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This weekend brings one of the highlights of the Boston-area sporting calendar: the Head of the Charles Regatta. If you're interested in watching the armada of 9,000 rowers navigate the snaking course, headwinds, and bridges, here are a few spectator tips to the 2012 Head of the Charles.
If you can take the T, do so.
You can walk to the river from the Central and Harvard stops on the Red Line and the BU Central stop on the Green Line's B Branch.
Parking is much easier on Sunday.
If you're driving to the regatta, free parking is much easier to find on Sunday since you'll be allowed to park for free on the side streets in Cambridge without a permit. On Saturday and Sunday there will be on-street parking at Birmingham Parkway and in an elevated garage at Arsenal Mall, a one-mile walk from the expo area.
Take a shuttle.
If you want to watch the action along the winding three-mile course from the starting line to the finish line, and don't want to walk, there is a free shuttle bus with stops at the Singles and Doubles Launch Site, Lars Andersen Bridge (Boston-side), Cambridge Boat Club, and the Finish Area Launch Site.
Bring a draw and schedule with you.
There are more than 50 race events, some with as many as 60 or more competitors, so it's tough to keep track of who's who. Each boat has a number on its bow, so if you have the draw with you, you'll be able to identify competitors and teams. You can purchase a program at one of the vendor areas along the river, but a cheaper option is to get a copy of the Friday Boston Globe. It has the complete schedule and list of competitors, which you can easily tear out, fold up, and take with you
Watch the clock.
Rowers start at 15-second intervals near the BU Boathouse, so they compete against the clock and not each other. You won't be able to follow a race from start to finish or even get a good sense of who is winning at any given point in time. One clue of how the boats are doing is, if you're watching down the course, if you see a bow with a higher number in front of one with a lower number. That means they are racing at least 15 seconds faster through that point on the course. You'll need to catch a glimpse of one of the race results boards to see who has won a particular race.
Stake out a bridge.
There are seven bridges that span the Charles River along the race course. They are great places to catch the action. If you get there early enough, you should be able to stake out a spot on the bridge and see the competitors as they row underneath. Much like Boston rush hour, traffic on the river can be treacherous. The banks provide a good view of the commotion. The Eliot Bridge is a prime spot from which to watch. You'll see the competitors having to negotiate the hairpin turn and straighten out to get through the bridge.
Need some food?
There are concession stands located at the Cambridge Boat Club, the Rowing and Fitness Expo (which also sells workout and rowing gear) near the finish, the north bank of the Charles right outside of Harvard Square near the Weld Boathouse, and at Magazine Beach near the launch. Think fair food: lots of kettle corn, hot chocolate, chowder, hot cider, burgers, hot dogs, fried dough. Sometimes the exhibitors near the Weld Boathouse will be giving out free samples of food and drink products.
Bring a blanket or chair.
There are plenty of spots along the banks of the Charles to watch the action, but bring a blanket or lawn chair and you'll be a lot more comfortable.


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If you've been following our '59 surprise package, you'll know that Rob Sutter's long-dormant C1 was spirited out of storage by friend and business partner Bob Yeoman who repaid a long-standing debt of gratitude by secretly having a GM crate engine installed in Rob's otherwise undriveable C1. The former dragster engine originally donated to this car was just never streetable and, as a result, Rob rarely took to the road in his '59.
You'll also recall that the project quickly escalated (as these things so often do) to many underhood upgrades and, ultimately, to new brake and suspension systems necessary to match the car's agility and safety levels to match the performance of the car's new powerplant. And so Rob's wife Bonnie secretly got suckered in (er, "volunteered") to pony up some piggy bank money to help fund the expanded budget needed to complete the project.
In our last installment we covered the installation of Independent Front Suspension (IFS) and rack-and-pinion steering courtesy of Jim Meyer Racing, as well as front disc brakes from Stainless Steel Brakes Corp. This month we'll see how the creative guys at Gardner's Automotive in Easton, PA "massaged" the rear brakes and suspension to match the contemporary front underpinnings.
The key components in this phase of the project included:
* First-off-the-line fiberglass mono leaf springs from Vette Brakes & Products
* QA1 rear shocks
* Rear disc brake setup from Stainless Steel Brakes Corp. to complement their front disc brake setup
* Rear sway bar from Jim Meyer Racing
The live axle leaf spring rear axle setup originally installed on C1's was functional, but was never up to the task of handling the horsepower of the 2x4 and F.I. engines that were optional in 1959. So it was certainly inadequate for the 290 ponies put out by the newly-installed GM crate engine, even with the traction bars, which GM called "radius rods," that became standard equipment on C1 Corvettes in 1959. And it was also incompatible with the high-tech new front end which included IFS, R&P, and beefy disc brakes.
Upgrade honors went to Gardner's Automotive in Easton, PA, which had performed the engine transplant along with the front end enhancements. Gary Gardner, along with his son Craig and grandson Kyle, have done much Corvette work over the years, and eagerly took on the task of bringing the '59's rear suspension into the 21st century.
The following photos and captions illustrate the key steps in the transition. The job proved fairly straightforward, thanks to very well engineered parts from the participating suppliers. And it also proved very rewarding, since the new configuration resulted in a car that handles and stops better than most of the C1's we've had the pleasure of piloting.
|Difficulty Index - 3 Wrenches
|Anyone's Project: no tools required
|1 Wrench
|Beginner: basic tools
|2 Wrenches
|Experienced: special tools
|3 Wrenches
|Accomplished: special tools and outside help
|4 Wrenches
|Professionals Only: send this work out
|5 Wrenches
After disconnecting the parking brake cable and the hydraulic brake line, the backing plate can be removed complete with the brake shoes, wheel cylinder, star wheel adjuster, and hold-down hardware. The leaf spring simply unbolts, at the front eye bolt and the rear shackle, along with the U-bolts. The shock absorber must also be disconnected from the lower spring plate. If you're doing this kind of work, be sure to support the axle housing before disconnecting the shock, since it's the shock and fabric axle strap that limit housing travel. Here you can also see clearly the factory traction bar/radius rod that limits spring wind-up and wheel hop during hard-throttle launches.
Our new rear disc brake setup from Stainless Steel Brakes Corp. comes with some serious mounting brackets and hardware to handle the torque that will be generated by our new binders. The backing plate acts as a shield against water, dust, dirt, and other contaminants that might compromise the stopping ability of our new brakes. Happily our new rear disc brake setup is engineered to use the original parking brake cable and linkage, so no other modifications are needed.
Our very trick single-leaf fiberglass rear leaf springs were among the first couple of pairs to come off the assembly line at Vette Brakes & Products. These springs are very strong and very light, and are of a particularly sophisticated design that provides a smooth ride, excellent bounce control, and integral features that manage torque and limit axle wind-up for improved launch characteristics. They're easy to work with, come from the factory with high performance polyurethane bushings, and the only caution needed is to assure that exhaust pipes are routed properly so the springs are not subjected to exhaust heat.
Once in place the new fiberglass leaf springs look almost factory. Note the taper in the thickness of the leaf both forward of, and behind, the axle. This taper is the result of many hours of engineering and development to provide the optimal combination of ride, handling, and durability.
Here's the complete rear disc brake setup as supplied by SSBC. All components are brand new and, happily, replacement parts are readily available from SSBC if seals or other parts are ever needed. That's one of the advantages of dealing with a company that's been supplying parts to the Corvette community for many years. And SSBC also has a very friendly tech support staff to answer any questions dealing with parts selection and installation.
Gary Gardner installs the new longer wheel studs that come with the disc brake setup. These longer studs are needed to accommodate the added thickness of the disc brake rotors.
Here's the beautiful new rear disc brake setup. Gary draws the splines of the new wheel studs into place using a lug nut turned backward so the flat surface of the nut bears against the rotor. Otherwise the tapered side of the lug nut would gall the rotor. You can also see the integral parking brake mechanism on the back side of the caliper, which connects directly to the original parking brake cable so there's no need to replace or re-engineer the parking brake mechanism. Note that the rotors are grooved in order to give brake dust a place to go rather than being trapped between the pads and the rotors. This reduces the chance of brake squeal, promotes cooling, and enhances brake performance.
Craig Gardner installs new steel brake lines for the rear calipers. New flexible hoses are included with the installation package to make for a safe and dependable installation.
The recently-introduced QA1 rear shocks for the C1 Corvette are beautifully made and very trick. These gas-filled shocks are adjustable with just the turn of a dial, so each driver can adjust them to get the ride, comfort, and performance desired. Since they're so easily adjusted, you can change the settings for a few runs down the drag strip, then change them back for the ride home.
Here on the driver's side you can see that the QA1 shocks are direct bolt-in replacements for the originals, so even if you're not going all the way to disc brakes and fiberglass springs, you can simply install a set of these adjustable shocks and enjoy the upgraded ride and performance they offer, along with the adjustability described above.
Gary Gardner finishes up installation of the new rear sway bar from Jim Meyer Racing, which is a straightforward bolt-installation. It's a perfect complement to the adjustable shocks, and the combination of the bar and shocks minimizes body roll and smooths out bumps for solid, secure cornering. The bar is supplied with all the necessary brackets and hardware, and installation is a snap.
The final step in this job was bleeding the brakes. Gary and his team prefer to use a pressure bleeder for complete purging of any air in the system. For Corvettes and other cars that may not see much use over extended periods of time (like those cold, snowy Pennsylvania winters), Gary recommends silicone brake fluid which helps prevent corrosion in the lines and calipers.

