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Benda, Julien
Julien Benda 1867-1956
French philosopher and novelist.
Benda is one of the most controversial figures in twentieth-century French philosophy. In his best-known work, La trahison des clercs (Treason of the Intellectuals), he harshly criticized modern thinkers who embraced political and social ideologies at the expense of reasoned and unbiased examination of cultural phenomena. Because of Benda's radical views and caustic personality, his works were often dismissed during his lifetime, and today he is remembered more for his well-publicized intellectual battles than for his writings.
Biographical Information
Benda was born in Paris to a middle-class Jewish family. He studied at the Lycee Condorcet—concentrating on the classics and mathematics—and prepared for admission to the Ecole Polytechnique. Dissatisfied with his studies in mathematics, Benda instead entered the Sorbonne as a history student. There he began his lifelong commitment to Greco-Roman rationalism. Granted his degree in 1894, Benda began a career in journalism at the Revue blanche and went on to write for the Nouvelle revue francaise, the Mercure de France, Divan, and Lefigaro. In the late 1890s Benda was one of many artists and intellectuals to become involved in the Dreyfus Affair—the court case of a Jewish officer in the French army convicted of selling secrets to Germany and condemned to life imprisonment on Devil's Island. Both the evidence involved in the case and the motives of those who prosecuted Alfred Dreyfus were questionable, resulting in a decade-long schism in French society between a pro-Dreyfus faction, known as Dreyfusards, who protested his innocence, and those who upheld the French court's judgement, many of whom were avowed anti-Semites. Despite his aversion to ideological causes, Benda openly supported the Dreyfusards on the grounds that truth and justice were "eternal values" and did not obfuscate his commitment to reason. In 1900 Benda published his first book, Dialogues d Byzance, a collection of philosophical pieces on the Dreyfus Affair previously published in the Revue blanche. For the next decade Benda continued publishing in intellectual journals and periodicals. In 1912 his first novel, L'ordination, was denied the prestigious Prix Goncourt, ostensibly because of anti-Semitism among the judges. Later that year Benda published Le Bergsonismne; ou, Une philosophie de la mobilite, an attack on philosopher Henri Bergson that strengthened Benda's reputation as a thinker in the tradition of strict classicism and rationalism. In the late 1920s Benda began to segregate himself from the intellectual community even further with the publication of his most controversial work, Treason of the Intellectuals, in which he castigated romanticism and asserted that artists should rely solely on reason rather than emotion or commitment to social or political doctrines. Ten years later, disgusted with the rise of fascism in Europe, Benda reversed some of the ideas he had set out in Treason of the Intellectuals and joined the French Communist Party. During the German occupation of France in World War II, Benda was forced to wear the yellow star marking him as a Jew and eventually went into hiding until the end of the war. He died in 1956.
Major Works
While Benda achieved modest success with his novels and short stories, he is known primarily for his works of political and social philosophy. Beginning with Dialogues d Byzance, Benda sought to divorce what he considered overly emotional romanticism from rational intellectualism. In Le Bergsonisme and Sur le succes du Bergsonisme Benda characterized Bergson's humanist and quasi-mystical philosophy as no more than a doctrine of irrational sentimentalism that was destructive to the vitality and stability of the social order. In 1945 he published La France byzantine; ou, Le triomphe de la littgrature pure: Mallarmd, Gide, Proust, Valery, Alain, Giraudoux, Suares, lessurrealistes, in which he broadly accused many highly respected French intellectuals of self-indulgent sentimentality. In Belphegor: Essaisur l'esthetique de lapresente socihtd francais Benda criticized what he regarded as widespread cultural degeneracy in France. His most contentious arguments are contained in Treason of the Intellectuals, a sustained excoriation of emotion-based devotion to social and political causes that Benda believed corrupted the true purpose of the intellectual's role in society.
Critical Reception
Upon its publication in 1927, Treason of the Intellectuals generated controversy when some commentators disputed its claim that intellectuals had betrayed their traditional calling as impartial and independent observers of the world around them. Others accused Benda of hypocrisy because of his own tenacity during the Dreyfus Affair and his occasional political pamphleteering. With his vitriolic critiques of Bergson—whose emphasis on subjectivity and intuition had elevated him to near cult status—Benda alienated much of the academic community. Benda did, however, gain adherents to his cause. As T. S. Eliot stated: "[Benda] puts a problem which confronts every man of letters, … the problem of the scope and direction which the activities of the artist and the man of letters should take today." Irving Babbitt concurred with Benda's indictment of modern intellectuals, declaring: "One finds in him a combination of keen analysis with honesty and courage that is rare at the present time, or indeed at any time."
Principal Works
Dialogues a Byzance (philosophy) 1900
Mon premier testament (philosophy) 1910
Dialogue d'Eleuthere (novel) 1911
L'ordination. 2 vols. [The Yoke of Pity] (novel) 1911-12
Le Bergsonisme: ou, Une philosophie de la mobilite (philosophy) 1912
Sur le succ&s du Bergsonisme (philosophy) 1914
Les sentiments de critias (philosophy) 1917
Belphegor: Essaisur l'esthgtique de lapresente socigt&francais [Belphegor] (philosophy) 1918
Les amorandes (novel) 1922
La croix des roses (novel) 1923
Billets de Sirius (philosophy) 1925
Lettres d Melisande pour son education philosophique (philosophy) 1925
La trahison des clercs [Treason of the Intellectuals] (philosophy) 1927
Essai d'un discours coherent sur les rapports de Dieu et du monde (philosophy) 1931
Esquisse d'un histoire des Franpais dans leur volonte dd'tre une nation (philosophy) 1932
Discours d la nation europgenne (philosophy) 1933
Délice d'Eleuthère (philosophy) 1935
La jeunesse d'un clerc (autobiography) 1936
Precision (philosophy) 1937
La Grande Epreuve des dgmocraties (philosophy) 1942
Le rapport d'Uriel (philosophy) 1943
Un antisemite sincere (philosophy) 1944
La France byzantine; ou, Le triomphe de la littgrature pure: Mallarmé, Gide, Proust, Valgry, Alain, Giraudoux, Suares, les surrgalistes (philosophy) 1945
Exercice d'un enterre vif (philosophy) 1946
Du pogtique (philosophy) 1946
Tradition de l'existentialisme; ou, Les philosophies de la vie (philosophy) 1947
Trois idoles romantiques: le dynamisme, 1'existentialisme, la dialectique matgrialiste (philosophy) 1948
Les cahiers d'un clerc (1936-1949) (autobiography) 1949
Songe d'Eleuthere (philosophy) 1949
De quelques constantes de l'esprit humain: Critique du mobilisme contemporain (philosophy) 1950
T. S. Eliot (essay date 1928)
SOURCE: "The Idealism of Julien Benda," in The New Republic Anthology, 1915-1935, edited by Groff Conklin, Dodge Publishing Company, 1936, pp. 293-300.
[An American-born English poet, critic, essayist, and dramatist, Eliot was one of the most influential writers in English of the first half of the twentieth century. His work and thought are characterized by experimentation, formal complexity, artistic and intellectual eclecticism, and a classicist's view of the artist working at an emotional distance from his or her creation. In the following essay, which originally appeared in The New Republic on 12 December 1928, Eliot critiques Benda's theories about the responsibility of intellectuals as presented in La trahison des clercs.]
M. Julien Benda is a critic who does not write often or too much. His Belpbhgor, which some of us recognized as an almost final statement of the attitude of contemporary society to art and the artist, was published in 1918 or 1919. La Trhison des Cleres is the first book of the same type that M. Benda has written since Belpbhgor, it represents some years of meditation and study; we expected a book of the same importance. We are not disappointed. And just as Belphdgor, although based upon an examination of French society alone, applied to the relation of society to the arts in all Europe and America, so is La Trbison des Clercs of general application. It is, indeed, more general; for M. Benda now draws his illustrations from England, Germany, Italy and America, as well as from France. In these illustrations I do not think that he has been altogether fair; and as he has cited William James and Kipling, we are entitled to cross-examine him on his examination.
M. Benda's thesis may be divided into two parts, upon which we may find that we give separate verdicts. The first part is a general criticism of the political passions of the present time. The second part is a scrutiny of the culpability of certain noted men of letters, and implies a rule of life which M. Benda would lay down for men of letters of our time. In the first general diagnosis, I am inclined to yield complete assent; in the second part, he does not seem to me to have carried his analysis of individuals far enough; and the ideal that he holds up to contemporary men of letters seems to me to be infected with romance. But he puts a problem which confronts every man of letters; the same problem which Mr. Wyndham Lewis has solved for himself in his own way by writing his recent books: the problem of the scope and direction which the activities of the artist and the man of letters should take today.
With the first part of M. Benda's thesis I cannot deal in this short paper. No one can disagree with his statement of the "modern consummation of political passions"; his classification of passions of race (e.g., the Nordic theory and the Latin theory), passions of nations (e.g., fascism) and passions of class (e.g., communism). I say that no one can disagree with the statement, which is made with all M. Benda's usual lucidity and concision; but the analysis could be carried much farther than M. Benda carries it. A new Remy de Gourmont could "dissociate" these ideas of Nationalism of Class, of Race into their local components; and there is also the Religious Idea (not discussed by M. Benda) to be dissociated (with special reference to an actual controversy in England) into components such as conviction, piety, prejudice and politics. Each of these subjects would take a chapter by itself. Let us merely accept M. Benda's general statement of the "perfection" of these passions in the modern world—in universality, in coherence, in homogeneity, in precision, in continuity and in condensation; and proceed to the question: what is the role of the man of letters; does he today involve himself in these passions, and if so, why; and what is his proper function?
M. Benda brings a grave accusation against the modern "man of letters," whom he calls the "clerc." The accusation is retrospective, for it applies to most of the nineteenth century. The "clerc, "instead of sticking to his business of pure thought or pure art, has descended into politics in the widest and sometimes the lowest sense. M. Benda's instances are mostly contemporary and mostly French. For the sake of completeness, no doubt, he has added a few foreigners, such as D'Annunzio, Kipling and William James. Among these three "clercs" I can see nothing in common. D'Annunzio is a brilliant prose artist of pseudo-decadence, who took up with Italian nationalism as a new excitement; Kipling (it seems to me) writes of the Empire because he was born in India instead of Sussex (and as Mr. Dobree has said, part of his interesting peculiarity is that he makes the deck of a P. and 0. liner seem as much British soil as Sussex or Shropshire); James is included merely because he voiced a rather silly enthusiasm for the American war with Spain. M. Benda is more exact with his own compatriots. Two of those whom he accuses are Barrés and Péguy. But one asks the question: has he carried his analysis far enough? I dislike both of these writers as much as M. Benda does. But the question is: are these writers dangerous because they have concerned themselves with practical and political matters, or rather because their attitude, both in art, speculative thought and practical thought, was wrong? Let us undertake to consider what are the causes of the inclination of men of letters—including poets, novelists and even painters (there is as yet no instance of a musician)—to occupy themselves with social theories: and second, to distinguish the artists or men of letters who excel in their proper sphere, but fail in their public occupation, from those who exhibit the same faults in their art as in their public activity, and finally from those who (if there are such) excel and are right in both.
