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Explosive Duck Penis vs. Zombie Fish: Scientists Compete for Your Money
The mosquitoes are so thick John Gust can feel them hitting his arm as he sweeps a branch out of his way. After an hour-long boat ride through the Yucatan, he's hacking his way through the jungle surrounding an old rum distillery. It's hot, muggy and pouring rain, but Gust is on a mission to solve the murder of the distillery's last owner, Robert Stephens, who died in 1875.
Who put Gust, a doctoral student at University of California, Riverside, through this nightmarish trip? You did. His research trip to the Yucatan depends on funding gathered through the SciFund Challenge, a type of crowd-sourced funding where your money decides what science gets done.
The SciFund Challenge, which is being run by the online crowd-funding platform, RocketHub, opened Nov. 1 and runs through Dec. 15; those interested in donating can choose between 49 projects ranging from exploding duck penises and zombie fish to math models of political rallies and yeast-based cancer research.
"This is the first time that I know of in human history that science can be powered directly by the people," RocketHub founder Brian Meece told LiveScience. "Here's the chance for the common man or woman to make something happen."
And while the researchers involved hope to get their projects funded, they are just as interested in connecting the public with science.
"I see part of my responsibility studying elephants as a conservation effort and to communicate the science that I do," Shermin de Silva, director of the Uda Walawe Elephant Research Project, told LiveScience. "Scientists are typically not really rewarded for doing this … scientists are rewarded when they publish a paper."
Kristina Killgrove, who is trying to get her project on the DNA of Roman slaves funded, agreed: "It works to get the public involved. It's important for us as scientists to not just sit in our ivory towers and not just make science for other scientists, but also to bring our science to the public. "
Science projects
SciFund donations fund small projects of all kinds. For example, Patricia Brennan and her colleague Diane Kelly, both researchers at the University of Massachusetts, are interested in studying the duck penis, which inflates incredibly quickly when inserted into a female. Brennan and Kelly want to design equipment to test how much force the exploding penis exerts and also to figure out how female ducks avoid injury from the explosive penis. [The Weirdest Animal Penises]
"People really like it, they find it interesting because it has to do with sex and with violence, which hits at people's interests and imagination," Brennan told LiveScience. "This is the perfect thing to get people to say 'I want to know more about this story.'"
Other projects could provide the baseline research needed to apply for larger grants. Zen Faulkes wants to go collect a crayfish that's the closest relative of a mysterious all-female crayfish species. With the data gleaned from setting up a colony and studying the two species, Faulkes can apply for a National Science Foundation grant.
"They aren't that far from me, they live in Florida and I'm in southern Texas," Faulkes, a researcher at The University of Texas-Pan American, told LiveScience. "It's just long and complicated enough that it's not free, it's not zero dollars. But it's just a little bit of time and a little bit of money to go collect some of those animals from the wild."
In comes crowdfunding
Even a little bit of money is hard to find these days, even the public is aware of government funding cuts. Most scientists rely on government funding to pay for their labs, equipment, training, expeditions and personnel. Sixty-five million dollars (about 1 percent) was cut from the National Science Foundation budget between 2010 and 2011; $260 million (0.08 percent) was cut from the National Institutes of Health, according to their websites.
Things look better for the 2012 budget, but previous cuts mean more competition for the remaining money, the researchers say. With small preliminary projects funded by a SciFund type program, researchers can strengthen their case for limited government funds.
"In science we have the equivalent of the World Bank, giant-sized funding, but where's the microfinance?" Faulkes asked "How can we support a project that's two-thousand bucks?"
How it works
Crowdfunding, or raising money from small donations made by a large number of people, has successfully made its mark in several different areas: New artists can rally their fan base to produce an album or to rent gallery space. Websites like Kiva.org crowdfunds microloans to buy a family a goat or build a village a well.
Why would it work in science? Meece believes it's all about the stories scientists are telling: "I think that a lot of the drivers that are driving these science projects for SciFund are the same as for any project. Real people making real things happen with a lot of passion," he told LiveScience. "That passion can be very contagious. The stories are very compelling."
To convince the masses that their project is worth pursuing, the researchers make their case using video, text, blog posts and "rewards" for donations. Some of the rewards include things like a snakeskin ($50 donation to The Yin Yang World of Venom project) or the right to name a lion cub ($1,000 contribution to the Serengeti Live project).
Making a successful project
Only a few of the 49 SciFund projects have been successfully funded so far. These include a zombie fish project and a project studying the genes of ancient Roman slaves. What makes for a successful project? Communicating with one's social network helps.
"There was a large group of people that I could connect with, that I know they are already interested in science," Kelly Weinersmith, a graduate student at the University of California, Davis, and lead researcher studying parasites that turn fish into zombies, told LiveScience. "The general public is actually very excited about the science that's going on, but at the moment a lot of scientists don't communicate with them."
Many of the SciFund researchers are also striving to make a personal connection with their audience.
"What all of these crowdfunding campaigns have in common, is that to successfully fund your project you need to make a connection with them [the funders]," Jarrett Byrnes, SciFund organizer and researcher at the University of California at Santa Barbara, told LiveScience. "That's what will lead to successful funding of these projects."
John in the jungle
The researchers hope the funding will help fill in the end of their science stories. Gust may never discover just why Robert Stephens was killed in his rum distillery back in 1845, but his trip to the mosquito-ridden Yucatan will still lead to a better understanding of the historical and even the current state of the citizens of the Yucatan, if public funders get excited about his project.
"We may never really be able to solve the reason for this guy's murder, but you can look at the material evidence of how his workers lived and compare that to conditions elsewhere, and get some idea of what people were living in," Gust said. "He was either a really nice guy who treated his crew very well or a really terrible guy who didn't."
Plans for future rounds of SciFunding haven't been announced, but based on the public and the researchers' excitement, it's very possible Byrnes said. "We've just started this and really interested in finding out where this goes," he said. "People seem to be really excited about it."
In the future, SciFunding may look for non-profit routes, as RocketHub is a for-profit venture that collects 4 percent of the funds donated (if you reach your funding goal, 8 percent if you don't) and the credit card companies get a cut too, typically about 4 percent.
Either way, introduction of a new funding model could be something really important for the future of science funding. "If this is successful I can totally dream up a gazillion other things to do that would be totally doable," Brennan (the duck penis researcher) said. "It can really be transformative in many ways in how science is happening."
You can follow LiveScience staff writer Jennifer Welsh on Twitter @microbelover. Follow LiveScience for the latest in science news and discoveries on Twitter @livescience and on Facebook.
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Jennifer Welsh is a Connecticut-based science writer and editor and a regular contributor to Live Science. She also has several years of bench work in cancer research and anti-viral drug discovery under her belt. She has previously written for Science News, VerywellHealth, The Scientist, Discover Magazine, WIRED Science, and Business Insider.
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subset: commoncrawl


text: Missouri report on militias, terrorists draws criticism Associated Press | March 14, 2009 COLUMBIA, Mo. | A new document meant to help Missouri law enforcement agencies identify militia members or domestic terrorists has drawn criticism for some of the warning signs mentioned. The Feb. 20 report called "The Modern Militia Movement" mentions such red flags as political bumper stickers for third-party candidates, such as U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, who ran for president last year; talk of conspiracy theories, such as the plan for a superhighway linking Canada to Mexico; and possession of subversive literature. "It seems like they want to stifle political thought," said Roger Webb, president of the University of Missouri campus Libertarians. "There are a lot of third parties out there, and none of them express any violence. In fact, if you join the Libertarian Party, one of the things you sign in your membership application is that you don't support violence as a means to any ends." But state law enforcement officials said the report is being misinterpreted. Lt. John Hotz of the Missouri State Highway Patrol said the report comes from publicly available, trend data on militias. It was compiled by the Missouri Information Analysis Center, a "fusion center" in Jefferson City that combines resources from the federal Department of Homeland Security and other agencies. The center, which opened in 2005, was set up to collect local intelligence to better combat terrorism and other criminal activity, he said. "All this is an educational thing," Hotz said of the report. "Troopers have been shot by members of groups, so it's our job to let law enforcement officers know what the trends are in the modern militia movement." But Tim Neal, a military veteran and delegate to last year's state GOP convention, was shocked by the report's contents. "I was going down the list and thinking, 'Check, that's me,'" he said. "I'm a Ron Paul supporter, check. I talk about the North American union, check. I've got the 'America: Freedom to Fascism' video loaned out to somebody right now. So that means I'm a domestic terrorist? Because I've got a video about the Federal Reserve?" Neal, who has a Ron Paul bumper sticker on his car, said the next time he is pulled over by a police officer, he won't know whether it's because he was speeding or because of his political views. "If a police officer is pulling me over with my family in the car and he sees a bumper sticker on my vehicle that has been specifically identified as one that an extremist would have in their vehicle, the guy is probably going to be pretty apprehensive and not thinking in a rational manner," Neal said. "And this guy's walking up to my vehicle with a gun." But Hotz said using factors in the report to determine whether someone could be a terrorist is not profiling. He said people who display signs or bumper stickers from third-party groups are not in danger of harassment from police. "It's giving the makeup of militia members and their political beliefs," Hotz said of the report. "It's not saying that everybody who supports these candidates is involved in a militia. It's not even saying that all militias are bad." |


