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Improved Prevention and Search Techniques May Improve Recovery and Avoid Incidents of Missing Drivers with Dementia, Study Led by USF Nursing Finds
Tampa, FL (Dec. 14, 2012)— A new study focusing on how people with dementia become lost while driving, how missing drivers are found, and the role of public notification systems like Silver Alert in these discoveries suggests techniques that may help recover drivers with dementia and prevent potentially harmful incidents.
The study was led by principal investigator Meredeth A. Rowe, RN, PhD, FGSA, FAAN, professor and endowed chair at the University of South Florida College of Nursing. The findings were published online last month in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society: Missing Drivers with Dementia: Antecedents and Recovery.
Based on the study results, the research team reported several recommendations to help guide local policies and training for Silver Alert-type programs that broadcast information about missing seniors with Alzheimer's disease, dementia or other cognitive deficits, including:
– Rapid, direct notification of law enforcement agencies as well as equipping officers a mechanism for quickly assessing the cognitive status of drivers is critical. Law enforcement officers are more likely than citizens or family members to discover missing drivers with dementia.
– More detailed information about a missing individual, not just a description of the car being driven, may better assist law enforcement officers and citizens in rescuing lost drivers who have left their vehicles to wander on foot.
– State and federal agencies planning a Silver Alert program need to develop policies and procedures that recognize the distinct differences between those missing while driving and those lost while walking.
– Retirement from driving is the only preventive option when individuals can no longer safely operate a motor vehicle because dementia interferes with their ability to retain and use new information.
"With the baby-boomer generation getting older, the number of the people living with Alzheimer's disease is on the rise," Dr. Rowe said. "Most Americans depend on driving their own car to meet their transportation needs, even for the most basic needs such as food. It will be critical to identify other means of transportation for people with dementia (PWD) to facilitate driving retirement. This strategy will be the most effective intervention to reduce and prevent incidents of missing PWDs. Strategies commonly recommended, such a hiding the car keys, are potentially protective only in a small number of cases."
According to Alzheimer's Association, 5.4 million Americans live with Alzheimer's disease, including 800,000 who live alone. One in eight older Americans lives with the memory-robbing disease, including 450,000 Floridians age 65 or older. These statistics highlight the need to find more effective ways to search for missing drivers with dementia and reduce missing incidents.
Dr. Rowe and her colleagues analyzed 156 law enforcement records for missing drivers who had a Silver Alert issued for October 2008 through May 2010. These alerts are issued on digital highway signs and news broadcasts in Florida to assist law enforcement officials and the general public in identifying and safely returning cognitively impaired drivers.
The researchers found that most missing drivers were men, ages 58 to 94, who were cared for by a spouse. Most got lost on routine, caregiver-sanctioned trips to usual locations. Only 15 percent were found while driving, with most discovered in or near a parked car — and law enforcement officers recovered the large majority of drivers with dementia.
In addition, only 40 percent were found in the county where they were reported missing, and 10 percent were found in a different state. Another 15 percent were found in dangerous situations such as stopped on railroad tracks. There was a 5 percent mortality rate in the study population, with those living alone more likely to be found dead than alive.
"While some PWDs may continue to drive safely, it is imperative that we identify individuals who will get lost, determine predictors of modifiable outcomes, and establish policies that will improve location of those individuals who get lost," said study co-author James E. Galvin, MD, MPH, professor of neurology and psychiatry New York University Langone Medical Center.
A comprehensive Silver Alert program that includes law enforcement and community education as well as rapid alerts is critical to finding missing drivers, the researchers conclude. Their findings led to recommendations for an additional study on how notifications be more effectively delivered to facilitate increased recoveries from "Good Samaritan" citizens.
The researchers emphasize that getting cognitively impaired people to retire from driving may be the single most effective measure for prevent missing incidents that may lead to injury or death.
"Important aspects of successful driving retirement include a partnership between the healthcare practitioner and caregiver to support the decision for driving retirement, the identification of local and state programs… and assistance in finding alternative forms of transportation in the community," they report.
-USF Health-
USF Health's mission is to envision and implement the future of health. It is the partnership of the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine, the College of Nursing, the College of PublicHealth, the College of Pharmacy, the School of Biomedical Sciences and the School of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Sciences; and the USF Physician's Group. The University of South Florida is a global research university ranked 50th in the nation by the National Science Foundation for both federal and total research expenditures among all U.S. universities.
-About NYU Langone Medical Center-
NYU Langone Medical Center, a world-class, patient-centered, integrated, academic medical center, is one on the nation's premier centers for excellence in clinical care, biomedical research and medical education. Located in the heart of Manhattan, NYU Langone is composed of four hospitals – Tisch Hospital, its flagship acute care facility; the Hospital for Joint Diseases, one of only five hospitals in the nation dedicated to orthopaedics and rheumatology; Hassenfeld Pediatric Center, a comprehensive pediatric hospital supporting a full array of children's health services; and the Rusk Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine, the world's first university-affiliated facility devoted entirely to rehabilitation.


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Sodium Thiopental
Adriano Taylor
King´s College, Madrid, Spain
Also available: HTML-only, VRML and Chime Enhanced versions.
Sodium Thiopental (also called Sodium Pentothal) has the formula: C11H17NaO2S. This molecule is a trademark of Abbott Laboratories. Sodium Thiopental was discovered in the 1930s by Ernest H. Volwiler and Donalee L. Tabern while working for Abbott Laboratories. Dr. Ralph M. Waters first used it in human beings on March 8, 1934. The investigation centred on its properties, which were discovered to be short-term anesthesia, but surprisingly little analgesia. Its IUPAC name is Sodium 5-ethyl-6-oxo-5-pentan-2-yl-sulfanyl-pyrimidin-4-olate and it has a molecular weight of 264.32.
Sodium thiopental is a barbiturate; these are drugs that act on the gamma-amino butyric acid (GABAa) receptor which decrease neuronal activity. Barbiturates enhance the GABAa receptors, decreasing drastically neuronal activity. It is because of this that overdoses can be lethal. In fact many famous people have died due to overdose on barbiturate-based drugs: e.g. Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe, Jimmy Hendrix, and others. The A.U.M., the Japanese terrorist group that in 1995 released sarin nerve gas in the Tokyo subway, is reported to use sodium thiopental on their members to keep them loyal. It is believed that their chief chemist produced 1.7 kg of sodium thiopental.
Sodium thiopental is very well known to moviegoers as the "truth serum". Movies such as Stormbreaker, Meet the Fockers, Kill Bill vol.2, are recent examples of Hollywood's poetic license when it comes to the use of this 'truth serum'. However, sodium thiopental was used by the CIA for many years, and was recently used against Al-Qaeda members to find out secrets within the organization. As mentioned above, it isn't actually a 'truth serum' as such, but it reduces neuronal activity making it harder and harder to think. Using the fact that it is harder for the brain to tell a lie than to tell the truth, sodium thiopental makes the subject dreamily blurt out the truth. But it does not work on people who truly believe in their lies, and therefore is not a reliable source of information.
This drug is also used in the induction phase of general anaesthesia, this is because of how quickly it takes effect. It usually takes less than 30 seconds for the drug to reach the brain and cause unconsciousness. It is not used for prolonged anaesthesia due to the excessive amount of time it takes for the patient to regain consciousness after induction. Instead, inhaled agents are used so that moments after the inhaled agent is removed, the patient regains consciousness.
Sodium thiopental is used in several countries for capital punishment. For example, it is used in 34 states of the U.S.A. as one of the contents of the three syringes used in 'death by lethal injection'. During the process, the criminal is given a mega dose of sodium thiopental which very rapidly places him in a coma. The other two syringes usually contain pancuronium bromide and potassium chloride, which kill the comatose criminal in a humane way in around 10 minutes. It is said that the barbiturate alone would kill the criminal in approximately 45 minutes. In Holland they use sodium thiopental for their euthanasia program, because it induces the patient into a coma so he does not feel any pain.

