that a decision meets expectations. in a world of extremely limited choice, pleasant surprises are possible. in a world of unlimited choice, perfection becomes the expectation : you could always have made a better choice. when there is only one choice on offer, the responsibility for the outcome of that ' choice ' is outside of your control, and so any disappointment resulting from that decision can safely be blamed on external factors. but when you have to choose between hundreds of options it becomes much easier to blame oneself if anything is less than perfect. it is perhaps no coincidence that as choice has proliferated and standards have risen in the past few generations, so has the incidence of clinical depression and suicide. what this means is that there is a critical level of choice. some societies have too much, others patently too little. at the point at which there is too much choice in a critical proportion of our lives, our welfare is no longer improved. too much choice is paralytic and dissatisfying, and too little is impoverishing. we don ' t want perfect freedom and nor do we want the absence of it ; somewhere there is an optimal threshold, and affluent, materialist societies have probably already passed it. our uniquely large pre - frontal cortex enables us to simulate experiences, allowing us to compare potential futures and make judgements based on these simulations. the difficulty in deciding which of several simulations we prefer arises because we are surprisingly poor at analyzing what makes us happy. seemingly obvious questions such as ' would you prefer to become paraplegic or win the lottery? ' are obscured by the extraordinary fact that one year after each event, both groups report being equally happy with their lives. a preference for one alternative over another can be measured in its ability to confer happiness, and, contrary to all of our impulses, there can be no rational preference in this example when considered over a sufficiently long time - period, as there is no reported qualitative difference between the two levels of happiness after a single year. this is a result of the impact bias, the tendency of our emotional simulator to overestimate the intensity of future emotional states, making you believe that the difference in two outcomes is greater than it really is. in short, things that we would unthinkingly consider important, like getting a promotion or not, passing an exam, or not or gaining or losing a romantic partner, frequently have far less impact, of a much lower intensity and a much lower duration than we expect them to have. indeed, in an astonishing study published


getting a promotion or not, passing an exam, or not or gaining or losing a romantic partner, frequently have far less impact, of a much lower intensity and a much lower duration than we expect them to have. indeed, in an astonishing study published in 1996, it was found that even major life traumas had no effect on subjective well - being ( with very few exceptions ) if they had not occurred in the past three months 1. the reason for this remarkable ability is that our views of the world change to make us feel better about whatever environment we find ourselves in over a period of time. everything is relative, and we make happiness where we would otherwise believe there to be none. to truncate a well - known quotation from milton, “ the mind is its own place, and in itself can make a heaven of hell ”. daniel gilbert, professor of psychology at harvard, calls this ' synthesizing happiness '. synthetic happiness differs from ' natural ' happiness in that natural happiness is what we feel when we get what we wanted, and synthetic happiness is what we ( eventually ) feel when we don ' t get what we wanted. the mistake we make is believing that synthetic happiness is inferior to natural happiness. this mistake is perpetuated by a society driven by an economic system which relies on people believing that getting what you want makes you happier than not getting what you want ever could. we can resist this falsehood by remembering that we possess within ourselves the ability to synthesize the commodity that we always pursue, and that we consistently overrate the emotional differences between two choices. - 1. suh, eunkook, ed diener, and frank fujita. " events and subjective well - being : only recent events matter. " journal of personality and social psychology 70. 5 ( 1996 ) : 1091 - 102. print. optical illusions are a visual proof of a built - in irrationality in the way we reason. in some illusions we can be shown two lines of equal lengths and yet perceive one to be longer than the other. even when we see visual proof that the lines are in fact of equal length, it ' s impossible to overcome the sense that the lines are different – it ' s as if we cannot learn to override our intuitions. in the case of optical illusions, our intuition is fooled in a repeatable, predictable fashion, and there is not much we can do about it without modifying the illusion itself, either by measuring it or by obscuring some part of it. dan ariel


the case of optical illusions, our intuition is fooled in a repeatable, predictable fashion, and there is not much we can do about it without modifying the illusion itself, either by measuring it or by obscuring some part of it. dan ariely, a behavioural psychologist currently teaching at duke university, reminds us that optical illusions are a big deal. vision is one of the best things that we do – we are evolutionarily designed to be good at it, and a large part of our brain is dedicated to being good at it, larger than is dedicated to anything else. the fact that we make such consistent mistakes, and are repeatedly fooled by optical illusions should be troubling. if we make mistakes in vision, what kind of mistakes will we make in those things that we have no evolutionary reason to be any good at? in new and elaborate environments like financial markets, we don ' t have a specialized part of the brain to help us, and we don ' t have a convenient visual illustration with which to easily demonstrate the mistakes we make. is our sense of our decision making abilities ever consistently compromised? ariely suggests that we are victims of decision making illusions in much the same way we are victims of optical illusions. when answering a survey, for instance, we feel like we are making our own decisions, but many of those decisions in fact lie with the person who designed the form. this is strikingly shown by the disparity in the percentage of people in different european countries who indicated that they would be interested in donating their organs after death, as illustrated by a 2004 paper by eric johnson and daniel goldstein. consent rates in france, belgium, hungary, poland, portugal, france and austria were over 99 %, whilst the uk, germany and denmark all had rates of below 20 %. this huge difference didn ' t arise due to strong cultural differences, but through a simple difference in the way the question on the form was presented. in countries with a low consent rate, the question was as an opt - in choice, as in ' check the box if you wish to participate in the organ donor programme '. people didn ' t check the box, leaving the form in its ' default ' state. those presented with the inverse question, an explicit opt - out rather than explicit opt - in, also left the box unchecked. both groups tended to accept whatever the form tacitly suggested the default position was. the two types of forms created strongly separated groups of consenting donors and non - consenting donors across


algebraic reasoning in grades two through five : effects of teacher practices, characteristics and professional development algebra is a gatekeeper ( moses & cobb, 2001 ). long before students enter an algebra i course in the high school, the foundations for algebra are being developed in elementary school through algebraic reasoning. research ( rowan, chiang, and miller, 1997 ) confirms a direct correlation ( r =. 03, p =. 05 ) between teachers ' content knowledge and student achievement in the learning and understanding of mathematics. the need for teachers to be well equipped to develop students ' algebraic reason is apparent ( lambdin, 1999, ma, 2000 ). ^ this study explores how teachers ' practices, characteristics, and professional development relate to student achievement and ; thereby, gain greater understanding and awareness of the role algebraic reasoning performs in teaching and learning at the elementary school level. the following two research questions directed this study : ( 1 ) to what extent and in what manner can variation in student achievement on problems involving algebraic reasoning be explained by teacher practices, characteristics and professional development? ( 2 ) what teaching practices focused on algebraic reasoning have the greatest impact on student achievement? ^ this study utilized a mixed method research design that examined classroom practices of grades 2 - 6 elementary teachers, n = 62, and their n = 1550 students in 17 urban and suburban schools in rhode island. data were gathered through a participant questionnaire utilizing a 1 - 5 point likert - scale survey instrument developed by the researcher. following the collection of the data, focus groups, n = 18, were conducted with volunteer participants. the qualitative data obtained from the focus groups were analyzed by generating themes and patterns to describe the findings. descriptive statistics ( frequencies, percents, and means ) were computed for each variable. multiple regression analysis was use to determine the magnitude of the relationship between teaching practices and professional development related to student achievement. ^ the findings of the study revealed the variables, teaching practices and professional development, used to calculate multiple regression ( r =. 055, p =. 70 ) were not found to be significantly related. in addition, current professional development on algebraic reasoning is not meeting the needs of the teachers and the connections between teacher knowledge / practices and algebra content require strengthening. the findings emanated from the focus groups and from the open ended questions on the questionnaire suggested teachers are not equipped to teach algebraic reasoning. these findings have recently been collaborated in the national math panel advisory panel ( 2008 ) report. recommendation are made as well as suggestions for additional future research specific to professional development and algebraic reasoning


by david houle, special to cnn editor ’ s note : david houle is a futurist and author of the blog evolution shift. he is the author of “ the shift age ”, " shift ed : a call to action for transforming k - 12 education " and " entering the shift age. " he has been a contributor to oprah. com. houle is futurist - in - residence at the ringling college of art + design in sarasota, florida. ( cnn ) - when people find out that i am a futurist, they ask me what that means. in speaking and writing, i act as a catalyst to get people, the market and the world to think about the future, then facilitate a conversation about it. there ’ s one area that ’ s desperately in need of that conversation : education. in the next decade, there will be more transformation at all levels of education than in any 10 -, 20 -, or perhaps 50 - year period in history. generational forces at play will accelerate these changes. the aging baby boomers - who i call the “ bridge generation, ” as they have bridged education from the middle of the 20th century to now - are retiring in ever increasing numbers. they have held on to the legacy thinking about education, remembering how they were taught. their retirement opens up the discussion about transformation. at the same time, we have the rising digital natives as the students of tomorrow. this generation, born since 1997, is the first that was likely to grow up with a computer in the house, high - speed internet, parents with cell phones and often a touch screen app phone as their first phone. they are the first generation of the 21th century with no memory of the 20th. they are the first generation born into the information - overloaded world ; for them, that ’ s simply the way it is. the digital natives are different than prior generations and need new models for education. let ’ s take a quick look for all levels of education to see what some major transformations will be : a child born in 2009 is one of the younger digital natives. in upper - middle class households, they are the first children for whom all content can be found on screens. they are using touch screen and other interactive computing devices starting as early as 2, and therefore walk into the first day of preschool or nursery school with a level of digital skills. this will spark greater use of digital devices and interactive learning at this first level of education. classrooms will increasingly have interactive


