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I have a friend, Dimitriy, who married recently.
He married a lovely young woman, Clara, and they're on a beautiful honeymoon in Rome right now. I met Dimitriy at Buffalo Grove High School, during my first season with the cross country team. We made a bet after I'd finished my first three months of summer training: Whoever ran a slower mile in August bought movie theater snacks that weekend in 2010. Well, I won, and Dimitriy bought me a fat box of some candy that escapes my memory. What I do remember, and what he'll never let me forget to this day, is what he said after: "You'll always be fat and slow."
Sure, he meant it in a sarcastic (I'd beaten him) and endearing (he genuinely wanted my success) way. In the five years that followed, I'd gone from JV athlete to high school record holder to an NCAA Division One athlete to SEC all-conference runner. And every time I returned to Chicago and saw Dimitriy, he never let me forget that to him, I'd always be fat and slow.
Ironically enough, this self-fulfilling prophecy has come true. I've gained weight, and become slower, since forgoing my final season of NCAA eligibility to pursue a career in journalism. In serious running circles, people who take running half-seriously are called "hobby joggers." I'm now a hobby jogger, and I'm not sure how to feel about it.
Last week, my boss at Men's Health forwarded me an email from a PR rep with Michelob Ultra (the beer company of calorie-obsessed 45-year-olds and any remaining Lance Armstrong supporters). He'd been invited to the Manhattanhenge Mile, a road race based on the annual alignment of Manhattan's East-West streets with the earth's rotation about the sun, and he'd shoed me in to run it for him. I accepted (free beer), and thus my hobby jogging career began.
I walked up to the roped-off area on Union Square West at 7:30 PM, the specified time, and checked in with Michelob Ultra's media relations. With a couple Men's Health name-drops, I'd been swarmed with PR reps hoping to get the Michelob name in our magazine. Two problems: It's Michelob, which sucks, and we're a monthly magazine who (because of our print schedule) cannot feasibly write about such an event (if we'd wanted to) for three to four months. But again, free beer.
Thrillist, The Gothamist, and a bunch of fashion/active bloggers showed up with similar press passes.
"What happens if I win?" I asked the Michelob folks.
"Nothing," they said. "We encourage you to go slow and take pictures."
I pinned a bib to my chest, brought running shoes, and made a passing effort to limber up, but I'm not supposed to exert any serious effort. In a race. This is definitely strange.
A Brooklyn-based Instagram fitness trainer lead us through arm circles.
"I actually have no idea what these do, but I remember doing them in gym class, so let's just do that!" she droned, with slavish enthusiasm, into a mike pinned to her shirt. "One last thing: Don't pass the lead motorbikes."
The "lead motorbikes" turned out to be a 70-something guy on a bicycle with a high-visibility vest who made no attempt to stop traffic during the race. But nonetheless, we set off at 8:00 PM sharp, in time for the Manhattanhenge sunset.
"So, where are you all from?" I asked, jogging down 14th street in the lead pack with the fellow press bibs.
"Playgirl," a burly guy with a man bun replied.
"I think I saw your spread in the March issue," I said.
"That was a great month for me," he said.
The rest of the press answered more seriously, although I wasn't taking notes and can't actually remember where they were all from. But as we rounded the halfway point, we'd dropped the fashion and fitness bloggers who wore the most expensive (Lululemon, Adidas Boost, Nike Free, etc.) running gear of all. I got the impression that at least 80 percent of the participants were doing it for the 'Gram.
The race enjoyed about 100 entrants, with a 50/50 split of media and paid public entrants, and two from the latter group were leading the race at about 1,400 meters. At that point, we'd been stopped at a light in Greenwich Village, and our geriatric race leader wasn't about to halt traffic on his 10-speed. So we caught up, and by the time the light turned green, there were about 20 of us in contention for the meaningless race win.
"How funny would it be if we sprinted to the front and leaned these try-hards at the line?" I asked the so-called Playgirl aficionado.
"Pretty fuckin' great," he said.
And with that, we broke into a full sprint—impromptu finish line in sight over a cobble-stone street in the height of the Manhattanhenge glow. Five-runners abroad with 50 feet to go, I channeled my NCAA career and powered to the line, winning by a lean.
It was the least triumphant, least rewarding victory of my running career. But instead of too-serious coach's debriefings and team meetings, there was free beer, free hors d'oeuvres, and free colloquialisms afterwards. With the sun setting over the meatpacking-district rooftop bar and a gorgeous view of the Hudson, nobody remembered who won.
Perhaps there's something to be said for taking running a bit less seriously. The hobby-jogging life isn't for the fit and skinny, it's for the fat and slow. Thankfully, that's what I've been all along.


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At the end of Charlie Wilson's War, there is a very telling quote from Gust Avakratos about post-Soviet Invasion Afghanistan:
"That's not good enough. Because I am about to hand you a code-word classified NIE [national intelligence estimate] right now and it's gonna tell you that the crazies have started rolling into Kandahar like it's a f'ing bathtub drain."
Its relevant, and highly so, because of the latest updates from Afghanistan.
KABUL (Reuters) – President Hamid Karzai appeared to stiffen his resolve on Saturday not to sign a security pact with Washington, saying the United States should leave Afghanistan unless it could restart peace talks with the Taliban.
"In exchange for this agreement, we want peace for the people of Afghanistan. Otherwise, it's better for them to leave and our country will find its own way," Karzai told a news conference.
The president said pressing ahead with talks with the Taliban, in power from 1996-2001, was critical to ensure that Afghanistan was not left with a weak central government.
"Starting peace talks is a condition because we want to be confident that after the signing of the security agreement, Afghanistan will not be divided into fiefdoms," he said.
Mr. President, your nation is already divided into fiefdoms. And your release of Mujahideen is NOT HELPING.
I have posted this many times, but I am going to KEEP doing so for one simple reason, we need to know what is REALLY happening on the ground in Afghanistan. Milbloggers, if I am wrong, please tell me so.
Because right now, it's looking increasingly likely that the followers of John Calvin's evil and crazy Muslim brother are going to retake power in Afghanistan after we leave. And if that happens, we will likely have to return in about twenty years.
H/T: Weasel Zippers

subset: commoncrawl


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For this tutorial you will need:
- color.gs
- xcbar.gs
- colormaps.gs
- basemap.gs (plus the accompanying .asc files)
|Snow Cover and Sea Ice on the Robinson Map Projection
So before we start, I want to give a full disclaimer: The plot is not actually showing any observed SST. In this tutorial I'm going to use the 0.25 degree GFS surface temperature. In practice the surface temperature should be roughly equal to the SST over the Oceans.
The first thing we need to do is open both the GFS data and the sea ice data. This data will come from NOMADS and will be opened using the 'sdfopen' command. Note, the files below are for February 2015, so keep in mind, that you will need to change the date on files if you wish to copy paste the example code below.
'sdfopen 'gfsfile
'sdfopen 'icefile
Now that the files are open we will simply set up the map. Since we are using the Robinson Projection, we need to set the longitude to range from -180 to 180 and the latitude -90 to 90.
'set gxout shaded'
'set mpdset hires'
'set lon -180 180'
'set lat -90 90'
'set mproj robinson'
'colormaps -l 272 307 0.5 -map jet' ;*Note the use of colormaps.gs
Then we display the variable:
'd tmpsfc'
'xcbar -fs 4'
After a moment, the surface temperature will be displayed following the "jet" color map.
Now, we are going to mask out the land using the land basemap from basemap.gs.
Note, in my version of basemap.gs, I did not want to include the frame around the map projection. So I opened up basemap.gs and commented out the lines at the bottom that draw the rectangle:
* Draw a new square frame around the plot
* If you have 'set frame off' or 'set frame circle' before running basemap,
* you may want to comment out the next 2 lines
*'set line 1 1 6'
*'draw rec 'x1' 'y1' 'x2' 'y2
We are going to use the "medium (M)" resolution option for the coastlines, and we are going to define a custom dark gray color for the land.
'set rgb 73 80 80 80'
'basemap L 73 0 M' ;*L = Land, 73 = Fill Color, 0 = outline Color, M=Medium resolution
|SST only!
Now that we are done with the "SST" and the land mask, we are going to open up the sea-ice file and plot the sea ice. It is important that you use the maskout function when plotting the sea-ice, otherwise you will overwrite all of the SST data with zeros.
'set gxout shaded'
'set dfile 2' ;*Sets Default file to file 2 (Sea ice)
'set z 1' ;*Set z to 1
'set t 1' ;*Set t to 1
'set map 0 1 6'
'color 0 0.6 0.1 -kind dimgray->seashell->white' ;*Note use of color.gs
'd maskout(icecmsl,icecmsl-0.1)' ;*Need to mask out ice.
After a few moments, the sea ice will plot and you will have an image like this:
|Sea Ice and SST only!
'color 10 100 5 -kind dimgray->seashell->white'
'set z 1'
'set t 1'
'set map 0 1 6'
'd maskout(weasdsfc,weasdsfc-10)'
Download Example Script