subset: commoncrawl


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British Labour Party leader Ed Miliband has intensified his party's promotion of anti-immigrant chauvinism. In two speeches now, Miliband has decried what he terms are uncontrolled levels of immigration, while advocating a strengthening of national identity.
On December 14, he delivered a speech in Tooting, south London, billed as a major address that would advance future policies if Labour were to return to government. In it, he said that the previous Labour government had "made mistakes" with immigration policy, chiefly its decision to allow unlimited migration from the 10 countries, mostly eastern European states, that joined the European Union in 2004.
The aim of Miliband's remarks was to place the blame for the disastrous decline in living standards for the broad mass of the working class in recent years onto immigrants and shift the debate sharply to the right. He claimed that there were legitimate concerns in Britain about the impact of uncontrolled immigration on the provision of key public services, which a future Labour government would address.
Miliband said nothing on the destructive role played by the financial elite, whose speculative activities over decades have in reality led to declining living standards and the decimation of public services—exemplified in the massive bailout for the banks from public funds that was one of Labour's real crimes when in office.
He indicated that Labour may accept the Conservatives' policy of an immigration cap, which is being enforced by implementing stricter conditions for entry into Britain.
Miliband demanded that all immigrants to Britain commit to learning English. He advocated that English proficiency be made a condition for employment in public sector jobs, and indicated that similar discriminatory measures could be employed in the allocation of housing. Councils should cut budgets for providing translation services, he added, in favour of funding English language courses.
He made clear that far from being provided with assistance to improve their language skills, responsibility would be placed firmly on the individual and families to do so. He advocated the use of "home school agreements" to ensure that parents be made responsible for the English language abilities of their children. Under conditions where school budgets are being slashed nationally and the education system as a whole sold off to the private sector, such proposals are part of an agenda to eliminate public education.
His remarks naturally allowed Conservative Party prime minister David Cameron to go on the offensive. Cameron denounced Labour, stating, "They presided over a completely broken immigration system that over 10 years allowed 2 million people net come to the UK—that is two cities the size of Birmingham. What we inherited was a complete and utter meltdown and mess. Theresa May [the home secretary] made an excellent speech this week in which she explained some of the steps she has taken, including closing down 180 bogus colleges."
May's speech was a rant that promoted all the usual nostrums of anti-immigrant chauvinism. She cited census figures showing that "whites" were in the minority in London and vowed to impose the government's immigration cap. In particular, she emphasised the need to slash the number of international students coming to the UK by more than 100,000.
Miliband's anti-immigrant stance was based on a declared "one nation" vision borrowed wholesale from the Tories, which he had raised in his party conference address in October. He concluded his speech on December 14 by declaring, "If we work hard, and we work together, we can build One Nation. A proper strategy for integration. So that we have a fair nation not an unjust one. A nation with common bonds, a common life, where everyone has a stake, not a segregated society."
Two weeks later, in his new year's message released December 28, Miliband continued on his "one nation" theme, stating, "One nation Labour is about reaching out to every part of Britain, it's about a party that is as much the party of the private sector as the public sector, a party of south as well as north, a party determined to fight for the future of the United Kingdom, and a party rooted in every community of our land."
The themes raised by Miliband—flag-waving nationalism, anti-immigrant chauvinism, support for the free market and a hostility to what remains of Britain's welfare state—have been discussed in the party for some time. Such ideological positions were the basis for the formation of the Blue Labour faction in 2009 by the academic Maurice Glasman and leading Labour figures such as Jon Cruddas.
Glasman denounced the "state-driven, redistribution-driven, equality-driven Labour tradition that comes straight out of 1945" in a book entitled "The Labour tradition and the politics of paradox". This work—endorsed by Miliband, who authored an introduction—outlined the standpoint of Blue Labour summed up as "flag, faith and family."
Glasman wrote, "The blue refers to the centrality of family life, a recognition of the importance of faith, a real commitment to the work ethic, a very casual but nonetheless profound patriotism that people feel about England."
He criticised the previous Labour government under Tony Blair, which he asserted had embraced a "globalisation" that had produced an "influx of immigrants". Glasman went so far as to call for "engagement" with members of the English Defence League, a fascist organisation sponsored by the state that organises acts of violence and other provocations against immigrants.
Miliband took up this core message last summer, seizing on the occasions of the Queen's diamond jubilee and the summer Olympics in London to advocate nationalist politics. In a June 7 Daily Telegraph article, Miliband wrote, "In the midst of the Jubilee, the European Football Championship and the Olympics, we have a unique chance to reflect on who we are as a country. And now, more than ever, with the Union under threat in Scotland, we need to talk about the different identities that make up the United Kingdom. In particular, we need to talk about England...we should talk about England as we forge a progressive patriotism which celebrates our differences and honours our people."
Under conditions of the imposition of a social counter-revolution by the ruling elite throughout Britain, the anti-immigrant and nationalist demagogy traditionally associated with the far right is seen as a useful tool to divert the mounting social anger in a reactionary direction to divert blame from the ruling elite for implementing the deepest austerity measures since the 1930s.
Miliband's reactionary pronouncements were embraced by the Guardian. Jackie Ashley penned a piece in the traditional paper of the liberal "left" entitled, "Labour can afford to push harder on immigration". Ashley argued, "There are some fundamentals on which Labour should be more forthright, less mealy-mouthed. One is language. What we want is a strong sense of common citizenship, obligation and rights going together. That's always been the progressive position. But it's impossible to fully participate if you don't speak and understand English. Miliband is talking about this at last, but can afford to push harder."
Working people must reject with contempt the entire framework of the official "immigration debate". The resolution of the bitter and deep-seated social, economic and political problems confronting broad layers of the working class in Britain and internationally is only possible by tackling them at their root cause, which is the capitalist profit system.


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I think we now know WHY the video is not being released. Because IT SHOWS WHAT KURT SAID!!!!!! I mean, where is his apology? Where? They come out in the media, basically calling Kurt a liar, then they take it back, but it is in the bottom of another nonrelated article. Ridiculous. And still, to date, no authorities contactinig KURT to ask him to look at the freaking video and help identify the guy. It's so insane to me. We have an eyewitness to this, and they just don't care.
"Federal agents also tell ABCNews.com they are attempting to identify a man who passengers said helped Abdulmutallab change planes for Detroit when he landed in Amsterdam from Lagos, Nigeria.
Authorities had initially discounted the passenger accounts, but the agents say there is a growing belief the man have played a role to make sure Abdulmutallab "did not get cold feet."
Click here to read the entire article


