text:
Joel Spolsky
Thursday, December 29, 2005
A part of Joel on Software, http://www.joelonsoftware.com
Lazy kids.
Whatever happened to hard work?
A sure sign of my descent into senility is bitchin' and moanin' about "kids these days," and how they won't or can't do anything hard any more.
When I was a kid, I learned to program on punched cards. If you made a mistake, you didn't have any of these modern features like a backspace key to correct it. You threw away the card and started over.
When I started interviewing programmers in 1991, I would generally let them use any language they wanted to solve the coding problems I gave them. 99% of the time, they chose C.
Nowadays, they tend to choose Java.
Now, don't get me wrong: there's nothing wrong with Java as an implementation language.
Wait a minute, I want to modify that statement. I'm not claiming, in this particular article, that there's anything wrong with Java as an implementation language. There are lots of things wrong with it but those will have to wait for a different article.
Instead what I'd like to claim is that Java is not, generally, a hard enough programming language that it can be used to discriminate between great programmers and mediocre programmers. It may be a fine language to work in, but that's not today's topic. I would even go so far as to say that the fact that Java is not hard enough is a feature, not a bug, but it does have this one problem.
If I may be so brash, it has been my humble experience that there are two things traditionally taught in universities as a part of a computer science curriculum which many people just never really fully comprehend: pointers and recursion.
You used to start out in college with a course in data structures, with linked lists and hash tables and whatnot, with extensive use of pointers. Those courses were often used as weedout courses: they were so hard that anyone that couldn't handle the mental challenge of a CS degree would give up, which was a good thing, because if you thought pointers are hard, wait until you try to prove things about fixed point theory.
All the kids who did great in high school writing pong games in BASIC for their Apple II would get to college, take CompSci 101, a data structures course, and when they hit the pointers business their brains would just totally explode, and the next thing you knew, they were majoring in Political Science because law school seemed like a better idea. I've seen all kinds of figures for drop-out rates in CS and they're usually between 40% and 70%. The universities tend to see this as a waste; I think it's just a necessary culling of the people who aren't going to be happy or successful in programming careers.
The other hard course for many young CS students was the course where you learned functional programming, including recursive programming. MIT set the bar very high for these courses, creating a required course (6.001) and a textbook (Abelson & Sussman's Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs) which were used at dozens or even hundreds of top CS schools as the de facto introduction to computer science. (You can, and should, watch an older version of the lectures online.)
The difficulty of these courses is astonishing. In the first lecture you've learned pretty much all of Scheme, and you're already being introduced to a fixed-point function that takes another function as its input. When I struggled through such a course, CSE121 at Penn, I watched as many if not most of the students just didn't make it. The material was too hard. I wrote a long sob email to the professor saying It Just Wasn't Fair. Somebody at Penn must have listened to me (or one of the other complainers), because that course is now taught in Java.
I wish they hadn't listened.
Therein lies the debate. Years of whinging by lazy CS undergrads like me, combined with complaints from industry about how few CS majors are graduating from American universities, have taken a toll, and in the last decade a large number of otherwise perfectly good schools have gone 100% Java. It's hip, the recruiters who use "grep" to evaluate resumes seem to like it, and, best of all, there's nothing hard enough about Java to really weed out the programmers without the part of the brain that does pointers or recursion, so the drop-out rates are lower, and the computer science departments have more students, and bigger budgets, and all is well.
The lucky kids of JavaSchools are never going to get weird segfaults trying to implement pointer-based hash tables. They're never going to go stark, raving mad trying to pack things into bits. They'll never have to get their head around how, in a purely functional program, the value of a variable never changes, and yet, it changes all the time! A paradox!
They don't need that part of the brain to get a 4.0 in major.
Am I just one of those old-fashioned curmudgeons, like the Four Yorkshiremen, bragging about how tough I was to survive all that hard stuff?