subset: commoncrawl


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Latest Features
CHL Game Night 2/27: Mihalik vs. Crowley in a Doubleheader
You don't see this every day...
Everett 4-3 @ Prince George 6-2
Prince George and Everett played a doubleheader of sorts Tuesday night, first completing a suspended game from October, then playing their regularly scheduled contest.
The game between the teams in Prince George on October 28th, 2006 was called after 40 minutes of play due to damage to the ice at the CN Centre. The Cougars held a 2-1 lead over the Silvertips after the first two periods. On Tuesday night, four months later and with different players, Everett scored a "late" goal to send the October game to extra time, where the Silvertips won the game in a shootout, 3-2. Dane Crowley who was playing in Swift Current during the first two periods of this game, did not register a point for Everett in its conclusion. Vladimir Mihalik, who dressed for Prince George in October, did not register a point, but had 6 minutes in penalties -- 4 in the first two periods and 2 last night. Both players had even ratings. Everett technically dressed 25 players for this game, compared to Prince George's 23.
In the second game, Mihalik and the Cougars got revenge on the 'Tips, defeating the WHL leaders 6-4. Crowley won the individual battle on the scoresheet with Mihalik, earning 2 assists to Mihalik's 1. Crowley was even and Mihalik was plus-1 and both had 1 minor penalty.
Prince George has clinched a playoff spot and Everett, who has a one point lead on Medicine Hat for first overall in the league, has clinched the U.S. Division title and is 14 points up on Vancouver for the Western Conference's top seed.
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These Germans. Cant follow through on anything. Fascism, Nazism, linux
Because American's are following through on Linux?
Damn straight!!! They are in my house.
Anecdote time: I have a sysadmin friend who manages a regionally successful food chains POS machines. When trying to upgrade the system he recently pushed to adopt a SQL database and a proper web interface for it, all running Linux (They were/are just dumping data into excel spreadsheets). The managements response? "Why would we want to run that communist software?"
These Germans. Cant follow through on anything. Fascism, Nazism, linux
Yea, they are the wurst...
Their course only became part of city politics. There are people not wanting linux, but the city council still stands behind linux. The news is only that one of the people against linux started a study regarding linux effiency.
Yep. And then all that money that would be used to pay salaries that would be used on expenses locally, making the local economy work, will be redirected to Bill Gate's pockets.
I remember when Munchen waived Windows, in 2004. This was noticed a lot on Open Source news, as Quilombo Digital and BR-Linux in Brazil.
I did my share of criticize - Star Office was not ready at that time for the task, and a lot of documents were locked down in a proprietary format that would be a nightmare to convert from and back to be shared. As it's nowadays, by the way.
And things are gonna be worse.
When in a few years, when all our documents will be locked in a proprietary cloud (that anyone with the right influence will have access) or stored locally in a format that you must pay to read, remember 2004.
Yep. And then all that money that would be used to pay salaries that would be used on expenses locally, making the local economy work, will be redirected to Bill Gate's pockets.
Who in turn gave the vast bulk of his money to end disease, educate children, feed the world, etc.
I can live with that.
Considering Germany is a net exporter: I'm not sure "keeping the money local" is actually a need.
When in a few years, when all our documents will be locked in a proprietary cloud (that anyone with the right influence will have access) or stored locally in a format that you must pay to read, remember 2004.
MS uses XML to save documents. Put them wherever you like.
Use of cloud storage is hardly unique to MS. Want me to start citing Linux distros doing it?
The actual source article says they are *considering* going back to Microsoft, while the title and summary here imply its a foregone conclusion.
Well when the First Mayor is making statements like "Linux is limping after Microsoft" and the Second Mayor says the "employees are suffering [under Linux]" then I have a fairly good bet on how the "independent" committee to review their OS policy is going to turn out. And maybe finally we can stop flogging this dead horse, because I'm tired of hearing about Munich as the beacon of light that will usher in a new era of Linux on the desktop. It's been rather obvious to all but zealots that they weren't convincing anyone else to make the switch.
Parliament on the other hand still appears to be solidly pro-Linux.
We should note the types of complaints: on the one had there are the usual complaints ("it's broken"). These would be the same in an MS Office world. Why? Because most of government office work is based on standardized templates which are custom implementations. These would have to be retrofitted to MS Office in a switch back. There's little reason to assume that they would become any better in that case.
On the other hand, there are compl
The rest of the council disagrees [heise.de] (google translate [google.com])with the second mayor.
For those that do not know the political parties in Germany, the CSU is basically the Republicans, SPD are the Democrats & Grünen are the Greens (though more powerful in Germany).
And if they all agree on something (which is like nearly never), then you can pretty much take it as true. Through in the FDP (market liberals) and Pirates (popular party) and that Mayors comments are pretty much mute.
Also, I wonder what the Mayor's technical knowledge is of the whole LiMux actually is. When my mom complai
From arstechnica
http://arstechnica.com/busines... [arstechnica.com]
Microsoft announced last year that it was moving its German headquarters to Munich. This move is planned to take place in 2016. While Reiter was involved in the deal that precipitated the move and describes himself as a "Microsoft fan," he says the criticism of LiMux is unrelated.
Limux is a project which, up until 3 days ago, has been widely reported as successful. It's been going on for 10 years for god's sake.
Now, all of a sudden, out of nowhere, it's a failure - according to one politician.
This is a single politician in the german government trying to derail the project for personal gain.
The basic office-type products for Linux still kind of suck. I've been using them since the StarOffice/SunOffice days, and now use LibreOffice. They've improved a lot, but they're still flakier than they should be, a decade after initial release. Nobody wants to fix the hard-to-fix, boring bugs which damage usability.
Oracle buying the remnants of Sun didn't help.
The basic office-type products for Linux still kind of suck.
The geek still thinks in terms of the stand-alone office suite ca. 1995,
Its 2014 and LibreOffice doesn't include a plausible alternative to Outlook, OneNote and so on.
Microsoft sees MS Office as one component of an integrated Office system --- client, server, web and cloud --- that makes collaboration easy and scales well to an enterprise of any size.
From TFA, some guy named Limix invoked the right to be forgotten. Nothing to see here, move along...
As far as I can tell from that horrible translation the only real complaints from users are about document interoperability problems and a unified messaging platform. Document format problems were going to be a given as MS will NEVER allow their software to default to an open standard (gotta sell dem Office seats); the best you can do is tell everyone who is going to be dealing with your city to send your documents in universal standard. As far a unified messaging platform goes, somebody screwed up if they couldn't get a fleet of smartphones to talk to a standard email server. Integrating with an open caldav/cardav server is tougher, but not impossible. They've already dropped a lot of cash on this transition and if those are the only two real complaints it seems more likely that the politicos are banking on a pile of $$ concessions from MS.
And don't forget to put those old LiMux dvds under your pillow for the dvd fairy to exchange for credit at the Windows Store.
I don't think the DVD fairy is real... I've had the AOL CD's under my pillow for decades and she never even left a note saying "no thanks!"
I just met a 50 something guy who bought Nokia latest phone Lumia 650 or whatever. His phone constantly forgets the google log in, changes the ring tone and randomly shutsdown. Normally some kid or a nephew would have fixed the issue had it been a iPhone or android. There is no kid in his extended circle who knows to troubleshoot a microsoft phone. His complaint is not the problems with the phone. ALL his phones malfunction because he answers yes/no to prompts without fully understanding the questions. But there are always children who would bail him out.
I wonder how long its desktop monopoly is going to provide the cash to try these gimmicks.
Please, stop posting blather about Munich adopting Linux. This drama has been going on for years and years and I'm tired of it. There are stories going back past 2004; "City of Munich Freezes Its Linux Migration", "Munich to Go Ahead with Linux After All", blah blah blah.
Munich uses Linux to pressure Microsoft for better deals, which is just fine, but not interesting to me or most of the rest of us I imagine. Linux is not some struggling underdog begging for attention. So much computing today is Linux, from super computers to $90 smartphones, set tops, huge cloud infrastructures, corporate data centers, weapons systems, etc. — what Munich's government clerks happen to use to print emails or whatever just doesn't matter anymore, if it ever did, and I don't care either way.
The Microsoft party-line has always been that retraining employees to use Linux is far more expensive than paying those license fees... It was always a ridiculous argument, since Microsoft products make major UI changes between versions that require just as much training.
But here, the employees are trained and working on Linux. So how is it that the fees for all that Microsoft software, PLUS the retraining fees, PLUS the undeniable reports of money savings, are still going to make a switch to Windows somehow worthwhile?
Reading TFA I suspect that the sorts of problems are:
The best way to fix Munich's problems is for others to grab the LiMux distribution and use it. This will:
* Reduce compatability problems. A tipping point will eventually be reached, look how MS IE was king and then it went to less than 80% and suddenly slid as web sites had to take web standards seriously.
* Hardware vendors will have to test against more than just MS Windows and its ecosystems
* Others will contribute software and patches, the cost to Munich will drop.
* Munich IT department will not be seen as maverick since others are also doing it. Eventually they will, hopefully, be lauded as pioneers and visionaries.
http://www.heise.de/open/meldu... [heise.de]
It looks like mayor of Munich is the one complaining about Limux, while the entire city council is united and calls it "sachfremde Einzelmeinungen", which translates into 'a single opinion from someone who's talking out of his arse'.
Logic is a pretty flower that smells bad.