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Finding Goatse: The Mystery Man Behind the Most Disturbing Internet Meme in History
Sometime in the late 20th century a naked man bent over, spread his ass and took a picture. Eventually that picture, known as Goatse, became one of the most venerable memes in internet history. Who is this man, and how did his ass take over the internet?
The story of Goatse begins with a mustachioed, wiry man in his late forties who goes by the name "Kirk Johnson." Johnson is a prominent practitioner of extreme penetration, which is the extreme penetration community's term of art for sticking huge objects up your ass. For years, Johnson has been rumored to be the Goatse man, based on their similar frame, skills, and matching moles on both Goatse's and Johnson's ass.
Reader, I examined the moles. They match.
Everyone remembers their first Goatse (pronounced Goat-see). I'm not sure the exact circumstances of my first, but I do recall the weightless horror after clicking on the link as a greasy teenager, screwing around online between rounds of the first-person shooter Counter-Strike, that directed me to the now-defunct Goatse shock site: www.Goatse.cx.
This is what I saw at Goatse.cx: a picture of a skinny naked man with his back to the camera, bent over at a 45 degree angle. He's reaching back with both hands, four-fingers deep, stretching his asshole to the diameter of a cantaloupe. It's a flash photo taken very close and the man's gaping ass is lit a queasy red against a nondescript dark room, everything else dangling where it should be. The photo is cropped at the man's neck; the one tantalizing clue to his identity, besides his obvious talent, is what appears to be a gold wedding band on his left hand.
(Oh, just go see it for yourself, if you must, but be warned: It is as awful as its reputation claims. Don't open this at work. But if you sincerely feel your time has come, here's Goatse. I recommend exercising similar caution in following the links throughout this article.)
Your first Goatse hits you in waves, rocking between confusion and disgust as the physiological reality of the picture resolves gradually, magic-eye style. Jay Stile, the pseudonymous founder of the infamous shock site Stile Project and a person who has seen more than his share of gross things, clearly remembers his first thoughts upon seeing Goatse.
"One: How is that physically possible? How is he not dead?" Stile told me. "Two: Why would any human ever want to do that? Three: the guy had a wedding ring on his picture! It's probably, like, your university professor, or a doctor or a lawyer. You have no idea who this person is; it could be your neighbor—behind closed doors, people really do fucked up shit. You go through this whole range of emotions. Why, who, what, where? It's just fucked. It's unbelievable that someone would do that."
And after that: "Oh God, I need to show this to everyone so they feel the same pain I did."
Since the late '90s, this sequence of events has been repeated often enough that it's safe to say that millions of people have shared the pain of their first Goatse. The photo was the original internet bait-and-switch: Share a link to a hot girl, a cute puppy, but— boom—it's Goatse instead. Goatse'ing someone without their consent is emotional assault. It's also funny as shit.
Goatse peaked in popularity in the mid-2000s and then faded, but it remains the most enduring meme of Web 1.0. There are T-shirts and tribute sites. The mere mention of Goatse will bring a wince—or a smile, depending on the person—to the face of the initiated.
But for all that, the full history of Goatse has never been told. After two weeks of staring deep into the metaphorical and literal black hole of Goatse, it's easy to see why.
Kirk Johnson's bios on his many porn site profiles describe a bisexual man with a penchant for huge black dildos. He's anywhere from 45 to 48 years old, depending on which profile you go by. He's stunningly prolific. His profile on the adult image-sharing site Imagefap, which holds the most complete collection of his work, boasts 15,156 photos, all of which have been compiled over the last five and a half years. His videos of xTube have been collectively viewed more than 22 million times.
When I began looking into Goatse's identity, I depended on the longtime rumors that the men's similar frame and matching moles all pointed toward Johnson. I couldn't be sure, though, so I consulted an expert: A man who calls himself Grey. He's the proprietor of the Big Sex Toy Store, an online erotic novelty shop specializing in extreme penetration gear, where the bestseller is an eight-inch PVC slip-on penis-extender. Grey is very familiar with both Goatse and Johnson, and he approaches them both with the practiced eye of the connoisseur.
"It's like a musician going to a symphony concert. They're going to hear things different than the average person," Grey, a middle-aged man who talks about jumbo butt plugs like they're models of lawnmowers, told me over the phone.
And Grey's discerning eye says Goatse and Johnson are the same person.
"If you've seen enough of his videos you can kind of recognize him pretty quickly. 'Oh, I know that butt!'" Grey said. "He's kind of a slender guy but he inserts these huge objects to an incredible depth. I admire his capabilities." Grey said he once emailed Johnson an offer of some free free toys, but never heard back.
While I had Grey on the phone, I asked about the other big mystery of Goatse. Does this guy have to wear a diaper, or what? Grey must get asked this a lot. He patiently explained that extreme penetration is like any extreme sport. Injuries can and do occur, but only if you're reckless. He's never heard of even the most extreme penetrator ever requiring a diaper.
"The anus is a voluntary muscle," he said. "Our parents trained us to close them, you can train them to open. It takes time, it takes practice, it takes lots of lubricant. But you're actually training the muscle. You're improving the muscle tone by doing this."
Mystery solved.
In an earlier time, Johnson would have trained his muscle in obscurity; maybe a few shoeboxes of his pictures would have ended up in some extremely dedicated porn fanatic's collection. But around 1997, a collection of 40 pictures of Johnson— including the now-famous one—called "Gap.zip" began making the rounds in gay porn communities on the global forum network Usenet.
Great Moments in Goatse History
• Oprah: In November 2000, the Goatse image was posted in one of Oprah Winfrey's online message boards, and it was shut down soon after.
• New York Yankees: A hacker redirected all of the mail from Yankees.com to Goatse.cx after the Yankees won the World Series in 2000.
• L.A. Times: In June 2005, the Times's special editorial site was taken down after only two days of operation after "explicit images known as Goatse appeared on it."
• New York Times: Tech blogger Anil Dash appeared in a Times article wearing a Goatse-inspired T-shirt.
• London Olympics: b3ta user Sean Stayte successfully supplanted the London 2012 logo with his own Goatse-inspired creation during a BBC News broadcast in June 2007.
• Audi: In April 2011, Audi unintentionally used a Goatse-esque image in an ad campaign.
Usenet was an early iteration of the massively crowd-sourced web we have today. A free-wheeling cauldron of chatter and shared images, anyone could create a forum dedicated to their interests. And unlike corporate-controlled AOL chatrooms that were at least nominally policed, Usenet was decentralized, built from the ground up to protect free speech. In the early and mid '90s, Usenet filled up with all the weirdos, hobbyists, trolls and geeks who had previously congregated online on isolated dial-up message boards, if at all. The natural result of this grand union was an epic flamewar between cat lovers and trolls. Porn, including a disturbing amount of child porn, flooded the site's "alternative" boards. Usenet, in other words, was the perfect primordial soup for Goatse to crawl out of.
It's unclear if Johnson uploaded the fateful Gap.zip file himself. Some sources say Johnson self-posted Gap.zip to the gay porn forums. But one Usenet gay porn fan who recalled spotting Gap.zip back in the day told me in an email, "It is unwise to identify the file as originating from usenet, as though Johnson posted it there himself. A lot of these files 'originated' in emails, ftp servers, etc." Maybe the Gap.zip photos were a special gift for a friend.
So the image that would eventually be known, almost universally, as Goatse first emerged in a tiny, dark corner of the web. But to become a true viral sensation required a crucial leap in technological sophistication. And Goatse had to be named.
The first step came when the famous image from the file was plucked off of Usenet by a group of online friends called the Hick crew. By all accounts, Hick members were that special geek brand of technically brilliant poop joke-tellers. They were teenage hackers, programmers, pranksters, and internet fanatics, mostly men, who made their home base on the website Hick.org ("The Hick.org farm") and shot the shit in chat rooms.
The Hick.org website was managed by Matthew Miller, a notorious computer programmer known online as "Skape." Miller would eventually make his name developing Metasploit, a powerful tool for finding vulnerabilities in software, and he now works for Microsoft's security team in Seattle. A giant cow's face with a human mouth greeted visitors to Hick.org, which also hosted the official site of the "Firm Penis Corp."
By 1998, the Goatse image had become a running joke in the Hick crew, used to screw with one another and their enemies. One of their favorite pranks, according to former Hick associate Orin Heidlberg, was to invade Christian chat rooms and scroll endless links to the image until the room emptied and they could use it for themselves.
"That was a dark time in my life," Heidlberg told me. She'd been inducted into the crew on the strength of a satirical website she made. "That's what I did in high school. There were certain channels we would kind of bully. 'Christian Singles' was one of them and 'Jesus' was one of them."
After the squares fled, the Hick crew would take up the channel as their own.
It was fun, but the reach of Goatse was limited by a clunky distribution method. This was before Flickr and ubiquitous cloud storage, so the image was stored in an unlabeled directory on a server owned by Miller, according to Heidlberg. The unwieldy URL— hick.org/whatever/whatever.jpg, say—didn't make for good bait to catch unaware browsers. (This was before URL shorteners made all links easily booby-trapped.)
"They wanted an easier place for people to see it other than just a directory on another website," Heidlberg said.
So in 1999, a hacker and Hick associate who used the handle Merl1n registered Goatse.cx "for the purpose of trolling," according to a person familiar with the early days of the site. The meaning of the domain has been hotly debated. Some say it's an approximation of "Got Sex?" a play on the Got Milk campaigns popular at the time, or an acronym for "Guy Opens Ass To Show Everyone."
We may never know for sure. "Honestly, no one talked about the meaning of Goatse so I'm not sure why merl1n chose the name," said our source. "But with the .cx domain a lot of people pronounced it 'goat sex' as well."
But at the time, the Hick crew knew a dedicated webpage would help them spread the word of Goatse. The unusual .cx domain in particular was a brilliant touch, as it hinted at some undiscovered internet realm. Goatse.cx would also come to include a feedback page, which featured fan mail, screeds against the site, and various people claiming to be Goatse man himself. The archived (safe-for-work!) feedback page is like a congregation praying to a one-eyed God.
Heidlberg remembers when a member of the Hick crew excitedly IMed her the link after Goatse.cx had gone live.
"I remember him being really pumped when it was happening, saying 'Everyone's going to see this and you're going to tell everybody.'"
Heidlberg took advantage of the new Goatse site right away. She secretly changed the browser homepage of all of the computers in her library's lab to Goatse.cx. After half a day of students' brains melting, the librarians, unable to change the homepages back, called on the one person they knew had the technical knowledge for help: Heidlberg.
"That's my greatest feat of computer hacking," said Heidlberg, who never did any real hacking. "Bringing Goatse into 'real life' felt like a rad hacker prank, or a real-life troll. It let me be as cool in real life as I was online."
More impressively, after the Yankees won the World Series in 2000, a hacker redirected all the mail from Yankees.com to Goatse.cx. "We called up yankees.com to tell them we were getting there mail (which was pretty funny..), then later on the FBI calls wanting to 'meet,'" a Hick member named Shane boasted at the time.
With the shareable domain name, Goatse.cx quickly made the leap from underground inside joke to the geek mainstream. Now you didn't need a server to host your own image, or get inducted into the Hick Crew: The site was sitting there, begging for its next victim, and noobs were falling by the thousand. Even the New York Times would find itself Goatse'd, in a way.
In the early 2000s, the venerable tech news site Slashdot became so inundated with Goatse links in comments and posts that it was forced to change its code to allow users to see the domain of the site they were about to visit, specifically to keep them from getting Goatse'd at work.
Pioneering internet culture blog Boing Boing posted so much about Goatse that some of its readers quit the site. "After 3 Goatse references in 4 days. I don't care what is said on the blog at all," griped one blogger. "That's enough, it's a horrible thing, and if you don't now what I'm talking about then I suggest you DON'T go looking for an answer."
There was a difference between the Goatse obsession of Boing Boing and the earlier Hick crew. Boing Boing constantly referenced the gaping ass but never showed it. They posted reactions to the Goatse, stories about other people Goatseing celebrities, and countless corporate logos or book covers that had an unfortunate resemblance to Goatse.
The joke was more about the existence of Goatse, and what its existence said about the internet, than simply frightening squares off. Goatse "occupies a sweet spot, horrifying as that phrase might seem in this context, for mainstream America's prejudices about the internet it was collectively pouring itself into at the time," Rob Beschizza, a Boing Boing blogger, told me in an email. "Goatse exemplifies how the internet brought the weird and wild right in front of people's faces, but is so absurd and funny that its disgustingness is somehow defanged."
The sentiment was widespread at the time. Goatse wasn't an isolated phenomon. The early 2000s were a good time for anything disgusting on the web. Famous shock sites like Tubgirl (girl + body fluids + tub) and lemonparty (old dude orgy) went live and found followings. Around the country, Rotten.com was demolishing teenage innocence.
Driving the gross-out trend were strange entities called "everything/nothing" (E/N) sites. Part Livejournal, part proto-social networking profile, E/N was where disaffected young people who spent too much time on the internet threw up whatever scraps of web detritus they could find or make. Their all-encompassing ambivalence was captured in the name.
If there was one thing connecting the E/N scene, it was the desire to shock. E/N girls mainly shocked with frank discussions of their personal lives and confessional webcam sessions. E/N guys shocked with porn and gore.
Jay Stile was one of the E/N guys when he started his own site, the Stile Project, in 1999. The site began as typical E/N fare, with daily musings interspersed with the occasional exotic pornographic artifact. But he quickly realized that it was the gross stuff that brought traffic. He ditched the words and turned into a tireless filth aggregator, combing the web for the most fucked-up pictures and videos of gore and porn he could find. He started his search at breakfast.
"For 12 years straight, seven days a week," he told me, "I would wake up and go filter through millions of pictures looking for the weird, odd fetishes."
Stile Project hosted the entire Gap.zip file and the Goatse image, of course. Stile once wrote a fake article announcing that Goatse guy had died from stretching his ass too far, a rumor that still persists today. He pulled a more impressive stunt in 1999 by faking his own suicide by hanging on webcam. Howard Stern discussed whether he was actually dead on his radio show, and Stile won a Webby award for his work in 2000.
At one point, Stile told me, he was getting a half-million page views a day. And it wasn't just dudes who were fans. Stile wistfully recalled his far-flung female "groupies" who would put on private webcam shows for him.
"Web fame can be pretty fun," he said.
By the time he was 27, Stile had saved enough to buy a house and finally move out of his mom's basement—and to pay for the therapy sessions he now needs to cope with what he's seen.
It was through the E/N scene, so epitomized by Stile's site, that prominent tech blogger and entrepreneur Anil Dash first discovered Goatse. He's one of the erudite, funny geeks you wouldn't think at first would be a fan of a giant gaping ass, but he was attracted by the sense that all the fuss around Goatse suggested signs of a new, vibrant web culture.
Anil Dash in the New York Times.
"It was kind of a secret handshake thing," Dash said. "It was so transgressive that it could only happen on the web. And it was something that was a bit of a hazing ritual, an induction ritual that you went through and now you're part of web culture."
So when, in 2005, the New York Times called his San Francisco office to tell him a photographer was on his way to take his picture for an article, Dash sprinted two blocks home and changed into a T-shirt he had bought. It was branded with the word GOATSE and the characteristic stretching hands. He had never actually thought he'd wear it.
"I was really worried, because I knew [New York Times Deputy Technology Editor] David Gallagher and I knew he would get it—and I thought, oh man, if he saw it that would be bad." But the shirt made it through the Times' edits. The next morning, Dash was bombarded by friends who had seen the paper on the East Coast, and a picture of him smiling in the Goatse T-shirt lit up the triumphant blogosphere.
"The Times' revealing that they didn't know there was a web culture that could be disseminated through their newspaper was a big thing," he said.
Goatse had completed its transformation from sex picture to hacker gag to internet emblem.
One thing gives me pause about Kirk Johnson's identity as Goatse. The Goatse picture is some dark Lovecraftian horror, a hurried snapshot of a secret shame. But Kirk Johnson poses with his face and dopey mustache in full view in proud, well-lit space. Indoors, Johnson works in a single corner of a beige room, in front of a white door. Sometimes he moves to a big bathroom with a new slate floor. Outdoors, Johnson does his stuff in a bright meadow, or a quiet birch grove. In one picture he's doing it ankle-deep in the shallows of a pond, framed by lime-green reeds. The seasons change. Here is Kirk spread-eagle on a bare piece of ground between snow patches. In all of them, the weird contrast between the wholesomeness of his rural abode and the literally gut-wrenching things he does to his body is completely at odds from the freakshow vibe of Goatse. Also, the wedding ring is nowhere to be seen.
There's no question that Kirk Johnson is aware of the Goatse phenomenon. His porn profiles are littered with people paying their respects to "Goatse man." Tim Hwang, an entrepreneur and founder of the influential internet culture convention Roflcon, invited Johnson to do an interview for a documentary. Hwang never heard back, and from what I can tell, Johnson almost never communicates with his fans, let alone journalists. I sent him a number of messages while he was logged into his accounts and never got a reply.
The one person I found who did claim to have direct contact with Johnson was the owner of the fisting porn site Extremehole.com. He goes by the name Gerco. In a 2006 post on the porn industry message board Go Fuck Yourself, Gerco offered a possible explanation for how the sad man in Goatse became the carefree Kirk Johnson [sic'd]:
His ex was a nurse, he use to fly experimental aircraft, and ultralights. He works as a truck driver etc. I have talked with him many times and he has provided content for EH but, just his solo stuff. I don't have a "amatuer" section on the site anymore so I don't use any of it.
He's actually is a regular poster on other boards and in some newsgroups. Including current pictures and video. He's had a rough time of it, got divorced lost most everything. It's been about 7 months since I talked to him on the phone last, but he had moved into a new house out in the country. His new pictures reflect that since he now has the freedom to do his extreme play outside on his property. I sent him an email about an hour ago to see if would be interested in hooking up for a paid shoot, BUT I have been down this road many times with him and have never been able to actually get it worked out. Believe it or not, but he is also a private person.
But in an email, Gerco wouldn't elaborate on his relationship with Johnson and said he'd lost contact with him years ago. He did, however, tell me that Johnson knew about Goatse. "Yes he was [aware] but disappointed that everyone seemed to be making money off him without compensating him for it."
The time for Johnson to cash in on his fame has probably passed. The Goatse.cx website was shut down in 2004 after a complaint from a Christmas Island resident, and though the image continues to horrify many through a number of knock-offs, it seems that the internet's heart just isn't in it anymore. A huge portion of the web's cultural activity takes place on Facebook these days, which has a small army dedicated to cracking down people who post images like Goatse.
The Internet's gross-out moment has passed, too. Internet culture these days does come from the hacker and programmer underground, as Goatse did in the '90s. But the tamer form of xkcd comics, unfunny Reddit memes and the latest bombastic video from the hacktivist collective Anonymous dominates the web instead.
"We've gone past 'jaded' to the point where the internet's nasty underbelly is just part of our collective imagination rather than something to fear," said Beschizza, the Boing Boing blogger.
Jay Stile sold his site last year, and it became a vanilla porn portal. Stile is now a marketing consultant for porn sites.
"I got burnt out after doing it for 12 years," he said. "I wake up and I'm eating an omelet while looking at girls shitting in people's mouths and I was like, 'this is not how I want to spend my morning.' I'm done with this shit."
After just two weeks in the gaping chasm of Goatse, I know where he's coming from.
Top image by Jim Cooke.


