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19 November 2006
My Blogging Workbook
Ya wanna know what a House is?
I'll tell you what a House is!
A House is a gay street gang!
— Dorian Corey
In one of a seemingly recurrent series of waves around the blogosphere, several folks have taken up the question of blogging, somewhat connected to that old saw of pseudonymous blog identities. I tend to be somewhat resistant to memes, but as Maggie May says, "It's like a meme, only longer." Several threads work their way through the various conversations happening now and in the past around academic blogging, but the two that seem most prominent to me are community (with its shared root correlates communing, commune, common) and freedom of expression, the former linked more explicitly with blogging and the latter with pseudonymous practice. However, above all blogging tends to be a subjective art, resistant to analysis, so for any given blogger you'll get a number of different answers to the techne of blogging.
Suffice it to say, some of the thrill of blogging, with real names or otherwise, is the performative aspect, the choreographed maneuvers and teased hair and long fingernails of the star (all on our own little stages, which sometimes can give the blogosphere an atmosphere of a country sing-off with twenty or forty or one thousand stages, each belting out their own acoustically enhanced but generically different versions of Mariah Carey's "Someday," everyone pathetically trying to hit the high notes), the frisson of revelation, telling secrets, sharing stories (especially the juicy ugly ones), the transgression of the normative, which in the academic's case, in particular junior faculty, is the very act of speaking itself. As I noted in a comment over at Chez Crazy, blogging is as much about performance and the pleasure of performance as anything else. In particular behind the scrim of a pseudonym, one can become larger than life, or at the very least one's own life. Academics tend to be isolated, misunderstood by the hostile society that surrounds us, and treated with scorn. Our electronic selves can be glamourous, connected, and sophisticated. To perhaps push the allusion beyond what it is capable of, we become a bit like voguers, competing against each other and other Houses.
And we do form Houses, loosely organised but collectives nonetheless. And, I would reiterate as well, competitive; granted a mild competitiveness, a small prize, but hits, comments, and readership count for most of us, even if we are loathe to admit it. Which ultimately is why commenting is de rigueur as a sort of social practice, an obligation of sorts, again a participation in community. Many a blog has sunk beneath the waves through being unable to generate readership. While I am sure there are lonely bloggers out there writing for themselves and happy that they and they alone know of their existence, for most of us, we write online to garner a public audience, a public presence, in short a readership, imagined or otherwise. This is only natural of course, for in some ways it is an extension of our professional selves, scribbling away in obscure journals for the few scholars who care to "become known," to "make" our name, or the performance of teaching. Academic culture may be deeply socio-pathological, but we do have our talents. For example, have you ever thought that what most of us do for a living (public speaking, appearing before a constantly critical crowd, over and over again, year after year) absolutely terrifies most people? We academics are born for the stage, and most of us, if not all, love the limelight (and are constantly searching for a better stage, but that as they say is another story). Blogging can sometimes be understood as an extension, a flow, from this desire.
I'm not sure how we organise ourselves, since our Houses, as opposed to, say, the House of LaBeija or Xtravaganza, are even more interstitial and disorganised and inchoate. But there is a rationale, deep and powerful and perhaps unknowable in its pure subjectivity, that guides our blogging communities. We seem to have our "mothers," our "daughters," our grand prize winners and our supporters. To wit, have you ever noticed how blogging weblinks work? While some may attempt to maintain a catalogue raisonné of academic bloggers on their home pages, in actuality we tend to read and comment on those blogs that fall into one of our circles, and indeed I would say most of us read at most ten blogs (or less) regularly and in a dedicated way. Partially, of course, this is only human. While we may be eggheads, we aren't spider bots crawling the web for all content, and to encompass the totality of the academic blogosphere, which itself is fairly self-limiting yet still incredibly vast, is like the proverbial task of keeping up with work in one's field. Eventually, you focus on the things you want to read and fake the rest (for instance, how many people have really, come on now, tell the truth, slogged through Empire? OK, The Fierceness read it, but that's like one out of a million!). About a month back I changed my blogroll, for the most part eliminating blogs that had disappeared or that I never read frequently, or that when I did read, had very little to say on, and also, to be frank, those blogs that I had linked to but after several months had never returned the favour (community, houses). I got to the point where I felt my blogroll was oppressing me, and I needed to clean house a bit. I have on occasion been startled to discover some corner of the academic blogosphere with very different links and connections from my own. I sometimes peruse these other sites, may read one or another for a bit, even add one to my blogroll, but return, for whatever reason, perhaps a homing instinct, to the handful of blogs, five or six, which first drew me back online, which I was visiting before I began blogging anew. My House.
For my part, I started to blog again, quite simply, because Mr. Gordo started a blog. This would be a very literal origin myth, but the reality is that I wanted, no needed, a platform for working out the terrible dreck that was my life in the aftermath of Sadistic College. In short, I wanted revenge, of sorts. It is not by accident that this blog started on the note of Sadistic College and continued in that vein for the first part of its life. Not only was this purging, literal and figurative, helpful personally, but it deeply informed the early work on the blog, leading to what I consider a series of very strong entries on various topics in the profession that, usually, had a sharp reference to Sadistic College someplace in the text. A big part of this was being able to tell the story, to relate the horror, while also being coy about the details. Some of you figured it out, but discovering the actual name of Sadistic College was a very small part of the revelation (Besides, everyone on the East coast already knows it sucks to work there; in fact, a small part of its regional fame is its deleterious working conditions). In point of fact it was more about being able to speak about that time and the college, period. The very act of speaking was what was so empowering. But as the blog progressed, I felt the desire to strike out at Sadistic College lessen, and the drive to comment more broadly on the profession and outside of the immediate context of the institutional horror of Sadistic College led the blog to another phase, which was also powerful, of meditative commentary. If one were to sit down and read this blog, which in just 71 entries (this is #72) has over five hundred pages of text on it (Microsoft Word, Times New Roman, double-spaced, which is how I compose my entries), one could see the trace of a larger personal movement and growth that was a function of the writing and blogging itself.
There are several things here I would like to briefly elaborate on. Firstly, the weblog as a form ebbs and flows, dependent on any number of factors: work, interest, personal life, readership, commentary and positive reinforcement, and the risk/reality of exposure or potential exposure (for pseudonymous bloggers). Secondly, their character changes over time, again in a myriad of ways: personal, professional, or more typically, a mix of both. Genre is important here, or as Bérubé would put it, raw or cooked. This blog has tended to be essay-based, and therefore on some level also self-selects its readers, to those who have the time and wherewithal to actually read it. Other academic blogs offer more brief entries, and therefore are more accessible to casual readers (and keeping more to the foundational semi-formal rules of the weblog genre). All blogs with longevity and the bloggers associated with them, regardless of genre, develop personae that can be thrilling, inspiring, banal, suffocating, or all of these qualities simultaneously. Blogs are rarely ourselves (as Professors X, Y, or Z) unmediated, transparent. They become a performance of self, a simulacrum, a scrim, an identity as much as any IRL (in real life). Who is Oso Raro? Who is he compared to the man who goes by another name in his professional and personal life? Likewise, who is Dr. Crazy, or Maggie May, Gay Prof, Flavia, Dean Dad, Bitch PhD, Sfrajett, Margo (Darling), Prof Grrrrl, Horace, Hilaire, and all the others, with our funny names and clever photos? And for that matter, who is Margaret Soltan, or Michael Bérubé, Tim Burke, and Erin O'Connor, who blog under their real names? Does the name make it real(er)? Get into the shoes and get into the pumps! Realness, and the performance of artifice, of fantasy, is yet another quality the academic blogosphere shares with the Harlem Houses. But who we are behind the façade is relatively unknown, as perhaps it should be. We may, on some level, want to know Flavia, or Gay Prof, or Bitch PhD, and indeed many of us have met, briefly or otherwise, or made strong connections in person, or IRL. But reality is not what determines our connections here. Realness does. And realness is different from reality in several key ways. Our floating electronic selves are what, largely, determines our affiliations, and in this vein I would also argue that there is a strong sense of projection and desire within both our online, electronic performances (for each other, ourselves, and lurkers/strangers) and our affiliations/identifications with other academic bloggers. Our bloggers.
But how can we know the Dancer from the Dance? Through October, both Mr. Gordo and I were both feeling a bit of blog fatigue, for different reasons. Primarily because, unlike the widespread notion of blogging, it is in fact work to maintain a blog. You must have an idea, execute it somehow, with an eye towards communication and community. This, on top of everything happening in one's personal life, can be a struggle. For me, I think I was feeling a shift, linked to the purge of negativity that the blog enabled me to accomplish, the exorcism of the disgust and loathing left over from Sadistic College. What now? I don't have an answer, partially because the way the blog developed (apropos to any blog I would argue) was unplanned and inchoate, a reflection of the real me as much as Oso the blogger, a strange mix of being aware of one's presence online with the private pleasures of accomplishment and the constant risk of unmasking. When I revealed my blog to Advisor in October, he was unfazed, remarking, "That makes perfect sense. You have a blog sensibility and you always have." I took this as a compliment. I know of some academics who would, in fact, have been offended. Is there a read there? I did not, however, offer him the URL, and he did not ask, curiously enough. In fact, much of my production (e.g. "work") over the last eight months has been here, online and on this blog. Was this productive? Was it smart? Since it is not something that can be listed conventionally on a curriculum vitae, the answer for most academics would be a decided "no."
But this returns us to the communitas at the root of most academic blogging. We reach out to build community, to build bridges, to (only!) connect, in ways that are generally not approved in our home (real time) professional communities. Which of course is why blogging remains on some integral level both a) transgressive, and b) dangerous. But then again, community is not all hearts and flowers. It is work, and sometimes risky work. Which is why the "debate," for what its worth, over pseudonyms and real names is both disingenuous and shockingly naïve. Of course most of us are masked: the risks to our professional lives are too great to be out, especially considering how hierarchical, judgmental, and snobbish academics can be. Online work does not (yet) have professional approbation.
At one point, over the summer at a BBQ with assorted folks from other universities here in Cold City, with people who knew I blogged and actually, embarrassingly, introduced me to some (non Cold City U) administrators as "the blogger," it became clear that they didn't consider it real, but rather thought of it as a bit of a joke, an idiosyncratic hobby, harmless and professionally useless. The casualness of their outing me as a pseudonymous blogger made that clear (in front of administrators, no less! I felt like Joan when she confronts Tina: "You deliberately embarrass me in front of a reporter! A reporter!"). Later, as I was attempting to communicate the importance, the vitality of online electronic life for myself as a writer and as an academic, to a crowd of skeptical and dismissive thirty- and forty-something academics, I turned to the teenaged daughter of one of the hosts and said, "They don't get it, but you understand what I mean, don't you?" And she nodded her head with a wry smile. Blogging, and the online communities we exist within, and the work (yes real intellectual work) that we are producing are the future. It may not be the only future, or keep its current form and shape, but it is where we will all end up one day. And in that sense, academic bloggers are truly transgressing, carving out new ground and territory for what will, sooner rather than later, be the space of the profession.
But, as we know only so well, no good deed goes unpunished.
11 comments:
- Paul said...
I blog because it makes me feel good especially on football Saturday! :)
- Sun Nov 19, 06:40:00 AM
- Professor Zero said...
I, too started a blog because Mr. XX did. It was, let's see, how do you set one of these up? And presto. I wish I'd had one in the days of my Stepford College: it was just what I needed. And it would be really funny to read now, the place was so surreal. But one of the things I am doing in the blog is reclaiming myself from a different set of body-snatchers.
A lot of my education - arguably the best part of it - was garnered by reading Latin American Sunday papers, where professors wrote the articles. Journalistic pieces, chronicles, etc., but reflective, educated ones. It's part of their role. It's sort of expected. I think the blogs are a bit like that.
Otherwise, you can have an academic life, and a scholarly one, but it seems sort of asceptic. I end up feeling more like a technician than an intellectual.
Before the blogs, a friend and I used to self-publish these sort of 'zines, on regular paper, nothing at all fancy, and just leave them on newsstands and in cafes. Guerrilla cultural activity of sorts. Anything to connect.
- Sun Nov 19, 09:32:00 PM
- Flavia said...
I love the idea of bloggers constituting their own Houses--where realness, or the performance of a certain kind of reality, is more important than reality itself.
- Mon Nov 20, 05:27:00 AM
- Hilaire said...
I love this post. Like Flavia, I really respond to the notion of the House - I have wondered, incoherently, about exactly *what* kinds of things it is that lead me to feel an affinity and devotion to certain bloggers.
I also appreciate the way you mention colleagues' and others' casualness with the fact of you as a blogger. I find this hard to take. As I am always having to say about my academic research, this is *not* trivial. It matters. I have felt that particularly keenly of late, when things feel so ridiculous in my personal life, and bloggers are some of the only people to whom I have revealed the problems. In a sense, I think blogs allow us to be more authentic (to use an unfashionable word), even through our performances of self. Collapsing the boundary between performance and authenticity.
- Mon Nov 20, 11:55:00 AM
- Dean Dad said...
Terrific post, as always.
If I had a nickel for every time I've been compared to Pepper LaBeija...
- Tue Nov 21, 05:46:00 AM
- The Combat Philosopher said...
Although this is an excellent post, it overlooks one problem. What of those academic types who only have a blog identity? I know of at least one case where the blogger likes to talk about research and other professional stuff, but does not actually do any research, or at least, has nothing that appears in print (at least not this Century). This, it appears to me, is one of the down side of the blog phenomenon. A failing academic can get their ego massaged by their blog, thereby reducing or removing their motivation to do real academic work. This is a pernicious phenomenon.
It seems that my institution may be taking this problem in hand, with post-tenure review. However, it does not help those who are afflicted by this difficulty. I have tried to assist with a couple of cases, but to little effect. So, I think that an academic 'health warning' should be issued with this post.
The CP
- Wed Nov 22, 12:45:00 AM
I'm not sure I understood the pevious comment posted by the CP. What is "real" work? Empire?
Check this link from the NY Times
Happy Holidays (real Holidays, I mean)
- Wed Nov 22, 01:10:00 PM
- Clancy said...
God, I'm glad they finally put Paris is Burning on DVD.
I'm also glad I made the blogroll cut!
Oh yeah, and what you see of me on my onymous blog is very little of Me.
- Thu Nov 23, 07:38:00 PM
- Dave said...
Thanks for this clever reflection on blogging. It perfectly encapsulates my unexpressed feelings about blogging, as it occasionally threatens to overtake the work I am paid to do. The analogy to sexually transgressive performance art was disturbing but probably appropriate.
- Mon Nov 27, 11:21:00 AM
- Littlemilk said...
As usual I am going to have to high step it from shower, to turnpike, to work because I have spent an extra 20 minutes reading your blog, checking out links, stopping to ponder, and all that "such and such".
A quick note. I developed my blog because I could not be the real person I choose to become in the university (I stopped and am starting back). And ironically, I see that I am not "allowed" to be that person now because of some of the stupid social rites the book business seems to ordain.
So Littlemilk is the person I am in my civilian clothes, before I have to turn into a New Negro and dance on the ballroom floor with minons of old school race warriors, bad toothed septarians, and holy theory harlots watching from the sidelines.
- Thu Nov 30, 10:28:00 AM
- Professor Zero said...
Blogging, and the online communities we exist within, and the work (yes real intellectual work) that we are producing are the future. It may not be the only future, or keep its current form and shape, but it is where we will all end up one day. And in that sense, academic bloggers are truly transgressing, carving out new ground and territory for what will, sooner rather than later, be the space of the profession.
These are some of the sentences in here (some of the many) I find most interesting. No good deed goes unpunished, wise phrase. However.
- Sat Dec 02, 03:18:00 AM