computing devices starting as early as 2, and therefore walk into the first day of preschool or nursery school with a level of digital skills. this will spark greater use of digital devices and interactive learning at this first level of education. classrooms will increasingly have interactive touch screen devices. neuroscience is in a golden age. we have discovered more about the working of the brain and for the sake of this level of education the development of a child ’ s brain in the past 20 years than in all time prior. it will become clear that, to the degree that we can bring this knowledge into pre - k education, we can more fully develop the minds and learning of young children. the elevation and integration of digital interactivity is soaring in k - 12 education. school districts are setting up cloud computing to provide always - available information for always - connected education communities. schools that used to make students turn off cellular devices during the school day are allowing them to remain on and become an integral part of the classroom education. if all of the world ’ s knowledge and information are just a few keystrokes away, why make the classroom the only unconnected place students experience? self - directed learning - the interaction of the student with learning courses on a computer - will accelerate education and provide more students with the opportunity to learn at a challenging pace. connectivity will bring the world ever more into the classroom and will allow for the grammar school and the high school to be more involved in the local community and the larger global community. higher education is approaching bubble status. the costs have risen rapidly, beyond the ability of most families to pay. debt is being taken on at unprecedented levels and in an economic climate that is not providing the high - paying jobs necessary for that debt to be retired. at the same time, employers complain of a skills gap : the inability to hire employees with the skills needed to perform these new technologically demanding jobs. given these challenges, i can see three major changes coming to higher education during the next decade : first, there will be a dual level of degree granted. the traditional path, costing more than $ 100, 000 with four years of being on campus, will continue. the nontraditional one, perhaps initially a certificate rather than degree program, will cost perhaps $ 10, 000 to $ 20, 000 and will rely on the taking of video and online courses and the passing of exams. this will allow the student a financially viable choice, the university with a new revenue stream and the employer with a comparative choice for hiring. it will also open up higher education


will rely on the taking of video and online courses and the passing of exams. this will allow the student a financially viable choice, the university with a new revenue stream and the employer with a comparative choice for hiring. it will also open up higher education to a vastly greater number of people, young and old. second, this comparative choice will drive the educational institutions to increase efficiency, adaptability and relevancy to the standard degree. the university model is centuries old and in need of transformation. this is about to happen. third, the two - year associate degree from a community college will become more exalted. this will provide trained job applicants who are less worried about being educated and more concerned with up - to - date training that will provide immediate employment. everyone does not need or should go to college. the 14 - year education will become more respected as our society becomes ever more technologically based. we ’ re already beginning to see some of these changes, in the rise of moocs - massive open online courses - and the integration of tablet technology and cloud computing in the classroom. in the past two years, i have met dozens of superintendents who are creating fundamental change at the local level. such local leadership will increase dramatically in the coming year, while, in higher ed, the consumption of high quality moocs will double. the year 2013 will bring about the first steps in a transformation that, by 2020, will leave education at all levels profoundly different from it is today. the opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of david houle.


i ’ ve been looking for a good, easy to read document outlining the latest climate science research and putting it in context for copenhagen and i think i ’ ve found it. today in sydney, the climate change research centre, a unit of the university of new south wales, released the copenhagen diagnosis. it ’ s free to download or view online in a nice rich text format so credit to the centre for making it accessible in multiple attractive formats. but most praise has to be reserved for the 26 contributing authors who have laid out the science to make it easy to understand for a layman like myself. chapters cover aspects of climate science including “ the atmosphere ”, “ permafrost and hydrates ” and “ global sea level ”. throughout are scattered common questions about climate change and answers designed to clear up confusion. an example : “ are we just in a natural warming phase, recovering from the ‘ little ice age? ‘. the document, once pictures and the reference section is including is a slim 50 pages. if you want something to get yourself up to speed on the science ahead of copenhagen this could well be the document to download. its even better if you have a colleague willing to run across the road and get it bound for you as i have! the executive summary of the copenhagen diagnosis, which i ’ ve excerpted below gives the basics you need to know if even 50 pages is too much to handle as we head into the highly - stressful ( for everyone other than academics ) end of year period. the diplomats and politicians soon to board flights to denmark could do worse than slip a copy of the copenhagen diagnosis into their cabin luggage. the most significant recent climate change findings are : surging greenhouse gas emissions : global carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels in 2008 were nearly 40 % higher than those in 1990. even if global emission rates are stabilized at present - day levels, just 20 more years of emissions would give a 25 % probability that warming exceeds 2°c, even with zero emissions after 2030. every year of delayed action increases the chances of exceeding 2°c warming. recent global temperatures demonstrate human - induced warming : over the past 25 years temperatures have increased at a rate of 0. 19°c per decade, in very good agreement with predictions based on greenhouse gas increases. even over the past ten years, despite a decrease in solar forcing, the trend continues to be one of warming. natural, short - term fluctuations are occurring as usual, but there have been no significant changes in the underlying warming trend. acceleration of melting


even over the past ten years, despite a decrease in solar forcing, the trend continues to be one of warming. natural, short - term fluctuations are occurring as usual, but there have been no significant changes in the underlying warming trend. acceleration of melting of ice - sheets, glaciers and ice - caps : a wide array of satellite and ice measurements now demonstrate beyond doubt that both the greenland and antarctic ice - sheets are losing mass at an increasing rate. melting of glaciers and ice - caps in other parts of the world has also accelerated since 1990. rapid arctic sea - ice decline : summer - time melting of arctic sea - ice has accelerated far beyond the expectations of climate models. the area of sea - ice melt during 2007 - 2009 was about 40 % greater than the average prediction from ipcc ar4 climate models. current sea - level rise underestimated : satellites show recent global average sea - level rise ( 3. 4 mm / yr over the past 15 years ) to be ~ 80 % above past ipcc predictions. this acceleration in sea - level rise is consistent with a doubling in contribution from melting of glaciers, ice caps, and the greenland and west - antarctic ice - sheets. sea - level predictions revised : by 2100, global sea - level is likely to rise at least twice as much as projected by working group 1 of the ipcc ar4 ; for unmitigated emissions it may well exceed 1 meter. the upper limit has been estimated as ~ 2 meters sea level rise by 2100. sea level will continue to rise for centuries after global temperatures have been stabilized, and several meters of sea level rise must be expected over the next few centuries. delay in action risks irreversible damage : several vulnerable elements in the climate system ( e. g. continental ice - sheets, amazon rainforest, west african monsoon and others ) could be pushed towards abrupt or irreversible change if warming continues in a business - as - usual way throughout this century. the risk of transgressing critical thresholds ( ’ tipping points ’ ) increases strongly with ongoing climate change. thus waiting for higher levels of scientific certainty could mean that some tipping points will be crossed before they are recognized. the turning point must come soon : if global warming is to be limited to a maximum of 2 °c above pre - industrial values, global emissions need to peak between 2015 and 2020 and then decline rapidly. to stabilize climate, a decarbonized global society — with near - zero emissions of co2 and other long - lived greenhouse gases — needs to


a federal program designed to help metropolitan public health agencies prepare to deliver essential medicines to the public after a large - scale bioterror attack or natural disease outbreak has succeeded in improving the level of readiness, according to a new rand corporation study. researchers found that the federal cities readiness initiative, a program active in 72 metropolitan areas, appears to have improved agencies ’ ability to rapidly and widely dispense life - saving medications and other medical supplies in the event of a large - scale bioterror attack or a naturally occurring infectious disease outbreak. the study from rand health concludes there is merit in extending the program so the impact can be further monitored, although the analysis did not assess the cost - effectiveness of the effort or compare it to other public health priorities. “ the cities readiness initiative has helped agencies in the nation ’ s most - populous regions become better able to dispense life - saving medication following a bioterrorism event or after an infectious disease outbreak, ” said henry willis, the study ’ s lead author and a policy researcher at rand, a nonprofit research organization. researchers concluded that a key reason the cities readiness initiative has helped promote improvements has been its focus on a single scenario with a well - defined numeric goal and the technical assistance it has provided to public health officials. researchers say the initiative has helped increase the number of local public health staff members working on medication dispensing planning, strengthened partnerships between public health officials and local first - responder agencies, and helped pay for new equipment such as mobile drug dispensing units. other public health improvements fostered by the cities readiness initiative are the development of more - detailed plans for medication dispensing, including creation of new strategies that rely less on medically trained staff and take greater advantage of nontraditional venues such as hotels, resorts, churches as well as drive - through dispensing in parking lots and fairgrounds. the cities readiness initiative was created in 2004 to improve the ability of the nation ’ s largest metropolitan regions to provide life - saving medications in the event of a large - scale bioterror attack or naturally occurring disease outbreak. the program has spent about $ 300 million on efforts thus far. administered by the federal centers for disease control and prevention, the program helps jurisdictions improve their ability to provide antibiotics and other life - saving medications to 100 percent of a region ’ s population within 48 hours of a large - scale anthrax attack or large - scale infectious disease emergency. the 72 regions that have received funding account for about 57 percent of the nation ’