Ours is an unsettled age. No one is sure to what "class" of society he belongs; at no time has "class" been more uncertain, and yet at no time has the consciousness of "class" been greater. Everyone is now conscious of class, but no one is sure what class is; everyone is conscious of nationality and race (our very passports impress that upon us), but no one is sure who or which or what is what or which race, or whether race is divided north and south or east and west or horizontally, or whether any of us is anything but a mongrel, and we suspect that the more we know about race the more clearly we shall see that we are all merely mongrels. We are conscious of these questions as a man with indigestion is conscious of his stomach. It might almost be said that everybody is conscious of every question and no one knows any answers. This has been called an age of specialization, but it is very much the age of the amateur. Not long ago I attended, with some curiosity, a "religious convention"; I heard a popular novelist and a popular actor talk nonsense for half an hour each, and then I left. There is, in fact, very little respect for authority: by which I mean respect for the man who has special knowledge of some subject of which oneself is ignorant.
The causes are, of course, many; and I merely mention these things in order to point out that the meddling of men of letters in practical affairs, to which M. Benda objects, is only one phenomenon of a general confusion. The publicist who writes about everything on earth responds to the demand of a public which has a mild and transient interest in everything on earth. All this is perfectly commonplace, and I only mention it in order to point out that it is, in practice, extremely difficult to draw a line between the mere vulgarizer of knowledge and the...
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Leonard Woolf (essay date 1928)
SOURCE: "Just for the Riband to Stick in Their Coats," in The Nation and the Athenaeum, Vol. XLIV, No. 13, December 29, 1928, p. 468.
[Woolf was an English essayist and critic best known for his leading role in the Bloomsbury Group of artists and thinkers in early twentieth-century London. Woolf and his wife, the renowned writer Virginia Woolf founded the Hogarth Press in 1917. The Woolfs and other members of the Bloomsbury Group contributed greatly to the Modernist movement in literature and art. In the following review of the first English-language translation of La trahison des clercs, Woolf challenges Benda's thesis that the "treason of the intellectuals" is a strictly modern, or...
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Irving Babbitt (essay date 1932)
SOURCE: "Julien Benda," in On Being Creative and Other Essays, Houghton Mifflin Company, 1932, pp. 187- 200.
[With Paul Elmer More, Babbitt was one of the founders of the New Humanism (or neo-humanism) movement that arose during the twentieth century's second decade. The New Humanists were strict moralists who adhered to traditional conservative values in reaction to an age of scientific and artistic innovation. In regard to literature, they believed that the aesthetic qualities of a work of art should be subordinate to its moral and ethical purpose. In the following essay, Babbitt analyzes what he calls Benda't "sweeping indictment of the modernists. 'a
The present...
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George Santayana (essay date 1933)
SOURCE: "The Prestige of the Infinite," in Some Turns of Thought in Modern Philosophy, Cambridge at the University Press, 1933, pp. 102-121.
[Santayana was a Spanish-born philosopher, poet, novelist, and literary critic who received his undergraduate and graduate degrees from Harvard University, where he later taught philosophy. Late in his life, Santayana stated that "reason and ideals arise in doing something that at bottom there is no reason for doing." "Chaos," he had written earlier, "is perhaps at the bottom of everything. "In the following essay, Santayana critiques the ideas advanced in Benda's Essai d'un discours coherent sur les rapports de dieu et du monde.]...
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John Dewey (essay date 1948)
SOURCE: "William James' Morals and Julien Benda's: It Is Not Pragmatism That Is Opportunist," in Commentary, Vol. 5, No. 1, January, 1948, pp. 46-50.
[Dewey was one of the most celebrated American philosophers of the twentieth century and the leading philosopher of Pragmatism after the death of William James. Dewey criticized the detached pursuit of truth for its own sake and advocated a philosophy with the specific aim of seeking improvements in various spheres of human life. In the following essay, he offers a response to Benda's criticism of the American philosophical school of Pragmatism.]
In his article, "The Attack on Western Morality" (Commentary,...
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E. 0. Siepmann (essay date 1948)
SOURCE: "Conversations in France-II, III: Benda on Democracy," in The Nineteenth Century and After, Vols. CXLIII and CXLIV, Nos. 852 and 853, February and March, 1948, pp. 107-12; 156-60.
[In the following essay, which consists of the last two installments of a three-part article, Siepmann provides an account of some of his conversations with Benda and outlines the principal ideas in La grande epreuve des democraties.]
During the last few months [of 1944] I have made friends with M. Benda. He is an extraordinary old man.
M. Benda lives in a cell, a tiny room in an out-of-the-way quarter. During the war he lived at Carcassonne in the same asceticism....
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Robert J. Niess (essay date 1956)
SOURCE: "Of Literature," in Julien Benda, The University of Michigan Press, 1956, pp. 224-54.
[Niess is an American writer and professor of French. In the following excerpt, he examines Benda's view of literature and literary artists.]
"Avoir raison n'est pas litteraire."
That lapidary—and not completely unliterary—phrase from La France byzantine contains the essence of the long attack on the art of literature which Benda began in Dislogues h Byance and which he has enormously developed in the books of the late years of his career. Clearly this antiliterary campaign has been his true favorite, for none of the others is either as old...
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Lothar Kahn (essay date 1968)
SOURCE: "Julien Benda: Assimilation with Self-Acceptance," in Mirrors of the Jewish Mind: A Gallery of Portraits of European Jewish Writers of Our Time, Thomas Yoseloff, 1968, pp. 52-67.
[Born in Rehlingen, Saar Territory, Kahn is an American educator and writer. In the following excerpt, he considers the influence of Benda's Jewish heritage on his opinions and works.]
Assimilation has been a much overused term in modern Jewish history. Like most such terms it has lost some of its meaning. As generally used it covers a broad range of attitudes which have but few beliefs in common. Assimilation implies a conscious desire to accept all of the ways and modes of the host...
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Ray Nichols (essay date 1978)
SOURCE: "The 'Clerc' and the Intellectual," in Treason, Tradition, and the Intellectual: Julien Benda and Political Discourse, The Regents Press of Kansas, 1978, pp. 165-92.
[In the following excerpt, Nichols articulates a distinction in Benda's work between the clerc and the intellectual.]
"The intellectual": for Benda, this was a sort of sacred realm, a vocation, a clerkly ordination. And much of Benda's speech and action here remains pressingly alive, more so, indeed, today than at any time since the crises of the thirties. His concerns, his enemies, his hopes, his disillusionments, his career—all were quintessentially, representatively modern, in...
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Treason And Tradition
Cry "Treason!"—It is to conjure the most powerful of political impulses. Had Benda reckoned on this, for all his talk of political passion? Small wonder that his catalogue of false clercs and true ones occasioned much violent controversy and much special pleading, little of which was well directed. Too often the reaction was to a vague impression, a capsule conception, or a pet instance, not to the elaborate statement of the Trahison and its ancillary works. So, one of Benda's critics argued that Sorel was essentially a moralist (but this was precisely Benda's point). Another agreed to condemn Sorel—along with Spencer, Barrés, and Maurras—but not Nietzsche; a third defended Nietzsche, but not...
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David L. Schalk (essay date 1979)
SOURCE: "The Case against Engagement: Julien Benda and La Trahison des Clercs," in The Spectrum of Political Engagement: Mounier, Benda, Nizan, Brasillach, Sartre, Princeton University Press, 1979, pp. 26-48.
[Schalk is an American writer and educator. In the following excerpt, he considers Benda's views on political engagement and examines the critical reception of Th e Treason of the Intellectuals, as well as the practical understanding of Benda's ideas by various thinkers.]
The idea of a treason or betrayal of the intellectuals has had an enormous success. This concept may be viewed as the reverse of the coin of engagement, or perhaps a slightly...
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Further Reading
Siepmann, Eric. "An Unorthodox Leftist." The Twentieth Century 160, No. 957 (November 1956): 452-56.
Posthumous personal and critical account of Benda.
Gellner, Ernest. "La trahison de la trahison des clercs." In The Political Responsibility of Intellectuals, edited by Ian Maclean, Alan Montefiore, and Peter Winch, pp. 17-27. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1990.
Contends that "La trahison des clercs was itself a case of 'la trahison des clercs'" because of what Gellner considers the "pragmatic" nature of Benda's argument.
Howarth, Herbert. "Some...
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Trip Information Page | Interactive Travel Map | Text the SecretaryAbout the Author: Beatrice Camp serves as U.S. Consul General at the U.S. Consulate in Shanghai, China.
Even before I arrived in Shanghai as U.S. Consul General last September, I knew that the Shanghai 2010 Expo was going to be a huge event, the largest World's Fair in history. Living here, in one of the most dynamic cities in the world, we see every day how Shanghai is going all out to make this Expo a fair to remember, a six-month long international extravaganza that offers the promise of "Better City, Better Life."
Although this kind of international expo has gone out of style in the United States, I'm old enough to remember family trips to the New York World's Fair in 1964 and to Montreal in 1967. So I felt the breath of history-in-the-making today as Secretary Clinton paid her first visit to our USA National Pavilion, now under construction for the May-October 2010 run of the Expo. My colleagues and I at the Consulate and State Department have been working in partnership with a private sector team since March 2008 to ensure a U.S. presence at the Expo, so this was a big moment for us.
We have moved quickly in recent months -- from our groundbreaking ceremony with Commerce Secretary Locke on July 17 to our topping off ceremony 89 days later, when Ambassador Huntsman helped add the last metal beam to our structure. The construction crew promises that the outer building will be complete next month, after which we will tackle the even more important job of creating the content that will showcase the best of America to visitors.
Despite the cold, rainy weather early Monday, the Secretary's visit to the pavilion site attracted a number of representatives from the pavilion's all-important corporate sponsors. Without their support, we would have missed the chance to show off our country to a huge audience next year, an expected 70 million visitors. As Secretary Clinton reminded the sponsors, the Expo's theme of "Better City, Better Life" allows us to highlight the best of America's business, culture, and values while touching on critical areas of U.S.-China cooperation such as working together toward a clean energy future. Thanks to these companies' support of our public-private partnership, I can say "See you at the fair."Related Entry: U.S. Consulate General Welcomes Shanghai Expo 2010
Patrick in Maryland writes:
Hi, People at the "2010 Shanghai Expo" and my Special Representative Hillary Clinton..:)
I'm looking forward to the Pavilion's opening and seeing what they have instore for the people of China. I liked your opening speech about if you build it, they will come. That was a pretty good way of making a point, about some things are worth building if they change the way people view the world around them.... :)
Nice too see it's raining in China,you must be Good Luck.:)
..Cya ..:)
Sara in Canada writes:
Interesting post!