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Bảo vệ sự riêng tư toàn diện, sử dụng máy tính bàn của chúng tôi và trình duyệt combo (đều miễn phí).
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A service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine
National Institutes of Health
National Institutes of Health
Fewer Children for Women After Ectopic Pregnancy: Study
Those who've had miscarriage, abortion or healthy delivery have more babies in the long-term
Thursday, October 18, 2012
Ectopic pregnancies account for about 1 percent of pregnancies and occur when a fertilized egg implants somewhere other than in the womb. Ectopic pregnancies usually occur in the fallopian tubes, which carry eggs from the ovaries to the uterus.
An ectopic pregnancy is potentially life-threatening condition for the mother. Often the implanted egg dies, but some women require medication or surgery.
For this study, nearly 3,000 Danish women whose first pregnancy was ectopic were followed for an average of 23 years. They were compared to women whose first pregnancy ended in delivery, miscarriage or abortion.
Women with an ectopic pregnancy had the lowest long-term rate of subsequent births at 69 per 100 women, compared with 126 per 100 among those who had a miscarriage, 77 per 100 among those who had an abortion, and 73 per 100 among those who had a delivery.
The researchers also found that women whose first pregnancy was ectopic had a five times higher risk of further ectopic pregnancies than the other women, according to the study, published online Oct. 18 in the journal Human Reproduction.
"These results indicate that fertility is compromised in women whose first pregnancy is ectopic and even after 30 years they have significantly fewer children compared with other women," study author Dr. Line Lund Karhus, a research student in the gynecological clinic at the Rigshospitalet in Copenhagen, said in a journal news release.
"We had expected that, over time, women would compensate for their reduced fertility by making more attempts to become pregnant. However, our results demonstrate that these extra attempts at pregnancy do not result in the same number of babies for women whose first pregnancy was ectopic compared with other women," the researcher said.
Copyright (c) 2012 HealthDay. All rights reserved.


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Your search for GENERAL ELECTRIC Circuit Breakers returned 2814 results.
As a leader in the field, MIDWEST Electrical Testing supplies Reconditioned General Electric Electrical Equipment to the market place. We have a huge inventory of new and used General Electric Circuit Breakers to handle any application you may have. Our reconditioned GE Breakers are reliable and will meet your standards. Please contact us and let us take care of your new and used electrical equipment needs.


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Fighting diseases with genetic therapy
Genes make us who we are — in sickness and in health. We get our genetic makeup from our parents, of course, but in the future, we might be getting genes from our doctors too. Imagine your doctor promising to cure your cancer or heart disease by prescribing some new snippets of DNA.
For some diseases, gene therapy is already a reality. In other cases, genetic cures are still years away. Despite many challenges and setbacks — including some that are surely yet to come — experts predict that gene therapy will eventually become a crucial and even common part of healthcare.
"In the future, what you're going to see is many more diseases being approached using gene therapy," says Dr. David Russell, a hematologist and gene therapy researcher at the University of Washington in Seattle. "We'll eventually move out of the relatively rare diseases and move on to more common ones."
Research using altered genes has shown promise in treating blindness, cancer, hemophilia, heart disease, immune disorders and more. Engineered genes have already eradicated leukemia in a small group of patients; Dr. Carl June, an oncologist at the University of Pennsylvania's Perelman Medical School in Philadelphia, predicts the treatment could be widespread in as little as five years.
Virus vectors
Gene therapy is the process of adding a gene to cells to replace one that's either missing or broken. For many illnesses, researchers already know which genes should be able to do the job. The problem lies in finding the right delivery system, or vector.
These vectors are frequently benign viruses that work like Trojan horses, carrying the new genetic information to the cells. The trick is to find a vector that the patient's immune system won't destroy.
One much-studied vector is the adeno-associated virus, which tends to travel to muscle cells. This harmless virus is the workhorse behind Glybera, which is poised to become the first approved gene therapy in the Western world.
Glybera, which was approved by the European Medicines Agency in July, treats a rare genetic condition called lipoprotein lipase deficiency, or LPLD. The treatment replaces a defective gene with a healthy one and helps LPLD patients — who can't break down fat — avoid agonizing bouts of stomach pain and life-threatening pancreatitis. A single treatment is expected to last for several years. UniQure, the Dutch company that makes the drug, has yet to apply for approval in the U.S.
Virus vectors may someday seem old school. Researchers are experimenting with introducing an artificial 47th human chromosome to deliver new genes. It would exist alongside the standard 46 human chromosomes and carry additional genetic code to fight a specific disease.
Animal experiments have shown impressive progress. Gene therapies in mice have been effective to some extent in treating HIV infection, nicotine addiction, blindness and a fatal nervous system disease called spinal muscular atrophy. Transitioning these therapies to humans could take years or decades — if it ever happens at all.
Unfortunately, the history of gene therapy is riddled with disappointments. One particularly dark moment was the death in 1999 of 18-year-old Jesse Gelsinger of Tucson. Gelsinger suffered from a rare metabolic disorder called ornithine transcarbamylase deficiency, and he agreed to participate in a trial of a new gene therapy treatment. He died after his ammonia levels skyrocketed, causing brain damage followed by organ failure. An investigation found that researchers failed to report the possible risks of the drug, and the teen became the symbol of gene therapy's dangers.
Reason for hope
To many, the whole idea of gene therapy has a scary whiff of "Brave New World" about it. Skeptics question whether some promises will ever reach fruition. Even doctors who are devoting their life's work to gene therapies admit they're in it for the long haul.
"Progress in gene therapy occurs very slowly," says Dr. David Dichek, a cardiologist at the University of Washington in Seattle and a pioneer in developing gene therapy treatments for heart disease.
Still, there's plenty of room for optimism. In 2011, the story of a cancer survivor in New Jersey captivated physicians and the public.
William Ludwig, a retired corrections officer who was 65 at the time, was near death from chronic lymphocytic leukemia when he signed up to be the first patient to participate in a trial of a new gene therapy treatment.
In the trial, led by June, researchers started by removing a billion of Ludwig's T cells, immune system cells that fight tumors and infections. Then the researchers bolstered those T cells with modified genes — using a disabled version of HIV virus as the vector — and introduced the revamped cells into Ludwig's body.
The new genes did several things: They made copies of themselves, recognized the cancer cells and went on the attack. The fact that the T cells reproduced, allowing them to continue wiping out leukemia cells, was a major advance.
After 10 days, Ludwig became extremely ill with a high fever. Doctors feared he would die; instead, he recovered with no trace of leukemia and is still in complete remission. After two years, the other two patients from the same trial also appear to have recovered completely. June then conducted a second clinical trial in which five of 10 patients remain leukemia-free.
Confident that June's approach will take off, the pharmaceutical giant Novartis has agreed to invest at least $20 million to help develop the treatment. Eventually, June says, "we're planning on treating 100 patients a year."
So far, he's received about 5,000 emails from patients wanting to participate in his clinical trials.
"I think it will be FDA-approved within the next five years," June says. "It will be something you can go to your community hospital and get."
For now, he's concentrating on patients whose cancer has defied standard treatment. But he believes that his form of gene therapy could someday replace radiation and chemotherapy as frontline treatments for many kinds of cancer.
Other uses
In another widely publicized case, a similar gene therapy treatment saved the life of 7-year-old Emily Whitehead of Philipsburg, Penn., who suffered from acute lymphoblastic leukemia. In April, she became the first child in the world to receive genetically engineered T cells. Her cancer quickly disappeared.
Gene therapy is being studied as a treatment to improve heart health too.
Looking for more effective and lasting treatments for plaque buildup in the arteries, Dichek and his team at the University of Washington injected genetically altered cells directly into the arterial walls of rabbits. The rabbits' plaque either stopped building up or actually lessened, and the results lasted at least 48 weeks. Now, Dichek is awaiting funding for further trials.
"Atherosclerosis itself is a complex disease," he says, and it will take a while before humans could ever benefit from the approach. "I think we're still looking at more than a decade."
The cardiologist said he's been surprised at how little resistance he's received for an approach that some people equate with messing with Mother Nature.
"People are far more accepting of the technology," he said. "They're more concerned about solving these health problems than they are about the possible effects from altering people's genes."