a queen ’ s university study of fruit flies that may revolutionize the way birth defects are studied has identified the genes affected by a widely prescribed drug known to cause birth defects. methotrexate ( mtx ), a popular cancer - fighting drug also used to treat psoriasis, ectopic pregnancies, rheumatoid arthritis, and lupus, lasts a long time in the body and causes birth defects in children from women who have it in their systems. the study of the drug ’ s effect on fruit flies has allowed queen ’ s researchers including graduate student joslynn affleck to identify the genes on which the drug acts. “ we hope that through this model system we can provide insight into mammalian birth defects, which may be expected to increase in frequency in the future, due to the recent elevated use of mtx, ” says affleck. many of the genes found to be affected by mtx are involved in cell cycle regulation, signal transduction, transport, defense response, transcription, or various aspects of metabolism. “ this study shows that mtx treatment has multiple targets, ” says affleck. “ and this provides us with a novel invertebrate model for the study of drugs that cause birth defects. ” the findings are set to be published by toxicological sciences in the new year. “ this is not a journal in the habit of publishing insect studies, ” notes biologist dr. virginia walker, who co - authored the study. “ the neat thing about this work is that fruit flies treated with this drug show ‘ birth defects ’ that are hauntingly similar to birth defects in human babies. babies have bent limbs, tufts of hair and bulging eyes and the fruit flies have bent legs ( and wings ), tufts of bristles and rough eyes. ” while identifying this gene array is significant in its own right, the successful use of fruit flies in this kind of study is a revelation to the researchers who view it as an efficient model for the initial testing of “ rescue ” therapies to try to prevent birth defects. scientists can study the effect of the drug on the genes of as many as three generations of fruit flies in a month using readily available scientific tools, speeding up study times while keeping costs low. “ it also adds to the growing list of roles fruit flies can take, ” says walker. fruit flies are already used as models for aging, neural disease and cancer. from queens university


four years ago, lamp ( linux os, apache web server, mysql database and perl, python and php languages ) was the open stack of choice, especially for web servers. in the early part of the decade, when mysql started promoting lamp to boost its own visibility as the m in the stack, the acronym grew in popularity. today, however, lamp is like an illuminated sign with only the a still visible. while the existence of an all - open source application stack remains helpful, there are so many choices beyond the original group that the lamp acronym has fallen into disuse, analysts say. even linux is not sacrosanct, with companies occasionally substituting windows in an otherwise all - open source stack ; the apache web server is the only lamp component whose position remains undisputed, observers say. " it ' s never been a specific acronym, " said mark driver, at research vice president at stamford, conn. - based gartner inc.. " lamp always represented the idea of an open stack. it shouldn ' t be taken too literally. " anne thomas manes, vice president and research director of midvale, utah - based burton group, agreed. " lamp stands for completely open source, " she said. " and it ' s simpler, lighter - weight programming than java or. net, and it ' s nice for web sites. " indeed, with the p, lamp ' s clarity began eroding. initially, the p stood for perl, the most popular language for creating web pages. but it was later joined by php, which is easier to write because the program runs inside web pages rather than on a server. though php has in turn has created an " epidemic of security issues, " according to ed sawicki, a veteran it consultant based in portland, ore. now python is more popular, but programmers use ruby and lisp, he said. as for databases, mysql may be the most popular open source choice, with simplicity and speed in its favor, sawicki said. still, postgres is better at more complex functions ; so some companies use both databases, he said. the ruby language on the rails framework is generally safer than php and python, whereas python is more complex, and typically used by programmers who are aware of potential security pitfalls, she said. " the beauty of lamp is that it ' s an a la carte technology, " added driver. " and it ' s light years ahead


- why are these threats possible? because computers are little more than tools. the term " computer " is very descriptive despite all of the abstraction that we attempt to layer on top of them ; it is a device that " computes ", plain and simple. whether, at any given nanosecond, it is computing the color of a pixel in a ui, the address of data in its memory, etc, it is no more or less than an incredibly fast binary calculator hooked up to a lot of peripheral components that provide inputs to and outputs from the basic programming the cpu is currently churning its way through. given that, the question of " why " has a simple answer ; tools can be used for good or ill. hammers can pound nails or skulls. saws can cut wood or flesh. and computers can sequence dna to find the cure for cancer, or steal your bank account information. - why doesn ' t the computer just do the things it is supposed to? it does. it does exactly what it is told to do by the program that it is currently executing. the problem is that the program the computer is currently executing isn ' t necessarily something you told it to execute explicitly by the stroke of a key or the click of a mouse. for a very long time now, we ' ve used multiple layers of software ( and hardware ) to allow for modularity ; any computer can have any hardware plugged into it, and run any program to work with it ( at least that ' s the theory ). more recently we have invented layers to allow a computer to juggle many programs at once. these layers of abstraction such as the os, virtual machines, daemons ( services ), etc, which hide what the computer is really doing on any given clock, can be manipulated by an attacker to run software without your conscious knowledge. - why do some people write malware, instead of programs with a constructive purpose beyond doing damage and violating the law?... some men aren ' t looking for anything logical, like money. they can ' t be bought, bullied, reasoned, or negotiated with. some men just want to watch the world burn. - alfred pennyworth, the dark knight for most " black hats ", the mayhem they cause is fun, it ' s entertaining, the same way you or i would enjoy a video game in a completely sandboxed environment. they, however, are doing things in the real world. same layer of digital separation between you and the consequences of your actions,


it ' s entertaining, the same way you or i would enjoy a video game in a completely sandboxed environment. they, however, are doing things in the real world. same layer of digital separation between you and the consequences of your actions, with the added thrill of knowing it ' s real. - does computer insecurity exist because of the nature of computers? to a point, yes. computers are powerful, but they are extremely dumb. they require humans to do their thinking for them, to design them in a way that is difficult to subvert, to program them in a way that is difficult to subvert, and to use them in a way that is difficult to subvert. the inherent difficulty of this is similar to the inherent difficulty ( maybe the impossibility ) of designing a " completely foolproof system " : a common mistake that people make when trying to design something completely foolproof is to underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools. - douglas adams in both cases, you ' re very simply trying to pre - emptively outsmart someone willing to spend a lot of time and effort finding a way to misuse what you ' re designing once the finished product has left your hands. you effectively have to come up with the same ideas that the other person would have, and incorporate mechanisms to defeat that line of thinking. the more complex the system is internally, the more of those ideas become possible, and the less likely you are to have thought of everything. the more you put in place to prevent misuse, the more complexity you add. it ' s a vicious cycle.


saturday, february 2, 2013 tuesday, january 29, 2013 a story plan is the first step in writing fiction. a story plan will be a sketch and is for planning purposes. one way to get started is to think of a real incident that you or someone you know has experienced. base your story plan on that incident, but change anything you wish if it makes your story more interesting or exciting. consider the following elements when you begin your story plan. you can skip around if you wish, but be sure to complete all the steps below. decide on the characters. name the characters and describe their role in the story and their relationship to one another. for example : marie martin, heroine, secretary to the president of the bank. ( if you are not ready to use names, just use descriptions : librarian, doctor, etc. ) choose a setting. decide when and where the events will take place. be as specific as you can because that will help you when you begin your research. ( for example : the south in the 60 ’ s vs. birmingham, alabama in 1965. ) decide on the main conflict in the story. what is the problem that your main character faces when the story begins? ( for example : marie martin has been accused of stealing money from the bank? ) decide on a series of events in the plot. briefly describe what happens in a few sentences. ( you can add to these, subtract from these, and rearrange these later. ) determine the climax of the story. describe the moment in the story after which nothing will be the same. determine the resolution of the story. what happens at the very end when the loose ends are tied up? ( some writers determine the ending first and work backwards from there. ) here ' s hoping 2013 is off to a great start!


before people learned to make glass, they had found two forms of natural glass. when lightning strikes sand, the heat sometimes fuses the sand into long, slender glass tubes called fulgurites, which are commonly called petrified lightning. the terrific heat of a volcanic eruption also sometimes fuses rocks and sand into a glass called obsidian. in the early times, people would shape obsidian into knives, arrowheads, jewelry, and money. we do not know exactly when, where, or how people first learned to make glass. it is generally believed that the first manufactured glass was in the form of a glaze on ceramic vessels, about 3000 b. c. the first glass vessels were produced about 1500 b. c. in egypt and mesopotamia. the glass industry was extremely successful for the next 300 years, and then declined. it was revived in mesopotamia in the 700 ′ s b. c. and in egypt in the 500 ′ s b. c. for the next 500 years, egypt, syria, and the other countries along the eastern shore of the mediterranean sea were glassmaking centers. early glassmaking was slow and costly, and it required hard work. glass blowing and glass pressing were unknown, furnaces were small, the clay pots were of poor quality, and the heat was hardly sufficient for melting. but glassmakers eventually learned how to make colored glass jewelry, cosmetics cases, and tiny jugs and jars. people who could afford them — the priests and the ruling classes — considered glass objects as valuable as jewels. soon merchants learned that wines, honey, and oils could be carried and preserved far better in glass than in wood or clay containers. the blowpipe was invented about 30 b. c., probably along the eastern mediterranean coast. this invention made glass production easier, faster, and cheaper. as a result, glass became available to the common people for the first time. glass manufacture became important in all countries under roman rule. in fact, the first four centuries of the christian era may justly be called the first golden age of glass. the glassmakers of this time knew how to make a transparent glass, and they did offhand glass blowing, painting, and gilding ( application of gold leaf ). they knew how to build up layers of glass of different colors and then cut out designs in high relief. the celebrated portland vase, which was probably made in rome about the beginning of the christian era, is an excellent example of this art. this vase is considered one of the most valuable glass art objects in the world. in


