme for identifying and tracking blobs. We then present a real-time blob detection approach by leveraging MPI/OpenMP parallelization in a large cluster in Section IV. The blob detection and tracking results and its real time evaluation are shown in Section V. We conclude the paper, and give our future plans in Section VI.
\section{Problem Definition and Related Work}
\label{sec:Problem Definition and Related Work}
In this section, we introduce our problem definition and discuss previous work related to our study. For related work, we first discuss existing research work on outlier detection, and then review previous work on blob detection in fusion plasma domain.
\subsection{Problem Definition}
\label{subsec:Problem Definition}
Extracting spatial-temporal features play an important role in analyzing scientific and engineering applications, including behavior recognition \cite{dollar2005behavior}, bioinformatics \cite{winkler2010quantitative}, video analysis c\cite{le2011learning}, and health informatics \cite{aminian2002spatio}. Depending on the applications, mining spatial features in one time frame and relationships among spatial objects in and across time frames are extremely challenging tasks due to three reasons. First, the extent and shape of a feature could be an important indicator in determining its influence. However, due to various data type (regular and irregular), it is not easy to apply a generic approach for all applications. Second, effectively incorporating the temporal information in the overall analysis is a necessity to uncover interesting upcoming events. Finally, how to process very large data sets in real time demands appropriately responding to extreme scale computing and big data challenges. In this work, we attack this problem by presenting a three-step approach for detecting and tracking spatio-temporal features in the context of blob-filament detection in fusion plasma.
The definition of a blob is varied in the literature depending on fusion experiments or simulations as well as available diagnostic information for measurements \cite{d2011convective}. This makes blob detection a challenging task. Figure \ref{fig:density_regions} plots local normalized density distribution in the regions of interest in one time frame. We can observe that there are two reddish spots located at the left portion of the figure, which are associated with blob-filaments and are significantly different from their surrounding neighbors. It is clear that a reddish spot is not a single point but a group of connected points or a region. Therefore, we formulate the blob detection problem as a region outlier detection problem. Similar to the spatial outlier \cite{shekhar2003unified}, a region outlier is a group of spatial connected objects whose non-spatial attribute values are significantly different from those of other spatial surrounding objects in its spatial neighborhood. Figure \ref{fig:density_regions} shows blobs are region outliers. The number of region outliers detected is determined by pre-defined criteria provided by domain experts.
The problem is to design an efficient and effective approach to detect and track different shapes of region outliers simultaneously in fusion plasma data streams. By identifying and monitoring these blob-filaments (region outliers), scientists can gain a better understanding about this phenomena. In addition, a data stream is an ordered sequence of data that arrives continuously and has to be processed online. Due to the high arrival rate of data, the blob detection must finish processing before the next data chunk arrives \cite{sadik2014research}. Therefore, another critical problem is to develop a high-performance blob detection approach in order to meet the real-time requirements.
\begin{figure}[!t]
\centering
\includegraphics[width=3.0in]{PosterFigResource/density_regions-eps-converted-to.pdf}
\caption{A contour plot of the local normalized density in the region of interests in one time frame in fusion experiments or numerical simulations. A cross-section of the torus is called a poloidal plane. $R$ and $Z$ are cylindrical coordinates and the major radius of the torus is denoted by $R$. }
\label{fig:density_regions}
\end{figure}
\subsection{Outlier Detection}
\label{subsec:Outlier Detection}
The problem of outlier detection has been extensively studied and can be generally classified into four categories: distance-based, density-based, clustering-based, and distribution-based approaches \cite{hodge2004survey,chandola2009anomaly}.
Distance-based methods \cite{knox1998algorithms} use a distance metric to measure the distances among data points. If the number of data points within a certain distance from the given point is less than pre-defined threshold, then this point is determined as an outlier. This approach could be very useful with accurate pre-defined threshold. However, it may not be proper to use a simple threshold if different densities in various regions of the data exhibit across space or time.
Density-based methods \cite{breunig2000lof} assign a local outlier factor (LOF) to each sample based on their local density. The LOF determines the degree of outlierness, where samples with high LOF value are identified as outliers. This approach does not require any prior knowledge of underlying distribution of the data. However, it has a high computational complexity since pair-wise distances have to be computed to obtain each local density value.
Clustering-based methods \cite{he2003discovering} conduct clustering-based techniques on the sample points of the data to characterize the local data behavior. Since this method does not focus on outlier detection, the outliers are produced as by-products and it is not optimized for outlier detection.
Distribution-based methods \cite{shekhar2003unified} applies machine learning techniques to estimate a probability distribution over the data and develop a statistical test to detect outliers. These methods use all dimensions to define a neighborhood for comparison and typically do not distinguish non-spatial attributes from spatial attributes.
In the context of data streams, a line of research has been devoted to develop efficient outlier detection techniques \cite{subramaniam2006online, pokrajac2007incremental, elahi2008efficient, angiulli2007detecting, aggarwal2011outlier, sadik2014research}. But their main focus is to solve the problem of event detection in sensor network \cite{subramaniam2006online}, query processing \cite{angiulli2007detecting, pokrajac2007incremental}, clustering \cite{elahi2008efficient}, and graph outliers \cite{aggarwal2011outlier}. Therefore, these methods cannot be easily generalized to region outlier detection problems. In addition, the problem of blob detection presents a special challenge, because the spatiotemporal attributes of the blob-filaments has to be considered together to study their various characteristics including speed, direction, movement, and size. More importantly, these methods are mostly single-threaded which cannot cope with real-time requirements in fusion plasma.
A number of distributed outlier detection methods have also been studied in \cite{subramaniam2006online, dutta2007distributed, lozano2005parallel, otey2006fast, hung2002parallel}. Most of these methods are seeking an efficient way to parallelize classical outlier detection methods such as distance-based outliers \cite{hung2002parallel,lozano2005parallel}, distribution-based outliers \cite{subramaniam2006online}, density-based outliers \cite{lozano2005parallel}, density-based outliers \cite{otey2006fast}, and PCA-based techniques \cite{dutta2007distributed}. However, there methods are not generally applicable to region outlier detection and tracking. In particular, in order to tackle high volume and velocity challenges arising from fusion plasma big data, specialized outlier detection scheme and suitable high performance computing technique are demanded to complete blob detection in the order of milliseconds.
In the first two steps of our proposed approach, we apply distribution-based outlier detection to detect outlier points by considering only non-spatial attributes and then leverage fast CCL to construct the region outliers by taking into account spatial-attributes. We choose distribution-based outlier detection since it can solve the problem of finding outliers efficiently if an accurate approximation of a data distribution can be properly found \cite{shekhar2003unified,subramaniam2006online}. Normally the distribution of the stream data may change over time \cite{Gupta2014Outlier}. However, this assumption may not hold in fusion experiments since a fusion experiment lasts very short time period from a few seconds to hundreds of seconds. Therefore, we consider the simpler problem of fixed distribution parameters, noting that several fusion devices have shown similar distribution functions of blob events. Then we can perform exploratory data analysis to compute best fitted distribution parameters offline and then build an accurate online distribution model. We leave the more complicated problem of real-time distribution estimation for future work.
\subsection{Blob Detection in Fusion Plasma}
\label{subsec:Blob Detection in Fusion Plasma}
Independently, fusion blob detection problems have been researched by the physics community in the context of coherent structures in fusion plasma \cite{d2011convective}. Various post-run blob detection methods have been proposed to identify and track these structures, to study the impact of the size, movement and dynamics of blobs. A plasma blob is most commonly determined by some threshold, computed statistically in the local plasma density signal
\cite{xu2012turbulent,fuchert2013influence,zweben1985search}.
However, the exact criteria have varied from one experiment to another, which reflects the intrinsic variability and complexity of the blob structures. In \cite{xu2012turbulent}, a conditional averaging approach is applied to analyze spatio-temporal fluctuation data.
When the vorticity is larger than one standard deviation at some time frame, a blob is considered to be detected by the probe.
In \cite{fuchert2013influence}, the conditional averaging technique is also used to study the evolution of the blob-filaments using Langmuir probes and a fast camera.
Without using a conditional averaging technique, \cite{zweben1985search} searches for blob structures can be done using local measurements of the 2D density data obtained from a 2D probe array. Identification of a blob is based on the choices of several constraints such as the threshold intensity level, the minimum distance of blob movement, and the maximum allowed blob movement between successive frames. The trajectories of the different blobs can be computed with the blob centers based on identification results in each time frame. The seminal work by Zweben, et. al.\cite{zweben1985search} was the first attempt to take only individual time frame data into account to detect blobs and track their movements, although the process of identification of a blob was somewhat arbitrary and oversimplified.
Due to the emergence of fast cameras and beam emission spectroscopy in the last decade, the situations of insufficient diagnostic access and limited spatial and temporal resolution have been greatly improved. In the context of computer version, a number of methods have been developed to tackle blob detection problem, which is aimed to detect points or regions in the image that either brighter or darker than the surrounding \cite{kong2013generalized}. Among them, scale-space methods based on the Laplacian of Gaussian \cite{laptev2003space, lindeberg1998feature, collins2003mean} and Watershed detection methods based on local extrema in the intensity landscape \cite{vincent1991watersheds} are two main classes of blob detectors. In \cite{love2007image}, Love and Kumath made the first attempt to apply an image analysis using Watershed techniques for identifying blobs in fusion plasma. The images are first processed to remove the noise spikes, followed by further smoothing using a Gaussian filter, and then identified by various image segmentation techniques.
However, due to noise and lack of a ground truth image, this approach can be sensitive to the setting of parameters, and it is hard to use generic method for all images. In addition, the output from visualization is not convenient to feed into other analysis \cite{wu2011finding}. The regions of interest computed from this work can be more conveniently fed into other analyses. For instance, one can compute blobs in the regions of interest very quickly and transmit these compact meta information over internet to remote domain scientists for real-time analysis.
Recently, several researchers \cite{davis2014fast,kube2013blob,myra2013edge} have developed a blob-tracking algorithm that uses raw fast camera data directly with GPI technique. In \cite{davis2014fast,myra2013edge}, they leverage a contouring method, database techniques and image analysis software to track the blob motion and changes in the structure of blobs. After normalizing each frame by an average frame created from roughly one thousand frames around the target time frame, the resulting images are contoured and the closed contours satisfying certain size constraints are determined as blobs. Then, an ellipse is fitted to the contour midway between the smallest level contours and the peak. All information about blobs are added into a SQL database for more data analysis. This method is close to our approach but it can not be used for real-time blob detection since they compute time-averaged intensity to normalize the local intensity. Additionally, only closed contours are treated as blobs, which may miss blobs at the edges of the regions of interest. Finally, these methods are still post-run-analysis, which cannot provide real-time feedback in fusion experiments.
\section{Our proposed approach}
\label{sec:Our proposed approach}
Given a fusion data stream, which consists of a time ordered sequence of sample frames that arrive continuously from fusion experiments or numerical simulations through remote direct memory access protocols. Our data sets are simulated electron density from the fusion simulation code XGC1 \cite{chang2009compressed,ku2009full}. In the present data sets, simulation data is captured every 2.5 microseconds for a total time window of 2.5 milliseconds. Each point $s_i \in S$ in a time frame $t$ has a spatial attribute $(r,z,t)$ which defines its location in a triangulated measurement grid, and some non-spatial attributes including all important plasma quantities such as electron density $n_e(r,z,t)$ as well as connectivity information in a poloidal plane. The spatial neighborhoods are defined for each point from the connectivity database in a triangulated grid. Formally, an region outlier responding to a blob is defined as a spatial area in the regions of interest where a subset $B_i \subseteq S$ is a group of connected points $s_i$.
\begin{figure}[!t]
\centering
\includegraphics[width=1.5in]{PosterFigResource/TwoPhaseOutlierDect}
\caption{Two-phase region outlier detection for finding blobs}
\label{fig:Two-phase region outlier detection}
\end{figure}
\begin{figure}[!t]
\centering
\begin{subfigure}[b]{0.24\textwidth}
\includegraphics[width=\textwidth]{PosterFigResource/Region-eps-converted-to.pdf}
\caption{Regions of interest}
\label{fig:Region of interests}
\end{subfigure}
\begin{subfigure}[b]{0.24\textwidth}
\includegraphics[width=\textwidth]{PosterFigResource/RefinedMeshvertexes-eps-converted-to.pdf}
\caption{Refined mesh}
\label{fig:Refined and original vertices}
\end{subfigure}
\caption{An example of the regions of interest and the comparison between refined and original triangular mesh vertices in the R (radial) direction and the Z (poloidal) direction.}
\label{fig:region and refined mesh}
\end{figure}
Our overall goal is to develop an approach to detect and track spatial region outliers (blobs) over time using a stream of fusion data. To achieve this, we break down the process into three steps: (1) find outlier points in the region of interests, (2) group these outlier points as different region outliers, and (3) track these regions outliers by the overlapping in space. We address the first two steps by presenting a two-phase approach, as shown in Figure \ref{fig:Two-phase region outlier detection}. In the first phase, we apply a distribution-based outlier detection algorithm to the fusion data stream in order to detect outlier points which have significantly higher non-spatial attributes than other points. The outputs of this step are tuples $(s_i, n_e(r_i,z_i,t))$, the 2D spatial attributes, and non-spatial attributes such as electron density. These tuples, as well as connectivity information, are used as input for the second phase, where region outlier are detected by applying a fast CCL \cite{wu2009optimizing} to efficiently find different connected components on the triangular mesh. The outputs of the CCL-based region outlier detection algorithm are a set of connected components with outlier points inside, which are associated with blobs if some criteria are satisfied. We address the last step by proposing an efficient blob tracking algorithm by leveraging cues from changes of blobs area and distance of center of blobs. Note that, by varying the first step, this procedure could be applying to different applications.
In the following section, we describe the proposed two-phase region outlier detection in detail.
\subsection{Distribution-Based Outlier detection}
\label{subsec:Distribution-Based Outlier detection}
The main task of this phase is to perform efficient outlier detection to determine outlier points which form the region outliers associated with blobs. To facilitate this goal, we propose a novel distribution-based outlier detection algorithm based on the electron density with various criteria for fusion plasma data streams. We separate spatial attributes from non-spatial attributes and consider the statistical distribution of the non-spatial attributes to develop a test based on distribution properties, since it is more suitable for detecting spatial outliers \cite{shekhar2003unified}. As claimed in \cite{subramaniam2006online}, it is very efficient to find outliers by using a data distribution approximation if we estimate the underlying distribution of data accurately. Values for various criteria are determined by domain experts or subjectively by examining the resulting plotting and adjusting them until satisfied.
In the proposed outlier detection we firstly preprocess the sample frame to compute needed quantities in the region of interests, as shown in Figure \ref{fig:Region of interests}. Then it is analyzed by normalizing the total electron density $n_e(r,z,t)$ (which includes fluctuations) with respect to the initial background electron density, $n_e(r,z,1)$ (if using real diagnostic data from, e.g. GPI, actual emission intensity $I(r,z,t)$ would be used instead of electron density). Note that using the initial time frame as the benchmark is an important factor to achieve real-time blob detection. The normalized electron density in the subsequent time frames can be easily computed, especially compared to the time-average electron density with a long time interval \cite{myra2013edge}.
\begin{algorithm}
\caption{Triangular mesh refinement algorithm}
\label{alg:triangular mesh refinement algorithm}
\begin{algorithmic}[1]
\STATEx \textbf{Input/output:}
\STATEx \quad $triGrid$: connectivity array of the triangular mesh
\STATEx \quad $(r,z)$: spatial coordinate of each point
\STATEx \quad $n_e$: normalized electron density of each point
\STATE Compute unique edges $E$ and indices vector $I_E$ by sorting and removing duplicates based on $triGrid$
\STATE Compute spatial coordinate of each new vertices in the middle of $E$ based on $(r,z)$
\STATE Compute electron density of each new vertices on $E$ by performing linear interpolation based on $n_e$
\STATE Compute indices for each new vertices by adding vector index $I_E$ with the number of original points
\STATE Compute a new triangular mesh by assigning appropriate indices from each new and old vertices
\end{algorithmic}
\end{algorithm}
\begin{figure}[t!]
\centering
\begin{subfigure}[b]{0.24\textwidth}
\includegraphics[width=\textwidth]{PosterFigResource/density_fit_gev-eps-converted-to.pdf}
\caption{Extreme Value}
\label{fig: Extreme Value Distribution}
\end{subfigure}
\begin{subfigure}[b]{0.24\textwidth}
\includegraphics[width=\textwidth]{PosterFigResource/density_fit_lognormal-eps-converted-to.pdf}
\caption{Log Normal}
\label{fig: Log Normal Distribution}
\end{subfigure}
\caption{An example of exploratory data analysis to analyze the underlying distribution of the local normalized density over all poloidal planes and time frames.}
\label{fig:exploratory data analysis}
\end{figure}
To obtain meaningful region outliers using the CCL method, it is necessary to have fine grained connectivity information. This particular simulation mesh has coarse vertical resolution, so resolution enhancement techniques are applied to generate a higher resolution triangular mesh based on the original triangulated mesh.
As shown in Algorithm \ref{alg:triangular mesh refinement algorithm}, the resulting triangular mesh is refined to achieve four times better granularity. We split each original triangle into four smaller ones by linking three middle points of the original mesh edges in each triangle. The corresponding density of generated vertices can be obtained using linear interpolation of the original triangular mesh. This step can be applied recursively until the satisfactory resolution of the triangular mesh is computed. Figure \ref{fig:Refined and original vertices} shows the resulting triangular mesh vertices after applying the triangular mesh refinement algorithm once.
In order to apply an appropriate predefined quantile in two-phase distribution-based outlier detection, it is advised to perform exploratory data analysis to exploit main characteristics of the data sets. Figure \ref{fig:exploratory data analysis} reveals that extreme value distribution and log normal distribution are fitted best with one of our sample data sets (after comparing over sixteen different common distributions). After analyzing the underlying distribution, a novel outlier detection is performed to determine outlier points in the regions of interest. The basic idea of the proposed two-step outlier detection is motivated from the observations that there are relatively high density areas (a half banded ellipse area with cyan color) in the edge and several significantly high density small regions (a few small areas with reddish yellow color) in these relatively high density areas, as shown in Figure \ref{fig:density_regions}. The proposed outlier detection method extends the previous approach that applies statistical detection with conditional averaging intensity value \cite{xu2012turbulent, fuchert2013influence}, and applies more intelligent outlier detection with only considering individual time frame data. Compared to traditional single threshold segmentation approach, our approach is more generic, flexible and easier to tune a satisfactory result.
In the first step, the standard deviation $\sigma$ and the expected value $\mu$ are computed over all sixteen poloidal planes in one time frame. Using the best fitted distribution, we apply first step outlier detection to identify the relative high density areas with a specified predefined quantile:
\begin{equation}
N(r_i,z_i,t) - \mu > \alpha \ast \sigma, \forall(r_i,z_i) \in \Gamma
\end{equation}
where $N$ is the normalized electron density, $\alpha$ is the multiple of $\sigma$ associated to the specified predefined quantile and $\Gamma$ is the domain in the region of interests. Once the relative high density regions are determined, we compute another standard deviation $\sigma_2$ and the expected value $\mu_2$ in these areas. Then we employ second step outlier detection to identify the outlier points in the relative high density areas with an appropriately chosen predefined quantile:
\begin{equation}
N(r_i,z_i,t) - \mu_2 > \beta \ast \sigma_2, \forall(r_i,z_i) \in \Gamma_2
\end{equation}
where $\beta$ is the multiple of $\sigma_2$ associated to the judiciously chosen confidence level and $\Gamma_2$ is the domain of blob candidates. In practice, $\alpha$ and $\beta$ can be chosen to be same or different, depending on the characteristics of blob-filaments. In our experience, the $\alpha$ value is generally greater than $\beta$ since the standard deviation $\sigma$ over the region of interests is much smaller than the standard deviation $\sigma_2$ from the relative high density areas.
However, two-step outlier detection alone cannot be used to distinguish the blob candidates since identified blob candidates may actually have small density, which does not satisfy traditional definition of blobs. Therefore, the density of the mesh points in the outlier points smaller than a certain minimum absolute value criterion need to be filtered out. On the other hand, it is also possible that the middle areas between surrounding plasmas and outlier points have density higher than the given minimum absolute value criterion. Thus, we also apply a minimum relative value criterion to remove these unwanted points. To combine these two rules together, we have a more robust and flexible criterion:
\begin{equation}
N(r_i,z_i,t) > \textbf{max}(d_{ma}, (d_{mr} \ast \mu_2 )), \forall(r_i,z_i) \in \Gamma_3
\end{equation}
where $d_{ma}$ and $d_{mr}$ are minimum absolute value and minimum relative value respectively, and $\Gamma_3$ is the domain of good blob candidates.
\subsection{CCL-Based Region Outlier Detection}
\label{subsec:CCL-Based Region Outlier Detection}
The main task of the second phase is to apply an efficient connected component labeling algorithm adopted from \cite{wu2009optimizing} on a refined triangular mesh to find different blob candidate components. A connected component labeling algorithm generally considers the problem of labeling binary 2D images with either 4-connectedness or 8-connectedness. It performs an efficient scanning technique, and fills the label array labels so that the neighboring object pixels have the same label. Wu \cite{wu2009optimizing} presents an efficient two-pass labeling algorithm that is much faster than other state-of-the-art methods and theoretically optimal. However, since we process a refined triangular mesh rather than the traditional 2D images, we have modified their CCL algorithm to take the special features of a triangular mesh into account. As shown in Algorithm \ref{alg:connected component labeling algorithm on triangular mesh}, each triangle is scanned first rather than a point. Since we know the three vertices in a triangle are connected, we can reduce unnecessary memory accesses once any vertex in a triangle is found to be connected with another vertex in a different triangle. Then we compute the current minimum parent label in this triangle, and assign each vertex a parent label if its label has already filled or a label if its label has not initialized yet. If all three vertices in a triangle are scanned for the first time, then a new label number is issued and assigned to their labels and the associated parent label. After the label array is filled full, we need flatten the union and find tree. Finally, a second pass is performed to correct labels in the label array, and all blob candidates components are found. Note that to perform efficient union-find operations, the union-find data structure is implemented with a single array as suggested in \cite{wu2009optimizing}.
\begin{algorithm}[h!]
\caption{Connected component labeling algorithm on triangular mesh to find various blob candidates components}
\label{alg:connected component labeling algorithm on triangular mesh}
\begin{algorithmic}[1]
\STATEx \textbf{Input:}
\STATEx \quad $triGrid$: connectivity array of the triangular mesh
\STATEx \textbf{Output:}
\STATEx \quad $B_c$: Region structure of each blob candidate
\STATE Initialize $label$, $parentLabel$, and $labnum$
\FOR{Scanning each triangle until the end of $triGrid$}
\IF{$label$ of three vertices are all zero}
\STATE{Assign a new $labnum$ to all three vertices}
\STATE{Update $label$ and $parentLabel$ with $labnum$}
\ELSE
\STATE{Find the minimum $parentLabel$ of all three vertices}
\STATE{Update their $label$ and $parentLabel$ with this value}
\ENDIF
\ENDFOR
\FOR{Scanning until the end of $parentLabel$}
\STATE{Update $parentLabel$ by flattening union-find tree}
\ENDFOR
\FOR{Scanning until the end of $Label$}
\STATE{Update $Label$ with latest $parentLabel$}
\ENDFOR
\STATE{Find each $B_c$ of points with same $parentLabel$}
\end{algorithmic}
\end{algorithm}
After all blob candidates are determined, a blob is claimed to be found if the median of a blob candidate component satisfies a certain minimum absolute median value criterion. The reason we are setting this constraint to select the blobs is that the minimum value criterion has to be a reasonably small value in order to produce more blob candidate components. It is possible that if the minimum absolute median value criterion is too large, it may also remove the blobs. On the other hand, it is also possible if this value is too small, it does not have effect on filtering out unwanted components. Therefore, with the same philosophy of measurement, a minimum relative median value criterion is also applied to determine the blobs. However, in order to protect the blobs from being removed due to the extremely large mean value $\mu_2$, we also set the maximum absolute median value criterion to limit the power of minimum relative median value criterion. We unify these three rules to be one:
\begin{multline}
N(r_i,z_i,t) > \textbf{max}(\hat{d}_{ma}, min((\hat{d}_{mr} \ast \mu_2 ), \hat{d}_{xa})), \\
\forall(r_i,z_i) \in \Gamma_4
\end{multline}
where $\hat{d}_{ma}$, $\hat{d}_{mr}$ and $\hat{d}_{xa}$ are minimum absolute and relative median values and maximum absolute median value respectively and $\Gamma_4$ is the domain of blobs.
