text: Fun-raising page for Olive Sowerby I am participating in the End-to-End on May 5, 2018 to raise money for Bermuda charities including the Bermuda Diabetes Association, the Bermuda School of Music, the Bermuda Sloop Foundation, and PALS. In addition, a special "people's choice" award will be chosen by participants between The Family Centre, ABC Football, Bermuda Red Cross and Windreach. Hope you will support the End-to-End charities by pledging or joining in!


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Revs see no players added and significant upgrades entering the week of preparation for the Houston match.
The Revolution athletic training staff released the early-week injury report following the team's Tuesday morning training session. With a full week of training ahead for the first time since early July, the Revs will look to incorporate increasingly healthy players into the fold ahead of Saturday's Houston match.
The injury report for Tuesday, Aug. 10 is:
PROBABLE: Jason Griffiths (L hamstring strain)
QUESTIONABLE: Kevin Alston (L hamstring strain), Zak Boggs (concussion), Nico Colaluca (R ankle sprain), Marko Perovic (L gastroc strain)
OUT: Preston Burpo (R leg fracture), Kheli Dube (R MCL sprain), Edgaras Jankauskas (L adductor strain), Taylor Twellman (concussion)
Jason Griffiths has been upgraded from QUESTIONABLE last Friday to PROBABLE today. The first-year midfielder was a full participant in training this morning, and appears to be on pace to be available for selection on Saturday barring any set-backs.
Kevin Alston and Marko Perovi? were also both upgraded from OUT to QUESTIONABLE today. While both players were out at training, they worked off to the side for the duration of training with the medical staff.
Zak Boggs, also QUESTIONABLE - also fully participated today and will be looking to regain his match fitness after missing more than a full month because of his concussion.
Nico Colaluca continues to be listed as QUESTIONABLE and is working on his rehab and fitness with the medical staff, while the OUT list remains unchanged with no status updates since last week.

subset: commoncrawl


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|FloPro Designer
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Foreign policy is the topic of a U.S. State Department Town Meeting Thursday, October 19 in Lincoln. The public is invited to the free event, which is co-sponsored by Mayor Don Wesely's office, the City of Lincoln, the Mayor's Committee for International Friendship, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and the Lincoln Chamber of Commerce. The meeting is set for 2:30 to 5:30 p.m. at the Nebraska Union Auditorium, 14th and 'R' streets.
The featured speakers are Eric Lief, Senior Advisor to the Secretary of State and member of the department's policy planning staff, and Dr. Kamal Beyoghlow, a Research Fellow and Professor of International Relations and National Security at Marine Corps Command and Staff College, Quantico, Virginia.
Opening remarks will be given by Mayor Wesely and Harvey Perlman, UNL Interim Chancellor. Lief will speak at 2:45 p.m. on "The New Diplomacy." A reception is scheduled at 3:45 p.m., and Dr. Beyoghlow will speak at 4:30 p.m. on "Terrorism in the 21st Century." The speakers will take questions from the audience as part of their presentations.
The U.S. State Department holds Town Meeting across the country to provide a forum for an exchange of ideas between the department and the American public. It is an opportunity for participants to be heard by senior U.S. policy makers and to have their views carried back to Washington, D.C.
(Media note: To arrange telephone interviews with the speakers before the event, contact Schere Walker with the U.S. State Department's Office of Public Affairs, 202-647-5879.)


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or another title for this post would be "just roll with it". I didn't take a before of this desk but just picture light oak stain. My intention was to paint it just white. Old White ASCP because I didn't want to prime. I did sand the desk top because that gets more wear and tear. Well three coats later and I was having bleed through on the desk top. At this point I ran out of the Old White so I decided two toned it is. I mixed my own chalk paint using my dining room wall color (satin finish) and plaster of paris. recipe: 1/2 cup plaster of paris mixed with 1/2 cup water, then mix with 1 cup paint.
I taped off a line so that when the top is shut you wont see the gray blue inside. I thought about stenciling something accross the line but after I distressed it I liked it.
I then decided to add a little of the color to the detailed part on the legs.
I like how it turned out. I finished the whole thing with wax. I am sorta in love with wax right now.
The hardware was brass. I was going to spray paint it with oil rubbed bronze so I sanded the brass lightly and the finish came right off. Now I had brushed nickel. I liked that even better.
I have never painted a roll top desk before. My concern was how to paint the track so that it will still move. I painted it with two light coats sanding really well in between coats and then waxed to finish. You can see from the pictures that most of the paint sanded off but with a distressed finish it works. For the top part I just made sure not to have too much paint on the brush when I painted the ends that were in the track. It worked great.
I think my next piece needs to be bright teal or peacock blue or something, I am craving some color.
TTFN (I hope that still means what I think it means) ;)-
Full Circle Creations-All Star Block Party
Home Stories A to Z - Tutorials & Tips
No Minimalist Here - Open House Party
My Romantic Home - Show and Tell Friday
My Repurposed Life - Catch as Catch Can
French Country Cottage - Feathered Nest Friday
Farm House Porch - Cowgirl Up
Funky Junk Interiors - SNS
Uncommon Designs -Uncommonly Yours