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Kanye West Wipes His Twitter Account, Leaves an Unsolved Mystery Behind
Strange things are afoot in the Twittersphere.
On the afternoon of Oct. 4, 2012, Kanye West, the 35-year-old rapper known as @kanyewest on Twitter, deleted all of his tweets, leaving only a single, mysterious message for his fans.
As of now, his 8.6 million followers are trying to decipher the meaning of this lone tweet:
It was like the internet version of GONE FISHIN'. But wait — where are all of Kanye's other tweets?
Why did he delete them?
Where did he go?
Girlfriend Kim Kardashian is still tweeting away, so they didn't get sucked into a wormhole together.
But have they split? She does have twice as many followers as he does. Maybe he couldn't handle tweeting in the shadows of the vast Kardashian empire.
Regardless, we're sad to see his culturally significant missives obliterated. Sometimes he opined about how damned hard it is to get cherub imagery on Persian rugs, and sometimes he mused about receiving visually pleasing photos of his oh-so-modest girlfriend. And overall, he always tweeted inane first-world banalities that were worshipfully retweeted by fans in the vain hope of catching the rapper's quixotic attention.
As of now, the mystery remains. It's hard to say where @kanyewest might have gone, but we're thinking someone should check Taylor Swift's account. Maybe he's tweeting from there.

subset: commoncrawl


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Scooping Pop Culture. Ice Cream Flavors That Should Be.
What started out as a joke became one of the most popular projects illustrator for Jon DeFreest, aka Jonny Etc. Creating faux Ben and Jerry flavored Ice Creams for Vulture.com and then subsequently commissioned by other sites such as Buzzfeed.com, NYmag.com, and Tauntr.com, the Pop-Culture Pints continue to get giggles.
The faux ice creams are based on Pop Culture TV and movie characters as well as timely subjects and movements.
Walter White's Heisen-Brrr-g Crunch (Breaking Bad):
Tobias Funke's I Just Blue Myself (Arrested Development):
Roger Sterling's Sterling Scooper (Mad Men):
Dwight Schrute's Beet It (The Office):
Dexter Morgan's Miami Slice (Dexter):
Carl Spackler's Caddysnack (Caddyshack):
The Dude's Dude Food (The Big Lebowski):
Bobba Fett's Carbonite Crunch (Star Wars):
Ron Swanson's All Of The Bacon & Eggs You Have (Parks and Recreation):
OccuPie Wall Street:
Herman Cain's Harassmint Chocolate Chip:
The Ron Swanson ice cream received so much attention that Ben & Jerry's was forced to release an official statement informing the public that this was NOT a legitimate flavor.
all images courtesy of Jon DeFreest (Jonny Etc.)
Plywood Bikes, Handlebars and Rack by Dots Design Studio of Thailand.
The Dots Design Studio of Thailand continues to perfect their PLYbike design, now executing their third version of the plywood street bike with a Brooks seat, as well as offering two styles of wood bicycle handlebars and a wooden wall-mounted bike rack.
The latest version of their PLYbike, Version 3:
Bike plans:
Their Wood Handlebars are offered in both a Vintage Style and a Bullhorn style:
Wood Bull Horn Style Handlebars:
Wood Vintage Style Handlebars:
Their Wooden Wall Mount Bike Rack:
Earlier versions of their PLYbike allow you to see the design evolution.
PLYbike, Version 2:
PLYbike, Version 1:
Dots design studio is a full service product design, and combines the knowledge from marketing perspective and design perspective.
The Design studio is comprised of a team of designers, communication designer, interior and strategist, which can have a broader view in any project. Their design approach is mainly focused on experimental process of various materials, such as metal, wood, etc.
They are enthusiastic in pushing materials beyond their limitation both conceptually and functionally in order to achieve their aspiration of creating new design dialect.
Dots Design Studio
33 Pradipat 17 Rd
Samsennai Phayathai,
Bangkok, Thailand 10400
Gold Balloons and Glass Top Coffee Table. The UP Coffee Table by Duffy London.
Duffy London design studio introduces the UP Coffee Table, a whimsical table with glass table top held up by gold glass and metal resin composite 'balloons' with steel rods as the 'balloon strings' and doubling as support.
Working with the illusion of levitation and buoyancy, the UP coffee table is a playful trompe l'oeil, giving the impression that a piece of glass is being suspended by small balloons.
This hand made table is a limited edition of twenty. Because it is designed without compromise, the tables are extremely time consuming to create.
"Growing old is compulsory, growing UP is optional" - Bob Monkhouse
As seen at the London Design Fair:
Materials: Toughened Glass, metal resin composite, toughened steel rods.
Dimensions: (L) 120cm (W) 80cm (H) 45cm
Delivery times approx 8-12 weeks.
Price: £5,800.00, Buy it here
The Paintings and Works On Paper of Mark Bradley-Shoup.
above: Mark Bradley-Shoup, Summer Gray Gas Station in Patine Blue
There's something about Mark Bradley-Shoup's work that I find really appealing and it's no wonder. His representational works on paper, abstract paintings and mixed media works each have elements that remind me of four of my favorites artists; Richard Diebenkorn's landscapes and abstracts, Ed Ruscha's Standard Oil gas station studies and prints, Wayne Thiebaud's composition and painterly style and Robert Rauschenberg's collages. Bradley-Shoup's simple and subdued color palettes, clean lines and structured compositions - all executed with a certain restraint - result in compelling and aesthetically attractive works.
Below are several of my favorite pieces of his.
Mixed Media:
Abstract works:
Mark Bradley-Shoup earned his BFA from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in Painting and Drawing and his MFA from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in Studio Art. Bradley-Shoup produces meticulously crafted paintings and works on paper based in part on his own manipulated photographs of both urban and rural environments.
He employs extensive use of masking tape, rulers and x-acto blades to generate precise areas of paint that emphasize the surface texture of his compositions in a way that undermines any elements of photorealist illusion. Prevalent themes in his work include "consumption and growth," "expansion and recession," and "the elegance of brutality."
He has worked with various non-profit agencies and educational institutions including the Hunter Museum of American Art, the Association for Visual Arts, Allied Arts of Greater Chattanooga, the Creative Discovery Museum, Chattanooga Parks, Recreation, Arts and Culture, and the Chattanooga School for the Arts and Sciences. Currently, Bradley-Shoup is based in Chattanooga and is a Visiting Lecturer at the University of Tennessee Chattanooga.
Mark Bradley-Shoup
If you would like to get in touch with Mark, feel free to email email@example.com
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Pirated Sweets
ARRRRRRR mateys! Swab the poop and hoist the yardarm off the main-fore-mast-sail...thing! Today be Talk Like A Pirate Day, though sadly, we only be finding out as the sun be settin' o'er the blast horizon. So the cakey victuals, they be already chosen. Avast! Poop deck! Yet by Davy Jones' locker, we'll be doin' ARRRR best!
Now, bring on the victuals, ye scalawags!
Ay! This be a mighty fine cake! Flowers and butterflies good enough for the scurviest wenches in all of Tortola. ARRR!
And what have we here?
A hippo! Foul beast! Thems and mermaids be bad luck for us sea dogs! ARRR!
And what do me eyes be seein'?
Do they be daisies? Finally! ARRR!
ARRR! More daisies! And rickrack! Rickrack's a piratey word! ARRR!
This pretty be the fairest I've seen in many a winter!
By the powers! I feel like I be in Fiddler's Green! Where's me spyglass?
Alas! Ahoy! Avast! Aye! um... grog! I be needin' a closer gander at this here winsome wench:
Aye, she be sweet as spiced wine, but now...We wants the redhead!
Submitted by Julie L. and made by Dragonfly
Arrr, tharrr she be.
Shiver me timbers, the redhead's a MERMAID?!? Never ye mind, lads, we'd best be hauling anchor to fairer ports; the Cap'n, he be waiting.
By Lenagc
Aye, ye never be wantin' to rile the Cap'n; he packs a right nasty left hook.
(Ahoy, be it a mite smelly in here, or is that just Smee?)