\subsection{Tracking Region Outliers}
\label{subsec:Tracking Region Outliers}
The objective of the third step is to track the direction and speed of the detected blobs over time. The blob tracking algorithm has to cope with the problem of tracking multiple region outliers simultaneously even when the blobs merge together or split into separated ones. On the other hand, the blob tracking method should be simple and efficient to meet real-time requirements. To achieve this goal, we propose an efficient blob tracking algorithm by leveraging cues from changes of blobs area and distance of center of blobs. We compute the correspondence between previously tracked blobs and currently detected blobs, and then recover the trajectories of the tracked blobs.
To identify the location center of detected blob, we compute the density-weighted average of the spatial coordinates of each point inside a blob.
\begin{equation}
(r_c, z_c) = \dfrac{1}{M}\sum_{i=1}^{n} (r,z) n_e
\end{equation}
where $M$ is summation of $n_e$ of all points in a blob. The density-weighted average is used to better capture the center of density of a blob. We track the movement of these detected blobs by linking the centers in consecutive time frames. In order to obtain the boundary of region outliers (blobs), we compute the convex hull \cite{chan1996optimal} of a set of points in a blob. The area of a blob is computed by counting the number of points in a blob.
\begin{algorithm}[h!]
\caption{Efficient blob tracking algorithm}
\label{alg:Efficient blob tracking algorithm}
\begin{algorithmic}[1]
\STATEx \textbf{Input:}
\STATEx \quad $B$: Current detected blobs
\STATEx \quad $T$: Previous blob tracks
\STATEx \textbf{Output:}
\STATEx \quad $T$: Updated blob tracks with $B$ appended
\STATE Initialize $hull$, $cen$, and $area$
\STATE $hull$ = getBoundary($B$)
\STATE $cen$ = getCenter($B$)
\STATE $area$ = getArea($B$)
\FOR{Scanning until the end of $B$}
\STATE{$cenDis$ = getCenterDis($B$,$T$)}
\STATE{$areaDif$ = getAreaDif($B$,$T$)}
\IF{$cenDis$ $\leq$ maxJump $\wedge$ $areaDif$ $\leq$ maxDif}
\STATE{Find a blob track $T$ with smallest $cenDis$}
\STATE{Append current blob into this blob track $T$}
\ENDIF
\ENDFOR
\STATE{Update $T$ with $hull$, $cen$, $area$, and computed $speed$}
\end{algorithmic}
\end{algorithm}
As shown in Algorithm \ref{alg:Efficient blob tracking algorithm}, the input parameters are current detected blobs and the previous blob tracks. The data structure of a blob track is composed of the track ID, the length of track, the area of previous blob, the time-stamps, the center points, the boundary points, and the velocity. There are two heuristics to verify whether a blob is associated with an existing blob track. The first heuristic is based on the fact that the area of a blob between consecutive time frames cannot decrease or increase significantly. The second heuristic takes into account the distance of the centers of a blob does not change dramatically over very short time period (microseconds). The proper thresholds for these two heuristics are provided by domain experts. Since blobs can appear, disappear, merge together or split, a greedy scheme is applied to find the best matching pair of blob and track based on closest distance of the centers of current detected blob and the latest blob in a blob track. Based on computed correspondence between a blob track and the currently detected blobs, existing blob tracks are automatically processed through corresponding operations such as adding a blob into a track, creating a new track, and a track ending. If the length of a track is smaller than 3 consecutive time frames, the track will be treated an anomaly and deleted due to errors in data or inappropriate blob detection thresholds. The speed and direction of the blobs can thus be computed from two consecutive center points. Finally, we can recover the trajectories of the tracked blobs by monitoring the movement of blob centers.
\section{A real-time blob detection approach}
\label{sec:A real-time blob detection approach}
Existing blob detection approaches cannot tackle the two challenges of the large amount of data produced in a shot and the real-time requirement. In addition, existing data analysis<|fim_middle|> complete blob detection in two or three milliseconds using a cluster at NERSC.
We are currently working on integrating our blob detection algorithm into the ICEE system for consuming fusion plasma data streams where the blob detection function is used in a central data analysis component and the resulting detection results are monitored and controlled from portable devices, such as an iPad. We plan to test the proposed method in both simulations and real fusion experiments.
\ifCLASSOPTIONcompsoc
\section*{Acknowledgments}
\else
\section*{Acknowledgment}
\fi
The authors would like to thank the referees for their valuable comments. This work was supported by the Office of Advanced Scientific Computing Research, Office of Science, of the U.S. Department of Energy under Contract No. DE-AC02-05CH11231 and partially supported by NSF under grants No. CCF 1218349 and ACI SI2-SSE 1440700, and by DOE under a grant No. DE-FC02-12ER41890. The blobby plasma turbulence simulation was performed using resources of the Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility, which is a DOE Office of Science User Facility supported under Contract DE-AC05-00OR22.
\ifCLASSOPTIONcaptionsoff
\newpage
\fi
\bibliographystyle{IEEEtran}
| approaches are often operated in a single thread, only for post-run analysis and often take a few hours to generate the results \cite{muller2006probabilistic}. In order to meet the real-time feedback requirement, we address these challenges by developing a high performance blob detection approach, which can leverage in situ raw data and find blob-filaments efficiently in fusion experiments or numerical simulations.
\subsection{A hybrid MPI/OpenMP parallelization}
The key idea is to exploit many cores in a large cluster system by running MPI to allocate $n$ processes to process the data in one or several time frames at the high level, and by leveraging OpenMP to accelerate the computations using $m$ threads at the low level. Figure \ref{fig: blob_hybridChat} shows our hybrid MPI/OpenMP parallelization for blob detection. Using this approach, we can complete our blob detection in a few milliseconds with in situ evaluation.
\begin{figure}[!t]
\centering
\includegraphics[scale=0.12]{PosterFigResource/blob_hybridChat.pdf}
\caption{Hybrid MPI/OpenMP parallelization}
\label{fig: blob_hybridChat}
\end{figure}
In order to achieve blob detection in real time, the goal is to minimize data movements in the memory and speed up computation. Ideally, the performance is optimal without any communication if we can perform the job correctly. The proposed blob detection algorithm in the previous section supports embarrassingly parallel since we only need the initial time frame and the target time frame to do the computation. This is an important difference between our blob detection method and recently developed methods \cite{davis2014fast,myra2013edge} in terms of real-time requirement. Furthermore, we explore many-core processor architectures to speed up the computation of each MPI task by taking full advantage of multithreading in the shared memory. Therefore, our real-time blob detection approach based on hybrid MPI/OpenMP parallelization is a natural choice and is expected to provide the optimal performance for fusion plasma data streams.
A practical interesting issue is how to tune the number of MPI processes and OpenMP threads for the best performance by taking both analysis speed and memory size into account. As shown in Figure \ref{fig:performance of hybrid MPI/OpenMP parallelization}, we vary the number of MPI processes and OpenMP threads but fix the total number to be 24 for investigating the performance when processing the same amount of time frames data. A faster analysis speed is achieved when increasing the number of MPI processes since more data frames can be processed simultaneously. On the other hand, the analysis speed remains constant with a few OpenMP threads and degrades with more OpenMP threads due to lack of enough computation in one time frame. However, more OpenMP threads could significantly reduce the memory demands. Therefore, in this study, we choose the number of OpenMP threads to be four for each MPI task, to achieve a good trade off between analysis speed and memory savings.
\begin{figure}[!h]
\centering
\includegraphics[width=3.0in]{PosterFigResource/blob_bandwith_time-eps-converted-to.pdf}
\caption{Investigate the performance of hybrid MPI/OpenMP parallelization when varying number of MPI processes and OpenMP threads. The blue triangle denotes only normalized blob detection time. The red star denotes the normalized total time including both blob detection time and initial communication time for broadcasting the first time frame to all analysis nodes for normalization.}
\label{fig:performance of hybrid MPI/OpenMP parallelization}
\end{figure}
\subsection{Outline of the implementation}
We implement our blob detection algorithm in C with a hybrid MPI/OpenMP parallelization. Algorithm \ref{alg:real-time outlier detection algorithm for finding blobs} summarizes the proposed blob detection algorithm without considering OpenMP. Users can specify the regions of interest by (Rmin, Rmax, Zmin, Zmax), the range of target time frames by (t\_start, t\_end), and the location of the data sets. However, with in situ evaluation, there is no need to specify the file location since all data are already in memory. We use static scheduling to evenly divide the number of time frames for each MPI task for efficiency. The $n$ MPI processes are allocated to process one or several time frames and $m$ OpenMP threads are launched to accelerate the computation in one time frame. Note that the MPI process is also the master thread in the runtime environment. At the beginning, the initial time frame data is broadcasted to all MPI processes so that normalization can be performed with new coming time frames. Then each MPI process embarrassingly process the data in each time frame with multithreading in the shared memory. Only detected blobs information are maintained and added into local database. Since these local blobs information are very compact, they can be efficiently transmitted over internet to remote servers for real-time analysis by domain scientists.
\begin{algorithm}
\caption{A real-time blob detection approach}
\begin{algorithmic}[1]
\STATEx \textbf{Input:}
\STATEx \quad Rmin, Rmax, Zmin, Zmax: specify region of interest
\STATEx \quad t\_start, t\_end : start and end time frames
\STATEx \quad FileDir: location where data sets locate
\STATEx \textbf{Output:}
\STATEx \quad $B$: Detected region outliers (blobs)
\STATE Apply static scheduling to assign equal amount of $n$ time frames data to each MPI process
\STATE Broadcast the initial time frame to all MPI processes
\FOR{$t = 1:n$}
\STATE Process $i$ loads raw data in one frame and computes normalized density $n_e(r,z,t)$ in region of interest
\STATE Refine the triangular mesh. See Algorithm \ref{alg:triangular mesh refinement algorithm}
\STATE Apply two-phase distribution-based outlier detection to identify outliers with various criteria
\STATE Apply CCL-based region outlier detection on a triangular mesh to find blob components. See Algorithm \ref{alg:connected component labeling algorithm on triangular mesh}
\STATE A blob is added into $B$ if certain criteria is satisfied
\ENDFOR
\end{algorithmic}
\label{alg:real-time outlier detection algorithm for finding blobs}
\end{algorithm}
\section{Experiments and Results}
In this section we present experimental evaluations of our blob detection and tracking algorithms, and report the performance of the real-time blob detection under both strong and weak scaling. Before showing experimental results in the next section, we briefly introduce our experimental environment, data sets, and parameter setting in our blob detection and tracking algorithms. We have tested our implementation on the NERSC's newest supercomputer Edison, where each compute node has two Intel ``Ivy Bridge'' processors (2.4GHz with 12 cores) and 64 GB of memory. Our base data sets are simulation data sets with 1024 time frames based on the XGC1 simulation \cite{chang2009compressed}\cite{ku2009full} from the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, which last around 2.5 milliseconds. One of our main goals is that we can control analysis speed by varying the number of processes to complete the blob detection on the entire data set in a time close to 2.5 milliseconds. It would indicate that our algorithm could monitor fusion experiments in real time (neglecting data transfer latency). If we consider internet transfer latency in real experiments or numerical simulation, the system needs at least 1 to 25 milliseconds to transfer one time frame data depending on size of data, which may give us more time for data analysis.
Another goal is to validate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithms. In Algorithm \ref{alg:real-time outlier detection algorithm for finding blobs}, we apply various criteria to identify the blobs. The parameters for blob detection and tracking in our experiments are given in Table \ref{ta: blob criteria}. One criterion we have not mentioned in the previous section is parameter ``minArea''. This parameter is used to decide how many points a blob should have, which is used to remove impossibly small blobs. In our experiment, this parameter is set to three since there are at least three vertices connected as a 2D component in a triangular mesh. Another criteria are parameters ``maxFrames'' and ``minFrames'', which are used to control the length of a blob track and remove noisy tracks. It is important to note that these parameters need to be tuned in order to achieve optimal performance in different fusion experiments or numerical simulations. The reasons for this uncertainty in the context of blob detection are from the intrinsic variability and complexity of the blob structures observed in different experiments \cite{d2011convective}.
\begin{table}[htbp]
\centering
\caption{Parameters setting for the proposed blob detection and tracking algorithms on XGC1 simulation data sets}
\label{ta: blob criteria}
\small
\begin{center}
\begin{tabular}{ |rr|rr|}
\hline
\multicolumn{2}{|c}{{\tt detection criteria}}
& \multicolumn{2}{c|}{{\tt tracking criteria}} \\ \hline
minArea & 3 & maxAreaChange & 25 \\
minRden ($d_{ma}$) & 1.2 & maxJump & 0.04 \\
minAbsden ($d_{mr}$) & 2.05 & maxFrames & 100 \\
maxAbsMden ($\hat d_{xa}$) & 2.75 & minFrames & 3\\
minMden ($\hat d_{ma}$) & 1.3 & &\\
minAbsMden ($\hat d_{mr}$) & 2.15 & &\\ \hline
\end{tabular}
\end{center}
\end{table}
\subsection{Performance comparison}
\label{subsec:Performance comparison}
We first conduct experiments to compare our method with recently developed state-of-the-art blob detection methods in \cite{davis2014fast,myra2013edge}. Since their methods are based on the contouring methods and thresholding, we call their methods the contouring-based methods. We have to point out that strictly quantitative comparisons are not possible since the blob itself is not well-defined \cite{d2011convective}. Due to this reason, there are rarely direct comparisons between any new proposed method and existing ones in the literature in the domain of fusion plasma \cite{xu2012turbulent,fuchert2013influence,zweben1985search, muller2006probabilistic,love2007image,davis2014fast,kube2013blob, myra2013edge}. However, in order to demonstrate that our methods is more robust than the contouring-based methods, we compare these two methods in two typical cases to shed light on their performance in terms of the detection accuracy.
Figure \ref{fig:comparing our region outlier detection method with the Contouring-based methods} shows the comparison of the blob detection results between our region outlier detection method and the contouring-based methods in two different time frames. As shown in Figures \ref{fig:contouring method in time frame 45} and \ref{fig:region outlier detection method in time frame 45}, we can see that our region outlier detection method does not miss detecting the blob at the edge of the regions of interest while the contouring-based methods fail the detection. The reason is that the contouring-based methods require the computed contours are closed, which do not exist at the edge of the regions of interest. In Figures \ref{fig:contouring method in time frame 87} and \ref{fig:region outlier detection method in time frame 87}, we notice that our region outlier detection method can accurately detect all blobs. However, the contouring-based methods either yield the blobs with incorrect areas (much larger or smaller), or misdetect the wrong area as a blob. This is because that it is hard to use one single threshold to identify the blobs for various time frames even in the same experimental data. Our region outlier detection method does not have such problem since we use more flexible distribution-based outlier detection.
\begin{figure*}[t!]
\centering
\begin{subfigure}[b]{0.42\textwidth}
\includegraphics[width=\textwidth]{PosterFigResource/bolb45_Contour-eps-converted-to.pdf}
\caption{Contouring-based methods}
\label{fig:contouring method in time frame 45}
\end{subfigure}
\begin{subfigure}[b]{0.40\textwidth}
\includegraphics[width=\textwidth]{PosterFigResource/bolb45_CCL-eps-converted-to.pdf}
\caption{Region outlier detection method}
\label{fig:region outlier detection method in time frame 45}
\end{subfigure}
\begin{subfigure}[b]{0.40\textwidth}
\includegraphics[width=\textwidth]{PosterFigResource/bolb87_Contour-eps-converted-to.pdf}
\caption{Contouring-based methods}
\label{fig:contouring method in time frame 87}
\end{subfigure}
\begin{subfigure}[b]{0.40\textwidth}
\includegraphics[width=\textwidth]{PosterFigResource/bolb87_CCL-eps-converted-to.pdf}
\caption{Region outlier detection method}
\label{fig:region outlier detection method in time frame 87}
\end{subfigure}
\caption{Two examples of comparing our region outlier detection method with the Contouring-based methods in the R (radial) direction and the Z (poloidal) direction. The separatrix position is shown by a white line and the different pink and blue circles denote blobs.}
\label{fig:comparing our region outlier detection method with the Contouring-based methods}
\end{figure*}
\subsection{More blob detection results}
\label{subsec:More blob detection results}
We perform more experiments to comprehensively examine the blob detection results in five continuous time frames and four different poloidal planes as shown in Figure \ref{fig:blob detection}. As we can see from the figure, our region outlier detection method can provide consistently good results in different situations. In addition, our method does not miss any blobs at the edge of the regions of interest, as shown in subfigures \ref{fig:Time frame 83 and poloidal plane 1}, \ref{fig:Time frame 83 and poloidal plane 2}, \ref{fig:Time frame 84 and poloidal plane 1} and \ref{fig:Time frame 84 and poloidal plane 2}. It is interesting to see that large-scale blob structures are often generated, which could cause substantial plasma transport \cite{zweben1985search}. As pointed out in \cite{xu2006multiscale}, these large-scale structures are mainly contributed by the low-frequency and long-wavelength fluctuating components, which may be responsible for the observations of long-range correlations. We also noticed that different poloidal planes may display significant diversity in edge turbulence, even in the same time frame. We have shown that we are able to effectively detect the blobs and reveal some interesting results to help physicists improve their understanding of the characteristic of blobs and their correlation with other plasma properties.
\begin{figure*}
\centering
\begin{subfigure}[b]{0.19\textwidth}
\includegraphics[width=\textwidth]{PosterFigResource/time82-eps-converted-to.pdf}
\caption{Frame 82 and plane 1}
\label{fig:Time frame 82 and poloidal plane 1}
\end{subfigure}
\begin{subfigure}[b]{0.19\textwidth}
\includegraphics[width=\textwidth]{PosterFigResource/time83-eps-converted-to.pdf}
\caption{Frame 83 and plane 1}
\label{fig:Time frame 83 and poloidal plane 1}
\end{subfigure}
\begin{subfigure}[b]{0.19\textwidth}
\includegraphics[width=\textwidth]{PosterFigResource/time84-eps-converted-to.pdf}
\caption{Frame 84 and plane 1}
\label{fig:Time frame 84 and poloidal plane 1}
\end{subfigure}
\begin{subfigure}[b]{0.19\textwidth}
\includegraphics[width=\textwidth]{PosterFigResource/time85-eps-converted-to.pdf}
\caption{Frame 85 and plane 1}
\label{fig:Time frame 85 and poloidal plane 1}
\end{subfigure}
\begin{subfigure}[b]{0.19\textwidth}
\includegraphics[width=\textwidth]{PosterFigResource/time86-eps-converted-to.pdf}
\caption{Frame 86 and plane 1}
\label{fig:Time frame 86 and poloidal plane 1}
\end{subfigure}
\centering
\begin{subfigure}[b]{0.19\textwidth}
\includegraphics[width=\textwidth]{PosterFigResource/time82_plane2-eps-converted-to.pdf}
\caption{Frame 82 and plane 2}
\label{fig:Time frame 82 and poloidal plane 2}
\end{subfigure}
\begin{subfigure}[b]{0.19\textwidth}
\includegraphics[width=\textwidth]{PosterFigResource/time83_plane2-eps-converted-to.pdf}
\caption{Frame 83 and plane 2}
\label{fig:Time frame 83 and poloidal plane 2}
\end{subfigure}
\begin{subfigure}[b]{0.19\textwidth}
\includegraphics[width=\textwidth]{PosterFigResource/time84_plane2-eps-converted-to.pdf}
\caption{Frame 84 and plane 2}
\label{fig:Time frame 84 and poloidal plane 2}
\end{subfigure}
\begin{subfigure}[b]{0.19\textwidth}
\includegraphics[width=\textwidth]{PosterFigResource/time85_plane2-eps-converted-to.pdf}
\caption{Frame 85 and plane 2}
\label{fig:Time frame 85 and poloidal plane 2}
\end{subfigure}
\begin{subfigure}[b]{0.19\textwidth}
\includegraphics[width=\textwidth]{PosterFigResource/time86_plane2-eps-converted-to.pdf}
\caption{Frame 86 and plane 2}
\label{fig:Time frame 86 and poloidal plane 2}
\end{subfigure}
\begin{subfigure}[b]{0.19\textwidth}
\includegraphics[width=\textwidth]{PosterFigResource/time82_plane3-eps-converted-to.pdf}
\caption{Frame 82 and plane 3}
\label{fig:Time frame 82 and poloidal plane 3}
\end{subfigure}
\begin{subfigure}[b]{0.19\textwidth}
\includegraphics[width=\textwidth]{PosterFigResource/time83_plane3-eps-converted-to.pdf}
\caption{Frame 83 and plane 3}
\label{fig:Time frame 83 and poloidal plane 3}
\end{subfigure}
\begin{subfigure}[b]{0.19\textwidth}
\includegraphics[width=\textwidth]{PosterFigResource/time84_plane3-eps-converted-to.pdf}
\caption{Frame 84 and plane 3}
\label{fig:Time frame 84 and poloidal plane 3}
\end{subfigure}
\begin{subfigure}[b]{0.19\textwidth}
\includegraphics[width=\textwidth]{PosterFigResource/time85_plane3-eps-converted-to.pdf}
\caption{Frame 85 and plane 3}
\label{fig:Time frame 85 and poloidal plane 3}
\end{subfigure}
\begin{subfigure}[b]{0.19\textwidth}
\includegraphics[width=\textwidth]{PosterFigResource/time86_plane3-eps-converted-to.pdf}
\caption{Frame 86 and plane 3}
\label{fig:Time frame 86 and poloidal plane 3}
\end{subfigure}
\begin{subfigure}[b]{0.19\textwidth}
\includegraphics[width=\textwidth]{PosterFigResource/time82_plane4-eps-converted-to.pdf}
\caption{Frame 82 and plane 4}
\label{fig:Time frame 82 and poloidal plane 4}
\end{subfigure}
\begin{subfigure}[b]{0.19\textwidth}
\includegraphics[width=\textwidth]{PosterFigResource/time83_plane4-eps-converted-to.pdf}
\caption{Frame 83 and plane 4}
\label{fig:Time frame 83 and poloidal plane 4}
\end{subfigure}
\begin{subfigure}[b]{0.19\textwidth}
\includegraphics[width=\textwidth]{PosterFigResource/time84_plane4-eps-converted-to.pdf}
\caption{Frame 84 and plane 4}
\label{fig:Time frame 84 and poloidal plane 4}
\end{subfigure}
\begin{subfigure}[b]{0.19\textwidth}
\includegraphics[width=\textwidth]{PosterFigResource/time85_plane4-eps-converted-to.pdf}
\caption{Frame 85 and plane 4}
\label{fig:Time frame 85 and poloidal plane 4}
\end{subfigure}
\begin{subfigure}[b]{0.19\textwidth}
\includegraphics[width=\textwidth]{PosterFigResource/time86_plane4-eps-converted-to.pdf}
\caption{Frame 86 and plane 4}
\label{fig:Time frame 86 and poloidal plane 4}
\end{subfigure}
\caption{An example of the blob detection in five continuous time frames and four different poloidal planes in the R (radial) direction and the Z (poloidal) direction. The separatrix position is shown by a white line and the different blue circles denote blobs.}
\label{fig:blob detection}
\end{figure*}
\subsection{Blob tracking results}
\label{subsec:Blob tracking results}
We investigate the blob tracking results in two different situations. Figure \ref{fig:2D trajectory for detected blobs} exhibits a 2D trajectory of a blob. Again, the trajectory is generated by plotting the location of the density peak of the detected blobs over five consecutive time frames. We can see that our blob tracking algorithm can track two separate blobs simultaneously. The blob size can grow when they move towards confined plasma in the right region of separatrix. Figure \ref{fig:3D trajectory for detected blobs} shows a 3D trajectory for a detected blob over fifteen consecutive time frames. In this case, the blob seems to maintain its size for a few time frames, then gradually decreases, and eventually disappears. Through these interesting results, physicists may be able to understand the characteristics of blobs better.
\begin{figure*}[t!]
