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1. Welcome
2. LXF 134 on sale
3. Special subscription offer
4. In the news...
5. This month on the forum
6. Special Newsletter feature
7. Coming up next issue
8. Receiving this Newsletter
9. Contact details
1. Welcome
It's been a funny couple of weeks for Mandriva fans. As we noted in
the TuxRadar podcast (http://tuxradar.com/podcast), the French
newbie-friendly-distro maker seems to have gone completely silent,
with no word on when Mandriva 2010.1 will arrive. Of course
Mandr(iva|ake) has had financial difficulties in the past, but we
bystanders were at least kept a bit more informed. We're hearing
reports that some investors might have come to save the day, so
let's keep our fingers crossed!
Read on for what's hot in LXF134, quick roundups of the best news
stories and forum threads, and a special feature on buying Linux PCs
online. And if you're looking to save money in these financially
dodgy times, check out our latest subscription offers.
Mike Saunders
Newsletter Editor
2. LXF 134 on sale
Many people don't know it, but Linux is truly taking the world by
storm. Android-powered mobile phones are coming thick and fast, and
as our cover feature this month shows, the operating system is more
than a match for Apple's iPhone. Oh, and then there's the little
matter of WebOS too. We look at the Palm Pre, Nokia N900 and HTC
legend, discovering what makes the hardware to great and how the
underlying software performs.
Meanwhile, Fedora 13 is here with a truckload of new features. We
explore the goodies therein and look at the role it plays in the
development of RHEL. Ubuntu community manager Jono Bacon helps you
to set up a versatile website with WordPress, while we have
tutorials on cloud computing, Blender, Python and Mutt.
On your free 4GB DVD you'll find three top distros: Fedora 13, Linux
Mint 9 and Mepis 8.5. Then there's Haiku, Puppy Linux, GCC 4.5,
MythTV 0.23, games, podcasts and much more...
Here's a taster of LXF134 from the HotPicks section:
# Presage 0.8.2 - http://freshmeat.net/projects/presage
Predictive text is rubbish. Well, is isn't that predictive in most
cases, because it doesn't try to make sense of what you're
writing, it just tries to complete the most commonly used words
based on the characters you've already entered. This can save you
time, but can also lead to you inadvertently telling people you're
going to "sick up something on the way home", "driving through a
thick fog" or that there's a "massive Steve at the cinema". In
short, it sucks.
Presage isn't about completing the characters in the word you're
typing. It likes to think of the long term, and suggest the whole
word that you're going to type next. If it's wrong, it'll keep
guessing until it gets it right or you finish the word. Presage
keeps track of what you type, or processes existing text files to
build up a database of expected word tokens, increasing the
effectiveness of the prediction.
You may be quick to write off Presage, because it requires some
application awareness to enable it, and therefore would be limited
to a small number of custom applications. Think again. One of the
utilities in Presage is a helper for the cross-platform Assistive
Technology Service Provider Interface (AT-SPI), which is
implemented in Gnome and supported in KDE.
Theoretically, any app that takes input from assistive
technologies should work with Presage if accessibility is turned
on. Of course, there are some bundled apps for simple text
processing too.
Most of the examples employ some sort of pop-up menu that invites
you to press a function key to complete the word. It does take a
bit of getting used to, and if you're a fast and accurate typist,
it will probably slow you down, but there are all sorts of areas
where this could be useful.
Head over to the LXF website and click on the issue cover picture
for more information on Linux Format 134.
3. Special subscription offer
Subscribing to Linux Format not only has the benefit of fantastic
savings. Subscribers will also get exclusive, unlimited access to the
Linux Format subscriber-only area, featuring magazine PDFs, complete
issues and coverdisc downloads! That's access to over 60 issues of Linux
learning, free to subscribers to download! See our latest offers at:
http://www.myfavouritemagazines.co.uk/c ... nuxformat/
4. In the news
The biggest developments from around the net...
# OpenSUSE seeks more autonomy from Novell
The OpenSUSE team is drafting up a new community statement to more
clearly define the overall goals for the project. While Novell will
very clearly remain the main backers of the distribution, there will
be more scope to establish OpenSUSE as a strong, robust distro in
its own right, and not be seen as a merely a test-bed for Novell's
enterprise Linux products.
# IRC server code backdoored
http://www.bit-tech.net/news/bits/2010/ ... n-trojan/1
Oops. Some crafty coder dropped a backdoor into the Unreal IRC
daemon's source code, and this hadn't been spotted (apparently)
since November 2009. Some in the press have taken this to be a total
disaster for the Linux community, but we know that it's not
installed on any mainstream distro by default and therefore nothing
to worry about. It does show, though, that even free software
projects can be compromised in a certain set of circumstances, so it
pays to always be vigilant!
# Flash Player 10.1 released
http://blogs.adobe.com/flashplayer/2010 ... lable.html
We won't claim to be the world's biggest Flash fans here at LXF
Towers - indeed, we've had our share of grief with the buggy browser
plugin. Still, until HTML5 fully matures it's a useful plugin for
interactive content and video on the internet, so an update (with
Linux as an officially supported platform) is welcome.
5. This month on the forum
Linux has been a big hit on netbooks, and IBBoard kicked off a topic
looking for a new mini-laptop with an SSD drive. Ajgreeny
recommended the Novatech X10, while Wyliecoyoteuk pointed to some
Acer offers. IBBoard noted that he/she really wanted to avoid paying
the Windows tax (see the special feature below), and Amazon was
mentioned as another source for machines. [1]
The sun is out, the sky is blue, and LXF Forum regulars are enjoying
time in the garden. Well, those who aren't glued to the TV watching
the World Cup, of course. bobthebob1234 seemed to be having a lot of
fun, combining bouts of sleeping with exam revision. Let us know how
you're enjoying the good weather... [2]
[1] http://www.linuxformat.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=12271
[2] http://www.linuxformat.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=12340
6. Special Newsletter feature
Looking for a new Linux box? Have absolutely no interest in Windows?
Then you probably won't want to splash out money at your nearest
computer store, where most (or usually all) of the PCs available
come bundled with Windows. Of course, in such a situation you could
always try this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_refund
But it's far better to support the Linux market and buy a PC from a
company that specialises in a variety of operating systems. These
companies tend to be small operations, so you can easily get hold of
the staff and discuss ideas. Also, the people working there are
usually genuine Linux fans and geeks too, so you know you won't be
put forward to a call centre in Azerbaijan (after two hours on
hold), only to be told "try shutting it down and starting it again".
Here are some of the options:
# Emperor Linux - http://emperorlinux.com
One of the best-known Linux laptop vendors, Emperor has a good
reputation although their machines tend to be on the expensive side.
For instance, the cheapest laptop on offer at the moment is at 1235
US Dollars, while at the top end you have a beast that costs 5960
USD. Wowzers. Still, these are good machines - there are ThinkPads,
Panasonics and Sonys on offer, onto which Emperor have installed
Linux and tested the hardware. They ship around the world too.
# The Linux Emporium - http://www.linuxemporium.co.uk
The best-known Linux shop in the UK, and it has been running for many
years. Along with distros, books, clothing and other tidbits, they
sell Linux-powered PCs and laptops too. Currently they have a few
netbooks on offer, and prices are very reasonable, with a decently
specced Lenovo G550-4 clocking in at 542 UK Pounds.
# System76 - http://www.system76.com
Based in Colorado, USA, System76 has a good selection of desktops,
laptops and servers running Ubuntu. The site does a good job of
promoting the positives of Linux to home users and businesses, and
a support wiki provides heaps of links to useful information.
# Los Alamos Computers - http://laclinux.com
Serious business here. Los Alamos sells high-end machines to such
awesome sounding people as the NASA Jet Propulsion Lab. You probably
won't find much here if you're just looking for a home PC, but if
you're taking Linux into your business then there are some powerful
systems on offer.
# Marvin Computers - http://www.marvincomputers.co.uk
A new and small company in the UK, offering a limited selection of
chunky looking Linux PCs. You can also buy Ubuntu Advanced Desktop
Support at the same time, if you're new to Linux and you'd like top
quality support to hand.
# VG Computing - http://www.vgcomputing.com.au
Lastly, one for our readers down under. VG Computing is an Australian
firm and can do on-site installations in the Melbourne area. They
have a variety of PCs on offer, and can even do a live demonstration
of the features Linux includes - perhaps a good way to convince your
IT head-honcho that Linux is the way forward!
7. Coming up next issue
Linux Format 135, on sale Thursday 22 July...
# Firefox: fighting for survival? Can free software's biggest
success story take on the meteoric rise of Google Chrome?
# Free PHP mini-book! Everything you need to start programming
with the most popular language for the web.
# Hugin tips and tricks - Turn good photos into great photos
with free software and a bit of elbow grease
Contents are subject to change - the mysteries of life, eh!
8. Receiving this Newsletter
If you've been forwarded this Newsletter from someone else, and want
to sign up for future issues, just follow the steps below. Each
month you'll receive a sparkling new LXF Newsletter straight in your
Inbox, and the 30-second sign-up process is even easier than writing
Hello World in BASIC:
1. Go to the website forums and log in (or sign up first):
2. At the top of the main forum page, click on 'Usergroups'
3. Join the 'Newsletter' group, and you're done!
If for some reason you no longer wish to receive this newsletter
(which'll make the internet cry) you can opt-out like this:
1. Log into the LXF site and go to the forums
2. Click Usergroups at the top of the page
3. Select Newsletter and then View information
4. Click Unsubscribe next to 'You are a member...'
9. Contact details
If you have any questions or suggestions, please send them to the
Newsletter Editor at the address below:
Newsletter Editor: Mike Saunders -- firstname.lastname@example.com
Letters for the magazine: firstname.lastname@example.com
LXF website: http://www.linuxformat.com
Subscriptions: 0870 837 4722 (overseas +44 1858 438794)
Website subscription page: http://www.linuxformat.com/subscribe/
(C) 2010 Future Publishing Limited