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Every night at 8 p.m. on MSNBC, Keith Olbermann awards his daily pick for "Worst Person in the World." Some contenders are lucky — or unlucky —enough to be nominated more than once.
The Bronze for Friday, Oct. 6, goes to Leslie Sanchez, a Republican strategist who said on Tucker Carlson's show this afternoon that Democrats have been "preying on the fact they hoped there's some other type of terrorist attack."
Pardon me, madam, but are you insane or — or — sorry, I can't think of any other option. Honestly, take a shower, check yourself into a hospital. Get your blood chemistry tested. Jeez!
The Silver goes to the indomitable Wall Street Journal editorial board for proudly trying to take journalism back to the 15th century — trying to spin this Foley disaster by saying the House minority leader, Nancy Pelosi, had voted in favor of revoking the charter of the Boy Scouts because the group had banned gay scout masters.
You might want to hire a fact checker. There was a vote on that. Rep. Pelosi, like 49 other House Democrats, voted neither yes nor no, but present. Basically, that would be an abstention. Nice try, though, Wall Street Journal editorial board.
But tonight's winners are NewsBusters. Rabid right-winger Brent Bozell's self-style media watchdog ran this typical kind of breathless headline: "Is Brian William the next Dan Rather?" Somebody named Al Brown claimed that the Mark Foley instant message story was a prank and that in breaking it, "Brian Williams and ABC have already abused the anonymous source dodge at least once in this saga." And, quoting again, "Perhaps Brian Williams should resign. But for now, ABC is standing by their story."
Listen, I don't want to tell you how to do your jobs, NewsBusters; I mean, after all, you are the experts and we're just the ideologues trying to feed falsehoods and mistakes to the gullible American public. But don't you think you'd look a little in the know and a little less deranged if you didn't write articles in which you suggest that Brian Williams, the anchor of "NBC Nightly News," and Brian Ross, the investigative reporter who broke the Foley story for ABC News, that they're the same guy?
I mean, if you prefer looking like slovenly political hacks who make the same mistake 10 times in an eight-paragraph story, hey, go nuts! You're obviously highly trained professionals when it comes to humiliating yourselves. But you already know all this. You don't need to get the names or the networks right. Facts, smacts. Keep Page Sixing this thing; it's working for you. Brian Ross, Brian Williams, hell, maybe it was Brian Kilme from Fox!
I'm just sayin'.
NewsBusters and Al Brown (if that is your real name): today's Worst Persons in the World.
© 2013 MSNBC Interactive. Reprints


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Author: Doshi Ojus
Date: August 2007
Last week, scientists at the University of Central Florida announced and demonstrated a possible way to cure Type-1 diabetes, an auto-immune disease which destroys insulin producing cells in the pancreas.
The researchers, led by Professor Henry Daniell, fed diabetic mice capsules of insulin derived from genetically engineered lettuce. By the end of the study, they observed that all mice recovered normal blood and urine glucose levels. If human clinical trials are successful, the potential medication could provide lasting relief for millions of Type-1 diabetes sufferers worldwide. The findings were published in the July issue of Plant Biotechnology Journal.
"Diabetes is a big health and financial burden in the United States and in the rest of the world," Daniell said. "This study would facilitate a dramatic change because so far there is no medicine that will cure insulin-dependent diabetes."
The researchers employed several clever methods to deliver insulin to the pancreas, the organ which normally produces insulin. First, they modified DNA in the chloroplasts of lettuce cells to produce insulin. Since chloroplasts, which are unique to plant cells, contain hundreds of copies of the same DNA, this method effectively amplified the amount of insulin produced, and, at the same time, packaged the insulin inside a protective casing.
"When we orally deliver it, the insulin is inside the chloroplast, and the plant cell wall protects the insulin from the stomach acids," Daniell explained. "Bacteria in the gut then act on these cells and release insulin."
In addition, the researchers attached a non-toxic version of cholera to the plant derived insulin. Normally, cholera uses a protein with a specific receptor to gain access into the circulatory system. By coupling that protein with insulin, the researchers increased the uptake of non-native insulin into the bloodstream.
At the end of the 12-week study, their final measurements indicated that the pancreatic islets, which house insulin producing beta-cells, were destroyed in untreated mice and preserved in the treated group. The delivery of insulin both restored glucose levels and prevented the destruction of beta-cells by the immune system.
"We are very specifically showing that this is a cure for diabetes," said Daniell, whose lab is now entering the human clinical trial phase.
Written by Ojus Doshi


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Gristmill 6-Piece Bedroom Set with Nightstand, Dresser and Mirror
Click to change image.
Pick-up from Value City Furniture - Falls Church on or after Thursday, September 26th
Get it how and when you want it. Preferred scheduling and delivery costs available at checkout.
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- In-home service for repair or replacement of defective items for one year.
- Free shipping to local stores. Option selected at checkout.
- Convenient pick-up times.
- Ability to designate a friend or family member to pick up for you.
Raised wood grains accentuate the powder-coated finish for a stunning contrast.
More Information
Gristmill Bed$499.99
Dimensions: Width: 63 '' Height: 62 '' Depth: 87 ''
Gristmill Dresser and Mirror$949.99
Dimensions: Width: 64 '' Height: 81 '' Depth: 20 ''
Gristmill Nightstand$249.99
Dimensions: Width: 25 '' Height: 29 '' Depth: 18 ''
The headboard features large panels and a top bar.
Powder-coated, custom-crafted hardware is inspired by industrial design.
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An inward sloping circular frame encases the beveled mirror.
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The platform design requires a low-profile foundation.
A powdered cocoa finish boasts the natural wood grains.
Rubberwood solids warrant durable construction and wood longevity.
Customer assembly required.
Side-mounted, ball-bearing metal glides ensure smooth drawer movement.


text:
It's the moment that makes you squirm. You're in mid-conversation with a co-worker, friend, or business associate when the camaraderie becomes debatable. Somewhere between the laughs, they said something that you really don't agree with. It may have changed "business" to "personal", or maybe somewhat offensive. Now the air has left the room and tensions are getting high. So how do you change the subject?
1. Turn awkwardness into something interesting.
They may have asked a silly or inappropriate question and now there is a bit of bitterness in the atmosphere. Turn "lemons into lemonade" by quickly posing another inquiry to another subject.
2. Focus on them.
Or, instead of coming out of left field with a brand new question, base your inquisitiveness off their life. Let them talk about their accomplishments and listen for cues where you can jump in and change the subject.
3. Take advantage of vacations and hobbies.
Their trip to Spain is prime opportunity for you to turn the conversation into something more pleasurable. Ask them to give details about the sights so that they are less inclined to reference an awkward subject.


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Meadow of the Rings
Lost. Well only kind of.
My travel partner had a thing for the Lord of the Rings, and apparently some filming was done in the area in and around Mt Potts in New Zealand's Rangitata Valley. I can't say that it was for sure, but I can say that...
- The gravel road to get here ate a chunk out of my rental car
- The winds were intense
- The rain soon followed
It was still beautiful.
Shot on December 11th, 2009
ps: I still haven't watched The Lord of the Rings.


text:
Esprit Holdings Ltd. (00330.HK) posted a net loss of HK$3.7 billion (US$480 million) for the fiscal year to June, the second full-year loss since the fashion retailer listed in Hong Kong in 1993.
The firm blamed a 19.8 percent drop in sales amid extraordinarily warm weather in Europe last year and non-recurring impairments and write-offs of HK$2.97 billion due to contractions in its business.
The write-offs include a HK$2.51 billion decrease in the goodwill of the firm's China business, the Hong Kong Economic Journal reported Thursday.
Chief financial officer Thomas Tang Wing-yung said the write-offs and impairments will not have a material impact on the company's operations and cash flow.
Esprit previously booked a loss of HK$4.4 billion for the fiscal year to June 2013, when it recorded HK$2.72 billion of non-recurring impairments and write-offs in addition to a combined HK$85 million in impairments for fixed assets and write-offs of outdated inventory.
It has booked a total of HK$6.54 billion of provisions in the past three fiscal years.
Chief executive Jose Manuel Martinez Gutierrez said the vertical integration model that was implemented in February to enhance sales has worked, and same-store sales from June to August expanded 4.1 percent.
Analysts said the new model has been well received, although more time is needed for the company's business to turn around fully.
[Chinese version中文版]
– Contact us at [email protected]