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Bryanna Clark Grogan's Vegan Feast Kitchen/ 21st Century Table: The kitchen journal of a vegan food writer.. I'm on Facebook and Twitter (see links in sidebar at right).
Monday, February 22, 2010
UPDATE (Feb 2011): There is a new mushroom gyoza filling at this post!
I promised you a recipe or two from our Lunar New Year feast, so here's the all-time favorite one.
Guo Tie are called "potstickers" because of the unique cooking method-- the juicy dumplings fry and steam at the same time, leaving them delicately soft on top and crispy on the bottom. They are so popular in Japan that they have been assimilated into Japanese cuisine, under the name "gyoza". I've seldom met anyone who could stop eating them unless the plate was taken away! For this reason, I'm giving you a large recipe. If you can't use it all at once, they freeze well. You might as well make a large batch while you are putting out the effort!
As long as the filling is not too wet, the dumplings can be made in the morning, covered with plastic wrap and refrigerated until time to cook them. Or they can be frozen (directions below) and a few cooked whenever you want them.
This is my vegetarian version of the traditional pork-and-vegetable-stuffed potstickers, using either textured soy protein, ground seitan, or frozen tofu. Bob's Red Mill Organic TSP (available at amazon.com and many other vendors) is: "...made from identity-preserved, non-GMO soybeans. It's made by removing the soybean oil in an all natural water process, then cooking, extruding and drying ground soy."
In my cookbook, I have a recipe for homemade dumpling wrappers, which are actually very easy to make, but a bit time-consuming. (There is also an alternative filling recipe.) This time, I used the commercial ROUND egg-free dumpling wrappers (sometimes called "gyoza wrappers"). (The square wuntun wrappers contain egg.) The wrappers are often available frozen or in the produce section of large supermarkets, where egg roll and wonton wrappers are found. A 1 lb. package may contain from 50 to 75, depending on their thickness, so buy two packages for this recipe (extras can be frozen). If they are frozen, thaw them out completely before filling.
They come in a package something like this:
I also used a handy little gadget for filling and sealing the dumplings, instead of doing it by hand (hand-filling instructions are in my book)-- it's called a potsticker press. It's a little hinged plastic gadget (usually white, but he one I have is purple!) that's available in Asian and gourmet stores, usually for under $5. Amazon has them, too. (I would advise against getting a set of different-sized dumpling presses. I bought one, and the small press, which is for potstickers, doesn't seal properly.)
(If you don't have a potsticker press yet, and you just have to make these right now, here are 2 videos showing how to seal them by hand: this one gives you a close-up lesson on how to pleat and seal them; this one shows how fast you can do it once you know how!)
These are really very easy to make, and fun to make with friends!
It pleats and seals the dough for you with just a little pressure on the handles. With this handy gizmo, even a novice cook can make perfect potstickers and other dumplings.
Printable Recipe
Makes 80 dumplings
This recipe is from my book "Authentic Chinese Cuisine for the Contemporary Kitchen". (Reviews)
DUMPLING WRAPPERS: Use 80 round commercial egg-free "gyoza" or steamed dumpling wrappers (see notes in text above-- the square wuntun wrappers contain egg.)
2 2/3 c. dry textured soy protein granules,reconstituted with 2 c. plus 2 T. boiling water for 5 minutes (Bob's Red Mill Organic TSP, available at amazon.com is: "...made from identity-preserved, non-GMO soybeans. It's made by removing the soybean oil in an all natural water process, then cooking, extruding and drying ground soy.")
OR about 3 2/3 c. crumbled, squeezed frozen tofu
OR about 3 2/3 c. ground plain boiled un-seasoned gluten
2 large carrots, grated OR 2 c. fresh bean sprouts (or 1 c. each) 1 c. minced green onions
4 large cloves garlic, minced or crushed
4 tsp. grated fresh ginger
1/4 c. light soy sauce
1 tsp. salt
3 1/2 T. oil (such as peanut or canola) PLUS 1 T. roasted sesame oil, mixed
BRYANNA'S SPICY DIPPING SAUCE Makes about 3/4 c.
1/2 c. light soy sauce
1/4 c. rice, cider or white wine vinegar
2 tsp. roasted sesame oil
2 tsp. grated fresh ginger
1 tsp. brown sugar
OPTIONAL: pinch dried red chili flakes or 1/8 tsp. chili garlic paste
Mix all of the ingredients in a bowl. Can be made ahead of time.
DIRECTIONS: Make the various components of the recipes in the order given.
MAKE THE DIPPING SAUCE and set aside.
TO MAKE THE FILLING, mix all of the ingredients together well, preferably in a food processor. Before filling the dumplings, drain off any excess liquid from the Filling.
TO FILL USING A POTSTICKER PRESS: center a wrapper on the opened-up press. (If the wrapper is not perfectly round and does not fit to the edge of the press, you can gently stretch the wrapper with dry hands.)
Moisten the wrapper edge with water, using a small brush, and place about 2 teaspoons of Filling in the center of each circle.
Close the press, using pressure to seal the wrapper.
Pop the dumpling out and start again.
Arrange the dumplings on floured cookie sheets and cover with clean tea towels as you work. NOTE: It's important to keep your hands and the potsticker press dry, so keep a clean cloth nearby to wipe with.
TO FREEZE THE UNCOOKED DUMPLINGS place them on floured cookie sheets in the freezer until frozen solid. Loosen the frozen dumplings by banging the pan on the table. Place them in plastic bags or rigid freezer containers and fasten airtight before returning to the freezer. Freeze up to a month. Cook them about a minute longer than unfrozen ones.
A 10" skillet will hold about 15 dumplings, a 12" skillet about 18, and a 14" skillet about 30 dumplings, but with a skillet this large you will probably have to move the outer ones to the middle and vice versa for even browning. If you are cooking all of the dumplings at once, you will need several skillets, or you'll have to cook in batches. Use heavy skillets, such as cast iron.
Heat the skillet(s) over high heat until very hot. Add 1 T. of the mixed oil to the 10" skillet (1 and 1/2 T. to the 12" skillet, or 2 T. to the 14" skillet). Swirl the oil around and lower the heat to medium-high. Remove the pan(s) from the heat while you place the dumplings in the pans(s), not quite touching, pleated side up. Return the pan(s) to the heat.
When the bottoms of the dumplings begin to brown-- about 1 minute-- add about 1/3 c. of hot water to the pan (about 1/2 c. to the 12", 2/3 c. to the 14"). Cover and cook until the water evaporates-- about 5 minutes. Cook 2-3 minutes more, until a dark-golden-brown crust forms on the bottom, the dumpling dough is translucent on top, and they start to puff up.
Remove from the pan and serve them browned-side-up with a little bowl of dipping sauce for each diner.
Clean each skillet out thoroughly before cooking another batch in it.
TO OVEN STEAM-FRY THE DUMPLINGS, (This is an option if you're making lots at once and are busy with other things-- not quite as crispy, but still good!)
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (Make sure that your oven is hot enough-- use an oven thermometer, if possible) and oil two 9x13" baking pans with a bit of roasted sesame oil. Place the dumplings in rows, pleated-side-up, barely touching but in a single layer. Pour 1 c. of hot vegetarian broth into each pan. Cover the pans tightly with foil. Bake for 20 minutes near the bottom of the oven, or until the wrappers are tender and the bottoms are browned. Serve them hot, giving each guest a little bowl of Dipping Sauce.
If you use bamboo steamers, line them with a couple of layers of cheesecloth, or place a little square of foil under each dumpling, or use lettuce leaves as liners. Place the dumplings 1/2" apart. You can stack two steamers up at once. Steam over high heat 8 minutes and serve immediately. Or you can arrange the dumplings on an oiled plate and steam in a wok or other pot over medium-high heat for 8 minutes.
Steamed dumplings are usually served with a simple dipping sauce of rice vinegar with shredded fresh ginger added.
9 comments:
- HayMarket8 said...
These look incredible! Unreal! I may try hand hand at these even though I do not have a fancy press thing! ;0
- Tue Feb 23, 08:11:00 AM PST
- Bryanna Clark Grogan said...
The press is available all over the place, so have a look, but if not here are 2 videos showing how to seal them by hand:
- Tue Feb 23, 09:58:00 AM PST
- julie hasson said...
I'm so sorry to hear about your cat Bryanna. Our hearts go out to you guys.
Your potstickers look beautiful. I think that I lost my press, and may just need to pick up another one.
- Tue Feb 23, 06:09:00 PM PST
- Maria said...
I just found your blog! Great recipe for pot stickers. Thank you for sharing so many ethnic vegan recipes. I write a blog on vegan world travel. I will link to your blog from my site. I would appreciate if you would link to my blog from your site.
- Thu Feb 25, 10:28:00 AM PST
- Jane said...
What fantastic food pictures! You make food look like art, very warm congratulations. sorry to hear about your cat.
- Wed Apr 07, 04:23:00 PM PDT
- pat in comox said...
Bryanna, these look absolutely fabulous! who would deign to have pigs killed when such a solution as this is here? are these wrappers available in Courtenay?
- Mon Nov 07, 01:25:00 PM PST
Hi there,
I love vegan gyoza but I wanted to let you know that it is totally possible to make them without using texturized vegetable protein. This is a product that vegans need to avoid, as it is made using hexane, an industrial solvent, to process the soybeans. Wise vegans avoid TVP, as it is likely made with GMO soybeans, if it is not labeled "organic."
Best to make them using mushrooms, veggies and ground walnuts.
- Sun Feb 17, 05:55:00 AM PST
- Bryanna Clark Grogan said...
Anonymous, you will notice that I gave alternatives to TVP ("OR about 3 2/3 c. crumbled, squeezed frozen tofu
OR about 3 2/3 c. ground plain boiled un-seasoned gluten"), but you should know that organic, gmo-free, solvent-free TPp is available.
- Sun Feb 17, 08:19:00 AM PST
- Bryanna Clark Grogan said...
PS: I meant ti write "TVP", but it is also called TSP. Bob's Red Mill Organic TSP (available at amazon.com and many other vendors) is: "...made from identity-preserved, non-GMO soybeans. It's made by removing the soybean oil in an all natural water process, then cooking, extruding and drying ground soy."
- Sun Feb 17, 08:40:00 AM PST


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Program Developer necesitaba un nuevo diseño de logotipo y lanzó un concurso de diseño en 99designs.
Un ganador ha sido elegido entre 29 diseños de 8 diseñadores freelance.
V.I.P. Real Estate Brokerage Co.
Logo will be used to identify a real estate company. Owners and management team of this company are in early 30 years of age. This means that our attitude is professional, honest and contemporary. Not your "traditional" brokerage. Even though we work with older aged investors, we maintain the fresh, new generation brokers' image.
We target V.I.P. Commercial Properties Investors. Our portfolio of clients consist of older, savvy investors who dedicate to buying Commercial properties. Usual clients range of age are between 30 to 65 years of age.
Need logo and slogan as follows:
V.I.P. Real Estate Brokerage Co.
slogan: Expert Agents At Your Service.
Broken down into:
V.I.P. (Red fonts and be creative) A modern, simple, professional. Stay away from conventional fonts.
Real Estate (Black, attractive fonts).
Brokerage Co. (Matching fonts like "Real Estate") This will be used next to, or underneath "V.I.P. Real Estate":
Expert Agents At Your Service. (must be red, smaller fonts). Slogan must not be attached to logo.
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I need to be able to place logo on any background.
Descubre cómo funciona un concurso de diseño u obtén más información sobre nuestros servicios de diseño de logo.


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OSWEGO, NY – Oswego Speedway Novelis Supermodified veteran Pat Lavery returns to the 'Steel Palace' in 2014 with more confidence and swagger than ever, as he again prepares to climb aboard the Double Deuce Racing No. 22 with renewed championship aspirations.
After 15-years of action at the Speedway, Lavery finally realized his life-long dream of reaching Turning Stone Resort Casino Victory Lane at Oswego one year ago, becoming the 94th different Supermodified victor at the Speedway out dueling Kody Graham in lapped traffic on June 15 of last season.
Despite a lack luster beginning to 2013, a first career feature win and five Top 5 finishes ending the season, has Lavery chomping at the bit to take another run at the title that he narrowly missed back in 2012.
"If I wasn't thinking about the championship, then there's something wrong with me," said Lavery. "I'd like to win the first race and then the second race, and every race after that this year, like everybody else. Last year was a bit of a letdown. We kind of missed it the first race, then had our motor issue, crashed out of a race. I think out of the first five races we only finished two and we normally finish a lot of races. After the points were out of the picture last year, we just focused on getting the car better, and I think by the end of the year we had one of the best cars out there. I hope we can start off 2014 with that same car."
That same car is the exact piece Lavery has had at his disposal the last several years driving for Bob Hoefer and Bill Samuels, the very car which took Lavery to the pole position of the Budweiser International Classic in 2010, 2012 and 2013.
While the AMB scoring system says Lavery and Double Deuce have been the fastest Novelis Supermodified team at the Speedway the last handful of years, Lavery acknowledges there are a slew of new racecars looking to debut this season with returning veteran drivers that look to make 2014 a year unlike any other.
"It is going to be very tough this season," said Lavery. "Everyone knows how fast those new Hawk cars are. It will only be a matter of time until two, three, or four of those new cars start up front. You are going to have to work hard to get a Top 5 this year. It is going to be very tough."
With that in mind Lavery and his team, comprised of the father/son set-up duo of Dave and Aric Iosue, realize they can only control what comes out of their shop.
"We try not to worry about what is going on with everybody else at the track," said Lavery. "We try to concentrate on what we have to do to get our car as good as we can get it. I feel that this car we have is as good a car as any of the new ones. Dave and Aric (Iosue) set this car up for me every week, and I know exactly what I have every time I go on the race track."
A fan of Oswego Speedway and Supermodified racing from an early age, Lavery could not be more excited for his 2014 campaign as he looks to continue to have fun with family and friends, contend for race wins, and do it all with team co-owners Hoefer and Samuels.
"I really have to thank Bob Hoefer and Billy and Linda Samuels. I could not be in a better place for me," said Lavery. "When they kick me out, I'll be done racing, but this is where I want to be racing with these guys. We are still competitive, still having fun, and that is what matters."
Lavery went on to thank a long list of supporters of he and his Double Deuce Racing team.
"All of our sponsors have been great to us," said Lavery. "Especially Lighthouse Lanes, Compass Credit Union, R.E. Davis & Son, Performance Harley Davidson, Vashaw's Collision, The Big Dipper, John Bush Auto Sales, The Comic Shop, and Chris Nelson Insurance. I also have to be sure to thank my fiancée Kelly, who puts up with me being gone in the garage all the time."
On track activity begins at Oswego Speedway on April 26 with the annual open test session for all racing divisions.
Testing will run from 1-5 p.m. on April 26 and is free for spectators to sit in the main grandstand.
Racing action at the Speedway begins on May 3 with the 64th annual Gater Racing News Opening Night featuring the Shea Concrete 'Steel Palace' ISMA Super Series 'Irish' Jack Murphy Memorial 56 and the opening round of the Pathfinder Bank SBS Road to the Championship.
The Speedway's flagship non-wing Novelis Supermodified division will kick-off their 53rd consecutive season of racing at the Home of Supermodifieds on May 10 presented by Mitchell's Speedway Press and Planet Fitness of Oswego. Nearly 30 Novelis Supermodifieds are expected in be in action including defending champion Otto Sitterly and Indianapolis 500 veterans Joe Gosek and Davey Hamilton.
For more information on Oswego Speedway be sure to visit www.oswegospeedway.com
You can also FOLLOW on Twitter @OswegoSpeedway and LIKE on Facebook at www.facebook.com/OswegoSpeedway.


