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Presidential candidates debate marriage for gay couples BY admin October 15 2004 12:00 AM ET During the last of three presidential debates on Wednesday evening, an unprecedented discussion on homosexuality and gay rights highlighted the two candidates' concurring and differing views on the issue. It started when George Bush was asked by moderator Bob Schieffer if he believes homosexuality is a choice. "You know, Bob, I don't know. I just don't know," Bush said. "I do know that we have a choice to make in America, and that is to treat people with tolerance and respect and dignity. It's important that we do that. I also know, in a free society, people, consenting adults, can live the way they want to live. And that's to be honored." "But as we respect someone's rights and as we profess tolerance, we shouldn't change, or have to change, our basic views on the sanctity of marriage," Bush continued. "I believe in the sanctity of marriage. I think it's very important that we protect marriage as an institution between a man and a woman. I proposed a constitutional amendment. The reason I did so was because I was worried that activist judges are actually defining the definition of marriage. And the surest way to protect marriage between a man and woman is to amend the Constitution. It has also the benefit of allowing citizens to participate in the process. After all, when you amend the Constitution, state legislatures must participate in the ratification of the Constitution." "I'm deeply concerned that judges are making those decisions, and not the citizenry of the United States," Bush continued. "You know, Congress passed a law called DOMA, the Defense of Marriage Act--my opponent was against it--it basically protected states from the action of one state to another. It also defined marriage as between a man and a woman. But I'm concerned that that will get overturned, and if it gets overturned, then we'll end up with marriage being defined by courts. And I don't think that's in our nation's interest." In his response, John Kerry talked about Vice President Dick Cheney's daughter Mary. "We're all God's children, Bob, and I think if you were to talk to Dick Cheney's daughter, who is a lesbian, she would tell you that she's being who she was, she's being who she was born as. I think if you talk to anybody, it's not a choice. I've met people who've struggled with this for years, people who were in a marriage because they were living a sort of convention, and they struggled with it. And I've met wives who are supportive of their husbands, or vice versa, when they finally sort of broke out and allowed themselves to live who they were, who they felt God had made them. I think we have to respect that." "The president and I share the belief that marriage is between a man and a woman. I believe that," Kerry continued. "I believe marriage is between a man and a woman. But I also believe that because we are the United States of America, we're a country with a great, unbelievable Constitution, with rights that we afford people, that you can't discriminate in the workplace, you can't discriminate in the rights that you afford people. You can't disallow someone the right to visit their partner in a hospital. You have to allow people to transfer property, which is why I'm for partnership rights and so forth. Now, with respect to DOMA and the marriage laws, the states have always been able to manage those laws, and they're proving today, every state, that they can manage them adequately." Kerry's comment about Mary Cheney drew criticism from a number of conservative sources, including Mary's mother, Lynne. During a debate-watching party in the Pittsburgh suburb of Coraopolis, Lynne Cheney accused the Massachusetts senator of pulling a "cheap and tawdry political trick" for invoking her daughter's sexuality. "Now, you know, I did have a chance to assess John Kerry once more, and now the only thing I could conclude: This is not a good man," she said. "Of course, I am speaking as a mom, and a pretty indignant mom." The vice president did not raise the matter in his remarks at the same party. In his earlier debate with John Edwards, the vice president expressed no objection when the Democrat brought up his daughter Mary. Edwards expressed "respect for the fact that they're willing to talk about the fact that they have a gay daughter, the fact that they embrace her. It's a wonderful thing." In response to Lynne Cheney's rebuke, Human Rights Campaign executive director Cheryl Jacques said, "President Bush missed one more chance to denounce discrimination last night, so it is bewildering that Lynne Cheney instead attacked Senator Kerry. Senator Kerry made clear that gay Americans should have the same basic rights, responsibilities, and protections as every other American. Vice President Cheney first discussed his own daughter in the context of this issue two months ago, and it is not surprising that Senator Kerry mentioned her experience as emblematic of millions of gay Americans. Senator Kerry was speaking to millions of American families who have hardworking, taxpaying gay friends and family members." Shortly after the debate, the gay political group Log Cabin Republicans issued a statement on Kerry's comments. "Senator Kerry could have made his point about gay and lesbian Americans without mentioning the vice president's daughter," it read. "However, this shouldn't distract us from the fact that President Bush, Karl Rove, and other Republicans have been using gay and lesbian families as a political wedge issue in this campaign. Log Cabin Republicans have a message for both campaigns. For Senator Kerry and Senator Edwards, you do not need to talk about the vice president's daughter in order to discuss your positions on gay and lesbian issues. For President Bush and Karl Rove, you have a moral obligation to stop using gay and lesbian families as a political wedge issue. Our country and our party deserve better." Tags: World
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Rosemary Cabelo uses a computer at a public library to access the Affordable Health Care Act website on Dec. 11, 2013, in San Antonio. The Scariest Graph the CBO Released Today A new CBO report has partisans up in arms, but anyone can agree the job market isn’t looking great. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that Obamacare could mean fewer people searching for jobs. Today, while it was telling us that Obamacare could mean fewer workers and a slowing economy would push deficits up, the Congressional Budget Office also put out a report about the labor market's slow recovery (cleverly titled "The Slow Recovery of the Labor Market"). Here is a look at exactly how messed up the labor market has become, all packed into one chart: [READ: CBO: Deficit to Shrink, Recovery to Slow, Obamacare to Mean Fewer Jobs] (Congressional Budget Office) It’s not a simple up-and-down plotting of the jobless rate over time, but it displays one crucial point about the job market: It’s just not what it used to be. The chart at left is the Beveridge curve, a plot of the share of unemployed Americans versus how many jobs are open. Barring any major economic shifts, the labor market generally travels up and down the curve, but the curve itself does not move. It’s painful when the jobless rate gets higher under these circumstances, but it also tends to mean that demand is simply low for goods and services. But as the above curve shows, there was a big shift outward after July 2009 – meaning that even though the current job vacancy numbers are similar to only a few years ago, the unemployment rate is now higher. [ALSO: Alongside Income Gap, Internet Gap Remains Wide] All sorts of reasons could contribute to this, according to the CBO: The stigma of long-term unemployment, for example, could be keeping some would-be workers out of all those vacancies. Likewise, the long-term unemployed could be losing valuable job skills as they sit idle. In addition, a skills mismatch may be at work. And as some have suggested, employers – sensing they have their pick of plenty of qualified candidates – are taking their time sifting through the stacks of resumes. It also could be possible that extensions of jobless benefits helped push the unemployment rate up, the CBO says, as people continued applying for jobs in order to stay in the labor force and continue collecting benefits. However, those effects started tapering off in 2013, as people began exhausting their benefits, according to the CBO. What it means is that getting the job market back to where it once was will be a matter that involves far more than boosting growth and, therefore, demand. The jobless rate, at 6.7 percent, is roughly 2 full points higher than it was at the end of 2007. According to the CBO, structural factors – things like a broad skills mismatch that is unrelated to the business cycle – account for half that. Those structural factors, unfortunately, are tricky to solve. It could mean job training, and it could mean pushing employers to hire the long-term unemployed, as President Barack Obama is attempting to do. But they could take years to solve – the CBO predicts that the problems affecting the long-term unemployed won't start to disappear until after 2017.
Tea-Fueled Republican Resistance Compels Barack Obama To Keep Running In 2012, Paul Ryan declared that the election would “determine” American policy. But in 2013, Republicans aren’t accepting the result, writes, Robert Shrum. As President Obama is discovering, election, or more particularly reelection, can be a waning mandate. Yes, he won his top rate tax increases in January—but less because Republicans accepted the verdict of last November than that they feared the blame in November 2014 if they conspicuously shattered the credit-worthiness and economic stability of the United States. And now we are at a point where Obama himself suggests that the differences are just "too wide" to achieve a "grand bargain" on America's fiscal future. The president says he won't yield if the GOP position is "we can only do revenue if we gut Medicare ... Social Security ... or education." Well, although they wouldn't put it in those words, that is exactly the Republican position: voucherize Medicare, mow down Medicaid, and, no surprise, slash tax rates for the wealthy and corporations to 25 percent. From White House officials to Congressional Democrats to liberal commentators like Rachel Maddow, there has been a common reaction: doesn't Ryan know that he and Mitt were beaten, and pretty soundly? To reinforce her point—and Ryan's hypocrisy—Maddow went to the videotape of last summer, when Ryan promised, "[w]hoever wins this election is going to determine what all this"—from entitlements to tax policy—"looks like next year." In reality, things don't work out that way—and they certainly aren't now. In fact, the Tea-fueled Republican resistance to Obama's approach is both consistent with history, and dangerously ahistorical. First, the consistency: political parties don't surrender core positions just because their presidential nominee finished behind, sometimes far behind, in the electoral college. After Richard Nixon carried 49 states in 1972, Democrats continued to press for a definitive end to the Vietnam War—and Congress ultimately defied the impeached and disgraced president's successor Gerald Ford and their mutual secretary of State, Henry Kissinger, by refusing a request for last-minute arms and air cover for the South Vietnamese regime. Senator Jacob Javits, a Republican but a long time doubter about the war, was blunt: Congress would "provide large sums for evacuation, but not one nickel for military aid." A conflict that never should've been fought was finally over. The examples here are legion, for both Democratic and Republican presidents, and whether their elections were close calls or landslides. John F. Kennedy ran on Medicare in 1960—it was a central difference between him and Nixon—and then against fierce opposition, lost the bill in the Senate by four votes. In 1994, Bill Clinton's health-care reform, a hallmark promise of his campaign, never even reached the floor of either house of Congress. George W. Bush claimed a mandate after 2004, and then promptly saw Democrats decimate his proposal to privatize Social Security. After Hurricane Katrina, he couldn't pass a single major piece of legislation or stem the tide of hostility to the Iraq War—that became a driving force of the campaign of the young senator who would succeed him. Ronald Reagan, another 49-state winner, did secure sweeping tax reform; but it was a Democratic as much as a Republican plan, embodying ideas Ted Kennedy had pursued for years and shaped as much by Democrats like Dick Gephardt and Bill Bradley as by his administration. Reagan achieved comprehensive immigration reform, but it had to be negotiated with Kennedy and others on both sides of the aisle. Beyond this, he yielded his past opposition to the Voting Rights Act, which was renewed in 1985. And Democrats, and a fair number of Republicans, stood their ground and overrode his shameful veto of sanctions on apartheid, a measure which isolated the racist regime in South Africa and played a crucial role in its downfall. Lyndon Johnson, who was first elected to the Senate in 1948 by 87 votes, derisively earning the nickname "Landslide Lyndon," redeemed his electoral status by capturing the highest share of the popular vote in history in the presidential contest of 1964. But he's the exception that proves the rule. He promptly passed Medicare and the rest of his "Great Society"—but only because his party had two-thirds majorities in the Senate and the House— and for only two years. Republicans fought back; LBJ was increasingly beleaguered by civil unrest at home and a domestic uprising against escalation in Vietnam. He didn't even dare to run again in 1968. On a broad span of issues, from economic justice to the rights of women, Hispanics, other minorities, and gays and lesbians, the GOP is paddling against the tide of history. So the resistance Obama faces today is not unusual, even if it is unusually bitter. What is fundamentally ahistorical is the GOP's utter unwillingness to compromise—and its willingness to threaten the underpinnings of both government and the economy. Even in the throes of the Watergate scandal, the two parties collaborated to keep the system whole, sound, and on track. Or think of 1997: after House Speaker Newt Gingrich had pioneered the apocalyptic tactic of shutting down the government, which brought a fierce political backlash, he worked with President Clinton to enact the measures that led to a balanced budget. It is perhaps Bill Clinton's greatest achievement—and hard as it is to say this, Gingrich's finest hour. Newt had learned the lesson of the shutdown. And today’s House Republicans say that they have, too. They've just approved a bill to fund the government until the end of September. The prevailing assumption is that the Senate will remove some of the poison pills that are killing domestic programs—and the final product will actually make it to the president's desk. A great country shouldn't be making fateful fiscal decisions month by month, but it's better than fiscal collapse. That doesn't obviate the prospect of a gradual, grinding economic slowdown. Aside from the human pain, inflicted not just on federal workers but on the poorest and most vulnerable, the sequester is likely to reduce economic growth by at least half a percentage point and trigger the loss of one million jobs. In the customary dramaturgy of the Beltway, excessive attention has been paid to a sideshow orchestrated by the Washington Post's Bob Woodward —the discredited claim that the president "moved the goalposts" by insisting that revenue be part of an agreement to avert sequestration. But in 2011, the White House made clear that any solution had to include "revenue—raising tax reform." What matters far more than this tempest in the media's self-reflective mirror is the Republicans' manic and politically convenient obsession with growth-retarding, job-ravaging austerity. Throughout Obama's first term, they blocked effort after effort to help strained state and local governments and to lift demand across the economy. The result, as Paul Krugman wrote, was an unemployment rate 1.5 percentage points higher than it otherwise would have been by March 2012. It was bad economics by Republicans—and as it turned out, bad politics too, as Obama reframed the election not as a referendum on the sluggish state of the recovery, but as a choice defined by a question to which Romney could never be the answer: Who stands up for the middle class? Who's on your side? Now the GOP, impelled by ideology matched to calculation, is trying the same game again. And Republicans aren't deterred, but encouraged by the near-universal consensus—and the nearly universal proof from Europe to Asia and the Americas—that austerity is the road to economic malaise or recession. The obvious aim is to blame Obama and the Democrats and rerun the 2010 elections in 2014. Bill Clinton signing budget reconciliation measure into law, Newt Gingrich pictured background center, August 5, 1997. (Douglas Graham/Getty) I've argued here before that the president in effect has to run for a third term in the midterm campaign. Aside from marshaling the unparalleled competencies of his organization—and I don't care about the tut-tutting of goo-goo groups like Common Cause about his fundraising for this—unilateral disarmament is not a sufficient response to the Koch brothers and their ilk—the president has to pin the tail on the elephant. As the sequester erodes the recovery, he has to hold the GOP accountable, and he has to draw dividing lines on the budget and fiscal policy: growth now, deficit reduction over time; Social Security, Medicare, investment in the future, not tax windfalls for the wealthy. On a broad span of issues, from economic justice to the rights of women, Hispanics, other minorities, and gays and lesbians, the GOP is paddling against the tide of history. They will do it less conspicuously now, as quietly as the base will let them. And in the meantime, in the name of a clichéd and miscarried fiscal discipline, they will block or weaken the recovery every step of the way—and hope no one notices. Obama can and must make sure everyone does. The president has reached out, sought out middle ground, and repeatedly been rebuffed. His experience validates JFK's observation that you can't negotiate with those who say: "What's mine is mine and what's yours is negotiable." For the sake of the nation, I wish Obama had some of the luck of Clinton in 1997. So while I never thought I'd write this either, maybe we should bring back Newt Gingrich.
Security // Risk Management 10:38 AM Connect Directly Repost This Google Wardriving: How Engineering Trumped Privacy Blame the Street View data collection practices on a "more is more" engineering mindset. And rethink your notions about privacy for unencrypted Wi-Fi data. During a two-year period, Google captured oodles of Wi-Fi data worldwide as part of its Street View program. But why? Blame the engineering ethos that's prevalent at high-technology companies like Google. You know the "more is more" mindset: more bells and whistles equals greater goodness. Of course some technology giants, including Apple and Google, have produced products or services that succeed by distilling that approach. Rather than cramming every last feature into their products, these companies include only the best ones. For example, compare the 2003-era iPod to its rivals, or Google Search to its predecessors. But an unfiltered engineering mindset would help explain the apparent thinking behind the Street View wardriving program: "Well, if this Wi-Fi data is flying around and no one is encrypting it, what reasonable expectation do they have that it won't be sniffed and stored?" The "Engineer Doe" responsible for adding full payload data capture to the Street View program invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination, and refused to be deposed by government lawyers. The FCC, meanwhile, only learned his identity--redacted from all documents Google had initially provided to the agency--because Google had disclosed it to state investigators. While the state in question wasn't named, a former state investigator who worked on the Google case has identified the engineer as Marius Milner, a former Lucent Technologies employee who joined Google in 2003. Despite that revelation, we're still left to guess at his exact thoughts and motivations. Notably, however, he wasn't the only Google employee interested in the data. True, at first, Google blamed the entire episode on a "rogue engineer" who was hungry for the product possibilities such data might afford. But Google design documents later provided to the Federal Communications Commission demonstrated that managers had commissioned the wardriving program, to help them build Wi-Fi maps. "As Street View testing progressed, Google engineers decided that the Company should also use the Street View for 'wardriving,' which is the practice of driving streets and using equipment to locate LANs using Wi-Fi, such as wireless hotspots at coffee shops and home wireless networks," according to the FCC's report. "By collecting information about Wi-Fi networks (such as the MAC address, SSID, and strength of signal received from the wireless access point) and associating it with global positioning system (GPS) information, companies can develop maps of wireless access points for use in location-based services." Milner, the previously unnamed engineer that Google tapped to add the wardriving capabilities, went further by adding code to also record all unencrypted packets--or what's known as payload data--within range of Google's Street View cars, which he "thought might prove useful for other Google service," according to the FCC's report. Managers also signed off on these design documents, and at least one senior manager later asked the engineer to review the wardriving data set for interesting Web navigation statistics. New Privacy Questions, Old Laws Why didn't the initial payload-data-capture decision face legal review? Likely because Google is a company built by engineers, and run by engineers. The code rules. And in fact, Google employees told the FCC that anyone working full-time on the Street View project was allowed to modify the code--no approval needed--if they thought they could improve it. But capturing payload data raises numerous privacy questions. Indeed, investigators in other countries found that the data captured by Google's Street View software--the same software was likely employed in the United States--could be highly sensitive. A 2010 report from Canada's Office of the Privacy Commissioner, for example, noted that it was "troubled to have found instances of particularly sensitive information, including computer login credentials (i.e., usernames and passwords), the details of legal infractions, and certain medical listings." In 2011, meanwhile, France's Commission Nationale de l'Informatique et des Libertes examined a sample of payload data collected by Google in France, and found 656 MB of information, "including passwords for Internet sites and data related to Internet navigation, including passwords for Internet sites and data relating to online dating and pornographic sites," according to the FCC report. The French report suggests that combining the location data, together with the 6 MB of email data recovered--including details of at least one extramarital affair--would have allowed data miners to learn people's names, addresses, sexual preferences, and more. If "more is more" rules for engineers, the privacy default is traditionally "more is less." People have the expectation that not everything they do or say should be a matter of public record. Accordingly, if you surreptitiously collect too much data, then you may be infringing people's right to privacy. Cue punishment. But not here. The Justice Department and Federal Trade Commission both investigated Street View, and chose to not prosecute. The FCC in its report likewise said that collecting Wi-Fi data, at least in this case, didn't seem to fall under its ability to regulate the Communications Act of 1934. Furthermore, because Milner refused to testify, the FCC couldn't fully understand why he did what he did, and if his intentions were at all malicious. But there's one thing everyone has agreed he didn't do. On Milner's design document to-do list was this entry: "[D]iscuss privacy considerations with Product Counsel." According to the FCC, "that never occurred." If you suspect that having someone intercept your unencrypted Wi-Fi data might be against the law, think again. The FCC in its report noted that Google may not have done anything illegal, either by intercepting information, or analyzing it, especially because it left encrypted data alone. "Although Google also collected and stored encrypted communications sent over unencrypted Wi-Fi networks, the Bureau [meaning, the FCC] has found no evidence that Google accessed or did anything with such encrypted communications," according to its report. Thankfully, the FCC said that the unencrypted payload data appeared to have been accessed only twice: once by Milner to see if there was anything useful for creating Google products, and then in 2010 when Google supervisors verified that payload data had in fact been collected. Google said that while the payload data collection shouldn't have happened, it hadn't violated any laws. Notably, it argued that the Wiretap Act allows for the interception of radio signals that are "readily accessible to the general public," meaning they're not scrambled or encrypted. The FCC appeared to agree. To be clear: the Google Street View episode illustrates that people shouldn't have any expectations that their unencrypted data won't be captured. Hopefully, that revelation will provoke sharp questions in Congress about whether, in this day and age, the Wiretap Act or other communications regulations still work. Should someone be allowed to park outside your house and intercept your Wi-Fi signals? People never used shortwave radios to send their usernames and passwords to their bank, or to search Google. But as the French and Canadian investigators found, Wi-Fi data can reveal numerous secrets. Shouldn't the law help safeguard those? Comment \| Print \| More Insights Newest First \| Oldest First \| Threaded View << < Page 2 / 2 User Rank: Apprentice 5/1/2012 \| 4:34:59 PM re: Google Wardriving: How Engineering Trumped Privacy Well Put... I had a similar response planned, but you summed it up nicely User Rank: Apprentice 5/1/2012 \| 4:06:41 PM re: Google Wardriving: How Engineering Trumped Privacy No they should not change the law. If you are using a non-encrypted WI-FI connection then you should expect everything you do to be readily accessible to anyone. You don't leave something valuable on the curb and not expect it to be taken. So why would you expect non-encrypted data to not be read? The only people at fault here are people who run non-encrypted WIFI routers. Every ISP (that I know of) requires you to have your Wi-Fi access point encrypted. So everyone who is running a non-encrypted access point is violating a EULA already. Laws don't stop criminals. Locks stop criminals. Encryption stops people from listening in. Lock down your access point by putting encryption on it and this issue will be over. Don't get congress involved in this, they are too stupid to understand these concepts and will make everyone's lives worse off with some stupid law. Remember SOPA? << < Page 2 / 2 Register for InformationWeek Newsletters White Papers Current Issue Twitter Feed Audio Interviews Archived Audio Interviews
Lesson 24: “Be Not Deceived, but Continue in Steadfastness” Doctrine and Covenants and Church History: Gospel Doctrine Teacher’s Manual, (1999), 134–39 To help class members understand how they can avoid deception and apostasy. 1. 1. Prayerfully study Doctrine and Covenants 26; 28; 43:1–7; 50; 52:14–19; and the other scriptures in this lesson. 2. 2. 3. 3. Obtain a chart of the current General Authorities from a recent conference issue of a Church magazine. 4. 4. You may want to assign class members to present the stories in the first section of the lesson. Give them copies of the stories in advance. Suggestions for Lesson Development Attention Activity Write the following phrases on the chalkboard: • A pint of cream • A misspelled name • No available seating at the Kirtland Temple dedication Tell class members that these phrases all have something in common. They are all reasons given by early Church members for their apostasy from the Church. Explain that today’s lesson discusses how to avoid individual apostasy. These phrases and the stories that go with them will be explained later in the lesson. Discussion and Application Prayerfully select the lesson material that will best meet class members’ needs. Discuss how the selected material applies to daily life. 1. We should recognize the deceptions of Satan that can lead us into apostasy. Explain that during the early years of the Church, some members were deceived by Satan and led into apostasy, or rebellion against God. A few members who apostatized became enemies of the Church and contributed to the persecutions of the Saints in Ohio and Missouri. As members of the Church today, we must be faithful and watchful so we are not deceived. • Read D&C 50:2–3 and 2 Nephi 2:18, 27 with class members. Why does Satan want to deceive us? What are some of the ways in which Satan tries to deceive us and lead us into apostasy? (Use the following information to discuss or add to class members’ responses. Write the headings on the chalkboard.) Not recognizing the prophet as the source of revelation for the Church Some members are deceived by false prophets. The following account shows how several early Saints were temporarily deceived by false revelations. In 1830, Hiram Page, one of the Eight Witnesses to the Book of Mormon, possessed a stone through which he claimed to receive revelations about the building of Zion and the order of the Church. Oliver Cowdery, the Whitmers, and others believed these claims. However, the Prophet Joseph Smith said the claims “were entirely at variance with the order of God’s house, as laid down in the New Testament, as well as in our late revelations” (History of the Church, 1:110). The Prophet prayed about the matter and received a revelation in which the Lord made clear that only the President of the Church has the right to receive revelations for the Church (D&C 28). The Lord instructed Oliver Cowdery to tell Hiram Page that the revelations that came through the stone were from Satan (D&C 28:11). After hearing the Lord’s instructions, “Brother Page, as well as the whole Church who were present, renounced the said stone, and all things connected therewith” (History of the Church, 1:115). Some members are deceived because of their pride. The following story illustrates how pride led Thomas B. Marsh, who was President of the Quorum of the Twelve, and his wife, Elizabeth, into apostasy. After 19 years of darkness and bitterness, Thomas B. Marsh painfully made his way to the Salt Lake Valley and asked Brigham Young to forgive him and permit his rebaptism into the Church. He wrote to Heber C. Kimball, First Counselor in the First Presidency: “I began to awake to a sense of my situation; … I know that I have sinned against Heaven and in thy sight.” He then described the lesson he had learned: “The Lord could get along very well without me and He has lost nothing by my falling out of the ranks; But O what have I lost?! Riches, greater riches than all this world or many planets like this could afford” (quoted by James E. Faust, in Conference Report, Apr. 1996, 6; or Ensign, May 1996, 7). • What can we learn from this story? How have you seen pride lead people into deception and apostasy? What does the Lord promise to those who humble themselves before Him? (See D&C 112:2–3, 10; Ether 12:27. Note that D&C 112 is a revelation given to Thomas B. Marsh through the Prophet Joseph Smith.) Being critical of leaders’ imperfections Some members are deceived because they become critical of Church leaders’ imperfections. The following story illustrates how Simonds Ryder was deceived in this way. Simonds Ryder was converted to the Church in 1831. Later he received a letter signed by the Prophet Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon, informing him that it was the Lord’s will, made manifest by the Spirit, that he preach the gospel. Both in the letter he received and in the official commission to preach, his name was spelled Rider instead of Ryder. Simonds Ryder “thought if the ‘Spirit’ through which he had been called to preach could err in the matter of spelling his name, it might have erred in calling him to the ministry as well; or, in other words, he was led to doubt if he were called at all by the Spirit of God, because of the error in spelling his name!” (History of the Church, 1:261). Simonds Ryder later apostatized from the Church. • What can we learn from this story? How does being critical of our Church leaders make us more susceptible to deception? Being offended Some Church members become offended by the actions of other members and allow an offense to fester until they are led into apostasy. An example of this is illustrated in the following incident. When the Kirtland Temple was completed, many Saints gathered for the dedication. The seats in the temple filled quickly, and many people were allowed to stand, but still not everyone could be accommodated inside the building. Elder Frazier Eaton, who had given $700 for the building of the temple, arrived after it had been filled, so he was not allowed inside for the dedication. The dedication was repeated the next day for those who could not be accommodated the first day, but this did not satisfy Frazier Eaton, and he apostatized. (See George A. Smith, in Journal of Discourses, 11:9.) • What can we learn from this story? How do we today allow ourselves to be offended by others? How can being offended lead to apostasy? How can we overcome feelings of being offended? • Read D&C 64:8–11 and D&C 82:1 with class members. Whom does the Lord require us to forgive? Why is it sometimes difficult to be forgiving? What are some of the consequences of not forgiving someone? What can we do to help us forgive someone whom we have not yet forgiven? Rationalizing disobedience Rationalizing is excusing or defending unacceptable behavior. It is looking for a way to ease our consciences for doing something we know is wrong. • How is rationalization a form of deception? How do we sometimes try to rationalize our behavior? Why is this dangerous? How can we recognize and overcome rationalization? Accepting the false teachings of the world • What are some of the false teachings of the world that can deceive members and lead them into apostasy? (Examples could include the false ideas that the commandments of God are too restrictive, that immorality is acceptable, and that material possessions are more important than spiritual things.) Presiding Bishop H. David Burton taught: “One of [Satan’s] insidious strategies is to progressively soften our senses regarding what is right and wrong. Satan would have us convinced that it is fashionable to lie and cheat. He encourages us to view pornography by suggesting that it prepares us for the real world. He would have us believe that immorality is an attractive way of life and that obedience to the commandments of our Father in Heaven is old-fashioned. Satan constantly bombards us with deceptive propaganda desirably packaged and carefully disguised” (in Conference Report, Apr. 1993, 60; or Ensign, May 1993, 46). 2. We can remain valiant in our testimonies and avoid deception. Explain that the Lord has given us many blessings and commandments to help us remain valiant in our testimonies and avoid being deceived. • What can we do to keep ourselves from being deceived and led into apostasy? (Use the following information to develop this discussion.) We can know clearly whom the Lord has called to lead the Church • During the early years of the Church, many people claimed to receive revelations to guide the Church or correct the Prophet Joseph Smith. What did the Lord reveal in response to these claims? (See D&C 28:2, 6–7; 43:1–3. Point out that D&C 28 was revealed when Hiram Page claimed to receive revelations for the entire Church, and D&C 43 was revealed when others made similar claims.) • Who receives revelations and commandments for the entire Church today? President Joseph F. Smith and his counselors in the First Presidency taught: “The Lord has … appointed one man at a time on the earth to hold the keys of revelation to the entire body of the Church in all its organizations, authorities, ordinances and doctrines. The spirit of revelation is bestowed upon all its members for the benefit and enlightenment of each individual receiving its inspiration, and according to the sphere in which he or she is called to labor. But for the entire Church, he who stands at the head is alone appointed to receive revelations by way of commandment and as the end of controversy” (in James R. Clark, comp., Messages of the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 6 vols. [1965–75], 4:270). • How can we avoid being deceived by those who claim falsely to have received revelation for the Church? (See D&C 43:4–7.) • Read D&C 26:2 and D&C 28:13 with class members. What is the principle of common consent? (See D&C 20:65; 42:11. It is the practice of showing that we are willing to sustain those who are called to serve in the Church, usually by raising our right hands.) How can the principle of common consent protect us from being deceived? (It allows us to know who has been called to preside and administer in the Church, thus keeping us from being deceived by the claims of those who have not been properly called.) Display a chart of current General Authorities (see “Preparation,” item 3). Emphasize the blessing we have of sustaining these leaders and following their counsel. We should study the scriptures and the doctrines of the Church • Read D&C 1:37 and D&C 33:16 with class members. Explain that throughout the Doctrine and Covenants, the Lord teaches the importance of studying the scriptures. How can studying the scriptures and the words of latter-day prophets help us avoid being deceived? (Answers could include those listed below.) 1. a. We can better discern the truthfulness of ideas by comparing them with the truths we learn from the scriptures and our current leaders. President Harold B. Lee taught: “If [someone] writes something or speaks something that goes beyond anything that you can find in the standard Church works, unless that one be the prophet, seer, and revelator—please note that one exception—you may immediately say, ‘Well, that is his own idea.’ And if he says something that contradicts what is found in the standard Church works, you may know by that same token that it is false” (The Teachings of Harold B. Lee, ed. Clyde J. Williams [1996], 540–41). 2. b. Scripture study strengthens our testimonies so we are less likely to become complacent in righteousness or to be influenced by false doctrine. President Lee taught, “If we’re not reading the scriptures daily, our testimonies are growing thinner, our spirituality isn’t increasing in depth” (The Teachings of Harold B. Lee, 152). • How has studying the scriptures protected you from being deceived? We should recognize that the things of God will always edify us The Prophet Joseph Smith explained that soon after the Saints were settled in Kirtland, “many false spirits were introduced, many strange visions were seen, and wild, enthusiastic notions were entertained; men ran out of doors under the influence of this spirit, and some of them got upon the stumps of trees and shouted, and all kinds of extravagances were entered into by them; … many ridiculous things were entered into, calculated to bring disgrace upon the Church of God, to cause the Spirit of God to be withdrawn” (History of the Church, 4:580). Concerned by these excessive spiritual displays, the Prophet inquired of the Lord. The revelation in D&C 50 is the Lord’s response. • Read D&C 50:17–24 with class members. What do these verses teach about how we can discern the things of God from the things of Satan? (The things of God will edify us by enlightening our minds and helping us grow spiritually. They make us want to follow the Savior and improve our lives. The things of Satan will do the opposite.) President Joseph Fielding Smith taught: “There is no saying of greater truth than ‘that which doth not edify is not of God.’ And that which is not of God is darkness, it matters not whether it comes in the guise of religion, ethics, philosophy or revelation. No revelation from God will fail to edify” (Church History and Modern Revelation, 2 vols. [1953], 1:201–2). We should apply the Lord’s pattern for protecting ourselves from being deceived The Lord revealed D&C 52 the day after a conference in Kirtland. In this revelation He provides a pattern by which we can avoid being deceived. • Read D&C 52:14–19 with class members. According to these verses, what are the characteristics of teachers who are “of God”? How can the pattern that is given in this passage help us avoid being deceived? Review the deceptions of Satan that can lead to apostasy. Review the counsel the Lord has given for protecting ourselves from deception. Emphasize that as we follow this counsel, the Spirit of the Lord will keep us in the way of truth. As prompted by the Spirit, testify of the truths discussed during the lesson. Additional Teaching Ideas 1. Activity to introduce the first section of the lesson Prepare a note for each class member. Each note could contain a short message of appreciation or an assignment to read a scripture in class or to participate in some other way. However, spell each person’s name wrong in some small way. Distribute the notes at the beginning of the first section of the lesson to introduce the story of Simonds Ryder and the other stories in that section. 2. Additional counsel about how to strengthen ourselves against apostasy Elder Carlos E. Asay of the Seventy specified the following things we can do to strengthen ourselves against apostasy: 1. “1. Avoid those who would tear down your faith. … 2. “2. Keep the commandments. … 3. “3. Follow the living prophets. … 4. “4. Do not contend or debate over points of doctrine. [See 3 Nephi 11:29.] 5. “5. Search the scriptures. … 6. “6. Do not be swayed or diverted from the mission of the Church. … 7. “7. Pray for your enemies. … 8. “8. Practice ‘pure religion.’ [See James 1:27 and Alma 1:30. … 9. “9. Remember that there may be many questions for which we have no answers and that some things have to be accepted simply on faith” (in Conference Report, Oct. 1981, 93–94; or Ensign, Nov. 1981, 67–68).
Temperance (Scotland) Act 1913 From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search The Temperance (Scotland) Act 1913 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom under which voters in small local areas in Scotland were enabled to hold a poll to vote on whether their area remained "wet" or went "dry" (that is, whether alcoholic drinks should be permitted or prohibited). The decision was made on a simple majority of votes cast. The Act was a result of the strong temperance movement in Scotland before the First World War. Brewers and publicans formed defence committees to fight temperance propaganda, and publicans became unwilling to spend money on improvements to their premises in case the district went "dry". The Act was superseded by the Licensing (Scotland) Act 1959 which incorporated the same provisions as the 1913 Act and consolidated Scottish licensing law. These provisions and the local polls were abolished by the Licensing (Scotland) Act 1976. There was resistance from the House of Lords to the passing of the Act, leading to threats to use the (relatively new) Parliament Act 1911 to pass it. In the end, these threats pressured the Lords to pass the act. 1920 Referendum[edit] The first opportunity to petition for a poll on local prohibition was in June 1920. In order for a poll to be called, there had to be a petition signed by 10% of the registered voters in a burgh, parish or ward.[1] The first batch of polls were then held alongside municipal elections in November and December, the first being in Glasgow on 2 November.[2] The conditions required to prohibit the sale of alcohol in an area were strict. Three options appeared on the poll: no change, a 25% reduction in licenses to sell alcohol, and the abolition of all existing licenses. In order for prohibition to be implemented, that option required the support of at least 55% support of voters, and at least 35% of everyone registered to vote in the constituency. However, if this option was not successful, all votes for "no license" would be counted towards the 25% reduction tally.[1] The prohibition was also limited. There was no proscription of the manufacture of alcoholic beverages, nor of their wholesale, or their consumption in private. Local authorities were still permitted to license hotels and restaurants, providing that alcohol was only consumed with a meal.[1] Although temperance campaigners initially hoped to hold polls in at least 1,000 of the 1,200 licensing districts of Scotland,[1] ultimately there were 584 successful petitions.[3] By the end of polling, in late December, 60% of votes had been cast for "no change", 38% for "no license", and 2% for the reduction of licenses.[4] About 40 districts voted in favour of prohibition, including Airdrie, Cambuslang, Kilsyth, Kirkintilloch, Parkinch, Stewarton and Whitehead.[5] Glasgow was a particular target for the prohibitionists. At the 1920 poll, a majority of voters plumped for "no license" in eleven wards, but due to the turnout and supermajority requirements, it was only successful in four.[2] Repeal attempts[edit] In many newly dry districts, new polls were sponsored by licensees at the earliest possibility, three years later.[5] 257 polls were held, in total, the majority being a second attempt at prohibition. The next big wave came in 1927, when 113 were held,[3] following which, prohibition remained in place in only seventeen wards.[5] Among these was Lerwick, where alcohol remained prohibited until 1947.[6] Between 1913 and 1965 1,131 polls were held under the Act and the same provisions in the 1959 Act, with the vast majority (1,079) held before 1930.[7] The holding of votes continued to tail off during the 1930s and 40s. By 1970, there were still sixteen districts with prohibition, but just one or two new polls held annually.[3] 1. ^ a b c d "Temperance Reform: Local Poll in Scotland", The Age, 6 November 1920 2. ^ a b "Worldwide Movement: Comprehensive Address", Ashburton Guardian, 12 March 1921 3. ^ a b c "Veto polls: the constant threat to licensees", Glasgow Herald, 7 December 1970 4. ^ "Local option: how Scotland voted", Sydney Morning Herald 5. ^ a b c Callum G. Brown, Religion and society in Scotland since 1707, p.146 6. ^ Callum G. Brown, Up-helly-aa: custom, culture, and community in Shetland, p.169 7. ^ http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/written_answers/1965/dec/15/temperance-polls#S5CV0722P0_19651215_CWA_127
Take the 2-minute tour × Possible Duplicate: I fought a gold colored zombie dubbed 'Nightmarish' in its qualities bar. What does Nightmarish mean? What other qualities excist and what do they mean? share\|improve this question Def a dupe. I will vote to delete when the minimum time is up. – Ender May 15 '12 at 11:43 add comment marked as duplicate by Oak May 15 '12 at 11:31 1 Answer up vote 0 down vote accepted It is abilities the monsters can have, the harder the difficulty the more it can have and some are only available on harder difficulties. A list can be found here. Nightmarish is a boss modifier in Diablo III. This is another utility modifier that allows the boss to cast the Witch Doctor's Horrify spell, which sends the player running around in random directions for a short duration under the fear effect. While, like the fast modifier, it isn't very dangerous on its own, it has the potential to scale in effectiveness with other boss mods such as molten. share\|improve this answer add comment
Death: It's inevitable, and a subject that musicians always come back to, no matter how often they drift to places other than mortality. Whether it's about the artist's own eventual demise, or their experience with the passing of someone close (or distant), it's a theme that spans across all genres and eras of popular music (let alone unpopular music). The Notorious B.I.G. made his debut with an album titled Ready to DieThe Smiths made dying next to your lover sound like the most romantic thing a couple can experience, short of a honeymoon (on which you die, listening to The Smiths). Funkadelic taught us what a maggot-filled skull would sound like if it was a guitar solo. Society and pop culture have an aversion to serious considerations of death—and for good reason—but let's never forget the incredible music it's inspired. These are 25 Flawless Songs About Death. They are, quite simply, to die for. RELATED: The 25 Most Depressing Rap Songs blog comments powered by Disqus
Mathematicians! - Bayesian Models, reverse engineering, long term potential, very novel and fun work. Closed - This job posting has been filled. Job Description We're creating a web hosted consumer software. I'm looking for someone who can reverse engineer a PDF that outlines an algorithm and work with me to begin: 1. Data-set Creation 2. Algorithm Based Solution 3. Analysis for Pattern Recognition Application 4. Algorithm Design 5. Artificial Reasoning Very interesting work, with lots of potential for long term work as well as immense creativity. I'm looking to work with someone who can communicate in non-technical terms, someone who can come up with helpful ideas and can work as our budget will allow. Key skills I'm looking for: Bayesian Additive Regression Tree for Quasi-Linear model (BART-QL) Data Mining Predictive Distributions If you're not familiar with Bag-Of-Words, you must be quick to learn. Other open jobs by this client
Essentials of Human Anatomy and Physiology Created by Antoinettev Upgrade to remove ads 83 terms · Chapter 2 Basic Chemistry and Chapter 3 Cells and Tissues magnifier of the image of small objects property of microscope which allows objectives to be changed without having to refocus Total Magnification eypiece lens magnification x objective lens magnification light passes through one or more lenses to produce an enlarged image of a specimen focuses light through specimen Diaphragm (iris) The part of a microscope that allows the user to cange the amoutn fo light being shone into the specimen, the user would want to change the amount of light (by turning the diap according to the transparency of thier slide Coarse adjustment Knob moves the stage up and down to allow for focusing Fine Adjustment Knob moves the stage very slightly to bring the image into sharper focus Arm (Microscope) Supports the body and stage and is attached to the base. Ocular Lens Magnifies the object, usually by 10X. Also known as the eyepiece, this is the part you look through to view the object Objective Lens the part of a compound light microscope that is located directly above the specimen and that magnifies the image of the specimen The basic unit of all living things Plasma Membrane a jellylike fluid inside the cell in which the organelles are suspended a part of the cell containing DNA and RNA and responsible for growth and reproduction, a part of the cell containing DNA and RNA and responsible for growth and reproduction small structures in the cytoplasm that do special jobs Rough Endoplasmic Reticulum Manufactures membrane lipids- pancreatic cells= has ribosomes attached Smooth Endoplasmic Reticulum An endomembrane system where lipids are synthesized, calcium levels are regulated, and toxic substances are broken down. an organelle in the cytoplasm of a living cell Golgi Apparatus Structure: A small, membrane bound organelle filled with digestive enzymes. Function: Digestion of proteins, old organelles, food, dead cells, and other materials. One of two tiny structures located in the cytoplasm of animal cells near the nuclear envelope; play a role in cell division. Cell Division (Mitosis) indirect cell division involving complex changes in the nucleus (there are 5 phases) groups of similar cells that perform a specific function in an organism Epithelial Tissue Simple Squamous Epithelium Simple Cuboidal Epithelium Simple Columnar Epithelium A single layer of tall, thin cells. These large cells contain organelles that enable them to perform complex functions. In the intestines, it produces and secretes mucus and digestive enzymes. These often have cilia and microvilli on the surface. Pseudostratified Columnar Epithelium Epithelial tissue that only appears to be stratified. There is only one layer of cells, but there often appears to be two or more layers. This is because some of the cells are tall and reach the free surface, while others are short and do not reach the surface. These cells line certain glands and ducts, auditory tubes, the nasal cavity, and trachea. There is cilia located on the free surface of these cells. Stratified Squamous Epithelium Transitional Epithelium Description: resembles both stratified squamous and stratified cuboidal; basal cells cuboidal or columner; surface cells dome shaped or squamous like, depending on degree of organ stretch Function: stretches readily and permits distension of urinary organ by contained urine Location: lines the ureters, urinary bladder, and part of the urethra Connective Tissue Connective Tissue Cells Large extracellular( Matrix) material. connecting, anchoring and supporting body structures. Secrete protein fibers (elastin) into the ground substance.Blood and lymph also "connect" various parts of the body ( most diverse tissue cells) connective tissue cells that produce fibrous components of extracellular matrix like collagen and elastin fat cells the body substance in which tissue cells are embedded small spaces between the lamellae which contain osteocytes Ground Substance Connective Tissue Fibers collagen, elastic, reticular Collagen Fibers one of the 3 components of the connective tissue matrix. these are strong and ropelike and can withstand pulling bc of their great tensile strength Elastic Fibers Long threads made of the protein elastin. provide a rubbery quality to the extracellular matrix that complements the nonelastic strength of collagenous fibers. Reticular Fibers fine, collagenous fibers whose networks surround and support the soft tissue of organs, and stabilize the positions of functional cells Types of Connective Tissue Connective Tissue Proper Fluid Connective Tissue Supporting Connective Tissue Loose Connective Tissue Areolar Connective Tissue Most plentiful connective tissue in body, supports and binds other tissues, holds body fluids, defends body against infection, stores nutrients as fat, Contains collagen, reticular and elastic fibers, ground substance holds fluid, defense cells fight infection as areolar tissue contains Macrophages(big eaters), Plasma cells(secrete antibodies), Mast cells (inflammatory process), and Neutrophils, Lymphocytes, and eosinophils. A minor function is that it's fat cells store nutrients. Adipose Tissue Reticular Tissue Dense Connective Tissue a connective tissue that is more flexible than bone and that protects the ends of bones and keeps them from rubbing together cartilage cells that divide in order to cause bone growth, mature cartilage cells; produce collagen matrix small spaces between the lamellae which contain osteocytes Hyaline Cartlage has a matrix containing strong collagen fibers. found in structures that withstand tension and pressure, such as the pads between the vertebrae in the backbone and the wedges in the knee joint. rigid connective tissue that makes up the skeleton of vertebrates Muscle Tissue Nervous Tissue Integumentary System 90% of epidermis cells, migrates from lower levels, make keratin, Keratin helps protect skin, cells are sloughed off the protective skin pigment responsible for the tan, brown, or black color of human skin; produced in abundance upon exposure to ultraviolet radiation second layer of skin, holding blood vessels, nerve endings, sweat glands, and hair follicles It is the lowermost layer of the integumentary system in vertebrates. Types of cells that are found in the hypodermis are Fibroblasts, Adipose Cells, and Macrophages Accessory Organs organs that food does not pass through and produce enzymes for digestion Hair Follicle a small tubular cavity containing the root of a hair Arrector Pili muscle that surrounds each hair follicle; contraction may cause goose bumps Sebaceous Gland Sweat Glands help regulate body temperature and water content by secreting sweat Apocrine Sweat Glands Eccrine Sweat Glands most numerous, important, and wide spread of the sweat glands, mostly on forehead, upper lip, palms and soles, not hair follicles, regulate temperature, Please allow access to your computer’s microphone to use Voice Recording. Having trouble? Click here for help. We can’t access your microphone! Reload the page to try again! Press Cmd-0 to reset your zoom Press Ctrl-0 to reset your zoom Please upgrade Flash or install Chrome to use Voice Recording. For more help, see our troubleshooting page. 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Laura Harring Biography Share your opinion Home > Actresses > H > Harring, Laura > Biography Birth Name: Laura Harring Born: 03/03/1964 Birth Place: Mexico Herring was born on March 3, 1964 and raised in Los Mochis, Mexico. After her parents' divorce and mother's remarriage, her family relocated to Texas. Shortly after settling in San Antonio, Harring was the victim of a drive-by shooting when she was 12, suffering a head wound. Following her recovery, she was educated at boarding schools in Texas and at Aiglon College Villars in Switzerland, before winding up at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London. She eventually traveled the world, and while working as a restaurant cashier in the Philippines, was briefly detained by her love-smitten boss who had confiscated her passport. It was returned to her after her mother intervened. Returning to the United States, Harring found employment as a sales clerk in a clothing store. On a dare, she entered a local beauty pageant and won. One pageant led to another and she eventually represented Texas in the Miss USA contest. When she was called upon to crown her successor, a sharp-eyed produced noticed her charisma and beauty and offered her a chance to act in a TV-movie. Harring made her feature acting debut in the forgettable horror sequel, "Silent Night Deadly Night 3: Better Watch Out!" (1989), and followed it up with the role of a Brazilian woman out to introduce the Lambada to American audiences in the cheesy "Dirty Dancing" (1987) rip-off, "The Forbidden Dance." After her stint on "General Hospital," she was still relegated to less than stellar fare, like the direct-to-video release, "Dead Women in Lingerie" (1990). Garry Marshall tapped her to play a sultry tour guide of the titular sexual haven in "Exit to Eden" (1994) and she briefly returned to the world of daytime when she joined the NBC serial "Sunset Beach" in 1997, starring as policewoman Paula Stevens. Unhappy with the development of her character's storyline, she opted out of the daytime world. In 1999, Harring was on to bigger and better things, landing what she had hoped would be her breakthrough - the part of a mysterious amnesiac who is befriended by a perky aspiring actress in Lynch's proposed TV series, "Mulholland Dr." While she had to bide her time until the project found its ultimate form as a typical Lynchian film, Harring eventually earned a career-making payoff. As Rita - who takes her name from Rita Hayworth - Harring delivered a terrific, dreamlike and sensual turn, nicely playing off co-star Naomi Watts. Even when the film ventured into oddball territory, she managed to hold the audience's attention. Between the re-shoots and the film's ultimate premiere at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival, the actress continued to remain busy, scoring a supporting role in the Adam Sandler comedy "Little Nicky" (2000) and a turn as the mother who fled Cuba with her son in the Fox docudrama, "The Elian Gonzalez Story" (2000). Following her work as the femme fatale in "Mulholland Dr.," Harring was cast - in her words - as a "trashy, suburban character" in the big screen action drama "John Q" (2002). The following year, she was cast in the rat-themed horror remake "Willard," which starred Crispin Glover as the title character. In "The Punisher" (2004) - the second big-screen adaptation of Marvel Comics' gun-toting anti-hero - Harring was again a lovely vision onscreen and displayed a provocative and simmering chemistry with co-star John Travolta while playing his villainous character's wife, Livia Saint. Indeed, the film initially seemed to promise that Harring would end up as evil, or worse, as Travolta, but the script ultimately did not deliver. After a turn opposite Gael Garcia Bernal in "The King" (2005), she joined the cast of FX's gritty police drama, "The Shield" in a recurring role as a defense attorney for wrongly-accused Detective Curtis "Lemonhead" Lemansky (Kenneth Johnson), who constantly clashes with Strike Team leader Vic Macky (Michael Chiklis) over his lies and deceptions. Meanwhile, she made a return to features with "Nancy Drew" (2007), playing a murdered actress whose death is investigated by a quirky tweener detective (Emma Roberts) newly relocated to cliquey Hollywood High. Browse More Actresses:
Email updates Open Access Methodology article Identifying elemental genomic track types and representing them uniformly Sveinung Gundersen1, Matúš Kalaš23, Osman Abul4, Arnoldo Frigessi56, Eivind Hovig178 and Geir Kjetil Sandve8* Author Affiliations 1 Department of Tumor Biology, The Norwegian Radium Hospital, Oslo University Hospital, Montebello, 0310 Oslo, Norway 2 Computational Biology Unit, Uni Computing, Thormøhlensgate 55, 5008 Bergen, Norway 3 Department of Informatics, University of Bergen, Thormøhlensgate 55, 5008 Bergen, Norway 4 TOBB University of Economics and Technology, Ankara, Turkey 5 Statistics For Innovation, Norwegian Computing Center, 0314 Oslo, Norway 6 Department of Biostatistics, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, University of Oslo, Blindern, 0317 Oslo, Norway 7 Institute for Medical Informatics, The Norwegian Radium Hospital, Oslo University Hospital, Montebello, 0310 Oslo, Norway 8 Department of Informatics, University of Oslo, Blindern, 0316 Oslo, Norway For all author emails, please log on. BMC Bioinformatics 2011, 12:494 doi:10.1186/1471-2105-12-494 Received:11 May 2011 Accepted:30 December 2011 Published:30 December 2011 © 2011 Gundersen et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. With the recent advances and availability of various high-throughput sequencing technologies, data on many molecular aspects, such as gene regulation, chromatin dynamics, and the three-dimensional organization of DNA, are rapidly being generated in an increasing number of laboratories. The variation in biological context, and the increasingly dispersed mode of data generation, imply a need for precise, interoperable and flexible representations of genomic features through formats that are easy to parse. A host of alternative formats are currently available and in use, complicating analysis and tool development. The issue of whether and how the multitude of formats reflects varying underlying characteristics of data has to our knowledge not previously been systematically treated. We here identify intrinsic distinctions between genomic features, and argue that the distinctions imply that a certain variation in the representation of features as genomic tracks is warranted. Four core informational properties of tracks are discussed: gaps, lengths, values and interconnections. From this we delineate fifteen generic track types. Based on the track type distinctions, we characterize major existing representational formats and find that the track types are not adequately supported by any single format. We also find, in contrast to the XML formats, that none of the existing tabular formats are conveniently extendable to support all track types. We thus propose two unified formats for track data, an improved XML format, BioXSD 1.1, and a new tabular format, GTrack 1.0. The defined track types are shown to capture relevant distinctions between genomic annotation tracks, resulting in varying representational needs and analysis possibilities. The proposed formats, GTrack 1.0 and BioXSD 1.1, cater to the identified track distinctions and emphasize preciseness, flexibility and parsing convenience. Recent ChIP and high-throughput sequencing technologies are currently generating functional annotations at unprecedented speed and resolution. The availability of detailed protein binding locations, DNA methylation, histone modifications, DNA variations of individuals, and more for different tissues and conditions, provides the basis for a plethora of representational formats of genome wide data. Adding to this, new technologies for assessing the three-dimensional structure of the DNA, such as Hi-C [1], introduce the concepts of distance measures between different parts of a genome, opening up a whole new set of representational complexity. Several efforts have been attempted at defining general formats for the textual representation of genome annotation data. One such format is the General Feature Format (GFF), currently in version 3 [2]. Other generic formats are provided in connection to the UCSC Genome Browser [3], the Browser Extensible Data format (BED), bedGraph and WIG, among others. One reason for the different formats is that different properties are required, often in order to support information related to specific domains, technologies or experimental methods. Consider for instance the BED15 format by UCSC. This is an extension of the BED format, adding 3 columns in order to represent microarray expression data [4]. Other examples are the Gene Transfer Format (GTF) [5] for gene tracks and the Genome Variation Format (GVF) [6] for DNA variant files, both based on the GFF format. Another reason behind the proliferation of formats seems to be an issue of practicality. Certain types of genome annotations, or genomic tracks, are more efficiently and elegantly represented by certain data formats. Consider a track of DNA melting temperatures, i.e. an algorithmic prediction of the denaturation temperature for each base pair of the genome, e.g. [7]. Representing such a track in the Wiggle format (WIG) would take around 20 GB for the human genome. The exact same information could be represented in the bedGraph format, but the file size would then expand to around 100 GB. In this case, the file would contain much redundant information, such as repeated chromosome declarations, and start and end positions that are always increased by one for each line. The help pages at the UCSC Genome Browser explicitly recommend the WIG format for "dense, continuous data" and bedGraph for "continuous data that is sparse or contains elements of varying size" [8]. From this it seems that, at an abstract level, there may exist fundamental distinctions between track data, such that warrants the use of particular textual formats. We are, however, not aware of any systematic discussion of such distinctions in the literature. Expanding on this notion of systematic distinctions between track data, it seems that such distinctions also warrant differences in which analyses are applicable. It is for instance meaningful to ask whether SNPs fall inside exons, but it is not meaningful to ask whether SNPs fall inside melting temperature. Conversely, one can ask whether SNP locations have high melting temperatures, but not whether SNPs have high exons. This indicates that there may be some form of abstract grammar, where each track defines a set of informational properties, and each analysis only makes sense on certain sets of informational properties for the tracks in question. In this paper, we start with a clarification of basic nomenclature. We then discuss how the presence of different core informational properties of a track can be used to delineate fifteen different types of tracks at an abstract level. The fifteen track types encompass most existing data formats, in addition to open up for data sets making use of cross-positional linking, e.g. data sets based on the three-dimensional structure of DNA. We continue by reviewing common, generic formats, in tabular, XML-based, or binary form, and discuss how they fit with the proposed track types. This is followed up with the proposal of a new tabular format and an updated XML format for track data. These formats build closely on previous ones, but obey the distinctions between types of tracks. Finally, we discuss supporting tools for the proposed formats, including a code base supporting the storage of tracks in efficient binary format, illustrating how the formats can be pragmatically applied in high-speed analyses. Results and Discussion A reference genome may be abstracted as a line-based coordinate system. To build on this powerful metaphor, we use the term genomic track (or, in short, track, as used by the UCSC Genome Browser [3]) to refer to a series of data units positioned on such a line. The basic informational unit is called a track element, that is, a unit of data with associated genomic coordinates that may or may not be explicitly specified. A track element is to be thought of as a mathematical or implementational abstraction, in tabular formats typically represented as a single data line. Although the concept of genomic tracks is most useful for describing data that refer to a single reference genome, the meaning carries easily over to datasets referring to multiple reference genomes, or to contigs or scaffolds of partially assembled genomes. We further define a genome feature as a track element or set of track elements comprising a biological unit, e.g. a specific gene, of a certain feature type, e.g. genes. The term biological unit is to be understood broadly and should also include experimental results, algorithmic predictions and similar concepts, such as defined under sequence feature in the Sequence Ontology [9]. Note that a feature, e.g a gene, may be composed of several track elements, e.g. representing the exons of that gene. Often, a complete genome annotation, i.e. features of many feature types connected to a genome, are collected into a single file. This complicates the comparison of different feature types, creating the need for filtering such a file for the appropriate feature types prior to analysis. On the other hand, restricting a track to contain only a single feature type may reduce the information. For example, the connection between genes and their exons is lost if the two feature types are stored as separate tracks. We thus define a genomic track more specifically as set of track elements of one or several feature types, defined over an appropriate genome-scale coordinate system, where the set of feature types constitutes a pragmatic unit for analysis. A genomic track is then, in our view, defined in relation to an analytical purpose, whether explicitly defined or only suggested; this, in contrast to a data file used mainly for storage, which should be considered more as a flat file database. Core informational properties of tracks A genomic track consists of a set of track elements and, for each element, describes a set of properties, such as an identifier, a quality score or the method used. The positional information of a track element is obligatory for any genomic track and can be interpreted generically across tracks. The position of a track element is often encoded as a pair of start and end coordinates. However, when looking at genomic tracks from the perspective of information content, we find it fruitful to identify the positional information equivalently as the lengths of the track elements and the gaps between them, both measured in base pairs. As the positional information is essential and generic, we refer to gaps and lengths as core informational properties of the track. A genomic track may also carry a main value associated with each track element, for instance the measured expression of a gene or the copy number of a genomic region. We thus include values among the core informational properties. This main value can be a number (e.g. the expression of a gene), a binary value (e.g. if the element is considered case or control), a category (e.g. the feature type), a character (e.g. the allele variant of a SNP), or a list of values (e.g. gene expression for a set of patients). Lastly, a track element may be connected to other track elements located at different locations on the genome. This is critical for three-dimensional tracks, as locations that seem far apart when the DNA is unwound, could still be co-located in the nucleus. The corresponding core informational property of a track is then interconnections. The interconnections, or edges, are either directed or undirected, possibly with an attached weight value. Fifteen genomic track types All four core informational properties (gaps, lengths, values, and interconnections) will not always be defined for a track. Consider, for instance, a track of viral insertion points on a genome. As it makes no sense to talk about the length of an insertion point, such a track will not have the lengths property defined. Similarly, a track of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) will only contain elements that refer to single discrete positions on the genome. The track elements will, however, have associated values denoting the respective alleles. Consider also the DNA melting map, a track where a temperature value is assigned to every base pair of the genome [7]. As temperature values, i.e. track elements, are defined for every consecutive position of the genome, there is never any gaps between the elements. Also, the elements refer to single base pairs and have no lengths. Thus, a track of DNA melting will have neither the lengths nor the gaps property defined, only the values property (denoting temperature). Four core properties, being defined or not, gives 24 = 16 distinct combinations. Assuming that a genomic track always consists of track elements with the same core properties, we can distinguish tracks on the basis of which combination of core properties are defined. For one of the sixteen combinations, no core properties are defined. It is thus of no interest, hence reducing the set to fifteen combinations. Looking closely at the fifteen combinations, an interesting pattern appears. Figure 1 shows an illustration of the informational contents of each combination. As every combination denotes a particular geometric configuration, strikingly distinct from the others, we refer to tracks of the different combinations as having different track types. The concept of dividing genomic tracks into track types was partially introduced in [10], but has now been expanded from five to fifteen track types. thumbnailFigure 1. Illustration of the geometric properties of the fifteen track types. The base line is a genome, or a sequence, on which the tracks are defined. Vertical lines represents positions, while horizontal lines represent the lengths of the track elements. Gaps are thus illustrated by any empty areas between the elements. Values are represented by the height of the vertical lines. Interconnections are represented by arrows, the thickness of which correspond to the weight of the edge. Looking at the top left of Figure 1 and going downward, we start at the base case where the only core informational property is the gaps between the track elements. In this case, each track element represents an exact base pair location on the genome, denoting e.g. viral insertion sites. We call this track type Points (P). Adding informative values to this case, e.g. associating SNPs with allele frequencies, we get the track type Valued Points (VP). In the next two cases, the lengths property is added, resulting in the track types Segments (S) and Valued Segments (VS). Segments are probably the most common track type of existing tracks, representing common features such as genes or exons. Valued segments could, for instance, denote genes with associated expression levels. Moving on, we remove the values and gaps properties, leaving only lengths. Such tracks consist of segments covering all base pairs of the genome, i.e. a partition of the genome into potentially unequal pieces. Hence, the track type is called Genome Partition (GP). Basic examples of this track type are the partition of a genome into chromosomes or cytobands. Adding a value to each part of a partition creates a Step Function (SF), covering the whole genome with values. Basic examples of such tracks are tracks denoting results of tiling microarrays, providing that any gaps or overlaps between the tiles are ignored. Removing the lengths core property, the step function track is transformed into a track of type Function (F), where every base pair has an associated value. Examples of function tracks are tracks with close dependency on the genome sequence, such as GC content tracks, or predictions of melting temperatures, as outlined above. We call the seven track types outlined here for basic track types. The fourth core informational property, interconnections, can be envisioned as an orthogonal extension to the previous discussion. Adding interconnections, or edges, to the seven track types previously outlined (first column in Figure 1) defines linked versions of the same track types, e.g. Linked Segments (LS) or Linked Step Function (LSF) (second column of Figure 1). Although tracks that include interconnections are presently in little use, enough datasets exist to warrant the definition of all the linked track types, at least for completeness. For example, the recent Hi-C dataset of Dekker et al. [4] partitions the genome into 1 Mbp regions (for the genome-wide case), where each pair of regions has an associated proximity value. This dataset is then of type Linked Genome Partition (LGP), where every region has a weighted edge to all other regions. More traditionally, one could envision a gene/protein pathway being represented as gene segments, perhaps also with associated expression data, being linked together with directed edges representing associations (binding, activation, inhibition, etc.). This would be of type Linked Valued Segments (LVS). Note that a track type is considered linked if at least some track elements are interconnected. To complete the picture, a last track type needs to be defined. If only the interconnections core property is defined, track elements do not have gaps between them, lengths, or values. All base pairs are then track elements, with each base pair connected to other base pairs by edges, hence the name Linked Base Pairs (LBP). Thinking in term of graphs, all base pairs will thus be nodes, although not all nodes need to have any edges. This, in contrast to the track type linked points, which limits the nodes to a specified set of points. The track type Linked Function (LF) is similar to linked base pairs, only adding an associated value to each base pair (node). The linked base pairs track type is mostly suggestive at this point, but at least theoretically, this would be the track type of the perfect three-dimensional track, mapping the distance between all base pairs of a genome. Another example of a track of this kind is the representation of a randomization of a genome, with each edge representing the positional relocation of a base pair. We refer to the eight linked track types as the extended track types. Figure 2 shows an overview of the relations between the fifteen track types and the combination of core informational properties defined. thumbnailFigure 2. Four-dimensional matrix mapping the relations of the fifteen track types. Each dimension represents the exclusion (0) or inclusion (1) of one of the four core informational properties: gaps, lengths, values and interconnections. The track type abbreviations in the top-left box are: Genome Partition (GP), Points (P) and Segments (S); in the bottom-left box: Function (F), Step Function (SF), Valued Points (VP) and Valued Segments (VS); in the top-right box: Linked Base Pairs (LBP), Linked Genome Partition (LGP), Linked Points (LP) and Linked Segments (LS); and in the bottom-right box: Linked Function (LF), Linked Step Function (LSF), Linked Valued Points (LVP) and Linked Valued Segments (LVS). The track types with white background (with gaps) are the sparse track types, while the ones with grey background (without gaps) are the dense track types. See Figure 1 for a geometric illustration of the track types. Formal model of genomic tracks Formally, we base the discussion of track types on a specific mathematical model of genomic tracks. We treat the genomic coordinates as forming a discrete metric space on the natural numbers, defined by the discrete metric d: The genomic coordinates in the model are thus isolated points. A segment or interval starting at a position a and ending at b is defined as the subset S of natural numbers where: The length of a segment is defined by the metric d, and is equal to the number of elements in the set. The length of the segment S(1, 3) = {1, 2, 3} is thus d(1, 3) = \|1 - 3\| + 1 = 3 = \|S(1, 3)\|. Transferred to the biological domain, the length of a segment is the number of base pairs covered by the segment. The end position of a segment must be larger than the start position. We thus exclude segments of length 1 from the model, as such segments would be exactly equal to a point, e.g. the set of a single number: From the set notation follows that a point P can be precisely defined as falling inside a segment S if and only if P S. Two segments, on the other hand, may partially overlap. A function is precisely defined as a mathematical function from genomic coordinates to corresponding values, e.g. f = ℕ → ℝ. A step function is similarly a function from disjoint intervals covering the entire domain to corresponding values. Analysis dependency on track types As each of the fifteen track types implies a set of core informational properties, a track type also poses a limit to which analyses are appropriate for a track. It makes sense to calculate the base pair coverage of a track of genes (type: segments), but not for a track of SNPs (type: valued points), which should instead be counted. This logic also carries on to analyses applied to more than one track. Consider, for the sake of simplicity, only five of the fifteen track types. If we select two tracks, each of one of these five types, we get 15 combinations, provided that the order of the tracks is not important. Each of these combinations could then define a set of appropriate analyses. Table 1 provides analysis examples for many of the pairwise combinations of the five track types points, segments, function, valued points, and valued segments. Although assigned to a single combination of track types, an analysis may often be meaningful for a set of such combinations. For instance, asking whether the points of one track are located inside the borders of the segments of another track (points vs segments) will trivially also give meaning where one or both of the tracks has associated values (e.g. valued points vs valued segments). Also, it could give meaning to ask whether small segments of one track are located inside the borders of the segments of another track (e.g. for the segments vs segments combination). The correspondence between the track types and possible analyses are at the core of the idea of track types. Although storing data sets as efficiently as possible is an important aspect, the bioinformatics field is currently lagging more in terms of general understanding and standards for analyzing data sets in meaningful ways. It is our hope that the definition of track types will help in this regard. Table 1. Relation between analyses and track types Existing representational formats Existing formats for representing genomic tracks can broadly be divided into three groups: textual formats, binary formats, and XML formats. Often textual and binary formats are closely connected, such as the SAM and BAM formats for read alignments [11]. This duality is due to the different advantages of the two forms. Textual formats are often humanly readable and simpler to parse and manipulate than their binary alternatives. The binary formats, on the other hand, are more compact and more efficient to use, often incorporating indexing schemes for fast random access to data. XML formats aim to bridge this gap by defining data structures that can exist in both textual and binary forms. Note that we limit the discussion to formats that aim