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• delectation •
Pronunciation: dee-lek-tay-shên • Hear it!
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Delight, enjoyment, pleasure.
Notes: Today's Good Word comes with a much more popular adjective, delectable, which offers itself freely to adverbialization, to wit delectably. The verb with which all these forms are associated, delectate, today is a joke, as in, "I delectated myself with a Bach toccata and a glass of sherry before retiring." Using this verb is a great way to build a reputation as a weirdo (or eccentric if you are especially wealthy).
In Play: Those of us who do not hold English responsible for its lexical shopping sprees into Latin and French can enjoy today's Good Word without a touch of guilt or shame in such expressions as, "Arriving at table for the evening repast, we discovered it brimming with culinary delectations that left us all agog." This word may be used as above, as a count noun, or as an uncountable mass noun: "Adam Zapple made peculiar throat noises for the delectation of the baby, who returned only a puzzled look."
Word History: This word was originally Latin delectatio(n) "delight, pleasure", based on the past participle (delectatus) of delectare "to delight, to please". The verb delectare arrived in Old French as deliter along with a noun delit "delight". English borrowed this word, but our forespeakers, in order to make it sound more 'English', began spelling it like night, right, and sight. The current spelling of Middle English rime, as in "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner", arose in a similar way. Since poetry once was possessed of both rhythm and rime, Middle English scholars concluded that it must be a Greek word, like rhythm, and began spelling it so that it looked more like that originally Greek word. (We must now thank Sue Russell for the generous lexical delectation she has served us all by suggesting today's intriguing Good Word.)
P.S. - Register for the Daily Good Word E-Mail! - You can get our daily Good Word sent directly to you via e-mail in either HTML or Text format. Go to our Registration Page to sign up today!


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Let the drama begin! The first part of the Real Housewives of New York City reunion airs tonight and judging from the previews, it's an all out war between the ladies!
Following a season which was pretty much the Blondes vs. Brunettes, not much as changed between the castmates since filming ended months ago.
In the preview clip below, Ramona Singer and Countess LuAnn de Lesseps go at it over their verbal smack-down during a recent episode. Similar to the delusional and cra cra Kelly Bensimon, the Countess actually believes she is a nice person. Once again Andy Cohen is the voice of reason when he kindly lets her know she ain't that nice.
The topic of Lulu's marriage is brought up and shots are fired when Ramona accuses the Countess of having had an open marriage with her ex Count Alex de Lesseps! That would explain all the reports that have the Countess getting wasted in public and trying to make out with random strangers… in front of her then husband.
The reunion is super-sized tonight with the first part being 1 hour and 30 minutes long. It airs at 10/9c and immediately following that is a new episode of WWHL. The preview clip is below!
Meanwhile, Jill Zarin's daughter Ally Shapiro was featured on a recent episode of the RHONY during which it was revealed she was transferring away from Sarah Lawrence College.
According to a new report by Crushable, Ally's classmates at SLC are revealing why she might have wanted to leave the school while also painting a not so flattering picture of her. "She was standoffish," one student told Crushable. "She thought she was famous, and nobody cared."
A second student alleges that Ally was hospitalized earlier this year for alcohol poisoning and had to have her stomach pumped. Wowzers. "They tried to cover it up," the student said, "but we all knew it was her." The RHONY was filming then but of course this wasn't made a part of the show a la the shocking video of LuAnn's daughter Victoria that also hit the net during filming. A recent picture of Ally and Jill taken in June is below.