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Take a breath, read Ecclesiastes 1:9.
Yep. I got the same type of response when I was a Protestant and went to a college affiliated with my group. The official stance was that we were not a denomination, but rather a "movement" (and they predated the whole non-denominationalism stuff by quite a while, I think). But the professors there pretty much called that bull and admitted that, yeah, we were a denomination, why not just admit it.
Is this the same Chris Haw who co-wrote Jesus for President?
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Mr. and Mrs. Maurice Korthaus of Smithfield announce the engagement and forthcoming marriage of their daughter, Fran Korthaus to David McCall, son of Michael and Cheryl McCall of Crestwood.
The bride-elect is a graduate of Western Kentucky and University of Kentucky and works at the McLean County Cooperative Extension office as the 4-H Youth Development Agent in Calhoun.
The groom-elect is a graduate of Eastern Kentucky University and works at Grand Meadow Farms in Crestwood.
Bonnie Estes and Rich Clemons announce their engagement and forthcoming marriage.
The wedding will take place at their home in Bethlehem on Saturday, Sept. 3, 2011.
Arts & Crafts
Free adult scrapbooking offered at the Eminence Community Life Center from 10 a.m. to noon, on Thursdays.
Church events
Henry Christian Church will be having "Country Hope" at 7 p.m., Sunday, Aug. 14, with Donnie and Sharon Finney, Steve Foster and Chuck Berry providing country gospel music.
Woman held for slaying
An all-day drinking party in a Shelby County farmhouse ended with the shotgun slaying Tuesday night of Robert "Red" Lewis, 35.
In a signed statement made before three State policemen, Mrs. Maggie Smith, 29, Louisville, said she shot Lewis, a tenant farmer with whom she had been living for two months "as man and wife."
County Attorney William H. Hayes quoted her as saying, "It was either him or me."
200 Years Ago
George Armstrong received $1.50 from Sheriff John Dodd as bounty on the head of one wolf, which he killed in Henry County.
On Aug. 11, 1811, Robert Hunter married Fanny Payne, daughter of R. B. Payne. The Marriage Bond, for 50 pounds, was co-signed by Row Thomas.
A claim for $3 was paid to Theodicous Vanosdol by Joel Jackson, Deputy Sheriff, for assisting in the search for and guarding Benjamin Yount after his capture.
175 Years Ago
Submitted by Eleanor Sharp
Arts & Crafts
Free adult scrapbooking offered at the Eminence Community Life Center from 10 a.m. to noon, on Thursdays.
Blood drive
New Castle Christian Church is hosting a blood drive in Trent Hunter and Clint Diven's honor from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Friday, Aug. 5, at the New Castle Christian Church gym, 260 S. Main Street, New Castle.
Church events
Every woman knows that if she hangs onto some favorite item of clothing it will come into fashion again. For men it's the width of the tie, the size of the jacket lapel, and the number of suit buttons that recycle again and again. Often there is about a 20-year turn around for styles in clothing, and the same holds true in other areas. When looking at current trends in fitness, one can see that many "old school" workouts are again popular. Just like fashion, the fabric may be updated, but the basic style is similar.
It's hard to believe that the lazy days of summer are quickly coming to an end, and school bells are just around the corner. You have probably already started buying new school clothes and school supplies. An important thing to remember with each new school year is to make sure your child's school entry or sports physical and vaccinations are up to date.
New Castle Christian Church is hosting a blood drive in Trent Hunter and Clint Diven's honor from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Friday, July 29, at the New Castle Christian Church gym, 260 S. Main Street, New Castle.
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The Henry County Local is your source for local news, sports, events, and information in Eminence, KY and the surrounding area.


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This article originally appeared on Stories of Conflict and Love.
Jason Russell, the co-founder of Invisible Children, was detained for public masturbation a few days ago. He and his organization had been in the spotlight because of Kony 2012, the Invisible Children advocacy campaign that yielded the fastest viral video we have known.
Critical reaction to the campaign raised some poignant questions about storytelling and advocacy: How do we balance a compelling call for advocacy among those far away with respecting the wishes and priorities of those on the ground? How do we preserve Ugandans' dignity, integrity, and agency over their lives in the process of telling their story? How do we transform a complex history into a call to action without oversimplifying, dramatizing, or falling into the very stereotypes we seek to combat?
Many have argued that Invisible Children has failed in striking this balance, thus potentially creating a video that is inaccurate, disrespectful, or out of sync with the wishes of Ugandans for their country and with their perceptions of the conflict. I have read these opinions with respect and am proud to be part of a community that analyzes the meaning of responsible charity, dissects advocacy strategies, and does not shy away from the difficult questions.
People often ask if working in conflict and post-conflict areas disillusions me and, at times, it does. What I find most disillusioning, however, is cynicism. Snark is not a companion I wish to welcome in a journey of service. I was, therefore, greatly disillusioned by the tone of the conversation about #kony2012. Among some, there was a sense of rejoice in the backlash of the Kony 2012 campaign. There is a sense of celebration of a take-down here and it feels thoroughly out of place. Since news of Jason Russell's breakdown circulated, the hashtag #horny2012 appeared on Twitter, along with other distasteful jokes and mockery about Kony 2012 and Jason Russell's public indecency. Organizations are run by humans: fallible humans whose errors will (rightfully) come at a high cost to them. I cannot help but want to meet these humans' leaps of faith -- and even their missteps -- with compassion. I refuse to put compassion in the "bucket of feelings" many colleagues of mine will automatically render irrelevant to the conversation. I refuse to treat extending compassion as blindness to critique.
I also refuse to point fingers at mistakes and missteps without necessarily providing counterpoints of models that get it right, of individuals and organizations who do it better. In that vein, I greatly appreciate Akhila Kolisetty's Feature Friday, in which she profiles projects that inspire, and the Pulitzer Center's storytelling initiatives, most recently in the theme of reproductive choice in Africa. This is not an exhausting list, or even a sufficient one, but it is a start of my own commitment to sharing stories and projects that give me hope. Constant critique causes action paralysis, as though the service-based part of me is petrified of moving for fear of causing more harm than good. This awareness that good intentions are not enough, that skills matter, that storytelling impacts those the story is about as much as those who hear it or tell it is necessary in these environments is necessary -- but I would never board the plane without drawing courage from role models and having faith that the combination of intentions, skills and compassion can make impact.
I refuse to dismiss storytelling at large. The story of a conflict, a people, and a place cannot only be told through hard data and expert opinion. I agree with many that relying on locals for the telling of these stories ensures accurate, honest storytelling that represents the voice of those portrayed. Yet, I find the notion that we can extract ourselves -- the foreigners, the non-locals -- from the stories misguided. By being there, asking questions, bearing witness, we weave ourselves into the story. We form a perspective. Our own voice comes through every now and then; instead of lamenting that, I welcome another layer to the story, as long as we can remain aware of our own biases and can commit ourselves to making that layer honest and respectful.
And finally, accounting for emotions in a conversation need not be less credible than rational critique. Extending compassion to Jason Russell and Invisible Children does not make one an "Invisible Children apologist" or a mushy, feely person whose judgment is clouded by unicorns. I am thoroughly exhausted by hearing that "you will only survive as a conflict specialists if you maintain distance, block out feelings and develop thick skin." I would much rather serve guided by vulnerability: by discovering and embracing my own, by seeing it and welcoming it in others, rather than denying it, chasing it away or treating it as a sign of weakness. I am not choosing to extend compassion because I am naturally good; I am not picking vulnerability because I am naive or because it is a comfortable option. Rather, they are practices I am shyly, clumsily and slowly welcoming, in an attempt to recognize shared humanity.
Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons


text: My great-grandfather was David Paton McKay. According to a family Bible, he was born on 31 July 1841 in Glasgow, and emigrated to New Zealand aboard the "Metropolis" in 1863. On the ships passenger list he was named David P. McKie, from Lanarkshire. According to family, the ancestral home for David Paton McKay was Melness, Talmine Bay, Kyle of Tongue. This seems a long way from Glasgow, where he was supposedly born. I have been unable to find a birth certificate for David Paton McKay (or McKie), or any other information about him in Scotland. I would appreciate contact with anyone who might have information or be able to help locate information about him, his parents, etc.