at being general, in one form or another, thus excluding formats that are special to a particular technology or platform. The large majority of formats for genomic data are textual, and the large majority of the textual data formats are tabular, that is, they consist of tab-separated columns. Three of the most common tabular formats are Generic Feature Format (GFF) [2], Browser Extensible Data format (BED) [4] and Wiggle Track Format (WIG) [8]. Figure 3 shows an overview of these three tabular formats, with example files. thumbnailFigure 3. Overview of three common tabular formats. A) Generic Feature Format (GFF). The example file is a reduced version of the main example of the GFF version 3 specification [2]. B) Browser Extensible Data format (BED). The example file is fetched from the specification of the format at UCSC [4]. C) Wiggle Track Format (WIG) [8]. The example files show the two subformats variableStep and fixedStep. The track elements in the variableStep file covers single base pairs (span = 1, as default) and contains sparse data. For the fixedStep file, the step attribute is equal to the span attribute. The fixedStep file thus contains dense data. Figure 4 shows GTrack conversions of these example files. A main reason for the popularity of tabular formats is that they are inherently simple to create and read, both manually and by computers. This has been a major asset in the field of bioinformatics because of the widespread use of both ad hoc scripting and WYSIWYG editing in spreadsheet software (such as Microsoft Excel). Still, the abundance of different formats, together with the increased complexity of particular formats, creates practical problems when e.g. creating new tools. XML formats represent a way of letting go of the entire process of custom and explicit parsing of files. In particular when an XML format is specified by a dedicated XML Schema (abbreviated XSD, from XML Schema Definition), the data included in an XML document can be automatically transformed into convenient runtime data objects. XML formats are much used in connection with Web services, XML databases, or serializations of object models, but there have so far been only a few XML formats used for exchanging sequence-feature data. The Distributed Annotation System [12] uses the DASGFF XML format, which is similar to the tabular GFF. Web services for feature prediction at CBS [13] have been using a common XSD-based output format that has been inspired by GFF. Numerous Web services and databases define their own XML formats for annotation data, such as the UniProt XML [14] or the ELMdb Web service [15]. BioXSD version 1.0 has defined a format for sequence features that is expressive enough to be able to substitute the majority of other feature formats [16]. The main disadvantages of using XML for genome-scale annotations have been the verbosity of the textual serialization of XML data and the large memory usage of most of the libraries parsing XML. The recent W3C standard for highly optimized binary representation of XML - the Efficient XML Interchange (EXI) format [17] - promises to solve these problems. Binary formats are often used internally in software systems, and not necessarily provided as public formats. Some exceptions to this are the aforementioned BAM, as well as the bigBed and bigWig formats [18]. The last two formats are binary versions of the BED and WIG format, respectively, providing efficient storage and indexing capabilities, allowing users to store large tracks on their own computers, while a server requests only the parts needed for analysis or visualization. Another binary format is the USeq Compressed Binary format [19] focusing on tight compression of tabular data files of different types, while keeping them in an indexed structure. As Figure 3 illustrates, different formats support different combinations of the core informational properties, and hence, different track types. Table 2 provides an overview of which of the basic track types are covered by some common formats. As each of the different groups of formats (tabular, XML, and binary) has advantages in distinct scenarios and communities, one would ideally like to select three formats that cover all track types, one from each group. Unfortunately, no common formats do. One option would be to extend an existing format to support all track types. A main reason for such an extension would be to be able to make use of the plethora of tools and parsers already available. In the case of XML formats, the existing BioXSD 1.0 format was found to be easily extensible to support all track types. In the case of tabular formats, however, the only major format to support extensions is GFF, through the attribute column. However, using GFF to represent e.g. tracks of type function would be highly impractical. Each base pair would then be represented by a data line of nine columns, wasting considerable amounts of space. The remaining option is then to create a new tabular format. In order for the introduction of a new format to be justified, such a format should have the potential to replace at least some of the existing formats, in addition to having the extensibility required to meet future needs when new types of data appear. As binary formats are often not independent formats, but typically linked to tabular ones, we will not focus on such formats here. We thus present a pair of general formats aware of all track types, one of which is tabular and the other based on XML. The tabular format, GTrack 1.0, is a new format that builds closely on the BED and WIG formats, while adding support for extensions in a similar fashion as in GFF. The XML format is a successor of the existing BioXSD 1.0 format. Besides catering to a broader user base, presenting "track type"-compliant formats of both kinds illustrates that the fundamental concepts of track type are independent of implementation. The primary goals for the formats are to support all track types systematically, to allow custom extensions, and to provide efficient storage, while at the same time focusing on simple parsing and manipulation of files. Table 2. The track types supported by existing tabular, binary and XML formats GTrack: Type-aware tabular format We here introduce a new tabular track format: the GTrack format, short for both "Genomic Track" and "Generic Track". The GTrack format supports all fifteen previously defined track types, illustrated in Figures 1 and 2. A GTrack file includes a column specification line, specifying the names of all the columns in the file. Each track type has a one-to-one correspondence to a combination of core columns being present in the column specification line, as detailed in Table 3. The four core informational properties are represented by the four core reserved columns in such a way that the existence of each core column (start, end, value, and edges) corresponds to a core property being defined (gaps, lengths, values, and interconnections, respectively): Table 3. Overview of the reserved columns in the GTrack format and their associations to track type • Gaps are implicitly represented by the start column, i.e. it holds the start coordinate of a track element and thus marks the end of any preceding gap. • For sparse track types, i.e. track types with gaps, length is implicitly represented by the difference between start and end columns. For dense track types (without gaps), there is no start column. The length is then the difference between the previous end position and the current. Deriving length from the end position, rather than the start position, is preferable, as a parser in the opposite case would have to read the subsequent line before concluding on the length of the current track element. The existence of the end column thus corresponds directly to the track elements having the length property. • Although several columns in a data set may contain values of potential interest, one of these columns will typically provide a main value used in processing or analysis according to a given purpose. This focus is specified by the value column. • The edges column contains, for each track element, a comma-separated list of id's of other track elements which are interconnected with the element in question, in addition to values associated to the edges, e.g. weights or edge types • A GTrack file may contain several columns containing values or edges. Users may then switch between them by simply editing the column specification line. The edges column requires that the non-core reserved column id is present, containing a unique identifier for each track element. Three other non-core columns are specified in the GTrack format: genome, seqid and strand (see Table 3). The titles of the eight reserved columns are reserved words in the column specification line. They may appear in any order, and any number of additional columns may be specified. Figure 4 shows six example GTrack files, five of which are conversions of the example files in Figure 3. The example files illustrate the variation stemming from the different column specification lines (starting with the characters '###'). thumbnailFigure 4. GTrack example files. A) GTrack version of the GFF file in Figure 3A. GTrack conversions of GFF vary according to the set of attributes present in the GFF file. The column selected as the main value may also be changed. B1 and B2) Two possible GTrack conversions of the BED file in Figure 3B. In the direct variant (B1) only a "track type" header line and a column specification line are added. The exon positioning will in this case not be understood by a general GTrack parser. The linked variant (B2) expands the exons into subsegments that links to their parent gene segment. C1 and C2) GTrack conversions of the WIG files in Figure 3C. The variableStep file has sparse track elements covering single base pairs, with associated values. The track is thus of type valued points. The fixedStep file contains dense data, with the same values for a series of consecutive base pairs. The track type is thus of type step function. Note that in the last example, the end values are used for positioning. D) Example GTrack file of type linked genome partition. Here two graphs are defined, one directed and one undirected. To change the active graph, the edges column in the column specification line needs to be changed, in addition to the "undirected edges" header line. The example GTrack files are available at [20]. BioXSD 1.1 versions of the examples are available as follows: A [21], B1 & B2 [22], C1 [23], C2 [24], and D [25]. When creating the GTrack format, we have emphasized simplicity, both for creation, manual reading and automated parsing of the format. We have identified three principles towards simplicity: independence of data lines, overview of structural characteristics and equally sized lines. The principle of independent data lines states that it should be possible to interpret each data line in a tabular format independently of its location in the file. This is a principle followed in many common formats, e.g. GFF [2] or BED [4]. Following this principle gives several advantages. First, when creating or manipulating a file, keeping data lines independent allows the filtering and sorting of data lines while still keeping all the relevant information. Second, keeping a track element on a single line makes it easier to read for the human eye. Third, independent data lines reduce the need of automatic parsers to hold state information. The GTrack format follows the principle of independent data lines with two exceptions. First, data lines of dense track types are dependent on their positions in the file. Second, the GTrack format allows (and, in the case of dense track types, requires) the specification of bounding regions around each block of values. A bounding region specification line defines the domain of the following track elements, i.e. the region where we have information about the features modeled by the track elements. It is recommended that tracks mask out regions of a genome where nothing is known (such as centromeres or assembly gaps) using bounding regions, rather than just omitting track elements or specifying 0-values, as the difference is important for many analyses. Bounding regions unfortunately require parsers to store state information. See Figure 4A, 4C1, 4C2 and 4D for examples of bounding region specification lines (starting with the characters '####'). The principle of including an overview of structural characteristics means that a track file should start with a set of configurable options that describe the structure of the data lines, in an easily readable manner. Note that many of these characteristics will, by nature, include redundant information, i.e. that could have been collected from the data lines themselves. There are several reasons for explicitly stating such characteristics. First, it gives the human reader a simple overview of the type of data stored in the file, without having to scrutinize the actual data. Second, it allows the creator of a track to validate that the file is structured in the way intended (for this purpose, we also provide a web-based validator tool [20]). Third, inclusion of structural characteristics allows parsers to be restrictive on which kind of structures to support. A quick script can then, for instance, read the header and check whether the track type is segments with no overlapping elements, failing explicitly if the header does not match this requirement. The script can then assume that the remaining file follows the asserted structure, safely ignoring the non-relevant generality of the GTrack specification. In the GTrack format, the structural characteristics are specified in header lines, starting with the characters '##'. Table 4 contains an overview of all GTrack header variables. Note that header lines are optional when their values are equal to the default values. We also provide the "Expand GTrack headers" tool, which generates a GTrack file with full headers based on a supplied, incomplete GTrack file, further simplifying the process of generating header lines. Table 4. Overview of the header variables of the GTrack format The principle of equally sized lines states that all data lines contain the same number of columns, i.e. that all attributes have a value. Columns that do not contain information are marked with a period character. There are several advantages for this solution compared to the solution used in the GFF format, where the last column may contain a list of attributes in the format tag = value, allowing the attribute list to differ for each line. First, having equal size columns allows validation that all data lines are complete, or at least that the creator of the track has considered all attributes for all track elements. With a variable size attribute column, there is no way to check that all attributes have been considered. Second, parsing attribute lists as in the GFF format is more cumbersome, as the parser will not in advance know which attributes may appear in the file. Third, not having to repeat attribute names for all lines saves some space. Fourth, and most importantly, having the same number of columns in each data line keeps the interface of the format coherently organized, with attributes as columns and track elements as rows. As the GTrack format supports custom columns, it can completely replace the attribute solution of the GFF format. In addition to simplicity, the GTrack format aims at being highly extensible and inter-operable. First, the ability to define columns in any order and number, provides ample options for extensibility, in addition to simplifying conversion. In many cases, converting another tabular format to GTrack is as simple as adding a column specification line. Note that basic, three-column BED files are directly compatible with the GTrack format, without the need for any modifications. Also, both 0- and 1-based indexing, in addition to the end position being inclusive or exclusive, are included in the GTrack specification, further simplifying conversion. Second, GTrack includes a strategy for making structured extensions of the format, namely the specification of subtypes. Four subtype header lines are available (see Table 4), specifying the name and version of a subtype, the URL of the subtype specification, and the strictness of adherence required by the subtype. The idea is that research communities can define their own tabular formats, making use of a subset of the GTrack specification. Such formats could for instance be replacements of existing formats, or formats that are honed to specific technologies or tools. The header variable "subtype URL" points to a GTrack file that can be used as model for the subtype, and is intended to be read by automatic parsers. Figure 5A shows an example of such a subtype specification file, based on the example GTrack file in Figure 4A. Specifying subtype models allows the reduction of a complete GTrack header down to a minimum of one line, as shown in Figure 5B. It is our belief that allowing extensions of the GTrack format via subtypes caters for a range of future extensions, while ensuring backward compatibility. Subtypes can be defined in a range of settings, from project specific, ad hoc solutions, to the specification of generic formats. Further examples of GTrack subtypes are described in the GTrack specification (Additional file 1). A set of standard GTrack subtypes are available online [20] (including subtypes corresponding to the example files in Figure 4). thumbnailFigure 5. GTrack subtype example. A) An ad hoc GTrack suptype specification based on the example GTrack file in Figure 4A, which is a conversion from the GFF file in Figure 3A. This and other GTrack subtypes are available from the GTrack website [20]. B) A minimal GTrack header, parsable by fully compliant GTrack parsers. Note that the "Expand GTrack headers" tool, available from the GTrack website [20], can be used to expand headers of GTrack files using subtypes, in order for such files to be used in simpler parsers that do not support the subtype functionality. Additional file 1. GTrack specification. Specification document of GTrack 1.0. Format: TXT Size: 58KB Download fileOpen Data BioXSD 1.1: Enhanced and optimized XML format BioXSD has been developed as a universal XML format for the basic types of bioinformatics data that is in particular suitable to be used with Web services [16]. It models common types of data for which a specialized XML Schema (XSD) has not been widely adopted: biomolecular sequences, alignments, sequence feature records, and references to ontologies and data resources. The BioXSD schema defines formats of data but not formats of particular XML documents, by defining XSD types but no global XML elements. BioXSD types can thus be used according to applications' needs in applications' own XSDs such as those in WSDL files of Web services. BioXSD 1.0 type AnnotatedSequence can represent annotations of a biomolecular sequence or genome with any types of positioned or non-positioned features, which can be combined in one record. Although the textual serialization of XML is in general more verbose than a tabular format, already the BioXSD 1.0 has included a number of optimizations compared to traditional feature formats like GFF or BED, thanks to the tree-like structure of XML. These have been mainly: • not repeating the reference to a sequence in every feature occurrence • not repeating the type of feature in every feature occurrence • representing multi-segment and multi-point feature occurrences in one feature-occurrence element The goal of BioXSD version 1.1 has been to further improve the expressiveness of the BioXSD formats and at the same time focus on optimizations of the data size. The successor of BioXSD 1.0 AnnotatedSequence is BioXSD 1.1 type FeatureRecord. BioXSD 1.1 in general allows more types of sequence positions, distinguishing them in the same way as the tabular GTrack format. Sparse positions are segments, points (actual points or insertions), and outer positions. Dense positions have been added: dense points (function) marked-up by < nextPoint/> empty elements; and dense partition or step function marked by < nextPartition max="..."/> elements including the border position where each interval ends. However in contrast to GTrack, the different types of positions can still be freely combined within a FeatureRecord. The representation of all types of sequence positions have been refactored, simplified, and optimized. Another crucial set of optimizations allows specification of the ontologies, databases, and computational tools of interest in a condensed way for a list of feature annotations, so that they do not have to be repeated. Detailed contents of the BioXSD feature record are listed in Table 5. Examples of data represented in BioXSD 1.1 format are available at [21-25]. Table 5. The allowed content of a BioXSD FeatureRecord There is one slight difference in how the GTrack and BioXSD deal with focus of feature records. GTrack defines one operational focus of a concrete dataset. That is the reason why it allows to specify only one type of track locations and only one value column and one edges column at a time, although other values and edges may still be "hidden" in out-of-focus columns. BioXSD on the other hand allows combining features, types of track positions, values, and interconnections freely without any operational focus. Thus, if a tool consuming BioXSD feature data demands it, a particular operational focus of the data must be supplied by the user. Compared to other generic sequence-feature formats, BioXSD allows defining complex, structured meanings of annotations, as well as complex feature data and metadata, or relations. This would not be conveniently possible in a tabular format and takes advantage of the XML. BioXSD types can freely be combined and included within documents, files, or applications' inputs and outputs. They can easily be combined with other XML formats defined in other XSDs, can be extended just like classes in an object-oriented programming language, or further restricted using built-in XSD mechanisms. BioXSD can be validated and parsed by ordinary XML/XSD-handling frameworks. It has, however, been problematic to use XML formats for highly voluminous data such as whole-genome annotations. The textual serialization of XML is more verbose compared to a textual tabular format, and even more compared to a bespoke binary format. Many basic XML-handling tools have high runtime demands for computer memory, making parsing of huge XML documents impossible. All these problems are hopefully going to be solved thanks to the recent and long-expected Efficient XML Interchange (EXI) standard by the World Wide Web Consortium [17], together with its growing family of supporting libraries, and tools for streamed XSLT transformations and random-access XPath and XQuery queries. EXI defines the way any XML data or document should be serialized in a standard binary format that will be many times smaller and at the same time faster to access than the textual XML. There is no need to develop one's own bespoke binary encodings and parsers when using EXI, and the data can be programmatically handled transparently, with the same look and feel as the ordinary XML. Availability of specifications and supporting tools The BioXSD 1.1 XML Schema is available at [26]. BioXSD data can be validated by all the main XML validation tools, and consumed and produced programmatically by the bulk of the common XML/XSD-handling libraries. Further information and documentation are available at [27]. A complete specification of the GTrack format version 1.0 is attached as Additional file 1 and is also available from the GTrack website [20]. The website also contains supporting tools for the GTrack format, connected to the Genomic HyperBrowser [10,28]. Table 6 contains an overview of all GTrack-related tools available as webtools. Table 6. Overview of the webtools available from the GTrack website [20] The GTrack format is maintained by Sveinung Gundersen and the BioXSD format is maintained by Matúš Kalaš. Both formats are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License [29]. The Genomic HyperBrowser [10,28] is built on top of the Galaxy framework [30,31] and provides a large set of statistical investigations tailored for the specific track types of supplied tracks. In order for such analyses to be efficient, the system uses a binary storage scheme internally. In this scheme, the core informational columns are stored as C vectors directly written to disk. The vector files are then accessed using the NumPy package [32] for Python [33], allowing very efficient vector computations. A linear index of the files is built in order to allow random access to the data. This binary representation is stored in parallel to the files in their original format, and updated automatically as the original files are updated. The implementation is open source and available as part of the HyperBrowser code base under the GPL license, version 3 [34]. As an alternative, the recently published Tabix tool [35] provides fast access to tabular data in compressed form, and works with GTrack files of types Points and Segments, and their derivatives. By systematic analysis of informational properties of genomic tracks, we delineated fifteen distinct types of tracks. These track types shed light on the variability of track representations, suggesting that the differences between formats is not only due to preferences and conventions, but also to fundamental differences in the information inherent in different tracks. Furthermore, discerning the informational properties of a track allows the nature of the track to be precisely conveyed, as well as clarifying what represents meaningful analyses on a given track. The identification of core informational properties of tracks, as well as a broad survey of various practicalities concerning existing formats, created a basis for the specification of a new format for genomic data: the GTrack format. By allowing precise interpretation, simple parsing, as well as relatively straightforward conversion to several existing formats, we believe that the introduction of this "yet another format" will actually help streamline data representation in the field. Finally, by coordinating the GTrack format with an enhanced and optimized version 1.1 of the BioXSD format, this also aids in unifying tabular and XML-based track representation, while keeping the specific advantages of the two. BAM: Binary Alignment/Map format; BED: Browser Extensible Data format; ChIP-seq: Chromatin Immunoprecipitation sequencing; EXI: Efficient XML Interchange; F: function; GFF: General Feature Format; GTF: Gene Transfer Format; GVF: Genome Variation Format; GP: genome partition; P: points; LBP: linked base pairs; LF: linked function; LGP: linked genome partition; LP: linked points; LS: linked segments; LSF: linked step function; LVP: linked valued points; LVS: linked valued segments; S: segments; SAM, Sequence Alignment/Map format; SF: step function; SNP: single nucleotide polymorphisms; URI: Uniform resource identifier; URL: Uniform resource locator; VP: valued points; VS: valued segments; WIG: Wiggle format; WSDL: Web Service Definition Language; WYSIWYG: what you see is what you get; XML: Extensible Markup Language; XSD: XML Schema Definition. Authors' contributions SG, AF, EH and GKS conceived and developed the ideas on track type distinctions. SG, MK, OA and GKS developed the GTrack specification. SG and GKS wrote the main parts of the paper. MK wrote the parts on XML-based track representation and developed BioXSD 1.1. SG and GKS were involved with the development of GTrack-related tools. All authors read and approved the final manuscript. Acknowledgements and funding Funding was kindly provided by EMBIO, FUGE, UiO, Helse Sør-Øst, and eSysbio (funded by the Research Council of Norway). This work was performed in association with 'Statistics for Innovation', a Centre for Research-Based Innovation funded by the Research Council of Norway. We thank Kai Trengereid for crucial work in developing the GTrack-related tools, and Inge Jonassen for valuable input on the BioXSD format. We would also like to acknowledge the excellent review work provided by the peer reviewers. These reviews have contributed significantly to the content of this paper. Science 2009, 326(5950):289-293. PubMed Abstract \| Publisher Full Text \| PubMed Central Full Text OpenURL 2. Generic Feature Format version 3 [] webcite 4. UCSC genome browser data formats [] webcite 5. Definition of Gene Transfer Format [] webcite 6. Reese MG, Moore B, Batchelor C, Salas F, Cunningham F, Marth GT, Stein L, Flicek P, Yandell M, Eilbeck K: A standard variation file format for human genome sequences. Genome Biol 2010, 11(8):R88. PubMed Abstract \| BioMed Central Full Text \| PubMed Central Full Text OpenURL 7. Liu F, Tostesen E, Sundet JK, Jenssen TK, Bock C, Jerstad GI, Thilly WG, Hovig E: The human genomic melting map. PLoS Comput Biol 2007., 3(5) OpenURL 8. Definition of Wiggle Track Format [] webcite 9. The Sequence Ontology [] webcite Genome Biol 2010, 11(12):R121. PubMed Abstract \| BioMed Central Full Text \| PubMed Central Full Text OpenURL 13. Web services provided by the Center for Biological Sequence analysis (CBS), Technical University of Denmark [] webcite 14. UniProt C: The Universal Protein Resource (UniProt) in 2010. Nucleic Acids Res 2010, (38 Database Issue):D142-8. OpenURL 15. Gould CM, Diella F, Via A, Puntervoll P, Gemund C, Chabanis-Davidson S, Michael S, Sayadi A, Bryne JC, Chica C, Seiler M, Davey NE, Haslam N, Weatheritt RJ, Budd A, Hughes T, Pas J, Rychlewski L, Trave G, Aasland R, Helmer-Citterich M, Linding R, Gibson TJ: ELM: the status of the 2010 eukaryotic linear motif resource. Nucleic Acids Res 2010, (38 Database Issue):D167-80. OpenURL 16. Kalas M, Puntervoll P, Joseph A, Bartaseviciute E, Topfer A, Venkataraman P, Pettifer S, Bryne JC, Ison J, Blanchet C, Rapacki K, Jonassen I: BioXSD: the common data-exchange format for everyday bioinformatics web services. Bioinformatics 2010, 26(18):i540-6. PubMed Abstract \| Publisher Full Text \| PubMed Central Full Text OpenURL 17. Efficient XML Interchange (EXI) Format 1.0 [] webcite Bioinformatics 2010, 26(17):2204-2207. PubMed Abstract \| Publisher Full Text \| PubMed Central Full Text OpenURL BMC Bioinformatics 2008, 9:523. PubMed Abstract \| BioMed Central Full Text \| PubMed Central Full Text OpenURL 20. GTrack [] webcite 21. BioXSD example 1 [] webcite 22. BioXSD example 2 [] webcite 23. BioXSD example 3 [] webcite 24. BioXSD example 4 [] webcite 25. BioXSD example 5 [] webcite 26. Definition of BioXSD version 1.1 [] webcite 27. [] webcite 28. The Genomic HyperBrowser [] webcite 29. Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License (CC BY-ND 3.0) [] webcite Genome Biol 2010, 11(8):R86. PubMed Abstract \| BioMed Central Full Text \| PubMed Central Full Text OpenURL Curr Protoc Mol Biol 2010, 19:-21. Unit 19.10.1 32. Oliphant T: Guide to NumPy. Trelgol Trelgol Publishing; 2006. OpenURL 33. The Python Language Reference [] webcite 34. GNU General Public License, version 3 [] webcite 35. Li H: Tabix: fast retrieval of sequence features from generic TAB-delimited files. Bioinformatics 2011, 27(5):718-719. PubMed Abstract \| Publisher Full Text \| PubMed Central Full Text OpenURL 36. Affymetrix CNT File Format [http:/ / SNP_Variation/ Manual/ svs7/ affymetrix_cnt_file_format.html] webcite 37. VCF (Variant Call Format) version 4.1 [http:/ / wiki/ Analysis/ Variant%20Call%20Format/ vcf-variant-call-format-version-41] webcite 38. The SAM Format Specification (v1.4-r985) [] webcite 39. BioHDF [] webcite 40. FASTA [] webcite 41. Hoffman MM, Buske OJ, Noble WS: The Genomedata format for storing large-scale functional genomics data. Bioinformatics 2010, 26(11):1458-1459. PubMed Abstract \| Publisher Full Text \| PubMed Central Full Text OpenURL
Re: UX Redesign: Dual Boots / Resize issues / Saving KS 2011/6/22 Máirín Duffy <duffy fedoraproject org> There isn't much we can do for them; they really need to run chkdsk on their own. One resource we do have at our disposal is ntfsfix, which is a utility that can fix common errors, It fixes common errors and then forces windows to run a full check in the next boot. but the downside to this is that if users press any key while it runs, it'll skip the filesystem check operation, rendering the whole process useless. That's not a bug we can fix, that's just what windows does... So we'll need to lean on them and make sure we document well the chkdsk process. Will found this following documentation on shrinking partitions in Windows: Which is useless, because: Windows partitioning tools can't resize the main OS drive (drive C). The UI is ugly and not usable, users will have problems with it. Resize issues screen map. There's a complication that resizing introduces. The designers would case is not reversible at this time. dry-run version. A dry-run version of resize would need two components: (1) Dry run of the resize to determine how much space we'd get (2) A dry run of the RPM transaction to determine how much space we'll Well, we can't do rpm transaction dry run in anaconda for network installs before we download everything. My idea was, simply adding a new field to comps with auto-generated size requirement for the specific group defaults that will be generated on compose time. (I'm not sure Infra will like this idea though). If we want to allow individual package selection, the filed should have the installed size for each package in comps (and be in the package definition, not group definition), not for the whole group. There's a complication with upgrades here too, especially during As I've mentioned, upgrades doesn't need re-sizing, (and iirc you can't change the partition scheme during upgrades). From the log: elad661: upgrades doesn't needs resizing though elad661: we can do this checks only in resize usecase wwoods: elad661: ...true! sorry, I think I need a cup of tea and a break before I continue thinking about this Saving KS because who would remember to insert the USB key before turning anaconda We could have a little inconspicious 'Continue a previous installation' on the front language selection / splash screen maybe?? Yes, but only when we didn't detect any saved installation. This button shouldn't replace auto-detection, it would be just another method. continue with this previous installation, or would you like to start Here's the full log btw
Luke Reding Luke Reding Email : [[lpreding]] Advisor : John Swaddle Biographical Information Research Interests My current research project deals with sexual selection and threat status in modern birds. By collecting data on surrogates of sexual selection (mating system, dichromatism) and factors implicated in extinction (e.g. range size, flightlessness), I hope to determine which variables can explain the difference between threatened and non-threatened bird species.
Return to Transcripts main page CNN Pays for Exclusive; Interview With Author of 'Uncensored Story of Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour' Aired January 3, 2010 - 10:00 ET KURTZ: When news breaks out, it's all about "the get." You know the drill -- the bookers, the correspondents. And in some cases, the big foot anchors work the phones, write the letters, send the flowers and try to land the first interview with a newsworthy figure. But what happens when money is involved? Jasper Schuringa is by any definition a hero. He's the Dutch passenger on that Northwest Airlines flight who jumped on the Nigerian who was trying to detonate a bomb as the plane headed for Detroit. Schuringa sold the television writes to a grainy photo he took on board to CNN for a reported $10,000 and the print rights to "The New York Post" for $5,000. And he granted his first two interviews to CNN and "The New York Post." FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: And as we've been reporting on this investigation, we've also been showing you an exclusive image. Did you help take the image or did you also help subdue the suspect? Which is it? JASPER SCHURINGA, NORTHWEST FLIGHT 253 PASSENGER: Basically, you know, I reacted on the bang. And then, suddenly, there was smoke piling up in the cabin. And so people were screaming, "Fire! Fire!" KURTZ: ABC later got in on the action, landing interviews with Schuringa after paying $3,000 for another of his photos. There was another high-profile case this week where NBC reached for the corporate checkbook. But let's start with the aftermath of the Christmas terror plot. Joining us now for our first show of 2010, Jane Hall, professor of media and politics at American University, and Terry Smith, former media correspondent for "The News Hour" on PBS. Terry, the networks say they don't pay for interviews. But when you buy something from a news source and then you happen to get the first sit-down, what is that? TERRY SMITH, FMR. MEDIA CORRESPONDENT, "THE NEWS HOUR": What a coincidence. Well, it's obviously more than a coincidence. And it's nothing New. This is checkbook journalism. It has gone on for a long time. I would argue in this case CNN and others didn't get their money's worth because the pictures weren't very good, the interview wasn't very illuminating. It didn't add much. KURTZ: It was exclusive. You could put that "exclusive" banner up there. SMITH: It was exclusive. Isn't that wonderful? I wish they had taken the $10,000 and spent it another way. KURTZ: CNN says there was no implicit or explicit quid pro quo. They say it was not more than $10,000. And it says -- the network says it does sometimes purchases video and photos in breaking news situations. And again, CNN winds up with the first interview with Jasper Schuringa. JANE HALL, AMERICAN UNIVERSITY: Well, you know, you can't help but feel it diminishes "the get." When you say "CNN exclusive," and you don't disclose, as I don't think CNN did, that the man they're interviewing also was the man from whom they bought the picture, then you have a situation where it cheapens it. And you think, gee, it cheapens his heroism. And also, what does it say about him that he was marketing this? It raises all kinds of questions that are left unanswered about a heroic act. KURTZ: Well, it was a heroic act, and I guess he tried to cash in on it. But, you know, you make the point this has gone on for years and years and years. All the networks -- oh, we don't pay for interviews. Occasionally we'll buy photos. And somehow it doesn't really pass the smell test. SMITH: I'm not sure the public cares. I think news organizations actually hate checkbook journalism because it raises the bidding price for things. They do buy pictures. They buy it from a professional photographer, and a picture should be -- would be a lot better. But it is -- it's just a lousy use of money. Take it and spend it on real reporting. KURTZ: Unless -- it's not a lousy use of money if you're competing with TMZ and "The National Enquirer," which do pay for information, and you feel like you have to get in the game. HALL: Right. Well, and you have an instance where someone is in, basically, a seller's market. Everybody wants the interview, everybody wants to be able to say we have the exclusive. And this has been going on for some time. I mean, when I was at the "LA Times," I did a story about how ABC got an interview with Michael Jackson after promising to air his video multiple times. It's a way of being a little bit pregnant. And, you know, the fact is it works for everybody to get the exclusive, but it doesn't really advance the journalism. And it makes everybody -- I think a lot of viewers are sitting there going, well, how often do they do this? You know, it was very embarrassing correspondence to the Unabomber that came to light a few years ago where people were basically saying, I'm your friend, Mr. Unabomber. Come on and be on with me. It's unseemly. KURTZ: Well, it's one thing to try to convince potential guests how wonderful and fair and high-minded you are, and it's another thing to check out the checkbook, checkbook journalism, as you say. The Obama administration's spin in the aftermath of this Christmas Day plot evolved a little bit going back to last Sunday, particularly here on STATE OF THE UNION. Let's roll some tape and show you how the message changed, shall we say. JANET NAPOLITANO, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: One thing I'd like to point out is that the system worked. MATT LAUER, NBC NEWS: A lot of people don't think the system worked at all, that the only thing that prevented outright disaster was luck. Can you respond to that? NAPOLITANO: Sure. I think the comment is being taken out of context. BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: A systemic failure has occurred. And I consider that totally unacceptable. KURTZ: So, Janet Napolitano says she was taken out of context when she was talking about how the system reacted once the attack took place. SMITH: Afterward. KURTZ: Yes. But the media, we saw they would not allow it. Just kind of dismiss that pathetic spin as being unrealistic? SMITH: Well, it is unrealistic. On the other hand, I'm sure Janet Napolitano would love to take that statement back, even if she was referring, as I assume she was, to the period after the attack. KURTZ: And I'm sure she was given talking points, as every cabinet secretary is, by the White House. In other words, this was not only her decision to come out there and kind of defend the administration last Sunday. And, of course, that spin quickly changed. SMITH: Right. Robert Gibbs made the same point, and it was equally lame when he did. HALL: You know, it reminded me, unfortunately, of, "Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job." I mean, if it was meant to reassure people, it did not. It looked completely out of touch. And then Obama catches heat for being out in Hawaii, and then he comes forward and goes from saying this is an allegation to saying it's a systemic failure. KURTZ: Well, sometimes, you know, a politician will come on TV and say the sky is green. And journalists will say, well, some experts say it's actually blue. HALL: Right. KURTZ: Here, I don't think there was any attempt to do that. You know, this is a guy, Abdulmutallab, whose father had gone to the embassy saying he was an Islamic radical, he bought a ticket for cash, he didn't have any luggage, he boards with plastic explosives. How can any experienced politician go on television and say the system worked? SMITH: I mean, this thing evolved, and it evolved slowly. And everybody was slow off the mark -- news organizations, the administration, everybody. I don't think they fully realized everything that had happened, all the connections that were there. And as it became more clear, the White House, the president, from Hawaii, started to escalate his statements. KURTZ: It took a couple days for the pieces to fall into place. And there's a legitimate question about whether President Obama should have waited 72 hours to personally address the situation. But then you get reaction like this from the media. Here's the "New York Daily News" cover: "Mr. President, It's Time to Get a Grip." So, we sort of personalize these things right away. Do we not? HALL: Well, and you know, Tom Kean, the head of the 9/11 Commission, just earlier on this network was saying Obama was distracted by health care. If he was supporting Obama, that was not a good thing to say. That is certainly going to be seized upon. SMITH: Well, you know, President Obama likes to think things through, which I think you can make a case for. KURTZ: Right. SMITH: But he gets pilloried for it. KURTZ: But in the world of 24-hour news and cable and blogs, we want a reaction in 10 seconds. We don't want to wait two days. Let me turn now -- I mentioned at the top that NBC was also involved in spending some money for an interview. This was the case that got an enormous amount of attention -- a New Jersey dad named David Goldman, who finally, after a five-year battle, was able to bring his son back from Brazil after his late wife had taken the boy there. And NBC sent a private jet to Brazil to pick up Mr. Goldman and his son, and then the interview went to "The Today Show." Let's roll it. MEREDITH VIEIRA, NBC NEWS: Now to more of our exclusive interview with David Goldman, who just spent Christmas with his son Sean for the first time in five years. DAVID GOLDMAN, REUNITED WITH SON: I just kneeled next to his chair and patted his head and held his hand, and just told him how much I loved him and that we're going to have some fun. And you're going to see your grandma and grandpa. KURTZ: So, Jane Hall, is sending a private jet to Brazil -- one Web site estimated the cost as being $50,000 to $70,000 -- is that buying an interview as well? HALL: I think so. You know, we're going to see this on "Dateline." I mean, NBC has been invested in this story. They said they had a relationship with him. Again, you look at this and you go, well, are we entertaining ourselves with this story, as important as it is to this family and human interest? You know, where's the part where maybe we look at the National Counterterrorism Center for $50,000 worth of reporting? SMITH: Right. This was a Christmas Eve tearjerker. And it tends to show the tabloid tendency of "The Today Show," which has been really dramatic in the last year or so. They have gone to the tabloid instead of the news. Once again, I wish they took the money, the $50,000 or $70,000, and sent a reporter to Yemen or Afghanistan instead. KURTZ: But just to clarify, I mean, the other network morning shows have covered this story and similar stories as well. "The Today Show" was not the only one in this space, so to speak. SMITH: Oh, absolutely. And they managed to cover it without paying that amount of money and providing that access. On the other hand, the morning shows have been flying people into their studios and putting them up in hotels for years. KURTZ: Very nice hotels, I'm sure. Let me move on to another incident that happened in Hawaii and ended up being covered by the White House correspondents who are with the president, and that was Rush Limbaugh, ,who was hospitalized with chest pains. We were glad that it turned out to be nothing serious. Limbaugh held a news conference when he was released from that Hawaii hospital, and here's some of what he had to say. RUSH LIMBAUGH, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: Based on what happened to me here, I don't think there's one thing wrong with the American health care system. It is working just fine, just dandy, and I got nothing special. KURTZ: Now, Rush Limbaugh didn't take questions, said he didn't want to talk about politics. But he certainly made a point there about the health care system, didn't he? SMITH: Of course he did. You've got to love Rush. He did an in-depth survey of how multimillionaire celebrity patients are treated. And they're treated very well, thank you. And so everything, he said, was fine and dandy. I mean, it's ridiculous on the face of it. And yet, he made his point. He slipped it in there. KURTZ: But, you know, maybe it's true that he didn't get any special treatment. But, you know, he has a $400 million contract. There are 50 million Americans, more than that, actually, with no health insurance. SMITH: Well, you know, a friend of mine was yesterday in an emergency room with a heart problem and spent all day there. And he saw the other side of the health care crisis; namely, long lines and jammed facilities. So I think Rush maybe had a little special treatment. HALL: Well, you know, you can argue that, and you don't want to be unkind. I thought the media commentator showed a lot of restraint for not saying, you know, how do you feel about the 47 million uninsured and do you have a pre-existing condition? He has been outspoken about how this health care reform is going to bankrupt the country. And the fact that he didn't take questions, then he got to make a speech. Ed Henry was the only person who asked him a question. KURTZ: Asked a quick question about... HALL: Right, about, are you taking pain meds, which seemed to throw Limbaugh off. KURTZ: But you know what bothered me just briefly? Some of the reaction in the blogosphere, where some liberal commentators, when it appeared that he might have had a heart attack, were sort of rooting for him to have a heart attack. Whether you think Rush Limbaugh's views are hateful or not, that struck me as over the line. HALL: I agree with you. That's ugly. I mean, you don't do that. Even when he's had other problems in the past -- I mean, you know, I think where people might want to question him is about his stance versus what he personally experienced. I think that's valid. SMITH: Absolutely. KURTZ: That's fair game. He actually introduced that into the debate by holding the news conference and talking about, absolutely nothing wrong with the American health care system. Before we go, I want to give you my two cents on one other issue, and that is the Transportation Security Administration -- you may not know that this week -- in the wake of that Christmas Day plot, subpoenaed two travel bloggers. These are Steve Frischling and Christopher Elliott, because they had obtained a security directive, an internal document. The TSA agents seized Frischling's computer. He now says the TSA later apologized for heavy-handed tactics. The subpoena was ultimately withdrawn. This struck me as just bullying of a couple of small players. I question whether the agency would have issued a subpoena so quickly to a "New York Times" reporter, for example, who might have obtained an internal document. Now, given the magnitude of this disaster and what went on, and all the failures that we now know crystal clear in letting this Nigerian would-be terrorist get on that plane, I would think that the TSA has more important things to worry about than a couple of bloggers. Terry Smith, Jane Hall, thanks very much for stopping by this morning. We appreciate it. When we come back, their television show pushed the limits of political satire during a tumultuous time until they were kicked off the air. A look back at why CBS pulled the plug on the Smothers Brothers. KURTZ: The country may have been in turmoil back in 1969, but television was exceedingly cautious when it came to political dissent. There was no "Daily Show," no "Colbert Report," no cable channels with loud mouth commentators either denouncing or defending the president. But CBS did have a show called "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour." That, by the standards of the day, pushed up against the boundaries. KURTZ (voice-over): Tom and Dick Smothers kept running into problems with the CBS censors, which they started poking fun at. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nothing funny in this. Hey, boys, we're through censoring your show. KURTZ: Finally, after the third season, the corporate ax felt. WALTER CRONKITE, "CBS EVENING NEWS": CBS announced that "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour" will not return to the CBS television network next season. KURTZ: Now, 40 years later, we have occasion to look back on that clash and what it said about television, American culture and dissent. KURTZ: David Bianculli, former TV critic for "The New York Daily News," is just out with a book called "Dangerously Funny: The Uncensored Story of 'The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour.'" He joins us now from Philadelphia. That program became probably the most controversial show on TV, but the satire seems kind of mild by today's standard. BIANCULLI: Oh, it really is mild. In retrospect, you wonder why they were upset about it at all. But looking back on the '60s, that was when you had flying nuns and you had dreamy genies. There was nothing that was serious on TV in prime time. And the Smothers Brothers, in an entertainment variety show, were trying to talk about the war and talk about the presidential policies and sex and drugs and rock and roll. It was just the only place for a young generation to go to get that sort of information. KURTZ: Right. Vietnam was a particular hot button. How bad did the censorship get, as you went through the three seasons that did get on the air? BIANCULLI: It got increasingly tense each season, where Tom Smothers, who was the one who fought most of the battles, would fight more and more and try and slip in more and more stuff. And the CBS censors would throw more and more rules and get more and more angry and intransigent themselves. Both sides were just sort of going at loggerheads. KURTZ: So, from your review, would you say now, in benefit of hindsight, that the CBS television network basically caved to pressure in yanking the show off the air? BIANCULLI: I don't know if they caved to pressure so much, as they got really firm in saying these are our rules, and you either play by our rules or you're gone. And some of those rules were arbitrary and some of them, you know, Tom and Dick Smothers would not play by. And so they were gone. They had been renewed for a fourth season. So they weren't canceled. They were fired. KURTZ: Now, of course they did -- I had forgotten this. They did win $900,000 in a breach of contract suit, but they lost their primetime platform. Did the press, once CBS made that decision, rally behind the Smothers Brothers? You quoted a "Life" magazine article at the time as saying that this had been one of the few programs on television with an independent and a reverent political point of view. BIANCULLI: There were critics in lots of places that were for the Smothers Brothers and were supporting their fight. And when the program was actually given away to some stations in syndication to show -- this was a program that was never shown by CBS -- critics were very favorable about that program. KURTZ: David, let me jump in here. Tom and Dick Smothers asked you to write this book. Why? BIANCULLI: I think they wanted me to write the book because they had seen what I had written about them already and figured it would be an objective voice. And the great thing was they gave me total access, but total freedom, and that's something a journalist doesn't get very often. KURTZ: But by doing this at their request, or at least at their instigation, do you feel in some ways you're taking their side in this 40-year-old battle? BIANCULLI: Well, no. Actually, I think that I was pretty evenhanded and made sure that when I did the interviews, I would talk -- I got to the head CBS censor, I got to former CBS executives. I'm interested in it as a TV historian. I love what they did in terms of entertainment. And CBS gets some credit for that, for putting it on the air, also. I think what the Smothers asked me to do was to be the right person to write the book, but it wasn't that I was favoring their side. KURTZ: Right. Got about a half a minute here. I was a Smothers Brothers fan, both of their albums and their television show. So I have to ask you, four decades later, are they still somewhat bitter about what happened? BIANCULLI: No. They seem like they had their place and they had their time. Dick never blamed Tom, and Tom now says he sort of was glad that he went through all that, that he thinks the times made him as much as he made the times on that show. KURTZ: It was an interesting cultural moment. David Bianculli, thanks very much for a fascinating look back at what was a very hot show, a very controversial show at that time. BIANCULLI: Thanks so much. KURTZ: I spoke to him over the holiday break. Coming up in the second half of RELIABLE SOURCES, carried away. Celebrity deaths and reality show scandals seemed to hypnotize the media in 2009. But after the year of "Balloon Boy," is it time to ground those wild and crazy stories? Plus, a look back at some of our biggest guests and news-making moments from the past year of RELIABLE SOURCES. BORGER: I'm Gloria Borger. And this is STATE OF THE UNION. Here are the stories breaking this Sunday morning. President Obama's top counterterrorism adviser says human error allowed a terror suspect with explosives to board a U.S. airliner Christmas Day. Speaking earlier on this day, John Brennan said government agencies had "bits and pieces" of information on the suspect but failed to connect them together. Brennan says there was no deliberate concealing of information between different government agencies. And Brennan says the U.S. Embassy in Yemen closed today because of threats by al Qaeda to attacks against U.S. interests in that country. It's still unclear when it will reopen. The British Embassy in Yemen is also closed, but may reopen tomorrow. Yesterday, President Obama linked the air terror suspect to an al Qaeda affiliate based in Yemen. Those are the top stories here on STATE OF THE UNION. And now to Howie Kurtz. KURTZ: Gloria, before you go, let me get you in on this debate about the Christmas Day terror plot. John Brennan told you this morning, last hour, the system didn't work. But, of course, Janet Napolitano, on this program just seven days ago, said the system did work. Do you think journalists just kind of rejected Napolitano's spin as being rather ludicrous? BORGER: Yes. And I think she probably rejected it herself after she said it, the minute after she said it, because it was clear to everyone that the system did not work. And as you saw today, the first thing practically that John Brennan said to us was, look, the system did not work, the system failed. So, it was one of those cases of spin that she probably wishes she could take back. KURTZ: Changed the tune within about 24 hours. All right. Gloria Borger, thanks very much. KURTZ: As we look back at the press's performance in 2009, there were times when the news business was just swept away by strange and sensational stories. These ranged from the death of world famous celebrities to runaway reality shows to high-profile hoaxes. And they all became Category 5 media storms. KATIE COURIC, CBS NEWS: Michael Jackson had an extraordinary career and a troubled life marked by incredible highs and terrible lows. LARRY KING, HOST, "LARRY KING LIVE": The child prodigy who lived through illness, a sex scandal and massive money trouble. GRETA VAN SUSTEREN, FOX NEWS: He's enormously talented, Bret (ph), but there's also such a freak show associated with him. SHEPARD SMITH, FOX NEWS: We believe there is a little boy in this balloon, and it's been flying now for about an hour, at least. It was attached in his father's back yard. And now it's going around in circles. VIEIRA: By the time there were all those rumors swirling about, about Jon with other women, when I sat down with you in May, had he already moved out of the house by that point, Kate? KATE GOSSELIN, REALITY TV STAR: To be very honest, I don't remember. There's so much going on. KURTZ: So why do journalists allow themselves to be hijacked by frivolous fair? Our year in review panel last week got so carried away, that we went into overtime. KURTZ: Joining us now, Jessica Yellin, national political correspondent for CNN; Lauren Ashburn, president of Ashburn Media and a former managing editor of "USA Today"; Bill Press, nationally syndicated radio talk show host; and Chris Stirewalt, political editor and columnist for "The Washington Examiner." Lauren Ashburn, let's start with Michael Jackson's death. Huge pop star, seriously weird guy. The covers went on for two solid weeks. ASHBURN: I remember you complaining about that. KURTZ: I'm still complaining about it. ASHBURN: But, OK, so it went on for two weeks. Yes, it was overkill, but this was an icon of pop culture. I think that the country, in a way, needed to mourn. Yes, it went on and on and went on too long. But, you know, we're talking ratings here. The ratings went through the roof for this network. YELLIN: People were genuinely interested, too. And Michael Jackson was the most Googled term of last year. I mean, this is -- he was fascinating to generations of people. It's not a surprise he would get the coverage he got. KURTZ: But how was the volume of the coverage by day 10, by day 11? YELLIN: You know, Howie, if there had been something major happening in the world... KURTZ: There couldn't have been anything major happening. It was all blacked out. KURTZ: Bill Press, looking back in media terms, Michael Jackson's death was bigger than Ted Kennedy's passing or -- and certainly Walter Cronkite's. PRESS: I know. I think the fundamental problem is, which we can never fix, is we have too much time in our hands in the media, particularly cable TV. PRESS: You've got a lot of hours to fill. And I'm telling you, I've been there with the shows, and something comes along like a train derailment or a scandal. And boy, you just eat it up because that fills wall to wall. And then you get in the copycat thing. And as long as one cable channel is still covering it, all the others will still cover it. So there you go. ASHBURN: Well, you have the overnights, too. KURTZ: The overnight ratings, absolutely. My problem, Chris Stirewalt, just to finish up on this, is that after the first day or two, the child abuse allegations, the sleeping with boys at Neverland, the dangling the baby over the terrace, that all kind of gave way to a lot of gushing praise. STIREWALT: Well, that's right. There is definitely something macabre about Michael Jackson's life. It's a -- it worked on two demographic segments. The whole story worked on two demographic segments -- people who were repelled by his life and what he symbolized about a decayed, corrupted society, and, on the other hand, people who -- it was part of their growing up, that they listened to "Thriller" 8,000 times when they were 13 years old and it meant so much to them. But we failed in this regard -- and I think this is a fair criticism. We failed because we quit talking about the macabre part of his life and we let that drop and made this into hagiography. And it was not appropriate. YELLIN: It's true. And that's what we seem to do with death in this country. As soon as someone dies, even Ted Kennedy, we have to lionize them. And we don't talk about them as nuanced, complicated people, that Michael Jackson may have been extremely talented and also troubled in this many ways. He has to be just perfection. STIREWALT: And bygones can be bygones. With a politician, there's greater consequences. ASHBURN: Death can be a good career move. (LAUGHTER) PRESS: My first reaction with the Michael Jackson death was to be critical of him as a person for all those reasons. And then I got slammed by my listeners. PRESS: And I realized that the music was really important to a lot of people. KURTZ: Sure. Oh, absolutely. And I don't want to denigrate that. PRESS: And that's what they wanted to hear about. KURTZ: But let me move on to the creeping influence of the reality show culture. Jon and Kate became this media obsession, and they wound up being interviewed on "The Today Show." In other words, it began as a fun, entertaining thing, and "US Weekly" put it on the cover for six straight weeks, and then it ends up on NBC and every other channel in America. ASHBURN: OK. Let's talk about Generoso Pope. Let's go back, OK, to the king... KURTZ: Explain who that is. ASHBURN: Yes, I will. He's the person who founded "The National Enquirer." And in the beginning, he started in the '50s with these gory headlines and murders. And then all of a sudden, ding. He decided that people, the personalities, were the thing that were going to sell. And by the '70s, he had six million - - more than six million people were reading that magazine every week. And so, the point is here, it is what sells. KURTZ: The media went crazy, Jessica, over the Salahis, the White House party crashers. Last week, "The Washington Post" did a million-word reconstruction of the whole event. Michaele Salahi was, of course, trying to get on Bravo's "Real Housewives of D.C." And again, we see the merging of the two cultures. YELLIN: It's the bubble inside the bubble. It's just too bizarre and fascinating that these people, in an attempt to gain fame, crashed the fame bubble, and then gained the fame they were seeking, and we're feeding it. It's so much about our culture, that it's almost worth covering. PRESS: Almost. PRESS: I was going to say, for me, the Salahis is sort of set aside a little bit, because that was a very serious security breach. PRESS: I mean, we're talking about the president of the United States. KURTZ: And a great Secret Service story for two or three days. And for two weeks it was all about them and their sort of checkered history. PRESS: But I'll tell you -- but here's another problem, is you had the White House cover-up. They wouldn't send Desiree Rogers up to testify. And they were saying case closed. The Secret Service is going to fall on their sword. As always, I think the cover-up kept the story alive. STIREWALT: Well, and you also have at famous president. We have our first famous president in Obama, and we have a fame culture -- we have a celebrity president, we have fame culture in Washington. These people want to be a part of it. KURTZ: A celebrity president in the sense that he goes on Leno, that he goes on ESPN and talks about college hoops. STIREWALT: Instead of just being a political figure, he's a transcendent celebrity figure who is friends with Oprah and who is part of a celebrity society in America. KURTZ: OK. So he's famous. I mean, all presidents are famous. He's really famous. KURTZ: What about Richard Heene, the balloon boy's father, or Octomom? I mean, the media just seems magnetically drawn to these freak shows. STIREWALT: Where are the child abuse charges? This is the one thing I still can't figure out, is, seriously, with the octoparents, with the balloon guy. KURTZ: They threw up on two morning shows, "Good Morning America" and "Today." ASHBURN: Two morning shows. STIREWALT: Yes, this is child endangerment, that people are subjecting their kids to this. And I wonder where the prosecutions really are. PRESS: These are cases of our covering stories that really are not worth the time of day, as far as I'm concerned. Maybe a quick mention and then move on. ASHBURN: OK. Come on. My 6-year- old daughter said, "Mom, did you know there was somebody who had eight babies?" I mean, Octomom became just something that swept through the culture. How can you say... PRESS: Because we did it. I'm sorry. ASHBURN: Bill, how can you say that a woman who has eight babies is not worthy of coverage? That's my point. YELLIN: I also think more than at any other time, it's not media minds who drive what we cover. It's what people are following on Twitter, what they're Googling, what they're looking for on the Internet that creates some sort of feedback loop that... KURTZ: I actually think that's a good thing, that we are no longer the sole gatekeepers and people can file online on their Facebook -- but it now seems that we have totally abdicated our leadership and we just follow whatever's hot. ASHBURN: Well, there's no context either. I mean, just what you were saying, is that it's part of this society, a bubble within a bubble. Nobody is putting these things in context. And then all of a sudden, the story is done and, boom, it drops off this ledge and you don't hear from them again. KURTZ: And something else comes along, the next hurricane. But don't we -- this maybe goes to your point about filling up all the hours. Don't we try to dress up these stories as having some kind of cultural significance? In other words, it's not about the fact that she had eight babies and she's got 14 kids. It's that this is really about the taxpayers having to foot the bill for those children, because it gives it a patina of seriousness that perhaps it doesn't deserve. PRESS: Of course we do, to justify covering it. YELLIN: Is that what we're doing right now? I mean, come on. This is an excuse to talk about Octomom. PRESS: But it's crazy, to me, Octomom. And also the balloon boy. I mean, I thought it was pretty clear from the beginning that this couple was totally phony. And it took like two days to say that, to finally get around to it. ASHBURN: No. But in the very beginning, I was sitting at my computer and my friends and other journalists and everybody were saying, "Did you see this? Did you see this? Did you see this?" It came at me from six different sides of my life, and... KURTZ: It was a very dramatic moment at the time, when we didn't know whether a child was in danger. I had no problem with that point. PRESS: For a while, right. YELLIN: It's the follow-up coverage, right. PRESS: Once we knew the kid was not there, boom. STIREWALT: And then it's complicated. Then it has to be something complicated and nuanced and, what's this all about, as opposed to saying, OK, this happened, these people are prostituting their family for celebrity. And boom, we're done, we're moving on. PRESS: I'm here to say right now this is not going to change. I mean, I'm telling you. KURTZ: I was going to say, so it seems like what we've lost here is our ability to move on. ASHBURN: OK. Let's talk about health care. PRESS: And to make distinctions. KURTZ: We're out of time. KURTZ: We'll have to leave it there. Jeez -- sorry about that. Jessica Yellin, Lauren Ashburn, Bill Press, Christ Stirewalt, thanks very much for joining me. PRESS: There you go. We tried. KURTZ: Out of time. Well, up next, a reliably good year. Some of the biggest names in journalism paid a visit to this program in 2009. We'll take a look back in a moment. KURTZ: We have relished the opportunity over this past year to sit down with some of the leading journalists and most provocative commentators around. So this seems like a good time to look back at these RELIABLE SOURCES moments. Some of my favorite interviews took place when network stars got to reveal a bit more of themselves. Here is CBS' Byron Pitts talking about how he grew up unable to read and about the father who abandoned the family. BYRON PITTS, CBS NEWS: I often think, there but for the grace of God go I, because I was also angry when I felt abandoned by my father. We've reconciled to some degree in recent years as we speak now as men. KURTZ: But now you're a successful network star. And now, when he met you, at least for the first time in a long time, he wanted something from you, didn't he? PITTS: Sure. KURTZ: What did he want? PITTS: Oh, he wanted money. KURTZ: And what did you say to him? PITTS: I said no. In fact, I used some choice words that I won't use on television. But it was my way to sort of pay him back for I thought ignoring me all these years. Now, one of the things I learned -- learning in my own life and a point I make in the book is there's real power in forgiveness. That as long as I was angry with my father, it actually did me more disservice because he went on with his life. KURTZ: Right. PITTS: But when I told him I forgave him, that not only, some may say, let him off the hook, but it freed me. KURTZ (voice- over): It was a touching moment when ABC's Robin Roberts, a breast cancer survivor, talked about why she was especially happy to go to L.A. for the Oscars. ROBIN ROBERTS, "GOOD MORNING AMERICA": And this is part of the reason why I also accepted this. Because this time last year, completely bald, just finished chemotherapy. I was home on my couch. I couldn't be here, at the Oscars. I couldn't be anywhere, I couldn't travel. So, I like the fact that folks know that, they see me here this year. If they're going through something similar, they know this, too, shall pass. And that will hopefully make them feel like whatever they're going through, that they can indeed get through it. So, it's not something that I have wanted to do, be so open in public about it. But I am -- it's gratifying knowing that it's helping so many people. So that makes it more than worth it, Howie. More than worth it. KURTZ: Lara Logan, back from Afghanistan, accused the U.S. military of lying about the war and talked about her decision to go back months after giving birth. (on camera): If we were lied to, why didn't the American media make more of that? LARA LOGAN, CBS NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Well, I mean, I know a lot of journalists who tried. I mean, it's very hard to prove a lie. When commanders are telling you we have enough troops, you know they don't have enough troops, but no one will tell you that on camera or on the record. How do you prove that that's a lie? When commanders are telling you it's not that the Taliban's stronger, it's that we're more successful, all you can do is to try and prove that that's not the case. KURTZ: You have an 8-month-old baby. I just saw him. He looks very cute. Did you hesitate to go back into a war zone? LOGAN: I didn't hesitate. But it is very hard. It is. I mean, everything has changed and I think about not coming home. I think about that child growing up without a mother. And that's definitely the hardest thing I've ever done. KURTZ (voice-over): We've had our share of lighter moments, such as when I took the program to Los Angeles and chatted with Mariel Hemingway outside her home in the mountains about her addiction to Twitter. (on camera): You are very candid on Twitter and also on your blog. I mean, you have written about difficulties growing up, your sister Margo's suicide, your divorce. MARIEL HEMINGWAY, ACTRESS: Yes. HEMINGWAY: You know what I do? Is because, actually, I believe there's not a problem that anybody hasn't had. I mean, I believe that we all have the same problems. They just have different wrapping paper. So, for me, it's saying, you know what? I know I'm in the public eye. Guess what? This is what I come from. This is what I deal with. KURTZ (voice-over): And who better to ask about the changing world of gossip than Liz Smith, who, at the age of 86, has just been dumped by "The New York Post"? (on camera): The paper was paying you $125,000 a year. Rupert Murdoch apparently signed off on this. It wasn't his idea. Does this mean you were no longer in the "in" crowd as far as "The New York Post" was concerned? LIZ SMITH, GOSSIP COLUMNIST: I don't think I was ever in the "in" crowd as far as their editor was concerned. I really wasn't his cup of tea, Howard. I was too, you know, maybe laid back. He thought I was too friendly with my sources and I just wasn't -- I didn't have that killer instinct that they love on "The New York Post." Also, I love New York, and I care about New York. And I don't think these Australians understand or love New York. KURTZ: Now, I've heard that before about you, about, well, Liz Smith, she's just too nice to the people she writes about. Has gossip become meaner these days and maybe you're a little out of step with the new culture? SMITH: It's become more obvious. I mean, more vulgar. You can say more things. You know, you can say things you weren't able to say. I remember back when "The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas" was a big hit. I wasn't allowed to say that on the air. I had to say "Whohouse," and that was only about 10 years ago. KURTZ: I don't think we'll bleep that. (voice-over): It was a treat for me to sit down with David Frost about his famous series of interviews with the 37th president, what would now be branded checkbook journalism. (on camera): A lot of people wanted to interview Nixon. You got the interview. You paid the former president $600,000. That would be more than $2 million today. I think if you did that today, if the circumstances were today, you'd be criticized far more intensively than you were at the time. SIR DAVID FROST, JOURNALIST: I don't think so, because there's a curious point from what I can remember. In terms of the Nixon interviews, I mean, NBC News were offering $400,000 or whatever. And questions about checkbook journalism happened during the 18 months between when we signed and when we didn't, and I would answer to it (INAUDIBLE). But they really sort of came to an end when the first interview went out and everybody said this is history. KURTZ: You mean, that you were not rolling over for Nixon? FROST: Yes, exactly. And this is history and this is valuable. And so that controversy sorted of faded away. KURTZ (voice-over): Fox's Bernard Goldberg and I went at it over his book accusing the media of conducting a slobbering love affair with Barack Obama. (on camera): All right. There are generalizations in this book. Here's one: "Mainstream media writers hate O'Reilly and think MSNBC is just wonderful." Well, I'm a mainstream media writer. I don't hate Bill O'Reilly. In fact, I was on his radio show last week. And I've repeatedly taken on MSNBC for lurching to the left. BERNARD GOLDBERG, AUTHOR, "A SLOBBERING LOVE AFFAIR": Right. Obviously, I don't mean every single reporter. And I don't even mean every single reporter was in the tank for Barack Obama. I'm making a statement about the mainstream media as a whole. KURTZ: But if you, as a critic, are upset about, for example, MSNBC's pro-Obama bias, Chris Matthews "thrill up the leg" and all of that, what about all the softball interviews that Sean Hannity did with John McCain and Sarah Palin? In other words, are you applying the same standards to somebody where you also a contributor on the right side of the spectrum? GOLDBERG: By the way, the fact that I'm a contributor, if you know anything about me, Howie, I'll blast Fox News in a second if I think they deserve it. I don't care. KURTZ: Here's your opportunity. GOLDBERG: Well, no, this is not a good opportunity because I don't agree with the premise of the question. KURTZ: All right. (voice-over): My biggest news-making interview of the year was with Anita Dunn, then the White House communications director. That video went viral when she unloaded on Rupert Murdoch's cable network. ANITA DUNN, FMR. WHITE HOUSE COMMUNICATION DIRECTOR: I mean, the reality of it is that Fox News operates almost as either the research arm or the communications arm of the Republican Party. What I think is fair to say about Fox, and certainly the way we view it, is that it really is more a wing of the Republican Party. KURTZ: Is that the reason that the president did not go on Fox News Sunday, a few weeks back, when he did all the other Sunday shows? And will President Obama appear on Fox News again, let's say, this year? DUNN: Well, you know, Howie, President Obama appeared on -- he did "The Factor," he did O'Reilly... KURTZ: Yes. That was very interesting entertainment (ph). DUNN: ... in the campaign last year, as president earlier this year when he met with news anchors, met Chris Wallace. KURTZ: OK. But my question is, ,will he appear on Fox in the next couple of months? DUNN: No, you had a two-part question. The first was, is this why he did not appear? And the answer is yes. Obviously, he'll go on Fox because he engages with ideological opponents, and he has done that before. He will do it again. KURTZ (voice-over): So far, of course, the president hasn't done that except for including Major Garrett in a round of interviews with network reporters. KURTZ: And we appreciate those journalists who came on the program to answer questions instead of just asking them about their lives and careers. Still to come, an air of unreality. How did these folks, Jon and Kate and Octomom and the Salahis, reach the point where real journalists were scrambling to interview them? A look at what makes those stories tick next. (COMMERCIAL BREAK) KURTZ: Once upon a time, we in the news racket chronicled reality, or as close an approximation of reality as we could manage. Now we get sucked into covering reality television and all the whack jobs who are desperate to be on it. KURTZ (voice-over): The first reality shows, though no one called them that, were syndicated talk shows hosted by the likes of Phil Donahue, Oprah Winfrey, Sally Jessy Raphael and Jerry Springer. Suddenly, ordinary people with problems could get on national television and folks realized that the crazier the problems, the better chance they had. But there were real world consequences. On the "Jenny Jones Show" in the '90s, a gay man Scott Amedure confessed to his friend Jonathan Schmitz that he had a crush on him. An apparently humiliated Schmitz murdered Amedure, whose family sued the program, unsuccessfully, as it turned out, for failing to find out about Schmitz's history of mental illness. Soon, grade B celebrities started getting reality shows, and we got to watch Ozzy Osbourne and Paris Hilton doing, well, not much of anything. PARIS HILTON, SOCIALITE: A chai tea latte. KURTZ: Along came "Survivor" and "Big Brother," where people would eat worms and otherwise embarrass themselves, or vie for the privilege of being canned by Donald Trump. KURTZ: Seemingly harmless programs like "Extreme Makeover Home Edition" also masked backstage problems. Atlanta's Harper family, who received the show's biggest house, faced foreclosure after using the home as equity for a $450,000 loan. At least four other "Extreme Makeover" families have lost or had to sell the houses they won. What won't people do to get on reality TV? GOSSELIN: What planet do you live on? KURTZ: Jon and Kate Gosselin basically exploited their eight kids and blew up their marriage on their way to tabloid fame. Richard Heene came off as an angry and eccentric husband when he was on "Wife Swap," then concocted a scheme to make everyone believe his son was trapped in a runaway balloon. And cable television covered it live. Nadya Suleman recklessly gave birth to 14 children, and having no way to support them, now has an "Octomom" reality show in development in Britain. And Jaimee Grubbs, the woman who says she had an affair with Tiger Woods, had appeared on VH1's oddball dating show "Tool Academy." Which brings us to Michaele Salahi, who is competing for a spot on Bravo's forthcoming "Real Housewives of D.C." It's no accident that a camera crew was trailing her when she and her husband crashed that White House State Dinner, turning them into instant stars and landing them on "The Today Show." KURTZ: We're back live. And there's a larger question here as we look back on the unreal reality of 2009. Why do serious or what used to be serious news organizations spend so much time on Jon and Kate and Octomom and Tariq and Michaele Salahi and "Balloon Boy's" crazy father who was just sentenced to 90 days in jail? Aren't we rewarding these strange and manipulative people by giving them the spotlight they so obviously crave? Journalists can't stop this circus, of course, but they shouldn't be serving as ring leaders. Still to come, trashing Twitter. Brian Williams thinks all of those short messages are a waste of time. We'll show you why he's -- what's the word? -- wrong. KURTZ: Brian Williams is a talented anchor and pretty good comedian. But when it comes to Twitter, well, let's just say he's a tad out of touch. The NBC newsman tells "TIME" magazine that, "I see it as a kind of time suck that I don't need anymore of. Just too much 'I got the most awesome new pair of sweatpants.'" Now, I learn smart things from smart people on Twitter every day that have nothing to do with what pants people are wearing or not wearing. Here's just one example. NYU journalism professor Jay Rosen tweeted an idea about improving the Sunday morning talk shows. He says the programs, rather than letting politicians get away with distortions, should offer an online fact check each week of exaggerations and lies. For the guests, says Rosen, the format beckons them to evade, deny, elide, demagogue and confuse, but then they pay for it later if they give into temptation and make that choice. I happen to think that makes a lot of sense toward holding officials accountable. What do you think, Brian? Oh, you didn't catch that on Twitter? Pity. Well, happy New York and a healthy 2010 to all our viewers. And now this is called a toss, I'm turning things back over to Jessica Yellin for more "State of the Union."
order of the atomic process inputs From: <titi@cs-gw.utcluj.ro> To: <www-ws@w3.org> Message-ID: <Pine.LNX.4.33.0306120133230.6591-100000@cs-gw.utcluj.ro> Suppose trying to use planning in the composition of services. Consider an atomic process: checkFlight, having as input the departureLocation and arivalLocation. When parsing the Process ontology, a translation between this atomic process and an operator like (checkFlight ?departureLocation ?arrivalLocation) is needed for working with the planner. When parsing the atomic process and translate it to RDF triples, there is no guarantee that the input departureLocation will be translated to the first parameter of the operator above (as in RDF there is no natural order of statements). Is there any mechanism in OWL-S such that when having several Thank you, Received on Wednesday, 11 June 2003 18:56:39 GMT
Quote Originally Posted by BradS View Post Theory and evidence go together. Either one absent the other is pretty useless. Perhaps I misunderstand. Not sure what you're saying, but ponder this: If theory is assumed correct, but there is no empirical evidence to back it up, I agree that the theory was not directly helpful. (Indirectly the theory can still be useful. It isn't possible to prove every theory correct [theorem?]). Conversely, however, if practice and use reveals that something works, why does it matter what the theory says? That part does not make sense to me. If it works, it works!