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We begin Part 2 of this three-part series by continuing our discussion of the requirements for securing and supporting raceway and other parts of electrical systems. The NEC requires raceways, cable assemblies, boxes, cabinets, and fittings to be securely fastened in place [300.11(A)] and provides a few specifics. Although Art. 300 does not go into great detail regarding securing and strapping requirements, the individual articles for the various wiring methods contained in Chapter 3 do include specifics you must adhere to, so be sure to refer to the article for each specific wiring method.
The support wires used to install suspended ceilings are not allowed to support raceways or cables. However:
- Independent support wires that are secured at both ends (and that provide secure support) are allowed to be added for the support of wiring methods [300.11(A)].
- Outlet boxes [314.23(D)] and luminaires may be attached to a suspended-ceiling grid that's securely fastened to ceiling-framing members [410.36(B)].
Most suspended ceiling systems aren't part of a fire-resistance rated assembly. If they are, wiring methods may be supported by independent wires attached to the ceiling assembly. However, these independent support wires must be distinguishable from the suspended-ceiling support wires by color, tagging, or other effective means in fire-rated ceiling assemblies [300.11(A)(1)]. The same installation is allowed in ceilings that are not fire-rated assemblies — the only difference is that marking the support wires is not required [300.11(A)(2)].
Raceways and cable sheaths must be mechanically continuous between boxes, cabinets, and fittings [300.12]. Two exceptions exist:
- Short sections of raceway used to provide support or protection of cable are not required to be mechanically continuous [300.12 Ex 1], and they are not required to be connected to an equipment grounding conductor [250.86 Ex 2].
- Raceways that enter the bottom of open-bottom equipment, such as switchboards, are not required to be mechanically continuous to that equipment [300.12 Ex 2], as shown in Fig. 1.
Raceways must be large enough to permit the installation and removal of conductors without damaging them and to allow the dissipation of the heat generated by current flowing through the conductors [300.17]. If a raceway is 24 in. or less in length, it can be filled to 60% of its total cross-sectional area [Chapter 9, Table 1, Note 4].
When all conductors in a raceway are the same size and of the same insulation type, Annex C can be used to determine the number of conductors that are allowed in the raceway. If the conductors in a raceway differ in insulation type or conductor size, the conductor fill must be limited to the percentages found in Table 1 of Chapter 9. Sizing a raceway is a two-step process:
- Determine the total area of conductors (Chapter 9, Table 5 for insulated conductors and Chapter 9, Table 8 for bare conductors).
- Select the raceway from Chapter 9, Table 4 using the percent fill listed in Chapter 9, Table 1.
Conductors in raceways
To protect conductors from abrasion during installation, raceways must be mechanically complete between the pulling points before the conductors are installed [300.18(A)]. Short sections of raceway used for the protection of cables from physical damage are exempt from this rule [300.18(A) Ex]. See 300.10 and 300.12 for more information on the mechanical continuity requirements for raceways.
Because of the effect of gravity on vertical raceways enclosing conductors, supports must be installed to relieve the stress on vertical conductors in runs where the vertical rise exceeds the values of Table 400.19(A). The conductors must be supported at the top, or as close as practical to the top [300.19], and intermediate support must be provided per Table 300.19(A).
To maintain an effective ground-fault current path and minimize induction heating of ferrous raceways (and enclosures), all conductors of a circuit must be installed in the same raceway, cable, trench, cord, or cable tray [300.20(A)]. See 250.102(E), 300.3(B), 300.5(I), and 392.8(D).
Single conductors are allowed to be run in nonmetallic raceways to ferrous enclosures [300.5(I) Ex 2]. Inductive heating of the enclosure can be minimized when doing this by the use of aluminum locknuts and cutting a slot between the individual knock-out holes in the wall of the cabinet or junction box through which the conductors pass (Fig. 2).
Fire containment
Install circuits and equipment in a way that doesn't substantially increase the potential spread of fire [300.21]. Fire-stop openings in fire-rated walls, floors, and ceilings using methods approved by the authority having jurisdiction (AHJ).
Use fire-stopping materials that are listed for the specific types of wiring methods and the construction of the assembly they penetrate. Directories of electrical construction materials published by qualified testing laboratories contain listing and installation restrictions for maintaining the fire-resistive rating of assemblies.
Outlet boxes must have a horizontal separation from other outlet boxes of not less than 24 in. when installed in a fire-rated assembly, unless an outlet box is listed for closer spacing or protected by fire-resistant "putty pads" per manufacturer's instructions.
Air handling spaces
Don't run wires through any ducts that transport dust, loose stock, or vapors [300.22(A)].
Ducts or plenums for environmental air
In some cases, devices or equipment must directly act upon or sense the air in a duct or plenum that primarily serves to transport environmental air [300.22(B)]. This is the only time that any wiring methods are allowed inside fabricated ducts or plenums that transport environmental air. In such cases, only the following wiring methods are allowed:
- Type MI cable.
- Type MC cable that has a smooth or corrugated impervious metal sheath without an overall nonmetallic covering.
- Electrical metallic tubing (EMT).
- Flexible metallic tubing (FMC).
- Intermediate metal conduit (IMC).
- Rigid metal conduit (RMC) without an overall nonmetallic covering.
Flexible metal conduit can be used in lengths up to 4 ft to connect physically adjustable equipment and devices if all openings are closed.
If lighting is necessary for maintenance and repair within the plenum, install enclosed, gasketed-type luminaires.
Other space used for environmental air. The space above a suspended ceiling, if used for environmental air, is an example of spaces to which this requirement applies. It doesn't apply to habitable rooms or areas of buildings, the prime purpose of which isn't air handling. The permitted wiring methods are different from the ones we just looked at, and are listed in 300.22(C)(1). Also, any cables used in a space used for environment air must be plenum rated cables. Be sure you understand this distinction; actual fabricated plenums are not the same thing as spaces used for environmental air. We are allowed to run certain wiring methods in spaces allowed for environment air [300.22(C)(1)], but we are never allowed to run any wiring methods inside fabricated plenums, unless they are there to service very specific needs inside the plenum [300.22(B)].
In other spaces used for environmental air, only electrical equipment constructed with a metal enclosure, or a nonmetallic enclosure listed for the application are allowed [300.22(C)(2)]. Dry-type transformers rated 50kVA and less with metal enclosures can be installed above suspended ceilings used for environmental air [450.13(B)].
You can install surface metal raceways, metal wireways with metal covers, or solid bottom metal cable tray with solid metal covers in other spaces used for environmental air, if you install them so that they are accessible [300.22(C)(1)].
That brings us to another point about removable panels, such as suspended ceiling panels. If you install anything behind or above panels, ensure the panels can be removed for access to the equipment and will not be blocked by cables, raceways, and equipment [300.23]. An accumulation of cables can hinder this, so route your runs with this requirement in mind. This is a requirement for all suspended ceilings — not just those that are used for environmental air.
Splices and pigtails
Conductors in raceways must be continuous between all points of the system [300.13]. This means you can't make splices in raceways, except as permitted by 376.56, 378.56, 384.56, 386.56, or 388.56. See 300.15.
In a multiwire branch circuit, don't wire a device such that its removal breaks the continuity of the neutral conductor. The only way to meet this requirement is to splice the supply side and load side neutrals together and then pigtail to the neutral terminal of the device [300.14(B)].
The opening of the neutral of a 2-wire circuit during the replacement of a device doesn't cause a safety hazard, so you don't have to pigtail these conductors [110.14(B)].
Boxes and fittings
In each box for splices or terminations, leave at least 6 in. of free conductor, measured from the entry point [300.14].
Boxes that have openings less than 8 in. in any dimension must have at least 6 in. of free conductor and at least 3 in. of free conductor outside the box opening (Fig. 3).
A box is required at each splice or termination point [300.15], except for:
- Cabinet or cutout boxes [312.8]
- Conduit bodies [314.16(C)]
- Luminaires [410.64]
- Surface raceways [386.56 and 388.56]
- Wireways [376.56]
- Class 2 and 3 control and signaling [725.3]
- Communications [90.3]
- Optical fiber [770.3]
A box is not required where:
- Splices are made in a cabinet or cutout box containing switches or overcurrent devices, if the splices or taps don't fill the wiring space at any cross section to more than 75%, and the wiring at any cross section doesn't exceed 40% [300.15(I)]. See 312.8 and 404.3(B).
- Splices are made underground, if you use a splicing device listed for direct burial [300.15(G)]. See 110.14(B) and 300.5(E).
- A luminaire is used as a raceway as permitted in 410.64 and 410.65 [300.15(J)].
- Conductors are installed in a handhole enclosure, and splices are made per 314.30.
Some general rules on fittings:
- Use fittings only with the specific wiring methods for which they're listed and designed [300.15].
- If you use a raceway for the support or protection of cables, reduce the potential for abrasion by placing a fitting where the cables enter the raceway [300.15(C)].
- You can use a fitting instead of a box or conduit body where conductors aren't spliced or terminated within the fitting, if it's accessible after installation [300.15(F)], as shown in Fig. 4.
While Art. 300 tells you where you need a box, it doesn't provide the requirements for installing boxes. However, Art. 314 does. So in Part 3 of this series, we'll see how to correctly apply those requirements.


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Study Raises Hope for New Drugs for Resistant TB
A new combination of three drugs killed 99 percent of patients' tuberculosis bacteria in two weeks, raising hope for a new weapon against increasingly resistant forms of TB.
The midstage study, presented on Monday at the International AIDS Conference in Washington, needs to be confirmed in larger and longer trials. Scientists say the drug cocktail could speed treatment and help reduce the emergence of resistant forms of tuberculosis.
"TB is the largest killer of AIDS patients, and so in order to contain the AIDS epidemic, we have to contain TB to a much greater extent," said Dr. Mel Spiegelman, chief executive officer of the TB Alliance, a non-profit research group that conducted the study, which was published in the Lancet.
The combination of drugs includes one existing TB drug, pyrazinamide, a repurposed antibiotic from Bayer AG called moxifloxcin that is now used off-label for patients with drug-resistant TB, and a new drug called PA-824 being developed by the New York-based TB Alliance.
What the combination lacks are any drugs in the class called rifamycins, which pose the greatest threat of side effects for patients who also are being treated for infections with HIV, the human immunodeficiency virus that causes AIDS.
"The results of this clinical trial give us the first indication that a new TB drug regimen - a combination of drugs - could be more effective than any of the existing TB drug regimens," Spiegelman said.
He said the combination is especially promising because it could be used to treat patients with both treatment-sensitive TB and TB strains that are resistant to two or more of the common drugs, known as multiple-drug resistant TB.
The findings come as the TB bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis is rapidly developing resistance to the world's most effective tools.
Standard treatment for TB usually includes a mix of four drugs over a period of six months and multi-drug resistant TB can take 18 to 24 months to treat.
Since most of the disease is cleared in the first few months, people often do not finish their full regimen of TB drugs, which can lead to drug resistance, making TB more dangerous and more difficult to treat.
According to the World Health Organization, in some parts of the world, one in four people with TB has a form of the disease that can no longer be treated with standard drug cocktails.
Even more deadly forms of TB are emerging. Dr. Zarir Udwadia of the National Hospital in Mumbai, India, has identified more than a dozen cases of TB that cannot be killed by any existing form of treatment.
TB kills an estimated 1.4 million people each year, and some 9 million people are newly infected.
In the midstage study conducted at two sites in South Africa, researchers tested the drug combination on 85 patients with TB. After two weeks, they found the new treatment combination was 99 percent effective at killing off TB bacteria in these patients.
A follow-up study of the treatment testing the drug combination over a two-month period already has begun and should be completed next year, Spiegelman said. Once that study is done, the group hopes to start large-stage clinical trials.
"The results look strongly promising from this early trial," Dr. Mario Raviglione, director of the World Health Organization's Stop TB Partnership, said in a statement.
"If further trials hold up, we may have a major solution for drug-sensitive TB and drug-resistant TB."
The study was funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the U.S. Agency for International Development and the British and Irish governments.
Besides the promise of a new treatment for TB, the design of the trial, which tested several combinations of drugs at once to find the most effective treatment, may help advance the study of other TB treatments, Raviglione said.