subset: commoncrawl


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DENVER — The final night of AMSOIL Arenacross, featuring Ricky Carmichael's Road to Supercross was a true showdown of the season's top riders in the battle to claim the 2013 title.
With five-time Monster Energy Supercross Champion Ricky Carmichael watching on, Team Faith/FLY Racing KTM's Jeff Gibson outlasted his closest rivals in the Race to the Championship to claim his second overall win of the season by sweeping the Main Events. However, with a solid pair of finishes of his own in the Main Events, Babbitt's Monster Energy/AMSOIL Kawasaki presented by Maxxis rider Tyler Bowers relied on a third-place overall finish to claim his third consecutive Arenacross Class title and become the inaugural winner of the Race to the Championship.
A champion was also crowned in the Western Regional Arenacross Lites Class, with BWRengines.com Honda's Maxx Malatia capturing his first career title.
Saturday's opening Arenacross Class Main Event on the final night of the season provided a glimpse of what Gibson had in store. The KTM rider needed to overcome a five-point deficit in the championship standings to overcome Bowers, and did all he could to give himself the best chance at stealing the title. Gibson grabbed the holeshot and proceeded to never give it up, leading all 12 laps. Behind Gibson, Bowers positioned himself in a podium spot in third and moved past Team Faith/FLY Racing KTM's Kelly Smith, last night's winner, for second early in the race. Bowers followed in second, putting the pressure on Gibson in the final Main Event, while Babbitt's Monster Energy/AMSOIL Kawasaki's Zach Ames finished third.
Carmichael had the privilege of selecting the inversion for the final Main Event of the 2013 season and for the second night in a row selected the full 16-rider inversion. This added to the dramatic final showdown between Gibson and Bowers.
As the gate dropped on the second Main Event, Fun Mart Cycle KTM's Michael Willard positioned himself at the front of the field, while Gibson was inside the top five despite the last gate pick, just a few positions ahead of Ames. Bowers wasn't much farther behind, but needed to make up ground on his closest title contender in order to maintain his points lead.
Gibson made quick work of the riders in front of him and moved into second before the halfway point. Just a few laps later, he passed Willard for the lead. Ames followed him into second shortly thereafter. Bowers was successful in his climb through the field, but needed to make a last-lap pass on Willard in order to secure a spot on the podium.
In the end, Gibson's perfect night and overall victory gave him the best shot at surpassing Bowers, but he ultimately fell just three points short of the title.
Earlier in the evening, Bowers provided an additional cushion to his points lead by winning the Head-to-Head Bracket Racing. He was awarded an additional championship point for his triumphant effort. That point proved to be a difference maker in the overall classification for the evening, helping Bowers finish second overall, just one point ahead of his teammate Ames in third.
Bowers completed the 2013 season with a class-leading 10 overall wins, including 20 Main Event victories. He became just the third rider in AMSOIL Arenacross history to claim three consecutive championships, joining Dennis Hawthorne and Buddy Antunez.
The Western Regional Arenacross Lites Class Championship also came to an end on Saturday night, with Malatia holding a six-point lead coming into the evening. Out of the gate, Letko KTM's Tanner Moore grabbed the holeshot and never looked back, leading wire-to-wire in the 18-lap Main Event.
Malatia, who won on Friday night, asserted himself into second and stayed there throughout the remainder of the race, while a battle ensued for third between Moto Adventure Kawasaki's Travis Bannister and All-Terrain Motorsports Kawasaki's Cody Church.
Moore won by almost 10 seconds, while Malatia secured the title with a runner-up result. Bannister outlasted Church to finish on the podium again in front of his hometown crowd.
In the end, Malatia won the Western Regional Championship by 19 points, taking advantage of tough nights by his title contenders.


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Railroad's auditors question its viability
Over the past several years, I have written a number of letters questioning the ridership, viability and taxpayer support of the Adirondack Scenic Railroad and its parent, the Adirondack Railroad Preservation Society. My skepticism has been based not only on my personal observation that whenever the tourist train passes by, as it does intermittently between Memorial Day and Columbus Day, the cars usually appear to be empty or nearly so.
My questions have also been based on ARPS' own ridership statements and its tax returns, and on information obtained under the Freedom of Information Law from the New York State Department of Transportation regarding public expenditures on the corridor.
The tax returns and ridership numbers never seemed to jibe; nor has ARPS' contention that no taxpayer subsidies have been keeping the operation alive. Whenever I challenged ARPS' claims, letters would follow from tourist train advocates insisting that my facts were wrong and that I had no knowledge of the scale and depth of this going concern.
Now the true story emerges from ARPS' 2012 tax return and financial statement, prepared by the accounting firm of Testone, Marshall and Discenza, CPAs. Here we have an unbiased, professional assessment from an accounting firm hired by ARPS itself. The report includes the following revelation:
"There is a lack of controls and reconciliation procedures relating to ridership and ticket sales. During the audit we noted that there is no reconciliation of ticket sales to train passengers (with the exception of the Polar Express), train tickets are not pre-numbered, and there is no available method for calculating cost/revenue earned per passenger.
"Procedures relating to the recording of ticket sales and tracking ridership information is inadequate.
"Information relating to ticket sales and ridership may be incorrect."
Since adopting the numbered tickets, in 2012, ARPS' ticket revenue increased by nearly $147,000 with just 3,900 new riders, a seemingly improbable $38 per rider. A likely explanation is that prior-year ticket revenue was understated.
The overall losses continue to grow. The auditor's report revealed that "the Organization showed a decrease in net assets of $81,570 during the year ended December 31, 2012. Organization's current liabilities exceeded its current assets by $263,232. These factors create an uncertainty about the Organization's ability to continue as a going concern."
In addition, the report noted that ARPS had new borrowings from its board members of $6,500. The total borrowing from board members to maintain operations is now $95,000.
As for state funding, the financial report revealed that "During 2012, the Organization reported revenue of $150,143 from NYSDOT, which represents 6% of the Organization's revenue in 2012. In addition, the Organization reported revenue of $991,872 via NYSDOT from the federal Transportation Enhancement Program, representing 41% of revenue in 2012. During 2011, the Organization received $299,421 from NYSDOT, which represented 20% of the Organization's revenue. "
The deteriorating financial situation indicates that ARPS, over the past 20 years, has tried in vain to make the tourist train at either end of the corridor a financial success. If anything, ARPS' financial viability would likely be enhanced by eliminating the low ridership operations here at the northern end.
In short:
1. ARPS has not been a universally well-run operation.
2. Revenue from ticket sales is insufficient to maintain its track and equipment.
3. ARPS is thus dependent on government subsidies.
4. Even with those subsidies, its financial situation is such that its own accountants question ARPS' ability to continue operations.
This record stands in stark contrast to the projections for the proposed Adirondack Rail Trail on the 90-mile section of mostly unused rail corridor between Old Forge and Lake Placid. This premier Adirondack recreation trail will link together the communities of Lake Placid, Ray Brook, Saranac Lake, Lake Clear, Tupper Lake, Piercefield and points south. The experience of similar rail-to-trail conversions elsewhere shows that the Adirondack Rail Trail will be an enormously popular venue for outdoor lovers including bike riders and birders, joggers and strollers, commuters and high school, college and Olympic athletes in training. It will result in a much better and longer snowmobile season on the corridor, connecting with trails in the Tug Hill region and the St. Lawrence Valley. Unlike the tourist train, the Adirondack Rail Trail will be used year-round and used repeatedly by visitors and local residents alike. It will stimulate business, create jobs, help to revive struggling villages like Tupper Lake, and enhance the quality of life for all of us.
So what are we waiting for?
A resident of Lake Placid, Jim McCulley is president of the Lake Placid Snowmobile Club and a board member of Adirondack Recreational Trail Advocates.


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�Hi, Mrs. Berkerman?�
�It�s Beckerman.�
�Oh. I have Berkerman here. Must be a mistake.�
�Can I help you?�
�Yes, I�m thrilled to tell you that you�ve won a free upgrade on your final resting place.�
�Excuse me?�
�You purchased a plot in a section of our cemetery called Heaven�s Gate which is close to the road and we have upgraded you to a section of the cemetery called Rainbow�s End next to a babbling brook.�
�I don�t own a cemetery plot.�
�Well, maybe your husband bought it for you.�
�I can�t even get him to buy me flowers for my birthday. I don�t think he bought me a cemetery plot.�
�It says right here that the plot is in the name of Tracy Berkerman.�
�I�m not Tracy Berkerman. I�m Tracy Beckerman.�
�Must be a typo.�
�I don�t think so.�
�Well, Rainbow�s End is a lovely location for a final resting place. It�s much nicer to be next to the brook than the road.�
�If I�m dead, why would it matter to me if I�m next to the road or next to the babbling brook?�
�It�s nicer for the loved ones who visit you.�
�Who, the Berkermans?�
�Cuz I don�t think they would really care if they are visiting me next to a road or next to a brook if I�m not the person who is supposed to be buried there.�
�Who is supposed to be buried there?�
�Apparently someone named Tracy Berkerman.�
�Isn�t that you?�
�No. And I don�t own a plot in Heaven�s Gate next to a road in your cemetery or any other cemetery.�
�Well, you really should think about purchasing one. You don�t want to leave that decision to your grieving relatives. We actually have some lovely plots available at very reasonable prices.�
�How much?�
�Starting at $4500.�
�Wow! Good thing then that I already own one. You know, me� Tracy Berkerman.�
�I thought you said it wasn�t you.
�I�ll take that secret to the grave.�
�2012, Beckerman. All rights reserved.
To become a fan of Lost in Suburbia on Facebook,�CLICK HERE
To follow me on Twitter,�CLICK HERE


text: SOFIA Blog | 10. January 2011 NASA airborne observatory's past unearthed Fifteen years after its final flight, veterans of the Kuiper Airborne Observatory, or KAO, gathered at NASA's Ames Research Center Nov. 10, 2010 to witness the opening of a time capsule. The KAO is a highly modified Lockheed C-141A cargo transport aircraft fitted with a 36-inch telescope. The observatory was based at NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, California, for operations that began in 1974 and ended in 1995. read more


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Samsung Electronics on Tuesday released the world' first 2TB hard disk drive (HDD) featuring three 667GB platters. Despite of record aerial density, the new drive belongs to EcoGreen family of hard drives that are designed to be power efficient and not fast.
Samsung EcoGreen F4EG in 3.5" desktop form-factor has 5200rpm spindle speed, 32MB buffer, 1.5TB or 2TB capacities, Serial ATA-300 interface as well as supports NCQ technology. Samsung yet has to publish exact specifications of the F4EG, but according to its own claims the new HDD offers 19% better in standby time performance and has 23% lower power consumption in standby mode than the previous four-disk model, the F3EG.
Samsung's new hard drive utilizes its low noise operation technology SilentSeek and NoiseGuard to achieve quiet system operation.
At present 667GB are the largest 3.5" platters. Eventually they will enable hard disk drives that offer drives with capacities larger than 2GB.
The F4EG drive is available in 1.5TB and 2TB capacities in the United States and EU markets with a MSRP of $119.99. Initial shipment is scheduled for early September.