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Conservative Dustup Over Relativity Denialism
Well this is getting interesting.
Over at the website of the conservative magazine First Things, a physicist named Stephen Barr takes on Tom Bethell for his anti-Einsteinianism–which has been published, let us not forget, by another conservative magazine, The American Spectator (at least online). Barr's piece is called "Absolutely Clueless about Relativity," and it includes this:
I will pay Tom Bethel $2,000 out of my own pocket if he takes the following courses at a first rate research university and passes them with a grade of A- or better: Classical Electrodynamics I and II (at the level of either Griffith's book or Jackson's book), General Relativity, and any course that covers the Dirac equation and relativistic field theory. If he succeeds in doing that, he will at least know what he is talking about when it comes to relativity. Why is it that so many people think they can talk intelligently about extremely technical subjects without knowing anything about them?
Ouch. Bethell responds in the comments at length, and not exactly happily:
Let me tell you what I think of Mr. Barr — and I mean this literally, not insultingly. I don't think he knows the FIRST THING about science. And that includes physics.
Ha. Stephen Barr is a professor in the University of Delaware department of physics and astronomy.
Later, Barr adds why this whole business bugs him so much:
The stakes here are that a person who writes regularly for a respected conservative journal is embracing in a very public way utterly crackpot ideas about science. That tends to bring discredit on conservatism. If Bethell weren't writing for the American Spectator, I wouldn't care, and neither would anyone else.
Although not a conservative, I understand Barr's sentiments completely. Now the question is, will any other conservatives who write regularly about science come to the table and back Barr up?
Comments (45)
Links to this Post
- Conservatism…It's All Relative « 100 Treatises | November 10, 2009
- Don't Forget Shakespeare Denialism! | The Intersection | Discover Magazine | November 12, 2009
- Proud about ignorance « A Man With A Ph.D. | November 15, 2009
- Conservatism…It's All Relative at 100 Treatises | March 5, 2010
Griffith and Jackson are both excellent for electrodynamics, although Jackson is notoriously hard but pays back handsomely if one studies it carefully. I personally had enjoyed Griffith and thought its clarity was exceptional for a beginner.
"Stephen Barr is a professor in the University of Delaware department of physics and astronomy." And here's one for those of you who believe faith and science don't mix … he's Catholic and also writes for First Things, and has written books on faith and science.
This is pretty interesting stuff. Do you think this will spill over into any kind of evolution denialism, or at least unsupportable claims regarding certain types of "creationism"? It would be nice to see this break out into a full fledged debate on scientific views within the conservative movement.
~ "And here's one for those of you who believe faith and science don't mix.."
Faith and science *don't mix*, and I'm sure Barr would tell you that. I think this displays why debates surrounding religion and science get so polarized. The way they "mix" is within the minds of those that hold a religious type faith, when it comes to science the twain do not meet.
"It may not be easy for Mr. Barr to collect, however, because experiments have already been published showing this east-west light- speed difference. The best known was by Hafele and Keating, published in Science magazine in 1972. I am sure Mr. Barr knows how to look it up. There are other experiments but I won't bore the readers."
So Bethell is trying to use an experiment that confirmed the predicted time-shift of both general and special relativity to claim that it shows a difference in the speed of light?
This is modern conservatism in a nutshell. If you don't like the facts as they are, just make up new ones that confirm your preconcieved notions and cast doubt on anyone who tries to correct you. It's the conservative approach to evolution, climate science, infectious disease, health care reform, economics, and pretty much any other topic. Just unbelievable.
Perhaps the issue brought up by Ian and followed up in my last post could lead to some fruitful discussion. Perhaps only *after* people check in on the actual blogpost so we don't have two discussions going on.
In a way we could break the discussion down, referring to those I think Ian is eluding too.
1) Atheistic: Science has something to say about religious faith, and by extension supernaturalism and supernatural beliefs. Example: conflicts of believing the earth is 10,000 years old, miracle's, someone raising from the dead, prayer etc.
2) Religious: Science has something to say about religious faith. Either 'God' acting within nature, nature revealing 'God's' work, quantifiable personal experience etc.
3) NOMA: Science can say something about what can be tested no matter if they are religious claims. The contradiction between religious faith and nature revealed through science tells us they should not mix. Religious faith can not mix with science, to accept nature as revealed through science one must modify religious faiths but not introduce them into their science. Science and religion are not compatible or reconcilable, but are only in recognition of personal beliefs, and there is often contradiction. Science says nothing on "supernaturalism", outside of people believe in it, which means to we can understand how and why they do.
2. Ian Says:
November 10th, 2009 at 10:48 am
And here's one for those of you who believe faith and science don't mix … he's Catholic and also writes for First Things, and has written books on faith and science.
Catholics aren't really the problem in the whole faith/science rift. They've accepted evolution, apologized to Galileo, and even have an observatory at the Vatican. As science has made new discoveries about the universe, the Catholic leadership has reinterpreted scripture to fit the science. Sometimes a few centuries late, but they've done it nevertheless.
The problem are the Bible/Torah/Qur'aan literalists who want to reinterpret science to fit the scripture. The fact arrow doesn't travel that way.
Luke and Ian: I don't disagree that you bring up good points, and the debate you allude to is important, and clearly one that rages quite often on this site. However, does it really pertain to issue presented in this post? Do we know that Bethell's problem stems from his religious views? I don't know, but it seems more likely to be a matter of the anti-intellectual content of modern conservative ideology. Sure, parallels can be drawn between the two issues, but I think they are largely separate. At least that is my conclusion from Chris' book and years of following the conservative movement. This is not to say, though, that the two are always separate, and I fully acknowledge that.
Sadly, no mainstream conservative pundit will back Mr./Dr./Professor Barr up. To dos ow ould be to admit that their elitist label of intellectuals/Democrats/liberals/scientists is all a schill. Plus they'd have to actually back science.
I find it interesting that we turned to religion in this thread so quickly, as it, and accommodationism weren't in the original post.
Such perspectives are akin to some religious beliefs in which you interpret the facts to fit your preconceived world view. After all the patron saint of conservatives Ronald Reagan did something similar (although later he later recanted), so it's not surprising that these conservatives are following on his heels (although unlike him they have not recanted).
As the person dusting it up with Bethell, I should note that Bethell is an anomaly and hardly representative of conservatives.
On the Catholic Church and science matter, I might add some relatively little-known factoids to what "toasterhead" correctly says, as I think the readers of Discover would find them interesting. Not only is there an observatory at the Vatican now, but Catholic clergy have been making important contributions in astronomy for a long time: In the 1600's Fr. Scheiner discovered sunspots telescopically (independently of Galileo, Herriot and Fabricius); Fr. Zucchi was the first to build a reflecting telescope (in 1616); and Fr. Riccioli discovered the first binary star. In 1801, Fr. Piazzi discovered the first asteroid (Ceres). In the 1800's, Fr. Angelo Secchi, one of the founders of modern astrophysics, developed the first classification of stars based on their spectra. Interestingly, the observatory he used to make his discoveries was perched atop the beautiful Church of Sant'Ignazio in Rome. And of course, one of the founders of the Big Bang theory was Fr. Georges Lemaitre. At the time of the American revolution, 30 of the 130 observatories in the world were operated by the Jesuit order. And this is only astronomy — Catholic clergy made important contributions to several other branches of science (e.g. Stensen in geology, Hauy in crystallography, Bolzano in mathematics, Mendel in biology, etc.) As a physicist, I find it especially strange that very few physicists know that the extremely important phenomenon of "diffraction" of light was discovered and carefully studied in the 1680's by the Jesuit priest Francesco Grimaldi; and it was he who also named it "diffraction". The contributions of the clergy to science is a remarkable and almost untold story.
~ "However, does it really pertain to issue presented in this post? Do we know that Bethell's problem stems from his religious views?"
To be honest, no, not on the face of it. I think the discussion I do mention is in there and thought this may be a good spring board for something better than the usual fare of hostile and fruitless debate. But, you're right and I'm willing to put it aside (I did mention we could carry on the discussion *after* others checked in on the blogpost – meaning I do recognize it would side track a little).
However, I do think Ian brings up an interesting point that is pertinent. Also, I think I can answer your question via Wikipedia to a certain extent.
Wiki entry (I think some of this was mentioned by Chris in another post):
~ Tom Bethell: "(born 1936) is a journalist who writes mainly on economic and scientific issues.."[snip]
Bethell is a member of the Group for the Scientific Reappraisal of the HIV-AIDS Hypothesis[5] which denies that HIV causes AIDS. His The Politically Incorrect Guide to Science promotes global warming denialism, AIDS denialism, and skepticism of evolution (which Bethell denies is "real science", promoting in its place intelligent design, a viewpoint dismissed by the scientific community as pseudoscience." Wiki.
Now, if you ask me, I would give a resounding *yes*, his personal religious views effect his other views, including on *science*, so the further discussion is fair game.
Not all conservatives should be tarred and feathered with an "anti – intellectual" bias. Maybe the most noteworthy example I can think of is leading Intelligent Design critic, former Provost, University of Virginia and former director, Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, MA, Dr. Paul R. Gross, co-author, with philosopher Barbara Forrest of "Creationism's Trojan Horse: The Wedge of Intelligent Design". However, it does concern me greatly that a conservative political pundit like George Will who recognizes the unquestionable scientific validity of modern evolutionary theory seems incapable of recognizing current climate change science as science that is just as sound as modern evolutionary biology.
P. S. In the interest of full disclosure I have identified myself here and elsewhere as a conservative with a strong Libertarian bias.
Thanks for the information you found about Bethell, and you are correct that the cluster of contrarianisms mentioned do often covary with fundamentalism. However, there are atheist followers of Ayn Rand who hold the same views. Without something overt pointing to his religious views being the source of his denialism, I don't see any reason to posit that they are. This seems far more an instance of ideology driving an approach to science than religion, and I think that is the issue that we should focus on. Chris' "Republican War on Science" showed very well how modern conservative ideology can drive such blatantly unrealistic contrarian views, and I think this is another instance of it. I am not saying that there is not a chance that religion doesn't play a role, but until there is evidence that there is, I think it is better to stay away from responding as though there is. In any case, the fundamental question Bethell's views brings up is this: What drives the modern conservative denial of so much science? Given that it is seen in conservatives of all religious traditions (or at least the narrow set of traditions seen in the movement – mainly Judaism, Christianity, with some atheism and agnosticism), it doesn't seem to primarily be religious in origin, but ideological. So what drives the ideology in this direction? I tend to think that there are crass political considerations at the core, but that is just my opinion. Anyone else?
Of course I understand that, and I didn't mean to paint with a broad brush there. I certainly didn't mean to offend you. What term do you suggest to differentiate more rational conservatism from the sort represented by Bethell, Palin, Schlafly, and the like? Chris, do you have any ideas? You have studied this a good bit, and might have an answer.
11. Stephen M. Barr
Fantastic to have you comment, thank you. I appreciate your input, very nice. I think your offer to Bethell could be applied to other scientific domains as well, since he doesn't consider evolution "real science" either. However, lets be honest, how much are we asking and do you really think that would come before his religious conviction?
As to note on Catholicism and science, what you offer are great things to note. I would add that what the Church is doing is separating the science from their religious faith when doing science. Or in light of scientific discovery have modified at times religious doctrine.
The above is actually a part of a larger discussion. Take someone like Jerry Coyne, now trumpeting himself as a "vociferous atheist" when he says that "God was once a part of science", pointing out Newton's belief that he was clarifying God's celestial plan , while arguing that "supernaturalism is not completely beyond the realm of science" [Seeing and Believing, Feb. '09].
However, taking all of this into account we end up in moral debate, contradiction between religious faith and science and science done by people of faith. What Jerry Coyne has done is needlessly confuse the debates even while making sound arguments about the role of science and critiques of those who often inappropriately attempt to overlap science and religion [such as using current understandings of quantum mechanics to explain the trinity while using the authority of a scientist, for example]. Coyne simply gets it wrong and as your examples show, the methods of science and scientific discovery can stand apart from religious faiths.
The obvious problems arise in the contradictory held beliefs, which as both Sam Harris and Theologian Douglas Wilson like to remind people, ideas an beliefs have consequences.
@ Vindrisi #14, who wrote: "In any case, the fundamental question Bethell's views brings up is this: What drives the modern conservative denial of so much science? Given that it is seen in conservatives of all religious traditions (or at least the narrow set of traditions seen in the movement – mainly Judaism, Christianity, with some atheism and agnosticism), it doesn't seem to primarily be religious in origin, but ideological. So what drives the ideology in this direction?"
I think it's fueled by a certain subset of views about capitalism and fears about increasing government expansion. The denialism seems to go hand-in-hand with any scientific conclusions that would appear to threaten a certain free market ideology. (Of course how 'free' a market actually is when it's dominated by a very few transnational enormous corporations which lobby for govt policies that favor them and squash competitors is open to debate.)
If dealing with global warming means that we have to make significant changes to the current economic system & introduce more govt regulations which would impede economic growth, then these folks will find ways to oppose it, starting with questioning the science.
Another noteworthy conservative who I think is misguided about almost everything else but who also strongly rejects the teaching of ID is the Washington Post's Charles Krauthammer.
Dear John, while your point about the scientific validity of climate change is well-taken, I still wouldn't think it's as well supported as evolution. While the basic facts of climate change have been very well validated, I think there is more debate about exact details in this field compared to evolution.
I think there is a good reason why those like Will who support the modern evolutionary synthesis would still try to tar climate change. It is simply because actions inspired by climate change, unlike acceptance of evolution, will have huge economics and political consequences which the conservatives are not comfortable with. I consider myself a "moderate libertarian" and it has been depressing to me how otherwise very intelligent libertarians would go so far in their efforts to cling to their ideology as to deny the science itself.
14. Vindrisi
Good points.
~ "Without something overt pointing to his religious views being the source of his denialism, I don't see any reason to posit that they are. This seems far more an instance of ideology driving an approach to science than religion, and I think that is the issue that we should focus on.."
I tend to agree with you here, and I certainly hold we need to attempt to focus our attention appropriately to ascertain the appropriate remedies. However (bet you saw this coming), it appears to me often to be like a feedback loop between the reinforces of religious faiths and other ideologies (and you are absolutely right to point out Ayn Rand in your argument). Further, it becomes exceedingly difficult at times to parse apart the drives or reinforces, and even more so when the one arguing from religious faith is masquerading their argument in unsupported science.