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Contact Us
About Us
Fifty years ago, the three rail O gauge hobby consisted mainly of restoring and running postwar Lionel® trains. Forty-five years ago, the most elaborate way to run three-rail trains was a rebuilt ZW transformer. Forty-two years ago, a twenty-year-old named Mike Wolf opened a toy train mail order business in a bedroom of his parents' home. At train shows, customers approaching his table didn't realize he was the business owner, and often asked to speak with his father.
Fast forward four decades and we all look a little older.
We are arguably in the golden age of model railroading, with more product choices, both scale and semi-scale, than we ever dreamed possible back in 1980. Our trains have amazing detail, CD-quality sound, and run smoothly at scale speeds. We can model almost any railroad in almost any era. Railroaders can choose among multiple command control systems and experience more features and more fun while running multiple trains on the same track at the same time.
How did this happen?
Two things came together: A generation of children raised on Lionel and American Flyer trains reached a point in their lives when they had the time, money, and desire to have a hobby. And folks with vision created products to fill that desire, at M.T.H., Lionel, Atlas, Williams, Weaver, QSI, Third Rail, and others, along with pioneers who are no longer in the hobby, like Jerry Williams, Bill Benson of Right of Way, and Maury Klein of KLine.
Many of you have been with us since the beginning, and others have joined our journey along the way. We believe that M.T.H. continues to be a leader in this hobby, for several reasons. First and most important, we try to be a leader in communicating with you. We're the only model railroad company that publishes a weekly e-newsletter, and we try to make our catalogs and other literature as inviting, informative, and fun to read as possible. We've even expanded our use of online social media, like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
Second, we have the broadest product range of any model train company in the world. M.T.H. offers full product lines in HO scale, two-rail and three-rail O Gauge, One Gauge, and Lionel Corporation Tinplate. The benefit for you is that research and development in one scale often leads to new products in other scales; in addition, our broad reach across many segments of the hobby increases our financial stability, an important factor in tough economic times.
Technology, service, and management are other factors that have made us a leader. We have a separate research and development facility in Michigan, with its own dedicated staff. We were the first model railroad company to establish ongoing seminars to train and update technicians at more than 150 M.T.H. Authorized Service Centers.
Finally, we believe that one of our greatest resources is a management team distinguished for its unique blend of talent, continuity, and cohesiveness. As his company grew, Mike hired the most talented people he could find to head each department.
In 2021, M.T.H. owner Mike Wolf retired and sold off the HO and S Gauge product lines as well as some O Gauge tooling. The company transitioned into three smaller companies and relocated into a smaller facility in Elkridge, MD.
M.T.H. continues to churn out new products every month with a smaller staff and a number of outside contractors, many of whom worked directly for the firm for two or more decades.
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M.T.H. Electric Trains
6660 Santa Barbara Road
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Elkridge, MD 21075
Products bearing American Refrigerator Transit Company, Chicago and North Western, Denver & Rio Grande, Denver & Rio Grande Western, Rio Grande, Missouri-Kansas-Texas, MKT, M-K-T, Missouri Pacific Lines, Missouri Pacific, Mo-Pac, Pacific Fruit Express Company, Pacific Fruit Express, Southern Pacific Lines, Southern Pacific, Cotton Belt, Cotton Belt Route, Texas & Pacific, Union Pacific Railroad Company, Union Pacific or Western Pacific are made under trademark license from Union Pacific Railroad Company.
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Cthulhu v. Japan
"The masterpiece of judicial thinking!"
Cthulhu v. Japan is a case tried in US Supreme court on May 32, 1974, and remains one of the most controversial cases in US history.
The synopsis of the case is as follows: California-based branch of Japanese hentai producer Perv Jerkoff LLC has released a hardcore hentai motion picture All holes filled, with tentacles Vol. 8 into US market. However, despite critical acclaim, there was a controversy, since it was immediately recognized by the majority of the audience that the film's GGI contained samples of Cthulhu's tentacles. Immediately upon being notified by his followers, Cthulhu appeared before the Supreme court as a materialised nightmare to file a suit. The court granted a preliminary injunction stopping the sales of the video, and then certiorari review.
Arguments of the parties[edit | edit source]
The plaintiff aserted that although he recognized that the release of video in question and its 7 prequels was legitimate (mglw'nafh) in Japan, according to the oral contract (pr'hgywarnt) between Takeshi Kitano and Cthulhu, which provided Cthulhu with annual 200 virgin sacrifice in exchange for said intellectual property, the contract only provided specific rights of distribution in Japanese market. Said rights were released only on specific conditions, and since the copyright holder violated them under article VI of UNCITRAL rules, Cthulhu is entitled to 30% of movie's gross and punitive damages, resulting in devouring souls(fhtagn) of the entire Board of directors of Perv Jerkoff LLC US division.
The defendant rebutted, stating that since Cthulhu never took steps to minimize the damages, thus his actions were in bad faith, resulting in void of any legal guarantees. The defendant's representative, Johnnie Cochran, stated, that Cthulhu was properly informed in writing by certificate issued by Japan Ministry of Otaku, that Japanese people have no souls, therefore, the contract never authorised any involuntary soul comsumption. Said certificate was duly notarised and delivered to R'lyeh by certified mail prior to the conclusion of the contract.
Cthulhu didn't contest such discovery, however, he agrued that soul consumption is a natural part ( Ph'nglui) of any contract of any kind if one of the parties is the Old One or Lesser Old One, therefore, the defendant might have acted in bad faith himself. He also agrued that Second Amendment allowed him to devour souls of those Americans who didn't have at least one shotgun, a pair of semi-automatic rifles and no less that 7 handguns at home at all times.
Ruling of the court[edit | edit source]
The decision was one of the most controversial ones, since two of the justices weren't careful enough and were quickly consumed by Cthulhu. He was duly fined $50,000 for contempt of the Court, since both consumed justices were Republicans. The remaining Democratic Majority quickly dismissed Cthulhu's assumptions of good faith, since being a priori the ultimate evil ( wgah'nagl) didn't allow Cthulhu to have good faith at all. However, Judges Mel Gibson and Lincoln Rockwell dissented, writing that "the rumors of Cthulhu being the ultimate evil are greatly exagerrated. Jews are the ultimate evil (see A. Htler, Mein Kampf, III ed, Berlin 1933, pages 2-682), and are cause of all the wars in the world, so comparing to ZOG Cthulhu is a far lesser evil, [sic] the civil rights of Cthulhu are guaranteed by US constitution". The remaining arguments were dismissed on the grounds that Japanese cannot be held liable for any actions at all, because of their debilism. Judge Dredd, writing for the majority, elaborated that "just like dogs can't be held liable for pissing on your lawn, Japanese can enter in no legal contract at all, because they are imbeciles. Just at those fucking gooks behind the wheel! Or at those stupid jap cars. How can you even think of building anyting that has 25 M.P.G. mileage? They are just monkeys. Except for Toshiro Mifune, he's kinda cool." The court also declined to overrule its previous decision Cthulhu v. NCAAP (1954), citing jugde Lynch "all dem niggers have naa sawl", and applying this pearl of judicial thinking to the current situation. The court explicitly overruled Cthulhu's invocation of Second amendment defence, ruling that since it guarantees rights of "the people" large underwater creatures are extempt from its scope. Cthulhu argued, however, that since he devoured countless souls of humans, he should be granted respective rights based of this fact.
Consequences[edit | edit source]
The effect of the decision was profound, and basically led to overflowing of US market with cheap Japanese pornography. Cthulhu was disappointed, and commented on his defeat curtly at the press conference: "Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn", devouring several journalists aferwards.
Trivia[edit | edit source]
The defeat of Cthulhu is said to be solely attributed to Jewbacca defence used by defendant's lawyer during trial.
Joining of the squid people[edit | edit source]
In a later re-release a new CGI effect was used this time with The squid peoples tentacles. though the makers of the movie felt that because the tenticles were not documented under the Cthulu Vs. Japan case that they could go ahead with the use of the tentacles. naturally Squidrallia being the media hub that it is, they got a copie of the movie and felt this was a hurtful and elegal infringements on there rights as geneticly engeneard creatures. So a class action lawsuit ensued and Perv Jackoff LLC's componie was permanently shut down for repeated offences. Also there winning of the case and haveing a permanent act no tentacle hentai without creature consent law was put into place to prevent this from ever happening again


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The October tour was followed by an elegant evening, with a cocktail reception at the La Valencia Hotel highlighted by sunset over the Pacific. Dinner, entertainment and libations were provided in honor of all who have contributed to the company's success and provided inspiration for continued success. The company also celebrated its newest creation, to its guests delight, the McKenna Martini. Made in tank T-9, the buzz-worthy batch featured batch cards, procedures and proper INCI designations of all ingredients, and was carefully tested by Dennis Owen himself before final release from QC.
The event also allowed the company to highlight the combined manufacturing, chemistry, engineering, regulatory, systems and business expertise that facilitated its double-digit growth rates, achieved over the past five years. Owen noted that genuine determination to be a key role in customers' success resulted in the achievement of aggressive goals.


