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Maybe it's been the heat, maybe it's been the lack of routine, I really don't know. But for some reason, for the first time ever, I had not been as eager as I typically am about the arrival of this upcoming school year.
Why would I feel that way when I love school time with the kids? I'm pretty sure it's just because starting school means that I need to be a bit more disciplined and organized. I've enjoyed our "take it day by day" schedule this summer. What can I say?
However, with school starting for our family in just two weeks, I finally made the time to sit down will all of our books and began to get myself organized. Once I sat down, I believe it took about 3.2 seconds for me to get excited. Books! History! Fiction! Non-fiction! Goals! Fun!
I am once again feeling like I can get into the home schooling groove. Not only that, I am super excited about what the kids and I will be learning this year. (Yes, the kids and I…because I usually learn as much as they do. It's a huge perk to home schooling. I, the mom, get soooo much smarter. Although please never, ever ask me to be a participant on Jeopardy.) :)
As I made out our schedule, I was pleased to see that it actually seems to work on paper. We never carry out our schedule perfectly, but sometimes I can't even get it to work on paper, much less in real life. This year, I believe I figured out what might work. (And if I'm wrong, we'll just tweak it as needed.)
I am so grateful for the opportunity to learn along with our kids, the chance to read loads of excellent books with them, and the privilege of being with them for so much of the day. 2012-2013 school year – here we come! (But not for two more weeks. For now, I'm going to stick to a non-schedule, thank you very much.) ;)
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Artists: Luke Wessman
Luke Wessman
Wooster Street Social Club
43 Wooster Street
New York, NY 10013
646- 545-3300
What year did you start tattooing?
I started kind of un-professionally tattooing in '98 and then a little more professionally, as in actually in a shop, around 2000.
How did you get into tattooing?
I got into tattooing basically because of the area I grew up in. Every neighborhood was a different gang neighborhood and all the gangsters had tattoos. I was the little skinny white kid growing up in between all of that. As a young little guy who was just trying to build the toughest look you can so people didn't mess with you, I started getting tattooed at 15 from my older brother's friend. He was doing it out of his house and then eventually got a job at a shop in the neighborhood. I started going there to get tattooed and ended up becoming friends with different tattooers and eventually one of the other guys ended up asking me if I wanted to tattoo. at that time I had been a pretty serious collector and even as a young kid, by 18, I had almost full sleeves and pieces all over my body. But I had never thought about tattooing. at that time you didn't see it on TV and the internet wasn't really popping. It almost just kind of found me in the neighborhood I grew up in. One of the guys just asked me if I wanted to learn and I thought about it for a week and then decided to go for it.
Were you always interested in art?
Yeah. yeah. my parents were and still are kind of hippies and really creative people. My dad is a musician and an artist so as a young kid I grew up just around a lot of creativity and art.
Do you have any particular artists that influenced you?
There are so many. I'm always influenced by—just to name a few—Tim Hendricks and Chris Garver, but there are just so many. I am influenced by so many great friends and great tattooers around me.
Do you work in any other mediums?
When I first started tattooing I kind of learned how to paint with watercolor almost at the same time. During my half-assed apprenticeship that I had, this guy that owned the shop, Dave Gibson, was a painter. Originally a signed (what's signed?) painter, I think, before he tattooed. So he had a lot of painting skills and part of my apprenticeship was just learning how to watercolor and paint flash seemed to go hand in hand. And I've never stopped doing that. I've always done liquid acrylic, watercolor, and just mixed mediums throughout the years. I work about five days a week right now at the shop and I work about seven days a week (huh?) when I am not working at home on artwork and projects and painting. I try not to ever stop really.
What inspires you as an artist?
I'm inspired right now just to not be broke. As you get older, you know, passion is great, and it's something I love that we have, but have to start thinking about how you're going to make a living and support your family as you get older. I am inspired by the idea of being broke and how I don't want to be, so I work extra hard.
Do you have any imagery or themes that you like to work or incorporate into your work or tattoos?
You know. It's funny, being involved in tattooing you kind of get overwhelmed with the real classic imagery. When you start tattooing you see everything. You see skulls, roses, daggers, snakes on everything. And then you might have to do weird stuff that is a little bit off, like maybe isn't super normal as far as imagery. I do my best to think a little bit outside of the classic imagery but do it in that classic style that I love.
Do you have any tattoos that you are looking forward to doing or one's that you haven't done yet that you would love to do?
No, I mean after over a decade of tattooing stuff and drawing stuff, I really look to the client to give me that new inspiration. And I have some people who come in with some weird ideas that are kind of fun and cool. I don't have anything sitting just waiting to be done.
You mentioned weird tattoos. What are some of the strangest tattoo requests you have ever received?
I've had a few here and there. I recently just did a really weird, creepy Pikachu Pokemon right on some guy's lowest point on his pelvis. There's just always random weird stuff.
Before someone gets a tattoo what advice do you give them?
It seems these days I just tell them to research the artist. Get a feel of the artist and their style. I just tell people not to rush into it. Back when we were first starting out we were definitely a couple of people more into getting tattooed at the moment back at the shop. I don't want to say I don't need the business—because you do always need the business—but we have a little more discretion and I tell people to have a little more discretion themselves and to really become more intelligent about their choices about the tattoos they are getting.
Your style is categorized as "Gangster Traditional," (by whom?) could you tell us a little about that?
Literally someone said that once and I just thought it was really cool. I grew up tattooing and getting tattooed in really street neighborhood garages. Black and grey, gang related styled stuff and so when I actually got, well kind of half got, the apprenticeship, I ended up apprenticing at a really famous traditional tattoo shop. What I liked was the neighborhood stuff but then I learned how to tattoo with that pure classic Traditional style. So it kind of emerged between the two so that "Gangster Traditional" drew from a lot of Traditional but I always have a little bit of gangster flare.

subset: commoncrawl


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IBM Fires Back at Oracle After Server Attacks
Oracle CEO Larry Ellison minced few words in calling out IBM on Tuesday, proclaiming that his company's new chips and the servers that use them are both much faster and much cheaper than Big Blue's. IBM didn't take the bait that day, but now has a few words for its rival.
They come from Colin Parris, general manager of the Power line of IBM systems attacked by Oracle. He said he was "surprised" and "pleased" and "astonished" by what Ellison said.
"This was a frozen-in-time discussion," Parris said in an interview Wednesday. "It was like 2002–not at all in tune with the market today."
Companies today, Parris argued, have different priorities than the raw speed of chips. They are much more concerned about issues like "availability"–resistance to break-downs–and security and cost-effective utilization of servers than the kinds of performance numbers Ellison throws out.
Not that Parris is conceding that Oracle's new hardware is actually faster.
The IBM systems he oversees–which, like Oracle's, typically run versions of the Unix operating system–exploit IBM's internally developed Power line of chips. IBM introduced what it calls the Power7 models in 2010, but in February bumped up the performance substantially with upgraded models known by the Power7+ designation, he said.
Parris contends that Oracle's comparisons were mainly with earlier IBM hardware, and aren't a realistic indicator of the current performance of the two companies' products.
Oracle describes how it reached the comparisons on its website, relying on test results published with organizations such as the Transaction Processing Council.
John Fowler, Oracle's executive vice president for hardware, in a prepared statement Thursday reiterated that Oracle's new machines based on its Sparc T5 chips are the "world's fastest servers" for running programs such as its databases and Java software.
"Against IBM's best published results, using independently confirmed industry-standard public benchmarks, Oracle delivered 5x, 7x, even 12x better cost performance," Fowler said. "Oracle's Sparc T5 performance and cost performance advantages are so huge that subtle changes in IBM configuration specifics don't make up that gap. IBM customers are being wildly over-charged for the performance they're getting."
The unspoken backdrop, Parris argues, is that IBM has been taking a lot of business from Oracle and Hewlett-Packard in the Unix system market–about $1 billion worth in 2012, with about half from Oracle, he estimated.
Oracle entered the server business by buying Sun Microsystems, which once had the lead in Unix servers, said Jean Bozman, an analyst with IDC. But IBM has become the clear leader in recent years, with 56.1% of that $9.1 billion business in 2012, compared with 19.2% for Sun and 18.6% for H-P, she said.
"Clearly with the new technology, Oracle would like to get some share back from IBM," Bozman said.
The new servers provide more options for existing Oracle customers to upgrade their systems rather than trying the competition. "It should position them for future growth from where they've been," Bozman said.


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The American Heritage Education Foundation (AHEF) is a non-profit educational organization dedicated to the understanding and teaching of America's philosophical heritage to promote constructive citizenship and Freedom, Unity, Progress, and Responsibility among students and citizens. AHEF provides FREE K-12 lesson plans on America's heritage to teachers/parents. www.americanheritage.org www.miracleofamerica.net
Submitted by ahef, December 3, 2013 10:37 am, 1070 views


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Shlichut is in origin a Hebrew word that means to send out or commission people. It refers for the most part to an outreach program that young people participate in hosted and initiated by agencies as well as organizations called Shlichim.
These missions find their foundation in strong ideologies and values that make up the core of the Shlichut. They use a set of actions over time to promote advocacy through provide assistance to the Jewish community in the Diaspora, as well as cultural awareness and a promotion of the arts with other outreach teaching programs.
Shlichut participants go through a training and screen process before going on a mission to see whether these candidates are prepared to undergo the Shlichut.
These energetic applicants are typically professionals and young people in their twenties that work with the Zionist organizations to reach out to the Jewish youth in Diaspora and make a difference. The purpose of Shlichim is to promote Zionist activity as well as conduct social events, campus activities, advocacy sessions, and educational programs that further Jewish culture.
One type of Shlichim includes sending an Israeli family that encourages Jewish communities and schools to Latin America and Spain. The WZO has Shlichim in Europe, North America, and South America that work parallel to representatives at the senior levels.
In order to join the program as an emissary, the World Zionist Organization looks in the Jewish teaching programs for individuals that are committed to sound Jewish doctrine.
A very strong belief in the power of Hebrew in addition to a strong will to promote Jewish values among the communities of Jews in Diaspora is essential. These individuals are committed to Shlichut and promote the Zionist agenda and Jewish culture proudly and effectively.