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text:
In the previous section, we saw that the
element can take either a
column attribute
or nested
column elements. This option is repeated
on many elements throughout mapping metadata. The motivation for this
dualistic approach is to make the common case easy, but retain
the flexibility to handle more complex scenarios. When a mapping has
a single column with default properties, you can use the
column attribute to just name the column. When, on the
other hand, a mapping has multiple columns or columns with non-default
properties, you can fall back to nested
elements. We saw this in
Example 15.3, "Datastore Identity Mapping" above: most classes
used the
column attribute to simply name the
primary key column, but
Author and
Magazine used a nested element in order to
specify additional column information. Column elements have the
following attributes:
name: The column name. Later in this
chapter, we will come across situations where a column is not
in the expected table. In these cases, you can specify the
column name as
<table-name>.<column-name>, or even
The column name is required for runtime use. The reason the
name attribute isn't marked
#REQUIRED in the DTD is that some vendors
may allow you to partially-specify column information during
the mapping process, and have the rest filled in by a
vendor-supplied tool.
jdbc-type: Determines what JDBC APIs the
implementation uses to load and store data to the column.
This attribute is only required when the column uses a
non-default type for the associated data - for example,
when a
String is mapped to a
CLOB column rather than a
CHAR or
Standard values for this attribute include all of the constant
names from the
java.sql.Types class, in
either uppercase or lowercase: BIGINT, bigint, BLOB, blob,
DECIMAL, decimal, VARCHAR, varchar, etc.
sql-type: The database-specific column type
name. This attribute is only used by vendors that support
creating tables from your mapping metadata. During table
creation, the vendor will use the text of the
sql-type attribute as the declared column
type. If no
sql-type is given, the vendor
will choose an appropriate default based on the
column's JDBC type, length, and scale.
length: The column length. This attribute
is typically only used during table creation, though some
vendors might use it to validate data before flushing.
CHAR and
columns typically default to a length of 255; other
column types use the database default.
scale: The number of decimal digits a numeric
column can hold. This attribute is often used in
conjunction with
length to form the proper
column type name during table creation.
allows-null: Whether the column can store
null values. Vendors may use this attribute both for table
creation and at runtime; however, it is never required.
Defaults to
false for primary key columns
and columns holding primitive field values, and
true for all other columns.
default-value: A database-assigned default
value for the column if no value is given in the
INSERT SQL. Vendors will pass this default on to the
database during table creation. When a new object is being
persisted with Java default field values, vendors may use this
attribute to decide whether to include the columns for those
fields in the generated
Kodo uses a combination of a column's default value and JDO
target: In joins, the column that this
column joins to. We examine joins in detail in the next
target-field: In joins, the primary key
field of the related type that this column joins to. We
examine joins in detail in the next section.
Kodo also defines extensions to mark that the current mapping should not attempt to insert or update a column's value. See Section 7.9.3, "Column Extensions" in the Reference Guide.


text:
Markets Eyeing Fed Minutes Report
John Shipman previews the day on Wall Street, where traders will be ready to analyze minutes from the most recent Fed meeting. Photo: Getty Images.
This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.
... the the ... U S stocks that for a breather after a strong run Dow Jones' John Shipman here's a preview of today's trading John good morning good morning still were flat with will where U S stocks look ... looking flat rate now head of the FOMC minutes that are coming out at two o'clock ... we've had a strong role and it looks like stocks of overcome this a deeper anxiety that they had immediately following the meeting three weeks ago ... it completely rebounded from although the declines that they as stocks have rebounded that yields have fallen ... Dell there ... but they're ... not as high as they were so good and the actual act at two ten year Treasury's two little bit better this morning as well it's been interesting weakens that we've seen ... stocks of ... Treasury ten year Treasury least we'll gold all going up in tandem with the last the previous two days ... looks like that me change a little bit today but will was still strong at something around a hundred and five a barrel right now ... but I'm so you were ... given a strong run with this it's the strongest one blue-chip since the new year ... Nasdaq's had a fall in half year high and Russell two thousand ... All-Time High its thirty seventh all time high this year ... so ... appropriate to see little that a breather ahead of other ... dissect alleged versus the stock's trailing the market ... write the sound of the ... leading market radio market not ... but you know when the engines in this economy is China ... Friday we get some weaker trade out of the China do is lose a weaker trading up on China but to um you seem to have a little that an impact on Japan's market overnight but dismissed in Chinese market Shanghai and Hong Kong were full of ... strong I'd I'd never think that ... the deal it really takes a backseat to what ... the ... central bankers are doing and I think that's can it be ... um that were the focus remained Linda had Asian markets are quickly at continued ... so ... and ... in Europe from the it seemed like the China trade data may have that little bit more of a weak European markets were down a little bit and also reacting to pets ANP's on ... downgrade of Italy late yesterday


text:
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text:
Robotics Case Studies
Case Studies
- This case study is filed under:
- Industry
Robotic Bag Palletizing System Helps Forbes Chocolate Productivity
FANUC America Corporation Posted 09/17/2004
Forbes Chocolate is a supplier of blended cocoa and flavorings used in the food industry. Forbes blends are used in products such as milk, ice cream, soft serve, frozen yogurt and baked goods. Based in Cleveland, Ohio, Forbes Chocolate is a unique company with a long history. The company was founded in 1901 and has been part of the Geringer family for 58 years.
While retaining the family-owned feel and responsiveness, Forbes has adapted in many ways to the changing industries that they serve. As part of this ongoing process, they have recently added a FANUC Robotics bag palletizing system.
System Requirements and Challenges
The Forbes facility had limited space available for palletizing automation. The robotic palletizing system needed to fit in an area restricted by existing equipment and had to allow complete access to adjacent aisleways. The Forbes operators also needed easy access to other process equipment around the robot system as part of the normal operation.
The palletizing system had to be capable of handling four different sizes and styles of bags and had to accommodate changes in each bag's filled dimensions and firmness. The bag characteristics vary depending on the density of the Forbes blends used and the fill volumes required. The robot program had to allow flexibility to easily adjust palletizing positions to adapt to the bag variations.
The system needed to be capable of palletizing the product on two different sizes of pallets and to different unit load heights. The pallet type and load heights were to be pre-specified based on the Forbes Chocolate customer requirements.
While the process rate requirements were well within the 25 bags per minute capability of the FANUC Robotics palletizing robots, the required rate had to be evaluated in detail during the proposal development phase due to the technical challenges.
To address these challenges, FANUC Robotics provided a demonstration of the Forbes system prior to finalizing the system proposal. The demonstration validated the proposed palletizing system concept as well as system throughput requirements. Once the functional challenges were met, FANUC Robotics worked with Forbes to develop multiple iterations of system concepts to find an optimal configuration that met all of the process requirements with minimal disruption to the existing process.
System Components
FANUC Robotics supplied palletizing system hardware consisting of the FANUC Robotics M-410iB robot, bag handling end-of-arm-tooling, in-feed accumulation conveyor, pallet accumulation conveyor, and a push button interface panel.
The M-410iB robot is a high-speed, four-axis robot designed specifically for palletizing applications. The 160 kg payload version was selected for the Forbes application.
The main interface point for the palletizing system is through the FANUC Robotics iPendant. The iPendant has a multiple window color display, which allows input and adjustment of system palletizing parameters, and provides quick access to diagnostic and help information. In addition to the iPendant, a limited function push button interface panel was also included. The operator uses the interface panel to signal the robot when a pallet is staged and the peripheral components are ready for automatic operation.
The end-of-arm-tool is a mechanical clamp style tool that provides three clamping motions. Two motions are used to square/grip the bag during pick-up, and one motion is used to prevent any bag movement during high-speed robot transfer. The in-feed accumulation conveyor accepts bags from the Forbes label conveyor and consistently positions them for robotic pickup. Roll spacing and side rails were designed to allow smooth transfer of the bags and to provide access for the end-of-arm-tool.
The multiple zone pallet accumulation conveyor allows staging of an empty pallet, registers a pallet in the robot palletizing location and stages a completed pallet for removal.
System Operation and Performance
Based on the specific customer order, the Forbes operator uses the FANUC Robotics iPendant and Pallet Tool software to select the appropriate pallet pattern, bag size/type and number of layers to be palletized.
The operator positions the appropriate empty pallet on the load end of the pallet accumulation conveyor and attaches a corrugated base to the pallet. Once the pallet is prepared, the operator pushes a button on the interface panel to indicate that the pallet is ready for transfer into the robot work envelope. The M-410i robot, powered by the R-J3iB Controller, signals the conveyor to transfer the pallet to the palletizing position where it is clamped to ensure consistent positioning for the palletizing process.
After passing through an upstream labeling operation, filled bags enter the robot work envelope. When in position on the in-feed conveyor, the robot picks up a bag and places it onto the pallet. The robot, which relies on operator input through the iPendant, continues the palletizing operation until the unit load is completed.
When the load is complete, the robot controller initiates the transfer of the pallet out of the robot work envelope where it is removed with a forklift. The multiple zones on the pallet conveyor allow the robot system to transfer in a staged pallet and continue palletizing after the completed pallet is transferred out of the work envelope.
The R-J3iB Controller with PalletTool software monitors various photo sensors and controls the transfer of bags into the robot work envelope as well as the flow of bags through the upstream processes.
System Benefits
The main objectives of the robotic palletizing system were to relieve employees from heavy lifting and to increase production throughput – both objectives were achieved. Forbes operators that had previously palletized products are now performing more value added processes.
The Forbes operators have taken ownership of the robotic palletizing system, and in a short period of time, the overall efficiency of the fill line has improved. In many cases, daily production volumes have already exceeded the previous manual process.
In addition, the powerful robotic system, which can stack product much higher than manual palletizers, has helped Forbes increase warehouse capacity and reduce pallet handling and forklift transfer.
Forbes Chocolate has always had the reputation of being a company that emphasizes customer satisfaction, attention to detail and flexibility to adapt to customer needs.
''Forbes is a company that continues to do business in support of Quality First,'' said Keith Geringer, vice president of Forbes. ''The robotic system has helped us improve productivity, and that means that we're well positioned to be more flexible and responsive to our customer's needs. This truly is a win-win situation.''