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Advanced Search
Digital Textbooks | News
CourseSmart, an educational services platform and provider of digital course materials, will launch a research project in partnership with Internet2 and Educause. Up to 20 educational institutions will be invited to take part in the project, which tests a new business model for digital course materials.
Participating institutions will have a choice between two flat fee options to provide students with access to CourseSmart's catalog of more than 30,000 e-textbooks from 40 publishers. For the research project, participating schools can choose a 100 student license for $27,500 per semester or a 200 student license for $44,000 per semester with the option to add more licenses at a cost of $200 per student per semester.
The students will pay $275 or less for CourseSmart's Subscription Pack, which lets students place up to 12 titles on their virtual bookshelf at any point during the semester. Faculty members will "receive free, unlimited access to CourseSmart's entire catalog through the Faculty Instant Access (FIA) program," according to the company.
Participating institutions will be able to integrate CourseSmart titles into their learning management systems (LMS), so students and faculty will be able to access course content through the LMS. CourseSmart also offers iPhone, iPad, and Android apps, so faculty and students can access the e-textbooks anytime, anywhere through their mobile device.
CourseSmart e-textbooks offer features such as search, copy and paste, notes, highlighting, and bookmarks. Notes, highlighting, and bookmarks are automatically synchronized, so students always have access to them, regardless of which device they are using to access their e-textbooks.
CourseSmart is WCAG 2.0 AA-certified to support students with vision impairment, reading disabilities, and other special needs. Eighty percent of its titles have been optimized for accessibility, and they will optimize other titles on request.
Institutions interested in participating in the research project or learning more about it can find further information at coursesmart.com.
About the Author
Leila Meyer is a technology writer based in British Columbia. She can be reached at [email protected].
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Orlando – Nickelodeon Recreation VP and Creative Director John Paul Geurts will moderate a discussion on branding and themed environments at the annual SATE conference hosted by the Themed Entertainment Association (TEA) Sept. 30-Oct. 1 at Universal Orlando Resort.
With the theme "Telling the Inherited Story," the 2-day SATE conference examines the making of compelling places and guest experiences at theme parks and museums. SATE denotes Story, Architecture, Technology, Experience. Early bird registration for SATE is still in force through Aug. 30.
Geurts's branding panel will include Tina Skees, Corporate Director, Guest Experiences of Herschend Family Entertainment and Donald J. Weber AIA, of design/build firm The Weber Group Inc. It is one of two architecture-related panels at SATE organized by Penny Peavler, Director of Brand Development and Marketing for The Weber Group.
"Where in the world is the future of hospitality design?" is the topic to be explored in the second panel, moderated by Peavler and including Fran Boettcher, AIA LEED AP of PBS&J, Jonathan F. Douglas AIA, Managing Principal with VOA Associates Inc. and Dave Eagleson, Vice President at Forrec Ltd.
"Commitment to sustainability is important for the future, not only in terms of materials and systems but also in terms of process, life cycle and integration of technology," notes Douglas. "This could be everything from trip-planning, check-in and how the room works, to changing elements based on individual moods and expectations."
SATE topics and speakers will also include:
• The Wizarding World of Harry Potter™: Members of the team that brought this new attraction to life at Universal Orlando® Resort discuss the process of keeping the integrity of the story intact while developing it into an immersive guest experience.
• Beyond All Boundaries: Presenters from The Hettema Group, a design and masterplanning company, talk about the creation of the award-winning new 4-D theatrical multimedia experience at the World War II Museum in New Orleans.
• Fort Worth Museum of Science and History: Van Romans, president of FWMSH and former Disney executive and Chick Russell of Chick Russell Communications present the 21st Century transformation of the Museum.
• Walt Disney Imagineers share philosophies and approaches in "Keeping the Magic Fresh: Evolving the Legacy."
Registration for SATE 2010 is now open.
About SATE (Storytelling, Architecture, Technology, Experience)
SATE is a professional design conference presented by the Themed Entertainment Association (TEA) annually since 2007. The mission of SATE is to stimulate dialog among the makers of compelling places and guest experiences, reaching across a broad range of creative disciplines and market sectors within the attractions industry. SATE provides an environment to share diverse ideas and concepts, to challenge and inspire, and to discover collaborative opportunities. SATE Committee Chair is Kile Ozier.
A European counterpart, the first SATE Europe, is currently in planning stages by the TEA Europe & Middle East Division. It will take place in addition to the US conference.
SATE is organized by a volunteer committee of TEA leaders in conjunction with TEA staff. SATE 2010 committee chair is Kile Ozier, working with Larry Tuch of Narrative Concepts, Dan Christman of X-nth, Steve Birket of Birket Engineering, Penny Peavler of Weber Group and George A. Head. SATE 2010 sponsors include Birket Engineering, Electrosonic, PBS&J, Thorburn Associates, Universal Studios and VOA Associates Inc.
About TEA
The TEA (Themed Entertainment Association) is an international nonprofit alliance founded in 1991 and based in Burbank, Calif. TEA represents some 7,000 creative specialists, from architects to designers, technical specialists to master planners, scenic fabricators to artists, and builders to feasibility analysts working in more than 650 firms in 30 US states and 40 different countries. TEA presents the annual Thea Awards and the TEA Summit and hosts the annual SATE conference (Story, Architecture, Technology, Experience). TEA also produces a variety of print and electronic publications, including the TEA/AECOM Theme Index, TEA Project Development Guidelines, and TEA Annual & Directory.


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Berlusconi's Chilling Effect on Italian Media
By Darian Pavli
Democracy is about more than casting ballots. When Italians went to the polls this week, what information and ideas shaped their votes?
For the past thirty years, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's family has controlled Italy's top three national TV channels, known as the Mediaset empire. As head of government, Berlusconi has also maintained a tight grip on the "public service" national broadcaster, Radiotelevisione Italiana (Rai). Together, Mediaset and Rai control roughly 90 percent of national audience and advertising revenue shares.
To get a rough idea of the decline since Berlusconi entered politics in the early 1990s, imagine the media mogul Rupert Murdoch, whose News Corporation already owns one of the UK's top networks, Sky Television, also buying controlling shares in ITN and Channel 4, finding a way to become Britain's Prime Minister, and then systematically dismantling the independence of the BBC. That's basically what has happened in Italy.
This has made broadcast media coverage increasingly partisan. Berlusconi and his government have repeatedly attempted to muzzle critical Italian media and avoid scrutiny. Now, the only significant criticism of the government comes from a handful of print outlets and a few isolated voices within Rai.
Let's just look at this past year:
- In June 2009, Berlusconi called publicly on businesses not to advertise in newspapers critical of his handling of the economy, singling out his old nemesis, the left-leaning La Repubblica. In the meantime, his government channeled roughly 90 percent of its own annual advertising to the Mediaset networks.
- In August 2009, he sued La Repubblica for libel over its publication of ten questions to Berlusconi about his allegedly improper relationship with a minor; he also threatened to sue French and Spanish media over similar stories.
- The government proposed and pushed through the lower house a bill that would criminalize publishing transcripts of wiretapped conversations leaked by law enforcement agencies. Italian journalists criticized the government's proposal as overbroad and self-interested, and the proposal was sidelined temporarily. However, it was reactivated in the upper house earlier this month, when allegations emerged that prosecutors had stumbled upon conversations between Berlusconi, a member of the broadcast regulator overseeing Rai (Agcom), and a top Rai director. Berlusconi allegedly complained about critical voices within Rai and put pressure on the directors to silence dissent. Past disclosures leaked to the media have implicated Berlusconi and his allies in various corruption affairs.
- In late 2009, the government introduced another bill that would require all websites carrying any video content, such as YouTube or any typical news site, to be licensed by the government and treated as regular broadcasters. No other Western democracy has attempted to regulate websites in this way. The proposal was only dropped after a barrage of international and domestic criticism.
- In July 2009, the Italian Parliament approved a government proposal to re-introduce the criminal offense of insulting public officials, which had been repealed in 1999 after years of deliberation.
- Another initiative is promoting a constitutional amendment that would prohibit, in drastic terms, "printed publications, shows and other displays ... that violate human dignity or the right to privacy." The intent seems to be to provide a constitutional basis for prior restraint of media stories.
- In a recent submission to the European Court of Human Rights, the Open Society Justice Initiative argued that consolidated ownership and control of broadcasting in Italy violates the right to pluralistic information guaranteed to all Italians by the continent's bill of rights.
- To top it off, ahead of this week's municipal elections, a parliamentary committee controlled by the government majority imposed content restrictions that made it impossible for Rai's political talk shows and investigative programs to maintain their regular formats during the campaign. This was followed by a decision of the Rai board that outright suspended an array of talk shows, including those most critical of the government.
The blatant and unprecedented conflict of interest between Berlusconi's media holdings and his government position has remained unresolved since the early 1990s. Italy's highest tribunal, the Constitutional Court, has ruled multiple times that such media concentration is illegal. Yet its decisions have not been enforced. For example, a decree from an earlier Berlusconi cabinet allowed Mediaset to hold on to all three of its channels, for nearly a decade, in open defiance of a Constitutional Court order.
At the continental level, the European Court of Justice has found Italy in violation of EU broadcast competition laws. This year, the Council of Europe requested, for the second time since 2004, an expert opinion on Italy's compliance with European media freedom and pluralism principles. In January, the European Parliament came just three votes short of passing a measure criticizing the consolidated control of Italian media.
It is time for the democratic world to denounce the limitations on media freedom in Italy even more forcefully. This situation is a serious embarrassment to the idea of democratic pluralism, and a terrible model for emerging democracies around the globe.
Until April 2015, Darian Pavli was senior attorney on freedom of information and expression issues with the Open Society Justice Initiative.