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TRENTON, N.J. — Two state troopers lost their jobs Monday for escorting a caravan of sports cars that traveled the Garden State Parkway last year at 100 miles per hour.
Nadir Nassry and Joseph Ventrella also appeared in court in New Brunswick to face charges that they tampered with records — specifically that they used electrical tape to alter their license plate numbers to cover up their involvement.
Nassry, a sergeant first-class who had been a trooper for 26 years, pleaded guilty to a charge of falsifying or tampering with records. The 47-year-old could be sentenced to up to 18 months in prison, but prosecutors agreed to recommend probation. In a statement through his lawyer, Nassry apologized to drivers who were endangered, the State Police and Ventrella, calling the incident a ''one-time act of stupidity.''
Ventrella, a 29-year-old with seven years on the force, pleaded not guilty to the same charge. Prosecutors recommend he be allowed into a pretrial intervention program. If a judge agrees and he completes the requirements, he would end up without a criminal record. His lawyer, Vincent Nuzzi, said he did not admit to committing any crimes.
As part of their agreements with the state, both men agreed that they would never work again in law enforcement in New Jersey.
Associated Press


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KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) Dayan Viciedo hit his second career grand slam to highlight a five-run inning for the White Sox, and Andre Rienzo picked up his first career win for Chicago by shutting down the punchless Kansas City Royals in a 5-2 victory Wednesday night.
Rienzo (1-0) allowed only a sacrifice fly to Mike Moustakas while cruising through six innings to win for the first time in five starts. The Brazilian right-hander allowed just five hits and two walks in helping the White Sox win their season-best fifth straight game.
Addison Reed worked the ninth for his second save of the series and 33rd on the year.
Viciedo's grand slam off Jeremy Guthrie (12-10) in the fourth followed an RBI single by Adam Dunn that had given the White Sox the lead. Their five runs in the frame matched the number of runs the Royals' woeful offense had mustered in the previous 22 innings.
The Royals have already lost their third straight series, but can salvage things with the White Sox on Thursday night at 7:10pm at Kaufmann Stadium. Pregame begins at 6:30 on NewsRadio 1350 from the Royals Radio Network.


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Richardson Electronics Ltd. announced that it has been named "Distributor of the Year" by Microsemi Corp.'s Power Products Group. This distinction, presented annually by the Microsemi Sales and Marketing teams, goes to the distributor who has consistently shown exemplary design, sales and logistics support to Microsemi's global customer base.
In presenting the award to Richardson Electronics, Microsemi's Director of Global Sales, Scott Lindberg, stated: "Richardson's success with Microsemi over the years is attributed to consistently doing the right things, the right way, with the right timing. Microsemi congratulates Richardson and all of its employees on receiving the Microsemi Distributor of the Year award."
"This award is special in that it is voted by the Microsemi sales and product groups located throughout the world. We are proud to accept this award, on behalf of our employees, and we thank our friends at Microsemi for honoring us in this way. We look forward to continuing our high levels of service and support to Microsemi, and to our mutual customers throughout the globe," said Greg Peloquin, Executive Vice President and General Manager for Richardson's RF, Wireless & Power Division.


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Associated Press
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) A divided federal appeals panel in Virginia has rejected a reporter's bid to protect a source who gave him information about a secret CIA operation.
The 2-1 ruling Friday by the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a lower court's decision. It had allowed reporter James Risen to keep his source confidential during testimony in the trial of former CIA officer Jeffrey Sterling, who is charged with leaking classified information.
Prosecutors allege that Sterling gave Risen secret information that appeared in the writer's 2006 book, "State of War."
The court agreed with federal attorneys that the First Amendment doesn't shield journalists from disclosing their sources during criminal prosecutions. In a dissenting opinion, Judge Roger Gregory wrote that the majority opinion is contrary to the views of the nation's founders.


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Moderators: December, Bronze Haired Girl, una
Crooked_Rose wrote:Carlisle is my all time favorite character in Twilight.
He's just an amazing character with so much going for him.
Plus he's a doctor (and hot.) ;D
I completely respect him.
Katwriter wrote: one in NM Carlisle claimed to already consider Bella to be apart of the family and yet when Eddie decided to leave he didn't try and talk to her at all, i mean if he had just had the intire family Including Bella sit down for a talk the whole mess could have been avoided. Now i'm not saying i think it was easy of him i'm sure it was heartbreaking, i would just love to know what he was thinking was, and what he thought the out come would be.
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Quoted from Tesla
Hi, good afternoon. I write from Spain (forgive my spelling) My blood group is nomad AB+ and my doubt is on the spelt. In the blood group diet spelt is valid for all groups except the O. In change in the book of the genotype appears as toxic, is it possible that in the book has an error? Or we cannot consume spelt in all its varieties? Thanks and greetings.
Quoted from Tesla
I have been following my group sanguieno AB from a principle, but after trying the genotype the difference has been more than noticeable so i will continue with it. As you rightly say the diet of the genotype nomadic it closely resembles the diet of the group B, but is that spelt in group B it is also beneficial so i don't really know why as it is possible that in nomadic genotype is considered toxic. What could be an error? Greetings
Quoted from Tesla
after trying the genotype the difference has been more than noticeable so i will continue with it.
Quoted from ABJoe
It appears to be the different focus of the diet that changes the rating. The way different foods affect the different phenotypic type responses...When I did SWAMI Express, the rating for Whole grain spelt came back to Neutral, but I can't say it would do the same for you...
Quoted from ruthiegirl
How long have you been following the Nomad diet? It's appropriate to eat more neutral foods at any time, and it's appropriate to introduce "black dot" foods after 60 days on the diet.If you're losing too much weight, make sure you eat enough total food. You may need to increase your portions.
Quoted from Tesla
What foods have you changed with swami that are not in the book?
Quoted from Amazone I.
I stopped eating nearly all kinds of bread and grains... bettter for me as being a nonnie and glutensensitiv.. :-/ :P it is marked ok on my lists but I feel not that well and yup years ago I've made always my own breads... I also stopped those actions... :X