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Remembering life is a great pastime when one has piled up so many years of it.
When autumn, or as most of us call it, "fall," creeps in, we think of the romps in the leaves we had when we were kids. We think of how we'd stoop and pick up a bright-colored leaf, marveling at its coloring. The thing I marvel at today is how green the grass has stayed this fall. The songbirds have departed, of course, leaving the silence for the garrulous chipping sparrows to fill.
People are busy this time of year getting out their warmer clothing, putting away the yard furniture and making sure the furnace is working when the cold winds start to blow. Mowers will have to be cleaned and greased. I guess all this preparation for the coming season helps to keep us from mourning the departure of one more summer.
Storm windows are being washed and put in place to shut those blustering winds out. My husband-wife team will come Saturday to do my windows. I have 13 room-sized windows, plus two attic and five basement windows, as well as two storm doors. The wife hangs my drapes out on the line to air and then hangs them back up for me. The husband hoses down my screens. They usually get the job done in a half day, making my view in every direction much brighter.
When the trees realize they must part with their leaves, the raking marathon begins. Flower bulbs are dug up. You'll now be seeing arrangements of pumpkins, squash and cornstalks in the yards or on the porches of some of those energetic folks. There are some out already, along with a few ghosts and goblins.
The other day I decided to drive downtown and mail a letter, and on the way home — not quite ready to go there, I continued to Park Boulevard and took a swing down through Krape Park. It was very quiet. A few people were scattered around and a couple was walking their dog. There was a jogger and an occasional car, which was probably a resident of one of those homes around the south border of the park. Only a short time ago the park was teeming with picnics and family reunions. Another summer gone. To my regret, I didn't get to a single band concert this year. No one's fault but my own.
Oh, oh! What happened?
I was musing with this when it was dark outside, and all at once everything went black in here. Not just my house, but everything. There were no lights anywhere. Here I sat not being able to see my hand in front of my face. Not a bit of light was coming into the house from outside. The entire neighborhood was without light. All at once someone was pounding at my door. I called but the person couldn't hear me.
So, I felt my way along the walls in the stark darkness around the corner to the dining room to the cabinet where I keep my flashlight. I managed to get hold of it and it worked. Hallelujah! I could see my way to the front door. The person was gone, but the neighbors across our adjoining driveways had their front door open and I called to them. It had been the good man there who had come to make sure I was all right. That was kind of him. I assured them I was OK.
Then, I walked very carefully by the light of my flashlight to the kitchen to light some candles, eight to be exact. But, you know what? Eight assorted candles did not provide the light of one 60-watt bulb. However, it got me out of the dark, which was quite a relief.
I thought of the two little hanging camping lanterns that Middle Daughter had given me some time back, and believe it or not I could lay my hands on them — and, they both worked. Hallelujah! And then there was light. I was much consoled. I always keep candles handy in case of such an emergency, and the flashlight, too. But these little lanterns with handles are perfect. You just twist the top of them and one by one, each of three small vertical tubes light up.
I hadn't eaten supper yet, so by candlelight I pulled some cheddar cheese curds and a bottle of V-8 vegetable juice out of the refrigerator for some quick sustenance. I then just sat down in the shadows and waited for the lights to come back on. It was kind of spooky. Many cars went up the hill toward the hospital with their lights on, but of course that was momentary and there was no television until finally, after about a half-hour waiting, power was restored. That was a welcome sight. I kept thinking "You never miss the power 'till the lights go out." (By the way, have you tried those cheese curds I mentioned, all sizes and shapes? They come in little clear plastic bags and make a good chewy snack once in a while.)
Back to the situation
The neighbors told me the cause of the problem was a car hitting a pole on West Galena near Lemon Avenue. I hope no one was hurt. I did hear an ambulance siren though. Burchard, leading straight to the hospital from the south, is the normal route of many emergency vehicles. I don't think the ambulance went by here tonight, though. Anyway, my main suspense was whether any of this column would still be on the computer, as I was typing away when, poof, it happened … and the computer died. I was rather stunned sitting there in the dark by myself. It was creepy.
Well, later when I turned the computer back on, two-thirds of what I had written was still there, but the last third was lost. So I'm doing it over. No big deal. I will confess, though, that was a new experience, shocking, sitting there in deep concentration and the light suddenly turning to total darkness. I have a phone at my fingertips, but without power it wouldn't work either.
So my advice, always remember to at least keep some candles and matches handy and if you're writing on the computer, do as the experts say, save, save, save your work.
Harriett Gustason is a writer for The Journal-Standard. She can be reached at (815) 235-3855 or firstname.lastname@example.com.


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JOLIET, Ill. — Educational meetings for farmland owners have been scheduled around the state of Illinois during October.
Locally, one is scheduled for 6 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 11, 2012, at the Joliet Junior College, Weitendorf Ag Education Center, Room 1005/1009, Joliet, Ill.
The program is designed to help landowners better manage their farmland and increase their economic return. The meetings are sponsored by US Farm Lease and the Joliet Community College Agriculture Program.
The program presenters will discuss useful, valuable information for landowners in a clear and easy to understand format.
The program will focus on the following topics:
• Current farmland lease trends
• Farmland values and investment returns
• Farmer profitability in today's market place
• Determining Illinois soil productivity indexes for your farmland
• Protecting your farm's soil nutrient bank
US Farm Lease will also present a web based tool to help landowners achieve fair market lease arrangements and help farmers find land available for rent.
Program presenters will vary by meeting location and include the following team.
• Kevin Brooks — farm management and farmer profitability, US Farm Lease
• Dale Baird — certified crop adviser, retired University of Illinois Extension, Crop Systems educator
All meetings will begin at 6 p.m. and conclude at 9 p.m. with light refreshments being served. Additional area program dates and locations are as follows:
• Oct. 18, Champaign, Ill., Parkland College, 2400 West Bradley Ave.,Tony Noel Ag Technology Applications Center
There is no charge for the program but pre-registration is requested. To register, interested landowners should contact Kevin Brooks phone (877)-232-4002 or email Kevin at firstname.lastname@example.com


text:
The Institute communicates its scientific and educational information in a number of ways. One major outlet is peer-reviewed publications and reports. Cary Institute staff regularly publish in the best-rated journals in their respective fields.
Export 3 results:Sort by: Author Title Type [ Year]
Filters: Author is Valett, H.M. [Clear All Filters]
Factors affecting ammonium uptake in streams – an inter-biome perspective", Freshwater Biol., vol. 48, p. 1329-1352, 2003., "
A cross-system comparison of bacterial and fungal biomass in detritus pools of headwater streams", Microb. Ecol., vol. 43, p. 55-66, 2001., "
The functional significance of the hyporheic zone in streams and rivers", Ann. Rev. Ecol. Syst., vol. 29, p. 59-81, 1998., "