I believe that is what Bethell is doing in large part. He, like many new wave ID proponents are careful enough to use what they perceive as negative evidences (such as claiming the debates about the mechanism of natural selection points to disputes over evolution as fact) and to veer away from claiming a "God did it" openly when trying to be scientific. This only gives the appearance of being scientific, when it is nothing of the case. That we see many conservatives support ID and "creationism" (though both are actually a form of "creationism") can be, I believe, attributed to the feedback loop of religious faiths and political ideology (I am obviously including the supporting groups and familial influences etc.).
I would hold, though I haven't look further into this, that the feedback loop is alive and well for Bethell and could be very difficult to track down precise examples because he's being very careful (though intellectually astoundingly sloppy). What I mean here is that we may possibly surmise is underlying problem with relativity may come from a problem with overall materialistic explanations in general, and with global warming it may very well come from an idea of humans as a special creation. That he leans in a pseudoscientific direction may have it's influence from his faith, no less than pseudoscience promulgated by someone without faith, but from some other reinforcer.
Recognizing the fact that liberals tend to accept evolution much more so than conservatives is interesting (even when factoring in faiths), but certainly doesn't explain everything since we can certainly find a liberal who believes in evolution who knows much less about it than a conservative who doesn't accept it. We can't assume "religion is off the hook" here, what we see more than likely is a willingness to modify faith beliefs in light of prevailing scientific authority. However, we also can note that even though the Catholic church may accept evolution and has advanced scientific understanding in certain regards, it is far from a "liberal institution". Even though modifications to doctrine have come, at times slowly and at times an awful expense, should we therefore assume it will continue to do so with current understandings?
We of course end up back at moral debate. Conservatives holding different aspects as morally important than liberals, though at times we find overlap. I've seen it argued by conservative religionist that the reason why liberals accept evolution is because of the idea of progressiveness in the facts and theories. That in fact this theory explains liberal beliefs to a certain extent and there are moral dangers.
So what drives the ideology in this direction?
I agree with what Anna says about a certain view about capitalism. I would say another driver is keeping the political base activated. The GOP base, as Josh Marshall put it "suppl[ies] votes, phone-bankers and general grunt work." They respond to the cultural issues, and are decidedly anti-elitist .
The best explanation I've heard for how the conservative movement works is in this talk by Sam Tanenhaus (although I find it hard to appreciate Nixon the way he does): http://www.aei.org/audio/100158 (It contains lots of political detail that may not be relevant to you, but if you stick with it, it's incredibly rich.)
The strange thing is how much movement conservative populism owes to ex Marxists (who originally were struggling against New Deal technocrats). The culture wars are in many ways an inversion of Marxist class warfare (again, it's very strange, but compelling once you wrap your mind around it). As Sam Tanenhaus puts it the original movement "philosophes" learned to think as Marxists in the 30's, then switched sides during the cold war. Tanenhaus argues this formed a lot of the tenor of the conservative movement we have now.
Stephen M. Barr: "The contributions of the clergy to science is a remarkable and almost untold story."
The very subtitle of PZ Myers' new book.
22. gillt
Ha! Very good. You offer so much to this "slimy cesspool of smear tactics".
The contributions of the clergy to science is a remarkable and almost untold story.
Brother Astronomer: Adventures of a Vatican Scientist by Guy Consolmagno is a good read.
Dava Sobel's Galileo's Daughter describes the man as having almost as many allies in the Church as enemies.
My impression after reading it is that things could have easily gone the other way for him but for a few individuals that ended up in power at the wrong time.
Also, I remember seeing story several years ago in something like Sci. Am., Sky and Telescope, or somewhere about the Vatican fostering a lot of renaissance astronomy research. I wish I could remember what magazine it was in.
Didn't know about Grimaldi and diffraction – neat!
I do what I can, Vogel.
Vogel: "I've seen it argued by conservative religionist that the reason why liberals accept evolution is because of the idea of progressiveness in the facts and theories. That in fact this theory explains liberal beliefs to a certain extent and there are moral dangers."
I've heard this dastardly smear a few times myself.
That pro-evolution liberals would presumably let them get away with is whine demonstrates a deeply flawed understanding of evolutionary theory on both sides.
Contra Mooney, people's ignorance is the entire picture here. If your ideology, politics, or religion relies on misrepresenting what science knows, it's no good insisting that science and said ideology are two complimentary (or complementary!) "ways of knowing."
The reality is that most voting-age Americans are motivated to learn enough about science to combat anti-science rhetoric. More and better science/critical thinking education is a generational goal. In the interim I think it's worthwhile displacing existing authorities with either science itself or something more science-friendly.
Pretending there's no basic conflict in the service of civility or political maneuvering is naive, and if you've been paying attention neither Mooney nor Rosenau apply their accomodationism when it comes to IDiots, creationists and, for the most part, conservative Republicans. The great disagreement between the two camps is where to draw the line.
Make that "are not motivated…"
"Now the question is, will any other conservatives who write regularly about science come to the table and back Barr up?"
I would have thought that you would have called on the conservatives to accomdate Bethel's opinions on Einstein, so that they can all jointly advance their presumed goal of advancing conservatism.
Isn't that how it's supposed to work? You accomodate the irrationality of those on your "side" in order to advance a joint goal?
27. Woody Tanaka Says:
November 10th, 2009 at 4:12 pm
I would have thought that you would have called on the conservatives to accomdate Bethel's opinions on Einstein, so that they can all jointly advance their presumed goal of advancing conservatism.
Why would a liberal do that? Why would someone who has any respect for scientific integrity do that?
If you really think that we liberals want all conservatives to be ignorant whackos trumpeting pseudoscience and antiscience so we can score cheap political points against them, you're fundamentally misunderstanding the liberal mindset. That tactic may be well and good for conservatives, but we don't see it that way.
We would love nothing more than for conservatives to embrace the reality-based world. If you want to debate policy and outcomes, great. But let's start from the same set of facts, not some bit of antiscience tripe that you made up.
Believe me – we would be MUCH happier without the teabaggers and creationists and Westboro Baptists and climate deniers and other assorted reality-averse people on the conservative side.
It's not good PR to say so, but who gives a rat's ASS what some joker who writes political op-eds THINKS someone else knows about physics? Does he think he's a mind-reader?
Those of us who have actually studied physics are astonished. Yes, at the GUT fringes it's pretty sociological and so on because of the nature of the check-out, check-in kind of work they do in string theory. But at its core, it's infinitely more objective than anything else people do.
Ever since its first achievement correctly modeling the orbit of Mercury, relativity has had many very, outrageously precise tests and always passed perfectly.
Maybe we could say "can we please agree not to bring up what either of us thinks, and instead point out ways to actually know for sure?"
Vatican looks to heavens for signs of alien life
In the interview last year, Funes told Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano that believing the universe may host aliens, even intelligent ones, does not contradict a faith in God.
"How can we rule out that life may have developed elsewhere?" Funes said in that interview.
"Just as there is a multitude of creatures on Earth, there could be other beings, even intelligent ones, created by God. This does not contradict our faith, because we cannot put limits on God's creative freedom."
Funes maintained that if intelligent beings were discovered, they would also be considered "part of creation."
There's a lot we still don't understand about evolution, and one could make persuasive arguments that there are key areas which are as contentious – maybe more so – as climatology, paleoclimatology and other climate change-related science. For example, there's still a healthy debate over tempo and mode of evolution, which, depending on whom you'll believe in, is either a minor tempest in the teapot (as both John Maynard Smith and Ernst Mayr contended) or something that's really of fundamental importance in trying to understand speciation and persistence of species through vast amounts of time (which has been argued by the likes of Niles Eldredge, Stephen Jay Gould, and, was recently the subject of an important review article from four years ago, written by Eldredge, Dartmouth College ecologist Mark McPeek, and a few others, including, most notably, University of Chicago invertebrate paleobiologist David Jablonski and Michigan State microbial ecologist Richard Lenski (whose decades-long E. coli experiment is the best ongoing example of laboratory research on natural selection's effect on populations):
Eldredge, N., J. N. Thompson, P. M. Brakefield, S. Gavrilets, D. Jablonski, R. E. Lenski, B. S. Lieberman, M. A. McPeek and W. Miller III. 2005. The dynamics of evolutionary stasis. Paleobiology 31:133-145.
I'm a conservative with a strong libertarian bent as well (note the lower case l). I've blogged about my embarrassment to be called conservative in an era of so-called conservatives spokespersons who deny entire bodies of science because they don't fit their belief system.
As to a prominent (in a very limited sense) conservative who decries and debunks pseudoscience, I'd recommend Professor Steven Dutch at the University of Wisconsin Green Bay. His Science, Pseudoscience, and Irrationalism articles are outstanding.
Thanks for the tip. Not only would I add Dutch to my list, but I believe that noted skeptic Michael Shermer could be described as politically somewhat to the right, in light of some of his written commentary that I have read.
I am glad you've admitted your own politicial bias merely to remind others that there are thankfully many conservatives who do recognize what is – and what isn't – valid science, though our observations tend to be drowned out by shrill nonsense emanating from the likes of Ann Coulter (who has praised none other than one William Dembski for rendering "scientific" assistance in one of her recent books).
Appreciatively yours,
Interestingly, Bethell cut his teeth as a Darwin-denier. He wrote a pair of notorious articles for Harper's Magazine back in the early eighties (?) that demonstrated a breathtaking lack of understanding. Natural selection is an empty circular tautology, and biologists secretly know it kind of stuff.
He's just repeating what's been successful for him in the past. Next article: Newton was Wrong!!
@ Sven –
Bethell is also the author of "The Politically Incorrect Guide to Science" in which he amply demonstrates his propensity for evolution and Darwin denial. His latest attack on Einstein is merely consistent with his longstanding distrust of modern science. It shouldn't be viewed as part of an ongoing philosophical and political formula of his – which you seem to imply in your comment (@ 35) – but instead, regrettably, as something that he finds quite credible from his own personal point of view.
Bethell also wrote an article for The Atlantic Monthly in 1991 arguing that the Earl of Oxford wrote the works of Shakespeare:
This was part of a "debate", with Irvin Matus writing in favor of Shakespeare and both authors getting a chance to respond to each other:
Bethell's Shakespeare denialism is no more valid than his denial of relativity or evolution (see my Shakespeare Authorship web page at http://ShakespeareAuthorship.com), but they're all tied together in a sort of contrarian anti-elite anti-intellectualism.
@ David,
It's been alleged too that Christopher Marlowe was really Shakespeare in disguise, but I haven't seen any compelling evidence that would substantiate either Marlowe or the Earl of Oxford as the individuals who actually wrote Shakespeare's plays. Both are rooted in the assumption that a rural lad like Shakespeare couldn't have written as eloquently as he did about love, murder, betrayal and other major facets of human nature.
Well, it's been years since I read Einstein's relativity, but…
Bethell claimed that neither relativistic foreshortening nor mass increase have been measured in experiment. If memory serves, the equations that cover these phenomena contain, in part, sqrt( 1 – ( v ^ 2 / c ^ 2 ) ), or in plain English, square the velocity of the object in motion, divide this by the square of the velocity of light; take the resulting number and subtract it from 1; then, take the square root of this number.
The fastest object humans have ever been in a position to measure travels about 17,000 mph, which is about .000025 of the speed of light. So, solving the (v squared divided by c squared part) of the equation gives you a value somewhere around 0.000000000625. Subtract this from 1, and you still get pretty darn near 1. Doing the square root of ( 1 – this number ) gets you .99999999969. If you have a 6 meter long satellite orbiting earth, the relativistic foreshortening would amount to about 0.00000011 centimetres, or about 1100 nanometres (sure hope my math is right).
And we haven't measured this yet? For shame
Modern conservatism's suspicion of science is a cultural and philosophical phenomenon.
The fact that most evolutionary biologists are atheists, whereas Christianity is a pillar of modern conservatism, is just one dimension of this.
Science tends to be cosmopolitan and transnationalist; modern conservatives are often fiercely nationalistic.
Scientific research is concentrated in the major universities in big cities, mostly on the East and West coast; modern conservatives uphold the virtues of rural small-town life, and the base of modern conservatism is the Deep South and Mountain States.
Beginning with the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, and continuing with Carl Sagan and the various "social responsibility" movements among scientists and computer professionals, scientists began taking ever stronger left-wing stances on political and economic issues, putting them in direct opposition to conservative proposals. Conservatives never forgave scientists for largely opposing Reagan's Strategic Defense Initiative, for example.
So you have this cultural and social self-segregation.
Re: #40 – Thanks, good point sinz52.
These themes are traced further in a number of books on American intellectual history that I've come across recently, thanks to a book club, including:
What's the matter with Kansas? : how conservatives won the heart of America / Thomas Frank. [New York : Metropolitan Books, c2004. 1st ed]
The age of American unreason / Susan Jacoby. [New York : Pantheon Books, c2008]
Architects of fear : conspiracy theories and paranoia in American politics / George Johnson.
[Los Angeles : J.P. Tarcher ; Boston : Distributed by Houghton Mifflin, c1983. 1st ed]
and of course the founding classic, cited extensively by Jacoby:
The paranoid style in American politics : and other essays. Hofstadter, Richard, 1916-1970. [New York : Knopf, 1965. 1st ed]
A key theme in several of these, also picked up in Chris Mooney's writing, is the predilection toward anti-science or more generally, anti-intellectualism, among a (possibly self-defined) "out-group" such as rural, non-college educated, or "red state" residents. Recurring themes include: "they" (big city liberals, university professors, political elites, mainstream media) have been taken over by bad ideas that pose a threat to "us" (grassroots, regular joes, PTA members). "They" may be seen as imposing alien values or systems on us from above, manipulating public policy, pulling strings in secret, engaged in a great cover-up, etc. "We" may be reduced to following quixotic contrarians who dare to question the system, face ridicule and scorn, etc. Not all such "out-group" worldviews embrace conspiracy theory, but many do.
The range of "dangerous ideas" is quite broad, from Freemasonry to Communism, religious relativism and atheism, evolution, fluoridation, vaccination, support for the U.N., up to most recent instances like gay marriage, "socialized" medicine, and global warming.
Many opponents of these ideas are neither paranoid nor acting on a contrarian impulse, and there can be rational bases for arguing any of these topics. The problem noted in the above books is that there is a subset of the public who are open to arguments suggesting that a viewpoint that seems to be coming from a mainstream/scientific/urban/liberal source is not just wrong, but dangerous. This reactive base can be mobilized in a response that is not open to reason, evidence, or argument, and is unwilling to defer to experts when these are associated with the "dangerous" viewpoint.
Hey, how about links or citations for those electrodynamics texts? Now I have to google them and hope I find the right ones.