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Home › Scene › All the World ›
All the World
Chicago's civic and cultural leaders celebrated one of the city's jewels, the Chicago Shakespeare Theater, at its much-anticipated annual gala. Guests enjoyed a three-course dinner, as well as an exclusive performance by Broadway stars (and husband and wife) Jason Danieley and Marin Mazzie. Former mayor Richard M. Daley received the Civic Honoree award for his role in establishing a home for the theater during his tenure, while composer and lyricist extraordinaire Stephen Sondheim was lauded as Artistic Honoree. The event raised more than $1.1 million to fund the theater's initiatives. Photography by Mark Campbell, Robert Carl and Michael Litchfield


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U.S. Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission
Federal Agency Alleged That Women Were Subjected to Sexual Harassment At Chicago Transportation Company
CHICAGO – Jay Medicar Transportation, LLC will pay $70,000 to resolve a sex discrimination lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the agency announced today. The EEOC sued Jay Medicar in March 2010 on behalf of female employees who alleged they were sexually harassed by a senior manager.
Jay Medicar provides patient transportation services in the city of Chicago. The EEOC's lawsuit alleged that Jay Medicar's former director of operations harassed several women under his supervision. The alleged harassment included quid pro quo advances where the director of operations demanded sex in exchange for pay raises, scheduling changes or continued employment. One of the discrimination victims in the lawsuit alleged that Jay Medicar terminated her on pretextual grounds, rehired her, and then subjected her to adverse terms and conditions of employment as retaliation for her prior complaints.
Jay Medicar moved to dismiss EEOC's lawsuit (EEOC v. Jay Medicar Transportation, LLC, a/k/a Jay Transportation, f/k/a Jay Medi-Car, Inc., No. 10 CV 01477 [N.D. Ill.]) in April 2010 on the ground that Jay Medicar Transportation, LLC is not the successor in liability to Jay Medi-Car, Inc. for the employment discrimination violations alleged in EEOC's complaint. On Sept. 2, 2010, U.S. District Judge William J. Hibbler denied Jay Medicar's motion to dismiss, concluding that "[t]he EEOC…pleaded facts that make it plausible to infer that Jay Medicar LLC may be liable for Jay Medi-Car Inc.'s obligations. It need do nothing more."
Judge Hibbler entered a consent decree resolving this litigation on October 4, 2011. The decree provides $70,000 of monetary relief to five women. Two of the women who alleged egregious harassment will receive $25,000 each. Under the terms of the decree, Jay Medicar is also enjoined from further subjecting any employee to a hostile work environment or retaliating against any employee who opposes discrimination. Jay Medicar must post a notice about the EEOC's lawsuit in a conspicuous location for two years and train its managers on employment discrimination laws.
"This case alleged that Jay Medicar allowed a high-ranking manager to abuse his position of power by demanding sex in exchange for promotions, schedule changes, and job security," said John Hendrickson, the EEOC's regional attorney in Chicago. "Title VII imposes strict liability when an employer terminates someone who rejects such demeaning quid pro quo proposals."
"This consent decree requires Jay Medicar to train its managers and other supervisory employees on anti-discrimination laws on three separate occasions over the next two years," Hendrickson added. "It is in Jay Medicar's best interests to take these training sessions and the other non-monetary provisions in this decree very seriously."
In addition to Hendrickson, the EEOC's litigation team from its Chicago District Office included Supervisory Trial Attorney Greg Gochanour and Trial Attorneys Brad Fiorito and Grayson S. Walker. The Chicago District Office is responsible for processing charges of discrimination, administrative enforcement, and the conduct of agency litigation in Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, and North and South Dakota, with Area Offices in Milwaukee and Minneapolis.
The EEOC is responsible for enforcing federal laws against employment discrimination. Further information is available at www.eeoc.gov.


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Here are the players that stood out for us on the hurling fields over the weekend...
1. Eoghan Cahill (Offaly)
Offaly's margin of defeat to the All-Ireland champions would have been far greater were it not for some top class saves by the Faithful County netminder.
2. Sean Weir (Kerry)
Weir and his Kingdom team-mates bounced back from their opening round loss to Carlow to get the better of Laois in the Joe McDonagh Cup.
3. John Dillon (Antrim)
Dillon and the Saffrons made it two wins from as many outings when finishing with three points to spare over 12-man Carlow.
4. Ben Conneely (Offaly)
The St Rynagh's clubman can't be faulted for effort in the Faithful County's opening round loss to the All-Ireland champions.
5. Chris Crummey (Dublin)
The team in sky blue emptied the tank in Parnell Park but they were denied at the death by a battle hardened Kilkenny side.
6. Cillian Buckley (Kilkenny)
The Cats' captain had to delve deep into his reservoir of experience to help edge them over the line.
7. Padraic Mannion (Galway)
The Tribesmen got the defence of their Leinster SHC title off to a winning start with a 12-point success over Offaly.
8. Aonghus Clarke (Westmeath)
With seven points to his name, Clarke was the standout performer as the Lake County dished out a heavy Joe McDonagh Cup defeat to neighbours Meath.
9. James Maher (Kilkenny)
The influential midfielder fired over two crucial points as the Cats came from behind to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.
10. Conal Keaney (Dublin)
It's very much a case of what might have been for Dublin who lost the services of the influential Keaney to a collar bone injury in the 60th minute.
11. TJ Reid (Kilkenny)
The Ballyhale Shamrocks star continued where he left off in the league with an exhibition of dead ball striking.
12. Joseph Cooney (Galway)
The Sarsfields player helped himself to 1-4 in the 5-18 to 2-15 success over the Faithful County.
13. Conor Whelan (Galway)
Whelan and the Tribesmen ended their goal drought in fine style against Offaly.
14. Liam Rushe (Dublin)
Put his body on the line for the Dublin cause and posed plenty of problems for the Kilkenny defence.
15. Brian Concannon (Galway)
The Killimordaly clubman enjoyed a championship debut to remember when scoring 2-1 in O'Connor Park on Saturday evening.


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SANTA CRUZ — A Santa Cruz surf instructor accused of lewd acts with two minors is expected to plead guilty in September and face a potential prison sentence, prosecutors said Wednesday.
Dylan David Greiner, 39, in December was held to answer for a trial on 23 charges that included child molestation and possession of child pornography, according to court records. Greiner secretly video recorded girls changing in his surf school's dressing room, inappropriately touched a 14-year-old girl at a Felton swimming hole and inappropriately touched another girl older than 14, said prosecutor Rafael Vazquez. Authorities also found computer equipment with hundreds of child pornography images in Greiner's possession.
Greiner wrote a letter apologizing to victims and the community upon his arrest in August 2013, according to Santa Cruz police.
Wednesday, Santa Cruz County Superior Judge Timothy Volkmann said documents were still being prepared for a no-contest plea. Greiner was ordered back in court Sept. 2 for "further disposition," which likely will include a plea and sentencing, Vazquez said.
It will be an open plea to the court rather than a plea deal, and prosecutors will seek a state prison sentence rather than probation, said Vazquez.
Greiner remains in Santa Cruz County Jail in lieu of $1 million bail, according to jail records. —— (c)2014 the Santa Cruz Sentinel (Scotts Valley, Calif.) Visit the Santa Cruz Sentinel (Scotts Valley, Calif.) at www.santacruzsentinel.com