\centering
\begin{subfigure}[b]{0.40\textwidth}
\includegraphics[width=\textwidth]{PosterFigResource/trajectory2D-eps-converted-to.pdf}
\caption{2D trajectory for detected blobs}
\label{fig:2D trajectory for detected blobs}
\end{subfigure}
\begin{subfigure}[b]{0.40\textwidth}
\includegraphics[width=\textwidth]{PosterFigResource/trajectory3D-eps-converted-to.pdf}
\caption{3D trajectory for detected blobs}
\label{fig:3D trajectory for detected blobs}
\end{subfigure}
\caption{2D and 3D center trajectories for detected blobs over consecutive time frames. The red solid polygon indicates the starting times of the blobs tracked while the blue broken polygons indicate subsequent times of the same blobs tracked. The centers of the moving blobs are linked to show their trajectories of the blob motion. The pink line represents the separatrix.}
\label{fig:2D/3D trajectory for detected blobs}
\end{figure*}
\subsection{Real-time blob detection under strong scaling}
\label{subsec:Real-time blob detection under strong scaling}
We have illustrated the effectiveness and robustness of the proposed blob detection and tracking methods. Next, we perform a set of experiments to demonstrate the performance of our real-time blob detection approach under strong scaling and weak scaling. We define the speedup of our parallel implementation on heterogeneous multi-core architecture as follows:
\[ speedup =
\dfrac{\textit{runtime of Blob detection using single core}}{\textit{runtime using $\mathbb{P}$ cores}}
\]
Our most encouraging results are that we can complete blob detection on the simulation data set described above in around 2 milliseconds with MPI/OpenMP using 4096 cores and in 3 milliseconds with MPI using 1024 cores. In Figure \ref{fig:Real time blob detection with MPI/OpenMP under strong scaling}, we can achieve linear time speedup in blob detection time under strong scaling. The MPI and the MPI/OpenMP implementations accomplish 800 and 1200 times speedup respectively, when the number of processes is scaled to 1024. Also, we can see that the hybrid MPI/OpenMP implementation is about two times faster than the MPI implementation when varying the number of processes from 1 to 512. With 1024 processes, both of them achieve similar performance, but the MPI/OpenMP one is slightly better. This demonstrates that we are able to control analysis speed by varying the number of processes to achieve real-time analysis.
\begin{figure*}
\centering
\begin{subfigure}[b]{0.40\textwidth}
\includegraphics[width=\textwidth]{PosterFigResource/blob_all_time_strongscaling-eps-converted-to.pdf}
\caption{Time}
\label{fig:blob_all_time_strongscaling}
\end{subfigure}
\begin{subfigure}[b]{0.40\textwidth}
\includegraphics[width=\textwidth]{PosterFigResource/blob_all_speedup_strongscaling-eps-converted-to.pdf}
\caption{Speedup}
\label{blob_all_speedup_strongscaling}
\end{subfigure}
\caption{Blob detection time and speedup with MPI and MPI/OpenMP varying number of processes under strong scaling}
\label{fig:Real time blob detection with MPI/OpenMP under strong scaling}
\end{figure*}
\subsection{Real-time blob detection under weak scaling}
\label{subsec:Real-time blob detection under weak scaling}
In this experiment, we evaluate the performance of our real-time blob detection under weak scaling. We replicate existing data sets (30GB) in order to obtain adequate experimental data sets (4.3TB). The basic unit data contains 128 time frames and the size of data increases linearly with the number of processes.
In Figure \ref{fig:Real time blob detection with MPI/OpenMP under weak scaling}, the blob detection time remains almost constant under weak scaling, which indicates that our implementations scale very well to solve much larger problems. Also, both MPI and MPI/OpenMP implementations achieve high parallel efficiency as the number of processes increases from 1 to 1024.
\begin{figure*}
\centering
\begin{subfigure}[b]{0.40\textwidth}
\includegraphics[width=\textwidth]{PosterFigResource/blob_all_time_weakscaling-eps-converted-to.pdf}
\caption{Time}
\label{fig:blob_all_time_weakscaling}
\end{subfigure}
\begin{subfigure}[b]{0.40\textwidth}
\includegraphics[width=\textwidth]{PosterFigResource/blob_all_efficiency_weakscaling-eps-converted-to.pdf}
\caption{Speedup}
\label{blob_all_efficiency_weakscaling}
\end{subfigure}
\caption{Blob detection time and speedup with MPI and MPI/OpenMP varying number of processes under weak scaling}
\label{fig:Real time blob detection with MPI/OpenMP under weak scaling}
\end{figure*}
\section{Conclusion and future work}
Near real-time extraction of spatio-temporal features in very large-scale irregular data presents both opportunities and challenges responding to extreme scale computing and big data in many applications. In this paper, we propose, for the first time, a real-time blob detection and tracking approach for finding blob-filaments in fusion experiments or numerical simulations. The key idea of the proposed approach is to break down the overall process into three steps. The first two steps are based on a distribution-based outlier detection scheme with various criteria and a fast CCL method to find blob components. In the third step, an efficient blob tracking scheme is presented to recover the trajectories of the motions of blobs. Our hybrid MPI/OpenMP implementations demonstrate the effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed approach with a set of fusion plasma simulation data. Our tests show that we can achieve linear time speedup and | 6,544 |
Victoria – Island Health, in partnership with PHS Community Services Society (PHS), has submitted a second application for a supervised consumption service in Victoria. If approved by Health Canada, the service will be the first on Vancouver Island to embed supervised consumption services into a housing facility for vulnerable, high risk individuals. It will be open to building residents and registered guests only.
The Johnson Street Community, located at 844 Johnson Street, is home to approximately 145 high-risk, marginalized residents. The building is owned by BC Housing with PHS operating the building and providing range of social, occupational and primary care services. Since December 2016, the site has operated an Overdose Prevention Service. Approximately 170 unique residents and guests have used this service for a total of 3,600 visits; PHS staff have responded to two overdoses and there have been no deaths.
PHS is already seeing success supporting clients living with opioid addiction at the Johnson Street Community. PHS also offers care from a specialist addictions-trained family medicine physician, resulting in a number of Johnson Street Community residents accessing various forms of treatment, including methadone and Suboxone therapy.
The supervised consumption service at 844 Johnson Street will be operated by PHS, which will provide the program under contract with – and funding from – Island Health. Island Health will maintain oversight and accountability for the service.
On January 3, 2017, Island Health submitted an application to operate a 10-booth supervised consumption service at 941 Pandora Street. This application is currently being reviewed by Health Canada. Renovations to the site are expected to begin shortly and, pending Health Canada approval, the site is expected to be open in 2018.
Public feedback on three proposed locations for supervised consumption services in Victoria took place in November 2016. These locations included the two for which applications have now been submitted. At this time, Island Health has no immediate plans to establish a supervised consumption service in Rock Bay, the third area that was subject to public consultation in Victoria. The health authority is planning to establish a supervised consumption service in Nanaimo; however a recent decision by local government to deny a required by-law change, means Island Health's original aim to submit an application for a service in Nanaimo will now be delayed.
As of April 30, 488 individuals had died in British Columbia in 2017 from illicit<|fim_middle|> Eighty-four of those deaths occurred within Island Health's geographic service area, including 37 deaths in Victoria alone. Prevention, harm reduction and treatment initiatives, including increased education, enhanced outreach services, wider naloxone distribution and training, improved access to opioid replacement therapy, additional treatment beds and the opening of eight overdose prevention sites are all crucial components of Island Health's comprehensive response to the overdose crisis.
Supervised consumption services support the work of the Joint Task Force on Overdose Response established in 2016. As part of the wide range of actions taken, partners across the health system continue to expand access to life-saving naloxone, opioid addiction treatments such as Suboxone and overdose prevention sites, work with Health Canada on approvals to open additional supervised consumption sites and improve the system of substance use services. | drug overdose. | 3 |
I learned today than a great, great aunt, on August 13, 1894 went to Pittsburgh for postulant-training at the Mother House of the Sisters of Mercy. A little googling later I find an extract of poem from Memoirs of the Pittsburgh Sisters of Mercy, from a sister looking back kindly on those long-ago days of training:
Where's the gentle dark Directress
With her accents kind and low,
With her well-formed holy horror
At their "Culpas" - don't you know?
And her coaxing, all resistless
And the ways put forth to gain,
Where is she? And does she ever
Think of me, or say my name?
And from the "more things change, the more they stay the same" department (click to enlarge):
Books, Books, Books....
Books you can live without...
Found via "Mrs. Hall's Book Sandwich"
Where's Today's Duffingtonpost?
She has her priorities in order, of course: God, family, and blog far down the list but there's something about her infrequent missives that has the air of Updike's paeon to Ted Williams, "gods do not answer letters." Hungered for a BD post today, some fresh surprise in her typically deadpan audacious way, but none was forthcoming. Posts come in the form of long waves infrequently delivered and I'd have it no other way.
Her posts at spare angles
with toasts to her gender
as May apples, jonquils
too infrequent, this bender.
Days pass, she's forgiven,
her trespasses shriven,
if no posts are to come
I'll hie to my rum.
There's a thing charismatic
about blog-girls chromatic
of Kathy in 'ginny
or Betty in Indy.
Everybody Loves Lists
Best Books of '09 from Ignatius Insight
Passengers Punished Until Morale Improves
One of the small wonders of the Internet is the ability to see if you've come up with something original, or semi-original. For example, this morning while showering and listening to the news about how now the latest air travel regulations forbid bathroom breaks and magazine reading during the last hour of a trip, I thought of a new acronym, admittedly an obvious one, for TSA: "totally stupid and asinine". I looked it up on the 'net and there are, surprisingly, only four references.
Bureaucracies are to common sense what extremist mosques are to Christian teachings.
Was listening to Mendelssohn's 4th last night as the Cavs demolished the Houston Rockets. It almost looked like the Globetrotters versus the Generals. My absence from NBA basketball has been so long that I recognize only a half dozen names across the league. Mostly I watch simply for LeBron James, after seeing him on a 60 Minutes segment. An unusual route to NBA-fandom, 'eh?
When last I followed pro basketball, back fifteen years ago in the Age of Jordan, only Dennis Rodman seemed to have tattoos. Now it seems everybody has them. I think they look better, less obtrusive, against black skin.
I'm enjoying the social networking sites Facebook & Twitter lately in a different way than with blogspot. When there is a small pocket of downtime I enjoy reading the cavalcade of short messages from different sources while rarely personally contributing - there's something about them that make me tongue-tied. Feels too public, ha. But the stream of little jibs and jabs feel almost haiku-like, from Dylan's "Three o'clock and I'm awake. Splendid beyond my capacity to describe." (sarcasm?) to Jeff's cryptic Hobbesian lines to Amy's Christmas pictures to Smock's child's baptism notice.
I'm following enough folks on both sites to ensure a pretty decent stream of nibbles and there's something sort of mesmerizing about hitting refresh and seeing whose name will pop up next on the iPod, with an interface well-suited to the short messages. I generally seem to gravitate more to Twitter than Facebook.
Loved the Christmas Mass at dawn and the homily from the austere former engineer who pastors St. Ann's. The responsorial psalm was "Be glad in the Lord, you just..." and then the second reading, as if responding to our question of whether we are just, answers in the affirmative: "Our savior appeared...that we might be justified by his grace." The Mass at dawn is the best Christmas mass for all its readings, including the first reading from Isaiah that goes, "and you shall be called 'Frequented,' a city that is not forsaken." Christ felt forsaken on the cross that we may be frequented.
Mom surprised me by mentioning that the tradition of Grandma's generation was to go to two Christmas masses on Christmas! You can't get enough of Christ's mass on Christmas.
Saw The Blind Side on Boxing Day. Nice flick. Very watchable and inspiring. Based on a true story as they say.
Sunday after Mass I had the house to myself and gloried in What Shall I Read? Had lots of time, the whole rest of the day, with nothing pressing. Enjoyed the mere prospect of reading and eventually went with some of The Odyssey by our friend Homer as well as the first chapter (on Homer) of Beowulf on the Beach, a guide to the classics. Then some of George Rutler's book on the Cure d'Ars.
And from Isaiah: Interpreted by Early Christians:
The Old Testament is a very large book, and it is not obvious how everything that is found in it (e.g., the ritual of the Day of Atonement in Leviticus 16 or the love poetry of the Song of Songs) derives its meaning from Christ.
Following St. Paul, the church fathers argued that a surface reading of the Old Testament, whhat Origin calls the 'plain' meaning, missed what was most important in the Bible, Jesus Christ. The subject of Scriptures, writes Cyril of Alexandria, is 'the mystery of Christ signified to us through a myriad of different kinds of things. Someone might liken it to a glittering and magnificent city, having not one image of the king but many, and publicly displayed in every corner of the city...Its purpose is not to provide us an account of the lives of the saints of old. Far from that. Its purpose is to give us knowledge of the mystery [of Christ] through things that make the word about him clear and true.'...
In the words of Henri de Lubac, 'The conversion of the Old Testament to the New or of the letter of Scripture to its spirit can only be explained and justified, in its radicality, by the all-powerful and unprecedented intervention of Him who is himself at once the Alpha and the Omega...Therefore Jesus Christ brings about the unity of Scripture, because he is the endpoint and fulness of Scripture. Everything in it is related to him.'
The book of Leviticus and the Song of Songs cry out for a spiritual interpretation if they are to be read profitably by Christians. Taken only in its literal sense Leviticus, as Origen once observed, is more of an obstacle to faith than a means of exhortation or edification. It is surely significant that books such as Leviticus and the Song of Songs are seldom read in Christian worship today. Without allegory, that is, a spiritual interpretation to Christ, they languish.
Napolitano's Interview on This Week
I think we've got to be close to the tipping point as far as tolerance of a politician's decision to say nothing in an interview. I think we're getting close to where it will do more damage for someone to come on a show and attempt a lame CYA, as Janet Napolitano did on ABC's This Week, versus the alternative of not going on at all.
Most of us crave a little honesty from our public officials, whether it be in the form of a mea culpa or a more robust CYA. Tell us that it's cost prohibitive to wand everyone on the T.I.D.E. list. Tell us something we don't know. Consider it a teaching moment. We now at least know that there's a big list and a wittle bitty list. But other than that all Napolitano told us was that everything is under investigation, to be completed when the media loses interest.
On many of these shows it's mainly a vehicle for the host to opine via his questions. Tapper wanted to know why this terrorist wasn't subject to heightened security at the airports. Others, including at least one U.S. senator, wanted to know how why Abdulmutallab had a U.S. visa after his radicalization in London. I am sensitive to the fact that no set of security measures is perfect, but when your father rats on you and your name is Abdulmutallab, well it's amazing the guy didn't at least get wanded.
At least Napolitano could've done us the favor of looking perturbed. A sunny disposition when some old-fashioned squiriming was called for does not a good interview make.
It's Boxing Day Somewhere
Enbrethiliel promised to deliver this meme on Boxing Day, although through the miracle of modern technology I'm seeing it today, Christmas Day in my neck of the woods.
Speaking of fine blogueuses, I learned that there are other ways to keep a journal than to kvetch from Bill White's wife's recent post:
Today I received, via US Mail, an early birthday present. My husband ordered it for me at my request. I've been waiting anxiously for it to arrive because my devotions and daily writing had come to an end until it came in. You see, recently I filled up my journal; where I write my thanksgivings and hopes; where I jot thoughts on my morning and evening devotions. So I finally received a new Gratitude Journal. It has a nice layout, with good questions to help me recall the day and all the good that happened. My birthday's in a couple of weeks, so I was able to justify to myself buying the same journal I had even though it's a bit pricey and a simple notebook would suit the purpose.
Photo via Henry & Roz Dieterich
"If a prophet or angel had come, man's longing for God, for a more intimate communication with God, would not have been satisfied...All this longing of the people, all this desire of the human heart, was fulfilled in the crib at Bethlehem...Over our altars floats the joy of the joyful message, from the plains of Bethlehem it sinks into our hearts and breathes consolation and hope into our souls. The Saviour is born for us, a Saviour who will deliver us from sin and from the thralldom of Satan, who reconciles us to God and opens heaven to us." - St. John Vianney, "Sermons on the Nativity of Our Lord"
High-larity Ensues
Unintentional hilarity from Slate concerning the possibility of a virgin birth. "Very, very unlikely" is the verdict. A potential Onion piece...
I'm underwhelmed by the statement of Sen. Harkin saying that "with apologies to Santa, Christmas will be anti-climactic this year" due to the passing of health care legislation. Santa is not the reason for the season and no worries about anti-climax need occur.
I'm a sucker for these sorts of posts that spin waste products into gold. In the link above, Bob the Ape writes poetry using modern corporate buzzwords.
The little girl in front of me at liturgy was drawing pictures with one of those cool pens I used to have thirty years ago, the kind that has four or five different colors of ink which are controlled by depressing one of the levers of different colors. I thought about how oblivious she was to what was going on at the altar and thought how that is replicated in me so often - how I am oblivious to God's actions, to His omnipresence, to his presence in others. Then I looked back up at the altar. :-)
Heard Steven Ray and Al Kresta mention on air how they each have some 20 to 25 thousand books. Steven Riddle territory. That's surreal for me to conceptualize since my 2,000 fills a whole room & some of another.
Spanning the Globe to Bring You the Constant Variety of Posts
Over our altars floats the joy of the joyful message, from the plains of Bethlehem it sinks into our hearts and breathes consolation and hope into our souls. The Saviour is born for us, a Saviour who will deliver us from sin and from the thralldom of Satan, who reconciles us to God and opens heaven to us. - St. John Vianney, Sermons on the Nativity
A priest once told me that that "self-talk," those words that comfort us or tear us down in our heads are like our friends. If our friends are advising us to be dissatisfied, or criticizing our loved ones, etc, then we're hanging out with the wrong crowd. - Betty Duffy
I've read and enjoyed any number of classics not assigned in school. I started Shakespeare early, thanks to my parents' leftover college textbooks...I like pretty much all the major and minor poets until after World War I. I really enjoyed Moby Dick — it's a hallucinatory techno-thriller, written by a natural blogger who loves to digress. I read Boswell's Life of Johnson until my eyes started to cross. The unabridged Don Quixote was a bit of a slog for a sixth grader, but things do happen that aren't all despairdespairdespair. And nobody made me sit in English class and discuss What Things Meant. But most of the books assigned in school are depressing, depressing, depressing. The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton. (Didn't make it past the first chapter.) Earth Abides. (One of the top ten worst sf novels ever!!) Stupid Catcher in the Rye. Stupid Stranger in a Strange Land. That dang Bear story by Faulkner. (Also skipped.) To Kill a Mockingbird. (Okay, not stupid or hideous, but not exactly enjoyable.) Crime and Punishment. (At least when it gets into the investigation thriller part, there's some relief.) We don't teach schoolkids to enjoy wit and depth; we teach them that literature is about the mute endurance of literary suffering and despair. Fortunately, I was a voracious reader before, after, and during my English classes, so even the horrors of assigned reading couldn't convince me that all books were dull, stale, and unprofitable. - post at "Aliens in This World"
British historian Arnold Toynbee argued that civilizations thrive when the lower classes aspire to be like the upper classes, and they decay when the upper classes try to be like the lower classes. Looked at through this prism, it's hard not to see America in a prolonged period of decay. - Jonah Goldberg of NRO
Universalism is perhaps the second-most American belief about the afterlife possible. For the most nationally characteristic view, I turn to an existentialist friend of mine, who once told me, "I heard someone say that everybody gets the afterlife he or she believes in. And I couldn't help but think, That's so American!" Americans believe in a universe whose order is apparent to the naked eye; an order where God's justice lines up neatly with American cultural preferences for self-definition and multiple "truths." This is a mindset that we might expect from a nation that has built its identity on both Enlightenment philosophy and immigration -- as ZZ Top didn't quite sing, everybody's crazy 'bout a self-made man. Even our Last Things must be self-wrought and accommodating, pluralist and tolerant and as blandly nice as an American airport smile. - Eve Tushnet
Patronal dissonance: I found a lost St. Anthony medal today. - Tom of Disputations tweet
I've given up all hope of finding my St. Jude prayer card. - John J McG tweet
Where platitudes are concerned, I dislike them because Jesus is not just the reason we celebrate the season, he's the reason for my entire life. I don't like the idea that I have to cue up warm fuzzy Advent and Christmas feelings simply because I've pressed the pause button on my crazy life. It so rarely works and then I feel disappointed...As long as my joy is my Christ, no one can take it from me. But I can squander it, as easily as I stop "doing" my faith. If I am not practicing my faith and my joy every day, then it's no wonder I feel nothing when I pause to remember the reason I celebrate anything. - Betty Duffy
Books to the ceiling,/ Books to the sky,/ My pile of books is a mile high./ How I love them! How I need them!/ I'll have a long beard by the time I read them. - Arnold Lobel
There's a terrific moment in the TV show House, in which the irascible and brilliant Dr. Greg House is explaining to a lapsed Catholic subordinate why he doesn't believe in the afterlife. House, with all the self-lacerating irony that actor Hugh Laurie can impart to the character, says, "I would hate to think that all of this was just atest."....[Modernity] poses the question, "Are pious actions good because the gods love them, or do the gods love pious actions because they are good?" No fully Christian answer can accept the terms of the question, since it drives a wedge between God and the world He created...As a final argument that this life is not just a test, I'll point to the sacred wounds of the risen Christ. When Christ appeared, resurrected, before the apostles, He was so thoroughly wounded that St. Thomas could actually poke a finger into His bleeding side. What happened to Him in this life was irrevocable. There are no "do-overs"; there are no "give-backs." Whatever healing or transformation of our wounds occurs in the next life, I suspect the wounds themselves will remain, just as Christ's wounds remained. So think of the penitent centurion -- think of his heaven. In his heaven, he is still the man who speared the side of Christ. His wrong action was not erased by God's love -- though it was transformed. His life was witness, not a test: In a test, all that matters is whether you pass. In witness, what matters is whether you live the unique and strange vocation you were given in a way that makes it possible for Christ's fingerprints to be seen on your face. - Eve Tushnet post
Labels: Spanning the Globe
Cornhusker Chutzpah
My, my. Not since the advent of Jesse James has someone come along and so successfully profited off the backs of others as has Ben Nelson, the plucky Nebraskan Senator who held up the U.S. Treasury for Medicaid aid "in perpetuity". To quote the old song The Twelfth of Never, "that's a long, long time." I've been lately hypmotized by this latest legislative trainwreck, er, process, which makes its own argument for why the government shouldn't be involved in health care.
Let's Play...
...why's my bookbag (or e-reader equivalent) so damn heavy?
From Buzz by Stephen Braun:
"Modern neuroscience suggests that it would be a mistake to discount the multiplicity of the mind, to forget that one's conscious self is not one's entire self, and to ignore the power of the nonrational forces within us.
This deep dichotomy between reason and irrationality can be seen in the world's tremendous appetite for alcohol and caffeine. Alcohol is liberator of the irrational. Caffeine is the stimulator of the rational. It would appear that the human spirit craves both poles and turns to these most familiar drugs to achieve those ends."
From George Rutler's The Cure d'Ars Today: St. John Vianney:
The remains of his body lie in a glass case over an altar in Ars...Anglo-Saxons find this custom of displaying saints odd, and even offensive. It is a crystal-clear exposition of death, and more cerebral people prefer to keep the most graphic facts of life opaque; they do not want to think of death as a fact of life. The graphic display of a corpse is the one kind of exhibitionism still generally considered degrading. But what seems morbid to the mundane conscience is vital to the transcendent conscience. One gets muddled trying to combine the two the wrong way: sacramentalism is a right kind of transcendent earthiness, but materialism issues in a vapidity. The embalmed relics of Lenin and Mao are shadowy and grotesque parodies of the saintly cults. The totalitarian and the saint both recumbent should attack any fair sense of equipoise.
Heroes are better than we are; saints are better than themselves. That is, saints become the ultimate pragmatists by making themselves totally available to God's original design for men. The hero imposes his will on nature as an act; the saint imposes God's will on nature as a state. In the case of the hero, heroism is deed; it is a way of being for the saint. "We have a treasure,then, in our keeping, but its shell is of perishable earthenware; it must be God, and not anything in ourselves, that gives it its power" (2 Cor 4:7).
From Charles Dickens by GK Chesterton:
A definite school regarded Dickens as a great man from the first days of his fame: Dickens certainly belonged to this school. In reply to this question, "Why have we no great men to-day?" many modern explanations are offered. Advertisement, cigarette-smoking, the decay of religion, the decay of agriculture, too much humanitarianism, too little humanitarianism, the fact that people are educated insufficiently, the fact that they are educated at all, all these are reasons given. If I give my own explanation, it is not for its intrinsic value; it is because my answer to the question, "Why have we no great men?" is a short way of stating the deepest and most catastrophic difference between the age in which we live and the early nineteenth century; the age under the shadow of the French Revolution, the age in which Dickens was born.
The soundest of the Dickens critics, a man of genius, Mr. George Gissing, opens his criticism by remarking that the world in which Dickens grew up was a hard and cruel world. He notes its gross feeding, its fierce sports, its fighting and foul humour, and all this he summarises in the words hard and cruel. It is curious how different are the impressions of men. To me this old English world seems infinitely less hard and cruel than the world described in Gissing's own novels. Coarse external customs are merely relative, and easily assimilated. A man soon learnt to harden his hands and harden his head. Faced with the world of Gissing, he can do little but harden his heart. But the fundamental difference between the beginning of the nineteenth century and the end of it is a difference simple but enormous. The first period was full of evil things, but it was full of hope. The second period, the fin de siécle, was even full (in some sense) of good things. But it was occupied in asking what was the good of good things. Joy itself became joyless; and the fighting of Cobbett was happier than the feasting of Walter Pater. The men of Cobbett's day were sturdy enough to endure and inflict brutality; but they were also sturdy enough to alter it. This "hard and cruel" age was, after all, the age of reform.