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The Nexus 7 tablet will turn one in July, and a new report claims that Google plans on giving the popular slate a makeover to celebrate. Annual makeovers are nothing new for gadgets, but Reuters reports that Google might have a trick up its sleeve for this particular refresh: An even more wallet-friendly price tag for the already cheap tablet.
Google never disclosed sales figures for the Nexus 7, which is manufactured by Asus, but according to analytics firm Localytics Google's tablet owns 8 percent of the global Android tablet market share, trailing Amazon's Kindle Fire family (33 percent), Barnes & Noble's Nook (10 percent), and Samsung's gaggle of slates (9 percent). Asus previously said Nexus 7 sales approached some 1 million per month.
How low can you go?
Even without any solid sales figures from either party, it's clear that Google's main rival in the Android tablet market is Amazon Kindle Fire line, which starts at $160 for the original model or $200 for the new and improved HD version. Selling a previous model at a discount price is not a new strategy: Apple has selling the iPad 2 alongside the subsequent iPads for over a year now.
It appears Google has yet to decide how it will price the new Nexus in order to be more competitive with Amazon, which doesn't mind selling its tablets as cheaply as possible in order to push digital content like books, movies, and music. One possibility is that Google will maintain the Nexus 7 pricing at $200, while discontinuing the old model. Ho-hum.
The other, more intriguing possibility put forward by the one of Reuters' sources suggests that Google might price the new tablet even more competitively at $149 in a bid to gain market share for Android tablets.
According to iSuppli's teardown analysis of the original Nexus 7, it costs Google and Asus around $170 to manufacture the slate. Reuters' sources indicate we could see a higher-resolution screen and a thinner bezel for in the second-generation Nexus 7, while the heart of the beast is said to swap out Nvidia's Tegra 3 processor for a more energy-efficient Qualcomm processor.
Considering the economy of scale, Google might be able to break even or incur a small loss to get the new Nexus 7 in the hands of more people at $150, albeit at the likely chagrin of its manufacturing partners.
Selling that kind of firepower for $150 doesn't leave a lot of room for other hardware makers to eke out a living. If Google decides to slash prices that far it risks facing a manufacturer mutiny, threatening the long-term viability of Android as platform in a quest for quick boost in adoption rates.
A third possible option would be for Google to approach Apple and Amazon's model and sell the old Nexus 7 at $150 while offering the new version for $200. Even if Google and Asus discontinue manufacturing the current Nexus 7, they could still sell its remaining stock at a reduced price.
Going that route makes more sense than selling the new tablet at $150. If the refresh maintains the $200 price point, Google could pack more competitive components into its 7-inch tablet and avoid angering its hardware partners.


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GlassCraft 1 Panel Arch Top Arch Lite Double Warwick • 5' 4" x 8 ́0 ̋ Tall ThermaPlus®Pre-Hung
- Regular Price
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GlassCraft WROUGHT IRON BUFFALO FORGE STEEL THERMAPLUS
Patented Ferralites® Wrought Iron Grilles
GlassCraft's ThermaPlus Wrought Iron Series features real handmade wrought iron grilles and textured or clear insulated glass panels. The patented design features a wrought iron grille that is "hinged" to allow the grille to be opened for ease of cleaning. The iron grilles are available in eight wrought iron designs, and are pre-finished in the same color as the door. Choose from five glass texture options with varying obscurity levels (see below). The degree of "obscurity" is noted for each glass texture option. The glass panels use tempered safety glass to make a two-layer-thick safety glass panel.
Composite Door Frames with STRIKEJAMBTM Buffalo Forge Steel THERMAPLUS Doors are available as door-only or as pre-hung with rot-proof composite door frame with StrikeJambTM. Pre-hung units include the T-astragal (for double doors), sill cover, weatherstripping, and adjustable threshold, plus 3 ball-bearing hinges on 6'-8" tall doors and 4 ball-bearing hinges on 8'-0" tall doors. StrikeJambTM Pre-hung units have the option of GlassCraft's exclusive StrikeJambTM reinforce- ment, providing extra security around the door frame strike plate area with the addition of a large 18 gauge steel reinforcing plate on single doors, and a steel reinforcing plate added to the astragal for double doors. Pre-hung units have a factory finish in one of 6 colors. Standard pre-hung door units can be ordered with any of our standard double bore or multi-point lock sets and handleset options. Pre-hung entryways include a 4-1/2" jamb or an optional 6-1/2" full composite jamb for an additional cost, and composite exterior brick mold. GlassCraft composite jamb system can be stained or painted. The Strike Jamb reinforcement (image shown at right) is installed on the lock side jamb leg for safety and security.
Glass Texture Options
You may choose from 8 glass texture options for any of the speakeasy doors shown in this section. See page 6 for all glass options.
*Please specify Glass, Wrought iron grills choice in the notes section during checkout. Call us or email us with any questions prior to purchasing. GlassCraft pre-hung doors made to order, please allow 4-6weeks for delivery via LTL.


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Where are you in your birth story?
You can get off the bench and into the game
Brian Salmon, Founder
How did a 3rd-time father transform into his wife's dream birth partner?
Married couple Tim Tuttle and Erica Rico co-host a popular, award-winning morning show on Q93 in Houston and were expecting their first child together (their blended family was already 7 kids strong).
Having been through the birthing process 7 times already, they desired something different when they asked me to work with them.
That's when I introduced them to my Rocking Dads and Facilitating Fearless Birth class.
If your relationship could be stronger, your passion for each other greater, and you became an essential partner, wouldn't you want to learn how?
The Rocking Dads program teaches you the excitement of being the best partner.
Once you've been through the birth process,
you're a pro, right?
Well, that's not true.
Even though this was Tim's 3rd birth, I saw in him what I typically see in first-time fathers: anxiety, fear of the unknown and yet he still had the desire to learn and grow.
Erica was also skeptical about the course because of her previous birthing experiences.
But as Tim progressed through the course, I began to see profound changes in his attitude and increasing awareness of the entire birth process; he learned how to:
Keep his relationship on track throughout the pregnancy
Understand all stages of labor and how he could make it easier
Support his partner in all stages, including breastfeeding
Build his self confidence, and watch his partner gain confidence in him
I saw his engagement increase and he truly became the partner Erica wanted and needed.
"I had someone who not only supported me but knew what they were talking about!"
This scenario can be your story
Contrary to what you think, there are tried and true ways to experience these exact same results. You can get off the bench and into the game.
My name is Brian Salmon (aka The BirthGuy). I'm a Doula, Birth Mentor and Certified Lactation Counselor (CLC). I've studied Bio-chem and pathophysiology as well as Radiology.
I've participated in numerous births and worked with thousands of families, and learned we're all universally connected and similar because of birth.
Since 2005 I've been mentoring expecting fathers, and seeing thousands of positive outcomes led me to create a course just for dads – the Rocking Dads course.
This course delivers amazing exercises and information to transform a normal guy (even a manly man like Tim!) into a Rocking Dad.
I want to help you be an engaged partner like Tim.
In my Rocking Dads course you'll learn…
The importance of learning to let go of the past.
Easy exercises to bring you closer to your partner.
Tips on building a family culture for your new family.
And much more!
"You turned a freaked out iron worker that was sure he needed Xanax to a more assured, understanding, prepared father-to-be in just a few days."
"My husband took the Rocking Dads class and came home sounding like a Rock Star! I'm pretty sure he knows more than I do at this point."
"You learn various things on how to keep your significant other comfortable from early labor through post birth. It certainly will help you build a bond with your partner."