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A Tecumseh, Neb.-native, Straube holds a 3.99 cumulative GPA in her course work leading to a degree in kinesiology. On the court, the two-time AVCA All-America honorable mention ranks eighth in the Big 12 this season with a .315 average. Straube finishes her career at Iowa State with a .300 average, just the second Cyclone in program history to hit .300.
Straube was also named the 2012 Big 12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year in the sport of volleyball.
To be eligible for Academic All-America® consideration, a student-athlete must be a varsity starter or key reserve, maintain a cumulative G.P.A. of 3.30 on a scale of 4.00, have reached sophomore athletic and academic standings at his/her current institution and be nominated by his/her sports information director.

subset: commoncrawl


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To access members-only content on cta.org, please sign in below.
Register Now
President David A. Sanchez released the following statement today about the lawsuit by the California School Boards Association, California PTA, and the Association of California School Administrators
BURLINGAME – "California educators know firsthand how the chronic underfunding of public schools is destroying the progress our students and schools are making and is denying a generation of children a real opportunity to succeed. CTA believes every child has the right to a quality public education and that California has a constitutional obligation to provide adequate funding to all schools.
"We are proud to support the goals of the lawsuit filed by the California School Boards Association, the Association of California School Administrators, and the California State PTA requiring state lawmakers to uphold their constitutional duty and design and implement a school finance system that provides all students equal access to a quality educational program.
"Three years ago, the comprehensive Getting Down to Facts research studies showed that California needed to spend 40 percent more—an additional $17 billion at that time—to ensure that all students were able to meet the state's rigorous academic standards. Since then, more than $17 billion has been cut from K-12 funding, showing that the state is definitely headed in the wrong direction.
"All students should have a right to attend schools with reasonable class sizes, qualified teachers and adequate resources. It's unfortunate that lawsuits must be filed because our governor and legislators have failed to fulfill their constitutional obligation and invest in our state's most important resource—our children."
The 325,000-member CTA is affiliated with the 3.2 million-member National Education Association.
Every child deserves a chance to learn and no child succeeds alone.
© 1999-


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3. Don't Let Acquisition Costs Get The Better Of You
If you're buying your way into the cloud, the cost of acquisition should be no more than 12 months' worth of margin for that particular company, assuming a contract of at least three years. That's according to MSPexcellence, an Andover, Mass.-based consultancy that specializes in business model transformation. Founders Todd Hussey and Dave Zwicker recommend that partners begin the conversion by assessing their strengths/weaknesses, next developing an objective, and then developing a road map that takes them from Point A to Point B. In addition, ideal customers need to be identified, and portfolios need to be developed, marketed and sold.


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It was the summer of '65. "Satisfaction" was blasting from the speakers of newly minted Mustangs and GTOs. Lyndon Johnson was in the White House and The New York World's Fair was offering a hope-filled but commercialized glance into the future.
It was that very future that Fred DeLuca was concerned about. Having just graduated from high school, young DeLuca turned his thoughts toward achieving a higher education. An education would no doubt be the key to success; the type of success that not even Fred himself dared to dream about. At this moment in time, a college education seemed as far-flung as the prospect of a man walking on the moon.
It was a typically hot and humid summer day in Bridgeport, Conn., when the DeLuca family's phone rang. Dr. Peter Buck, a family friend called to announce that he had changed jobs and was moving his family to Armonk, New York, only 40 miles away. It was time for celebration, indeed, for it had been almost a year since the Buck's and the DeLuca's parted company.
Plans were quickly made for a reunion. It was on that fateful Sunday afternoon in July, 1965, during a barbecue at the Buck's new home, that a business relationship was forged between young Fred DeLuca and Dr. Buck that would forever change the landscape of the fast food industry.
During the summer of '65, there wasn't that much hope that the eldest DeLuca child would have enough money to pay for his college tuition. He was a hard-working, competent and dependable young man but the $1.25-per-hour minimum wage job that he had at the local hardware store wouldn't begin to pay for an education.
As they pulled into the Buck's driveway, it occurred to Fred that perhaps he could ask Pete for some advice. He half expected Dr. Buck to offer to loan him the money. After all, they had known each other for years and when Pete would learn how badly Fred had wanted to go to college, to study to become a medical doctor, there might be a good chance that he would offer to help.
"I think you should open a submarine sandwich shop," said Buck.
"What? What an odd thing to say to a seventeen-year-old kid," thought Fred.
Before Fred could respond or express his surprise, he heard himself say, "How does it work?"
Pete explained the submarine sandwich business. He said that all one had to do was to rent a small store, build a counter, buy some food and open for business. Customers would come in, put money on the counter and Fred would have enough to pay for college. To Pete, it was just as simple as that, and if young Fred was willing to do it, Pete was willing to be his partner.
As the DeLuca's were getting ready to leave, Dr. Buck pulled out his checkbook and wrote a check for $1,000 ...


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The music business can be a place fraught with danger and problems at every turn. Not to mention the sheer belief in one's self and courage it takes to put yourself out there, into the mix of things, and into that dangerous environment! With that said, there always comes a point for most guitar players to finally make that decision that will take them into the real world of music. And this is something you'll have to do sooner or later! I have seen far too many brilliant players fall by the wayside from a lack of confidence, which holds them back from really taking the chances one must take if they expect to succeed.
I was very young, only 18, when I actually moved to Woodstock to begin my musical career in earnest. And this came after playing the guitar for 8 years already, and also having gigged in and around the Woodstock, NY, Philadelphia and New York City areas for 3 solid years. I certainly wasn't lacking for confidence, and already felt that I had something "new" and different to bring to the table in regards to the world of music, and more specifically, the guitar. So, before I knew it, I was jumping onstage to play with many famous musicians in and around Woodstock, such as Paul Butterfield, Happy and Artie Traum, Eric Andersen, John Sebastian and the like. It wasn't all roses of course. It was a trying time for me, also. I was there, with a tiny apartment, didn't drive yet, had to hitch-hike everywhere or catch rides with friends, and the band that I supposedly moved up there to be in, quickly disbanded, as we couldn't deal with the ego of the guy who really just wanted to make our group his own "back-up" band!
So, with not much else really happening for me, I ended up moving back home to the Bronx, and after having tasted "real" professional music and players, had to settle back into being part of a pretty bad "cover" band that was just doing whatever gig we could find….and some of them downright unbelievable!
Still, in retrospect, I even look back on that rather dark period as a learning experience, and even though I was playing a lot of music I thought was pretty lousy, it helped teach me about just that; being able to play well and to be creative even within music that was less than appealing for me! It also has so much to do with the players you are working with, and how you get along. Several band members knew I had much more talent than them, but mostly they seemed to be glad I was there, since I elevated the entire band with my abilities, and helped them all to play better! There was probably an underlying envy as well, but they were smart enough to know that if they had started to give me a hard time, I would've just left.
As it was, Woodstock and the "bigger" music business still beckoned, and I ended up doing so much work that was based in Woodstock after that that it didn't matter that I didn't live there again; folks strongly associated me with that scene since I was recording and touring with so many Woodstock-based artists!
So, if you've got the talent, and especially the will, you'll see that if you're willing to get "out there" and really show your stuff it'll eventually pay off, and the waters of your true career will eventually be able to seek their correct, and deserved level!


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For many, the struggle for freedom from abuse begins on the playground. The Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights has a new effort to address bullying in schools. Kerry Kennedy is the president of the organization and the daughter of the late Robert F. Kennedy. She speaks with host Michel Martin.
Kerry Kennedy: Bullying Is A Human Rights Issue
By editor • Jan 16, 2012


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Discussion in 'The Bar' started by dawg, Jan 8, 2013.
Good afternoon to you too Dawg. Way to lighten the mood!
Nobody wants to disarm homeowners. Just keep assault weapons out of the hands of psychos. There is a difference.
Dawg, I bet you're a big Glenn Beck listener.
Quack he says
Bingo. Dawg and others are misguided on this issue
so the nigg..I mean perpetrators got away?
The gun lobby wants you to believe the left wants to take away your guns. This just isn't true. It's a lie to keep gun owners up in arms and to distract the country from real issues.
Common sense dictates there should be tighter gun control to curb these mass killings and I believe that most people have common sense and want this.
The NRA says the answer is more guns which goes against common sense.
Keep up the propaganda Dawg. You're doing the NRA proud.
And the more the NRA fights common sense gun control laws the more they look extreme and out of touch to mainstream America. Like that douchebag they had give a press conference a couple weeks ago arguing that more guns in schools were the answer. They are becoming their own worst enemy.
The Left does want to take away guns. Just look at the proposed bills they are putting together. A national database, mandatory registration with the local police dept. The 2nd Amendment is to protect citizens from a tyrannical government and allows citizens to take up arms to defend themselves. A ban on "assault weapons" and large capacity clips is just the beginning.
Dawg, I wish I could find the article but a couple weeks back there was a newspaper in a New York town that listed all of the registered gun owners' addresses in the paper.
Mexicans don't need guns for home protection. Ever try to rob a house with 50 people living in it?
A lot of police departments also want a ban on guns. It's about power. If the left and the police take away your right to bear arms they have all the power and can do whatever they want. That's a worst case scenario of course but things are trending that way. They should study the triggers to abhorrent behavior and develop strategies to help and diagnose mentally ill people instead of a knee-jerk reaction to take away the guns. Chicago has one of if not the strictest gun laws in the country but the murder rate is sky high.
The weed lobby wants you to believe the left wants to take away your weed. This just isn't true. It's a lie to keep pot smokers up in arms and to distract the country from real issues.
Common sense dictates there should be tighter pot control to curb these hippies and I believe that most people have common sense and want this.
NORML says the answer is more pot which goes against common sense.
Keep up the propaganda Dawg. You're doing NORML proud
Dawg did you see Alex Jones on Piers Morgan? What did you think of it?
Speaking as someone more or less "from the left," the hysteria around the spate of mass shootings we've had has less to do with guns and gun control and more to do with the abysmal state our mental health care is in this country.
Until we take seriously the problem we have with the millions of mentally ill, undiagnosed, unmedicated/untreated, we will continue to see events like these.
it's not guns, folks. it's the people who have access to them.
Dawg, you ever belong to M.E.Ch. A.?