Senior NFL Columnist Kelly nice hire for Eagles if he leaves read-option behind I was spending Wednesday dissecting read-option tape when news hit that Chip Kelly would be the new coach of the Philadelphia Eagles. My thought: Oh, boy. We're getting more of this crap. The read-option has become the NFL's new wave, an idea many think is progressive and the way offense will be played for years going forward. I don't buy it. Neither do some of the league's coaches. "One offseason and it's figured out," said one NFL coach this week. "So many more teams are using it now, there will be a focus on it. In the past, only a few teams used it. Now it's a priority. The more teams use it, the more we will study to stop it." More on Eagles and Kelly Related links More NFL coverage Kelly's aggressive, up-tempo offenses at Oregon featured a lot of read-option. The quarterback ran lot. The quarterback got hit a lot. That has to change in the NFL. I do love Kelly's fast-paced approach to offense. More plays mean more chances to score. His teams got lined up and went. No dilly-dallying. That's always been something I believed would work in the NFL. Why waste time? Get going. Put pressure on a defense. Look at the Patriots. They get after it and have success with it, even if it's a different offensive style with Tom Brady. Kelly helped teach his up-tempo style to the Patriots during a visit there a few summers ago. What needs to change for Kelly in the NFL are the quarterback runs and hits. In college, if your quarterback gets hurt, you bring in a new one. There usually isn't much of a drop-off, and we've seen that at Oregon. The offense works no matter who is running it. That's proven out over time. When one gets hurt, the other goes in and it doesn't miss a beat. In the NFL, the quarterbacks are the team. If yours goes down, you are usually done. The possibility of winning a Super Bowl vanishes. You have to protect the quarterback, not expose him. As I watched the tape of the read-option teams this week, one play really stood out. It was Atlanta's Sean Weatherspoon blasting Robert Griffin III and sending him into orbit. He didn't return to that game. We know what happened to RG3 when he hurt his knee. And, yes, it didn't happen on a read-option play, but his instincts as a runner contributed to it. He needed to slide. Exposing quarterbacks to nasty, violent defensive players in college is OK. In the NFL, you're asking for it. Those defensive players are assassins. That's why I think Kelly will change. He's smart. I imagine his time in New England taught him the importance of the pocket passer. He can still use his fast pace with that type of quarterback to put pressure on the defense. You don't have 20 kids to pick from to play quarterback in the NFL. This isn't college. You can't just go from Dennis Dixon to Jeremiah Masoli to Darron Thomas to Marcus Mariota without missing a beat. So Kelly will have to change with the Eagles, even if the read-option zealots -- they are becoming cult-like by the way -- don't want to hear it. I love coaches like Kelly who play with an edge, not afraid to take chances. Playing not to lose rather than to win has been too much of a norm in the NFL. Kelly is cutting-edge aggressive. It's too easy to just say he's a college coach who will fail, comparing him to Steve Spurrier. One thing Kelly has to realize is that he can't just stockpile speed. That was his edge at Oregon. In the NFL, you have to draft it. You can't just recruit it. That's why having a passing quarterback is a must. They are the great equalizers in the game. They cure your ills -- and you will have them. So Kelly as coach of the Eagles is a nice hire. I just hope his read-option stays back in Oregon with Phil Knight. You can bet the quarterbacks hope so too. Biggest Stories CBSSports Facebook Google Plus Conversation powered by Livefyre Most Popular Shop NFL Draft
Tough Government Gas Mileage Rules Good for Drivers, Auto Industry Cars are getting better and more efficient, with hardly any downsides. The Ford logo is seen on cars for sale at a Ford dealership Sunday, July 1, 2012 in Springfield, Ill. It's usually a bad idea for Washington to tell companies what to sell, or consumers what to buy. But every now and then, government mandates accidentally do some good. [Photo gallery: Nation Gripped by Drought] Fuel economy standards have become a surprising example of tougher government rules that benefit practically everybody. In 2007, the Bush administration raised the gas mileage requirements automakers had to meet. Then in 2009, the Obama administration raised them further. Those rules, which are about to be finalized in detail, will require each automaker's fleet to average a lofty 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025—roughly double the mileage requirement of just five years ago. The aggressive new standards are controversial, especially among Republicans opposed to activist government. GOP presidential contender Mitt Romney, for one, characterizes the new rules as just another effort to "insert the federal government into the life of the private sector." He has suggested that if elected, he'll roll back or even seek to eliminate federal mileage standards. Yet so far, the new mileage rules have generated tangible benefits for consumers, with few of the downsides opponents have predicted. "Without a doubt, the new rules have been a win-win for everybody," says Jesse Toprak, of the car-research site "It's a win for consumers, a win for manufacturers, and a win for the environment." [See a defense of the Chevy Volt.] Automakers have been rolling out new technology and other innovations that boost mileage, such as advanced powertrains and transmissions, lighter components, and even fix-a-flat canisters in lieu of a traditional jack and spare tire, to save weight. Since 2007, the average fuel economy of cars purchased has risen from 20.1 miles per gallon to 23.6 mpg, according to the University of Michigan's Transportation Research Institute. The mileage of some popular vehicles has improved by more. A 2013 Nissan Altima with a standard four-cylinder engine averages 31 mpg, for example, up from 26 mpg in 2007. That's a 19 percent improvement. The most powerful Ford Explorer went from 16 mpg in 2007 to 20 mpg today, a 25 percent gain. The biggest efficiency gains typically occur when automakers retool a model—which typically happens every five years or so—and outfit it with the latest technology. So more big mileage gains will be coming as more models turn over. Boosting fuel economy by four or five miles per gallon might not sound earth-shattering—until you bank the savings. A 5 mpg improvement would save about $525 per year for a motorist who drives 15,000 miles annually, if gas were at $3.50 per gallon. With gas at $4 per gallon, the savings would amount to $600 per year. [See why the SUV era is officially over.] Some car enthusiasts have argued that the new mileage rules would force automakers to depower cars and build blasé econoboxes reminiscent of the 1970s, when soaring oil prices led to the first government fuel-economy requirements. Back then, automakers built some truly dreadful cars in order to comply with the rules, such as the Dodge Omni and the Ford Mustang II, an emasculated version of the iconic muscle car. But they're not making that mistake again. Instead, automakers have found ways to coax more power out of smaller engines, so drivers don't have to give up performance or other amenities they've gotten used to. The four-cylinder engine on the new Altima, for example, generates 182 horsepower, compared to 175 horsepower on the lower-mileage engine it's replacing. Ford now offers a V-6 "ecoboost" engine on its F-150 pickup truck that generates more horsepower and torque than a V-8 that's available—with slightly better mileage. The new technology that's behind such efficiency gains does cost extra money, fueling another concern about the tougher mileage rules: They'll force car buyers to pay more out of pocket, whether they want higher mileage or not. And car prices have in fact gone up over the last couple of years. TrueCar says the average price paid for a new set of wheels has risen from about $27,300 in January 2010 to $30,400 today—close to a record high. But other factors besides high-mileage technology seem to be pushing prices up. In general, car buyers have been shifting to smaller vehicles, as a cushion against gas price spikes that now seem to occur every year or two. But buyers have also been selecting more features, ranging from leather upholstery to navigation systems to rear-view cameras. So they're buying smaller cars with more options. Low interest rates have also allowed many buyers to load up on features while still ending up with a lower monthly payment than they had on their last car. This is good news for automakers, because they're able to make better profits on small cars that typically have razor-thin margins. In fact, for years, the Detroit automakers lost money on most of their small cars, which they built mainly to push up their fleetwide mileage ratings. As a money-losing venture, however, small cars got little of the attention or resources that profitable trucks and SUVs got. That turned into a huge liability when gas prices soared in 2008 and buyers began clamoring for high-mileage vehicles. General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler had few compelling models, and their sales plummeted, while the Japanese and European carmakers did better. The new mileage rules could still end up costing buyers money, as the targets get tougher and automakers end up with little choice but to push customers into expensive high-mileage technology. But the cost of fancy new systems usually falls as more people buy them. Meanwhile, automakers are doing everything else they can to become more efficient and cut costs, lest rising prices cut into business. Somehow it seems like car buyers will continue to benefit.
Community Syndicate content lostn'foundagain's picture Not in school..... I just had to give a power point presentation about suicide and mental illnesses.... i had 5 minutes left of class when I started, so I ended up running out of time. But you know what? My teacher said if anyone wished to stay and let me finish, they could. Only 2 or 3 people left, the rest stayed to listen.... I don't think anyone could realize how much that meant to me.... When I started the presentation, I also started tearing up a little, because, this is shit that happens to so many people! this is shit that just usually gets swept under the rug at schools.... and the fact that almost all of my class wanted to stay and listen to this important information, it made me really emotional...... I thank every last person in that class that showed they cared about the lives of people who don't feel strong enough to survive.....'s picture cosmetologist aka a hairstylist I haven't logged onto my MCR account in over a year, and oh boy do I hate my username with a passion haha. I hope you're all doing well, paying attention and doing your absolute best in school (or whatever y'all do). Anyway, I took my State Board Cosmetology exam about a week ago and I passed. I am now a licensed Cosmetologist. I'm very proud of myself, it's a stepping stone into my life. I hope to be able to accomplish a lot within this career choice. I'm still going to go back to College, I'll be attenting my local CC for the spring semester and I hope to god I do great and I won't procrastinate as I used to in high school. Acid Kandy's picture Sorry Guys Sorry about my inactivity over the last 2 weeks or so! I've had loads of school stuff and other shit to do. Anyway how is everybody? Looking forward to Christmas? (I'm not) Danny3.O's picture 2 months clean!! (And 1 day) So as you guys can probably tell from the title, I'm celebrating my 2 month..cleanliness, I guess? I don't know, man. 2 months was marked yesterday making today 2 months and 1 day, but I was having an uber craptastic day yesterday so I couldnt really celebrate. But hopefully today will be better.... What are you guys up to? Amanda3's picture Every Snowflake is like U Since i'm into Christmas soooo much I saw this vid on youtube when MCR went on yo gabba gabba, the song is catchy but the clothes not sooo cool, I was Laughing thru the whole video, then there's Ray's face all the time he was makin different funny faces, but at the end I love Mikey's little smirk, i might've laughed at it, but i'm this cheesy person watchin it over and over, doesn't that happens to guys? Anyway keep loving MCR FOREVER AND EVER IN A NEVERENDING LAND, (ok i just made that up) keep Running! mcrhannah's picture hey my strong killjoys. but do any of you just have one of those days where you wake up and just wander why mcr broke up and you end up thinking about it all day cus that is all I have been thinking about. I don't know why. I just wish with all my heart that they will get back together but knowing my luck they wont. but I just have days where all I think about is mcr and for some reason I had thank you for the venom stuck in my head so people were like what the hell are you singing but who cares what they think. anyway if you ever want to talk im always here. luv u all. stay strong! xxxxx HANNAH sidtastic007's picture My God....I just danced like that girl in Chandelier music video! O.O; So, after I finished recording an audio of my cover of A Sky Full of Stars, I listened to it a couple of times to know the flaws of it so I can do a video recording soon. And I started imagining of two partners dancing together in such a dazzling blue, beautiful, wild, violent way. Kind of like Chandlier by Sia, Try by P!NK, and yeah. And my God, I can't believe I just danced to it in such a violent way. I wouldn't call it dancing to be honest (it's like I'm being possessed by the spirit of the red shoes...except that I didn't wear any shoes upon dancing) but I did, okay? And it was super exhausting but I felt incredibly good. It felt better than singing to the original song, I swear. Then, I thought about it: should I make a music video of me dancing to the cover?? MCR_rulessomuch's picture I Hate Love it was and ordinary saturaday when it happen. i was talk to my boyfriend on facebook like i normally would but then he told that he had something to tell me. He then started to say that he would tell me on monday but i was like noway you tell me now. so he did! He dumped me!!! luckly i didnt do anything stupid due me being suicidal! allison_ross's picture so today was great. i had fun in choir and dance. my friend was having an emotional break down in 4th today. but i helped her get through it. weve been through so much together. i cant believe its our senior year already. i really don't want high school to end :( skellington01's picture guess who got taps!!!! Okay, well, technically, they aren't mine to keep. I talked to the lady who owns the dance studio and who will be instructing me, and she had like this frickin' HUGE tub of used dance shoes that she let me rummage through to see if I could find a pair that fit. Once I start taking lessons and see if I really like tap enough to continue it for more than a month, I'll buy my own shoes and I have to give the used ones back to her. I found some, the aren't super snug but the only other ones that would remotely fit me hurt like hell so I mean, why would I wear those? So yeah. I finally have tap shoes and I'M SO SUPER EXCITED!!!!!!!1 Amanda3's picture Hello There! Ok so ALL I want to say is Christmas is Awesome, And ALL I Want for Christmas is for u my deers is too Enjoy, Laugh, Scream, Dance, Jump and get Loud n Crazy, be URSELFS ESPECIALLY LOVE URSELFS!! Christmas is about Joy, so DEERS HAVE FUN!! If I could i would send to ALL OF KANDY KANES W/ FACES OF MCR GUYS PAINTED ON THEM, good idea right? Anyhow plz be CHEERIOUSLY, ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS.... STILL THINKIN, OK BYE SUPER KILLJOYS Killjoy_Wolfblade's picture So is anyone a fan of sword Art Online? lostn'foundagain's picture Need to get this off my chest HE FINALLY told me he never loved me... thanks asshole, always a great feeling. THIS was the EXACT reason I never wanted him to say "I 'Love' you"... cause I KNEW he didn't. ALL he wanted was sex. which he got cause I'm such a fucking dumbass huh? then he asks if we can be friends... hmmm... lemme see... You fuck my friends, fuck me, tell them they should kill themselves, do nothing but play mindgames with me. guilt trip me constantly. make me feel like I"m the one ruining your life when you're out there fucking every girl you meet, doing drugs, just being a fucking idiot.. telling me you never loved me, causing over 80+ scars on my legs... hmm.... i wonder, are we 'friends'?? HAHAHAHAHHA!!!!!! YOU'RE TOO FUCKING FUNNY!!!!! XD XD XD XD NO!! You hurt me time after time after time, and I let you hurt me even more.... so no.. we can NEVER be "friends". Kismesis, maybe? but NEVER "friends".... and please, let "Goodbye" be forever. because I never want to see you again.... lostn'foundagain's picture Heyo /(^~^)\ Got ma hair done!!!! FINALLY XD it was a pretty rad weekend. I was out of internet range at my grandparents house the whole time. BAKING!!!! ^~^ made peanut brittle, pecan brittle, fudge, it was awesome.... Missed a bunch of drama on facebook thank god! haha XD and guess what!! I GOT A PART IN THE SPRING PLAY!!!!!!!! XD XD I'm so excited!! even if i only get to be a dead body, it's super awesome! XD I actually get to be two different dead bodies XD I can't wait!! shar-deenie's picture hey guys i'm back. I'll just say this, after a long year out of life I finally came back. I've missed you all and I hope y'all are alive and well xxx killjoys forever
Radical Compassion 21.2K views \| +3 today Scooped by Jim Manske onto Radical Compassion LivingNonviolence: Sunshine LivingNonviolence: Sunshine \| Radical Compassion \| Scoop.it Every once in a while I come across something that gives me hope for our energy future. It cries out, "people are smarter than we seem." The latest example comes from an article in "Sierra" magazine. Jong Bok Kim, a researcher in chemical and biological engineering at Princeton University, was sitting outside his office thinking about his research subject. He was asking, what is the most productive and efficient skin for a solar cell: pyramids, strips, mirrors? As Kim gazed at a nearby shrub he realized he was looking at the answer. A leaf is covered with transparent cells that act like magnifying lenses and there are millions of ridges that guide the light deeper into the inner workings of the shrub. When Kim created a solar skin like a leaf, he discovered it absorbed six times the light of a flat surface. Did you know how researchers at MIT discovered the best arrangement for a concentrated solar plant? They arrange solar mirrors around a central tower in such a way that the light is reflected to the tower's tip. They learned this design from a sunflower, one of the best and most efficient conductors of solar energy. Or, a scientist in China made a solar cell arranged like the tail of a swallowtail butterfly. The butterfly's wings have ridges and valleys that deliver maximum warmth when the wings are spread wide. Rather than use his butterfly solar cell to create electricity, this scientist used it to create hydrogen, a clean burning fuel that could power cars of the future. All of these discoveries reminded me of a visit I made to a house in my hometown of Brookings with a built in passive solar system. The thing that most impressed me was the design of the roof. It was constructed in such a way that when the sun was in the southern sky in the winter, it entered the house under the roof line. When the sun was high in the sky in the summer, the roof line shaded the house. At the time I remember thinking, how bright! Such a simple recognition of how nature operates saves on heat and air conditioning. It begins with observation of how the world operates and adapts human operations to nature. What a difference to the typical Western attitude, where we say this is what we want to do and if nature can adapt fine, if not, nature be damned! As if we weren't part and parcel of nature! Exxon Mobil or not, solar power is coming. Solar installations in the U.S. more than doubled from the second quarter of 2011 to the second quarter of 2012. In California, utility scale solar production last year matched that of a large coal burner or nuclear plant. In the meantime, the rooftop solar production in the state reached a comparable level, plus 20%. At West Oakland's Peoples Grocery, 70 community members financed an 8.6 kilowatt solar project on the store roof that will save $32,000 over ten years, just one of several projects enabled by Mosaic, a solar start up. St. Vincent de Paul, serving a thousand meals a day, found 80 supporters for a rooftop project that saves them about $1,200 a month. It's estimated that the rooftop potential in the U.S. is about a fifth of the electricity demand we had nationally in 2011. And solar costs are coming down. Expectations are that in two or three years, New York and California will have "grid parity," when power from the sun is no more expensive than normal electricity for one's home. 41% of building permits in Hawaii now include requests for installing solar. Then there's Germany. On May 26 of last year, rooftop solar in that country produced half their electricity demand. In a country that's not known for sunniness, the investment in solar bodes well for their future. And the costs of installing solar in Germany are half what we would pay in the states, partly as a result of less red tape. You would think it would be a no brainer. Sunshine is free! It's the free gift of the creator to power the growth of flowers and trees, butterflies and bees, and you and me. But there's the rub! It's free! In a world of our creating, someone has to "own" the sunshine, or the wind, or the water, or the heat of the earth, in order to satisfy the "green frog skin" of Lame Deer fame. Instead of choosing a vision where we live in harmony with the creation, too many continue to choose a path of exploitation and profit, pitting one person or one country against another. Our living room has several large windows, facing south. The sun in the winter comes streaming through those windows with warmth and cheer. They say sun on the back of your neck is good for depression so if I'm feeling down I sit on the couch, set just right, so the sun hits the back of my neck. And then I read about smart people, mostly young, who are looking at the world and realizing how we might fit in better. The sun and their intelligence, give me hope. Carl Kline No comment yet. Radical Compassion News that feeds your aspirations and inspirations Curated by Jim Manske Your new post is loading... Your new post is loading... Scooped by Jim Manske Photo: Police officer and young demonstrator share hug during Ferguson rally in Portland Photo: Police officer and young demonstrator share hug during Ferguson rally in Portland \| Radical Compassion \| Scoop.it As thousands gathered to make their voices heard during a rally earlier this week, one officer and a young man paused to hear each other out. This image, shot by freelance photographer Johnny Nguyen, shows Portland Police Sgt. Bret Barnum hugging 12-year-old Devonte Hart during the Ferguson demonstration in Portland on Nov. 25, 2014. According to Sgt. Barnum, the interaction took place at the beginning of the rally. With emotions running high as speakers were addressing the crowd, he noticed a young man with tears in his eyes holding a "Free Hugs" sign among a group of people. Sgt. Barnum motioned him over and the two started talking about the demonstration, school, art and life. As the conversation ended, Sgt. Barnum pointed to his sign and asked, "Do I get one of those?" The moment following his question was captured in the photo above, which shows Devonte's eyes welling up with tears once again as he embraces the officer. Devonte, it turns out, has a life story that's almost as big as his heart. After the exchange, Devonte rejoined his family and friends participating in the rally and Sgt. Barnum, a 21-year-veteran, went back about his duties. Jim Manske's insight: I want a greater than 3:1 ratio of hugs to violence! A bow of gratitude to Sgt Barnum for expanding our view of what is possible. A bow of gratitude to Devonte Hart for reminding us of the strength in vulnerability. Please, Sgt Barnum, keep protecting Devonte and all of Us. JOYful Compass's curator insight, November 29, 10:50 AM I think we all (adults) forget that children watch what we do AND kids are traumatized by violence. If the eyes are the mirror of the soul, is this the impact the protesters, looters, and anarchists wanted on the next generation? Thank God for the children. Sarah O'Leary's comment, December 6, 1:39 AM This is a powerful image. With so much negative exposure and attention, it's instances like these that can pull people back to reality, and show them that police and citizens are not at war, that we are all normal people and that we all can and should embrace each other to make a change instead of coming up in arms. Scooped by Jim Manske Emotional Intelligence Can Boost Income Emotional Intelligence Can Boost Income \| Radical Compassion \| Scoop.it Researchers have discovered that emotional sensitivity toward employees and colleagues may be the ticket to earning more money. No comment yet. Scooped by Jim Manske 9 Good Reminders that Will Change the Way You Think 9 Good Reminders that Will Change the Way You Think \| Radical Compassion \| Scoop.it ― Albert Einstein Jim Manske's insight: How can we use the power of our mind to support our well-being? No comment yet. Scooped by Jim Manske Why war? It's a question Americans should be asking. Why war? It's a question Americans should be asking. \| Radical Compassion \| Scoop.it As the United States charges once more into war, little debate has centered on the actual utility of war. Instead, policymakers and pundits have focused their comments on combating the latest danger to our nation and its interests as posed by Islamic State militants. Jim Manske's insight: Ever since childhood, the "utility" of war has puzzled me. It seemed to me that every war we studied in school eventually subsided into relative peace. I wondered, given that, why not go for the peace sooner rather than later... Now, we have become conditioned to accept a constant war-footing...sending young men and women into harm's way at great expense of individual and collective well-being... In the world I want to live in, the military would be solely for implementing the protective use of force, and used only after all attempts at connection, understanding and mutuality have been exhausted. Oy vey. No comment yet. Scooped by Jim Manske Fringe Benefits of Appreciating Beauty and Excellence: Sherri Fisher Fringe Benefits of Appreciating Beauty and Excellence: Sherri Fisher \| Radical Compassion \| Scoop.it Today, as I do on most mornings, I pop my earbuds in and take a brisk walk along a route in my neighborhood. I’m moving to the beat of an excellent playlist of my own choosing. The stiff damp wind is out of the east. Though I live more than fifteen miles from the nearest beach, from the scent of the blowing mist I can imagine that the surf is crashing in just a few blocks away. It is still early, and the lead-gray sky is made darker in the places where the fog is still thick. By most people’s standards it is not a beautiful day. None of the other walkers, runners or bike riders greets me with, “Gorgeous day, isn’t it?” Even the usually perky Puggle dog on my block sits quietly on his front steps among the first colored leaves that have fallen from a hundred year-old maple tree. Its ancient roots push up through the stone fence at the edge of the property. Just the same, I feel pleasantly filled up by the beautiful things I see, hear, smell, and feel around me. Appreciation of Beauty in Action It may be possible to take this same walk every day and not experience anything new and uplifting. But because I have the strength of Appreciation of Beauty and Excellence, I cannot help but notice everything from the bees buzzing in to find their place in the huge flowers of the butterfly bush to the smell of fall on the breeze to the easiness of the stride of the runner who has just passed me. In the now overgrown front garden of the next house along my walk is a tall stalk with several green milkweed pods not yet ready to pop open. Food for next year’s gorgeous Monarch butterflies, I imagine. Continuing along my usual route I come to the bank parking lot where the damp wind is blowing the scent of “eau de dumpster” my way. I pick my pace up to a jog. Another quarter of a mile down the road an antique house has the windows boarded up. A developer has uprooted all of the trees and scraped off the grass and topsoil from the property. Not long ago two families lived here with their small children and dogs. I watched them water the potted plants on stone front steps that are now missing. Who let them do this? “Who let them do this?” I ask myself with my beauty and excellence voice. As with all strengths, Appreciation of Beauty and Excellence feels natural and right to the person who has it. I know that I have this strength because things that are not either beautiful or excellent (admittedly to me) push this strengths button. I remember to say to myself, “I’m having a B and E moment” when I start to feel the “ick” of disgust (the opposite of elevation) rising within me. I even have a friend who shares the strength with me, and we regularly text each other with pictures or commentary about our moments. Sources of Awe and Wonder As a strength, Appreciation of Beauty and Excellence is more than just our preferences in dumpster location or local property development. According to Peterson and Seligman’s Character Strengths and Virtues, Appreciation of Beauty and Excellence is “the human tendency to feel powerful self-transcendent emotions.” Awe, wonder, and elevation are elicited by the perception and contemplation of beauty and excellence. An additional way to consider Appreciation of Beauty and Excellence is to think of the pleasurable openness and awe we feel when enjoying the highly developed skills and virtues of others. This awe may be experienced in the incredible “Wow!” of watching a basketball free-throw shot go through the net without even touching the rim or the seemingly impossible leap of the soccer goalkeeper making a save. It could be the almost dumbstruck quality we feel after watching a film that has elicited so much emotion that we have nothing to say about it at first. It could be the wonder we feel when reading an author’s clarity of thought presented in a few artfully chosen words. It could be the deep admiration we feel when hearing someone thank the firefighter who rescued people and pets from a brightly burning building. A Heart Strength Unlike a more cognitive strength like curiosity, Appreciation of Beauty and Excellence has a strong set of emotions connected to it. You know that you have this strength because you feel it strongly, not just because you think, “Isn’t that lovely? I wonder who created it?” It is more than astonishment. Researchers including Ekman and Keltner have identified certain bodily responses and facial expressions such as wide-open eyes, an open mouth, goose bumps, tears, and a lump in the throat that typically accompany beauty and excellence experiences. Emmons and McCullough have found that after an elevating experience of beauty and excellence, a sense of grateful admiration wells up. In addition to things like music, art, architecture, sport, and nature, religious and spiritual experiences are often connected to Appreciation of Beauty and Excellence. This strength is a pathway for moral and spiritual advancement. A sense of the power of the divine is intimately connected with awe. The profound gratitude one feels for both the beauties of creation and the powers of the natural world are evidence of this strength. Transcending Fear and Other Benefits How do you respond to a thunderstorm? Some people might be scared by a thunderstorm while others might be awed. In those moments, the person with the strength of Appreciation of Beauty and Excellence is able to transcend ego and instead be moved to an awareness of the vastness and amazement that the world has to offer. Time slows down. In such moments a person may feel drawn to future opportunities for using the strength. Developing the strength of Appreciation of Beauty and Excellence gives us some added bonuses. We are more likely to feel expansive, positive, and grateful. We can savor enjoyment without feeling a need to do anything right then. Any compelling action tendencies may be delayed. As we know from Fredrickson, positive emotions broaden the possible scope of action. Those positive emotions also build a range of psychological resources. In addition, Haidt has found that elevation mediates ethical behavior. When we demonstrate elevating behavior, people that follow our actions are more likely to exhibit interpersonal fairness and self-sacrifice. An Example of Beauty and Excellence I believe that the late Chris Peterson had the strength of Appreciation of Beauty and Excellence. When I was a graduate student at Penn he was my teacher and advisor. I remember hearing about the city’s Mural Arts Program from him on a chilly walk through Philadelphia while he pointed out his favorite paintings. This is their mission statement: Our process empowers artists to be change agents, stimulates dialogue about critical issues, and builds bridges of connection and understanding. Our work is created in service of a larger movement that values equity, fairness and progress across all of society. We listen with empathetic ears to understand the aspirations of our partners and participants. And through beautiful collaborative art, we provide people with the inspiration and tools to seize their own future. That feeling you now have? It is elevation, courtesy of Appreciation of Beauty and Excellence. Jim Manske's insight: Aloha, I regret not publishing to Scoop.it lately! I've been focusing on preparations for our upcoming trip to Asia, teaching NVC in Korea and Japan for the month of October. May your day be filled with Awe and Wonder! No comment yet. Scooped by Jim Manske The freedom found in restorative justice: The John Lash story The freedom found in restorative justice: The John Lash story \| Radical Compassion \| Scoop.it Two things contributed to John Lash’s purpose in life as a counselor: his time in prison and restorative justice. John Lash was born in Louisiana and grew up in Valdosta, Ga. His troubled youth led to his incarceration. He had spent almost 25 years in prison after being arrested at the age of 18. Lash was introduced to the practice of Buddhism, non-violent communication and restorative justice while in prison and quickly latched onto them. “I was a very angry young man, which directly played into my crime,” said Lash. “The changes I made through mindfulness practice were a lot about recognizing how my own story and what is going on in the world often doesn't match up with reality.” Lash learned about the impact that language has in the internal world and its impact on others. He found solace in these practices and felt a need to share them with the other inmates, teaching them the non-violent skills that he was learning. In December 2009, Lash was released from prison. Upon his release, he wanted to complete his education in a field that utilized non-violent communication as well as restorative justice. Lash pursued a bachelor’s degree from Mercer University and a master’s degree in conflict management from Kennesaw State University. After some time, Lash decided to move to Athens, Ga. He wanted to bring his expertise and knowledge to his new home, so he Googled “Athens conflict” and stumbled upon the Georgia Conflict Center, where he applied to be an intern for the organization. Lash quickly progressed and became the executive director in 2013, taking over the position from former Athens Mayor Gwen O’Looney, who assumed the role in 2011 from the founder Elizabeth Loescher. Elizabeth Loescher founded the center in 1987 in Denver, Co. After 15 years of managing the organization, she decided to relocate to Athens to continue aiding in bringing peace to the city. The Georgia Conflict Center has various programs for all ages including the Peacemakers group. This group meets for eight weeks at a time to discuss nonviolent communication skills. The center also offers this group to the Athens Diversion Center, a work release center that houses nonviolent and minimum-security inmates. The center mainly focuses on restorative justice, which is a theory of justice that emphasizes repairing the harm caused or revealed by immoral behavior. It focuses on the needs of the victim as well as the offender as an approach to justice. “We are looking to induce an empathetic understanding between the person who has caused harm and the person who they have harmed,” said Lash. “We want to work with people, since they are the experts in their own conflicts. Usually people are trying to fix others or to punish them somehow. ” Lash counsels many people who battle issues with communication. Annice Ritter was a participant in the recent Peacemakers group and Lash was able to help Ritter overcome a personal issue in her life by seeing the importance of nonviolent communication. “In the times we are living in, we need more non-violent communication,” said Ritter. Nonviolent communication is a conflict-resolution process that has benefits for both parties in a conversation. Self-empathy, empathy for others, and honest self-expression are the three aspects of communication that create harmony among people. The Georgia Conflict Center has volunteer opportunities and encourages university students to get involved to help its members. “Conflict exists in every aspect of a community - in schools, at work, at home,” said Leslie Jones, University of Georgia student and volunteer. “The Georgia Conflict Center has brought something to Athens that not many communities focus on, but all of them experience it on a daily basis. It provides members of our community with a safe space to explore conflict and discover new strategies of addressing it.” Lash believes that the Georgia Conflict Center has the ability to make Athens a better place. “We empower people to take responsibility for themselves and their conflicts by connecting with their own power of choice and responsibility for their well-being,” said Lash. We also offer support to those in conflict that isn't aimed at ‘fixing’ anyone, but instead seeks to bolster their inherent ability to express and understand meaning in the least intrusive way.” Looking back on his life, Lash is reminded that prison and restorative justice had a great impact on him and the course of his life. “I look at my life and it’s pretty miraculous,” said Lash. No comment yet. Scooped by Jim Manske Do gut bacteria control your mind? \| KurzweilAI Do gut bacteria control your mind? \| KurzweilAI \| Radical Compassion \| Scoop.it Bacteria within you — which outnumber your own cells about 100 times — may be affecting both your cravings and moods to get you to eat what they want, and may be driving you toward obesity. That’s the conclusion of an article published this week in the journal BioEssays by researchers from UC San Francisco,Arizona State University and University of New Mexico from a review of the recent scientific literature. How your gut microbiome may control you The diverse community of microbes, collectively known as the gut microbiome, influence human eating behavior and dietary choices to favor consumption of the particular nutrients they grow best on, rather than simply passively living off whatever nutrients we choose to send their way.Some bacterial species prefer fat, and others sugar, for instance. They vie with each other for food and to retain a niche within their ecosystem — your digestive tract — and they also often have different aims than you do when it comes to your own actions.Bacteria may influence your decisions by releasing signaling molecules into your gut. Because the gut is linked to the immune system, the endocrine system, and the nervous system, those signals could influence your physiologic and behavioral responses — and health.Bacteria may be acting through the vagus nerve, which connects 100 million nerve cells from the digestive tract to the base of the brain, changing taste receptors, producing toxins to make you feel bad, and releasing chemical rewards to make you feel good.Certain strains of bacteria increase anxious behavior (in mice).Some strains of bacteria cause stomach cancer and perhaps other cancers. What you can do (with medical guidance) Make changes in what you eat. There are measurable changes in the microbiome within 24 hours of diet change, evolving on the time scale of minutes.Take appropriate probiotics. One study showed a drink containing Lactobacillus casei improved mood in those who were feeling the lowest.Kill targeted species with specific antibiotics.Acquire specialized bacteria that digest your favorite foods. (Bacteria that digest seaweed are found in humans in Japan, where seaweed is popular in the diet.)See previous KurzweilAI posts on gut bacteria The co-authors’ study was funded by the National Institutes of Health, the American Cancer Society, the Bonnie D. Addario Lung Cancer Foundation, and the Institute for Advanced Study in Berlin. Jim Manske's insight: On our trip to Korea two years ago, I started eating Kimchi regularly. (There are hundreds of varieties of Kimchi consumed there other than the cabbage Kimchi commonly found in some US grocery stores.) I noticed an almost immediate positive effect on my digestive process as I increased the probiotic supply. Now, I wonder what other effects the members of my "biome" may be influencing. And I am grateful that we have learned to make our own kimchi, and our refrigerator has an abundance in the moment! No comment yet. Scooped by Jim Manske » Three Tips to Teach Your Child Emotional Intelligence - Jonice Webb, PhD » Three Tips to Teach Your Child Emotional Intelligence - Jonice Webb, PhD \| Radical Compassion \| Scoop.it Emotional Intelligence is a larger factor in adult life success than general intelligence. Here are three clear guidelines for raising a child with high EI. Three Parenting Tips to Maximize Your Child’s Emotional Intelligence: Pay attention. Work hard to see your child’s true nature. What does your child like, dislike, get angry about, feel afraid of, or struggle with? Feed these observations back to your child in a non-judgmental way so that your child can see herself through your eyes, and so that she can feel how well you know her. Life Advantage: Your child will see herself reflected in your eyes, and she will know who she is. This will give her confidence in her life choices and will make her resilient to life’s challenges. Feel an emotional connection to your child. Strive to feel what your child is feeling (empathy), whether you agree with it or not. When you feel your child’s emotion, he will feel an instant bond with you. Life Advantage: Your child will learn empathy and will have healthier relationships throughout his life. Respond competently to your child’s emotional need. Do not judge your child’s feeling as right or wrong. Look beyond the feeling, to the source. Help your child name her emotion. Help her manage the emotion. Life Advantage: Your child will have a healthy relationship with his own emotions. He will naturally know that his feelings are important and how to put them into words and manage them. No parent can follow these tips perfectly, of course. This is not about perfection; it’s about making the effort. Effort in itself shows love and care. When your child sees you trying to understand his feelings or feel his feelings, whether you succeed or not, he receives a powerful message: Your feelings matter to me. And what your child will hear: You matter. No comment yet. Scooped by Jim Manske Play Doesn't End With Childhood: Why Adults Need Recess Too Play Doesn't End With Childhood: Why Adults Need Recess Too \| Radical Compassion \| Scoop.it Play among children is vital for their social development. So what's in it for adults? Jim Manske's insight: Marshall once said something like, "Don't do it if it isn't play." And as Wes Taylor says, "Play on!" No comment yet. Scooped by Jim Manske The Happiness Equation: It Can Predict How Good You Will Feel Moment-by-Moment — PsyBlog The Happiness Equation: It Can Predict How Good You Will Feel Moment-by-Moment — PsyBlog \| Radical Compassion \| Scoop.it The vital role expectations play in our happiness is revealed by data collected from 18,420 people worldwide. Jim Manske's insight: This confirms my direct experience...my expectations matter! Furthermore, my happiness can be enhance when I am willing to reveal my expectations in a vulnerable way AND empathize with the unexpressed expectations of others! No comment yet. Scooped by Jim Manske Jews and Arabs Refuse to Be Enemies: A Compassionate Response to War - ELISHA GOLDSTEIN, PH.D. Jews and Arabs Refuse to Be Enemies: A Compassionate Response to War - ELISHA GOLDSTEIN, PH.D. \| Radical Compassion \| Scoop.it Henry David Thoreau said, “It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see.” At some point in our development we learn to see others through a lens of fear and hate. Because the brain is so malleable in our younger years these beliefs become that much more ingrained and as we grow older the skew of our lens becomes hardened. When it comes to the Middle East, it seems there is a collective lens that’s been hardened through history that Arabs and Jews have an irreconcilable relationship. There seems to be a social construction of hopelessness that we’re all entranced in. But if hate and ignorance are learned, is it possible they can be unlearned? The reality is nobody has “the answer” to this conflict and the historical trauma on both sides runs deep. When safety feels threatened, as is a continual reality there, it’s a natural survival reaction to close down the mind and heart in order to protect against vulnerability and default to a fight or flight response. If someone was shooting arrows at you, you’d put up your shield and either run or eventually shoot back. At the same time, I know there are many people on both sides, if not the majority, that see the common humanity between each other, want deeply to feel safe and protected, and long to live in peace. From thoughts come actions and from actions comes consequences. Read through the intentions below in the following “Compassionate Peace Practice.” Set your judgments aside for a moment and see if you can bring them into your heart and mind when considering all those who are suffering in this war. A Compassionate Peace Practice (Share Generously): “May all those who have suffered violence and all those who have committed violence feel safe and protected from inner and outer harm (because if they did feel safe they’d be less like to commit violent acts).” “May all those in conflict be awakened to their common humanity.” “May all those in conflict be free from hatred and the delusion of separateness.” “May all people with hate in their hearts release this burden and learn to forgive.” “May we all be free from the fear that keeps us stuck in destructive cycles of conflict.” “May we all live in peace.” Almost everyone is touched by this conflict and it is often and emotionally stirring subject to even bring up. Please share your intentions, thoughts, stories and questions below. Your interaction creates a living wisdom for us all to benefit from. No comment yet. Scooped by Jim Manske Pay It Back and Pay It Forward~Glen Geher, Ph.D. Pay It Back and Pay It Forward~Glen Geher, Ph.D. \| Radical Compassion \| Scoop.it One of the single greatest advances in the evolutionary behavioral sciences in the past several decades can be described as the intellectual bursting of the “selfishness” dam. In 1976, renowned biologist, thinker, and writer, Richard Dawkins published The Selfish Gene (by Oxford University Press). This book is, essentially, a highly accessible and powerful summary of Darwin’s ideas on evolution — applied largely (but not fully) to several classes of animal behavior (such as the mating habits of the praying mantis, the murderous nature of emperor penguins, and the helpful nature of vampire bats). This book is truly awesome and you should put it near the top of your list if you have any interest in the world around you and haven’t yet read this significant work. One intellectual consequence of Dawkins’ provocative title was a focus on the many connotations of the term selfish. Dawkins meant this term in a very specific sense, literally meaning that a “selfish gene” is a gene that codes for qualities of an organism that increase the likelihood of survival and/or reproductive success. In short, replicating genes out-exist non-replicating (or poorly replicating) genes in the future of a species. This is really all he meant. But folks who followed his work elaborated. It made sense to many to think of an animal such as a human, then, as a primarily selfish being. After all, the reasoning goes, if genes that exist are selfish, then products of genes, such as humans, must be too. And this fallacious reasoning drove much in the way of (a) how evolutionary science has progressed since the publication of The Selfish Gene and (b) how evolution (now seen by many as espousing a “red in tooth and claw” take on our kind), has taken on something of a cold angle on what it means to be any kind of organism, including a human. There is good news and bad news that follow up on The Selfish Gene. The bad news is that this misinterpretation (or overly applied extension) of Darwin’s metaphor has not helped work in the evolutionary sciences with PR issues. People from the outside looking in often think, “Oh, that evolution stuff, isn’t that the stuff that says we are animals and that we all want to kill each other for our own selfish gain?” Not so pleasant a portrait. I can see why someone might not like that! The good news follows: An amazing thing about this field in the past several decades has been the landslide of research that sheds light on the positives of human nature from an evolutionary perspective (SeeGeher, 2014). We can almost think of this as the dawn of a potential field we could call Positive Evolutionary Psychology (yup, PEP!). Here are just a few directions that the science in evolutionary psychology has taken which paints humans as loving, helpful, and self-sacrificing: 1. Paying It Back: Or giving back to others who have given to you in some important way, is hugely significant from the perspective of evolutionary psychology. Trivers’ (1971) landmark work on the topic of reciprocal altruism demonstrated in relatively long-lived species such as our own, the tendency for altruism among-non kin may evolve, such as people helping others, even strangers. Sometimes this kind of help is “paying it back,” or reciprocating altruistic acts that have come to new altruists in a small-social community. Not paying back altruism is socially dangerous — in your social ecosystem, my social ecosystem, and in the social ecosystems of pre-agrarian humans all around the globe. We’ve evolved to pay it back. 2. Paying It Forward: This is a term that’s been thrown around a lot in recent years, and I love it! It essentially says to give to others — not to reciprocate them for having helped you in the past, but to help them proactively so that they are on good footing moving forward. Maybe they will help you in the future. Maybe they will help others close to you (kin, friends, etc.), in the future. Maybe they will help the broader community in the future. Your helping them proactively sets the stage for any of these outcomes, all of which have potential to positively influence you and your kin and your social network. Paying it forward is seen positively in social communities; it helps people develop reputations as altruists or helpers or, more simply, as folks whom can be relied upon. And, without question, such a reputation is adaptive and leads to be positive outcomes (even if indirectly) for the individual who chooses to pay it forward. Think of joining a Big Brother, Big Sister program when you’re in your mid-20s (as I did when I was a graduate student in NH). In these kinds of programs, you find a young child (usually around 7 years old) who just needs a little boost, a little help, some older figure to lean on and talk to. For instance, when I lived in NH in the 1990s, I met regularly with 7-year-old Jacob. Great kid, dad not so much in the picture, benefited from having some kind of young adult male role model. We did what he wanted to do — movies, sledding, mini-golf, swimming, etc. We talked and we’ve stay in touch still. He’s now a graduate of the University of Vermont and is an ace at computers; for him, the sky is the limit. My helping him when he was young was paying it forward; and when I see how well he’s done, I’m pretty darn glad that I put my time in to get to know Jacob. 3. Loving Selflessly: An enormous body of work on the evolutionary psychology of love that has recently come out (e.g., Fisher, 1993) has demonstrated how strong our love for another can be. And this kind of love can be selfless. Further, this kind of love is an important part of our evolutionary heritage. Human offspring are altricial (helpless), and acquiring help from multiple adults (think monogamous pair of adults) is hugely beneficial to successful development. And when the adults in that pair are fully aligned in their vision of family, which benefits from them being truly in love with one another, parenting will thrive. Love, an inherently selfless act, is a foundational part of the human evolutionary story. Did Dawkin’s juggernaut of a term, Selfish Gene, imply that all features of all organisms are selfish in the colloquial sense? Absolutely not. He simply meant that qualities of organisms that lead to gene replication are likely, mathematically, to out-exist qualities that do not facilitate such replication. In complex, socially oriented, and long-lived critters like us, it’s very often the case that selfless, other-oriented behaviors (such as paying it back, paying it forward, or loving another in a selfless manner) are exactly the highly evolved things that make us human and these are the qualities we share with humans in all corners of the globe. To some extent, selfish genes have, in the case of humans, created altruistic apes who focus largely on what they can do to help others and to build strong and positive communities. This sounds a little like positive evolutionary psychology* to me! No comment yet. Rescooped by Jim Manske from Empathy and Compassion Three Ways Leaders Can Listen with More Empathy Three Ways Leaders Can Listen with More Empathy \| Radical Compassion \| Scoop.it Study after study has shown that listening is critical to leadership effectiveness. So, why are so few leaders good at it? Too often, leaders seek to take command, direct conversations, talk too much, or worry about what they will say next in defense or rebuttal. The ability and willingness to listen with empathy is often what sets a leader apart. Hearing words is not adequate; the leader truly needs to work at understanding the position and perspective of the others involved in the conversation. In a recent interview, Paul Bennett, Chief Creative Officer at IDEO, advises leaders to listen more and ask the right question. Bennett shared that “for most of my twenties I assumed that the world was more interested in me than I was in it, so I spent most of my time talking, usually in a quite uninformed way, about whatever I thought, rushing to be clever, thinking about what I was going to say to someone rather than listening to what they were saying to me.” by John Coleman Via Edwin Rutsch Chris Brown's curator insight, July 16, 3:38 PM A nice article that discusses three behaviors in empathic listening. Each of these are areas that we should focus on to improve our connection through communications. Recognize verbal and non-verbal cues. Process what you hear/see Respond thoughtfully Be sure to link to the article for more in depth information. Well worth the time to read. donhornsby's curator insight, July 16, 6:12 PM (From the article): Overall, it is important for leaders to recognize the multidimensionality of empathetic listening and engage in all forms of behaviors. Among its benefits, empathic listening builds trust and respect, enables people to reveal their emotions–including tensions, facilitates openness of information sharing, and creates an environment that encourages collaborative problem-solving. Deborah Orlowski, Ph.D.'s curator insight, July 17, 12:11 PM Coleman suggests 3 simple ways anyone can be a more effective listener. They seem self-evident but I wonder how often we actually do them? Why not try them for yourself. If you think you're already practicing them, check yourself to make sure you really are, not just thinking you are! Scooped by Jim Manske Compassion is painful. That’s how you know it’s working. \| The Bloggess Compassion is painful. That’s how you know it’s working. \| The Bloggess \| Radical Compassion \| Scoop.it I’m sad about last night for a lot of reasons. And if you are human, and allow yourself to be so, then you probably are too. Maybe it’s the verdict that upset you, or the destruction afterwards, or the long and difficult path that has led us here and has shown us we have so much further to go before we get to the place where we want to be…a place where kindness and compassion and vulnerability are the things which can be lauded and seen and encouraged and felt. Or maybe, like me, you’re upset about all of those things and you feel too defeated to want to care anymore. But if you’re like me, you can’t switch those emotions off. It’s so much easier to turn those feelings of vulnerability and hurt into a shield of rage. Rage feels powerful and strong. It feels good. And rage isimportant. But not at the cost of compassion. If, like me, today you woke up weary and wanting to become numb, or turn away, or lash out angrily at everyone involved then I feel you. But I encourage you to keep compassion at the forefront. Remember humanity. Remember that your words and actions make a difference. Remember that the majority of us are so much better than the worse things we see in the news, and that so many of us are leading a quiet revolution to be kind, and compassionate, and to listen to the hurt, and amplify the things that will make a positive difference in our world. It’s a quiet revolution that will never be covered on CNN. It’s a movement of people who redirect anger to kindness. Who listen even when it’s painful. Who take the hurt of others on ourselves and feel it so that we can become better people. Who wade into horrible online threads and inject compassion and reason because we know that it can become contagious if done the right way. Who hope that reason and empathy will somehow lead to a place which is safer for our children and grandchildren. Jim Manske's insight: May we all listen and respond to the alarm bells ringing. May we all wake up and treat each other as one. As Marshall reminded us, "Independence is an illusion." No comment yet. Scooped by Jim Manske German village plays prank on neo-Nazis German village plays prank on neo-Nazis \| Radical Compassion \| Scoop.it News, World News: Residents of Wunsiedel, where Hitler's deputy Rudolf Hess is buried, are tired of yearly invasion of neo Nazis to their village, so they decide neo-Nazis can march for a good cause. Jim Manske's insight: Sounds like stealthy social change. ;) No comment yet. Scooped by Jim Manske Is It Possible to Parent Without Threats or Coercion? Is It Possible to Parent Without Threats or Coercion? \| Radical Compassion \| Scoop.it Filmmaker Ana Joanes talks about her new film, Taking Our Places Jim Manske's insight: Yay! Celebrating some global coverage of NVC-based parenting! Looking forward to reconnecting with the parents of Maui on Tuesday, November 11 at 6 pm at Kalama School! No comment yet. Scooped by Jim Manske Scientists Mapped 8,000 Galaxies Surrounding Us And Found This Amazing Discovery Jim Manske's insight: I am happy to share a common address (Laniakea) with you! No comment yet. Scooped by Jim Manske People’s Suprising Empathy With The Pain of Their Enemies — PsyBlog People’s Suprising Empathy With The Pain of Their Enemies — PsyBlog \| Radical Compassion \| Scoop.it The part of the brain that is involved in empathising with the pain of others is more highly activated by seeing the suffering of hateful people than those we like, a recent study finds. While we might imagine we would empathise more with the suffering of those we like, we may focus on the hateful person’s pain because we need to monitor our enemies carefully. Dr. Lisa Aziz-Zadeh, who led the study, said: “When you watch an action movie and the bad guy appears to be defeated, the moment of his demise draws our focus intensely. We watch him closely to see whether he’s really down for the count, because it’s critical for predicting his potential for retribution in the future.” The brain imaging study examined how the brain’s ‘pain matrix’ reacts to seeing people’s suffering (Fox et al., 2013). The ‘pain matrix’ refers to a network of structures in the brain — including the insula cortex and the anterior cingulate — which activate when we see another person suffer. It is thought that the pain matrix relates to how we empathise with others. For the study, the researchers specifically chose Jewish participants and showed them videos of anti-Semitic individuals in pain, as well as videos of non-racist, more likeable individuals in pain. Their brains were scanned using fMRI to measure the activity of the pain matrix. The results revealed that the Jewish participants’ pain matrices were activated more when they saw the anti-Semitic individuals in pain. At the same time, however, the reward centres of the brain were more active for participants when they saw the anti-Semites in pain. This suggests they were probably experiencing a little schadenfreude(pleasure derived from the pain of others). The study’s authors conclude: “These results highlight a deep and disquieting aspect of the human experience…we see evidence supporting the notion that viewing threatening, hateful people in pain elicits elevated attention to the person in pain in addition to an element of pleasure which keeps your friend’s pain close, but your enemy’s closer.” No comment yet. Scooped by Jim Manske Curiosity Is as Important as Intelligence Curiosity Is as Important as Intelligence \| Radical Compassion \| Scoop.it There seems to be wide support for the idea that we are living in an “age of complexity”, which implies that the world has never been more intricate. This idea is based on the rapid pace of technological changes, and the vast amount of information that we are generating (the two are related). Yet consider that philosophers like Leibniz (17th century) and Diderot (18th century) were already complaining about information overload. The “horrible mass of books” they referred to may have represented only a tiny portion of what we know today, but much of what we know today will be equally insignificant to future generations. In any event, the relative complexity of different eras is of little matter to the person who is simply struggling to cope with it in everyday life. So perhaps the right question is not “Is this era more complex?” but “Why are some people more able to manage complexity?” Although complexity is context-dependent, it is also determined by a person’s disposition. In particular, there are three key psychological qualities that enhance our ability to manage complexity: 1. IQ: As most people know, IQ stands for intellectual quotient and refers to mental ability. What fewer people know, or like to accept, is that IQ does affect a wide range of real-world outcomes, such as job performance and objective career success. The main reason is that higher levels of IQ enable people to learn and solve novel problems faster. At face value, IQ tests seem quite abstract, mathematical, and disconnected from everyday life problems, yet they are a powerful tool to predict our ability to manage complexity. In fact, IQ is a much stronger predictor of performance on complex tasks than on simple ones. Complex environments are richer in information, which creates more cognitive load and demands more brainpower or deliberate thinking from us; we cannot navigate them in autopilot (or Kahneman’s system 1 thinking). IQ is a measure of that brainpower, just like megabytes or processing speed are a measure of the operations a computer can perform, and at what speed. Unsurprisingly, there is a substantial correlation between IQ and working memory, our mental capacity for handling multiple pieces of temporary information at once. Try memorizing a phone number while asking someone for directions and remembering your shopping list, and you will get a good sense of your IQ. (Unfortunately, research shows that working memory training does not enhance our long-term ability to deal with complexity, though some evidence suggests that it delays mental decline in older people, as per the “use it or lose it” theory.) 2) EQ: EQ stands for emotional quotient and concerns our ability to perceive, control, and express emotions. EQ relates to complexity management in three main ways. First, individuals with higher EQ are less susceptible to stress and anxiety. Since complex situations are resourceful and demanding, they are likely to induce pressure and stress, but high EQ acts as a buffer. Second, EQ is a key ingredient of interpersonal skills, which means that people with higher EQ are better equipped to navigate complex organizational politics and advance in their careers. Indeed, even in today’s hyper-connected world what most employers look for is not technical expertise, but soft skills, especially when it comes to management and leadership roles. Third, people with higher EQ tend to be more entrepreneurial, so they are more proactive at exploiting opportunities, taking risks, and turning creative ideas into actual innovations. All this makes EQ an important quality for adapting to uncertain, unpredictable, and complex environments. 3) CQ: CQ stands for curiosity quotient and concerns having a hungry mind. People with higher CQ are more inquisitive and open to new experiences. They find novelty exciting and are quickly bored with routine. They tend to generate many original ideas and are counter-conformist. It has not been as deeply studied as EQ and IQ, but there’s some evidence to suggest it is just as important when it comes to managing complexity in two major ways. First, individuals with higher CQ are generally more tolerant of ambiguity. This nuanced, sophisticated, subtle thinking style defines the very essence of complexity. Second, CQ leads to higher levels of intellectual investment and knowledge acquisition over time, especially in formal domains of education, such as science and art (note: this is of course different from IQ’s measurement of raw intellectual horsepower). Knowledge and expertise, much like experience, translate complex situations into familiar ones, so CQ is the ultimate tool to produce simple solutions for complex problems. Although IQ is hard to coach, EQ and CQ can be developed. As Albert Einstein famously said: ““I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious.” No comment yet. Scooped by Jim Manske The Land of Empathy and Wonder The Land of Empathy and Wonder \| Radical Compassion \| Scoop.it The only thing important in my imagined land is a person's heart. And his empathy. And his ability to find wonder.... Jim Manske's insight: Please consider joining us on Saturday, 4 pm PT for a Taste of Compassionate Leadership, our free monthly teleclass We will focus on "Be the Change!". To register: http://myaccount.maestroconference.com/conference/register/MRUM54RW0HC2PWT No comment yet. Scooped by Jim Manske Sweden celebrates 200 years of peace - Solveig Rundquist Sweden celebrates 200 years of peace - Solveig Rundquist \| Radical Compassion \| Scoop.it Precisely 200 years ago, on August 15th, 1814, Sweden entered a new era of peace. The last battle took its final breath on August 14th after the signing of the Convention of Moss, ending a brief war with Norway sparked by the nation declaring its independence. The war would be Sweden's last. "Sweden as a nation has not participated in war for 200 years," Peter Wallensteen, senior professor of peace and conflict research at Uppsala University, told The Local. How has Sweden managed to stayed out of war for two entire centuries? "Primarily by luck," Foreign Minister Carl Bildt told The Local on Friday. Wallensteen pointed out that Sweden has contributed forces to UN peacekeeping operations, has an active military and a thriving arms industry, and that the definition of peace is debatable. Nor does avoiding war mean that Sweden is officially neutral. Sweden left its policy of neutrality when it joined the EU in 1995, opting instead for "non-alignment". "But there is an absence of the use of political violence in the country, no international wars, no civil wars, and no military coups," Wallensteen explained. Due to Switzerland's unfortunate civil war in 1847, Wallensteen said, Sweden's tally even beats the capital of neutrality. All of the Scandinavian nations had a chance at taking the prize longest reign of peace, Wallensteen said, since they stayed out of the first world war. It was during World War II that things started falling apart. Sweden never officially took a side in World War II - but the nation has received harsh international criticism for letting the Nazis use Swedish railways to travel to and from Germany and Finland from invaded neighbour Norway, questioning the image of neutrality and indeed casting a light of shame and cowardice upon the country. But historians say Sweden did not favour Germany. Rather, Sweden took the most non-confrontational stance it could. During the war posters were hung on building walls with a yellow and blue tiger, and the words "en svensk tiger" - translating both as "a Swedish tiger" and "a Swede keeps his mouth shut". According to Wallensteen, this attitude is not native, but learned. "Politicians realized as far back as 1905, after the treaty with Norway, that war creates lasting animosity. But solutions create lasting cooperation where everybody benefits." Today Swedes have a reputation for being reserved and non-confrontational. How did the war-faring Vikings and mighty kings of the late Empire of Sweden transform into humble striped cats? "I think that Swedes have learned it doesn't pay to engage in violent conflict," Wallensteen told The Local. "There is an attitude of strong conflict awareness. There is a willingness to find solutions that work, solutions that are pragmatic, practical, and rational." The Swedish climate of compromise, Wallensteen said, grew from experience. "People do take a stand, but they do not take a stand so incompatible with others that discussion becomes impossible. Due to long historical experience, Swedes are willing to open up to negotiation." Wallensteen said that the paradigm shift made a difference not just on the international scale and in peace-keeping issues, but also on the domestic front. "I think there was a cultural shift away from viewing war as honourable and great to a much more civilian understanding of what is good in society," Wallensteen said. "And in the Swedish case that means work hard, develop new industries, build welfare, be involved in national affairs... These kinds of values have gradually become more important than being engaged in military operations." But will the "peace" - or simply war avoidance - continue? "Peace must be created, secured, and continuously nurtured by dialogue and diplomacy," Bildt told The Local. "Prediction is difficult," Wallensteen said after brief hesitation. "But I hope so. There is an atmosphere of inclusivity, a willingness in Sweden to integrate everyone and build a tolerant society." Sweden's terror threat level has remained "high" since a botched suicide bombing in Stockholm in 2010. Reverberations from the riots of 2013 are still being felt. Anti-Semitism is on the rise, and an increasing number of Swedes are engaging in violent extremism abroad. "All that was happening before as well," Wallensteen remarked. "The important thing is how society as a whole reacts to it - and society is clearly against it and tries to make counter moves. In the riots, for instance, counter moves include integration projects instead of sending in police. It's a classical Swedish way of dealing with things." Wallensteen said it would be interesting to see how the extremist Swedes fighting abroad would be handled. "But again, I think the solution is to think about it in terms of prevention, what went wrong, and what we need to do better." Foreign Minister Carl Bildt stressed that peace in Sweden is not the only priority in the globalized society of today, however - and Sweden cannot float on the status quo, but must engage actively to continue peace."Let's not forget that peace is far away in many places," Bildt told The Local. "Europe is in the most difficult strategic times that I can remember. The situation is extremely fragile to the east and to the south. The Syrian war has created a massive humanitarian disaster, and the recent developments in Iraq are also alarming." "In this respect, let's hope the coming 200 years will be more successful for the world than the previous ones." No comment yet. Scooped by Jim Manske New Scientific Study: Being Honest Improved Health~Anita Kelly, Ph.D. New Scientific Study: Being Honest Improved Health~Anita Kelly, Ph.D. \| Radical Compassion \| Scoop.it Eighteen hours ago, I gave a presentation at the national convention of the American Psychological Association here in Washington DC. It was on the results from the newest study from my Science of Honesty project with co-author Lijuan Wang. She too is a professor at the University of Notre Dame. The design of the study, which we just finished last week, was simple. Seventy-two healthy adults (average age of 41 years) were recruited through newspapers in the South Bend community. They were randomly assigned to two groups: a Sincerity group and a Control group. Both groups came to my laboratory at the University of Notre Dame every week for 5 weeks to complete polygraph tests and anonymous health measures. Whereas the Control group was told nothing of the following, the Sincerity group was told: "Throughout every day of the next 5 weeks, you must speak honestly, truthfully, and sincerely -- not only about the big things, but also about the small things, such as why you were late. You must always mean what you say in situations where your statements are to be taken seriously, as opposed to when joking or obviously exaggerating. While you certainly can choose not to answer questions, you must always mean what you say.” What was so amazing is that in the 5th and final week, the Sincerity group reported significantly fewer physical health complaints than did the Control group. Specifically, they had experienced 7 fewer symptoms such as sore throats, headaches, nausea that week. Because the only difference between the two groups was the sincerity instructions, we can conclude that these instructions actually caused the health benefit. Ever since the fall, I too have been following these instructions. Normally get 8 hours of sleep and have 5-7 colds in a winter. Now at only 3 hours of sleep, I have been sick zero times since the fall. Thus, I could not hold off on telling you about the results. The impact is so compelling that I urge you to try it. It might not be easy to “always mean what you say”. You might find that you have to go back and correct some of the things that pop out of your mouth. But don’t let that discourage you. Being sincere is a process. You will get there with some practice. And when you do, you will see that you are becoming more humble, more open to learning, and less sensitive to rejection. Being sincere brings you closer to the decent people you know, pushes away the nay sayers, and allows you to feel a certain hopefulness about the world. To the extent that you experience these, I believe you too will have profound health benefits. You are more than welcome to post your progress in the comments here. I would love to read them; and I believe it will help inspire other readers to stay the course with you. Jim Manske's insight: Telling the truth frees me from having to keep track of deceptions! IT frees my heart from the thought that there is an "other" to hide from. I also enjoy the acknowledgment of autonomy...I do not "have to" tell anybody anything, AND I can cultivate openness and willingness to say the truth, choosing to speak the truth in the service of connection and love. No comment yet. Scooped by Jim Manske Happiness Equation Reveals Key to Cheery Life Happiness Equation Reveals Key to Cheery Life \| Radical Compassion \| Scoop.it By studying how people respond to recent events in their lives, researchers have developed a mathematical formula that can predict individuals' happiness. Jim Manske's insight: Amazing how we humans love to quantify even the unQuantifiable! No comment yet. Scooped by Jim Manske A Restorative Response to MH17 \| Charles Eisenstein A Restorative Response to MH17 \| Charles Eisenstein \| Radical Compassion \| Scoop.it Aren’t they awful? Aren’t they appalling? How could they? They must be monstrous, evil, inhuman. The only way to deal with such people is to stand up to them, destroy them, send them a message, take a stand, deter them, show them it isn’t acceptable, hold them to account. Any other response is soft, weak, naïve. How many times have we heard this narrative repeated? A horrible event occurs: the downing of a jetliner, the murder of three Israeli teenagers, the destruction of the twin towers, gas attacks in Syria… and immediately the press and political classes pump up the narrative that whoever committed this atrocity did so because they are bad people – bad people who implicate a whole class of bad people that must be overcome with force. The diagnosis is simple – evil – and the solution is straightforward – force and the threat of force. In the case of Malaysian Airlines Flight 17, we see the usual formula in action. They shot down a jetliner! They knew what they were doing! Then they covered it up! And they’ve taken the flight recorders! The rebels are destroying the evidence! Putin bears direct responsibility! One gets the impression of a band of gibbering fiends, rubbing their hands together in glee as they celebrate mass murder. That the MH17 narrative outlined above suits U.S. geopolitical ambitions is no secret (see Patrick Smith’s forthright and brave article for a taste, as well as this item-by-item account of the propaganda efforts to construct that narrative). Beyond that, it also conforms to a deeper, less obvious mythology that divides the world into good and evil (always putting oneself and one’s in-group on the side of good) and that seeks to improve the world by conquering evil. This is a kind of empire-justifying meta-narrative that we see all the time, for example in the War on Terror and the War on Drugs, in discourse about criminal justice and immigration, in the militarization of police, in the justification for mass surveillance… the world is a place of danger and threat, and that security and well-being comes through being in control. (We see it as well, for that matter, in our dominant systems of medicine, education, and agriculture.) Fail to go along with that view, and you are named soft, naïve, unrealistic, a liberal, a dupe. Should you question it publicly, you are also an impediment to a foreign policy that sees America as Good and any opposition to “U.S. interests” as proof of evil. There is an alternative view that doesn’t dehumanize the perpetrators of atrocities and render them into cartoonish villains of the type that appear in James Bond movies. It says that evil is not an elemental aspect of the human psyche, but is the product of context. It therefore seeks first to understand. What is the context? What were the circumstances from which it seemed right for a human being to launch the missile? Ultimately it comes down to the question, “What would it take for me to have made the same choice, were I in that person’s shoes?” That is what I mean by understanding, or compassion. Of course, sometimes it may elude us, and sometimes even achieving it, we may not see the possibility of anything but a force-based response. Nonetheless, to see violence as arising from context invites a different first reaction: rather than to find the one to blame, it is to seek understanding. Barely mentioned in most of the articles in the mainstream media is the information that the missile crew thought they were downing a Ukranian military transport plane. It was similar to the American downing of Iranian Airlines Flight 655 in 1988, resulting in nearly identical loss of life. That incident was “deeply regretted” by the United States, but nowhere was it treated as a casus belli or cause for sanctions against the U.S. It was understood that in tense military situations, horrible things happen. Does it sound like I am excusing the act? Am I saying we should do nothing about it? Only if one equates “doing something” with punishment. Ah, but if we don’t punish, then nothing will deter such acts in the future, right? Well, that is true if the reason for such acts is that the perpetrators are just evil. But if they are not, if in fact they are acting as human beings in such circumstances act, then another kind of response might be warranted. After all, the dehumanization of the perpetrator is of a kind with the dehumanization of the enemy, of the Other, that motivates and justifies war in the first place. We have been fighting wars to overcome evil for a very long time. This year is the 100th anniversary of World War One, the “war to end all wars.” Given the legacy of that failure, by now one would think we would try another approach. In that spirit, let me offer a modest proposal for how to deal with the MH17 tragedy. First, announce that those responsible for launching the missile will be immune to any prosecution or punishment if they agree to participate in a Restorative Circle process. Then, gather them together with families of the victims, representatives of the warring sides, and observers from around the world. In the Restorative Circle, each involved party tells his or her story, and agrees to listen to the stories of everyone else. Each has a chance to show their feelings and have their feelings witnessed. This proposal applies equally if the airliner downing were the doing of elements in the Ukrainian government (while there are some indications of this, I am skeptical – most conspiracy theories underestimate the power of human bureaucratic incompetence and folly.) If that is the case, we might be tempted to turn the same tactics of demonization toward the perpetrators of the tragedy, and not see that they, too, were acting from a story in which what they did seemed justified for the sake of a greater good. Ancient circle practices for addressing conflict, revived today by people like Dominic Barter, breaks the cycle of violence, judgement, dehumanization, and retribution. It is a very powerful experience. Wait, you might say, the perpetrators haven’t been punished! True, they have not. But what is the goal of punishment? One is to stop them from doing it again, but confronting the agony of the victims’ families in a circle held with non-judgmental compassion is life-changing. The second goal of punishment is to deter others from committing similar crimes. But that goal depends mostly on the supposed evil of the criminal, who is assumed to be making some kind of self-interested calculation before committing the crime. Come on, really? Is anyone going to think, “Well, I’d sure like to shoot down this jetliner, but I might get executed so I’d better not?” I think a far better deterrent to violence is to see, up close, the humanity of those we have dehumanized. Witnessing a Restorative Circle accomplishes that. If you discard this proposal as naïve, you are surely in good company. Consider though: what have been the results of thousands of years of war and punishment? Have we ever tried this before for an incident of geopolitical importance? Imagine the effect on the world if we paused from battle and,with the whole world watching, created a space for shared grief, forgiveness, and repentance? It would be an audacious experiment. I can’t guarantee it would “work,” but we’ve been trying the alternative – the war on evil – for thousands of years. The hope is that someday we might win the war on evil and the world will finally be a better place. To do that, we have to be more vigilant, more efficient… for example, we can collect data on every human being on the planet, constantly monitor their whereabouts, and develop the capacity to kill them with the press of a button. That way, evil will have no chance. At the same time, we can educate evil out of people as much as possible and lock up the incorrigible. A good plan. Unfortunately, as even those who implement it know, the war on evil will never succeed. We soldier on with the weary knowledge that the best we can do is stem the tide through a ceaseless and unwinnable struggle. This is just the way the world is; it is the human condition. Is it though? Occasionally we catch glimpses of a different possibility: moments of unexpected forgiveness, reconciliation, peace, or a change of heart in situations where no one could reasonably expect anything but the same old cycles of violence. Are we to dismiss these as anomalies? Exceptions to human nature? Or could it be that they point to something real, a more beautiful world, if only we would accept their invitation? There is no formula for how to do that, or rather, there are many formulas, processes, and practices. All of them start with a perception: that we all share fundamental needs; that evil is a product of circumstances; that if I were in the totality of your circumstances, my brother, I would do as you do; that we are all in this together. I do not, of course, expect any government leader to read this article and say, Hey, let’s give it a try. My purpose is to insinuate this way of thinking a little more deeply into the minds of whoever reads it, because its time will come. After thousands of years, we are growing tired of the war on the Other in all its permutations. The time of no enemies is coming, when we realize that we are all in this together and that each one of us is capable of any act. No comment yet. Scooped by Jim Manske Can Narcissists Learn Empathy? ~Mike Bunderant Can Narcissists Learn Empathy? ~Mike Bunderant \| Radical Compassion \| Scoop.it In a recent study, researchers from the University of Southampton and the University of Surrey have attempted to find out whether patients suffering from narcissism can learn to show empathy for another person’s suffering. Their study, which is being published in the Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, has shown that it may be possible. One of the main hallmarks of narcissism is a lack of empathy for others. This has a negative effect on their personal relationships, social interaction, and social behaviors. In most cases, this is because their lack of empathy means that they are unconcerned with the effect their actions have on others. For this study, researchers chose to focus on patients who exhibit subclinical narcissism. This diagnosis is given to patients who are psychologically healthy while still exhibiting some narcissistic traits. This form of narcissism is more common than narcissistic personality disorder. To examine whether narcissists could be capable of empathizing with another person’s suffering, they asked study participants to read an excerpt describing the break up of a relationship. No matter how severe the hypothetical scenario was, high-narcissists did not show any empathy for the subject. This was true even in situations where the subject of the excerpt suffered overwhelming depression. Researchers then asked study participants to take the perspective of the target person. For example, female participants were shown a short documentary that described another woman’s experience with domestic violence. The participants were asked to imagine feeling the emotions of the woman while watching the video. In this case, high-narcissists reported much higher empathy for the woman. Finally, participants were tested to see if they could be moved physiologically as well as emotionally. In previous studies it has been noted that increases in heart rate indicate an empathic response. Researchers found that while high-narcissists usually showed a significantly lower heart rate when exposed to another person’s distress, during the perspective-taking exercise they responded with the same level of increased heart rate as low-narcissists. This indicates that it may be possible for narcissists to empathize with others in the correct circumstances. They key is encouraging them to consider the situations from another point of view. Are you living with a narcissist? If so, it is important to encourage him or her to adopt a different perspective before expecting empathy. Within his or her default point of view, empathy cannot flow. The challenge is how to get the narcissistic individual to adopt a new perspective. Yet, you can help any self-centered individual to imagine another person in his or her mind’s eye. Then ask the subject to imagine becoming that other person, feeling what you imagine they are feeling. These kinds of direct interventions have been common in NLP training for decades. If you cannot encourage your narcissistic partner to take a new perspective, but demand empathy anyway, then you can count on feeling dismissed or rejected. We learn from the above-mentioned study that consciously identifying with another person is the critical key to empathy. And this is true for all of us. Many people identify with the perspective of others naturally. Narcissistic individuals do not do it at all. It’s a tool that they probably don’t even know they have. No comment yet.