Heck, in 1900, Latin and Greek were required subjects in college, not because they served any purpose, but because they were sort of considered an obvious requirement for educated people. In some sense my argument is no different that the argument made by the pro-Latin people (all four of them). "[Latin] trains your mind. Trains your memory. Unraveling a Latin sentence is an excellent exercise in thought, a real intellectual puzzle, and a good introduction to logical thinking," writes Scott Barker. But I can't find a single university that requires Latin any more. Are pointers and recursion the Latin and Greek of Computer Science?
Now, I freely admit that programming with pointers is not needed in 90% of the code written today, and in fact, it's downright dangerous in production code. OK. That's fine. And functional programming is just not used much in practice. Agreed.
But it's still important for some of the most exciting programming jobs. Without pointers, for example, you'd never be able to work on the Linux kernel. You can't understand a line of code in Linux, or, indeed, any operating system, without really understanding pointers.
Without understanding functional programming, you can't invent MapReduce, the algorithm that makes Google so massively scalable. The terms Map and Reduce come from Lisp and functional programming. MapReduce is, in retrospect, obvious to anyone who remembers from their 6.001-equivalent programming class that purely functional programs have no side effects and are thus trivially parallelizable. The very fact that Google invented MapReduce, and Microsoft didn't, says something about why Microsoft is still playing catch up trying to get basic search features to work, while Google has moved on to the next problem: building Skynet^H^H^H^H^H^H the world's largest massively parallel supercomputer. I don't think Microsoft completely understands just how far behind they are on that wave.
But beyond the prima-facie importance of pointers and recursion, their real value is that building big systems requires the kind of mental flexibility you get from learning about them, and the mental aptitude you need to avoid being weeded out of the courses in which they are taught. Pointers and recursion require a certain ability to reason, to think in abstractions, and, most importantly, to view a problem at several levels of abstraction simultaneously. And thus, the ability to understand pointers and recursion is directly correlated with the ability to be a great programmer.
Nothing about an all-Java CS degree really weeds out the students who lack the mental agility to deal with these concepts. As an employer, I've seen that the 100% Java schools have started churning out quite a few CS graduates who are simply not smart enough to work as programmers on anything more sophisticated than Yet Another Java Accounting Application, although they did manage to squeak through the newly-dumbed-down coursework. These students would never survive 6.001 at MIT, or CS 323 at Yale, and frankly, that is one reason why, as an employer, a CS degree from MIT or Yale carries more weight than a CS degree from Duke, which recently went All-Java, or U. Penn, which replaced Scheme and ML with Java in trying to teach the class that nearly killed me and my friends, CSE121. Not that I don't want to hire smart kids from Duke and Penn -- I do -- it's just a lot harder for me to figure out who they are. I used to be able to tell the smart kids because they could rip through a recursive algorithm in seconds, or implement linked-list manipulation functions using pointers as fast as they could write on the whiteboard. But with a JavaSchool Grad, I can't tell if they're struggling with these problems because they are undereducated or if they're struggling with these problems because they don't actually have that special part of the brain that they're going to need to do great programming work. Paul Graham calls them Blub Programmers.
It's bad enough that JavaSchools fail to weed out the kids who are never going to be great programmers, which the schools could justifiably say is not their problem. Industry, or, at least, the recruiters-who-use-grep, are surely clamoring for Java to be taught.
But JavaSchools also fail to train the brains of kids to be adept, agile, and flexible enough to do good software design (and I don't mean OO "design", where you spend countless hours rewriting your code to rejiggle your object hierarchy, or you fret about faux "problems" like has-a vs. is-a). You need training to think of things at multiple levels of abstraction simultaneously, and that kind of thinking is exactly what you need to design great software architecture.