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Operation Army Truck, Part 2Posted in Vehicle Reviews on October 26, 2004
Last month we showed you how we brought home a Chevy army truck we found on the Government Liquidation Web site (www.govliquidation.com). After some suspension and tire work, we were that much closer to having a quality daily-driven wheeler. Now the plans for this truck are to make it a happy, healthy work truck that can also take us exploring in the backwoods and local trails.
In this episode we address a few more issues of the truck. Some of these parts are definitely overkill, and others are just insurance. When building a daily driver and weekend wheeler, it is often important that you not only make it down the trail, but also make it home, and still have a running vehicle to drive to work on Monday. As such, we wanted parts that could help the truck out of tricky situations, almost insure against breakage, safely store tools (in case we need to help out our buddies), and make our truck a little nicer to cruise down the road.
Gale Banks Sidewinder Turbo
After cruising the truck in L.A. traffic, we felt the 6.2 diesel was way underpowered. Since we desired to at least be able to pass some of the guys from VW Trends, we looked into some more mojo for the oil burner. Gale Banks Engineering was contacted and with the help of the guys from All Time Gas & Diesel Repair, we soon had a Sidewinder Turbo system installed. Truth be told, it was like driving a new truck. The power was noticeable, and we could finally cruise with traffic. This is a great choice if you plan on keeping the diesel because it makes the truck much more livable. On the other hand, if you want gobs of tire-spinning torque and insane horsepower, then you should just plan on an engine swap, since the 6.2, even with the turbo, is still quite a few horses short of a big-block.


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Monday, January 12, 2009
What is Steamy, Sexy, and Autism?
Until then, we're running a contest of our own. In the comments, I want you to write your very best steamy G to PG-13 rated one or two-liner. Come on, Twilight fans, I know you have one tucked away somewhere…
I'll kick it off…
His oversized hand pressed gently against the small of her back as he dipped her in his arms, staring deep into her hungry eyes. He pressed his lips firmly against hers in a passionate embrace that spoke of their enduring love and unwavering loyalty to one another.
(If this were a scene taken from my life, which it isn't, the next line would read something like this…Suddenly there was a loud banging on the bedroom door. Mooooooooooom! Judd threw his sippy cup at me!")
12 comments:
- Bo and Nell said...
LOL!!! That happens at our house too! No privacy!!!
- January 12, 2009 at 10:24 AM
- Kim Stagliano said...
I could feel his breath on my neck in that quiet moment between night and morning. I sighed with pleasure as he straddled me, "Kim, I'll hop out bed, make the coffee and take Bella to the toilet. You sleep in for another half hour."
(And now you know why I don't write erotica!)
Come enter the contest!
- January 12, 2009 at 11:06 AM
- Leeann said...
Bo and Nell - you know the story...book the flight to Hawaii!
OH, MY that is NICE, KIM!! I'm shaking in my seat while brushing tears from my face. I want to read more!
I've entered the contest and now I'm headed to Amazon to order a copy since I'm pretty sure my chances of winning are slim :)
- January 12, 2009 at 11:54 AM
- Kim Stagliano said...
Leeann, you know how when the bed is full of kids and you have to straddle someone to get OVER them to get out of bed??? THAT. Kimmy don't write sex. Blame the Dominican nuns....
- January 12, 2009 at 12:20 PM
- Leeann said...
Kim - Sure. Uh Huh.
- January 12, 2009 at 4:24 PM
- Kim Stagliano said...
Oh I'm serious! If I were writing erotica or romance, it would be horrible and contain the dated phrase, "swollen member." And it would still be horrible. I should quit while I'm behind, huh?
- January 12, 2009 at 4:35 PM
- Sorenson Family said...
I could barely get through Twilight, so here goes:
He gave her a wink as he loaded the last dish in the dishwasher and said, now where's that laundry that needs to be done? :)
Are you so turned on right now? haha
- January 13, 2009 at 10:07 PM
- Kim Stagliano said...
Whoo! Pass me a cold cloth! I love him! :)
- January 14, 2009 at 2:20 PM
- Leeann said...
Oooh. Pass the cold cloth down...
Sorenson, you've just won one of my precious recycled cotton balls to use to clean your face.
We could patch together one raunchy novel. With pictures of our shirtless husbands vacuuming the house, then washing our hair.
- January 14, 2009 at 4:56 PM
- Kim Stagliano said...
CAn I write the scene with the giant poop placed on the edge of the tub and the child standing up in the water saying, "yucky."??? And my husband and I sharing an intimate moment of laughter while staring at this monster poop.
Oh yeah. Romance....
word ver? MateScut. I kid you not.
- January 15, 2009 at 8:20 AM
- Holly said...
Leeann, this comment has NOTHING to do with this post. I'm commenting anyway! After your post a while back about listening to Holiday by Greenday while you ran, I had my husband put it on my ipod. I usually start my music list over every time I run but this morning I started where I left off on Wednesday's run. Eventually, Holiday began playing. It was GREAT. I'm so glad you mentioned it - it is perfect for running and it made me think of you!
- January 16, 2009 at 8:40 PM
- Fishin' Ponds said...
So I read your blog yesterday, and thought most of the day about something I could write. I came up with the greatest paragraph about about 5:30 this morning after I fed Lachlan and couldn't go to sleep...but I forgot it!! So, I'll have to keep working on it.
- January 17, 2009 at 5:57 PM


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May 12, 2008
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - Junior Tiffany Wright earned Big West Player of the Week honors for the second consecutive week and for the third time this season after helping lead the Gauchos to a series win over Cal State Fullerton this past weekend.
The outfielder opened the series against the Titans with a 3-for-4 effort with two runs and a stolen base in the Gauchos' 8-5 win. During Friday's nightcap, she once again went 3-for-4 with a home run, three RBI, and a double in a 10-6 loss.
Wright rounded out the series with a 3-for-5 showing in the final game of the season. She posted a double, a home run, and a career-high five RBI. Her home run marked the 12th of the season and the 23rd of her career, tying Tonya Dias' UCSB record of 23 career home runs.
For the series, the junior batted .692 (9-for-13) with two home runs, eight RBI, four runs scored, and a pair of doubles.
Wright batted .350 overall this season across all 54 of the Gauchos' games. She led the team with 40 runs, 15 doubles, and 113 total bases. She was second on the team with 40 RBI. She was especially impressive in Big West games, leading the conference in batting average (.487), slugging percentage (.947), runs scored (23), hits (37), RBI (26), doubles (8), home runs (9), and total bases (72). She ended the season amidst an eight-game hitting streak.
The 2008 Gauchos finished the season with a 30-24 overall record, marking just the fifth 30-win season in program history and the second consecutive. They posted a Big West record of 13-8, good for second place, their best finish since 2004 when they tied Cal State Northridge for second with a 14-7 record.