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Don't give them any ideas.
The copyright circus is stupid enough already.
I really wanna see them trying on this.
As a minimum it will be completely hilarios
Not only hilarious, but it might open the eyes of a few "what should I care, doesn't affect me" people. Libraries are a cornerstone of learning. If they start trying to crack down on them, I'd guess the anti-copyright front gets considerably larger.
not exactly - many of them would see library vs. unauthorized download as a completely different beast.
Amongst other things, you can't load the same book out twice at the same time. Waiting lists could enough to get someone to buy something they wouldn't have gotten already.
If I lend a book to ten people, then copyright law considers that fine. If I put something on a P2P network and two people download it, I get a statutory fine of several thousand dollars (well, I would if I lived in the USA). There seems to be some disconnect there.
Not defending the publishing industry, but there is a material difference: your copy lent to ten people remains a single copy and returns to you (you hope), but the one you uploaded to two others has become three copies. Still, I don't doubt the publishing industry is inflating the losses.
How can he know the person hasn't scanned the book?
And if he loans it out to 10 people that's still 10 people who are no longer going to buy the book.
May not screw too much with the recording (audio and video) companies other than pointing out the ridiculousness of their monetary damages claims. But it really should be shoved in the face, and hard, of the video game industry and the bunch of whining assholes who keep pushing DRM on physically sold games under the banner of preventing piracy but actually just to fuck over people who peruse the used game market.
Seriously, name one game released since 2000 (and sold more than 10 copies) where the copy protection has prevented it from being pirated. One.
I am pretty sure no one has pirated this one yet:
http://www.amazon.com/Barbie-Horse-Adventures-Riding-Nintendo-Wii/dp/B001AZ7RMS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1263932887&sr=1-1 [amazon.com]
There are people who consider ripping games 'their game'. It doesn't matter what game it is, they do it for the cred, not the love of the game itself. Which is why DRM (especially the cookie cutter stuff that comes pre-broken for them by virtue of being already broken on the last game it was released with) is pointless. The only real function of DRM is to to tie the game to the first user as tightly as possible so that when they attempt to resell it on the used game market, it's worthless.
If I lend a book to ten people, then copyright law considers that fine. If I put something on a P2P network and two people download it, I get a statutory fine of several thousand dollars (well, I would if I lived in the USA). There seems to be some disconnect there.
The disconnect is in your comparison. When you lend a book, you don't expect it to be copied and redistributed. When you put something on a P2P network, you expect it to be copied and redistributed, because having copies distributed throughout the P2P increases efficiency. So while you may only observe that two people downloaded your copy, you can't tell how many people downloaded copies originating from those 2 downloads...
Now your comparison makes sense if you were distributing source material that required some DRM mechanism to read, and there was some DRM server that only allowed a certain number of copies to be "checked out" at a time. Checked out in this case means having the ability to read and/or use. I've used electronic libraries that had this kind of DRM in place.
However, I do not think you intended to promote the use of DRM in your posting.
The other problem with your comparison is that libraries have permission to lend books, while nobody gave you permission to publish a book in digital form on the P2P network.
The other problem with your comparison is that libraries have permission to lend books
Since when does anyone need "permission" to lend out an item that they own? I lend books to people all the time. I neither have, nor require, permission to do so.
You're not "lending" a digital book if you're giving someone a copy of said digital book.
They own the books. They have the right to do whatever they please with them, with or without the publisher's permission. Copyright restricts publishing, it says nothing at all about already produced artifacts. Lending very well can lead to copying and redistribution. There's absolutely nothing stopping someone from memorizing a library book and reciting it to their friends, other than the effort. There's no DRM on dead trees.
Copyright made perfect sense in the days where the cost of a printing press meant
The other problem with your comparison is that libraries have permission to lend books
Yeah, I was up to you until that point. It's the other way around. Nobody "gives" people permission to lend or even copy books. Instead, the government grants authors and "content creators" the ability to restrict this right of copy for a limited time. That's copyright.
The right to use information is among the inalienable right granted by our Creator (whomever this might be), the right of liberty. It is enshrined in the first amendment, the right to free speech, because the written word is a manifestation of speech.
So while you may only observe that two people downloaded your copy, you can't tell how many people downloaded copies originating from those 2 downloads...
When I loan a book to 10 people, I don't necessarily know how many people they loan the book to. I don't even know if someone copied the whole book and distributed it.
Anyway copyright laws weren't intended to place limits on who could read books, so there's nothing wrong if I lend the book out to hundreds or thousands of people. They were intended to protect authors from publishers as well as protecting publishers from other publishers.
I see a continuum of possibilities...
If I have a copy of a book on my hard disk, and I've never read it, then does it really count as being out twice?
If I have a copy and read it, and then two weeks later someone else reads a copy of the book and I'm not reading it, does it count?
If I'm reading the 113th page of the book and other people are reading the 7th and 211th pages, does that count?
If I'm reading the third word of the 4th sentence and another person is reading the 8th word of the 12th sentence on the same page, does that count?
If the library has a copy of the book and it sits there unread and then two people read it on the same day, how about that? (happens a lot with reference books when a paper is assigned and the book is on special reserve status).
The former head of the RIAA, Hillary Rosen, actually gave a speech decrying the very idea of libraries loaning out books for free. She seriously wanted to charge for every time a book was read.
No, I have no link. It was probably ten years ago. She resigned in 2003.
I believe it has already been done in Spain [http://noalprestamodepago.org/]. I'm not aware of the current status of the idiocy, but as far as I recall, the libraries there were going to charge a lending fee for the books for the "benefit of the authors". It is crazy that governments would allow to do this, and that people would not go "en masse" to the streets to oppose this abuse. The libraries were instituted to grant access to knowledge to everyone.
There needs to be a balance between protecting privat
Libraries already pay a fee to the author each time a book is loaned out.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/booksblog/2009/jan/07/public-lending-right-library [guardian.co.uk]
In related news it has been discovered that the contents of textbooks, which often sell for $200 or more, are largely made up of information and ideas developed by previous authors. The previous textbook authors are starting to complain that they aren't getting any royalties from new textbooks and are now calling new textbook authors "seagoing murdering thieves" (pirates). Others are wondering why books mostly inspired by previous works, have more than a hundred year copyright, when the Constitution only authorizes copyrights for limited times, not a trillion years.
Sadly, those guys signed contracts that allowed the publishers to use their stuff until the sun becomes part of the blackhole at the center of the Milky Way. McGraw Hill and Pearson Ed are just a couple of examples of cash cow publishing that manipulate the length of copyrights to their own profitable ends. Imagine that.
Practically obligatory reading on this issue, by some guy named Stallman:
http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/right-to-read.html [gnu.org]
You spelled his name wrong; that's GNU/Stallman
Don't give them any ideas.
The copyright circus is stupid enough already.
Too late. The publishing industry has been thinking and talking along this line for a long time already. There's a conventional statistic among publishers, to the effect that every book sold is read by four people. This is usually mentioned in a context that makes it clear that there's a problem. Often they don't bother mentioning how this multi-person readership happens, but it doesn't take much questioning to learn: libraries. And the point is always that the publishers are "losing" 3/4 of their potential sales to the multi-reader "problem".
One of the reasons that a lot of publishers have developed an interest in e-books is that they see it as a way of limiting readership. After all, people won't much loan out their e-readers, and so far, few libraries have experimented with supplying electronic copies of books to their members.
(I wonder why this is? Are they such Luddites? Or are they just ignorant of the technology? Or perhaps they don't see a way to collect overdue fines.
Their "Campaign to Promote Illiteracy" will be mandatory in most schools in the next semester. Students will be treated to videos with titles such as "Johnny Can't Read"; older classes will be subjected to aversion therapy with pop-up books such as "My Pet Goatse" and "Animal Farm-sex".
They'll also be promoting their new android-based phone, which enables illiterates to send "text" messages using only pictures, so that texting becomes a game of rebus [wikipedia.org]. For example, he message "Can I see you tonight?" becomes
"picture of a tin can" = "can", +
"picture of an eye" = "eye", +
"picture of waves" = "sea", +
picture of a female goat" = "ewe", +
"picture of dog poop" = "number 2" +
"picture of a knight on a horse" = "knight"
"can eye sea ewe 2 knight" = "can I see you tonight"
(I wonder why this is? Are they such Luddites? Or are they just ignorant of the technology? Or perhaps they don't see a way to collect overdue fines.
Actually, I think it's because most new e-books come with EULAs which specifically prohibit lending. And they have the DRM to back it up.
Publishers fought like hell against the public lending library concept when it first started becoming widespread ~150 years ago. Fortunately for everyone, they lost the battle. Now they see a chance to fight it again, and in the current IP-philic legal environment, they have a good chance of winning.
Funny thing; I just finished writing another reply in which I mentioned the publishers' opposition to public libraries in the early 1800s. So now I suppose that one or the other (or both) of us will be modded "redundant".
Maybe it's time to also bring up the very early history of copyright, which was invented primarily to limit the publication of bibles and other religious texts to only "approved" publishers. The purpose wasn't monetary; it was to prevent publication of documents opposed by the officially-approved religion, by limiting the publishing to officially-approved publishers. It was also to control the distribution, so that only members of the approved priesthood could access the texts. The rest of the population was intentionally kept illiterate, so that the priesthood could be the only religious authorities.
So things could be worse. The "Intellectual Property" people could be actively campaigning against literacy. They could be pushing for laws banning access by "the masses" to their products. They could get laws passed making it illegal to teach your children to read. People like them have done such things in the past. Such things were among the real reasons that the legal concept of copyright was originally developed.
I would say it is well past the experimental stage:
http://wiki.mobileread.com/wiki/EBook_Lending_Libraries [mobileread.com]
It just isn't to the widespread stage yet (presumably because not all that many people have ebook readers).
Go to those libraries' sites, and notice what's missing?
This is kind of like an ISP saying "you can access any site you want through our network, as long as it's not Google." Note that I'm not blaming the libraries for this, at all -- it's strictly Amazon's fault -- but it's still the elephant in the living room for e-book lending.
Really, too often what's funny is what is true, or at least points at facets of reality that other methods of communication cannot manage to talk about as easily.
The only problem is that it isn't completely accurate. It portrays libraries as quiet places where people will glare at you if you make too much noise. In the past, that used to be true, but not any more, at least here in Arizona. Now, kids run wild, and people chitchat on their cellphones at full volume in library common areas, and librarians don't do anything about it because it's become futile.
It'd be nice to live in a civilized city where people really were quiet in libraries.
It's not the socialist "public authorities" you have to worry about. It's the "peer to peer lending" perpetrated by individuals with no state intervention or support!
Sunlight costs lightbulb makers nearly 100 bazillion dollars!
Only if you invest for the short term. Personally, I invest for the long term. I'm quite sure that my lightbulb investments will prove profitable in 5,000,000,000 years.
Don't forget about the power companies. Of course, Mr. Burns has a solution for all of this...
I'm starting an oxygen supply company- I wonder if there's anything I can do about this 'atmosphere' that people are currently getting their oxygen from?
they're all thieves, and you might have to use force to stop them from using your oxygen supply.
You would need to put everyone in a suit filled with inert gas like Argon and then charge them for both the noble gas and the o2.
That's nothing. The Economist once had a cover with two copulating camels (the female didn't look to happy).
She was probably getting dry-humped.
Thank you, I'm here all week.
I am irked by the phrase "advanced projective mathematics." This to me is a red flag warning me of some business school BS coming up.
I am irked by the phrase "advanced projective mathematics." This to me is a red flag warning me of some business school BS coming up.
Pff- you elitist ivory tower eggheads and your fancy-schmancy degrees think you know everything! If you had any sort of street-smarts, you'd realize that there's a reason people with MBAs run the world!
Now if you'll excuse me, I'm late for my MBA meeting - we've decided to solve the financial crisis by making the leaf the standard unit of currency - everybody will be rich beyond their wildest dreams!
I am irked by the phrase "advanced projective mathematics." This to me is a red flag warning me of some business school BS coming up.
I suspect that this was part of the satire. (But I could be wrong.)
Now you're just adding to the stereotype that mathematicians have no sense of humor.
Where I am they have Videos and DVDs too.
mine even has video games. but they charge $1 per rental.
$10-$15 ebooks are still too pricey.
I should note that Baen Books sells eBooks for about $6.
Any ebook that's more expensive than the corresponding paperback is INSANE.
They tore down the libraries. Because lending books is evil.
When the authorities have requested copies of patrons borrowing records, the libraries almost always refuse to provide it without a search warrant!
When the authorities have requested copies of patrons borrowing records, the libraries almost always refuse to provide it without a search warrant!
Actually I believe you'll find that libraries now tend to delete all records after the books are returned, so a search warrant is useless. Hence the publishers can't even find out who the evil 'borrowers' might be.
One System I've seen (Small high school system) kept track of the last borrower on an item, so that if it was damaged, they could find out who did it.
It wasn't an item in the primary menu, and you had to know the 'secret keystroke' to get to that screen.
My county library also dumps the logs from it's card catalog lookups AND it's public access Internet system every night at midnight. I know because I set it up.
If I could "own" (even with DRM) a book for $2.50, I would never bother making a trip to a library. Even at lower prices, publishers could increase their profits substantially by bypassing the libraries.
100% agreed, although I think $2.50 might be a bit too cheap....I think $5 is a good price point for a digital copy of a book. Still, you have the right idea...lowering prices substantially on e-books would net publishers a massive increase in sales, especially with the emergence of e-readers going mainstream.
$5? When I can get it used for $1 or borrow from the library for free? $5 per book will definitely pay my way to the used book store. I'd say $2 or even $1, like music is about right. You get way, way less bits of data with a book than with a song.
True, but writing a book also takes a tremendous effort...I'm putting up the $5 price point as a possibility due to the number of copies a book has to sell for the author to make decent money and for the time investment required.
As someone who writes (working on a book, although I don't expect it will ever be published) and does music production (http://www.livingwithanerd.com/music if you are interested in what I'm currently working on), writing takes considerably longer. Charging the same amount for a bo
I agree, writing a book is a tremendous effort. After the initial writing (including research when necessary), you have editing, re-writing, layout & design, proofreading, printing to film, proofreading the film, making plates for the press, running off a few copies, proofreading those, marketing the book, buying the paper, printing the book, packaging the books, shipping the books, putting the books in stores, returning/destroying copies that haven't sold (to make room for new books). Every step of the
Notorious hacker group "The Librarians" thumbed their collective noses today at the intellectual property industry as they investigated new ways to channel IP into the hands of teenagers.
"I got this great new bag today," said one student, "and realized I needed a few novels to put in it." [Editor's note: we believe the term "bag" is street for a memory storage device.]
One self-proclaimed member of this criminal organization stated "The biggest challenge with kids today is getting access to reading material. Many come from poorer families and depend on the free availability of reading material to supplement their school-provided education." She continued, "That's why today we're announcing a reading competition, with the winner awarded a really wonderful bag to store their materials in."
When pressed for clarification, this member stated "Of course all the reading materials would be provided for free. That is the whole purpose of what we do." Upon further research, it is believed that local and federal funds are being diverted for these activities.
Organizations representing intellectual property owners did not immediately answer calls. [Editor's note: we let the phone ring once, then hang up. If they can't answer their calls in less than one ring, it's not immediate enough for us.]
His adventures in books, plays, television shows and movies continue to pay dividends for the heirs of his creator, Arthur Conan Doyle. Holmes's latest appearance on film, directed by Guy Ritchie, has sold more than $311 million in tickets worldwide, and on Sunday won a Golden Globe award for its star, Robert Downey Jr.
At his age, Holmes would logically seem to have entered the public domain. But not only is the character still under copyright in the United States, for nearly 80 years he has also been caught in a web of ownership issues so tangled that Professor Moriarty wouldn't have wished them upon him.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/19/books/19sherlock.html [nytimes.com]
dear all creators:
no, it does not make any fucking sense that your grandchildren should profit from a story you wrote, a song you sang, a movie you directed, whatever
it simply does NOT make sense. it is an intellectually and philosophically corrupt concept
intelletual property law only deserves to be disrespected, fought, and subverted. intellectual property law is a parasitical drain on our culture. intellectual property law must be destroyed. it is not of any benefit to anyone except certain entrenched well-connected, well-lawyered interests
but not in the usa
not that that is supposed to mean anything morally, intellectually, or philosophically valid
anything made before the year 2000 should be in the public domain, and that's the way i'm going to act. there is no reforming ip law, it is too broken and too securely in the pocket of deeply vested interests
the only morally valid thing to do is to completely ignore, circumvent, and undermine ip law
A 10 year limit is probably a bit short for books, but anything greater than 1/2 of the average expected lifespan of the people is too long. Something created the day I was born should be in the public domain by the time I have matured. If it remains copyrighted throughout my entire lifetime, then it is effectively an unlimited term, which in the U.S. is contrary to the constitution.
People can borrow books without violating laws. This is what libraries facilitate. Without a way to read books without paying for every one of them, people would either not read as many books, or make a bazillion copies as a matter of course, rendering copyrights useless.
So libraries are not taking away profits (aside from imaginary money that will never be realized). In fact, they facilitate the money that the publishers make now.
What blows my mind is that this guy doesn't seem to know that Libraries just like Video Rental stores pay MORE for the items than normal retail. And I'm not talking a little more either, it's usually pretty dang ludicrously expensive.
Wherever did you get this silly idea? Libraries pay the same discounted rate as bookstores, usually in the neighborhood of 45-55% BELOW retail. Most books are purchased from Ingram or Baker & Taylor, wholesalers. If you do the math on this, it winds up that a million dollar book budget buys 2 million dollars worth of books. (Take the 45% you just saved; buy more books. Take the 45% you just saved; buy more books. Repeat until funds=0.) I supervised the Technical Services Department of my library (and IT) for 25 years, which included the book budget.
This is what happens when a government runs the value of their money to the ground by over-spending/borrowing. The purchasing power of the average family goes down and they start making tough choices about where their money goes. Things like overpriced cable television, unnecessary luxury trips, entertainment purchases (books, movies, music), and other non-essential items don't get purchased. Instead of the Corporations facing this reality and coming up with quality products that have value, they instead blame 'piracy' for their woes.
Sorry Corporations, food and gas to get to work is more important than a $30 Blue-Ray movie, especially when I is delivered a few weeks later at my door via my Netflix queue. Used video games are more attractive (even bargain bin ones) than $60 for the latest greatest, and if I am desperate I can rent for $3 at Hollywood Video. Radio is free and generally will play something worth listening to, so that song better be really good for me to spend even $0.99 on it (Ke$ha need not apply).
These days I use the library, netflix, rentals, borrowing, ebay, or any other legal means to save a buck on entertainment these days. Even if that means just playing cards with the family or going to the park.
This is a bad analogy, as there is a fundamental difference between ebook piracy and library lending...
A library has a single copy of a book and it can be borrowed by only one individual at any given time. Pirating an ebook results in new copies of the same material.
Seriously, is it so difficult to understand the difference between copying and lending/borrowing?
The state of maryland public library system (and others) have contracts with Overdrive.com, which provides limited copies of DRM'd digital media, including eBooks, AudioBooks, and video. "Lending periods" 1 to 2 weeks, enforced by expiring digital license.
"We," says Schroeder, "have a very serious issue with librarians.
... Technology people never gave their stuff away, but now folks are saying, 'You mean the New England Journal of Medicine is charging people?' ... Markets are limited. One library buys one of their journals," she explains, pointing to the Brie eaters. "They give it to other libraries. They'll give it to others." If everyone gets a free copy, she says, the publisher and the writer and others involved in making the book go unpaid. "These people aren't rich," she says of those in the room. "They have mortgages."
These are the people arguing against making publicly funded research publicly available. Here's the full article: Pat Schroeder's New Chapter [washingtonpost.com].
When I was growing up, my family did not have a lot of money. Almost all the books I read were borrowed from a library. As I got older, my mom and dad moved in to better jobs, and some of my books were purchased. By the time I was in high school and college, the only time I went to the library was to do research for school papers.
Now that I make good money, I never to go the library. I buy all my books (from independent book stores if I can).
Like any good drug dealer they need to keep the first "hit" free.
To me, this raises a more interesting issue: where would you be if you didn't have the library when you were younger? How would it have shaped your life to not-have access to books at a young age? Maybe you wouldn't be able to afford them now.
It's in society's best interest to make books and educational materials as available as possible. That's why we have libraries in the first place. That relatively small investment in getting little TheWizardTim access to books has now turned him into a successful [whatever-you-are], which provides a huge return on investment.
We may someday see arguments that stricter copyrights are good for the economy because it allows more profits for publishers. What we shouldn't forget to include in those calculations is all the economic waste of having little TheWizardTims everywhere grow up to be poor stupid criminals instead of upstanding and productive members of society.
there is an ominous silence pervading these ersatz sanctuaries, enforced by the stern demeanor of staff and the glares of other patrons.
Cut the crap grandpa, it's obvious you ain't been in a library since one of the wheels fell off your walker a decade ago. Libraries now are a cacophonous din emergent from the cross talk between cell phones, online chatter and wailing of ankle bitters jettisoned by their mothers into a free for all day care centre. Librarians caved years ago and carry on loud conversations with all and sundry. I live 3 blocks from Vancouver's main library, I time my foray, plan my entry and exit strategies, and run it like a half back with the game on the line and time running out.
In books printed around 1900. The language was startlingly familiar. You were supposedly allowed to use the book for private, personal use only. You weren't allowed to sell it or rent it out.
The first sale doctrine meant that the copyright holders couldn't impose such uses on third parties without entering into a contract. That wasn't feasible in the era when publishers sold to bookstores who had no interest in becoming license brokers. Things are different for ebooks, where it's easy to sell licenses rather than copies. In fact, that's what's behind one of the niftier features of Amazon's Kindle: you can copy your book to your iPhone or Kindle as you like, you just can't resell or lend it.
There's no question that eliminating this nonsense was *good* for book publishing as a whole, because this was a deal which left the public hungry for more of their product. Some individual publishers could have made more money on certain individual works. In the transition to electronic formats, the book publishing industry could easily become the next music industry.
Fact 1: Public libraries are just about the best return on investment for your tax dollar. For every dollar you spend supporting the public library, you get about $8.00 back in services. If you had to pay retail (or even discounted) for every book borrowed from the public library, that's the ROI you would see. Name another government organization that can give you a better ROI. (Note: You can't.)
Fact 2: If you have a recession, usage of the public library goes up. Ironically, the library budget is subject to the recession as much as any other business or government entity. For most businesses, if traffic goes up, so does income. It's the opposite for a public library.
Fact 3: If it were not for public libraries, many books would not be published at all. That's because publishers factor in the public library market in their decision to publish. Larger public libraries buy a given title in the hundreds of copies. There are over 16,000 public libraries in the US. The market is not trivial.
Fact 4: Public libraries are largely responsible for publishers' 'Backlists' of older titles. Nobody else buys them.
Fact 5: It is an established fact that people who use public libraries buy far more books than people who do not. Public libraries help create the market that gives profits to publishers.
Fact 6: Research libraries, especially, are a captive audience for the over-priced, rip-off "scientific" journals that cost hundreds, even thousands of dollars a year that academics "must have." No individual can afford them. If libraries "just said no" those journals would fail in a heartbeat.
Fact 7: Cutting off libraries is a stupid idea. It's cutting off your nose to spite your face.
When I borrow a book in a library, it is mine for a limited time. When I pirate, it is mine forever.
When I borrow a book in a library, I can't sell it or destroy it. When I pirate, I can sell it (to a silly noob) or do whatever I want with it.
When I borrow a book in a library, I can buy it in a bookstore if I really want to keep it. When I pirate there is no need to ever buy anything because I have it already.
A library is no threat to publishers in any real fashion. There are a limited number of books that can be lent out and the library buys them. Pirating, on the other hand, involves no purchases (other than the first) and there are an unlimited number of copies that can be obtained.
While a library might be useful for some, there is no real revenue threat. Piracy is a complete revenue threat with the object being the destruction of revenue from digital goods. If everyone can download for free, why would anyone buy? Talking about differences in quality or the "experience" of the original vs. the pirated item is silly - the entire operation of "piracy" involves the original item. We aren't talking about the original song vs. a high school band trying to imitate the original. It is the original, it is just free for everyone.
"Conversion, fastidious Goddess, loves blood better than brick, and feasts most subtly on the human will." -- Virginia Woolf, "Mrs. Dalloway"