text:
Beachside Creative Session within a Creative Session!1:20 PM
"I must not be bothered, for I am painting."
"You there, a bit to the right please?"
Look at her intense focus!
"Here Mom, you try!"
I think I'll post up some wedding photos next round so stay tuned!
I'm leaving San Diego on Friday May 22nd for Los Angeles to hang out with Cindy, my stunningly wonderful and beautiful woman, and my family, who are also cool too. From there, I will fly up to Seattle for a bit of prep work before Resonating in Ukraine.
BTW, you still have the opportunity to help make Project Resonate happen! It's not too late to partner with us through a sweet sweet financial contribution so yeah, let me leave you with this link!
Secure Online Donation
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Noriko Arai: Can a robot pass a university entrance exam? | TED Talk | TED.com - 0 views
shared by dr tech on 16 Sep 17 - No Cached
dr tech on 16 Sep 17"How can we help kids excel at the things that humans will always do better than AI?" Great talk - she also presented at recent IB conference in Yokohama.


text:
Silverstone Race Report
Last weekend saw my first ever race on treaded tyres in the Cayman in the Classic Sports Car Club series on the Silverstone International Circuit. I love Silverstone, it's my home circuit and is a very special place for me for a number of reasons so I was really happy to be racing here again. The CSCC is a series that runs classes purely on engine capacity and instead of slicks the regulations only allow treaded tyres to be used. My Cayman is set up for the Porsche Club Championship which is run on a power to weight class structure and the regulations dictate that I run at 1350kg (and I'm currently running at 1390kg) with stock engine and brakes allowing little to no modification to the cars at all. I had no idea what to expect from the CSCC championship, how the car would handle on treaded tyres or my ability within the New Millennium Series.
Testing on Friday went really well. I had no expectations whatsoever and it was fairly relaxed. It was just my Cayman, Andrew and me with my trusty V-Box. It was the first time I'd driven on the International Circuit for a long time and I was extremely surprised and pleased to see that Silverstone had allocated each group 4 x 45 minute sessions, enough time for me to learn The Loop and the (opposite to GP) Hanger Straight entry lines well. The first sessions out were fairly slow and I was lapping in the 1.21s and really struggling with the new sensation of the treaded tyres. Andrew and I kept going through the V-Box footage after each session to see where I could improve and it was fairly evident that I wasn't being kind to the tyres at all. Every time I came in to the pits they were well above 30psi and you could see on the video that I was turning in on the brakes into Abbey and Stowe and sliding through Village and Vale. Slicks have made me lazy! But confidence grew throughout the day and with Andrew's help I managed to get down to a 1 minute 18.8 second lap times by the end of the day which I was happy with.
Quali on Sunday morning was busy. With three classes in the New Millennium series, we were also out with the Tin Tops which saw 52 cars out in the session. It was carnage but I was happy to see that everyone was very clean despite often having to run three deep into a corner. I did a few laps then came in for pressures. As we were out at 9am, the tarmac was fairly cool so tyres weren't quite up to temperature so I went out to push and two laps in I found some clear space. I set a 1 minute 18.3 seconds lap time and knew that I wouldn't find any more clear track. That time saw me 4th in class and in front of the other Porsches so we decided to save the tyres and brakes and be happy with that position. It was a forty minute race and I knew if I got a good start I might be able to improve on that position in the race.
Our race was at 3.35pm and it was hot. I spent the hour beforehand listening to music and dipping in and out of the shade alone by my garage getting my head in gear for the race. The New Millennium garages were full so I had camped out with the Puma Cup cars who had loads of space which was helpful as my mechanic Alex helps run the CSCC Puma Cup. I've never felt so relaxed before a race. I just sat out in the sun looking at the blue sky listening to the sound of race cars going round thinking how lucky I was to be doing what I do. When we got the first call, I took my time getting into the car as my air conditioning is still broken and because of my injury, I'm unable to sweat so I didn't want to be in the holding grid for longer than necessary. As we rolled out onto the track for the start of the race, I was so excited to get going, no nerves or sense of 'what am I doing?!' I just soaked up the atmosphere of my first introduction into a new championship.
It was the first time I'd ever done a rolling start and I made up 4 places on my first lap. I quickly got down to around my qualifying time but as I started to defend from the Golf and M3 behind me my tyres started to go off. At 27 degrees and on treaded tyres, not slicks, my excessive weaving and braking on the green flag lap had completely overheated my tyres by lap 5 - rookie error! As soon as the pit window was open, I dived into the pits for my mandatory pit stop and got Alex to reduce my pressures. I then went back out having no idea where I was in the race or where anybody else in my class was either. The tyres were a lot better but I soon began to struggle with grip again and was sliding into Stowe on every lap. About 20 minutes from the end of the race we had a code 60 as a Ginetta was stuck in the gravel at Club which was an opportunity for everyone to cool down their brakes and tyres, this was exactly what I needed to get back on the pace. The race got underway again and not long after I took the chequered flag having absolutely no idea how I'd done or where I'd finished until I came into the pits. As I drove up to where Alex and Andrew were standing, I could see they were jumping around like mad men punching the air. Andrew had his hand stuck out with three fingers pointing up and I knew I'd done it. My first proper podium.
I'm not usually one to compliment myself when it comes to racing, but this podium was in a competitive championship where I was no where near the fastest car, racing in unfamiliar territory on treaded tyres so it's well justified that I back myself on this one. The two cars that finished ahead of me were a Seat Leon TCR car and a modern Lotus Europa weighing more than 350kg less than me and lapping nearly 4 seconds quicker, I couldn't have finished any higher up than 3rd in class. And do you know what? I couldn't have cared less! This is my best result and I am so very proud of myself for having achieved it.
Last season pushed me to beyond what I though I could cope with in this sport but weekends like this make it all worth while and it certainly feels like a case of the lower the lows, the higher the highs. I was at a RedBull event talking on a panel with Shauna Coxsey last month and she said something so incredibly inspiring that I've vowed to try and think more like her. Shauna is a multiple World Champion in her sport and when asked 'what is your biggest achievement?' she answered, 'I've been climbing for over 20 years and my biggest achievement is that I still love my sport'. When she said this, something inside me just clicked. I've fought really hard to compete in a sport that I am so passionate about and I've put in and continue to put in all the hard work for one reason: I love racing cars. Nothing else matters. This result is a direct consequence of remembering why I do what I do. If you're passionate about something, the results will come. From now on the most important thing for me will be to remember that I love racing and to be more Shauna Coxsey. But for now...