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Practice and Pedagogy as Research
23 December 2013
Engaging with theoretical concerns in dance
What are the advantages of dancers and dance teachers taking time out to study for a Masters Degree in dance? With a range of MA/MFA courses on offer that can appear potentially expensive, time-consuming and intellectually challenging, how might the benefits of engaging in questions about the dancing body be ascertained? Is there a need to examine philosophical, historical, political and analytical perspectives on dance, and to be a 'thinking' practitioner? The eight different MA courses offered by the University of Roehampton's Dance Department1 are suitable for all types of dancers, dance teachers, and those deeply interested in dance, helping to situate individual dance exploration in the broader context of dance history and theory. They have grown rapidly into a distinctive academic discipline in the UK and internationally, and offer theoretical and embodied arenas in which to explore the practice of movement and spectatorship through a complex network of historical, philosophical, analytical and political perspectives on dance.
The discussion was held at ISTD2 on 13 September 2013. Professional dancers who had selected to take one of these post-graduate dance courses: the South Asian Dance MA, reflected on the issues they faced as they engaged in a year's intensive study, focused on their own discipline. They considered whether studying at MA level had helped them rethink their own practice and performance and whether it changed the way they look at dance and approach their own work. They also questioned, having completed the MA, whether they engaged differently with audiences, with programmers, in writing grant applications, and considered whether they incorporated more theoretical/academic issues into their classes. The range of dance modules offered at MA level, outside the usual frame of Indian dance such as dance anthropology or creative practice, were also discussed and their value to classical Indian dance practitioners noted.
"The course enabled them to look at the historical heritage forms they had been taught and to examine them with a fresh perspective"
For some of those dancers choosing the MA in South Asian Dance, developed in 2005 by Avanthi Meduri, that "rethinks Indian arts production within a global framework" (Meduri 2013), the course enabled them to look at the historical heritage forms they had been taught and to examine them with a fresh perspective. "The MA modules helped me rethink my own practice and shifted my historical perception of Bharatanatyam. The anthropology and ballet modules were also helpful in this", noted dancer Shrikant Subramaniam. He told me how he constantly raises new questions in his own choreography – interrogating gender issues, experimenting with the use of narrative, considering movement content and text, and thinking how to engage differently with UK audiences – and especially as a Classical Indian dancer.
After completing her dance MA, Kathak dancer and ISTD's Classical Indian Dance Faculty committee member Urja Desai Thakore, commented that, "I understand my dance practice better by being able to analyse and to break things down; it informs my work by merging theory and practice. The way I think and approach things has changed". She emphasised how she now feels confident to take risks and not to fear failure – an element she passes onto the students she teaches. She reminds them, "it's not enough to learn to dance, you have to think about it as well". Urja is comfortable with her students asking questions (an element still not part of some traditional classical teaching) and suggests to them that they should take additional contemporary dance classes if they need or wish to, in order to widen their movement vocabulary and approach. Pushing students out of their comfort zone is another aspect of her pedagogic approach, something which emerged from her own learning process. "I'm not afraid to work with areas I'm not comfortable with. I learnt this in the Practice as Research modules on the MA. It was an extremely liberating experience of breaking the usual boundaries of the classical form," she confirmed.
Confidence in writing and articulating dance practice are some of the key factors learnt through the MA, noted another practitioner Divya Kasturi; trained in both Kathak and Bharatanatyam. She recounted how grant applications no longer daunted her and how she felt confident to write about dance, rather than simply being able to verbalise issues and questions. Having the MA indicates to her students that there is much more to being a dancer, and demonstrates a broader scope of dance understanding, setting an excellent example for them. She is careful how she articulates the history of Bharatanatyam in her classes, having been informed through the wide range of scholarly reading on the subject and the discussion during the MA courses. In addition to this, "the concept of 'ethnoscapes' from anthropologist Arjun Appadurai really excites me and is something I'm always thinking about," she later told me. [Divya Kasturi (who has little ones as students) has also been in touch with the CIF committee regarding working with the ISTD curriculum]
As these students indicate, the South Asian Dance Masters course encourages students to consider Indian/Asian cultural production within a global modernity and diaspora perspective, exploring the complex interconnections between aesthetics, politics, identity, arts policies and community. The course offers new perspectives for work in the global field of cultural production as cultural entrepreneurs, arts managers, culture curators, and writers, as well as furthering artistic performance careers. It equips students to reflect on their experiences, develop creative ideas and acquire a critical perspective on dance practice in a global outlook.
Of the three dancers mentioned above, one travelled from India to study for the MA and after completing the course, has worked consistently in the UK with one of the main South Asian arts organisations in performance-making and teaching. The other two dancers had well-established UK (and international) performance careers and experience of gaining Arts Council (ACE) grants. One now runs her own dance company and both continue to be successful in their artistic pursuits. Each has worked with Roehampton researchers as mentors for their ACE Research and Development projects. All of this is indicative of the symbiosis between practice and research and of the rich relationships that are fruitful to both researchers and practitioners. The questions raised here are also pertinent to those considering taking the ISTD's DDI/DDE (Levels 3 & 4 Diploma in Dance Education) or progressing from the CAT to the ISTD. Dance qualifications such as these embody the heart of the association between research and practice – a place where theoretical concerns and performative enquiry can inform each other and where new understanding and a development of thinking about the dancing body may be realised.
Ann David


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Skip to comments.Record-breaking storm closes US federal government
Posted on 12/21/2009 9:33:34 AM PST by NormsRevenge
WASHINGTON (AFP) The federal government was closed Monday after a record-breaking snowstorm swept across the northeastern United States and put a damper on one of the biggest shopping weekends of the year.
Just days before Christmas, the eastern seaboard from North Carolina to New England was digging out from the worst blizzard in years, which closed train and bus service, paralyzed air traffic, crippled motorists and left hundreds of thousands of residents without power in some areas.
Americans pining for a white Christmas got more than they bargained for, with local officials urging residents to hunker down indoors as record snowfall wreaked havoc on roadways.
And with the roads and transportation in disarray, many churches canceled Sunday services and some schools planned closures ahead of the December 25 holiday.
Commuters faced uncertainty on Monday, as the region struggled to clear persistent snow and ice. Federal agencies and local jurisdictions were closed, with all workers except emergency employees excused from work.
In Washington, crews worked throughout the night to restore service to the Metrorail system, de-icing tracks and digging train cars out of the snow in rail yards.
The storm was a blow to the already reeling retail sector, which had been counting on cash registers ringing loudly on "Super Saturday" -- traditionally the busiest shopping day of the year -- to make up for weeks of lackluster sales.
"I think we can safely say that sales in the Washington region were crippled," National Retail Federation vice president Ellen Davis told AFP.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
How about a headline ya'll never see?
Gubamint runs out of dough, cuts spending drastically
Not even a major blow can keep the Dems from their relentless agenda.
Operation Barbarossa II. The Senate prepares to push the Union over the edge into a deep abyss. Future casualties be damned. General Reid doesn't care.
It didn't close it soon enough or hard enough, too bad there weren't a bunch of frozen stiffs in the senate.
People walk through the snow-covered National Mall in Washington, DC. The federal government was closed Monday after a record-breaking snowstorm swept across the northeastern United States and put a damper on one of the biggest shopping weekends of the year. (AFP/Nicholas Kamm)
Need more storms.
bushes fault....
Monumental snow storm : Snow covers the Marine Corps War Memorial
in Arlington, Virginia. (AFP/Karen Bleier)
Somehow, I think it has to be Bush's fault, but the best news I've heard in a while.
Did everyone notice that the MSM did not give us the usual 2 day doom and gloom for us to run out and empty the shelves of bread and milk?
They couldnt let a blizzard interrupt Presbo's global warming speech.
Thank GOD for good news, for a change.
We need a mighty storm of outraged Americans.
We need a mighty storm of outraged Americans.
I'm thinking a big fat lightning bolt...
The REAL storm to shut down the current government is still 3 years away.
Hey obama we'll fix your wagon!!!! The wheels will fall off you re election!!!
They closed government because they didn't want to hear from the record breaking storm of people that want them arrested and prosecuted.
It looks like divine intervention may be our only remaining hope...
For one day, we were safe.
Then the solution is to move the federal government to Little America.
Quick! Weld the doors shut so they can't come back to work!!!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.


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JANESVILLE (WIFR) -- As another winter winds toward spring and individuals slowly let go of New Year's resolutions geared toward maintaining a healthier lifestyle, Blackhawk Technical College (BTC) officials are stepping in to remind area residents that simple changes can make a big difference in their lives. On March 20, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., BTC will host its 10th annual Health Fair on the central campus within the north commons (6004 S. Cty Road G, Janesville, WI).
"This free event is a wonderful way to provide area residents with access to life-saving information and screenings, in an effort to help them make better health decisions," said Colleen Koerth, Employment Specialist and member of the Health and Wellness Committee. "Too many people take their health for granted and don't make time to take care of themselves."
According to BTC's Health and Wellness Committee, attendees will be able to gather information and experience some hands-on demonstrations done by area health vendors including relaxation techniques and chair massages, blood pressure checks, samples of natural and organic foods, flexibility assessments, dental health information, BMI monitoring, Zumba demos, herbal medicines and a variety of sports and fitness programs.
Although admission is free, attendees are encouraged to bring in their extra canned goods. A collection will be set up at the event for a local food pantry. All participants that bring in at least one canned good will be entered into a special drawing for an entertainment package. In addition to the vendors and food collection, BTC officials will also be awarding a number of door prizes and gift certificates throughout the day.
Area businesses and organizations that will be presenting a booth and donating a door prize are: a glo Spa & Salon, Agrace Hospice Care, AIDS Network, Alzheimer's Support Center of Rock County, Anytime Fitness, Basics Cooperative, Beloit Health System, BioLife Plasma Services, Chiropractic Care Center of Beloit, SC, Community Action, Consumer Credit Counseling, Dean Health System, Edgerton Hospital, First Choice Women's Health Center / Wisconsin Well Woman Program, Fit Pro Services/Advocare, Janesville Leisure Services, Janesville Mobilizing 4 Change, Jazzercise, Karate America, LG Wellness Consulting, Mary Kay Cosmetics, Mercy Health Systems, NAMI of Rock County, Nutrition and Health Associates, Rock County Cancer Coalition, Rock County Health Department, SARP, Second Harvest Food Bank, Tastefully Simple, True Laser Ltd., Upper Iowa University-Blackhawk Ctr., YMCA of Northern Rock County, Yoga Plus, YWCA of Rock County and a variety of BTC programs.
"Blackhawk Technical College is a major part of this community," added Koerth. "If this event helps one person make healthier choices, then we've achieved our goal."
For more information about the BTC Health Fair, go to Blackhawk.edu or contact firstname.lastname@example.com.


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Who oversees the implementation of the Campus Master Plan?
What happened to the fraternities situated behind the library?
Who developed the Campus Master Plan?
What will the architecture look like?
When will the Campus Master Plan be fully implemented?
How is Bucknell funding the new facilities and related infrastructure?
What about recent Bucknell projects in downtown Lewisburg?
While not part of the official Campus Master Plan, the University has invested resources in several downtown properties that strengthen the relationship between Bucknell and Lewisburg.
The following links are virtual breadcrumbs marking the 27 most recent pages you have visited in Bucknell.edu. If you want to remember a specific page forever click the pin in the top right corner and we will be sure not to replace it. Close this message.