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Using SSH Tunnelingby Rob Flickenger
They say that the Wired Equivalent Privacy protocol has been cracked. What's a wireless user to do?
Secure Shell (SSH) is open, free, fast, secure, and easy to setup (once you know how).
WaveLAN's silver and gold cards
In November, I wrote an introduction to Lucent's WaveLAN wireless card, the 802.11b PC card that we've been using at the O'Reilly Network to bring our machines online in a wireless local area network.
A lot can happen in a couple of months. In that article, I explained the difference between the WaveLAN silver and gold cards, and suggested that since the gold cards were only a few dollars more for much stronger encryption, it was worth it to buy the gold cards (assuming that breaking total compatibility with the 802.11b spec wasn't an issue.)
Since then, a team of cryptographers at the University of California at Berkeley identified weaknesses in the way the Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) algorithm was implemented in 802.11b, potentially making the strength of encryption irrelevant.
This news should not be cause for alarm, or even discomfort. WEP was not designed to be the ultimate "killer" security tool (nor can anything claim to be). Its acronym makes the intention clear: wired equivalent protection. In other words, the aim behind WEP was to provide no greater protection than you would have when you physically plug into your Ethernet network.
So, if it has been cracked, what good is WEP? And how can one protect oneself if WEP isn't the answer?
802.11b's security weaknesses
|"You can try it for yourself; run tcpdump on your laptop, and watch the traffic going through your access point just fly by!"
WEP has never provided much more than a form of access control to your
wireless nodes. With a shared private key, everyone participating in your
network has the potential to eavesdrop on everyone else. You can try it for
yourself; run
tcpdump on your laptop, and watch the traffic going through
your access point just fly by! Passwords, private e-mails, web traffic,
everything could potentially be logged and pored over later by anyone who
can associate with your access point.
Plus, key management under 802.11b is difficult. Who wants to distribute a shared password, only to have to change it regularly (and revisit all of those clients who weren't adept enough to set it up themselves in the first place?) Some drivers try to cope with this by letting the user assign multiple keys and pick between them, but this just postpones the inevitable.
Tunneling for security
WEP insecurity really isn't a problem for people who are already tunneling their traffic. Sure, Johnny and Jane Cracksalot may point their high-gain dish at the company from two blocks away, and even take the 5+ hours and gigs of disk space necessary to track every packet. But if you're using an SSH tunnel from your laptop to your servers, they'll still have the insurmountable task of cracking strong cryptography (Blowfish, 3DES, Arcfour, etc.). Until someone finds a cheap way to build a quantum computer (and perhaps a cold fusion cell to power it) this is generally considered a waste of time. Ditto for SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) connections to secure web servers.
A tunnel is a networking term with an appropriate name. It refers to a connection, usually encrypted, that connects two computers together across another, usually untrusted network. Picture a mountain of evil 3l33t d00dz sitting between your laptop and a server on your internal, protected network. You don't want to just throw your traffic really hard at the mountain and hope it gets there; you want to first form a protected tunnel from you to your machine, and then send the traffic through it.
Take this typical scenario:
You're at work or at home, merrily typing away on your wireless laptop. You want to retrieve your e-mail from work with a POP client (Netscape Mail, Eudora, fetchmail, etc.). If you connect to the machine directly, your e-mail client will send your login and password "in the clear." This means that a nefarious individual somewhere between you and your mail server (either elsewhere on your wireless network, or even "on the wire" if you are separated by an untrusted network) could be listening, and grab a copy of your information en route. This login could then be used not only to gain unauthorized access to your e-mail, but in many cases will also grant a shell account on your mail server!
Related Reading:
SSH, The Secure Shell: The Definitive Guide
To prevent this, you can use the tunneling capabilities of SSH. An SSH tunnel works like this: Rather than connecting to the mail server directly, we establish an SSH connection to the internal network that the mail server lives in (frequently, the mail server itself). Your SSH client software sets up a port forwarding mechanism, so that traffic that goes to your laptop's POP port magically gets forwarded over the encrypted tunnel and ends up at the mail server's POP port. You then point your e-mail client to your local POP port, and it thinks it is talking to the remote end (only this time, the entire session is encrypted.)
With the tunnel in place, anyone who tries to monitor the conversation between your laptop and the mail server will get something resembling line noise.
Setting up SSH
To set this up, you'll need an SSH client capable of tunneling. My personal favorite is OpenSSH. Under Windows, you'll need a client like SecureCRT (which is commercial software). You might have luck with OpenSSH under Cygwin. (I haven't tested this; let me know if you manage to get it working!)
Once you've installed an SSH client, you can use it to tunnel POP traffic from your local laptop to your mail server (called "mailhost").
We'll assume you have a shell account on the mail server for this example, although any machine on your internal network that accepts SSH connections should suffice.
Step One. Establish the connection
Under OpenSSH:
laptop# ssh -L 110:mailhost:110 -l user -N mailhost
(Naturally, substitute
user with your username, and
mailhost with your
mail server's name or IP address). Note that you will have to be
root on
your laptop for this example, since you'll be binding to a privileged port
(110, the POP port). You should also disable any locally running POP daemon
(look in
/etc/inetd.conf) or it will get in the way.
Assuming you have your RSA or DSA keys setup, you can even run this in the
background (tack on a
&). This sets up the tunnel, and starts
forwarding your local ports to the remote end through it. The
-N switch
tells SSH to not bother running an actual command on the remote end, and
just do the forwarding.
Under SecureCRT (Windows):
Create a connection for your mail server. Under "Protocol," select
Type in your mail server's hostname or IP address in the Hostname field.
Click the Advanced button and the Port Forwarding tab. Fill in 110 as the local port, the mail server's hostname (or IP address) for the remote hostname, and 110 for the remote port. Click the Save button (not the New button!) Click OK.
Make the connection, and give it your username and password. Voila! You now have your very own tunnel.
Step Two. Configure your mail software
You now need to tell your mail software to connect to your tunnel rather
than connecting to your mail server directly. This is different in each
application, but the idea is always the same: You want your e-mail client to
connect to
localhost instead of
Here's how to set it up under Netscape Communicator; other clients may have different menu choices, but the principle is the same:
Go to Edit > Preferences. Expand the Mail & Newsgroups tree, and
select Mail Servers. Remove your existing incoming mail server, and add a
new one. Under General, type
localhost as the Server Name. Select POP3
as the Server Type. Hit OK, make sure your tunnel is established, and
retrieve your mail.
Naturally, it doesn't have to end with POP. You can also forward SMTP for
outgoing mail (port 25). This is mostly left as an exercise to the reader,
but here's a hint: A single
ssh line can have multiple
-L entries, like
ssh -L 110:mailhost:110 -L 25:mailhost:25 -l user -N mailhost
And for Windows users, SecureCRT can have multiple active tunnels. Just stack 'em on, and it will take care of the rest.
All of the above can be automated. Make it as easy as possible to use the tools, and you'll find that you will get in the habit of using them. Security doesn't have to be hard. And SSH is a very flexible tool to help keep your data secure -- WEP or no WEP.
Rob Flickenger is a long time supporter of FreeNetworks and DIY networking. Rob is the author of three O'Reilly books: Building Wireless Community Networks, Linux Server Hacks, and Wireless Hacks.
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Bridge replacement projects to begin
- Details
- Category: News
- Published on 16 June 2014
- Written by Mount Vernon Optic-Herald
The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) is at work again improving roadways in Northeast Texas. Included in the 2014 summer upgrades are three county road bridges in Franklin and Hopkins counties at a cost of more than $683,000.
TxDOT and county officials have announced bridge and approach replacements at Franklin County Road NW1019 at Big Creek. The work on Hopkins County Roads are bridges on 4124 at Big Creek (CR 431-1), and 4777 at Vaden Creek (CR 489-1). For more information, see the June 12 edition of the Mount Vernon Optic-Herald.


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Want to remind yourself or a friend about this program? Fill out this simple form and klru will email you a reminder on the day that it will air.
Jack And The Beanstalk
series: Super Why!
air date: 8/02/13 9:00 AM
Baby Joy, Whyatt's little sister, is having a GIANT-sized tantrum, and nothing will calm her down! The Super Readers use their literacy powers to venture up Jack's Beanstalk and meet a real giant, who's acting like a big baby. Whyatt learns about the soothing power of music from his big brother Jack, and the Super Readers save the day. Educational Objectives: To learn strategies for soothing someone, use the alphabet and identify the letters A, E, N and Z. Kids will practice the magic of spelling and use the power to read to change the story.
WARNING: Email reminders for this program have already been sent out. Your reminder may not reach the intended address in time for this program's airing.
Back to TV Schedule