The Reading Window
At the bookstore in Utah I visited back a few months ago, they take their reading window seriously:
(The reader looks very '70s-ish, 'eh?)
When Democrats Attack...
...other Democrats, it makes for good TV. Hence I was glued to Howard Dean's cri de coeur about the principle of the thing. I haven't seen such a Democratic stand for principle since the Paul Wellstone era1. It's an odd feeling to see Dean's mouth moving and to appreciate what he's saying. Strange bedfellows & all that.
Friend Ham o' Bone2 thinks this country is no longer center-right, but Dick Morris predicted last night that both houses of Congress will fall into Republican hands in '10 due to the leftward lurch of the O'ministration. I find Morris' prediction hard to believe, but it would certainly show the country is very centrist and possibly even center-right. The fact that if there was a Tea Party party it would have most favored party status seems to show something.
Steven Riddle inspired me3 to pick up my volume of stories titled Samuel Johnson is Indignant by Lydia Davis and I wondered what took me so long. Her clear, limpid prose is full of wry surprises. I read it through dry itchy eyes the color of burnt sienna. (Joking about the color - I just wanted to say 'burnt sienna'. Can you tell I'm being influenced by the "Big Book of NBA Basketball" with it's pointless asides?) I think I have an allergy or pink eye or some combination thereof.
Interesting link on the experience of Russia in going from command economy to a free market version, and how the chief architect is remembered.
Tuesday night I done dragged my arse out in the cold, dark night to pick up my in-laws and drive 'cross town to dinner at Buca de Becca, an Italian joint with a mesmerizing maze of rooms containing thousands of pictures of everything Italian but with a special emphasis on things Catholic. The place is eccentrically irreverent: a bust of Pope John Paul II pops up in a glass box at the center of one table. A cardinal's mitre is framed next to a picture of Pope Paul VI. A large poster of a priest yawning while hearing a confession, maybe Betty Duffy's but I really tend to doubt that. On another wall is a young Sophia Loren, legged in black fishnet.
We wend through all these pictures and memorabilia to the kitchen, where there was a table with a family of four eating. An odd thing to see. "That is motivation to keep the kitchen clean," says one member of our party, which was Steph's small church group, some twenty or so with spouses.
1 - Not that the Republicans are any better at principle of course. I always thought health care was something the Repubs should've tackled when they had a majority since they were no doubt fully aware that if they didn't do something, the Dems would come in and do it worse. (Of course, the Repubs got into it by passing the prescription drug bill, which only made us more dependent on the drug of government, literally & figuratively.) Perhaps the Repubs thought that if they started down that slippery slope of health care reform, it would end up in socialized medicine. Perhaps they didn't care. Perhaps Bush should've executed the Iraq war better. Perhaps...
2 - Hambone, by the way, is to pessimists what Sugar Pops is to sugary cereals - the [insert a fancy Latin phrase for 'the prime example' Not sine qua non but... Bob the Ape, can you help?].
3 - Steven has reincarnated himself as the Mark Shea of lit bloggers, offering a bonanza of fecundity. Will he find fame in the blogosphere yet? How much readership overlap is there between Flos Carmeli and Momentary Taste? These and other questions prompt us as the world turns.
Labels: pointless asides R us
Frazer was perfectly right to point to the similarities between myth and Christianity. In both instances you have a victim who is killed by an entire community and who becomes who he is and who he has always been, the christ of the community. What Frazer did not see, which is the simplest thing of all, is that Christianity is very different from mythology. It is exactly the same situation, but whereas in all the myths the victim is guilty, in Christianity, Christ is innocent. - Rene Girard on National Review TV
I think my understanding of "apostolate" has been colored by my experiences with Regnum Christi, in which apostolate is related to recruitment, and is worked on during hours specifically designated for Christian work. As that Movement undergoes purification, I am also rethinking how I use certain words I am in the habit of using. Part of my objection to the "blog as aspotolate" idea is that it compartmentalizes aspects of our Christian life. - Betty Duffy
You are absolutely right that these matters of the hymn announcers and the furniture arrangement are very trivial. Leave the parish? So....why are we in a parish? You know how when you go on an airplane the stewardess (are they still called that?) tells you that if that little oxygen mask drops you should make sure you have yours on before you assist anyone else? We are in a parish to get to Heaven. My job is to get myself to heaven and to assist you in getting to Heaven, in that order. If I'm not working to get myself to Heaven, I won't be able to help you. I'll just pass out and die. So we sit in these pews together. We pray together. We eat pancake breakfasts and attend funerals. And someday, we hope to be in Heaven together. If you can't even be in the same church building with Joe Schlemmer because Joe got to read the hymn list instead of Mary Bernbrock, how are you going to stand being in Heaven with Joe?" - Sister Mary Martha's blog
Climate and society are both chaotic systems -- in fact, since they affect each other, they're chaotic subsystems of a larger chaotic system with a vast number of variables. The best climate models in the world have not been validated, the uncertainty of economic models is empirically established and recognized in law... and these models all produce input for the even sketchier models of what we really care about, which is the common good (of which I won't attempt a definition here). - Tom of Disputations
So how does the National Catholic Reporter celebrate the feast of St. Juan Diego? Why of course by linking to articles denying that he ever existed...Anne Rice in her last book in the Vampire Chronicles involved St. Juan Diego in the plot. At one point the Vampire Lestat reads an article about him since he has a subscription to the National Catholic Reporter (figures). So questions of his existence are part of the novel and it is obvious that Anne Rice was swayed by this dissident rag. Lestat ponders the intersection of papal infallibility and a non-existent saint and imagines Juan Diego popping into Heaven upon the Pope's proclamation. - Jeff Miller aka "Curt Jester"
It is precisely because God is God that he lacks 'a human range of emotions'—and that is what makes him ungraspable in the terms of literature, which is a humane art. - Mr. Wilson of Books INQ via Steven Riddle's "Momentary Taste of Being"
No live organism can continue for long to exist sanely under conditions of absolute reality; even larks and katydids are supposed, by some, to dream. - opening of a Shirley Jackson novel via Steven Riddle
Nobody ever left the Catholic Church because of an Andrew Greeley novel; but many have returned to the Catholic Church because of one. - via Sancta Sanctis
My [musical] tastes were set in stone in 1965–66...I believe I could recognize every Top 40 song from those years. Then my interest in rock simply shut off... The antics of the industry (grossness, seriousness) had something to do with the death of my interest, along with the poverty of the form and the lack of talent of most of the practioners...The Hillsdale student who drove me to the airport after my gig two weeks ago said he was a senior, a political philosophy major, and a fan of classic rock..., he said, he had had to examine his preferences in light of Plato's analysis of music and its power over the soul. I could hear the thrumming of the Straussian Interstate as he spoke, and I warned him to be always mindful of Plato's envy of artists: He can't stand the fact that Homer is a better writer than he is, and he may have the same resentment of musicians. - Richard Brookhiser on his "Right Place" blog
The dark cloud that's lurking over all this political hubbub is the threat, or the seductive whisper (depending on how I feel that day) that none of it is going to matter. Soon I may need to re-orient myself very simply towards the survival of my family and my people, and I sort of welcome the thought. I live my life so much in the realm of superfluities, and so little in what is essential. It's sort of the modern conundrum that life has become so easy that my very existence seems superfluous at times, that my sole purpose is to consume what can be consumed. - Betty Duffy
Reading Eamon Duffy's The Stripping of the Altars... First he details the spiritual health and devotions in pre-Anglican Church England, and then he details the destruction. Here is a snip from the destruction, which started as a creeping destruction:
So the sprinkling of the holy water was explained not in terms of the water's power to banish demons or bring blessing, but "to put us in remembrance of our baptism and the blood of Christ sprinkled for our redemption," holy bread was presented not as a curative but "to put us in remembrance of the sacrament of the altar," candles at Candlemas not as defences against the power of evil or the disorder of the elements but "in memory of Christ the spiritual light".
As I read this, I wonder who won in the end. The water-downed version seems to be what we live with today in most Catholic parishes. Our faith, Catholic culture and devotions have been eliminated (who celebrates Candlemas now?) or greatly watered-down (I have never heard sprinkling of holy water to banish demons except from one priest.) - Jim of Bethune Catholic
So, according to Drudge, Harry Reid can't find 60 senators. Color me skeptical. Wasn't it not long ago that three senators were holding up even a debate on health care? Didn't they all fold like tin cans? Do tin cans fold? This health care bill has more lives than a reincarnated cat. And I really find it hard to believe that the Senate wants to extend a program (Medicare) that even its defenders (like Obama) say is full of fraud and abuse and which doctors treat like the plague.
Watched the DVD The Star which proposes that God literally wrote in the heavens of the birth and death of his Son, with a crescent moon at Virgo's feet (Rev. 12) to a full lunar eclipse at the Son's death. Beautiful & recommended.
Perhaps too imbued with the therapeutic but interesting thoughts here via Steven Riddle, on Lydia Davis collection of short stories:
It's been making my daily train ride from Queens to Manhattan and back again almost tolerable, too. Unlike James Wood, who read straight through, beginning to end, I just sort of reach into my bag, grab the book, and let it fall open where it may. I hadn't intended on reading it this way, but something about the stories encourages it. It occurred to me yesterday that there are only two other categories of books I (and probably many people) read like this: poetry collections and religious texts (in my case, the Bible).
What do the Davis, poetry, and religious tomes have in common? I think it's that they all operate as devotional texts, defined, in my mind, as speaking to an emotional need; as employing aphorism (they offer concise wisdom or instruction); and, perhaps most significantly, as possessing many chambers. These are books you walk into: although their various components—individual poems, stories, verses—come together to form a whole, they are distinct. One doesn't follow linearly from another. You don't necessarily know what you will find when you flip the book open, but you are sure to find something that suits your current mood. And this is why they become companions; the books you take everywhere, objects of devotion.
As a child my favorite Christmas specials were A Christmas Carol and How the Grinch Stole Christmas. I soaked up the messages contained therein as if they were Scripture. What were the messages? In How the Grinch Stole Christmas, his conversion was so complete and neat and fast and, more or less, painless. In TV examples, the misery is all in the pre-conversion stage. You are miserable, you find Love, and are happy. But is that the way it works? Conversion is an on-going process that involves self-denial. With the Grinch, it seems there isn't an outside force (God) who intervenes; instead simply the thought occurs to him that "maybe Christmas doesn't come from a store; maybe Christmas means a little bit more." And his heart was touched by it. But God can, of course, give us promptings and thoughts we otherwise wouldn't have had. And it's hardly a Pelagian tale for the Grinch tries to save the sleigh full of toys from sliding down the mountain and he (and the little dog) are using every ounce of strength they have and it's obviously inadequate.
Suddenly his heart is said to have grown 3 times its size through no effort of his own and he is given prodigious strength such that makes the sleigh as light as a feather. The end result is a civilized, socialable Grinch with good table manners. :-) At the moment of conversion his eye color changed from a blood-red/brown to a light blue but at the end of his struggle with the sleigh it reverted briefly to red with his face reflecting fear; then there seemed a second wind of a conversion, this time conferring strength.
Did the Grinch make me think back then that conversion happens without personal effort and that it is always accompanied by sheer joy? Of course the Grinch did exert personal effort in attempting to save the gifts on the sled.
Did I think that only those visited by three ghosts or whose hearts bust - i.e. have supernatural experiences like Scrooge & the Grinch - have need of improvement? I found A Christmas Carol motivating in the sense that I wanted to be good so as not to become like Scrooge. Back then it wasn't about God so much - it would've never occurred to me as a teen to pray that I not be like Scrooge or that I be given the graces Scrooge was given. I thought with my own effort I could avoid his friend Marley's fate.
Kindleoscopy
The downside of Kindle and other electronic readers is well-documented in the link above - including the further dependency on the electrical grid, though at this point I'm so already on the grid that I figure I have to dance with the grid that brung me. Anyway, I had to laugh at the rogue commenter who said the following:
I'd go out and get a Kindle but I'm too busy rubbing sticks together to make a fire and the wood is wet dammit. When I caint no longer get my free assortment of arcane books from the Concept who traffics in used books on the internets, maybe I'll go get one of these fancy gadgets but I'll likely go to the library first.
Do they have an aerosol scent can to spray mouldering scents upon the Kindle, can one hang a Mildew imbued Paper Pine Tree Scent from one's reading glasses? Can one make notations amid the text in a Kindle? Can one be used to prop a short table leg up? Do they hit with the same resounding thud upon the skull whence firing missiles at the Missus? Can they be easily avoided whence the fired missile is returning?Inquiring minds need to know.
Labels: I'm a Luddite under my techno skin
I'm getting scads of emails from folks wanting a 2010 edition of Babes of the Blogosphere: Catlick Edition. (Okay, only one person, but she's an avid reader of this blog which ought count for something.) It's a tempting offer, given how much fun last year's was, but I loathe the idea of leaving anyone off. Good writing is sexy and so there are a lot of sexy blogosphere babes. You know who you are.
Announcement: Effective Janurary 1st, this blog will limit Tiger Woods' role in its marketing.
There was an interesting article in the paper Sunday about how Charles Dickens life has become something of a fascination:
Of the making of books by or about Charles Dickens, there apparently is no end. He wrote constantly, published promiscuously, lived intensely, dreamed extravagantly.
Dickens influenced, inspired and challenged others to produce amazing things, too. The thriving field of what we might call Contingent Dickens — works based on Dickens' works, or on his life or on the Victorian era that his vivid word portraits made famous — is a significant literary genre in its own right.
Consider A Christmas Carol, one of his best-known tales, being performed on stages nationwide. Consider the new film version of the same tale, with Jim Carrey as Ebenezer Scrooge, the mean old miser who gets his holiday comeuppance. Consider Drood (2009), the brooding, brilliant Dan Simmons novel that features a distastefully conniving Dickens. Consider The Last Dickens (2009), Matthew Pearl's fictional picture of Dickens' American lecture tour. Consider Mr. Timothy (2003), Louis Bayard's strikingly atmospheric novel that imagines the adult Tiny Tim, the cheerful sickly lad in Carol.
Wrapping one's arms around Dickens is no easy task. He was too big, too restless, too productive, too accomplished, too complicated, too mysterious.
That mysterious streak is part of the reason for the fascination. The article prompted me to read some of Chesterton's remarkable biography of Charles Dickens and it feels as timely as if it could be written yesterday. On the lack of heroes:
[Thomas] Carlyle killed the heroes; there have been none since his time. He killed the heroic (which he sincerely loved) by forcing upon each man this question: "Am I strong or weak?" To which the answer from any honest man whatever (yes, from Cæsar or Bismarck) would "weak." He asked for candidates for a definite aristocracy, for men who should hold themselves consciously above their fellows. He advertised for them, so to speak; he promised them glory; he promised them omnipotence. They have not appeared yet. They never will. For the real heroes of whom he wrote had appeared out of an ecstacy of the ordinary. [Carlyle] was disappointed with Equality; but Equality was not disappointed with him. Equality is justified of all her children. But we, in the post-Carlylean period, have be come fastidious about great men. Every man examines himself, every man examines his neighbours, to see whether they or he quite come up to the exact line of greatness. The answer is, naturally, "No." And many a man calls himself contentedly "a minor poet" who would then have been inspired to be a major prophet.
"The gate that gives entry into these riches of his wisdom is the cross; because it is a narrow gate, while many seek the joys that can be gained through it, it is given to few to desire to pass through it." - St. John of the Cross
Also o'er the weekend read a lot about my new favorite book of the Bible - "the book of Consolation" as it is sometimes called - that of Isaiah, specifically chapters 54 & 55. Sure it feels like cherry-picking, as if attempting to procure promises without conspicuous effort on my part. Sure it was written to those in deep exile, pre-Christ. But hey it's part of the Bible too!
Labels: babes r us, can't I love Isaiah too?, where have you gone Joe DiMaggio
Michael Dubruiel on Thursday's Gospel
Good stuff - I find his thoughts almost always compelling (found here):
When I hear the Gospel reading for today, I'm stopped in my tracks by the phrase "the kingdom of heaven has been subjected to violence and the violent are taking it by storm" and necessarily I've had to spend some time canvassing the great minds of the church to figure out just exactly what Jesus meant by this. Well, it turns out that the Greek word that is translated "violence" above is probably best rendered "forceful" but that doesn't change the overall passage that much, yet it does give us some indication of what is meant by violence. The early Fathers of the Church felt that the passage was best understood by thinking about who was entering the kingdom of heaven--sinners, namely people who did not belong there. They were intruders, outsiders who had been let in through the violence of the cross. Taking this a step further, if our sins are really what nailed Jesus to a cross then we see that the violence we have done to the Son of God in some way has been our ticket to the kingdom of heaven. It is only those however, who are desperate to enter who get in. One imagines the crowds that surrounded Jesus and John the Baptist (a modern example might be Pope John Paul and the crowds that surround his visits). Only a desperate person would get close enough to touch Our Lord. So it is today. Are we desperate in our desire to enter the kingdom of heaven or is it somewhere way down the list of things to do today?
Posted by TS at 11:16 PM 1 comment:
On the Palin Haters
I believe there are diminishing returns in the demonization of conservative figures since the Left can yell "so-and-so is Satan!" for only so long before people detect a pattern. So I'm not sure the way Palin enrages the Left isn't a good thing. Call it the rope-a-dope strategy: let them punch themselves out.
They hated Reagan, they hated Gingrich. Some will remember that Karl Rove had his own star turn, earning opprobium for helping get Bush elected in '00. Bush himself became the devil until it seemed that Cheney was wielding power. Post-Cheney it's now Palin.
Palin brings especial terror because she's a new political animal: the populist pro-lifer. Scares the heck out of the establishment. She's Ross Perot with breasts -- and convictions about something beyond the deficit.
Been meaning to read all of Acedia & Me by Kathleen Norris since it's haunting how she mentions that eating your food quickly is a sign of impatience and sloth. She also mentions same with respect to the consuming of books. Yet the prime conditions for reading Acedia & Me are rare: can't be down (because it would be too depressing), can't be too up (since then I don't think I need to read it), must be slothful (because then I know I need to read it) but not slothful to the point of being too slothful to read it. Small window of opportunity there. :-)
Funny line on Obama from Peg Noonan: "If he's going to bow to something, it might as well be reality."
Labels: It's unreal I've never used labels before now, small windows
From Roy Blount Jr.'s Alphabet Soup
Kvetch: In Born to Kvetch, Michael Wex tells us:
Not only do Judaism in general and Yiddish in particular place an unusual emphasis on complaint, but Yiddish also allows considerable scope for complaining about the complaining of others, more often than not to the others who are doing the complaining...The best response to a complaint is another complaint, an antiseptic counter-kvetch that makes further whining impossible for anybody but you.
Kvetching, then, is not just chronic but also intense, projective complaining. Standard dictionaries trace kvetch back to the Yiddish kvetshn, to squeeze or strain...Not just strain, but to 'strain at stool'; to make an effort to move the bowels...As Wex puts it, kvetch connects with its alimentary roots, "A really good kvetch has a visceral quality, a sense that the kvetcher won't be completely comfortable, completely satisfied, until it's all come out."
On the etymology of etymology:
From the Greek for 'the true sense of a word.' That goes back to when roots showed through a lot more than they do today. But just as you appreciate a vegetable more if you know how it grows, you have a better hold on a word if you use it in acknowledgement of its roots, its background, some of the soil still attached.
Timing Schiming
I'd be more inclined to vote for Newt Gingrich than for any other Republican possibility in 2012 (even though I think Gingrich isn't telegenic enough to win the job in this TV age), but a recent mass email of his seems lame. The subject header was "Democrats Commit Political Suicide." How you ask? Because of timing.
He and his political party, led by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), are committing political suicide in three stunningly inexplicable steps.
Step One: Raising Taxes the Day of the "Jobs Summit"
No sane voter takes seriously any goverment dog & pony show with the word "summit" in it. Summits are the last refuge of the hopeless and are in that akin to their brotherlly phrase "War on [fill in the blank]". Since no one takes jobs summits seriously, no one is going to remember in 2010 that Dems raised taxes on the day of the jobs summit. Love ya, but I don't get it Newt.
The raising of taxes refers to the House vote to keep the death tax, which was scheduled to expire in 2010, which is sort of like news that it's windy in Kansas. The reason for the Democrat party's existence is to raise taxes in order to pay for more programs, just as the reason for the Republican party's existence is to allow people to keep more of their own money. Elections have consequences. We voted the turkeys in.
Step Two: Forcing Through Democratic Health Reform By Christmas
On the contrary, the longer they keep fattening this turkey of a bill - this oxymoronic pro-abort "health" care bill - the more public outrage will result. "If it twere done, best be done quickly." A dirty deed indeed. People will eat a lot of hotdogs as long as they don't have to sit through months of watching pork producers do their thing.
Step Three: Off To Copenhagen While Climategate Raises Temperatures at Home
Only 2.5% of us know that Copenhagen is something other than a brand of chaw. No one will care whether Obama went to Copenhagen during the Climategate a year from now, will they?
My Half-Assed Opinion
...take it for what it's worth. I'm no economist but it seems as though Obama is doing to the recession what the FDR did to the depression - lengthening it. Obama wants another spendulous package and I'm thinking there is a pattern here: delay bad stuff until his second term. (This is where I open myself to you saying, "ya think?")
For example - the troop surge in Afghanistan. He seems to be sending more troops because McCrystal painted him in a box, making the president either eat his campaign promise to take the war seriously or breaking it, the latter which might hurt him in '10 & '12 elections. The surge buys him time.
Similarly this spendulous crapola seems designed to try to create a few "make work" guvmint jobs in order to save his butt in '10 & '12...of course as soon as the make work jobs end, unemployment will go up. It all seems like gimickry to me, smoke & mirrors. Reagan went thru a job recession in '82 and we got it over with quickly - the pain that is. Now we're hoovering at 10% unemployment indefinitely instead of spiking to 12% for a shorter period of time. I'd rather have 12% unemployment for a year than 10% for 3-10 yrs, which will happen as soon as any "make work" jobs disappear.
It also reminds me of the lame cash for clunkers program which merely re-arranged the sales of cars to a bit earlier than they otherwise would've happened. Lame.
From Artist Timothy Jones
...found here via Bill Luse.
Note to Self...
Rene Girard on National Review TV
This Just In...the Weather Outside is....Cold
It's silly, I suppose, to mark meterological borders let alone write about them, but this December 6th we crossed into real winter. The kind of weather that chills to the bone (twenty-something degrees with a decent wind). The kind of weather that feels like you're walking into a big refrigerator and noticing, after a few minutes, that your ears and fingers are freezing. The extended adolescence of summer and fall is now experientially over and so we head into the uplands of adventurous winter. Let us now praise famous meterological events. Let us now move about the cabin of winter knowing that each day brings us closer to spring.
Weather is the ultimate in temporal reality - here today, gone tomorrow. And so to write about it would necessarily bore anyone who reads it two days later, just as it's boring to read the jottings of temperature and wind from someone living during the 1700s except inasmuch as it shows their awareness of<|fim_middle|> understanding of the proper relationship between faith and reason. - Sancta Sanctis
There is an evil tendency underlying all our technology - the tendency to do what is reasonable even when it isn't any good. - Robert Pirsig
To those in the crowd who would be His disciples, the message was clear: You, too, have to seek and save what was lost. You have to go to the descendants of Abraham I won't get to, and tell them that salvation has come to their house today. Don't keep Me in your houses for us to admire each other. Bring My word out to the people who haven't already heard it. The grumbling of Zacchaeus's neighbors is similar to the grumbling of the Prodigal Son's brother. All that God has is theirs, if they but knew it, and that includes His joy in Zacchaeus's return to life. - Tom of Disputations
Le poteau non fini
I spend a lot of time thinking about how to pioneer new forms of blogger comedy1, such as this one exibited by Hambone2. "Hambone" - ironically or not - happens to also be the nickname of slugger Josh Hamilton3.
(The picture of Tiger Woods & his wife at right has nothing to do with this post other than to make this blog more topical and relevant.)
1 Not strictly true.
2 aka "Ham of Bone", "Bone", "Ham".
3 a recent three million dollar government study shows that the nickname Hambone is associated 92% of the time with someone whose last name contains the letters "HAM".
Main Body of Post
So this morning I was listening to Franz Schubert's Unfinished Symphony and got to thinking about how the Summa Theologia was also unfini | the earth and gives some feeling into how their mood is shaped by it. Of course the ancients were very keenly attuned to the seasons, going to elaborate extremes in marking the solstices.
Musings About My Blog Apostolate
You know, it's harder than I thought to combine in a single blog post my recipe for a good lay homily without expressing the chip on my shoulder and my faulty sense of humor. :-) Link (sans back story).
Update: more from Betty.
The Book-Lover's Library.
The frontispiece of this book looks cool ("arise / pray / work" goes the crest):
Found via Bill of Summa.