text:
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text:
The Index of Banned Words (The Continually Updated Edition)
Over the summer, I posted a list of words I banned from my science writing class at Shoals Marine Lab. Readers offered some equally abysmal suggestions. And this fall, teaching a seminar at Yale, I came across some others. I suspect that this list is just going to keep growing. So I'm giving it a home here, where I can add in new entries as they arise in assignments in my classes. You can easily direct people to it through this url: http://bit.ly/IndexBanned (caps required).
By assembling this list, I don't mean to say that no one should ever use these words. I am not teaching people how to write scientific papers. What I mean is that anyone who wants to learn how to write about science–and to be read by people who aren't being paid to read–should work hard to learn how to explain science in plain yet elegant English–not by relying on scientific jargon, code-words, deadening euphemisms, or meaningless cliches.
[Update: Here's a post where I go into more depth about why words matter–along with sentences, paragraphs, etc.]
Access (verb)
And/or (Logic gates do not belong in prose)
Breakthrough (unless you are covering Principia Mathematica)
Captive observation
Clinical setting
Community ecology (this ban does not extend to the subject of community ecology)
Cracked the code (especially when it comes to sequencing DNA. DNA is not the same thing as the genetic code)
Demographic leveling
et al
Food source (when just "food" will do)
"Further research is needed" (or anything like that)
Holy Grail
Impacted (unless you're talking about teeth or bowels)
In (when used in phrases like "experiments in mouse")
In vitro
In vivo
Informed (people can be informed. As for "The discussion was informed…"? Ack.)
Insult (referring to an injury)
Interface (especially as a verb)
Intermediate host
Interested in (as in, "Dr. Frankenstein is interested in tissue regeneration." Transforms passion and excitement into a boring parlor game)
It has been shown (noxious in many ways)
Literally (even if it's used accurately, the word is generally useless)
Marine environment
Material properties
Miracle (or Miracle cure)
Missing link (don't get me started…)
Molecular systematists
Multiple (as in many? Then just use many)
Musty (when referring to museum collections, unless those collections are in fact in an attic with holes in the roof through which rain steadily falls)
Non-marine environment
Novel (the adjective is banned. The noun, as in War and Peace, is fine.)
Paradigm shift
Parameter (also, parameterize)
Predator-Prey Relationship
Recently (when you actually mean "ten years ago")
Recruit, recruitment (unless you're writing about the Army)
Regime (unless you're referring to Mobutu in Zaire)
Robust (as in, robust data. But robust wine? Yes, please.)
Scientists have learned in recent years that… (A dodge to escape explaining what actually happened)
Substrate [try things like dirt, mud, rock, etc.]
System (as in, "He chose mouse as a system to study")
This (if there is no antecedent in sight)
Trivial (in the way scientists like to use it: "This problem is trivial." Non-trivial is even worse.)
We (as in "We now know the fatality ratio of the current H1N1 influenza epidemic." We includes your readers, most of whom don't know–yet.)
Comments (116)
Links to this Post
- Miracles and paradigm shifts: Banned words : Covering Health | December 4, 2009
- SciFoo 2010: a Conference from the Future : The Beautiful Brain | August 3, 2010
- Project Exploration Blog » From Sci Foo to You | August 9, 2010
- The Index of Banned Words | The Loom | Discover Magazine | August 22, 2010
- The Index of Banned Words (The Continually Updated Edition) | The Loom | Discover Magazine « StLeoScience | August 30, 2010
- On the Pernicious Myth of the Free Market « The Inverse Square Blog | September 7, 2010
- On jargon, and why it matters in science writing | Not Exactly Rocket Science | Dog Eared Tutorials | November 24, 2010
- Rangle | November 26, 2010
- links for 2010-11-26 « Science Training for Journalists | November 26, 2010
- The letter W « Today is brought to you by | December 6, 2010
- Uncle Mike's Friday BROWSing: The "UnCONVENTIONal" Edition | Hire Jim Essian | January 14, 2011
- Why English Profs will never take over the Royal Academy | The Royal Academy at Osyth Blog | January 14, 2011
- A layman reading an apprentice's books « Neuromancy | January 23, 2011
- The Index of Banned Words (The Continually Updated Edition) | The Loom | Discover Magazine | PalPie.Com | February 3, 2011
- Paul's Thing » Banned Books News Roundup | February 6, 2011
- How to write a good research blog post | February 24, 2011
- Scientific Communication all-you-can-eat Linkfest | A Blog Around The Clock | May 21, 2011
- A remedy for inaccessible science? | kylegillespie.org | December 5, 2011
- Promoting Ocean Literacy - a DSN Core Value | Deep Sea News | December 22, 2011
- On systems biology and bullshit « Scientific B-sides | February 27, 2012
- Social Media and the Love of Science – Eco Matters - State of the Planet | February 29, 2012
- Social Media and the Love of Science – Eco Matters – State of the … | March 5, 2012
- "Process" isn't jargon « ThermalToy | March 25, 2012
- "System" isn't jargon, either « ThermalToy | March 25, 2012
- The problem with banning words « Sentence first | April 26, 2012
- Communicating Science | On a Quasi-Related Note | April 29, 2012
Will you be explaining what's wrong with these words, or is it supposed to be obvious?
I noticed that in:
MIT does not go in for the Harvard: Leonard Hall et al or Leonard Hall and others, but the altogether more matey: Hall and co. or Hall and his mates.
Of course, I have no objection to et al – but I am sometimes surprised at the number of papers that I have co-authored.
What about "holy grail"? For years, Charles Petit has been leading the charge against this overused metaphor.
[Carl: Was it ever underused? I doubt it. Thanks for the reminder.]
This list says as much about the writer as about the words. So interaction, process, mechanism, and context are targeted. But what about genetic (as in 'x is genetic'), inherited, gene (as in 'researchers have discovered the x gene'), determined, innate, hard-wired, and a host of similarly misused and misunderstood words?
Just wondering…
[Carl: There are so many words out there to be added to the list. Don't read too much into what's there so far.]
Kind of sad – on one hand, yes, difficult and/or obscure words will make writing harder to read. On the other hand, where could you pick up vocabulary if not through reading?
Which PM? or any?
Anders Eg
Can I get a moment of silence for morphology and paradigm shift?
If I had a 40, I'd pour it on the curb.
Strong agreement about "anomalous." If it was unexpected then say so. If it doesn't fit other data in a set then say so. Specify what you mean. Anomaly is only slightly better. If I see the word "anomaly" repeatedly it better be a space-time anomaly and it better involve Riker and Data talking about how they are modifying the deflector shields to emit a phased tachyon burst to either probe it, close it, or stop the Cardassians from using it in some bad way.
(Incidentally, apparently the default spell checker for Firefox does not include the word "Cardassian")
I believe Voice of America and several other media outlets aiming for non-native speakers all define some version of simple English with a vocabulary of around 1500-1800 words, few or no idiosyncratic expressions and a restricted grammar. As much as possible things are explained using this basic set of words (and it is surprisingly expressive), and when absolutely necessary extra words are brought in but defined in detail. It sounds completely natural and is very easy to understand.
If you aim for that same basic subset of English you can short-cut the need for an ever-expanding list of frowned-upon vocabulary. Just state that writers should use this subset of the language when possible to be clearly understood by all.
But the missing link IS the holy grail. Elucidating cellular morphology and predator-prey relationships will most likely result in a paradigm shift that will hardly be trivial. We believe the impact of this breakthrough will fundamentally (there's another one for you) change our views on the origin of mankind, although of course further research will be needed before we can utilize this knowledge.
Jeez Carl, you're banning "et al"?? I can't decide whether this is jaded or idiosyncratic.
Why not just pull a Mr. Burns and ban the letter "e" from all science writing?
I have to disagree with "We" in one case: I really dislike it when using it as a professor teaching to his class. But sometimes I use "we" to mean "humans", to emphasize science achievements as belonging to all of us. Kind of balances the "you freaky scientists" view, in my opinion.
This is just about as useful as some of the 'style tips' in Strunk & White, and equally amusing to read, as well.
List is double plus good!
I think there are two types of trouble words:
1. sloppy thinking words. These are over-used metaphors, etc.
2. science jargon. These are science words that scientists use as shorthand. They are not sloppy thinking, but the problem is that scientists frequently don't recognize which of their words are specific to their field and which are common.
Science jargon can be tricky. Sometimes the scientific use of the word can be very precise and have a lot of communicative value. But the words may sound familiar and, if not defined, be used in a sloppy, imprecise way that is incorrect or misleading.
It's valuable to introduce scientific terms if the words conceptualize complex ideas. Frequently these terms may sound familiar, being based on common words. Especially in these cases it's important to make the definitions clear. These words or phrases can slide into jargon if the specific meaning is lost.
Please add "designed" to the list–as in "the animal was designed to live in the water!"
Reading Janne's post at 9 and Joshua Zelinsky comment on spell check at 8, I had a flash of brilliance.
Too bad I'm not a programmer.
If anyone wants to run with this idea, give me a footnote somewhere. Use the same type of programming that spell check uses. Instead of giving the correct spelling of the word 'methodology', have the program give the appropriate synonym from the Voice of America dictionary. You could easily convert a document into 'plain English'.
What's wrong with impact as a verb? After all, it was a verb first. Merriam-Webster has it listed as both transitive and intransitive, with a earliest known use of 1601 (etymology: "Latin impactus, past participle of impingere to push against"). Moreover, their Dictionary of English Usage notes that the admonition against it only dates back to 1982, and has no foundation to speak of.
Blake — I think "impinge" is a better descendent of "impingere," if you're looking for one. "Impact" seems okay to me if used literally (e.g. a meteor impacting a planet) but not in the sense of "having an effect upon," and certainly not in place of "affect." (Don't mention the sense of an "impacted" wisdom tooth.) I think the problem is sloppiness and overuse, not some kind of literal wrongness.
Janne's comment above includes several examples of hyphenated terms – all of them correct, as far as I can tell. The current trend appears to be to ignore the need for hyphenation, and to pile words atop each other, leaving the reader to sort things out.
Though they are not words, per se, the non-use and, more rarely, incorrect use of hyphens might fit well in your list. Used correctly, they make clear what the writer has in mind. When a writer ignores the need for them, an unnecessary burden is placed upon the reader. I find this more offensive than the correct use of some listed word which has become trite through overuse.
Don't mention the sense of an "impacted" wisdom tooth.
Why not? Because it's a widely-known instance of people who are not middle-management jargonistas using the word?
I think the problem is sloppiness and overuse, not some kind of literal wrongness.
If the word in question were, say, paradigm, I'd buy the claim of "sloppiness and overuse". But impact has a well-defined meaning, it hasn't driven synonyms out of circulation, and its figurative sense has been well-established in professional prose for longer than I've been alive.
Of two words which the lexicographers treat as effectively synonymous, why is one "a better descendent" of their common ancestor? If one is used sloppily and to excess today, wouldn't a wholesale replacement just make the newly favoured child become equally overused?
Um, "we", by the way? If we were more than one person doing the research it seems awfully harsh to have to pretend your coworkers don't exist just to satisfy some rather muddled idea of simplicity.
I mean, what do you suggest? "I – by which I mean me and a dozen coworkers but I can't really say that – have found this exciting science stuff. When I (and all the others in the project) started this work, I (and those other people) could never have imagined these results. As I excitedly discussed this with myself (since I have to ignore the personal plural) I found myself in some disagreement over the meaning. One of I believed genetic factors where most important, while another ones of myself thought environment was critical. In the end I resolved the disagreement with myself and I am now able to announce this exciting result."
Carl, the example really is not good either. If you say "I now know the fatality ratio of the current H1N1 influenza epidemic", then there, in the air, will hang the implied "…and I will not tell you unless you give me ..One Billion Dollars! Muahahaha!" (pinky in mouth strictly non-optional).
And you can't say "You now know the …" since you haven't told the audience yet. Unless you have, in which case "We now know the …" is perfectly fine as it refers to the speaker and listener together.
The only real alternative I can come up with is removing the pronoun altogether: "It is now known what the fatality rate …", or "The fatality rate … is now known." Which strikes me as a far graver – and more common – stylistic impediment to understanding than "we" could ever hope to achieve.
Well, why even bother with "we know"? Why not just state the facts as if the "we know" is implied?
My writing is often redundant and I can edit things to death.
Speaking of that, I wish I could edit blog comments here like I can on Bad Astronomy. Is that an option you can enable Carl? I can usually find and fix mistakes within 15 minutes as Phil allows.
The paper I'm writing currently is about parameterized Euclidean curves in 3-space. I'd really hate to have to replace every instance of all the related "parameter" words
[Carl: This post is not about how to write mathematics papers.]
Wow. Low SAT students must make great writers. Their vocabularies lack most of these words.
Carl – does your objection to "we now know" extend to "we now know that the earth is round"? Or does it only include sentences referring to pieces of knowledge not actually contained in the sentence ("we know know the ratio" without specifying what the ratio is), or not likely to be known to the reader in advance? Does it involve a value judgement on whether or not the reader is likely to already know the fact in question? And what alternative do you suggest for the H1N1 example?
One alternative that comes to mind is "scientists now know…", but this implies that the knowledge is available only to scientists. The point of using "we" is to emphasize that the information is available to any interested reader.
@ Captain Skellet
But surely we must utilise optimum methodologies to study the molecular systematic basis of virulence and transmissibility of H1N1 or, as it is more correctly known, THE SWINE FLU PANDEMIC OF DEATH (SFPOD). It is vital to contextualise the processes of anomalous intermediate host interactions with immunocompromised individuals, the mechanism of access, and suitable treatment regimes using novel proxies previously considered trivial. To appropriately parameterise such a study, we must also take into account demographic levelling.
Breakthroughs have been made using a community ecology approach. Construction of phylogenetic trees using morphological features, habitat data (e.g. marine vs. non-marine environments) and examining of predator-prey relationships using captive observation has understandably been of limited use because of the 'missing link' effect; however, seminal research carried out by Smith, et al, using this approach has lead to promising therapies which address the insult by mitigating the effect of systemic infection, the so-called 'miracle cure'. It should be noted that the sustainability of such an approach has been questioned. Although such therapies have brought about a paradigm shift in our approach to treating the disease, further research is needed into the material properties of drug deliverers.
So I mentioned this before when you published the list, and didn't get an answer: please, what's wrong with "intermediate host"? I work on parasites, and need to know!
Well I do get weary of seeing optimum where optimal should be used, but…
Dear Carl,
Can you please make an exception for "impact" for the study of collisions in the asteroid belt and planetary cratering?
Social Contract and Social Compact, I can never figure out exactly what is supposed to be shrinking.
Mechanism? Really? No use of the word mechanism?? Isn't that what a large aspect of biology is trying to figure out!?
[CZ: Perhaps. But you can find more interesting ways to talk about science than referring to mechanisms. Remember, this is for writing about science, not doing or reporting science.]
I'm a little confused: which "Principia Mathematica" were you referring to?
The 1687 one by Newton, or the 1910-1913 volumes by Russell and Whitehead?
It is not obvious to me why a word like "mechanism" or "process" are jargon. It seems condescending to imply that the average reader needs to be protected from difficult words. Sure you can say "the way X works" or some other silly phrase instead of mechanism, but c'mon how does a reader improve his or her vocabulary if not by being exposed to a richer vocabulary?
[CZ: I'm all for exposing people to a rich vocabulary–but a vocabulary drawn from great literature, not from a lexicon of jargon. By falling back on a pat and not very meaningful term like "mechanism" means that a writer won't search for an original, evocative expression.]
Re your response in #38. I have to respectfully disagree. Why should vocabulary be drawn primarily from literature and not from the scientific tradition? Many eloquent and evocative terms have come from scientific jargon – think of the term "Evolution" or "Radioactivity" (OK, in the case of evolution its usage was altered by science). I remember way back in college during a biology class the professor explaining something or another about developmental biology, and then asking, "Can anybody think of what the possible mechanism behind this is?" And upon hearing this word in this context for the first time, it evoked in my mind some sort of vast clockwork image of molecules and genes working together as part of some crazy machine. After that, I was hooked into becoming a scientist, and into figuring out "mechanisms".
I don't see what's wrong in introducing this terminology, which you deride as jargon, to the general public. If done properly, it could be just as evocative and elegant as something coming from literature.
Of course, who am I to argue, since I really like your writing…
I do biomechanics. I use "mechanism" to describe mechanical elements of a system, and will probably continue to do so.
If I hear or see "moreover" again I will scream! It is lazy and pretentious. Or is that magniloquent or effusive. (wink, wink)
I hear the bleating of sheep when "moreover" is used! Or is that the Pink Floyd CD my neighbor is playing.
Throw in "dynamic" too while you're compiling..
Instead of banning words, why not ban malapropism, and ban jargon that could be mistaken for common usage? Choosing words for a non-specialist audience does not necessarily entail choosing words for illiterates.
How about about "magic"?
As in news pieces referring to advances in science (or even established techniques) as "magic"?
"The codes for extinct animals were thought to have died along with them, until recently, when machines like one at the Smithsonian's DNA lab started working magic."-60 Minutes, Could Extinct Species Make a Comeback?
"It's not magic, it's science!", I shout, exasperatedly.
Science jargon can be tricky. Sometimes the scientific use of the word can be very precise and have a lot of communicative value. But the words may sound familiar and, if not defined, be used in a sloppy, imprecise way that is incorrect or misleading.