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Human papillomavirus (HPV) is the most common sexually transmitted infection (STI). There are over 120 HPV types. One study found HPV in 77% of people assigned female at birth (AFAB) with HIV. HPV is transmitted easily during sexual activity. HPV is so common that nearly all sexually-active people get it at some point in their lives.
Some types of HPV cause common warts of the hands or feet. Infections of the hands and feet are usually not transmitted through sexual activity. Several types of HPV cause genital warts on the penis, vagina, and rectum. People with HIV can get worse sores in the rectum and cervical area. HPV can also cause problems in the mouth or on the tongue or lips. Other types of HPV can cause abnormal cell growth known as dysplasia. Dysplasia can develop into various cancers.
Dysplasia around the anus is called anal intraepithelial neoplasia (AIN). AIN is the development of new abnormal cells in the lining of the anus. Dysplasia in the cervical region is called cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN). AIN and CIN appear to be more common in people with HIV.
Many people have HPV infections but don't know it. HPV can go away without causing any problems. To detect HPV, healthcare providers look for dysplasia or genital warts.
A Pap test (or smear) is used to check the cervix for CIN. It can also be used to check the anus for AIN. A swab of the region is smeared on a glass slide or mixed into liquid and examined under a microscope. The cells are examined for abnormalities that may indicate abnormal cell changes, such as dysplasia or cervical cancer.
In 2009 the FDA approved two tests that use the sample collected by a Pap test. These tests look for types of HPV that are linked to health problems.
Some researchers believe that anal and cervical smears should be checked each year for people with elevated risk:
- People who have had receptive anal intercourse
- People who have had cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN)
- Anyone with a CD4 cell count below 500 cells/mm3
However, other researchers think that careful physical examination can detect as many cases of anal cancer as anal Pap testing.
Genital warts can appear anywhere from a few weeks to a few months after you are exposed to HPV. The warts might look like small bumps. Sometimes they are fleshy and look like small cauliflowers. They can get bigger over time.
Your healthcare provider can usually tell if you have genital warts by looking at them. Sometimes a tool called an anoscope is used to look at the anal area. If necessary, a sample of the suspected wart will be cut off and examined under a microscope. This is called a biopsy. Genital warts are not caused by the same HPV that causes cancer. However, if you have warts you may have also been exposed to other types of HPV that could cause cancer.
There is no easy way to tell if someone is has HPV. People who don't have any signs or symptoms of HPV can transmit the infection.
Condoms do not totally prevent transmission of HPV. HPV can be transmitted by direct contact with infected areas that aren't covered by a condom.
People with HIV who are sexually active may want to have a regular Pap smear, anal and/or cervical, to check for abnormal cells or early signs of warts. A positive result can be followed up to see if treatment is needed.
Two vaccines have been approved for use by children and adults ages 9-26. The vaccine is given as a series of 3 injections over 6 months. They work best in people who have not yet been sexually active. They have not been tested in, or approved for, people already infected with HPV. Read more about HPV vaccination.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends routine HPV vaccination at age 11 or 12 years (vaccination can be started at age 9).
There is no direct treatment for HPV infection. Some people clear HPV infection on their own. However, they can be infected with HPV again. Dysplasias and warts can be removed. There are several ways to do this:
- Burning them with an electric needle (electrocautery) or a laser
- Freezing them with liquid nitrogen
- Cutting them out
- Treating them with chemicals such as trichloroacetic acid (TCA)
Other, less common treatments for warts include the drugs 5-FU (5-fluorouracil) and Interferon-alpha. Imiquimod (Aldara) is approved for treatment of genital warts. Cidofovir (Vistide), originally developed to treat cytomegalovirus (CMV), might also help treat HPV.
HPV infection can last for a long time, especially in people with HIV. A 2012 study found that a high proportion of cases of anal cancer are found among people assigned male at birth with HIV. Dysplasia and warts can return. They should be treated as soon as they are found to reduce the chances of the problem spreading or returning.
HPV is very common. Some types of HPV cause warts or abnormal cell growth (dysplasia) in the genital area in or near the anus or cervix. This abnormal cell growth can result in cervical or anal cancer. Genital HPV infections are transmitted through sexual activity.
HPV infection can last a long time, especially in people with HIV. Two vaccines have been approved for use by children and adults ages 9-26. A Pap smear can detect abnormal cell growth in the cervix. It can also be used to check the anus. Although Pap smears may be the best way to detect early cervical cancer, careful physical examination may be the best way to detect anal cancers.
The signs of HPV infection (warts or dysplasia) should be treated as soon as they show up. Otherwise, the problem could spread and be more likely to return after treatment.
CDC: Human Papillomavirus (HPV)
HIV.gov: Human Papillomavirus Disease
POZ: Human papilloma virus (HPV)
Reviewed March 2021
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Aïcha Ben Abed
As the Roman Empire expanded its African settlements in the early centuries of the common era, thousands of mosaic floor pavements were fashioned to adorn the townhouses and rural estates of the African upper classes. Between the second and sixth centuries, mosaic art blossomed, particularly in Africa Proconsularis, the region comprising modern Tunisia. In contrast to the official art of imperial Rome, mosaics generally expressed the world views of private citizens. These artworks are remarkable for the intricate beauty of their polychromatic geometric and floral designs, as well as for figural scenes depicting the interests and activities of the patrons who commissioned them—scenes of daily life, athletic contests, gladiator spectacles, and classical literature and mythology.
Abundantly illustrated throughout, Tunisian Mosaics offers the general reader a lively introduction to this extraordinary ancient art. Initial chapters survey the historical background of Roman Africa and discuss the development of mosaic art in the Mediterranean. Subsequent chapters profile Tunisia's major mosaic sites and tour the collections of important museums. A final chapter surveys current initiatives to preserve this heritage for future generations.
Aïcha Ben Abed, director of monuments and sites at the Institut National du Patrimoine in Tunis, is one of the world's leading experts on the mosaics of Roman Africa.
"A lavish tour of the Tunisian mosaics by Aïcha Ben Abed…one of the world's leading experts on the mosaics of Roman Africa."
—Biblical Archaeology Review
144 pages
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Anticipating the greater use of personal consumer electronics in the workplace, VMware has bundled three of its IT management products into a single suite designed to help administrators deliver worker data, applications and desktops to myriad end-user devices.
The new VMware Horizon Suite includes the VMware View VDI (Virtual Desktop Interface), the VMware Mirage desktop management software and a new product, VMware Horizon Workspace, an extension of its Horizon Application Manager introduced last year.
VMware also updated VMware View -- now called VMware Horizon View -- and VMware Mirage, now called VMware Horizon Mirage.
The Horizon Suite will allow employees to access work applications from any device they use, whether it is a laptop, tablet or even smartphone, said Erik Frieberg, VMware senior director for end user computing.
VMware's approach is "to transform the silo apps, such as operation systems, into services that can be delivered to end users in any device, with policy-based management," Frieberg said.
According to Forrester Research, 67 percent of employees in the workforce are now using their own personal smartphones to conduct some work business and 46 percent use their own laptops. Such BYOD (bring-your-own-device) practices can be a challenge for system administrators, who must assure the integrity of organizational data, software and equipment.
The three software products have been tailored to work together to provide a comprehensive way for employees to access data and applications no matter what device they use, Frieberg said.
The VMware Horizon Workspace provides a single integrated workspace where employees can access their data and company applications, as well as discover new applications that would be necessary for the work duties. The software also provides a link to get to their desktops through VMware Horizon View.
VMware Horizon Workspace can be advantageous in that it provides users a single sign-on for all their applications and data while providing administrators the ability to control these resources from a single location, for updating and compliance monitoring.
VMware Horizon View provides a way for users to access their desktops from any device. The newly updated version 5.2 of View comes with support for hardware-accelerated three-dimensional graphics, useful for rendering files in the CAD (computer-assisted design) and CAM (computer assisted manufacturing) formats. The software now can understand gesture movements, so it can be run on tablets.
VMware Horizon Mirage provides a way for system administrators to manage the user desktops remotely. The newly released version 4 of Mirage allows administrators to update parts of an OS without disturbing the data or the applications on the computer.
VMware Horizon Mirage 4 and VMware Horizon Workspace each cost US$150 per named user. VMware Horizon View 5.2 costs $250 per concurrent connection, and is offered in increments of 10 licenses. The Horizon Suite as a whole costs $300 per named user.
Joab Jackson covers enterprise software and general technology breaking news for The IDG News Service. Follow Joab on Twitter at @Joab_Jackson. Joab's e-mail address is email@example.com