text:
|2013-01-10, 21:42
|Link #102
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Middle of Somewhere
I was wondering if Shaft use the changing clothes scene as the 1st ep's ED on purpose. Because it look like they were force to censor that scene with a with bar across the screen where Sasami's panty would be showing. Then in ED whole scene is shown again, this time without the white bar. Just using the credits as somewhat of a censor, but you could clearly see her wearing panty.
|2013-01-10, 22:19
|Link #103
Join Date: Dec 2006
Though I think they just forgot. It happens. Laser BETAs can be really whimsical.
|2013-01-10, 23:07
|Link #105
Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2011
sasami's headphone...wow... but it's needed if you want to hear absolutely everything...
Beyerdynamic T1 Tesla Audiofile Stereo Headphone
according to other forum one of the best headphone out there....and its expensive too.... US$1286
i dont think i will ever use headphone like these for hearing music...
|2013-01-10, 23:18
|Link #107
Staring into your soul.
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: At the darkness beyond time.
i didn't expected things to turn the way they did, but not really "surprising" for a shaft show, also its very noticeable the good animation for a shaft show, the first episode wasn't really that good, but i cannot deny that like most shaft shows it satisfies that weird part of me.
|2013-01-10, 23:34
|Link #109
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2009
Now this is the Shaft I've come to love, resp... wonder what exactly goes on in their series planning meetings.
First part was good, 2nd part was something else entirely, I'm not quite sure what it was, but it was something to see.
Also, convenient censorship credits.
I should add, that the eclectic music through the whole thing was also really enjoyable.
edit again
Forget hacking SERN, you know you've made it when you can compile a dll to exploit Skynet. And 1984 Big Brother.
Last edited by 00Coyote; 2013-01-10 at 23:52.
|2013-01-10, 23:56
|Link #111
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: I'm right behind you
Age: 35
I guess I haven't seen enough Shaft, but...even by their infamously avant-garde standards, this was pretty far out there. But that's a good thing...at least so far. Hope the story goes somewhere (at least a few inches), but even if it doesn't, it might be something nice to unwind with after Psycho-Pass.
Their minimalist yet distinctive artwork wins again, especially the indoor scenes. The flat watercolors reminded me of a children's book, which is obviously fitting considering Sasami's character. (I hope she doesn't ask her bro to wipe her... :P Sorry, but I have a feeling that question was going to come up sooner or later.)
Sorry if this provokes another Shaft vs. KyoAni debate, but IMHO, if KyoAni wants to go a more avant-garde route like they seem to be doing with Tamako Market, it might help the mood if they try a more avant-garde style instead of just recycling the K-On artwork.
|2013-01-11, 00:40
|Link #112
Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2007
Age: 29
Good shit. The action part was a bit just action for action's sake; didn't really bring forth any tension or sense of danger so any judgement that the show "has plot" will have to be put on hold. However, the humour was high tier, even though I kinda hate the self-insert, fanservicey role of the elder brother. Nonetheless, Sasami-san pulls through with sheer execution. You cannot help but be entertained.
Most importantly, the visual style and cadence of this series is sheer luxury. This is what I follow SHAFT for, man. An eyegasm. lol, I couldn't ask for anything better for the first new thing in a while from SHAFT.
|2013-01-11, 02:19
|Link #115
Episode 1
. . . . . .
What the F@ck is this?!!!!!!!!!!!
Infinite Stratos girls goes Monogatari with Araragi covering his face all of the time?!!!
Anyway.. It's the girls that interest me.... Yeah they're cute.. and that's what matters in this series....
...I'll pass this and watch it...
|fantasy, romantic comedy, shounen
|Thread Tools