Here's an airline fee I hadn't heard of before I've heard of -- and sometimes paid -- all kinds of airline fees, but paying $14 for the pleasure of buying a ticket over the phone or online? That's a new one on me. And not a welcome one for someone who would have to make a two-hour round trip to buy one at the airport if I didn't want to pay it. Which I'm almost ornery enough to do. Here's hoping this is one idea that won't catch on! Please or Register to post comments. What's face2face? Blog Archive Sponsored Introduction Continue on to (or wait seconds) ×
1. Home» 2. Sport» 3. Football» 4. Teams» 5. Chelsea Failing to get best out of Torres - Where AVB went wrong at Chelsea Despite costing the club £50m, Fernando Torres has still scored more goals against Chelsea than he has for them. His problems did not begin with Villas-Boas' arrival but the Portuguese was unable to resurrect his career. Indeed, the Spaniard looked as lost as ever and bereft of confidence. Villas-Boas said the right things in public, but was unable to get inside the head of this country's most expensive signing, or create an attacking shape which suited him. Image 2 of 6 Follow Telegraph pics on Twitter Follow TelegraphPics on Twitter Receive updates every time we produce a new picture gallery
What is meta? × Short tags that are substrings of other tags are difficult to find in autocomplete lists. Here is a recent example of a user having problems with this. Putting an exact text input match to the top of the list is already implemented on the tag search page: alt text but not in any autocomplete list. Interesting/ignored tags: alt text Ask Question/edit page: alt text To make it easier to find short tags, I would like the same behaviour from the tag search page implemented in the autocomplete lists. EDIT: Sorry for the misunderstanding. I realize the autocomplete lists order descending by popularity and the search page orders by name. I think that part should stay the same. All I want is the exact match functionality added to the autocomplete lists. share\|improve this question I would like the exact tag match to be available on auto-complete as you request, but I'd prefer the rest of the behavior be kept the unchanged. Tag page is listed in something alphabetical, while the auto-complete is done by volume, and I think that the metric in the latter is useful for it. – Grace Note Sep 10 '10 at 17:10 @Grace: Good idea, but you can do both (keep shown items in popularity order plus show exact match) by bumping the last item if the exact match is lower. – Gnome Sep 10 '10 at 19:35 @Gnome That's exactly the solution I would like. – Grace Note Sep 10 '10 at 19:42 Yeah, sorry guys. I've updated my post. @Grace – Jon Seigel Sep 10 '10 at 21:43 1 Answer 1 up vote 2 down vote accepted Fixed it up, will be deployed later today share\|improve this answer You must log in to answer this question. Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .
SANAA - Yemeni security forces killed three militant leaders on Tuesday when they stormed a house used by al-Qaida for making bombs, the interior and defense ministries said. "A large amount of various explosives was found in most of the rooms in addition to booby-trapped gas cylinders and cars ready to be used in suicide attacks and weapons including a rocket and explosive belts," the Defense Ministry website quoted a security source as saying. Yemen, which borders top oil exporter Saudi Arabia and lies on major world shipping lanes, is home to al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, a group viewed by Washington as the most dangerous branch of the militant network established by Osama bin Laden. Please LIKE our Facebook page - it makes us stronger
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Movie Making Manual/Colour Grading From Wikibooks, open books for an open world < Movie Making Manual Jump to: navigation, search Colour grading is the process of manipulating each shot in a film in order to achieve a certain 'look'. The producer/director will require that the whole movie has the same range of colour saturation, contrast, highlights and shadows. The colour treatment is very important in conveying an emotional context that is consistent with and complements the action, sound design and musical treatment of the movie. Simple, but extreme examples are Bollywood extravaganzas that use strong lighting and clear saturated colors to complement a simple story. In contrast, art movies may use low contrast lighting, a palette of soft colours and subtle tones to convey a subtle nuanced story. The Lighting Cameraman or Director of Photography will be shooting to create the desired look, but colour grading is always necessary to fine tune the raw footage. The job of colour grading is usually done by the editor, in lower budget work, or in higher budget productions the task falls to a specialist referred to as the colourist. Professional colourists can use sophisticated digital finishing units such as the Davinci 2k system. Grading normally starts with analysis and colour correction of each shot to fix problems such as unwanted colour casts. Next, the colourist can use a myriad of techniques to colour the scene to reflect the artistic preference of the producer/director (for example, reducing saturation can give the scene a bleak look). Once a look is decided upon the grading process for the rest of that scene (or even the whole film) is generally routine, as the colourist aims to provide consistency between shots.
Health knowledge made personal Join this community! › Share page: Search posts: Burn 1,000 Calories An Hour! Posted Jul 05 2009 9:46pm You've seen the workout program ads: in between shots of glistening, contracting abdominals and hyper smiling people who only sweat in socially acceptable places - your amped up cleavage if you are a woman, your shaved pecs if you are a man - comes the promise. What, you ask, can a DVD workout/exercise book/smiling B-list celeb promise me when it comes to cardio other than a perfect body, chiclet teeth and a spray tan so authentic that real sunshine is jealous? Why, the promise of amazing ultra-high superbad caloric burn of course! I was reminded of this the other day as the Gym Buddies and I were sweating away on the elliptical machines (not our go-to workout but they were refinishing all the floors in the studios so it's what we were left with) and one of those ubiquitous exercise program infomercials came on. While we were giggling about watching people on TV exercise while actually exercising, large letters flashed up on the screen. "BURN up to 1,000 CALORIES AN HOUR!" flashed over all those heaving chests - the "up to" in conveniently small type of course. This infomercial - may Billy Mays rest in peace - is not unique. All fitness programs, televised and otherwise, seem to make some kind of caloric promise. But how accurate are these claims? And does knowing the potential calorie burn of a workout help you make a better choice on how to sweat? Can You Really Burn 1,000 Calories An Hour? Anecdotal evidence first: According to my overly generous heartrate monitor of which I was once so attached to that I would turn around and go home to get the chest strap if I accidentally forgot it despite the fact that being small chested meant that it looked as if I was wearing some kind of strange back brace, I have burned over 1,000 calories in a single workout. The scene was "Holiday Turbokick" a special brand of torture that Turbo Jennie likes to put us through on occassions like the day before Thanksgiving, where we do 8 "turbos" (a high-intensity inverval lasting between 30 seconds and 2 minutes) interspersed with 4 finales or some such craziness. By the end I am turboing in a puddle of my own filth and can wring out my tank top like a Shamwow. It's enough to make a girl puke up her turkey before she even eats it, is what I'm saying. But by the time we hit cool down, I had burned just over 1,000 calories. So it would seem possible - although unlikely (who wants to work out so hard you vomit every day?) - to attain that magic number. Except for two problems. 1) My heart rate monitor isn't terribly accurate. While I trust it's ability to read my actual beats per minute, its calorie burn function is apparently calculated based off a 6'6" male Russian Ice Swimmer. To prove this, I switched heart rate monitors with Gym Buddy Allison, who wears a Polar, and racked up 200-400 less calories per hour than my watch gave me. 2) Even the venerable Polar can't really tell you your caloric burn as metabolism is so individual as to render any mathematical formula at least slightly inaccurate. The research in this area is more prolific than one might think. Companies that make a living off of guaranteeing a good workout have invested a lot of energy into trying to figure out what number of calories people can expect to expend using their machines or programs. What they have discovered however is that while they can predict how many calories an individual, say Michael Phelps, is burning, those results are very difficult to generalize. In addition to individual metabolisms there are simply too many other variables. Therefore, the honest companies will give you a range of calories. The disingenuous ones will use that sneaky little phrase "up to" and then give you a Michael Phelpsian number. Why Does it Matter How Many Calories You Burn? Every fitness expert will tell you that weight loss, gain or maintenance comes down to simple math. It's all about the calories you take in through food in relation to those you expend through daily life and exercise. This over simplified truism often leads people to think things like, "If the treadmill says I burned 250 calories, then that means I can eat a 200 calorie muffin and still come out losing!" This, in turn, has made calorie burn the gold standard in assessing a fitness program's worth. But dig a little deeper and you will realize that not only is calorie burn not the best indicator of a workout's power, it actually distracts you from other benefits of exercise. For instance, weight lifting typically doesn't burn comparatively as many calories as cardio for the same amount of time and yet it has many advantages like increased strength, muscle mass and overall functionality. Similarly, HIIT (high intensity interval training) burns a smaller amount of calories during the actual workout but causes a much greater spike in HGH (human growth hormone) than twice the amount of traditional medium-intensity cardio. Lastly cardio exercise is good for many things like increasing your oxygen utilization and building endurance, besides just burning off last night's dessert. Is It A Good Thing To Burn 1,000 Calories An Hour? Ignoring for a moment whether or not it's even possible to burn that many calories, one must ask if it is even a worthwhile fitness goal to strive to burn a particular high number of calories. To get that kind of calorie burn, one would have to push very hard in a high intensity type of cardio. Much has been said - and ignored - about the dangers of too much aerobic exercise in the highest heart rate zones. It elevates the stress hormone cortisol, causes systemic inflammation, necesitates longer recovery and increases your risk of injury, just to give you the short version. In addition, an often overlooked fact by dieters and diet purveyors alike is that the more you exercise, the hungrier you get. From my personal experience the more calories I burn, the more my body wants to replace them - and fast. What's the quickest source of glycogen for our depleted muscular system? Sugar. I have found that after a long training run, it's almost impossible for me to stay away from the Jelly Bellies and other simple carbs for the rest of the day. However, when I strength train and/or keep my training volume low my sugar cravings diminish significantly (unless I'm PMSing but that's a different story entirely). Research backs me up by showing that dieters who create a calorie deficit purely from exercise don't lose weight - because their bodies eat to adjust. So, what's the point in burning (up to) 1,000 calories if my body is immediately going to want to replace (at least) 1,000 calories with whatever food is easiest for me to scarf down? Calorie burn doesn't matter. First, chances are that unless you are an Olympic swimmer, you're not burning what they say you are burning. Second, it's probably not giving you the result you are looking for. If you are exercising for weight loss, then you aren't doing yourself any favors by torching excessive calories and signalling your body to go into eat mode. And if you're exercising for fun and/or weight maintenance then calorie burn is just another number. All of which is not to say that exercise - even an occasional session of long, intense cardio - shouldn't be done. Ask any triathlete, marathon runner or Iron(wo)man if their race was worth it and most of them will give you an enthusiastic yes. But it isn't because they burned 3,000 calories, it's because they were having fun and it gave them a sense of accomplishment. Does it mean that I don't get a great workout from Holiday Turbokick if I don't burn quadruple-digit calories? No! I'm still increasing my endurance and having a lot of fun to boot. My point: When we are evaluating the merit of a particular fitness program, there are a lot of better factors to consider than supposed maximum calorie burn. But enough about what I think! What do you think about the calorie-burn claims of fitness programs/machines/gurus? Anyone else ever get obsessed with their heart rate monitors? Anyone have a particular fitness infomercial that they just can't stop watching?? Possibly the best workout video I have ever seen. "Eurotrain!!!" is going to be my new motto. Post a comment Write a comment: Related Searches
Take the 2-minute tour × I have searched around quite a bit but have not solved my problem. I have a video tag running as follows: src="{{ page \| video_url }}" poster="{{ page \| video_poster_image_url }}" I am using Jekyll for the urls. They work fine. The site is live at swtizerlandllc.com. Click any video in FF and it shows an image and an X. Chrome and other browsers work fine. If you grab the source of a video and load it in a new tab it plays fine. At least it does for me. I have added: AddType video/ogg .ogv AddType video/mp4 .mp4 AddType video/webm .webm to my htaccess file. I suspect that I don't need the .ogv or .webm I don't understand why loading the video url will play the videos fine but loading the video into a video tag fails. any ideas? share\|improve this question 3 Answers 3 up vote 24 down vote accepted Firefox does not support the MP4 format within its video tag. The main reason why is the royalty fee attached to the mp4 format. Check out Media formats supported by the audio and video elements directly from the Mozilla crew or the following blog post for more information: share\|improve this answer Direct from the source: developer.mozilla.org/En/… – Sam Dufel May 7 '12 at 20:41 Thanks, I updated my answer with the link! – Josh Mein May 7 '12 at 20:45 I have seen this answer around but then why does the video play if you load the path in a new tab? – TJ Sherrill May 7 '12 at 20:55 I assume the issue is that in order to support mp4 in their video tag, the Firefox crew would have to pay for a license. Whereas, if the user just puts the link in the browser, they dont have to pay anything. – Josh Mein May 7 '12 at 21:01 @TJSherrill, it is probably playing because of a Firefox plugin (like Quicktime). This doesn't mean it will work in a <video> element. – MPD May 7 '12 at 21:24 Firefox 21 supports MP4 H.264 by default. Yay! Just try this video test - http://www.quirksmode.org/html5/tests/video.html EDIT: FF21+ only on windows 7+ apparently. https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/HTML/Supported_media_formats share\|improve this answer I can confirm that mp4 just will not work in the video tag. No matter how much you try to mess with the type tag and the codec and the mime types from the server. Crazy, because for the same exact video, on the same test page, the old embed tag for an mp4 works just fine in firefox. I spent all yesterday messing with this. Firefox is like IE all of a sudden, hours and hours of time, not billable. Yay. Speaking of IE, it fails FAR MORE gracefully on this. When it can't match up the format it falls to the content between the tags, so it is possible to just put video around object around embed and everything works great. Firefox, nope, despite failing, it puts up the poster image (greyed out so that isn't even useful as a fallback) with an error message smack in the middle. So now the options are put in browser recognition code (meaning we've gained nothing on embedding videos in the last ten years) or ditch html5. share\|improve this answer +1 "Firefox is like IE all of a sudden, hours and hours of time, not billable." – Geo Nov 6 '13 at 22:11 Which video type works? OGG, or WEBM? – Jackson_Sandland Nov 16 at 23:44 Your Answer
Generating Entities as a Markov-Modulated Poisson Process This example shows how to generate entities using a Markov-modulated Poisson process, which is a Poisson process whose rate depends on the state of a Markov chain. In particular, the process is an interrupted Poisson process because the "off" state prevents entity generation. The model includes three independent on-off modulated Markov sources so you can see how their behavior depends on the rate of the Poisson process when the Markov chain is in the "on" state. The Path Combiner block aggregates the outputs of all the On-Off Modulated Markov Source subsystems. Each of the On-Off Modulated Markov Source subsystems behaves as follows: • The Time-Based Entity Generator block models the Markov chain by generating an entity each time the chain changes state. • The Entity Departure Event to Function-Call Event conveys the state change to the Create Generator Selection Variable subsystem, whose output changes from 0 to 1 or vice versa. • The block labeled Generator 1 models the Poisson process by generating entities that attempt to depart from this On-Off Modulated Markov Source subsystem. (By contrast, the entities that represent the state changes of the Markov chain do not depart from this subsystem.) • The Enabled Gate block regulates departures from the subsystem. If the state of the Markov chain is "off", the gate is closed and entities cannot depart. Results and Displays Average Time between On-Off Points = 5 and Average Intergeneration Time = 1 Average Time between On-Off Points = 15 and Average Intergeneration Time = 4 Average Time between On-Off Points = 50 and Average Intergeneration Time = 10 Related Examples
Take the 2-minute tour × My computer (also router) uses Teredo to access and be visible on IPv6. How to assign neighbor IPv6 addresses to other computers for them to be able to be routed to Teredo using the router? enter image description here What ip -6 addr, ip -6 link, ip -6 route, ip6tables and sysctl sys.net...forwarding commands should I use on hosts and on router? (assuming miredo is already working on "My router") share\|improve this question 1 Answer 1 up vote 1 down vote accepted Teredo is an 'IPv6 for one host' type protocol. You cannot provide IPv6 to other computers on your network with Teredo. Every node will have to do their own Teredo. But Teredo is very unreliable. If you can use IPv6 provided by an ISP. If that is not possible then use a tunnelbroker like sixxs.net or tunnelbroker.net. Avoid unreliable methods like 6to4 and Teredo. share\|improve this answer Can I do NAT for IPv6 so all requests to Teredo will appear to be like if they oridinating from "My Router" instead? – Vi. Oct 1 '12 at 17:06 Technically: yes, but you still have a very unreliable Teredo connection. All applications will try to use IPv6 and many of them will fail. You don't want that brokenness in your network... Set up a tunnel to SixXS.net or Tunnelbroker.net (both free) and you will be much happier. – Sander Steffann Oct 2 '12 at 8:57 Your Answer
Forgot your password? Comment: Traceroute (Score 1) 558 by wallyhall (#43535599) Attached to: Average latency to Slashdot.org? Well, tracert. Am stuck on a cruddy Windows workstation. 3 7 ms 6 ms 6 ms 4 9 ms 52 ms 75 ms core1-pos0-14-0-11.faraday.ukcore.bt.net [] 5 11 ms 10 ms 11 ms 6 7 ms 7 ms 6 ms core1-pos9-1.telehouse.ukcore.bt.net [] 7 8 ms 7 ms 7 ms 166-49-211-157.eu.bt.net [] 8 7 ms 7 ms 7 ms bcr1-at-3-1-0-950.londonlnx.savvis.net [] 9 9 ms 8 ms 8 ms 10 98 ms 97 ms 97 ms cr2-te-0-3-0-3.chd.savvis.net [] 11 100 ms 100 ms 100 ms hr2-tengigabitethernet-12-1.elkgrovech3.savvis.net [] 12 98 ms 98 ms 98 ms das5-v3031.ch3.savvis.net [] 13 101 ms 107 ms 107 ms 14 98 ms 98 ms 98 ms slashdot.org [] Trace complete. Comment: Re:3 screens ... efficiently. (Score 1) 312 by wallyhall (#43061863) Attached to: Ask Slashdot: Monitor Setup For Programmers I realise I only answered the later of your two questions! Forgive me. For your laptop/screen setup, if that's all you can have, I'd raise the laptop (stack of books works well) so the top is in-line with the top of your main screen. Put it to the left (or right, whichever feels best) and have your big screen central. Your neck will thank you in the long-run. :) (Left/right turns are easier than up/down, I strongly believe.) As others have said - get a USB keyboard and mouse (Â£10 online). Comment: 3 screens ... efficiently. (Score 1) 312 by wallyhall (#43061851) Attached to: Ask Slashdot: Monitor Setup For Programmers Middle holds the code I'm working on (Notepad2, Delphi, midnight commander or most likely vim - with PuTTY maximised.) Windows taskbar sits at the top of the middle screen, as it feels most natural to me... (given I have no choice of OS at work). Left of me is usually my inbox or a production monitoring screen, because I have that responsibility too. With web app programming it holds a browser showing the rendering of my latest code probably with the javascript debugger running. Depending on the nature of the code, it might be another PuTTY session with a "tail -f /var/log/mycode" ... because I rarely get it right first time ;-) Finally on the right, php.net or Delphi's awesome help files, or even some reference material from stackoverflow (WIN). Slashdot sits in a tab at the back there. Most importantly, with 3 screens I've never felt I don't have enough space. My brain can only handle 2 things at once (i.e. code and code output, or stackoverflow and code, or code output and the email I'm copying it into, etc) ... but my brain (personally) gets distracted if I loose something "behind" another. So having that 3rd screen lets me have 3 things open, switching between any combination of a pair. I like having them big enough for my poor eye sight, reasonably low brightness setting (with high contrast). Different white balance annoys me, but that's a personal thing purely. Finally, they have to be high enough. I'm tall, and I sit upon a gym ball to try and enforce my naturally awful posture. Having the screens a little higher than recommended relieves my neck pain hugely. (Someone will no doubt tell me I'm wrong here! I personally find it works well, judging by how well I sleep at late.) A non-distracting wallpaper (solid colour) or a good MacOSX shipped offering and no icons (no, not one!) ... they distract me hugely. And a little tip from myself, have the two on the left/right slightly lower (if your taskbar is at the top, or slightly higher if the bottom) so you can move straight to the start button and system tray and have Windows "corner" your mouse cursor for you (without it flying off to another screen). I've met several good programmers who swear 2 is enough, I've secretly sourced and subtly (like a ninja) installed a 3rd screen for them, they didn't even notice for the first few hours. They've all eventually converted. It's not about using all three, it's about having the room to spread work out, without having to context switch yourself between stacks of windows. Well, at least it is for me. Comment: Re:Simple (Score 1) 76 by wallyhall (#41726485) Attached to: Ask Slashdot: How To Both Mirror and Protect Crowdsourced Data? [Not so] simple? I may be wrong, as the OP didn't mention budget! However looking at their site, I'm guessing they're desperate to keep costs to an absolute minimum - correct me if I'm wrong (please), I think the S3 would be potentially quite expensive? I think the OP is looking for crowd-source solutions, i.e. a way for people to run mirrors themselves whilst maintaining integrity and copyright(s). Comment: I can't enter, I'm not a US citizen - but... (Score 1) 240 by wallyhall (#41706243) Attached to: Free Online Education Unwelcome In Minnesota ...if any US citizen does want to enter, feel free to take my idea! (I'm sure many others have proposed it already though...) Simply a CAPTCHA, audio version. Using DTMF codes to answer. i.e. "To connect this phone call, please type the number three thousand, seven hundred and twenty two on your keypad". Known "white listed" caller IDs can skip it. It can be made harder by presenting mathematics or asking "Please type on your keypad the number of duck quacks you hear ... woof quack moo quack woof." Etc. Comment: Re:roundcube squirrelmail (Score 1) 554 by wallyhall (#37014828) Attached to: Ask Slashdot: Self-Hosted Gmail Alternatives? +1 parent. I've been using RoundCube for some time (3 - 4 years?), it's used both my myself (as a technical person) and many non-technical people, it both "gets on with the job" and provides a glossy UI for doing it (by glossy, I mean it's pretty and it shows similarity to popular desktop environments, like Windows, Gnome, KDE and OSX - drag/drop, buttons, scrolly bits, HTML previews, WYSIWYG editors, etc). It's only a web UI for IMAP though, so you're still going to need something powerful on the back-end for spam etc. For an MTA (email server), I use Courier-MTA. The whole lot can be installed on Debian (Â£30 a month dedicated server, or less for a virtual/home hosted option) in a day, there after I can honestly say you rarely have to touch it. Happy to provide help if you want it ... http://matt.matzi.org.uk/
: : : : : Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen Autobots The Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen video game lets gamers step into the shoes of the AUTOBOTS or DECEPTICONS, select any available mission and pick from the largest, most diverse range of playable Transformers: each with their own distinct abilities and weaponry. Set in unique environments across the globe such as Cairo and Shanghai, the game allows players to instantly switch between vehicle and robot modes as they drive, fly, fight and blast their way through intense, pressure-packed levels. After engaging in single player action, players for the first time ever will be able to go online and battle friends in all-new multiplayer modes. Official URL Official Site Yuliandi and 19 others own Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen Autobots rudy3643 and 3 others played Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen Autobots It's ok. Not too bad. Having to hold buttons down to stay in vehicle/weapon mode is annoying though. TransformersRevengeOfTheFallen boring not following movie enough but still ok TransformersRevengeOfTheFallen Great Movie I don't understand why there is so much hate for it. TransformersRevengeOfTheFallen gimmi gimmi gimmi i want revenge of the fallen TransformersRevengeOfTheFallen its a boton masher hard and anowing TransformersRevengeOfTheFallen Right, so that Anime Expo stuff isn't up yet, and I'm thinking of putting up the panel talk I've got anyway. Otherwise, I'm waiting for Vegi's contributions. Note there is another review up. It's from Activision again -- Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. It's not exactly a winner, I'll tell you that much, but if you're interested in checking out the review for kicks, leaving some feedback, whatever, here it is: Neoseeker reviews Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. I still need to bug H and crew about some ideas I had, even though there's a good chance they won't go through. I know Jamie already proposed some of them, but eh, I really haven't a clue, being in another country and all. Sometimes, I wish I did work in the office. Neoseeker needs to open a Los Angeles branch! Now accepting donations. In other news, I won this GameStop / Activision sweepstakes that I don't remember entering. I do recall it was something Vegi encouraged me to participate in, so there's that. Either way, me and nine other winners will be going to Comic-Con and put up in a swanky hotel for a few days. We won't get to stay the entire duration, but it should still be quite an experience! Oh, and holy Hell, Mass Effect 2! Actually, it's all old news to me, since I did get to attend E3 this year and check out BioWare's closed demos. But still! THAAAAANE!!! I want him in my Shepard's pants-bodysuit-armor-thing. Video took just under 50 minutes to upload, thank you very much. But THAAAANE!! Man, screw exclusive vids and the sites that pay for them. Yeah, you heard me. A lot of these vids are timed exclusives, like video games, and then get an official release later. At that point, any media outlet can access and post the video. Looking for something to play? I'm spending time with Dynasty Warriors 6: Empires. musingsthoughts neoseeker related gaming related transformers neoseeker comic-con activision review Read more Well I've finally done it, one thing I must say... Ironhide FTW!!! Yup, I have no platinum'd this game TransformersRevengeOfTheFallen PC Bah, having trouble with one of the Missions (Starscream's Stand) Any idea which Transformer is best for it? Anyway 3 more to go... TransformersRevengeOfTheFallen PC Well 5 more Platinums in the Autobot Campaign to go... it really does get easier as time goes on... TransformersRevengeOfTheFallen PC Just spent the better part of the day, and gotten Platinums on ALL Decepticon missions. Only got 8 more Platinums to get and I'm done! TransformersRevengeOfTheFallen PC Buy Now $ Compare Prices 8 want \| 20 own \| 4 completed 4.0 / 10 View all 8 screenshots
NewsApp (Free) Read news as it happens Download NewsApp Available on Rediff News All News » Movies » Review: Lone Survivor is Hollywood's Lakshya Review: Lone Survivor is Hollywood's Lakshya February 07, 2014 09:01 IST Mark Wahlberg in Lone SurvivorLone Survivor not only fails to engage the audience but it also seems conflicted about whether it wishes to honour the immense bravery of four individuals or whether it wishes to prove the US’s decision of interfering in Afghanistan correct, writes Paloma Sharma. Peter Berg’s latest film Lone Survivor is based on Marcus Luttrell’s ghost written, eponymous memoirs of the same name that chronicle US Navy SEAL Team 10’s journey into the Afghan province of Kunar, where they are to carry out Operation Redwings, which was a mission designed to eliminate the notorious Taliban leader Ahmad Shah. Marcus Luttrell (Mark Wahlberg) is part of a four-man reconnaissance and surveillance team -- the other members of which are Lieutenant Michael P Murphy (Taylor Kitsch), Danny Dietz (Emile Hirsch) and Matt Axelson (Ben Foster). Marcus and his team are hiding in the mountains, waiting for a clear shot at Ahmad Shah (Yousuf Azami) when a group of goat herders discover them -- two boys and an old man. The Marines find a phone with the old man and suspect him, along with the boys, of being Talibani spies. While the Rules of Engagement forbid them from killing unarmed civilians without proof of their complicity, letting them go might mean risking the success of a mission that will forever put to rest a merciless man who is responsible for the death of at least 20 US Marines. As far as being a war film goes, Lone Survivor proves to be more war and less film. Berg’s glorified version of war worships machismo and puts blood-soaked sacrifice up on a high pedestal. Lone Survivor looks at the US’s involvement in the Afghan civil war from a perspective so narrow that you’d think it was a propaganda film from the George W Bush camp. The politics of the film aside, it seems that Berg’s idea of an action sequence is limited to Taliban mujahideen falling back after taking a single shot in the head and the Marines tumbling down ravines, bullets grazing their limbs and their faces being torn open. Lone Survivor will surely be remembered for its bone-crunching, blood soaked scenes of war and it is here that Berg excels. He makes you feel the impact of every single bullet and piece of shrapnel that tears open a piece of human flesh and he does it so much, so often that you become immune to violence. You stop wincing after the first few times. It just doesn’t matter to you anymore. As Carl Denham said in King Kong (2005), 'There is still some mystery left in this world, and we can all have a piece of it for the price of an admission ticket.' Unfortunately, even though you may pay for an admission ticket, you will find very little mystery here. Lone Survivor’s title pretty much gives away what the film is about and it doesn’t take a genius to figure out which one will survive. (Hint: read the opening credits, one of the producers and lead actors have the same name). Despite some fairly amazing performances by the leads, not only does Lone Survivor fail to engage the audience but it also seems conflicted about whether it wishes to honour the immense bravery of four individuals or whether it wishes to prove the US’s decision of interfering in Afghanistan correct. Lone Survivor is no Saving Private Ryan. It chooses to concentrate on gore rather than on bringing any depth to the story. The characters are 2D individuals. Nobody bothered to portray each soldier as an individual and instead, chose to lump them up as a group. Their stories are pretty much uniform -- loving family men, on the job, away from home, will do anything to protect their country. That Berg decides to spend a whole of about 10-15 minutes in the beginning showing footage from the Navy training sessions and a discussion among the group about marriage and home, is quite generous of him. A majority of this 121 minute yawn-worthy saga centres around the four men hiking up mountains, hiding and blowing holes in the enemy’s heads. It becomes quite difficult to connect with the characters or even feel the slightest touch of emotion for them. Why Berg chose to make a film about one in a hundred more strategically important battles of a war that is not doing America any good, I will never figure out. It will take a particular fetish for war to be able to sit through Lone Survivor. You will find yourself struggling to make it to the interval. Lone Survivor is Hollywood’s Lakshya -- except, without the spunk, the entertainment factor and Hrithik Roshan. This is not a film. This is a test; And of all the people I sat in the theatre with, I think I have emerged the lone survivor. Rediff Rating: Paloma Sharma in Mumbai
After ten years of practicing law in Allen Parish and after much consideration and prayer, I have decided to run for Judge of the 33rd Judicial District Court. The people of Allen Parish deserve a judge that understands the challenges of this position and that can ensure that the judicial process will be effective, efficient and above all fair. I have spent the vast majority of my career in the courtroom. I have tried hundreds of cases, both civil and criminal. I have the experience, passion and energy to do this job and I am asking for your support on November 4, 2014. Thank you for your consideration. Chad B. Guidry
Most British newspapers now have more columns than the Acropolis, but until the late 20th century a column in a newspaper - a regular, signed and often opinionated piece - was a rare ornament to the plain stuff of news. The first columns I can remember were The Hon Man, The Doc Says and Francis Gay, all in the Sunday Post. Hon stood for Holiday on Nothing: every week the writer tried to go somewhere or be somebody (a postman, a sailor) in the disguise of an ordinary person rather than a resourceful operative for northern Britain's leading Sunday newspaper, and in this way, you might argue, he was an early example of the "participatory journalism" that the late George Plimpton made into such a successful specialism. The Doc's business was to suggest remedies for everyday maladies, rashes, itches, interior rumbles, etc. The Doc had a following so large that it was said every chemist in Scotland could tell by the demand on a Monday what The Doc had recommended the day before. Francis Gay specialised in heartwarming stories of individuals taking on and beating adversity, and often referred to his "readers' postbag" from which these stories had been plucked. He was the Sunday Post's Dr Pangloss, forever finding silver linings, and in our house unread and despised. These weren't columns as we now understand them. The authorship of the pieces remained obscure. All were written in the same pithy, one-or-two-sentences-per-paragraph style as the rest of the paper. They were impersonal. It may even be that the Doc, rather like Nathaniel West's Miss Lonelyhearts, was merely a sub-editor who manufactured both the complaint and the cure, consulting a well-used copy of the Family Medical Dictionary. I first noticed proper columnists when I was 12 or 13, when the Scotsman was delivered to our house in the morning and dad brought the Daily Mirror home from work. The Mirror's Cassandra was then the most celebrated column in Britain - its author, William Connor, must be one of the few people to be knighted for column-writing - though he seemed to have been put on Earth purely to annoy my father, who would sometimes say "I just can't stick that Bill Connor" as though Cassandra were someone in overalls he worked beside. By contrast, Wilfred Taylor in the Scotsman was too oblique - or perhaps just too fancy - to evoke any reaction at all. Some friends of ours swore by him, and perhaps I was too young to see the wit in his prose other than his frequent mention of "Skinflats", a real hamlet on the flood-plain of the Forth, which I think Taylor may have deployed in much the same way as Myles na Gopaleen used the "Plain People of Ireland" in his column for the Irish Times (a source of inspiration for many later columnists). Newspaper columnists could then be divided into two kinds. There was the pungent column of opinion and polemic, the men (and they were always men) you had to read or loved to hate: Cassandra, Robert Pitman in the Daily Express. There was the comic, whimsical or memory-based column: na Gopaleen, Beachcomber in the Express, Paul Jennings in the Observer (who devised, among other inventions, the terrific tongue-twister "Tuskless rustics eating crustless ruskets"). Both traditions still survive in the form of, say, Simon Jenkins, Richard Littlejohn and Miles Kington. Then, in the early 1960s, Michael Frayn added modern satire (Rollo Swavely, the well-known PR man) in his Miscellany columns for the Guardian, which were so sensationally funny that my older brother, who lived in London, cut them from the paper and posted them to me weekly in Fife. Around the same time Katherine Whitehorn added a large category, women, with a column in the Observer that famously, and in retrospect so innocently, defined a slut as a woman who kept her broken nylons up by using aspirins to fit through the holes in her suspender belt. In 1965 I joined my first newspaper and met my first columnist. The Glasgow Herald had decided to abolish its centre-page diary, which appeared unsigned and under the rubric "From All Quarters" (with a drawing of a medieval turret), and replace it with the Samuel Hunter column, named after an 18th-century Herald editor whose portly and wigged silhouette appeared at the head. Confusingly, the column was written by another Hunter, Willie, the opposite of a Regency figure, being small, balding, quiet and, no matter how many times he was told he "wrote like a dream", often rather depressed. His piece on the last night of the Glasgow Alhambra must be one of the finest things ever written by a journalist in Scotland, but there was no use telling Willie that. He gave me, as his young admirer, some early advice one night in the pub. "The trouble with columns is that you have to keep on doing the bloody things." Willie was the Herald's only real columnist, and when I joined the Sunday Times in 1970 the paper had only two - Patrick Campbell and Jilly Cooper - or three if you include Michael Parkinson in the sports pages. Sometimes it seems we are all columnists now. Certainly this newspaper is filled with lively, fluent, confident column writers, many of them young. Apart from entertainment and opinion, they supply the atmosphere of intimacy that marks out British newspapers from their more austere counterparts in Europe and the US. My question is: how long can it last? Some columnists, by dint of their knowledge and wisdom (the list includes Hugo Young and Neal Ascherson in the past, Polly Toynbee and George Monbiot now), need to be read. But others? The web overflows with opinion and blogs. Anyone can write a blog, and even some newspaper columnists write them. If informality is one of the aims of the column, then how does it differ from a blog? Only in one basic respect, so far as I can see: that readers pay to read columns and writers are paid to write them. The web is free - a democracy of electronic columnists. With this troubling thought, I am taking a break from column-writing for a while, hoping there is a job to come back to. · Ian Jack is the editor of Granta
Take the 2-minute tour × I have a $cbDescription variable in a Perl script. When I print out $cbDescription, I get the following: tIP SOLD -5 /ESH4 @1832.00 I want to remove any + or - or @ signs or commas from the string, so I have the following line: $cbDescription =~ s/[+-\@,]//g; I expect that line to change $cbDescription to: tIP SOLD 5 /ESH4 1832.00 But when I print out $cbDescription after that line, I get: Why did it also remove all the numbers and the decimal point? share\|improve this question 1 Answer 1 up vote 1 down vote accepted - is a range delimiter in between brackets sou you need to escape it: % echo "tIP SOLD -5 /ESH4 @1832.00" \| perl -pi -e 's/[+\-\@,]//g' tIP SOLD 5 /ESH4 1832.00 share\|improve this answer You can also specify it as the very first character in the class. – choroba Feb 16 at 23:43 Your Answer
Whose bright idea was that? How does it feel to invent something you later regret? Simon Hattenstone talks to the people who know Dog Labradoodle When the dream bites back. 'All these backyard breeders have jumped on the bandwagon, and they’re crossing any kind of dog with a poodle,' says Wally Conron. Photograph: Ragnar Schmuck/Getty Images If Wally Conron had known what was going to become of the labradoodle, he wouldn't have bred the dog in the first place. It was 22 years ago and Conron, now 81, was working as the breeding and puppy-walking manager for the Royal Guide Dog Association of Australia when his boss set him a tough task. A blind woman from Hawaii had written asking if it they could provide a guide dog that would not shed hair, because her husband was allergic to it. "I said, 'Oh yes, this will be a piece of cake. The standard poodle is a working dog, it doesn't shed hair, it'll be great.' I tried 33 in the course of three years and they all failed. They just didn't make a guide dog. Meanwhile, the woman in Hawaii was getting older and the boss was getting on my back." Conron decided there was one possibility left – take his best labrador bitch and mate it with a standard poodle. They created three crossbreed puppies that needed to be boarded out to be trained and socialised, but nobody would take them – everyone wanted a purebred. And that's when Conron came up with the name labradoodle. "I went to our PR team and said, 'Go to the press and tell them we've invented a new dog, the labradoodle.' It was a gimmick, and it went worldwide. No one wanted a crossbreed, but the following day we had hundreds of calls from people wanting these master dogs." The labradoodle proved to be a brilliant dog for the blind, and the woman in Hawaii was happy. Job done. So what was the problem? Ah, says Conron, it's how the dog has been used and abused, and sold under false pretences. "This is what gets up my nose, if you'll pardon the expression. When the pups were five months old, we sent clippings and saliva over to Hawaii to be tested with this woman's husband. Of the three pups, he was not allergic to one of them. In the next litter I had there were 10 pups, but only three had non-allergenic coats. Now, people are breeding these dogs and selling them as non-allergenic, and they're not even testing them." Now, the designer dog has become a status symbol. "Jennifer Aniston's got one. Whatsisname, Obama, the American president, announced he was thinking of getting a labradoodle. He didn't get one in the end, but I wrote him a letter saying what the pitfalls were. I said, if you're going to buy a labradoodle, check both parents, make sure they have a certificate. A lot of them are untrainable." Conron, who is writing a memoir about life with the labradoodle, says that despite the fact that the dogs have helped so many blind people, he regrets creating the first crossbreed. "I opened a Pandora's box, that's what I did. I released a Frankenstein. So many people are just breeding for the money." Today, people pay ridiculous prices for poodle crossbreeds, and unscrupulous breeders are crossing poodles with inappropriate dogs simply so they can say they were the first to do it. There are cavoodles (cavalier king charles spaniel/poodle), groodles (golden retriever/ poodle) schnoodles (shnauser/poodle), and even roodles (rottweiller/poodle). "A lot of them are just crazy," Conron says. "So many of them have problems. I believe that one-third of dogs bred today are the poodle crosses. People say aren't you proud of yourself, and I say, no. Not in the slightest. I've done so much harm to pure breeding and made these charlatans quite rich." Conron has a pet labrador, Rocky, and has never kept a labradoodle as a pet. "No way!" he says, sounding shocked. He only ever bred 31, each of them "perfect". "I'm on a pension and live in a little shoebox flat. If I'd gone into breeding labradoodles for a living, I'd be on easy street. But there was no way I'd do it. My conscience wouldn't let me." Sinclair C5 Sinclair C5 'We threw it at the public without them being prepared for it,' says Clive Sinclair. 'You need to prepare the ground with something radical.' Photograph: Steve Blogg / Rex Features Earlier this year, Time magazine compiled a list of the 50 worst inventions. It ranged from the zany (Honegar, an unlikely combination of honey and vinegar; spray-on hair; the hula chair, part hula hoop, part chair) to the dangerous (Agent Orange, sub-prime mortgages, hydrogenated oils) and the plain dumb (New Coke – a sweeter version of the original – and crinoline). A few combined all three – the Mizar flying car crashed on a test flight in 1973, killing engineer and pilot. But it is less common that inventors themselves express doubts about products they have laboured over, often for many years. General Mikhail Kalashnikov, who was responsible for the AK-47 assault rifle, now the most widely-used automatic rifle in the world, last year said he regrets that terrorists and gangsters use his weapon. "It is painful for me to see when criminal elements of all kinds fire from my weapon. I created this weapon primarily to safeguard our fatherland," the Russian said on the eve of his 90th birthday. It must be tough to have such a tortured relationship with the thing that you are most famous for. Sir Clive Sinclair made his name by flogging the first £100 computer in Britain; before that, they'd sold for around £500. Make no mistake, he's proud of that. And yet the thing for which he remains best known is widely regarded as a great British disaster. What he regrets most of all is the way he launched the C5 – a one-seat electronic not-quite-car that has become an iconic image of technological failure. When it arrived on the market in 1985, it looked like nothing we'd seen before – and not necessarily in a good way. "First of all it was midwinter, and there was snow on the ground," he says. "And we threw it at the public without them being prepared for it. You need to prepare the ground with something radical. So it had a shock effect and that was bad news." That's not that all that went wrong. The British Safety Council claimed it was unsafe. "Asbolute rubbish," Sir Clive says. In fact, 25 years on, he believes the C5's time has come, and he's developing a new prototype that should be launched within the next year. "Technology has moved on quite a bit, there are new batteries available and I just rethought the thing. The C5 was OK, but I think we can do a better job now." Will it have the same name? "No, I don't think the C5 was a very good name." So what's the new motor going to be called? He pauses dramatically. "At the moment the prototype is called the X1." Electronic tagging Professor Bob Gable is ashamed of what has become of the electronic tagging system he devised with his twin brother Kirkland in the mid-1960s. Both are professors in psychology, both have law degrees and both were motivated by hippy idealism. Back in 1964, tagging was invented as a system of positive reinforcement, and the brothers are horrified that it has been appropriated as a tool for punishment. Bob tells me that their work was influenced by the American psychologist BF Skinner – Bob was taught by Skinner while Kirkland's adviser was Timothy Leary. "We wanted to find a way of rewarding juvenile delinquents when they were doing what they were supposed to be doing; that is, going to school or to work or to a drug treatment centre. Just as Skinner rewarded pigeons." Over four years, they tagged around 20 juvenile delinquents and compared their behaviour with a control group. "We used missile tracking equipment, so it was very sophisticated. Transponders were put in various places around town and the kids carried a little transponder that would signal they had gone past that particular unit." They were then rewarded for being where they should be with tickets for, say, a sports game or a free pizza. The results were impressive. "We reduced the frequency of arrest and time in jail, and when a crime did occur, they tended to be more creative and less violent." By the late 60s, the brothers had left Harvard and the experiment stopped. But around 15 years later, electronic tagging came back big time – this time without the reward system. Bob says there are those who regard him and his brother as heroes, because the tag has kept people out of prison, but as far as the Gables are concerned, it's a gross misappropriation of the original concept. "It's all using punishment." Are they disappointed because their tag was born of idealism? "Yes! Yes! And it's not just idealism, it's also scientific fact that rewards and shaping behaviour works, and that punishment in the long run is not very beneficial. When kids misbehave, we punish them; when countries misbehave, we bomb them. We just have this idea that we're going to suppress the bad behaviour and we don't really take seriously how we ought to reward." What is it like to be known for something you hate, or that misrepresents everything you believe in? "Of course it's not pleasant," says Kirkland, "but I'm not in control of the universe. I have to realise there are some things out of my control." Alexander Shulgin is known as the godfather of ecstasy. He lives with his wife Ann on a ranch in Lafayette, California, and at 85 suffers severe short-term memory loss. Ann acts as a conduit between us – repeating my questions to him and his answers back to me. Ecstasy was first synthesised in 1912 by the chemical company Merck, but Shulgin resynthesised it in 1976 and was the first person to test it on a human being – himself. Two years later he wrote a paper with a colleague about the effect of MDMA, stating that it created "an easily controlled altered state of consciousness with emotional and sensual overtones… it didn't have the other visual and auditory imaginative things that you often get from psychedelics. It opened up a person, both to other people and inner thoughts, but didn't necessarily colour it with pretty colours and strange noises.'' He believed that with its unusual combination of effects (intoxication, disinhibition and clarity), it could be a useful drug in psychotherapy. And so it was – for a while. But then MDMA became ecstasy, the drug of choice for the rave generation, and in 1986 its use in the treatment of depression was banned by the US Drug Enforcement Agency. In 2000, US customs officials seized nearly 10 million pills. Shulgin had his first psychedelic experience in 1960, and since then he estimates he has had another 4,000. (Ann says she has had only around 2,000 herself.) Some regard him as a holy man, some as a great scientist, others as a monster. The Daily Mail once ran a story headlined "Has this man killed 100 British teenagers?" Today, Shulgin has his doubts about the drug he championed – not because of its efficacy, but because he believes people have abused it. "I have regrets about the way MDMA is used, because it has caused a great deal of negative publicity and been made illegal in a lot of countries. But it is still one of the great psychotherapeutic drugs." In Britain and America, he says, people rarely talk of its therapeutic value. "You just hear about it causing young people to get into disastrous situations at raves. But MDMA is a very rich research tool and its use in the opening up the subconscious or the unconscious is very valuable." The problem started, he says, when clubbers began popping pills with reckless abandon. And once MDMA was made illegal, there was no way to monitor the quality of the drug. "It made it impossible for people at raves to know whether they were getting MDMA. We never use the term ecstasy because it is meaningless – some ecstasy capsules have no MDMA in them whatsoever. So the so-called ecstasy has become a real menace." He is convinced that the outlawing of the drug has caused more problems than the drug itself. The strange thing, Shulgin says, is that he has actually invented hundreds of psychoactive drugs, all with the same potential to open up the subconscious and unconscious, yet it is only MDMA, which he simply brought to public attention, for which he is known. "I still believe one day it will be a really important aid in psychotherapy, but MDMA has caused a lot of trouble for a lot of people in the way it was misused." Lethal injection Dr Jay Chapman says his invention is a strange thing to be defined by. "The media sometimes refer to me as the father of the lethal injection..." He stops. "It was not one of my purposes in life. It was something I was asked to do and I did it on the spur of the moment." It was 1977 and double-murderer Gary Gilmore had just been executed in Utah. Faced with the option of firing squad or hanging, he had chosen the former, but there had been an uproar among campaigners against the death penalty, denouncing the execution as inhumane. A few days later, Chapman, who was the chief medical examiner for the state of Oklahoma, was asked if he had an opinion on how people should be put to death in a more humane fashion. He had strong opinions, and suggested that a lethal injection would provide a much more palatable option. Chapman then went away to create the formula – an ultra-short-acting barbiturate in combination with a paralytic agent and potassium chloride, to produce a quick death. Later on, he set up a detailed protocol for the state of Oklahoma for the administration of the lethal injection. "It's the standard protocol for anesthesia carried to extremes," he says. Why was he so keen on the lethal injection? Simple, he says. There were so many people sitting on death row, living out their natural lives as argument raged about the relative humanity of the means of execution. With a system that was quick, efficient and involved minimal pain, he believed that natural justice would be restored and those on Death Row would die. And that, to Chapman, was all that mattered. Earlier this year, though, he announced that he regretted his role in creating the lethal injection. I assumed that he'd had a change of heart on capital punishment. Yes, he has, he says – in a way. As Oklahoma's chief medical examiner, he witnessed many examples of man's inhumanity to man. "What we've seen is children abducted, sexually abused, tortured and killed. Some of these victims have even been buried alive. Can you imagine anything worse? I don't think the perpetrators of these crimes deserve any pity or sympathy. We hear all these arguments today about dysfunctional families; well, you know something, all of us came from dysfunctional families and we had choices to make. Those people had choices to make, too, and they made the wrong ones. I'm sorry, but that's the way it is." Of course he's disappointed with the way things have turned out, he says. He blames bleeding-heart liberals, lawyers on the make and a dilatory court system. "There was a moratorium on executions. The lethal injection made the death penalty more humane, so it was more likely to be carried out – that was my thinking behind it. The problem is, it doesn't get carried out. We have people who have written books, gotten married, had conjugal visits, all sorts of stuff, on death row. They've been languishing there for 20-something years, and that doesn't seem reasonable to me. If the death penalty is going to be assigned, it should be carried out. Justice delayed is justice denied." Life imprisonment is costly and pointless, as far as Chapman is concerned. "There are some people who cannot live in society. And if that's the case, they should be eliminated." He speaks slowly and calmly as he explains that there is another reason he now has regrets. Over time, he has become convinced that the lethal injection is too humane. "I'm an eye for an eye person. The lethal injection is too easy for some of them."
HOME > Chowhound > Manhattan > As your eating you get a hat. what is the name of this place ? Does anybody know that restaurant where they make you a tall chefs hat out of paper ? and sometimes write on it. I was passing it by and forgot the name of the place ? I think its a steak house. I dont remember. 1. Click to Upload a photo (10 MB limit) 1. This is done for ADULTS, or children? Sounds dreadful. Never seen or heard of it. 1. I was in a place in South Carolina that did that called Dicks. The waiters write degrading things on the hats and they are very rude to you, hence the name. I think its a chain restaurant - I have never seen this in NYC though, nor would I want to. 1 Reply 1. re: Snaps Yeah I saw this is Vegas. Possibly one of the most distasteful things I've ever seen and could only appeal to a select crowd 2. I have never seen anything like that before. I have no idea what restaurant here would ever do it unless if was for a kids birthday party - maybe that's what you saw? 1 Reply 1. re: stephaniec25 Hahhahha...Sorry, that made me chuckle. I completely agree, as I've never seen/heard of this sort of thing here. Sounds like some kind of nightmarish seafood restaurant where waiters dress up as pirates and the atmosphere is very interactive and obnoxious. 2. Maybe it's that Italian place that hosts a lot of bachelorette parties? Mangia e Bevi? 1. The question that begs to be asked is why would you be interested in this sort of thing to begin with? I guess you can parade around in dunce caps or whatever privately, but out in public you'll likely be the object of ridicule. If and when the name of this place surfaces, I'm sure people won't be flocking to it any time soon ... but to each his own.
Meta Battle Subway PokeBase - Pokemon Q&A How does pokegen work, and what do I need to use it? 0 votes Also, does it work on 4th gen, or just 5th gen? asked Aug 16, 2012 by \|SentByRavens\| 1 Answer 0 votes Best answer PokeGen just gives you a Pokemon over GTS, any Pokemon you want. Any items, movesets, gender, etc. You can use 4th Gen, too. PokeGen is a Pokemon data editor for Generation 4 and 5 games -PokeGen There are a lot of guides for PokeGen. Here are some of them: answered Aug 16, 2012 by Dr.Flame selected Aug 16, 2012 by \|SentByRavens\|
Explore. Experience. Engage. Budget Alternatives to Classic Destinations madeira coastline sea portugalThe Fashionable Mediterranean Coast: French Riviera vs. Madeira, Portugal Droves of tourists craving the exotic, European feel of the Cote d'Azur, which has attracted the rich and famous for decades, flock to this glamorous beach destination in the spring and summer months. Travelers would probably be less inclined to associate the glitz and glamour of the French Riviera with a Portuguese island, but Madeira, which has stunning mountains, beaches and sea cliffs, is slowly becoming another popular destination for the young and hip traveling set. Madeira, a self-governing island of Portugal, has enjoyed a reputation as one of Europe's most affordable destinations for years. Madeira has less razzle-dazzle than the French Riviera, but you won't miss the thousands of tanning tourists and expensive resorts when you're mountain climbing, wine tasting or enjoying the year-round sunshine. Meanwhile, the French Riviera has distinctive high and low seasons, so if you visit when the weather is warm and sunny you'll deal with thick crowds and a thin wallet. Air: A roundtrip flight from New York to Madeira runs from $800 to $1,350, depending on when you're flying. Fares are high in the summer months (this is when you'll find the $1,350 price tag), but fly in the winter or spring shoulder seasons and you'll enjoy cheap flights and pleasant temperatures in Madeira, which is mostly sunny and warm year-round. Fly from New York to Nice and you'll find similar fares -- around $1,200 in the summer and $700 in the off season. However, if you choose a cheaper flight to the French Riviera in the winter, you'll find many resorts and restaurants closed. Exchange Rate: Both France and Portugal use the euro, so you'll find the same exchange rate in both (currently $1 to about 0.75 euros). Accommodations: We found budget hotels in Cannes from $100 to $200 per night, while classier beachfront lodging can run as high as $400 to $900 per night in the summer. Even scarier, smaller seaside towns on the Riviera charge higher rates for hotel rooms. Stay oceanside in Madeira from $70 for a budget hotel and between $150 and $300 for upscale accommodations. Food and Activities: Entrance to private beaches and use of lounge chairs on the Riviera may require a fee. Public beaches are available, but these may be more crowded. When it comes to dining, many budget travelers can't afford a splashy gourmet meal in the Riviera -- some of the trendier hotspots charge around $100 per person and usually require reservations well in advance in the high season -- but dinner at an upscale restaurant runs only about $30 on average in Madeira. What's the Catch?: The French Riviera has a distinctive in-vogue vibe; beautiful people, stunning scenery and lots of skin come to mind when people speak of its trendy towns. You probably won't feel as fashionable telling your friends that you're vacationing in Madeira as you would if you were staying in Monte Carlo or Saint Tropez, and you'll have less of a chance to spot celebrities on the beaches and streets of Madeira (although we won't say it's never happened!). jahorina ski lodge resort sarajevo bosnia winterEuropean Ski Trip: The Alps vs. Jahorina, Bosnia Jahorina hosted some of the ski competitions in the 1984 Winter Olympics and boasts a ski scene cool and challenging enough to rival any Alps mountain. When the whole point of your trip is to set sail down an impressive mountain with ski poles tucked beneath your arms, why pay sky-high prices for Western European ski passes and lodging when you can get above-par ski action in Eastern Europe? Food, lodging and ski passes are all significantly cheaper in Jahorina than in the Alps thanks to the more favorable exchange rate and less popular tourist infrastructure. And Bosnia still has that alluring European charm -- the 15th-century cobblestone streets in the nearby mountain town of Sarajevo are well worth exploring if you want a day away from the slopes. Airfare: Fares to Bosnia won't be the cheapest part of your journey. You can get a roundtrip ticket from New York to Sarajevo, the nearest airport to Jahorina, for about $1,000. Winter fares to Western Europe will generally be a bit cheaper, around $600. But the money you'll save on hotels, meals and skiing will make up for the difference in airfare. Exchange Rate: The Bosnian convertible mark is the local currency. Currently, $1 equals about 1.46 BAM -- so while the dollar will struggle against most Western European currencies, Bosnia's exchange rate actually boosts your spending power. Accommodations: Mid-class hotels in Sarajevo cost from $35 per night. Compare this to slope-side hotels in the Alps, which can cost four times as much -- we found little lodging in the French Alps less than $150 per night, and many hotels and chalets charge well over $300. Food and Activities: A day ski pass costs less than $25 in Jahorina, while skiing in the Alps can run $60 on average for an adult. What's the Catch?: Since the end of the Bosnian War in 1995, the country has seen occasional political demonstrations and other minor signs of political unrest, and landmines still pose a threat in some regions (Jahorina is clear of landmines). Today, Bosnia can be a safe destination for the educated traveler; check the U.S. State Department Web site before your trip. Estimate the cost of your trip with our Travel Budget Calculator! You May Also Like • The Seven Cheapest Ways to Travel • Top Tips for Finding Cheap Airfare • Top 25 Ways to Save on Europe Travel • Write About Your Latest Trip • Sign Up for Our Free Newsletter! --written by Caroline Costello • X Thank You For Signing Up!
BioShock Infinite VGA trailer wants to pull on your strings There's few surprises in the Spike TV Video Game Awards trailer for BioShock Infinite. However, there is a lot of gameplay footage set to some soothing tunes. See Irrational Games' unique mix of FPS action and American history in the latest trailer, after the break. BOOM video 11390
Diana Clement 's Opinion Your Money and careers writer for the NZ Herald Diana Clement: Knowing tricks best defence against scams Persuasion is a key part of the sales patter. Photo / Getty Images We're conned every day of the week. Sometimes it's perfectly legal - such as the salesman on your doorstep, or the gushing claims about how that cream visibly reduces wrinkles. Other times it's a scam such as an email claiming you've won the lottery or are due to inherit millions. Both scammers and salespeople use persuasion tactics designed to part man (or woman) from money. Too many of us fall for the patter. At least we do if the person is good at what they do. There is a science to how we are persuaded. One of the most common sales techniques uses reciprocity. People want to give back to others the form of behaviour they have received first. Our brains are hardwired that way. Or if someone does you a favour you owe a debt to him or her. The bottom line is that people are more likely to say "yes" to those who offer them something for free. Being given a gift is common. This could be the free digital camera or hotel nights offered by timeshare salespeople. I regularly see adverts for "free seminars" allegedly valued at some ridiculously high price. The reality is that they're sales pitches for the paid-for seminar or some product. Once you've pocketed your freebie you're statistically more likely to hand over money for the real thing. Sometimes the freebie is only insights. The salesperson or scammer makes out that they're sharing secrets with you or valuable information that they've spent years learning. You feel indebted to this kind person. There are other common ways of making this pitch work. Someone wants you to spend money with them - as a genuine purchase or a scam. They ask for a high sum - say $3000 - to begin with. You baulk. They then go away and come back and say just for you the boss has allowed a special price of $2000. How would you like to pay? They've done you a favour by reducing the price especially for you and now it's your responsibility to sign up. The concept of scarcity is very commonly used as a persuasion technique. Whatever it is that is being sold is made out to be unique and the victim is made aware of what they'll "lose" if they fail to take up the offer. Time pressure is usually coupled with the scarcity. Buy within the next hour and get free steak knives is standard patter, says Lee Chisholm, operations manager at NetSafe. During the last property boom I went to an apartment sales seminar run by an otherwise reputable real estate agency where, surprise surprise, the apartments were allegedly selling so fast you'd have to sign up that night or miss out. Telephony and power salespeople who appear on my doorstep regularly use the same tactic. Like the apartment salespeople who stick the information to the wall and won't let you take the details away, the door-to-door salespeople are only in my area today and if I don't sign on the bottom line I won't get this alleged deal-of-the-decade they're offering. Romance scams are a classic for using the speed technique. The scammers move fast when they find a prospect, says Chisholm. A lonely Kiwi single who is desperate for love is showered with compliments and poems over hours or days. "They say: 'I will do anything for you, even if it means coming to New Zealand. But I just need some money first'," says Chisholm. Sometimes the victims send their transcripts to NetSafe. So similar are the victim's stories that Chisholm wonders if the scammers share notes. A classic scarcity story is the flatting scam that has sucked in many Kiwis desperate to get a decent rental. They may reply to an advert for a too-good-to-be-true apartment on the waterfront for a really cheap weekly rental cost. It's all done over email because the "owner" is overseas "working in an orphanage" or something designed to pull your heartstrings. "They say: 'You can't look at it because I am not there. Once you pay the bond and rent I will send you the key'," says Chisholm. We are very easily persuaded by fake authority. Salespeople and scammers alike make a big effort to sell themselves as knowledgeable, knowing that we'll value them more for it. One of the tricks is to have someone else introducing them. It doesn't matter if the person is connected to the salesperson/scammer. I saw this recently where the sidekick of an "entrepreneur" running a seminar warmed the audience up by gushing about how lucky they were to have her boss's time. Another way of doing this is for a cold caller to arrange a meeting with you and their "expert". This also works for scammers who tell us they're from the Inland Revenue Department, bank or other organisation. The next ploy is to ask you to commit to something. It's probably a small sum of money at the beginning. But you're asked to make bigger and bigger commitments. In a recent scam dubbed "puppygate", Kiwis were offered pedigree puppies from overseas. Once they'd paid a shipping fee they were committed to the purchase. Next came a request for insurance, and then a customs fee. The puppy, of course, was fictitious. Another weapon in the salesperson's arsenal is to find common ground. We all like to say "yes" to people we like. So the salesperson pays us compliments and pretends that we're co-operating. He or she may find things out about you - such as your child plays rugby - and then purport to have this same interest in common. Salespeople of the legitimate and illegitimate kind play on fear. The classic example of this, says Chisholm, is the vacuum cleaner salesperson who comes around, does a demonstration and says: "Oh my God, look at the mites in this carpet. Do you have children? You have to DO something about this." The customer (or victim as some people would prefer to call them) is scared into making a purchase. It's the same with those "germy germs under the rim" that we heard about on TV for years scaring us into buying XYZ brand of toilet cleaner. The baby equipment industry is great at using this persuasion tactic to wrest unnecessary money from new parents. "If you don't buy this 2014 model, or this new-fangled highly expensive model you're risking the life of your baby." A recent scam that has used fear involved new immigrants to New Zealand being cold-called and told that there was a mistake with their visa and they would be deported the next day if they didn't pay $900 by Western Union that day. Greed is an easy emotion to play on. We think our life would be so much better if we just had a little more money, says Chisholm. NetSafe had a complaint last month from someone who had borrowed and lost $660 to a Facebook scammer. The scammer had hijacked a friend's page and was chatting online with the victim about having just won $50,000. The victim was convinced his name was on the list of winners as well and was directed to a phishing page that looked genuine but was not. To pick up his $50,000 the victim had to pay $660, which he borrowed, in administration charges. Then there's consensus. We look to the actions and behaviours of others to determine our own. We hear that three people in this street have bought this broom already. If the neighbours had then it must be a good buy, mustn't it. The investment scammers go one step further and tell you how other Kiwis have made millions doing whatever it is they're selling by getting in early. You're not going to want to miss out are you? Last year 562 people told NetSafe they'd lost money to scammers. Those amounts ranged from $3 to $224,000. The highest figure was for a dating scam. Collectively New Zealanders spent millions of dollars on things that were sold to us using the same persuasion techniques. Watch and listen next time someone tries to sell you something. What persuasion tactics are they using? Being aware is the best defence. - NZ Herald Diana Clement Your Money and careers writer for the NZ Herald Read more by Diana Clement Have your say 1200 characters left Sort by • Oldest © Copyright 2014, APN New Zealand Limited Assembled by: (static) on production apcf04 at 27 Dec 2014 04:28:18 Processing Time: 504ms
I need to create web application with module of instant messaging. And according to my task I should use Yii for my web application and node.js for creating notification about new incoming message. As web-server nginx is used, database - MySQL. Can you help me with some documentation or examples how to configure and use these correctly? (Yii + node.js + nginx) What database you recommend to me use for this module? (mongodb, mysql) Thank you!