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New Recycling Initiative to Raise Funds and Help the Planet
Recycle Electronics on Campus
Published: February 10, 2014
Students, faculty and staff at UW Bothell can now recycle small electronics on campus, thanks to a new partnership with Waste Management. "We evaluated several programs, and ultimately selected the "Cartridges for Kids" project with Waste Management," says Tony Guererro, Assistant Vice Chancellor for Facilities Services at UW Bothell. The program, which has been used widely in K-12 schools in Washington State, will return a portion of recycling proceeds back to UW Bothell. Guererro says funds could be used to fund student sustainability projects.
Currently, UW Bothell recycles paper and plastic and it has a composting program. The university plants about 3,000 trees per year, has been pesticide-free since 2006. Sustainability is one of the core values of the campus 21st Century Initiative; green practices are incorporated into every aspect of campus life.
Items that can be recycled include printer cartridges and small electronics including mp3 players, phones, cameras and laptops. All personal information should be removed from devices prior to recycling.
Two bins have been placed in UW-1 and UW-2.


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Pink evening dress, cute party dress, sleeveless prom dress,sweet party dress
Color:as picture or custom color
Neckline:spaghetti strap
Back details:bandage
Dress type:A-line
This dress could be custom made, there are no extra cost to do custom size and color.
1, If the color is customized, please note the color & card number.
2,You can choose standard size or custom size . If dress is custom made, we need to size as following:
*Waist __________inch/cm
*Hips __________inch/cm
*Nipple to Nipple__________inch/cm
*Shoulder to Bust _______cm/inch (measured from middle shoulder to nipple)
*Shoulder to Waist _______inch/cm(measured from middle of shoulder to natural waist)
*Shoulder to Shoulder _______inch/cm(measured from the back of shoulder)
*Hollow to Floor(without shoes)__________inch/cm
*Arm Length(if long sleeves)__________inch/cm
*Your Height ( From your head to your foot without shoes )__________inch/cm
*Occasion Date_________
3,Shipping Time : rush order within 15 days to arrive you .(but we need charge you more extra $30 for rush )
*** Usually need more than 20-25 days to arrive you .
Tailoring Time: 15-20 Days.
Shipping Time: 5-10 Days.
Total Time: 20-30 Days.
If you are urgent to get the dress please note us in advance .
To make your dress experience as smooth as possible, We will assist you and answer your questions with our suggestions from the beginning until you receive your dress. But this is not the end. Also If you would have any question about your dress after you receive it, just let us know and we will be keep in touch with all our care.


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Quarks are fundamental particles that are one of the two types of fermions, the other being leptons. Quarks are the only elementary particles that interact in all four fundamental interactions of physics. There are six flavors of quarks: up, down, strange, charm, bottom, and top quarks. The antiparticles of quarks are called antiquarks. Quarks have spin 1/2, baryon number 1/3, and electric charge 1/3 or −2/3. Properties and quantum numbers usually can be found by direct experimenting but confinement of quarks stops any chance of precise measurement.
The word quark originates from the passage "Three quarks for Muster Mark!/Sure he hasn't got much of a bark/And sure any he has it's all beside the mark." from Finnegans Wake by James Joyce.


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4G-LTE is a wireless technology capable of download speeds up to 10 times faster than 3G. That's roughly the speed of your home broadband network.
Carriers are rolling out 4G over the next few years, and they're in different stages of their expansion. Verizon currently has 371 markets covered nationwide, covering 75% of the U.S population. AT&T has 65 markets, covering 24% of the population. Sprint covers just 19 markets. Those numbers are in constant flux: All of the carriers plan to significantly increase their 4G coverage fairly rapidly.
AT&T says it will have 4G LTE in more than 100 cities by the end of 2012. Sprint says it will have its network available in 100 additional cities "in the coming months." Verizon plans to have 400 markets covered by the end of the year. Some metro areas where LTE is partially deployed do not yet appear on carriers' official coverage maps.
Eventually, all three nationwide iPhone carriers say their 4G coverage will be as pervasive as 3G. Until then, users will find their iPhones shifting in and out of 4G. When your phone leaves a 4G zone, it will seamlessly move to 3G as a backup.


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Sunday, November 11, 2012
Street fair! Street fair! Street fair!
Our friend esquared™ sends this along from this morning at Astor Place... Does the timing seem strange for a street fair?
street fairs
3 comments:
Don't eat the food. Who knows what it's been through
- November 11, 2012 at 12:18 PM
- Uncle Waltie said...
YIPPEE! Now I won't have to do laundry, after all.
- November 11, 2012 at 1:05 PM
- Uncle Waltie said...
Got 6 black t-shirts, 6 pairs of socks and some underwear. Life is good.
- November 12, 2012 at 5:28 AM
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Buoyed by the success of my first sewing project with the pink apron, I headed straight onwards and upwards and became (too ?) ambitious for my next project. I wanted to make a dress. The remnant bin this week produced a rather random print in blue and brown which I am never to sure about because this was the color of my old school uniform. What's more the fabric was stretchy and I had no idea what to do with it. It cost about $5 and I bought some dark brown thread for 70c.
I came across the Nancy dress pattern and thought – yes, its only rectangles, I can do this !
So I cut out my rectangles according to the pattern pieces and measurements, sewed them up (in like, 5 minutes) and tried on my new dress. Er….. sack/shroud? Yikes it was way way too big and completely shapeless and here I came across my first fitting problem. I think it was down in part to my choice of fabric because it has a lot of stretch so it was loose. But because its only rectangles, it was easy to just pin in the sides a little (I did some on each side) and then sew up again, cut off the extra and retry.
Perfect fit – well, good enough for my first dress I think. Do excuse the photo – it was a very windy day and everything looks a little windswept – including me!
However, I wanted a bit more shaping in front, and I don't like to go without a bra, so I added some halter straps made simply from long rectangles of fabric sewed up and then turned the right way out and hemmed the ends. The shaping on the front was easy, I just gathered an inch and half of fabric in a bunch in the center and then sewed back and forward through it a couple of times and I had a little shaping.
That afternoon I wore my dress to the supermarket, and saw a colleague who said 'Cute dress' and I beamed and said 'Thank you. I made it myself.' and my love of sewing was cemented for good.
So if you fancy making your first dress, try the Nancy pattern. It is easy to sew, has good instructions and you can customize it to fit your shape really easily, add straps etc. And it can also be worn around the waist as a long or maxi skirt too.


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Australian hedge fund seeder Scout Global Funds has joined IMQ as co-seed of Romanesco Capital Management's systematic trading strategy, the Persistence Fund.
Scout aims to identify and invest in best of breed emerging managers worldwide. The firm's mandate is to allocate to well-researched, innovative and disciplined strategies with smaller assets under management, as these emerging managers often offer a compelling investment case.
Scout's backing of the Romanesco Fund alongside IMQ provides the new fund with another endorsement and connects it with a complementary group of investor candidates.
Persistence's portfolio is broadly diversified across 45 liquid futures markets comprising currencies, bonds, equity indices and commodities that are implemented across the different geographical regions on a 24-hour basis with the help of a proprietary developed automated execution algorithm. The algorithmic models look for break-outs from trading ranges and aim to reduce exposure after spikes in volatility.
The trading models can be long, short or flat in each market. As such, Persistence is more selective than most funds in deciding when to be exposed to particular markets.
Jeroen Tielman (pictured), IMQ's chief executive and founder, says: "We welcome this development as another step in our ambition to develop a collaborative, global network with institutional investors and like-minded seeders."
Oliver Alliker, Scout director, says: "We are very pleased to be working with IMQ on a co-seeding of the Romanesco Persistence Program.
"Scout shares the view with IMQ that an exposure to emerging managers can provide investors with added diversification and non-correlation. With the opportunity for strong performance if the processes are in place to conduct detailed due diligence and adequately monitor managers.
"Like IMQ, we have identified Romanesco as a strong prospect. The strength of its short-term asymmetrical strategies are shown by its excellent risk adjusted returns over a difficult period for many of the more established systematic traders."