You may be wondering if teaching object oriented programming (OOP) is a good weed-out substitute for pointers and recursion. The quick answer: no. Without debating OOP on the merits, it is just not hard enough to weed out mediocre programmers. OOP in school consists mostly of memorizing a bunch of vocabulary terms like "encapsulation" and "inheritance" and taking multiple-choice quizzicles on the difference between polymorphism and overloading. Not much harder than memorizing famous dates and names in a history class, OOP poses inadequate mental challenges to scare away first-year students. When you struggle with an OOP problem, your program still works, it's just sort of hard to maintain. Allegedly. But when you struggle with pointers, your program produces the line Segmentation Fault and you have no idea what's going on, until you stop and take a deep breath and really try to force your mind to work at two different levels of abstraction simultaneously.
The recruiters-who-use-grep, by the way, are ridiculed here, and for good reason. I have never met anyone who can do Scheme, Haskell, and C pointers who can't pick up Java in two days, and create better Java code than people with five years of experience in Java, but try explaining that to the average HR drone.
But what about the CS mission of CS departments? They're not vocational schools! It shouldn't be their job to train people to work in industry. That's for community colleges and government retraining programs for displaced workers, they will tell you. They're supposed to be giving students the fundamental tools to live their lives, not preparing them for their first weeks on the job. Right?
Still. CS is proofs (recursion), algorithms (recursion), languages (lambda calculus), operating systems (pointers), compilers (lambda calculus) -- and so the bottom line is that a JavaSchool that won't teach C and won't teach Scheme is not really teaching computer science, either. As useless as the concept of function currying may be to the real world, it's obviously a prereq for CS grad school. I can't understand why the professors on the curriculum committees at CS schools have allowed their programs to be dumbed down to the point where not only can't they produce working programmers, they can't even produce CS grad students who might get PhDs and compete for their jobs. Oh wait. Never mind. Maybe I do understand.
Actually if you go back and research the discussion that took place in academia during the Great Java Shift, you'll notice that the biggest concern was whether Java was simple enough to use as a teaching language.
My God, I thought, they're trying to dumb down the curriculum even further! Why not spoon feed everything to the students? Let's have the TAs take their tests for them, too, then nobody will switch to American Studies. How is anyone supposed to learn anything if the curriculum has been carefully designed to make everything easier than it already is? There seems to be a task force underway (PDF) to figure out a simple subset of Java that can be taught to students, producing simplified documentation that carefully hides all that EJB/J2EE crap from their tender minds, so they don't have to worry their little heads with any classes that you don't need to do the ever-easier CS problem sets.
The most sympathetic interpretation of why CS departments are so enthusiastic to dumb down their classes is that it leaves them more time to teach actual CS concepts, if they don't need to spend two whole lectures unconfusing students about the difference between, say, a Java int and an Integer. Well, if that's the case, 6.001 has the perfect answer for you: Scheme, a teaching language so simple that the entire language can be taught to bright students in about ten minutes; then you can spend the rest of the semester on fixed points.
I'm going back to ones and zeros.
(You had ones? Lucky bastard! All we got were zeros.)
Are you a Junior in college who can rip through a recursive algorithm in seconds, or implement linked-list manipulation functions using pointers as fast as you can write on the whiteboard? Check out our summer internships in New York City! Applications are due February 1st.
The contents of these pages represent the opinions of one
All contents Copyright © 1999-2006 by Joel Spolsky. All Rights Reserved.


text:
Eden Garden Fusion Grill, offering Mediterranean cuisine, opened in downtown Upland a couple of weeks ago.
The owners also operate Eden Garden eateries in Pasadena and Glendora.
Eden Garden Fusion Grill is at 392 A St., in the Upland Lemon Growers building.
Click here to read more from Inland Valley Daily Bulletin's Upland reporter, Sandra Emerson.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Throughout history the great rivers of the world have provided the water and nutrients to enable new cultures to grow and flourish. Our company was founded upon this philosophy of the great river supplying a never-ending stream of high quality fresh and frozen foods to our customers.
Our mission is to provide our customers with food products that allow them to deliver the "Joy of Fine Dining" to their patrons.