text: Velocet wrote: > > On Sat, Jan 26, 2002 at 02:30:04AM -0600, W Bauske's all... > > Velocet wrote: > > > > > > Whats the power dissipation of running dual 1.2 GHz Mp's? How about for > > > 1.33Ghz regular athlons in non-SMP configs as comparison? (As well, how much > > > heat comes off typical power supplies to run these systems?) > > > > > > > My TigerMP XP1600 duals take about 1.7amps at 125v. > > > > Forgot the formula to convert to btu's. Vaguely remember a factor > > of around 3.42. Not sure if that was for Watt's or VoltAmps. Assuming > > a VA is approximately a Watt, 212.5 * 3.42 = 727 btu per system. > > > > At least with that you can calculate your AC load for a rack. Say 40 > > 1U's per rack, 29080 btu's. A ton of AC is 12000 btu's. So, 2.5 ton's > > of AC per rack. Course, you have 40x1.7 amps going into the rack for > > a power load of 68 Amps at 125v. > > > > Those that know the real numbers, please correct. A VA is really around > > .7 - .8 watts, so these calculations are high by maybe 20%. Figure > > the extra allows you to plug in the switches/peripherals/servers in addition > > to the nodes. > > not to mention the power supplies themselves (or was that part of the > measurement of your 1.7A?) > The 1.7 amps is at the plug-in. Everything is included. It was measured while 100% busy on several different applications. Note while sitting idle, the Athlon system still took the same amount of power so I suspect it doesn't idle down as was mentioned in another post. My P4's do idle down when not busy. They take from .85 - 1.3 amps depending on speed of the processor when busy and about half the max when idling. You can go to your local HW store and by a meter for this. The only trick is you have to put the sensor around only one of the wires, not both or it can't read the current. I split open a power cable (carefully) so I could separate the wires and measure only one. Be careful not to nick the wires inside if you try it. Don't want anyone getting shocked. You could have an electrician make a special wire for you too if you want to be safe. If you nick it, try again on a new power cord. They're cheap... > 2.5 tons of A/C is required, that sounds right - that keeps the volume > of air involved at neutral temperature (say 68F) - but how many CFM's > of air are required to move the heat off the processors (well, heatsinks) > fast enough to keep them comfortable (I dont know what comfortable is - > 50-55C?) Is there a rule of thumb calc for that? > That's related to the heatsink's thermal transfer efficiency. It'd be nice if there were a simple gauge to determine CFM of a chassis but I don't know of one. I've seen transfer rates on several HS manufacturer pages so you might try look up your HS and see what it says. It was something like degrees per watt of power I think. Bari might know more about it since he works with dense packaging. Wes