A recent ruling by the Washington State Court of Appeals in Cannabis Action Coalition v. City of Kent has declared collective medical marijuana gardens illegal because they can only consist of registered medical marijuana patients and Washington State has no medical marijuana registry. Confused? That’s understandable, some background is in order. Washington State has always had a loosely written medical marijuana law. Passed in 1998, the law does not actually provide any arrest protections for medical marijuana patients. Unlike any medical marijuana state but California, there is no statewide registry of medical marijuana patients. There are no Washington State medical marijuana cards, only doctor’s recommendations typed on tamper-proof paper. Washington State defines a fairly standard set of conditions to qualify for the recommendation, but it remains only an affirmative defense in court to charges of possession and/or cultivation -- patients can still be arrested. Initially, Washington didn’t even define how much marijuana a patient could possess and cultivate, referring only to a “60-day supply.” That supply turned out to be fairly generous in western areas like Seattle and mighty low in eastern areas like Kennewick, depending on the attitude of law enforcement toward medical marijuana. Eventually, that 60-day supply got defined as 24 ounces (a pound and a half!) and 15 plants -- the greatest statewide limits in the country. But there still remained the problem of where to buy marijuana if you couldn’t or wouldn’t grow it. That’s where entrepreneurs stepped in with a creative interpretation of the “designated provider” (caregiver) portions of the law and the activists were more than happy to help. A caregiver, who could only serve one patient at a time, was legally allowed to assist their patient with the use of medical marijuana. So, entrepreneurs opened storefront dispensaries. As a customer (patient) approached the counter, they would sign a note designating the clerk at the counter as their “designated provider.” The clerk would offer some marijuana, free of charge, to the customer, who would then, out of the kindness of his heart, donate some money to the clerk to reimburse his costs of production. Then the customer would sign a note revoking the clerk’s status as “designated provider” so that the next customer in line could sign up that clerk as “designated provider. See? That’s not a clerk at a dispensary…that’s a “designated provider serving only one patient at one time.” This plainly illegal operation of dispensaries led to some raids and much anger from the medical activist community. There had to be some way of meeting the need for dispensaries. Soon, one of their top legislators had written a bill, SB 5073, which would finally bring some order to the medical marijuana market in Washington. It clearly defined dispensaries and created a voluntary statewide patient registry with medical marijuana cards. It also defined patient collective gardens so 10 patients could legitimately pool resources to cultivate and harvest up to 45 marijuana plants. But then the US Attorneys on the Eastern and Western districts of the state cried foul. They did not want to see the legalization of dispensaries and threatened the then-Governor Christine Gregoire that any state employees involved with the aiding and abetting of federally illegal marijuana commerce would be brought up on federal charges. Gregoire used her power of line-item veto to strike the sections of the new law that created dispensaries and a registry, but in a nod to the needs of legitimate patients, kept the portions that established the 10-person collective gardens. There was also established a 15-day waiting period before a “designated provider” could switch patients, clearly a move by the legislature to eliminate the loophole allowing storefront dispensaries. So the entrepreneurs switched from being “providers for one patient at a time” to being “collective gardens for 10 patients at a time,” and continued operations as storefront dispensaries without missing a beat. When a patient comes in, he becomes Patient #1 in the collective, the existing patients slide down a slot in the list, and patient number 10 is dropped from the collective. This is where the City of Kent comes in. Not wanting any medical marijuana dispensaries no matter what loophole they’re using, the city banned collective gardens. A group called the Cannabis Action Coalition sued, saying SB 5073 legalized collective gardens and the city had no right to ban them. That’s when a smart attorney for the city noticed that collective gardens were only legal if comprised of registered patients: APPEALS COURT: “Kent, in response, contends that the plain language of the [SB 5073] did not legalize collective gardens because collective gardens would only have been legalized in circumstances wherein the participating patients were duly registered, and the registry does not exist. The trial court properly ruled that Kent is correct.” So now, not only are the storefronts operating as “collective gardens” officially declared illegal in Washington State, but so are the legitimate groups of ten patients cultivating 45 plants for their personal medical needs who never had any intention of profiting or opening a storefront. All patients in Washington State have left is the right to possess and cultivate their own marijuana without any protection from arrest, except for the possession of one ounce made legal for all Washingtonians by recreational legalization and, eventually, recreational stores in which to purchase up to an ounce of marijuana. If Washington State had a voluntary patient registry, those collective gardens would still be legal, if a bit in a gray area. Let’s see, who has been one of the most vocal opponents of forming Washington state patient registry, going back to the 20th Century? Which groups and medical marijuana leaders have steadfastly refused to budge on even a voluntary patient registry, complaining that means patients would “register like sex offenders?” Who was it that vigorously opposed a “heinous patient registry?” Who called for the retirement of the legislator who tried passing that SB 5073 because she’d be “forcing us to register like sex-offenders?” Why, that would be the same Cannabis Action Coalition that just lost the appeal vs. the City of Kent and stood as the loudest opponent to the recreational legalization in Washington State that finally protected patients from arrest for misdemeanor possession.
comments_image Comments California's Prop. 5 Could Change the Course of America's Drug War Californians have chance with the NORA initiative to reject decades of fear mongering and try alternatives to jail for drug abuse. It was in Los Angeles in 1983, while I was attending John Burroughs Junior High, when I recall coming home and tuning into an episode of the popular ABC sitcom, Diff'rent Strokes . I remember watching intently as First Lady Nancy Reagan teetered onto the screen. I watched that show the way I did most other American sitcoms having to do with race relations, with a studious blend of curiousity, fascination, and burgeoning media criticism. I hadn't been born in the U.S., but I'd been living in the diverse megalopolis since 1977. That was long enough to know that this country had rather serious, unresolved problems when it came to skin color, class, ethnicity, culture and language. To say nothing of drug use. There was no way to avoid it. Most of the kids in my public school were not from well-to-do families, but the children of the well-to-do were actually the first kids I saw with illicit drugs and cigarettes -- that was back in elementary school. After that point, I saw cigarette, drug and alcohol use everywhere, all around me, whether at the hands of rich kids buying and selling pills and powder for weekend parties, or self-destructing teens trying to flush trauma out of their bodies with copious amounts of Olde English malt liquor. Standing in front of the television in our living room, I remember thinking, most vividly, that Nancy Reagan's head was enormous. I also clearly remember the smiles plastered on the cast member's faces as she adopted a motherly tone and explained that what the kids had to do was to "just say no to drugs." It was an amazing bit of an accomplishment for the federal government's anti-drug crusade: let's work with Hollywood to beam the message straight into American homes, using one of the most popular shows on television at the time. The thinking behind Nancy Reagan's appearance on Diff'rent Strokes probably went something like this: make it stern, but friendly. We want the kids to know that everything is just fine, and that everything will stay calm, as long as they say "no." With the War on Drugs, the accompanying, implicit threat is also always there, whether it's spoken or not: If you don't listen to us, if you make a different decision, all bets are off. Once you use actually use an illicit drug -- and especially if you dare to sell one -- you have become something 'other.' You have become a criminal. The kind of criminal that California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger was talking about when he announced his opposition to Proposition 5, the Nonviolent Offender Rehabilitation Act of 2008 (NORA), at a news conference this past week, in front of the Criminal Courts Building in downtown Los Angeles. "[Proposition 5] is a great threat to our neighborhoods," Schwarzenegger was quoted as saying this week by the Los Angeles Times . "It was written by those who care more about the rights of criminals." Republican Gov. Schwarzenegger made his statement standing alongside four previous California governors: Gray Davis and Jerry Brown, both Democrats, and Republicans Pete Wilson and George Deukmejian. Side-by-side, these five different men had the same, rabidly oppositional message about the sheer "danger" of Proposition 5, which is designed to divert tens of thousands of non-violent drug users away from incarceration; expand youth programs to prevent substance abuse and imprisonment; and mandate a continuum of rehabilitation and treatment options both during and after incarceration for people sentenced to do time. Many initiatives and pieces of legislation end up being little more than hastily-conceived, reactionary proposals to what are perceived as public safety threats. This cannot be said of Proposition 5. In fact, NORA's drug treatment/education diversion is based around a well-conceived, three-tier system based on real clinical assessments, public safety, prior convictions, and ongoing evaluations (conducted by a new, 23-member Treatment Diversion Oversight and Accountability Commission), to make sure that the program is working as intended. The proposition has been years in the making, in consultation with drug addiction recovery and rehabilitation experts, research scientists, even law enforcement and corrections personnel. The initiative is a big one, both in text length and impact: According to the independent Legislative Analyst's Office (LAO), the measure would require $1 billion in spending each year, something that would be completely offset by $1 billion in savings from the ever-increasing prison and parole budget in the State of California. To boot, the LAO projects an additional net savings of $2.5 billion over the next few years because unnecessary prison construction would not be undertaken. The cost savings are undeniable, and terribly necessary. Currently, the cost to operate the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) stands at $10 billion, and operating capacity in some prisons exceeds 200%. Federal District Court Judge Thelton Henderson has given state officials under November 5th to cough up $250 million toward new prison healthcare facilities, or else face the likely possibility of a federal take-over. With at least one death a week attributable to inadequate and negligent healthcare, the CDCR has already been found to be in constitutional violation of the Eighth Amendment banning cruel and unusual punishment. This past week, the state's youth detention system was also under fire again, when Alameda County Superior Court Judge Jon Tigar accused the Division of Juvenile Justice of failing to take "even the most basic, fundamental steps to implement reform." Indeed, this sudden flash of gubernatorial solidarity might seem outright bizarre until one considers the fact that all five men have played primary, mutually reinforcing roles in building, expanding, and mismanaging what now amounts to one of the largest prison systems in the world. As it now stands, the California state prison system "supervises" 318,411 people, nearly 173,000 of whom are held in captivity. Among both men and women, at least 80% have some kind of substance abuse history. More specifically, nearly 30% of women doing time in the state prison system are in because of a drug-related offense. (For men, that figure is just under 20%.) Many addicts, it has long since been known, end up committing non-violent property crimes in order to support their habits. So, when drug offense-related and property crime-related crimes are added together, we find that over 60% of women are incarcerated for one or the other. Over the years, the women (and men) I've interviewed behind prison walls have spoken consistently of their need for substance abuse treatment, in tandem with the ability to obtain their G.E.D's (or even just learn to read basic sentences); counseling for histories of sexual, physical, and mental abuse; and vocational training. While behind bars, however, most never get anything of the sort: by the CDCR's own admission, only 5% of prisoners receive substance abuse treatment while they're locked up. Proposition 36 did a great deal to wake California up to the fact that non-violent drug users could actually benefit from services and treatment, and not end up costing the average $46,000 per person, per year, that state prisoners currently do. The problem has been that drug court judges wield far too much power in deciding who gets treatment, and of what sort, something that NORA would help to remedy. In addition, first-time offenders wouldn't be the only ones getting help. Paul Kobulnicky, 55, is now a drug and alcohol counselor in San Diego County, employed by the very same residential treatment program, Casa Rafael, that he says saved his life from an addiction that surely would have ended his life. Following an accident, Kobulnicky got addicted to Vicodin, something that led to an arrest, the loss of his chiropractor's license, a divorce, and then a slide into crystal meth addiction. "If it weren't for Proposition 36," he told me, "I would probably just have paroled, without any treatment for my problems." Instead, he's not only gainfully employed and sober, but had his record wiped clean because he successfully completed the program. He's also trying to get his vocational license back (something not possible after a felony conviction), has happily remarried, and gotten close to his daughter again. "I'm passionate about what I do and so grateful for my recovery," he said. "Look at what I've been able to do with my life. That's why Proposition 5 is so important. Other people need that chance." As in other people our society now defines, nearly across the board, as "criminals." All five of the governors assembled to speak out against Prop. 5 were there because -- and I'll say it -- this initiative represents a threat to the justification for what they built. They also each played crucial roles in feeding that system by supporting endless pieces of legislation specifically designed to expand what it means to be a "criminal," and how long "criminals" should be punished. "Laws change, depending on what, in a social order, counts as stability," and who, in a social order, needs to be controlled," as Ruth Wilson Gilmore wrote in her 2007 book, Golden Gulag: Prisons, Surplus, and Opposition in Globalizing California. Who needs to be controlled, indeed. For these five men, and for legions of Americans hooked on the notion that people's substance use decisions can and should be controlled and punished by law enforcement and government, drug users are key among them. Only now, the verbiage is changing to suit the times we're living in. That's because the demonization of non-violent substance users isn't playing as well to the American public. (A Zogby poll in early October revealed that three out of four U.S. voters think the war on drugs is "failing.") The strategic shift in language is, thus, to the "sellers." Thus, the opposition to Proposition 5 is being cast, at this last minute, as a "drug dealers' bill of rights," and giving them a "get-out-of-jail-free-card," and that it's about protecting "violent" criminals. (In point of fact, Proposition 5 adds penalties for serious and violent crimes, including gang-affiliated crimes, which I object to on the grounds that each "serious" criminal case is unique and should be sentenced and paroled as such; and that gang-enhancements in California are already excessively punitive and too easily subject to prosecutorial/judicial prejudice.) These phrases are being repeated in a multi-million-dollar media blitz, over and over, in a rather familiar fashion. Not at all unlike what Nancy Reagan told child stars Dana Plato and Todd Bridges, both of whom eventually became drug addicts. Plato died from an overdose in her 30s. "Just say no. Just say no. Just say no." That's a way of looking at drugs in America just as removed from the reality of the illicit drug economy as Nancy Reagan was. What Californian voters need to know, if they're removed from the drug scene and are worried about all these "dealers" in their midst, is the following. The fact is that people can be charged with an "intent to distribute" quite easily. It happens all the time. It can happen because of the amount of drugs found, and/or because a person has a certain amount of cash or drug containers on their person. It can happen because someone "snitches" to get out of trouble -- especially to avoid jail or prison time. It can happen someone who doesn't use drugs does a favor for a friend, cash in hand. It can happen if you get arrested and can't or won't "roll" on other people. That's when law enforcement and prosecutors can decide that you're a "seller," and prosecute accordingly. (On the federal level, "conspiracy" charges intended for large-scale drug traffickers are handed out, with alarming frequency, to people who can't or won't cooperate with demand for "snitching," or participation in a sting operation.) This is a different era now, of course, than the one that I grew up in living in Los Angeles, but the realities relating to drug use and sales are still largely the same. In July, an international survey published jointly by the Harvard Medical School and the University of New South Wales revealed that the United States still had the highest levels of cocaine and cannabis use in the world. According to the study, younger adults and people with higher incomes were indeed more likely than older adults to have used more kinds of illicit drugs. In total, over 16% of Americans surveyed had used cocaine in their lifetimes, and nearly half (42.4%) had used marijuana. According to the authors of that report, drug use does not appear to be simply related to drug policy, since countries with more stringent policies towards illegal drug use did not have lower levels of such drug use than countries with more liberal policies." Taking the far less stringent Netherlands as a prime example, less than two percent of people in that country had tried cocaine, while just under 20% reported trying cannabis -- in a country where marijuana is available for purchase inside well-advertised and regulated "coffee shops." There, in the Netherlands, the "sellers" are taxed and accountable for how they run their businesses (including the quality of what they sell). Here, that's not possible. As such, it is not unusual for people who use illicit drugs, whether recreationally, medicinally, or abusively, to sell them, as well. These are certainly realities that many of American teens can still attest to, whether they live in Los Angeles or not. Whether I'm interviewing teenage girls in juvenile detention or talking with kids at a bus stop, or just chatting with my youngest, teenage sister in Seattle, I hear the same kinds of stories repeatedly. Drug users and sellers are quite often one and the same, because they're existing (partially or completely) in an underground, illegal economy. When the opponents of Proposition 5 try furiously to draw that distinction so as to strike fear into the hearts of voters, they resort to the kind of imagery that tells us that we're dealing with the scary monsters in our midst. We should know, by now, that there's nothing new about propaganda or fear-mongering in politics. But when it comes to crime, punishment, and drugs, the recent blast of sloganeering has taken another sickeningly familiar and excessive turn. This time, the stakes are even higher than the average voter may realize. The very intent of the opposition movement to Proposition 5 is to derail what could be the most significant piece of sentencing reform legislation in modern American history. You might expect to hear that from people in the drug policy reform movement, but consider listening to the words of the former warden of San Quentin (with two decades of service), and former director of the CDCR, Jeanne Woodford. In a conversation we had the other night, this is what she told me: "I'm tired of not being able to have a real conversation with people when it comes to criminal justice. That's why I support Proposition 5. We have to be grown up enough to work with it, to change with it, to learn from what happens in the process of implementing it." "That, she added, "is what we did with the U.S. Constitution." But that's not how the forces rising up against Prop. 5 see it. The San Diego District Attorney even tried to get the California Supreme Court to get it wiped off the ballot on constitutional grounds. Because people, she somehow reasoned, couldn't make these kinds of changes to state policies. This is how Margaret Dooley-Sammuli, the Deputy State Director of Drug Policy Alliance/South California, sums up the key message of the opposition campaign: "Be afraid. Be very afraid." In actuality, I'll tell you what we need to be afraid of: Propositions 6 and 9. The people behind the opposition to Proposition 5 are nearly identical to the people who back Prop. 6 and 9, but with those two propositions, they get a little bit more specific about who they're trying to lock (and keep locked) up:Old, sick prisoners, male and female alike. People who deserve to have parole reviews, but who won't be given that chance (if Prop. 9 passes). And where Prop. 6 is concerned? It's all there in black-and-white. Those"illegal aliens" and gang members. Read: young men and women who are likely to be school drop-outs and have spent time in juvenile detention. Especially young men of color. People who congregate in groups of 3 or more, with "criminal" activity of some kind to cement the label they may or may not agree with. Right now, Latinos are the largest ethnic group in men's prisons in California, followed by African Americans. The fear-mongering around who and what these boys and men are -- and where they've come from -- is what Proposition 6, in particular, is all about. The 'other.' "The unholy and powerful alliance opposed to reform in California's gulag of a prison system is deploying tried, true and tragic methods in its campaign: fear and racism backed by big money. Throughout the history of the Golden State, appeals to these basest instincts have been used to keep down black, Latino and Asian "minorities." It's no coincidence that, for example, the No On 5 people are stirring up some of the same racist imagery, the same kinds of fears we've seen in the long line of racial history that runs from Jim Crow, to the Zoot Suit riots and Proposition 187," as journalist Roberto Lovato wrote in response to an e-mail I sent to him the other night. "The tragedy is that these appeals work not just with the aging white minorities who are the majority of voters; they also work with some Blacks, Latinos and Asians." Especially where gangs are concerned. If we understand drug users and abusers very poorly as a society, we understand gang members even more poorly. And in the minds of the people behind these campaigns, they are a part of the same thing: people to be eradicated. And if we can't destroy them, let's cage them for as long as we can. I've experienced a different slice of life, and I have to speak my mind about what it is that I've really seen, with my own eyes. Gangs, too, were (and are) a reality of life in L.A. County -- and across the U.S., sometimes with attendant drug use and sales. The gang members I knew had sometimes been born into them, but most had joined later on, when their home lives had grown too dysfunctional, chaotic, and/or violent. Mostly, as I quickly learned by just listening to people talk about their lives, it was about belonging somewhere, about being protected and respected. Sometimes, it was also about making a living in the underground economy, where upward mobility was possible for a brown-skinned and/or low-income person from a neighborhood where cop cars and "ghetto birds" (police helicopters) were a constant part of the landscape. There were the "old-school" gangsters (the term applied to youth and adults alike) who stuck to strict codes of conduct, dress, and respect. They, in turn, tended to look down on the gang-members whose codes of conduct weren't up to the same standards, especially once they had started to mess with crack cocaine. Indeed, the level of violence that spilled out into the school hallways and streets in the 1980s had nearly everything to do with the crack cocaine and automatic weapons that had suddenly, almost magically, flooded the streets of L.A. like a toxic, infectious disease. It would be many years before would begin to uncover the how's and why's of that particular phenomenon, in a shocking San Jose Mercury News investigative series entitled The Dark Alliance. And it would be many more years before that reporter's suicide, a tragedy attributable, in part, to the journalistic witch hunt Webb endured after the newspaper series came out at the hands of the government and his "colleagues" in the field, who doused his series with propagandistic attacks on Webb's research, integrity, and character. The thing is that Webb was right about just about everything he uncovered. But American drug war history is still being spun by the "victors." And that needs to stop. In 1941, George Orwell wrote something that has stuck with me: "The writers who have come up since 1930 have been living in a world in which not only one's life but one's whole scheme of values is constantly menaced. In such circumstances detachment is not possible. You cannot take a purely aesthetic interest in a disease you are dying from; you cannot feel dispassionately about a man who is about to cut your throat." Here's my call, then, to all you California voters, in a way I've never said it before: Don't let power-drunk fear mongers cut your collective throat. Make sure you make an informed vote on Proposition 5, 6 and 9. Thanks to Britt Madsen for her research assistance. See more stories tagged with:
The Visitor - Matias Aguayo The Visitor Image Generally favorable reviews - based on 14 Critics User Score No user score yet- Awaiting 3 more ratings Summary: The third full-length solo release for the South American dance producer/artist includes contributions from Philipp Gorbachev, Ana Helder, Daniel Maloso, Alejandro Paz, Juliana Gattas, A'rea Negrot, Liset Alea and Jorge Gonz lez. Record Label: Cómeme Genre(s): Electronic, Techno, Club/Dance, Experimental Techno, Left-Field House Name Credit Matias Aguayo Primary Artist Matias Aguayo Producer Scott Monteith Producer
Product ban? Samsung won't be sweating it Text Size Published: Friday, 9 Aug 2013 \| 1:14 AM ET By: \| Assistant Producer, CNBC Asia-Pacific Bloomberg \| Getty Images A victory for Apple at Friday's International Trade Commission ruling is likely to have little impact on Samsung Electronics' market share and stock performance, according to industry experts. The commission is set to decide whether some Samsung products should be banned in the U.S and comes a week after President Obama vetoed a product ban on certain Apple devices. Still, analysts believe that the outcome will have little bearing in the marketplace given Samsung's robust performance during the last quarter. The South Korean giant dethroned Apple in handset profits during the second-quarter, posting $5.2 billion in operating profit compared to Apple's $4.6 billion. Furthermore, Samsung notched 33.1 percent in global market share in the quarter while Apple's share declined to 13.6 percent, which is a three-year low according to a report by Strategy Analytics. Samsung shouldn't sweat ITC ruling: Pro Edward Snyder, Co-Founder & Managing Director at Charter Equity Research thinks the South Korean giant is already winning the handset war and sees no cause for concern about the ITC decision. "When you step back and look at the big picture, the answer is already pretty clear that Samsung is winning this fight so why should South Korea start a bigger brawl when they are already homegrown favorites winning the war?" said Edward Snyder, co-Founder and managing director at Charter Equity Research on CNBC Asia's "Squawk Box." "This is more of a headline story in a political debate than it is about economics," he added. Snyder used the case of the 2008 patent battle between American semiconductor giants Broadcom and Qualcomm to show why an Apple victory at the ITC would not dent Samsung's share price. (Read more: An 'emerging' threatto Samsung, and it's not Apple) "The ITC put an injunction on Qualcomm in certain parts of the U.S. and in addition, they had to a pay $1 billion fine to Broadcom, but it had no impact on Qualcomm's stock price." "Investors look at growth in revenue earnings and market share, that's what determines the stock price. You can have one-time charges but if they're one-time, it's not an on-going issue so it doesn't really affect the stock," he said. Apple vs. Samsung spats have no market impact: Pro Manoj Menon, partner and managing director at Frost and Sullivan, tells CNBC that fights between Apple and Samsung have had no material impact on the market position of either of these companies. Fitch Ratings agreed, saying that a decline in Samsung's competitiveness or a significant loss in its market share is more likely to have a negative impact than a product ban. (Read more: Samsung attempts to reinvent itself through disruption) In a further measure of support, S&P ratings agency raised Samsung's long-term credit rating by a notch to 'A-plus' on Thursday, saying the firm's financial performance would be solid for the next two years. Fitch went on to add that the Obama administration's decision to overturn a ban on importing certain Apple products, including the iPhone 4 and iPad mini, will not hurt Samsung. (Read more: How Obama's veto of iPhone ban will change tech wars) The iPhone 4 and iPad mini are older models that would not directly compete against Samsung's flagship devices such as the new Galaxy Tab 3, released just last week. "Given the lengthy legal process, only outdated models have been the subject of trials, and thus, the potential impact on Samsung's cash flow is very limited," Fitch said. By CNBC.com's Nyshka Chandran. Follow her on Twitter @NyshkaCNBC Price Change %Change Contact Technology • Introducing Morning Squawk: CNBC's before the bell news roundup
Search Result Search Tags: ladee Frog flies through air during Va. spacecraft launch A frog may have croaked after it was blasted into the air when a spacecraft launched at Virginia's Wallops/Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport last week. Thursday - 09/12/2013, 11:00am EDT Tags: frog, Wallops/Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport, LADEE, NASA Can NASA solve decades-old moon mystery? NASA's next mission to the moon might solve a puzzle from the Apollo flights of the 1960s and 1970s -- if all goes well. Saturday - 09/07/2013, 01:50am EDT Tags: NASA, LADEE, moon, lunar, twilight rays, greg redfern, watch, launch, Virginia
Review by alxbly "Don't rent this, buy it." Firstly, this is a review of the PAL version of NFS HP2, not NTSC. I was unsure of whether to buy this game or not but you simply won't unlock everything by just renting it. The amount of cars and tracks to unlock should keep you coming back for a long time to come, certainly longer than Gamecube's only other decent car racer, Burnout. The key to getting the most out of this game is not giving up on it straight away. First impressions are that the game is slow and the cars handle badly, but after the third or fourth race when you unlock new cars you'll notice a difference in speed and handling. And the speed and handling that you want is what you'll get once you unlock the first Ferrari. You should be able to do this in about and hour and after that you won't look back. The race menu is split into championship, hot pusuit, single race and quick race. Quick race decides the car, the course and whether you'll be fighting off cops or just the opposition. Hot pursuit sees you evading the police, sometimes with competition to beat as well. Championship is where you can race against the opposition for points, which you use to unlock cars and tracks. The most annoying thing about this game is how good it could have been. Don't get me wrong, this isn't a bad game, in fact, it's actually a rather good game. But it could have been great. It's let down by one thing, and that's the fact that it's badly ported. The frame rate can slow down when there's a lot going on and this can cause the game to get quite jittery at times, but luckily this only happens rarely. You'll notice other glitches in the scenery too, but nothing that is unforgivable. The levels are nicely set out, pleasing to the eye and hardly ever sparse. The cars are very detailed, and crush nicely after a bad smash. Music is listenable and goes well with the game, and although the rock music is forgettable, it's not too cheesy or annoying. The gameplay is good once you get past the bog standard cars, and when you see what cars you are able to unlock you'll be happy to spend hours, and possibly days playing so you can open up one of your favorites. The wealth of options and different playing modes means the game is customisable to suit most tastes, just remeber to switch off the rear view camera to help with frame rates. The multiplayer seems slow and is probably best avoided, but then you wouldn't want you mates crashing your new cars anyway, would you? So, to sum up. Graphics 8 out of 10. Gameplay 8 out of 10. Music 7 out of 10. Replayability 9 out of 10. Go out, buy this game, play it to death and try to forget how close to perfect it would have been with a few extra weeks development to port it to Gamecube properly. Got Your Own Opinion?
Take the 2-minute tour × I've always wanted to lift weights and honestly have no idea where to begin. How do I get started? Do I need to join a gym? find a personal trainer? buy a book and weights? find a friend who weightlifts? What's the best way for me to get involved in the weightlifting community and start lifting weights myself? Is this something I can do by myself (at home), or is it a good idea for me to train with others (at a gym or club)? Goal details: My goal is mainly to gain muscle. I've been focusing on cardio a lot recently (running, zumba), and have lost quite a bit of weight from eating healthily. Now I'd like to define my muscles a bit more and get stronger (especially upper body). share\|improve this question Pick up a weight. Put it down. There you go. :p Seriously, Dave's answer is a great one. – JohnP Mar 9 '13 at 14:32 Lesson number one: Start slow and with VERY light weights. – skullpatrol Mar 10 '13 at 19:42 add comment 3 Answers Pick a goal Why do you want to lift? To look good, to be healthy, to improve athletic performance, to win a bodybuilding competition, to challenge yourself? Your goals determine the kind of lifting you'll want to focus on. I'll assume that you want a basic combination of health, fitness, and looking good. Beginner weightlifting Any beginner program should be fairly simple and focus on whole-body lifts. This means you'll use free weights (barbells, dumbbells, kettlebells) to do compound (as opposed to isolation) movements. These lifts include squats, deadlifts, bench presses, chin-ups and pull-ups, overhead and bench presses, cleans, snatches, dips, and rows. Programs, gyms, and trainers that avoid these exercises might not be the best fit. Stumptuous is a solid resource for people, especially women, new to weightlifting. However, as far as I know they're light on specific programs. For that, get a copy of Starting Strength (the wiki is a good overview and quick-start guide; the book is a full description of the program, including excellent instructions on the lifts) and start lifting. Take it easy at first. After after a month or so, find a trainer or gym that does these lifts (a CrossFit gym is usually a good bet) and have them check your form in a private lesson. share\|improve this answer Goal added to OP :) – Stacey Anne Mar 9 '13 at 15:01 I agree with everything here. Starting Strength has been a great program for me. – Kate Mar 9 '13 at 22:41 add comment like the guy said pick a goal first, personally when your first join the gym your going to see some quick changes to your body. So in my view I will just start off by going to the gym and doing some exercises. Personally go with someone with experience, who knows HOW TO LIFT! Remember learning the exercises are key! share\|improve this answer I added my goal to the OP :) – Stacey Anne Mar 9 '13 at 15:01 add comment Dave has given you some good points. It seems like you have 2 goals here regarding weight lifting: 1. Gain muscle mass 2. Gain strength However, as a Sports Physical Therapist, I would like to recommend you for one more goal - injury free when starting out any program. I have seen too many immature weight lifters trying to do too much too fast, then only to learn that they have to stay off or take off a few weeks, sometimes a few months because they did not follow a golden rules of weight training for beginners due to suffering an injury (shoulders, back, knee, etc.). Here are the golden rules of weight training for beginners: 1. Learn the basics by doing body weight exercises (squat, push-ups, chin-ups, dips, lunges, etc.) until you can master the form and technique for a few sessions, then you can try resistance training with similar movement patterns (barbell squats, weighted push-ups, pull-ups, dumbbell lunges, etc.). 2. It might be forth it if you have some friends with great experience regarding weight training to help you in the beginning to make sure you understand the basics (proper form and technique, breathing patterns, dosage, frequency, duration and simple eating plan). 3. If your friend(s) cannot help you with this, I recommend you to find a local CSCS (Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist) to work with you for a few weeks, perhaps months. But you do not have to meet every single day. You might want to start out training and learning with a CSCS once per week for 4 weeks, then once per month for another few months until you are comfortable to be on your own. This will ensure your goals are met! Most of us are just like you. We have to start somewhere, and some of us learned the hard way in the past (doing it ourselves). With this being said and because of my work and my extensive experience of treating many injuries related to immature or beginner weight lifters, I strongly recommend you to find a local CSCS and give it a try. I understand that you might have to spend some money in the beginning, but trust me, your program is more specific and individualized to your goals. I'm not against Cross-Fit or any other group fitness/training programs out there, but shouldn't all fitness programs consider your fitness level, the time you have, your goals and of course your finance? This is why I think it's important to understand the difference between an one-on-one training session versus a group setting, especially in the beginning. Good luck and I hope you find this answer helpful. share\|improve this answer You make an interesting distinction between gaining muscle mass and gaining strength. I assumed (probably incorrectly), that they were the same thing, however it seems they are not. I asked this question about this particular distinction: fitness.stackexchange.com/questions/11889/…. – Stacey Anne Mar 11 '13 at 1:14 add comment Your Answer
If you make a suggested edit to a question or an answer, and then you decide that it needs further editing, the edit box saves what you had already suggested, even if it hasn't been approved yet. That really helps. However, after fat-fingering and having to submit a few replacement edits on English.SE, I realized that this doesn't happen for tag wikis. In other words, the edit box fails to retain your suggested edit and instead displays the pre-approval status of the change. Could we get the tag wiki editor to also retain suggested edits? This, of course, doesn't affect other editors, since only the original editor is allowed to make a change while the suggested edit is sitting in the queue. share\|improve this question add comment 1 Answer up vote 2 down vote accepted Great find - this will be pushed either tonight or tomorrow. share\|improve this answer add comment You must log in to answer this question. Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .
First: Mid: Last: City: State: Bob Ultsch Once you subscribe to USA-People-Search.com, you can locate hundreds of people, including the Bob Ultsch you need to find. We have thousands upon thousands of accurate and reliable public records. Find details on everyone with the same last name as Ultsch, including past and current addresses, email, and more. One way to ensure you find the correct Bob Ultsch right away is by keying in additional information into the search feature that can help narrow down the search results for the right Bob Ultsch. Add as much information as you can remember, like a phone number, Bob Ultsch's middle name or a nickname, and so on and click the search free button to get refined results. For more detailed profiles, subscribe to USA-People-Search.com. Another advantage of looking-up people on USA-People-Search.com includes data categorized neatly into four sections - name/aliases, age, location, and possible relatives, so you can swiftly locate the exact Bob Ultsch you're looking for. When you've spotted the Bob Ultsch you've been trying to find, get more comprehensive details on the person by clicking the details link. Name/AKAsAgeLocationPossible Relatives 1. Ultsch, Bob S Cincinnati, OH View Details 2. Ultsch, Bob Bothell, WA View Details
Take the 2-minute tour × When remotely connecting to my server using Windows' Remote Desktop Connection application, I can save Connection settings in an RDP file and then easily edit it right clicking and selecting "edit". Also I can create an RDP file for a RemoteApp program in a RemoteApp Manager of my server. But it is impossible to edit the settings of the RDP file in the way as for the RDP file created from Remote Desktop Connection application. Why is that? What is difference between these two types of RDP files and what is the difference between these two types of remote desktop sessions? Is there any way to change the IP address of the Computer parameter of the RDP file, created from a RemoteApp Manager? share\|improve this question add comment 1 Answer up vote 1 down vote accepted RDP files are (or at least used to be) plain text files. Try opening one in Notepad or your favourite text editor. share\|improve this answer Thanks! Your info is really helpful. I easily opened both files with Notepad and so was able to edit any parameter. Additionally, I can see all parameters, RDP file consists of, and google them. +1 – rem Jul 9 '10 at 5:03 add comment Your Answer
Why register? Guilty Crown 28 NOV ...gets a lot of crap. I can see why, it's sexist, national romantic and clichée. But the visuals are awesome, the directing original and some of the twists are interesting. We have not had time yet to explore the characters (I haven't at least. Seen 4 episodes as of yet). Inori's singing also gives me flashbacks to Pale cocoon, which'll give it an extra million points from me. Gundam AGE however can go fuck itself. Tags and Categories posted in: anime tags: This blog has no comments. Leave one now!
A Loosening Grip Protests in Lebanon give hope to two nations. Since the murder of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafic Hariri about two weeks ago, we’ve seen the rumblings of what some are calling a “Cedar Revolution” in Lebanon, as, most recently, the Baathist government there has resigned. Farid Ghadry is no stranger to Lebanon, where his family emigrated to when he was ten years old, or to the Syrian Baathists in his homeland. Born in Syria, Farid Ghadry, is president of the Reform Party of Syria, “a US-based opposition party” of pro-democracy Syrians. In the wake of Lebanon’s government stepping down, NRO Editor Kathryn Lopez caught up with Ghadry to get his quick read on the state of play in both Lebanon and Syria. National Review Online: How big of a deal is the government resignation in Lebanon? Were you surprised by it? Farid Ghadry: It is a huge deal because not only did it show that the peaceful will of the people can prevail in curbing despotism, but it also showed how weak Syrian Baathists are. And that is very important. The Syrians and Lebanese have lived the last 44 and 29 years respectively under fear from a powerful police state that is accountable to no one. The Lebanese experience with the killing of Hariri has demolished the concept that Syrian Baathista are all-powerful and they are accountable to no one. The Lebanese people are emboldened by the support of the international community and members of parliament like Ahmad Moufatfat and Walid Ido have warned high Syrian intelligence officers that they seek to bring them to justice if implicated in the killing of Hariri. NRO: How much of a risk is it for these people who are out in “martyrs’ square” protesting? Ghadry: It would have been risky if the Lebanese army followed orders by stopping demonstrators and used violence against them. But as it turned out, the Lebanese army helped the peaceful march by allowing people to sneak into martyrs’ square, thus challenging their own orders. We saw army people wearing armbands with the color of red and white and small children distributing white roses to the army who did take them. That in effect is what brought the government down. They could not control the people or the army. NRO: Is it realistic that Syria might wind up leaving Lebanon? Ghadry: Syria will resist leaving Lebanon for two main reasons: 1) It is the last battle stand for the besieged Baathists in Damascus and 2) It does not want to show that it is buckling under pressure. Baschar al-Assad, the illegitimate president told La Republica, an Italian newspaper, that they will leave in one year. This was a test balloon that got a strong reaction from President Bush and Secretary Rice. We believe they will resist for as long as they can. My friend Michael Ledeen told me that the demonstrations in Lebanon are really freeing Syria. How true that statement is! NRO: Are the people in Syria liable to be seriously encouraged by the Lebanese? Or is the Baath grip too strong? Ghadry: In my talks with the Syrians inside Syria, they are resisting demonstrating because as one human-rights activist told me: “President Bush has yet to call for freedom for the Syrian people.” The Syrians are afraid to march without the international cover and the encouraging words of our president. We believe that the moment Syria leaves Lebanon, the president will hammer a strategy for Syrians to gain their freedom and democracy away from a culture of violence that is besieging Iraqis, Lebanese, and now Israelis. It is a question of time and that is why Syria may not leave Lebanon peacefully. On the other hand, the Baath party’s grip is strong, but the events in Lebanon have shown a brittle militant system that, if pushed a bit, could break apart. NRO: What would a pragmatic U.S. policy toward Syria look like? Ghadry: We believe that first and foremost, the United States need to understand that most Syrians are peaceful people. The majority are Sufi Muslims that want to live in peace and do not share the vision of other extreme Sunni Muslims in introducing [Islamic law] as the staple of a new Syrian government. There are those of us who have lived in the U.S. and feel that the interests of both countries are parallel–delivering at the same time a peaceful nation and a nation that wants to bring economic prosperity through a culturally sensitive capitalist society. The United States must leave the Syrians a chance to show that we are worthy of building a better nation. What we want is help to overthrow the regime, but what we do not want is interference the way it is happening in Iraq today with members of the government more loyal to U.S. intelligence agencies than to their own people. We are people of strong and healthy convictions that will, when given the chance, lead our nation to prosperity and peace without the heavy-handed U.S. government-backed supervision. NRO: What should Americans know about the people you talk to inside of Syria? Ghadry: They are hopeful. They are hungry for information. They want their country back but they do not want a war. They want to be proud of their Syrian heritage that brought the first alphabet and a rich culture and civilization. Most important of all, they all want their freedom. Reform Party is planning soon a symposium on Syria in Washington that will bring people from inside Syria to talk about these issues and we will inform the public about it. Thank you for giving us the opportunity to talk about our beloved nation Syria. Subscribe to National Review
Thursdays 10:00 PM on ABC Scandal Review: Who Can You Trust? by at . Scandal did the time warp this week, propelling the story 10 months from the end of the previous episode. Olivia's hair is straight and she's wading back into the dating pool. And the regular pool. She also looks fantastic for having not slept at all. Maybe it's the coffee. Or the red wine. Fitz, however, is deteriorating under the weight of the world that rests on his shoulders without his trusty sidekicks to help him shoulder the load. Yes, "Whiskey Tango Foxtrot" was another sold episode of this breakout hit. One that, while a little sleepy at times, had a jaw-dropping, and creepy, ending. WTF, indeed, Scott Foley! Fiz with Olivia Poor David Rosen. The guy cannot catch a break. First he loses the Lindsey Dwyer case. Then he's made to look foolish in front of the Grand Jury and loses his job. And then he can't find a job at any law firm in D.C. and decides to build his own. But the clients don't come. So he ends up teaching civics and government classes. And then he winds up with a dead girl in his bed and calls Olivia Pope for help. Olivia and the team decide to move the body, with David's approval, and Huck teaches Quinn about clean-up, calling her a "natural" at stabbing corpses. Sidenote: I'm not alone in thinking an interoffice romance between those two could be interesting, am I? Quck? Hinn? Quick? Okay, I'll stop. If I have one criticism of Scandal over the past few weeks, it's that it got bogged down in the election rigging and everyone trying to cover their own tails. This was sort of a return to the case-of-the-week format. Sort of. As it turns out, the dead girl in David Rosen's bed was actually after information on Defiance. Defiance will not die. After talking his own way out of his own office while Harrison watched with his jaw on the floor, and after (rightfully) accusing Olivia of everything bad that has ever happened to him, David finds the dead girl's jump drive and takes it to Olivia. On it they find highly classified information that no civilian should have in his or her possession and now David absolutely needs Olivia's help if he wants to stay alive and out of prison. Captain James Ballard, Olivia's new love interest, played by Scott Foley, had been in contact with the dead girl in David's apartment the day she died. His story is that she had been trying to sell him secrets. Top secret secrets. But after that scene in his living room at the end of the episode, I believe exactly nothing that he says. He has cameras inside Olivia's apartment and who knows how long they've been there. I should have put it together faster: them meeting in the coffee shop followed by the fact that he was the person she had to visit with at the Pentagon. His rather cocky insistence that they go out to dinner. There were warning signs that their chance encounters weren't so random. But I think I want Olivia to find happiness away from Fitz so badly that I was too eager for this to be someone to do that to stop and see the red flags that he's creepy. And that TV monitor spy-cam setup he has is creepy. And intriguing. In true Scandal fashion, I have lots of questions. I want to know his connection to Defiance. Did he kill Wendy or know who does? Is there someone in the Pentagon who suspects something happened with the election? Is this guy going rogue? Why the fascination with Olivia? Is he the mole connected to the White House? Yes, there's a mole in the White House. Fitz is growing increasingly paranoid about who he can trust after Verna's deathbed reveal. He knows Mellie and Cyrus enough to know that they're both animals who will stop at almost nothing to get whatever it is they want. His anger and distrust of them isn't misdirected or misguided at all. For that matter, his anger and feelings of betrayal that are directed at Olivia aren't misguided either. Of the three of them, her betrayal hurts most, which is why their server-room sex and the following conversation was so hard to watch. These two have certainly had their steamy moments. Tonight just felt angry, without the passion that usually causes me to want these two to be together against all the odds. (I'm not saying they weren't on fire, but angry sex is not as hot as Oval Office sex, right?) But even the angsty tryst in the server room was more inspired than Fitz and Mellie in the shower. Maybe it was all the scotch. Time jumps are always risky in television shows. They're an effective way to speed along a story that seems to be dragging, and Defiance and the election scandal were certainly dragging along. While we're not beyond that story by any means, at least now there are new avenues being opened up. There are new places for these characters to go and new stories to be told. For instance, what will happen when Huck finds out about the cameras in Olivia's apartment? What did you think of "Whiskey Tango Foxtrot"? What do you think of Captain James Ballard? Do you think the time jump worked? Be sure to check out the Scandal quotes page where you can rate the existing quotes and add your favorites! Editor Rating: 4.0 / 5.0 • 4.0 / 5.0 • 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 User Rating: Rating: 4.2 / 5.0 (186 Votes) Tags: , From Around the Web 25 Comments New Comment Subscribe Hi Ravie, Thanks. I'm glad to be here. I just check the blogs everyday for new comments so I guess you could do that if you have the time of course lol. Looking forward to this week's review. Can't wait to see what happens and hear everybodies thoughts! Truth, glad to have you on board. I only wished that this site sends an email back to you when a new comment is added, because you never know when someone has replied to you or commented after you. If it's there, wish someone would let me know. I'm only going to post about one thing, because everything else was already said. I loved, loved, loved David Rosen's speech to his predecessor in his old office, in front of Harrison. Only one person here barely mentioned it, but I think it was so great, spot on, and downright magnetising and hot. When David is angry, he is really at his best. I really hope he joins up in some form with Olivia's team. Their dynamics are enigmatic! Hi everyone, I'm new here but I have to say that I truly enjoyed reading all of your comments. It was so great hearing everyones thoughts and opinions whether you agreed with the show or not. That's how it should be. I just had an issue on another site because the recapper doesn't like you to say anyting negative about the cast or the show but would rather spend time talking about fitz hair and how dreamy he is. She even went as far as to shut down the comments section because of comments she didn't like. I expressed my thoughts to her about it and she got defensive and so did the other commentators so I decided to leave. What's crazy is that they had the nerve to try and say that I wasn't a real scandal fan! Are you serious? Just because I don't agree with everything on the show doesn't mean I'm not a fan. I LOVE this show and enjoy it every week. Anyway I'm done venting I just wanted to say again how happy I am to have found a place where we can all talk and have conversations and be respectful of each other. After all that's what adults do right? LOL thank guys Hi Miranda, I enjoyed reading your review. It was spot on - especially the part of the sexual encounter between Olivia and Fitz. This episode blew my mind, broke my heart and made me blush, just like all scandal episodes it was an emotional rollercoaster! I just love Fitz and Olivia I can't help it. Their chemistry is off the charts and you'd have to be blind not to see they still have feelings for each other. I just really hope it will all work out. Mellie and Fitz trying to have sex...might be the sadest thing i've seen for a long time. It must be soo humiliating for her. But since I think her horrible monologue in the car with fitz was a proof of how evil she actually is , i don't reLLY care. I am loving this show; the characters are flawed and sometimes foolish when they should be using their smarts and that is so like real life (if you've lived long enough to see that). I LOVED the eyes exchange between Olivia and Fitz at the christening, and I was so glad Mellie saw it. Even after all this time there is a connection between though there is a lot of anger right now. I too was surprised at first that Fitz was so hard on Olivia about Defiance but then I realized hers was the biggest trust/connection and therefore the betrayal was the worst, though I do think he should give her the chance to talk about it. Will be laughing with glee when Mellie is found out. She threw EVERYONE under the bus! Anyway another great rollercoster ride episode and I think the time jump worked this time. "I should have put it together faster"... isn't it great when a show is creative enough for you to actually say that to yourself? :) This Fitz is better. Fitz and Olivia are mutually self-destructive. Mellie's the best. Olivia not sweeping for bugs regularly is ridiculous. Pentagon guy is super creepy. I bet he's the mole.
Take the 2-minute tour × Excel 2010 does not update hyperlink references when previous rows to the destination are added or deleted unlike excel XP. I can create a reference as text by searching for the proper cell on another sheet but hyperlinks do NOT accept text as a reference. INDIRECT does not work since hypertext then takes the value at the destination as the reference. share\|improve this question Is there a question in your statement or are you just venting frustration? This issue would be a lot easier to understand if you added a few examples to illustrate. For e.g. What are "previous rows to the destination"?? – teylyn Feb 8 '13 at 5:28 add comment Your Answer Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.
Comments Threshold RE: All Hail Apple (gag) By chick0n on 3/28/2008 12:09:52 AM , Rating: 1 lol ! Next thing I know is that they gonna put blame god said why did God allowed PC to exist in the first place ! Why God WHY !? (Mac sux, all the time, period.) RE: All Hail Apple (gag) By 777 on 3/28/2008 4:32:37 AM , Rating: 2 (Mac sux, all the time, period.) Your an ignorant ass who's probably never used a Mac and afraid to use one, period. Mac's may not do everything well, but you show me one audio professional that uses Pro-tools and likes the pc version better. I have worked as a sound engineer/editor professionally for almsot 20 years and Macs have always ruled here over the mostly pile Sh-t Pc's, period. I know of not one professional that uses the pc version. Get over yourself, that's why we have different computers for different uses and both computers serve their purposes well. You Apple haters amaze me as if the Pc was God's gift to world with no problems - wrong! RE: All Hail Apple (gag) By jlips6 on 3/28/2008 12:23:39 PM , Rating: 2 I have a question that may sound biased, but there's no other way to put it. Please don't mistake it for apple bashing. All the soundcards in all the apple computers I use (Macbook, E-mac, G-4) are completely awful. As in, I could go Simon Cowell on them and not overstate their suck. Does the macbook pro (or whatever apple compy you use.) Have a different soundcard? Or is there something I'm missing? RE: All Hail Apple (gag) By 777 on 3/30/2008 3:05:15 AM , Rating: 2 If by this you mean the sound output that comes with the Mac(not a 3rd party hardware plugin) then they are definetly no worse than any pc's built in sound output. But if you're talking about adding 3rd party hardware to your Mac, then it sound's like you didn't buy anything worth squat and this has nothing to do with Apple. Also you cannot install any sound card in a Macbook. You can buy a scaled down pro tools for $399.00 and the audio goes through the Mbox, which sounds pretty darn good. The hardware I use such as a Black magic decklink card for both video and sound in/out are great, this is high end professional stuff. I have never had the need to buy a cheap 3rd party sound card for the Mac, not sure why one would need to do this when you can record and playback thru either firewire(which is best) or USB. RE: All Hail Apple (gag) By jlips6 on 4/1/2008 5:51:50 PM , Rating: 2 I mean songs I have bought through itunes, and play on itunes with headphones with a 26,000 Mhz frequency response sound better on different computers with the same headphones.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search A "rageaholic", or "anger addict", is a person who gets excited by expressing rage, or a person prone to extreme anger with little or no provocation.[1] While "rageaholic" is not a formal medical diagnosis, it has been developed as a lay psychology term by counselors and anger-management groups seeking to help people who are chronically angry and who compulsively express fits of rage. There are also 12-step programs for dealing with rageaholics, such as Rageaholics Anonymous in Los Angeles, California, United States (US).[2] Origin of term[edit] The word "rageaholic" is patterned after terms such as "alcoholic" and "workaholic", and the condition is called "rageaholism". The term is relatively rare compared to the older term "alcoholic"; that is, 30 major online dictionaries on the Internet define alcoholic, whereas few include "rageaholic" as a valid term.[3] Potential triggers and coping skills[edit] Once an alcoholic takes that first drink, their chances of getting drunk increase exponentially. Once a rageaholic expresses their anger, their chances of throwing a tantrum also increase exponentially. Rageaholics Anonymous advises, "Abstaining completely from acting on anger is the only answer for a rageaholic."[4] The following are things that can be done right now to avoid expressing the anger and opening the door to another rageaholic episode.[4] • Take responsibility: Regardless of what triggered it, acting on the anger is dangerous for everyone around. It is time to stop blaming others for the rageaholism.[4] • Score the anger: Each time they start to lose their tempers, it is useful to score how angry they are on a one-to-ten scale. When they reach a 5 or more, they can try some new behaviors. (See below.)[4] • Interrupting: The quickest way to escalate a situation is to talk over someone. Even if they interrupted first, concentrating on not interrupting will help prevent a rageaholic episode. • Staring: There is a huge difference between paying attention and glaring. When people stop staring to intimidate, it stops the cycle that escalates internal anger into acting out. • Cursing: This is not a moral point. When people stop using profanity, they stop fanning the fire of their anger. • Name-calling: It is just like cursing. When people stop using demeaning terms (like calling people "stupid" or "crazy"), they stop the expanding cycle of anger that could lead to a rageaholic slip. • Threatening: People use threats to manipulate and control others. A threat usually implies "I will leave you or hurt you." It plays to other's insecurities, usually escalates their feelings and, moreover, takes the anger up a notch. • Pointing: Note the cliche, "When we point at someone else, we have three fingers pointing back at ourselves." There is the opportunity to stop blaming others for anger problems. • Yelling: When people yell, raise their voices, or talk in a mean tone, they fuel their own anger. Many are unaware when they start to raise their voices. People should ask others to respond when the volume is rising and thank them. • Sarcasm: Using sarcasm and mocking others is a way of expressing anger and humiliating people they care about. • Throwing things: When people throw things, slam doors, or bang walls, they intimidate others and escalate their anger. It is time for them to stop physically showing their anger.[4] • Touching: When people touch, hold, or push someone in anger, they are committing a crime. Even if they claim it is self-defense, aggressive touching must stop. A very high percentage of caregivers deluded into thinking they are superior are guilty of this crime.[4] • Hero stories: When people recount angry events with themselves as the hero, they get to re-feel those powerful angry feelings, fueling the addiction and seeming to justify those actions. It is important to take responsibility for the anger, not glorify it.[4] • Eye-rolling: People can communicate disgust and anger, non-verbally, by rolling their eyes, sighing or making mouth noises. By doing so, that can often raise the level of animosity by inflaming the other person. It is important to recognize what is being done and abstain from doing it. • Criticizing: It is not a responsibility to help everyone with anything they haven't asked for help or advice on. Criticizing and lecturing are no longer on the "to do" list.[4] • Angry driving: Speeding, angry horn honking, cutting people off, and yelling at other drivers, are major ways to keep anger bubbling. Reformed addicts attempt to drive in a relaxed manner, regardless of how others are driving.[4] See also[edit] 1. ^ "Rageaholic" in Webster's New Millennium of English, Preview Edition (v0.9.7), 2003–2008, Lexico Publishing Co., webpage: Dcom-rageaholic 2. ^ "Rageaholics Anonymous Stopping the Anger Cycle", adapted from Newton Hightower's Anger Busting 101, Rageaholics Anonymous in Los Angeles, 2007 3. ^ "alcoholic - OneLook Dictionary Search", OneLook Dictionary Search, 2008, webpage: OneLook-alcoholic. 4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j adapted from Newton Hightower's Anger Busting 101. External links[edit] • Webster's New Millennium Dictionary of English, Preview Edition (v0.9.7), 2003–2007, Lexico Publishing, Co., webpage: Dcom-rageaholic.