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I'm pretty sure that if self-driving cars ever do become prevalent (and I'm skeptical, to say the least), they will all allow human manual override at any time. In other words, control freaks who can't stand traveling at the speed limit will be able to assume manual control at any time and gun it to whatever speed they like (and get tickets if they pass a cop). The self-driving feature will indeed appeal to the rich on their high-end cars at first, but not so much for what it can actually do as for the status symbol of having it. At least at first, most drivers will probably only actually *use it* for times when they're really tired or have other stuff to get done.
Never underestimate the power of a status symbol. I mean, how many well-to-do drivers actually regularly *use* even half the exclusive features on their high-end Mercedes? But they're still happy to pay extra for the top-tier package, just to say they've got the top-tier package. And I say that as someone who still pays for an OnStar and navigation package that I used to brag on to everyone, but that I've only ever used a few times.
Oh, and you'll still be able to honk at the slow-poke in front of you too. Because you know he can still manually take over and doesn't HAVE to be holding up traffic in auto-drive.
I read both articles and I couldn't find reference to this "Rich people will change the laws for themselves"
Groups who can afford lobbyists always change the laws for themselves
Here, fixed for you.
... and the favor, returned.
Everyone always tries to change the laws for themselves
"Class warfare"? I don't see any bolsheviks around here. If you do, maybe you are hallucinating.
Rich people are not an oppressed minority!
The rich always adopt new, expensive stuff first. LIKE CARS THEMSELVES YOU FREAKIN' HISTORICALLY IGNORANT CLASS WARFARE SAVAGE.
Who do you think brought previously-expensive cars to the common man? A guy who wanted to be, and became, fabulously rich.
What cars had nav systems in them for 5 years before high-end midline cars? Yup! Cars of the wealthy. I know, I freakin' built those things.
God damm it, Mr. Da Peepul, put away that PC developed with trillions in private investment over the decades and go get a trabby from the junk yard and whine until your politician gives you a nav system and a robot driver.
And finally, speed limits will go up because robot drivers will be much safer. I predict, fucking write it down, that big The People government types like you will lead the charge to outlaw human drivers as unsafe.
Yep this is what's gonna happen until autonomous cars are ubiquitous. The real question is, once they are, will the speed limits be bumped up significantly and will traffic lights be phased out for synchronized high-speed dodging, or will we continue to tool around like grannies? In other words, will speed limits ruin the greatest potential improvement that autonomous cars have to offer?
I don't see traffic lights disappearing unless EVERY SINGLE CAR is autonomous, and probably not even then. How will pedestrians cross the street?
Pedestrians? There will be no pedestrians in the future, only autonomous scooters!
Very quickly, I'd hope.
I'd say the biggest plus is the freedom to go to a bar as a suburbanite.
I don't think that will be an option for a *long* time. As it stands now, if you are close to your car (and have your keys on you) you can be charged with DUI/DWI. The cops argue that you are technically in-control of your car any time you are near it.
I've seen two DUI busts while people were sitting in a non-running car listening to music. I've seen one for someone who went to get something out of the car without ever sitting inside or turning the ignition.
And as long as we have MADD, it'll be hard to change. They will always come back with "what ifs" and TOTC and lawmakers will roll over.
Sounds suspiciously like where you live has thugs with badges, not cops.
Yeah, I gotta say those laws really need to be clarified so the vehicle has to roll for it to count, or at least have the keys in the ignition. I mean come on "Driving" is right there in the name of the charge, not that that means anything.
Heck, I've heard accounts of people getting arrested for riding a horse drunk - now tell me how that makes any sense at all. Do they think the horse is going to ram into someone because his drunk-ass rider fell asleep at the reigns? They're the original autonomous vehi
One of the things that has been advertised as a big benefit for autonomous cars IS that much higher speeds are permissible while remaining safe. Similarly, much closer following distances are possible without compromising safety.
Many of our speed limits are based on safety decisions made based on "typical" human reaction times. You can get a ticket now for "following too closely" based on the assumption that at speed X, you need Y feet of separation to be safe based on a reaction time of N milliseconds.
The reaction time of an autonomous vehicle is far less than N milliseconts, permitting X to be higher and Y much lower.
There have been, for example, "auto trains" of multiple autonomous vehicles operating with ridiculously small separation distances on test tracks.
The problem is - how do you make the transition? A mix of autonomous and human-driven vehicles won't work well unless the autonomous vehicles obey the limits imposed on human-driven vehicles. So you need to segregate the human vehicles from the autonomous ones. This is really difficult in most places.
There's one exception: In many metropolitan areas, highways have HOV lanes. HOV lanes are intended to increase the capacity (in humans per hour) of that lane. In quite a few areas, they have the secondary goal of reducing fuel consumption and emissions per user. (In some places, this goal has been prioritized to the point where vehicles that meet certain emissions/efficiency standards are permitted in HOV lanes with fewer occupants than the normal HOV limit - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-occupancy_vehicle_lane#Qualifying_vehicles. [wikipedia.org])
A big problem with current HOV lanes is, honestly, the humans. On quite a few business trips to Long Island, my coworkers and I met the HOV lane criteria during a time the HOV lane restrictions were enforced (usually the tail end/beginning end of that period when traffic was lighter than the peaks the HOV lane was designed for). In quite a few cases, there were enough HOV-eligible vehicles that the HOV lanes weren't any faster than the main lanes. In a few cases, a single vehicle meeting HOV eligibility but with a slow driver would render the HOV lane significantly slower than the non-HOV lanes of the highway.
Autonomous vehicles would be the perfect solution to the remaining HOV lane problems. Most likely, the cost of autonomous vehicles will mean that the costs of them meeting above-average emissions/efficiency standards won't be that much more. (After all, Google's "open road" driverless vehicle is a Prius, which meets the "single occupant in HOV lane exception" requirements in many areas that have such exceptions for "green" vehicles.) - Autonomous vehicles can achieve significantly higher speeds at lower separations in a HOV lane, significantly increasing the lane's capacity significantly even for single-occupant vehicles.
The problem is, of course - the transition. Making a HOV lane into an autonomous-only lane requires enough autonomous vehicles to justify it. It probably won't work with mixed vehicles at all - you don't get the speed/separation capacity benefits.
I tend to agree that the technology for acceptable self driving cars is probably quite a ways off.
The current crop of such cars are merely aimed at getting around safely and not running into anything. They don't currently notice that two lanes to the right they could be moving much faster, and are content to putz along in the slow lane following a city bus that stops every two blocks.
They don't watch brake lights 4 cars ahead to provide clues about the need to slow down, and instead rely on slower speeds and (more than) adequate spacing. They don't yield to people in the next lane with their turn signal on indicating a merge, and again rely on excess space so that they are never in situation of failing to allow a merge.
In many other ways, they drive like student drivers, except they do it ALL the time and never learn, never improve.
But I disagree that these will appeal to the rich or to high end car owners. You don't buy a high end car to NOT drive it.
If there is no environmentalism goodie-two-shoes angle, the rich won't buy this to park in the garage next to the unused Prius.
Commuters. People who can put the commute time to good use, are the likely target market. Especially where that commute time is an hour or more.
It would seem the summary author hasn't been driving on the freeway anywhere in the US for the last 30 years. The normal speed of traffic is 10% over the limit. It is far from limited to the rich.
It seems far more likely that these cars obey the speed limit today simply as a condition of being used on the public roads. That restriction is unlikely to prevail in production, as a lot of people enjoy driving, and wouldn't buy them if they came with a huge number of restrictions. The rich seem to me to be the last group who will buy such cars.
Further there is no felony modification laws that I am aware of. As long as the vehicle is street legal just about anything goes. And if its not street legal its merely an infraction and a fix-it-ticket.
as a lot of people enjoy driving
I guess you speak of the 17-25 age group. Because I really don't know many working age adults who enjoy driving their daily commute on congested highways.
Oh please, I'm in my 40s and I love driving. Its very therapeutic. Then again my daily commute is opposite traffic and there are multiple back roads alternatives if I need them.
This is where mod points would of come in handy. I agree completely. I am in my 40s and there is no way in Hel I would let a car drive me around. One of the reasons I prefer driving a manual over an automatic (dont' get me started on that flappy paddle bullshit either
I could see people wanting the laws for autonomous vehicles to follow the laws for aircraft -- where parts and software have to be certified and it is illegal to use non-certified or modified parts. That path would make autonomous vehicles a lot more expensive (and have fewer "toy" features).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parts_Manufacturer_Approval [wikipedia.org]
I think the real problem with autonomous vehicles is that there is a sizable percentage of people who would "bully" them. You know the thing is going to give you the right of way and slow down to keep a safe distance, so why not cut in front of them, etc. Then who wants a car with a pushover as an automatic pilot? But what lawyer would okay even a slightly aggressive autopilot?
I'd say autonomous vehicles would be great for taxis in cities with large, dense urban areas
Maybe they would be big in Japan
If a taxi could drive itself, why would you staff it at all? Why not just outfit it with a touch-screen map and a credit card reader?
If you are worried about your autonomous car losing dick-waggling contests, then perhaps you have forgotten that the point is to get from point A to point B in safety and comfort. The spare time you gain by not driving yourself should more than compensate for a minute or two lost to people who get their jollies from winning a pissing contest with an inanimate driver.
The robot car might be able to recognize aggressive drivers and automatically report them to the highway patrol along with a video record.
Anyway, the truly rich don't travel - people come to them.
I think the OP is simply projecting their own impatience.
I am poor as fuck and I have a sick fetish for speed!
Similar reasoning has revealed that rich people also hate waiting in line at the bank, filing their taxes, and telemarketers. In fact, rich people are a lot like you and I—it's just that they're the ones who will most likely be the first adopters of the cars being discussed.
But wow, what a summary. Not only did it start with a bizarre rhetorical question, it answered it, with a solution that was obvious to anyone who had ever seen Will Smith chase robots around for two hours [imdb.com]! Now all we have left to discuss are minutiae like whether rich people enjoy sleeping in as much as everyone else. Bravo, submitter.
...maybe I should lay off the David Mitchell rants.
"...honking does no good, because robots do not care if you honk at them."
Not if the auto-pilot is an 800 series terminator.
no does the speed limit today on most roads.
Hell trying to go 55 on any of the Chicago area interstates is not that safe then the roads are wide open.
even the trucks go 65-70.
Self driving cars will be the vehicle of choice for non-rich people. The cars will be programmed to do ride sharing to reduce costs. People who primarily use autonomous vehicles won't need to own a car. Basically they will be like mini-busses that don't follow set routes or schedules. They will be used by people who are taking the bus today.
Rich people will own their own cars and pay the increased insurance rates to keep the option to drive manually.
were I rich, I would be all over autonomous vehicle for a few reasons:
1) you can probably drive it yourself if you want to speed
2) I could hit the pub and get wrecked and have the car drive me home without worrying about getting arrested for DUI
So, our roads would be safer, but covered in puke?
were I rich, I would be all over autonomous vehicle for a few reasons: 1) you can probably drive it yourself if you want to speed 2) I could hit the pub and get wrecked and have the car drive me home without worrying about getting arrested for DUI
The way DUI laws are written currently, I wonder if you could get a DUI for being in an autonomous vehicle while intoxicated simply because you have the option of taking over control.
Some states you can be arrested for DUI simply by sleeping in your car if you put the keys in the ignition to keep warm. They consider it intent to drive.
were I rich, I would be all over autonomous vehicle for a few reasons:
1) you can probably drive it yourself if you want to speed
2) I could hit the pub and get wrecked and have the car drive me home without worrying about getting arrested for DUI
Just don't try the voice activated car options...
"car, take me to the pub so i can get wrecked"
"Okay, we are going to wreck into the pub."
If you've ever ridden public transportation, you realize that by not being behind the wheel the need for speed as a passenger is greatly reduced. Similar situation for being a limousine passenger. Pont de l'Alma aside, celebrities for the most part relax while their chauffeurs work to preserve their licenses and future income.
Now, the rich are always seeking competitive advantage; otherwise, they wouldn't be rich, right? I see the rich buying larger less fuel-efficient vehicles that have a full office inside -- or at least what appears to be a full office -- in order to conduct teleconferences during their trips.
If there are cars behind you and no one is in front of you, you are not rich, you are not poor, you are a sociopath.
Mr. Prophet, what you've just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul.
This is just another law that will need to be adjusted. Self-driven cars will need to be able to drive with the flow of traffic to be safe, which may be above the posted speed limit. So the law should allow self-driven cars to exceed speed limits by a given amount if they detect traffic conditions that necessitate it. If an officer disagrees, the car will provide all the data necessary to validate or dispute the claim.
Of course, once we all have self-driven cars, and speeding tickets cease to be a source of revenue, they'll have to reset all the speed limits to be what is really a safe speed to drive--or just eliminate the concept for self-driven cars once they prove to be able to self-determine a safe speed. That will happen at about the same time human-driven cars are banned from major highways.
even not thinking about costs a change over time frame to auto-cars is a long time and there are still likely to be area that will need to be manual drive. As haveing mixed auto drive / manual drive car can lead to some issues.
Also stuff like Bucket Trucks and other stuff like them on the road will likely also need to be manual drive and at times need to be on auto drive only roads.
Your post is built on assumptions on top of assumptions. Only people who are religious nut jobs, or politicians do this. Nobody likes either.
Ergo, you have no friends..
The only reasonable conclusion I can come to about the submitter..
If autonomous driving means access to a special lane that moves faster during commute time then the rich will gladly pay up. Hybrids are expensive too and a lot of people bought them so they could drive solo in the carpool lane.
During heavy commute times, speed limits are largely irrelevant.
Most people get the market case for automatic driving wrong. It's not for driving on freeways. It's for driving your car without you, to and from parking. You drive to where you want to go, and then your car goes off and parks somewhere. When you want your car back, you call it, and it comes to you. Malls, airports, and downtowns equipped for this will be very popular.
Parking gets cheaper, because it can be further away, stacked higher, and not on high-value land. Automatic cars aren't bothered by having to drive to level 14 of the parking structure.
Or parking goes away because instead of going to park, the car you rode in goes off to give someone else a ride. When you want to go somewhere else, you call a car that may or may not be the car you arrived in.
Then you get that hollow feeling like I do with my automatic vacuum cleaner. I just got one of those Neato models with the LiDAR. I constantly ask: Did it make it to the charging station? Is it stuck in my bedroom again? There have been a few times when it got stuck and just gave up. I couldn't imagine waiting an indeterminate amount of time to have your car pull up to get you with the wife/gf also waiting.
I couldn't imagine waiting an indeterminate amount of time to have your car pull up to get you with the wife/gf also waiting.
Yeah, I'd imagine having to wait somewhere with both your wife and your gf could get hellish.
...with a good car analogy?
if you're allowing the car to self-drive, then chances are you are distracted by some other activity like watching tv/movie, surfing the internet, following up on a litany of work email messages. If you do the math, going 15mph over the speed limit only saves, on average, about 6 - 8 min to destination except for longer trips. Ive wasted more than 6 - 8 min just scanning slashdot this hour. I don't think there would be much notice about not going 'fast'
for those 1hr commutes just take a nap till you reach destination.
for those late night bar activities - tell the car to take you home, meanwhile you're crashed in the back seat
Yes, everyone wants to drive fast. But, what's the trade-off for going a little slower? Oh, that's right... HANDING OVER COMPLETE CONTROL.
If you commute in rush hour traffic, you don't care about the speed limit, because you're not going to get the chance to hit it, anyway.
What this technology will do, in fact, is encourage longer commutes. People will be able to work, nap, play games, watch TV. The interior of the car will be redesigned to accommodate the driver engaging in a range of activities while commuting.
I say that automated cars will sell very well.
This one definitely belongs.
Most people stick to 10 mph over anyway. I would much prefer to sit back and read, goof off on my phone, watch TV, or something else at 65 mph than have to drive myself at 73 mph.
Present traffic rules including speed limits are set because of a variety of reasons, the quality of the road and human fallibility are among the important. When the human factor is taken out speed limits can and will change.
In many parts of Europe speed limits are also set because of the environment, like noise in nature reserves and / or Nitric Oxide or fines levels in build up areas, the last will not change because the car is driver less.
After the transitional years it will become quite pointless to own a car as we know it, you pay for transport the way you are now paying for your internet access.
And by that time personal transport will have evolved to a new very personal public transport with totally different rules.
"I shall expect a chemical cure for psychopathic behavior by 10 A.M. tomorrow, or I'll have your guts for spaghetti." -- a comic panel by Cotham