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French triathlete embarks on epic 'Drive 4 Triathlon' through Africa
French triathlete Nicolas Gracco de Lay has taken it upon himself to give something back by undertaking an incredible 25,000km journey through Africa as part of a charitable initiative, 'Drive 4 Triathlon'.
Gracco de Lay set off in his trusty old steel-grey car in December 2011 from southwest France to embark on his expedition with the aim of promoting the sport of triathlon on the African continent and to raise money for children in need through 'Ironman 4 the Kidz', charity trust.
Along the way to his final destination of South Africa in April 2012, Gracco de Lay is training with the local triathletes from each country, sharing ideas on how to become a better athlete, while also working with the media to promote triathlon and sports in general.
The countries he has already visited include Morocco, Mauritania, Senegal, Mali, Burkina, Faso, Togo, Benin Republic and Nigeria and he is greatly encouraged by the support he has received so far. Arriving in Nigeria Gracco de Lay was warmly welcomed at the border before spending time with the local triathletes.
"I must say that the Nigerian Triathlon Union (NTU) is motivated and are helping their athletes because the ones I practiced with showed great spirit and I hope they will get the chance to compete more on the international stage," said Gracco de Lay. "I am thankful to the NTU for receiving me and companies in France - Total and Wari - who have backed me since I set out. I hope at the end of it all, I would have become a shining example to many athletes around the world."
NTU Secretary General, Gloria Obajimi believed that Gracco de Lay's visit not only helped to promote the growing sport of triathlon within Nigeria, but also acts as a source of inspiration and encouragement for the young.
"Seeing Nicolas come all the way from France to promote triathlon in Africa will surely encourage our athletes. They were also able to train with him and he must have given them different tips to excel," said Obajimi. "We wish him all the best as he continues his journey through Africa."
Throughout his journey, Gracco is collecting items for auction with all proceeds going to the charity. So far he has collected an array of items including kit signed by French Olympian Frederic Belaubre and 2010 ITU Long Distance World Champion, Sylvain Sudrie as well as national football jerseys signed by 2012 CAF Africa Cup of Nations winners Zambia.
"Apart from promoting triathlon, I am passionate about the kids and I have teamed up with Ironman for the Kids to help raise money for the ones who are in need. Among other items I have the helmets of Sylvain Sudrie and Fred Belaubre for auction," said Gracco.
To learn more about Nicolas Gracco de Lay's 'Drive 4 Triathlon' please click here


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April 19, 2012
University of California at Berkeley professor to give 30th annual Friends of Mathematics Lecture today
Edward Frenkel, professor of mathematics at the University of California at Berkeley, will give the 30th annual Friends of Mathematics Lecture at 2:30 p.m. today in 1018 Throckmorton Hall. Frenkel's presentation will be "What Do Fermat's Last Theorem and Electro-magnetic Duality Have In Common?"
Fermat's Last Theorem may be viewed as a spectacular application of the Langlands Program, bringing together Number Theory and Harmonic Analysis. These ideas have propagated to other areas of mathematics, such as algebraic geometry and representation theory of infinite-dimensional Lie groups and Lie algebras. And in recent works by Witten and others, it was shown that the Langlands duality patterns are closely related to the electro-magnetic duality of four-dimensional quantum gauge theory. Frenkel will give an overview of these connections.


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Police on Tuesday arrested a Zynga temp who is accused of stealing $US100,000 worth of merchandise and equipment from the company behind casual games FarmVille, CityVille and Mafia War, the San Francisco Examiner reports.
Keith Brown, 21, of San Ramon was arrested Tuesday at the company's San Francisco headquarters, according to District Attorney's Office spokesman Omid Talai.
Police say that Brown stole laptop and desktop computers and software worth about $US100,000 between Halloween and his arrest on Tuesday. Zynga security took him into custody after spotting the thefts on security cameras and took him to police.
Brown is scheduled for arraignment this afternoon on four felony counts of commercial burglary, one of receiving stolen property, one of grand theft and one of embezzlement.
Zynga temp worker accused of stealing $US100K from San Francisco company [SF Examiner]


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Nick Evans Signs with Pirates
Nick Evans has signed a minor-league contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates, presumably with an invitation to spring training.
Good move for Nick, who — ironically — may have an opportunity to platoon with lefthanded-hitting Garret Jones at first base.
I say "ironically" because it was less than two weeks ago that I compared Evans to Jones. Whether Evans gets a fair shot at regular MLB duty is dependent upon what direction the Pirates go to fill first base; there is buzz that they may bring back veteran Derrek Lee for another year. The 36-year-old Lee posted a .982 OPS in 28 games after being acquired from Baltimore at the trade deadline last year.
If the Bucs choose not to fill first base with Lee or another veteran free agent, Evans would probably battle with Matt Hague — who is, essentially, the Pittsburgh version of Nick Evans. Hague is a 26-year-old, righthanded-hitting first baseman / third baseman who has hit well in the minors, flashed some power, but just hasn't had an extended opportunity to prove himself in the bigs. Sound familiar?
As you know I've been a big supporter of Nick Evans, and I'll continue to quietly root for him. Good luck, Nick.


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Create a Website Account - Manage notification subscriptions, save form progress and more.
Please contact the Court Clerk at firstname.lastname@example.com; email@example.com or 303-697-8749.
Show All Answers
The Court House is only open to the public on posted arraignment and trial dates (Please see Municipal Court page for a link to scheduled arraignment and trial dates). If you are at the Court House on a scheduled date, doors will typically open at 8:30 am.
If you are at the Court House on a non-scheduled day please visit our Town Offices located at, 321 Highway 8 for all payments or inquires.
Morrison Municipal Court will allow for you to make installment payments towards your fine amount up until your assigned court date. As long as your fine is paid in full prior to your arraignment date you DO NOT have to appear in court and will be offered the Automatic 2-point Reduction plea as indicated on your ticket.
If you are looking for a payment plan, the Judge is the only one who can authorize a payment plan. If you are seeking a payment plan you will have to appear in court on your arraignment date to enter the request for a plan with the Judge. He has the authority to accept as well as deny any request for a payment plan.
Requirements: Morrison Municipal Court's Attorney requires a letter from the insurance company on company letterhead stating the vehicle was covered at the time of the violation and include the following information:*
•Summons number and name of the Defendant •A statement that insurance coverage was in effect on the DATE AND TIME of the violation •The vehicle listed on the Summons is the vehicle covered by this policy and the vehicle identification number (VIN) •That the person driving the vehicle was covered by the insurance policy
Note:*The card provided by your insurance company is NOT sufficient proof of insurance for Morrison Municipal Court
Submitting Letter: You can submit the Proof of Insurance letter prior to your arraignment date by: •Mail: Morrison Municipal Court, 321 Highway 8 Morrison, CO 80465 •Fax: (303) 697-8749 •Email: email@example.com or firstname.lastname@example.com
Dropping Insurance Charge: Upon receiving the letter, the proof will be reviewed and if determined sufficient proof, the Compulsory Insurance charge will be dropped. If applicable, you will then be able to pay the fine amount associated with remaining cited violation(s). If you have a Summons to appear you will need to appear in court on your arraignment date to speak with the Town Prosecutor and Judge regarding the remaining violation(s).
Morrison Municipal Court accepts payments in the forms of: •Cash •Check *There is a $40.00 fee for any returned check* •Money Order •Visa •Mastercard •Discover
Morrison Municipal Court offers the original plea deal as stated on the front of your ticket of paying the citation in full prior to the arraignment date and receiving an automatic 2-point reduction from the originally cited violation.
If you are wanting to make a plea for a further reduction of points through Traffic School or Community Service, you will have to appear in court on your arraignment date to petition your plea with the Town Prosecutor and Judge. Each case is judged on a case by case basis and there is no guarantee your request or plea will be accepted.
Morrison Municipal Court will grant you a one-time courtesy continuance to our next month's court date.
Please send your request for continuance to: firstname.lastname@example.com or email@example.com. In your request please include your full name, citation number and that you are requesting a continuance.


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SPIRE and QuikPAY: Online easy access
Students can view and pay their University bill in QuikPAY, the University's online billing and payment system. To access QuikPAY, a student must first log into SPIRE. Parents can view and pay their student's bill in QuikPAY, the University's online billing and payment system. Students can set their parents or other third parties as Authorized Payers in QuikPAY. Get your QuikPAY password from the student after they create you as an Authorized Payer.
Students: Get to QuikPAY and create Authorized Payers in SPIRE
- Log into SPIRE with your Net ID. (Your Net ID is usually your first and last name like johnsmith. It's not your eight-digit SPIRE ID. Your Net ID was sent to you in an email from either OIT or another University department.)
- After logging in, select Finances under the Main Menu.
- Then click View/Pay Bill as shown below.
- You see the QuikPAY Welcome. You are now in QuikPAY.
- Select the Authorized Payer link in the left-side menu.
- Click Add New to create Authorized Payer accounts.
Parents and Guardians
Parents and guardians who are Authorized Payers may log into QuikPAY to view or pay the student bill:
- The student creates your Authorized Payer account in SPIRE as explained above.
- You receive an email to the email address the student entered when he or she created you as an Authorized Payer.
- The email contains your QuikPAY Login Username and a link to the Authorized Payer login page. (Your password is not in the email for security reasons.)
- The student must give you your password.
- You log into QuikPAY with your username and password.
- After login, select View & Pay Accounts in the left-side menu.
- Under View Accounts, select Account Status, Current Statement or Statement History, to access billing information.