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Posted by Two Cities on October 28, 1997 at 11:34:59:
The state of Washington has a constitution adopted in 1878.
The Washington Constitution is recognized and named at Article II,
Section 1 of the Constitution of the State of Washington (1889).
Article XI, Section 1 (1889)
The several counties of the Territory of Washington existing at the
time of the adoption of this Constitution are hereby recognized as
legal subdivisions of this state.
If Washington already exists, it already has counties. They passed the
veil in 1878, and the territory was extinguished.
So what is the "Territory of Washington"? What are the several counties
of this entity? And what "new" legal subdivisions are created for "this state" (Washington)?
Could this be County of Xxxx, XXXX COUNTY, COUNTY OF XXXX?
What is the one naming convention for the counties that passed in 1878?
Could it be "county of Xxxx", and "Xxxx" is the name of the corporate
entity representing the county?
Property transfers have been in continual flow for over 100 years, with respect
to legal locus. Reed your deeds. The W.M. (Willamette Meridian) coordinates remain
the same, but c(C)ounty descriptors do not.
The pre-printed forms provide for County of ________ , COUNTY OF _______, etc.,
as if the entry in the blank space is the only thing that matters.
Any additional information and insight appreciated. And a thank you to the
many insightful comments by the Common Right Group. If you wouldn't mind sinking
your teeth into this. I'm not trying to be snooty.
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September 22, 3:00pm - 5:00pm
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Higher Out of State Tuition: Constitutional?/
This post is dedicated to the lawsuit entitled Lambert v. UC Regents of the University of California which was filed in the Southern District of California. The lawsuit against the UC Regents alleges that it is unconstitutional to charge out of state students more tuition than in state students. Stay tuned and bookmark this page to learn more about the progress of the lawsuit. Click here to read a copy of the lawsuit that was filed against the UC Regents alleging that it is unconstitutional to charge out of state students higher tuition rates than in state students.


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Video: Palm Pixi Walk Through webOS
Untitled from FoneFrenzy on Vimeo.
The following video is a full walk through feature of the Palm Pixi and webOS. The overall handset is probably one of the best built phones I have held in my hand. The video is basic walk through of the Palm Pixi and webOS features the handset provides.


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Mo Costandi writes our Neurophilosophy blog, describing research on things like the effect of marijuana on memory, amnesia in the movies, deep brain stimulation, and how a spaghetti western revealed differences between human and monkey brains.
In this short film from the Wellcome Trust – part of their series on differerent ways to communicate science – Mo talks about the importance of having a strong online presence on Twitter and Facebook for the success of any blog.
But the advantage of writing a science blog over other forms of publication, he says, is that, "I can write what I want, when I want, without worrying about editors."
"Do it. You've got nothing to lose."


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My dulcet tones.../
... can be heard today — talking about (what else?) And Baby Makes More — on CFUV 101.9 FM. That is, they can be heard on the radio for those of you lucky enough to actually be in Victoria, BC, today, where I'm guessing that the illusion that it's still fall is being perpetuated. Tune in between 1 and 2 PM Pacific time. For those of you elsewhere, you can listen in online at www.cfuv.uvic.ca. It's a good thing "Women on Air" didn't try to interview me last week, because the interview would have been punctuated by coughing fits and extended nose-blowing sessions. So sexy. Yes, hot on the heels of H1N1, the dreaded, month-long sinus infection with the bonus pack of hacking cough has returned. I'd like to think that the germs have rendered my voice appropriately Kathleen Turner-esque, but really I sound like Harvey Fierstein just inhaled some helium.
Speaking of Harvey, if I hadn't already given away my right thumb to the past year, I would give it away now to go see him play Tevye in the production of Fiddler on the Roof currently touring North America but — surprisingly — not stopping in Thunder Bay. What, David Mirvish, the 30-odd Jews up here weren't a big enough draw? I guess I can't blame you when the local Santa-meter is already pushing 11. Exhibit A.: my son's PUBLIC SCHOOL senior kindergarten curriculum, which seems to have emerged intact from the 1950s. It's all decorated with pictures of Santa and Christmas trees and reindeer and the like, and filled with chirpy instructions to "Decorate your tree and bring it to school this week!" "Write a letter to Santa!" "Practice your holiday songs and teach them to your family!" "Count the days until Christmas!" "Put out milk and cookies for Santa and a carrot for his reindeer!" (Okay, maybe I'm exaggerating. I did add in those exclamation marks.)
Discussion with the school is ensuing. Wish us luck in convincing the powers that be that it's time to break with, as Tevye would say, "Tradition! Tradition!" in favour of some December activities that feel just a wee bit more, oh, multicultural. Inclusive. You know — something that makes me feel less like I'm living in a ghetto.