out designs in high relief. the celebrated portland vase, which was probably made in rome about the beginning of the christian era, is an excellent example of this art. this vase is considered one of the most valuable glass art objects in the world. in the 1500 ′ s, the dutch developed ways to make custom eyeglasses as well as lenses which led to the first microscopes and telescopes. the first glass factory in the united states was built in jamestown, virginia, in 1608. the venture failed within a year because of a famine that took the lives of many colonists. the jamestown colonists tried glassmaking again in 1621, but an indian attack in 1622 and the scarcity of workers ended this attempt in 1624. the industry was reestablished in america in 1739, when caspar wistar built a glassmaking plant in what is now salem county, new jersey. this plant operated until 1780. in 1903, the first fully automated glass bottle making machine was used in toledo, ohio. glass has been a major part in many revolutionary inventions. had it not been for glass, we could be living in a world with no thermometers, televisions or light bulbs. cool info about glass a process called “ vitrification ” can turn nuclear waste into hard glass blocks for long - term storage. glass takes 1, 000, 000 years to decompose. glass never wears out - it can be recycled forever. glass recycling saves resources - each ton of recycled glass replaces 1. 2 tons of raw material ( sand, limestone and soda ash ). glass : a transparent inorganic material produced by combining silica sand with burnt lime or limestone and soda ash. silica sand : a pure form of silicon dioxide that is the most common ingredient in glass manufacturing. soda ash : also known as sodium oxide, this is an ingredient in glass manufacturing. it helps sand melt at a lower temperature. glasphalt : similar to asphalt, but it contains ground glass instead of gravel. limestone : a type of rock that is blended with soda ash in glass manufacturing to stabilize the glass so it will not dissolve in water. when the model t ford car was first introduced, the glass windscreen was an optional extra. bulletproof glass is made of several layers called laminating. in between the glass is a polycarbonate material that absorbs the energy of what has been fired at it. the thicker the glass, the higher impact it can withstand. there is even one - way bulletproof glass enabling the target victim to shoot back. if glass had not


hugh pickens writes writes " until recently, geothermal power systems have exploited only resources where naturally occurring heat, water, and rock permeability are sufficient to allow energy extraction but now geothermal energy developers plan use a new technology called enhanced geothermal systems ( egs ) to pump 24 million gallons of water into the side of the dormant newberrry volcano, located about 20 miles south of bend, oregon in an effort to use the earth ' s heat to generate power. " we know the heat is there, " says susan petty, president of altarock energy, inc. of seattle. " the big issue is can we circulate enough water through the system to make it economic. " since natural cracks and pores do not allow economic flow rates, the permeability of the volcanic rock can be enhanced with egs by pumping high - pressure cold water down an injection well into the rock, creating tiny fractures in the rock, a process known as hydroshearing. then cold water is pumped down production wells into the reservoir, and the steam is drawn out. natural geothermal resources only account for about 0. 3 percent of u. s. electricity production, but a 2007 massachusetts institute of technology report projected egs could bump that to 10 percent within 50 years, at prices competitive with fossil - fuels. " the important question we need to answer now, " says usgs geophysicist colin williams, " is how geothermal fits into the renewable energy picture, and how egs fits. how much it is going to cost, and how much is available. " "


here are the penultimate penguins : jackass penguin ( spheniscus demersus ) and galapagos penguin ( s. mendiculus ). the jackass penguin is also known as the black - footed penguin, or the african penguin. penguins, in africa? are you bonkers? what ’ s next, polar bears in the sahara? no, don ’ t be silly. there is a cold - water current responsible for this bird ’ s distribution, the benguela current, bringing nutrient - rich cold water from the southern ocean to the south - west atlantic via south africa and namibia. the galapagos penguin is the most northerly species of penguin, it is even found at the equator! this is even more crazy than the idea of an african penguin. why would a classically cold - climate bird be found in the tropics? the answer also lies in the ocean currents : cold waters from the antarctic flow up the pacific coast of south america towards the galapagos islands, bringing nutrients. this current, the so - called humboldt current, also gives its name to another species of penguin from the coast of south america, covered in the next post. as a result of warmer air temperatures, the penguins of galapagos, south africa and other places are smaller. other than the little blue penguin of australia and new zealand, the four penguins of the genus spheniscus are the smallest. spheniscus demersus ( linnaeus, 1758 ) adult jackass penguin ( spheniscus demersus ) distribution : southern africa from 24o38 ’ s to 33o50 ’ s ; vagrant to other parts of africa. size : 70 cm ( 27½ ” ) ; males and females weigh 2. 4 - 4. 2 kg ( 5 lb 5 oz – 9 lb 9 oz ), with males larger than females. habitat : breeds on benguela current influenced coasts, in burrows with suitable substrate or using bushes and boulders as shelter. diet : small fish, cephalopods ( such as squid ), crustaceans and polychaete worms. etymology : spheniscus = “ little wedge ” in greek ; demersus = “ diving ” in latin. immature jackass penguin ( spheniscus demersus ) spheniscus mendiculus sundevall, 1871 adult galapagos penguin ( spheniscus mendiculus ) distribution : restricted to the galapagos islands ; breeds on fernandina and isabela, and maybe on bartholomew and


spheniscus mendiculus sundevall, 1871 adult galapagos penguin ( spheniscus mendiculus ) distribution : restricted to the galapagos islands ; breeds on fernandina and isabela, and maybe on bartholomew and santiago islands ; non - breeding range extends to other islands of the archipelago. size : 53 cm ( 21 ” ) ; the smallest spheniscus penguin ; males weigh 1. 7 - 2. 6 kg ( 3 lb 11 oz – 5 lb 11 oz ) ; females weigh 1. 7 - 2. 5 kg ( 3 lb 11 oz – 5½ lb ). habitat : low - lying volcanic coastal desert. diet : fish ( such as mullet and sardine ) and crustaceans ( such as krill ). etymology : spheniscus = as s. demersus ; mendiculus = “ little beggar ” in latin. immature galapagos penguin ( spheniscus mendiculus ) oh, and while we ' re on the topic of galapagos... if you ' re in london for the next few months, make sure you visit the new exhibition at the natural history museum, darwin : the big idea. there is a stuffed galapagos penguin there, as well as numerous other animals and plants from the archipelago, and two live animals : charlie the green iguana ( iguana iguana ) and sumo the argentine horned frog ( ceratophrys ornata ). not to mention a lot of original material from charles robert darwin ' s epic voyage that first sparked his theory of evolution by natural selection.


- дигар истифода вашингтон колумбия, шаблон : иелоти washington is a state in the pacific northwest of the united states. the state is named after george washington, the first president of the united states. as of the 2000 census, the state population was approximately 5. 9 million and the state work force numbered about 3. 1 million. residents are called " washingtonians " ( emphasis on the third syllable, pronounced as tone ). it should not be confused with washington, d. c., the nation ' s capital city. to avoid confusion, the city is often called simply d. c. and the state is often called washington state. washington is bounded by the pacific ocean to the west ; oregon to the south ( the columbia river forming most of this border ) ; idaho to the east and british columbia, canada to the north. it is famous for scenery of breathtaking beauty and sharp contrasts. high mountains rise above evergreen forests and sparkling coastal waters. its coastal location and puget sound harbors give it a leading role in trade with alaska, canada, and the pacific rim. puget sound ' s many islands are served by the largest ferry fleet in the united states. washington is a land of contrasts. the deep forests of the olympic peninsula are among the rainiest places in the world and the only rainforests ( such as the hoh rain forest ) in the continental united states, but the flat semi - desert that lies east of the cascade range stretches for long distances without a single tree. snow - covered peaks tower above the foothills and lowlands around them. mount rainier, the highest mountain in the state, appears to " float " on the horizon southeast of seattle and tacoma on clear days. the eastern side of the state can be divided into two regions : the okanogan highlands and the columbia river basin. areas under the management of the national park service include : - ebey ' s landing national historical reserve near coupeville - fort vancouver national historic site at vancouver - klondike gold rush seattle unit national historical park in seattle - lake chelan national recreation area near stehekin - lake roosevelt national recreation area along the columbia river - lewis and clark national historic trail - mount rainier national park - nez perce national historical park - north cascades national park near marblemount - olympic national park at port angeles - ross lake national recreation area at new


area along the columbia river - lewis and clark national historic trail - mount rainier national park - nez perce national historical park - north cascades national park near marblemount - olympic national park at port angeles - ross lake national recreation area at newhalem - san juan island national historical park in friday harbor - whitman mission national historic site at walla walla geographical features [ вироиш ] - puget sound - san juan islands - columbia river - snake river - yakima river - cascade range - olympic mountains шаблон : details prior to the arrival of explorers from europe, this region of the pacific coast had many established tribes of native americans, each with its own unique culture. today, they are most notable for their totem poles and their ornately carved canoes and masks. prominent among their industries were salmon fishing and whale hunting. in the east, nomadic tribes traveled the land and missionaries such as the whitmans settled there. the first european record of a landing on the washington coast was by spanish captain don bruno de heceta in 1775, on board the santiago, part of a two - ship flotilla with the sonora. they claimed all the coastal lands up to the russian possessions in the north for spain. in 1778, british explorer captain james cook sighted cape flattery, at the entrance to the strait of juan de fuca, but the straits would not be explored until 1789, by captain charles w. barkley. further explorations of the straits were performed by spanish explorers manuel quimper in 1790 and francisco de eliza in 1791, then by british captain george vancouver in 1792. the spanish nootka convention of 1790 opened the northwest territory to explorers and trappers from other nations, most notably britain and then the united states. captain robert gray ( for whom grays harbor county is named ) then discovered the mouth of the columbia river. he named the river after his ship, the columbia. beginning in 1792, gray established trade in sea otter pelts. the lewis and clark expedition entered the state on october 10, 1805. in 1819, spain ceded their original claims to this territory to the united states. this began a period of disputed joint - occupancy by britain and the u. s. that lasted until june 15, 1846, when britain ceded their claims to this land with the treaty of oregon. because of the overland migration along the oregon trail, many settlers wandered north to what is now washington and settled the puget sound area. the first settlement was new market ( now known