If time is not filled by a present gifted with meaning, the waiting runs the risk of becoming unbearable; if something is expected, but at this moment there is nothing, namely, if the present is empty, every instant that passes seems exaggeratedly long, and the waiting is transformed into a weight that is too heavy because the future is totally uncertain. When, instead, time is gifted with meaning and we perceive in every instant something specific and valuable, then the joy of waiting makes the present more precious.
Dear brothers and sisters, let us live the present intensely, when we already have the gifts of the Lord, let us live it projected to the future, a future full of hope. The Christian Advent thus becomes an occasion to reawaken in ourselves the true meaning of waiting, returning to the heart of our faith which is the mystery of Christ, the Messiah awaited for long centuries and born in the poverty of Bethlehem. Coming among us, he has brought us and continues to offer us the gift of his love and of his salvation. Present among us, he speaks to us in many ways: in sacred Scripture, in the liturgical year, in the saints, in the events of daily life, in the whole of creation, which changes in aspect if he is behind it or if it is obfuscated by the mist of an uncertain origin and an uncertain future. In turn, we can speak to him, present to him the sufferings that afflict us, impatience, the questions that spring from the heart. We are certain that he always hears us! And if Jesus is present, there is no time deprived of meaning and void. If he is present, we can continue to wait also when others can no longer give us their support, even when the present is exhausting.
Dear friends, Advent is the time of the presence and the expectation of the eternal. Precisely for this reason it is, in a particular way, the time of joy, of an internalized joy, that no suffering can erase. Joy because of the fact that God became a child. This joy, invisibly present in us, encourages us to walk with confidence. Model and support of this profound joy is the Virgin Mary, through whom the Child Jesus has been given to us. May she, faithful disciple of her Son, obtain for us the grace to live this liturgical time vigilant and diligent in waiting. Amen. - Pope Benedict via Amy Welborn's blog
It is interesting that a technological society must constantly be reminded of its need to feel and experience what is happening to it in the present moment. It is not likely that you would need to remind a farmer in China that he must "become conscious of his sensations," because his daily life is one very much in contact with the world around him. But, perhaps, we must remind ourselves because so much of our livelihood – our use of the computer and television, our processed food – is devoid of a sensation that satisfies. This also relates back to a common thread of yours, Amy: the Kindle, Nook, and eReader! These electronic versions of book fail to give us the sensory stimulation we require in order to be healthy persons. Although there is nothing categorically wrong with them, it must be noted that we do need to touch things in order to be mentally healthy. - commenter ndawg on "Charlotte was Both"
Now I thought the blogosphere saved all the big flamewars for Lent, because fasting makes us cranky and because that way we could repent right away. But folks are flaming now... so I guess people are taking Advent more seriously as a penitential season these days. ;) - Maureen commenting on Sancta Sanctis
We must allow for the disappearance of palpable joy. Hence even Christ on the cross did not recite out loud the joyful parts of the psalm that he quoted as to its dire phrase ("my God, my God… why hast thou abandoned me") so as to show us that joy in its palpable form can be very out of place. Otherwise He would have included joyful comments from the same psalm on the cross and He did not. - Bill Bannon on Amy's blog
Some people think liturgy is our gift to God. If we go to church on Sunday, we're doing God a real big favor. But our liturgy is God's gift to us, not ours to him. St. Paul is quite clear that the purpose of the liturgy is not what we do at the celebration itself. That is simply the expression and nourishment of what is supposed to be the "liturgy of life," the way we live in the world. That's why St. Paul never uses words such as sacrifice, priesthood, or worship except to describe the life we live after the model of Christ. "It is not I who live," he writes, "but Christ who lives in me." That's the mystery the liturgy is all about. - Fr. Robert Taft S.J. via Tom of Disputations
[Scott Hahn is nothing short of a phenomenon, a sort of one man counter-assault on the faux Biblical studies hoisted upon us by a liberal zeitgeist in the ugly fallout from Vatican II. This guy also honestly believes in Inerrancy. The kind confirmed by "Providentissimus Deus" … Yes, way! Hahn is so congenially and over-the-top orthodox -- and so beyond what many have hoped or prayed for -- that his sales prove readers ready to forgive even his unending stream of painful puns. - Joe Martin via "The Pertinacious Papist"
The secular view of Christmas which I held to most of my life is nice and cozy, filled with plenty of traditions, and strong on family...Though this answer is also missing something. G.K. Chesterton once quipped about his friend George Bernard Shaw that he was like Venus de Milo in that "all there is of him is admirable." - Jeff Miller
Chabon's Memoir
"Hey, you got poetry in my prose."
"Hey, you've prose in my poetry."
Two great tastes in one book: Michael Chabon's Manhood for Amateurs. Not since the invention of the Reese Cup have I been as impressed. (Said merely for hyperbolic effect.)
Chabon paradoxically desires to be a hero while at the same time tending towards inertia, fear of change, and desirous of a strong woman as partner. Of his desire to rescue without being able to, he writes pithily: "In all that time, though there have been many other leapers, I have never managed to catch a single one, or learned how to stand back and just watch them fall."
Elsewhere there's lyricism:
There was a childish note of shame in her voice, and as I came into the sweltering bedroom of her lover and caught her smell of lily of the valley, I felt my heart, like a muscular reflex or spasm, forgive her.
He writes of that fork in the road in many a relationship, that epochal moment when the Clash "should I stay or should I go?" has life-altering consequences, even eternal consequences. In my case I can remember it so clearly - a grand, knock-down, drag-out verbal fight with my then-girlfriend (now wife) and I was walking out and I knew in an instant that if I walked out I would never see her again - but then I didn't. Here's Chabon writing of the drama of someone wanting to be his friend when he was a child:
I stood there at the front door with nothing in particular to do - I think I was reading a book when he knocked, likely some book I had already read - no good friend my age to speak of, no plausible excuse to send him away, though every strand and dendrite of instinct crying out to be left alone to my friendless but well-planned solitude...
Later his friend tried to set him up with a blind date and he resisted initially:
I could feel the familiar sensation as I said goodbye to him, the train pulling away from the platform, the call to adventure fading on the air, the tumult in the blood as the moon tries to fight its way out from behind a cloud and turn a man to a wolfman. Longing for change and fearing it, caught in a tissue woven of dread and regret shot through with purest gold threads of a yearning to get out of my book, my room, my house, my body, my skull, my life.
'All right," I said, as I had said to him when he bicycled over with his backgammon board. 'Just give me her number.'
Not very long afterward, in an ongoing act of surrender to the world beyond my window, with no possibility of knowing what joy or disaster might result, I married her.
He writes of a comic strip heroine, "Big Barda" as "reconfiguring the erotic topography of my brain." A perfect way to describe that phenomenon.
Other lines:
At the art of restrospection I was a young grandmaster. (If only there were a game of missed opportunities and of things lost and irrecoverable, a knack for the belated recognition of truths, for the exploitation of chances in imagination after it is too late!)
Pope Clement XI & St. Bernard (one for quality)
The eleventh Clement to ascend to the throne of Peter wrote a moving prayer in 1721, part of which is excerpted below:
"My God, I believe in You; strengthen my faith. All my hopes are in You; secure them.
I love you; teach me to love You daily more and more. I am sorry that I have offended You; increase my sorrow.
I adore you as the author of my first beginning. I aspire after you as my last end. I give you thanks as my constant benefactor. I call upon you as my sovereign protector.
My God, be pleased to conduct me by Your wisdom; to restrain me by the thought of your justice; to comfort me by your mercy; to defend me by your power."
It prompted me to read more about him, and I found that he's the pope who made tomorrow's feast of the Conception of the B.V.M. a Holy Day of obligation.
More from the Catholic Encyclopedia entry:
Clement's pastoral vigilance was felt in every corner of the earth. He organized the Church in the Philippine Islands and sent missionaries to every distant spot. He erected Lisbon into a patriarchate, 7 December, 1716. He enriched the Vatican Library with the manuscript treasures gathered at the expense of the pope by Joseph Simeon Assemani in his researches throughout Egypt and Syria... When the Jansenists provoked a new collision with the Church under the leadership of Quesnel, Pope Clement issued his two memorable Constitutions..Clement XI made the feast of the Conception of the B.V.M. a Holy Day of obligation, and canonized Pius V, Andrew of Avellino, Felix of Cantalice, and Catherine of Bologna.
This great and saintly pontiff died appropriately on the feast of St. Joseph, for whom he entertained a particular devotion, and in whose honour he composed the special Office found in the Breviary. His remains rest in St. Peter's.
And words of wisdom from St. Bernard:
"I must insist that we can only dare to undertake these things by grace, not by nature, nor even by effort. It is wisdom which overcomes malice, not effort or nature. There is no difficulty in finding grounds for hope: the soul must turn to the Word."
Ralph Martin writes, "Bernard also warns of the continual danger of turning the greatest good we have received -- the gratuitous grace of God -- into the greatest evil, the deluded pride that thinks God's gifts are our own doing or are deserved: 'do not treat his gifts as though they were ours by right, and thus not give glory to God...What is more wicked than for a servant to usurp the glory due his master?'"
Thought about the brother of the Prodigal son. If the story interested me originally in the prodigal, the wild more openly rebellious one being "more interesting" in the way evil is supposedly more interesting than good, now it interests me primarily in the elder brother. He had it all and didn't know it! How like us, who I think will look back in Heaven or Purgatory (hopefully) and see how much richness we had at our disposal. "All that is mine is yours," said the father to the brother. Oh if we believed that now.
Prayer line found: "God our father, glorious in giving life and even more glorious in restoring it." Amen!
DWP (or 'going for quantity')
A new Olympic sport - drunken programming! Yes there's nothing quite like the new extreme sport of DWP: drinking while programming. Friday due to an electricity outage I wasn't able to complete a full day working from home, I decided to run some low-watt (brain-watts that is) jobs on my 'puter late at night. Things went well - in fact I think I program better with a slight buzz. My attention to detail increases because even boring tasks are made more interesting through the prism of a fine stout. Of course I'd be hard-pressed to report any activity that isn't improved by drinking.
* * * Now reading: Hansel's Christian classic: "When I Relax I Feel Guilty". Subtitled "Is Fatigue Next to Godliness?"
I share a private blog with another blogger (thus making it not really private) and since I've been without any deep and meaningful thoughts I'll cut & paste from there (since nature and blogs abhor a vacuum). I'll also add a survey question in the right panel to determine whether you want quality or quantity in this blog. In other words, should I post what I had to eat this morning and what tricks my dog can do? That would be quantity... Yes I know this sort of metabloggic inquiry is a symptom of shark jumpage but...
The week felt long almost immediately, if that's not oxymornic. That's not unusual coming after a vacation week - the sudden shock of work is like having gotten used to a warm shower and then entering a cold one. Got a lot done, but then I define "a lot done" rather loosely, like overcoming the inertia to call and delay a dental appointment.
What else? Boring meetings at work. There's nothing more enervating than someone else's patently absurd enthusiasm though I'm likely just envious of the business piety. I cradled my Kindle and read "Game Six", a book about the sixth game of the 1975 World Series. It saved me from FBS (fatal boredom syndrome) although I only made it through 60 minutes of the 90 min optional meeting. A meeting so optional even my boss didn't even go.
It's too easy to be cynical, especially concerning the "engagement surveys" that are the latest corporate fad. Ever since the really high-ups have had as part of their evaluation employee engagement, it's been a hot topic. The hour-long meeting was a hoot since I used it as an opportunity to perfect my stand-up (or sit-down) comedy. After a long monologue crafted by our moderator, concerning the absence of data on what went into a "employee satisfaction" number, I offered that I would be "far more satisfied if I knew how employee satisfaction was derived." Guffaws broke out, though I wondered if I delivered the line a tad too slow. I'd been preparing it for at least three minutes and didn't want to say it too fast. Perhaps it was the perfect tempo because then people could anticipate what I was going to say and thus find contentment in its actualization.
Our moderator made it a point that he would find out how it was derived, thereby missing that I was funning him. Did I mention he was of German heritage?
Loving this NBA basketball book I'm reading in part because it explores why Bill Russell was better than Wilt Chamberlain. You couldn't have two more opposite individuals - one the consummate team player, the other a statistics maven. I, alas, have always been a stats man. I can tell how individualistic my mentality is by just I grade everything by the "impartiality" of statistics when I'm, ironically, falling into the trap of bias. For with a team game - like basketball, like life, like salvation - you need to look at the big picture, the team picture. The secret of basketball, said Isaiah Thomas, is that it's not about basketball. It's not about skills or statistics but about unselfishness. It's not how you perform, it's how your team performs.
... over at Requiem Press!
Personally I think the best books at Requiem are: The Story of Our Lady of Victory and Two Towers. My niece really enjoyed the former and myself the latter.
I have Russell Shaw's book Catholic Laity in the Mission of the Church but have thus far neglected to read it. So many books, so little time...
Draft Autosaved at 11:19 am
Title idea stolen from Dylan, who also offers this:
Maybe Tiger Woods should have a fling with the gal who crashed the state dinner at the White House with her husband, so as to combine the two most annoying stories of the current news cycle.
A happy birth anniversary to Steven Riddle today!
TAN Books has a handsome new Douay-Rheims version for sale and advertises: "Give the Gift of Holy Scripture - The words of guidance, comfort and love!" Not a bad summary of the Bible - guidance, in terms of the commandments and law, comfort, in the form of reassurance that God triumphs, and love in the descriptions of what God has done for us.
I would write an ode to the morning commute! While still experiencing the fast-perishing post-vacation euphoria, heard the 1812 Overture on the radio and in one of those pleasing and rare synchroniticies the fabulous ending coincided with my pulling into my parking place. I had the music blaring within and it seemed almost impossible not to roll down my window and share it with passerbys.
Speaking of real reasons for joy, 1 John 4:4 says "He that is within is greater than the world." Josh Hamilton said that any temptation that lingers longer than eight seconds is apt to be acted on, therefore it's crucial to drive out negative thoughts within those first eight sentences. For him the driver-outer was: "Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up." That was the little piece of Scripture he carried with him like a viaticum during the process of his conversion.
Also what pleasure last night to read part of Bill Simmons' book on NBA basketball history. It has it all: weight, humor, nostalgia. He talked about why we forget history so easily, why we want our new superstars to eclipse the old.
Oh, to be he, with snakes in the jakes!
Cistercian Merton, in his hermitage of icons,
in his dream-den where Proverb sings a secret ageless wisdom,
yes, the monk of hopeful phone-calls to hospitals of love.
Cistercian Merton, left of center, marginal in the rusted trailer,
patron of my fringe existence, pray for me
with your edifying cables, your sensational times,
your blind-lion tears between loblolly pines,
your vanishing trails to the stone Buddhas of unforeseen heaven,
your vow of silent conversation, prosing haiku pictures
of the cloistered farm, of nature's wreckage,
of the ramshackle glory of things as they are,
your coffee on cold mornings, your dexterous calligraphies,
your ephemeral Zen monuments of anguish and joy,
your sinful-saintly standing watch as the world does its work,
your searing psalmody, your soaring liturgies, your telling beads of heartbreak,
your sighs to the hills and frosted nightstars
of a distant immortal Kentucky. - - Thomas DeFreitas in "The Christendom Review"
Your drudgery is divine.
"A servant with this clause
Makes drudgery divine,
Who sweeps a room as for Thy laws
Makes that, and the action, fine."
- commenter on Betty Duffy's blog
"Mrs. Darwin?" I called. "Did you drink the left-over margaritas today?"
"Because someone did."
"Oh..."
"Did any of the kids seem odd today?"
"Oh my gosh, the neighbor kids!"...
Sad to say, interviews this morning revealed a rather less exciting story. Our own three-year-old had poured herself a cup of "lemonaid" from the fridge, but on tasting it concluded that "it tasted like wine" and so for the general welfare she had poured the cup and indeed all the rest of the pitcher down the sink.
I must admit that, while I'm glad no one was made sick, I am a little disappointed at the true story. - Darwin Catholic
Q: What did the Calvinist say after he fell down the stairs?
A: Well! I'm glad that's over with! - Mark Shea
[Writing] is an impulse, a way of making sense of the world and of relationships. When someone is born with this impulse, not writing, to some extent means not growing. And publishing is a natural end to this process. There will always be a struggle then to write honestly and still protect the people and experiences that inform the writing process...David Matthews, author of "Ace of Spades,"says, "When it comes to writing about family or friends, you can be liked, or you can tell the truth. If you want both, you should become an accountant." - Betty Duffy
I've been learning about Young Earth Creationism and Uniformitarianism vs. Catastrophism alongside my Evangelical student. This is the first time I've ever come across a serious defense of either theory, and I must say I'm quite fascinated, even as I vaguely think I'm supposed to be appalled. As far as I can tell, the theory that the layers and rock formations in the earth's crust (at least those above the Great Unconformity) were suddenly laid down by a flood that devastated the whole world, is as sound as the consensus that the same layers and rock formations developed over millions of years due to the natural processes of weathering and sedimentation. I have no quarrel with the author of Fire Storm's Science textbook, who seems to lack only the Catholic | 4,833 |
Earlier this summer, we ran a post called "Dutch Treat," about how the great crime novelist Elmore Leonard, author of GET SHORT<|fim_middle|>.
The man was 87, a good age for anyone to reach. But that doesn't make his death earlier today less shocking. His books are so full of life. And so was he, right up to the end.
We described him in our earlier post as a living legend.
Amen to your obit. I shall miss his truths about humanity in all our weaknesses and foibles. And I'm toasting him with a martini. Perhaps two or three. And saying, Just look at us.
Geez, One less last good thing to look forward to in this life; his Books. Elmore Leonard, RIP. There won't be another of his ilk in this lifetime. I sure do hope that he saw your tribute to him. | Y and FREAKY DEAKY and GOLD COAST and RUM PUNCH and so many others, found out about us and shipped us a set of his books so we'd have some great pulp fiction to appreciate all summer long. Little did we know, we wouldn't have Elmore Leonard with us all summer long | 65 |
Teaching Newton at the University of Cambridge.
William Whiston, Sir Isaac Newton's Mathetmatick Philosophy More Easily Demonstrated (London, 1716), p. 1.
Whiston's Sir Isaac Newton<|fim_middle|> A History of Cambridge University's Lucasian Professors of Mathematics (Cambridge), pp. 135-170. | 's mathematick philosophy more easily demonstrated (London, 1716), detail.
It is perhaps ironic that the first professor to teach Newtonian ideas at Cambridge was perhaps the least able to communicate his ideas to a young undergraduate audience: Newton himself. We are told by Newtonians such as William Whiston (1667-1752) that though he had on occasion attended lectures by Newton he (and the rest of the student body) could make little of them and at times Newton was reduced to lecturing to an empty hall. Whiston had entered Clare College in 1686 and graduated BA in 1689. By 1693 he was a senior fellow in Exeter College but it was only in the following year that he began to study the Principia, encouraged to do so by a paper by the Scottish Newtonian, David Gregory (1659-1708). Thereafter he approached the promotion of Newtonianism with the zeal of a convert. Today he is best known, not only for the plethora of texts he produced in order to attain this goal, but also for his application of Newtonian astronomical theory to theology and his too zealous adherence to aspects of Newtonianism which Newton himself had rather left covert.
Whiston's initial work, his A New Theory of the Earth was published at London in 1696. During his university career Whiston concentrated on producing guides to Newton's works, whether it was in the form of publishing Newton's own lectures (Arithmetica Universalis of 1707) or his own astronomical lectures, the Praelectiones astronomicae (Cambridge, 1707) or the Praelectiones physico-mathematicae (Cambridge, 1710) three years later which presented Newtonian ideas on astronomy, physics and mathematics in an easily digestible form for undergraduates. These two sets of lectures by Whiston were later translated into English asAstronomical lectures, read in the publick schools at Cambridge> (London, 1715) and Sir Isaac Newton's Mathematick Philosophy More Easily Demonstrated (London, 1716) and were collected by Worth in their English translations. Their subsequent editions attest to the popularity of the texts, not only among young Cambridge undergraduate but also in the wider world. These textbooks represent Whiston's academic teaching at the height of his career as third Lucasian Professor of Mathematics. With Newton's support he had been appointed to this prestigious post in May 1702 and even before this had acted as Newton's deputy in the post. His thirty-one astronomical lectures cover the period 27 January 1701 to 6 December 1703 while his forty-one lecture series on Newtonian mathematical physics lasted from 7 February 1704 to early December 1708. By February 1709 Whiston had moved on to study solar and lunar eclipses, and from 1707 onwards he had accompanied his lecture series with a course on experimental philosophy, which he taught with Roger Cotes, the Plumian Professor of Astronomy. 1707 was a good year for Whiston: he was invited to give the prestigious Boyle Lectures for that year and he also produced an edition of Newton's own lectures on algebra, the Arithmetica Universalis at Cambridge.
By October 1710, everything had gone wrong for Whiston. Beginning c. 1706-7 Whiston had begun to doubt the doctrine of the Trinity. He was probably influenced in this regards by both Newton and Samuel Clarke but unlike Newton, Whiston went public about his new beliefs and in October 1710 was expelled from the University of Cambridge for heresy. He moved to London and became involved in the lucrative business of experimental lecturing, forming a partnership with Francis Hauksbee the Younger and endeavouring to spread his anti-Trinitarianism and Newtonianism with equal zeal. Indeed, as is made clear in the investigation of some of his theological works in the 'Newton and Theologians' section of this website, Whiston did not see them as being separate entities. He was well aware that Newton's own theology was heterodox. Whiston's theological outpourings subsequently led to a breach with Newton. They did so not because Newton disagreed with Whiston's anti-Trinitarianism, but because Newton was desperate to keep his unorthodox views secret. He therefore strongly disapproved of Whiston's activities in London and elsewhere.
Whiston's astronomical and natural philosophical lectures at Cambridge were considerably less controversial, though he did at times present Newtonian ideas with rather more certainty than their original author had done so. Worth's purchase of Whiston's Sir Isaac Newton's mathematick philosophy more easily demonstrated is not surprising, given that it was, as Cohen (1972) reminds us 'the first extended commentary on the Principia to have been published'. It is important to realise that it was appealing to ready market. Even before Whiston's popular lecture courses at Cambridge, Newtonianism had been steadily overtaking Cartesianism in natural philosophical teaching there. In 1695, Samuel Clarke, a student at Caius College, had presented the first Newtonian thesis at Cambridge and, as Hall (2001) demonstrates, centres of Newtonianism were developing at Trinity, Clare and Corpus Christi Colleges from the late 1690s onwards.
Cohen, I. B. (1972), Introduction in William Whiston's Sir Isaac Newton's Mathematick Philosophy More Easily Demonstrated.
Hall, A. Rupert (2001), 'Cambridge: Newton's Legacy', Notes and Records of the Royal Society of London, 55, no. 2, pp. 205-26.
Snobelen, Stephen D. (1998), 'On reading Isaac Newton's Principia in the 18th Century', Endeavour 22 no. 4, pp 159-163.
Snobelen, Stephen D. and Stewart, Larry (2003), 'Making Newton easy: William Whiston in Cambridge and London', in Kevin C. Know and Richard Noakes (eds) From Newton to Hawking. | 1,317 |
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Pilgrimage across U.S. lets peacemaker spread light from Bethlehem
Posted on December 13, 2018 by Administrator1
At Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Indianapolis Dec. 4,<|fim_middle|>, a student from Lafayette, Ind., holds a candle containing the Peace Light after receiving the fire at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Lafayette Dec. 4. (CNS photo/Katie Rutter)
In most cases, the lanterns lit by the Peace Light will illuminate congregations and homes through the Christmas season. Duane hopes that those lights serve as a constant reminder that small actions, like small lanterns, have the power to light a darkened world.
"We sometimes feel overwhelmed when there's major conflicts going on in the Middle East or wherever it happens to be," Duane said.
"Like, what can I do? Well, I can be kind and gentle to my family, my neighbors, the lady at the store, everybody else. Be a vehicle of peace, be a vessel of peace," he said.
Copyright ©2018 Catholic News Service/ U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
This entry was posted in U.S., World and tagged Bethlehem, Boy Scouts, Catholic, Denver, Illinois, Indiana, Indianapolis, LaFayette, Light, Michigan, New York, Peace. Bookmark the permalink. | Natalee Darzentas, a student at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School in Indianapolis, holds a candle ignited with the Peace Light, a flame kindled from the place in Bethlehem, West Bank, where Christ was born. The flame was passed to hundreds of people in more than 30 states by a national network of volunteers. (CNS photo/Katie Rutter)
By Katie Rutter
LAFAYETTE, Ind. (CNS) — Brian Duane's maroon Subaru had already covered about 1,800 miles when he pulled into the parking lot at the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception in Lafayette Dec. 4.
At Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Indianapolis, Karmin Shaw, a student at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School, watches as Brian Duane adjusts her lantern Dec. 4 after it had been ignited with the Peace Light, a flame kindled from the place in Bethlehem, West Bank, where Christ was born. Duane is part of a network of volunteers distributing the fire across the country and drove the light from New York City as far west as Denver. (CNS photo/Katie Rutter)
It was Duane's 18th stop in what would be a weeklong, cross-country journey for the resident of Pembroke, Massachusetts, and his car contained precious cargo with a radiance of goodwill.
This road trip was a mission from Bethlehem carrying a message of peace, contained in a glowing lantern.
This fire had originally been kindled at Christ's birthplace, the Grotto of the Nativity in Bethlehem, West Bank. Duane is part of a national network of volunteers spreading this "Peace Light from Bethlehem" across the nation.
"It is symbolic of Christ's love for us and of the Prince of Peace," Duane told Catholic News Service. "It serves as a reminder to us."
For more than a decade, volunteers like Duane have driven this flame from coast to coast, lighting hundreds of lanterns along the route.
The effort to spread the Peace Light is spearheaded by Scouts and Scouting advisers, most often associated with Catholic churches.
A screenshot of the current U.S. route, locations and planned distribution ceremonies of the Peace Light is shown in this Dec. 10 photo. (CNS photo)
The goal is to kindle peace in all hearts by remembering Christ's mission began in Bethlehem.
"It's symbolic, but it's the effort, the coming together, the dedication to peace and heading home and spreading the message, even at the family level," said Bob McLear, who lives west of Chicago.
McLear planned to take the light from Lafayette back to his parish in Batavia, Illinois, and pass it off to another volunteer headed to Madison, Wisconsin.
Austrian Scout Niklas Lehner poses Nov. 26 with a Greek Orthodox priest in the Grotto of the Nativity in Bethlehem, West Bank, where Christ was born. Niklas had just kindled the flame that would be known as the Peace Light from Bethlehem and would be spread around the world. (CNS photo/courtesy ORF)
The Peace Light's journey can be traced back to a tradition in Austria. For the past 32 years, the Austrian Broadcasting Corporation ORF has sent a child to Bethlehem to kindle a flame from the oil lamps hanging above Christ's birthplace.
The fire, stored in two explosion-proof miner's lanterns, is then flown with a safety adviser back to Europe, where it is spread to more than 30 countries.
"The reaction of the people touched my heart," said Wolfgang Kerndler, a security expert for Austrian Airlines, who has escorted the flame for about two decades.
"Even the crew is proud to be part of the operation," Kerndler told CNS in an email. "It's an honor."
Austrian Scout Nicklas Lehner and Austrian Airlines security expert Wolfgang Kerndler pose Nov. 28 with lanterns containing the Peace Light from Bethlehem, a flame kindled in Bethlehem, West Bank, where Christ was born. The two sit aboard an Austrian Airlines flight as they prepare to distribute the flame to Europe, and, ultimately, to North America. (CNS photo/courtesy Wolfgang Kerndler)
The Peace Light first arrived in the United States in the wake of the terrorist attacks on 9/11. The Austrian government and national Scouting association sent the flame with a VIP delegation to comfort the grieving nation.
"New York City really was devastated," said Paul Stanton, the international representative for New York City with the Boy Scouts of America.
"It was a great sign of kindness from the people of the world," he told CNS in a phone interview from New York City.
The light has been flown by Austrian Airlines to New York every year since. Stanton helps to organize the official reception at John F. Kennedy International Airport.
Scouting advisers light dozens of lanterns and candles with the Peace Light, a flame kindled in Bethlehem, West Bank, where Christ was born, at the Our Lady of the Skies Chapel in the John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City Dec. 1. (CNS photo/courtesy Michael Moscicki)
This year, about 150 adults and children gathered at the airport's Our Lady of the Skies Chapel to welcome the light of peace and kindle their own flames.
"The youth are needing to know that there is hope, but they also need to know if there is going to be a better world, it will start with them," Stanton said.
Duane was at the chapel to light his lanterns and begin his journey.
From New York, he drove as far west as Denver, before heading back to Massachusetts, logging more than 5,400 miles.
Along the way, Duane stopped at 26 locations to meet volunteers, participate in ceremonies and pass on the flame.
"I've walked into so many different places, a very liberal congregation, a very conservative congregation," he said, "and yet we all agree on the need for peace and civility."
Brian Duane, a volunteer distributing the Peace Light across the country, speaks to nearly 100 scouts and parents gathered at the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception in Lafayette, Ind., during a distribution ceremony Dec. 4. (CNS photo/Katie Rutter)
Duane arrived in Indianapolis Dec. 4 where more than 60 people, mostly children, gathered at Our Lady of Lourdes Parish to welcome him and spread the flame from Bethlehem. Lanterns and candles lined the altar.
"I think that it's really beautiful and I'm really happy that we came," said Eliza Frank, a student at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School.
"We hear about Jesus being born in Bethlehem, but we never actually see anything from there or go there, so I thought that was really cool," Frank said.
Aaron Emery, left, and his son, Andrew Emery of Lafayette, Ind., help Brian Duane carry the Peace Light, contained in specially-equipped buckets, into the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception Dec. 4. (CNS photo/Katie Rutter)
When Duane arrived at the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception in Lafayette later that evening, nearly 100 Scouts and parents were present to spread the light. Even the youngest were challenged to share the flame with at least three other people in their local community, spreading hope and peace in the process.
"To the people out there that don't have a chance to get the peace light," said John Niemann, an Eagle Scout and student at Purdue University, "you can still hold Christ's peace in your heart throughout this Christmas season and really strive to have that, even though you can't physically have the flame with you."
The Peace Light was set to reach California by Dec. 13 and is reported to burn in more than 30 states.
A Facebook page set up by volunteers mapped out the spread of the Peace Light and continues to field requests from individuals wishing to take the flame to their own communities.
Braden Mosier | 1,686 |
Our hotel has a unique location for when looking for a hotel in Copenhagen, and it is in almost the centre of Copenhagen city just next to Østerport Station. Whether you are travelling alone, with a partner or your family, Hotel Østerport is an excellent choice for anyone looking for an inexpensive hotel in the heart of Copenhagen. All our rooms have Smart TV with Google Chromecast, and to during your stay, all our guests get a free smartphone with free calls and unlimited data during their here. In less than 20 minutes you'll be able to walk to prime destinations such as the Residence of the Royal Family (Amalienborg), the Danish National Stadium (PARKEN), Europe's longest pedestrian shopping street (Strøget), the pretty waterways of New Harbour (Nyhavn), as well as top spots such as The King's New Square (Kongens Nytorv) and Langelinie. And then you're only a 25 minutes' train ride away from the airport. Every day we take good care of business travellers and tourists who want an affordable and centrally located hotel in Copenhagen. We take pride in providing the best attentive service, a delicious breakfast, and of course clean rooms that live up to your best standards. You'll always find our best price for a room here on the page when in need of a hotel in Copenhagen and on top of that we offer free breakfast with the room when you book here at our website.
You can get directions on how to get to Hotel Østerport here.
Hotel Osterport has 170 rooms, all with<|fim_middle|> services from Airluggage. | Wi-Fi, a Smart TV with all the latest streaming apps and Danish and international channels. We also offer free Smartphone in all our rooms with free calls and unlimited data. All rooms and hotel generally are non-smoking. Our location is very central for a hotel in Copenhagen is situated right next to Østerport station and therefore may experience some noise from the trains may occur.
Every morning we serve a well-assorted breakfast buffet. Sit down and prepare the day's activities while enjoying a range of homemade bread, cold cuts, eggs, bacon and sausages, fruit, cereal, yoghurt – and a piece of pastry if you wish to be extra kind to yourself. Breakfast includes of course coffee, tea, and juice. The buffet is open every morning between 06:30 and 10:00 AM on weekdays and 07:30 and 11:30 AM on weekends. And when you book a room at our website, the breakfast is included in the room price for free.
Drink a cup of coffee in our comfy lobby area before you kick off a long day of shopping and sightseeing in Copenhagen. Or enjoy a glass of wine before heading out for dinner or down to a concert at the National Stadium (PARKEN). You can use the lobby for your next business meeting or as a place to sit and relax while watching life goes by on Oslo Square. Our hotel is uniquely located almost in the heart of Copenhagen.
There is no parking at the hotel. If you arrive by car you are welcome to use the car park close to the hotel. Don't forget to buy a parking ticket in one of the vending machines.
Check-in is at 15.00 and Check-out is at 11.00. If you want to get an early check-in or late check-out this is possible for an extra cost, please ask at the reception about pricing.
Why not experience more on your departure day, and free yourself from carrying around your bags in Central Copenhagen.
Hotel Østerport can now offer the | 419 |
Gráficos interativos, cotações e ferramentas de análise gratuitas
Graham Notícias
Seguir GHM
1,11 (8,81%)
After-Market (Fechado)
Graham Corporation Reports Fiscal 2022 First Quarter Results
10 Agosto 2021 - 07:30AM
Revenue of $20.2 million up 21%, driven by defense and refining industry sales
Orders increased to $20.9 million including $11.4 million from the refining industry
Backlog at quarter-end was $235.9 million; 80% of backlog was for the defense industry; Added space industry to backlog with acquisition of Barber Nichols
Profits and margins heavily impacted by product mix
Graham Corporation (NYSE: GHM), a global business that designs, manufactures and sells critical equipment for the defense, energy, and chemical/petrochemical industries, today reported financial results for its first quarter ended June 30, 2021 ("first quarter of fiscal 2022"). Results include one month of financials related to Barber-Nichols ("BN") which was acquired on June 1, 2021. Separately today the Company announced that Daniel J. Thoren will be promoted to President and Chief Executive Officer effective September 1, 2021, immediately following the retirement of James R. Lines who served with the Company for 37 years.
Mr. Lines commented, "While sales improved as a result of the acquisition, we had a number of projects with lower margins which heavily impacted profitability in the quarter. This partially reflects our initial strategy to aggressively enter the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program ("NNNP"). Given our strong performance on the NNNP projects, we were successful with our strategy and have since earned a sole source position. We expect that the vast majority of the impact of first order projects will be behind us by the end of fiscal 2022."
Mr. Lines added, "While the quarter's results were disappointing, we view this fiscal year as a transition and believe we are better positioned to drive growth and stronger margins for the future."
First Quarter Fiscal 2022 Sales Summary (All comparisons are with the same prior-year period unless noted otherwise. See accompanying financial tables for a breakdown of sales by industry and region.)
Net sales of $20.2 million increased $3.4 million, or 21%, driven by $3.5 million in sales associated with the acquisition of BN and higher sales to the refining industry which helped to offset lower petrochemical sales. Last fiscal year's first quarter benefitted from the shipment of a large petrochemical project that had been extended from fiscal 2020 into fiscal 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. BN had one month of sales included in the fiscal 2022 first quarter's results.
Sales to the defense markets were up 104% to $7.1 million and represented 35% of total revenue. Sales to the refining markets increased $1.9 million from the prior-year period to $4.6 million and represented 23% of total sales. Chemical/petrochemical market sales were $4.6 million compared with $8.0 million in the prior fiscal year.
From a geographic perspective, domestic sales were 69% of total sales and reflect the impact of BN, along with higher sales to the defense industry. The majority of international sales were to Asia, which accounted for 17% of total sales.
Fluctuations in Graham's sales among geographic locations and industries can vary measurably from quarter-to-quarter based on the timing and magnitude of projects. Graham does not believe that such quarter-to-quarter fluctuations are indicative of business trends.
First Quarter Fiscal 2022 Performance Review
(All comparisons are with the same prior-year period unless noted otherwise.)
($ in millions except per share data)
Q1 FY22
Gross margin
Operating margin
Net loss
Adjusted diluted EPS
Adjusted EBITDA
Adjusted EBITDA margin
*Graham believes that Adjusted EBITDA (defined as consolidated net income (loss) before net interest expense, income taxes, depreciation, amortization and other acquisition related expenses), and Adjusted EBITDA margin (Adjusted EBITDA as a percentage of sales), which are non-GAAP measures, help in the understanding of its operating performance. Moreover, Graham's credit facility also contains ratios based on Adjusted EBITDA. Graham also believes that adjusted EPS, which adds back intangible amortization expense related to acquisitions, provides a better representation of the cash earnings of the Company. See the attached table on page 9 for additional important disclosures regarding Graham's use of Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA margin and Adjusted diluted EPS as well as the reconciliation of net income/(loss) to Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted diluted EPS.
Lower gross profit and margin despite higher sales volume, was due to a poor mix of projects in the Company's Batavia production facility combined with a lower level of outsourced fabrication.
Selling, general and administrative ("SG&A") expenses were $4.9 million, up $1.0 million, or 26%. BN accounted for $0.6 million of the increase, including the impact of intangible asset amortization. The remaining increase was due to acquisition-related and organizational development costs. SG&A, as a percent of sales for the three-month periods ended June 30, 2021, and 2020 were 24.4% and 23.4%, respectively.
Net loss per diluted share was $0.31. On a non-GAAP basis, which excludes intangible amortization and other costs related to the acquisition, adjusted earnings per share were $(0.28).
Strong Balance Sheet with Ample Liquidity
Cash, cash equivalents and investments at June 30, 2021 were $19.1 million compared with $65.0 million at March 31, 2021. During the quarter, in connection with the acquisition of BN, the Company utilized $41.1 million of cash, cash equivalents and investments, and incurred debt of $20 million pursuant to a 5-year term loan.
Net cash used by operating activities was $7.1 million compared with cash usage of $4.4 million in the prior-year period. The change in cash usage reflects the higher net loss and changes in working capital, which included the utilization of customer deposits.
Year-to-date capital spending was $0.4 million. The Company has adjusted anticipated capital expenditures for fiscal 2022 to be between $3.5 million and $4.0 million (including BN).
Orders and Backlog
($ in millions)
Orders of $20.9 million increased 82% over the prior-year period and 55% sequentially. The year-over-year growth was across each of Graham's major industries, with the bulk from defense and refining. The growth in orders sequentially was largely from the refining industry. The one month of orders from BN during the quarter were $0.2 million. Domestic orders were 74% of total net orders in the first quarter of fiscal 2022 compared with 28% in the prior-year period, reflecting the demand from the U.S. Navy.
Backlog at the end of the quarter was $235.9 million, inclusive of BN backlog of $94.4 million.
Backlog by industry at June 30, 2021 was approximately:
80% for defense projects
12% for refinery projects
3% for chemical/petrochemical projects
2% for space projects
3% for other industrial applications
The Company expects approximately 35% to 40% of backlog will convert to revenue in the last nine months of fiscal 2022. Approximately $25 million to $27 million of backlog related to the defense industry is expected to convert to sales in fiscal 2022.
Fiscal 2022 Guidance Remains Unchanged
Daniel J. Thoren, currently the Company's President and COO, concluded, "I am encouraged by the improvement in orders in the quarter, specifically from the refining market. Our quoting activity is picking up and, while still early, we believe our customers are more optimistic. We anticipate this optimism will translate into greater capital investments and improving demand for our products. In the meantime, our second quarter will benefit from having BN for a full three months. However, based on the timing of customers' projects, we expect that revenue and profits will ramp through the second half of the fiscal year. We see fiscal 2022 as a transition year as it relates to earnings, given the timing of conversion of first order projects for the U.S. Navy."
He added, "We are very optimistic about our future. We believe that we have the right strategy, the best talent and the ideal technologies to capitalize on the growing requirements of our customers in the defense industry. We also are encouraged with the improvements we are seeing in our core energy markets. Together, our combined Graham and BN teams are looking to improve our growth profile while driving profitability."
Revenue in fiscal 2022 is expected to be $130 million to $140 million with 45% to 50% associated with the defense industry. Revenue expectations are inclusive of BN's 10-month revenue contribution for the fiscal year which is expected to be between $45 million to $48 million. Adjusted EBITDA* is expected to be approximately $7.0 million to $9.0 million in fiscal 2022.
*Please refer and read the safe harbor statement regarding forward-looking non-GAAP measures.
Webcast and Conference Call
Graham's management will host a conference call and live webcast today at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time to review its financial condition and operating<|fim_middle|> GAAP measures without unreasonable effort or expense. In addition, the Company believes that such reconciliations would imply a degree of precision that would be confusing or misleading to investors. The unavailable information could have a significant impact on the Company's fiscal 2022 financial results. These non-GAAP financial measures are preliminary estimates and are subject to risks and uncertainties, including, among others, changes in connection with purchase accounting, quarter-end and year-end adjustments. Any variation between the Company's actual results and preliminary financial data set forth above may be material.
Graham Corporation
Consolidated Statements of Income - Unaudited
(Amounts in thousands, except per share data)
June 30,
Cost of products sold
Other expenses and income:
Selling, general and administrative
Selling, general and administrative – amortization
(55
Total other expenses and income
Loss before benefit for income taxes
(3,871
Benefit for income taxes
(0.31
Diluted:
Weighted average common shares outstanding:
Dividends declared per share
Consolidated Balance Sheets – Unaudited
Trade accounts receivable, net of allowances ($67 and $29 at June 30 and March 31, 2021, respectively)
Unbilled revenue
Prepaid expenses and other current assets
Income taxes receivable
Property, plant and equipment, net
Prepaid pension asset
Operating lease assets
Technology and technical know how
Other intangible assets, net
Short-term debt obligations
Current portion of long-term debt
Current portion of finance lease obligations
Accrued compensation
Accrued expenses and other current liabilities
Customer deposits
Operating lease liabilities
Income taxes payable
Finance lease obligations
Deferred income tax liability
Accrued pension and postretirement liabilities
Preferred stock, $1.00 par value, 500 shares authorized
Common stock, $0.10 par value, 25,500 shares authorized, 10,874 and 10,748 shares issued and 10,691 and 9,959 shares outstanding at June 30 and March 31, 2021, respectively
Capital in excess of par value
Accumulated other comprehensive loss
Treasury stock (183 and 790 shares at June 30 and March 31, 2021, respectively)
(12,393
Total liabilities and stockholders' equity
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows – Unaudited
Operating activities:
Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash used by operating activities:
Amortization of actuarial losses
Equity-based compensation expense
Gain on disposal or sale of property, plant and equipment
Deferred income taxes
(Increase) decrease in operating assets:
Prepaid expenses and other current and non-current assets
Increase (decrease) in operating liabilities:
Accrued compensation, accrued expenses and other current and non-current liabilities
Long-term portion of accrued compensation, accrued pension liability and accrued postretirement benefits
Net cash used by operating activities
Investing activities:
Purchase of property, plant and equipment
Proceeds from disposal of property, plant and equipment
Purchase of investments
Redemption of investments at maturity
Acquisition of Barber-Nichols, LLC
Net cash (used) provided by investing activities
Financing activities:
Increase in short-term debt obligations
Principal repayments on long-term debt
Proceeds from the issuance of long-term debt
Principal repayments on finance lease obligations
Repayments on lease financing obligations
Payment of debt issuance costs
Purchase of treasury stock
Net cash provided (used) by financing activities
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash
Net (decrease) increase in cash and cash equivalents
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period
Cash and cash equivalents at end of period
Adjusted EBITDA Reconciliation - Unaudited
Net (loss)
Acquisition related inventory step-up expense
Acquisition related costs
Net interest expense (income)
Depreciation & amortization
Adjusted EBITDA margin %
Adjusted Net Income Reconciliation - Unaudited
Amortization of intangible assets
Normalize tax rate to 19%(1)
Adjusted Net income (loss)
Adjusted diluted earnings per share
1) Applies a normalized tax rate of 19% to non-GAAP adjustments above, which are each pre-tax.
Non-GAAP Financial Measure:
Adjusted EBITDA is defined as consolidated net income (loss) before net interest expense, income taxes, depreciation, amortization and other acquisition related expenses and Adjusted EBITDA margin is defined as Adjusted EBITDA as a percentage of sales. EBITDA and EBITDA margin are not measures determined in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States, commonly known as GAAP. Nevertheless, Graham believes that providing non-GAAP information, such as EBITDA, is important for investors and other readers of Graham's financial statements, as it is used as an analytical indicator by Graham's management to better understand operating performance. Moreover, Graham's credit facility also contains ratios based on EBITDA. Because EBITDA is a non-GAAP measure and is thus susceptible to varying calculations, EBITDA, as presented, may not be directly comparable to other similarly titled measures used by other companies.
Adjusted net income and diluted EPS are defined as net income and diluted EPS as reported, adjusted for certain items and at a normalized tax rate. Adjusted net income and diluted EPS are not measures determined in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States, commonly known as GAAP, and may not be comparable to the measures as used by other companies. Nevertheless, Graham believes that providing non-GAAP information, such as adjusted net income and diluted EPS, is important for investors and other readers of the Company's financial statements and assists in understanding the comparison of the current quarter's and current year's net income and diluted EPS to the historical periods' net income and diluted EPS. Graham also believes that adjusted EPS, which adds back intangible amortization expense related to acquisitions, provides a better representation of the cash earnings of the Company.
Additional Information – Unaudited
SALES BY INDUSTRY FY 2022*
Chemical/ Petrochemical
Other Commercial
*Quarters may not sum to year-to-date/total fiscal year due to rounding
Additional Information - Unaudited
SALES BY REGION FY 2022*
Jeffrey F. Glajch Vice President - Finance and CFO Phone: (585) 343-2216 jglajch@graham-mfg.com
Deborah K. Pawlowski Kei Advisors LLC Phone: (716) 843-3908 dpawlowski@keiadvisors.com
Graham (NYSE:GHM)
Notícias Graham Corp.
Statement of Changes in Beneficial Ownership (4)
Quinta, 9 de Dezembro de 2021 (1 mês atrás) • Edgar (US Regulatory)
Current Report Filing (8-k)
Segunda, 29 de Novembro de 2021 (2 meses atrás) • Edgar (US Regulatory)
Graham CFO Jeffrey Glajch to retire
Segunda, 29 de Novembro de 2021 (2 meses atrás) • Seeking Alpha
Graham Corporation Announces Retirement of Jeffrey F. Glajch, Chief Financial Officer
Segunda, 29 de Novembro de 2021 (2 meses atrás) • Business Wire
Graham Corporation Presentation at the 2021 Southwest IDEAS Investor Conference to be Webcast Live
Quinta, 11 de Novembro de 2021 (2 meses atrás) • Business Wire
Quarterly Report (10-q)
Sexta, 29 de Outubro de 2021 (3 meses atrás) • Edgar (US Regulatory)
Graham Corporation Reports Sales Grew 22% for Second Quarter Fiscal 2022
Quarta, 27 de Outubro de 2021 (3 meses atrás) • Business Wire
Graham Corporation Declares $0.11 per Share Quarterly Cash Dividend
Terça, 26 de Outubro de 2021 (3 meses atrás) • Business Wire
Graham Corporation Announces Second Quarter Fiscal Year 2022 Financial Results Release and Conference Call
Graham Corporation Presentation at the Sidoti Fall 2021 Virtual Small Cap Conference to be Webcast Live
Sexta, 10 de Setembro de 2021 (4 meses atrás) • Business Wire
Quinta, 2 de Setembro de 2021 (4 meses atrás) • Edgar (US Regulatory)
Quarta, 25 de Agosto de 2021 (5 meses atrás) • Edgar (US Regulatory)
Mais Notícias de Graham Corp. | results for the first quarter of fiscal 2022, as well as its strategy and outlook. The review will be accompanied by a slide presentation, which will be made available immediately prior to the conference call on Graham's website at www.graham-mfg.com under the heading "Investor Relations." A question-and-answer session will follow the formal presentation.
Graham's conference call can be accessed by calling (201) 689-8560. Alternatively, the webcast can be monitored on Graham's website at www.graham-mfg.com under the heading "Investor Relations."
A telephonic replay will be available from 2:00 p.m. ET today through Tuesday, August 17, 2021. To listen to the archived call, dial (412) 317-6671 and enter conference ID number 13721239. A transcript of the call will be placed on Graham's website, once available.
ABOUT GRAHAM CORPORATION
Graham is a global business that designs, manufactures and sells critical equipment for the defense, energy, aerospace, medical, technology, automotive and chemical/petrochemical industries. The Graham and Barber-Nichols' global brands are built upon world-renowned engineering expertise in vacuum and heat transfer, cryogenics, and turbomachinery technologies, as well as the Company's responsive and flexible service and unsurpassed quality.
Graham routinely posts news and other important information on its website, www.graham-mfg.com, where additional comprehensive information on Graham Corporation and its subsidiaries can be found.
Safe Harbor Regarding Forward Looking Statements
This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.
Forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions and are identified by words such as "expects," "estimates," "confidence," "projects," "typically," "outlook," "anticipates," "indicates", "believes," "appears," "could," "opportunities," "seeking," "plans," "aim," "pursuit," "look towards" and other similar words. All statements addressing operating performance, events, or developments that Graham Corporation expects or anticipates will occur in the future, including but not limited to, effects of the COVID-19 global pandemic, the integration of the BNI acquisition, the future expected contributions of BN, expected expansion and growth opportunities within its domestic and international markets, anticipated revenue, the timing of conversion of backlog to sales, market presence, profit margins, tax rates, foreign sales operations, its ability to improve cost competitiveness and productivity, customer preferences, changes in market conditions in the industries in which it operates, the effect on its business of volatility in commodities prices, including, but not limited to, changes in general economic conditions and customer behavior, forecasts regarding the timing and scope of the economic recovery in its markets, its acquisition and growth strategy and its operations in China, India and other international locations, are forward-looking statements. Because they are forward-looking, they should be evaluated in light of important risk factors and uncertainties. These risk factors and uncertainties are more fully described in Graham Corporation's most recent Annual Report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, included under the heading entitled "Risk Factors."
Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize or should any of Graham Corporation's underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those currently anticipated. In addition, undue reliance should not be placed on Graham Corporation's forward-looking statements. Except as required by law, Graham Corporation disclaims any obligation to update or publicly announce any revisions to any of the forward-looking statements contained in this news release.
In addition, forward looking adjusted EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA margin are non-GAAP measures. The Company is unable to present a quantitative reconciliation of these forward-looking non-GAAP financial measures to their most directly comparable forward-looking GAAP financial measures because such information is not available, and management cannot reliably predict the necessary components of such | 859 |
We have just received delivery of a bunch on new test equipment from Anite. This will be used by Special Coverage Solutions, In-Building and Radio Network Optimisation Teams. The Nemo Walker Air equipment and software allows synchronised testing for the benchmarking of multiple operators. Nemo Walker<|fim_middle|> and receiving radio measurements in real time. As multiple technologies and or operators can be tested at once, this increases the speed of evaluating the coverage in a location as the test site will need to be walked fewer times.
Vilicom's Nemo Walker Air equipment includes a Galaxy Note tab, six Galaxy S4's, and a backpack with Verbatim USB battery packs allowing approximately ten hours of operation time. | Air offers full application level metrics on voice calls, voice quality, data transfers for both FTP and HTTP, web browsing, Youtube, Facebook and more.
The master unit controls and communicates with the six slave Samsung Galaxy S4+ handsets via Bluetooth, synchronising test sequences | 54 |
Karma City Police
PC Free Now<|fim_middle|> icon to play the game.
It is a Pre-Installed Game !! That means this game is already installed in the folder !! no need to Install…
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Next Survive after hell | February 19, 2022 Adventure, Full Version Games, Games Under 500MB, PC Games, RPG, Simulation, Strategy Leave a comment 336 Views
Karma City Police PC Game Free Download. It is now available on PCFreeNow. Karma City Police Full Version With the direct, Highly Compressed, and single download link.
Game Title: Karma City Police
Game Developer: Meca Games
Game Publisher: Meca Games
Initial Release Date: 16 Dec 2021
Genre: Adventure, RPG, Simulation, Strategy
Karma City Police is a 911 dispatcher simulation game with battles based on pinball. You will play as a telephonist whose job is to make 911 calls, listen to caller inquiries and send help whenever needed. The game also offers a dialogue full of stories starting from the last half of the game.
The story feels empty at first. You are a newly transferred officer who answers 911 calls, and the story will revolve around you doing your job from time to time. The story begins after a while, introducing you to the opponent of "Beat" who comes with controversy. However, the story feels light to me. I admit that I like some parts of the story, especially the jokes, but the writing is great.
As I said before, except for the story, the gameplay is divided into two parts: a 911 dispatcher simulation game and a pinball battle. The former will allow you to call your computer and listen to callers' inquiries, check their mood, and ask further questions if necessary.
Since this is an emergency call, you only have three opportunities to ask questions. Some conversations will give callers more information, tell you if you need to prepare a police officer with an armed kit or car, while others will tell you if the situation really involved the police. Need
Honestly, I liked this part of the game. Feeling we have 'Run out of gas' emotionally and knowing that you are doing the right thing after the shift, encourages me to take better cues next time.
Fighting is played like a pinball where you have paddles that you can move and a ball that can be hit by paddles to move towards the enemy. Obstacles will also be erected between you and the enemy to increase the difficulties.
Although the game is still easy to beat, especially since whenever you lose you can always try to fight again. In addition, the game is generous enough to give three lives and the opportunity to use items when needed. As you advance your game, a special power will also be activated, allowing you to summon an extra ball to defeat the enemy faster.
Pixelated visuals fascinate me at first sight. The characters may look blurry at first with their extra layers and colors, but they are actually there to give the small pixelated images extra details and depth.
Backgrounds also help to complement these unique visuals by using the same style in some parts. Plus, I'm impressed with the amount of work done for the cuts. They are made in more detail, showing a close-up image of something, sometimes animated, to give you a better look at the situation.
There is not much to say about Karma City Police. The gameplay itself is quite mediocre and repetitive, with you having to do a few small things between calls. Once you become more familiar with the game, the game will turn into a heavy story instead of introducing a controversy to focus more on the story and the outcome.
System Requirements of Karma City Police Game
OS: Windows XP/Vista/7 or newer
Graphics: 512 MB
How to Install Karma City Police For PC?
Open the "Karma City Police Game" folder.
Click on the "Karma City Police" | 775 |
Jazz nonprofit keeps late night jam sessions alive in Harlem
by Tamsen Maloy and Kalen Goodluck | Dec 1, 2017 | Culture
Frank Lacy clicked the valves of his trumpet and paced the stage at Minton's Playhouse, a historic incubator for jazz in the heart of Harlem. His feet stamped and his body swayed in time with the beat to lead his band, all while belting out a brassy melody.
Lacy is one of the modern-day "big hitters" of the scene, according to Paul Griffin, co-founder of Harlem Late Night<|fim_middle|> Small's Paradise, Clark Monroe's Uptown House and Jimmy's Chicken Shack. But a long, slow decline of Harlem's jazz culture has led many live music venues, such as the Lenox Lounge and La Famille, to shutter their doors.
Video shot and produced by Kalen Goodluck and Tamsen Maloy.
In recent years, their struggle has intensified. Harlem Late Night Jazz once partnered with St. Nick's Jazz Pub and Farafina Cafe and Lounge, both of which closed down in the last decade.
St. Nick's Pub was a central location in the Harlem jazz scene that closed March 2011. "When it closed there was a void. I mean, a deep void," Griffin said. "The whole community was like a ghost town. Nothing was going on, because Monday through Sunday they had live jazz at St. Nick's pub and now all of a sudden that was gone."
The nonprofit has since moved on to two new Harlem venues: Minton's Playhouse and MIST Harlem.
St. Nick's Pub and Minton's Playhouse are legacy clubs, once home to jazz legends such as Miles Davis and Charlie Parker. Griffin said musicians used to play shows all over New York, then head uptown to Harlem to jam – where the true innovation was born.
Ryan Maloney, education director at the National Jazz Museum in Harlem, said an influx of African-American migration brought new ingenuity to Harlem, which became the "petri dish that allowed the music to develop in the way that it did."
"A lot of very special things came together in Harlem that allowed for jazz to develop in a very unique way in this neighborhood," Maloney said.
Minton's Playhouse, Griffin said, was the birthplace of bebop, a fast-moving subgenre of jazz that helped to lay the foundations for modern jazz. Minton's closed and reopened multiple times over the decades since it was first opened in 1938 by saxophonist Henry Minton. It now partners with Harlem Late Night Jazz to welcome musicians like Frank Lacy.
A partnership with Harlem Late Night Jazz, according to Griffin, helps musicians receive better pay, a meal and drink from the restaurant, and more work to perform live.
"They gave me a wide latitude to bring what band I want to bring," Lacy said of Harlem Late Night Jazz.
Lacy said he's been a part of around 20 different bands, including Charles Mingus's legendary Mingus Big Band. "They try their best, but the pay can always be better."
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Most jazz musicians, he said, earn the bulk of their income from international fans instead of from Americans, despite the U.S. being the home and birthplace of the genre.
Loren Schoenberg, founding director and senior scholar at the National Jazz Museum in Harlem, said jazz tends to be more popular internationally because "it's a musical language that probably intersects with more cultures and more different kinds of music than any other one."
Paul Griffin, founder of Harlem Late Night Jazz. Photo by Tamsen Maloy.
Lacy, now on trombone and leading the band, ended with an uptempo tune before taking a deep bow. The audience in Minton's erupted in raucous applause, and many sped off to the bar to grab another drink in time for Lacy's next set.
"I think the way that it's really going to survive in the future is the way it survived in the past," Schoenberg said. "That was that you went to a place to have fun and to hear good music, and the music happened to be jazz." | Jazz, a nonprofit with a mission of keeping jazz alive in Harlem.
Since the early 1900s, Harlem was a jazz oasis overflowing with speakeasies and clubs like | 38 |
Rates are reflective of payment at time of service. Cash or check preferred but credit cards are also accepted.
Herbal salves, liniments, balms and oils and hot herbal compresses may be added to your session at no extra charge.
If you are not seeing the appointment time you are looking for on my online schedule please contact me. For 2 hour sessions look online with a 90 minute session selected and then contact me, my hours are slightly flexible. Please allow 24 hours notice for rescheduling and cancellations. Please reschedule if you are sick<|fim_middle|> any new United Healthcare or Aetna clients. Thanks! | or if you have recently been ill. Thank you.
Gift Certificates are available. Click to purchase online or contact me.
I accept most major medical insurance and insurance for motor vehicle accidents with a prescription from a MD, ND, LaC, DC, PT or DO. I am in network with several companies. For insurance massage you must contact me before you book to verify your coverage or if you have any questions about insurance billing. I am currently not accepting | 92 |
The Scientific Electronic Library Online - SciELO is an electronic library covering a selected Kleber Leite assortment of Brazilian scientific journals. Brazil is the largest national economy in Latin America , the world's eighth largest economic system and the eighth largest in purchasing energy parity (PPP) in line with the 2017 estimates. Most of Brazilian regulation is codified, although non-codified statutes also signify a substantial part, playing a complementary position.
Brazil's most famous celebration, Carnaval, storms via the nation's cities and cities with hip-shaking samba and frevo, dazzling costumes and parties that final till sun up, but Brazilians hardly restrict their revelry to some weeks of the 12 months. Though outlined by regulation, Brazilian areas are helpful primarily for statistical purposes, and also to outline the distribution of federal funds in improvement tasks.
16 Its Amazon River basin includes a vast tropical forest , residence to various wildlife , quite a lot of ecological systems , and intensive natural resources spanning quite a few<|fim_middle|> in scope, its various ecosystems boast the greatest assortment of plant and animal species found anyplace on earth. | protected habitats 15 This distinctive environmental heritage makes Brazil one of 17 megadiverse countries , and is the topic of significant world interest and debate concerning deforestation and environmental protection.
Brazil's sights extend from frozen-in-time colonial towns to otherworldly landscapes of pink-rock canyons, thundering waterfalls and coral-fringed tropical islands. Then there's Brazil's biodiversity: legendary | 79 |
Six ORNL scientists receive Distinguished Inventor honor
Six scientists at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National<|fim_middle|> Advancement of Science, or AAAS.
Yanwen Zhang: Finding the big picture for radiation-resistant materials
In the search to create materials that can withstand extreme radiation, Yanwen Zhang, a researcher at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory, says that materials scientists must think outside the box.
Liam Collins: Mapping the unseen
Liam Collins was drawn to study physics to understand "hidden things" and honed his expertise in microscopy so that he could bring them to light.
Kevin Field: Developing radiation-tolerant materials for nuclear power systems
Kevin Field at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory synthesizes and scrutinizes materials for nuclear power systems that must perform safely and efficiently over decades of irradiation.
Microscopy Society of America elects ORNL's Karren More fellow
OAK RIDGE, Tenn., March 22, 2019 – Karren Leslie More, a researcher at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory, has been elected fellow of the Microscopy Society of America (MSA) professional organization.
(-) Materials (9)
(-) Neutron Science (1)
Biology and Environment (2)
Fusion and Fission (3)
(-) Honors and Awards (4)
News Releases (9)
(-) Computer Science (3)
(-) Machine Learning (1)
(-) Nuclear Energy (2)
Chemical Sciences (2)
Climate Change Science Institute (1) | Laboratory were named Battelle Distinguished Inventors, in recognition of obtaining 14 or more patents during their careers at the lab.
Six ORNL scientists elected fellows of American Association for the Advancement of Science
Six ORNL scientists have been elected as fellows to the American Association for the | 58 |
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Barb Sorensen concert at the La-Z-Boy Furniture Gallery - Lake Zurich, IL
Barb Sorensen performs a Promotional concert at La-Z-Boy Furniture Gallery 935 S Rand Rd, Lake Zurich, IL 60047
Friday, November 8th, 2019, Concert starts at 2:00 PM
FREE ADMISSION, ALL AGES, FAMILY FRIENDLY
Seating is first come first served
Thank you Hasselmann Family Farms of Marengo for your wonderful sponsorship!
. Please visit their booths at the Palatine Farmer's Markets:
Palatine (1st and 3rd Saturday mornings Nov - June, 8am-12:30pm in the train station).
Thank you Bakester Cafe of Arlington Heights for the delicious pastries for the audience!
Fun Questions!
What is the furthest you have toured?: Furthest west is Alaska and Hawaii, furthest east is Berlin Germany, furthest north is Barrow Alaska, furthest south is Dallas Texas
How do you do what you do?: Balancing work, pleasure, play, fun, creativity, practice, networking
How many songs have you written?: I have written a few hundred. Not all have been recorded.
Do you have any pets?: I have two acquariums with snails, and one terrarium I am preparing for neon tetras
Did you have to go to school to be a musicians?: The kind of musician I am, included a college degree in Chemistry. For myself, I learned that it wasn't just about a higher more challenging use of my brain via education, but about learning to travel amidst many types of circles. A musicians meets all kinds of interesting and fascinating characters on the road.
Year's of Touring
CDs released
Happy Music Fans
Feedback & Quotes
Susan Galvez Fan
"If you have not heard Barb singing a lullaby in German or yodeling for a king, give your ears and mind a treat and see Barb in concert" ....... those are some of my favorites songs!"...Susan Galvez. Palatine, Illinois
Jeff Videographer
Barb's engaging songs draw people in. Her audience often joins her in joy filled sing-alongs. Barb is also an excellent story teller, she tells amazing facts about her songs in a highly entertaining ways. Barb Sorensen has a vast range and sings in German and English She sings early American and German Folk Songs along with modern Pop Rock and Kids Lullaby's. Barb's informal friendly approachable joyous style is perfect for<|fim_middle|> the crisp high fidelity recording with absolutely no background noise -- an impeccable job all the way around. The fourth song on the CD, the catchy dance club style "Possessive Obsession", breaks somewhat with Sorensen's acoustic tradition by using techno-pop studio tricks and electronics -- to good effect. And it's interesting to hear a story of a woman being possessed by love for a change, as we have a tendency to think of obsessive love as a purely male phenomenon. Also unexpected for an independent label is how fully professional the packaging and graphic design of the CD is, with the inclusion of lyrics and several lovely and festive photographs of the singer, whose beautiful voice is matched only by her visual beauty. Anyone who has had the good fortune to have seen one of this very intelligent singer/songwriter's beautiful, energetic (and downright fun!) concerts knows that she has an incredible wealth of original material -- so my only complaint is that only a few them have been recorded so far. Let us hope she gets another CD released soon. In the meantime, if you're looking for a wonderful musical pickup during the winter doldrums (or any time), something that is both romantic, fun, and insightful, I can't recommend a better CD than Barb Sorensen's "Walk That Mile".
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440 W. Colfax Ave., Suite 126, Palatine, US 60078
Send a message via our contact form
This event is produced by Emerald City Music Productions, Inc.
America/Chicago
Copyright © 1999-2020 Barb Kronau-Sorensen and Emerald City Music Productions, Inc.
This website and all pages, content, text, images and videos are the property of Barb Kronau-Sorensen Emerald City Music Productions, Inc. P.O. Box 126, Palatine, IL 60078 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED WORLDWIDE IN PERPETUITY. Please ask first for permission if you would like to use any portion of this website. Thank you. | family gatherings in a park, Historical Re-enactments, and all sizes [sic] concert settings. Heinz Thiel
Kim Parent of Barb's Music class student
She Looks Up To You. Thank you so much for keeping us informed of your career. Gretchen almost cried when she heard your "Snowflake" song! Honest!! She just looks up to you and always has. Kim, United States - 15 January 2006
Joyce & Tony Fans
"My husband and I have been to several of Barb's concerts. We are very impressed with her songwriting abilities and her enthusiasm for performing. Barb loves singing and playing her guitar, and it shows!" - Joyce and Tony T., Downers Grove, Illinois
Keith Fort / Director Screamfest B96 Chicago Entertainment Producer
"Barb is very creative, extremely hardworking, willing to go far above and beyond the norm. Her transformation as an actress was stunning and a wonder to behold. She was always one of the first to offer her time and talents to help promote the show, and I endorse her heartily. Thanks, Barb! and Keep rockin'!"
Neal Reynolds Fan//Author
5 stars - Sensuous and Romantic Acoustic Pop/Rock Fun!
It's well past midnight as I write this and I can't stop listening to acoustic pop/rock singer/songwriter Barb Kronau-Sorensen's CD "Walk That Mile"! It has that rare quality where the songs are both immediately pleasing to the ear and catchy, yet don't wear out their welcome upon repeated hearings. In fact, upon each listen the songs become even more aesthetically pleasing, while one develops a deeper appreciation of the melodies, instrumentation, and extra layers and levels of meaning to the lyrics. I can't decide if my favorite song is "The Sound of Your Soul" or "Because I Am" -- I like the overall sensuous, Caribbean feel and emotion of "Soul" the best, yet I can't resist the unexpected melodic variations and vocal stylings of the last two and a half lines of each verse of the rockin' "Because I am". "Because I Am" vividly conveys the singer's delight at her formerly stick-in-tne-mud lover's unexpected romantic revival -- which has happily turned her into his fool as well. "The Sound of Your Soul" combines the musical styles of lite jazz and Jamaican music to set a warm, loving mood... a wash of sound that magically conveys the depth of the love the singer feels for her love, as she basks in the glow and feels ever closer to, almost one with, his soul. The CD opens with the infectiously catchy instrumentation of the pop rock song "Walk That Mile", wherein the singer tells of the lesson she has learned, that she has to follow her own path, not those others would choose for her. A familiar lesson perhaps, but one seldom conveyed with as much feel, strength, and good 'ol fashioned rock 'n roll fun than it is here. In fact, from the moment the song begins it is clear that this entire CD is a fully professional quality work of art, from the highly skilled playing and singing to | 656 |
The objective of the Rotary Swing is to define a common set of fundamentals for the golf swing, just like we have in all other sports. The first step is to understand what a fundamental actually is; from there we can move on to determine the fundamentals of the golf swing.
Everything you've learned in life has been based on a set of fundamentals agreed upon by the members of whichever industry governs the subject in question.
When you learn how to play tennis, there are accepted grips or fundamentals of the tennis grip. There are fundamentals that govern how you serve, how you hit a forehand, a backhand, and so on.
Golf, however, has somehow managed to escape the idea that there's a fundamental way of doing things, and that's crazy. How are we going to help people improve and learn to play better if our sport isn't rooted in a common set of fundamentals that's agreed upon, that makes sense, that's based on anatomical absolutes?
That's exactly what we're here to discuss<|fim_middle|> of the golf swing. | . The first thing we have to do is define a set of fundamentals.
What's a Fundamental and What's Not?
What are the fundamentals of the golf swing? In Rotary Swing clinics, we ask participants to share what they believe are fundamentals. A lot of people suggest the golf grip ("You have to grip the golf club, so the grip is a fundamental"), stance width, swing plane, balance, and weight distribution.
Let's look at some of those proposed fundamentals. Take the golf grip; there are many different acceptable ways to grip the golf club - interlock, ten finger, and so on. If more than one method is correct, then the golf grip itself is not a fundamental.
What about stance width in golf? Many participants in the clinics consider stance width to be a fundamental, but when we ask them what the correct width is, we get five different answers.
To identify the true fundamentals, we have to go back to the beginning and look at the golf swing from the ground up. But first, we need to get to the bottom of the concept itself. We're going to start at the very beginning and look up the word fundamental in the dictionary.
Let's see how Webster's Dictionary defines fundamental. According to Webster's, a fundamental is an original source. It's central. It's a basis determining a central structure or function. It's primary of, or relating to the foundation or base. It is serving as an essential component, a cardinal rule.
What Aspects of the Golf Swing Meet the Definition?
...an original source; central; a basis determining essential structure or function; primary of or relating to the foundation or base, serving as an essential component; a "cardinal rule"
Now that we know the definition and synonyms of fundamental, let's talk about swing plane.
Golf swing plane is a much-discussed topic in the golf instruction world. Many golf instructors consider it to be the only thing that matters. Our question is, is swing plane, by definition, a fundamental of the golf swing?
Well, by definition we can discard swing plane immediately because it is not absolute, nor is it primary. Going back to the antonyms, swing plane is dependent. It is completely dependent on how you move your body.
If you swing your arms around your body and stand very upright, your swing plane will be very flat. If you swing your arms more vertically in front of your body, your swing plane will be more upright. If you rotate your forearms, that will also have an effect on the swing plane in golf.
By definition, swing plane is completely dependent. It's peripheral to what's going on around the body. The way the body moves dictates the swing plane, so swing plane is definitely not a fundamental of the golf swing.
Now, don't take that to mean that swing plane is not important. It is important but, because it's a byproduct of the movements of muscles and bones in the body, by definition it can't be a fundamental.
What is Absolute in the Golf Swing?
If swing plane can't be a fundamental because it's a byproduct of body movement, then what is absolute? What is fundamental?
Rotation is something that everybody does in the golf swing to some degree. Again, rotation in the golf swing is a byproduct of your movement, so it's not rotation itself, but the origin of the rotation that is the true fundamental.
Where are you rotating from in the golf swing? How are you rotating? These are the keys to understanding how to build a proper golf swing, how to build a good swing plane, etc.
If you're rotating correctly from the right place - the right source - moving correctly based on the fundamentals, then your swing plane will take care of itself. If you're not, your swing plane is going to be off. It will be too flat, too upright, etc.
As we mentioned earlier, there are lots of different accepted ways to grip the club. If we consider an interlock versus an overlap grip, one is not necessarily better than the other, at least not according to research that we have to date. That may eventually change, but at this point there's no fundamental that says you should grip the club this way or that way.
Stance width in golf is a hotly debated topic. We talk about stance width quite a bit for the Rotary Swing, and as we get into future lessons we'll discuss it in detail.
You see some golfers using a very wide stance and others using a very narrow one. We'll be looking at the issue closely in the setup articles. We'll explain the fundamentals of the setup and exactly why the Rotary Swing stance width is what it is. As always, we'll begin by going back to the definition of a fundamental.
Is this stance too wide? Why, what fundamental of the golf swing would you base that on?
Whenever you see or learn about some aspect of the golf swing that someone describes as a fundamental, you should question it and think it through. "Is this a cardinal rule? Is it an original source? Is it the foundation of my golf swing?"
For example, the positions of the club are all peripheral things. The club depends entirely on how the body moves, so that's not the place to look for fundamentals of the golf swing.
There are fundamentals that are important to how the golf club moves and how it comes into impact, etc., but they are completely, 110 percent dependent on what your body does, what your muscles do.
That's where you need to start looking for the fundamentals | 1,129 |
1. When was pdvWireless' public offering made?
pdvWireless' public offering was made on February 3, 2015.
2. What is pdvWireless' common stock ticker symbol and what exchanges is pdvWireless traded on?
pdWireless' common stock is listed on NASDAQ Capital Market under the symbol PDVW.
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Sign up to receive e-mail alerts whenever pdvWireless posts new information to the site. | common stock can be purchased through a registered broker or a financial institution that deals in securities.
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PKF O'Connor Davies is pdvWireless' independent auditor.
9. How can I obtain pdvWireless' financial statements?
Please visit our SEC Filings section on the website to view and download all of pdvWireless' financial statements. If you require a hard copy, please Contact Us.
10. How can I get a copy of pdvWireless' SEC filings?
11. Who are the members of pdvWireless' board of directors?
Please visit our Board of Directors section on the website to learn about pdvWireless' board of directors.
12. Who are pdvWireless' board committee members?
Please visit our Committee Composition section on the website to learn about pdvWireless' board committee members.
13. How can I contact Investor Relations?
14. How can I change my address on my shareholder account?
15. When is the next annual meeting of shareholders?
The date for the next annual meeting of shareholders has not been determined; as a shareholder you will receive a formal notification.