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Dear Genealogical/Historical Researcher,
The Virginia genealogical community needs your help in contacting members of the Virginia General Assembly to urge passage of a bill to restore access to 19th century county and city Order books.
A bill passed by last year's General Assembly, seeking to close concealed carry gun permits from public access, inadvertently closed a wide range of city and county order books (in some cases going back to the 1700's) from public access. The attached page from the October 2013 Virginia Genealogical Society Newsletter explains the problem.
The solution is in 2014 VA HB 100 offered by Delegate Scott Lingamfelter, which will limit the closed period to only five years. The bill has been assigned to the House Militia, Police and Public Safety Committee and may come up before a subcommittee this Thursday. If it passes the House, it will then need to be passed by the Senate before going to the Governor.
Please email the members of the House Militia, Police and Public Safety Committee (whose email addresses are below), with the following suggested message (revise as you deem appropriate). If the bill passes the House, I will send you Senate contact information later.
Thank you for your support of access to Virginia's records!
Peter E. Broadbent, Jr.
Former President, Virginia Genealogical Society
Email addresses of delegates to contact:
Sample letter --
Dear Delegate:
I urge you to support HB 100 of Delegate Scott Lingamfelter, now before the House Militia, Police and Public Safety Committee. This bill will cure an unintended consequence of prior legislation which has denied researchers access to Virginia historical public records going back to the 1700's.
The Library of Virginia has had to withdraw 222 reels of microfilm from research access. Local clerks have been compelled to deny researchers access to county order books and indices from the 1800's.
Please cure this barrier to genealogical and historical research in Virginia by passing HB100.
[your name and address]


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How Obama's debate plan bombed
DENVER — A stunned Obama campaign acknowledged Thursday that President Barack Obama delivered a lackluster and even ineffectual performance in his leadoff debate against Mitt Romney, mistakenly opting for a cautious approach to handling his opponent that all too often left Obama looking timid and disengaged.
Democrats close to the president privately acknowledge that their candidate appeared flat and uninspired against a more animated challenger, resulting in the worst debate showing he's had since the early days of the 2008 campaign. Even more frustrating to many Obama supporters was the fact that the president's muted tone was at least partly by design.
Story Continued Below
( Also on POLITICO: Mitt Romney wins a reprieve)
Multiple party strategists privately attributed Obama's demeanor to an ailment that frequently affects incumbents: a fear of appearing too aggressive and risking a larger-scale misstep that could transform the campaign. Projecting a calm, reasonable — some said "presidential" — demeanor was the strategy during Obama's debate-prep sessions outside of Las Vegas.
But as a result, Obama allowed Romney to set the terms for much of their Wednesday night faceoff at the University of Denver. Startling his supporters, Obama did not deliver almost any of the sharpest attacks that have defined his campaign against Romney, dwelling instead on missing details from Romney's policy proposals. The former Massachusetts governor's private-equity background, controversial personal finances, views on social issues and recently reported comments, disparaging Americans who do not pay income taxes, went entirely unmentioned.
( PHOTOS: Obama not having fun)
Senior Obama adviser David Axelrod said on a conference call with reporters that Obama would reassess his approach in future debates with Romney — confrontations for which the president is "very, very eager," Axelrod said.
"He made a choice last night to answer the questions that were asked and to talk to the American people about what we need to move forward, and not to get into serial fact-checking with Gov. Romney, which can be an exhausting, never-ending pursuit," Axelrod said. "Obviously, moving forward, we are going to take a hard look at this, and we are going to have to make some judgments about where to draw the lines in these debates and how to use our time."
( Also on POLITICO: The fiesty Obama returns in Denver)
Asked why Obama did not bring up several of the central themes in his brief against Romney, Axelrod answered: "Plainly, he didn't come as focused and intense as Gov. Romney at dropping particular lines. His interest was in honoring the American people with honest answers to serious questions."
Obama has never been the nation's most forceful debater, and he makes no secret of his disdain for the theatrical side of politics. If his conduct on the debate stage with Romney seemed oddly passive, it was in some ways just another manifestation of the president's restrained approach to communicating with the electorate, whom he seems to believe — in the face of all existing evidence — are not swayed by electoral artifice.


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Welcome to Cognitive Software, LLC!We produce software especially designed to facilitate the processing and interpretation
of functional MRI data.
The computer industry is rapidly changing and encompasses a wide range of products and services. Operating a computer services
business is not easy, but building an effective web site can make a huge difference in responsiveness and customer satisfaction.We
hope you'll find the information you need on this site to make an informed buying decision. We look forward to working with
you.Please get in touch to offer comments and join our mailing list.


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Biega was the only defenseman among the top 18 scorers in Ivy League play (photo courtesy Steve Babineau).
CAMBRIDGE, Mass.—Sophomore defenseman Danny Biega has been named to the All-Ivy League first team, and junior forward Alex Killorn has been selected to the All-Ivy second team, the league announced Thursday.
With four goals and seven assists in 10 Ivy games, Biega tied for the Ivy scoring lead and logged four more points than the runner-up in Ivy defenseman scoring. He shared the Ivy lead with two game-winning goals, including the tie-breaker in the third period of Harvard's 4-3 win at Cornell Feb. 18. Biega leads the Crimson in overall points (25) and assists (15).
It is the sixth time in the last nine seasons that a Harvard defenseman has earned one of the two All-Ivy first-team spots. The Crimson's last All-Ivy defenseman was Alex Biega '10, Danny's older brother, a first-team pick in 2008-09 and honorable mention selection in 2007-08 and 2009-10.
Killorn tied for sixth in Ivy scoring with 10 points (3-7-10), one off the league lead. He scored the tying goal and added two assists in Harvard's 4-4 draw with Princeton Feb. 11 and netted two goals at Cornell. Killorn leads the Crimson with 13 overall goals and has 24 total points.
2010-11 All-Ivy League Teams
All-Ivy League First Team ^
F – Harry Zolnierczyk, Brown (Sr., Toronto, Ont.)
F – Andrew Calof, Princeton (Fr., Nepean, Ont.)
F – Broc Little, Yale (Sr., Rindge, N.H.)
F – Andrew Miller, Yale (So., Bloomfield Hills, Mich.)
D – Danny Biega, Harvard (So., Montreal, Que.)
D – Taylor Fedun, Princeton (Sr., Edmonton, Alta.)
*G – James Mello, Dartmouth (Jr., Rehoboth, N.H.)
All-Ivy League Second Team ^
F – Scott Fleming, Dartmouth (Sr., Plainfield, Ont.)
F – Alex Killorn, Harvard (Jr., Montreal, Que.)
F – Chris Cahill, Yale (Sr., North Andover, Mass.)
D – Dennis Robertson, Brown (Fr., Fort St. John, B.C.)
D – Nick D'Agostino, Cornell (So., Bolton, Ont.)
D – Joe Stejskal, Dartmouth (Sr., Grand Rapids, Minn.)
D – Jimmy Martin, Yale (Sr., St. Louis, Mo.)
G – Ryan Rondeau, Yale (Sr., Carvel, Alta.)
All-Ivy League Honorable Mention
F – Adam Estoclet, Dartmouth (Sr., Orono, Minn.)
F – Matt Lindblad, Dartmouth (Fr., Winnetka, Ill.)
F – Mike Kramer, Princeton (Sr., St. Paul, Minn.)
F – Brian O'Neill, Yale (Sr., Yardley, Pa.)
G – Andy Iles, Cornell (Fr., Ithaca, N.Y.)
Player of the Year
Harry Zolnierczyk, Brown (Sr., F, Toronto, Ontario)
Co-Rookies of the Year
Matt Lindblad, Dartmouth (Fr., F, Winnetka, Ill.)
Andrew Calof, Princeton (Fr., F, Nepean, Ontario)
* - unanimous selection
^ - has more than six players due to ties in the voting


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Apprenticeship Standards Customer Service Specialist
Training support
We offer a wide range of resources to support learners and those working with them to prepare for end-point assessment (EPA). There will be a range of different materials explaining the key considerations of the new modes of assessment and how to prepare for them.
You can use our training support offer regardless of whether you are using Pearson as your end-point assessment organisation (EPAO) or not.
What is available for this standard?
Pre-programme support
A range of training and CPD events to prepare delivery staff for the requirements of new apprenticeships in your sector.
Apprentice 360
Pearson Apprentice 360 is an online platform for apprentices and their training centres. Apprentice 360 supports the apprentice's journey and is designed to deliver engaging learning content mapped to their apprenticeship.
Rich Feedback and Results Plus
To help you understand learners results in external assessment, our Rich Feedback service for Functional Skills and Results Plus (available for GCSE qualifications) give you detailed breakdowns of strengths and weaknesses in performance, so you can effectively target improvement.
More about English and maths resources
Other materials
All materials will be hosted online but will be downloadable and editable to make them as flexible as possible for different centre needs. We will make sample materials available soon. Please check back here or if you haven't already, register for our Insight newsletter for updates.
Training and Events
We offer face-to-face and online training events for educators who are delivering or interested in delivering any of our programmes or qualifications.


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|Santa Barbara > Activities > Camping > El Capitan State Park
El Capitan State Beach
Hwy 101
between Gaviota and Santa Barbara
Web site: parks.ca.gov
This is a wonderful campground and beach that does fill up, sometimes months in advance. Make sure to make your reservations if you plan to come here. There are approximate 140 campsites for both individuals and groups.
Amenities include RV hookups, pay showers, restrooms, hiking and bike trails, a fabulous beach, a seasonal general store and an outdoor arena. Many of the sites offer an ocean view. Refugio Beach is just 2.5 miles away.
You are about a half hour from Santa Barbara.
Directions: Take the 101N until you reach the El Capitan signs. At the bottom of the exit turn left and go under the bridge. The road will take you right into the park.


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Morrison & Foerster's Tokyo Office is active in representing telecommunications companies in a wide range of strategic alliances, acquisitions and other transactions.
Recent telecommunications matters on which we have advised include:
Unsolicited e-mails and information sent to Morrison & Foerster will not be considered confidential, may be disclosed to others pursuant to our Privacy Policy, may not receive a response, and do not create an attorney-client relationship with Morrison & Foerster. If you are not already a client of Morrison & Foerster, do not include any confidential information in this message. Also, please note that our attorneys do not seek to practice law in any jurisdiction in which they are not properly authorized to do so.
©1996-2019 Morrison & Foerster LLP. All rights reserved.