text:
As archbishop of Los Angeles, Roger Mahony responded to criticism of his handling of sexual abuse cases with a high-priced crisis management firm, full-page ads in Spanish and English newspapers, and a report naming accused priests.
In retirement, Mahony's public relations operation consists mainly of his thoughts and a computer keyboard. Since last month, when outrage flared anew over files showing he shielded abusers, the cardinal has thrown himself into social media to give the public his side of the story.
It was on his blog that Mahony defended himself against a public rebuke by his successor, and it was on Twitter that he confirmed, to the dismay of many critics, that he would attend the conclave to elect a new pope.
"Am planning to be in Rome and vote for the next Pope," he wrote hours after Pope Benedict XVI announced his resignation. He added, "Will be twee[t]ing daily."


text:
International games retailer GameStop has reported a year-on-year increase in profits from $943.2 to $974.9 for the 14 weeks ending February 2nd.
That's despite a fall in net sales from $3.579bn in the same period last year to $3.562bn. Operating profit jumped from $302.5m to $412.3m. Net income jumped from $174.3m to $261.1m.
Like-for-like sales for the period fell by 4.6 per cent, although digital sales climbed 60.3 per cent, offsetting what the company described as "a weakness" in its core business.
I don't want to sound mean, and I do hate the thought of people potentially losing jobs; GS needs to hire more knowledgeable employees, and stop trying to force pre-orders every time I buy something. I understand there's a quota that needs to be met, however I don't need to reminded every damn time about new releases AFTER I specifically mention what I want and don't want.
Also they need to do something about this "bonus trade-in" that supposedly helps the customer - when all it does is makes the offers "half" legit. I remember they made me an offer for one game I had, I laughed so hard I almost fainted, and left the store still laughing.
They change their employees all the time, dont keep new (sealed) games unless you pre order it-usually poor service and I have to deal with them due to stupid pre order deals as well so maybe it is time for them to dissapear
digital sales climbed 60.3 per cent?? I really hope this isn't true because not everyone has an internet connection
I had the 50Mbps service, is fast enough to help the space shuttle
A man has come to prefer Amazon far more and a man will get his 2 or 3 PS4s there


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Last August, Towson University was rocked by a massive hazing scandal that resulted in the cheerleading team being suspended for the entire 2013-2014 academic year. This was very unexpected, especially from the defending NCA national champions. At the time, there was much speculation about what had happened. On Towson's campus, many students had ideas, but no one had facts. There was speculation about drinking, dancing naked, doing drugs, among other things, but no one really had any clue about what truly happened.
Now there are finally some answers about what happened. Towson has finally released the report of what the cheerleaders actually did. The report, which was extremely detailed, described the entire hazing process these freshmen went through.
The freshmen were taken to an off campus apartment, where they were told that they could say no to anything they were about to do. They then were taken into the apartment to make a choice between heroin and cocaine. After the girls found out that there were no illicit drugs in the room at all, they were required to either shotgun a beer or take a shot of hard liquor. After, they were blindfolded and forced to put on adult diapers before dancing around in front of the rest of the team.
Even though Towson University has a zero-tolerance policy for hazing, it seems like the school overreacted by suspending them for the entire year. The reduced punishment, probation for the fall semester and 650 hours of community service, was much more deserved by the team. Hazing is never a good thing, but NCAA athletes haze their new members more than any other college group (marching band is second, Greek life is third). Unfortunately, hazing is probably never going to disappear from NCAA athletics. However, even the NCA said that the original punishment for Towson Cheer was harsh. They had never heard of an entire team being suspended.
Zero-tolerance policies exist for a reason, but there has to be a continuum of what people would consider to be worse. It seems like this incident, while still hazing, was very minor, and it's nice to see that it eventually was treated as such.