, when britain ceded their claims to this land with the treaty of oregon. because of the overland migration along the oregon trail, many settlers wandered north to what is now washington and settled the puget sound area. the first settlement was new market ( now known as tumwater ) in 1846. in 1853, washington territory was formed from part of oregon territory. early prominent industries in the state included agriculture and lumber. in eastern washington, the yakima valley became known for its apple orchards, while the growth of wheat using dry - farming techniques became particularly productive. the heavy rainfall to the west of the cascade range produced dense forests, and the ports along puget sound prospered from the manufacturing and shipping of lumber products, particularly the douglas fir. other industries that developed in the state include fishing, salmon canning and mining. by the turn of the 20th century, washington was of dangerous repute in the minds of many americans. indisputably as " wild " as the rest of the american old west, the public image of washington merely replaced cowboys with lumberjacks, and desert with forestland. one city in particular, aberdeen, had the distinction of being " the roughest town west of the mississippi " because of excessive gambling, violence, extreme drug use and prostitution ( the city itself changed very little over the years and remained off - limits to military personnel well into the early 1980s ). for a long period, tacoma was noted for its large smelters where gold, silver, copper and lead ores were treated. seattle was the primary port for trade with alaska and the rest of the country, and for a time it possessed a large ship - building industry. the region around eastern puget sound developed heavy industry during the period including world war i and world war ii, and the boeing company became an established icon in the area. during the great depression, a series of hydroelectric dams were constructed along the columbia river as part of a project to increase the production of electricity. this culminated in 1941 with the completion of the grand coulee dam, the largest dam in the united states. during world war ii, the puget sound area became a focus for war industries, with the boeing company producing many of the nation ' s heavy bombers and ports in seattle, bremerton, and tacoma were available for the manufacture of warships. seattle was the point of departure for many soldiers in the pacific, a number of which were quartered at golden gardens park. in eastern washington, the hanford works atomic energy plant was opened in 1943 and played a major


for the manufacture of warships. seattle was the point of departure for many soldiers in the pacific, a number of which were quartered at golden gardens park. in eastern washington, the hanford works atomic energy plant was opened in 1943 and played a major role in the construction of the nation ' s atomic bombs. on may 18, 1980, following a period of heavy tremors and eruptions, the northeast face of mount st. helens exploded outward, destroying a large part of the top of the volcano. this eruption flattened the forests, killed 57 people, flooded the columbia river and its tributaries with ash and mud, and blanketed large parts of washington in ash, making day look like night. according to the u. s. census as of 2005, washington has an estimated population of 6, 287, 759, which is an increase of 80, 713, or 1. 3 %, from the prior year and an increase of 393, 619, or 6. 7 %, since the year 2000. this includes a natural increase since the last census of 180, 160 people ( that is 418, 055 births minus 237, 895 deaths ) and an increase from net migration of 215, 216 people into the state. immigration from outside the united states resulted in a net increase of 134, 242 people, and migration within the country produced a net increase of 80, 974 people. as of 2004, washington ' s population included 631, 500 foreign - born ( 10. 3 % of the state population ), and an estimated 100, 000 illegal aliens ( 1. 6 % of state population ). race and ancestry [ вироиш ] the racial / ethnic makeup of the state : - 77. 0 % white, not of hispanic ancestry - 8. 0 % hispanic of any race - 6. 3 % asian - 4. 0 % two or more races - 3. 0 % black - 1. 6 % native american there are many migrant mexican farm workers living in the southeast - central part of the state. wahkiakum county, as well as most counties in the state, has many residents of scandinavian origin. washington has the fifth largest asian population of any state, with chinese and fillipino being the largest groups. 6. 7 % of washington ' s population was reported as under 5, 25. 7 % under 18, and 11. 2 % were 65 or older. females made up approximately 50. 2 % of the population. the religious affiliations of washington ' s population are :


washington ' s population was reported as under 5, 25. 7 % under 18, and 11. 2 % were 65 or older. females made up approximately 50. 2 % of the population. the religious affiliations of washington ' s population are : - christian – 66 % - other religions – 2 % - non - religious – 27 % as with many other western states, the percentage of washington ' s population identifying themselves as " non - religious " is higher than the national average. the percentage of non - religious people in washington is the highest of any state. the 2004 total gross state product for washington was $ 262 billion, placing it 14th in the nation. the per capita income was $ 33, 332. significant business within the state include the design and manufacture of jet aircraft ( boeing ), computer software development ( microsoft, amazon. com, nintendo of america ), electronics, biotechnology, aluminum production, lumber and wood products, mining, and tourism. the state has significant amounts of hydroelectric power generation. significant amounts of trade with asia pass through the ports of the puget sound. see list of united states companies by state. the state of washington is one of only seven states that does not levy a personal income tax. neither does the state collect a corporate income tax. however, washington businesses are responsible for various other state levies. washington ' s state sales tax is 7. 9 percent, and it applies to services as well as products. most foods are exempt from sales tax ; however, prepared foods, dietary supplements and soft drinks remain taxable. the combined state and local retail sales tax rates increase the taxes paid by consumers, depending on the variable local sales tax rates, generally between 8 and 9 percent. an excise tax applies to certain select products such as gasoline, cigarettes, and alcoholic beverages. property tax was the first tax levied in the state of washington and its collection accounts for about 30 percent of washington ' s total state and local revenue. it continues to be the most important revenue source for public schools, fire protection, library, park and recreation, and other special purpose districts. all real and personal property is subject to tax unless specifically exempted by law. personal property also is taxed, although most personal property owned by individuals is exempt. personal property tax applies to personal property used when conducting business or to other personal property not exempt by law. all property taxes are paid to the county treasurer ' s office where the property is located. washington does not impose a tax on intangible assets such as bank accounts, stocks or


used when conducting business or to other personal property not exempt by law. all property taxes are paid to the county treasurer ' s office where the property is located. washington does not impose a tax on intangible assets such as bank accounts, stocks or bonds. neither does the state assess any tax on retirement income earned and received from another state. washington does not collect inheritance taxes ; however, the estate tax is decoupled from the federal estate tax laws, and therefore the state imposes its own estate tax. for 2003, the total value of washington ' s agricultural products was $ 5. 79 billion, the 11th highest in the country. the total value of its crops was $ 3. 8 billion, the 7th highest. the total value of its livestock and specialty products was $ 1. 5 billion, the 26th highest. in 2004, washington ranked first in the nation in production of red raspberries ( 90. 0 % of total u. s. production ), wrinkled seed peas ( 80. 6 % ), hops ( 75. 0 % ), spearmint oil ( 73. 6 % ), apples ( 58. 1 % ), sweet cherries ( 47. 3 % ), pears ( 42. 6 % ), peppermint oil ( 40. 3 % ), concord grapes ( 39. 3 % ), carrots for processing ( 36. 8 % ), and niagara grapes ( 31. 6 % ). washington also ranked second in the nation in production of lentils, fall potatoes, dry edible peas, apricots, grapes ( all varieties taken together ), asparagus ( over a third of the nation ' s production ), sweet corn for processing, and green peas for processing ; third in tart cherries, prunes and plums, and dry summer onions ; fourth in barley and trout ; and fifth in wheat, cranberries, and strawberries. washington has an extensive system of state highways, called state routes, as well as the third - largest ferry system in the world. there are 140 public airfields in washington, including 16 state airports owned by the washington state department of transportation. boeing field in seattle is the busiest airport by numbers of planes in the world. the unique geography of washington presents exceptional transportation needs. there are extensive waterways in the midst of washington ' s largest cites, including seattle, bellevue, tacoma and olympia. the state highways incorporate an extensive network of bridges and the largest ferry system in the united states to serve transpiration needs in the puget sound


there are extensive waterways in the midst of washington ' s largest cites, including seattle, bellevue, tacoma and olympia. the state highways incorporate an extensive network of bridges and the largest ferry system in the united states to serve transpiration needs in the puget sound area. washington ' s marine highway constitutes a fleet of twenty - eight ferries that navigate puget sound and its inland waterways to 20 different ports of call. washington is home for the five longest floating bridges in the world : the evergreen point floating bridge, lacey v. murrow memorial bridge and homer m. hadley bridge over lake washington, and the hood canal bridge connecting the olympic and kitsap peninsulas. the cascade mountain range also provides unique transportation challenges. washington operates and maintains 7 major mountain passes and 8 minor passes. during winter months these passes are plowed, sanded, and kept safe with avalanche control. not all are able to stay open through the winter. the north cascades highway on state route 20 closes every year. because of the extraordinary amount of snowfall and frequency of avalanches the highway is not safe in the winter months. law and government [ вироиш ] washington has 49 legislative districts, and elects one senator and two house members from each district. the majority party is the democratic party. washington state senators and representatives are elected for four year and two year terms, respectively. there are no term limits. the washington supreme court is the highest court in the judiciary of the state of washington. nine justices serve on the bench, and are elected at large. the u. s. congress [ вироиш ] washington representatives in the united states house of representatives are jay inslee ( d - 1 ), richard ray ( rick ) larsen ( d - 2 ), brian baird ( d - 3 ), richard norman " doc " hastings ( r - 4 ), cathy mcmorris ( r - 5 ), norm dicks ( d - 6 ), jim mcdermott ( d - 7 ), david reichert ( r - 8 ), and adam smith ( d - 9 ). state elected officials [ вироиш ] - christine gregoire, governor ( d ) - brad owen, lieutenant governor ( d ) - sam reed, secretary of state ( r ) - rob mckenna, attorney general ( r ) - mike murphy, treasurer ( d ) - brian sonntag, auditor ( d ) - terry bergeson, superintendent of public instruction ( non partisan office ) - doug sutherland, commissioner of public lands ( r ) -