I think this is an important point, and it reminds me of one of my pet hates: "Let me unpack that." (As in: using jargon, then backing up, announcing that you'll "unpack" what you've just said, and only then explaining it.)
Not so common in writing, at least what I've seen, but annoying enough to hear it being used in talks and conversations.
"Packing" is a neat metaphor for describing the conciseness of jargon, but if you know you're going to have to explain things in simple terms, just do it right away instead of making a big deal out of it.
Absolutely brilliant, not to mention elegant. Clearly there is some genetic overlap with a certain genius named Ben. Did you mention nature/nurture? (My memory is spotty but I have an excellent forgettory.)
Seconding "seminal"!
What would make this list truly useful would be to add a selection of other words or phrases that could be used instead.
Jackie–That would be giving a cheat sheet to my students.
Thanks. Now I know why I enjoy your writing; you avoid whatever is currently chewing gum.
Excellent list! Around is my personal addition.
around- as in "studies will be conducted around ____ "; or we will have discussions around ___.
My problem is with words or phrases that cover up vague thinking with hand-waving, although I am no fan of redundancy, either. Why complain about "paradigm shift"? Because even to Kuhn it meant umpteen different things. Describe the change clearly instead. That said, most words on this list or any list also have a legitimate, tightly controlled usage.
Thanks for the food for thought. (Sorry!)
My top two most overused words are 'unique', when it is not true, and 'world-class' (or 'worldclass' ), which doesn't mean anything.
Thanks for your list.
Generally (the word is literally meaningless)
I'm surprised that you haven't yet listed 'design' and its derivatives, used in reference to the structure or function of biological organisms or their bits 'n' pieces.
I'd like to nominate "extirpate" and "fomite."
An alternative for in vivo and in vitro? I cant think of any that completely capture the menaings of these phrases. Scientific papers are written to be read by scientists, largely those that work in the same field. There is nothing wrong with Jargon, every discipline has it's language. Generally saves alot of time, valuable word space, and avoids the need to explain every concept in pain-staking detail. Imust agree that some of the cliche's such as 'holy grail' should be avoided, but this is just a matterof taste
Glad you nailed 'elucidate' already. Thanks!
Please add 'deleterious' instead of harmful.
And the cancer docs' favorites: 'poor outcomes' or 'adverse outcomes' instead of deaths.
Kevin#63 — those two bits of Latin work out to 'in a mouse' or 'in a dish'. That wasn't so hard, was it? Science language is indeed efficient and precise — but only if you speak it, which most folks don't. Precision is inversely related to audience size.
[CZ: Bates's law!]
Two nominations: inform and robust
People should be informed, but meetings, regulations and "processes" should be presented with information. As in: "The discussion was informed by a recent article in the NYT." "This study is intended to inform the development of new regulations for fishing."
Wine and people can be robust, but not data. It does not have flavor or shape. What does a robust set of data look like, anyway? Perhaps it was rotund?
Two really obvious ones:
* Methodology (when used to mean Method)
* Potentiality (always used to mean things which might happen. Especially noxious in the plural form 'Potentialities'.)
I am afraid I think too many of the words on the list are commonly used, non-technical words with straightforward and useful meanings that will be understood by most adults and school students.
I would strike the following words off the list: "system", "process", "mechanism", "multiple" and "literally". Like most words they words can be clumsily misused, but that is the fault of the particular writer and not of the words/concepts themselves which can be useful in the right context.
Some evidence for my view is here. http://tomhartley.posterous.com/process-isnt-jargon and here: http://tomhartley.posterous.com/system-isnt-jargon
I haven't yet heard a clear, reasoned argument against the use of these words. In essence I agree with namnezia's comment above. You are entitled to your opinion, but I don't accept that "mechanism" for example is a "pat and not very meaningful term". or that I should "find a more interesting way to talk". Can you make a more compelling case against these words? The list is thought-provoking, but if it is just about personal taste – I am not persuaded.
It should be a dictionary not a list.
Can "synergy," "synergistic" and all of it's ugly relatives be added to the list? The combined effect of them, added to other jargon in a sentence, is more than I can stand.
I question why predation is on the list, given that I study the evolution of chemical defenses against predation. At least in ecology, predation is a rather fundamental concept.
[CZ: Please read the introduction carefully. I never said that these words could never be used. Nor did I say that the concept of predation should be banned. What I am saying is that a word like predation in a popular book or article is a wasted opportunity.]
Could I ask that "musty" be added to the list when used to describe museum collections? Nature.com just did it again:
We appreciate their help in advertising the potential bounty held within our collection rooms, but "musty" suggests we are doing such a bad job of curation that we might as well give up.
[CZ: Very true. Attics are musty. Clean, metal cabinets in climate-controlled vaults are not.]
May I ask that visualize (as distinct from 'see') be added to the list. This substitution is used in medical writing and presenting.
I can visualize the ureter from the other side of the world… in the O/R in need to see it!
The combined effect of many of the substitutions on this list is that that diminish our language so that when a word on the list has a appropriate use it has become devalued by its misuse by someone trying to sound impressive beyond their ability or knowledge.
Relevant: A Crusade Against the Quest for the Holy Grail
I once called graphene the "Susan Lucci of Nobel-worthy physics" in a blog post on Future-ish (http://goo.gl/JMa17). Folks loved it. Does that count as "plain yet elegant English"?
'God', and most particularly 'God particle'. May He strike down anyone writing about the LHC who dares to blaspheme thus.
Maybe it's too obvious, but "prove" is a big one. Besides the main reasons, "prove" tends to discount all of the previous research and leaves little room for future studies on the topic. Science is ongoing and collaborative.
Earl Nightingale suggests that those people with the largest volcabulary always rise to the top of their field. However, knowing the meaning of lots of big words does not prevent me from writing in plain English.
Personally, I enjoy the challenge of taking a complex idea and explaining it so it can be understood by a broad range of people – without speaking down to them. This list is a fun guide to use while writing to inform, and it may help me avoid being annoying.
I would add biocompatible to the list. There are so many different reaction to a material implanted into an organism that biocompatibility is meaningless. A material can be bio-inert (elicit no response), bio-active (induce a favorable response), osteoconductive (bone can bond to the surface and grow along it), etc.
From a material science and materials engineering stand point your list would make it almost impossible for a material scientist to have a discussion about what they do since a lot of you banned words are material concepts not jargon. These concepts should be introduced and explained to non-material scientists when writing for that target audience. Example: The interface (one of your banned words) between the matrix and reinforcement is an important concept when discussing composites with non-material scientists.
What is the reasoning behind these words being "banned?" Such lists typify an arrogance that I have found to be all too common in science. Having worked in numerous occupations and industries over the years, I have found that science is one area where it is still considered O.K. to call someone an idiot to their face. Criticism is fine but it is pointless without explanation. In the absence of explanation, I just have to assume that the above list is just another opinion worth ignoring. Other than personal irritation, why should I not use these words to inform a public that really needs to understand some very complex topics?
Why "literally" is on the list, while "virtually" is not, I shall never understand.
Can the list also include advice to use adverbs, um, sparingly? I have to remind myself of that…um, repeatedly…when I write. Avoiding really, actually, particularly, apparently, et al. Oops. I just used "et al." But you get the idea. Apparently…oops…Bill Gates hates it when people say "actually," and I think he's got a good reason. Can we add these in along with "virtually" and "literally" as exclusions? Cleans up prose a bit.
Oh, and "animal model." To the non-scientist or unfamiliar audience, that phrase does not mean what scientists think it means.
[CZ: As Ed Yong, adverbs are Satan's work]
Here's a vote for "issue" when it means "problem."
I'm an ecologist, and I might be in the minority, but if I hear "Tangled Bank" one more time, I'm gonna barf. That goes for you too Carl (sorry).
Where do you come down on "address?" For example, "We address gaps in our knowledge of XYZ."
You mentioned "insult" as regards an injury. Can we also include the opposite? "Injury" as regards receiving an insult?
One of the above critics questioned the purpose of "banning" words, when such words are deemed necessary to sufficiently discuss a highly complex topic.
I might offer in contrast the idea that many subjects only become highly complex because those people who write about the topics use overly complex terms instead of using simpler terms. I sometimes wonder if their purpose is to limit their audience to walking thesauri(?)
I don't see the subject as being the literal banning of words. Instead, I see a person exercising control over the part of the world they are actually charged with controlling – their own classroom. I consent.
I hope you mean "morphology" as a general noun rather than a proper noun, because it would make me very unhappy to have my science banned.
In den Moser-Kliniken werden ausschließlich EU-zertifizierte Implantate verwendet, die in der regel ein Leben weit hinein ihrer Position fortdauer können.
I couldn't possibly disagree with this more strongly. Not only is it deeply offensive in the condescending way we need to talk down to the great unwashed, it's also stupid at a very deep level.
To illustrate my point I ask you to engage in a simple thought experiment. Simply replace the word "Science" in "Science Writing" with the word "Sport". Then create a list of banned words for all Sports Writers to follow. Play (meaning to create a tactic rather than just engaging in the game), Field (if you mean grass, just say grass), Diamond (it's just grass remember), stick/club/bat/racquet/paddle/mallet (you hit a ball with it; call it a ball hitter why have all these different names? Don't get me started on "cricket bat, baseball bat" etc, they already know which sport we're talking about, "ball hitter") Hitter/batsman (pick one! which is it?) Tennis/hockey/ping pong/squash/lacrosse/croquet/soccer/foot/bowling balls (why confuse everyone with this, they're all just "balls")
Actually, let me belabour my point, and couch it in simple terms. In other words, allow me to treat you as an illiterate as you would treat your readers. I wonder if you are enjoying it? I wonder if my message is better received? Sorry, complex language does little to improve communication. I'll try again:
Eh Buddy, how do you like it eh? Are you listening? Do you understand?
So you don't like this fancy schmancy latin like "In Vitro". No surprise there 'cause all your readers are schmuks. They've never heard of that "In Vitro Fertilisation" malarkey. They're not interested in that science stuff 'cause who knows what those scientists are up to eh? They're all on the take anyway from those green guys who have all the money. Can't trust 'em I say.
I don't trust scientists. Now cops, you can trust them. I like that crime writing. Much better than that science writing with all their fancy latin. Theys just say that stuff to confuse us you know.
Me, I'm gunna stick to reading "Crime" writing and give that "Science" writing a miss.
I can't stand attempting the vernacular any more. I'm not good at it and it sounds forced so I'm also going to give it "a miss".
Your basic misapprehension is that people some how "accidentally" read science writing and that it has to be couched in terms that someone with no interest in the subject will find immediately accessible without any effort. You're completely wrong. People who aren't interested *won't be reading it*. By dumbing it down you are helping people who won't read it in the first place (multiply even the largest number you can think of by zero and it's still zero) and annoying or alienating the people who *are* interested.
If the sports thought experiment didn't speak to you, lets imagine that you're teaching "crime" writing rather than "science" writing and applying the same rules. Can you imagine the appalling result of removing from writings intended for a lay audience such jargon as:
Habeas Corpus
Pro Bono
Searing courtroom drama would be a little more difficult.
"Hey you twelve guys, my guy says he never done it and that guy in the wig got nuthin that says he did"
Not exactly "Rumpole of the Bailey" is it…
You rock, Zimmer! Another cliche, but true.
I am a person who is interested in science but didn't take a physics class in high school. But this has never prevented me from reading about science. When I come across terms or concepts I am unfamiliar with, I do what any intelligent person would do. I look them up. Thus the scientific paper I am reading serves to enhance my understanding of science as a whole. By writing in simpler terms you deprive me of that opportunity.
Carl, Ok, I definitely see where you're going with this (and I did take the time to look at what you're trying to do)
I think you've misunderstood what *I* was saying. http://xkcd.com/1028/
I chose Crime writing (*not* legal writing, which is to crime writing as Papers are to Science Writing) because it illustrates how complex issues of ethics, logic, evidence and process can be made interesting to a lay public *without* excluding every latin term. Perhaps even because those latin terms are not excluded. You point out that your children know what a Judge is. That's not an accident, it's because the term (which has a different meaning in normal English) *hasn't* been excluded from fictionalised and news accounts of crime and punishment. By it's very use, the public has, without any effort, internalised it's meaning. That's how language is transmitted from person to person; by use.
I think there is a basic difference in the goals of Science writing as you see them and as I see them (and as your students see them).
Your students probably want to communicate the excitement they feel for their subject.
You're probably trying to get them to write in a way that will get through a sub editor and see the light of day.
I think that the overall goal of Science writing is or should be, to make Science as much a part of our culture as Crime writing is. To reach the point where words like Reynolds number are understood and people don't say stupid things like "Aerodynamically, the bumble bee shouldn't be able to fly". (ok, a statement about excluding stupid statements from the language is itself a stupid statement, but maybe we can hope for people to stop repeating them?)
So our perceived goals are very different. I'm a consumer of Science writing. I don't know or care how many articles fell to the sub editor's red pen. I only see the ones that don't and I make my judgements from them. They're almost uniformly appalling. Not from excess jargon. That's *not* a problem that needs you to solve it with a list. The main groups of appalling are that way because they're:
Wrong (totally got the wrong end of the stick, completely wrong, not even internally consistent. See anything written about the higgs)
Out of Date (Often as much as 400 years out of date. See almost anything written about gravity.)
Simplified to the point of unintelligibility (virtually everything ever written about science)
Forced excitement (Google of: Science Fun, returned 2.9×10^9 hits while Sport Fun returned 1/10th of that. Which gets more column inches?)
The very best of this genre achieve all four. http://www.abc.net.au/catalyst/stories/3323822.htm Check it out! This is from my national broadcaster. A segment from it's flagship science programme. It carefully ticks all four, for a gem of appalling Science writing. I defy anyone who didn't already understand the subject to come away with anything from that segment.
That's the kind of Science writing I hate so much. Yes, that's an extreme example, combining pointless special effects, with humiliation of innocent bystanders to achieve a content free zone but it's indicative of the quality of what's out there.
So there should be an example of great science writing then… Something to compare it with. That's a little harder to find. To be truly great it must exclude all those normal failings of course, but also offer something extra special. Something phrased simply but without patronising the audience. Something about a really difficult subject, yet it holds the audience in rapt attention. Something that changes the way the listener looks at the world. I can't find anything from this millennium. The most recent I know about is from 1979 and if you watch all of them it really will change the way you look at the world.
Science writing in this culture is in disarray. The most important issues of our time that change the way we live our lives, treat our sick, fight our wars, feed our children, care for our homes and communicate with our loved ones are relegated to minor stories occasionally run in some magazines and never mentioned on the news, while the latest football results have a 32 page lift out in every paper and take up half of every news broadcast. There are more sports programmes intended for the informed and interested viewer broadcast every day than Science programmes for an informed and interested viewer created in human history. The University where my mother taught had a massive number of people applying for Forensic Science. Ten or twenty times more than they had places, but the Physics department was closing courses because there were no students. I'm sure that if Dexter mentions Bond Numbers when analysing blood spatter, it would enter the language on that day.
It's for you and your students to step up to the plate (hey, sports jargon and I understand it…) and make Science writing what it can be, what it should be and thereby make a real difference. Go on, change the world, I *dare you*.
PS: And if I ever get my hands on one of the people who put slow motion Fuel/Air explosions on while some voiceover mangles the big bang…. AAARRRRGGGGHHHHH. Words fail me, a strangled cry is all I can come up with.
PPS: I read that cat paper a couple of years ago and don't remember having any problems with the language. I also thought it charming.
PPPS: there's nothing wrong with saying "Viscous and capillary forces are negligible in determining column dynamics, since the Reynolds and Bond numbers are large."
You rightly contend that many people don't know what Reynolds or Bond numbers are (which is what I feel Science writing should fix but lets put that aside for a moment).
Let's rephrase that statement in a way that no-one will understand the words and see what it tells us as a reader.
"Yatro and Xesonic forces are negligible in determining column dynamics since the Thompson and Benderman numbers are large."
Ok, so if I don't know what Yatro and Xesonic forces are (which I don't), I'm just being told they don't matter in this case! So I don't *need* to know what they are in order to follow the paper. The reason they don't matter is to do with some stuff I also don't understand. The Thompson and Benderman numbers are large. If for some reason I desire to know what makes the things I don't know about irrelevant, google is only one tab away on my browser. Everything written today comes with a built in glossary.
However if by some chance I was thinking "what about the Yatro! they've forgotten that", my question is answered. It adds something for the informed reader and subtracts nothing for the uninformed. That's a win.