text:
After months of speculation American fashion designer Marc Jacobs has announced that he is leaving Louis Vuitton.
After 16 years as the creative director for the the French fashion house best known for their LV monogrammed canvas bags, Jacobs is turning his attention to preparing the Marc Jacobs brand for an eventual public offering.
- Jim Fallon, editor of Women's Wear Magazine.
It's HERE AND NOW.
The American fashion designer Marc Jacobs has announced that he is leaving Louis Vuitton. After 16 years as the creative director for the French fashion house, Jacobs is turning his attention to his own brand, Marc Jacobs, for an eventual public offering. Joining us is Jim Fallon, editor of Women's Wear Daily. Jim, welcome to the show.
JIM FALLON: Hello.
HOBSON: Well, tell us first about Marc Jacobs. We just recently had a conversation with the fashion editor Andre Leon Talley, who called him one of the most important American designers in 2013. What does he do so well?
FALLON: I think he just shifts the market. I mean it's in terms of coloration or silhouette, his main collection is one of those that fashion people look to as trendsetting every season, season after season. For the normal consumer, it probably might not be within their pocket range. But eventually his influence will be felt even on regular clothes that, you know, the average woman might buy.
HOBSON: Well, what did he bring to Louis Vuitton?
FALLON: He brought - he basically took what was a fusty leather goods French brand well-known for quality and turned it into one of the hottest luxury brands out there, through artistic collaborations, introducing ready-to-wear, which they'd never really done before, and just raising the temperature around the Vuitton brand to where he made it a fashionable item rather than just a luxury good.
HOBSON: And as he shifts focus to his own brand, Marc Jacobs, I've seen that he is going to have to really focus on making it into an international brand and boosting its global presence. Is that his main task ahead now?
FALLON: I think he has several tasks - certainly making it a more global brand. He's really underpenetrated in - even Europe, let alone places like China and Brazil, but also expanding the types of products he sells under the Marc Jacobs label. I mean he does handbags already. He does shoes. But he doesn't really do watches. He doesn't do that many sunglasses. And really expanding the accessories part of his business that really is what drives companies like that today.
HOBSON: And what does his departure mean for Louis Vuitton? This is a global, lucrative, luxury brand generating more than $9 billion a year. But critics have said that it has lost some of its prestige.
FALLON: It's lost some of its prestige only in the sense of - again, what's driving the entire market is really the Far East. So the Chinese consumer is looking less and less at those kinds of monogrammed logo types of products. I think what Marc Jacobs' successor faces, obviously, is bringing back some of the buzz that it may have lost over the last few seasons, but also inheriting the mantle of Marc and being able to carry on the growth that the Vuitton brand is seeing - continues to see.
It's not like the growth is slowing down - is declining - the growth is declining, it's just not, you know, it's not the double digits that it had been in the last few years.
HOBSON: Jim Fallon, editor of Women's Wear Daily. Jim, thanks for joining us.
FALLON: Thank you very much. Have a good day. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.


text:
Air New Zealand will raise its fuel surcharge from April 20 on international flights from the US to $35 per one-way segment and from Canada to C$45 ($36.05) per one-way segment owing to rising fuel prices.
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General contractor Tom Silva shows host Kevin O'Connor how he's installing Southern yellow pine board accents in key spots for architectural interest, and to coordinate with the prefinished maple flooring that master carpenter Norm Abram is installing. Tile's going in in the master bath, and the roof deck gets PVC porch boards and a custom rail treatment.
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Valley Stream has its fair share of parks, trails and waterways that people enjoy year-round, especially when the weather is nice. But with a large number of people walking or driving by, loose garbage can accumulate over time in even the most aesthetically pleasing areas.
Although it was rainy and cold last weekend, that didn't stop some local residents from going above and beyond their civic duty to keep Valley Stream clean.
Envision Valley Stream organized a cleanup at a stream between East and West gates in North Valley Stream on March 17. David Sabatino, the group's president, hosted the cleanup in conjunction with the North Valley Stream Neighborhood Association.
"Our streams and our parks are a source of pride for us and cleaning, maintaining and using them as an educational tool as well, I think is a valuable thing," Sabatino said. "Anytime we can improve their beauty and their environment the better."
About a dozen people volunteered their time to collect garbage and debris from a stream which stretches from Stephen Place to Dutch Broadway. According to Sabatino, the group found more than just cans, bottles and paper in and around the stream. Among the items they dug out were brake pads, the bottom of a rolling chair, buckets full of concrete, a mattress cover, a gas can and wood finisher.
After more than three hours of picking up litter, more than a dozen garbage bags were filled, in addition to the odd items that were too big to fit.
Nick Spaventa, a Valley Stream resident for 35 years, lives nearby the stream and participated in an cleanup for the first time last weekend, but he doesn't plan on it being his last.
"First impressions are important," he said of people coming to Valley Stream. "The cleanup shows people both from inside and outside the community that we take pride in and care about the place in which we live.
"It also serves as an example and an opportunity for our young people to get involved in something positive that can improve their community," he added.