Our headquarters and main manufacturing plant are located in Santa Fe Springs, California. In addition, the branch offices are located in Union City, California and in Vancouver, Canada.
Through integrity, trust and honesty, we have made the commitment to be a supplier of life-giving foods and an innovator in the industry. In order to fulfill this commitment we have invested in every step of operations such as: farming, processing, manufacturing, distribution, merchandising and sales.


text:
When I was watching the quilting show last week, the woman was making blocks using a very basic strip pattern. This is why I thought it would be easy. :lol:
ANyway, I can't seem to find one like that. All the patterns I've found have triangles and/or circles in them.
Does anyone know of a very basic strip pattern that I could us my first time out?
By "strip pattern", I mean she used strips of fabric that were 2.5in (or so) wide by various lengths to make the block. Not sure if I'm using the proper terminology. :oops:


text:
Russell Bell needed a new web page design and created a contest on 99designs.
A winner was selected from 75 designs submitted by 13 freelance designers.
TBD (Use 'Pharma-Jobs.com' for now)
We are launching a brand new careers site and job destination site for Biotechnology and Medical Services companies. The site will show hundreds of jobs from employers across the world, and feature the logos and profiles of big brand companies who are hiring.
The personality of the homepage should be:
- Very professional, prestigious
- Easy to use and clean
Target audience are executives and middle managers from the Life Sciences industry. Our clients will be companies such as: BAXTER Healthcare, Abbott Labs, Novartis, Pfizer, Merck, Schering Plough, Amgen, Genentech, Stryker, etc.
The audience is in North America; therefore, the site must look like a North American site.
The homepage we want should be:
- Clean
- Upscale and professional
- Make it easy for users to take specific actions that they want to take
Use your own color schemes and ideas. We are open to your creative thoughts!
You can use images from this link:
Remember to keep in mind SEO. Give us concepts, ideas, etc. for structuring the site such that when we code it, it is search engine optimized.
Use this sample brand: PHARMA-JOBS.COM
The links across the top or bottom should be:
About Us, Post a Job / Hire Talent, Privacy, Resources
The basic zones are:
1) For Job Seekers:
- Login / Password
- Search Jobs
- Post Resume
2) Featured Hiring Companies:
- probably a list of logos rotating or moving across the screen
3) Featured Jobs
- a list of latest jobs moving across the screen or rotating, etc.
4) Industry News
- a section devoted to industry headlines, press releases, etc. This is for the purpose of search engine optimization, etc.
5) A small link / section for EMPLOYERS
This is an existing site we want to improve:
If you can dramatically improve the above site, that would be great.


text:
Please go away Skeevy T
Trip skeeves me out in a way that I haven't been skeeved in a long, long time. When he made to cry, I almost became a cutter. He's well cast then, I suppose.
So now it's Gossip Girl meets the Kennedy Family? My friend LB brought up a good point: Jackie Kennedy would NEVER have confronted Marilyn. Ever. So Duana's assertion that Maureen is Hillary is more on point, although that would make Serena Monica Lewinsky which, though giggle-worthy, doesn't seem the right fit. For one, I was never fascinated with Lewinsky's breasts that way I am mesmerised by Blake Lively's. Her girls were woefully under-featured this week, non?
Monday's episode was the last until after the Olympics. No UES until March at the earliest. And just as I'm starting to root for Nate and Serena…realising that this is a minority opinion. But at least it's an opinion. And that's much more than Dan and Vanessa. You will note, during their scenes it's like commercial break for us.
Attached – Blake Lively on SNL for Gossip Girl Staten Island.
Gossip Girl Weekly
Duana: So gossip girl's VO is pretty irrelevant these days
Duana: To be clear = you're all Tripp in this scenario?
Michelle: GG's messages haven't even been utilized in a while.
Michelle: I enjoy Tripp. I don't know why.
Lainey: Congressman Skeeve? Ew. No thanks.
Duana: OK, GG thinks they're Mad Men all of a sudden.