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Military, Products
By Staff Writer | January 1, 2012
Send Feedback
"Marines are sending unmanned helicopters to Afghanistan to test a safer way to supply troops deep inside hostile territory. The 3-ton, twin-rotor K-MAX, built by Lockheed and Kaman, will be capable of ferrying up to 3 tons of supplies. Human controllers will guide it from its main base to isolated forward-operating bases. The goal: replacing risky truck convoys that are exposed to ambushes and roadside bombs."
With these four short sentences, TIME Magazine named the Unmanned Kaman K-MAX® as one of its "50 Best Inventions" of 2011. It was an important moment for the Helicopters Division and its hard-working team of employees who have always known, as one senior executive said, that "Kaman is something special. From the day Mr. Kaman opened the doors, the company has represented the best of what people can do when they work toward a common goal."
With a focus on customer and product differentiation through low-cost and technology-based innovative solutions, Kaman Helicopters is well positioned to meet its growth plans and visionary objectives. Here's a recap of 2011 highlights.
The K-MAX Unmanned Aerial Truck (UAT) developed by Team K-MAX – Lockheed/Kaman, is now deployed to Operation Enduring Freedom. Two aircraft and three ground control stations are in Afghanistan providing unmanned resupply for the U.S. Marine Corps, helping to offload trucks that are so frequently targeted with Improvised Explosive Devices. The trucking operation is moving from the ground to the air with this latest UAV technology capable of carrying 6,000 pounds of payload, and rugged enough for extreme environments. The K-MAX UAT is expected to operate around-the-clock, easily lifting one million pounds a day.
New technologies are rapidly developing, and the K-MAX UAT has the payload capacity, power, and strength to take on multiple missions for the U.S. Military. The U.S. Army has contracted with Kaman's partner Lockheed Martin to develop those technologies using the Unmanned K-MAX to further the autonomy of Unmanned Aircraft Systems allowing them to do more, at lower cost and most importantly with less threat to human life.
Innovation in helicopter composite rotor blade technology is a rapidly growing business at the Helicopters Division Blade Center of Excellence (BCE) and Subcontracting (HeliworX™) Center. The BCE is a full-service aerospace innovation and manufacturing support center and a growth engine for the future. In addition to establishing a low-cost manufacturing facility and expanding its BCE, the company is producing the initial production standard composite rotor blades for the AH-6 "Little Bird," with the MD 500 and MD 600 Series blades to follow. Kaman is also building helicopter blade assemblies for Bell helicopters and the MD 900 rotor system. With its partner Hontek, the company has successfully introduced a three-layer, color-specific (for visual inspection) sprayable erosion coating that has significantly extended the lifespan and reduced the life cycle costs of U.S. Army BLACK HAWK helicopter main rotor blades. Approximately 100 BLACK HAWK helicopter blades are being coated at Kaman each month, with over 2,300 blades coated to date. U.S. Army, U.S. Navy and international customers are evaluating the coating to protect blades on Apache, CHââ¬â53E, and UH-72 Lakota helicopters. Kaman is the only certified facility authorized to apply the Hontek coating and is currently installing a robotic spray facility at its Bloomfield, Conn. site. Backed by Kaman's infrastructure and expertise, HeliworX is the only subcontractor with the OEM advantage capable of offering design/analysis, manufacturing, upgrade, modifications and test and flight solutions. Other capabilities include integration, composite and metallic bonding, final assembly, rotor blade whirl towers, and sand erosion test facility and flight test.
With the increased SH-2 Seasprite and K-MAX fleet sizes, Kaman continues to expand its Aftermarket business by supporting existing and new customers worldwide. Upgrades to the Egyptian SH-2s, a new SH-2 ASW variant, the Unmanned K-MAX USMC deployment, and the migration of Kaman's tremendous expertise to other platforms is driving the strategic growth of this important business segment.
Kaman continues to actively market the highly capable and mission-ready Seasprite SH-2G(I) helicopters to international naval customers. These aircraft offer an affordable small ship capability for conventional naval missions of anti-surface and anti-submarine warfare, and can effectively engage asymmetric threats characteristic of today's maritime operations.
The Egyptian Air Force is entering its 13th year of successful robust performance of its SH-2G(E) helicopter fleet. Other international militaries using the Super Seasprite include the Royal New Zealand Air Force and the Polish Navy.
For more information: email@example.com


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Dogfighting Fact Sheet
View Single Post
Auth. Top Breeder
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: lafayette La.
Posts: 788
Dogfighting Fact Sheet
1. What is dogfighting?
Dogfighting is a sadistic "contest" in which two dogsspecifically bred, conditioned, and trained to fightare placed in a pit (generally a small arena enclosed by plywood walls) to fight each other for the spectators' entertainment and gambling. Fights average nearly an hour in length and often last more than two hours. Dogfights end when one of the dogs will not or cannot continue. In addition to these dogfights, there are reports of an increase in unorganized street fights in urban areas.
2. How does it cause animal suffering?
The injuries inflicted and sustained by dogs participating in dogfights are frequently severe, even fatal. The American pit bull terriers used in the majority of these fights have been specifically bred and trained for fighting and are unrelenting in their attempts to overcome their opponents. With their extremely powerful jaws, they are able to inflict severe bruising, deep puncture wounds and broken bones.
Dogs used in these events often die of blood loss, shock, dehydration, exhaustion, or infection hours or even days after the fight. Other animals are often sacrificed as well. Some owners train their dogs for fights using smaller animals such as cats, rabbits or small dogs. These "bait" animals are often stolen pets or animals obtained through "free to good home" advertisements.
3. Are there other concerns?
Yes. Numerous law enforcement raids have unearthed many disturbing facets of this illegal "sport." Young children are sometimes present at the events, which can promote insensitivity to animal suffering, enthusiasm for violence and a lack of respect for the law. Illegal gambling is the norm at dogfights. Dog owners and spectators wager thousands of dollars on their favorites. Firearms and other weapons have been found at dogfights because of the large amounts of cash present. And dogfighting has been connected to other kinds of violenceeven homicide, according to newspaper reports. In addition, illegal drugs are often sold and used at dogfights.
4. What other effects does the presence of dogfighting have on people and animals in a community?
Dogs used for fighting have been bred for many generations to be dangerously aggressive toward other animals. The presence of these dogs in a community increases the risk of attacks not only on other animals but also on people. Children are especially at risk, because their small size may cause a fighting dog to perceive a child as another animal.
5. Why should dogfighting be a felony offense?
There are several compelling reasons. Because dogfighting yields such large profits for participants, the minor penalties associated with misdemeanor convictions are not a sufficient deterrent. Dogfighters merely absorb these fines as part of the cost of doing business. The cruelty inherent in dogfighting should be punished by more than a slap on the hand. Dogfighting is not a spur-of-the-moment act; it is a premeditated and cruel practice.
Those involved in dogfighting go to extensive lengths to avoid detection by law enforcement, so investigations can be difficult, dangerous, and expensive. Law enforcement officials are more inclined to investigate dogfighting if it is a felony. As more states make dogfighting a felony offense, those remaining states with low penalties will become magnets for dogfighters.
6. Do some states already have felony laws?
Yes. Dogfighting is illegal in all 50 states and a felony offense in almost every state.
7. Should being a spectator also be a felony?
Yes. Spectators provide much of the profit associated with dogfighting. The money generated by admission fees and gambling helps keep this "sport" alive. Because dogfights are illegal and therefore not widely publicized, spectators do not merely happen upon a fight; they seek it out. They are willing participants who support a criminal activity through their paid admission and attendance.
8. What can I do to help stop dogfighting?
If you live in one of the states where dogfighting is still only a misdemeanor, please write to your state legislators and urge them to make it a felony. To find out how your state treats dogfighting, visit our page on State Dogfighting Laws.
We encourage you also to write letters to the media to increase public awareness of the dangers of dogfighting and to law enforcement officials or prosecutors and judges to urge them to take the issue seriously. You may want to display our dogfighting poster in your community. For free posters, please include your name and address in an email along with the number of posters you would like to receive, and we'll send our catalog as well.
If you suspect that dogfighting is going on in your own neighborhood, alert your local law enforcement agency and urge agency officials to contact The HSUS for practical tools, advice and assistance.
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Washington, DC 20037
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This ring by Paul Michael Designs is the perfect engagement ring to ask someone to be your player 2.
Although to be honest I'm not too keen on the spiral design of the ring it's self I assume it's there to make sure that the controller doesn't break off.
The ring is entitled "Intendo" as in I intendo marry you.
Via Fashionably Geek


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WASHINGTON -- The FBI has found female DNA on at least one of the two homemade bombs detonated during the Boston Marathon on April 15, according to a law enforcement official.
The presence of genetic material does not necessarily mean a woman helped build the pressure-cooker bombs, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing.
The genetic material could have come from a woman who was in the room where the devices were built, or from a cashier at a store where one of the bomb parts was purchased, the official said.
The test results have prompted investigators to look more closely at women who may have had contact with the alleged bombers, Tamerlan Tsarnaev and his younger brother, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. Investigators are collecting DNA samples from some women who were close to the pair to provide a comparison.
On Monday, investigators visited the Rhode Island home of the family of Katherine Russell, the widow of the elder brother, who was killed in a shootout with police on April 19. Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was wounded but captured, and faces federal charges of using a weapon of mass destruction.
The two remote-controlled bombs killed three people and injured more than 260.
Mayor of West, Texas: The face of a ravaged townSuspect in ricin-letter case held without bail in Mississippi
Student shoots himself in Roman Catholic school in Cincinnati


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An excellent all-around pet, the Feline Familiar is one of those rare pets where all six abilities are useful, and that's without acknowledging the type advantages that almost no other beasts have (Magic/Humanoid).
- is a great help in fighting wild Flying type pets. Onyx Bite
- is a huge help as always as it sets up many different combos with other pets ( Call Darkness, Crow, Ghostly Skull, Gilnean Raven, Spectral Porcupette, and others). Additionally, it can be combined with Spectral Tiger Cub for huge burst damage. Prowl
- + Pounce is an excellent combination versus wild Critters. The self-heal from Devour can sustain your Feline Familiar almost indefinitely, and Pounce will almost always go first against wilds. Devour
- is the Feline Familiar's weakest ability, but it is still a good choice if you don't have anything better against DoT-based Flying or Critter type Battle Pets. Stoneskin


