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I drove by you tonight. I have gingerly avoided that particular way for some time. I would take the long way around, or simply stare straight ahead, so as to not have to look and see you were with someone else. That someone else was occupying what was the very center of my life for the last 20 years.
And these words needed to come. They've been stuck in my throat for 11 months, and for as long as I've tried to convince myself that it was for the best, that it was time to move, that I needed to get out of there.
But, my home. Ripon. I've missed you.
I didn't want to admit it. I couldn't wait to leave what felt like the clutches of a small town around my big town heart. How every corner held a memory. How finally I felt like I could free myself of the shame of his long affair. How I felt responsible for harming my children by staying much longer than I should have, or at least left when I knew…or how I harmed them for not staying. For not trying harder.
Tonight, I drove by the street. My street. I slowly looked toward the back of the court to you. No one was there, but I felt my throat close up, and I kept driving to my girlfriend's house, a block away. I kept going into the night, ignoring a nagging lump in the base of my throat.
At the end of the night, as I dropped her off, I saw you again. Your porch lights were on, and your new owners' cars were in your driveway. Maybe they put their kids in bed, or were sitting in the spa. But, you were winking at me to move along. Linda, you don't live here anymore.
First I got mad. That I had to give up my children's home, my commitment to this town, that I was never really from there. That it was the perfect place, and why did it all happen this way?
I got to Second street, passing the park and remembering small children on the slide …my children. My life. Random memories. Creme puffs at the Senior Center, my running partner's red front door. When I turned onto Fourth Street, the tears came. The thousands of miles run starting on that corner. Blinking back the sting, I tried to push away the feelings with logic. How can you be feeling this now? You don't live here.
And I finally admitted to myself that I loved it there. That I wouldn't have traded a minute. That I didn't stay one minute longer than I was supposed to.
I got to the top of the overpass. Mile 1. Mile 1 for 5 years of 6 marathon trainings. Where I would get my mojo started. Where I learned that you can do anything. That you can train for a marathon at 4am when your babies are sleeping, and that you will get to see the sun rise at just that right moment. And I let out the tears.
I headed home, just crushed with grief, thinking I made a mistake, that maybe I should just take us back there, that maybe you CAN go home again. I couldn't shake off the weight in my chest, so I just. Drove. I thought it just wouldn't go away, this thing I had been avoiding.
Until I turned onto my street. La Loma, Modesto. The most perfect house I've ever had, because for the first time in my life, it is mine. It isn't a husband's or a father's. My boy Chet is thrilled to see me from all day alone. I make my bed with my Friday fresh sheets, I wash dishes, and I avoid writing.
Until just now.
My heart ached, until I saw the very truth of my present reality. As I sit here, I realize what I have always known…that I'm in the exact right place at the right time. The words bubbled out and here they are, and I feel better. That place was years ago, and this is right now.
My heart had a workout tonight, and I pushed through it. And now. Simply put, I'm home.


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What Will Fat Cat Sit On?Book - 2007
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This book has everything.
Fat cats.
Very good for kids who are reluctant to read aloud. Not too many words on each page and funny enough to help them forget their read aloud hang-ups and just enjoy reading this silly story.
A great book to read together! Very silly, with brightly colored art and memorable characters.
Love Jan Thomas! What WILL that fat cat sit on? Not me!
I love all of Jan Thomas books. They are fun, simple and the illustrations are great. This book a cat is trying to decide what to sit on. Cow, chicken or pig? This book is also repetitive, so it is great for young children.
Jan Thomas does it again. This a great read aloud for preschoolers. But, it is also great for new readers because of it's repetitive format, and wonderfully simple illustrations.
My 6 year old loved when I read it to him and he enjoyed reading it to me.
Completely brilliant. Great high energy "guessing" book for kids (will Fat Cat sit on the animals or not...?). A must for reading out loud to a group to get them worked up or to expend some extra energy.
Great read aloud for preschool and up - kids will love trying to guess what cat will sit on next, and also the surprise ending.