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I grew up in a sports family. We watched sports, talked about sports, played sports. Essentially, we lived sports. And while I could never quite figure out how to hit a baseball or stomach the physicality of tackle football, I reveled in the rare combination of intensity and grace presented in the sport of basketball. I took to the Duke Blue Devils and Chicago Bulls, two teams that defined the '90s. The talent and execution of those teams made me fall in love with the sport.
It's a sport I understood quickly. Although I was never a gifted athlete by any stretch of the imagination, I started playing it at five years old, and it's still far and away my favorite thing to do to this day. It's a stress reliever on several different levels for me.
But that's not really the point. The point is that growing up in California, I've only ever known one style of play. That style of play involves the single greatest addition to organized basketball since Dr. Naismith hung up the peach baskets in Springfield, Massachusetts all those years ago — the shot clock.
The shot clock was first incorporated into organized basketball in 1954. Then Syracuse Nationals owner Danny Biasone experimented with a 24-second clock in his teams' scrimmages. The NBA then adopted that clock for the following season, and it changed the game of basketball forever.
In the 1953-54 season, the last without a shot clock, NBA teams averaged 79 points per game. In the first season of the clock's incorporation, that shot up to 93 points per game. And by the time teams were used to the clock and how to use it to their advantage, the league average shot up yet again to 107 points per game in 1957-58.
The NCAA took another 20-plus years to adopt the clock to the women's game. They eventually settled on a 30-second clock for the women's games in 1970-71. Fifteen years went by before the men adopted a 45-second shot clock in 1985-86, following a string of embarrassingly low scoring games and slow, unentertaining play. That clock was taken down to 35 seconds in 1993-94, which is where it remains today.
OK, so back to California. California is one of eight states that currently mandate a shot clock in high school basketball. In my experience, this creates for originality on offense. Teams are required to design plays for quicker scores, making the game more entertaining for spectators and more action-packed for the players.
When players are pushing the pace and forcing the issue to score quickly, it also forces their development. It's no coincidence that five of the eight states with a mandated shot clock — California, New York, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Washington — produce some of the most highly recruited, efficient high school basketball players in the country. The shot clock plays a huge role in developing a player's ability to create and make shots in a more pressurized environment.
Call me naïve, but at halftime on the night I covered my first Iowa basketball game, I asked a nearby parent, "Where is the shot clock?"
I was dumbfounded when he responded, "There isn't one."
This is a concept that I had never even had a second thought about. And as I watched the Newton girls' basketball team forced to start fouling down only two points with over a minute and a half remaining, I pondered why they would allow this to continue. This should have been the point in the game during which the Cardinals turned up the defensive intensity and forced their opponents to make a play, but instead, they had to foul because the only alternative was to let the clock run out.
I spoke to Newton coach Brandon Sharp about the matter. He is only a couple of years removed from playing at the college level, and it's clear that playing with a shot clock is something he is comfortable with.
"I'm used to having a shot clock after playing at the college level, and I'm definitely in favor of it. I think it requires more strategy, and it would make the end of games, in particular, much more interesting," Sharp said. "We play a lot of disciplined teams who like to hold the ball and wait for their shot. I love the idea, and I think it would force teams to pick up the pace on offense. It's something that would absolutely favor us."
Sharp is the youngest coach of a Class 4A team in Iowa history, which might imply there is a generational divide when it comes to the issue.
However, the notion of a shot clock also received support from longtime Prairie City-Monroe coach Fred Lorensen. Lorensen basically built the PCM basketball program from the ground up, and his 20-plus years of coaching high school basketball give him a unique insight into how the game is played. His teams have had incredible success without one. Yet, he still supports the incorporation of a 35-second clock.
"I would love to see a shot clock put into use. I'm not big on teams that hold the ball and slow down the pace of play. I think teams do rely on slowing the game down too much," Lorensen said. "Basketball is a game in which your players need to get into a flow, and holding the ball halts that to a certain degree. I think it would require teams to use more strategy at the end of games rather than being able to count on fouls with 2-3 minutes left. So, I definitely think it would have a positive affect on the game."
On the other hand, there are issues standing in the way of a state-wide shot clock mandate. It would cost some money to bring in shot clocks to so many different schools. Also, there would be added pressure on the clock operator to operate the newly introduced technology.
Lynnville-Sully girls' basketball coach Jerry Hulsing has run a largely successful program since he inherited the team in the early 1990s, winning several state championships and essentially establishing a high school dynasty. He expressed opposition to the idea of a shot clock.
"I don't see a strong need for a shot clock in our game. I don't see a lot of teams taking too long on offense or holding the ball too much. I think it promotes the players taking worse shots, quicker," Hulsing said. "It also places added pressure on the players and requires coaches to alter their styles to draw up more 'quick hitters' on offense. There's also the added financial burden of getting the clock and having to teach someone how to use it."
My contention to coach Hulsing was that a shot clock, most importantly, takes the game out of the coach's hands and puts it more on the players. Despite his opposition, Hulsing did agree that a shot clock would alter how coaches affect the end of games.
"That is definitely something to consider," he said. "Late game situations would change in terms of strategy and how a coach might operate at the end of a close game."
I understand coach Hulsing's concerns, and to a large degree I agree that most teams do not hold the ball longer than the 30 or 35-second clock. However, my argument remains the most important thing about the clock is it requires teams to strategize more at the end of the game.
I covered plenty of games this season in which a shot clock might have changed the outcome. Those games could have been more exciting right up to the end.
A shot clock promotes excitement and places more emphasis on in-game skill. That exhilaration and exhibition of skill is what made me to fall in love with the game. I would be surprised to hear any basketball coach, fan or player dispute that.


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MINNEAPOLIS -- We're back from the Miami Dolphins locker room and I guess I could start typing a bunch of quotes that would give you the mood of the team following today's 14-10 victory over the Vikings.
But as you know, a picture is worth a thousand words. So consider the following video posted at Jeff Darlington's website as your view of the happenings in the happy locker room of a 2-0 Miami team:


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Now we just need to make some atomic-scale chickens...
Ohhh, this is deep. I wish I had some mod points now. I usually don't spend them on "funny", but this one deserves one.
Well we'd better hope this guy [southparkstudios.com] doesn't get his hands on any sub-atomic wire cutters or the atomic scale chickens will be in for a bit of non-consensual electron injection.
I guess you'd end up with human-chicken allotropes.
These films are the closest we have come to superconductors at room temperature.
Isn't it likely that further refinements will only marginally improve the effectiveness? Unless it is really close to being a room-temperature superconductor already, I don't see them achieving their goal with graphene.
I had thought that that slogan was about accidents caused by drunk drivers, but now that you mention it, I see it can also lead to longer non-stop travel.
We just need to deal with the minor issue of designing a domestic power supply that can deliver the 50-100KWh needed to charge such a vehicle within 5 minutes. How do you deliver power at half megawatt rates over domestic wiring? (That's 5000A at 110V for you guys over in the States)....
5 minutes is probably a bit unrealistic at the moment, but with an electric-based transportation system, we wouldn't have to adhere to current "refueling" patterns. with gasoline/diesel, you need expensive fuel storage & distribution facilities like gas stations, because gasoline has to be shipped by trucks and is somewhat dangerous to store.
electricity is much cheaper to transport (just send it across electric lines, which are already in place and relatively cheap to build/maintain), does not need to be stored at refueling stations, and requires minimal equipment to distribute. so charging stations could be set up anywhere where there is electricity (which is pretty much everywhere)--you just need to install a socket that the vehicle can be plugged into.
so whereas people currently have to drive to a gas station to refuel, electric vehicles could be charged wherever & whenever they're parked. there could be a handful of quick-charging stations around town where you go if you need your car charged immediately. but otherwise, people could simply charge their batteries while their car is parked at work, at home, or even at the mall or the grocery store.
i mean, how many hours a day are you actually driving your car? i'd guess that most people have their cars parked close to 80-90% of the time on most days. that's 19-21 hours a day that your car would spend charging. if at home you only have access to a 7kW power supply, and at work you have a 15kW power supply, you should never have to spend any time actually waiting for your batteries to charge.
that would be a good idea if they could get them down to a reasonable size. i mean, a 90 lbs girl girl/woman isn't going to be able to change a 77 lbs battery (that's just a single cell--most cars would require at least 10 of these) on her own.
but i agree with you, battery modules should definitely be standardized, and swapping out dead batteries for charged ones would be a good way to get around long charge times. but right now weight makes that a little impractical. and if we can just make charging outlet
> We just need to deal with the minor issue of designing a domestic power supply that can
> deliver the 50-100KWh needed to charge such a vehicle within 5 minutes.
You use hyperconductive (not superconductive) graphene cables. There are many applications other than the trendy ones for extremely high-conductivity materials.
That's 5000A at 110V for you guys over in the States
We do have 220V (really 240V), just not to your typical outlet. 240V is reserved for large appliances such as stoves, clothes dryers, window-mounted air conditioners, and water heaters. We have what are called Split-phase [wikipedia.org] systems. A typical residential outlet is 120V@15A max, but 20A outlets are available.
Space elevator, anyone?
So you're saying we could build these capacitors, overload them, and use the resultant explosion to propel objects into space along an elevator? BRILLIANT!
Any idea how much energy or power it could store relative to the best Lithium Ion battery or eeStor one?
Also how strong is it? One atom layer of the stuff is visible (~2% absorbs light), but how strong is that layer. Could I prod it with my finger, and it would stay together?
> Actually, making capacitors that small would depend just as much on a "superinsulator"
> as it would on the graphene. Do we have one of those?
Yes. The bilayer in supercapacitors.
Isn't it likely that further refinements will only marginally improve the effectiveness? Unless it is really close to being a room-temperature superconductor already, I don't see them achieving their goal with graphene.
It hasn't been shown to be superconducting but its conductivity is orders of magnitude better than silicon (which comprises most of a computer chip -- even the interconnects). I don't think anyone is thinking superconductor applications but rather a silicon successor kind of thing that is evolutionary rather than revolutionary.
Well, superconductors have zero resistivity. Very smallish tiny amounts aren't zero.
Several characteristics of a superconductor depend on the resistivity being exactly zero.
Superconducting does not just mean very low resistance. It means unique magnetic properties as well. Graphene is not a high temperature superconductor. It is a very good conductor, thats all.
Superconducting does not just mean very low resistance. It means unique magnetic properties as well. Graphene is not a high temperature superconductor. It is a very good conductor, thats all.
This is not correct. The magnetic properties are derived from the resistance. Superconductor does not mean low resistance it means zero resistance (or significantly near).
Isn't 1x1 cm already big enough to form an entire CPU chip when each transistor is only 1x10 atoms?
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080417142452.htm [sciencedaily.com]
The South Korean method sounds like a build-up or additive process, to create a small graphene sheet. The Manchester transistor sounds like a subtractive process, to cut electron channels out of the graphene mesh. So can't they do each in order, and start making prototype atom-scale CPU's now? I guess they haven't figured out how to make the subtract
Maybe we can finally create more powerful chips using this as a substrate
New from Frito-Lays, it's Power Chips!!!
Forget energy drinks, coffee, and soda; just one serving of Power Chips, made with our patented potato-graphene substrate, and you won't need to sleep for a week!
Can it replace copper for wires?
> Can it replace copper for wires?
Maybe (but aluminum can do that). An inexpensive material with a few orders of maginitude higher conductivity than copper or aluminum would have enormous economic impact, far beyond electronics.
A small disclaimer: i am working with low-temperature supercondutors, but i only use them in an application, i am not researching these.
That said, i state my opinion from somebody who want to build sth out of superconductors: The hunt for a room temperature SC has consumed a lot of attention, money, and research time. It would be better to stop focusing on searching for a RT superconductor, and to stop telling everybody you want to do so. In 90% of the cases other properties of the SC prevent its widespread use. That is, because during the last 20 years cooling technology has made great progress. Nowadays, you can buy "press a button and a few hours later you are at 100mK" systems of the shelf, as well as hand held pulse coolers going down to 5K. For most applications, where superconductors would replace normal condutors, cooling is a big issue with normal conductors already. E.g. high field coils build with normal technolody consume incredible amounts of cooling water, which make cooling the same mass to a lower temperature, but much lower cooling power a very favorable idea. In electronics, air conditioners of computing centers now are already big.
While i believe that graphene is one of the very promising new materials, i dont see it application as superconductor soon. My suggestion for the community would be not to blow out too much research time of this, but focus on the unique properties of the material. If as a byproduct, it turns out to a good SC, it will take 10-15more years to develop applications using it. Moreover, the continuous fantasy of the room temperature SC has worn off a lot of its glory since the first discoveries of HTSCs. The possible disappointment in funding agencies associated with even mentioning this is a dangerous thing. Otherwise i believe whatever you can with graphene, there is a load of really fascinating new physics to be done. But first telling "hey we are close to a room temperature SC" may take the attention of the referee and when reviewing you results, he may say: "you did not do what you promised" instead of "fascinating new science you did!". That is, because the referee is selected to be matching the field of the project. Would i work on graphene mono layers i would prefer to have a senior 2DEG guy as a referee instead on of the HT brewing alchemists (sorry, this is note meant negative - it just honors the fact that the HTC experimentalists are still out in the dark, because theorists did not yet come up with a conclusive theory...., most experimentalist in the field do great experiments with combining really cool analysis methods with great care and use a systematic way of exploring the parameter space of HTC materials, which is fascinating. I am not patient enough to do that.) .
As you have stated in your small disclaimer: you don't research HTSC and you're probably missing an important piece of the puzzle which would help you understand why they're researching this application. This new method of production has the potential of lowering the costs of researching graphene applications overall, not only HTSCs. There's little you can do to change the focus of a research community if you're not at least ONE of the following two:
I got that it is about a new method of producing it. The summary was simple enough to get it. I disagree completely with the direction of research, i just wondered about that off all the wonderful things you could think of to do with such a special material as graphene, room temperature SCs are mentioned that prominently.
And comment has a little bit strange tone, like i stepped on somebody's feet. Would we make the ability to change something by direct influence to a measure for posting a comment on slashd
And comment has a little bit strange tone, like i stepped on somebody's feet.
I didn't mean to sound like that and I blame the text-only medium. (mostly but not entirely)
My point is, you shouldn't dismiss the insight of people who actually do the research, in my opininon. If they say that graphene has the potential to be an HTSC (which they don't BTW), then there may be something to it. Even if they won't succeed in developing an HTSC they may be able to use their acquired knowledge of the material to other purposes. The benefits of research are unpredictable but they're always there
I refer you to the following comment. It may point you to the right direction (namely that all the time that a researcher says "non dissipative transport", there is a risk that all which will be understood about his great research will be "something like a room temperature SC"):
http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=1095855&cid=26506645 [slashdot.org]
And about people doing research and having insight: I listen very careful if people from other areas of solid state physics talk to me about my subject - they may tell you h
Graphene is not (at all) a RT superconductor. It's a room temperature quantum conductor with zero-mass relativistic charge carriers, and a mobility that makes modern transistors look very, very slow. That's plenty cool enough. Our danger is not failing to deliver HTSCs, but if we fail to deliver THz transistors. That's where the effort is and that's where the funding is.
It is the lowest resistance material at room temperature. Most people don't know what a ballistic conductor is, or how the conduction mechanism in graphene works. A word they do understand is "superconductor," so that ends up in all the press releases. Some clever PR guy makes a connection between "almost zero resistance" and "almost a superconductor." He doesn't know any better. Rest assured that the physicists working on graphene do know the difference between the two, and we're not stealing anyone's thunder.
For many applications (motors, antennas, transmission lines...) the very, very low room-temperature resistance of graphene is sufficient to make it very, very interesting even though it is not a superconductor. In fact, not being a superconductor can be a plus.
You're right. The first real application for graphene will likely be high frequency antennas.
Yes, cooling has got easier but building bif systems and keeping them cold isn't easy. Room Temperature semiconductors may be difficult but what about those at around 75K, the boiling point of nitrogen.
Tech to keep nitrogen liquid (even on big bits of plant) is well known and even relatively cheap.
Bismuth nanotubes are superconductors at room temperature, if you can make them thin enough - just a few molecules in diameter. One process for making them is by growing a thread between two point electrodes in a molten epoxy-bismuth mixture. Gradually draw the electrodes apart as the nanotube grows in length.
I'm having trouble finding any source to back this up.
Stop modding this up - bismuth nanotubes are not room temperature superconductors, regardless of diameter. Semiconducting? Sure. Superconducting? Absolutely not. By the way, what does 'few molecules in diameter' even mean??
but is it as strong as transparent aluminum [wikipedia.org]?
This is a great paper, I've already tried this technique and it easily produces graphene.
Strangely, this technique is not new. This paper kind of jump-started many memories in the field and it turns out that in the 1980s, people were already growing graphene with a method similar to this, and identified it as single layer graphite. There are even atomic resolution images of graphene from the early 90s. For a material "discovered" in 2004, that's kind of a shock. It turns out the word "graphene" didn't show up until 2004, and no one made good electrical devices until then.
Graphene is not a room temperature superconductor... it's just the best room temperature conductor we've found. Nobody panic.
> Graphene is not a room temperature superconductor... it's just the best room temperature
> conductor we've found.
But is such a good room-temperature conductor that it will make a big difference once commercialized. Motors, transmission lines, antennas...
I guess that's why the abstract focuses on the conductivity and the transparency of the material. Samsung very obviously wants to be the world number one in imaging and printing, and there is growing evidence that they are going to achieve it.
Nondeterminism means never having to say you are wrong.


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Whether you've seen the new movie "The Social Network," you have crops you need to tend on Farmville, or you actively hunt for what's trending on Twitter, all of us are aware of the new social media craze. The library is embracing this trend by launching a Facebook page, a Twitter account, and Text A Librarian service with the hopes of connecting with more of you. We hope to make it as convenient as possible for you to access the wealth of information and resources the library provides – plus it's fun!
You can find the Library's new Facebook page at www.facebook.com/CecilCountyPublicLibrary. We will post information about exciting upcoming library programs, interesting book recommendations, and ask for your feedback and input. Are vampires so last season? Can't wait to put your hands on the latest memoir? What do you think will be the next trend in books and films? We want to know! We'd love to get your feedback on this and other library related topics, so don't forget that we'll be just one click of the 'Like' button away!
Are you interested in another way to connect with the library online? Try following our tweets at www.twitter.com/ccpltweets. We'll be tweeting about our great programs, book recommendations and library news. Our feed will include a Book of the Day, helpful web resources, small business information and more. If you haven't started tweeting yet, be sure to sign up for an account at www.Twitter.com and follow the Cecil County Public Library. We don't think you can have too much of the library, but be warned: tweeting is addictive.
For those who rely on their cell phones, we're now just a text away. You can get fast, reliable info by composing a text to 66746 and starting a reference question with the keyword CCPL411. Do you have an event outside and you're not sure if it's going to get rained out? Try texting our librarians for the latest weather forecast. Are you at the grocery store and forgot that list of ingredients? Try texting the library to find out what was in that special recipe.
If you need that little bit of extra help to start a Facebook page or Twitter Account, be sure to check out these great books at your local Cecil County Public Library branch
Click here for the list of titles