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The features on computer chips are getting so small that there are fears that soon the process used to make them will no longer work. One of the alternatives that academic researchers have been exploring is to create tiny circuits using molecules that automatically arrange themselves into useful patterns. In a paper that was published this week, researchers from Massachusetts Institute of Technology have taken an important step toward making that approach practical.
Currently, chips are built up, layer by layer, through a process called photolithography. A layer of silicon, metal, or some other material is deposited on a chip and coated with a light-sensitive material, called a photoresist. Light shining through a mask projects a detailed pattern onto the photoresist, which hardens where it is exposed. The unhardened photoresist is washed away, and chemicals etch away the bare material underneath. Features of the chips are now significantly smaller than the wavelength of the light used to make them. Manufacturers have developed various tricks to get light to produce patterns smaller than its own wavelength, but they will not work at smaller scales, according to MIT.
The obvious way to continue shrinking chip features would be to use beams of electrons to transfer mask patterns to layers of photoresist. But unlike light, which can shine through a mask and expose an entire chip at once, an electron beam has to move back and forth across the surface of a chip in parallel lines. The slow, precise scanning of electron-beam lithography makes it significantly more expensive than conventional optical lithography.
"It is like the difference between writing by hand and printing a page all at once," said Karl Berggren, the Emanuel E. Landsman associate professor of electrical engineering, who along with Caroline Ross, the Toyota professor of materials science and engineering, led the new work.
Copolymers Arrange Themselves into Useful Patterns
Berggren and Ross' approach is to use electron-beam lithography sparingly, to create patterns of tiny posts on a silicon chip. They then deposit specially designed polymers – molecules in which smaller, repeating molecular units are linked into long chains – on the chip. The polymers spontaneously hitch up to the posts and arrange themselves into useful patterns.
The trick is that the polymers are "copolymers," meaning they are made of two different types of polymer.
"You can think of it like a piece of spaghetti joined to a piece of tagliatelle. These two chains don't like to mix. So given the choice, all the spaghetti ends would go here, and all the tagliatelle ends would go there, but they can't, because they're joined together," said Ms. Ross.
In their attempts to segregate themselves, the different types of polymer chain arrange themselves into predictable patterns. By varying the length of the chains, the proportions of the two polymers, and the shape and location of the silicon hitching posts, Ross, Berggren, and their colleagues were able to produce a wide range of patterns useful in circuit design.
One of the two polymers that the MIT researchers used burns away when exposed to a plasma (an electrically charged gas), while the other, which contains silicon, turns to glass. The glass layer could serve the same purpose that a photoresist does in ordinary lithography, protecting the material beneath it while that around it is etched away.
Much More Research Still Required
Dan Herr, the director of nanomanufacturing science research at the Semiconductor Research Corporation, an industry and academic research consortium, said that four or five years ago, his organization polled engineers to determine the seven fundamental shapes that self-organizing molecules would have to be able to assume in order to be useful for circuit manufacture. Since then, researchers have gotten molecules to self-assemble into all seven shapes.
"To do so, they have changed the chemistry on the surface or etched down a trench in the surface and used that as a channel for the self-assembling process," explained Mr. Herr.
Since Berggren and Ross's technique requires no such channels to guide the self-assembling molecules, it reduces the need for electron-beam lithography, which noticeably improves efficiency with which chips can be manufactured.
Much more research is required, however, before self-assembling molecules can provide a viable means for manufacturing individual chips. Nearer term, Berggren and Ross see the technique's being used to produce stamps that could impart nanoscale magnetic patterns to the surfaces of hard disks, or even to produce the masks used in conventional lithography: today, state-of-the art masks for a single chip require electron-beam lithography and can cost millions of dollars. In the meantime, Ross and Berggren are working to find arrangements of their nanoscale posts that will produce functioning circuits in prototype chips, and they're trying to refine their technique to produce even smaller chip features.
Tags: Semiconductor


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Jake Gagne, CC '16, has been busy, musically speaking. When he isn't playing bass for the Columbia University Orchestra or drums for the band Rutabaga, he's making music as Won Ton Death. Last May, Gagne released his first EP "Violent Moan," and over winter break put out "Gay Schoolgirl EP" as well as two singles.
Spectator sat down with Gagne to talk about his musical diversity, identity, and the urgency he felt in making "Gay Schoolgirl."
David Salazar: Why do you make all these disparate types of music?
Jake Gagne: I had not thought of that before but I mean my background in music is playing classical bass—that's how I learned all my musical rudiments or whatever. But I guess the stuff I do solo is just what comes naturally to me. It's just whatever arises organically, and Rutabaga's just a side thing. That's not really a serious project.
DS: On "Violent Moan," you didn't sing much, but you sing on every track with "Gay Schoolgirl." Why is that?
JG: "Gay Schoolgirl" was kind of a reaction to and a culmination of a very weird and kind of fucked up part of my emotional life, and the project kind of came out of a sense of urgency where I just felt that I needed to communicate something with the lyrics, whereas on "Violent Moan" it's just kind of cool sounds. So "Gay Schoolgirl," I guess I just felt like I had to sing more because I needed to say stuff in the lyrics that I never had really felt the need to express before. That being said, I really hate singing. I wish there was someone else who could sing my songs for me.
DS: You said it came out of a weird time in your life—is that why one of the songs is called "In the Desert?"
JG: Just to elaborate on that, I guess it was a period where I felt very isolated—obviously the desert is a very heavy-handed image of that. But I think even beyond just that song, the whole album, the lyrics about alienation and the feeling of being an other, being irreconcilably different from everything that's going on around you and being unable to take part in that even as you want to.
DS: You talk about this otherness, and that's a big part of the album. Would you describe it as a queer album?
JG: You could say that. It's kind of like a concept album that's queer in a way. I was hanging out with my friend and his sister and we were using this random band name generator and one of the things it spat out was Gay Schoolgirl and we were like "Wow, that's kind of dumb," but it kind of stuck with me. And gradually it became a sort of character that I based the album around. Just like the gay schoolgirl as someone who is dealing with this new info about herself—that she is gay—and trying to figure out to what extent her gayness is a part of her and to what extent it's just something that's one of her characteristics.
I was thinking about it in terms of a divide between the kernel of your capital-s Self—the part that is undoubtedly you—and everything else that's just kind of contingent. And I think something that every queer person—or at least I wrestled with it, and I assume it's common to most queer people, is: are you someone who is capital-g Gay—like it's part of my identity—or am I just a man who falls in love with other men? And is it just something that isn't really that important to the qualities that make me ineffably me? So I guess it is pretty queer music, just in that it is addressing ideas of people and experiences that fall outside of the norm.
DS: When you released the latest two songs, "Vowels" and "Cute-Ass Floral Blouse", you said this would be the last thing you do for a while. Why is that?
JG: I put a lot of thought and emotion into "Gay Schoolgirl" and I thought I was going to be done after doing that, plus those two other songs, but I'm working on something else, and I don't know what it'll be but it might be a full-length album, hopefully.
DS: Are you planning on performing?
JG: It's something I thought about. The songs would be really hard for me to do alone. I'd have to get a band together, which I could do—that's what Tame Impala is, I guess. Kevin Parker writes all the tunes and he has a band that plays them, but I don't know. Maybe I'll do like weird, stripped down acoustic sets, but probably not. That's too much work.
DS: Where did Won Ton Death come from as a name?
JG: It's a pun on like, wanton death, like widespread death and destruction, which I think is kind of funny, and I like things that are melodramatic. And death by greasy Chinese food really appealed to me.


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The Poto Chapter is reigniting our Adopt-a-Trail Segment Program at the Poto for 2011.
What is the Program?
You adopt a section of the Poto correspondent to a color-coded map and agree to perform routine maintenance on that section for 2011.
A copy of the map (Adobe .pdf file) can be found at:
Poto Adopt-a-Trail-Segment Color Coded Map
We currently HAVE adopters for the Pink, Purple, Red, Brown and Green sections. WE NEED ADOPTERS FOR ALL OTHER COLORS ON THE MAP.
What are Adopter Responsibilities?
The following document (Word .doc file) details responsibilities of each adopter in depth:
2011 Poto Trail Adoption Guidelines
Send me a PM if you are interested in adopting a section (color) or have additional questions. Note: You will need to share your contact info (email/phone) with myself, the MDNR Unit Manager and the other section adopters if you become an adopter. This is simply so we can all communicate on maintenance and upkeep issues. If you do not wish to share this info, please don't adopt. Your contact info will not be shared with any others without your consent.
With all the rains we've had, the Poto is starting to get hairy and scary. If you are a Poto regular, I'd encourage you to consider adopting a section. Keeping up the Poto is a monumental task and requires a massive group effort. Be a part of the effort! This is an easy way for you to take charge and do your share on your own time and at your own pace!
Thanks for considering adoption!
Jason Aric Jones
MMBA Poto Trail Coordinator


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St Ann's Academy
Event Listing
Do you have a pre-sale code?Click here to enter it.
Sorry, there are currently no events that match this criteria.
Venue Information
St Ann's Academy
835 Humboldt St - Get Directions
Box Office Information
SOFMC Box Office
(250) 220.7777
1925 Blanshard St - Get Directions
Victoria, BC
Located at Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre, near Gate 1 of the building.
Box Office Hours
Monday - Friday: 9:30am - 5:30pm, Saturday 10:00am - 4:00pm,
Box Office hours are subject to change due to events and/or holidays.