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subset: commoncrawl


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Archive for February 2014
Free How To Be An Outdoor Communicator Seminar at the Charlie Elliott Wildlife Center on March 11, 2014
The Charlie Elliott Wildlife Center was founded to honor the long-time writer, conservationist and Georgia game official Charlie Elliott. Constructed before he died in 2000, the center contains a replication of his writing office and many of his books, trophies and personal effects. Many of these items were used in his Outdoor Life articles and in the numerous books that he wrote or edited. This center is unusual in that it was built before the author died, and he had the opportunity to record comments about his hunts and the part that these objects played in them. These recorded segments are activated by pushing buttons in front of the exhibits that highlight objects and initiate the recordings.
Charlie was also the mentor for many outdoor writers, including myself. I had the opportunity to interview him at his home and at the nursing home before he died. This seminar is designed to pass on some of this mentoring function to a new generation of would-be outdoor communicators and update it to modern times. Up to the time that he died, Charlie was still pounding out copy on a typewriter. When he started writing, writers were only responsible for the written text of a story. Somewhat later, writers also had to supply their own photography. Nowadays, not only must outdoor communicators be able to furnish written materials but are they are often also expected to supply complete high-quality photo spreads, videos and sometimes even TV-quality recordings of their experiences. To sell in today's market not only does the new writer have to be able to consistently supply fresh story material and photos, but there are also varying requirements for supporting materials that must fit pre-determined editorial calendars.
An example of this new kind of content is a turkey hunting video about using turkey decoys that I filmed during a quota hunt at the Clybel WMA which surrounds the Wildlife Center. The WMA also offers deer and small-game hunting.
Opportunities that Charlie did not have that are available to present writers are low-cost blogs, videos and E-books which enable modern writers to test market areas, become their own brand, accumulate a following and partly, or largely, work independently of commercial book and magazine publishers. These are some of the possibilities that will be discussed in the seminar. I will be assisted by Bob Borgwat who will present additional materials on the editorial side of magazine publication. Borgwat has been associated with several magazines for the past 25 years and is currently the acting editor for hunting and fishing publications in Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Kentucky, Louisiana, Tennessee, West Virginia and Mississippi.
The following is a press release about the event which may be distributed to any person, publication, school or university department that might be interested.
Sandersville, Ga. A free all-day seminar, "Becoming an outdoor communicator," will be held at the Charlie Elliott Wildlife Center on March 11, 2013. Hosted by Georgia author Wm. Hovey Smith, the potential for selling traditional outdoor-related materials to newspapers, magazines, radio, video, and TV markets will be discussed in addition to emerging opportunities in social media including blogs, YouTube, Flickr, Pinterest, E-book publication, personal appearances and stand-up comedy.
Smith sold his first magazine articles in the 1970s and has published 15 books, 9 E-books, 300 YouTube videos, made many TV appearances, produced the "Hovey's Outdoor Adventures" podcast radio show, and thousands of newspaper, magazine and outdoor-blog articles. He is now the Corresponding Editor for the Gun Digest Annual covering blackpowder guns and regularly appeared on the "Welcome To Our North" TV program.
His hunting adventures have taken him all over North America and trips to Europe and Africa. His books include Backyard Deer Hunting: Converting deer to dinner for pennies per pound, Crossbow Hunting, Practical Bowfishing and a new 8-book E-book series on muzzleloading guns.
The Seminar will begin at 10:00 AM at the Discovery Center at the Charlie Elliott Wildlife Center. A wildlife cooking demonstration will be held at noon. Indoor events will resume at 1:00 PM with the formal presentations concluding at 4:00 PM. Informal discussions with Smith and other outdoor writers and videographers will follow at the campfire. The Center also has 27 motel-style rooms for overnight guests which may be reserved by calling (770) 784-3152.
To sign up for the seminar and receive an advance copy of the handout materials, send your request to email@example.com.
YouTube Videos Reach the 1,000,000 View and Blog the 500,000 View Thresholds
This was the most recently posted video when the 1,000,000 viewer threshold was passed.