text:
Civil War Monthly Featured Document return to document overview
U. S. S. Steamer Housatonic
My Dear Little Molly
I put
yellow spot on its back & all
the rest of its feathers were brown.
It seemed to feel very much
at home, & hopped about on
the deck & picked up crumbs
for some time. After it
had eaten all it wanted,
it flew up into the rigging
& then flew off to the shore
& we have not seen in since.
Perhaps when it is warm
in E. Boston next summer,
it will come & see you &
Nellie & Mother. But then
if there are two or three that
look just like that one
you wont know which one
it is, will you? Well some
time next summer I
guess that I shall come
to see you, and I suppose
that you will be almost
to see the bird, wouldnt
you? By that time, if you
go to school all the time, you
will know how to read to me,
& you will get to be large enough
to help Mother do a good many
things about-house. I wonder
if I shall know either of
my little girls then, for I suppose
that your old bonnets that you
wore last year are about worn
out & you will have on some
other ones & some dresses too,
that I never have seen.
Well I guess that Mother
will tell me who you are, if
I can't find you myself.
I want you to send me another
letter when Mother has time
to write it for you & you & Nellie
can print some & send it to me.
You can send me some of
me all about your plays.
But it is time for me to
stop & fold this up & put
my pen & ink away, for
it is almost my bed time.
Give my love to Mother
& Nellie & a good kiss & hug
From your affectionate Father
F.A. James
My Dear Nellie
Tuesday morn 17th. We are
Ever yours in L.P.& F. [Love, Purity & Fidelity]


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- Synopsis
- When Dr. Mike Scanlon is called to serve as an army doctor in Afghanistan, he's acutely aware of the dangers he'll face and the hardships it will bring his wife Chloe and newborn baby. And deep inside, he doesn't think of himself as a hero, but a healer. However, in an ironic turn of events, as Mike operates on a wounded soldier in a war-torn country, Chloe dies at home in the suburbs, in an apparently freak household accident. Devastated, he returns home to bury her, only to discover that the life he left behind has fallen apart. He's a stranger to his baby girl, and his medical practice has downsized in his absence. Worse, he learns a shocking secret that sends him into a downward spiral. Grief-stricken, Mike makes decisions upon returning to Afghanistan which will change his life forever. It's not until he comes home for good that he grasps the gravity of his actions, and realizes he must fight the most important battle of his life, to reclaim his life and his daughter. Along the way, he discovers that everything is not as it seems, and he learns ugly truths about those he loves the most, as well as the true meaning of heroism.
- Copyright:
- 2013
Book Details
- Book Quality:
- Excellent
- Book Size:
- 378 Pages
- 9781250010070
- Publisher:
- St. Martin's Press
- Date of Addition:
- 04/12/13
- Copyrighted By:
- Smart Blonde, LLC.
- Adult content:
- No
- Language:
- English
- Categories:
- Military, Literature and Fiction, Mystery and Thrillers
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text:
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Secretary of State A. Ralph Mollis is offering everyday Rhode Islanders a useful tool for connecting with local, state and federal officials. Released today, the 2013 edition of the "Rhode Island Government Owner's Manual" includes contact information for the state's Congressional delegation, municipal leaders and key officials in all three branches of state government.
"My priority is making government more open and accessible. Town halls and the State House belong to the public. Our guide acknowledges the important role that Rhode Islanders play and links them with the assistance that government offers," said Mollis.
The owner's manual is available free of charge at the Secretary of State's Public Information Center in Room 38 at the State House. A searchable, electronic version is also posted on the Secretary of State's website.
Mollis has 5,500 copies of the 300-page directory for distribution. Printed every two years to reflect the results of November elections, the book has historically been popular with the public.
The new owner's manual includes contact information for hundreds of officials including every member of the General Assembly as well as city and town councils and school committees. The directory even lists key staff for state agencies and municipal departments.
"We are making it easier for people to connect with officials, seek help and learn more about the way public policy is made," Mollis explained.
The guide also continues a practice Mollis introduced six years ago – publishing the name of every registered State House lobbyist as well as the clients they represent.
"Rhode Islanders deserve a comprehensive guide to the business of government. This is a useful tool for making their voices heard," Mollis explained.
The guide also promotes the 350th anniversary of Rhode Island's Royal Charter of 1663. The cover features the opening sentences of the historic document, which gave colonial Rhode Islanders an unprecedented degree of self-governance and religious liberty. The back cover features a photo of the charter, which is on display outside the Senate Chamber at the State House.
Mollis, Governor Chafee, and the RI 1663 Colonial Charter Commission are planning a series of events this summer to mark the 350th anniversary including opening the State House to the public on Sat., June 22.
Secretary of State Mollis is committed to making it easier to vote, making it easier to do business in Rhode Island and making government more open and accessible. For more information about the programs and services the Secretary of State offers Rhode Islanders, visit sos.ri.gov.
MEDIA CONTACT: Chris Barnett at 222-4293


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Couples Scramble a swinging success
Twenty couples turned out to Indian Creek last Sunday for the final Couples Scramble of the summer. The winning team was Brad and Lori Duffy, Steve Pauly and Patty Garland. Second place went to John and Lynn Garcia, and Mike and Sarah Oates. Third place finishers were Ron and Cyndee Kurahara, and Don and Heidi Struck. Men's Long Drive winner was Mike Roberts and women's winner was Patty Garland. Brad Duffy was the men's Closest to Pin winner, while Renie Kelly won the women's KP.
Roberts tops Day's Play field
Darlene Roberts shot the low gross score of 82 on Sept. 5 to lead a field of lady golfers at Indian Creek. Mary Beth Kennedy was second with an 86, while Diana Mazeski shot an 87 for third. Jo Smith won low-net honors with a 70, and was followed by Vera Hawk with 72 and Pauline Kennedy with 73.
** The Fall Handicap tournament will be held Thursday beginning at 8:20 a.m. (note early start time). Call Beth Orgain with questions at 541-478-2473.
HR Little League meeting Sept. 16
The Hood River Little League main board will hold its regular meeting Monday, Sept. 16 at 6 p.m. at Providence Hood River Memorial Hospital. Everyone is welcome. Please call Becky Kopecky at 387-3777 with questions.
HRV football ticket price update
A reminder that HRV football ticket prices have been adjusted for the 2002 season, and will be $5 for adults, $3 for students, and $1 for students with an ASB card. The $1 fee will help offset budget shortfalls and help build all HRV athletic programs. Next home game is Friday at 7 p.m. versus Benson.
Step-Up For Special Olympics Oct. 5
The annual Step-Up for Special Olympics fundraiser will be held Saturday, Oct. 5, at the Mark O. Hatfield State Park trailhead. All three events — a 5K/10K run/walk, Kids on Wheels and Doggy Dash — begin at 9 a.m. and cost $15 each. All proceeds go to benefit the Mid Columbia chapter of the Special Olympics Entry deadline is Sept. 27. Call Carole Schmidt at 541-478-3716 with questions.
AT&T/Rotary Golf Tourney Sept. 28
The third-annual AT&T Wireless/Rotary Golf Tournament will be held Saturday, Sept. 28 at Indian Creek Golf Course. Format is a four-team scramble and the field is limited to 32 teams. Cost is $300 per team or $75 per player. Fee includes green fees, carts, practice balls and tee prizes. Also included is a ticket the the wine-tasting to be held at Flerchinger Vineyards. Rotary is also seeking golf-hole sponsorships for the tournament. The event begins at 7 a.m. with a continental breakfast, and a shotgun start begins at 8 a.m. Call 386-3357 with questions.
Men's fall hoop league upcoming
Men's basketball players interested in some friendly team competition this fall are invited to sign up for a fall men's league at Hood River Valley High School. Games will run from the end of September until mid-December. Cost per team is $220 and there is an eight-game guarantee. Space is limited to the first eight teams. Officials provided. No high school players allowed. Proceeds will benefit the HRV Softball program. Call Phil Hukari at 386-1516 to sign up.
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The port's $5.9-million investment coupled with a substantial investment by Temco doubles rail capacity and triples product throughput capacity at the site. Construction starts on January 7, 2014 and is expected to be completed by June, 2014.
"Rail expansion and track relocation significantly enhance our client's transportation efficiency and doubles the firm's rail capacity to move grain which enables them to remain competitive in the global export market," said Port of Kalama Commission President Troy Stariha. "These are the kinds of partnerships on projects we can offer our clients while making a positive impact on the region's economic health."
The project is being built by the Port of Kalama and consists of the construction of lead and yard tracks, associated grading and drainage improvements and utility relocations and protections.
Railworks will install 3.6 miles of new track and relocate 1.1 miles of track.