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That's what they all say, until they reach TwoBillion-OneHundredFortySevenMillion-FourHundredEightyThreeThousand-SixHundredFortyEightDrive.
That'll be Minus-TwoBillion-OneHundredFortySevenMillion-FourHundredEightyThreeThousand-SixHundredFortyNineDrive, thank you very much.
Aleph naught drive.
Although personally I prefer the dev null drive.
Although personally I prefer the dev null drive.
ah, I see you've had some experience with Maxtors, too...
Twodrive, Threedrive, etc. The possibilities are (literally) endless!
Well,at-least until they hit Googolplex-drive and end up in MAD patent battle with Google.
Everybody knows that since it is Microsoft software, you should wait for threepointonedrive.
you should wait for threepointonedrive.
I'm waiting for version 3.14159..., aka Pi-in-theSkyDrive
something like MicrosoftDrive should be pretty safe
guess they don't want any association with "that" brand... can't say i blame them
"directives of moron" is an anagram of Microsoft OneDrive.
That's still better than some of the anagrams of Microsoft SkyDrive:
Defrock My Visitors
Frisky Coder's Vomit
Mortify Dick Servos
Voids First Mockery
Modify Risk Vectors
Cover Dorky Misfits
Ivory Serfdom Stick
It Forks My Divorces
InfiniteImprobabilityDrive, all you files become pictures of whales and petunias.
Twodrive, Threedrive, etc. The possibilities are (literally) endless!
Yes, but only countably endless.
Coming from the company that neamed its third Xbox the Xbox One, I'm actually surprised they didn't christen it the SixDrive. It'd be great for ads:
"Xbox network integration, so you can invite a friend over to Xbone with your SixDrive!"
And if you don't have an X-Box One, you can run it in Internet Explorer 11 on Windows 8.
Well, if you can brand name a fruit that has been a food staple for millennia...
I can hear this now:
"I saved it on one drive."
"Which drive did you save it on?"
"On my one drive."
"Like your C drive?"
If they hadn't dumped all the Live branding, they could have gone after LiveDrive [livedrive.com].
Are copyright laws in Europe stricter about customer confusion? Or is this a case where if they can't use it in one country, MS won't use it anywhere?
And maybe that's the actual reason they decided to dump that name. The ways it could be "misread" are just too many.
Microsoft did have a dog named Rover, originally in Microsoft Bob but later used in Windows XP's search.
Before Microsoft, there was IBM.
Personal Computer
Disk Operating System (predates PC-DOS/MS-DOS - ran on 360s)
Operating System/Multiple Fixed Partitions
(and a batch of other OS-related things)
Time-Sharing Option
A Programming Language
Programming Language One
Many of those things are better known by acronyms (and what do you think their database DB2 stands for?).
I can hear this now:
"I saved it on one drive."
"Which drive did you save it on?"
"On my one drive."
"Like your C drive?"
"No, my One Drive to rule them all, One Drive to find them,
One Drive to bring them all and in the darkness bind them.
In the Land of Microsoft where the Shadows lie."
There, now it's been properly Slashdotified.
It's probably more that they realised the only thing anyone uses OneDrive for is uploading XBox One videos direct from their console, so it makes sense to capitalise on that only real popular use for it.
I deal with this every day...
"Can you click on the link to Lync [wikipedia.org] and join the meeting?"
"Hang on, I'll past a link into Lync."
Try saying those out loud. Yes, it's annoying. Damned retards in their naming department.
Coming soon...
Celebrity endorsement of One Drive by the eye of Sauron: 'One Drive rules them all! Two thumbs up! If I had Thumbs!'
Enter our One Draw to win! Secret decoder rings for the first nine (human) winners!
Sorry, no. It's been established long ago that the Nazgul work in the legal department of IBM.
So now they will duke it out with Ubuntu?
Does British Sky Broadcasting offer a remote storage solution
It's a part of the Murdoch empire, which had an ISP when mosaic was the web browser of choice, so there's probably something like that in there.
There's also http://one.com/ [one.com] which offers a cloud storage service.
It would be hilarious if Microsoft was forced to change the name again *fingers crossed*
OneDrive to Rule them all and in the Darkness bind them.
the first version always sucks. wait for TwoDrive.
I'm pondering waiting at least for ThreeDriveElevenForWorkgroups.
With all the billions they spend on everything else, they could have at least spent money on a design team to steal the logo and font style from a someplace other than their cloud competition, OwnCloud. This open source project has been around a while and hasn't really done much other branding, but somehow Microsoft decided it would just change the color and go with it. I can just hear Ballmer cheering on the team about how wonderful their marketing department is, yeeeeehaw!
Three versions of Windows 8 for the Elven-kings under the sky,
Seven System Management Apps for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone,
Nine Office Productivity Tools for Mortal Men doomed to die,
One XBox for the Dark Lord on his dark sharepoint site
In the Land of Redmond where the Shadows lie.
One Cloud to rule them all, One Cloud to find them,
One EULA to bring them all and in the darkness bind them
In the Land of Redmond where the Shadows lie.
https://one.ubuntu.com/ [ubuntu.com]
Does Microsoft for some reason want to keep on using names that are similar to what others are already using?
Unless you don't give a damn about the confidentiality of your data.
If you don't fancy setting up your own server at home, try http://owncloud.org/ [owncloud.org]
Advantage is clients available for many platforms, including Android.
If that's too hard, and/or you want 24/7/365, pick a hosting solution in the country of your choice.
Difficult to know which one to pick, tho'.
I'am no marketing expert, but why not milk the hell out of the "cloud"?
MS were the main culprits in creating this buzzword, yet, they wont use it?
Welcome to Tech Support in 2014:
user = I've lost my data!
support = Where did you store it?
user = Its in the clouds
support = I see, is it currently raining?
user = Yep
support = You'll need to grab a bucket, and try and collect all those data droplets
user = Got it, Your a genius!
So they named it after the Canoncial cloud offering, which is also called "One"? What's next "Dropship" maybe "MineCloud"? It's like they hired some clickbait spammer to name projects.
"Yeah, but you're taking the universe out of context."


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BROOMFIELD, Colo., March 31, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Renewable Energy Systems Americas Inc. (RES Americas), a leader in the development and construction of wind and solar projects in North America, is pleased to announce the operation of the company's first energy storage system.
RES Americas conceived, developed, and constructed the energy storage system, which it will own and operate. Located in Sunbury, Ohio, just outside of Columbus, the system is comprised of a +/-4MW (8MW total range)/ 2.6MWh lithium battery that will provide a service called "frequency regulation" to PJM, the largest grid operator in North America.
The project utilizes lithium iron phosphate, an inherently safe variant of lithium battery chemistry, and consists of two containers that house batteries weighing approximately 20 tons each, as well as a third container that converts the direct current (DC) output to alternating current (AC) for the grid. The equipment was supplied by BYD America.
"Leveraging our renewable energy, transmission and distribution construction experience, we are uniquely placed to excel in energy storage, whether as an IPP, or as an EPC for a utility owner. We are excited to be one of the leaders using this new technology, ensuring that RES continues to be innovative and create value for our customers," said Andy Oliver, Senior Vice President, Energy Storage and Technology, RES Americas. "We look forward to additional projects that combine affordability, safety, and best-in-class quality," Dr. Oliver continued.
The global market for energy storage is expected to grow rapidly in the coming years. Navigant Research estimates that worldwide revenue from advanced batteries for utility scale energy storage applications will grow from $164 million in 2014 to more than $2.5 billion in 2023. Frequency regulation represents a small fraction of the numerous services that energy storage can provide to the grid.
RES Americas anticipates delivering the company's second 4MW system in June 2014 in Ontario, Canada for the grid operator IESO. The company is currently marketing additional fully-developed frequency regulation projects in PJM.
About RES Americas
Renewable Energy Systems Americas Inc. (RES Americas) is a fully-integrated renewable energy company that develops, constructs, owns, and/or operates projects across North America. The company employs approximately 280 full-time professionals working throughout North America, has a construction portfolio of more than 7,000 MW of renewable energy, and offers a full suite of development and construction services for wind, solar, transmission, and storage projects. RES Americas' corporate office is located in Broomfield, CO with regional offices located in Austin, TX and Minneapolis, MN. RES Americas is part of the RES Group, a leading international renewable energy developer. For more information, please visit www.res-americas.com.
SOURCE RES Americas


text:
Limp Bizkit Tickets
With a style relatively unknown at the time, Limp Bizkit arrived on the scene in the late 90's with a mix of alternative rock and rap that evolved into what is now known as Nu Metal and Rapcore. After separating in '01 and again in '05, Fred Durst and company have signed to Lil Wayne's Young Money Records and are gearing up for a brand new concert tour. You can be sure that GoTickets will have all your Limp Bizkit tickets for their upcoming tour.
Limp Bizkit Tour Dates and Schedule
Get Email Updates on
Limp Bizkit
How To Buy Limp Bizkit Tickets
- Select your Limp Bizkit Tickets from our inventory
- Select Date and Quantity of Limp Bizkit Tickets
- Place your order
Shipping & Availability When purchasing Limp Bizkit tickets online, you will be taken to our Limp Bizkit Tickets page. You will then be able to pick which Limp Bizkit event you would like to purchase. All tickets listed are seated together. All of our Limp Bizkit tickets are shipped via Federal Express. Please note that we do not deliver on Saturday unless, that option is specially requested on your order . Our ticket inventory is updated hourly. If for any reason the tickets are no longer available, you will be able to cancel your order or request a different area.


text:
March 09, 2013 13:45 ET
SASKATOON, SASKATCHEWAN--(Marketwire - March 9, 2013) - Men and women from underprivileged groups in Ukraine will gain access to skills training and improve their employment opportunities, thanks to a partnership between the Harper Government and the Saskatchewan Institute of Applied Science and Technology (SIAST). Today, Member of Parliament Brad Trost (Saskatoon - Humboldt), on behalf of the Honourable Julian Fantino, Minister of International Cooperation, reaffirmed Canada's support for the Skills for Employment Project in Ukraine.
"The Harper Government is proud to partner with the Saskatchewan Institute of Applied Science and Technology to increase employment and skills training opportunities for students in Ukraine," said MP Trost. "Access to quality education and training are essential to building sustainable economic growth and prosperity, and building a future for Ukrainians. We will continue to stand with the people of Ukraine as they seek to build a nation founded on the values of freedom, democracy, human rights and the rule of law."
This investment will help the Saskatchewan Institute of Applied Science and Technology to improve the quality and effectiveness of business training programs in Ukraine by developing mutually-beneficial relationships among government, community organizations and the private sector. The project also aims to increase employment and skills training opportunities, especially for women and other socially unprivileged groups. This will benefit 14,000 students and 1,900 entrepreneurs in Ukraine over the course of the project.
"SIAST thanks Canada for supporting this project in Ukraine, which will enable the Institute to bring significant resources and expertise to international education partnerships," said Dr. Larry Rosia, President and CEO, SIAST. "We're essentially exporting our experience in developing employer-driven technical education."
The Harper Government is committed to equipping students in Ukraine with access to increased economic opportunities so that they are able to build a more sustainable and prosperous future. Canada has identified Ukraine as a priority country in the provision of development assistance, and continues to support its democratic development and sustainable economic growth to achieve greater freedom and prosperity for the Ukrainian people.
The SIAST project is being funded through CIDA's Partners for Development Program.
For more information, please visit CIDA's Partnerships with Canadians Programs.
Daniel Bezalel RichardsenPress Secretary to the Minister of International email@example.com Relations OfficeCanadian International Development Agency (CIDA)email@example.com us on Twitter: @CIDA_CA
See all RSS Newsfeeds