, attorney general ( r ) - mike murphy, treasurer ( d ) - brian sonntag, auditor ( d ) - terry bergeson, superintendent of public instruction ( non partisan office ) - doug sutherland, commissioner of public lands ( r ) - mike kreidler, insurance commissioner ( d ) - washington legislature - currently the democratic party is in control of both the house and the senate. the state has been thought of as politically divided by the cascade mountains, with western washington being liberal ( particularly greater seattle ) and eastern washington being conservative. since the population is larger in the west, the democrats usually fare better statewide. washington has voted for the democratic candidate in presidential elections recently in 1988, 1992, 1996, 2000 and 2004. it was considered a key swing state in 1968 and 2000. in 1968, it was the only western state to give its electoral votes to hubert humphrey. while the democratic party has long dominated washington, the 2004 washington gubernatorial election was among the closest races in united states election history. the initial count as well as the first recount, conducted by machine, both showed dino rossi, the republican candidate, winning the election. a second recount was done by hand, overturning the initial results when it resulted in a lead for christine gregoire, the democratic candidate, of 129 votes, or 0. 0045 % of those cast. as this second recount was the last allowed for by washington election law, gregoire was inaugurated on 12 january 2005. the subsequent court battles raged for months after the election, but ultimately ended with gregoire retaining her office. the final official count left gregoire ahead by 133 votes. washington has the distinction for being the first and so far only state to elect women to all three major statewide offices ( state governor and two u. s. senate seats ) at the same time. on january 30, 2006 governor christine gregoire signed into law legislation making washington the 17th state in the nation to protect gay and lesbian people from discrimination in housing, lending, and employment, and the 7th state in the nation to offer these protections to transgendered people. initiative activist tim eyman filed a referendum that same day, seeking to put the issue before the state ' s voters. despite a push from conservative churches across the state to gather signatures on what were dubbed " referendum sundays, " eyman was only able to gather 105, 103 signatures, more than 7, 000 signatures short of the minimum. as a result, the law went into effect on june 7, 2006. see also list of washington


were dubbed " referendum sundays, " eyman was only able to gather 105, 103 signatures, more than 7, 000 signatures short of the minimum. as a result, the law went into effect on june 7, 2006. see also list of washington governors important cities and towns [ вироиш ] - spokane valley - federal way colleges and universities [ вироиш ] - central washington university - eastern washington university - the evergreen state college - university of washington - washington state university - western washington university community colleges [ вироиш ] professional sports teams [ вироиш ] miscellaneous topics [ вироиш ] state symbols [ вироиш ] see also [ вироиш ] - washington state congressional delegates - capital punishment in washington - list of hospitals in washington - list of washington state prisons - list of washington state forests - list of radio stations in washington - list of television stations in washington - list of washington county name etymologies - list of colleges and universities in washington - list of school districts in washington - list of zip codes in washington - list of high schools in washington - list of u. s. wilderness areas in washington - the washington medal of merit - scouting in washington - washington state park system - music of washington - list of people from washington - list of united states companies by state political activism [ вироиш ]


here are two cartoons from jay hosler ( blog ), biologist and author / illustrator of the sandwalk adventures : an adventure in evolution told in five chapters and author of the forthcoming evolution : the story of life on earth ( cover art below ) : visual representation in science is the study of how images can inform an understanding of scientific practice and the production and dissemination of knowledge. there will be at least two worskshops on this topic in the next year ( here and here ). the description of one describes images as “ occupy [ ing ] a special place … for their power to encapsulate scientific knowledge, their capacity to communicate to various publics, and their flexibility in the production of meanings by the interaction of producers and users. ” for this month ’ s edition of the history of science blog carnival, the giant ’ s shoulders and it ’ s theme of visuals and representations in science, i thought i ’ d share some information about darwin and evolution in cartoons and caricatures. jonathan smith looked at visual representation within darwin ’ s various books in his 2006 book charles darwin and victorian visual culture ( cambridge studies in nineteenth - century literature and culture ) ( you can read the first chapter as a pdf ). one could look at darwin portraiture and photography, maybe janet browne has, and how specific images have been used to push a particular way of looking at darwin. the darwin year saw many books looking at darwin and his impact on art. constance clark ’ s 2001 article in the journal of american history, “ evolution for john doe : pictures, the public, and the scopes trial debate, ” is about the “ role of visual images of evolutionary ideas published during the [ scopes ] debate. ” and heather brink - roby ’ s article “ natural representation : diagram and text in darwin ’ s ‘ on the origin of species, ” in victorian studies, looks at how darwin used diagram and text “ not simply to argue for, but also as evidence of, his theory. ” also, analyses of the march of progress imagery of evolution and other representations ( like trees of life ) would fit into visual representations ( see here and here, and of course gould ’ s wonderful life : the burgess shale and the nature of history, specifically chapter 1, “ iconography of an expectation ” ). where do political cartoons and caricatures fit into this? surely, such images were avenues of knowledge for the public, and how a cartoon represented darwin or evolution ( anti - evolution, pro - evolution, etc. ) had an impact


” ). where do political cartoons and caricatures fit into this? surely, such images were avenues of knowledge for the public, and how a cartoon represented darwin or evolution ( anti - evolution, pro - evolution, etc. ) had an impact on the viewer, and evolution was used as a means to comment on society and culture or whatever was in the news. i know of at least two historians of science who have published on the topic : browne, janet. “ darwin in caricature : a study in the popularisation and dissemination of evolution. ” proceedings of the american philosophical society 145 : 4 ( december 2001 ) : 496 - 509. ( also, see my post 19th - century caricature prints with tyndall, darwin caricatures at the primate diaries, and darwin caricatures at genomicron ) davis, edward b. “ fundamentalist cartoons, modern pamphlets, and the religious image of science in the scopes era. ” in religion and the culture of print in modern america, edited by charles lloyd cohen and paul s. boyer, 175 - 98. madison : university of wisconsin press, 2008. davis presented at the history of science society meeting in 2009 on “ demonizing evolution, ” sharing some of the fundamentalist cartoons. since google books won ’ t let me see the cartoons in the article, i ’ m not sure if those in his talk are the same as those in his article, but i will share a few from his talk : these cartoons in the era of the scopes trial present evolution as : dangerous to one ’ s faith ( learning about and accepting evolution will creep into one ’ s religious life ), “ modern ” education is cheating on god and the bible ; evolution is anti - religion ; evolution is sacred and religious itself ; the theory of evolution is collapsing, full of speculation and not fact - based. much of these claims are still used today, by many creationists and intelligent design proponents who spend more time trying to discredit evolution than convincing us that their view is scientific. such cartoons and anti - evolution pamphlets, according to davis, “ provide new insights into the intense debate about the meaning of science and the nature of religion that took place among american protestants in the 1920s. from popular publications such as these, we see just how the fundamentalists and the modernists both attempted to influence public opnion about the religious image of science in the decade of the scopes trial ” ( 193 ). there is a wonderful resource for political cartoons that do the opposite of


see just how the fundamentalists and the modernists both attempted to influence public opnion about the religious image of science in the decade of the scopes trial ” ( 193 ). there is a wonderful resource for political cartoons that do the opposite of demonizing evolution. historian of science joe cain has brought to our attention the ephemeral journal evolution : a journal of nature, which ran from 1927 through 1938, 21 issue in all, and he provides a publication history for it in a 2003 article for archives of natural history. evolution was “ a monthly platform for pro - evolutionist perspectives and as a device for rebutting anti - evolutionists. it also aimed to bolster the resolve of teachers caught in the centre of curriculum debates. ” its purpose was laid out in the first issue : ” this magazine will help bridge that gap by furnishing a forum in which science itself can speak in popular language without fear of the restraints with which fundamentalists are seeking to shackle them. ” among the articles within evolution were scores of political cartoons. cain has made all the issues available ( also available through the biodiversity heritage library ) and a page with some of the cartoons. here are a few : unfortunately, evolution was not a great success ( hence, only 21 issues ). by its 12th issue, the journal touted its 5, 000 subscribers, and provided a list of how many by state. interestingly, it had the most subscribers in new york city ( 675 ), california ( 551 ), new york state ( 494 ), illinois ( 486 ), and ohio ( 299 ). a few others in the 100 - 200 range ( including pennsylvania ), and the rest under 100, including all states in the south. i will also point out another website, put togteher by mark aldrich, called cartooning evolution, 1861 - 1925, broken up into darwin and evolution, evolution as social comment, victorian science, fundamentalist publications, the scopes trial : northern newspapers, the scopes trial : national magazines, and the scopes trial : southern newspapers. here ’ s a sampling, but be sure to check out the website itself, there are many more. enjoy : in my previous post i shared a link to ncse ’ s images of an intelligent design vs. evolution from the banana - toting, darwin - bashing creationist ray comfort. here ’ s one of the images, showing a card from the game that uses this quote : “ scientists conced that their most cherished theories