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As experienced Foundry mission authors have noticed when placing objects to be interacted with (either as mission objectives or to trigger other events), they don't necessarily behave in an optimal way on space maps, at least not by default. Specifically:
- Interactable objects appear in-game framed by a white reticule, which is labeled at the top by whatever text was entered in the object's Name field in the editor. If you leave the object's default name in, that's how the name will appear to other players. If you have named the object according to your own private, cryptic naming convention for map objects, that's how the name will appear to other players.
- One specific type of object that's commonly used for interactions is the "Invisible Object", a cubic volume which comes in several sizes. However its placement is not entirely intuitive: As far as the editor is concerned, the "center" of the object is actually the center point of the cube's bottom face. If, for example, you place an invisible object at the dead-center coordinates of a custom space map (X=0, Y=0, Z=0), the center of the object will be at X=0 and Z=0, but its Y-coordinate will be at some point above zero; how far above depends on how big the invisible object is. (Fortunately there is a handy conversion method for this, which I will explain below.)
For optimal results when placing interactable objects (invisible and otherwise) on space maps, remember to do the following:
- Once you have designated an object for use as either an Interact mission objective or a triggering object, give it the name you want players to see, even if it doesn't fit whatever naming convention you use. (Unfortunately this may make the object harder to find in the map's object list, if your naming convention is designed to organize objects.)
- To properly center an invisible object, place its Y-coordinate at -1/100 of the object's size, relative to the desired center. Revisiting the example above, to place a 1000-ft invisible object at the dead center of the map, its coordinates should be X=0, Y=-10 (i.e. -1/100 * 1000), Z=0. For a 500-ft object, use Y=-5.


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Next Episode of Tales of Zestiria the X is
not planed. TV Show was canceled.
Sorey is a human youth who grew up among the seraphim, spiritual beings not visible to humans. Sorey believes in the folklore that says "long ago, every human was able to see the seraphim" and dreams of unraveling the ancient mystery to make the world a place where people and seraphim can live together in peace.One day, Sorey visits the human capital for the very first time. He becomes embroiled in an incident during which he pulls out a holy sword embedded in a rock and ends up becoming a Shepherd, one who casts away calamity from the world. He begins to realize the gravity of his mission, and his dream of coexistence between mankind and the seraphim becomes more intense—And thus, the Shepherd embarks on an amazing journey with his companions.
Daisuke Ono(Dezel)
Ryouta Ousaka(Mikleo)
Misato Fukuen(Edna)
Ai Kayano(Alisha Diefda)
Kenjiro Tsuda(Zaveid)
Mikako Komatsu(Rose)
Noriko Shitaya(Lailah)
Ryohei Kimura(Sorey)
Looks like something went completely wrong!
But don't worry - it can happen to the best of us,
- and it just happened to you.
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July 19, 1930 – September 25, 2012
Patricia Richardson passed away peacefully with family at her side on Tuesday, September 25, 2012 at the age of 82.
Pat was born July 19th, 1930 in Abbey Saskatchewan. As a young woman, she worked at AGT (Gleichen, AB), moved to Calgary where she continued to work at AGT and eventually retired from Telus. Pat then moved to Westbank, BC where she volunteered her time at a seniors home before coming back to Calgary to be with her family.
Pat has now been reunited with her husband George Richardson whom she loved dearly, her brother Charles Rogowski and her parents Angela and Jack Rogowski. She is survived by her sons Allan (Laura) Pomeroy, Glenn (Alison) Pomeroy, Terry (Lhea) Pomeroy, Tim (Cathy) Richardson, Bob (Peggy) Richardson, daughter Lynne (Dave) Schaaf and twenty two grandchildren. She is also survived by her sister Bertha (Floyd – deceased) McCurry, her brother Lloyd (Doreen) Rogowski and her sister in-law Martha (Charles) Rogowski.
A celebration of Pat's life will be held on Tuesday, October 2, 2012. Condolences may be forwarded through www.mcinnisandholloway.com. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the charity of choice.
In living memory of Patricia Richardson, a tree will be planted at Fish Creek Provincial Park by McINNIS & HOLLOWAY FUNERAL HOMES Park Memorial Chapel, 5008 ELBOW DRIVE S.W. Telephone: (403)243-8200
Offer Condolence for the family of RICHARDSON, Patricia MariePrint This Obituary & Condolences


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When the nominations for the 79th Annual Academy Awards were announced on Tuesday morning, many awards watchers were left stunned when for the first time in Academy Awards history, a film received the most nominations but failed to land in the Best Picture lineup.
That film is Dreamgirls. The Bill Condon-helmed musical blockbuster secured eight nominations from the Academy including two for supporting stars Jennifer Hudson and Eddie Murphy but failed to place in the top categories. Dreamgirls was, however, able to match an existing Academy record. The musical became the first film since Beauty and the Beast in 1992 to land three nominations in the Best Original Song category. Even though she failed to be nominated for Best Actress, this secures a performance from star Beyonce Knowles during the Oscar telecast.
Clint Eastwood's little-seen Letters From Iwo Jima snuck in at the last minute to snag Best Picture and Director nominations. Also nominated for Best Picture of 2006 are Babel, The Departed, Little Miss Sunshine and The Queen.
Babel secured the second most nominations this year with seven including a Best Director nomination for Mexican auteur Alejandro González Iñárritu. Babel also received two nominations for its unknown supporting actresses Adriana Barazza and Rinko Kikuchi; however megastar
Brad Pitt failed to shortlist with the Academy.
The other Best Picture nominees each reaped multiple nominations. The Queen landed six nominations including a Best Actress nomination for frontrunner Helen Mirren, who has swept all precursor awards since early December. Peter Morgan's Golden Globe winning screenplay and director Stephen Frears also collected nominations from the Academy.
Little Miss Sunshine and The Departed each received four nominations. Sunshine produced two acting nominees - one of which has tied the record for youngest nominee ever. Eleven-year-old Abigail Breslin's charming performance as an unlikely beauty pageant contestant earned her a Best Supporting Actress nomination. Alan Arkin's performance as Breslin's grandfather earned the veteran actor a Best Supporting Actor bid.
With The Departed, Martin Scorcese has a seventh chance to finally take home a Best Director trophy. The Departed also landed nominations for supporting player Mark Wahlberg and its screenplay but not for Academy favorite Jack Nicholson. The Departed star Leonardo DiCaprio also was nominated but surprisingly not for the Scorcese mob film. DiCaprio scored his third career nomination for the mildly received Blood Diamond.
Other surprises included six nominations for foreign film Pan's Labyrinth, an Adapted Screenplay nomination for Borat and its star Sacha Baron Cohen, and a snub in the Best Foreign Film category for the lauded Volver from Pedro Almodovar.
The Academy Awards air on ABC on Feb. 25 at 8 p.m.


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James Gallery | Small Business Spotlight
Q: When was James Gallery founded and by whom? James Gallery began as a custom picture frame shop in Dormont in the year 1975 by James Frederick at the age of 22. Forty years later, James Gallery has grown into an elegant gallery with a repurposed location in the West End Village. We still do custom framing and now represent an amazing stable of artists in all mediums and have built an impressive project portfolio.
Q: What need in the Pittsburgh art community does James Gallery seek to fulfill? The Pittsburgh region has experienced unprecedented growth in multiple industries. A new wave of businesses and professionals are now calling Pittsburgh home. We would like them (and all) Pittsburghers to feel that they do not need to travel outside of Pittsburgh to find impressive fine art. It is exhibited in their own city.
Appreciation for the arts has been on the rise in our city. We would like to educate the public about buying art and offer a wonderful experience. Our passion is to make the process as seamless as possible. We offer a wide range of price points, a knowledgeable staff and an unlimited network of resources that make purchasing art less daunting.
Q: If you could describe the essence of James Gallery in one sentence, what would it be? Our goal is to move away from the typical and expected, venturing into areas that challenge preconceived images of art and the predictable gallery experience.
Q: Where do the artists featured in the gallery come from? Our current show "Breakup" features seven artists from all over the United States, Australia and Pittsburgh. We represent regional, national and international artists. Art happens in every part of the world. We navigate the globe to present artistic talent.
Q: Tell us more about your residential art consulting services. How does it all work? The process begins when we meet with a client to discuss their ideas, space, tastes, and budget. We follow with an informal presentation of a variety of art. We engage the client to formulate a direction that would be effective in their home, reflecting their taste and style. Residential projects require a personal approach in working with individual styles. We acknowledge that our clients are selecting art as a long term commitment, not a quick decorative fix.
Q: What do you love most about working at James Gallery? We keep it interesting. There are many facets to our business. James Gallery is a fine art gallery presenting multiple exhibitions. The unique space can be transformed for weddings and event rental. We also place art in healthcare, sports venues and corporate spaces. Each project presents new challenges. Our industry continues to evolve with artistic creativity and technology. One day I am working with a bride and the next an architect. Every day is different and I wouldn't have it any other way!
Q: Where in Pittsburgh can we see work done by the James Gallery consultants? Our creativity is displayed in nearly every building in downtown Pittsburgh. Ever notice the large monumental sculpture of Mario Lemieux outside of CONSOL Energy Center? We did that. Ever visit Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh? Voted Children's Hospitals by HealthExecNews.com in 2012. We did that. PNC Park and Mario Lemieux Center for Blood Cancers, we did those too.
We are truly part of Pittsburgh.
Q: Why should readers visit James Gallery on Small Business Saturday? Our current exhibition, BREAKUP, is open to the public Monday-Saturday, 9am-5pm. This exhibition highlights work by seven contemporary artists, each with a physically unique approach to the creation of fragmented and pixelated images and forms. The artists employ an incredibly diverse range of materials and techniques. Pigment, glass, digital animation, photography and mixed media are used to striking effect. The works are defined not only by what is visible, but by what has been removed.
As an extension of Veteran's Day, in honor of their service, we are offering a 20% discount off military prints and framing until December 1st.