While it is possible for a cat or celeb video to bring in 1,000,000 views overnight, outdoor content videos do not do nearly so well because they are intended for a relatively small part of the U.S. market. Active hunters are only about 7 % of the U.S. population, although this number is differently reported by various organizations. Working this market segment, it has taken about 1.5 years for my 299 videos to reach the 1,000,000 view threshold. The comparison between the videos and blogs reinforce that the U.S outdoor market is becoming more visually oriented, particularly so far as Social Media is concerned. Although there are about the same number of entries, this blog has had about 500,000 views over about 2 years – roughly half of the YouTube views and it took a longer time to achieve them.
For the younger segment of the population, YouTube videos are becoming a favored search engine. Not only do the searchers want the information, they want to see it and have it told to them, rather than having to read it. Blogs do have a considerable advantage in that text passages may be printed out, material can be covered more completely in a blog and it is logical to link blog, video, book and radio together. This approach allows the user to get the author's information in visual, print or audio form in whatever depth he desires.
In comparing blogs and video outreach, YouTubes have the advantage if generally costing little or nothing to produce or maintain, may be replaced at any time, have no recurrent costs, are available for an indefinitely long period and return a small amount of money as ad revenue. My blog, although one of the highest rated WordPress Blogs, has not attracted the 500 views a day which is the apparent threshold value to garner advertising revenue from Google-placed ads. Obviously, I need to expand my presence in this area by producing more blog entries. Even with Google ad revenue derived from both sources, it is obvious that this income of some few thousands of dollars a year will not be sufficient to support a writer.
For those in the outdoor market, blogging and video production are best viewed as methods of advertising a paying product or service. YouTube videos have allowed me to place my book ads in front of 1,000,000 people at little costs, cost me nothing to maintain and they will continue to be seen and bring in ad revenue for decades. This is the case of, "Write, or produce, it once and get paid for it often." While this approach of being simultaneously active in the print, radio and video/TV markets is not suitable for most writers or sustainable for any writer for very long (including me). However, using the YouTube video component along with one or two other outdoor activities is an effective and low-cost way of attracting potential paying consumers.
On March 11, 2014, I will be presenting a free all-day seminar on Becoming an Outdoor Communicator at the Charlie Elliott Wildlife Center which is located near Mansfield,
Georgia. During this event I will outline the outdoor communication possibilities in the print, audio, video/TV and personal appearances markets with some practical information about potential income possibilities. Topics will include newspaper writing, book writing, E-book publication, radio production, photography, video production and stand-up outdoor comedy as income-producing possibilities. There will be a pre-seminar E-mailing of the course outline. To receive it request a copy at: firstname.lastname@example.com.
Fire Control for Rural Clean-Ups After Ice Storms and Other Weather Events
Rural residents who do not have access to curb-side pick-up of limbs downed by storm events are sometimes faced with the problem of disposing of a ton or more of broken limbs and downed trees. By using two small-diameter burn piles in the yard and mostly hand tools, it is possible to clean up this debris by yourself, save money and simultaneously obtain a large amount of productive physical exercise. I have, like most retirees, limited income and must do what yard work that I can by myself. The past 30 years have included several hurricanes and ice storms which provided large amounts of woody materials and ample opportunities to perfect my disposal techniques.
Significant factors to consider are what types of trees or need to be burned, the broken branches' position on the ground or hung up in the trees, the wetness of the soils and the amount and directions of wind. With proper fire management some burning may be safely done under almost any conditions, but not everything can, or should be, burned every day. For example, on windy days leafy limbs that may have red-hot leaves carried aloft by the hot air rising from the fire that can set fire to other parts of your yard or nearby woodlands. However, the same conditions may be ideal for combusting green hardwood branches which have no leaves. Limbs from broad-leafed trees, like magnolia, should only be burned when conditions are wet. Assuming that the storm brought snow, ice or rain, these broad-leafed limbs are the first things to go on my burn pile. You can see a video of this progressive burning process at: http://youtu.be/HOnMjJMpexk.