intelligent design vs. evolution from the banana - toting, darwin - bashing creationist ray comfort. here ’ s one of the images, showing a card from the game that uses this quote : “ scientists conced that their most cherished theories are based on embarassingly few fossil fragments and that huge gaps exst in the fossil record. ” a citation is given, that ’ s a good step : time magazine, november 7, 1977. so, what is this quote in reference to? what ’ s the context. the quote comes from an article titled “ puzzling out man ’ s ascent ” ( all online, thanks rob igo, for the link ) and here is where it falls : these developments, probably more than any others, hastened the differentiation between man and earlier hominids. explains anthropologist charles kimberlin ( “ bob ” ) brain of the transvaal museum in pretoria, south africa : “ meat eating and hunting were important factors. if you remained a vegetarian, the necessity for culture was not nearly as great. ” richard leakey too believes that hunting helped to make emerging man a social creature. says he : “ the hominids that thrived best were those able to restrain their immediate impulses and manipulate the impulses of others into cooperative efforts. they were the vanguard of the human race. ” still, doubts about the sequence of man ’ s emergence remain. scientists concede that even their most cherished theories are based on embarrassingly few fossil fragments, and that huge gaps exist in the fossil record. anthropologists, ruefully says alan mann of the university of pennsylvania, “ are like the blind men looking at the elephant, each sampling only a small part of the total reality. ” his colleagues agree that the picture of man ’ s origins is far from complete. perhaps no one is trying harder to fill in the blanks than richard leakey. picking up where his father louis left off at his death in 1972, richard — with his lake turkana discoveries — has already moved to the forefront of modern anthropology. now he is reaching out to coordinate research throughout east africa and taking the lead in sorting and assembling the thousands of fragments of evidence that may someday reveal the secrets of man ’ s origins. oh, the article discusses human evolution, not evolution of life on earth generally. gee, ray, do you think you could have clarified that? and, it ’ s not like any work in paleoanthropology has occurred over the last three decades. beware, quote


, not evolution of life on earth generally. gee, ray, do you think you could have clarified that? and, it ’ s not like any work in paleoanthropology has occurred over the last three decades. beware, quote - mining occurs in games, too! more important, do i have to give up my brain? national library of australia : books and their owners : a tiny link with the past : joseph dalton hooker ( who features in creation ) was most certainly not a beetle - collecting vicar, but a distinguished scientist in his own right. a tiny link with him surfaced in the nla collections recently. hooker was darwin ’ s lifelong friend and confidant, and encouraged him to publish his origin of species. hooker himself had a fascinating life, travelling on scientific expeditions to the antarctic, the himalayas, india, the middle east and the us western states. he became director of the royal botanic gardens at kew, writing and publishing until well into his 90s. he died in 1911 at the age 0f 94. petri dish : a child ’ s - eye view of charles darwin : this isn ’ t a perspective on the history of science with which i ’ m particularly comfortable, as it draws a veil over the hard work of how scientific knowledge emerges, is debated, and then rendered authoritative in a dynamic interplay along many dimensions. and it does, again, tend to make for a “ safe ” presentation of darwin and science, rehabilitating him, perhaps, from invidious perspectives that have convinced many that the word “ darwin ” is synonymous with hidden agendas that aim to hijack scientific thought for the purpose of destroying faith in god on dishonest pretenses. a depiction of a robust and engagingly curious young charles who is almost a blank slate, aside from his fondness for be [ e ] tles — indeed, who is an orthodox believer at the start of the voyage — as an alert conduit for nature ’ s empirical truth is hard to square with a vision of a sinister and conniving darwin out to dupe the devout as the devil ’ s chaplain. there ’ s an undertone of scientific apotheosis that i ’ m not eager to pass along with lessons on evolution if that ’ s what comes along with a child ’ s - eye view of charles darwin. guardian science blog : the beagle, the astronaut and a party in brazil put the awe back into science : “ space stations, square riggers and marine biology : science does


what comes along with a child ’ s - eye view of charles darwin. guardian science blog : the beagle, the astronaut and a party in brazil put the awe back into science : “ space stations, square riggers and marine biology : science does not get more exciting than this, and we need to get the inquiring young minds of today excited by science, ” barratt said. “ the iss circling the world while a scientific square rigger with beagle ’ s pedigree rounds cape horn, making new discoveries at sea and on land, streaming footage back to labs and classrooms will be a great way to welcome young minds into the excitement and adventure of science. ” darwin would have been proud. chronicle herald : thomas creates wonderful world, characters in pre - darwin britain : one of thomas ’ s greatest strengths in the novel is her ability to make us see the world from the eyes of people who do not know the concept of evolution — anning ’ s astounding fossil finds were made years before darwin ’ s ideas were published. the ideas of intellectuals and peasants alike were contained within a framework of theology and limited science. it was not until 12 years after anning ’ s premature death, at the age of 47, that darwin published on the origin of species in 1859. so the world in which mary found the ammonites and “ bezoars, ” which she sold to wealthy tourists visiting her hometown of lyme regis, england, was one in which there was not an extensive scientific understanding or explanation for the fossils. the 27th edition of carnival of evolution has just been posted at 360 skeptic. click here to get yer fill. a recap from io9 of the recent futurama episode – “ a clockwork origin ” – dealing with evolution can be read here : “ a clockwork origin ” had it all – the professor was crotchety and insane in his devotion to science, robots literally took over a world, an orangutan in a snappy vest disproved evolution, zoidberg attempted to be a father, limbs got cut off, and it all ended with a trial. if that isn ’ t classic futurama, i don ’ t know what is. casey luskin of the discovery institute stated that some artwork depicting darwin with endless forms of life for nature ‘ s “ 15 evolutionary gems ” ( 2009, pdf ) “ shows a picture of a smiling young darwin with animals flocking about him ( lizards, birds, monkeys, flowers, sponges, turtles, etc.


with endless forms of life for nature ‘ s “ 15 evolutionary gems ” ( 2009, pdf ) “ shows a picture of a smiling young darwin with animals flocking about him ( lizards, birds, monkeys, flowers, sponges, turtles, etc. ), much like the pictures of jesus posing with lions and lambs on some cheesy religious tract. ” the art itself : jack scanlan over at homologous legs therefore had an idea : casey ’ s reactionary labeling of this image as a “ darwinist ” religious icon is absurd, and deserves something just as absurd to mock it … grab any one of the many non - copyrighted images of darwin out there and add some text that conveys a satirical representation of the idea that darwin is a religious figure who is worshiped by biologists as christians worship jesus. be as creative and hilarious as you can. he has added several contributions in his post. here is my mine, using a picture of i took in cambridge, england of a stained - glass depiction of darwin in the hall of christ ’ s college, university of cambridge ; william paley is to the left of darwin : for more on luskin ’ s attack on nature, watch this : i ’ ve noticed in my google reader recently the following ads : evolution really did happen, living things really do have a common ancestor, and the earth really is 4. 5 billion years old. but the way evolution really works has little in common with darwin ’ s theory. darwinism is in deep trouble and it ’ s too late save it. it ’ s no different than the berlin wall in 1986, enron in 2000 or the us financial markets 3 years ago : it ’ s a bubble propped up by academic theorists, atheist zealots, politics and shell games – not hard science. all that needs to happen is for the right 3 - 5 scientists to step forward and expose the evolution industry for what it is …. and it ’ s not a question of “ if ”, it ’ s only a question of when. darwinism has about 2 - 5 years left. and when the! @ # $ hits the, fan it ’ s it ’ s gonna be quite a spectacle. but that ’ s not the important part! the real crime is that the “ evolutionists ” never bothered to tell you how evolution really works. the evolutionary process is neither random nor accident. it ’ s purposeful, it ’ s pre - programmed, it ’ s so ingenious and elegant it takes your breath away.


evolutionists ” never bothered to tell you how evolution really works. the evolutionary process is neither random nor accident. it ’ s purposeful, it ’ s pre - programmed, it ’ s so ingenious and elegant it takes your breath away. then i came home, and i noticed an outrageous banner ad at a creationist blog proclaiming : “ 2013 : darwinism falls. ” ugh. i understand that there are people who think ( mistakenly ) that there ’ s a big crisis in evolutionary biology and it ’ s going to collapse, but i ’ ve never encountered anyone arrogant enough to set a date. so i clicked on the ad, and it was pretty sad. it ’ s some site run by an engineer. what is it with engineers? why is it the most arrogant and vitriolic antievolutionists are engineers? i don ’ t know, but here ’ s a prediction for you, mr. 2013 - darwin - falls : it ain ’ t gonna happen. i was just there at evolution 2010 ( unlike you ), and i ’ ve been to many of their past conferences ( also unlike you ). they ’ re doing fine. they ’ re plugging right along. there ’ s lots of excitement. lots of research funding. thousands of researchers. they ’ re not going anywhere. so unless jesus christ returns bodily to rule the earth in the next three years, 2013 will see evolutionary biology continuing to enjoy the same cultural power they have now. silly, ignorant creationist propaganda : via christian nightmares. michael ruse makes the claim for the huffington post. read charles darwin and adolf hitler : rethinking the ‘ links ’ ( 7 june 2010 ). when in yosemite national park last week, patrick saw this sign for a john muir program and asked, “ is this darwin? ” hat - tip to pz. lifted from pharyngula : 14 ( + 1 ) reasons why creationists are more intelligently designed than evolutionists 1. “ creationism ” comes before “ evolution ” in the dictionary. 2. radiometric dating has determined that kirk cameron is between 6, 000 – 10, 000 years old. 3. the banana has obviously been perfectly designed by a designer for eating and for using in other creative, non - edible ways. 4. where the hell are those transitional species, like flying squirrels, for example? 5. if we evolved from monkeys, why don ’ t we look more like the planet of the apes chimps? 6. ben stein offers a perfect example