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Correlation and regression analyses confirmed a significant negative effect of economic expansions on health gains. The evolution of population health during the years 1920–1940 confirms the counterintuitive hypothesis that, as in other historical periods and market economies, population health tends to evolve better during recessions than in expansions.
This is not new: "Are Recessions Good For Your Health?" The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 2000:
Total mortality and eight of the ten sources of fatalities examined are shown to exhibit a procyclical fluctuation, with suicides representing an important exception. The variations are largest for those causes and age groups where behavioral responses are most plausible, and there is some evidence that the unfavorable health effects of temporary upturns are partially or fully offset if the economic growth is long-lasting
Although the effect is apparently real, the health benefits during recessions are unequally distributed and widen the income induced health gap:
Self-rated health improved in absolute terms for all occupational groups even after the economic recession. However, the relative disparity increased between the top and middle occupational groups in men.
The health debacles that occur during periods of rapid growth are equally obvious:
Cancer casts a shadow over the villages in this region of China in southern Guangdong province, nestled among farmland contaminated by heavy metals used to make batteries, computer parts and other electronics devices..
Every year, an estimated 460,000 people die prematurely in China due to exposure to air and water pollution, according to a 2007 World Bank study.
...Thus adding a few more exhibits to the question of relevance of GDP as any sort of measure of human happiness, or the obviousness of the need for its incessant growth...


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Thursday, February 17, 2011
Vintage Buttons
Posted by Tinker at 11:10 PM 0 comments
Labels: collections, vintage buttons
Friday, February 11, 2011
Shop Update
Posted by Tinker at 8:26 PM 0 comments
Labels: shop update
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Part of a large collection of vintage Catholic iconography stored away ready for the move. Not sure if the boyfriend will be happy to see it all again! Although I'm a (very) lapsed Catholic, when you've been brought up with the imagery that goes with it it's hard to let go. It can be rather overpowering for some people but for me it reminds me of my childhood.
Posted by Tinker at 9:19 PM 0 comments
Labels: collections
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Michael Murphy back at college
Donegal captain studying at Jordanstown
Donegal captain Michael Murphy has returned to college and the University of Ulster in Jordanstown, it has been learned this week.
Murphy, a graduate of Dublin City University, is studying for a masters degree. A Sigerson Cup winner with DCU, his joining UUJ will be a big boost to the Belfast nursery's prospect of winning the Sigerson Cup for the first time since 2008.
He will be join fellow county colleagues Ryan and Eoin McHugh and Patrick McBrearty at the college under the management of Martin McHugh.


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News: Pubs and theatre. An age-old pairing.
This exciting project will no doubt resonate with anyone that has ever stepped into a pub, so this February, grab your pint of Drunken Nights and witness something completely original and unique.
News: The 28 Day Project launches wonderful opportunities
The 28 Day Project is an exciting initiative offering emerging talent a step into the film business.
Have you got the Star Wars X Factor?
Thousands turned away at open auditions after standing in the rain for hours.
News: TheatreCraft returns to help young people's backstage careers
The 8th annual event returns to the Royal Opera House later this month.
BLOG: Theatre: the best casino shows around the world
Casinos around the world offer some of the best theatrical entertainment you can find.
BLOG: 5 Best Actors in Superhero Cinema
Is "superhero" acting any less challenging?
Blog: Films to study for inspiration
Watching great actors can often inform your own work.
Blog: Shakespeare experimenting with the limits of contemporary drama
Briony Rawle heads to Yorkshire and takes a closer look at Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale.
Review: Bat Boy, Southwark Playhouse ✭✭✭
A campy fun musical with bite screams Douglas Mayo.
Review: Visitors, Arcola Theatre ✭✭✭✭
Barney Norris first full-length play is an exquisitely written examination of love and loss, writes Alex Delaney.
Review: 1984, Almeida Theatre ✭✭✭✭✭
This fresh vision of 1984 feels like a rediscovery of Orwell's dystopia, writes Sophia Longhi.
Review: Secret Theatre – Show 4, Lyric Hammersmith ✭✭✭✭
This review comes with a capitalised, emboldened and even italicised, SPOILER ALERT. That should do, writes Briony Rawle.
Review: Shivered, Southwark Playhouse ****
Philip Ridley's Shivered at Southwark Playhouse is his masterwork; sprawling, inventive and chilling, writes JBR
Jez Butterworth's Jerusalem depicts England as a place worth saving, with Rooster proudly fighting for every inch and corner of our green and pleasant land, summoning mythology and pagan spirits. Philip Ridley's epic state-of-the-nation play, Shivered, which opened at Southwark Playhouse on March 13th, presents a rather more bleak view of our beleaguered country. Herein is a thoroughly satisfyingly Ridlean examination of our society; set in the Essex new-town of Draylingstone, on its own rolling green hill, now blighted by disused car warehouses employed for casual sex games, this is a land with its own mythology and spirits, where children swap YouTube videos of war atrocities, beat one another with rocks, and false Gods rise beneath the altar of capitalism. How much of Ridley's England would we fight to save?
Uncompromising as ever, Southwark Playhouse has never seemed a less fecund place with Richard Howell's bleak lighting alternating between illuminating a stark, cold corridor or the hauntingly huge windows of the car warehouse. It finally resolves on an auroral summer hill before exploding joyously into fireworks. Anthony Lamble's naked stage colludes in this bare vision, while Tom Gibbons' terrifying sound design rumbles darkly around the edges of our consciousness.
Joseph Drake and Josh Williams as Ryan and Jack are youthful but commanding presences, both perfect trailblazers for Ridley's damaged society; simultaneously ingenuous and pernicious. Each handle the dramatic twists and turns of their character with ease and skill. Andrew Hawley, as Gordy is mercurial and charismatic, slipping from charming, but lowly, fairground barker to Barnum-esque showman with consumate ease. Robbie Jarvis particularly impresses in a controlled, powerful performance which places his character, Alec, at the very heart of the play.
Ridley's Shivered is his most ambitious opus to date; startling, inventive, witty and invasive
The real star here, however, is Ridley's perverse dark gift for language and his skill in presenting the excruciating cruelty which underlines love and affection. As Alec explains "it's like her skin is transparent and I can see all the…all the snakes and scorpions" – Ridley peels back the skin of our fractured society and exposes the rancidification beneath.
When Russell Bolam's genuinely astute direction captures this, Shivered is spine tingling and Ridley's sprawling, complex masterwork sings a siren song calling us to his dark world. When actors fail to accede totally to the grotesque and invidious nature of Ridley's writing the piece can seem overwritten. Ridley's Shivered is his most ambitious opus to date; startling, inventive, witty and invasive. His England is not without hope, but it is never without compromise; may his pen never rest in his hand.
**** 4 stars
Runs until 14th April
More infoPublished on March 14, 2012 · Filed under: Featured, Reviews; Tagged as: Andrew Hawley, Anthony Lamble, Jerusalem, Jez Butterworth, Joseph Drake, Josh Williams, Philip Ridley, Richard Howell, Robbie Jarvis, Russell Bolam, Shivered, Southwark Playhouse, state-of-the-nation, Tom Gibbons


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Give your visitors an easy way to share your blog posts, products, etc. Add a Facebook Like button. When visitors click the button, they can easily share the page on Facebook.
Adding and configuring a Like button takes only a few minutes. Here's how to do it.
Add a button
To add a Facebook Like button:
- Get the Facebook Like Button widget from the Marketplace.
- Next, find the widget in your Widgets drawer and drag it onto a page.
Now you've got a basic Like button. Next, configure it.
Configure the button
Once you've added the button, you can configure how it works and looks. Here are the options you can change.
URL to Like
When visitors click the Like button, they see a box allowing them to share the page on Facebook. Use this field to set which page the button corresponds to.
To just use the current page, leave the field blank. For most situations, you should probably leave this field blank.
Layout Style
You can choose between a few layout styles:
- Standard (default). This is the default style, and it uses words—instead of just numbers—to indicate how many people like the page.
- Button Count. This is good streamlined option. Instead of using words, it uses numbers to indicate how many people like the page. It takes up less space vertically, so it's good for a narrow row.
- Box Count. This option also uses numbers to list the amount of likes; although, instead of placing the number to the right of the Like button, this option places the number above the button.
You can also change the font of the like count. Select Arial, Lucida Grande, Tahoma, etc. Pick a font that best matches your design.
Of course, your font choice is most noticeable if you're using the Standard layout with words instead of numbers.
Verb to Display
If the verb Like is too casual for your audience, instead use Recommend.
That's it. Publish the page and watch the likes roll in.


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A visit to Siem Reap, Angkorwat temples complex and Ta Prohm
"Cambodia is one of the most magical places I have ever seen and the people there are so lovely and all those temples you can just get lost in for days". (Leonardo di Caprio). Cambodia is the last country I… Continue Reading