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Mesh Network Details
From OLPC
Details of the mesh networking provided by the XO-1 laptop and an early School server are provided here. The later XO-1.5, XO-1.75 and XO-4 laptops do not use the same protocol. See also a related Mesh Network FAQ.
Design goals
- Ability to act as a mesh point when laptop's main CPU is off. (Small enough to run autonomously on Marvell's 88W8388 802.11 wireless module)
- Minimize power consumption in autonomous mode.
- Support for asymmetric links/paths.
- Incremental releases -- mesh networking is needed immediately on XO. Upgrades will continue to improve functionality and adherence with standards.
- Simultaneously act as a Mesh Point as well as an infrastructure node.
- Follow 802.11s draft when possible.
Standards Compliance
The Mesh Routing Protocol used in the OLPC laptop (OLPC-Mesh) is based on the 802.11s standard being developed by the 802.11 Task Group S [1].
OLPC-Mesh was based on the first draft produced by TGs, version 0.1. Currently (Oct, 2008) TGs is working on version 2.0 of the draft.
More information on the differences between OLPC-Mesh and the 802.11s mesh can be found here.
Backward Compatibility
In order to avoid forced obsolescence of XO laptops already deployed in a school, limited backwards compatibility should be an important feature of future firmware revisions. Laptops issued in previous years should mesh network peacefully with laptops issued to new classes. This compatibility may take a form similar to 802.11b/g operation --- if a single laptop requiring extended WDS frames is present on a mesh, all mesh points and portals should revert to extended WDS frames in order to support it and its brethren.
Mesh Points
In typical operation, the XO laptop is operating as a mesh point. It uses its WiFi interface to both access the network itself and to relay traffic from other mesh points. A mesh network requires a more dynamic path selection (routing) protocol than that utilized in wired networks. Even the decision of which wireless channel to use is more difficult in the mesh case.
Mesh Path Selection and Forwarding
The path selection mechanism is based on a simplified version of the Hybrid Wireless Mesh Protocol (HWMP) proposed in the 802.11s draft. HWMP combines on-demand route discovery with support for proactive routing.
Proactive routing requires the formation of a tree topology under a root node. OLPC-Mesh does not support proactive routing at this time.
On-demand path discovery is largely based on Ad-Hoc On-demand Distance Vector (AODV) routing.
Paths are built using a route request / route reply management frames. When a source node needs to transmit a frame to a destination for which no path exists, a broadcast route request (RREQ) is broadcast through the mesh. As these requests are propagated, nodes receiving them will create routes to the source node in their routing tables. These routes are termed reverse routes and are only used to forward mesh management frames. When a node receives a RREQ destined to itself, it will respond with a unicast route reply (RREP), which will be sent back to the source via reverse routes. The intermediate nodes that forward RREPs back to the source will create routes to the destination node. This routes are termed forward routes, and are the routes used to forward data frames.
A comprehensive discussion on the Path Selection Mechanism, is also available.
Route Tear-down and Recovery
If a frame cannot be transmitted to the next hop (i.e. when the maximum number of retries is exceeded), the route that was used for the frame is marked as invalid. If the failed route has predecessors, route error (RERR) management frames are transmitted to the source of the route. This improves the route recovery time after a mesh node leaves the coverage area of a neighbor.
Limited Broadcast
The RREQ/RREP mechanism only works for unicast traffic. Broadcast traffic is propagated through the mesh through limited flooding. Each mesh data frame contains a unique end-to-end sequence number that is set at the source. Intermediate nodes maintain a list of recently broadcast frames indexed by this sequence number and the address of the source. This table ensures that broadcast frames are retransmitted only once.
Multicast is supported in firmware versions 5.220.9.p9 and above.
Mesh Networking Security Implications
Mesh Point operation has some additional security implications compared to WiFi station or Ad-Hoc modes.
OLPC-Mesh Association Algorithm
Under HWMP, a Mesh Point should use active or passive scanning to discover neighbors and establish peer links. OLPC-Mesh does not use this mechanism. Neighbors are discovered only via the RREQ/RREP cycle.
Upon power-up (resume as well?), an XO laptop will associate itself with a mesh network in the following manner:
- The laptop will issue a DHCP request, followed by a RREQ for a Mesh Portal anycast address and wait for RREP replies, on all three channels being proposed for OLPC meshes (1, 6, and 11) before making any decisions.
- If any channel provides a lower hop count to a Mesh Portal, it is selected unless its signal strength is significantly lower.
- If all channels provide the same hop count to a Mesh Portal, random selection is used.
As no authentication of neighboring mesh points is performed, the mesh is not protected against route disruption or node isolation attacks. It is unclear if such an authentication mechanism could be successfully implemented within the guidelines of OLPC.
Mesh Portals
Up to now we have described the operation of Mesh Points. Mesh Points that are connected to an external network, and that forward traffic in and out of the mesh are referred to as Mesh Portals (MPP).
Mesh Points must find paths to a Mesh Portal in order to access the Internet. When multiple Mesh Portals exist in the mesh, the Mesh Point must select one of them. The way the OLPC Mesh resolves this problem is by defining a layer 2 ANYCAST MAC address (0xC027C027C027) that will be claimed by all the MPPs in the mesh. When a Mesh Point needs to find an MPP, a RREQ is sent for that special ANYCAST address. Each Mesh Portal receiving the RREQ will generate a RREP. The path selection method in the firmware will assign higher precedence to those MPPs that can be reached through lower cost routes.
The Mesh Point then sends a UDP datagram to the selected mesh portal, which also replies with a datagram. In order to generate the ANYCAST message, a static binding is made in the Mesh Point ARP table between an arbitrary MPP IP address (172.31.255.254 is currently used) and the ANYCAST MAC address. Then a UDP message is composed to the MPP IP address and MPP service port (currently 16), containing the contents "MPPREQ".
Mesh Portals must bind the MPP IP address (172.31.255.254) to one of their network interfaces, and listen for configuration requests sent by Mesh Points to that address on the MPP service port (16). In reply to these requests, Mesh Portals will send to the Mesh Points all the information required to access outside the mesh network. At this time this configuration information is composed of the IP address of the selected Mesh Portal and the addresses of DNS servers.
More information about this configuration daemon can be found:
Traffic forwarding in and out of the mesh is done at layer 3 via Network Address Translation (NAT) at the host. This gives the flexibility to use any other network connection to connect the mesh to the world (e.g. PPP, GPRS, etc.).
Driver Interface
The wireless driver creates a virtual network interface just for mesh traffic (msh0 on the laptop). The main interface (usually eth0 on the laptop) is used for infrastructure traffic when the laptop is associated to an AP. It is also used for some control operations that aren't currently supported by the mesh interface, such as assigning a MAC address.
Userspace Controls
There are several system calls available to examine and modify the behavior of the OLPC-Mesh. This calls are implemented as ioctls, and can be invoked via iwpriv commands.
The first of such tools are the
iwpriv fwt_* family of commands. With these commands one can examine and modify the routing table. See the Wireless Driver README file in the libertas driver directory for details.
Another useful feature for debugging and testing is the blinding table. Incoming traffic from any address that exists in the blinding table will be silently discarded by the firmware. This is useful to test specific mesh topologies that would otherwise be hard to setup. The blinding table can be accessed using
iwpriv bt_{add,del,reset,list}.
There is also one ioctl call that will change the maximum TTL of outgoing mesh traffic. The TTL determines the maximum number of hops that a frame will cross before being dropped. This is used to minimize the consequences of routing loops but it also limits the number of neighbors that can be reached in the mesh. The mesh TTL can be modified via
iwpriv mesh_{get,set}_ttl.
Finally, there are mesh specific statistics available through
ethtool -S
Currently the following counters are implemented:
drop_duplicate_bcast drop_ttl_zero drop_no_fwd_route drop_no_buffers fwded_unicast_cnt fwded_bcast_cnt drop_blind_table tx_failed_cnt
These are the steps to start the mesh manually.
1. Bring up a console (click Terminal on the Developer Console)
2. Type:
su - # enter root password if needed iwconfig msh0 mode ad-hoc channel <channel> essid <any name> ifconfig msh0 <IP address>
channel: Pick the same for all the nodes in the mesh. If in doubt, pick 6
IP address: Pick a unique IP address in the mesh. If in doubt, pick 10.X.Y.Z, and replace X.Y.Z with these 3 numbers
any name: Literally, any name will work. If in doubt, pick "olpc-mesh".
Soon turning on the mesh and IP address assignment will happen automatically. But these steps will allow you to start using the mesh as of build 368.
Disabling the mesh network
An XO-1 scans for nearby access points, and if a favourite is found it tries to connect to it. But if no favourite is found within ten seconds, it looks for a nearby mesh and connects to that, otherwise it starts a mesh.
A bug prevents this scan in large groups, see 12757 for the details. If the fix cannot be deployed, a workaround is to disable mesh networking on all XO-1 laptops in a school.
To disable mesh networking, in Terminal activity as root, enter the command
echo 0 > /sys/class/net/eth0/lbs_mesh
To disable permanently, add the command to a startup file,
echo "echo 0 > /sys/class/net/eth0/lbs_mesh" >> /etc/rc.d/rc.local
And in a post-resume script for powerd, as the Sugar Labs Dextrose distribution for XO's does (mailing list message).
Mesh in linear layout
Mesh in separate groups
Want to run a simple experiment to see the mesh in action? You will need 3 laptops, xoa, xob and xoc, with IP addresses IPa and IPc (xob does not need an IP for this experiment):
1. Bring all three xo's together.
xoa, xob, xoc ------------------------------------------------
2. At the terminal of laptop C type
ping IPa
3. Move xoc away from xoa and xob, until pings start failing. Mark that location (L1): that will indicate the direct range limit.
L1 xoa, xob -------------------------------- xoc ------------------------------------
4. Move xoc closer to xoa and xob. As soon as pings restart, mark that location (L2).
L2 L1 xoa, xob -------------------- xoc ----------------------------
5. Pick up xob and move it to L2.
L2 L1 xoa ------------------------- xob, xoc -----------------------
6. Move xoc to L1, you should now be able go substantially beyond L1 and successfully ping xoa.
L2 L1 xoa ------------------------- xob ------------------------ xoc
7. Move xob back to xoa, you should find that xoc will no longer be able to ping xoa.
L2 L1 xoa, xob ------------------------------------------------- xoc
That's the beauty of the mesh: you can extend the range just by inviting more people over to your party.
Interactions With Wireless Equipment
The mesh may be affected by legacy wireless equipment.
[1] Note that although the frame is discarded, it will still be acknowledged by the MAC layer.
See also
- Libertas - the Marvel 88w838X series of wireless chipsets