text:
MARSEILLE, France (Reuters Life!) - A mentally ill man from Northern Ireland who once stabbed a work colleague in the neck was hired by a secondary school in France and taught German for nearly a month before his past caught up with him.
Lewis Alexander Mawhinney, 26, escaped in November from a psychiatric ward where he had been interned indefinitely and labeled a "dangerous schizophrenic" after he attacked a fellow call center trainee with a knife three years earlier.
He made his way to France and was taken on in January as a German teacher at two secondary schools in the southeastern town of Dignes les Bains — but his incoherent ramblings alerted school officials who discovered his past and dismissed him.
"The procedure for hiring temps was respected," a spokeswoman for the regional education authority said, explaining that Mawhinney was hired after giving a good interview and presenting the right qualifications.
"We didn't do any more than is commonly done in other French regions," she told Reuters.
The hiring panel did request a police record on Mawhinney, the spokeswoman added, but it arrived a week after his dismissal and did not indicate any problems.
Mawhinney, who is now at a hospital in southeast France, was apparently under the delusion that he belonged to Britain's MI5 domestic intelligence agency and would sometimes wear gloves in order not to leave finger prints.
His odd behavior attracted the attention of his superiors and one of the schools' headmasters contacted police, who tracked down details of his past.
The students had not complained about their teacher's strange ways, the spokeswoman added.
Reporting by Jean-Francois Rosnoblet; Writing by Leigh Thomas, editing by Paul Casciato