Review: ABC's 'Happy Endings' another lame relationship sitcom The last - and probably least - of this season's big trend <p>Clockwise from left, Casey Wilson, Elisha Cuthbert, Zachary Knighton, Damon Wayans Jr., Eliza Coupe and Adam Pally in "Happy Endings."</p> Clockwise from left, Casey Wilson, Elisha Cuthbert, Zachary Knighton, Damon Wayans Jr., Eliza Coupe and Adam Pally in "Happy Endings." Credit: ABC If the show they were working on weren't so flat and lacking in laughter, I'd actually feel sorry for the people involved with ABC's "Happy Endings," which debuts Wednesday night at 9:30 and 10 p.m. Every TV season has a trend - some theme or premise or casting idea that seems to drift from one pilot to the next until you start to wonder if every development executive is spying on every other development exec. This season's most prominent trend has been three-tiered comedies about groups of friends and/or relatives at different stages of a relationship. The specifics vary, but the basic idea remained in ABC's "Better With You," NBC's "Perfect Couples," FOX's "Traffic Light" and now "Happy Endings." It's also been one of this season's least successful trends. NBC pulled "Perfect Couples" off the schedule several weeks early, and "Better with You" and "Traffic Light" both seem to be playing out the string. So as one show after another with this fundamental premise has struggled, if not outright failed, the cast and crew responsible for "Happy Endings" have had to sit on the sidelines, realizing more with each passing week that they, like the other shows, seem to have miscalculated the zeitgeist. No one seems interested in this theme, and that's even with shows that have been better-executed and funnier than "Happy Endings." It's likely a dead show walking, and it hasn't even debuted yet. Our sextet this time is centered on Dave (Zachary Knighton from "FlashForward") and Alex (Elisha Cuthbert, aka "24" punchline Kim Bauer), whose long-term relationship flames out spectacularly when she leaves him at the altar. This leaves the rest of their close-knit group of friends - including her sister Jane (Eliza Coupe from "Scrubs"), Jane's husband Brad (Damon Wayans Jr.), Dave's gay best friend Max (Adam Pally) and Alex's panicked singleton pal Penny (Casey Wilson from "SNL") - wondering if they can all stick together as a unit or if they have to pick sides. And that question might interest me if these six weren't collectively so unpleasant to spend time with - and that "Happy Endings" seems only vaguely aware of that unpleasantness. It's a show that thinks it's a 21st century "Friends" when it's really a watered-down network version of "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia." I actually like Coupe a lot. She was one of the best parts of the final two seasons of "Scrubs" (or, if you prefer, the final season of "Scrubs" and the only season of "Scrubs Med School"), the most watchable performer in HBO's unaired Dallas dramedy "12 Miles of Bad Road" and someone I'm generally pleased to see when she pops up in TV guest spots. She has this unapologetic, fearlessly abrasive quality that usually makes an amusing contrast to the nicer characters on the shows she's done. Here, though, everyone's pitched at the same smug, selfish, cartoonish level, insulting and undermining each other at every turn, yet still treating each other - and being treated by the show - as if there's genuine affection underneath it all. The stories, meanwhile, are so cliched and/or goofy that the show at times has to apologize for them. In the second episode airing Wednesday, Dave struggles to figure out how to dump a girl when their one-night stand somehow turns into a committed relationship, and as Max and Brad suggest lies and wacky schemes he could try - most of which he has to resort to - someone compares the situation to the plot of a bad Dane Cook movie. A later episode deals with Max's refusal to come out to his parents, which ultimately requires all three women to pose as one of his girlfriends, and Dave to act like he's the member of the group who's gay. It's all too frantic, too full of obnoxious people contorting themselves into stupid lies in the service of jokes that never quite land. If I hadn't seen three other similar - but all better in some way - sitcoms this season, I might have slightly more patience due to pre-existing affection for Coupe and Casey Wilson. But I've seen this show before, and I'm as interested in it as the audience at large seems to be so far. Alan Sepinwall may be reached at Alan Sepinwall Sr. Editor, What's Alan Watching Around the Web
Sign up for our newsletters! Another bull's-eye. I cannot count the times I've been defeated, humiliated, or physically injured immediately after saying the words, "Hey, how hard can it be?" But that never seems to stop me from saying them again. "Now," Kathy went on, "Katie's not a Quick Start. She's a Fact Finder. Before she starts a task, she needs to know all about it. She needs to go through the instructions and analyze them for flaws, then get more information to fill in the gaps." To my amazement, my daughter nodded vigorously. I've never understood why some people hesitate before diving into unfamiliar tasks or activities. I couldn't imagine wanting more instructions about anything. "There are two other typical patterns," Kathy explained. "The people I call Implementors—like Thomas Edison, for example—need physical objects to work with. They figure out things by building models or doing concrete tasks. Then there are the Follow Thrus. They set up orderly systems, like the Dewey decimal system or a school curriculum. "And that, Katie," she said, "is why you're having trouble. The school system was created mainly by people who are natural Follow Thrus. It works best for students with the same profile. Your teachers want you to fit into the system, but you have a hard time seeing how it works. If you question the instructions—which you absolutely need to do—they think you're being sassy." Katie nodded so hard I feared for her cervical vertebrae. I was stunned. I'd spent years trying to understand my daughter, and a veritable stranger had just nailed the problem in ways I'd never even conceptualized. Katie wanted more instructions? You could have knocked me down with a feather. Basic Instinct I've told this story in detail because since meeting Kathy, studying her work, and seeing how dramatically it affects people and their productivity, I've become convinced that many of us feel like failures because we don't recognize (let alone accept) that our instinctive methods of acting are as varied as our eye color. Our modus operandi shapes the way we do everything: make breakfast, drive, learn math. Not recognizing natural differences in our conative styles—assuming instead that we're idiots because we do things unconventionally—can destroy that precious sense of self-efficacy. Imagine a race between four animals: an otter, a mole, a squirrel, and a mouse. They're headed for a goal several feet away. Which animal will win? Well, it depends. If the goal is underground, my money's on the mole. If it's in a tree? Hello, Mr. Squirrel. Underwater, it's the otter. And if the goal is hidden in tall grass, the mouse will walk away with it. Now, all these animals can swim, dig, climb, and find things in the grass. It's just that each of them does one of these things better than the others. Putting all four animals in a swimming race, say, would lead to the conclusion that one was better than the others, when the truth is simply that their innate skills are different. If we're in an environment (such as school, a job, or a family tradition) that asks us to act against our natural style, we feel uncomfortable at best, tormented at worst. Even if we manage to conform, we don't get a high sense of self-efficacy because although we've managed the efficacy part of the equation, we've lost the self. When we fail, we feel like losers; when we succeed, we feel like impostors. PAGE 2 of 4 From the January 2006 issue of O, The Oprah Magazine see all new stories
Bad Week for Democrats Dodd, Dorgan, and a whole lot of unhappy voters. It was a bad week to be a Democrat [Editor's Note, January 8]. Will it get worse? The decision by entrenched Sens. Byron Dorgan and Chris Dodd not to run for re-election raised a whole lot of speculation that more of the mighty would fall. Both were reacting to an immensely unhappy electorate. The sour economy is surely a factor, as is discontent with the policies of President Obama and the performance of Congress as a whole. Surely, the tortured progress of the healthcare bill has won few fans for the legislative process. So how bad is it for the Democrats? How did they fall so far so fast? Have they overreached in pushing their agenda? Or is it all just about the bad economy? Most important, will they lose their control of the House and Senate? Please share your thoughts at
Take the 2-minute tour × I've found a faulty connection to my database caused my development WAMP server to crash, even though the software is in working order, but PHP crashed and took the server down. Is there any way to make WAMP server or Apache itself automatically restart on crash? Is there any reason I wouldn't want to do this? It's an issue I've had a couple times and I figure even if it crashes and restarts it's better than not being up at all, but I may not be seeing the big picture. share\|improve this question add comment 1 Answer up vote 1 down vote accepted You can write a watchdog that tries to access a page on your web server and if it fails restarts the server. Run it as a scheduled task every {minute, 5 minutes, half hour, whatever...}. Implementation of this script is left as an exercise for the reader (especially on Windows, but PowerShell is probably going to be your friend). You are however missing the Big Picture as you suspect - A failed database connection should cause your site to throw errors, but it SHOULD NOT be knocking the web server down. If this were production I would say roll out the watchdog until you can debug the problem, but since this is your development environment I would spend a day or two figuring out why a faulty DB connection is knocking the whole show down. Bear in mind that if it's happening in development it may happen in production one day, and your employer will likely be less tolerant of the entire production environment shutting down than the developers are of the dev environment occasionally blowing up... share\|improve this answer Unfortunately it looks like my PHP cacher crashed it, but the production database is much more reliable than the dev one; it's an IT server everyone and their brother uses for whatever. Thanks for the Powershell Watchdog tip, I think I'll have to look into why my cache is crashing it first though – Ben Brocka Sep 13 '11 at 14:58 Solving the crashing problem is the Right Fix - the watchdog is a Quick Fix. If you're using the same cache engine on the production site it's definitely important: One day you will do database maintenance, and the DB will be unavailable for a few seconds. When the DB comes back the web site will be down because it crashed and your pager will be going off :) – voretaq7 Sep 13 '11 at 15:03 The DB has been unavailable before though (it's fairly common on dev), so the problem is less clear unfortunately. I got about 15 page loads in with no DB connection before it actually crashed; thought it was a network error at first. – Ben Brocka Sep 13 '11 at 15:17 add comment Your Answer
What Anime series do u want to see on PS3 and to what Genre? #61Nirvanas_NoxPosted 7/29/2013 8:21:56 PM artemis21 posted... Sword Art Online i feel this should be mmo only lol Silence is golden but duct tape is silver. #62copycat2008Posted 7/29/2013 8:30:48 PM samurai champloo - unimusha style gameplay. ghost in the shell - Deus Ex style (of course) cowboy beboop - multiple story/ending assasins creed type of gameplay, (since they are bounty hunters) #63MoonlightSwordPosted 7/29/2013 9:55:01 PM Iampony1 posted... Jakerific44 posted... MoonlightSword posted... Cardcaptor Sakura - Action-RPG/Sandbox This would actually be really cool. And I also want some sort of FMA- Open World and Cowboy Bebop- Shooter kind of game. It could work like RDR a random event is a card you have to capture.......why isnt that a thing? thanks, that's a great idea with the random events, maybe you would just see abnormalities in the world as you run around (like getting caught in an area loop or something) and if you have the means you could try and capture the card, you basically have the whole town at your disposal... using various clow magic to access different areas and a bunch of NPCs that are card related quests as well, could even enlist Li to help for certain cards... and of course Tomoyo would provide replays ^_^ Subspace is the best game ever - DZA forever #64Seifer_usPosted 7/29/2013 10:12:56 PM Paragon-57 posted... Bloodlines1191 posted... Already made on PS2 many years ago. Yeah, but the topic titles says, "On PS3" ... Heh, I don't think he realized that Hajime no Ippo has already had several (fantastic) games as well, two of which were released in the U.S. under the name "Victorious Boxers". I'm fond of the GBA one which plays a LOT like Super Punch Out!! I actually have the second PS2 Gungrave game signed by Yasuhiro Nightow and producer Toru Kubo because I was there for the Japanese launch of the game in 2004. For what I want made, I personally still want that Trigun game that was in the works at Sega before it morphed into Gungrave. I think it'd be a great straight-forward action game with some unique mechanics (i.e. no killing). I'd also like to echo the requests for a Shingeki no Kyojin (Attack on Titan) game, which I'd also like as a straight-forward action game. Ideally, both games would be developed by Platinum. I was quite impressed with the gameplay in Metal Gear Rising (just fix the camera and stupid plot), so I think they could come up with innovative ideas to make those two games work. Official Noctis of the Kingdom Hearts III Board PSN ID: Shawnji Trophy List:
Romans 3:23 I was working thru Romans 3:23-24 yesterday and found something that I could not explain. En the end of verse 24, Paul uses the construction --- dia tes apolutrowsis tes en Christwi Iesou. What is the use or function of the second tes? What does tes refer to? How should this construction be translated? If I've parsed it correctly (gen. sing. fem.), then it could refer to chariti or apolutrosis. How is it (or is it?) connected to en Christwi? \| Christopher Walker Student \|"Chirpes: n, a canarial \| \| Trinity Evangelical Divinity School \| disease, no tweetment" \| \| Internet:CWALKER@apollo.roundlake.baxter.com \| \|
DW, marriage, communication, sex and stuff. (329 Posts) Keepithidden Tue 09-Jul-13 10:11:19 Hello, I’ve posted in Dadsnet and Feminism already for advice regarding specific parts of my slightly dysfunctional marriage, so it’s time to bite the bullet and whack a post in relationships! Bit of background, I’m male, DW and I have been married five years, together ten. Both mid 30’s, two DCs (2 and 4) and no sex life. I’ve considered and tried various anaphrodisiacs and been reading a lot about PIV/Feminism womens views of sex and got myself thoroughly paranoid about the number of women with disappointing sex lives and I think DW may be one of them. I’ve tried to broach the subject a few times, but she says it’s tiredness/stress (understandable considering the young kids I suppose), I’ve asked whether she enjoys it when we do have sex, she says yes. I’ve even asked if she fakes it! She says no. Not sure whether I believe any of it because I know she wouldn’t want to hurt my feelings, and there does seem to be a big proportion of women out there who aren’t happy. I help around the house as much as I can (still got to buy a copy of Wifework to make sure I’m covering all bases) and I think we split things pretty equally despite me being fulltime working and DW a SAHM. She has the option of lie-ins at weekends (but rarely takes them), I try to do all the kiddy stuff at weekends to give her a break and cooking/cleaning in evenings is my responsibility most of the time too (she tends to do most of the laundry and cooking for the kids). So I suppose the question is, how long should I wait before putting an ultimatum/suggesting counselling/ending the Marriage? (rhetorical: I know only I can answer that) I love DW and would do anything for her (have considered chemical castration at times), but this is getting me down and I’ve started having slightly suicidal thoughts which I know isn’t healthy. The constant rejection I could cope with if I knew what the reason was. Could be a case that counselling for me is required. I think it all started about 5 years ago when we were TTC, after 1 year DW became pregnant and morning sickness put a kibosh on any intimacy, a year later we DTD once and number two came along, again Morning Sickness meant a nine month break, BFing extended this and it all fell into a rut so we’ve only DTD six times in the past five years! Putting that down in writing is quite shocking. Anyway, DW has issues with her body post pregnancy. I find her sexy and attractive, but my constant reassurances fall on deaf ears (haven’t seen her naked for five years either). I think she may need some help to improve her confidence as nothing I can say changes it a jot. Not sure on the best way to approach this one, so any words would of advice would be good. I think once she’s happy with herself then we can talk more about what she wants out of life and whether she even wants me in it. Sorry, this post is all a bit disjointed and I’ve probably missed stuff out but it’s cathartic to get it down even if this gets no responses! CogitoErgoSometimes Tue 09-Jul-13 10:24:39 What was your sex life like five years ago? Be honest here. Also, how affectionate are you with each other day to day? How 'close' are you in the ordinary course of events? Do you hold hands or kiss in public? Do you snuggle on the sofa watching TV or exchange flirty texts? Do you share private jokes, give each other compliments, romantic gestures ... that kind of thing? There's no 'normal' when it comes to sex-lives but IME, couples who have had a strong physical & emotional connection to begin with can survive the inevitable lulls in 'sex' as long as they remain affectionate Jan45 Tue 09-Jul-13 10:31:31 Sex 6 times in five years! No wonder you are wondering what to do. I suppose until your wife accepts there is a problem there's not a lot you can do; saying it's stress and tiredness wouldn't be an answer for me and I would expect my partner to be a bit more active in trying to find out the cause and solution. A relationship without sex isn't a relationship to me, the sex is as important as the communication, in fact without the sex there's no closeness, you're basically just friends sharing children together. It's up to you how much long you are prepared to wait but looks like unless you both try counselling and perhaps a visit to the GP, this will just continue and probably, from your part anyway, kil the marriage altogether. Keepithidden Tue 09-Jul-13 11:03:06 Cogito - It varied, but probably twice a week, not quite the levels some folk on here enjoy! We are not very affectionate at all, whenever we're in public we're with the kids, holding their hands, looking after them rather than focussed on each other. No snuggling on the sofa, evenings tend to be for housework, cooking that kind of thing, then by 10ish I'm thinking about heading to bed. No flirty texts either. We give each other compliments, gifts, romantic gestures. I think the affection thing is something I need to work on. Friends sharing children, as Jan says, seems to sum it up at the moment. I don't know if this is a 'normal' lull experienced by most couples with small children though. If it is then I can probably hack it, it's just the not knowing that is difficult. The other issues of whether she enjoys it, whether she finds me attractive or what she's thinking about us complicate matters more. I just wish I knew what to do, she deserves a husband, partner and lover. At the moment she's just got a flatmate who coparents. CogitoErgoSometimes Tue 09-Jul-13 11:23:04 Again, it's unhelpful to think of 'normal' because we're all individuals and we have different definitions. It helps you not one iota to learn that, as a mother of a young baby, I thoroughly enjoyed a exciting sexual relationship and treated it, aside from anything else, as a way to wind down from a tiring day and reinforce my self-image as a desirable adult woman rather than just a sleep-deprived, nappy changing automaton with teats... What I think you have to focus on is that neither of you seem happy and then put this to her. She's feeling insecure about her appearance. You're feeling insecure because you're being rejected sexually. She says she's tired and stressed. You're depressed and slightly suicidal. There's a lot wrong here and I think you could achieve a lot as a couple if you started putting each other higher priority rather than the DCs all the time. CogitoErgoSometimes Tue 09-Jul-13 11:25:26 When did you last take a break together as a couple btw? A weekend without the children or even just a grown-up, romantic night out? Aside from sex, what did you do pre-DCs that kept you connected as a couple and which has since gone by the wayside? Did you have some common interests? What did you enjoy talking about? AnythingNotEverything Tue 09-Jul-13 11:40:40 Is your wife happy with the current situation? Does she know that you aren't? My gut feeling is this isn't about sex - it's about intimacy and feeling a connection. Stop the housework and make time for each other. BelaLugosisShed Tue 09-Jul-13 11:58:19 Sorry to break this to you but it sounds pretty normal/standard for a busy couple with 2 very young children, it sounds like you've never been very intimate together and couples really need shared time and intimacy when sex is thin on the ground. Your talk of chemical castration and suicide really isn't normal or healthy though, lots of people cope with sporadic sex lives, how do you think people with partners who are away for months at a time cope? It sounds like communication is the main issue, counselling probably would be useful. Keepithidden Tue 09-Jul-13 12:03:39 Cogito - Yeah, you right about normal. It's useful to have a yardstick, but also not very useful as it could set up your expectations. We need to have a long old talk I know, I think DW does too, she is I suspect reluctant to discuss it though. Been years since we went away as a couple, before kids. We went out for our fifth wedding anniversary a few weeks back. It was great, but it doesn't happen often, babysitting is problematic. We used to watch films together, go out to the pub, cinema, restaurants, cycling, gardening. All of that's gone now, the DCs have become the priority, to the detriment of the marriage. Anything - She doesn't seem unhappy, whether she's actually happy I really don't know now (it's the communication thing again). It's easy to fall into a status-quo which makes me think she's content if not happy. She's always tired when I'm around although I don't think it's anything medical. PiHigh Tue 09-Jul-13 12:15:08 Lots of those hobbies are very doable when you have kids even without babysitters. Why not get a lovefilm/netflix type of deal and make one night a month/week "Movie Night". Do the absolute bare minimum essentials in the house, then make some popcorn and sit and watch a film together. Gardening - get the kids involved, bucket of water & paintbrush and get them to 'paint' the house while you and dw enjoy the real gardening or just sitting in the garden with a glass of wine. Cycling - can you hire a trailer for the kids? CogitoErgoSometimes Tue 09-Jul-13 12:18:31 I think you've got to get back some of those old interests. If you went out and it was 'great' then there's another angle for the conversation i.e. 'how can we do more of that?' Babysitting agencies exist so it might cost you a few quid but what price a better relationship? If you don't go out, create a romantic night in. Put the kids to bed early, buy a bottle of wine and slap a few steaks on the BBQ... Forget the housework. 'Always tired' if it's not medical means you have to find ways to give her a break. If you can't go away as a couple what can you do between you to get her more sleep? The one key suggestion I'd have for you is to take the emphasis off 'sex'. If at any level someone thinks that they only get to be treated nicely if they put out, it turns a nice gesture into a pressure situation. Keep the emphasis on reconnecting, being more affectionate/intimate, making time, reducing tiredness, making each other feel special, prioritising yourselves as a couple.... PiHigh Tue 09-Jul-13 12:25:25 Oh another thing, I find (as a SAHM) that Dh taking over in the evening/weekends isn't really a break for me. I can still hear the noise of the kids and the general monotony of being at home if that makes sense. Could you maybe treat her and a friend to a cinema trip for a proper break? Keepithidden Tue 09-Jul-13 13:00:46 Some great ideas, thanks everyone. Yep, I learnt that particular lesson a long time ago, to my embarassment and shame! PiHigh - Interesting about the noise etc. at home. I hadn't considered that angle. I have encouraged here to go out with friends before, not really sure why she doesn't. Cinema/pub/clubbing anything to unwind I'd be happy for her to go out. Will try again though. Lots of things to talk about here. Will try this evening (assuming it's diplomatically a good time - various other stresses ongoing at the moment, but when aren't there!). intarsia Tue 09-Jul-13 13:07:21 Did your DW have a career before children? Could she be needing something at her own intellectual level? Has she ever spoken about it? May be she's struggling with feelings to do with that? You sound really caring BTW Wellwobbly Tue 09-Jul-13 13:20:14 The time to give an ultimatum is NOW. But not the nuclear option (D, leaving her), just a calm and factual statement as you have told us that you feel unloved and uncared about, that sex is very important to you to express closeness, that her 'meh' makes you feel very rejected. That you HAVE BOOKED A COUNSELLING session and that you want her to come with you. That, if she doesn't, you will go along anyway. Apparently nothing cuts through the denial that there is a problem more, than counselling. Next level of ultimatum (after you have explored the issues that counselling brings up): that whilst you love her very much and she is the one you are attracted to, her continued 'meh' is going to be taken as acceptance of an open marriage and you are going to find your sexual needs fulfilled elsewhere - and do it. I think that might get a reaction/her off to the doctor to check her hormone levels etc. Tbh husband, I think you are Too Nice, have given her too much power in the marriage and she takes you for complete granted and doesn't respect you. Do go to counselling, and let us know what comes up? Getting a bit tough with this wife might get you the results you want. If it is any comfort, this woman thinks your wife is being very unfair, very uncaring and could do with a bloody good kick up the arse. Man up and get angry about this! You sound like a lovely caring man, if just a bit too lovely and caring. PoppyWearer Tue 09-Jul-13 13:27:58 How well do your DCs sleep? Who takes care of the night wakings? I have a 4yo and a 1yo, the 1yo is an awful sleeper. I deal with him every night. Frankly I'm too knackered to think about anything else when I go to bed than sleep. Can you give your DW a night off or whisk her away to a local hotel for a night (or send her on her own, also throw in some spa treatments)? If you can't give her some time away, what about some time for grooming without the DCs around? I feel much happier once I've had a warm bath and a hair-removing session! Would she like a gym membership? Does she like to run or go to exercise classes? All of that, time away from the children, will help her to feel better about herself. Yes, the work/intellectual thing definitely matters. My own self-esteem goes through the floor at times because "all" I do all day is look after the DCs and do housework. Maybe she needs to go back to work? Get a cleaner, if you can afford it! That will probably help your sex life, seriously, if your DW feels like less of a drudge. And some childcare wouldn't hurt. Lastly, could contraception be the problem? I found that my contraceptive pill made me feel exhausted and depressed and have been like a new woman since I stopped taking it. Until I get different contraception sorted I am reluctant to let DH near me as I want to avoid another pregnancy at all costs, it would be a disaster for us. Could you have a vasectomy if you don't want to have more children? The threat of another pregnancy might be at the root of her reluctance. Good luck. Please be patient and try to find out (gently) what is really going on. CogitoErgoSometimes Tue 09-Jul-13 13:28:04 Too harsh WellWobbly.... Kicks up the arse? Open marriage? Power? Really? The stage you're describing is not where the OP find himself at all. Reading what he's written I'm not seeing 'meh' and neither am I seeing malicious withdrawal of affection or (which is the time to issue ultimatums). I'm seeing two people who are prioritising everyone except themselves, live like ships that pass in the night and have got into some bad habits, but who (and this is very important) ... when given a chance such as their fifth anniversary... are perfectly capable of being intimate. I'm never shy to suggest to anyone that they have to lay what they want on the line but, in this instance, I think there's hope. Counselling, certainly. Threats of screwing around?... that's just childish. PoppyWearer Tue 09-Jul-13 13:38:25 Hear hear, Cogito, spot on! Hi Keepit I responded to your first post in Feminism (it's PromQueen here, with a new name) and wanted to just pop in to say I'm glad you've posted here too. The posters here are very wise and I'd listen to them if I were you. (Except the bit about ultimatums and open marriages, as Cogito says, that sounds a bit shock to me). Good luck! Wellwobbly Tue 09-Jul-13 13:39:26 Cogito, why is men's distress denied and minimised here? Why are women ALWAYS given the benefit of the doubt on Mumsnet? Men are NOT animals for wanting sex. It is a normal and natural desire for love. To calmly say: I am unhappy my needs are not met... are as important and valid for men as for women, and even though she is a precious woman his wife SHOULD listen to him and take him and his needs seriously. That is called love. I am only extending to this husband what I wish for myself: to be heard, to be taken seriously, and to be met half way. And, if she refuses to take him seriously (which I doubt if he does the constructive process of clearly stating his position/boundaries and going to counselling), then yes he does have the right to tell her openly and honesty that he does not want to lose his family but that he will get his sexual needs met if she won't. If you look at the marriage contract, providing sex is in there. I know mine was the really old-fashioned one, but it is a fundamental part of the contract of marriage: I keep myself only to you, and you provide sexually. Both to eachother. 'Screwing around' is not so if it is done openly and honestly and with fair warning, giving the other person the opportunity to revise their stance and priorities. The whole point of affairs is that they are SECRET and DECEITFUL which means the spouse is not negotiating on a level playing field. When she finds out he is serious and he is determined I am pretty sure it wouldn't get to that. Cogito, women can behave badly and with laziness and lack of care, and sometimes they do need a jolt to catch their attention. Sorry if my language (kick up the arse) offends. AnythingNotEverything Tue 09-Jul-13 13:51:09 Sexual needs which must be met?! This isn't the 1950s. I'm with cognito. themaltesecat Tue 09-Jul-13 13:54:38 Can I just say, you should know if she isn't faking it. Things, er, quiver and jolt and pulse around your cock / tongue / fingers in a way which leaves you in no doubt. That you have a doubt about this matter suggests to me that she was faking orgasms. Which suggests to me that it was pretty inevitable that your sex life petered out. You make yourself sound reasonable enough, but reading texts about feminist issues isn't going to help (you do realise that just because one author has a vagina, she doesn't speak for all womankind, don't you?). I'd be well suspicious if my husband did that, and find it a turn-off, whether it was done in a "I've been a good boy and done my homework and now can I have a shag, please" way, or a more sinister, "Look, I've done THIS, THIS and THIS in the house, and even read THIS shite by a WOMAN, now SHAG me for fuck's sake" way! Ragwort Tue 09-Jul-13 14:00:29 Sexual needs which must be met?! This isn't the 1950s - personally I agree with this statement however there are many threads on mumsnet when if the woman isn't satisfied with her sex life it is considered perfectly acceptable for her to give her DH/DP an 'ultimatam' - there are countless threads about a woman's 'right to a satisfying sex life'. Why doesn't this work the other way, double standards (again) on Mumsnet hmm? Keepithidden Tue 09-Jul-13 14:26:26 Whoa, loads of responses now. Okay I'll try and cover all questions. Career - Yes she had a career of sorts, and still maintains it to a certain extent (small business, working from home) it's the type that can be dipped into and out of as she wants/has time. I've sked her if she'd rather be at work than a SAHM and she says she'd rather be a SAHM. I'm sure she misses the adult company though, who wouldn't? DC waking at night - DD sleeps well and generally all the way through. If she needs attending then it's generally serious and will require Calpol and reassurance. So we'll both get up. DS doesn't sleep as well, but is older, we used to take it in turns, but now it is more often me as he plays up for his mum more than me. Not sure this is an issue, I can get by on far less sleep than DW. Contraception - I had the snip last year, FDW has been off the pill for a few years now. I know she's concerned about another pregnancy. I have more faith in Marie Stopes than she does! Wobbly - May be a bit overkill, I've read about sex-rank, alpha males etc... on the Talkaboutmarriage forum. Not that convinced about it all. Yet. May be a tactic to use in the future, mind you when it gets to that stage all-bets-are-off anyway. I get your point about marriage contracts etc. but that argument smacks too much of power games for my liking (call me a Beta male if you like!). Themaltesecat - Yeah, I know I should know. Not easy to be objective when you're involved in the situation. I know I'm paranoid, I just don't know how much! I think it's a bit unfair to pin those other two arguments on me. I'm not after a pity shag, or a forced sex, I'd rather go without, either of those two may as well be voluntary rape from my POV. I want to be the lover my wife wants, and if that's not possible (either because I'm not attractive, or because she's asexual) I want to get out so she can find someone who can fulfil her needs. Wellwobbly Tue 09-Jul-13 15:13:39 You sound like such a lovely man, Keep. What loving and caring loyalty. Do go to counselling, you might find you are a bit too 'nice' and that once the dynamics in the family are tweaked somewhat, you will all be so much happier. All of you. Join the discussion Join the discussion Register now
Last updated on March 16, 2014 at 9:20 EDT Guyana Frontier Provides Review of Marudi Mountain Historical Resource Estimate June 6, 2012 VANCOUVER, June 6, 2012 /PRNewswire/ – Guyana Frontier Mining Corp. (TSX-V: GYG) (“Guyana Frontier”) is pleased to announce that it has carried out a review of a historical resource estimate for the Mazoa Hill deposit at the Marudi Mountain Gold Project (“Marudi Mountain”) in southern Guyana, South America. The historical resource estimate was first published in 1995, prior to the implementation of National Instrument 43-101 (“N.I. 43-101″). Guyana Frontier engaged Reserva International LLC, of Reno, Nevada to conduct the review. About the Marudi Mountain Historical Resource Estimate The Marudi Mountain property has been the subject of extensive historical work, including approximately 28,000 metres of diamond drilling. In June 1995, Kilborn Engineering Pacific Ltd. (“Kilborn”), of Vancouver, B.C., Canada, prepared an evaluation report (the “Evaluation Report”) of Marudi Mountain for Sutton Resources Ltd (“Sutton”). The Evaluation Report included a resource estimate for the Mazoa Hill target area, where approximately 13,530 metres were drilled in 70 historical holes, based on drill core data, geological descriptions, surface trenching channel samples, and adit channel samples provided to Kilborn by Sutton. Metallurgical test data used for the Evaluation Report were taken from 1982 and 1991-1993 work programs. Geological resources as depicted in Table 1 at selected cut-off grades of 0.50, 1.00 and 1.50 grams/tonne gold were classified by Kilborn as “Measured & Indicated”, and “Inferred” categories based on the “Principles of Resources/Reserve Classification for Minerals” contained in Circular 831 published by the U.S. Bureau of Mines and the U.S. Geological Survey (“USGS”). See Table 2 for a comparison between the mineral resource category definitions described in USGS Circular 831, and those definitions published by the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (“CIM”) in 2010, which were adopted under N.I. Table1. Historical Geological Resources of the Mazoa Hill Deposit (from “Evaluation Report of the Marudi Mountain Project”, by Kilborn, 1995) \| Mineral \| Above \| Volume \| Average \| Tonnage \| Metal Content \| \| Resource\|Cut-off Gold \| (m3) \| Grade \| (metric \| (Gold) \| \| Category\| Grade \| \| Gold \| tonnes) \| \| \| \|(grams/tonne)\| \|(grams/tonne)\| \| (grams) \| \| \| \| \| \| \| (oz.) \| \|Measured \| 0.50 \|1,584,187\| 2.36 \|4,594,143\|10,842,177\|348,589\| \|& \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \|Indicated\| \| \| \| \| \| \| \|Inferred \| 0.50 \| 407,910 \| 1.99 \|1,182,940\|2,354,051 \|75,686 \| \|Measured \| 1.00 \|1,165,890\| 2.94 \|3,381,081\|9,940,378 \|319,595\| \|& \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \|Indicated\| \| \| \| \| \| \| \|Inferred \| 1.00 \| 296,870 \| 2.45 \| 860,924 \|2,109,264 \|67,815 \| \|Measured \| 1.50 \| 906,425 \| 3.42 \|2,628,633\|8,989,925 \|289,037\| \|& \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \|Indicated\| \| \| \| \| \| \| \|Inferred \| 1.50 \| 202,448 \| 3.02 \| 587,100 \|1,773,042 \|57,005 \| The resource estimate contained in the Evaluation Report is historical in nature, and is not based on an existing technical report prepared under the guidelines of N.I. 43-101. Guyana Frontier considers the historical resource estimate to be relevant to ongoing exploration and believes that it provides a conceptual indication of the potential of the gold occurrence but does not consider it to be reliable at this time. No more recent mineral resource estimate regarding the Mazoa Hill deposit is available to Guyana Frontier. A Qualified Person, as defined by the guidelines of N.I. 43-101, has not done sufficient work to classify the historical estimate as current mineral resources or mineral reserves, and Guyana Frontier is not treating the historical estimate as current mineral resources or mineral reserves. Reserva International LLC recommends that in conjunction with additional drilling, the implementation of a comprehensive QA/QC program, standard data verification procedures, and additional measurements of specific gravity and core recovery would be required to validate the historical resource estimate and align it more closely with current best practice guidelines. Guyana Frontier has implemented industry standard QA/QC procedures in its 2012 drilling program. As Table 2 shows below, the implementation of the CIM mineral resource category definitions presents a higher degree of detail than the definitions used prior to the implementation of N.I. 43-101. For example, the 1995 Kilborn mineral resource estimate provides a combined measured and indicated resource, and does not separate or distinguish between the two categories. Table 2. Comparison of Mineral Resource Category Definitions, c.1995 vs. 2010 \| MineralResource \| USGS Circular 831 \| CIM (2010) \| \| Category \| (1980) \| \| \| Measured Mineral \|Materials whose \|That part of a mineral\| \| Resource: \|quality and quantity \|resource for which \| \| \|have been determined,\|quantity, grade or \| \| \|within a margin of \|quality, densities, \| \| \|error of less than 20\|shape, and physical \| \| \|percent, by \|characteristics are so\| \| \|quantitative data, \|well established that \| \| \|including \|they can be estimated \| \| \|appropriate analyses,\|with confidence \| \| \|from closely spaced \|sufficient to allow \| \| \|and \|the appropriate \| \| \|geologically \|application of \| \| \|well-known sample \|technical and economic\| \| \|sites. \|parameters, to support\| \| \| \|production planning \| \| \| \|and evaluation of the \| \| \| \|economic viability of \| \| \| \|the deposit. The \| \| \| \|estimate is based on \| \| \| \|detailed and reliable \| \| \| \|exploration, sampling \| \| \| \|and testing \| \| \| \|information gathered \| \| \| \|through appropriate \| \| \| \|techniques from \| \| \| \|locations such as \| \| \| \|outcrops, trenches, \| \| \| \|pits, workings and \| \| \| \|drill holes that are \| \| \| \|spaced closely enough \| \| \| \|to confirm both \| \| \| \|geological and grade \| \| \| \|continuity. \| \| IndicatedMineral \|Materials whose \|That part of a mineral\| \| Resource: \|quality and quantity \|resource for which \| \| \|have been estimated \|quantity, grade or \| \| \|partly from analyses \|quality, densities, \| \| \|and \|shape and physical \| \| \|measurements and \|characteristics can be\| \| \|partly from \|estimated with a level\| \| \|reasonable geologic \|of confidence \| \| \|inferences. \|sufficient to allow \| \| \| \|the appropriate \| \| \| \|application of \| \| \| \|technical and economic\| \| \| \|parameters, to support\| \| \| \|mine planning and \| \| \| \|evaluation of the \| \| \| \|economic viability of \| \| \| \|the deposit. The \| \| \| \|estimate is based on \| \| \| \|detailed and reliable \| \| \| \|exploration and \| \| \| \|testing information \| \| \| \|gathered through \| \| \| \|appropriate techniques\| \| \| \|from locations such as\| \| \| \|outcrops, trenches, \| \| \| \|pits, workings and \| \| \| \|drill holes that are \| \| \| \|spaced closely enough \| \| \| \|for geological and \| \| \| \|grade continuity to be\| \| \| \|reasonably assumed. \| \|InferredMineralResource:\|Materials in \|That part of a mineral\| \| \|identified but \|resource for which \| \| \|unexplored deposits \|quantity and grade or \| \| \|whose quality and \|quality can be \| \| \|quantity have been \|estimated on the basis\| \| \|estimated from \|of geological evidence\| \| \|geologic projections.\|and limited sampling \| \| \| \|and reasonably \| \| \| \|assumed, but not \| \| \| \|verified, geological \| \| \| \|and grade continuity. \| \| \| \|The estimate is based \| \| \| \|on limited information\| \| \| \|and sampling gathered \| \| \| \|through appropriate \| \| \| \|techniques from \| \| \| \|locations such as \| \| \| \|outcrops, trenches, \| \| \| \|pits, workings and \| \| \| \|drill holes. \| Marudi Mountain 2012 Drilling Program The 2012 drilling program was planned to assess the gold mineralization found in historical drilling and support the establishment of a N.I. 43-101 compliant resource estimate, if applicable. It is not known at this time how many drill holes or the number of metres of diamond drilling that would be required to produce a N.I. 43-101 compliant resource estimate for the Marudi Mountain property. Guyana Frontier’s 2012 drilling program, consisting of 12 holes totaling 1,977.47 metres, concluded in April 2012 (see Guyana Frontier’s news releases dated May 2, 2012 and May 24, 2012). Three holes were drilled in the Mazoa Hill target area, and the remaining 9 holes were drilled in the Marudi North target area, where Guyana Frontier had identified prospective drill targets from its extensive 2011 trenching program. Guyana Frontier successfully encountered gold mineralization at Marudi North within quartzite-metachert rocks (the host rock), interpreted as similar in composition to the rocks known to host gold mineralization at the Mazoa Hill target area, located approximately 1.6 kilometres to the south. Results of 6 holes from Marudi North yet to be reported are currently being compiled and interpreted. For maps and photos depicting the 2012 drilling, please visit Guyana Frontier’s website at www.guyanafrontier.com The technical disclosure in this news release was reviewed and approved by Mr. Tim Carew, P.Geo., of Reserva International LLC, a Qualified Person as defined in N.I. 43-101 and an independent contractor to Guyana Frontier. About Marudi Mountain Marudi Mountain consists of one Mining Licence totaling 13,502 acres (5,464 hectares) located in southern Guyana approximately 500 kilometres (330 miles) from the capital city of Georgetown. Guyana Frontier also holds the adjacent Paint Mountain property (“Paint Mountain”). Paint Mountain consists of one Prospecting Licence totaling 8,848 acres (3,581 hectares) and remains largely underexplored. Guyana Frontier recently commenced surface exploration at Paint Mountain, including trenching, prospecting, and geological mapping. A portion of the property has been selected for trenching, detailed mapping and sampling on the basis of favourable geology and the presence of artisanal alluvial gold miners. Airborne geophysical surveys are planned for both the Paint Mountain and Marudi Mountain properties in About Guyana Frontier Guyana Frontier is a public mineral exploration company listed on the discovery and development of precious metals deposits within Guyana, South America. Guyana Frontier began acquiring interests in Guyanese exploration properties in 2007, and now holds various rights to obtain working interests in approximately 342,000 acres (138,400 hectares) of prospective lands. Guyana Frontier’s goal is to develop a significant gold resource at Marudi Mountain, and to explore its other Guyanese projects using funding from exploration partners. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking statements events or developments that the Company expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future, including such things as planned exploration activities at the Marudi Mountain and Paint Mountain properties, the establishment of an NI 43-101 compliant resource at the Marudi Mountain property, future business strategy, competitive strengths, goals, expansion, growth of the Company’s businesses, operations, plans and with respect to exploration results, the timing and success of exploration activities generally, permitting time lines, government regulation of exploration and mining operations, environmental risks, title disputes or claims, limitations on insurance coverage, timing and possible outcome of any pending litigation and timing and results of future resource estimates or future economic studies. assumptions, including, the result of drilling and exploration activities, that contracted parties provide goods and/or services on the agreed timeframes, that equipment necessary for exploration is available as scheduled and does not incur unforeseen break downs, that no labour shortages or delays are incurred, that plant and equipment function as specified, that no unusual geological or technical problems occur, and that laboratory and other related services are available and perform as contracted. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, future events, conditions, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, prediction, projection, forecast, performance or achievements expressed or implied the interpretation and actual results of current exploration activities; changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined; the existence of weather conditions suitable for exploration activities; future prices of minerals; possible variations in grade or recovery rates; failure of equipment or processes to operate as anticipated; the failure of contracted parties to perform; labour disputes and other risks of the mining industry; delays in obtaining governmental approvals or financing or in the completion of exploration, as well as those factors disclosed in the company’s publicly filed documents. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. SOURCE Guyana Frontier Mining Corp. Source: PR Newswire
A Nobel Letdown in Economics It's customary, when the Nobel Prize in Economics is announced each year, for the members of the economics profession to gather around and proclaim how deserving the winners are and how important their research is to the field. I have to say, however, that this year's Nobel Prize in Economics, given to two game theorists, brings up mixed feelings for me. Since I'm a journalist with a PhD in economics, I will go half the distance. I agree that Robert Aumann and Thomas Schelling, this year's Nobel laureates, deserve their awards. Schelling, in particular, wrote two of the best economic books ever, The Strategy of Conflict and Micromotives and Macrobehavior. CONSISTENT WITH MANY OUTCOMES. In my opinion, however, game theory represents an evolutionary dead-end in the development of economics. Game theory tries to use the principle of rationality to explain conflict and cooperation in a wide range of economic and social situations. For example, game theory has been used to analyze why the apparently insane buildup of nuclear weapons in the postwar period was actually a rational method of deterring war, and why aggressive price-cutting by airlines was an effective means of deterring competition. To put it a different way: If the world had been blown up during the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962, game theorists could have explained that as an unfortunate outcome -- but one that was just as rational as what actually happened. Similarly, an industry that collapses into run-amok competition, like the airlines, can be explained rationally by game theorists as easily as one where cooperation is the norm. FRESHER THINKING. Rationality only gets you so far in terms of predicting behavior. In the aftermath of Katrina, news reports of widespread looting and crime in New Orleans were perfectly plausible. After all, it would be rational for criminals to take advantage of the absence of effective policing. But now that we know that criminal activity after the hurricane was relatively rare, well, it also seems rational that everyone would band together in the face of a common disaster. Similarly, in Iraq today, either of two polar outcomes -- civil war or cooperation between the Sunnis and Shiites -- is perfectly compatible with game theory. Instead, the real progress in economics these days is coming not from game theory, which has been around for 60 or more years, but from the much newer fields of behavioral and experimental economics. Behavioral and experimental economics don't start with the assumption of rationality used by game theory. Rather, as the name suggests, the focus is on looking at how individuals and organizations actually make decisions in practice, including systematic biases, misperceptions, and just general all-around bloody-mindedness. DEFYING EXPECTATIONS. In fact, Daniel Kahneman and Vernon Smith won the 2002 Nobel Prize in Economics for their work on behavioral and experimental economics. The writeup that accompanied their award observed: In a series of studies, Kahneman -- in collaboration with the late Amos Tversky -- has shown that people are incapable of fully analyzing complex decision situations when the future consequences are uncertain. SAYING TOO MUCH. In other words, Kahneman and Smith won their 2002 prize precisely for showing that people mostly don't behave the way that game theory assumes they do. Game theory is based on a finely honed sort of reasoning: "If I do this, then he'll do that, then I'll do this" ad infinitum, assessing the probability of different final outcomes. In reality, though, that's not how most people think or make decisions. Now, nobody forces the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, which awards the Nobel Prize, to worry about intellectual consistency. But I do object when the Nobel Prize press release asks "Why do some groups of individuals, organizations, and countries succeed in promoting cooperation while others suffer from conflict?" and then calls game theory "the dominant approach to this age-old question." That's just overstatement. Mandel is chief economist for BusinessWeek The Epic Hack (enter your email) (enter up to 5 email addresses, separated by commas) Max 250 characters blog comments powered by Disqus
Stuart Goodman Publication Details • Chronic antigen-specific immune-system activation may potentially be involved in the loosening of cemented acetabular components JOURNAL OF BIOMEDICAL MATERIALS RESEARCH Farber, A., Chin, R., Song, Y., Huie, P., Goodman, S. 2001; 55 (3): 433-441 Previous studies have attempted to determine whether aseptic loosening and osteolysis are caused by a T cell-mediated type IV hypersensitivity reaction or a nonspecific foreign body reaction involving phagocytic macrophages. The purpose of this study was to examine the role of the B7-CD28 costimulatory pathway (which is indicative of an activated immune response) in loosening and osteolysis of total joint replacements (TJRs). We harvested periprosthetic tissues from 24 loose, cemented, all polyethylene, acetabular components in patients undergoing revision total hip replacement surgery for aseptic loosening. Prostheses were classified radiographically as to whether ballooning, scalloping osteolysis was present or not. Monoclonal antibodies were used to identify macrophages, antigen presenting cells (APCs) expressing B7-1 or B7-2, total T lymphocytes, and T cells expressing CD28 or CTLA-4. The large numbers of positive cells, including macrophages, T cells, and APCs in both groups are substantially higher than previously reported. Macrophages constituted the predominant cell type, the majority of which were APCs. B7-1 was expressed by 18.3% of all cells, and B7-2 was expressed by 61.0% of cells. Despite the fact that there were no statistically significant differences in expression of proteins in the B7-CD28 pathway between the osteolytic and nonosteolytic groups, the magnitude of positive staining suggests that the process of aseptic loosening (not osteolysis) may involve proteins of the B7-CD28 pathway, particularly B7-2. One possible antigenic stimulus is protein-coated particulate wear debris from prosthetic materials. View details for Web of Science ID 000167677200021 View details for PubMedID 11255198 Stanford Medicine Resources: Footer Links:
• News/ Tom Cruise and Suri Reunite in NYC! Tom Cruise, Suri Cruise James Devaney/WireImage Tom Cruise is a lot of things. Doting father is one of them. Good Samaritan is another. So it's hardly surprising that he was reunited with daughter Suri in New York City just hours after she and Katie Holmes escaped uninjured from a fender-bender. Frankly, we'd be surprised if the knight in shining armor hadn't popped up in the Big Apple this morning to spend time with his 6-year-old for the first time since word of their split broke more than two weeks ago. MORE: Suri and Katie sideswiped! While getting caught by the paparazzi was inevitable, the 50-year-old movie star didn't stay out in public for too long, and was only briefly spotted while carrying Suri (herself carrying a stuffed animal) from his car to their hotel. He only arrived in the city this morning. A source confirms that this is the first scheduled visitation between the duo, but that while they have not physically been in the same place, there has been "near daily" contact between the father and daughter. In any case, today's face time is no doubt preferable to what was originally on the books, as today was the scheduled date for the first hearing (canceled in light of a settlement) between Tom and Katie. Though Suri and mama Katie have been making the rounds in NYC on a daily basis, Cruise has spent the past two weeks filming his new sci-fi flick Oblivion in California. From the adorable look of things, they've clearly missed each other's company. PHOTOS: Katie Holmes Post-Split
Most fitting nicknames? #1LightningAce11Posted 1/18/2013 2:25:32 AM I saw a zapdos named badhairday. Official Zapdos of the Pokemon X/Y Message Boards #2HemerukioPosted 1/18/2013 2:26:40 AM Magikarp named God. #3MilenninPosted 1/18/2013 2:27:34 AM Bidoof = Biderp #4darkdragongirlPosted 1/18/2013 2:31:12 AM Named my Scrafty after the character in "The Stranger". Mersault just wants to enjoy a good smoke, and watch some executions. Playing: Ragnarok Odyssey I've got a poring on my mind, and toast in my mouth, let's quest!
Take the 2-minute tour × I have an issue with a certificate authority in a windows 2003 domain. We need one configured to allow ssl/tls encrypted traffic over LDAP so that our Application Gateway server is able to allow users to change domain passwords. I do not have a lot of knowledge on certificates and the server functions of a CA. We have had a CA setup on a domain server that is not a domain controller. This appears to be fine. However, when trying to add a new Automatic Certificate Request under the Public Key Policies section, I get strange results. When carrying out this action I choose the Domain Controller Certificate template and hit next I get the following screen: alt text I would actually expect to be able to choose the CA server at this point. Clicking finsh, closes the wizard and there are no more options to choose from. Can anyone suggest some diagnostic steps I can take? share\|improve this question add comment 1 Answer up vote 1 down vote accepted The templates you see in the Automatic Setup are determined by the security settings on the Certificate Templates on your CA server(s). Most computers can only get the Computer certificate because of how the security defaults. Another option open to you is to use the Certificate MMC to request it on the DC itself. 1. Start -> Run -> MMC 2. Add the "Certificates" snap-in, for the Computer Account 3. Open the "Personal" store 4. Right click on "Certificates" and go to All Tasks -> Request New Certificate 5. This will give you a short list. On a DC it should have a "Domain Controller" option Pick it. 6. Go through the wizard You should get a Domain certificate that'll be used for LDAPS. However, if you DO NOT have an Enterprise CA you won't have some of these templates. A "Standalone CA" doesn't have the same features as the above. I don't have a lot of experience with those so I can't guide you. share\|improve this answer Thanks for the suggestion - looks like that will do it. Will doing this cause anything untoward to happen? (will accept answer shortly) – Kip Sep 3 '09 at 14:58 How it's supposed to work is that the certificate presented by the SSL-secured services on the DC will start using that certificate. Anything in the domain should have the root of your tree in their trusted roots list just by being in the domain. It's the non-domained machines that'll throw SSL-validation fits if they don't have the CA cert. – sysadmin1138 Sep 4 '09 at 6:09 add comment Your Answer
SI Vault A Look Of Greatness Paul Zimmerman October 29, 1984 With quarterback Dan Marino overseeing a brilliant offense, Miami crushed New England to stay unbeaten Decrease font Decrease font Enlarge font Enlarge font October 29, 1984 A Look Of Greatness View CoverRead All Articles View This Issue Careful now, it's going to be easy to get carried away by all of this. Let's keep it in perspective. The Miami Dolphins were not the perfect offensive machine Sunday in their 44-24 victory over the New England Patriots in Foxboro, Mass. They had an extra point blocked. Dan Marino threw an interception. They punted once. They had the ball for nine possessions and they scored only seven times. What's that you say? Seven scores in nine possessions is enough to win any game that's ever been played since Pop Warner was a water boy? But we're looking for perfection here, and the only thing perfect about the Dolphins is their record, 8-0. The last time they got off to a start like this was 1972, and they were never stopped. That ended at 17-0 and a Super Bowl victory. It was an entirely different animal that Don Shula had in those days. It ranked with the old Lombardi Packers as the best-balanced offense the game had ever seen. The Dolphins could hammer you to death with Larry Csonka and Jim Kiick running behind an All-Pro middle threesome of Larry Little, Jim Langer and Bob Kuechenberg, and for flash and dash they had Mercury Morris. This cast produced the most rushing yards ever in one season, up to that point. When they wanted to air it out there was All-Pro Bob Griese throwing to a Hall-of-Famer, Paul Warfield, and their defense was a cerebral affair, keyed to the emerging genius of Bill Arnsparger and his new 53 concept and operated by a superb middle linebacker, Nick Buoniconti, and the All-Pro safetymen Dick Anderson and Jake Scott. The names glitter like diamonds. Talent, ball control, smarts, 17-0. Would there ever be anything to match it? Shula won't compare this team with the '72 Dolphins. It's a sucker's game. The season is only half over, and who knows what perils lie ahead? So we'll do it for him. For the first six games, while the world was marveling at Marino gunning the ball and the twin Marks—Duper and Clayton—catching it two zip codes away, the whispers were starting. It's not a typical Shula-type team; it's all whoosh and no muscle. It's not the kind of team he's comfortable with. He's like a coachman with a team of runaway horses. All he can do is give 'em their head. Why else would he pick up a 265-pound cartoon-character of a fullback, Pete Johnson, a guy two teams, Cincinnati and San Diego, had given up on? His running game is nowhere, and sooner or later that will catch up with him. Two weeks ago, halfback Tony Nathan went down with a strained hamstring, and Shula plugged in rookie Joe Carter, a fourth-round draft choice from Alabama. He went for 105 yards against the Oilers. It was the first time a Dolphin runner had made a hundred since 1982, but what the hell, it was Houston. People do what they want to the Oilers. New England isn't Houston. The Patriots, who went into the Miami game at 5-2, are a proud bunch, with one of the best defensive coordinators, Rod Rust. They are a team with a fine old pro at inside linebacker, Steve Nelson; an emerging terror at an outside backer spot, Andre Tippett; and a solid cover man at the right corner, Raymond Clayborn. Let's see 'em do it to the Patriots. What happened was scary. The Dolphins piled up 552 yards, tying their club record. Marino twisted down the choke on his long ball and threw for 316 yards on 15- and 18-yarders. He scrambled. He bought time. He looked the defenders off, and with his remarkable field of vision, he always seemed able to find the open man. He'd gallop, shake off a tackier, pull up and flick the ball. Two lasting vignettes: Marino shrugging off blitzing linebacker Larry McGrew, who'd taken dead aim on him, and firing the ball to Carter for nine yards; Marino, one step away from the charging 271-pound Kenneth Sims, motioning his tight end, Dan Johnson, to go deeper, and then drilling the ball 16 yards to him on the dead run, down to the one-yard line. "We should have had four or five sacks today," Patriot defensive end Doug Rogers said. "How does a guy like that escape, as big as he is?" Marino is 6'3", 214 pounds, and his toes don't twinkle, but somehow he avoided every kind of rush New England mustered. He went unsacked on the afternoon; he has tasted the canvas only twice all season, which is just one of a laundry list of shocking statistics the Dolphins can throw at you. How about this one? Marino's four touchdown passes Sunday gave him 24 for the year—two more than Griese's club record—and the season is only half over. Continue Story 1 2 3
Parasites Like Us ( 8 ) The debut novel by the author of The Orphan Master's Son, winner of the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction Hailed as "remarkable" by the New Yorker, Emporium earned Adam Johnson comparisons to Kurt Vonnegut and T.C. Boyle. In his acclaimed first novel, Parasites Like Us, Johnson takes us on an enthralling journey through memory, time, and the cost of mankind's quest for its own past. Anthropologist Hank Hannah has just illegally exhumed an ancient... See more details below Paperback (Reprint) $12.91 price (Save 19%)$16.00 List Price Pick Up In Store Reserve and pick up in 60 minutes at your local store Other sellers (Paperback) • All (27) from $1.99 • New (8) from $4.48 • Used (19) from $1.99 Sending request ... Read More Show Less Editorial Reviews From Barnes & Noble Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers Johnson's wry first novel is a satire of academia, complete with an apocalyptic twist for unsuspecting readers. Anthropologist Hank Hannah takes special pride in the work of his students. His star pupils include Eggers, living for an entire year as a member of the "Clovis," a prehistoric civilization, and Trudy, whose theories relate to the artistic legacy this primeval society may have left behind. As Eggers and Trudy bicker over scientific theories and financial grants, Hannah addresses some issues of his own: his recently widowed and seemingly sex-starved father, and Hannah's own attempts to apply historical reasoning to modern romance. When Eggers unearths an ancient Clovis spearhead, he teams up with Hannah and Trudy on a clandestine mission yielding disastrous results for humankind. Hannah reflects on the demise of his own species: "The successful forms of life are the parasites, the ones who bleed their environment to optimal exploitation, who stunt everything by taking a lion's share, who leave their hosts alive but shriveled." With the future of humanity left to just a handful of comrades (academics, no less!), the studious triumvirate apply their understanding of an extinct civilization in an effort to bring about the dawn of a new age. Johnson has penned a darkly visionary novel, with keen insights and just enough pathos to keep readers enthralled. (Fall 2003 Selection) The Washington Post … [Johnson's] characters are wonderfully weird and charming, and he is so witty a storyteller that this strange novel manages to captivate. — Carmela Ciuraru The New York Times The most daring element in this heterogeneous mix, however, may well be the vein of earnest solemnity that Johnson adds to it. Unlike most satirists, he's not afraid to let the mask of irony fall occasionally, launching into flights of plaintiveness that sometimes border on the maudlin. — Gary Krist New York Times Book Review ...great ingenuity and bravado...Parasites Like Us is an artifact of real ambition and's got brilliance to burn. ...not quite to deify Adam Johnson... hunt down, gather and devour this splendid novel. Publishers Weekly St. Louis Post-Dispatch Adam Johnson ... is gifted with a delightful, vibrant and occasionally all-encompassing vision. His "Parasites Like Us" is a strange, remarkable novel that is hilarious and infused with sparklingly imaginative and vivid detail -- part love story, part midlife crisis, part anthropological treatise and part futuristic science fiction. Kirkus Reviews Read More Show Less Product Details • ISBN-13: 9780142004777 • Publisher: Viking Penguin • Publication date: 10/27/2004 • Edition description: Reprint • Pages: 352 • Sales rank: 483,326 • Product dimensions: 5.44 (w) x 8.10 (h) x 0.81 (d) Meet the Author Adam Johnson Adam Johnson, a former Wallace Stegner Fellow, teaches creative writing at Stanford University. His fiction has appeared in Esquire, The Paris Review, Harper's, Missouri Review, and New England Review, as well as Best New American Voices. He is the author of the short story collection Emporium and The Orphan Master's Son, winner of the 2013 Pulitzer Prize in Fiction. Good To Know In our interview, Johnson shared some fun facts about himself: "After high school, I worked industrial construction for a few years, building things like hotels and freeways. When I did get to college, late, I struggled with grades. A friend suggested taking a poetry class, which he said was an ‘easy A,' and by mistake, I signed up for a fiction class. Immediately I knew writing was for me -- suddenly my penchant for daydreaming, exaggerating, and lying all became useful and constructive, and I never looked back." "My wife and I were married five times in five months in 2000 -- we went on a kind of wedding road show, taking the ceremonies to families and friends in different states. We had five best men, five maids of honor, and my wife had five fabulous wedding dresses. One wedding was hosted by the writers Robert Olen Butler and Elizabeth Dewberry at their home in Florida. We wrote new vows for each ceremony, and we had people who were important in our lives officiate. Mostly these were writing mentors, like Tobias Wolff, Ron Carlson, and Sheila Ortiz-Taylor. I recommend multiple weddings to everyone. If you love someone enough to marry them once, you'll want to do it over and over." Read More Show Less 1. Hometown: San Francisco, California 1. Date of Birth: July 12, 1967 2. Place of Birth: South Dakota 1. Education: B.A., Arizona State University, 1992; M.A., M.F.A., McNeese State University, 1996; Ph.D., Florida State, 2001 Read an Excerpt Chapter One This story begins some years after the turn of the millennium, back when gangs were persecuted, back before we all joined one. In those days, birds and pigs were still our friends, and we held some pretty crazy notions: People said the planet was warming. Wearing fur was a no-no. Dogs could do no wrong. Back then, we'd pretty much agreed that guns were good, that just about everybody needed one. Firearms, we were all to discover, were feeble, finicky things, prone to laughable inaccuracy. During this brief moment in human evolution, a professor of anthropology might, for the half-year he worked, fish in the morning, lecture midday, and stroll excavation sites until early evening, after which was personal/leisure time. I was a professor of anthropology, one of the very, very few. I owned a bass boat, a classic Corvette, and a custom van, all of which I lost during the period of this story, the brief sentence I served inside the cushiest prison in the Western Hemisphere, the minimum-security federal prison camp at Parkton, South Dakota. Camp Parkton, we called it. Club Fed. As an anthropologist, I had the job of telling stories about the past. My area of study was the Clovis people, the first humans to cross the Bering Land Bridge from Siberia about twelve thousand years ago. As you know, the Clovis colonized a hemisphere that had never seen humans before, and their first order of business was to invent a new kind of spear point, which they used to eradicate thirty-five species of large mammals. The stories I told about the Clovis were not new ones: A people developed a technology that allowed them to exploit all their resources. They then created a vast empire. And once they had consumed everything in sight, they disbanded-in the case of the Clovis, into small groups that would form the roughly six hundred Native American tribes that exist today. I had a '72 Corvette and a custom van! Dear colleagues of tomorrow, fellow anthropologists of the future, how can I express my joy in knowing there is only one profession in the years to come, that each and every one of you has become a committed anthropologist? The trials of my life seem petty compared with their inevitable reward: that the turbulent story of our species should end with all its members' becoming experts on humanity. The fate of the culture we called "America" is certainly no mystery to you. Of that tale, countless artifacts stand testament, and who could fail to hear such a song of conclusion, endlessly whistling through the frozen teeth of time? Yet you must have questions. Dig as you might, there must be gaps in the record. Who is buried in the Tomb of the Unknown Indian? you might ask. Was the hog truly smarter than the dreaded dog? Were owls really birds, or some other manner of animal? So, my dedicated peers, I will share with you how the betterment of humanity began, and let no one claim I slandered the past. I am the past. I'm not sure I can tell you the exact year this story be- gins, but I'll never forget the day. It was the season in South Dakota in which the Missouri River nearly freezes over-day by day, shelves of white extend their reach from the riverbanks, calciumlike, until they enter the central channel, where the current rips great sheets free and sends them hurtling downstream. From my office on the campus of the University of Southeastern South Dakota, I could hear the frozen river wail and moan before a lurching crack tore loose a limb of ice. When the day was clear, I could even see from my window in the anthropology building scattered stains of red on the ice, where eagles had landed with freshly snatched fish and stripped them on the frozen ledges. An eagle was a kind of bird, quite large, and it was famous for the boldness it displayed when stealing another's prey. Most birds were about the size of rats, though some came as big as jackrabbits. The eagle, however, weighed in closer to a dog. Picture a greyhound, then add ferocity and wings. It was a gray, brooding day when Eggers, one of my star doctoral students, stuck his head in my office. He was vigorously chewing something, and the odds were it wasn't gum. Eggers wore goatskin breeches and a giant poncho of dark, matted fur, which he'd fashioned himself from animal hides begged off the Hormel meatpacking plant at the edge of town. I could smell him long before he made his way to the stacks of cardboard boxes that filled my doorway and spilled into the hall. "Careful of Junior," I said and waved him in. I had just received an exciting new crate of raw ice-core data from Greenland, and Eggers' booties were covered with God-knows-what. "Life's good, Dr. Hannah," Eggers said, making his way around the boxes. He displayed that impish grin of his. "Life is good," he repeated. My office in those days was filled with houseplants of every variety, though I found indoor gardening so pointless and sad I could barely stand to look at them. Eggers ducked under the hanging tendrils of plants whose names escaped me, his feet crunching across the layer of flint chips that littered the floor from the hours I whiled away knapping out primitive tools and weapons. He took a seat, and I was confronted with my daily update on Eggers' dissertation project, which was to exist using nothing but Paleolithic technology for an entire year. More than eleven months into the experiment, some of the results were already clear: the wafting custard of his breath, the thin mistletoe of his beard, the way the oiled gloss of his face had attained the yellowy hue of earwax. I should have been working on a grant proposal or grading some of the endlessly simple student papers that flowed across my desk. But I couldn't concentrate, because of Glacier Days, a yearly carnival intended to lighten the gloom of winter by celebrating the recession of the glaciers that had carved the Missouri River Valley. They'd set up the midway in the Parkton Square parking lot, catty-corner to campus, and every so often you'd hear the muffled, rising moan and long wail of young people on the thrill rides. "Okay, Eggers," I said. "Life's grand. We'll go with that hypothesis." Eggers shrugged, as if everything was self-evident. "Oh, it's not some theory, Dr. Hannah. Life is tiptop," he said, moving aside a dusty stack of my book, The Depletionists, and settling into a high-backed chair. He slumped enough that his hair left a sheeny streak down the leather upholstery. God, his game bag reeked! I was about to hear one of Eggers' continuing intrigues with a coed, or how he'd won some prestigious new grant. The anthropology journals were already fighting to publish his story. But I couldn't get that "life is good" phrase out of my head. It's what my stepmother, Janis, kept saying at the end, and it became one of my father's refrains after we lost her. I could see behind Eggers, framed in the window, a piece of ice slowly turning down the Missouri River-it drifted in from the future, caught the sun for a moment, and disappeared out into the past. From the Glacier Days carnival, a slow whoop arose from the next generation of South Dakotans as they mocked their deaths on bloodcurdling rides, and my eyes naturally fell to Junior-nineteen thousand notecards and twenty-seven cardboard boxes of research, all yet to be examined, all those stories waiting to be told. Eggers shifted what he was chewing and went after it with his molars. "Is this about Trudy?" I asked. "Trudy? Why bring her up?" he asked. "Are you feeling guilty, Dr. Hannah?" "What would I have to feel guilty about?" "Nothing," Eggers said. "Nothing. Except you did file the paperwork to revoke her Peabody Fellowship and give it to me." "The school's doing that. That's out of my hands. Congrats, by the way." "You know me, Dr. Hannah. I yawn at money. Money's obsolete to me." Eggers pulled something out of his mouth, inspected it, and put it back in. "Don't gloat," I told him. "Everything will be hunky-dory once I explain things to her." "Trudy's pretty upset. I mean, I was the one who broke it to her." "This isn't even official yet." "She needed to hear it from someone who cared," Eggers said. "Please," I said. "Anyway, that's only half the story. Losing her Peabody is only the bad news of a good-news/bad-news thing. I'll explain it to her." Eggers swallowed hard enough to make his eyes water, and then he opened the flap of his game bag. I could see a fuzzy tail sticking out of it, and it hadn't escaped the notice of the school paper that all the squirrels on campus had disappeared during the time that Eggers, an adult omnivore, had taken up residence in the middle of the quad. "I wouldn't worry about Trudy," Eggers said. "Trudy can take care of herself. She'll bounce back." He removed another sinewy morsel and slid it into his mouth. Though grayish-brown, it crunched like celery. He chewed it contemplatively. "I've got my own good and bad news," he added. I removed my glasses, folded them, rubbed the bridge of my nose. "Just the good," I said. "Only tell me the good." "I found something." Eggers was always finding things. He was the only person in town who walked everywhere, and over eleven months, his travels on foot had netted him countless arrow points, bison skulls, mastodon teeth, and a brass bell that may or may not have belonged to Meriwether Lewis. Sleeping in the same stretch of sand in South Dakota, you were likely to find a buffalo soldier's pistol, a conquistador's breastplate, the hooves of rhino-pigs from the early Eocene, T-rex teeth, and maybe even a Cambrian trilobite, frozen mid-wriggle at the dawn of time. "Is it a spear point?" I asked. "It's a point, all right," Eggers said. "A Clovis point?" Eggers shrugged, but in a way that said, You can bet the farm. I threw a foot up on my desk to lace my snow-packs. "Show me," I said. We tromped downstairs and cut through the Hall of Man, a natural-history exhibit that my predecessor, Old Man Peabody, fashioned himself back in the 1960s out of an empty classroom. The Hall was about thirty feet long and lined with glassed-in exhibits. On one side was a series of models depicting glacial advance and retreat during the late Pleistocene. Peabody had crafted the balsa glaciers by hand, painted them white, and used little stickpins to represent Clovis movement from Siberia to South Dakota during brief openings in the ice. On the other side of the Hall was an amazing series of very lifelike models that followed the ascent of humanity: in a row were displayed Homo habilis, erectus, and sapiens, followed by Neanderthal, and finally Clovis, all posed in natural settings with several artifacts that Peabody had excavated himself. This hall is where I came to pace and think in times of doubt. Simply to cross the room was to travel a hundred thousand years back in time; it was a place where things always seemed clearer to me. Out in the quad, Eggers and I walked quietly through the snow. The limbs of the maples had been shorn off, so they were whitened posts against what was for now a clear sky. The sidewalks were sanded and salted, though we veered off through the hackberry trees, walking under their weblike branches and listening to the tap-tap of thawing icicles as they dripped constellations into the snow below. Eggers' shelter was situated in the middle of Central Green, and ahead I could see its snow-crusted dome, made from six curving mammoth tusks draped with a mass of various animal hides that had been confiscated over the years by the Fish and Game Department. Also ahead in the courtyard was a large granite stone that held the plaque I'd placed in remembrance of my stepmother, Janis, and I was faced with my almost daily decision: should I offer a word to her, or should I close my eyes and simply walk on? The proof of my cowardice was that my decision to talk to Janis always came down to whether or not I was alone. At least I didn't put a bench here, which I'd considered. Eggers could see the apprehension on my face. "Maybe I'll just go check my snares," he said, and headed toward the arbor-vitae hedge. "No, don't," I told him. "I'm okay." And like that, I resolved not to speak to Janis today. As I neared, though, I did look at her face, fixed in the mild relief of bronze. The birds had been crapping again, something I hadn't planned on when I'd commissioned the memorial. But, really, did it matter? How could someone be honored by impressing a face on a plaque or a name to an anthropology fellowship? I couldn't even decide if I should use an image of her from when she was young or when she was older. Eventually, I chose a picture taken on the day she graduated from stenography school, a time before she even met my father. She looks young and expectant in the image, but the ironies didn't escape me: since she left my life, I'd chosen to remember her with an image from before I'd entered hers. So now we looked upon each other as strangers. My father had Janis cremated, something I'm against, but would it have made a difference if we'd buried her? Ten thousand years from now, when people exhumed her bones, what would they know of her life, her spirit? There would be her rings, traces of gold dentistry, perhaps. Would they know of her love of plants, that she longed to see Egypt, or that when she napped on the couch her fingers would type her dreams on her lap? Would the future know her goal in life was an impossible one: to be my mother after my real mother made a stranger of herself? Should I have put medicine bottles and a bedpan in her grave, so the future would understand her final struggle? Should I have chiseled out her story, start to finish, in granite, and what language will the future speak? The snow thinned as we crossed Central Green, and it wasn't until you neared Eggers' dwelling, which he called his "lodge," that you realized it was situated, as if by chance, atop the one spot on the whole campus where there was no snow. There were underground steam tunnels that sent heat to the dormitories, and Eggers claimed it was just a coincidence that he had built his lodge over the main heat exchangers. Nearing, we stepped through shards from his flint knapping, and an array of his stone tools was lying around-scrapers, cutters, and percussion strikers. Finally, there was a rather shocking mound of bones that Eggers had accumulated over the year. I nosed through them with my boot-most of the bones were surprisingly small, shining dully from under a gelatinous goo that beaded water away, and though rodent anatomy was technically out of my field, I spotted among the prairie-dog and squirrel skulls more than one feline. Eggers was saving them so he'd be able to calculate his caloric intake, once his year was finished and he could handle lab equipment again. These bones were the cornerstone of his dissertation, and I counted them as a real document, as good a testament to Paleolithic culture as any. To keep scavengers away, Eggers urinated on the heap. When Eggers pulled back the flap of his lodge, he was greeted by a package, wrapped in red paper and tied with yarn, and there was only the faintest smell of fire smoke. Of the gift, probably left by one of his female students, Eggers seemed to take no notice; instead, after the flap closed behind him, I heard him breathing on the fire, a patient, well-paced stoking that made me look away, as if this was a private moment between man and flame. Low clouds had again passed over the river, and of the Clark Bridge, only the upper trestle was visible. Eggers emerged with a soft leather cloth that looked exactly like a chamois you'd use when washing a car. "This Clovis point is the cover of the Rolling Stone," Eggers said, handing it to me. "This is a feature article in Archeology Today." Through the leather cloth, I felt the weight and shape of the stone. You never forget the feel of a Clovis point. A hint of pink was peeking from under the cloth. "You know, I've never found an exotic one," I told Eggers. "In all my years of hunting. I've found some things, don't get me wrong, but never a colored Clovis point." "Well, this one's yours," Eggers said. I unfolded the cloth, and there it was. About five inches long, broad-headed, and cut from the rarest of materials, a semitranslucent rose quartz. Twelve thousand years ago, this artifact was the height of technology on the face of the earth, and no one in the millennia since has been able to reproduce the Clovis' lost craft. The afternoons I spent flaking flint in my office were merely exercises in humility, for the Clovis concerned themselves with nothing but producing the most dangerous weapons on earth. They left behind no art, no monuments, no shelters, few remains. I ran my fingers down the dimpled spine of Eggers' pink point-the cutting edge was covered with serrated ridges that fanned forward to cause severe micro-hemorrhaging on penetration, while at the same time the plane of the blade was fluted with a ridge leading backward, serving as a channel to runnel the blood from the wound. This blade could snap bison ribs and still slice tomatoes. Over the course of three centuries-at the end of the Pleistocene epoch, twelve thousand years ago-three amazing things happened: the Ice Age ended completely, and glaciers retreated from North America; humans entered the hemisphere, and these Paleo-Indians we call Clovis quickly spread across all forty-eight contiguous states, founding an empire that included Mexico and Canada before their culture came to an end; and, finally, thirty-five species of large North American mammals became extinct. All in three hundred years. Mammoth and mastodon skeletons have been found with dozens of Clovis points lodged in their bones. Many paleo- anthropologists agree that the Clovis people eradicated the elephants of North America, though they tend to believe the other large animals were killed off by climate change. It was my lone hypothesis, however, articulated in The Depletionists, that the Clovis blade was the demise of the North American camel, the giant sloth, the short-faced bear, and thirty-two other large mammals. And here was the very spear point that had done it. I marveled at its color, held it to the light, and saw that the quartz was clear at the surface with a cataract of milky pink veined through the center. Only a few thousand Clovis points had ever been discovered, and they were all logged in the National Clovis Bank. Fewer still of these super-bleeder spear points were cut from the exotic minerals only Clovis had a fondness for: smoky purple obsidian and ferrous chert, from feldspar, perlite, spider flint, or the blue-yellow of anthracite. And here was rose quartz. In the back alleys of anthropology, there was a black market for these points, and what I held was worth more than my Corvette and custom van put together. "Okay," I asked Eggers, "where'd you really get this?" "I told you," he said. "I found it." An anger rose in me. "You found this and then removed it from the site? This point doesn't mean anything without context. Haven't I taught you anything? Unless it's in situ, where we can see its role in the bigger story, it's just a bauble." "It's more complicated than that," Eggers said. Students were filing out of Gufstason Hall, and his eyes followed their brightly colored jackets as they descended the slushy stairwell, arms out for balance, in baby steps. I looked at my wristwatch. It was just after noon, and my father would be waiting for me. "I've got to teach my Arc-Intro," Eggers added. "There's more than this spear point. I'll show you, but I need to ask a favor first." Doing a favor for Eggers was no easy thing. He didn't use money, ride in cars, or borrow music. He didn't need my fishing pole or want a letter of recommendation. He'd been an unexceptional kid as far as I could tell, one who sat at the back of my