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Saturday at the Detroit Jazz Festival .. hot and stormy
September 4, 2011. Posted by Becca Pulliam.Add new comment | Filed under: Dave Holland, Detroit Jazz Festival, Detroit Jazz Festival 2011, Jazz Alive, Sean Jones, Warren Wolf
Warren Wolf, the young vibes man from Baltimore with the strong new CD, played for keeps in overwhelming heat. Warren's on the fall schedule for Josh Jackson's Live from the 92Y series. Buy your ticket.
Sean Jones on the amphitheatre stage was "killin" says Josh, in fact JJ tweeted "best set of the festival so far." Listen for Sean, Labor Day at noon on Jazz 88 and WBGO dot org.
After Sean, a serious storm blew in. The Sun Ra Arkestra squeezed a brief acoustic set between the first storm and a second that came barreling in from the west. To save the night, the Festival moved some music to the hotel as a HIGH WIND JAM SESSION, and the Dave Holland Octet delivered a performance I won't forget!
The bar was crowded and noisy, yet Dave's acoustic bass reached out to everyone. He's so musical and projects without forcing, and as for Chris Potter, his tenor is like a ribbon and a knife at the same time. Gary Smulyan crooned on bari. With great writing and solos all around, people – on their feet – turned to face and love the band, all the way to the end.
Later Dave told me a good story. When he played with Miles, he experienced how a musician could quiet a noisy room. On the intro to the ballad "I Fall in Love Too Easily," for example, Miles would start alone, playing naturally, not raising his trumpet. The band would join in, and somewhere in the second or third chorus, Dave says, the people stopped talking and started listening, because - through his music – Miles had insisted.
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State computer issues plague DMV
MAYVILLE – Chautauqua County Clerk Larry Barmore is asking the public for their assistance as statewide computer issues continue to affect DMV computer transactions and inconvenience customers.
"Computer problems across the state DMV system have caused our customers great inconveniences with computers freezing up during transactions and downing the system for sometimes half an hour or more at a time," Barmore said. "Originally when I took office we had planned to launch our Renew Locally campaign to get more customers into our DMV offices. At this time, we're changing our focus and asking customers to mail or drop off their registration renewals at one of our local DMV offices so they can be processed throughout the day rather than waiting in line while the computers are down."
According to Barmore, county clerks across the state are experiencing the same computer issues and customers have complained even the online process is being affected.
"I've been on the telephone with DMV representatives in Albany as well as our State Senator Cathy Young and Assemblyman Andrew Goodell to try to get to the root of the problem and get it resolved," Barmore said. "Assemblyman Goodell has also been in contact with a number of people at the state level urging them to fix the problem so our customers can transact their business efficiently."
Barmore noted these problems couldn't come at a worse time as Chautauqua County stands to lose considerable revenue this year due to the three-year lull in driver's license renewals. In addition, many using the state online system have come to local DMV offices in a panic when their new registration hasn't arrived on-time. Local DMV staff then assists the customer with the problem while the state keeps all the revenue from the transaction.
"We need the public to use our local offices and we're trying to make it as easy as we possibly can, within the guidelines the state has set," Barmore said.
Customers are being asked to mail their registrations to one of the local DMV offices or simply hand them to one of the DMV representatives. The renewal will be processed within a day and mailed back to the customer.
This process allows Chautauqua County to keep a portion of the revenue as well as offering easier tracking and quicker processing than those who mail renewals back to the state or use the online system.
The addresses for the DMV offices are: Mayville DMV, 7 N. Erie St., May-ville, NY 14757; Jamestown DMV, 110 E. 4th St., James-town, NY 14701; Dunkirk DMV, 3988 Vineyard Drive, Dunkirk, NY 14048.