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The Atlanta Dream announced Monday that it has removed forward Sancho Lyttle from the suspended list, and has waived forward Anne Marie Armstrong. Lyttle will return to the lineup when the Dream (10-1) faces the Minnesota Lynx (8-3) on Tuesday night at 9 p.m. ET in a game that will be nationally televised on ESPN2.
Lyttle missed the past six games while leading Spain to the gold medal at EuroBasket Women 2013, a qualifying tournament for the 2014 World Championships. She was named the MVP of the tournament after averaging 18.4 points, 11.1 rebounds, 2.9 steals and 1.3 blocks as Spain went 9-0 during the competition.
Lyttle averaged 15.4 points, 9.0 rebounds and 2.8 steals in five games for Atlanta prior to her departure, and the Dream won all six games during her absence, matching the longest winning streak in franchise history.
Armstrong played in eight games for the Dream as a rookie in 2013. She scored three points and grabbed four rebounds in 18 minutes of action.
The two-time Eastern Conference Champion Atlanta Dream is in its sixth season at Philips Arena as part of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The Dream qualified for the playoffs in each of the past four seasons, including back-to-back conference titles in 2010 and 2011. The next home game is scheduled for Wednesday, July 24, against the Connecticut Sun.


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Can truck racing ever catch on in the U.S.? Well I hope it sure can, if it can even remotely imitate the European experience with the sport.
Now let me state this firmly from the outset: truck racing terrifies the 'you-know-what' out of me. Much like my experience with stock cars a few years back, my time in a truck racing vehicle at Germany's famed Nurburgring track – driven expertly by Ellen Lohr I'll have you know – scared me half to death. And not in the least because her 5.5 ton racing truck cranking out around 1,100 horsepower made me feel like I was strapped into a jet fighter airplane instead of a ground-bound vehicle.
Still, there's something to be said for a sport that puts a premium on driver skill – not in the least because none of Europe's racing trucks are forbidden by rule to use electronically controlled braking systems of any sort and that drivers really only need to shift between two gears due to the massive kinetic force their relatively lightweight vehicles produce.
I mean, these trucks need to slalom down grand prix style raceways at over 100 mph – and let me tell you, from personal experience, their high center of gravity makes such speeds positively scary on courses lined with all sorts of twisty turns.Yet the camaraderie of truck racers away from the race course itself is in many ways reflects the "old school" ethic of the "knights of the road" here in the U.S, with European truck racing teams more than willing to help each other out in a pinch even though they compete on most weekends between March and October for a variety of prizes.
And this is not all for the sake of burning diesel for the fun of it either (though in this case the fuel used by Europe's truck racers is biodiesel). No, many European trucking OEMs – especially engine makers –sponsor truck racing teams because the sport offers them a way to test their products in extreme conditions.Indeed, Artur Klein (at left) – who serves as racing team manager for the engine research division of Europe's MAN Truck & Bus AG – told me that three weekends of truck racing will reproduce roughly three to four years worth of commercial truck life, in no small part due to the higher horsepower (2.5 times greater than what's normally generated by on-highway engines) during extreme acceleration and deceleration maneuvers.
He even said that MAN made design changes to its production-line engine based on what MAN's engineers observed on the truck racing course – changes that made its on-highway engines more robust and helped them last longer than before.
If that alone isn't a vote of confidence in the practical value of truck racing, I don't know what is.


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My Heart-Garden
5/225 Hawken Drive, St Lucia Qld
This is an small, informal restaurant with a lot to offer vegetarians. The VVOC team of inspectors tackled a range of burgers, and all were impressed. The BBQ Tofu Burger was described as 'Yummy! Delicious crispy bread (in this case gluten free), tasty soy mayonnaise, and the tofu grilled to perfection.' The lentil-based Bliss Burger was rated 'Delicious with lovely fresh salad on yummy panini; enjoyed that it had plenty of dressing.' The Satay Bliss Burger was found so good our taster had to order a second, describing it as 'very yummy!' So much yumminess at one table. People who don't like burgers are bound to enjoy other dishes from a very international menu, among them a very acceptable humus; there are excellent smoothies and, something unexpected, superbly rich coffee. The VVOC crew, well some of them, are used to excellent food at home, but all were bowled over by this restaurant. It has our strongest recommendation, and we'd like to thank the staff who looked after us so well.
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DICTATOR & CHIEF SHEIKH HUSSIEN OBAMA will ATTACK SYRIA without CONGRESS approval | |
Anonymous Coward User ID: 46238151 Canada 09/03/2013 12:37 PM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | Congress is his CYA Shield now. The incredibly frank discussion between Saudi's spy-chief Prince Bandar and Russia's Putin exposed a much deeper plot is afoot and the following details from the actual people on the ground in the chemically-attacked region of Syria indicates that Obama is playing right into the Saudi's plan. What are some of the stunning disclosures by the Saudis? First this: Bandar told Putin, "There are many common values and goals that bring us together, most notably the fight against terrorism and extremism all over the world. Russia, the US, the EU and the Saudis agree on promoting and consolidating international peace and security. The terrorist threat is growing in light of the phenomena spawned by the Arab Spring. We have lost some regimes. And what we got in return were terrorist experiences, as evidenced by the experience of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and the extremist groups in Libya. ... As an example, I can give you a guarantee to protect the Winter Olympics in the city of Sochi on the Black Sea next year. The Chechen groups that threaten the security of the games are controlled by us, and they will not move in the Syrian territory's direction without coordinating with us. These groups do not scare us. We use them in the face of the Syrian regime but they will have no role or influence in Syria's political future." It is good of the Saudis to admit they control a terrorist organization that "threatens the security" of the Sochi 2014 Olympic games, and that house of Saud uses "in the face of the Syrian regime." Perhaps the next time there is a bombing in Boston by some Chechen-related terrorists, someone can inquire Saudi Arabia what, if anything, they knew about that. But the piece de resistance is what happened at the end of the dialogue between the two leaders. It was, in not so many words, a threat by Saudi Arabia aimed squarely at Russia: As soon as Putin finished his speech, Prince Bandar warned that in light of the course of the talks, things were likely to intensify, especially in the Syrian arena, although he appreciated the Russians' understanding of Saudi Arabia's position on Egypt and their readiness to support the Egyptian army despite their fears for Egypt's future. The head of the Saudi intelligence services said that the dispute over the approach to the Syrian issue leads to the conclusion that "there is no escape from the military option, because it is the only currently available choice given that the political settlement ended in stalemate. We believe that the Geneva II Conference will be very difficult in light of this raging situation." At the end of the meeting, the Russian and Saudi sides agreed to continue talks, provided that the current meeting remained under wraps. This was before one of the two sides leaked it via the Russian press. Since we know all about this, it means no more talks, an implicit warning that the Chechens operating in proximity to Sochi may just become a loose cannon (with Saudi's blessing of course), and that about a month ago "there is no escape from the military option, because it is the only currently available choice given that the political settlement ended in stalemate." Four weeks later, we are on the edge of all out war, which may involve not only the US and Europe, but most certainly Saudi Arabia and Russia which automatically means China as well. Or, as some may call it, the world. And now, we learn that it is the Saudis who are actually responsible for terrorizing the Syrian people. Have they successfully blackmailed John Kerry? The following is reported by Associated Press journalist DALE GAVLAK. GAVLAK has been a Middle East correspondent for the Associated Press for two decades and has also worked for National Public Radio (NPR). His Excerpts: Saudi Arabia's alleged role in providing rebels, whom they have vehemently backed at every turn, with chemical weapons, is no surprise given the revelations earlier this week that the Saudis threatened Russia with terror attacks at next year's Winter Olympics in Sochi unless they abandoned support for the Syrian President. "From numerous interviews with doctors, Ghouta residents, rebel fighters and their families….many believe that certain rebels received chemical weapons via the Saudi intelligence chief, Prince Bandar bin Sultan, and were responsible for carrying out the (deadly) gas attack," writes Gavlak. "We were very curious about these arms. And unfortunately, some of the fighters handled the weapons improperly and set off the explosions," one militant named 'J' told Gavlak. His claims are echoed by another female fighter named 'K', who told Gavlak, "They didn't tell us what these arms were or how to use them. We didn't know they were chemical weapons. We never imagined they were chemical weapons." Abu Abdel-Moneim, the father of an opposition rebel, also told Gavlak, "My son came to me two weeks ago asking what I thought the weapons were that he had been asked to carry," describing them as having a "tube-like structure" while others were like a "huge gas bottle." The father names the Saudi militant who provided the weapons as Abu Ayesha. "More than a dozen rebels interviewed reported that their salaries came from the Saudi government," writes Gavlak. Did John Kerry miss it all? When Syrian rebels in the Damascus suburb of Ghouta admitted to Associated Press journalist Dale Gavlak that they were responsible for last week's chemical weapons incident which western powers have blamed on Bashar Al-Assad's forces, they revealed that the casualties were the result of an accident caused by rebels mishandling chemical weapons provided to them by Saudi Arabia. Does John Kerry care about truth? [link to hlives.forumotion.com] |