classes, dressed like a golf caddy, and probably smoked some reefer. Then he embarked on this project, and somehow he'd become a lean, clear-eyed young man who had no need for anything from you but time, muscle, and wisdom. "All right, what is it?" "Meet me here tonight, when the moon is high." "Surely, you're joking," I told him. "What time is that? Midnight?" "Midnight sounds right, though I'd have to check the moon." "Midnight's my personal/leisure time." "And bring Trudy," he said. His big, shaggy figure was already heading off to teach. I stood there a moment with the pink Clovis point in my hand. It felt wrong simply to stick it in my coat pocket as if it was a pen or a throat lozenge, and it seemed more criminal to wander the campus wielding it in my hand. I probably shouldn't admit this, but my first, brief impulse was to show Janis, to walk up the hill to the plaque that I tried to think of as her, and tell her all about it. I admit this because these events happened long ago, and it's more than ironic that a man who spent his career trying to bring the past to life would, around the age of thirty-nine, begin to communicate certain things to the dead. That's when Eggers came walking back to me. I was still standing there, hand extended with a pink spear point, looking toward the river so as not to look toward my stepmother. As Eggers neared, I for some reason felt that when he came close he would keep coming closer and give me a pat on the back or clasp my hand. He might hug me, I thought. Instead, Eggers said, "Are you okay, Dr. Hannah?" "What?" I asked. "I better hold this for now," he said, taking the point from my hand. "I'll give it back later tonight. And get some rest, yeah?" Then he walked away again. I set off through the quad, following the snowed-in cardio-track, with its frozen fitness stations, then tromped past the Carney Aquatic Center, standing like a cube of jade with its steamed-up walls of Depression-era glass. I could make out the silhouettes of dive platforms, could almost smell the endless drizzle of mildewy rain that dripped from the glass ceiling inside. There was no getting around the fact that I would be late for lunch with my father downtown, but still I cut through the dean's courtyard and the president's garden-the ground winterized with rows of burlap-and it struck me as I passed among the stark colonnades surrounding Old Main that the school paper was right: all the squirrels had disappeared. The campus opened onto Parkton Square, a one-block park surrounded by multi-story brick buildings erected by people who believed towns like Parkton and Sioux Falls would one day be Kansas Cities and St. Louises. Parking was free dur- ing Glacier Days, so I walked past green-hooded meters in front of businesses that were mostly alive, though the Bijou Theater was now an indoor shooting range and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows lodge had been divided into the small apartments where my father now lived. If I looked up to the hill above downtown, I could see the library and buildings of Parkton College, the long-bankrupt Catholic school that was now home to the minimum-security federal prison camp. I crossed the street at Bank, passed the statue of Har- old McGeachie, "The Farmers' Farmer," and watched a roller-coaster car swoop above the trees in the park. It climbed its white scaffolding, paused atop the hump to let its passengers fret and moan before the load of colored hats, thick parkas, and trailing scarves plunged screaming from view. Before I pushed into the brass revolving door of the Red Dakotan, I paused to read the movie marquee next door, which was billing a double feature of "His & Hers Pistol Special" and "Super Scope Sale." The Red Dakotan had been built long before the dam, back in a time when Mississippi steamboats made it this far up the river, when wealthy passengers needed a place to freshen themselves and pass the time in luxury while military prisoners restocked the ships with coal. Inside, the wool carpets had a red fleur-de-lis design, and there was a staircase banister scrolled in the French style. Silver "smoker's companions" stood astride each chair. By the bar, below the Dakotan's wall-length gilt mirror, I spotted my father's houndstooth sportcoat. When I joined him, he was holding the hand of a woman who was leaving. He bowed slightly to her, extended a business card between two fingers, and said, "Enchanté," before hailing the bartender with an order of two martinis. He wore a new pair of eyeglasses with amber lenses, tinted like the safety goggles that shootists wear. He sported a mustard-colored vest, and he'd acquired a pinkie ring that was nothing but a huge nugget of gold. Here was my father, a man who in the six months since Janis' death had managed to liquidate everything they owned together, sell his State Farm office, and reappraise all of southern South Dakota with a look in his eye that said, I'm ready. Man, I am ready. "Enchanté," I said. He pretended not to hear me. "Did you bring the Corvette?" he asked. "I may need the 'Vette later." "Let me see one of those cards," I said, reaching for his breast pocket. "I mean, I take it you didn't just try to sell that young woman insurance." He brushed away my hand. "You wish," he said. "It happens I will be escorting that new lady friend to the radio theater tomorrow." I swiped one of the cards anyway. It read, "Frank Hannah," and below, in fine script, "Appraiser of Fine Goods, Objects D'Art, & Rare Beauty." I said, "I notice you didn't mention the word 'Antiquities.'" Dad gave me his "wise-sage" look, which consisted of lowering his head enough to eyeball me over the top rim of his glasses. "Son," he said, "every woman has something hidden and valuable she wants to show you." "Like her underwear?" He snatched the card back. "This wouldn't work for you," he said. "Look at your limp suit and mail-order spectacles. Who taught you how to shave? I woke up. I stepped out of the fire." He thumbed the length of his lapels and tugged his cufflinks, as if to say, See? "The fire? You mean the inferno that is marriage, fatherhood, and a career?" "Hey," he said, "I'm still your father. Don't forget that. But here's a tidbit I woke up to. There's no such thing as insurance. You don't bet against doom. You can't sell policies your whole life and just hope disaster doesn't come. You got to tip your hat when it comes, because it's coming. So-send in the tornadoes. Let's have the locusts." "I hope you've been drinking," I said. At the sound of the martini shaker, Dad closed his eyes. To the music of ice and frothy gin, he said, "Oh, lighten up. These are just musings. This is only Philosophy 101. If I wanted to give you real advice, I'd tell you to find a young girl, ten years younger, and marry her young. That's as close as you'll come to insurance." Of course he was referring to the death of Janis, but we had, at some point since then, come to a silent understanding: he never spoke my stepmother's name, and I never said my mother's. Dad's eyes popped open. "Come to think of it," he whispered, "forget the Corvette. I may need the van tonight." He smiled for the first time, and I saw that his two front teeth, which had always been a tad discolored and out of alignment, now gleamed perfectly white with new crowns. The martinis came, both dressed to my father's exact specifications-a toothpick skewering an olive, then a folded anchovy, and finally a cocktail onion-so I knew my father had walked the bartender through a couple trial runs before I'd arrived. Dad put some cash in the bartender's hand. "We'll want that booth over there, by the wall, and we'll need our steaks sent over ahead of time." He turned to me. "Two or three steaks?" I looked around for Trudy, who was supposed to meet us for lunch, but she was nowhere to be seen. "Two for now," I told Dad. "Two it is," he told the bartender. "Make them porterhouses, keep 'em rare." Then my father lifted his glass high, a thin film of fish oil catching the light. "To floods and hail and the Great Deductible," he said, and drank alone. In the Parkton landfill was Janis' Art Deco cocktail set, complete with flamingo-pink martini glasses and a tortoiseshell shaker. Gone also were her Bakelite clutch purses, her collection of dime-store brooches, and a little library of vintage etiquette guides, which her mother had taught from in the days of elocution. Dad had lightened his heart by shedding-the house, the furniture, the car-and, as if Janis' spirit was small enough to inhabit anything, nothing they'd shared was spared, not the nail clippers, the alarm clock, the plastic ice-cube trays. He even ditched his own glasses, because they had once brought her into focus. Now my father lived in a tiny apartment, and except for a fair amount of money he needed to give away, there was no evidence that my stepmother had ever existed. I had two theories on my father. The first held that he had fallen out of love with Janis at some point in their marriage, and that her death, while not pleasant for him to watch, was an overdue relief. This father before me now, yellow-tinted glasses, raw gold ring, was the man I'd always have known, had he not been hobbled by some marriage vows, a nine-to-five job, and a conscience as old and guilty as two men's. I sipped my martini-it tasted appropriately oceany, and though I wasn't much of a drinker anymore, it struck a long, clear note in my head. The second hypothesis had to do with my mother, but it would get no sympathy in this room. My father looked at his watch. "Okay, so where's this Trudy?" "She should have been here by now. I told her to meet us a half-hour ago." "She's not like this caveman guy of yours, wearing pelts and crapping in the bushes? Jesus, let's give the money to that poor fool." A long-ago ocean, that was the quality of my drink, but shot through with sonar pings of alcohol. On my tongue, the ancient brine of salted fish and olive mixed with the bright light of oniony gin. "That caveman," I told my father, "has a grant from the Carnegie Foundation. He won an outstanding-dissertation- proposal award from the Academy of Arts and Sciences. Then he goes and wins funding from the state Heritage Council and the Bureau of Land Management. Now my department chair has decided to give him our only graduate fellowship, the Peabody, so Eggers will have to acknowledge us in his book. And this kid doesn't even spend money." "Does he wear drawers under those skins?" "I don't believe so, Dad." He cringed. "I suppose toilet paper's out of the question." "Eggers used leaves for a while, and I'm sure there'll be a chapter in his dissertation about the poison-oak incident. Now I believe he's winging it." A waiter in a red jacket beckoned us, and I could see that atop a freshly linened table sat a pair of steaming porterhouses. The steaks had come so fast, they must have been cooked for other people, who would now have to wait longer. "How much did you tip these guys?" My father shrugged and began to make his way through the tables, drink high. As I followed, it became clear to me that most of the customers were farmers and ranchers from smaller towns, like Doltin and Willis, people who made the trip in for Glacier Days and were now having a late lunch at the one nice place in town. My steak was closer to medium, but cooked to perfection, from marbled beef that was probably slaughtered that morning at Hormel. The veins of fat had melted away, and I alternated the meat's flaky butteriness with shocks of warming gin. For a while, the two of us simply ate, and every few bites I had to lean back against the red, rolled leather of the booth to remind myself I was alive. In those moments, with my head near the wall, I could make out the faint pop-pop of people firing their pistols in the converted movie house next door. The sounds were no more disconcerting than the faint screaming you'd once hear if you ate during the horror matinee, so my digestion was unaffected. I'd never heard a gun fired in anger, let alone fear, and I had no way of knowing then that before that winter was out, an evening would come when all the people in our great nation would fire their weapons at once. Finally, I set my fork aside. I hadn't even touched the carrots, let alone the hot rolls, but my father lifted his bone with two hands. "So what do students have to do for this fellowship money?" he asked, and raked his bottom teeth along the underside of the bone. "Nothing, really. It supports them while they study or research. They just keep doing what they're doing. But this money is going to make a big difference to Trudy. She's studying Paleolithic art. The Clovis is the only known culture in the world that left no art behind. There are just a lot of points and blades. Trudy believes that weapons were their art. It's a whopper of an idea. She's maybe going too far with her feminist angle, but the premise is sound." "Are you sleeping with her?" I tossed my napkin on the table. "Really, Dad. You didn't just say that. This fellowship you're endowing is going to make all the difference for her. She has to travel to the cave dwellings in New Mexico, see the petroglyphs in Arizona. She needs to do comparative blade analysis all over North America, France, and of course Peru." "Hell, I could use a trip to France." "Bon voyage," I told him. Two waiters walked by, carrying a single tray between them. On it was a cut of meat called "The Cattleman." There was no shortage of pomp in its delivery, yet the steak was the real deal-beyond large, it was the size of a saddle. If you could eat it, it was free, and the steak's new owner seemed embarrassed only by the fact that this indulgence was a public event. "What's she like?" my father asked. "Trudy? She's pretty dang smart, for starters." "What's she look like?" "Yes, physically." I had no desire to explain Trudy to my father. Her application for the Peabody Fellowship had given me her racial breakdown: a mix of African, French, Korean, and Japanese. With her height, her close-cropped hair, and those shoulders, I occasionally imagined her as a prototypical Clovis woman. It was an inappropriate fantasy, I knew. Scientifically, it was flawed as well-real Clovis were certainly smaller, more compact, and probably poorly nourished. Yet I couldn't help, at times, imagining her body in motion as she hunted down a giant Pleistocene glyptodont. "She's big, Dad. Five foot nine, probably a hundred eighty pounds." He worked the last bit off the bone, so all that was left was the white vertebral shank and the descending postilum. "Big num-nums?" I shook my head no. "So this girl," Dad says, "if she's so needy, how come she can't even show up for a free steak?" "I think she's a little mad at me right now." "You are sleeping with her." "No, no, she has a fellowship, the Peabody, but the school's taking it away and giving it to the caveman. It's just miscommunication. She doesn't know about your fellowship yet, the Hannah." My father pointed the steak shank at his own chest. "Well, what do I get out of this fellowship-donor thing?" "Immortality, Dad. Your name gets to live forever." I expected him to laugh or smart-ass, but he said nothing, just set aside the bone and reclined, hands on chest, against the plush leather. He ran his tongue along his teeth, then asked, "You ever met anyone who really wanted to live forever, one person who just wanted to keep going and going?" I shrugged. "I suppose not." Dad leaned forward. "Then no fucking plaques of me when I'm dead, okay?" When the moon looked high in the sky, I set out from my little apartment by the river, and made my way to Trudy's. She lived alone in a small graduate dorm by the cafeteria, and you could still catch a scent of fried egg rolls in the air from the meal plan earlier that night. It began to snow as I walked, so softly at first that I couldn't tell for sure when the flakes started coming down, but by the time I stood in her courtyard, there were yellow curtains of snow hanging under the campus floodlights. When I knocked, the flimsy dorm walls shook, rattling the neighbors' windows, and the sound off the hollow-core door was loud enough that three other students stuck their heads out to see if it was for them. But Trudy didn't answer. "Trudy?" I called. "Go away, Dr. Hannah." "Please listen to me, Trudy. I know you're upset that the university took your fellowship away, but we have a better fellowship for you." Inside, I could hear her pour a glass of water. I spoke into the peephole: "If you could just listen to what I have to say." "There's a fellowship in Arizona I could apply for," I heard her say. "And that postdoc at Stanford, unless Eggers already has it spoken for. I was dragged all over the world my entire childhood. No need to put down roots here, I guess." My voice raised in pitch as I tried to reassure her. I even took out my inhaler, just in case I needed it. "Everything's going to be okay, Trudy. This is a better fellowship. You'll like it much better." "Don't tell me 'everything's going to be okay,'" Trudy said. "Don't tell me what I'll like and not like. I want my Peabody back. That's the fellowship I earned." "You'll be the first recipient of this new fellowship. My father has established the Hannah Fellowship, in my stepmother's name, and after careful consideration, you've been chosen as the first recipient." Trudy opened the door, her hand holding a tumbler of water, half full. She wore her usual paint-speckled jeans, a sweater of chocolate wool a shade darker than her skin, and she'd had her hair cut even shorter since I'd seen her last. My God, those cheekbones. I stole a quick puff off my inhaler. "I'm the one who should be knocking on your door late at night, telling you how I feel," she said. From behind her came a tide of warm air, smelling faintly of turpentine. "Okay," I said. "How do you feel?" Trudy shifted in the doorway. She took a drink of water. I could see she'd been repainting the walls of her dorm room with ancient cave drawings and symbols. "Well, I'm pissed off," she said, sounding reluctantly justified. "I've got good ideas. My Clovis theory isn't even out there in the literature. Nobody's articulated it. And all I hear about is Eggers. What's his idea? He doesn't even have one. He has a gimmick." "Trudy, I recruited you, remember? I've always believed in you. I don't know how you'll ever prove it, but your dissertation hypothesis is brilliant. For a culture based on making animals extinct, to fuse weaponry and art only makes sense. The part about women carving all the spear points while the men hunted-well, you'll maybe have to gather more data on that." "I've smelled Doritos on him," she said and paused to let that sink in. "Dorito breath is unmistakable. Did you know he doesn't read the textbooks he assigns? He doesn't even use chalk, because it's 'technology.' He gives his tests orally, and gets one of those girls of his to bubble in the grades on his grade sheets. Do you know how many bubbles I bubble in? And he's Mr. Primitive? Look at how I live. I steal toilet paper from the faculty bathroom. I'm eating noodles and oil in here. If my car breaks down, I'm the one who has to fix it." "Doritos, huh?" "Spicy Taco flavor." "Look, Trudy, I'm going to need a favor from you." "I'm not done yet," she said. I put my hands up, as if to say, No offense, I come in peace. "That was my fellowship," she said, pointing at me. "Mine." Trudy looked as if she was gearing up for a speech, but then, as if she'd heard her own words from afar and decided she didn't like their tenor, she stopped. "Okay, I'm done now," she said. I waited a moment, to be sure she was through, then said, "This favor I need, it involves meeting Eggers, but the favor's for me." Now she waited a moment, looking at me with her head cocked. "Is that for real?" she asked. "That this fellowship's named after your mother?" The fellowship was in honor of Janis, but I didn't correct her. I didn't answer at all. Trudy seemed to see in my eyes that this was a subject about which I would not lie. She shook her head, as if disgusted with herself, then disappeared into her dorm room and returned with a heavy scarf. "Okay," she said. "Let's go." We crossed the courtyard together, passing a solitary picnic table frosted with white. Trudy steered me around the blanket of snow that hid the sunken volleyball pit. Black slush lined the edge of the Honor Roll Parking Lot, and as we trudged through it, heading for the quad and Eggers' lodge, I couldn't help noting the natural grace and authority with which Trudy moved. It would be less than ethical of me if at this point I did not confess that I believed Trudy was the ultimate female specimen. Intelligence and beauty aside, and from a strictly professional anthropological perspective, her body was perfectly evolved-tall frame, thick bones, and long muscles-a decathlete's physique. Her back flared into broad, square shoulders that framed a strong chest marked with small and unobtrusive breasts, and she carried just enough fat to optimize insulation and energy reserves without compromising mobility. I'd seen her body articulated once as she swam butterfly inside the jade cube of the Carney Aquatic Center, the points of her rotator cuffs launching each stroke, causing a wave that ran through pectorals, abdominals, and quadriceps before she cracked into a dolphin kick with the cablelike snap of her Achilles tendons. This was not the body of a gatherer. This was a person who could walk into any society, historic or prehistoric, and demonstrate abilities that were absolutely commanding. Of course I kept such thoughts to myself, lest I appear lecherous, or just plain old-fashioned. We followed a thin column of woodsmoke toward Eggers' lodge, which lay in the darkness ahead. Janis was a shadow in the trees uphill from us, and the whole campus was quiet except for one soul. Out in the quad, a lone student was running the fitness track in the late cold. He jogged in his parka until he reached the pull-up station, where his breath plumed upward each time his chin crested the bar. After a certain number, he ran on. Eventually, we reached the muddy, snowless circle that surrounded the lodge, and were met with the charring smell of an odd, sour meat. With a lift of the flap, Eggers emerged in a bizarre set of pantaloons and a huge serape of black fur. He saw we were looking at the strange hat of rabbit hides on his head. "It's not finished," he said. "Come on. I spend half my life gathering wood, and the other half melting snow." "Here we are, Eggers," I said. "What's this favor?" "It involves our new Clovis point," he said. Trudy narrowed her eyes at him. "There are no new Clovis points," she said. "Unless you think you're the one person in the world who can make them." "I have a real one," Eggers said, "and we're going to use it." He ducked into his lodge and returned with a heavy spear, about two and a half meters long, the pink Clovis point bound to the end with some kind of thin fiber. "Are you crazy, Eggers?" I asked. "This is an artifact. It's invaluable." "No, sir," he said. "This is a tool, made to be used, and the only thing I still need to do for my dissertation is bring down a large herbivore. This is your idea, Dr. Hannah. This is straight out of The Depletionists. I don't care what your critics think. I read that book ten times. Your book is why I'm doing this." He gestured at his lodge, his clothes. "Don't you want to see if it's true, if this point can really do it?" "There's no need," I told him. "These points have been found lodged in mammoth and mastodon bones. There is no doubt they kill." "You can shoot an African elephant ten times with a rifle and it will only get angry," Eggers said, gesturing a little wildly with the spear. Trudy and I backed up a step. "Fifty years later, when that elephant dies of old age, it leaves bones with bullets in them. Maybe your mastodons were the ones that got away. You ever think of that? But how can you know, without research and testing?" Trudy laughed. "And where are you going to find a mastodon?" Eggers turned to me. "All I need is an animal that weighs at least a thousand pounds. Isn't that right, Dr. Hannah?" "Well," I said, "I suppose." My head was starting to spin a little. I kept seeing pink spears flying into the future-where would they land? Most of my colleagues believed climate change at the end of the Ice Age had killed off all the big animals in North America, which caused the Clovis to starve and disband; but I'd staked my whole career on the belief that a Clovis point could take down any animal. Yet Eggers was right-I'd never seen a kill. "Where are you going to find a thousand-pound animal that no one's using?" Trudy asked. "Those guards at Hormel mean business. They'd grind you up and turn you into an Eggers burger." "Don't you worry about Eggers burgers," Eggers said. "Eggers has this all planned out." I put a hand on Eggers' shoulder. "Is this the bad news?" I asked. "You know, the bad part of the good-news/bad-news thing?" "The bad news comes tomorrow," he said. "This is the celebration part." With that, Eggers began backing into the darkness of the quad. Trudy and I stood there a moment, looking at each other. "Did you see that Clovis point?" she asked. "A woman made that. I know it. It took her hours, sitting around a mineral deposit with her friends. She talked and told stories while her hands worked the quartz. She chose the material for its beauty, because this was her art, and the design was taught to her by her mother-the keeper of a thousand years of hunting technology." While Trudy spoke, I pictured her hands working the quartz, holding the point up to the light to search for imperfections, then testing its edge with her thumb. We both reached the same silent conclusion, then set out after Eggers, following his tracks in the snow, though the vaporous trail of his body odor left no doubt as to his course. By the time we reached the dean's garden, we were abreast of him. Trudy stuck her hand out. "Let's see this so-called spear," she said. She inspected the spear by pointing it toward the moon and turning the shaft to see if it was straight. Then she examined the blade. "It smells like mint," she said. "It does not," Eggers said. "Is this dental floss?" she asked. "You tied this point onto the shaft with dental floss, didn't you?" I was only half listening. In my head, I was animating Clovis points. They flew and flew, waves of them. What had seemed like abstractions were coming clear. I saw a spear fly from dark hands into a gleam of bright light before passing into the haze of its victim. Trudy said, "Dental floss, unless I'm mistaken, is made from wax-infused monofilament, which is derived from modern polymers. Did the Clovis use petrochemicals, Dr. Hannah?" "Listen," Eggers said. "Do you know how long it takes to dry and string catgut? I've done it. I know." By now, we were in the Old Main's colonnade. Across the street was Parkton Square, and the locked gates of the Glacier Days carnival. Eggers neared the tall fence and appraised it. With one hand, he shook the chain link, and a shower of ice beads rained down on him. He tried to climb it, but in fur booties could get no hold. Trudy crossed to the gates and went to work on the lock that held the chain. "This is just a combo lock, like the kind for your school locker," she said. "It would be easier if I had my tools with me. I could just pop it open with a prybar." Trudy knelt on the cold sidewalk and put her ear to the green-faced lock, while I looked through the fence to the dark carnival inside. From somewhere kept coming the keening of ravens, and though I couldn't be sure, I felt I saw a flash of black wings. The raven was a medium-sized bird, with a great curving beak that drove straight into a heavy brow, giving it a look of constant judgment. I can't think of many birds that were physically dangerous to humans, but to those with a guilty conscience, the raven could be a troubling omen. "Voilà," Trudy said as the lock opened, and it wasn't until we were through the gate that the stillness of the place gave me the shivers. In the dark, all the funhouse faces were more personal, like people from your distant past. Each game seemed to stand waiting for its perfect customer, which wasn't me. The Hammer Blow sat ready for a stronger man, and the Gypsy dared me to purchase its dark fortune. In the moon, all the overdrawn devils and clowns seemed cut from maroon-and-blue plastic, and I wished someone would shut those ravens up. Eggers led us down a stretch of midway bordered on both sides by shooting galleries. At counter after counter were rifles and pistols mounted on rods, all pointing into dark tents toward rows of bears who stood when shot, ducks who fell back into nothing, and wolves who would grab their asses and howl at the moon when plinked. We passed darkened trailers that dealt in Indian fry bread and twin funnel-cake carts that folded up like campers, and then we came to a huge pile of the night's leftover popcorn, which had been thrown out in the snow. This is where the ravens were, pacing in the moon, gulleting down cold popcorn. "God, I love popcorn," Eggers said. "That's one of the things I really miss." "Maybe Doritos will come out with a popcorn-flavored chip," Trudy told him. He said nothing, only steered us under the old roller coaster, the kind that packed up onto a couple of flatbed trailers. Its name was no longer visible, but Dragon or Sidewinder would be safe bets. Underneath, a lattice of shadows passed over our faces, and we could see the stains of oil that had dripped down the supports. When the light filtered down just right, you could make out the occasional flash of the nuts and washers that had worked themselves loose and now littered the ground. Finally, Eggers came to a stop before a temporary corrugated shed the size of an aircraft hangar, hastily assembled on a bare parking lot. "Here we are," he said, and we all looked at the sign above the great sliding door. It read "4-H." Inside, a single propane heater kept the room just above freezing, though the asphalt floor was certainly colder. The room was lined on both sides with pens of varying sizes, some with straw on the ground, and others with little shelters inside. Maybe half held animals. We walked down the row in the dim fluorescent lighting, stepping over the hoses that were wound everywhere to spray down the waste. A little llama came out of its shed and nuzzled up to the rail. Its pen had a large blue-and-yellow handicapped-parking icon on its floor, and the furry little guy seemed intent on sucking everyone's fingers. At the end of the room, where the heat barely reached, stood a pen larger than the others with what looked like a child's fort constructed in the back. There was a piece of masking tape affixed to the rail in front of us, and on it someone had spelled "Sir Oinks A Lot" in straggling letters. "Oh, you're kidding me," I said. "This isn't right." Eggers clapped twice and whistled. Something rustled in the fort, and its tiny walls shook. "This isn't happening," I told them. "This is a child's pet, that's a name a child would think up." A giant brown-and-gray hog emerged from the fort, its head big as a beer keg. It was a pork-belly hog and must have weighed eleven hundred pounds. It snorted twice, and each time it exhaled, its white breath cleared circles of dust and straw from the floor. Its head floated, cranelike, from Trudy to Eggers to me. Harder to describe than any bird is the pig. There was no animal quite like it. What defined it most were not its enormous dimensions, but the clack of its cloven feet on hard surfaces, the guttural horn of its squeal, the smack of its jowls bouncing as it walked, and the way the tugging weight of its face revealed the yellow undersides of its eyeballs. But what truly comes to mind when I think of the pig are sunsets over the river after the sky was blackened with the kerosened smoke of towering pyres of burning hogs. It's true that I haven't seen a pig in thirty years, but lately I have turned to petroglyph art in an attempt to document those events, and what I have discovered is that, despite its simple oblong shape, the pig is the most difficult figure to convey to a rockface. Eggers bent over and touched his toes. Then he held the spear over his head with two hands, leaning forward and back, stretching side to side. Finally, he jumped up and down to get the blood going. "All in the name of science," he said. "Wait a minute," I told him. "We should talk about this, we should realize what we're doing here. At least let's find some consensus." I turned to Trudy for a dose of sanity, but there was a wild look in her eyes. "No one's hunted with a Clovis point in twelve thousand years," she said. Eggers added, "This is the hunt. This is what connects us to the ancient ones, to the lost peoples of the world." Trudy touched my coat. "Look," she said, "I know your critics think the last chapter in The Depletionists is New Age-y, but when you say that the reason we are drawn to the artifact is to know, without judgment, the heart of another, I believe it. That's the whole reason I look at Paleolithic art. That's why I came here to study with you." I took my glasses off and folded them. I rubbed my temples a moment. "Okay," I said. "Okay." "Wow," Eggers said. "We're joining the elect few." "Yeah," Trudy added, "we're making history." "Here you go, then," Eggers said, handing me the spear. "Me? Wait a minute." Eggers said, "It's your Clovis point, Dr. Hannah." "I don't know how to throw a spear," I told him. "You're the one living in the Stone Age." "That's right," Eggers said. "A pig gets killed with a twelve-thousand-year-old spear. Who do you think they're going to suspect? Yes, perhaps the authorities might consider the Paleolith living in the park." "He's got a point," Trudy said. "What was with the calisthenics, then?" Eggers looked shocked. "We're all going to be running in a couple minutes." I hefted the spear and watched as Sir Oinks A Lot took a lazy turn around the pen, probably looking for a newer, more comfortable place to sleep. "This thing's heavy," I said. "Choke up on your grip," Trudy told me. Eggers pointed at the pig. "Aim just behind the shoulder blade. That's home to lung, liver, and heart. You'll get at least two out of three." I took an extra puff off my inhaler, for luck, then backed up a couple of steps, then a couple more. I don't know why, but I scratched the soles of my shoes, one at a time, on the asphalt. I wiped a hand on my pants. The pig started to circle, the way a dog would before lying down, and I started to time my throw. "Don't miss, Dr. Hannah," Trudy said. "That point's irreplaceable." I ran at the pen and thrust my arm high, but my arm wouldn't let go. I stood there with the spear still in my hand. The truth came to me cold and swift: I was no hunter. "Oh, give it here," Trudy said, loosening up her shoulders. "Give the woman the spear," Eggers said. "She holds an all-military-school record in track and field." "Trudy," I said, "we can't ask you to throw this spear. I'm a white male professor, and you, you know, you're an African American female student." "Oh, Dr. Hannah," Trudy said, "you're so cute." She took the spear from my flaccid grip, and Eggers winked at me. Trudy hefted the weapon, felt its balance point, then raised it high. "What's the bumper sticker?" she asked. "'You can have my spear when you pry it from my cold, dead hands.'" The pig cocked its head curiously. Then it happened. Trudy rotated her body and, drawing back, charged a throw that began in the ball of her foot. The leg followed, the hip lifting, rotating the torso around so the arm whipped like a sling. The spear launched, and the follow-through was complete enough that it left her facing sideways, hopping on one foot. Almost as quickly as it was thrown, the spear crossed the pen and landed with a great thuk that opened a gaping, pleated wound, from which escaped a gurgly hiss as the lung pushed and pulled air through the puncture. The handle of the spear bobbed with the breath of the hog, and with every little movement, the blade walked itself deeper into the cavity of the chest. The pig let out one faint whine before its front legs crossed, almost daintily, and it went down, rolling to its side so that its final breaths sent up mists of blood that speckled the wall a steaming pink. Eggers looked stunned. He climbed over the rail and walked cautiously to the pig. He leaned over it. "Holy shit," he said. "Wait," I called. At any moment, that hog could jump up and slay us all. If one thing was constant in the history of the world, it was the notorious danger of pigs. They were the bane of early Mesopotamia, and in African folklore there is no more dangerous beast. Even the Clovis could not handle them. The Clovis eradicated the American lion, the saber-toothed tiger, and the dire wolf, but the wild boar was one of the few animals to live through that age of eradication. Trudy joined Eggers. She was still shaking out her arm from the throw as she approached the pig. She crouched above a pool of blood gelling against the cold asphalt. She reached for it. "Don't," I murmured. "Think of the parasites, the trichinosis, the bloodworms." Trudy placed her palm in the blood, then, dripping, showed it to me. "This is the first art," she said. "This is the original ink." On the wall of the shed, Trudy drew a horizon line in red. Below it, she fashioned a circle, the sun of the underworld. Above the line, she used her fingers to make a set of antlers, pointing down. I recognized the symbol, haunting and primordial. She drove around Parkton with it painted on the black hood of her beater GTO. Eggers pulled a flake from his game bag and cut the spear point free of the shaft. He brought it to me and placed it bloody in my hands, still warm from the pig. "Here you go, Dr. Hannah," he said. "One Clovis point, as promised." Then Trudy came toward me, face flushed from the cold, hands red, that great staticky blue light of death around her, and I thought, Yes. Perhaps my father's rakish thinking had infected me, but my hands were shaking for her. "Are you ready?" she asked, and when I nodded, we all started running. In bed that night, I woke to a roar from the Missouri as a shearing expanse of ice broke away. It sent a wake underneath the whole ice sheet, so that, when the wave reached the shore, you could hear fifty-five-gallon drums leap from the frozen grip of the river as, one by one, everyone's docks cracked free. I knew a great ice raft, large as a lecture hall, was spinning its way downstream. I sat up in bed, and slowly, by starlight, began to make out the dark tendrils of all the silent houseplants that hung in my room. I checked my bedside table, and, sure enough, there was the stained Clovis point from earlier, right where I'd set it- beside a plaster cast of my mother's leg, removed just before she left us for good. Though I hadn't heard from her in thirty years, I felt pretty confident that, with the cast and maybe an X-ray of the break, I'd be able to identify my mother if I ever came across her. Often when I couldn't sleep, I'd pick up that knee-high cast and trace the shape of my mother's calf, feel the shadows left by the fine bones in her feet, but tonight I reached for the Clovis point. The quartz was smooth and warm in the dark, and instead of its conjuring in my mind the story of a people older than civilization, I thought of Trudy. How natural this point had seemed in her hand, and with what kinship did she speak of its fashioner. Trudy seemed to know its song, and the shameful arousal I felt for her, for one of my students, as I replayed the way she launched that spear was eclipsed only by the horror of where it had landed. Did the Clovis people know the glaciers were on the move? Did the dinosaurs comprehend the impending comet? Janis didn't know what the universe had in store. I heard the ice again, and imagined white rafts slowly floating down thousands of miles of river, a history of ice, and on these barges in my mind, I saw things and people, floating backward, away from me, into the dark. Our old dog Roamy was on one, and another was piled with the sagging boxes of Junior, index cards and notepads spilling into the current. I looked for Old Man Peabody, for Janis, for the father I used to know. Who floated by instead, alone on a piece of ice big enough for all of us, was my mother, frozen the way I last saw her, the way I would forever imagine her-in a pale-blue housecoat, holding a pale-blue handbag, leaning on aluminum crutches-and the farther she floated from me the less I was sure whether she was facing toward me or away. My imagination took a bird's-eye view as I attempted to follow her into the dark, flat landscape, cut only by the cold river of history. At the edge of sleep, I, too, was on the ice, riding it into darkness. I was not cold on this ice, only seized by the notion that if I floated far enough I'd ride the river back in time, back to the Pleistocene, a place where men and women lined the banks with pink spears. As I floated by, they shouted messages for me to deliver to their ancestors. Read More Show Less Reading Group Guide Our Book Club Recommendation Adam Johnson's unique novel has a little bit of everything. Parasites like Us contains high-flying satire of contemporary society, fascinating historical and ecological speculation, and a frightening scenario of humanity's near future. This potent combination is tied together by the engaging character of Hank Hannah, a South Dakota anthropologist distinctly down on his luck, whose involvement in an earth-shattering discovery has consequences both bizarre and enlightening. This tragicomedy of ideas provides a wide array of topics for reading groups to reflect on, in the midst of its farcically entertaining scenario. When Hank and his students, who are engaged in the study of prehistoric North American peoples, discover a remarkable, ancient skeleton, questions are raised about our relationship to the past and our responsibility with regard to human history. As the story unfolds, it becomes clear that the consequences of this discovery are even larger than first assumed. Johnson offers up for discussion powerful themes about man's relationship to nature and how we choose to represent that relationship in the way we think about our ancestors. Beyond issues of the environment and human civilization, this is also a novel about loss and family. Hank is tormented by the question of why his mother left when he was a baby, and he has a complicated relationship with his decidedly unconventional father. Hank compensates for this in various ways, in part by seeing his two star students, Eggers and Trudy, almost as surrogate children. Reading groups will discover that beneath the fantastic exterior of the plot, Johnson's novel offers as a powerful theme the fragmented state of the modern family, asking how far we might have to go in order to repair those ruptures. Parasites like Us has been frequently compared to the work of Kurt Vonnegut. It's easy to see overt parallels to Vonnegut's tongue-in-cheek novels that imagine bizarre future catastrophes, such as Cat's Cradle or Slapstick. But readers are likely to notice an even more important parallel: Beneath the irony and the absurdity of Johnson's imagined South Dakota is the same warm sense of humanity that informs the best of Vonnegut's work. It's an aspect of Parasites like Us that book groups may find -- against all expectation -- truly inspiring. Bill Tipper Reading Group Resources from the Publisher Adam Johnson's short stories have been praised as "Salingeresque" (New York Times), "remarkable" (New Yorker), and "creating a searing juxtaposition between scientific progress and its futility in the face of mortality" (San Francisco Chronicle). Now, with Parasites Like Us, Johnson lives up to and surpasses that praise in a novel that looks deeply into both the past and the future of the human species. Parasites Like Us is narrated by anthropologist Hank Hannah, author of the now largely discredited book The Depletionists, which argued that our Ice Age ancestors, the Clovis people, wiped out thirty-five species of large mammals. As the novel begins, Dr. Hannah is haunted by his own past. He is grieving for the disappearance of his mother, the death of his stepmother, and the loss of his former glory as an academic star and darling of the lecture circuit. He does, however, have two brilliant students, Eggers and Trudy, working with him, and together they begin to make discoveries-of the prodigious powers of the Clovis spearhead and of what are possibly the oldest human remains ever found in North America-that would validate the thesis of The Depletionists and resurrect Dr. Hannah's career. But digging into the past can be a dangerous occupation; it can cast a harsh light on the present. Dr. Hannah sees all too clearly that the selfishness of the Clovis people-their willingness to plunder "the first sunny days of humanity"-is just as strong today, as we continue to exploit the earth and all its creatures for our use. And when a brutally fatal infectious disease sweeps the land, transmitted through the animals we've lived on, humans begin a gruesome extermination, a mass slaughter of pigs and cows and chickens, that makes our ancestors look tame. But it is too late to stop the epidemic. Only Dr. Hannah and his small band survive, thanks to a chance encounter with Clovis culture, and they must face a grim journey-through frozen landscapes with burning corpses and roving packs of dogs-into a future that looks all too much like the distant past. What makes Parasites Like Us such a remarkably ambitious and satisfying novel is its combination of satire and pathos. It is at once a searing critique of human arrogance and a compassionate regard for human weakness, a provocative analysis of where we have come from and a harrowing vision of where we are headed. Adam Johnson, a former Wallace Stegner Fellow, teaches at Stanford University. His fiction has appeared in Esquire, Harper's, and the Paris Review, as well as Best New American Voices four years running. He lives in San Francisco with his wife and newborn son, James Geronimo. What prompted you to write Parasites Like Us? Did you do a great deal of research for the novel? I've always been fascinated by primitive technologies. Growing up, I heard many tales of outdoor survival from male relatives. These were sophisticated men, yet they had hidden abilities, like building snow caves, setting animal snares, or lashing emergency rafts. I never learned any of these skills, mostly because I lived with my mother after my parents' divorce. In college, however, I met a surgeon whose passion was flint-knapping-the art of making stone knives and points. His dream was to perform heart surgery with stone blades, which, he said, could be made sharper than any scalpel. He was the one who first told me about the Clovis people and the way they had created stone spear points so deadly that even twelve thousand years later, they were nearly impossible to re-create. In writing this book, I wanted to take the reader back in time-back to a point when human connections to land, food, weather, and so on were intimate ones. I felt that with each chapter, as the book marches forward, the narrator, Dr. Hannah, moves a thousand years back through time. Slowly, he is stripped of modern conveniences-his car, his possessions, his bathroom, and finally things like phones and electricity-until, metaphorically, he has entered the age of the Clovis. The place he arrives at, because of its constant peril, is one where relationships become even more important. Only in a world of primitive technology do friends, family members, and the woman he loves attain the level of interdependence that he's always hoped for. I didn't learn to dogsled or hurl spears to research this book, but I read survival narratives, geology studies, hunting guides, and lithics journals. I devoured many books about early North American peoples and about paleo-anthropology in general. I think a reader will walk away from this book having learned a great deal about the ancestors of this continent, and for that reason, I tried to focus on the themes of paleolithic life, rather than on scientific theories. Did you intend the novel to be read as a kind of warning? Do you feel the history of the Clovis people has special relevance to our own situation? The story of the Clovis people is a cautionary tale for our time. The Clovis were probably the first North Americans, though little is actually known about them. They crossed the Bering Land Bridge when the glaciers retreated at the end of the last ice age, a time when most large mammals-like the mammoth and the mastodon-went extinct. Then in 1929, at a site near Clovis, New Mexico, a mammoth bone was found with a large spear point embedded in it. Many more sites were found, and a new portrait of the Clovis people began to emerge, one in which humans entered a new frontier and founded an empire on hunting. Within these three centuries of the Clovis' arrival, most of the large mammals of North America had been eradicated, including mammoths, camels, horses, and oxen, leaving thousands of future generations without the animals needed for domestication, transportation, and agriculture. After most of the large animals of America disappeared, so did the Clovis, and this is the metaphor at the heart of the book: a people came to a new frontier and built a grand culture based on natural resources, and once those resources were depleted, the culture fell apart, leaving their descendants impoverished. What similarities do you see between the stories told by anthropologists and those told by novelists? I don't think there's any scientific method in my work, but I feel an affinity for those who apply it, especially when constructing narratives about the past, the way historians and paleo-anthropologists do. I do feel anthropologists must take some the same imaginative leaps as fiction writers to find truth out of the details. The writer must construct the life of a living character in the same way that an anthropologist must construct the lives of the dead out of fragments. How would you describe the relationship between Dr. Hannah's family and the larger history of the human family in the novel? Dr. Hannah's personal creation myth is based on his abandonment by his mother, and of course, he secretly fears he exhausted her love and drove her away. He has no other way to approach the world than by way of this essential story, and it is only fitting that his theory of the Clovis is one in which a people exhausted all that supported them, thus causing their tribe to disband. Michiko Kakutani has applied the term "Salingeresque" to your work. Do you feel a particular affinity for Salinger? What other writers have been important influences for you? I think of Salinger as a "voice" writer; he had a pitch-perfect ear for how his characters spoke, especially when telling their own stories. As a writer who loves to work in the first person, I truly admire this quality. Something my characters tend to share with Salinger's is a constant concern with what's false and what's real. His characters tended to be flawed and a little "phony" themselves, but they yearned for the real, pure thing that could redeem them. The comparisons probably end there. Salinger was a really, really good writer, and I see myself as a comparative beginner. A book that influenced me was early was The Mosquito Coast by Paul Theroux, which I read after high school. I wasn't a big reader back then, but the characterization of the father figure spoke to me-here was another father who dropped out of society and attempted to go "back to basics" in an effort to reinvent himself. I also shared the narrator's awe for an iconoclastic and self-destructive father. The "well-meaning but deluded believer" is a repeating character of mine, and I first encountered it in The Mosquito Coast. Do you have a strong personal or autobiographical connection to the novel, or is it a purely imaginative work? The novel attempts to answer a simple yet eternal question: Where do people go when they leave us? When my mother was a child, she was abandoned by her mom. And when I was a child, my parents were divorced. While my mother rarely mentioned her mother, I constantly wondered where my father was. What was he doing? I wanted to know. Who was he with, and what television show was he watching? I wanted to know what this better life was, this life that didn't include my mother and me. I placed this seed of speculation in my central character, and soon it seemed right that he was a paleo-anthropologist, one who specialized in faraway peoples, and this became a vehicle to explore the tensions between need and inaccessibility. Do you have any special writing routines or rituals? What are you working on now? The only writing ritual I have is a sleeping baby. When the little one finally goes to sleep, then I can go to work. Right now I'm in the first stages of a new novel set in Los Angeles. 1. In what ways is the history of the Clovis and their interaction with their environment, as it is presented in Parasites Like Us, relevant to our own situation? 2. Dr. Hannah frequently addresses his story to future anthropologists. How does this narrative device affect the way he tells the story and the way we read it? What does he try to communicate to future generations? What is significant about the artifacts he chooses to provide drawings for? 3. Near the end of the novel, Dr. Hannah observes that "the successful forms of life are the parasites, the ones who bleed their environment to optimal exploitation, who stunt everything by taking a lion's share, who leave their hosts alive but shriveled" (p. 326). Why did Adam Johnson title his novel Parasites Like Us? How does the above passage illuminate human behavior, past and present? 4. Dr. Hannah reflects that "as you pick through the bones of the past, you have to keep in mind that you'll never really know another human's story. The point of anthropology is not discovery, but learning to tolerate the unknown" (p. 57). Why isn't it possible to know another human's story? In what ways is the novelist, like the anthropologist, also attempting to know, and to tell, another human's story? 5. In comparing the Clovis to modern humans, Dr. Hannah observes that "if the history of humanity has been the history of extinguishing other forms of life, it's hard to say whether we have been evolving" (p. 304). Does the novel make the case that humans have not significantly evolved beyond their Ice Age predecessors? In what ways are the people in the novel like the Clovis people? 6. Dr. Hannah tells Eggers that "the past is a trap . . . we should only go there armed with shovels and torches" (p. 58). In what sense is Dr. Hannah's own personal past a trap? How might his personal history affect how he sees human history? 7. Why does Dr. Hannah feel such affection for his students, Eggers and Trudy? How does his relationship with them change and deepen over the course of the novel? What does he teach them? 8. Trudy suggests that Peabody's Hall of Man exhibit is "more about the Northern European male who created it than the culture he thought he was depicting" (p. 56). How have depictions of our evolutionary ancestors affected our sense of "natural" gender roles today? In what ways does Trudy defy these roles? 9. What is important about Dr. Hannah's relationships to the women in the novel-Janis, his mother, Trudy, and Yulia? What do his feelings about these women reveal about him? 10. As the novel ends, Dr. Hannah and his small group embark on a journey, one that would "shuttle us off this continent by the same route that had brought the Clovis, thus concluding humanity's twelve-thousand-year camp-out in North America. The trip wouldn't be so hard. We'd taught a thousand students how it went. It was a story we knew by heart" (p. 339). What ironies are involved in this reversal of the journey of the Clovis? What does he mean by saying that they knew the story by heart? What do you imagine might happen to these characters next? Read More Show Less Customer Reviews Average Rating 3.5 ( 8 ) Rating Distribution 5 Star 4 Star 3 Star 2 Star 1 Star Your Rating: Your Name: Create a Pen Name or Barnes & Review Rules Reviews by Our Customers Under the Age of 13 What to exclude from your review: Reviews should not contain any of the following: • - Phone numbers, addresses, URLs • - Pricing and availability information or alternative ordering information • - Advertisements or commercial solicitation • - See Terms of Use for other conditions and disclaimers. Search for Products You'd Like to Recommend Create a Pen Name Continue Anonymously Sort by: Showing all of 8 Customer Reviews • Posted January 3, 2012 Read this book a few years and while i don't remember every detail i do remember reading it in two sittings. I found the book fun and compelling and was entertained, which for me was why i wanted to read it in the first place! Was this review helpful? Yes No Report this review • Anonymous Posted October 15, 2006 Worth The Bargain Price - But Not Full Price... This book was a big disappointment. I wholeheartedly agree another reviewer that at least 1/3 of this book could have been edited out and it wouldn't have impacted the book a bit. Although the book moved along at a good pace, the main character's wallowing got tiring after a while. The best part of the book were the last 30-50 pages where it finally had a point. Was this review helpful? Yes No Report this review • Anonymous Posted July 6, 2006 33% needs to be edited out Listen, I think you need to hear me on this one. I feel pretty sure you will find youself skipping whole paragraphs, sometimes whole pages , KNOWING that you made the right decision. The sub plot-less bits about the abandonment by mother and father figures goes nowhere. I kept thinking it would all tidy up and come together near the end. No such luck! I kept getting the feeling that the reason the main charactor was so all alone in life was that the people who met him realized he was a one hit wonder who talked incessantly. Finishing the book, I wonder if Johnson doesn't suffer a similar fate. The lengths to which the professor goes on and on and on ,not only to himself but embarassingly in front of any crowd gathered, tears little bits and pieces of any concern the reader may have for him away. By the end, I sort of wished he would suffer at least some slapstick death or cosmic just desserts. Spending 200 pages droning on about the minutia of a wasted life in preparation for 50 pages on the end of civilization seems oddly off balance. Was this review helpful? Yes No Report this review • Anonymous Posted September 24, 2003 Excellent book, with a lot of hilarious moments and some decent insights into life. All around very enjoyable, although it can be a little too heavy in places. Was this review helpful? Yes No Report this review • Anonymous Posted August 29, 2003 Johnson Delivers Johnson solidifies his reputation as one of America's hot young writers with this powerful follow up to last year's collection of short stories. This is a book that's got it all--surreal characters and situations, social commentary, dark humor, stunning poetic language, and profound wisdom about what it means to be human going into the next century. Was this review helpful? Yes No Report this review • Anonymous Posted August 19, 2003 Powerful, Funny, MOving! Wow, this book really blew me away. I thought it was just a silly farce at first -- lighthearted fun. But the ending is phenomenal and so real! I am recommending it to all my friends and I can't wait to ready anything else Johnson writes. Was this review helpful? Yes No Report this review • Anonymous Posted October 25, 2008 No text was provided for this review. • Anonymous Posted January 18, 2010 No text was provided for this review. 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HOME > Chowhound > Not About Food > Food Tattoos Now that l have fully reached geezer status, it is time for a tattoo. Cheese may be prominent in my thoughts but open to a lot. Photos and where the deed was done would help as well. One thought now was on the door at Betelnut in San Francisco when they opened, which was a wedge of Swiss cheese with holes with the ubiquitous red circle around it and the red slash through the circle. All help appreciated. 1. Click to Upload a photo (10 MB limit) 1. Forget what the tat is, where are you planning to put it? 2 Replies 1. re: escondido123 Two current locations are vying for the winner. On the anterior ankle, thus facing out. The other is Tong style on the bottom of heel with large circle around it. What you do want, am a retired podiatrist. 2. how about a cheese knife? I'm thinking one like this: Scroll down to #17 -- shows off your profession, but a little badazz, too -- and just obscure enough to only be immediately recognizable to cheese freaks. (now I'll be watching when I'm in the markets in Paris...looking for the cheese-knife tat) 1. dh and the boyz are fond of butcher's diagrams. i've seen some beautiful large scale produce tats and backpieces, too. assuming this will be your first tattoo, one thing to bear in mind (hoping the folks from the "just answer the bleepin' question" thread don't come after me with flat whisks): picking your tattoo artist is a lot like picking a caterer. shop around and familiarize yourself w her/his work, look for someone who runs a clean shop. some artists will specialize in portraiture, others in marvel-comic style illustration, others in ed hardy type styles, etc. choose the best fit for your concept. again, as with dealing with caterers-- you may think you know just what you want, but a good artist will expand and enhance your design-- don't think of your tattoo artist as a paper-to-skin zerox machine, like a talented caterer, s/he can enhance your "menu." if you want something large-scale, like a mycological fantasy backpiece, or a humorous cartoon of a roasted james beard being served to a pig wearing a tuxedo. . .don't be afraid to ask your artist to draw it up. go in with books and photos. like a good caterer, a good tattoo artist will work off of your ideas and create something custom for you that may be even better than you imagined! :) good luck! oh-- imho, price should be among the last things discussed-- don't bargain hunt, this will be on your skin the rest of your life. more expensive/experienced artists will also be quicker, cleaner and less painful/shorter heal time, like surgeons. tip tattoo artists generously, particularly if they draw up custom work for you-- i'm sure you know this, i'm just sayin' to say it, for the thread. again, best of luck. 2 Replies 1. re: soupkitten Soupkitten is right on the nose on all points, not the least of which is the last paragraph. Good tattoos are never cheap; Cheap tattoos are never good. My daughter is a tattoo artist of some repute. She told me recently of someone who came in for a consult and didnt like her price. The client had the nerve to ask my daughter if she could recommend someone who would do the work any cheaper. My daughter told her to try prison. Prisons are LOADED with inexpensive tattoo artists. 1. re: Fydeaux I've heard the same from a BBQ pitmaster "good food ain't cheap and cheap food ain't good". "you get what you pay for" generally holds true for tattoos as well. With that said, I was in Belize last winter and had a ceiba tree tattooed on my forearm for the equivalent of $100USD (incredibly inexpensive). The artist was a Seattle ex-pat who recently opened a small parlor near the beach. OK, monochrome, little shading, and not extremely detailed, but still, I am very pleased with it and a bargain to boot (I tipped him well). This is definitely an exception to the "get what u pay for" rule... 2. Ooooh, timely! I've had a tattoo of a previous Siamese cat of mine on my hip for 15 years, but acquired a 10-12" scar (inverted V) across my abdomen 2 years ago. I'd thought about a tattoo around it and just started thinking about it again. Grape Vines? Cherry Blossoms? I love the idea of a cheese related tattoo, maybe a melty wedge of brie? Dripping Grilled cheese sandwich? 10 Replies 1. re: Delucacheesemonger okay the combination of 'cheesemonger' and 'podiatrist' just BEGS for something with stinky feet. An angel with smelly tootsies? 1. re: sunshine842 Thanks for the image of toe cheese just before breakfast.... 1. re: Veggo no, no -- years ago, on one of my first forays into a Paris fromagerie, I instinctively wrinkled my nose when I walked into the store (it can be a little overpowering...) The lady looked up, chuckled, and remarked "ah yes -- cheese -- like the feet of an angel" It cracked me up -- I had a great time and bought a lot of cheese that day -- and the saying has stayed with me ever since. 2. re: sunshine842 Did you look at my avatar ? And the story goes when Charlemagne first tried Brie de Melun he said' It smells like the feet of God' 1. re: sunshine842 Or the smelly, black mercedes? {;-/) 1. re: porker Blue, not black. Almost got smelly for the tag on my other car 1. re: Delucacheesemonger You shoulda. Cool tags. Even better side by side. 2. Theres a timely article in Culture called Cheesemongers who love what they do have the tats to prove it, maybe check it out here for a few idears. Having slid somewhere between hipster dufus and geezer myself, I try to get a tatoo when visiting interesting ports of call... soupkitten's pointers are spot on, echoing the concerns about "answer the fuc&ing question" thread, I will suggest this: get the tattoo where you can see it, whats the good of not enjoying it yourself, I think. Skill varies GREATLY from artist to artist (something that did not occur to me when getting my second), so ask around. Plus word of mouth recommendations go a long way. Finally, as a committed hound, report back with a photo! BTW, I've been thinking of something like this for awhile 3 Replies 1. re: porker ROFL -- some of those are pretty cool -- and come out MUCH better than I thought a cheese tattoo would look. And I swear I hadn't read that when I combined "cheese knife" and "badass" in the same sentence. 1. re: porker Thank you for that link, porker. What a wonderful portrait of cheesemongers! 1. re: porker I agree with everything you've said on this thread porker, and especially the point about getting it where you yourself can see it. i got mine at 40 (also skirting the edge of geezerhood), not food related, but i had a picture of it for a few years before i got it done. Mine is on my upper right calf, but slightly to the right - not exactly on the side of the leg, definitely on the fleshy part and not on the back - about an inch below the bend. i can see it whenever i look down from a sitting or standing position without having to crane. is this too (pardon the pun) - cheesy? http://www.fotosearch.com/IMZ001/jba0...
Again, why isn’t Jon Corzine in jail? I asked last night, MF’s Corzine Ordered Funds Moved to JP Morgan, Memo Says, and Email Ties Corzine to Missing Funds Memo on MF Global View Document Edith O’Brien, an assistant treasurer who was among the employees involved in moving money at MF Global, wrote in the email that the $200 million transfer to an MF Global account at J.P. Morgan Chase JPM +1.14% & Co. in London was “Per JC’s [Jon Corzine’s] direct instructions,” according to the memo. The transfer was needed to fix a $175 million overdraft in the bank account that was making it harder for MF Global to buy and sell securities as it scrambled to survive in late October, according to the memo. Customer accounts hold both firm money and customer money that isn’t supposed to be touched under federal regulations. In testimony to lawmakers in December, Mr. Corzine, the former Goldman Sachs Group Inc. GS +1.15% chairman and New Jersey governor who was MF Global’s CEO, said he never directed anyone to misuse customer funds. “He stands by that testimony,” a spokesman for Mr. Corzine said… The $200 million transfer is one of three types of key transactions that led to the large shortfall in customer funds, the subcommittee found. The others are intraday loans between MF Global’s futures commission merchant and its broker-dealer and transactions related to the funding of outgoing broker dealer client money, the subcommittee found. The Journal previously disclosed a $165 million transfer sent to the broker-dealer that came from the customer account. Is this going to become a she said/he said? Read the document. Again, Corzine doesn’t know where the client funds went? Tags: , 2 Responses to “Again, why isn’t Jon Corzine in jail?” 1. jlh Says: 2. Fausta Says: The only consolation is that he’s no longer governor of NJ.
Be a Supporter! Credits & Info Jul 3, 2007 \| 5:28 PM EDT • Daily 4th Place July 4, 2007 If you liked this, check these out! Plenty more like this here! • Politics • You are a Fucking Moron Author Comments Rated 4 / 5 stars Another Hilarious Satire Great Job,but there's a lack of hatred in this one that was prevalent in the last ones. Rated 0 / 5 stars Thank you,Captain Obvious. Ok,I want to clear the air here on a few things. Noone believes Iraq had anything to do with 9/11. There were some early suspicions,but nothing ever came of them,and only the most retarded of the anti-Bush crowd believes that was ever even a remote reason for going there,largely because they can't seem to remember why we did. It's really funny watching idiots try to discredit something when it's obvious they don't know anything about it. Here's a little assignment for you. Pull the liberal media's cock out of your mouth and go look up some uneditted news videos of what Bush presented as evidence to support an action on Iraq. Maybe after you've done that,you can produce a more convincing flash. Finally,I want to know exactly when 500 barrels of nerve gas,enough to wipe out a city,stopped being considered a weapon of mass destruction. Anyone care to feild that question? Don't know what I'm talking about? Well,what's that say about your news sources? The liberal media only plays up the bad side,they don't want to acknowledge anything positive or that disagrees with their opinion. Meanwhile,I can turn on Fox News,the "ultra conservative media whores" and still hear about bad things in Iraq like the recent Blackwater scandel. But when was the last time NBC really discusses the possiblity of Iran supplying the fighters in Iraq? But it's too late now. Keep your eyes closed and keep praying Hilary will descend from on high and "save us" from Iraq. Don't question the all mighty liberal media as they sing their "feel good" chorus of bullshit. They don't have an agenda. Of course,an agenda is another word for plan and if they don't have a plan,how are they going to get anything done? No,that's not a problem. They probably won't take away your rights under the pretext of "saving you from mind poison". As for me,I'm a big boy and I can make up my own mind. I'll listen to both sides and decide for myself who's right and anyone who calls me stupid while not listening to my side of things can suck a candy bar out of my ass. Frankly,I expected better of you. If you're going to bash someone,don't softball it and go with the "popular opinion". Get off your ass and do some research. Rated 4.5 / 5 stars Absolutely right Iraq had nothing I mean nothing to do with 9/11. Bush is the worst president ever. He is clueless about what is going on. Wrong country indeed. The only reason he went into Iraq was to finish his daddy's job. Impeach Bush, he is a f***ing moron. Rated 4.5 / 5 stars There are better episodes of YAAFM See the summary above. Its true. This episode lacked something that i have seen in practically every other episode so far a Reginold just seemed to lack the spunk he usually has. Rated 4.5 / 5 stars regis voice is a little different and was the disclaimer at the beginning a quote from henry rollins? who knows.... People find this review helpful!
מאת chilli ring 6 בנובמבר, 2009 מאת StevieH884422 6 בפברואר, 2010 An exclamation to show something has gone wrong. מאת FAHKLAH 29 באוגוסט, 2011 Yea! I can't wait to see GAC! מאת Parker Teresa Azazel Cassie 20 באוקטובר, 2010 מאת GAC!!!!! 14 באפריל, 2011 Acronym for "Get a clue" user1: omg they landed on teh moon!1 user2: gac מאת mememe 20 בינואר, 2005 Synonymous with modern day derogatory, foul or vulgar language, signifying someone's distaste for something. Can be used to humiliate, agitate, irritate and maliciously depropriate anything, person or place. Can be used as an Adverb or Adjective to emphasize feeling and frustration towards virtually anything. What the GAC is wrong with you??? GAC you, you GACing GAC! You are a GACing Idiot! What the GAC did Bongwater say? Get the GAC outta my face, you GACass! מאת kc5hwb 2 באוגוסט, 2006 דוא"ל יומי חינם אימיילים נשלחים מהכתובת לעולם לא נשלח לכם דואר זבל.
Civil Liberties comments_image Comments Don Lemon Stirs the Stop and Frisk Pot—What Ever Happened to Nuance and Good Judgement? Twitter is exploding right now. CNN's Don Lemon is the focus of 140-character rage as accusations fly back and forth that his weekly Tuesday radio commentary on The Tom Joyner Show was a defense of stop and frisk -- a NYPD policy that, on the one hand, criminalizes millions of black and brown men and, on the other hand, gets credited for a declining crime rate by the likes of former mayor Bloomberg and police chief Ray Kelly. Stop and Frisk is a policy that is passionately hated, debated and defended. The tweeted headline for Lemon's piece was, "Would You Rather Be Politically Correct Or Safe & Alive?" The headline sparked a storm before the content could be more clearly heard. The devil was in the details of Lemon's commentary, which did not defend stop and frisk at the outset. This was about the 'n' word. No, not that one: nuance. What Don Lemon initially said was powerful and crucial. He argued that "stop, question and frisk" had been so abused it could no longer be seen as a viable policy by the thousands of New Yorkers against whom the police had practiced this discriminatory policy. Lemon began by arguing fewer New Yorkers would object to the stop, question and frisk policy if a police force respectful of New Yorkers practiced it. Abuses of power, he went on to note, made that unlikely. Lemon said: ... If you question many people in NYC, even some black and Hispanic people, they will tell you that on the surface they don't really have an issue with stop, question and frisk, not the idea of it at least, not if the controversial policy was conducted like the occasional random airport screening, if they could really believe that officers would stop someone and say: "Sir, I'm sorry I need to check your bag or your person." But they know that's not the reality of things on the street. They know that officers will most likely not be that polite, if you can call that polite. They know that in reality they will probably be ordered to put their hands up, spread their legs, or lay on the ground and be handcuffed while an officer or officers had their ways with them, touching them wherever they like, or handling them however they like. So for those of us who would like to believe in theory that we'd rather be inconvenienced by being stopped by police than shot by gun wielding criminals on the street we deeply know that while that is true -- it is highly unlikely that the police, the people holding the authority and our fates in their own hands will treat us as citizens who deserve the same respect as any other citizen who happens not to be of color in the United States. And while we are not letting the people who commit the crimes worthy of stop, question and frisk off the hook, for perpetuating these stereotypes, we know that it is too easy for police and people in authority to become so drunk with power that they abuse it. Lemon makes several valid points here, and the numbers back them up. In May of this year, the New York Civil Liberties Union released a full analysis of the NYPD's own 2012 stop-and-frisk database. WBAI New York radio news reporter Linda Perry spoke to NYCLU's Legal Director Chris Dunn about their analysis: "[T]he most dramatic thing in the report is that over 90 percent of the people who were stopped were not given a summons or arrested and those people are all innocent people. A 90 percent innocence rate is a pretty clear signal that people are being stopped without justification." On frisking specifically, Dunn said: "The frisking is off the chart. Police officers are only allowed to frisk somebody if they suspect they have a weapon, yet we see frisk rates of 55% for 2012, and of those people frisked only 2% produced a weapon. It is completely clear from the department's own numbers that they are systematically frisking people without any justification." Perry also asked about evidence of force in the stop and frisk policy. Dunn explained: "The most troubling thing about the use of force is the racial disparities. Blacks are almost 50% more likely to have force used against them than whites. And there's no explanation for that other than race playing a role."
Comments Threshold Chris Hanson By The Raven on 12/17/2010 12:36:03 PM , Rating: 0 I'm ok with this. I personally go through life as a parent assuming that everyone is a potential child molester. Sure there are the "blue dot" websites out there showing where the molesters are. But those are only the CONVICTED molesters. They all started somewhere and there are ones out there who haven't been caught. I'm not a helicopter parent and I don't put foam bumpers all over my house, but I have been going through parenting with this outlook being aware of the risk and not believeing that I live in some protected bubble devoid of worry. I think the gov't should also assume that they are not in a protective bubble. It seems like they have gotten into that belief based on their reaction to the Wikileaks leaks. I take measures to protect my kids and we as a society collectively prepare for the worst by having a justice system in case such tragedy does occur. But being aware of the threat is the first step in setting up effective protection. And by threat, I mean the threat of miscreants getting through our best protective efforts . Not just the threat of violation in general. That is just my thought on this security business. It should also be a policy to have as few secrets as possible. I think of "Operation Reciprocity" from Clear and Present Danger. The president had a secret and Ryan found out about it. If he hadn't bombed Escobedo's house in Columbia in the first place there would be no secret. Well he wouldn't have to worry about that getting out if it wasn't a secret. Operational secrets are a necessity but what information is use to make decisions should not be kept secret. It sure would shut up those "Bush is a war criminal" people if it was declassified lol. Or maybe it wouldn't hmm... I see it like football in a way. The coaches cover their mouths and use code to keep the plays that they call secret from the opposition but everyone knows how many people are on the field, what the teams are trying to do, when someone is injured, how much money they make, who is the coach, etc. I wish I could trust the President/gov't and/or media to be straightforward with that type of info. But I remain very weary. RE: Chris Hanson By Fritzr on 12/17/2010 6:37:25 PM , Rating: 2 What I find surprising is that it is the NSA saying this is a new idea. That agency should have been one of the first to realize that compartmentalized targets were a headache to attack, and those that allowed easy search and retrieval after initial access were a major security risk. They do this to the other side as their daily employment. What took them so long to realize that the things that caused them problems would cause foreign attackers to have the same problems & things that made their life easy would make life easy for foreign attackers. Compartmentalization has been part of the security protocol for centuries, why this sudden announcement that US national security just discovered this wonderful idea?
celticwoman asks: looked down for college desions I'm having a hard time with adults at school and my parents. Because i'm almost a senior and i really want to be a nurse and go to college. But every time i tell someone that they say oh being a nurse is a bad choice. It is really bad and you wouldn't like it. And my parents are telling me you can't go to college you chose. They chose a college that they are into but i'm not. And they are putting pressure on me to go there. The college doesn't have any majors i'm into and it sounds boring. No one seems to understand that i want to be a nurse and i'm tired of being looked down for wanting to go to college outside of where i live and for choosing something i really want to do. In Topics: Jobs/Careers > 60 days ago Boys Town National Hotline May 3, 2012 Subscribe to Expert What the Expert Says: We are so sorry you are feeling all this pressure. Please know that often when people provide advice, their intention is not to criticize you or tell you that you are wrong, they simply are worried about you and think they are being helpful. If you want to be a nurse, great! That is your decision and the only person who can truly keep you from making that decision is yourself. Sure, it may be harder if you lose the support of others, but you can do it! The parents situation is hard, especially if they are going to provide you with money for your college education. If they are planning on doing so, than they may have some power in telling you where to go, if you use their money. But you always have the option to apply for financial aid and to seek out college loans if you want to go to a different university. You are at an exciting and confusing age. You are going from a minor to an adult and some people (like parents) tend to have trouble with that transition as well. You have the right to make your own decisions, so weigh your options carefully. You also always have the option to attend that college you don't like and get the help from your parent, go ahead and get some general education classes out of the way, and then move onto a different college and transfer your credits. That will give you a couple of years to get some general things out fo the way, please your parents, and also gain that sense of independence. Counselor, NZ Boys Town National Hotline Friend us on FACEBOOK today & Did you find this answer useful? Answer this question
View Single Post Old 04-17-2012, 10:32 AM #11 Gnarly Adventurer Joined: Feb 2008 Location: St. Louis, USA Oddometer: 293 Originally Posted by jbhawley View Post Conspiracy theory. HMM Maybe? But not really am I posing a conspiracy, but questioning the status quo. Its the helmet mfg, Snell etc that should post hard-cold data and not some friggin' "CONSENSUS". Do you agree? I'm trying to figure out what you are expecting. A 200 page report with data for 50 different head types and 1000 different usage patterns? Maybe a 100 question form where you add up the points at the end and that determines how long your helmet will last? It would be inane or useless, and most likely would only open the manufacturers up to lawsuits, and that would hurt all of us. I think Snell said it well. Only YOU know what your helmet has been through. THERE ARE NO HARD AND FAST RULES, yet you seem to want to pretend there are. This sort of post usage testing is what I would like to see from Snell. Take a helmet that has actually been worn by an average rider that is 2, 5, 7 etc years old and see if it still hold to the initial testing criteria. What is an "average rider"? Does this average rider have oily hair or dry hair? Does the rider sweat much? How much is "much"? What was the average length of continuous helmet usage? What was the longest length of continuous helmet usage? How many hours was the helmet used annually? How tight was the helmet initially? (exact head size vs helmet size) What temperature was the helmet stored at (usually)? What humidity was the helmet stored at (usually)? What part of the world did the rider live in? Given the VERY LARGE number of variables in the above answers, how would any testing be useful for ANYONE except that "average rider"? Alton screwed with this post 04-17-2012 at 10:42 AM Reason: added response Alton is offline Reply With Quote
BFG AGEIA PhysX Accelerator The physics battle heats up Updated 2/4/2008 Comments Threshold Hopes for benefits By Xodus Maximus on 2/4/2008 5:48:57 PM , Rating: 3 Intel has Havok and they did nothing new with them, so I am really hopeful that NVidia might do something that moves the field forward. Im sure that the AGEIA PhysX API will be accelerated by drivers from Nvidia in the future, but NVidia tried something similar with Cg, and that received almost no industry backing, except for some books being written about it. This might actually kill PhysX, because AMD will make their own product, and with all three companies having competing products and having no standard, games will be forced to have their own solution that doesn't take advantage of these great techs, and eventually it will be some obscure feature on NVidia's SDK that 1% of people use... RE: Hopes for benefits By togaman5000 on 2/4/2008 6:07:15 PM , Rating: 4 The different standards may very well hurt overall adoption, but if nVidia takes the smart route and integrates the technology directly into their cards, then developers would have a guaranteed user base. If it were up to me, then I'd integrate the technology into all future GPUs. I'd also release a software version. Not only would any user be able to use Ageia's physics engine, regardless of GPU brand, but nVidia GPUs would be faster and include more features. Kind of like how EAX is available up to 2.0 for most licensed hardware based sound companies, but Creative can use it up to 5.0. All games support it now, despite the fact that only a certain percentage of the population can use it to the fullest. RE: Hopes for benefits Related Articles
UFC Fight Night 29 Play-by-Play: Fabio Maldonado vs. Joey Beltran October 9, 2013 Comments off UFC Fight Night 29 Live Results Home Page Fabio Maldonado vs. Joey Beltran Round 1: Maldonado gets his jab going early, while Beltran is swinging for the fences. Beltran moves in for a takedown, but Maldonado defends along the fence. The referee steps in after Beltran lands a couple low punches, and warns that next time he will take a point away. They restart, Beltran trying to get his own jab going, but Maldonado beating him to the punch. Beltran forces his way inside, landing several punches that rock Maldonado a bit. Beltran presses Maldonado into the fence, lands some good short uppercuts, but Maldonado answers with a solid body blow. Beltran, however, is keeping his weight on Maldonado and landing some short punches and knees while he does so. Maldonado lands a few short body shots, but Beltran is mixing his techniques up well landing elbows, punches and knees, all the while pressing Maldonado into the fence. Beltran tries to wrap Maldonado’s legs for a takedown, but gets caught briefly in a guillotine attempt. He quickly releases it and they return to their feet, Maldonado calling for Beltran to come at him as the horn sounds to end the round. MMAWeekly.com scores round one 10-9 for Beltran. Round 2: Beltran going back to his jab to start round two, but eats a straight right from Maldonado. Maldonado goes back to employing his jab, lading it with frequency. Beltran is coming forward, swing wide and heavy, but getting picked apart by Maldonado’s jab. They clinch up, Maldonado doing some good body work with his punches. Maldonado comes off the fence, landing some heavy shots, and then goes back to the fence, urging Beltran to come in and fight him along the cage. Beltran does, presses Maldonado onto the cage, and lands some hard knees and elbows. They’re clinched on the fence, Maldonado’s mouthpiece comes shooting out and the ref stops the action for him to retrieve it. They start up at the center of the cage, Beltran chasing Maldonado down with punches, but eating lots of jabs in doing so. Maldonado keeps the jab going, and mixes in some combinations. They get close, Maldonado really edging ahead with the frequency and quantity of his punches, the jab now in full effect. They trade blows to the horn. MMAWeekly.com scores round two 10-9 for Maldonado. Round 3: They both immediately go to the jab, Maldonado again looking to be the more effective puncher. Beltran is starting to drop his hands and Maldonado is taking advantage. Beltran is trying to find a takedown, but eats some big right hands from Maldonado, who fends off the attempts. Beltran keeps fighting for the takedown, but Maldonado is doing a good job maintaining his balance and making Beltran work. The referee finally sees enough of the stalemate and restarts them in the center. Maldonado goes right back to the jab, throwing it high and to the body. Beltran is landing infrequently, but Maldonado keeps the jab in his face. Beltran presses Maldonado to the fence and lands some short uppercuts, but Maldonado fires back with short shots to the body, and one errant shot that lands south of the border, briefly halting the fight. They restart, Maldonado going back to the jab, but Beltran moves forward, secures a front facelock and drags Maldonado to the mat. Maldonado is on his knees, while Beltran is standing and driving knees into his ribs. They return to their feet, both men battered and bloody. MMAWeekly.com scores round three 10-9 and the fight 29-28 for Maldonado. Fabio Maldonado def. Joey Beltran by Split Decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28) UFC Fight Night 29 Live Results Home Page Comments are closed.