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SF Spring Classic – The South Full Length Video by Zen Turtle
One of the best trends in cycling equipment right now is the growth of the 'adventure road bike' or 'fat tired road bike'. Big tires, disc brakes on normal road bike geometry seem like good ingredients for what many cyclists want to do today. Ride everywhere and race everywhere is a new mantra that we'll hear more of in the future. Why ride a century ride on rough pavement with 23c tires at 130 psi when you can be running 28c at 90 psi? Why turn around at the end of the road just because there's 2 miles of dirt road up ahead when you can punch through and keep exploring?
One of the new events in the SF Bay area is called Spring Classics. This is a point to point adventure ride that features pavement and trail with big mileage and elevation. This first event from San Francisco to Santa Cruz happened to fall on a rare day of non-stop wind and rain. 140 showed up in the miserable conditions and 20 finished the long course of 100+ miles and 10,000 feet.
Read about their adventure here.
SF Spring Classic – South – The video Trailer by Zen Turtle
SF Spring Classic South Recap by Mtbr forum member "ratpick"
Here it is, in 3D, taste-the-grit detail! My camera is waterproof but once my gloves, jersey, shorts – well, everything – was muddy, there was no way to wipe it clean, so photos aren't the cleanest!
The story begins with Zen Turtle posting about the ride and looking for fellow sufferers. I had just completed the Coe Monstercross with ElHombre and Modbog so was eager for more big "monstercross" rides. I paid my $75 immediately and counted down the days!
One of the funny comments in the leadup was a Quadzilla racer who said, 'I'm going to do a dirt ride rather than a boring road century" – we "laughed" about that often during the ride!
Start your engines!
I'm very used to riding with the route in my Garmin, disliking having to pull out maps and figure out the next turn. But I did enjoy the mystery this time, especially since I was familiar with everything south of Linda Mar.
As usual in cold weather, I was very unsure what to wear. Go too warm, and I suffer with heavy clothes and overheating, but too light and my fingers and toes suffer. With a forecast of 100% chance of rain all day and temps barely touching 50º maximum, I decided my warmest jersey was the right choice (and it was!). Long leg warmers (can't believe how many wore knee warmers only, or nothing on their legs) and a cap under my helmet to keep my head warm and rain off my glasses. I also added some toe covers, figuring it might help prevent my toes freezing on the fast Hwy 1 segment.
I took very little food. ZT also commented on this at the start – we both are used to taking (nearly) all the food we'll need on a century ride so it felt weird to ride out with nothing. Since the first refueling spot was 33 miles away, I did take some food for that stretch.
On the drive up to San Francisco, I spotted a familiar bike so sat in behind Marco, as I expected to do for much of the ride!
I had cleaned and prepared my bike and somehow contaminated the brake rotors so the brakes were loudly squealing. I went for a ride around in the rain and found out that the squealing stopped once the pads were warm. I hoped it would stop altogether eventually!
At around 8:50am, with the rain very constant, Murphy rounded us up and gave a very funny speech and directions about the tricky parts of the route. There was, as there always is, much excitement. It was obvious that this was a particularly strong pack of riders!
At checkin we received a well-produced route sheet with all turns and a map. I studied it for a bit, but figured I'd follow the pack on the start so didn't bother to try to memorize it. I had a course loaded in my Garmin but it had the wrong route up until Montara Mtn.


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Recently our technical supervisor, Scott Rosenbaum, was published in PM Engineer magazine. We are really excited about the spread and we're sure that this is just the first of many articles to come! We're so very proud of our tech guy. He knows his stuff when it comes to floor heating installations and he's not a half bad writer! As part of the 24/7 tech team, he has received several troubleshooting calls. He's answered tons of questions that folks (many of whom were not even our customers!) have asked about their electric floor heating systems and he noticed a real trend developing. Certain things kept popping up over and over. So many of the floor heating installation issues he deals with could have easily been avoided if people just followed a few simple tips. So, he wrote this great little blog that turned into a full fledged published article, all to try and get the message out. Read his original blog and save yourself some heartache.
We won't share your information and you can unsubscribe at any time with a single click.


text:
Get Your Free Audiobook
The Icarus Syndrome
Non-member price: $57.05
Publisher's Summary
In The Icarus Syndrome, Peter Beinart tells a tale as old as the Greeks—a story about the seductions of success. Beinart describes Washington on the eve of three wars—World War I, Vietnam, and Iraq—three moments when American leaders decided they could remake the world in their image. Each time, leading intellectuals declared that history was over, and the spread of democracy was inevitable. Each time, a president held the nation in the palm of his hand. And each time, a war conceived in arrogance brought untold tragedy.
In dazzling color, Beinart portrays three extraordinary generations: the progressives who took America into World War I, led by Woodrow Wilson, the lonely preacher's son who became the closest thing to a political messiah the world had ever seen; the Camelot intellectuals who took America into Vietnam, led by Lyndon Johnson, who lay awake at night after night shaking with fear that his countrymen considered him weak; and George W. Bush and the post-cold war neoconservatives, the romantic bullies who believed they could bludgeon the Middle East and liberate it at the same time.
Like Icarus, each of these generations crafted "wings"—a theory about America's relationship to the world. They flapped carefully at first, but gradually lost their inhibitions until, giddy with success, they flew into the sun.
But every era also brought new leaders and thinkers who found wisdom in pain. They reconciled American optimism—our belief that anything is possible—with the realities of a world that will never fully bend to our will. In their struggles lie the seeds of American renewal today.
Based on years of research, The Icarus Syndrome is a provocative and strikingly original account of hubris in the American century—and how we learn from the tragedies that result.
What members say
- Paul
- 28-01-2012
Review of America's Foreign Interventions
What made the experience of listening to The Icarus Syndrome the most enjoyable?
I appreciated the depth of the author's research and his interpretation of the motives of the various actors. Beinart reviews America's foreign policy, concentrating on events after World War I.
What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?
Beinart is not one of the flag-waving historians who view America's history through the veil of feigned patriotism. Rather he is a pragmatist who believes America acts in its own best interest. However, many times America makes the wrong decision. The author uncovers some interesting connections and ironies along the way as he tries to get into the head of the protagonists and describe their thought processes in formulating the actions of America in the War on Terrorism.
Have you listened to any of John Morgan's other performances before? How does this one compare?
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
No, the amount of material is too much to absorb in one sitting. This book is best listened to over a period of time to give the reader a chance to ponder these great issues.
Any additional comments?
This is an excellent thesis on the hubris of America in its dealings with its enemies. The Bush administration, particularly Cheney comes in for criticism. The machinations of the Bush clique is described in great detail.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful
- Edo
- 21-05-2012
This was a great history lesson and interesting perspective on the lead-up to America going to war and how the leaders of the time made decisions. I thought the piece was well-researched and presented in a very interesting format. I'd say it's one of the better non-fiction books I've read recently and very engaging.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful
- joseph
- 12-09-2010
Great read!
This was a great read! It is very revealing and insightful on the key characters that formed American foreign relations. It was also very interesting to get a view on the mindset and circumstances that affected key thinkers and policy makers in the US. I would highly recommend this book.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful
- Rick
- 11-06-2010
Great read
Really good narration & interesting details that support a very timely thesis. It's like David Halberstam's The Best and the Brightest but covering more history.
8 of 10 people found this review helpful
- 03-02-2013
Very interesting
I know this book is just one perspective on US foreign policy, but it certainly does explain some of our more significant foreign policy boondoggles.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful


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I have been inspired, did a little brainstorming, and came up with a design. It's a figment of my imagination that is now on paper. And just imagine if I hadn't taken it this far I wouldn't have anything to show my Dad and he wouldn't have had a reason to mention Giz and the old Chrysler. But instead I now own a '59 Imperial. I never expected all of this to happen over the course of a few short weeks. This was intended to be a someday project, not a get it done as soon as possible sort of operation.
But that's not the only problem. As much as it sounds silly to say, this car is too nice. Well, not too nice to cut up, but there are too many nice parts and they are all there. The car is complete, quite a time capsule. As I mentioned before, all I was expecting to find was a rusting junkyard hulk. As in no floors, no rockers, no trim, no interior, and so on. The floors are solid with nice thick rust proofing. The interior is dried out, but not torn – I love the swivel seats and cylinder-like speedometer. The chrome is old, but not flaking. It has four matching hub caps. The glass isn't broken, plus it's the first use of curved side glass in a car. The original spare, jack, and instructions tacked to the trunk lid are all there. The paint even looks like it could come back to a shine with a little TLC.
So what do I do now? I can't build the car I designed because if I did, I would be discarding 80% of this car. It's back to the drawing board – so to speak. Technically I haven't used a drawing board in a few years. For those who are familiar with my work you know that I design most everything digitally. Get ready – here comes the plug for Pfaff Designs.
For the past few years I have been using some of the same technology the automakers use to design new cars. I have a pressure sensitive monitor that I draw directly on. This allows me to create very real looking designs, but also allows them to be proportionately accurate while exploring that proportion too. It also affords me the ability to generate multiply ideations rather quickly. My thoughts are transferred to the computer fluidly, just like sketching on paper, but also with all of the benefits of the latest imaging software. There isn't any real magic to it, but it is much like having the world's largest tool box, which also means you need to know how to use them. Check out www.pfaffdesigns.com for more.
It's no secret the Imperial is a big car at over nineteen feet long. My inspiration for this fantasy is at least six feet shorter. I think this new design needs to take full advantage of all of the sheet metal and be a full fendered car. Two seats are a must and topless too. I have seen people shorten cars before – like those stubby '57 Chevy's. But they are just that – stubby and too goofy looking. I can't let that happen here.
My first step is to remove the roof. Then I take the front doors out of the equation. It's interesting, but not enough. There is too much rear over hang, so I remove that and move the rear bumper and quarter panel forward. Better. Now the front wheel opening is too long for the car – a few inches out of that helps things. It's short, but also stocky. It will need to be sectioned, probably two to three inches. Now we have something I might be able to work with.
With more than 4 feet subtracted from the length and section job, I can already see that the car will have to be narrowed to look right. Proportions are extremely important to any project. They make what is good, wonderful and make what is bad, awful. For some they are difficult to see, but if they aren't right, people may not see it, but they know something isn't right. As I look at the design I begin to compare it to some other cars including the Chrysler Crossfire and AC Cobra. All have a wheel base in the 90" range. That could make for a fun little car!
As I move beyond the reformatting of the body panels I start to look at the details on the car. It has a lot of neat features that include the headlight pods, grille, door handles, taillight trim rings, and rear chrome trim panels to name a few. They are all like jewelry and I am not interested in smoothing them all off of the car. In many ways it is easy to remove these things versus restoring them, however, I feel they help make this car an Imperial. I am coming to realize that I still want this project to be recognized as an Imperial, but not one that anyone has ever seen before.
This leads me to an epiphany. Ghia had been designing and building most of the showcars for Chrysler in the 50's for Virgil Exner. Forward looking cars like the Adventurer, Dart, Diablo, Flight Sweep, Firearrows and XNR had come out of Turin. What if this car was made to look like it had been built by Ghia. Furthermore, Chrysler never made a counterpart to the Corvette and Fords two seat luxury sports car – Thunderbird. Why not?