If you are a farmer, have a front-end bucket on your tractor and a nearby plowed field; you can scoop up everything, put it in a huge pile in the middle of the field and burn it all at one time when conditions are damp enough to insure that the fire cannot get away from you. My tractor is a Snapper lawnmower that I convert to a limb-pulling vehicle by removing the mower deck. The mower's large-diameter wheels and comparatively light weight do much less damage to my lawn than my pick-up. Although, I use the pick-up and a heavy log chain to pull things that are too heavy for the lawnmower to manage. Chain saws are a necessary item for any rural landowner. I have several, but prefer to do much of my initial chopping with hand tools and pull the larger limbs to one place. Once I get the saw/s started, I cut through the entire pile at once. I also put the chain saw and related materials in a plastic cement-mixing tub and tow it around the edges of my lot to cut blown-over trees.
Recommended Progression of Work
1. While the storm is in progress move your vehicles, if you have not already, out from under trees and put them in the middle of open fields or your yard.
2. When the storm is abating, gather your tools, sharpen them and plan out what you are going to do.
3. Select an area for two burn piles about 20 yards apart. This is the site where everything will be towed. You do not want to have burn piles at different places in your yard because of the difficulty in keeping an eye on all of them at once. If the fire starts to catch in your lawn or elsewhere, you need to be ready to put it out immediately.
4. While conditions are still wet, rake up and carry anything near your burn piles to the piles and burn this up. The area near the piles needs to be kept as clean and leaf free as possible, including cleaning up around them after each day's burning.
5. While the ground is still saturated, drag up by hand, if possible, any branches that have leaves on them.
6. Cut the branches into fairly straight lengths who that they will lie as flat as possible on the pile for better combustion efficiency. If necessary use paper and waste oil or gasoline to start the fires and began to build up a bed of coals.
7. Hauling to one pile and then the other keep both piles going until all of your leafy material is safely burned.
8. As the coals accumulate you can start to put limbs as large as 4-inches in diameter across the fire to start them burning.
9. When burning green, wet wood it may be necessary to put a cart-full of small dryer cuttings on the fires to keep them going. You may need to add a cart-full between every load of green wood or after every two or three loads.
10. About two hours before you are going to end your day, concentrate on fire management and cleaning up around your burn piles.
11. Allow the fire to burn down to coals and place some large leafless limbs on the fire to burn overnight.
12. Three times during the night check on the fire, and push the limbs closer to the middle of the bed of coals as they burn through.
13. The next morning resume your burning by placing more materials on your coals and "sweetening" the fire by adding a cart load of dryer materials to catch everything up.
14. As you drag up your larger limbs with your lawn tractor or pick up, tow your mortar tub behind it and fill it with smaller limbs and twigs from the site where you are working. This will provide more smaller material to put on the fire between the larger limbs and speed combustion.
15. As needed, sharpen your tools and chain saw blade. Cutting is much easier on green wood than dry wood. As a consequence, you want to cut as much green wood as you can.
16. Know your tools and how to use them. With hatchets and axes, cut away from you wherever possible. When chopping down, spread your legs so if the ax blade goes through the object that it is cutting it will go into the ground, rather than through a foot. God gave you five toes on each foot, and you very likely want to keep them.
Remember, these broken branches are not going anywhere, so there is no need to over extend your physical abilities by attempting to do everything during one day. Wear gloves, boots and glasses to protect your hands and other body parts. When you start to get tired, wind things up for the day. EXHAUSTED PEOPLE MAKE FOOLISH MISTAKES. Keep in mind what you are doing, and what a sudden gusts of wind might do to your fire. If you are going to let a portion of the fire burn overnight, make sure that there is absolutely no leafy material in the fire or around it. Then add your limbs and let them burn. Check on your fire several times during the night and shift the limbs around to make sure they completely burn by the next morning when you can resume the process.
It may be necessary for you to request a burn permit from the state forestry authority or other agency before lighting your fire. Work slowly and be safe. As is often said, "Fire is a good servant, but a bad master."


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Playground Magazine features KaBOOM! Nature Built playground
The Nature Built playground by KaBOOM! was featured in Playground Magazine on July 27. The article covers the lead up to the build, the building process, and the response to the finished product. It's a great read! Here's a snippet:
"The response to the new playspace so far has been positive, especially for the kids and their leaders. 'I love it,' Coder said. 'I think it opens up more creativity for the kids. I like it better because sometimes play is too structured. This makes it open to being a kid and allowing them to use their imaginations.'"