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Brandon Beachy tossed the first shutout of his career to help the Atlanta Braves take a 7-0 win over the Miami Marlins in the finale of a two-game set.
Beachy (5-1) gave up just five hits with six strikeouts and also drove in a run. Freddie Freeman had a solo home run and scored twice while Dan Uggla also scored twice for the Braves, who have won five of seven.
"I always expect to do well when I go out there but I guess I don't ever think about where I compare to everyone else," said Beachy. "I always worked off of my own internal motivation and I got a goal of what I want to accomplish and it really doesn't factor in what everyone else is doing."
Ricky Nolasco (4-2) gave up four runs on seven hits in just four innings of work to take the loss. Giancarlo Stanton's double was the only extra-base hit for the Marlins, who had won their previous two.
"Right now they're playing really well and we're playing really well and we're going to be facing off against each other," said Miami first baseman Gaby Sanchez. "You know it's funny, we're really in a tough division and every single team is doing their thing, everybody is playing well."
The Braves grabbed a lead they never lost in the first when Michael Bourn led off with a single and Martin Prado followed with a triple for a 1-0 lead.
It was 3-0 after the third as Freeman hit a two-out, solo home run. Uggla followed with a walk and came home on Brian McCann's double.
Atlanta scored another run in the fourth. With one out, Tyler Pastronicky singled and moved to second on a sac bunt from Beachy. Bourn then singled to center for a 4-0 lead.
The Braves poured it on in the fifth as RBI singles from Chipper Jones, Jason Heyward and Beachy made it a 7-0 contest.
Stanton hit his double to leadoff the seventh, but Gaby Sanchez grounded out without advancing Stanton. Emilio Bonifacio then grounded out to move Stanton to third, but Brett Hayes struck out to end the inning.
Miami went down in order in the eighth and ninth innings as Beachy also picked up his first-ever complete game.
Game Notes
Atlanta begins a three-game interleague set in Tampa Bay on Friday...Miami is also on the road for its interleague series as it plays in Cleveland on Friday...Nolasco fell to 5-8 in 21 games against the Braves...Beachy improved to 2-0 in six games against the Marlins.


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When AIDS hit in the early 1980s, Elizabeth Taylor rallied swiftly and bravely as the courageous high-profile spokesperson and fundraiser in the fight against the disease.
It was a terrifying time — especially in Hollywood.
"People were afraid, and they blamed the homosexual community for creating it," recalls Marion Rosenberg, Taylor's long-time agent and manager. "Elizabeth was incredibly proud of the fact that she was literally the first person, the first celebrity to come out and put a name to AIDS and make it
relevant. She always said, 'If I hadn't done it, I don't who would have done it.' She
was the voice. Nobody else had the guts to do it."
And it took a lot of guts.
"People not only slammed doors in my face and hung up on me, but I received death threats," Taylor recalled.
Tonight, Taylor will be posthumously honored with WIF's Norma Zarky Award, presented by Pandora, for her humanitarian works, which include her founding role in the American Foundation for AIDS Research and her establishment of the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation.
"She became a crusader and she never let go," sums up Rosenberg. "There's no question about the fact that she wanted this to be her legacy. She was absolutely fearless and she knew that she would keep doing this to her dying day — which she did."
Receiving the award is Taylor's granddaughter Naomi Wilding.
• Dreams from the top


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Friday, December 4, 2009
You Haunt Me
I walked out the back door of The Wine Country this evening and the second I felt the skin on my bare forearms constrict I knew you would be with me all night; I would not be able to stop thinking about you….wanting you. I'm tortured by thoughts of you, those thoughts that send shivers down my spine, make me ache, make me remember, they are always with me but on a night like tonight, a cold, quiet Friday night…I am consumed by my thoughts of you.
I found myself flipping the station on the radio in the car on my way home, pause for a second or two, hover on a song looking for something, anything that might bring up some other memory, some other feeling, and yearning for some flicker, some tiny spark….something to distract me. I found myself searching for words, phrases, choruses, harmonies…something mindless, less intense, less you, but it only takes one, "I will", "I want" one, "We" and I am right back in your grasp, bound to you…bound by my need, my ache, my desire for you.
My walk from my car to my apartment feels so long on nights like these, like it is taking me twice as many steps, my bags are bogging me down, my frame too weak to carry my deficient soul…like my desire is weighing on me, my overwhelming want feels tied to each leg like a forty pound brick…each step, agonizing…jarring, a reminder that when I reach my stoop, unlock my door, I won't find you there. Hopeless, feels so fucking hopeless…my whole body telling me what I need, what will fulfill me, soothe the pulling knots in my tummy, it's there, just not with me, not tonight, not yet.
I open the door to find my home just as I left it, my piles of magazines left unread, my blanket, the one that warms my feet, snuggles my thighs, is still sitting tossed on the end of the couch where I left it, my unopened mail still waiting for my attention, my wine glass from the night before still sitting on the table. The smells that greet me are the ones I find every night, the ones that remind me that I am home, that old library smell…my home, my safe place, but tonight, tonight I am not safe, not at all comforted by these aromas, they only remind me of what I don't have, what's missing…you.
Something about my haze made dealing with the evenings essential needs easy to coast through, get food, pick up the clutter, chat with the neighbors, all things I was able to do but I have no real recollection of really being a part of. I was there, my body and voice were there but me, the real me, the one that has felt you course through her body, well I was off somewhere remembering you, your scent, your touch, the way you feel when you slip beneath my skin…I was with you.
I felt my blinks lasting longer, like I could hold you closer, pull you closer if I could just shut out everything else…no lights, no television, no yet unread magazines, like each second in the darkness of my own body was one more second that was just ours, me with you in our space…I swear I could feel you slipping inside me, I could smell you, taste you…feel you. I wanted, needed, still want and need more….I would wait for no one the way I have and do wait for you. Only you can move me this way, just you…I have others that can fill me, touch me and make me feel amazing, but there is just something about you, haunting…you haunt me.
Your unique brand of seduction, the way you slither around me, the way I can smell you, feel you, days after we have spent a night together, the way I can taste you when I hear your name, only you can do this to me. I feel your fingers tugging at me, pulling me, making me move like some drunk with passion puppet that you can make dance, skip, crumble…all at your hand, only your hand, and when you have finished with me I will pull myself up by my own strings and…be back for more.
Burgundy, why don't I have more aged red Burgundy at home?! I want, need, ache for more aged Pommard, Volany and Savigny-les-Beaune…damn, I want you.
17 comments:
- Michael Hughes said...
Lets build a time machine & go back for a bunch of Burgundies, maybe a stop over for Barolo & Brunellos. We could stash them somewhere safe & by the time we get back they'll be nice & aged.
- December 5, 2009 at 8:13 AM
- The Wine Whore said...
I think I need a cigarette after reading this! :)
- December 5, 2009 at 10:01 AM
- Samantha Dugan said...
If only we could.
The Wine Whore,
Yeah, Burgundy has that same affect on me.....
- December 5, 2009 at 10:24 AM
- Marcia Macomber said...
Great tone piece (and artwork). You leave us clinging to the edge of the seat in anticipation of the next line. Keep 'em coming, Girl!
- December 5, 2009 at 3:57 PM
- vickibarkley said...
I'm consistently amazed at how Burgundies have that power. I know exactly what you're speaking of.
- December 5, 2009 at 4:48 PM
- Ron Washam, HMW said...
My Gorgeous Samantha,
I know exactly how that feels. I didn't know, not until about five months ago, but once you find that need, once the object of your passion gets hold of your heart, it's torture. Oh, sure, it's sweet torture. So many people go their whole life and never know that kind of devotion and passion, never know the ache of a passion's absence, so it's a good feeling, that lustful yearning. But nothing, absolutely nothing, can quench that sexual thirst except the one love you must have, the one that completes you.
I need more aged White Burgundy.
And you.
I love you
Your HoseMaster
- December 5, 2009 at 6:42 PM
- Samantha Dugan said...
Thanks lady, was fun to write...felt I had to write it, like I might die if I didn't. Thanks for reading as always and well...you know I thrive on comments so thanks for taking the time to.
Felt like I was in pain I wanted it so badly. My skin even ached, never known a desire more intense...well, you know, for wine.
My HoseMaster,
Sounds as if you "gots it bad" for Burgundy as well, nothing...there is nothing like it. Guess that's a good thing, otherwise we might forget how truly special, remarkable, desperately beautiful that kind of desire can be. Had a feeling I might hear from you on this one....
- December 5, 2009 at 8:18 PM
- John M. Kelly said...
I have no willpower whtn it comes to red Burgundies, and don't have enough $$ to buy cases. I buy bottles and hide them from myself in the wine locker. This takes an act of willful self-deception - damn this perfect memory! - since I actually know exactly where every bottle is. Every now and then I will discover that OOOH! here's something I had nearly forgotten! And then I can sit back, take my time, savor, slowly let the layers fall away as you reveal yourself to me, mesmerize me with your seductive charms. I'm a fool for you, baby.
- December 6, 2009 at 11:42 AM
- Samantha Dugan said...
Okay first of all, it is so nice to see you...I've missed you so. Secondly, I see you too have been grazed by the seductive teeth, that sexy as hell nibble of Burgundy...that heart pounding, just-this-side of painful sting as it pierces your skin, slips into your blood stream and never leaves. Wrecked, I have seen more people wrecked by Burgundy than any other wine.
- December 6, 2009 at 12:48 PM
- John M. Kelly said...
It is good to be sort of back and on the mend. Someday my life will even be back close to normal (whatever passed for "normal" for me in the past, that is).
Wrecked? Yes, wrecked and broke, like from a bad gambling habit. It takes all my self-discipline to put money away for the kids' college - hell, to buy food, for that matter. At the very least, great red Burgundy has wrecked me for all other wines.
Maybe I've told you this before. Years ago (way before kids and back in the day when these wines were not so spendy) there were five of us tasting old red Burgundies at a winemaker friend's house. We had opened and finished at least a case. Three of us had fallen asleep at the table. I and one other guy - a German from New Zealand who makes some Pinot - were sort of resting our chins on our fists on the table as we opened just one more Volnay - can't recall the vintage or producer for some reason, there seems to be a haze. Anyway, we stuck our noses in the glass and both sort of went "aaahhhh..." Then this guy opens one eye and says to me "John... John... this wine is naked unwashed women running through the forest!" And I knew exactly what he meant.
WRECKED, I tell you!
- December 6, 2009 at 3:49 PM
- Samantha Dugan said...
You and I, led around by our Pinot we are.
- December 6, 2009 at 4:17 PM
- The Woo said...
Nice. Burgundy is a total heartbreak wine... on this I have to agree with Randy. I'm really getting into it, but seriously, there is a fair amount of heartbreak out there. Drinking windows, vintage (not mention bottle) variation... and the unfortunate occurence of early/premature oxidation of the Whine Burgs... makes me wanna cry.
HOWEVER, I remember my epiphanic Burgundy moments like my first kiss... I think you and I have discussed that analogy before... I find myself constantly chasing that experience through Burgundy. Seriously. Sometimes spending untold large amounts of dollars (don't tell Tammy!) on the chase... and just when you decide it won't come back, you taste something and WHAMO back you are. With the gentle kiss of the softest lips... the consuming taste of a great Burg... and the chase begins again.
- December 7, 2009 at 11:25 AM
- Richard said...
Awesome writing, young lady. I was having a Burgundy conversation last night with a few friends while plowing through some very good Cali PN's. Mostly about me, while loving Burgundy, being afraid of what it would due to my bank account (and heart, if the comments here are any indication). Not that I would expect to come between you (any of you) and Burgundy, I would be interested if any one has tried Salinia PN (WE Bottoms V'yard, Sonoma Coast).
- December 7, 2009 at 2:23 PM
- Samantha Dugan said...
Just like a great love, when it makes you feel things so intensely it can break your heart but...fuck, what a way to go. I swear Burgundy is the only wine that inspires this kind of conversation....the kind of talk where you can no longer tell if you are talking about wine or a lover, dig it.
Thanks darlin'! I will not be the one to urge you to seek out Burgundy, keep at it until you have that moment, that naked, unwashed woman in the woods moment...but should you do so, you know where to come to talk about it! I have not had Salina but am hoping someone can chime in for ay.
- December 7, 2009 at 2:57 PM
I work with Samantha, and she asked me to respond about the Salinia Pinot. I have tried the wine (the 2006)--it's very tight right now, not showing much, but clearly they're trying for a wine with the weight and balance of a Burgundy. It's definitely not a ripe, thick oozemonster of a pinot, but something much more medium-bodied and only moderately ripe. I think it has potential, but there's no track record yet, so we'll see.
Sam's poetry (and I think that's the right description) about aged Burgundies is wonderful. Believe it or not, I've actually had a few (very few) aged domestic pinots that replicate the experience. I love aged/mature wines of all kinds. Few wine lovers seem to have the patience anymore. So sad.
- December 8, 2009 at 1:27 PM
- Samantha Dugan said...
Anon aka Bennett Traub, (The Wine Country's New World buyer and long time wine lover),
Thank you for taking the time to answer that for me, just like we say at the shop, "I don't know but I can find you someone that does" so there you go Richard, hope that helps. Oh and Bennett, thanks for the poetry comment, very kind amigo.
- December 8, 2009 at 2:16 PM
- Richard said...
Bennett - Thanks for the response. I had the 2007 Sunday night, we decanted it and I thought it was beautiful, much lighter in style than what I'm used to, but had excellent balance, and structure. I was very impressed. I have enjoyed the winemakers efforts with Pinot at LIOCCO as well. I also enjoy my wines (usually) with some age on them, and have had beautiful RRV pinots from Gary Farrell and Williams-Selyem from the early to mid 1990's recently.
thanks again,
- December 8, 2009 at 2:47 PM