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Debates of Oct. 7th, 2002
House of Commons Hansard #6 of the 37th Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was farmers.
- Committee Business and Reinstatement of Government Bills
- World Habitat Day
- Paul Ying Po Mak
- Commonwealth Games
- NATO Jet Pilot Program
- Colin David Gibson
- Nobel Peace Prize
- Hay West Campaign
- Timor Leste
- Don Cherry
- Member for Ottawa South
- The Royal Visit
- The Environment
- Highway Infrastructure
- The Economy
- Breast Cancer Awareness Month
- Literacy
- Government of Canada
- Government Contracts
- Taxation
- Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
- Government Contracts
- Government Expenditures
- Middle East
- Health
- Airline Security
- Government Contracts
- National Defence
- Agriculture
- International Aid
- Citizenship and Immigration
- People with Disabilities
- Canadian Wheat Board
- Kyoto Protocol
- Correctional Services
- Presence in Gallery
- Points of Order
- Annual Report of the Chief of the Defence Staff
- Government Response to Petitions
- User Fees Act
- Criminal Code
- Carrie's Guardian Angel Law
- Criminal Code
- Referendum Act
- Business Development Bank of Canada Act
- Pension Benefits Standards Act, 1985
- Parliament of Canada Act
- Petitions
- Questions on the Order Paper
- Committee Business and Reinstatement of Government Bills
- Agriculture
Colin David Gibson
Statements By Members
2 p.m.
Stan Keyes Hamilton West, ON
Mr. Speaker, Canadians were saddened to learn of the passing on July 3, 2002, of a true Canadian renaissance man who, much like his father before him, held a deep sense of civic duty and an uncompromising work ethic.
Colin David Gibson was a decorated veteran of World War II who served in Normandy with honour and distinction as an officer of the Royal Hamilton Light Infantry. His dedication to his profession as a respected lawyer later led him to serve as the member of Parliament for Hamilton--Wentworth from 1968 to 1972.
Colin Gibson's devotion to his community and country was rivalled only by his deep love for his family and his unwavering support for his hometown Hamilton Tiger Cats.
I ask the House to join me in extending our deepest sympathies to his family, friends and indeed all Canadians who remember him with affection.
Nobel Peace Prize
Statements By Members
2 p.m.
Canadian Alliance
Ken Epp Elk Island, AB
Mr. Speaker, Craig Kielburger, at the young age of 12, became a defender of the rights of children around the world, especially those who are forced to work in factories in third world countries and are totally deprived of educational opportunities.
The Free the Children organization that Craig founded has grown to now include over 100,000 members. They have built over 300 schools, providing an opportunity for education to almost 20,000 children who otherwise would grow into adulthood with no education at all.
Craig has received a number of international awards and has forcefully given his message on programs like 60 Minutes and Oprah .
Now, at age 19, Craig has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. The fact that he has come this far shows that anyone, even very young people, can be effective in drawing the attention of the world to issues that are important to them. I wish to extend congratulations to Craig and tell him that we are pulling for him.
Hay West Campaign
Statements By Members
2 p.m.
Peter Adams Peterborough, ON
Mr. Speaker, I wish to commend those in my riding of Peterborough and elsewhere who donated hay for western farmers in need. Not only did they donate the hay, they trucked it to rail depots such as Havelock and, with donated equipment, worked long hours packing it onto trains. In Peterborough they went a step further by raising funds to further subsidize these efforts.
This is a fine example of rural people, notably farmers in eastern Canada, reaching out to help farmers in dire straits in western Canada. It is gestures and efforts like this that make Canada such a great country.
I wish to thank all those involved with the Hay West project, including rail companies and the federal government for cars, fumigation and other assistance.
Timor Leste
Statements By Members
October 7th, 2002 / 2:05 p.m.
Francine Lalonde Mercier, QC
Mr. Speaker, I would like to acknowledge the Democratic Republic of Timor Leste, formerly known as East Timor.
It became the 191th member of the United Nations Organization. In March 1975, Indonesia invaded Timor and began a brutal occupation that would last for close to 25 years and result in the death of over one quarter of a million Timorese.
In August 1999, Timorese displayed exceptional courage when 78% of the population voted in favour of independence, in a referendum held by the UN and in spite of acts of violence.
This poor country, whose infrastructure was devastated by war, needs help. Let us stand by it in the extraordinary reconstruction effort that is about to begin. Compliance with international law is what resulted in this outcome.
In these times of tense international relations, the fact that Timor has joined the UN is a reminder that the rights of individuals and people are fragile, but are fundamental and must be protected. The fight against terrorism must not make us forget that.
I pay tribute the people of Timor Leste!
Don Cherry
Statements By Members
2:05 p.m.
Marcel Proulx Hull—Aylmer, QC
Mr. Speaker, last week, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation announced that Ron MacLean and the CBC had reached an agreement for the next season of Hockey Night in Canada .
In the course of these negotiations, we learned that sports commentator Don Cherry was being paid $700,000 by the CBC. I was stunned when I heard that, not just because this is a very high salary, but primarily because of the controversial nature of the comments made by this commentator, who does not hesitate to criticize the presence of foreign players and who indulges in discriminatory comments against francophones.
Don Cherry was found guilty, by the Quebec press council, of making insulting comments about Jean-Luc Brassard, a freestyle skier and the flag bearer of the Canadian team at the 1998 Nagano Winter Olympic Games. Then, in March 2001, Don Cherry spewed his venom on the Francophonie Games that were going to be held in the Ottawa-Hull region, in the summer of 2001.
I welcome the renewal of Ron MacLean's contract and I hope that Mr. MacLean will help keep his partner Don Cherry more in line in his comments, because his behaviour has definitely not been deserving of the forum made available to him by the CBC.
Member for Ottawa South
Statements By Members
2:05 p.m.
Canadian Alliance
Jason Kenney Calgary Southeast, AB
Mr. Speaker, I rise to join millions of Canadians in expressing profound dismay at the rude and thoughtless remarks of the Deputy Prime Minister this weekend.
On the very day that our Queen arrived here to join Canadians in celebrating the Golden Jubilee of her reign, this minister, a member of the Queen's Privy Council, a man who had to take the oath of allegiance in order to assume his office, had the crass bad taste to dismiss the Canadian Crown which the Queen herself personifies.
It is understandable that in a pluralistic democracy there will be differences of opinion on matters such as the monarchy. But the Deputy Prime Minister is not a private citizen. He is a senior representative of Her Majesty's government, and he therefore has a high responsibility to lead Canadians in honouring our sovereign as we thank her for her 50 years of graceful and selfless service to Canadians and members of the Commonwealth throughout the world.
Given the Deputy Prime Minister's public insult, it would be totally inappropriate for him to act as the Queen's escort when she visits us here in Ottawa. Let us hope that he does the right thing and instead joins Canadians in celebrating the Queen's 50 years of proud service.
The Royal Visit
Statements By Members
2:05 p.m.
Raymond Simard Saint Boniface, MB
Mr. Speaker, Her Majesty the Queen and his Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh begin a new leg of their journey across Canada today. Indeed, on Tuesday, October 8, the royal couple will make their way to friendly Manitoba where they will spend a unique day. Upon their arrival in Winnipeg, they will be greeted by children of all ages at the Forks, a national historic site of Canada. There, a youth multicultural showcase will profile the rich diversity of Canadian society.
Following this event, Her Majesty, accompanied by the Premier of Manitoba, will depart by boat and disembark at Taché Quay in my great riding of Saint Boniface. In the evening, youth from across Manitoba and extraordinary athletes from across the province will attend a dinner inside the legislative building. This special dinner will be preceded by a spectacular outdoor celebration during which Her Majesty will unveil the newly restored Golden Boy, a cherished symbol of our province. The royal couple will also be entertained by the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra and Ms. Loreena McKennitt.
Their stay in our province promises to be truly memorable.
The Environment
Statements By Members
2:05 p.m.
Joe Comartin Windsor—St. Clair, ON
Mr. Speaker, it is with great distress that I read this weekend that an ecosystem almost five times the size of Prince Edward Island is on the brink of dying. Because of federal government cuts, scientists cannot even tell us why this is occurring to Lake Erie.
Funding cuts to Environment Canada made by the former finance minister have critically compromised research, monitoring and remedial action for the Great Lakes. As well, the Canada-Ontario agreement respecting the Great Lakes basin lapsed for two years. It was only signed about six months ago and nothing has been done to implement it.
Lake Erie is the shallowest of the Great Lakes and serves as the bellwether for all the others. As Lake Erie goes, so do all the Great Lakes. I urge the government to properly fund and implement the COA and revive this vital ecosystem. Or is it just going to stand on the sidelines and let it die?
Highway Infrastructure
Statements By Members
2:10 p.m.
Paul Crête Kamouraska—Rivière-Du-Loup—Témiscouata—Les Basques, QC
Mr. Speaker, unfortunately, highway 185 continues to take its toll in human lives. Only weeks after the Prime Minister of Canada's announcement that over $400 million would be invested in one section of a New Brunswick highway, with a statement that Témiscouata would have to wait, the 185 has taken three more lives.
This is an unacceptable situation and the federal government absolutely must announce major investment in highway 185 this very autumn. It is, after all, part of the Trans-Canada Highway.
The Government of Quebec has committed to meeting 50% of the costs of this project. It has, moreover, already undertaken to remedy the most dangerous situations. Over $20 million has been invested at Notre-Dame-du-Lac and a similar amount will be committed by the Government of Quebec for Dégelis and Saint-Antonin in the coming year, as part of a $225 million plan.
The entire project, however, requires in excess of $600 million, and we are still waiting on the federal government's share. This is unacceptable.
My message for the Prime Minister: Invest in the 185. It is urgent and to us it is a priority.
The Economy
Statements By Members
2:10 p.m.
Bonnie Brown Oakville, ON
Mr. Speaker, last week in West Virginia, the United States Business Council held its annual meeting. The American CEOs assembled there said that a war against Iraq could spell trouble for the fragile U.S. economy. The overall impact would be negative, they predicted, because energy prices would rise sharply and potential travellers would stay home.
The CEO of J.P. Morgan said that the prospect of war is another negative with respect to capital markets and equity markets. Another one said that war would have a depressive impact on the economy and would delay the start of business investment. Another said "I don't think another $100 billion tax on U.S. citizens is a good thing".
All this negative commentary on the effect of war on the U.S. economy should concern Canadian business persons because Americans are the biggest purchasers of Canadian products. Canadian investors too should be concerned about the effect of war on the equity markets and therefore on their own portfolios.
Breast Cancer Awareness Month
Statements By Members
2:10 p.m.
Progressive Conservative
Norman E. Doyle St. John's East, NL
Mr. Speaker, October is breast cancer awareness month. Yesterday, October 6, marked the 11th annual run for the Canadian fundraiser. An estimated 135,000 people in 34 Canadian cities raised more than $13 million for breast cancer research and treatment.
The unfortunate truth is that almost every one of us knows someone with breast cancer. The Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation estimates that 20,500 women will develop breast cancer in 2002 and expects about a quarter of these cases to be fatal. Those statistics represent our mothers, sisters, wives, daughters and friends.
May I also highlight today the activities of three women from Saint John, New Brunswick, Pearl Morrell, Kim Chenier and Sharon Randell, who are supporting the cause by collecting and selling autographed teacups from celebrities and public figures.
I wish to say congratulations to all those who took part in yesterday's Run for the Cure.
Statements By Members
2:10 p.m.
Andy Scott Fredericton, NB
Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to rise in the House today to congratulate the National Adult Literacy Database, NALD, for earning the International Reading Association prize conferred by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, UNESCO.
NALD is a national, New Brunswick-based, not-for-profit organization that provides non-profit literacy organizations in Canada with free website design and maintenance resources.
NALD's executive director, Fredericton's own Charles Ramsey, accepted the award last week at a best practices national workshop on literacy. NALD is the first Internet site to receive such an award from UNESCO.
I ask members to please join me in congratulating NALD for this prestigious recognition of its world-class production quality, content and service to the literacy community of Canada.
Government of Canada
Statements By Members
2:10 p.m.
Canadian Alliance
Jay Hill Prince George—Peace River, BC
Mr. Speaker, today the government invoked closure to enable it to reinstate its old bills. One would think that the Liberals would want Canadians to forget this Parliament's first session but here are the top ten reasons why they will not: number ten, voting down an Alliance motion to implement their Liberal red book promise of an independent ethics commissioner; number nine, Alfonso Gagliano; number eight, cross burnings; number seven, cabinet suggesting journalists should come up with a code of ethics for themselves when the cabinet was up to its eyeballs in scandals; number six, Groupaction; number five, Grand-Mère Golf Club and Inn; number four, over 12,000 pages of Hansard , in both official languages, proving this government had nothing to say; number three, 1,500 pages from the Auditor General, in both official languages, proving she had a lot to say; number two, dragging a priest into a government cover-up over a holiday stay at a rich guy's place; and, the number one reason why Liberals should be ashamed of the first session--it firmly established their government as the most ethically deficient government in Canadian history and that is saying something.
Government Contracts
Oral Question Period
2:15 p.m.
Calgary Southwest
Canadian Alliance
Stephen Harper Leader of the Opposition
Mr. Speaker, the Solicitor General has done the following: given out a sole source contract contrary to the rules; failed even to respect the sole source rules in extending the contract; given the contract to the firm of his own official agent; given the work to a former bureaucrat not named in the contract; admitted in the House that the work extended beyond the terms of the contract; and established links between the principals of this contract and his own lobbying for a grant application for his brother's college. I should add that he failed to give straight answers to any of these things either inside or outside the House.
Why is the minister still in the cabinet?
Government Contracts
Oral Question Period
2:15 p.m.
Lawrence MacAulay Solicitor General of Canada
Mr. Speaker, I released a statement last week to clarify the facts of the contract and I stand by that statement. The contract was awarded according to Treasury Board guidelines. We have done important work with this contract.


text:
Flour Tortillas
- 9 ounces all-purpose flour, plus 1/4 cup for kneading and rolling
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/3 cup lard
- 1/2 cup cool water
DirectionsWatch how to make this recipe.
Combine 9 ounces flour and salt in the bowl of a food processor and pulse 2 to 3 times.
Add the lard to the flour mixture in 4 to 5 chunks and pulse 10 to 15 times until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. With the processor running, add the water in a steady stream just until a ball of dough begins to form, approximately 30 seconds.
Sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup of flour on a clean surface. Remove the dough from the bowl of the processor and knead until well incorporated and less sticky. Wrap the dough ball in plastic wrap and let it rest at room temperature for 1 hour.
Evenly divide the dough into 8 pieces and form them into round balls. Roll each ball into 7-inch rounds with a rolling pin on a lightly floured surface. Keep all of the dough balls covered with a tea towel.
Heat an electric nonstick griddle to 375 degrees F.
Put the tortillas, 2 to 3 at a time, onto the griddle and cook until light golden, about 4 minutes per side. Can be held for up to 2 hours, at room temperature, wrapped in a barely damp tea towel. Repeat with the remaining tortillas. Microwave for 1 minute in the damp tea towel to reheat.
Recipe courtesy of Alton Brown, 2010
CATEGORIES:View All
Cooking Tips
More Recipes and Ideas
Flour Tortillas
Recipe courtesy of Melissa d'Arabian
Homemade Flour Tortillas
Recipe courtesy of Guy Fieri
White Flour Tortillas
Recipe courtesy of Robert Irvine