Continue reading (Playground Magazine)
Play Days
Thanks so much to these fine folks for spreading the word about Play Days! As if right now, we've got 461 registered Play Days - can we get to 1,000 by the end of the month?
Chicago Stay-at-Home-Moms Examiner
San Francisco Family Recreation Examiner


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Dr. Yang Jianli's Speech at the 10th Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy
|Dr. Yang talks about Mr. Wang Quanzhang on Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy
|Mr. Wang Quanzhang
|Wang's Family
|Mr. Wang's wife and son
In July 2015, before Wang was taken away, he wrote a letter to his parents in which he expressed his commitment to the work he had chosen to do –indeed, was called to do– and asked for their understanding and trust. He wrote: "I have never abandoned the qualities Father and Mother instilled in me: honesty, kindheartedness, integrity. In all these years, I have used these principles to guide my life. Even though I've often been steeped in despair, I have never given up thoughts for a better future."
Wang closed his letter to his parents with these words: "Dear Father and Mother, please feel proud of me. Also, no matter how horrible the environment is, you must hang on and live, and wait for the day when the clouds will disperse and the sun will come out."
Today, we meet on the eve of the first Human Rights Council session in 2018, a year marking the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights, the 20th anniversary of China's signing of the ICCPR, and the 20th anniversary of the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders. These human rights instruments, among others, protect the fundamental human rights of advocates like human rights lawyers Wang Quanzhang and Yu Wensheng — including their right to freedom of expression, and freedom from torture and arbitrary detention. The Chinese government, in these cases and countless others, are making a mockery of the international human rights framework and system, and are also violating its domestic laws that purportedly protect certain fundamental rights, including the right to freedom of expression and the right not to be arbitrarily detained.
Thank you very much for your kind attention.


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16 Nov 2004
Scaling New Heights(HKTDC Houseware, Vol 01,2005)
Scaling New Heights
Kologn Industrial Co Ltd
When it comes to simple kitchen scales or postal scales that can accurately weigh featherweight letters, Kologn Industrial Co Ltd offers a wide range of products. "By putting strong emphasis on quality control, we have emerged as a leading scales manufacturer that places equal weight on coming up with new designs and maintaining accuracy," says assistant general manager Kent Lai.
He notes that this strategy has been successful, with business growth quite steady in recent years, supported by strong underlying demand. "Scales have seen stable demand as they are seen as a necessity in certain markets, especially in the US and Europe," Lai says.
"We come up with 3-4 new designs every year. Our strength is that we produce high quality products, yet sell at very competitive prices."
Established in 1978, Kologn provides ODM and OEM services for the manufacture of a wide range of digital and mechanical scales that can meet the diverse demands of kitchen and postal users. It has also developed its own Kologn brand of scales.
Kologn has been cooperating with a leading scales manufacturer in the UK for more than 20 years. This part of the business, including OEM and ODM orders, accounts for about 50% of Kologn's total sales.
The company's second largest market is the US, followed by Japan. Lai says the company's clients include manufacturers, chain stores and specialty stores.
"We also sell our own in-house designs. Our products are unfortunately being copied by others, but we feel the solution is to keep launching new designs and to apply for patents," he explains.
At present, stainless steel and electronic scales are among the group's best-selling items, especially in the European market. "These scales are durable, easy-to-read and highly accurate," Lai says. "This trend is expected to continue. So new products will continue to be mainly stainless steel and electronic scales."
Postal scales are also in demand in the US and Europe. These scales are mostly OEM items and clients are mainly specialty shops.
In the US market, for instance, the company uses plastics in its product range as it is a popular material that is also cheaper and practical.
Elsewhere, Kologn's new items include the KL3603 model, which is made of stainless steel and features an in-house design. Lai notes that a chain store in Germany bought 150,000 pieces last year and has begun negotiations on a new order.
Other best-selling items in 2004 included the KL981 model, an electronic postal scale, which can also be used in the kitchen. Another smaller-sized model, KL982, is a more sophisticated scale with the ability to measure an item as light as 0.02 grams - the maximum weight it can handle is 99 grams.
To keep pace with the steady growth in consumer demand, the group has scaled up its production facilities to manufacture various kinds of weighing machines.