. 4. where the hell are those transitional species, like flying squirrels, for example? 5. if we evolved from monkeys, why don ’ t we look more like the planet of the apes chimps? 6. ben stein offers a perfect example of irreducible complexity “ wherein the removal of any one of the parts [ such as dying brain cells ] causes the system to effectively cease functioning. ” 7. especially when filled with animal crackers, my noah ’ s ark cookie jar is an exact replica of the real deal as depicted in my illustrated bible. 8. evolution violates the second, third, fourth, and any future laws of thermodynamics that science types can dream up. 9. if the earth were actually billions of years old, all the water from the genesis flood, which currently covers three - fourths of the earth ’ s surface, would have disappeared down the drain by now. 10. after supposedly “ millions of years, ” tetrapods haven ’ t evolved into pentapods. 11. evolution is only a theory, like the theory of the scottish origin of rap music. 12. there are well known, professionally published scientists who believe in god and who think dogs can telepathically communicate with humans. 13. if you leave bread, peanut butter, and fluff on a counter long enough, does it eventually evolve into a fluffernutter sandwich? not likely. 14. contrary to claims by darwinists, ann coulter is not a transitional fossil. 15. if creationism isn ’ t a valid alternative theory, then what are we going to do with all that crap in the creation museum? paul sivitz, a phd student in my history department ( he, too, just passed his orals – congrats, paul! ), thinks he ’ s so funny with his little fake news pieces poking fun at his fellow historians or historians - in - the - making. i am the subject of his latest : darwin draft manuscript found – london – while cleaning out a storage closet, workers at london ’ s natural history museum discovered a handwritten draft of a book chapter by charles darwin. the project, evidently never completed, seems to have been written long before any of the scientist ’ s other work. several pages of notes found with the manuscript describe darwin ’ s theory of evolutionary astrology. the book chapter, titled “ origin of pisces ” is full of ideas that had already been debunked by astrological scholars decades earlier. michael barton, a noted darwin


with the manuscript describe darwin ’ s theory of evolutionary astrology. the book chapter, titled “ origin of pisces ” is full of ideas that had already been debunked by astrological scholars decades earlier. michael barton, a noted darwin expert, was in london at the time doing research for his book, the meaningless charles darwin, said of the manuscript, “ this is even more important to uncovering the unknown parts of darwin ’ s life than the discovery of the taxidermy of darwin ’ s bulldog, which he had put to sleep after it bit alfred russel wallace on the leg. ” in the united states, jerry jessee, one of barton ’ s fellow graduate students at montana state university, commented on his colleague ’ s book project. said jessee, “ barton ’ s plan to tell us everything we don ’ t need to know about darwin is workable, although somewhat misguided. ” har dee har, paul. i saw this on the facebook group, we can find 1, 000, 000 people who do believe in evolution before june. although “ believe ” should read “ accept. ” you definitely aren ’ t “ smart enough. ” from flickr user peterwr : “ fridge magnet found in ludlow tourist information centre. ”


entergy ponders nuclear future when the magnitude 9 earthquake and resulting tsunami devastated much of northern japan on march 11, it was a human catastrophe of almost unimaginable proportion. but it was the damage at the fukushima daiichi nuclear power plant that potentially had the greatest implications for the united states and power companies including entergy that generate significant electricity with nuclear power. although the situation in japan has not yet been stabilized, the nuclear regulatory commission said there is no evidence that overheating during the last month has resulted in any melting of the reactor vessels or their containment structures. the new york times reported april 5 that federal officials believe the plant is unlikely to suffer a complete meltdown, in which uranium fuel gets so hot that it melts through the bottom of the reactor and containment vessels, spewing high - level radiation into the plant ’ s underlying foundation. if that assessment is correct, then significant additional releases of radioactivity into the environment will be limited. this is good news for northern japan – and other regions around the globe where people live near nuclear plants that produce the power they consume. the probability that a particular reactor core at a u. s. nuclear power plant will be damaged as a result of a blackout ranges from 6. 5 in 100, 000 to less than one in a million, according to a 2003 analysis by the nuclear regulatory commission. “ compared to many more mundane technologies, such as cars and airplanes, nuclear power facilities are quite safe. for the past half century, we have assumed they are safe enough, ” said larry m. elkin, president of palisades hudson financial group and a former editor and reporter for the associated press. “ the disaster at japan ’ s fukushima daiichi nuclear complex demands that we rethink what ‘ safe enough ’ means, ” he asserted in a piece titled “ japan shows us it can happen here. ” elkin said american scientists believe u. s. power plants have almost no chance of experiencing the kind of earthquake and tsunami damage that the japanese plants sustained, but insisted, “ the question we need to consider is not whether similar earthquakes and tsunamis can happen here ; it is whether a plant could, for any combination of reasons, simultaneously suffer a failure of its outside electrical supply and its onsite backups. ” for residents of southeast texas, the threat seems more remote. the closest nuclear plant to the area is 160 miles to the west at the south texas project, outside of bay city in matagorda county southwest of houston. more relevant to our


. ” for residents of southeast texas, the threat seems more remote. the closest nuclear plant to the area is 160 miles to the west at the south texas project, outside of bay city in matagorda county southwest of houston. more relevant to our area is the river bend station nuclear power plant in louisiana, 186 miles to the east, just north of baton rouge. it is owned by entergy – and is a major source of electricity in the golden triangle and beyond. “ roughly 20 percent of the power entergy supplies to texas comes from river bend station in st. francisville, la., ” said mike bowling, communications manager for entergy nuclear. entergy is a utility giant, a fortune 500 company with annual revenues of more than $ 10 billion in 2009 and about 15, 000 employees. entergy is also the second - largest nuclear generator of electricity in the u. s. after exelon corporation, operating a total of 12 nuclear units at 10 plants including river bend, waterford near new orleans and grand gulf near port gibson, miss. bowling sought to allay fears aroused by nonstop coverage of the fukushima daiichi crisis on cable news outlets, where the name of entergy was repeatedly invoked as a prominent american nuclear operator. “ nuclear plants in the u. s. are designed and built to withstand threats specific to their location, including earthquakes, floods and other natural disasters, ” said bowling. “ federal regulators will grant a license only if the plant is built above and beyond any credible natural or man - made threat, ” he added. “ the nrc requires all safety - significant structures, systems and components in nuclear plants to be able to withstand the most severe natural phenomena historically reported for each plant ’ s surrounding area, plus a significant margin for error. ” it was not damage from the quake or tsunami that threatened to destroy the daiichi plant but a loss of power that shut down the cooling system. entergy nuclear believes they have made such an occurrence in their plants highly unlikely. “ systems are designed with multiple contingent backup systems to provide greater safety margins in our ability to keep cooling water in the reactor and spent fuel pool, ” said bowling. “ various emergency diesel generators at entergy plants are located within hardened structures and at elevations designed to protect the emergency diesel generators from the sites ’ design - basis environmental disasters, including hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes and flooding. ” these redundancies give the utility a high degree of confidence. “ a nuclear plant can maintain a shutdown condition isolated from the bulk power transmission system indefinitely


the sites ’ design - basis environmental disasters, including hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes and flooding. ” these redundancies give the utility a high degree of confidence. “ a nuclear plant can maintain a shutdown condition isolated from the bulk power transmission system indefinitely, ” asserted bowling, who noted, “ during katrina, entergy ’ s waterford 3 plant shut down safely in anticipation of the hurricane ’ s landfall. although the electric grid was down for five days, plant systems ran safely on diesel generators stored in reinforced concrete bunkers until power was restored. ” one irony on the american nuclear landscape is that many nuclear plants are not operated today by the company that originally constructed them. “ river bend station, which now supplies power to texas, originally began operation in 1986 and was owned by gulf states utilities inc. entergy announced plans to acquire gulf states utilities in 1992 and completed the merger in 1993, ” said bowling. what the japanese crisis means for the nuclear industry in this country is less clear. a long - planned addition of two nuclear reactors at the south texas project has been indefinitely put on hold, with partners cps energy and nrg reportedly having a difficult time finding new investors and selling the 2, 700 megawatts the new units would produce, in part because of the reduced demand for power and the persistent low price of natural gas. suggestions that this failure to attract new investors means wall street wants nothing to do with nuclear plants were rejected by bowling. “ i wouldn ’ t say that this is a fair characterization, ” he said. “ there is no question that the united states hasn ’ t built new reactors in decades, and it will take new plants being built on time and on budget to assure wall street that new nuclear build is a good plan financially. ” elkin also cautioned against a rush to judgment on these financial questions. in an interview with the business journal, he said, “ i don ’ t know that anybody ’ s nuclear business is booming – and certainly what has gone on in japan in the last month hasn ’ t helped – but it ’ s a little early to say what the long - term fallout is going to be in the industry. ” the bottom line for the financial markets, of course, is money. “ as long as there is a market for these kind of securities, i don ’ t think it ’ s a fair statement to say that wall street isn ’ t interested in the industry. general electric is a major player in nuclear power, and they certainly have a following on wall street, ” he said.