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Of course music can, especially beat, It's not rocket science, the crowd play ther part in banging the advertisment boards on a world record attempt. The gowd clapp when jumps are attempted
UK Coaching is the brand name of registered UK Charity The National Coaching Foundation.
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text:
Police activity reports
Compiled from selected police activity reports.
Buckeye Lake
• Sept. 25: Police received a call about a male throwing objects in the road.
• Sept. 25: A Glenford motorcyclist was stopped for spinning his tire on his way out of the Pizza Cottage parking lot. He was driving under suspension with false plates, and he was charged with reckless operation.
• Sept. 25: A false 911 cell phone call was reported from the area near 4th Street.
• Sept. 25: Police received a complaint of loud music and barking dogs at a Walnut Road residence. All parties were advised.
• Sept. 26: A fight was reported at the Buckeye Lake McDonald's. The fight was over when police arrived. No charges were pressed.
• Sept. 26: Police responded to a fight call at the Buckeye Lake Wendy's. Police stopped a vehicle driven by one of the fighters, who was driving under suspension.
• Sept. 27: A Walnut Road woman reported being harassed by her neighbor. The neighbor was charged with disorderly conduct and aggravated menacing.
• Sept. 27: A Waggoner Road woman said someone removed a 2009 sticker from her license plate.
• Sept. 27: A Myers Avenue man reported someone vandalized his home.
• Sept. 28: A Hebron woman said her friend's boyfriend became angry and accusatory toward her in the Subway restaurant. When questioned, the boyfriend was belligerent toward police as well. He was charged with disorderly conduct.
• Sept. 28: Pataskala Police asked police to deliver a message to a Buckeye Lake resident. The person no longer lives in Buckeye Lake.
• Sept. 28: Police assisted the Fairfield County Sheriff's Office with a fight call at a Fairfield Beach residence.
• Sept. 28: A Walnut Road woman said her deceased husband's family was calling and harassing her.
• Sept. 29: A Pennsylvania woman reported her car was keyed in Buckeye Lake.
• Sept. 29: A Walnut Road man collided with two parked vehicles. Police smelled alcohol on his breath. He was charged with OVI.
Millersport • Sept. 14 - 17: Police expanded street patrols and business checks during the power outage. No criminal incidents were reported during the power outage.
• Sept. 17: Police provided traffic assistance to utility crews to help get the power back on as quickly as possible.
• Sept. 18: Police assisted a park officer with an arrest of an intoxicated person at Fairfield Beach State Park.
• Sept 19: A motorist was cited for following another vehicle too closely on Lancaster Street at Refugee Street.
• Sept. 20: A motorist on Lancaster Street was cited for having expired license plates.
• Sept. 21: Two motorists were cited for excessive speed on Lancaster Street at Lynn Avenue.
• Sept. 23: A motorist was cited for speeding in the school zone on Lancaster Street. The driver was travelling 42 mph in the 20 mph school zone.
• Sept. 23: Police assisted the Fairfield County Sheriff's Office with a day time burglary at Ohio 37 and Ohio 204.
• Sept 24: A driver was cited for going 39 mph in a 20 mph school zone.
• Sept. 24: Police assisted a Millersport High School employee who had locked her keys in her vehicle. Entry was gained.
• Sept. 24: Police responded to an alarm drop at the Walnut Township Schools district office. Everything checked OK.
• Sept. 24: A driver was cited for travelling 39 mph in a 25 mph zone on Lancaster Street at Lynn Avenue.
• Sept. 25: Two drivers were
warned for excessive speed on Lancaster Street.
• Sept. 26: Police checked out a suspicious person at Lancaster Street and Lynn Avenue. The person checked out OK.
• Sept. 26: Police received a report of an individual selling marijuana at the Millersport High School football game. Police said they found the suspect and took "appropriate action."
• Sept. 27: Police took a report of vandalism at an East Park Street address.
• Sept. 27: Police checked out a suspicious auto on Canal Street. Everything was OK.


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[quote][/NaHueLs_GirL- haha, since we're talking about VAMPIRES here, i find the phrasing "his own flesh and blood" to be amusing.
i personally wonder this: in breaking dawn, it was mentioned that "the wives never leave the tower." why don't they? clearly they don't have a hand in ruling volterra with their husbands. i imagine them both as being fairly oppressed....to tell the truth, i imagine that while didyme was "alive", the wives got along well, but since she died sulpicia and athenodora just tolerate each other because they have nobody else.quote]
Why can't the wives just leave?


text:
Foundations Of Behavior And Leadership In Organizations
Leadership involves relationships and social influence processes in an interactive relational context. In this survey course, the foundational concepts and theories of human behavior that enable effective leadership is examined. Organizational behavior at the levels of the individual, group, and organization are discussed, with the goal of predicting, shaping, and evaluating workplace behavior.
Credit Hours:
West Lafayette


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Harlequin keeps rolling out titles that I really, really want to read! They kind of own me right now. I have found myself reading a ton of their books this summer, and I keep seeing more that interest me. Their paranormal quartet The Royal House of Shadows has certainly got me intrigued. I haven't read many Nocturne titles, so I'm eager to jump into these.
Harlequin has some awesome looking YA books out, too! I love steampunk, so The Girl in the Steel Corset by Kady Cross is on my TBR.
I am dying to read Sophie Littlefield's new trilogy. It has ZOMBIES! But I am waiting a bit for the final volume, which will be out next year.
Are you looking forward to any of these? What are some of your favorite Harlequin titles? Any favorite authors?


text:
KABUL — The number of US drone strikes in Afghanistan rose sharply last year compared with 2011, the United Nations said Tuesday. The increase was a sign that unmanned aircraft are taking a greater role as Americans try to streamline the fight against insurgents while preparing to withdraw combat forces in less than two years.
Drones have become a major source of contention between the United States and countries like Pakistan, where covert strikes on militant leaders have drawn condemnation and allegations of sovereignty infringements as family members and other bystanders are killed.
They have not been a prominent issue in Afghanistan, however. While drone attacks have occurred, they have largely been in support of ground troops during operations and have not been singled out by President Hamid Karzai's administration in its campaign against international airstrikes.
The steep rise in the number of weapons fired from unmanned aerial aircraft — the formal term for drones — comes as US forces become more dependent on such attacks to fight Al Qaeda and other insurgents as combat missions are due to end by the end of 2014.
The UN mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said 506 weapons were released by drones in 2012, compared with 294 the previous year. Five missions resulted in casualties with 16 civilians killed and three hurt, up from just one incident in 2011.
Georgette Gagnon, the head of human rights for UNAMA, said it was the first year the UN had tried to document civilian casualties from drones.
The US Air Force Central Command also recorded an increase, giving the numbers of weapons released by drones as 243 in 2009, 277 in 2010, 294 in 2011, and 494 in 2012.
Drones are highly effective and most nations have given Washington at least tacit agreement to carry out the attacks.
Peter Singer of the Washington-based Brookings Institution noted that the drone program in Afghanistan is run by the Pentagon, and therefore is more transparent than the CIA drone counterterrorism program in Pakistan.
Singer, who has written extensively about drones, said the number of operations in Afghanistan is increasing, but most are performed in support of troops on the ground.
"This is just another sign of how drones are becoming the new normal," he said.
UN figures were released as part of its annual report on civilian casualties in Afghanistan. Overall, the full-year toll of civilian deaths in 2012 declined to 2,754, a 12 percent decrease from 3,131 in the same period a year earlier. It was the first time in six years that the civilian death toll dropped.
But the toll spiked in the second half of the year as weather improved, compared with the same period in 2011, suggesting that Afghanistan is likely to face continued violence as the Taliban and other militants fight for control following the impending withdrawal of US and allied combat forces.
The population also faced a sharp increase in assassinations and other insurgent attacks targeting government supporters.
Conflict-related violence struck more women and girls last year, with 301 killed and 563 wounded — a 20 percent increase, the report said.
The findings come as the war is reaching a turning point, with international troops increasingly taking the back seat in operations and Afghan government forces in the lead.
The total number of civilian deaths by airstrikes fell for the year after the US-led coalition implemented stricter measures to prevent innocent people from being killed.
The UN said most civilian casualties from drone strikes appeared to be the result of weapons aimed directly at insurgents, but some may have been targeting errors. It cited the example of four boys killed Oct. 20 in Logar Province when a drone struck after a clash between pro-government forces and insurgents a few miles from the area.
UNAMA called for a review of tactical and operational policy on targeting to ensure compliance with international humanitarian law ''with the expansion of the use of unmanned combat aerial vehicles'' in Afghanistan.
George Little, a Pentagon spokesman, said the United States works hard to protect civilians.
"We take great care with our unmanned systems to conduct very precise targeting in Afghanistan, and we will continue to do so. When there are mishaps, we take steps to work closely with the government of Afghanistan and the affected individuals to express our concerns," he said in Washington.
UNAMA said civilian casualties rose 13 percent to 4,431 in the second half of the year, including more from roadside bombs in public areas, compared with 2011.
That included 1,599 people killed and 2,832 wounded from July 1 to Dec. 31, a jump from 1,556 and 2,832 respectively in the same period the previous year.


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"Gay Day" at AIDS 2012 in Washington, D.C.
A Video Blog
July 22, 2012
Adapted from:
Here is my first report from the International AIDS Conference in Washington, D.C.!
Since less than 5 percent of the programming for AIDS 2012 is targeting to MSMs (Men who have Sex with Men), a special one-day pre-conference is held the day AIDS 2012 convenes to address the needs and issues of this population.
My report includes a chat with United States Rep. Barbara Lee, who has just introduced comprehensive HIV prevention and anti-stigma legislation; the advocates fighting laws that criminalize people with HIV; a little social research on Grindr (the gay man's cruise phone app); a chat with Positive Frontiers editor Alex Garner about getting rejected (and rejected others) during the dating process; and a visit to a poz social event.
Stay tuned! The week is just getting started, with opening ceremonies to come, the opening of the colorful and provocative Global Village, and amazing sights and people ahead.
Thanks for watching, and please be well.
My Fabulous Disease
This article was provided by MyFabulousDisease.com. Visit Mark's live blog.
Comment by: ruwan (colombo) Tue., Sep. 18, 2012 at 12:37 pm UTC
like to participate to gay day 2012,
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