"We own a 70,000-square-foot factory in Shenzhen on the Chinese mainland. A couple of years ago we only had about 200 employees there, but the number has now increased to more than 350," Lai notes.
He adds that the company maintains very strict control on quality to ensure accuracy, durability and a superior finish for its products. Each item will only be packed for shipment when it has been thoroughly checked for quality.
"We assure our customers that we will replace any defective item, but we hardly encounter such problems," he enthuses.
"These factors, combined with on-time delivery and reliable service, has enabled us to measure up to the expectations of our customers," Lai adds.
Kologn Industrial Co Ltd
Unit 1307, Vanta Industrial Centre,


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Kino Lorber has acquired all U.S. rights to Bruno Dumont's comedy "Li'l Quinquin" ahead of its North American premiere in the Contemporary World Cinema section at the 2014 Toronto Film Festival.
The murder mystery — originally aired as a four-part miniseries — will have its U.S. premiere at the 52nd New York Film Festival where it is programmed as a special event screening.
"I've been involved in releasing Bruno's films since the very beginning and though he never ceases to amaze me, I never expected to fall out of my chair laughing," said Richard Lorber of Kino Lorber.
The film screened at Cannes in the Directors' Fortnight as a four-part miniseries. Variety's Scott Foundas called it "hilarious" in his review.


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If you (1) have submitted a Trick of the Trade that I've used (a) either in the original article or (b) on the Tricks Of The Trade website and (2) live in Seattle (or thereabouts) and (3) are interested in being interviewed for a NPR radio piece, please drop me a line.
If you (1) only meet the latter two conditions above and (2a) have a great trick that you haven't got around to sending me but (2b) would like to do so now, here is the submit form. Please put "Seattle" in the Occupation field (e.g., "[Seattle] Skydiving Instructor"), and be sure to include your email address.
Weasel Warning: (1) assuming this actually happens (not assured) I'll (2) only be able to interview three or four folks, but (3) that will not prevent me from using any good tricks I get sent from people hoping to be one of them, because (4) I am an opportunistic bastard.


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Australian Comics Melbourne – Comic Book Reviews
A Mind Of Love
Bruce Mutard, 2011 Black House Comics Recommended for ages 18+ A Mind Of Love is a mature read dealing with a character called Brian, an adult book store clerk who struggles personally connecting with women and the way he satisfies his desires. It is an intimate...read more
The Silence
Bruce Mutard, 2009 Allen&Unwin Recommended for ages 16+ The Silence is a graphic novel that is an excellent example of visual storytelling which is very effective in exploring more mature themes, especially the nature of art. It presents various philosophical themes,...read more
Short Stories 2000-2010
Queenie Chan, 2015 Bento Comics Recommended for ages 14+ Contained inside are eleven stories that cover many genres, predominantly Horror with a couple of Romance and Fantasy tales, starting with a Mystery and including a 'Cute Animal'. The genre variation makes for a...read more
Short Ghost Stories: The Man With The Axe In His Back
Queenie Chan, 2014 Bento Comics Recommended for ages 14+ Contained inside are four short Mystery/Horror stories that will very much resonate with lovers of Asian-style horror. The tales are quite text heavy compared with most comics, and the artist makes it clear in a...read more


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Watch Marc Maron stop by "Conan" to talk porn …and his new show
Posted by Melissa Locker on
During his continuing media blitz, Marc Maron dropped by "Conan" to discuss his new scripted comedy show, "Maron," which airs Fridays at 10/9c. As fans of his show or his WTF podcast know, Marc has a lot of issues, but sharing is not one of them. That's why a chapter in his book, "Attempting Normal," covers pornography and that's why when he on stage with Conan O'Brien and Andy Richter, the conversation, of course, turned to pornography almost immediately. Watch the clip below and see for yourself as Marc outlines his world views on porn and when to use it and watch the three men wax nostalgic about what a rare and exotic thing pornography was when they were kids and got to pick it out of the trash as opposed to nowadays where it's all over the internet. Then watch and wait for Andy to deliver one of the funniest lines in late night television.