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Chinese legal activist Chen Guangcheng (陳光誠), whose escape from house arrest sparked a diplomatic crisis between Beijing and Washington, accepted an invitation on Friday to visit Taiwan, underscoring his drive to ensure his influence as a human rights campaigner will continue abroad.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) visited Chen at New York University, where he is studying law, to invite him to visit Taiwan and to address the legislature.
"He very happily accepted our invitation and said the sooner he can come, the better," Lin said, speaking after the meeting.
Chen declined to speak to media, but did not cite a reason.
On Tuesday, Chen said he would "most likely" accept an invitation to visit Taiwan.
"I think I will," Chen said earlier this week. "Whoever invites me, I will accept."
Chen will bring his family to Taiwan before next summer to meet human rights workers, lawyers and legislators and possibly speak before Taiwan's legislature, Lin said.
After a quiet three-month period, a trip to Taiwan will catapult Chen back into the limelight. Being abroad has not cooled his campaign for human rights in China, analysts say.
"I think ... he's trying to find a way ... to use his prominence currently to make an effective influence in China even when he's not there," said Wang Songlian (汪松鐮), a researcher for rights group Chinese Human Rights Defenders.
One of China's most prominent dissidents, Hu Jia (胡佳), a close friend of Chen, said that Chen had expressed concern about how to maintain his influence while abroad.
"The point of maintaining his influence is for his future work and not because of his personal fame," said Hu, who was released from jail last year after serving three-and-a-half years for "inciting subversion of state power."
Hu said Chen wanted to ensure everything he says puts pressure on the Chinese government, which is one of the reasons Chen is writing a book.
Before Chen left China in June, he had told friends he was determined to stay. Many Chinese dissidents before him who had left play a marginal role in China's current rights movement and had warned Chen could be neutralized once in New York.
Without the Internet, the voices of the old-time dissidents were barely heard. For Chen, who uses Skype and e-mail with his wife's help, that will be different.
"Chen Guangcheng remains deeply involved and deeply engaged in the issues which he was concerned about ... when he was in China," said Phelim Kine, New York-based deputy director for the Asia division of Human Rights Watch, saying that Chen has been widening his network of contacts inside and outside China.
Lin said Chen's primary goal in taking the trip is learning about Taiwan's democratic system.
"The first thing [Chen] said was: 'Today's Taiwan is tomorrow's China. China must follow the democratic path that Taiwan took,'" Lin said, recounting his conversation with Chen.
The trip could complicate relations between Taiwan and China.
Taiwan, proudly democratic, regularly plays host to people China despises, including exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama. It is also home to two leaders of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests who escaped China: Wang Dan (王丹) and Wuer Kaixi (吾爾開希).
In e-mailed comments, Wang said speaking from Taiwan would help Chen reach Chinese citizens.
"China and Taiwan are now close. Anything [Chen] says in Taiwan, mainlanders will hear," Wang said, saying that comments made in the US will be only in the English-language media, which most Chinese will not have access to.


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With airlines beginning revenue passenger flights with modified Boeing 787s through May and June, the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board appears to be accelerating its search for the root cause of the lithium-ion battery problems that grounded the fleet for nearly five months.
What the agency does know is that one cell in the auxiliary power unit (APU) battery of a Japan Airlines 787 on the tarmac in Boston in January experienced multiple short circuits, leading to a thermal runaway in that cell, which then cascaded to other cells in the battery. What neither the NTSB nor Boeing knows is what caused the short in the first place.
The NTSB is hurrying to find out.
The agency on May 3 issued an "urgent" procurement request to have a Maryland company perform non-destructive computed tomography (CT) scans on as many as 48 Boeing 787 lithium-ion battery cells (there are eight cells in each of two 787 batteries) before and after certain types of testing to try to understand the internal anatomy of the failure. The work was to start on May 6 and extend for one week.
The Washington-based NTSB needed a local company to do the work because lithium-ion battery cells cannot be shipped by air.
Wording in the procurement suggests concern that the fleet is returning to the air without the root cause identified.
"[The tests] must also be completed within the shortest timeframe possible to provide the fastest possible receipt of this information to avoid potential future accidents involving this type of aircraft battery," says the agency in the documentation.
"Since the FAA has recently approved a plan intended to result in the Boeing 787 being approved for a return to service, the information from these tests (and the CT scans required to support these tests) is needed as soon as possible," says the NTSB.
The Board voiced similar concerns during a two-day investigative hearing on April 23 and 24 as part of its data gathering on the Boston incident.
"At this point in time, the lab has not come to an understanding of what the root cause is, so how do you go about designing a fix when you don't know what the root cause is?" NTSB member Earl Weener asked of Boeing during the hearing.
Jerry Hulm, a Boeing systems engineer and associate technical fellow, answered that the company had developed a two-pronged approach focusing on protecting the battery and the aircraft. The FAA approved the fix on April 19.
"Not knowing the exact root cause, our detailed analysis highlighted some improvements that could be made that would improve the capability of the battery to avoid these types of events," Hulm said of the additional insulation now added between the eight battery cells. "Not knowing the root cause, we had to preclude the smoke from getting into the aircraft," he said of the new 1/8th-in.-thick stainless steel battery enclosure with a vent line assembly that dumps smoke overboard if a thermal runaway in one cell does occur.
In its continued search for the root cause, the NTSB says it is planning to "conduct teardown examinations as soon as possible" of several aircraft batteries similar to "one involved in an aircraft incident", which is where the CT scans come in.
"To facilitate those examinations, CT scans of these batteries and their subcomponents are required to non-destructively determine as much information as possible about those components," the NTSB says.