text:
Skip to comments.Royal snub for the Obamas: No wedding invite from Prince William and Kate Middleton
Posted on 12/17/2010 2:43:30 PM PST by kingattax
Oh, the humiliation. Once not so long ago one of the world's top celebrities in his own right, Barack Obama and his wife Michelle did not make the cut for invitations to the royal wedding in London next spring.
On April 29 in Westminster Abbey with all the grace and pageantry sure to capture international imaginations, commoner Kate Middleton will marry Prince William, son of Princess Diana. And don't forget the horsedrawn carriage perhaps.
But the current residents of the White House will not be there, according to the Daily Mail.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimesblogs.latimes.com ...
It preempts the president's attempt to snub them.
So Lard Ass and Dumbo missed the A, B, C, D, and E lists. Rather Jolly Good!!!
This is payback for Barry returning Churchill's bust to the UK. Good for the British.
So why should England invite the Classless Couple to a classy event?
Obama has treated our ally dismally. I don't think he cares about their favor even now, but I do think he and his wife will bristle at the snickering the world will do over this.
I've no interest in the wedding but have to congratulate them. Obaa will find it difficult to trump this snub.
That is exactly right.
Hopefully, Churchill's bust will be invited.
Thank you Prince William for saving the taxpayers of the colonies untold millions of dollars. If obumbo and moochelle were invited we would have seen another rip off of the commoners in America.
They shouldn't invite that ego-maniac, he would find a way to steal the spotlight.
I'm sure all the SS would make a mess of the day, too.
I have a new-found respect for the future king.
I guess the Bride-to-Be was worried that Bitchelle would out shine her - I mean being the fashionista that she is....s/
I am sure the Won will send some DVDs and iPod as wedding gifts.
Ha! Wouldn't it be funny if the Churchill bust was sitting in the pew and at the table at the reception where the 0bama's would have sat?
Ipod + dvd's + return of Churchill + touching the queen = REJECT!
...so I guess no iPod with Obambi's speeches for THEM.
Prince Charles His father, with all his flaws is a Bible believing man. Why invite one of the sons of Perdition?
I wouldn't be surprised if Zero and Moochelle were not invited to the next coronation either whether he is still the president then or not. Returning that bust was an unforgivable faux Pas
"I am sure the Won will send some DVDs and iPod as wedding gifts."
Actually, this is probably why they didn't invite him. They didn't want to be in the embarrassing position of writing a thank-you note profusely praising the president for whatever trashy gift he elected to give him. Nor did they want to be put on the spot by the media about how they truly felt about it. Best to avoid these dilemmas altogether. This is a classic case of an ounce of prevention sparing them many pounds of discomfort.
Correct me if I am wrong, but I spoke of this today with my parents and when Charles and Diana got married back in the 80's I seem to remember that the President and Mrs. Reagan did attend that wedding.
Does anyone remember if President Reagan and Mrs. Reagan were invited to Charles and Diana's wedding? I don't seem to remember that they were.
So Obummer and the Wookie weren't invited, who cares!
I think Nancy attended. The president was healing from an assassination attempt.
Payback for returning Winston Churchill's bust and giving the Queen an incompatibly formatted DVD of Obama's speeches.
Maybe the Royal family will provide Obama with Zone 2 videos of the wedding and return the Medal of Honor that General Pershing presented to the British Unknown Warrior in 1921.
They probably worried about what tasteless, classless, gaudy outfit MO would show up in.
Send Odumbo some slightly eaten cake.
Maybe they could send Barry an Ipod with the ceremony recorded on it.
It was simply an oversight. The invitations were sent to all world LEADERS. It's easy to see why Zero was overlooked.
As I recall; only Nancy went to the wedding. She represented the President.
Just returning a "favor." / s
Now for good measure, they should invite Sarah Palin +1
This is going to be a security nightmare as it is. My guess is the Brits just don't want any more complications with security.
Of course, the royal couple may be getting married in a 'Wookie-Free-Zone'.
Wonder if Mrs. Reagan is invited to this one?
The classless O's will be very embarrassed with this news.
Maybe they can CRASH the party, they know how.
So, no, I don't think that the royal family will be insulting the honored dead, General Pershing, the American Medal of Honor, or the American people by returning the Medal of Honor, as you suggest, just to stick it in Obama's eye.
And if they were to do that, it's not like Obama would care anyway. Which I'm sure they know.
I wouldn't invite Obammy to my wedding either. Kind of like letting a stink bomb loose in the room.
Hopefully Prince William invites Todd & Sarah Palin to the wedding.
A huge plus for them. He should be the next King of England, young and yet smart beyond his years.
The following is from www.reaganlibrary.com:
"The wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer on July 29, 1981, was one of the most celebrated spectacles of the decade. Due to the recent attempt on his life, President Reagan could not attend, but he encouraged Mrs. Reagan to serve as the United States representative at the event. Mrs. Reagan spent one week in London, which is the longest she had been away from her husband in twenty-nine years. She attended eighteen events on behalf of the nation, including a ball at Buckingham Palace, a dinner at the American Embassy, tea with the Queen Mother, and lunch with Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. She also placed flowers at the Memorial to Britains Unknown Soldier and visited a veterans hospital. "
So, we can reasonably assume that the Clampetts currently occupying the White Hut were intentionally not invited.
They should invite all the Bush family.
What would Odumbo give them for a wedding present? Another iPod or a collection of DVDs?
Hey! The characters in The Beverly Hillbillies were good hearted folk!
Any truth to the rumor that the Queen is too frail to survive another back slap from Michelle?
You are soooo bad, you're good!
Royal snub for the Obamas: No wedding invite from Prince William and Kate Middleton
Obama who?
I'm generally neutral about the British royalty.
But I stand and cheer this move!!!
Thanks for the info!
It might be safe to assume that the Queen was not amused with the iPod Obummer gave her, preloaded with his speeches.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.


text:
Creating SL Animations using the Kinect
What you Need
A standalone Kinect, with power supply (this comes as standard when purchased as a standalone), if you buy it as part of an Xbox bundle you will need to buy an additional cable sold separately to connect it to the PC. I bought my Kinect from a local gaming store for Euro139.
|Kinect, showing its USB connector and power adaptor
Brekel Kinect 3D Scanner
SensorKinect Drivers
NITE User Tracking Module
For my procedure I used a laptop running 32 bit Windows XP , although Brekel Kinect is confirmed to work also with win7 x86 & x64 as well as XP x64 & x86, but no Mac/Linux version of Brekel Kinect planned.
1. Once you have unpacked your Kinect you need to place it on a table or a tripod (which is what I did), at around 0.6m - 1.8m from the ground. You can plug it into a power socket at this stage, but do not connect the USB connector to your PC/laptop just yet.
|Kinect mounted on an inexpensive camera tripod
Brekel Kinect 3D Scanner v0.36
OpenNI Alpha Build for Windows v18.104.22.168
PrimeSensor v5.0.0 (Modules for OpenNI)
Click the Downloads button and choose the zip file. After downloading extract the avin2-SensorKinect folder, and within this go to the bin subfolder, and run SensorKinect-Win32-5.0.0.exe
|PrimeSensor v5.0.0 with correct options selected
Use this key during installation: 0KOIk2JeIBYClPWVnMoRKn5cdY4=
(This is NOT a pirate key)
|NITE Installation Wizard
|Copy and paste the License Key from above
Now download and install Bvhacker
3. Once the software is installed you can connect the Kinect USB lead. The Found New Hardware dialog should appear.
|No need to connect to Windows Update
The hardware that will be detected are the Kinect Motor, Xbox NUI Audio and Kinect Camera. The drivers for the Xbox NUI Audio will not be found and will fail, but ignore this, they are not needed.
|Device Manager showing the new device, PrimeSensor
4.You can now launch Brekel Kinect.
|Brekel Kinect GUI
The only setting you now have to change is to enable NITE User Tracking at the centre bottom of the window.
|The only setting to change, make sure NITE User Tracking is enabled
|Psi Pose
For full details on the capture procedure, and what can go wrong, go to the main menu, Help, How To - Capture motion to a BVH file. Additional resources may also be found on the main Brekel website.
Brekel can save BVH in two main formats, HumanIK (used by MotionBuilder and others) and Biped (used by 3DSMax). Neither of these can be imported directly into Second Life, as the naming convention for Root, joints and bones are slightly different, this is where Bvhacker comes in.
To prepare the BVH file for Second Life, start Bvhacker then File, Open, and load the BVH file. Once loaded you can play it to see what it looks like using the Start button at the bottom of the window. If all is well go back to the menu, Hack, and choose Attempt SL joint naming. This should go without a hitch, and you can now save it out ready for importing into Second life.
Have fun,
33 comments:
- Stroker69 said...
Great tutorial Rock. Thanks for the effort! I'll set it up this weekend.
- 24 February 2011 at 23:24
- Anonymous said...
The Brekel 3D scanner is not accessible. secured login only?
- 25 February 2011 at 01:09
- Rock said...
Sorry, link now fixed
- 25 February 2011 at 01:41
- Connie in a Sec said...
Hey Rock. This is great. Thanks
- 25 February 2011 at 07:54
- Anonymous said...
ten out of ten for "great tutorial" :)
- 26 February 2011 at 22:08
- Anonymous said...
Thanks for the guide, the results are not so good tho? its not your fault! but wow its no where near smooth, maybe something i am doing wrong?
- 28 February 2011 at 23:59
- Gaga Gracious said...
Hi Rock
Good article and you have come up with great tutorial for Kinect!
I wrote some stuff about it on my blog recently and found some interesting videos.
It's nice to see you back blogging and it too. It would be nice to meet up in some place again. And what you doing with Anubia?
All the best
- 1 March 2011 at 11:55
- Rock said...
You can play with the smoothness settings in Brekel Kinect, and smooth some more if needed in bvhacker.
It is early days yet, but I am sure we will get a pretty good Mocap system out of the Kinect, with a quality suitable for most SL animations.
- 1 March 2011 at 15:59
- Rock said...
Hi Gaga,
I will check out your blog entries. I would love to meet up again, and maybe do some guest articles on each other's blog. I was away from blogging for a few months while I got a book finished. I should be back regularly now.
- 1 March 2011 at 16:02
- Gaga Gracious said...
Thanks for you comments on my blog 2011 predictions for the metaverse, Rock.
I would love to work with you again on some articles. In fact I have a lot of stuff on Avination to write about which could probably stretch to two articles so a good review with pics might go well for C&M. I have other stuff about commercial Opensim grids that will be a bit more controversial so I will save that for my own blog, lol
Hmm, let me see. I am also following the Aurora sim development which has a great list of improvements they will make to Opensim. I want to write about that too and share.
Thinking back to that little tour you gave me of your SL sky build I remember it well. I love Middle Eastern architecture so I hope you will re-build Anubia and not leave that grid sitting all empty and unloved.
Opensim grids are growing in numbers and traffic now with a growth of 100,00 registered users since last summer. People are dumping SL homes and living on the free metaverse at a fraction of the cost while still selling content back in SL. Anubia could be a thriving little community again if it were hypergrip connected.
Anyway, Lets meet up soon *smiles*
- 2 March 2011 at 19:45
- Sarah Kline said...
I discovered assuming a T pose before recording starts helped the shoulder rotation problems I had when bringing in to bvhacker.
- 9 March 2011 at 16:30
- Rock said...
Thanks for that Sarah. I will try it myself.
There also appears to be a couple of joints misnamed, but I need to confirm that, and the fix.
- 9 March 2011 at 19:52
- Willow Plays said...
I'm getting ridiculous shoulder arm issues. Even going T-Pose doesn't help. Seems like the axis the arms are on is WAY off. Any fix?
- 10 March 2011 at 15:02
- Rock said...
I have not had time to look at the arms issue yet, been working on the two Kinect process. If you look at this thread, Post #18, it may solve your problem, but do let us know if it works for you or not.
- 10 March 2011 at 15:37
- Sarah Kline said...
Well I renamed the shoulder joints to lCollar & rCollar before 'attempt renaming', then did my retargeting. I cropped how I wanted then pressed !Zero and Control M to complete the processing. And the arms are fine. What's needed now is an easy way to clean up jitter and foot drift.^^
- 10 March 2011 at 23:42
- Rock said...
You may be able to cure jitter by playing with the Smoothness setting in Brekel. Try 0, 20, 40, 60, 80, 100 and see what effects that has. I will contact Dave over at bvhacker to see if any cures for jitter lurk there.
- 11 March 2011 at 02:04
- Rock said...
Just to clarify, are you seeing the jitter when you open the BVH in bvhacker and press the play button, or are you seeing it only when you apply the anim after uploading into SL?
- 11 March 2011 at 02:06
- Sarah Kline said...
Hi I've been using 80.. any more and movement slows to halt at 100. The slight jitter is in bvhacker. Even pro mocap needs cleaning up so results are pretty good considering!
- 11 March 2011 at 07:47
- Sarah Kline said...
What I am noticing though is there there seems no data coming in to bvhacker for the foot. So the character tends to float around on its shins. Anyone else have this?
- 11 March 2011 at 10:29
- Deepgreenseas said...
Hi, just recently bought a Kinect and tried following the directions above, but have run into some trouble. I'm using Brekel Kinect v0.38 to create a bvh file using the Second Life bvh capture mode (new to this version of Brekel Kinect?). I then brought the bvh into bvhacker 184.108.40.206. I renamed the joints under the Hack menu, and that checked out. The animation played correctly, but when I imported it into SL, it turned into scrambled eggs. I went back to bvhacker and tried a number of things: I noticed that the abdomen joint was missing, so added that successfully, and ran the retarget to SL under Hack. I also added a T pose frame at the start. Ran again in bvhacker, and all looked just fine. But again, when I brought into SL, my avatar kind of floated oddly in the air, with arms straight out to the sides doing weird leg and abdomen contortions having nothing to do with what I saw in bvhacker. So, I'm at a total loss what I'm doing wrong. Any ideas?
- 25 March 2011 at 21:19
- Rock said...
Hi DeepGreenSeas,
It certainly looks like a bvhacker setting isn't quite right, especially as it plays ok inside bvhacker. I would post your query on his forum as he is pretty good at solving problems like this. It is at GoogleGroups forum, here: https://groups.google.com/group/bvhacker?hl=en
- 25 March 2011 at 21:54
- mrbones said...
I read on the Bvhacker Goggle Group that you have uncheck the translation box or something.
Good luck and Cheers
- 31 March 2011 at 19:17
- Drea said...
I was wondering if someone could help :) I installed everything how the post said, my kinect is plugged in, and detected, drivers are fine. But when i load up Brekel Kinect, the screens stay black. When i ran the OpenNI sample, it saw me fine. Has anyone had this issue, or know whats going on? Thank you :)
- 5 April 2011 at 19:52
- Rock said...
Hi Andrea,
I would post your query in the Brekel forum. Jasper is pretty good at sorting out problems like this.
- 5 April 2011 at 23:28
- Samm said...
So is the kinect solid in making animations or not so much yet? I'd love to be able to make anims with the useless toy. Lol.
- 8 April 2011 at 01:49
- Rock said...
Hi Samm,
The current progress of myself and others is mostly discussed in SLuniverse, link to the forum thread here:
Short answer is that we are making good progress, but I cannot assess yet how good we can get the anims after getting the best out of the hardware and software.
Once we get the best out of what is currently available we will then assess if that suits our quality needs, and if not we will start looking at how that can be achieved, for example by synching two Kinects together, better software drivers, etc.
- 8 April 2011 at 11:44
- Samm said...
Alright well after a while I decided to play around with the Kinect anyway so I followed the instructions. One thing however is that when I plug the Kinect USB in and I try to install the drivers, neither the motor or camera drivers install.
All I have is PrimeSensor > Xbox NUI Motor
- 9 April 2011 at 01:05
- Samm said...
And if it makes any difference I have windows XP x86.
- 9 April 2011 at 09:31
- Samm said...
And here is a picture of the error.
- 9 April 2011 at 10:24
- Rock said...
Hi Samm,
I am no expert on the OpenNI drivers, they just workd fine on kmy machine.
I would recommend asking the OpenNI support forum to help here. Here is the link:
They should be able to sort it out for you.
- 9 April 2011 at 17:24
- Anonymous said...
Thanx for the tutorial.
I asked on the xbox forum about the cable adaptor for my kinect (I bought it with xbox, so don't have usb conector) and told me to be carefull about loosing original drives and breaking kinect for xbox. No risk on that, right? ^^'
- 10 May 2011 at 19:21
- Anonymous said...
OpenNI Alpha Build for Windows v18.104.22.168 link is not active ^^'
- 10 May 2011 at 19:31
- Anonymous said...
Thanks for the useful information on Kinect Singapore!
- 12 January 2016 at 05:05