16. How can I receive company news?
For company news, please subscribe to our emails by clicking on the Email Alert link on the website.
17. Can I request to | 386 |
National Geographic<|fim_middle|> stations, fishing and boat access, campgrounds, and trailheads. The map base includes contour lines and elevations for summits, passes and many lakes.
Other features found on this map include: Carson-Iceberg Wilderness, Eldorado National Forest, Emigrant Wilderness, Hoover Wilderness, Leviathan Peak, Mokelumne Wilderness, Night Cap Peak, Stanislaus National Forest, Toiyabe National Forest, Yosemite National Park. | 's Trails Illustrated map of Carson-Iceberg, Emigrant, and Mokelumne Wilderness Areas provides both unmatched detail and valuable information for outdoor enthusiasts exploring California's Sierra Nevada. Expertly researched and created in partnership with local land management agencies, this map features key points of interest including Lake Alpine; Spicer Meadow Reservoir; Kirkwood Ski Area; portions of Eldorado, Humboldt-Toiyabe, and Stanislaus national forests; and sections of the West Walker, Middle Fork Stanislaus, and East Fork Carson rivers. An informative summary of each wilderness area, safety tips, and agency contact information are included as well.
Hundreds of miles of trails including portions of Pacific Crest Trail are clearly marked according to use, whether you're exploring on foot, horseback, bike, or motorized vehicle. Trail mileage between intersections will help you choose the path that's right for you. Ebbetts Pass and other scenic byways are noted for those wishing to take in the scenery by car. Some of the many recreation features include: snowmobile and ATV trails, ski areas, sno-parks, stables, pack | 227 |
The Swift Current Jazz Orchestra is a community-based non-profit jazz ensemble showcasing the talents of local musicians. The instrumentation of five saxophones, four trombones, four trumpets and a four-piece rhythm section creates a traditional "Big Band" sound. Sharing their love of jazz music, members of SCJO include local<|fim_middle|> jazz orchestra on Facebook.
New Series Subscriptions available for sale on July 2nd; Individual concert tickets available on Aug 7th. Tickets available at www.ticketpro.ca or by calling 1-888-655-9090. | music educators and business professionals as well as current and former students of the SCCHS music department. SCJO plays everything from the dance tunes of Glenn Miller and the swing tunes of Count Basie and Duke Ellington, to modern funk and rock charts that will be certain to entertain audiences of all ages. SCJO performances often include guest vocalists singing tunes recorded by Natalie Cole, Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra.
Visit them at scjo.weebly.com or search swift current | 95 |
Hi everyone! My name is Celine and I am just finishing my freshman year in high school. I live in Seattle and go to an<|fim_middle|> my classmates and I am motivated by this sense of personal achievement. I know this upcoming journey to Guatemala is going to be tougher, but I look forward to confront all the challenges! | all-girl Catholic school in Bellevue called Forest Ridge. I love reading Shakespearian comedy, Chinese literature and Enlightenment philosophy. I have a passion for learning language and exploring different culture which is the primary reason I joined this group. I play cello and my favorite classical music composer is Shostakovich.
I have not had many outdoor experiences before and I am so excited to get out of my comfort zone. When I was in eighth grade, I went to a five-day outdoor trip with Outward Bound and my classmates. The process was hard for every one of us but I think the takeaways are the most important. I'm sure many of you guys have gone through programs much more intense than what I experienced, and your resilience is one of the qualities I admire the most. That was the first time I had done something like that and I felt tremendously encouraged because I made it. I bonded with | 183 |
A woman's body has been found after a fire in a flat in Whitley.
Emergency services were<|fim_middle|> watch remains in place while investigations continue.
"The death is being treated as unexplained, but not believed to be suspicious.
"The family of the deceased woman have been informed and are being supported by specially trained officers."
A file is being prepared at the Berkshire Coroner's Office at Reading Town Hall.
Firefighters spent more than three hours tackling the blaze in the close south of Reading, Berkshire. | called to the fire in Highmead Close, Whitley at around 2.46pm on Monday, October 1.
On Tuesday, October 2 Thames Valley Police revealed a woman's body has been found at the burnt out property.
A spokesman for Thames Valley Police said: "Sadly, the body of a woman has been located inside the address, although the circumstances of the fire are currently unknown and being investigated.
"The scene | 89 |
AE Capital is a fast-growing technology company based in Melbourne, Australia. With a focus on human ingenuity and a robust scientific method, AE Capital believes that teams that combine domain experts with data science and machine learning experts produce the best commercial solutions, particularly in financial markets. A boutique hedge fund, AE Capital's highly successful systematic trading method has been recognized with multiple global awards.
At the cutting edge of the finance and tech industries, our custom-built software platform<|fim_middle|>), holder of an Australian Financial Services Licence (AFSL 314585). AE Capital Pty Limited is a member of the National Futures Association (ID 0498660). | uses sophisticated algorithms and a skilled team to drive our investment strategy. With expertise in financial markets, mathematics, quantitative analysis and software development, our talented team are fundamental to our success.
AE Capital Pty Limited (ACN 153 242 865) is regulated by the Australian Securities & Investments Commission and is a Corporate Authorised Representative of JFM Pty Limited (ACN 125 150 656 | 92 |
Ever wanted to customize your 404 template to keep your users interested even after stumbling upon an error page? This tutorial is the ticket to transforming a boring old 404 page into a custom template that will enhance your site. You'll be able to take any widgetized content and drop it into your 404 page.
SEO – Your 404 page doesn't need to be a dead, boring error page. You can fully optimize this error page in any way you want to.
Keep your visitors engaged with recent posts, current forum topics, member groups, or any other community-specific widget.
Create an experience that will draw new members to your fold.
Embrace the opportunity to brand – error pages are a great way to set yourself apart with a clever, branded message, i.e. the "Fail Whale". Don't let any part of your site go out of character, even when notifying the user of an error.
Widgetizing your 404 page is so simple. You can copy and paste and do it in under two minutes.
Now you're finished! So easy, wasn't it? You can start dragging and dropping widgets into your new 404 widgetized area and they will show<|fim_middle|> be able to use any of the WordPress or BuddyPress widgets available to you when you create the error page. Give your 404 page a boost and keep the attention of your first time visitors with a custom message. | up when your visitors stumble upon the wrong page. Check out the simple, customized 404 page below. It may not be the most unique 404 page you've ever seen but it optimizes the content and promotes the community far better than the standard error message. You'll | 59 |
Will Sarah Johnson get a new trial?
A topic of conversation during the past few days in the Wood River Valley is whether Sarah Johnson will get a new trial. Many people even question whether she is guilty, or was it someone else who shot her parents to death at their Bellevue home on Sept. 2, 2003?
Hailey attorney Christopher Simms, who was appointed by the court to represent Johnson in post-conviction relief proceedings, has poked holes in the state's contention that she was justly prosecuted, tried and convicted, but will it be enough to convince 5th District Court Judge G. Richard Bevan that the trial in 2005 was unfair?
The public won't likely know until early April. After listening to four days of testimony last week in his Twin Falls courtroom, Bevan gave Simms and state attorneys Jessica Lorello and Kenneth Jorgensen a schedule of what will happen next. Lorello and Jorgensen are deputy attorneys with the Idaho Attorney General's Office.
According to the schedule, "findings of fact" are due from the attorneys on Jan. 31 and final closing arguments are due Feb. 11. The judge will officially take the case "under advisement" on March 1 and will have 30 days to reach a decision.
Johnson is serving two life prison terms without the possibility of parole for the murders of Alan and Diane Johnson. Now 23, she was 16 at the time of the murders.
Bevan doesn't have to determine Johnson's innocence or guilt. Instead, he only has to determine if she received a fair trial or if new evidence that came to light a few years after her conviction suggests strongly enough that someone else may have committed the crime.
Simms' main target has been Johnson's trial attorney, Bob Pangburn, who has been suspended from practicing law in Idaho and is now working as a substitute school teacher in the Boise area.
Simms alleged during last week's hearings that Pangburn committed numerous errors during the trial, including failing his client by not being adequately prepared and spending too much of his time in interviews on national television, by not cross-examining Johnson's former boyfriend Bruno Santos, and by not cross-examining Santos' mother, Consuelo Cedeno, a Hailey woman who provided her son with an alibi for the morning of the murders.
"It couldn't be more apparent that Bob Pangburn failed her and changed the dynamics of the trial," Simms said in a closing statement to the court on Friday.
Simms also chided law enforcement, alleging that investigators focused primarily on Johnson as the killer to the exclusion of other possible suspects, including Santos, who is now 26 and incarcerated in the Blaine County jail on three felony drug charges.
Simms also claims that new fingerprint evidence suggests that Johnson is innocent.
Fingerprint expert Robert Kerchusky, a former FBI agent who now lives in Eagle, testified at the court hearing Thursday that Johnson was not the last person to touch the murder weapon before it was used to kill Johnson's parents.
Instead, Kerchusky said he believes the last person to touch the gun before the murders was a friend of Mel Speegle, who rented an apartment above the Johnson garage in Bellevue and was the owner of the .264 caliber Winchester hunting rifle used to kill the Johnsons.
"In my opinion, Christopher Hill was the last person to touch the gun," Kerchusky said, referring to a man identified in court documents as Christopher Kevin Hill, a friend of Speegle whose address according to court records is in the East Magic Reservoir area.
Both Kerchusky and a fingerprint expert from the Idaho State Police forensics laboratory testified that Hill's finger or palm prints were found on the rifle, on a scope that was removed from the gun just prior to the shootings, on a live .264-caliber round found at Speegle's apartment and on a plastic insert used to hold cartridges in<|fim_middle|> year before the murders. However, Kerchusky testified that he believes Hill touched the items much later than that.
"If it wasn't a fresh print, you wouldn't have the quality of the print that we have," Kerchusky said. "In my opinion, the prints were fresh prints and not latent prints. Otherwise, they would have dried up over a long period of time."
On cross-examination from Jorgensen, Kerchusky acknowledged that there is no scientific evidence that states how long fingerprints will stay on an object, but said his experience shows that they would deteriorate or be of poor quality within a year.
Jorgensen asked Kerchusky if he believes Hill was the last person to touch the gun and scope prior to the murders.
"That's my opinion," Kerchusky said.
Walthall was called as a state witness immediately after Kerchusky's testimony.
She said a lot of factors determine how long a print will remain and be identifiable, including whether the print was left by perspiration or something such as dust or paint on a person's hand. Other factors that can affect the longevity of a print are the type of surface it was left on, temperature variations and exposure to sunlight, moisture or wind.
"It could possibly be there a very long time if nothing happened to it," Walthall said.
She said the prints on the items in the Johnson case were all on hard, solid objects, and "it's possible for a print to remain on those surfaces for more than a year."
Walthall also didn't agree with Kerchusky on the quality of the Hill palm and fingerprints, though she acknowledged they were of high enough quality to be seen with the naked eye.
"They were of good enough quality to lift and identify, but they were far from high quality," she said.
In his closing statement Friday, Simms described Kerchusky as the "foremost fingerprint expert in the Northwest."
"He knows more about fingerprints than anybody else in the country," Simms said.
Hill has not been charged with involvement in the murders. | ammunition boxes.
However, Kerchusky and ISP fingerprint expert Tina Walthall did not agree on when the fingerprints were left.
The prints were discovered on the items during the initial investigation into the murders but were not identified as Hill's until several years after the trial.
Simms claims the prints constitute new evidence that has not been adequately investigated. Lorello and Jorgensen have argued that Hill's touching of the murder weapon and other items occurred well before the murders and does not constitute evidence that clears Johnson of the crimes.
Police investigators said the murder weapon was taken from Speegle's apartment just prior to the shootings. The scope was removed before the shootings and left in Speegle's apartment. Johnson's fingerprints were never found on the weapon but investigators believe she was wearing gloves.
Earlier Thursday, Simms played video recordings of police interviews in 2009 with both Speegle and Hill. The interviews were conducted by Ketchum Police Chief Steve Harkins, who was a detective at the time with the Blaine County Sheriff's Office.
Speegle told Harkins that Hill was a close friend who had helped him move to the Johnson apartment in 2002, about a year before the murders. Speegle said Hill helped move both guns and ammunition and touched the items then.
Speegle described Hill as "really laid back, a real gentle guy—almost too gentle."
"I fully trust him—I have no reason not to trust him," Speegle told Harkins.
Hill acknowledged in his interview with Harkins that he had touched the gun and other items when he helped Speegle move. He also said he handled the gun and scope on another occasion.
"I took it out one time and tried to sight it in," Hill said. "I don't want to shoot it again. It's got quite a wallop to it. It's hard to sight in."
Hill further told Harkins that he was not well acquainted with the Johnsons.
"I didn't really know them," Hill said. "I met them once. Mel took me over one time."
By Speegle's and Hill's accounts, Hill last touched the gun and other items about a | 454 |
In the previous post, I shared Decurion members' reflections on their experience of Decurion. Most were excerpts from longer notes. In this post, I want to share one member's full response to the questions, "Has Decurion had a meaningful impact on your life?" and "Have you flourished in some way<|fim_middle|>"Another belief I have experienced is that dealing with difficult issues directly and authentically is an act of caring and compassion. My previous business experience had conditioned me to believe that people couldn't handle the truth and that as leaders we needed to "protect" the company by withholding information until the action was complete. For instance, in my previous company, reductions in our workforce as well as the sale of the company were "secrets" that were sprung on employees when the events occurred. Because there was no sharing of intent or context in advance, employees felt disrespected and used at best, and some even felt lied to and manipulated. Decurion's approach of sharing our plans for the sale of a portion of our theater chain or the required reduction in our Home Office headcount are examples of a much more competent and human way of relating to people in business. Decurion members demonstrated maturity, respect, and compassion during these times of change. I will always treasure these experiences. | because of your time at Decurion?" She had been at Decurion for 7 years and was preparing to leave the company.
"I want to thank you for creating the opportunity for me to experience an entirely different way of acting and leading in business. I have long held a desire to make a meaningful contribution in my life and to continually grow and develop. At Decurion, I found a place that helped me move these desires from unformed aspirations to actionable standards for behavior in my everyday work.
"There are several beliefs we hold at Decurion that are especially meaningful to me. One is that people are ten times more capable than most people, organizations, or roles allow them to be. I have experienced this directly for myself. When I connect with members as people and do not limit them to the role which they currently fill, I experience joy, connectedness, and growth, and I believe we achieve better business results.
| 188 |
"All along the<|fim_middle|> roof w/ asphalt shingles; shiplap siding. | railway, there were dozens of utility buildings for storage equipment and materials used by section crews in the maintenance and operation of the railway. A casey car was housed here. Casey cars were small, gas-powered rail trucks that transported crews to their work sites. The vintage of the structure is unknown though its design and shiplap siding would place it before 1950. It was likely that it was moved onto this site and had previously served a different purpose. According to one source, it may have been the residence of the railway section foreman and was moved here from Whiskey Flats. The building features a set of double doors track-side to allow ease of access for the car."
Excerpt from Edge of the River,Heart of the City by H.Dobrowolsky & R.Ingram, Lost Moose 1994.
Small wood frame L-shaped structure. Approx 10'X10'; gable | 190 |
The City of Charles Sturt has 11.5km<|fim_middle|> please see our Vegetation Management Plans or contact the Natural Resource Management Officer on 8408 1208. | of coastline. Our coastal dunes form part of a dunal system that extends from Seacliff to Outer Harbour. The current sea level was reached between 6,000 and 7,000 years ago forming our current coastline. Prior to European settlement the back of our dunal system was periodically inundated and swampy, this area extending from West Beach northwards met with the salt marsh/tidal estuary that is now West Lakes.
Our coastal vegetation is described in detail in the book "Pre-European Vegetation Of Adelaide: A Survey From The Gawler River To Hallet Cove". This book by D.N. Kraehenbuehl describes the main plant association (plant species that seem to commonly grow side by side) as: Open Heath, consisting of Olearia axillaris, Acacia longifolia var. sophorae and Leucopogon parviflorus. There were and are numerous other species that form the under-storey (lower shrubs and groundcovers) to these larger shrubs that form the more visible overstorey.
The plants listed on our 'Local Coastal Plants' brochure are the more common coastal plants that you will find along our coastal strip.
For further information | 251 |
Home Prices Have Changed in Springboro, OH!
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Selling a home is a major milestone—and that means choosing an agent matters more than you think. If you're searching for professionals who know the Springboro, OH better than anyone else, then it's time to call William J Furlong. Not only do we offer cutting-edge resources to help our sellers succeed, but we're also committed to offering a five-star experience from start to finish.
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In | 387 |
As you take the time to explore our website<|fim_middle|> and invite you to experience our family, and enhance our family by sharing your talents and gifts.
In recognition of Sister Diane's upcoming retirement and in thanksgiving for her 25 years of service to the parishioners of Assumption BVM, we will be holding a Farewell on May 19. The celebration will begin at the 11:00 am Mass and a luncheon immediately afterwards in the Parish Hall. If you plan on attending this event, please call the Rectory or e-mail Linda Vogel at Linda.ABVM@gmail.com with your head count no later than May 1. An e-mail message with all of the details for the event has been sent out to all parishioners. If you do not use e-mail, please see Joe or Mary Gnias or Kevin or Lisa Shire for details on how you can help with this celebration.
Scrip will not be sold at the rectory between Good Friday, April 19 and Easter Monday, April 22. Selling daily will resume on Tuesday, April 23. Remember, Modell's Sporting Goods' gift cards are avail-able through our Scrip Program. We carry $25 cards with a 4% rebate to you.
The Legion of Mary is looking for you! Do you love Mary? Do you want to help your Mother? Do you want peace in your family? Do you want salvation for yourself and your family? Mary promises to intercede for you and your family, if you help her save souls. Join the Legion. Mary will direct you and protect your family. Find out more by calling Elaine Flood at 215.962.4312 or come to the Mary Chapel on Thursday evenings right at 6:45 pm sharp.
The Mary procession will take place on May 12 at 10:30 am. On behalf of the Legion of Mary, all children are invited to participate in the procession. Please meet in the cafeteria at 10:00 am, for those who are interested. Children are encouraged to wear their sacramental garments or dress in their Sunday best.
The feast of Divine Mercy is the Sunday after Easter. Anyone who attends that Mass that day, receives Holy Communion, and has gone to the Sacrament of Reconcil-iation 20 days prior to or after the feast receives total re-mission of all punishment due to sin. Jesus said to Sister Faustina, "Say unceasingly this chaplet that I have taught you. Anyone who says it will receive great Mercy at the hour of death. Priests will recommend it to sinners as a last hope. Even the most hardened sinner, if he recites this chaplet even once, will receive Grace from My Infinite Mercy. I want to give unimaginable graces to those who trust in My Mercy." Pamphlets with the Novena and the Chaplet are in the back of the church.
The Flame of Love cenacle will begin 33 days of special prayers to prepare for total consecration to Mary begin-ning Sunday, April 28 and ending Friday, May 31. They will use the book "Consecration to Jesus through Mary" following the plan of St. Louis DeMontfort. The group meets on Tuesday evenings at 7:15 PM in the Mary Chapel for the Rosary and discussion. If you would like to make the Consecration, contact Janice Bauer at 215.364.1378 or JBauer49@verizon.net for more infor-mation and a copy of the book.
Our Lady of Fatima statue is available at your request. The Legionnaires of Mary will bring the Pilgrim Virgin to your lovely home, set her up and join you in the welcome prayers. She will remain with you and your family for a week then the Legionnaires will pick her up and join you in the farewell prayers. Our Lady promises special graces to you and your family when you welcome her into your home and pray the Rosary. Do not miss out with this awesome opportunity. There is a request book in Mary's Chapel. For more information, contact Elaine Flood at 215.962.4312.
Fabulous 55 Plus at Assumption B.V.M. Feasterville are sponsoring Men Who Cook on Saturday, PRIL 27, 2019. Chances are available for purchase after each of the Masses this weekend. The prizes are the following: First, $675.00 in gift cards; Second, A Sorappo's Pizza a week for a year; Third, 50 inch flat screen TV. Consider buying a chance or consider selling 3 chances. Chances are $10 each while 3 for $25.00. Imagine if we have 100 people sell 2 chances each, that would raise $2,000. Chances are also available at the rectory. For Event Tickets, please contact Bill McCafferty, 215-355-9017 or find Bill after each Mass. Tickets are $50.00. NO PARKING will be permitted at the Convent parking lot for the 5:00 PM Mass on April 24, for it will be exclusively used by the Men who Cook so they can drop off their equipment as well as food. | , you can draw a conclusion that we are a very active parish. Assumption BVM is a tight-knit family of faith, dedicated to our Blessed Mother, Mary. We are disciples of Jesus, who worship God and love our neighbor. As you get a "glimpse" of our many activities, I encourage | 66 |
David Eye
"The poems<|fim_middle|> listened and felt too much. He has been smitten and spirited away. In all ways this book is 'exquisite in its rendering.'"
—Bruce Smith, author of Devotions | in Seed are luminous and intimate. With emotional clarity that surprises and enriches, David Eye has crafted a debut that illuminates how queerness shapes and shelters the self. His lines are elegant, exact, and rich with both joy and sorrow. This is beautiful and bracing work."
—Eduardo C. Corral, author of Slow Lightning
Selected by award-winning poet Eduardo C. Corral for The Word Works 2017 Hilary Tham Capital Collection. Available for purchase at The Word Works, Small Press Distribution, or Amazon.
"The poems of . . . 'Seed' remind us to breathe, to sit inside the shimmering, heartbreaking moment, to stop and wonder and laugh. . . . Discovery occurs and recurs in the act of turning inward to view a past, to understand the instant when everything changed, to open and examine and somehow make peace. 'Seed' reveals how beginnings are intricate, how journeys are remembered by what lay underfoot—'the sweet, sharp scent of sun on dry needles'—and how we return from the wondrous, reckless place where we began."
—Karin Cecile Davidson, from "There Must Have Been Words Once:
An Interview with David Eye," Newfound, Vo. 8, Issue 2, Fall 2017
"Eye has a remarkable gift for natural description; he mixes a captivating lyricism with darker tones of realism. The standout poems . . . are beautiful depictions of the natural world that contain a well-drawn, painterly sensibility. . . . There are elements of innocence and naiveté in Eye's verse, but they are always mixed with a sharper knowledge. . . . Eye gives us the surprising and varied complexity of human relationships. . . . The title of this collection directs us toward beginnings and origins, toward sex, procreation and those forces which guide us to maturity. Eye accomplishes a canny mix of tender and harsh imagery. . . . His language is always magically fresh and alive, and his tone ever compassionate."
—Walter Holland, from the review on Lambda Literary, May 2018
"…Seed is the seed of trees and paper, sex and procreation. His poems flourish with observation and compassion. He takes us from farm animals and rattlesnakes in West Virginia to New York City buses and subway lines to a bar in Florence. Through his longing for family and children, his empathetic connection to the world's joys and unspeakable despair, he honors survival and humanity in sonnets and prose poems, in villanelles and free verse wonders. Seed is a stunning debut."
—Denise Duhamel, author of Scald
"David Eye's poems remind me that nuance and candor are stronger in a writer, and in a friend, when they appear together, as they do in these fine poems. Eye writes out of tenderness, also out of trouble that bursts through tenderness, and out of the understanding that arises from the trouble and changes nothing. He is a poet in his bones, and these poems are deep marrow. I think of Whitman:
This is no book,
Who touches this, touches a man."
—Brooks Haxton, author of Fading Hearts on the River
"Seed is a book of both wedding and division; rapturous, ecstatic contacts and devastating, ruinous fractures. Impossible to write both unless you have the discriminate sympathy, the discernment, the language chops, the clairvoyance, the exactitude of David Eye. He has looked and | 728 |
Electic Vehicle - To Comply, or not to Comply?
The most well known legislation with regards to emission standards are the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (or CAFE ) regulations. First installed in 1975 in the wake of the 1973 Arab Oil Embargo, these regulations describe that the average fuel economy of a manufacturers fleet shall meet certain fuel economy figures. The rationale is that by using these regulations to ensure an increasing fuel economy over the years, pollution from vehicle emissions will go down.
I really liked an article from John Voelcker on this topic and his definition for a comliance car is a bit US centered, the idea can be translated to a EU version as well.
A recent news item caught my eye where a Dutch construction company Volker Wessels announced their purchase of 50 Peugeot iOn Electric Vehicles. The reason to do this was to get a better rating during European Procurement Procedures. In an effort to reward construction companies (and many other industries too)<|fim_middle|> internally and externally. In other words: Be who you say you are. And that sounds easier than it actually is. "
What do you think, is it wise to just comply, or should you also be authentic about it? | to become more sustainable, they often get benefits during Procurement procedures when they are more sustainable and with that increase their chance of winning a big contract.
" Authenticity and consistency are two of the most important factors for a succesful brand. It is also important that the brand matches | 56 |
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