Want more? Of course you do. Here's Marc reflecting on the time he got talked into trying Viagra:
Want the latest news on "Maron"? Like the show on Facebook and follow us on Twitter@MaronIFC
"Maron" airs on IFC on Fridays at 10/9c


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Forget the Garage, GE Research Was Born in a Barn
GE once hired St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Bob Gibson to throw a fastball through a window made from Lexan, a sheer plastic glass developed in GE labs by chemist Daniel Fox and resistant to impact. Gibson threw more than 50 pitches and failed.
GE engineer Ivar Giaever tried something similar on the atomic scale and succeeded. Using electrons instead of baseballs, Giaever figured out how to send them through a piece of superconductor and demonstrated the "quantum tunneling" effect in the material. Giaever shared the 1973 Nobel Prize in Physics for his breakthrough, which helped GE build its magnetic resonance machine (MRI) a decade later.
Both Fox and Giaever did their research at the mothership, GE's global research headquarters near Schenectady, N.Y. But that lab is now part of a global research network of some 3,000 scientists stretching from New York to Germany, India, and China. Yesterday, GE added Brazil to that list, when it opened the Brazil Technology Center in Rio de Janeiro, its first R&D center in Latin America.
Charles Steinmetz (wearing light suit in the middle) flanked by Albert Einstein at RCA's wireless station in Brunswick, N.J., in 1921. Steinmetz's barn in Schenectady was the original GE research lab. Image credit: Franklin Township Public Library archive
The gleaming $500 million center (above) has come a long way since GE's R&D beginning more than a century ago: a barn behind the house of engineer Charles Steinmetz. "It does seem to me therefore that a company as large as the General Electric Company, should not fail to continue investing and developing in new fields," said GE co-founder Elihu Thomson. "There should, in fact, be a research laboratory for commercial applications of new principles, and even for the discovery of those principles."
The barn lab (above) opened in 1900 and employed three people. But it caught fire (below) and Steinmetz and Thomson found bigger and safer premises in Schenectady.
Image credit: Schenectady Museum of Innovation and Science
The new lab soon attracted many famous visitors, including wireless telegraph pioneer Guglielmo Marconi, quantum physicist Niels Bohr, and I.P. Pavlov famous for his conditioned dogs. Steinmetz hired MIT chemistry professor Wilis Whitney as the lab's first director and each visitor had stop by his desk and sign a guest book.
Elihu Thomson at his observatory. Image credit: GE Global Research
Visitors to GE labs included Lord Kelvin (light suit in the middle) and his wife. The Kelvin absolute temperature scale was named in his honor. Image credit: Schenectady Museum of Innovation and Science
The labs also attracted famous non-scientists, including Presidents Franklin Roosevelt, Kennedy and Nixon, as well as Amelia Earhart and Harry Houdini. They spoke to local citizens from WGY, GE's radio station in Schenectady. It began broadcasting in 1922 from a 1,500-watt transmitter. It was one of the first radio stations in the U.S. with regularly scheduled programming.
Amelia Earhart visited GE. Image credit: Schenectady Museum of Innovation and Science
As did Harry Houdini: Image credit: Schenectady Museum of Innovation and Science
Charles Lindbergh. Image credit: Schenectady Museum of Innovation and Science
F.D.R. came to Schenectady during his 1932 presidential campaign. Image credit: Schenectady Museum of Innovation and Science
Whitney's guest book. Image credit: GE Global Research
Edison's signature (middle left) and Marconi's (top left). Image credit: GE Global Research
Kunihiko Iwadare began his career by working for Edison. When he returned to Japan, he founded Nippon Electric Co., known today as NEC Corporation. German chemist Fritz Haber found a way to fix ammonia and synthesize fertilizer. His discovery helped feed the world. Niels Bohr (sixth down) won the 1922 Nobel Prize in Physics. Frank C. Hoyt worked closely with Erwin Schroedinger on quantum theory. Image credit: GE Global Research
Pavlov, who traveled to Schenectady from Russia, won the 1904 Nobel Prize in Physiology. He is best known for discovering conditioned reflexes, which was a result of his famous experiments with dogs. But his research also contributed to medicine and physiology. Image credit: GE Global Research