The city commuters streaming home through darkened streets last Tuesday night would never have recognised the middle-aged, bespectacled man slipping into the offices of a leading law firm. Which is how Sir Richard Dearlove likes it, given that until last year he was running MI6. The message he was en route to deliver at that night's private seminar, before a discreet audience assembled by the law firm Ashursts, was a chilling one. There was 'extensive complacency' about the terrorist threat, he said, and those who thought July's London bombing was the worst Britain would suffer were wrong. 'We probably have to conclude that the clock is running on some much more dreadful events,' he said matter-of-factly. The dilemma now was how to stop them. Quite, as Tony Blair might say. After a week which saw David Blunkett, his closest cabinet ally, forced out for the second time in a year and his majority cut to a humiliating one by a cross-party revolt over his terrorism bill, it is hard to tell which setback angers the Prime Minister most. When Blunkett came under serious attack, Blair knew he must let go. On terrorism, however, the issue has had to be prised from his reluctant grip. One friend describes his mood as 'sheer exasperation', not just with the Tories - whom he regards as wantonly defying police warnings that they need new powers to tackle al-Qaeda - and of the public mood, but with his own party for aiding and abetting. 'Part of his fury is about the fact that we have suffered a self-inflicted wound, allowing the Conservatives to limp away, even though they are there for the taking on this issue,' says one friend. 'He thinks we could destroy Cameron and Davis on this.' Rebellious Labour MPs, meanwhile, accuse him of losing touch with reality in pursuit of yet more draconian crackdowns of unproven effectiveness. The wrangle over plans to detain terrorist suspects for up to 90 days without trial has ended in what the ex-minister John Denham calls a 'blind game of poker' over who folds first. Were Labour MPs bluffing when they threatened their leader's first Commons defeat? Do the Tories dare bet against the risk of another bomb? And would Blair stake everything on a vote that, if he lost, could prompt demands for his resignation? Charles Clarke, his Home Secretary, has been desperate for a deal: his chief whip, Hilary Armstrong, warned Blair that he would not carry Parliament. The Prime Minister's mood was, if anything, hardening. 'I don't think there is any sort of Plan B on 90 days,' said one government source bleakly. Last-minute attempts to square that circle have left Clarke negotiating a climbdown, while Blair insists publicly that any compromise would be inadequate. The conclusion for many Labour MPs is that, weakened by weeks of infighting, he simply dare not risk a defeat that would leave him looking washed up. 'It's not about the terror bill: it's the symbolism of Tony losing his majority,' says another government source. But it is not just political careers at stake. With the Association of Chief Police Officers (Acpo) adamant that without the new powers - on which MPs now vote this Wednesday - suicide bombers could go free, the dispute matters to every citizen in Britain. Guy Fawkes mugs and gunpowder mustard sold briskly at the Commons gift shop last week. Once a traitor, now a tourist attraction, Fawkes neatly illustrates the dilemma for MPs: time blurs the lines between deadly treachery and legitimate protest. Wednesday's revolt centred on plans to outlaw the glorification of terrorism - drawn up to prevent 'hate preachers' advocating jihad from mosques. But rebels say the measures are so vaguely drawn that they would - as Tory Dominic Grieve argues - outlaw 'the glorification of Robin Hood'. Labour MPs fear it could become illegal to wear a T-shirt with an inflammatory slogan or say, as Cherie Blair once did, that she could understand why some Palestinians become suicide bombers. Librarians fear lending books on jihad could get them arrested: university professors say they risk prosecution for discussing al- Qaeda videos on politics courses. Officially, the Home Office dismisses such scare stories, but Clarke is still planning concessions. The argument over 90 days, however, is more profound. Acpo argues that building a case against sophisticated modern terrorists requires cracking computer codes, consulting police forces worldwide, retrieving forensic evidence from potentially contaminated sites - which cannot be reliably completed in the current allotted period of 14 days. But those against the changes argue there is no evidence of people being freed because the police have run out of time. Since January 2004, there have been only 11 detentions for the full 13-14 days, in all of which the suspect was subsequently charged. Neither can the malcontents be dismissed as diehard leftwingers or embittered ex-ministers. In cabinet, the attorney general, Lord Goldsmith, is among those privately unconvinced: in the Commons, prospective rebels range from impeccably on-message lawyer Emily Thornberry to the Muslim MP and Downing Street favourite Sadiq Khan, as well as the veteran loyalist David Winnick, author of rebel proposals for a maximum 28 days' detention. The first sign of serious trouble came last Monday, when Sir Ian Blair, the Metropolitan Police chief, and the Met's head of counter-terrorism, Andy Hayman, were ushered into Downing Street. 'Tony didn't want to go into bat for 90 days without being absolutely certain they needed it,' says one source. 'But I've never seen them so adamant.' Sir Ian promptly published a newspaper article warning it was the 'united view' of senior police that 90 days was necessary, while Hayman briefed journalists that it was not some kind of 'bartering tool' for negotiation. Both Blair and Armstrong, however, were busy with a second unfolding crisis around Blunkett. The exit of Blunkett was a shattering blow not just for him, but for his boss. Blair overruled colleagues' warnings that it had been too soon to bring him back into Cabinet: now his friend was leaving under a cloud, putting Blair's own judgment on the line. As Gordon Brown sat impassively beside Blair, Michael Howard used Prime Minister's Questions that morning to accuse Blair of being a lame duck, 'in office but not in power' - the words Norman Lamont used against John Major. It was a breathtaking accusation from Howard, who, only months before was being attacked in similar terms by his own MPs. By the afternoon, the duck was pecking back, announcing that Blunkett would be replaced by the sharp but relatively unknown John Hutton. It was a surprise to some: Hilary Benn, the International Development Secretary and son of Tony, is overdue for promotion and closer to the Chancellor, with whom difficult negotiations over pensions await. The choice of Hutton - a close friend and ex-flatmate of the Chancellor's bete noire Alan Milburn - spells defiance. Hutton, however, has ministerial experience of tussling with the rebels, over foundation hospitals. Right now, battle experience counts. In other circumstances, Blunkett might have taken Wednesday afternoon off. But shortly after delivering his resignation statement, he was voting on the glorification clause - knowing Blair needed every vote he could get. Brown spent most of the day in the Commons, badgering recalcitrant MPs to support the government: ministers were ordered back to Parliament to bolster the numbers. Nonetheless, Blair may only finally have averted defeat when the whips plucked a confused new MP from the rebel lobby into which he had accidentally strayed. The farce was complete. Clarke had to play safe on the even trickier threatened vote over the 90-day clause. Promising 'urgent discussions' to reach a compromise, he persuaded Winnick not to push the Commons to a vote on a 28-day limit he would almost certainly have won. Disaster was averted, but not for long. Next day, Blair told his Cabinet he still found the 90 days argument 'compelling' and that settling for an arbitrary figure would be pointless. 'The only logical argument is for 90 days: the rest is just parliament saying whatever it feels,' said one senior Whitehall source. By Thursday afternoon, Blair was publicly declaring that the police 'should have this power' if they wanted it. Was the deal off? In asserting his own authority, however, Blair had badly undermined Clarke's, making it look as if he could not deliver on his word. The rebels were furious. 'We had people saying "We've been duped",' says another Whitehall source. With Clarke demanding to be allowed to make a deal, a fudge was worked out whereby he would continue negotiating - and Blair would continue insisting publicly on 90 days, gambling on public opinion somehow bringing MPs around. Chief constables will brief them this weekend on why the new powers matter. No wonder all leave for MPs on Wednesday has been cancelled - with one intriguing exception. While Blair faces his demons in the Commons, Gordon Brown will be meeting poverty-stricken Palestinians, a rather more popular mission on the backbenches. Mischievous whispers that Blair is so disenchanted with Brown he would rather be succeeded by David Cameron will be firmly squashed when the Prime Minister addresses Labour MPs at a special meeting tomorrow. But anxiety about where he is leading them, not just on terrorism but on public service reform, persists. 'He's got to explain that he's not pursuing some egotistical legacy, that all the changes fit a set of Labour values,' says one ally. Despite tearoom gossip about leadership challenges, there is no appetite for an immediate putsch. Quietly, however, MPs are discussing how to speed the transition of power from Blair to Brown, avoiding more messy revolts along last week's lines. Envious eyes are cast at the Tories' 1922 committee, party elders who are traditionally sent to dispatch an ailing leader.
View Full Version : The TWU customization tool dilemma. 06-10-2011, 08:43 PM So i wanted to customize a 316g, 328.5mm balance racquet to my optimal specs of 350g, 323mm. I thought everything would be very easy thanks to TWU's great customization tool. However, the tool offered me two drastically different options to achieve the wanted specs. (the one or two location solutions). That's when i got confused because it's obvious that these two solutions would lead to two VERY different racquets, even with identical specs. I know the missing link is the SW but if i had to take a guess without actually trying to calculate SW, which of these solutions do you think has the best chances of pleasing me? Which one do you guys usually choose? I would guess the 2 location solution makes more sense since most pros have lead in the head and handle. I've rarely seen lead applied to a single location but i'm looking for a second opinion about this. 06-10-2011, 09:36 PM The more weight you add further away from the butt cap the more the swingweight will increase. So if you want to increase swingweight the most, add weight to the very top of the racquet. If you want to add the least amount of swingweight add weight to the handle. Of course adding weight at the very end will change your balance point more drastically then closer to the middle. Since you have a specific goal in mind (350g, 323mm) Would it be safe to guess that you are trying to match the specs of a different racquet? If so, you should find the swingweight of that racquet as well, which will then make it much easier to decide where to add the weight to make all 3 specifications match as close as you can. 06-11-2011, 07:52 AM I've tried to use the customization tool two times. The first time I wanted to match my 12.8 oz frame to my 12.9 oz frame. I did not know the swingweights of the two frames so I just assumed that the 12.8 oz frame had the stock swingweight and just extrapolated the 12.9 oz frame swingweight based on static weight. I used the tool but could not come up with a satisfactory match. So I gave up on this. Part of my problem was not having a good way to determine the balance point. Sometime later I found a good way to determine the balance point and used the TW tool to get my 12.7 oz frame to 13.0 oz (in between the 12.9 and 13.1) and it worked out just as I wanted. It's power level is right in between them - just what I wanted. After that, I found a tennis shop about 40 miles away with an RDC machine that does customization. One of these days, I mean to bring them down and get measurements on them and perhaps have them customize my lighter frames. Perhaps you could look around for a local shop that has an RDC machine so that you could get swingweight readings so that you could more accurately do your customization work. 06-11-2011, 08:53 AM You can't really customize, and certainly can't match racquets, without knowing the starting swingweights. Luckily, calculating swingweight accurately is easy - you just need a yardstick, a stopwatch, two pencils and TWU's swingweight calculator. The RacquetTune app helps, especially if run on a device with a camera. If you have the swingweight, the Customization tool will usually give two sollutions - one with the additional mass more towards the tip and butt (towards the poles or "polarized") and one with a bunch of mass in the throat and less in the butt. Polarized racquets generally feel softer because the mass concetrated at the poles reduces the vibration frequency, aka dynamic stiffness. Unless you're adding a bunch of mass, though, that effect might not be super noticeable.
The brutal secret to how parrots survive floods Eclectus parrots make their nests in parts of Australia where floods are extremely common. When their nests start to flood, the parrots make a grim decision. They kill their chicks...but only the male ones. What drives them to commit gendercide? It's rare for birds to kill their own children, and it's really unusual for these parrots to choose along gender lines. Indeed, it seems like the sort of behavior that evolution would select against, since artificially creating a gender imbalance leads to nothing except a lot of females one day struggling to find mates. To figure out what's going on, Robert Heinsohn of the Australian National University carried out an eight-year survey of 42 nest hollows belonging to Eclectus roratus. He discovered the likely answer: female chicks fledge a week earlier than males. The fact that the females can fly earlier means they have a better shot of surviving the flooding than males. It appears that the parents make the rather grim decision to kill off the males early and focus on keeping the females alive long enough so that they can escape the rising waters. There's a certain grim logic to all this, and the species has evolved to make the choice easier - males and females chicks are born as slightly different shades of gray, making it easier for the Eclectus parrots to identify which ones are worth saving. Via Current Biology. Image by Doug Janson on Wikimedia.
Dennis Zine en Liberal LA Councilmen Consider Blocking Koch Buyout of LA Times <div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p> The newspaper industry as a whole may be dying, but the liberal Democratic Los Angeles city council knows that an editorially-liberal broadsheet is invaluable to its continued monopoly on power. There are actually L.A. councilmen who want to explore using the city's pension funds to prevent the Los Angeles Times from being bought out by the conservative Koch brothers. Catherine Saillant of the Los Angeles Times explained in <a href=",0,7766627.story">an April 30 story </a>that:</p> </div></div></div> Fri, 03 May 2013 21:35:07 +0000 Matt Vespa 60140 at
As the global economic downturn grinds on, more companies are acknowledging that Labour costs aren’t always the most important factor when deciding where to build their next factory. This column argues that, in times of recession, some companies find that bringing their business home can give them a competitive edge. While politicians argue strategies to create jobs in the faltering global economy, the debate around offshoring has intensified. Once considered a clear competitive advantage in the fast-changing global market, manufacturers rushed to replace domestic labor forces with lower-cost workers in emerging markets. By 2002–03, about a quarter to half of the manufacturing companies in Western Europe were involved in offshore production (Dachs et al 2006). And by 2008, more than 50% of US companies had a corporate offshoring strategy (Minter 2009). Recently, though, many of the perceived offshoring advantages have been called into question. First, the sourcing costs from emerging economies have been rising rapidly. For example, as of mid-2010, many Chinese firms were facing labour shortages and were forced to boost wages to attract qualified workers (Plunkett Research 2010). Second, the global commodity price index has risen significantly (Archstone Consulting 2009). This has led to more expensive transportation costs, particularly as a result of higher oil prices, as well as higher production costs. Third, the economic recession that started at the end of 2007 has had a severe impact on the market. Consumers are more cautious in spending, and firms are seeking new strategies to retain customers (Dodes 2011). So it should not come as a surprise that more US manufacturers are ‘reshoring’, ’onshoring’ and ‘backshoring’. General Electric announced last year that it is moving some of its appliance manufacturing from China to Louisville, Kentucky. NCR Corp. is pulling all of its ATM machine production from China, India, and Hungary back to a facility in Columbus, Georgia, in order to customise products and get them to clients faster. In their announcements, these firms emphasised that by being closer to the market, they can better understand the market and are able to respond quickly to market changes. Finding balance As these industry examples illustrate, the tradeoff between cost and flexibility can be quite involved and difficult to evaluate. It now appears that the labour-cost benefits gained from offshoring might not be sufficient to cover the lost flexibility under many circumstances. So before making any sourcing decisions, firms at the crossroads need to understand the business environment as well as the competitor’s sourcing strategy. The purpose of our recent paper (Wu and Zhang 2011) is to investigate the underlying factors that affect the sourcing trend and provide insights to firms on strategic sourcing decisions in a competitive setting. Our paper studies a two-stage sourcing game in which competing firms could choose between sourcing internationally (call this the efficient sourcing strategy due to low production costs) and sourcing domestically (call this the responsive sourcing strategy due to short lead times). We first identify the point of equilibrium between the two sourcing strategies. Then we examine how that equilibrium shifts based on key parameters. We find three key factors that influence a shift from efficient sourcing to responsive sourcing: consumer demand, market size, and supplier costs. Consumer demand All things being equal, when demand is relatively stable, most companies look for the lowest cost option, which usually translates to offshoring. As demand fluctuates, though, as in the recent recession, companies need to respond faster to shifting consumer sentiments. Onshore suppliers give companies greater flexibility because they don’t have to deal with overseas transportation, which means they can place orders much closer to the selling season. As a result the firm can have a better forecast of demand information. It also gives the firm more time to understand the needs of the customer and integrate the updated product specification required by the customer into the production at the last minute. Because the major benefit of sourcing from a responsive, or onshore, supplier is to obtain more accurate demand information, that advantage disappears when there is no demand uncertainty. At that point, the competitive advantage rests solely on cost efficiency. This implies that for products with highly predictable demand, offshoring is still a useful strategy. Market size After that, firms need to consider market size. Companies targeting smaller markets need to stick closer to home because competition is more intense and the firms’ selling quantities are low. That makes accurate demand information more valuable because being able to respond quickly to their customers outweighs additional manufacturing costs. This may partly explain why the backshoring phenomenon became prominent during the recent recession. Middle-market companies can benefit from diversifying their sourcing strategies by balancing the lower cost of offshoring with the increased flexibility of using domestic, or onshore, suppliers to fill short-term needs. Larger markets, though, mean bigger orders, so companies will use efficient, or low-cost, sourcing whenever possible. Supplier cost Finally, any change in supplier costs can affect sourcing decisions. Naturally, when an offshore supplier’s price rises you would expect to find more companies preferring the convenience of domestic suppliers. What we found, though, is that when there is an equal cost increase for both domestic and offshore suppliers, more companies still place greater value on being able to respond quickly to their clients. The rising cost of commodities and the commensurate increase in backshoring by US companies is an example of this phenomenon. Makers of innovative products in markets where tastes change quickly will value supply flexibility and are more likely to “backshore”. But for companies that rely heavily on low manufacturing costs, backshoring will decrease, although the countries from which they source may change. As wages increase in China and other developing economies, businesses will seek lower-cost manufacturing sites elsewhere. Archstone Consulting (2009), “Does offshoring still make sense?” by Ferreira, J and L Prokopets, 17 February. Dachs, B, B Ebersberger, S Kinkel, BR Waser (2006), “Offshoring of production – a European perspective”, European Manufacturing Survey. Dodes, R (2011), “At Macy’s, a makeover on service”, Wall Street Journal. 11 April. Minter, S (2009), “Offshoring by U.S. companies doubles”, Industry Week,19 August. Plunkett Research (2010), “Introduction to the outsourcing and offshoring industry”. Tech. rep., Plunkett Research, Ltd. Wu, Xiaole and Fuqiang Zhang (2011), “Efficient Supplier or Responsive Supplier? An Analysis of Sourcing Strategies under Competition”, presented at the China Business Initiative conference, sponsored by the Chazen Institute of International Business at Columbia Business School. This post originally appeared at VoxEu. This article originally appeared at VoxEU. Copyright 2014.
“AMERICAN manufacturing has never been in more trouble than it is now.” Thus the glum introduction to an official report on competitiveness released in 1990, the last time America hosted a G7 summit. Its moroseness matched the nation's mood. Neurosis about the strength of Japan; gloom about the deficit; woe and decline on every side. How times change. The country that presides over this year's rich-world gathering in Denver is feeling triumphant, even euphoric. “Is this a wonder economy or what?” asked Business Week. “On top of the world” chirped Newsweek. Notwithstanding signs of a slowdown in the second quarter of this year, the economy has been growing faster for longer than most economists thought sustainable. Unemployment has fallen well below the rate at which wage pressures have traditionally started to grip. And inflation is nowhere in sight. Producer prices fell for the fifth consecutive month in May, the longest string of declines since the 1950s. Some back-slapping is in order, for sure. But today's economic success has also unleashed a Panglossian optimism, and that is more dangerous. A growing chorus of pundits, investors and economists argue that the good times are here—for good. They claim that such factors as globalisation and the rise of information technology have changed the way the economy works, so that old constraints on growth no longer apply. Instead, America can look forward to a prolonged period of prosperity, with both inflation and business cycles tamed. The stakes in this debate are high. If the new conventional wisdom is correct, America does indeed face a rosy future. If it is not, unfounded confidence could endanger the economy's achievements so far. Unfortunately, it is often difficult to pin down exactly what is supposed to have changed. Believers in the “new economy” speak grandly but vaguely of productivity revolutions or the “loss of corporate pricing power”; they point to tumbling computer prices and the growth of the Internet as indisputable evidence that the economy is dancing to a different tune. Beyond anecdote, their optimism rests on two main arguments. The first is that America's potential growth rate is much higher than conventional wisdom suggests, because productivity is much higher than official statistics measure. The second is that, regardless of productivity improvements, inflationary pressures are much weaker (or even non-existent). Global competition means that capacity can be pushed harder and unemployment sent ever lower. Do these propositions make sense? There is some truth to the productivity claim. According to official statistics (and notwithstanding the small surge in the first quarter of this year), America's productivity growth during the 1990s has been as paltry as it was during the previous two decades, an average rise of around 1% a year. These official numbers have big and well-documented shortcomings. Productivity in services, the largest and fastest-growing part of the economy, is notoriously badly measured. Moreover, using alternative gauges of productivity gives starkly different results. Edward Yardeni, chief economist at Deutsche Morgan Grenfell, points out that the growth in firms' real sales per employee used to rise in step with productivity growth. But since 1986 or so, and particularly in recent years, they have diverged. In 1995, for instance, real sales per employee rose 10% while non-farm productivity rose only 0.2%. The biggest gains are in new-economy sectors such as high tech and communications. These figures have problems—in particular, the divergence might reflect the outsourcing of production—but they provide some evidence of higher-than-measured productivity growth. Few economists would disagree that the real economy may be growing faster than official numbers suggest. At issue is whether the discrepancy keeps increasing. Moreover, if America's recent growth primarily reflects rising productivity, it is not clear why unemployment continues to fall. The drop in joblessness suggests that at least part of America's GDP growth comes from more labour input rather than higher output per worker. Statistics bear this out: a large part of America's growth in the past year did indeed come from more people working, as well as working harder. Between the first quarter of 1996 and the first quarter of 1997 the number of Americans with a job grew by 2.4%, far more than the traditional annual job-growth rate of 1.4%. Moreover, the average number of hours worked each week also rose by 1.2%, again well above trend. Add growth in employment and hours worked to the official estimate of productivity growth (1%) and you more than account for the 4.1% rise in GDP. (The numbers do not add up exactly because they come from different statistical sources.) This does not prove that there has been no rise in productivity, but simply shows that much recent growth has come from getting more people to work, and persuading them to work longer hours. And that is exactly what worries mainstream economists. Fast growth based on unusually high employment growth cannot continue forever. At some point, they fear, the unemployment rate will fall below the non-accelerating inflation rate (NAIRU) and wage-inflation will rise. Indeed, many reckon it has already done so. Moreover, they point out, America's labour force grew remarkably quickly last year, far faster than its population. Several factors lay behind this. A buoyant economy may have lured back some people, particularly women, who had given up looking for work; welfare reform is forcing poorer women, who may have relied on a federal cheque, to find a job; and changes in immigration laws have prompted a sharp rise in the number of Latinos entering the labour force. But these supply increases are probably temporary: once employment growth stabilises, fast job growth would mean bringing the unemployment rate down further, which increases pressure on wages. At that point either corporate profits must be squeezed, or firms must pass on their higher costs through higher prices. The new-economy crowd insists this is nonsense: inflation is dead, and the concept of a natural rate of unemployment outdated. In the new economy, firms cannot simply raise their prices: if they do, they will quickly lose out in a global market where firms and consumers can choose their suppliers at will. Yet, in fact, the United States is not terribly globalised: imports and exports still make up a relatively small share of GDP. Most of America's output is in goods and services that cannot easily be bought and sold across borders. For the price of a haircut, say, or a meal out, the globalisation argument is irrelevant. A more subtle argument is that the pressures of globalisation and corporate restructuring have allowed American firms to push capacity further. New techniques for managing inventories, for instance, prevent the kind of involuntary build-up of stocks that used to make for large swings in output. In a more integrated global economy, companies can switch to foreign suppliers more easily. In short, the old speed limits may no longer hold. There is probably some truth to this; but it would be foolish to push the argument too far. The capacity of the global economy is not infinite. Much of the weak price pressure faced by American firms comes from the fact that other large industrial economies have been growing sluggishly in recent years: once they pick up, commodity prices, for instance, may be under more pressure than they are now. Moreover, the strong dollar—a factor that has helped depress import prices—need not be a permanent phenomenon. If any of these temporary fillips subsides, American firms could well find their costs rising fast. It is more likely, however, that pressure will first occur in labour markets. Historical relationships between unemployment and inflation imply that these pressures should already be evident. It is, of course, true that the NAIRU—estimates of which have never been made with enormous precision—may indeed have fallen: an ageing workforce, greater worker insecurity and the changing nature of employment contracts could all have brought it down. A lower NAIRU, however, is not the same as no NAIRU. More important, the new-economy people forget that overall labour costs have risen more slowly than wages because the cost of non-wage benefits, such as health insurance, has barely budged. This will surely not last for ever. In short, the optimists have a point, but the danger is in pushing it too far. America's economy is undergoing some striking changes; but it has also benefited from a plethora of temporary (positive) shocks. Cheerfulness is appropriate; euphoria should be held in check.
Click photo to enlarge This image released by History shows Travis Fimmel as Ragnar, center, in a scene from "Vikings," premiering Sunday, March 3 on History. ASHFORD, Ireland—If historical fiction guru Michael Hirst has his way, a legendary Viking raider named Ragnar soon will conquer North America on behalf of the History channel. History's ambitious Dark Ages drama "Vikings," debuting Sunday after five months of filming in Ireland, dramatizes the myth-cloaked story of Ragnar Lothbrok, leader of a Viking people typically depicted as horn-helmeted brutes. Here's one pointed clue that "Vikings" aims to smash a few stereotypes along with English skulls: There's not a horned head in sight because real Vikings never actually wore them. This lavishly produced nine-parter, the biggest production ever commissioned by History with a reported budget of $40 million, seeks to get viewers rooting for the Norsemen even as they butcher defenseless Christians and loot their way through Europe. With a cast including Gabriel Byrne, the series debuts on History Sunday at 10 p.m. EST after another big History miniseries, "The Bible." "It's always been in the background of my mind to do a Viking project," said Hirst, whose reputation as a master of history-based drama has grown from his days as screenwriter of 1998's film "Elizabeth" to his creation of the 2007-10 Showtime series "The Tudors" about the life, times and ill-fated brides of Henry VIII. Speaking to The Associated Press during the final weeks of shooting, in a rain-soaked ash forest in the Wicklow hills south of Dublin, Hirst said he loved poring over the history of an ill-understood person or period, then weaving it into compelling entertainment. Hirst, the showrunner and executive producer of "Vikings" as well as its sole writer, found working with 8th-century Scandinavian warriors a liberating experience because, while there's such rich legend in Norse culture, there's simply no written history from the illiterate Vikings' point of view. "By definition, not as much is known about the Dark Ages. This is particularly true of the Vikings who were pagans and didn't write anything down," he said as, in the distance, actors on horseback worked on a scene of Ragnar taking his son on a mission to a magical tree, one facet of Norse religious belief. "Because not a huge amount is known, that gives me some liberty. But I like working from historical material. I always start projects by reading as much research as possible." "Vikings" employs much of the same Irish talent pool that crafted "The Tudors," including production designer Tom Conroy and costume designer Joan Bergin, both Emmy winners for their "Tudors" creativity. It's the first production to use Ireland's brand-new Ashford Studios, where Conroy oversaw the construction of a Norse temple to the gods of Odin, Thor and Loki using design ideas distilled from trips to Scandinavian archaeology museums. On the nearby shores of Lough Tay, the filmmakers set the actors loose on a 56-foot reconstruction of a dragon-headed Viking longboat. Wicklow's relatively gentle, sloping hills did have to be manipulated with CGI technology into cliff-faced, snow-capped fjords. But other scenes of Irish rural beauty, such as the Powerscourt waterfall, feature prominently without alteration. For all the show's stunning scenery and attention to production detail, its success or failure will hinge on the appeal of its characters. They may each be cleverly based on actual Viking warriors and deities, but that won't mean much to an audience that mostly doesn't know a Valkyrie from Valhalla. The biggest-name cast members are Gabriel Byrne ("In Treatment," "The Usual Suspects"), who portrays a ruthless chieftain threatened by Ragnar's ambition and popularity, and Jessalyn Gilsig ("Nip/Tuck"; Mrs. Schuester on "Glee") as his mercilessly power-lusting wife. "Vikings" offers more of a showcase for a quartet of lesser-known actors: Clive Standen, a 6-foot-2 Englishman whose skills in kickboxing, sword fighting and stunt work complement his portrayal of Ragnar's hard-fighting brother Rollo; George Blagden as the doe-eyed Saxon monk whom Ragnar kidnaps, enslaves and ultimately befriends; Gustaf Skarsgaard, a son of Sweden's best-known acting family, as a boat-building genius and uber-eccentric named Floki; and perhaps above all Canadian-born Katheryn Winnick as Ragnar's gorgeous warrior wife, who in real life has two martial-arts black belts and looks more than able to fight alongside the men as a "shield maiden." But oh yes, Ragnar: Who's he? In the production's biggest gamble, it's an Australian actor named Travis Fimmel, who shot to magazine and billboard fame a decade ago as Calvin Klein's most highly paid male underwear model. His acting career since has been humble. Interviewed on set between takes, he punctuates every other sentence with "mate" and parrys each question with a quip. "Nobody knows me. I'm just a guy with a silly haircut," said Fimmel, who for his role has shaved his hair into a Mohawk topped by an artificial braided ponytail, and a tattoo of a raven on one side of his mostly naked scalp. But just one tattoo, he kids: "It's a budget thing. Can't afford two." There's no doubt Fimmel looks fine on horseback or skewering an enemy with his broadsword. He's a confident physical performer and—more Fimmel self-deprecation here—suggests he likes the sword fighting best "because you don't have to remember lines while you're doing it." But it's an open question as to whether he has the dramatic chops to make audiences believe in his declared quest for knowledge, riches and power. Fimmel himself sounds unsure when asked if "Vikings" will win enough of a following to fight into a second season. "No idea man, it's up to the audience and the suits," he said. But Hirst sees a complex soul in Fimmel, whose self-made audition tape persuaded Hirst to dump another better-established—and unnamed—actor who was within hours of signing on as Ragnar. "I wanted someone who can fight, but who has depth in their eyes, because this guy Ragnar's a thinker, not just an action man. We were getting desperate. We nearly went with someone else. We nearly made do," he said. "But Travis has that depth and stillness I was looking for. He's going to be a star, no doubt about it." While the first season is expected to end with Ragnar triumphant versus Byrne's earl, Hirst has picked a legend with legs: The real-life Ragnar spent decades expanding Viking sea routes and pushing armies all the way to a besieged Paris. "Obviously I want to do four or five seasons of 'Vikings,' but I already know it's a better show than 'Tudors.' Everything has worked. And it just looks astonishing," Hirst said. "Whether it's a hit or not is in the lap of the gods. Which is a pretty appropriate place for it to be."
Does the Constitution really protect a right to "academic freedom"? The law, lawyers, and the court. June 1 2010 6:19 PM Jefferson v. Cuccinelli Last week the University of Virginia decided to fight a sweeping subpoena served upon the institution in late April. State Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli subpoenaed documents in connection with five grants awarded to Michael Mann—a former UVA climate-change scientist who now teaches at Penn State. Cuccinelli is using a state fraud statute to demand thousands of e-mails between Mann and climate-change scientists around the world. The request was both broad and unprecedented. So the university filed a petition to quash the subpoena on various grounds. Academics across the country have raised alarms, signing petitions and urging Cuccinelli to back off, claiming that this novel use of prosecutorial power to investigate climate science in the academy constitutes a threat to free inquiry. (Disclosure: Richard Schragger was the principal author of such a letter from the UVA law faculty.) These letters and petitions often invoke the First Amendment and quote the U.S. Supreme Court to assert that the Constitution protects "academic freedom." Does it? What precisely is "academic freedom," and why would the Constitution protect it? Who can assert "academic freedom"—individual faculty members or the university as a whole? What is the scope of the right, and does it apply to faculty at state universities or those who receive government grants? The Supreme Court has never really answered these questions. UVA v. Cuccinelli would be a good time to do so—if the case ever gets that far. We can start with what we do know. First, the phrase "academic freedom" appears nowhere in the Constitution. The First Amendment mentions speech, assembly, petitioning, press, and religion but not universities. Still, the Supreme Court has alluded to the special role of universities time and time again. In perhaps the most important academic-freedom case, Sweezy v. New Hampshire, decided in 1957, the high court stated that "the essentiality of freedom in the community of American universities is almost self-evident." In 1967, in Keyishian v. Board of Regents, the court declared that "the university is a traditional sphere of free expression ... fundamental to the function of society." Writing for the court, Justice William Brennan stated, "Our Nation is deeply committed to safeguarding academic freedom, which is of transcendent value to all of us and not merely to the teachers concerned. * That freedom is therefore a special concern of the First Amendment. ..." Second, despite the court's rhetoric, it has never pinned down exactly what academic freedom means. Much to the frustration of scholars and academics, the decisions that invoke academic freedom range widely. Some cases relate to the Red Scare of the 1950s, when teachers were required to take loyalty oaths, or professors (like Paul Sweezy) were investigated for "subversive activities." Other cases involved the rights of state employees—again often primary- or secondary-school teachers—to associate with others on their own time, or comment on matters of "public concern" outside the classroom. Yet another group of cases concern whether the government can control the speech of public employees, organizations, or agencies that receive government funding. But none of these cases was resolved on the basis of academic freedom directly. In some cases, the court invoked the due-process clause or freedom of speech and association. In other cases, the court upheld a government regulation but observed that the regulation did not implicate the "special" role of the university. As one legal scholar has written, "Lacking definition or a guiding principle, the doctrine [of academic freedom] floats in the law, picking up decisions as a hull does barnacles." In other words, the assertion of "academic freedom" raises more questions than it resolves. For example, who is protected under the umbrella of academic freedom? In Sweezy, Justice Frankfurter, writing for himself and Justice Harlan, emphasized "the four essential freedoms of the university—to determine for itself on academic grounds who may teach, what may be taught, how it shall be taught, and who may be admitted to study." Frankfurter's concept of academic freedom seems to protect the university (but not individual faculty members) from outside government interference. But there are also hints of an individual right sprinkled throughout the court's decisions. On the other hand, it can't be true that the university or its faculty employees can do absolutely anything they want. Universities are subject to federal and state laws, including employment and nondiscrimination laws. A faculty member can't steal from the university or make false statements to government officials or embezzle funds. The Supreme Court has held, for example, that a university can be required to turn over documents related to a faculty member's tenure denial and her charge that she was the subject of discrimination. The situation gets still messier when you're dealing with public universities, where faculty are "employees" of the state, or receive state funding. The Cuccinelli subpoena actually raises both issues, since he claims to be investigating "fraud" in government grants at a state university. Does being a state employee or receiving government funds give the government the authority to dictate or regulate academic behavior? Cuccinelli certainly thinks so—he argues that he is well within his rights to challenge the misuse of state monies. And surely the university (and by extension, Virginia) can condition professors' employment on the professors acting and performing in certain ways—can't it? Here is where the Supreme Court's notion of academic freedom starts to have some actual bite—despite its conceptual messiness. While a state university can adopt policies that must be followed by its academic employees, the governments' regulation must have limits. If the faculty members are just state employees—just like any other state employees—everything they do or say or produce would be "owned" by the state, would essentially be the "speech" of the state, and would be under the state's legitimate control. Virtually no one believes faculty employees are just like every other state employee. Most of us would agree that they engage in a particular enterprise; one that can serve its important public function only by being independent of the government. J. Harvie Wilkinson, on the Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit, whose chambers are just down the street from UVA, made this very observation in a case challenging a law prohibiting state employees from accessing sexually explicit material on state-owned computers. Wilkinson observed that faculty at a state university are certainly "state employees," but "these particular employees are hired for the very purpose of inquiring into, reflecting upon, and speaking out on matters of public concern. A faculty is employed professionally to test ideas and propose solutions, to deepen knowledge and refresh perspectives. ... In research and writing university professors are not state mouthpieces—they speak mainly for themselves." In other words, the core and central enterprise of academic faculty in the university is to exercise First Amendment rights—rights guaranteed to everyone by the Constitution. Academic faculty happen to be exercising those rights as part of their job, but that does not make those rights any less worthy of protection. In performing their core functions, faculty are always engaged in the process of free inquiry. And free inquiry is the central project of the university—the university can't exist without it, as Thomas Jefferson well understood when he founded the University of Virginia. Whatever the judicial doctrine of academic freedom may mean, at its heart it must protect those exercising core First Amendment rights—like researching, writing, speaking, and teaching. If government officials are allowed to dictate how the faculty exercises those rights, they are surely impinging on free speech. Indeed, the government impinges most directly on free speech by threatening to prosecute faculty for academic work that is wrong, shoddy, incomplete, mistaken, or fraudulent. And this is precisely what Cuccinelli has asserted. He says he issued the subpoena because he wants to explore allegations that Michael Mann falsified data in his scholarship. Despite the fact that multiple academic inquiries into Mann's research have vindicated him, it's important to understand what the attorney general seeks to do here: Cuccinelli is not alleging fiscal fraud—he isn't saying Mann used state funds to buy a Mercedes or finance trips to Aruba. Instead, Cuccinelli is investigating the scientific scholarship to make sure it meets his standard of academic integrity. Using the threat of criminal or civil sanction to pursue "academic fraud" is the paradigm First Amendment case. Academic fraud is essentially what the authorities charged Galileo with—when he dared question the conventional religious wisdom that the sun revolved around the earth. It is what prosecutors alleged when they threatened academics during the Red Scare. And it is exactly what Cuccinelli is alleging here. The UVA subpoena violates both the individual rights of academics engaged in the exercise of speech rights on matters of public concern and the autonomy rights of the university to act independently from the government, as Frankfurter described in Sweezy. "Academic fraud" is too easily used to suppress ideas that the authorities do not want to hear—in one case, the earth revolves around the sun; in another case, the earth is warming. It may be that what academics say is wrong, it may be that their methodologies are faulty, it may even be that they are twisting the evidence or making stuff up. But the government, through its prosecutors, cannot say anything about that. The First Amendment requires that we tolerate lots of speech that is plain wrong or mistaken—the university itself is designed to permit, even encourage, that kind of speech. UVA v. Cuccinelli is in its opening stages—right now it consists of a petition filed in state court to set aside a civil investigative demand. Nevertheless, the Supreme Court might someday take this case and clarify the core meaning of academic freedom once and for all. It probably won't, and the reason it won't only illustrates how off-base Cuccinelli's subpoena is. Cuccinelli chose to seek the Mann documents under the Virginia Fraud Against Taxpayers Act (FATA), but as UVA's lawyers pointed out last week in opposing the subpoena, Cuccinelli never explained (as required under the law) why he was seeking these documents. The act requires a fraud on Virginia citizens, yet all but one grant that Cuccinelli seeks to investigate are federal. Worse still, the state grant was made before the Virginia FATA became effective. This is not the first time Cuccinelli's hasty lawyering leads one to wonder whether he seeks legal outcomes or political ones. The Virginia fraud statute is clearly the wrong vehicle for prosecuting science, and it's likely a court will deem the subpoena invalid before anyone gets near the big issue of academic freedom. That's too bad. Because a judicial decision in this case could finally clarify that basic scholarly inquiry is at the core of the First Amendment. And it would put a constitutional cherry on top of Thomas Jefferson's lifelong ideal of free inquiry. In the matter of Jefferson vs. Cuccinelli, we'd put our money on Mr. J. any day. Like Slate on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter. Correction, June 2, 2010: This article originally misquoted Justice Brennan's opinion as stating that academic freedom is of "transcendent freedom"; the phrase Brennan used was "transcendent value." (Return to the corrected sentence.) Dahlia Lithwick writes about the courts and the law for Slate Richard C. Schragger is Perre Bowen Professor and Barron F. Black Research Professor of Law at the University of Virginia School of Law.
at least 40 dead in hospital bombing (17 Posts) Aboutlastnight Mon 03-Dec-12 12:40:47 No one remember this? Kofi Annan's resignation? May have been in a couple of newspapers? "International disarray over the bloody crisis in Syria has been starkly underlined when the UN envoy Kofi Annan announced that he was resigning because of the failure of what he said had become a "mission impossible". The former UN secretary general said it had been a "sacred duty" to take up the position five months ago to try to find a solution to the conflict. But growing militarisation and a lack of unity among world powers had changed the circumstances. "At a time when we need – when the Syrian people desperately need action – there continues to be finger-pointing and name-calling in the security council," Annan said on Thursday in a sometimes bitter and frustrated statement he made at the UN's Geneva headquarters. Annan's six-point plan for peace in Syria was already moribund but his dramatic resignation will serve as its death certificate. It leaves the international community without an effective grip on the most violent chapter of the Arab spring, now morphing into a civil war that has already cost an estimated 20,000 lives. Sluggish and ineffective diplomacy has been outpaced by a fast-moving and increasingly dangerous situation with the current focus on fighting for Aleppo, the country's second city. Ban ki-Moon, the current UN chief, said he would appoint another envoy when Annan leaves at the end of August. The White House said his resignation showed the failure of Russia and China to act at the UN security council. "President Assad, despite his promise to abide by the Kofi Annan plan, continues to brutally murder his own people," spokesman Jay Carney told reporters aboard Air Force One. Saski Mon 03-Dec-12 12:35:25 Syria is a bloody nightmare. The civillians are pawns. How incredibly sad. EldritchCleavage Fri 23-Nov-12 13:12:01 What should the West be doing though? Do we want e.g. to stop Syrian civilian casualties enough to send in ground troops (whose?) and risk war with Iran, the sponsor of the Assad regime? CogitoErgoSometimes Fri 23-Nov-12 13:08:47 Because it's been going on for a long time whereas the bombardment of Gaza and Israel is far more recent. That said, the Israel/Gaza aggressive situation is always rumbling along in the background which means something drastic/visual has to take place for us to notice. Now there's a cease-fire it'll be off the front pages and something else will take its place... an atrocity in Afghanistan or Pakistan, for example. I'm sure there are plenty of individuals, organisations and even the FO working away on the Syrian problem but it's not necessarily 'news' unless it's some drastic change. MrsMicawber Fri 23-Nov-12 12:02:22 Why is it any less emotive than the Gaza/Israel conflict of last week? CogitoErgoSometimes Fri 23-Nov-12 08:58:20 It's not being 'allowed to continue' but stopping the slaughter is not a simple matter. A full-scale Iraq-style invasion is off the cards for obvious reasons. The Arab League doesn't seem to be involved. There is Western backing for the opposition as happened in Libya but certain islamist groups of rebels have rejected it. Reporting is regular.... recent article here Like all foreign wars, it's difficult for a public with no direct connection to maintain a sense of outrage. MrsMicawber Thu 22-Nov-12 18:16:52 Because no one in the west is doing anything about it. noddyholder Thu 22-Nov-12 17:45:54 I haven't seen this on news today and it sounds huge???????? MrsMicawber Thu 22-Nov-12 17:40:51 Exactly - I put this in chat precisely because no one really takes notice of how many people are dying RichardSimmonsTankTop Thu 22-Nov-12 17:06:57 I don't understand why this can't stay in chat, either. We need wider awareness of these issues - people in news naturally know and care more about what's going on in the world. Kind of ironic that an Op asking why nothing is being done is ignored in the busiest area of the site - and then relegated to 'In the News' - because if it's in the news we don't need to stress about right? hmm Op - the answer to your question is lots of Syrians will die. Lots and lots. Just like in Gaza or Sudan or Iraq or any many other places across the globe. It's bloody depressing. NewKateMumsnet (MNHQ) Thu 22-Nov-12 15:26:00 Hey everyone, We're just going to move this to In The News, as we think that's the best place for it. RichardSimmonsTankTop Thu 22-Nov-12 15:10:38 Devastating. I think people are bored about hearing about it. News fatigue or whatever. But there are people - civilians, children dying. We can't get complacent. SoleSource Thu 22-Nov-12 15:03:05 My GM worked in a hospital that was bombed and infront of her. MrsMicawber Thu 22-Nov-12 14:46:21 I feel like people are bored of hearing about what is happening there. SoleSource Thu 22-Nov-12 11:10:19 sadsadsad ooh no words right now sadsadsadsadsad MrsMicawber Thu 22-Nov-12 10:39:44 in Syria How is this allowed to continue? How many people need to die? Join the discussion Join the discussion Register now
Dear Soaps, I'm a little confused about how the character of Carly Corinthos was introduced on General Hospital. Can you refresh my memory? &#151 Jackie S. Dear Jackie, If you thought you had troubles with your mama, think again. When Carly first came to Port Charles in 1996, she secretly wanted to punish Bobbie Spencer, who had given Carly up at birth. Carly maneuvered herself into the good nurse's life, and promptly proceeded to steal Bobbie's then-husband, Tony Jones. Things got even more out of control when Carly got pregnant and Tony, who had been led to believe that little Michael was his son, kidnapped the baby. Fortunately, this serious standoff finally brought Carly and Bobbie together.
Opposable Thumbs / Gaming & Entertainment Metro 2033 review on PC: inching towards sunlight Metro 2033 presents a bleak world of the future, with a supernatural twist. … When you pull a gas mask over your head in Metro 2033, you adjust a dial on your watch to let you know how many minutes of breathable air you have left before you asphyxiate. Your flashlight has a charger that you have to manually pump to make sure you can see where you're going. Every bullet you find can be used as currency, but you're also operating in an incredibly hostile environment. Every round you fire limits your ability to buy what you need. In other words, you are going to have to try very hard to survive, and the game reminds you constantly of how brutal and desperate your existence is. The game takes place in Moscow, after the bombs drop. You live in a small pocket of civilization underground, but the attacks from mutants have been growing in frequency. If that wasn't enough, there is something worse in the tunnels. Something that sings beautiful songs, and then steals your mind. This is not your average first-person shooter. Title Metro 2033 Developer 4A Games Publisher THQ Price $49.99 Shop.ars Platform PC (reviewed), Xbox 360 No Russian We played the game with the voice acting in Russian, and English subtitles. This is the way to play, as it makes the world seem even more alien and harsh, at least to English-speaking ears. When you take a look at your clipboard to see where you to go next, your character actually holds up a binder with a compass attached. If you're in the dark, you'll have to flick your lighter to read the text. You'll be checking your watch to see how much air you have left. There is a pneumatic weapon that you have to pump to use, and there is a meter on the back that shows air pressure. Things look, and feel, like they are designed to be used in this environment. They may be ugly and nearly broken, but they'll keep your ass alive. Always watch your surroundings, as death comes easily, although not cheaply. There are holes in the ground you can fall into, so pay attention to where you're walking. In one scene horrid mutants sniff around your character, and may not attack. Do you kill them, or save your ammo? Trip lines are waiting in doorways, but if you see them in time and follow the cable you can disarm them by taking out the shotgun shell that would have gone into your head. Instead of dying, you just got a little richer. Glass scattered around the floor can give your position away, as will cans hanging from strings. You'll have to juggle all of these things when getting into gunfights with other survivors, or the mutants that live in the tunnels. Your health will recharge, but it seems to take longer than most games, and hiding while you get your strength back is a good idea if you take a few bullets. Make noise though, and your enemies will know where you are. If you're easily frustrated, this is not the game for you; as death comes often and easy. There is also no quick-save function. Checkpoints aren't terribly far apart, but playing the same section over and over can become maddening. The trouble is in the gun play Metro 2033 creates a world. It's not a pretty one, and it's certainly not attractive, but it's a world. Where the game falls apart are the guns. It's not their design, as the mixture of real firearms and hobbled together weapons fits the setting perfectly, but in how inadequate they often feel. The game's fiction explains the bullets with lower than normal gunpowder, but even with normal bullets headshots don't mean much. It can often take as many as six shots to take a character down. There were multiple times it seemed as if bullets had no effect, and that often happened during the animations were enemies were staggering or trying to hide. It seems as if your human opponents are able to kill you much easier than you can kill them. That's part of the charm of the game, sure, but it often feels cheap and unbalanced. Combine this with the lack of quick saves and checkpoints that often happen after multiple large firefights, and you may find yourself ready to quit on more than one instance. When a review plays a game, we tend to go for longer sessions than people do for pleasure, which makes problems like this more pronounced. Walking away, going to sleep, and beginning again fresh may make these issues seem less important. When you're on deadline and you continue to crash across a scene like waves on rocks? Mice may be thrown. The odd, but cute girl at the bookstore This game has its share of flaws, but if the idea of exploring a bleak version of a future Moscow appeals to you.. and you found STALKER to be just a bit much, this is worth your time. After fighting a series of hulking beasts I barely survived, only to find one of them had smashed my gas mask. While gasping for air, I began frantically searching for a replacement mask. The search was fruitless, and I had to restart from an earlier checkpoint. It felt great. You can't just win your firefights, you have to ensure your continued survival. There is a supernatural aspect to the game that's intensely unsettling, especially in the opening scenes. One character notes that there are new rules in this new world, and no one seems to understand what they're seeing. There is a striking sequence with a young child, and a man that seemed to have an uncanny grasp of the roads between this world and the next. The story, in other words, is much better than you may expect. Many may be annoyed at the shortcomings, but the same number are going to fall in love. This is a startlingly original and high-quality title with impressive graphics and sometimes subtle mood. Depending on your pace, this could easily take over ten hours to beat, and a second playthrough is not out of the question. If nothing else. Metro 2033 makes the mine cart level exciting again. This is a game that can leave you out of breath, encased in dread, and completely entranced. Verdict: Buy Expand full story You must to comment.
The role of men in contraception Published: May 28, 2011 The only way to move forward in terms of family planning is to engage men in it. In a constitutionally Islamic country riddled with contrasts, far away from the welfare model, perpetually confused on nearly all critical issues ranging from foreign policy to population planning, infamous for low status of women and girls and their social exclusion, and characterised by the dramatic capture of power elites in politics and development fields both, one wonders — what does the male role or involvement in family planning mean to Pakistan? I tried to come up with a plausible definition of male involvement in family planning in 1999 after noticing its absence in the literature. It reads: Male involvement in Family Planning (FP) includes, an interest of men in FP issues (indicated by their knowledge about it), a positive attitude towards it (indicated by their acceptance or approval), willingness to share responsibility for it (indicated by their actual adoption) and a willingness to share the power of decision making (indicated by them being prepared to discuss it with their spouses). Contrary to the popular assumption, men are interested in matters of contraception. Worldwide scientific research has demonstrated that the following four reasons are most often given for involving men in reproductive health including FP: 1) Expanding the range of contraceptive options. 2) Supporting women’s contraceptive use. 3) Preventing the spread of sexually transmitted infections. 4) Use the forum of reproductive health programmes to promote gender equality and the transformation of men’s and women’s social roles. One can argue with the effectiveness and/or legitimacy of the reasons as a justification for including men, but it remains a fact that the implications of male involvement are broader than are often noted. In developed countries, the efforts to involve men began as early as the late 1970s, with attempts to make women-oriented family planning clinics more inviting to men. In developing countries, the tendency has been to exclude men from reproductive health especially FP work, other than vasectomy or condom distribution. Ironically, condoms are mostly distributed to women in South Asia rather than to men who still find it the hard to shop for them. Pakistan, which is a signatory to nearly 12,000 international conventions and treaties, is also officially fully committed to the landmark International Conference on Population and Development’s (ICPD) Goals and Targets 1994, that called for an understanding of men’s and women’s joint responsibilities, so that they could become equal partners in public and private life, and to encourage and enable men to take responsibility for their sexual and reproductive behaviour. Health stays in the red Pakistan’s Maternal and Child Health indicators remain extremely poor as 25,000 to 30,000 women die from complications of pregnancy and child birth every year. Millions more suffer ill health and disability. One million children die before the age of five while 16,000 die in the first month after birth. The health policy of 2009 by the Ministry of Health has clearly acknowledged that, in spite of some improvement since 1990, the health of the people of Pakistan lags far behind the rest of South Asia and the improvements have not kept up with the increasing GDP. The magnitude of fissures in our social development sectors makes Pakistan a model case for economic growth without development, with an under-performing health care delivery system too. Further, the socio-cultural determinants of health, such as illiteracy, unemployment, gender inequality, social exclusion, food insecurity, rapid urbanisation, environmental degradation, natural disasters and lack of access to safe water and sanitation, aggravate Pakistan’s poor health status. Though these problems are recognised by the public officials in health and population sectors, they are yet to be addressed through realistic budgetary allocations and people-centred policies. The performance indicators of the population programme, especially those in terms of strengthening family planning programmes to achieve its coverage and effectiveness and others relating to changing approach to delivering family planning services and improving the overall status of women and girls (irrespective of the lack of sharp focus on this particular dimension and adhocisms of such projects ) are dismal. Increasing male involvement Since ICPD 1994 till date, a number of public, private and voluntary sector initiatives have addressed the issue of male involvement in family planning and reproductive health in Pakistan, the sixth most populous country, and that too within the patriarchal society and bureaucratic apparatus that undoubtedly fosters gender biases at institutional level and consciously or unconsciously adheres to the theory and practice of social closures. Despite all odds and losses, the only option is to move forward and that can be effectively achieved only by engaging men (who, whether feminists like it or not, are decision makers both at the household and policy levels) in such a way as to create new heights of empowerment for women rather than dependencies. There are no short cuts or magical recipes. However, one starting point could be to popularise common knowledge or simple scientific doctrines that would ultimately lead to a transformation in the concept of hegemonic masculinity. If this begins to happen, our young women will not suffer because of the demand of sons, and may be many mothers in Pakistan would no more be punished physically and emotionally or both against the “crime” of giving birth to daughters. Dr Rakhshinda Perveen Dr Rakhshinda Perveen A civic entrepreneur and a non-elite gender activist. • Tahir For married men in poor countries, control over their fertility is essential from an economic standpoint (to stay out of poverty) and to avoid the up to 1-in-6 chance of losing their wives to death in childbirth. Cultural shifts and urbanization are also influencing desired family size. Pakistani men needs to be educated for thier positive contribuntion. Is “Withdrawal” not an indirect contraceptive, so why afraid of others?Recommend • Nida S. I agree. A few years ago, I was volunteering at PIMS in Islamabad, and I used to accompany doctors on their daily rounds. There was a woman who had just given birth to her 5th child, and she was in a really bad condition. She suffered from severe post-natal depression every time she gave birth, to the point that she would try to take her own life. The doctor I was with that day repeatedly asked her why she was doing this to herself and why she did not use contraception. Her answer was that her husband did not allow it. I remember at that point the doctor got so angry, he ordered her tubes to be tied up and said he would speak to the husband himself. I really hope he knocked some sense into the husband. Recommend • Disco Molvi The day the ‘religiously sanctioned’ mindset which teaches women that they are not in control of their bodies, instead their husbands are; when this is challenged, disowned and ultimately done away with, only then can there be hope of practicing of contraceptionRecommend • Columbus in countries like us, for the poor only economical entertainment is his wife and vice versa …. now think how much emphasis shall be given on educating male and female here on this issue…Recommend • Khalid Rahim TV and SEX are two entertainments allowed as Islamic by our religious teachers! Any other entertainment such as musical concerts, theatre, joint sports, etc are taboo. Specially with the power failure and no TV what can the couple in the village do or in a high rise building?Recommend • waqas Mothers are instructed to feed their milk to new born till baby turned two years, so automatically the gap of 2 years is minimum,so a good muslim husband should try to grab this atleast. And its ALLAH who is (RAZIQ) and HE provides food to every living thing,but the point is the character building is parents duty and they should take enough time and space to build a good muslim pimarily,which eventually ll be a good citizen . To fulfill their materialistic needs is not the only job of the parents as in most of the families parents think it the sole responsibility.Recommend • rhealyn this is one of the big issue in some conservative and third world countries such as the Philippines, until now the issue of using contraceptive (RH BILL) is still in on the congress..Recommend • Aaeisha Qureshi Planning is allowed and always done by each and every person in every field of life.ALLAH has asked to lookafter your family ,its health, education and security.Males have more responsibility they have to look for the welfare as he is the decision maker.Decisions based on sound facts and evidence are always fruitful.Planning afamily is right of every male and female and . prevention is better than cure Family planning is cost effective and efficient way to improve the health of mother and child and thus less burden on men.Involving men is a good strategy. well informed men can make better decisionsRecommend • Jamil Ahmad Chitrali To me, we need to focus on integrating gender and Islam into Modernity and development. There were times when due to first hand information and direct contacts with the prophet numbers were counted more but its time now to revisit that thinking and focus more on quality and not quantity of muslims being produced. We also have to consider if Islam is only for men or women have thier share in it, if so, why not to encourage going to mosque with families. once this practice get started many things will get influenced….Recommend • Khalid Rahim @Jamil Ahmad Chitrali: Unfortunately the seeds that were sown by General Zia ul Haq and his coterie have now bloomed fully. Skill and Wisdom have been replaced by Egotism and Religion has lost it’s spiritual capacity to that of a commodity sold as pork barrel at the commodity exchange. In the context of contraception I am recluctant to shake hands for I find that half the males here give a limp downward hand depicting that they are impotent, the other half a stiff straight hand that does not grip your hand, indicating leave that to your imagination? Jamil we first have to reclaim the mosque from the usurpers of Islam.Recommend
Deporting to Death? A Los Angeles gang-peace organizer faces an immigration ruling that his supporters say could be a death sentence. \| Fri Feb. 15, 2002 3:00 AM EST Alex Sanchez has worked for years to calm the violence between the warring gangs that dominate Los Angeles' Pico Union/Koreatown area -- a role that has won him the respect of gang members as well as some of California's leading politicians. But now he faces a deportation hearing that could not only end his peace-making -- it might also lead to his own violent death. Sanchez, a 30-year-old citizen of El Salvador, former gang member, and current program director of the Los Angeles and San Salvador-based youth organization Homies Unidos, is facing deportation charges before Immigration Court Judge Peters Collantes in a trial beginning today. Neither side disputes his undocumented status. But Sanchez's supporters say deportation would be tantamount to an execution order. Advertise on Many current and former gang members deported to El Salvador have been killed in recent years. Since 1999, according to Sanchez's lawyer and Homies Unidos, five members of the group have been deported to El Salvador -- and all five have been murdered. "We are very fearful for his life, knowing what we know about what happens to gang members or former gang members in El Salvador," says Angela Sanbrano, executive director of the Central American Resource Center of Los Angeles. No one has been convicted of any of the killings of Homies Unidos members, says Sanbrano. But Sanchez and his supporters believe the killings are the work of either street gangs or right-wing vigilantes. Homies Unidos' efforts in Los Angeles and San Salvador, says Sanchez, directly threaten the gangs' transnational growth and strength. In recent years, hundreds of convicted criminals, including many gang members, have been deported from Los Angeles to El Salvador -- where they have often simply replicated their gang culture anew. As the Salvadoran gangs compete in a bloody battle for numbers, power, and prestige, Homies Unidos' peace organizing stands in the way, says Sanchez. The right-wing vigilantes, on the other hand, view all former gang members as a criminal element that needs to be eradicated. "Former death squad members are involved in a 'social cleansing' program," says Mayra Gomez, El Salvador country specialist with Amnesty International USA. "They do actively target people such as alleged criminals, prostitutes, street children, and transvestites." "I fear both sides, because of what I've been speaking against," says Sanchez. "This hearing is a life-or-death decision." Sanchez has attracted a powerful set of supporters, including civil rights stalwart Reverend James Lawson, film director Robert Greenwald, former state Assembly Speaker and current Los Angeles mayoral candidate Antonio Villaraigosa, and former state senator and famed progressive Tom Hayden. Reverend Norman S. Johnson, Sr., executive director of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference of Los Angeles, worries that if Sanchez is deported, "the community would experience a void in leadership from a true survivor committed to peace, justice, and non-violence." Since becoming an organizer with Homies in 1998, Sanchez has been credited with helping keep a tenuous peace in central Los Angeles, where mostly Latino rival gangs once killed each other by the dozens every year. Homies Unidos works with other local groups to provide educational and cultural programs to local youths. They have formed a coalition called "The Peacemakers" with other gang workers to expand a truce movement launched by black and Latino gangs after the 1992 riots. A former member of the Mara Salvatrucha gang, which is composed mainly of Salvadorans, Sanchez maintains a close relationship with many gang members. "That's what it's all about -- maintaining this trust with the gang members in order to have them change their ways and be a positive person in their own community," he says. Sanchez was born in San Salvador in 1971 and came to the US at the age of six, a refugee of his country's brutal civil war. During the late 80s, Sanchez's family obtained green cards, but Sanchez had run away from home by that time and joined the then-new Mara Salvatrucha. "It was a complete liberation, it was complete independence. I wanted to rebel against everybody," he says. As a result, he never secured his papers. Sanchez has been deported once before. In 1994, he was returned to San Salvador after serving time for a auto-theft felony conviction. He slipped back over the border again the next year, returning to his Los Angeles neighborhood. There, he met Magdaleno Rose-Avila, the founder of Homies Unidos, who steered him toward peace work. Inspired by Rose-Avila's mentoring and hoping to do better for his newborn son, Sanchez joined Homies as a volunteer, removed many of his old gang tattoos, and began to turn his life around. Father Greg Boyle, who runs East Los Angeles' gang intervention program, Jobs For A Future, has watched Alex's transformation. "His impact on that community is enormous," says Boyle. "It's not just that he's been there and done that, it's that (gang members) see him as a genuinely caring adult." But despite Sanchez's community support, the INS is pressing forward with deportation charges against him. INS officials say they cannot comment directly on Sanchez' case due to privacy laws. Sanchez's latest immigration troubles, he believes, stem from his success as a gang peace activist. In 1999, Sanchez began putting youths complaining about police brutality in touch with civil rights lawyers. He took a more active role in mediating potential conflicts between gangs. At one point, he says, he prevented a bloody war with a simple three-way phone call. But just as Sanchez' street organizing began to show signs of progress, Homies Unidos came under the scrutiny of officers of LAPD's controversial, now-disbanded CRASH anti-gang unit, according to Sanchez's lawyer, Allen Diamante. Homies Unidos members say that police told them that their peace meetings seemed to be a front for the creation of a "supergang." In January 2000, CRASH officers arrested Sanchez and turned him over to the INS, despite a city council executive order that limits police intervention in immigration cases. Meanwhile, the US Attorney's Office in Los Angeles moved to have Sanchez deported for illegally re-entering the country. Sanchez's case quickly became a cause celebre. At the 2000 Democratic Convention, hundreds of demonstrators chanted "Free Alex Sanchez!" during a protest against the Los Angeles Police Department's Rampart Division. The same day, Sanchez, who has spent much of his life in prison or juvenile detention, says he organized a hunger strike to protest living conditions at the INS Detention Facility at Terminal Island. He was released in late September after a federal judge reduced his felony conviction to a misdemeanor. Under pressure from then-State Senator Hayden's office, the US Attorney dropped its illegal re-entry case. But the INS continues to press its bid for deportation. In 2000, after an almost decade-long decline, violent crimes in inner Los Angeles spiked upward. Murders alone increased by 25 percent from 1999. Sanchez, among others, attributes this in part to a resurgence in gang activity. Sanchez worries that, amidst the recession, gang violence will again rise. "You can only hold a truce for so long. But then what do you do after that? That's when you have to bring in resources into the community, into the youth," he says. If Sanchez is deported, his supporters say, there will be one less person to help maintain that truce -- and he himself might not survive long enough to witness the outcome.
Sustainable wastes manager, Lambeth Jason Searles Salary: £31,500 Jason Searles Jason Searles This time last year I'd only been in my job for three months, so things have developed. I've taken on more responsibilities, running more recycling programmes. Until recently our main focus was on picking up refuse and recyclables. But now, equally important is education, trying to reach people who don't necessarily get involved in recycling. There is low participation from housing estates and households where English isn't a first language. But improving services takes time, mainly because they are contracted. The whole recycling agenda has gone up a notch. The mayor of London has produced a draft municipal waste strategy and we're working towards new government recycling targets for 2003-4. Plus, we're leading into local elections, so parties start trying to score points over who cares most about services. It all means recycling has been pushed up the political agenda, and that makes me feel valued. But I am moving to a new job in Essex, where I'm from. House prices in London are ridiculous, so I'm going to work for Essex county council. It's the same role, but slightly less money - but I'll be able to buy a house. There is a debate now about affordable housing for public sector workers, but it has been mostly about NHS staff and the police, not local authority workers. Yet there are lots of people I work with who would never be able to buy in London. The election debate about public services was a bit of a damp squib. A lot was said, but not much has been done. I voted for Labour and I'm glad I did, but I still want to see a bigger debate on tax increases to fund the public sector. Politically, it's not easy. But it's the right thing to do. The Common Good: March 21 2001 Sustainable wastes manager, Lambeth Salary: £29,000 You never forget you're working for the public in my job. I manage Lambeth's sustainable wastes unit, developing strategies for recycling, re-use, composting and waste reduction. The recycling schemes we run here are for residents and businesses and we need their support - so there are lots of meetings with community groups. I also help manage the borough's recycling contracts. On top of that, it's our job to secure funding. My days involve a lot of meetings - with council members, contractors and service providers. I've only been here four months, but I was in a similar job in Southwark before. I've always wanted to do this, right from doing a degree in environmental planning and pollution control. I earn about £29,000 and would probably get more in the private sector, but there isn't really a comparable role. Anyway, I'm not interested. I think you'd be distracted by profit and loss, rather than being driven by what the public wants. I feel like a public servant but I think the term is outdated. I'd say I was a community empowerer. I certainly feel valued. Public awareness about recycling and sustainable waste has increased dramatically since the first bottle banks appeared. Residents see recycling as a core service, not just a nice add-on - especially our green box service, collecting from doorsteps. But we do need a debate about how much we're prepared to pay for services. Politicians, residents and businesses have to understand that if they want services, they need to pay for them, that there are difficult choices to make. I feel very involved in that debate in my role.

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