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Nature and Science
April 2016
"You design the experiment, we'll design the mice."
~ from Emily Anthes'
Frankenstein's Cat
Recent Releases
Eruption: The Untold Story of Mount St. Helens
Steve Olson
The single most powerful natural disaster in U.S. history occurred on May 18, 1980, when Washington's Mount St. Helens erupted, killing 57 people while scattering ash over 11 U.S. states and five Canadian provinces.
provides a play-by-play account of the catastrophe, from the first seismic rumblings to the volcano's eruption and its deadly aftermath, while painting a vivid portrait of the Pacific Northwest's history and culture.
Pandemic: Tracking Contagions, From Cholera to Ebola and Beyond
Sonia Shah
"The disease-causing microbe that will cause the next pandemic lurks among us today," explains science writer Sonia Shah, noting that b
etween 1940 and 2004, some 300 infectious diseases (re)emerged in areas and among populations that had never seen them before.
To demonstrate how pathogens become pandemics, Shah examines the history of Vibrio cholerae, a marine bacterium that spread from Southeast Asia across the globe during the 19th-century. Readers interested in Shah's argument that human incursion into wilderness areas makes the rise and spread of new diseases inevitable should check out David Quammen's
, which provides an in-depth exploration of animal-to-human disease transmission.
Hair: A Human History
Kurt Stenn
Humans can more easily detect the presence of bedbugs on unshaven limbs. Goose bumps are a prehistoric reflex that date from the period before hominids developed eccrine (sweat) glands. And while our scalps are home to approximately one-hundred thousand strands of hair, our bodies boast between three to five million. These are just a few of the fascinating tidbits in this comprehensive book by hair-follicle scientist Kurt Stenn.
If you've ever wondered how a cluster of cells that evolved to regulate body temperature in our earliest mammalian ancestors could become such an important part of human history, this is the book for you!
Breaking the Chains of Gravity: The Story of Spaceflight Before NASA
Amy Shira Teitel
Like many of its earliest rockets, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) was built from spare parts. Created in 1958, two years before JFK promised to put humans on the Moon, NASA's nascent space program drew on discoveries made by propulsion pioneers such as Romanian physicist
Hermann Oberth, whose liquid-fueled rockets inspired
hobbyists to risk life and limb during the 1930s, and
Wernher von Braun, who ran Nazi Germany's V-2 rocket program before bringing his expertise to the United States. This engaging account of the history of rocketry is sure to keep armchair astronauts glued to the edge of their seats.
Cats and Dogs
Frankenstein's Cat: Cuddling up to Biotech's Brave New Beasts
Emily Anthes
Consider this: dogs used to be wolves before humans interfered. We use selective breeding techniques to fine-tune our livestock and pets; electronics to fuse animal bodies with machinery; and molecular biology to create mutants and clones. This eye-opening book surveys the brave new world of biotechnology "from petri dish to pet store," discussing such wonders as cats that glow in the dark (due to an infusion of bioluminescent jellyfish DNA) and spider-goats, genetically modified goats whose milk contains proteins that can be spun into silk. It also delves into ethical concerns surrounding such practices, including (but not limited to) the growing industry dedicated to breeding diseased animals to supply research labs.
Cat Sense: How the New Feline Science Can Make You a Better Friend to Your Pet
John Bradshaw
Although dogs are usually awarded the title of "man's best friend," housecats outnumber their canine counterparts three to one. But despite their ubiquity in our homes (and on the Internet), what do we really know about our feline friends? Are they truly our friends, or -- as some suspect -- are they just using us? Aimed at pet parents, British anthrozoologist John Bradshaw's book examines a range of topics related to cat behavior and traces the evolution of cats from freelance exterminators to household companions. If you've ever wanted to know why cats purr, check out this accessible guide. Not a cat person? Bradshaw throws dog lovers a bone in
Dog Sense
, which covers the science of canines.
The Genius of Dogs: How Dogs Are Smarter Than You Think
Brian Hare and Vanessa Woods
If your dog won't fetch, you may approach this book with some skepticism. However, authors Brian Hare and Vanessa Woods argue, dogs are intelligent -- in a very specific way. Having co-evolved with humans, dogs are uniquely suited to be our companions: they can interpret our gestures, make inferences about our behavior, and even anticipate our desires. If you enjoyed the exploration of the canine-human bond in Jon Franklin's
The Wolf in the Parlor
, you'll want to read
The Genius of Dogs
. For more on canine cognition specifically, try ethologist Alexandra Horowitz's
Inside of a Dog
Tell Me Where It Hurts: A Day of Humor, Healing, and Hope...
Nick Trout
A staff surgeon at Boston's Angell Animal Medical Center,
experienced vet Nick Trout guides readers through an average day in the life of an animal doctor -- a profession that requires practitioners to be "
a social worker, a psychologist, a grief counselor, mentor, carpenter, plumber, cosmetologist, athletic coach, magician, grim reaper, and occasionally, guardian angel." Whether tussling with a 40-lb. cat (aptly) named Chunky Bear or performing surgery on an elderly widower's beloved dog, Trout describes his encounters with animals and their humans with an appealing mix of humor and heart.
Dog, Inc.: The Uncanny Inside Story of Cloning Man's Best Friend
John Woestendiek
Would you bring a beloved pet back in the form of a clone? Some people would -- and have. As recounted by journalist John Woestendiek, the decade-long journey to fulfill the dream of commercial dog cloning was littered with nightmares -- deformities, stillbirths, deaths -- thanks cloning companies' lack of transparency about their progress and methods in a lax regulatory environment. Taking readers behind the scenes of both the scientific process to produce viable clones and the push to market the service to consumers, Woestendiek notes that cloning pets brings us that much closer to human cloning, both scientifically and in terms of increasing social acceptance of the practice.
Contact your librarian for more great books!


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Owing to his decent performance in the just-concluded two-Test series against New Zealand, India batsman Virat Kohli rose to his career-best ninth position in the latest ICC Test rankings issued on Wednesday.
Kohli, who made 214 runs in four innings, broke into top-10 for the first time in his career and joined compatriot Cheteshwar Pujara, who slipped a rung to be on seventh spot.
Kohli jumped two places following his knocks of 38 and 105 not out in the Wellington Test, which ended in a draw.
Off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin slipped two places to be at number 10 and is still the highest-ranked Indian bowler ahead of left-arm tweaker Pragyan Ojha (12th) in Test bowlers rankings.
New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum's spectacular match-saving knock of 302 helped him jump eight places to a career-best 12th.
McCullum, who became the first Kiwi batsman to score a triple hundred, helped draw the second and final, to clinch the series 1-0.
McCullum's partner in a world record sixth-wicket stand worth 352, BJ Watling, has also moved up the rankings, jumping three places to 45th as a result of his knock of 124.
Two other centurions in the Wellington Test have also made upward moves in the latest table. While Ajinkya Rahane is now 46th (up by 15), New Zealand's debutant century-maker Jimmy Neesham has entered the rankings in 59th place.
New Zealand's Tim Southee moved up a place to a career-best ninth in the bowlers' list following his match haul of five for 143 in the Wellington Test against India.
Meanwhile, Australia's Mitchell Johnson has continued to storm through the charts in the bowlers rankings.
Johnson jumped five places to fourth following his spectacular match-winning haul of 12 for 127 in the Centurion Test against South Africa.
Vernon Philander has ceded the number-one position in the bowlers' table to teammate Dale Steyn after a 55-day reign at the top.


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Stanczyk, has been sifting through the Index created on genealodzy.pl in their Geneszukacz database. Alright, only the Births Index, so far.
I see they have a total of nearly 7,300 people from those years (1875-1908) in their Birth Index. From Adam … Żyp . There were 58 ELIASZ in their index.Notice they used ELIASZ and not ELIJASZ. I found that interesting. They removed 'J' when they produced the index. Was that an error? Or was the indexer an expert? Because, in my heart of hearts, I believe the name (at least back to 1690) was ELIASZ.
It was only since 1869 when the Russian Empire forced Poland to keep records in Russian (Cyrillic) that the 'J' appeared from the Russian character 'я' (Ya) that ELIASZ became элияшъ . элияшъ is transliterated in a Latin alphabet as 'Elijasz'.
I only wanted to mention this as while I believe the translated properly produced the index with respect to ELIASZ; You will need to realize that finding the record in Russian/Cyrillic, you will need to look for a different translation (i.e. ELIJASZ/элияшъ) in the indexes and the actual church records.
So now I have an index of ELIASZ born in Pacanow in the years 1875-1908. Now what? I compared the list of 58 with what I already had/knew. I saw an overlap of 22 people. So I have 36 new ELIASZ to resolve and add into the family tree. My options are:
- Write to Pacanow parish and request specific records (since I have year, Akt#),
- Write to Polish National Archive (again with detailed info),
- Hire a genealogist in Poland,
- Go on a genealogical tour to Poland.
The year range 1875-1908 is not completely in LDS microfilm. Although 1875-1884 is in LDS MF #'s:
1192351 Item 10, 1192352 Items 1-2, 1807621 Items 8-11, 1807622 Items 1-3
So doing research in a local Family History Center or at the Family History Library (Salt Lake) is not an option for the remaining 36. So I now have better options for remote research.
My List of 58 ELIASZ.


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There are many ways one can approach the task of adapting a story from one medium into another. They may attempt to stay as faithful to the source material as humanly possible, try to expand on the source material, change it to better suit current tastes, have the plot only loosely follow the original plot while attempting to preserve the feel of the original, revision the story in a different setting, etc, etc, etc.
What do you think makes for a good adaptation? Is there only one right way or are there multiple? What are some adaptations you think really worked? Some that didn't? Anything else I'm not thinking of?
This can apply to any story-telling medium being adapted into any other. Books, movies, games, radio dramas, comics, animation... whatever.