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For the purpose of determining when a license is required, per 780 CMR 110.R5.1.2, a homeowner is defined as a "person(s) who owns a parcel of land on which he/she resides or intends to reside, on which there is, or is intended to be, a one or two family dwelling, attached or detached structures accessory to such use and/or farm structures. A person who constructs more than one home in a two-year period shall not be considered a homeowner."
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The Massachusetts State Building Code Section 105.1 states that "it shall be unlawful to construct, reconstruct, alter, repair, remove or demolish a structure; or to change the use or occupancy of a building or structure; or to install or alter any equipment for which provision is made or the installation of which is regulated by this code" without first obtaining a building permit. This includes, but is not limited to, new structures, additions, dormers, chimneys, woodstoves, decks, roofing, siding, swimming pools, antennae, and sheds.
Paving projects do not require a building permit but will require a permit from the Engineering Department if work is being done within the public right-of-way. There are also zoning restrictions on the amount and location of paving, so check first with the Office of Community Development.
Section 105.5 of the State Building Code states that "Every permit issued shall become invalid unless the work on the site authorized by such permit is commenced within 180 days after the issuance, or if the work authorized on the site by such permit is suspended or abandoned for a period of 180 days after the work has commenced." Extensions are normally granted without any trouble. However, if there have been changes to the Zoning By-Law or building code subsequent to the original issuance of the permit, any grandfather status may be lost if work has not begun (i.e, you will have to comply to the new requirements). Any requests for extension must be submitted in writing.
The card must be posted in a location visible from the street and accessible to the inspector. Generally, the best location is inside a front storm door.
No. Work cannot proceed until the permit has been issued. Penalties can be issued if work is started without a permit.
The Building Department has a maximum of 30 days in which to issue or deny a building permit. The actual time can vary from 3 days up to the maximum 30-day limit, depending on the number of applications ahead of yours, and the scope of work. Generally, the smaller jobs will take a shorter time, with new buildings taking close to the full 30 days, so allow for this in your scheduling.
A homeowner can do work on his/her own home without a license provided that if the homeowner engages a person for hire to do such work that the homeowner shall act as supervisor. A homeowner obtaining their own permit is required to supervise the entire project and is expected to be present for all inspections. They are also responsible for knowing the applicable codes related to the project they are supervising.
Yes. It is the responsibility of the permit holder to call Inspectional Services to arrange for the required inspections. Required inspections are indicated on the inspection record card, which you receive when your permit is approved. Work subject to required inspections that are closed up with out the required inspection could be required to be removed to access the required inspection area.
Typically we can do same day inspections depending on how busy we are. Section 111.2 of the State Building Code states that the contractor must give the inspector 24 hours notice prior to the time when the inspection needs to be performed. It further states " the Building Inspector shall make the inspection within 48 hours after such notification".
If access to the new work requires the inspector to walk through your existing, furnished house, someone must be present to let the inspector in. The inspector will not enter an unoccupied furnished house. We also will not enter a house in which only a child is home, unaccompanied by an adult. In these cases, please make arrangements with the inspector for a time to meet. We will try to accommodate your schedule as much as possible. However, a large number of inspections and the unpredictability of the length of time each inspection may take makes precise appointments difficult.
No. These calls must be made by the licensed plumber or electrician. The amount of notice required is stated in their respective codes.
Yes. If you submitted plans along with your permit application, a copy of these plans, bearing an "approved" stamp was returned to you with the approved building card. This copy must be available for the inspector to review for a determination that the work is in compliance with the approved plans. An inspector can choose not to perform the inspection if the approved plans are not available.
No. State law requires anyone performing electrical, plumbing or gas work to be licensed.
If the work involves a new structure, addition to an existing structure, a deck, a shed, a pool, then a plot plan is required.
Mortgage plans can sometimes be obtained from the bank. Also, Inspectional Services has plans on file for many properties in town. If available, these may be acceptable. Otherwise, you must contact a Registered Land Surveyor to prepare a plan for you.
The purpose of a plot plan is for determination of compliance with dimensional controls of the Zoning By-Law. A mortgage plan is only a rough approximation of where the house is located and was prepared only for mortgage purposes. Due to the inaccuracy of these plans, they can only be used if the project is far in excess of the required setbacks (generally, at least 5 feet in excess of the required setback). If the plan shows that your project will be close to the required setbacks, a more accurate plan will be required.
No. Plot plans can only be prepared by a Registered Land Surveyor and must bear his/her stamp.
Yes. The State Building Code defines a swimming pool as any pool with an area greater than 250 square feet and a depth greater than 2 feet If your pool does not meet both of these criteria, then it is not considered a swimming pool and does not need a building permit.
Yes. A swimming pool must be set back a minimum of 10 feet to the water line.
For all new houses, inground pools, and any structures that are close to the required setbacks, a certified "as-built" plot plan must be submitted to Inspectional Services after completion of the foundation. Framing cannot proceed until the asbuilt plot plan has been submitted.
Yes. A fence at least 6 feet high, and gates must be self-closing and self-latching. For further information on the requirements see the 2015 International Swimming Pool and Spa Code and it will describe the requirements.
Section 201 of the State Building Code defines ordinary repairs as "any maintenance which does not affect the structure, egress, fire protection systems, fire ratings, energy conservation provisions, plumbing, sanitary, gas, electrical, or other utilities. This has been interpreted to mean that rotted floorboards can be replaced on a deck, but the deck cannot be rebuilt without a permit. Also, damaged roof shingles can be repaired, but the entire roof cannot be re-shingled without a permit. If in doubt as to how much work can be done under ordinary repairs, contact the Inspectional Services Department before the start of work.


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Big-time off-road performance in a small package. With an aluminum frame, front suspension and disc brakes, they're ready to conquer the climbs and have fun on the descents.
The disc-brake version of the XtC Jr. gives added control for more Advanced trails and conditions. With its lightweight aluminum frame, front suspension, and fast-rolling 24-inch wheels, he's ready to roll on off-road adventures.


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HONOLULU (AP) -- The Federal Aviation Administration says Hawaiian Airlines went eight years without properly inspecting certain components of one of its planes used for commercial flights.
The FAA said Monday it is suggesting a fine of nearly $548,000 for the Honolulu-based airline. Airline and FAA officials say the company asked for an informal meeting to discuss the matter.
The agency says Hawaiian didn't comply with a 2000 directive that established inspections of specific engine thrust reverser components. FAA officials say Hawaiian operated a Boeing 767-300 on more than 5,000 flights without complying with the directive.
The agency says a 2012 inspection found Hawaiian records wrongly said the directive didn't apply to the aircraft.
An airline spokeswoman declined comment on the allegations but says Hawaiian's first priority is safety.


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Four Cats With Fewer Than Three Legs
We often read stories about the amazing adaptability of animals. They endure pain, but they do not wallow in self-pity. A disabled animal will do what it must do to get on with life using what it has. A four-legged animal can get around pretty well on three legs, as I learned when our border collie lost one. In these stories, four cats learned to get around pretty well with even less than three. I should say fewer than three, but you know what less than three means: <3.
1. Mercury: Two Rear Legs
Meet Mercury, the kitten that gets around on his two rear legs, like a T. rex. He was found in September, when he was only about four days old, having already lost his two front forelegs and most of the toes on one back leg. Neighbors suspected it was due to a weed whacker. After veterinary care, he was placed with an Oklahoma foster family even before his eyes opened. Mercury learned to get around on two legs as he first learned to walk, and now he runs, jumps, climbs stairs, and holds his own with the other cats. His foster family decided to make him a permanent member of the family.
Photograph from Raising Mercury.
Here's a video that shows how he moves around on two legs. You can see more pictures and videos at Mercury's Facebook page.
2. Anakin: Two Front Legs
Photograph by Carrie Hawks via Facebook.
Anakin was born with neither a pelvic bone nor his rear legs. Artist Carrie Hawks adopted him as a young kitten from a feral colony of cats. He was named after the character who became Darth Vader, who was also missing some limbs. Ani learned to walk balancing on his front limbs only. The Hawks considered wheels for his back end, but since the kitten got around well enough without them, he does not use wheels. Besides, that would hinder him from climbing stairs or cat towers, which you can see him do here. If he needs wheels as he gets older, he will have them. This video was recorded in the summer of 2012, when Anakin was first settling into his new home.
Anakin had a few medical interventions due to his abnormalities. He lives with several other cats and a dog, and gets plenty of human interaction. The rest of Anakin's feral family was captured, fixed, and vaccinated, and then relocated to a private woodland where they are fed regularly. You can follow Anakin, now full grown, at his Facebook page.
3. Caffrey: Two Legs on One Side
Caffrey, a Persian cat in England, has had to adapt to losing a leg twice in his life. At age three, he was struck by a car and his left hind leg had to be amputated. His front left paw was damaged, too. He adapted to walking on three legs for the next ten years. Then about a year ago, Caffrey developed a tumor in his left front leg, where he was injured in the earlier accident. The best hope for his survival was amputation, but veterinarians thought he'd never be able to get around on just two legs on the same side. Caffrey's owner Sue Greaves knew it was Caffrey's best chance for survival, so the operation was carried out, leaving Caffrey with only his two right legs. The old cat surprised everyone by walking around on two legs only a few days after the second amputation! See how well Caffrey moves about in this video.
Caffrey inspired WeiChang Chiu to create a short animation called Caffrey's Run.
4. Callie Mae: No Paws At All
In 2008, an adult cat named Callie Mae was chased up a telephone pole by dogs. At the top, she was electrocuted, which did so much damage to her legs that they all had to be amputated above the knee joint. The Theodore Vet Clinic in Mobile, Alabama, cared for Callie Mae, who learned to walk on her stumps. By 2010, she was pronounced well enough to go to a permanent home.
After the story ran in the local news, many people applied to adopt Callie Mae. There has been no news about her since then, but we assume that she found a home with one of the applicants.