text:
First is the Geo2. This was my primary marker and shot fantastically. It has no blemishes or wear. This gun in amazing but I need money for new gear so it has to go.
Marker: Vicious GEO2 SOLD SOLD SOLD
Condition: 10/10
Color: Orange/ White
Upgrades: Shaft Barrel Kit
Known Problems: Nothing
Asking Price: SOLD
Shipping Options: USPS
Trades of interest: Cash Only
Location of item: Michigan
What is Included: Gun, Barrel Kit, Manual, Case, Tool Kit, Spare Parts Kit
The Etek was used mostly as a back up, it shoots great but has a few small nicks and a hardly noticeable scratch on the barrel (pictured). It served me well, super reliable.
Marker: Etek3 AM
Condition: Cosmetic 8.5/10 Mechanically 10/10
Color: White/ Black
Upgrades: Emortal Board
Known Problems: none
Asking Price: 425 OBO PRICE DROP Shipping Options: USPS
Trades of interest: Cash Only
Location of item: Michigan
What is Included: Gun, Barrel, Manual, Case, Oil, Tool Kit (some allen keys were lost by previous owner)
Both guns have always been cleaned and maintained, both work great and have no problems. Anyone who purchases either of these guns will be very happy with the markers performance. Prices are OBO so please make offers and help me out
Edited by Chase313, 30 March 2013 - 06:15 PM.


text:
Man arrested in Iron River on assault, drug charges
IM girls soccer fall in overtime
THREE LAKES, Wis. – Iron Mountian tied Three Lakes in the second half but came up short in overtime and fell 2-1 here Tuesday girls soccer.
Three Lakes' Cassie Hoger made a run up the left side of the field less than five minutes into overtime and sent a cross to the far post for Kacey Running who headed the ball into the lower corner for game winner.
"The final goal by Three Lakes was just good soccer," Mountaineers coach Jim Laydon said. "It was an exciting game, and Three Lakes has a good team. We have settled in on who we are, and I think we were very evenly matched tonight."
The Mountaineers evened the score 1-1 at 70:09 of the second half. Kristen Gendron intercepted a pass at midfield and dribbled through three different Three Lakes players to take the ball all the way to the end line. She dropped the ball to a trailing Carlye Hicks, who punched the ball into the lower left of the goal.
Three Lakes got on the board early, with Running scoring at 12:07 of the first half. Iron Mountain grounded a goal kick to an uncovered Bluejay's Kacey Running at the top of the 18. She immediately returned the ball with a lofted chip over Iron Mountain's Hannah Hakamaki to start the scoring.
"We have been struggling with possessing goal kicks on both sides of the field all year, and it cost us tonight," Laydon said.
The Mountaineers threatend to tie the game at the 60 minute mark when Hicks had a break-away. With only the keeper to beat, Hicks pushed her shot wide right.
Mountaineers keeper Hakamaki was forced out of the game briefly at the 22 minute mark for a yellow card. Hakamaki came out to clear a ball at the top of the 18 and collided with Hoger, bringing out a yellow for illegal contact. By rule, the keeper has to leave the field until the next legal substitution.
Kristen Gendron successfully defended the ensuing penalty kick and the Mountaineers seem re-energized from the incident.
"The referee did a good job with the penalty call," Laydon said. "It was the correct call, and he explained the incident to the players and coaches. It was accidental but there was still contact and it had to be called.
"Hannah has been great all year and she did what she had to do as a keeper. Thankfully Kristen was able to stop the kick."
Hakamaki finished with 10 saves.
The Mountainers meet Kingsford this afternoon at Commemorative Field.


text:
The Adelidae or fairy longhorn moths are a family of monotrysian moths in the lepidopteran infraorder Heteroneura. Most species have at least partially metallic patterns coloration and are diurnal, sometimes swarming around the tips of branches with an undulating flight. Others are crepuscular and have a drab coloration. Fairy longhorn moths have a wingspan of 4-28 millimeters, and males often have especially long antennae, 1-3 times as long as the forewing.
They are widespread across the world and can be found over much of North America and Eurasia from April to June. About 50 species occur in Europe, of which most widely noted is the Green Longhorn (Adela reaumurella) which can sometimes reach great abundance; due to climate change[1] its peak flying season is shifting towards spring. In general, they are more plentiful in the Northern Hemisphere, but the family occurs in the Neotropics, sub-Saharan Africa, South-East Asia and Australia too.[2]
Adelidae are usually closely restricted to particular hostplants [1], in which the females insert their eggs or just lay among leaf litter, and the caterpillars make a case, completing their development on the ground. Fairy longhorn moths feed in sunshine on nectar from the flowers of herbaceous (woody) plants.
Fairy longhorn moths belong to the superfamily Incurvarioidea, one of the basal ("monotrysian") branches of the advanced moth infraorder Heteroneura. By Lepidopteran standards, they are thus still rather primitive micromoths. But like other Heteroneura, they already possess the apomorphic sucking proboscis – usually considered a defining feature of Lepidoptera, but actually the most ancestral moths still live on solid food which they chew.[3]
The Adelidae are usually divided into 2 subfamilies, but most genera are actually of uncertain or basal relationships. Selected species are also listed:[4]
Subfamily Adelinae
Subfamily Nematopogoninae
The genus Tridentaforma is sometimes placed among the Adelidae incertae sedis too; others assign it to the closely related Prodoxidae.[3]
- Davis, D.R. (1999): The Monotrysian Heteroneura. In: Kristensen, N.P. (ed.): Handbuch der Zoologie/Handbook of Zoology (Volume IV – Arthropoda: Insecta. Part 35: Lepidoptera, Moths and Butterflies 1): 65-90. Walter de Gruyter, Berlin & New York. ISBN 3-11-015704-7
- Edwards, E.D. (2007): Australian Faunal Directory – Adelidae. Version of 2007-JUN-28. Retrieved 2010-MAY-09.
- Fauna Europaea (FE) (2009): Adelidae. Version 2.1, 2009-DEC-22. Retrieved 2010-MAY-03.
- Kuchlein, J.H. & Ellis, W.N. (2004): Climate-induced changes in the microlepidoptera fauna of the Netherlands and the implications for nature conservation. Journal of Insect Conservation 1(2): 73-80. doi:10.1023/A:1018483026265 PDF fulltext
- Savela, Markku (2003): Markku Savela's Lepidoptera and some other life forms – Adelidae. Version of 2003-DEC-27. Retrieved 2010-MAY-03.