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'Duets' Recap: The Eliminations Finally Begin
Thursday, June 07, 2012
Jenn Lee
Staff Writer, BuddyTV
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It's been two weeks of
introducing itself and working out its kinks, and now it's time for the real stuff: eliminations. Tonight is the first time one of the eight amateurs will be sent home, which adds an exciting pressure to this rookie show that will hopefully make it into the gut-wrenching, emotional fodder of
American Idol
-likeness (or at the very least, entertaining summer reality TV). After John Legend and Jennifer Nettles show how a duet is really done with their "I've Got the Music in Me" performance, it's onto the duets that matter.
Robin's First Duet: "Killing Me Softly" with Alexis Foster
Robin's two partners have been struggling, especially last week when they were the bottom two on the
chart. He gathers his girls together for a little pep talk on being the underdogs and how that can be a good thing. He prepares Alexis by offering his singing mantra: pretend every performance is your last. Alexis seems to get the idea and goofs off with her mentor during rehearsal, showing she can loosen up a bit.
On stage, the lesson seems to be paying off, as I'm liking Alexis better than the past weeks - perhaps it's the hair? All she needed to do was let her hair down, literally and figuratively. Her movements don't seem as stiff as the robotic presence of earlier performances and it seems Robin is letting her vocals shine in the song, which is a smart move. Kelly still finds the chemistry a little awkward and feels Alexis should look out into the audience more. Jennifer disagrees and feels there's been a large improvement from last week and John seems disinterested when he simply says "well done." Quddus says "it ain't rocket science people!" when Alexis is dramatically revealed to be
yes, but it isn't necessary either, Quddus
Jennifer's First Duet: "How Great Thou Art" with John Glosson
On the flip side from Robin, Jennifer's two duet partners have done very well the first two weeks. Jennifer's hometown buddy John chooses "How Great Thou Art" because its message is important to his family and his southern roots. The master of singing with emotion, John manages to make Jennifer cry during rehearsal (for the second time on the show). He even takes ownership by suggesting they start off a cappella to keep the arrangement from coming across as cheesy.
John's emotional attachment and creative input only make his performance with Jennifer that much more impressive. He starts off strong, Jennifer comes in strong and the two finish strong. Their notes soar and their voices seem to boast in a glorious way. My only note is about Jennifer's wardrobe choice -- she seems to really like long, flowy material hanging from her limbs. Kelly is so jealous she wants to get John kicked off the show and John found the arrangement "gorgeous." Robin, in a rare moment of vulnerability without the jokey attitude, says John gave him every feeling he needed to feel in that song. Unsurprisingly, John is ranked at
Kelly's First Duet: "Mama's Broken Heart" with Jordan Meredith
By now we know Kelly and Jennifer are easy criers and when the American Idol star joins Meredith for a little heart-to-heart, they both end up in tears. Kelly sees her former struggling artist self in Jordan and Jordan just doesn't know how to let go of her nerves and seize this opportunity she's been dreaming of for so long. Kelly's advice is to not care about looking stupid on stage and to really sell the attitude and the "oomph" with her presence.
Jordan seems to bring the attitude right away by singing solo at the start and walking the stage barefoot, as if wearing shoes represents the nerves she's been struggling to shake. She even approaches the Superstar lounge and sings into Robin's face (the flirt obviously returns the gesture with a finger sizzle). Maybe it's just me, but I feel like Jordan might be playing it
cool and aloof. I feel like she should smile more and have more fun, rather than playing this femme fatale. But the judges all love it and feel it's a dramatic improvement from last week. Jordan moves to
, which means John Glosson is safe tonight (ahh, yes, that makes sense).
John's First Duet: "If I Ain't Got You" with Meleana Brown
We just met Meleana last week when she abruptly replaced Johnny Gray and though John expected her to do well, he did not anticipate her owning the chart at #1 so quickly. We finally get to hear Meleana talk a bit in the pre-performance package, but she doesn't share much other than comparing her experience to a tornado, a dream, a fairytale and being in lala land.
On the stage I'm digging her white suit and her chemistry with John. The give and take of their movements and vocal intensity works really well and I personally felt this performance showed a more interesting side to Meleana than last week, when she stood beside the piano in a sparkly gown like a princess. Her voice is incredibly strong, confident and just unique enough. Kelly feels similarly when she says Meleana brought the soul that was missing from last week. Both she and Jennifer feel Meleana has a natural grace that makes her seem like a seasoned performer. Robin says "lovely" and "beautiful" and "dessert" (as opposed to last week's metaphorical sandwich). Meleana is put at
(wow, the judges really liked Jordan this week), which means Jordan is safe and gets a hug from her Idol.
Robin's Second Duet: "Crazy in Love" with Olivia Chisholm
Olivia is disappointed in her performance from last week, so this time Robin has assigned her a song that will force her to be fearless - this week, Olivia must embody Beyonce. This seems like a tall order for the somewhat reserved amateur, but during rehearsal there is a pivotal moment when Olivia's booty starts shaking of its own accord. The girl can dance! This is great news to Robin, who feels this is what she needs to come out of her shell.
There are a lot of colorful flashing lights and backup dancers, and Olivia starts off fairly strong, considering she's channeling Beyonce. But soon enough it seems like the singer is running out of breath, perhaps from having never danced and sung simultaneously before. Her voice sounds a bit raspy, but she's putting in a good effort. Meanwhile, Robin's Jay-Z is pretty impressive. Jennifer was blown away and felt Olivia finally had fun on stage and Kelly similarly praised Olivia's voice for getting bigger and bolder. John, however, thought she wasn't as vocally impressive. But he did like her legs, though. Olivia is placed at
of the current five, meaning Robin's two are at the bottom again for now.
Jennifer's Second Duet: "How Am I Supposed to Live Without You" with J Rome
Jennifer seems to have chosen partners who seriously know how to bring the emotion. This week, J Rome is dedicating his song to his grandfather, who passed away recently and sang "Amazing Grace" with him from his hospital bed. The rehearsal gets emotional, given the title of the song and its meaning for J Rome. This is obviously foreshadowing a moving performance.
J Rome - perhaps even more so than Jennifer's other partner - has no trouble conveying his feeling from his first word as he starts off the song. Jennifer comes in boisterous and strong and when her voice pairs with J Rome's silky notes, you really connect with the meaning the lyrics carry for the two performers. J Rome is so overcome when the song finishes, he can't even respond to Quddus' attempt to glaze over the heavy moment. John calls J Rome a phenomenal vocalist, Robin says nothing but claps and Kelly is brought to tears. Of course J Rome moves to
Kelly's Second Duet: "Hallelujah" with Jason Farol
Kelly's partners seem to be having similar struggles with Robin's, which is the issue of confidence. We learn Jason gets so nervous on stage because his parents want him to focus on school and he feels he has to succeed at singing or else be shipped back to academia. Kelly picks up on this and decides to bring in Jason's father, who tells Jason the family supports him and that they believe in him.
The performance seems very angelic all around, with the soft lighting and Kelly slowly joining Jason on stage. Jason's voice isn't really jiving for me this week, and I feel like I'm still waiting for that spark I saw in his very first audition with Kelly while on tour. Overall, it was a pretty mellow performance. Robin seems less talkative and animated in his feedback (perhaps he feels down after the results of his two partners), while John and Jennifer mention some pitchiness. This does not bode well and sure enough, Jason is at
, which means Olivia is safe (you can smile now, Robin!)
John's Second Duet: "Heard It Through the Grapevine" with Bridget Carrington
Bridget moved from #6 to #3 in the first two weeks, so her goal is to continue that improvement. She chooses one of her favorite singers, Gladys Knight, which is definitely going to be a challenge. John seems to have more of a hands-off approach with his mentoring when he describes giving minimal feedback and essentially letting his artists fend for themselves. Hmm.
John starts off the duet with the first verse and then introduces "Ms. Bridget Carrington" to the audience. She sashays onto the stage while belting out her notes with attitude and confidence. Her voice has a lot of sheer power behind it and I particularly liked the back and forth "Oh, yes I did" verses between her and John. Robin again doesn't have much to say, other than Marvin Gaye is his favorite of all time. Jennifer loved Bridget's attitude on stage and Kelly felt she shined a lot brighter than other people in the competition. Bridget is ranked at
, which means the elimination is between Jason (Kelly's partner) and Alexis (Robin's partner).
First A Cappella Solo Showdown: Jason Vs. Alexis
Jason goes first, singing "Me and Mrs. Jones." There were some nice moments in the song, but overall I still find him underwhelming. Alexis goes with "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman," and I think I liked her voice better. However, I'm not sure if she has that star persona needed to win over a wide audience, whereas Jason is very likable and seems to have great fan potential.
Kelly says she's obviously rooting for her boy. Robin more diplomatically says they're both equally "lovely" and that whatever happens, they should never give up on being a singer. He describes the sheer willpower and work it takes to make it as an artist and Jennifer and John follow suit in their feedback (John says it's all about tenacity; Jennifer calls the music industry "a war of attrition.") Not to come across as the selfish one, Kelly jumps in and says they're both great singers, but that the show is called
and singing with another person is significantly harder than singing alone. All right, it's time for the Superstars to vote (again, why do Kelly and Robin get a say in the fate of their opponent's fate? Can this really be unbiased?) The amateur leaving is...
Alexis Foster!
The audience
and Robin walks on stage to hug Alexis and encourage her with his thoughts on what art is - which is putting forth your best effort and hoping for that spark, that chemistry to happen. He says he's going to take care of her, no matter what, which is commendable.
Here are the final results from the night:
J Rome (Jennifer)
John Glosson (Jennifer)
Jordan Meredith (Kelly)
Bridget Carrington (John)
Meleana Brown (John)
Olivia Chisholm (Robin)
Jason Farol (Kelly)
Alexis Foster (Robin) [eliminated]
What did you all think of this first episode of eliminations? Did you think Alexis should have been the first to go home? Will Jennifer continue to have the strongest duo by far the entire season?
(Image courtesy of ABC)
'Duets' Chart Results: Week 3 (The First Elimination)
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|Second Annual Shop with a Cop Car, Truck and Motorcycle Show to take place October 3
|Wednesday, 02 September 2009 00:00
Last year was the first year for this show, devised and coordinated by Christine Motsinger of The Waters of Salem. Last year's show had 94 registered participants and over 150 spectators were in attendance. Through registrations, donations, raffle ticket sales and everyone who supported the event, $1,999 was raised for the Shop with a Cop Program, which helps children in need receive presents for Christmas. This year's event will feature new processes to improve the show and help the event run smoother. All participants after registering will receive a "Ready to Judge" paper to be placed in their windshield to inform the judges of their car being ready to judge. This process will allow a quicker and more effective judging experience. In addition, judges scores will be received periodically throughout the day, and then entered into a computer spreadsheet to automatically tally the scores, allowing trophies to be awarded according to schedule. Trophies this year will include the Best Top 20, 5 specified trophies for motorcycles, Police Pick, Crowd Pleaser, Mayor's Choice, Sponsor's Favorite, Firehouse Favorite, and new this year will be the special Kid's Choice trophy, where kids will receive "Official Judge" stickers and be able to vote for their favorite. In total, over 30 trophies will be handed out.
Also new this year, the square will be CLOSED to general traffic from 1 to 5 p.m. This will improve the safety for all those involved, and help to make the show even more family-friendly. All children still must be accompanied by an adult, and it is asked that you please not bring your pets.
There will also be several other activities and events for the day. These will include: A childrens' coloring contest from 2 to 4:30 p.m., with winners announced at 5 p.m.; food and concessions to be served all day; a candy corn count; a scavenger hunt from 12 to 4 p.m., and more. The show is free to the public.
|Last Updated on Wednesday, 02 September 2009 08:22