text:
Who Is the Most Annoying Person at a Super Bowl Party?
Everyone likes a Super Bowl party, but not everyone like all the people who show up there.
A new survey has found that more people find the "know-it-all" – you know, the guy with a self-professed bottomless pit of knowledge about the game, the food, the commercials, the weather, everything – is the worst guest at a Super Bowl bash, with 52% saying this character is not wanted.
And you thought the biggest yutz was the clown who shows up with a first date, subjecting the poor woman to hang out with dozens of people she doesn't know.
Here's a look at other annoying Super Bowl party guests, along with the percentage of people who claim they are just a big pain in the tuchus:
- The remote dominator – the one who won't stop controlling the volume, changing the settings and flipping channels – 41%
- The social butterfly – the one who doesn't watch the game and doesn't stop talking – 38%
- The super fan – the team's biggest fan who doesn't let you forget it by showing up decked out in his/her favorite team's gear and shoots off stats left and right – 21%
- The dieter – the one counting calories on one of the most celebrated days of junk food – 18%
- The commercial watcher – the one who only pays attention during the commercials – 13%
The typical Super Bowl party includes 17 people, so be warned that there's a good chance even just one of these thorns in the side will be in attendance to rub you the wrong way.
It could be these people are so annoying because you're having financial difficulties. The survey found that 90% of people have lost money betting on the Super Bowl. Hey, who wouldn't be annoyed after losing cash?


text:
Doors open on new Tennant Creek police station
The Deputy Chief Minister Robyn Lambley has officially opened the multi-million dollar redevelopment of the Tennant Creek police station.
The last police station in Tennant Creek was opened more than 50 years ago.
Today the new $3.7 million facility has doubled the space available and provides vastly improved facilities for the town's 42 officers.
Police Commissioner John McRoberts says the new station should be viewed as an asset for all the community.
"It can become a sanctuary for victims of crime, for vulnerable people, for children who feel they're at risk it can be a place where people access police services," he said.
He says it is a state-of-the-art facility.
"So this is really one of the best police stations that currently exist anywhere in the Territory," he said.
Topics: police, tennant-creek-0860, alice-springs-0870