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SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Green Mountain Coffee Rosters Inc., Yelp Inc. and Akamai Technologies tumbled in after-hours trading Wednesday after the companies reported earnings.
Green Mountain US:GMCR fell more than 8% after the company reported adjusted earnings of 76 cents a share on sales of $1.34 billion.
Analysts polled by FactSet had forecast quarterly earnings of 65 cents a share on sales of $1.3 billion. But the company said its GAAP earnings of 70 cents a share included a 10-cent boost from the sale of its Filterfresh entity. The company also predicted sales growth for the current quarter at 14% to 18%, less than the 20% projected by analysts. Read more on Green Mountain.
Investors were expected to focus on what the company, a frequent target of short-sellers, said about inventories and demand for its Keurig single-cup coffee makers. The company said sales of its brewers rose 14% from a year ago while sales of single-serve coffee packs rose 21%.
Shares are down 29% over the past year, though they had rebounded 13% so far in 2013. Read The Tell on Green Mountain's rising expectations.
Akamai Technologies inc. AKAM, -1.25% fell 14% after hours when the company's fourth-quarter revenue came in below estimates. Akamai was expected to report sales of $381.5 million but ended up with $377.9 million. Adjusted earnings were 53 cents a share, beating the FactSet estimate of 50 cents.
Yelp YELP, -1.89% was off nearly 4% in the after-hours session when it reported a loss of 8 cents a share, instead of the 4 cents a share analysts expected. Sales were $41.2 million against the $40.2 million forecast. The online-reviews site struggles with increased competitive pressure from companies including Facebook Inc. FB, -0.54% Investors may be interested in Yelp's expansion efforts. The stock is up 17% this year. Read more on Yelp.
News Corp. NWSA, +0.39% the publisher of The Wall Street Journal and MarketWatch, dipped nearly 2% after adjusted earnings came in at 44 cents a share, slightly ahead of forecasts for 43 cents a share. But sales of $9.43 billion were slightly ahead of the $9.26 billion estimated. Read more about News Corp.'s results.
And the momentum dragged down Visa Inc. V, -0.46% as well, as its shares were off nearly 2% after the regular session deadline. The credit-card giant's earnings were $1.93 a share — including an 11-cent, one-time gain — on sales of $2.85 billion. The company was expected to earn $1.79 a share on sales of $2.8 billion. The credit-card company's shares have surged 49% in the past year and are up 6% this year. Read about Visa's quarterly results.
Stocks were basically flat in Wednesday's regular session. The S&P 500 Index SPX, -0.24% edged up marginally up 0.1%, while the Nasdaq Composite Index COMP, +0.13% fell 0.1%. After spending most of the session in the red, the Dow ended the day with a slight gain of less than one-tenth of 1%. Read more on U.S. stocks.


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Gossip Girl Exclusive: Sara Goodman Previews the Final ChapterJim Halterman at . Comments
TV Fanatic here, taking you into the intriguing, scandalous and sexy world of Gossip Girl, which sadly launches into its final season tonight. The soapy CW drama has kept us laughing, crying and, more importantly, on the edge of our collective seats waiting to see what our favorite Upper East Siders are going to do next.
Will Blair clear up the status of her relationship with Chuck (and Dan)? Will Serena find her happily ever after? What is Georgina up to and how long will she be around? How is Dan going to change this year?
And, most importantly, will we get a satisfying ending with Gossip Girl her-or his-self?
TV Fanatic's Jim Halterman worked hard to get answers out of executive producer and show-runner Sara Goodman earlier this week. Did he break her to give up some scoop? Read on ...
TV Fanatic: Can you say there's an overall arc for the season? I mean, maybe it's just getting everybody do a happily ever after or what is an arc, I guess, for these final episodes?
Sara Goodman: It's Gossip Girl! Happily ever after-what?
TVF: I know!
SG: I think we have a couple of themes this season. The first of which is, in the pilot, Nate and Chuck had this scene where they talked about are they just going to turn into their parents and so that is absolutely, kind of, dramatically one of things that we're talking about. We've taken these kids from high school and they're adults now, and so, who are they going to be? Where are they going to be? Who can survive on the Upper East Side and who doesn't belong here at all? Those kinds of things are absolutely where we are going this season.
TVF: It seems like you guys were in between a rock and a hard place with either Chair or Dair because it seems like somebody's going to be upset whichever way that goes. How do you even approach that?
SG: Maybe the three of them will live together?
TVF: Oh, my God. Well, I don't know about that…
SG: That would be horrible.
TVF: That'd be horrible, but how do you even that approach that knowing there's such a divided camp between the two?
SG: Knowing how much the fans care about it and that we care about it that much too, and there were huge debates, and alternately, we had to do what we felt like the characters would do and what was right for the characters. I think that we built it in an organic way that will make…that hopefully most people will go for. There's certain obviously diehard one-wayers, the other people who will never get on board, but yeah, I hope that everybody finds somebody.
TVF: I'm personally Team Dair, just so you know. [laughs]
SG: What I will say is that I feel that when all the writers got together at the beginning of the season and we really, really talked about where we felt that everybody should be. I think we absolutely dealt with the relationships because that's what defines these characters, but we also talked about who each of the characters were and what they really want and what their journey was and how the best way to end that was.
TVF: I've seen Serena with so many different suitors over the years but I kind of like her with Barry Watson. I really was surprised that was kind of a nice thing, at least in the first two episodes. Can you kind of talk a little bit about that relationship and if it's going to be a good one for Serena.
SG: We tried to give [Serena] an adult love interest and Barry Watson, he's an adult, he doesn't play games. He's not in that world, and he has no interest in it either, and he's divorced, he's a real grown up and so Serena is going to have a chance to be in a real grown up relationship, and I think that we'll see if that works or not for her.
TVF: Do you kind of feel like everybody has to be romantically paired up by the end of the series? Is that like a mandate or can our characters be left on their own?
SG: No, I mean, was everyone paired up by the time they're twenty-something? No. I don't think it is. I think that if it makes sense in the mythology of our show and where the characters are, then that's where we went, but I think we also had other things that we were trying to achieve.
For Dan, with the book, in terms of this book and using people's real names… Dan's really stepping into a different kind of power this year on the Upper East Side and if that has to do with the love relationship or not, I guess we'll have to see, but that's a different journey. The same thing with Blair stepping into Waldorf Designs and Chuck really needing his father once and for all. What we really tried to focus on is who they're going to become as well the relationships that there should be.
TVF: How long is Georgina sticking around? Because I know when she's there things always stir up.
SG: For the rest of the season.
TVF: Any other guest stars? We have Barry Watson coming in, but any other kind of big names coming in that we haven't seen before on the show?
SG: No, like we've a lot of cameos this season with Blair's fashion stuff, we have some really good cameos, but we really tried not to bring in a lot of guest stars. We really wanted to focus these last season on core characters and do the multi-generational stories again that we did in the first season, and so we really tried to keep it within our family.
TVF: I think the fashion world is going to miss Gossip Girl more than anything. Have you heard anything from those people just saying that they're going to miss the show?
SG: It's so funny because I think they'll start to, but I think that they're going to and I think that this year especially because not only do we have just fantastic fashions, but Blair has to figure out her line and it's going to be like triple the fashion, triple the fun this year for that.
TVF: Now, Gossip Girl, I'm going to say herself, even though it's still a mystery for all we know, is there going to be any big reveal there? Are we going to get a happy ending or a crazy ending for Gossip Girl?
SG: You know, I'm not allowed to tell what we're doing, yet, about Gossip Girl, but I will say that I think that everyone will be very satisfied.
TVF: Talk to me just in general about spoilers because I know I've already seen stuff online, that if I was a viewer, I wouldn't really want to see, but it's out there. What do you think about spoilers?
SG: Actually, we do worry about it and I think for us, especially this season, it's really upsetting mostly because we've spent so much time with these characters and with these stories, developing them, that we want everyone to be able to find them out and so when people are stealing stuff and talking, I think it's upsetting.
TVF: Talk to me about the next project. I know you're doing Taboo with [CSI creator] Anthony Zuiker and it sounds like a mix of the Gossip Girl world with more of a procedural world of sorts.
SG: I'm writing a pilot, in fact I'm turning the outline in today, but I am writing that pilot and I'm also writing a pilot for NBC, which is a different kind of show that was dysfunctional family drama. Taboo is kind of sexual obsession with…I'm not sure it's procedural as much as it is with legal intrigue.
TVF: Is calling it a soap a bad thing?
SG: It's absolutely a soap. I don't want to do anything that's not a soap.
Gossip Girl's final 10 episodes begin Monday at 9 p.m. on the CW.
Jim Halterman is the West Coast Editor of TV Fanatic and the owner of JimHalterman.com. Follow him on Twitter.