Duana: Driving in a rainy car with a melancholy blonde
Lainey: Chappaquidick! As if skeevy T could be a Kennedy
Duana: AMAZING three wolves.
Lainey: it's like the t-shirt. Dumbest ironic fashion trend.
Michelle: Blair. STOP. acting like a wife.
Duana: Let's experiment, pretend these guys are all 30, and see if it makes a difference, K?
Duana: Skiiiiiny enough to fit through closing elevator doors.
Duana: Nice sweater, Lil.
Lainey: better highlights. Her hair looks amazing. Makes me want to cut it.
Michelle: I'll take the orange coat!
Duana: 'teenage'? Come on, Lilly, don't kid yourself.
Michelle: 19 is the new 30.
Duana: what does Rufus DO in the day? On an ordinary day?
Michelle: Remember when he had a gallery?
Lainey: remember his denim shirts?
Duana: wow, she's totally divorcing him after christmas. Or as John Mayer would say, on St. Patrick's day
Michelle: Ha a jab at E
Lainey: please stop inserting John Mayer
Duana: "...what's a finance subcomittee"? That's what I thought S was going to say
Michelle: That's what she wanted to say.
Lainey: I want to say I hate skeevy T. Have I mentioned that?
Lainey: tell me she didn't just say "don't be too long" with her ass hanging out.
Duana: Hello, Blair's coat
Duana: Hello, Blair's intelligence.
Michelle: Hello Blair's shoes.
Michelle: Tripp out preppies Alex P Keaton
Michelle: Most Improved Player for this season - Chuck's hair
Duana: So Tripp is gonna have an affair with Nate? Also, props for getting this song in the show so soon.
Lainey: throw your lighters in the air
Michelle: They have tanning beds for the dead?
Duana: Hahahah.
Michelle: Why do they always have to say Jenny's an IT girl? Why don't they show us?
Duana: Sorry, who is this Vanessa rerun? Jenny is ridiculous. However, green themed uniform modification I'm into.
Lainey: I want Little J's jacket. Much.
Michelle: I like that the wannabe queen is actually age appropriate.
Michelle: Why is Paul Hoffman a name that you have to say in full every time?
Duana: I like how Nate has been essentially a talking head all year. Plus, is he going to school?
Lainey: I like Nate now. (hiding)
Michelle: He's the Delilah of the UES.
Duana: "Willa"? This is a name? (outside the 'Booky' books by Bernice Thurman Hunter)
Michelle: Very Australian I think.
Duana: Yes, Rufus, you are a trophy husband.
Michelle: "over share" I enjoy this word.
Duana: It's more elegant than TMI
Michelle: Oh S, poor whiny baby.
Duana: "I might have to get out of bed and get dressed!"
Duana: "Go get coffee of my own!"
Duana: Theory - Neither Serena nor Blair can drive
Duana: Is she supposed to be Hillary in this situation? I guess that hat means yes.
Michelle: Does that make Serena Monica Lewinsky?
Lainey: she'd prefer Monroe.
Duana: Oh Bart, so delightfully hard-hearted
Lainey: couldn't they at least make him translucent?
Michelle: Please say harsh Chuck is back!
Duana: Also like that Bart is basically defiling Chuck's, um, manhood, here.
Michelle: Fitzgerald to Hemingway. Really?
Lainey: Isn't that required reading for rich country folks?
Duana: Serena has never read Fitzgerald. Weed not going to help with the cold
Michelle: What position does Maureen have?
Lainey: I like Maureen. Chuck used to be Maureen.
Duana: I guess she gets to be in luncheons? What's in the goddamn letter?
Michelle: Why would Lily go back to S's father?
Duana: And why would Serena care if Lily's relationship broke up?
Lainey: Never mind this. Why is S hiding her tits?
Duana: Who do we think is up over Chuck's Bed - Nicole Richie?
Michelle: https://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2009/11/27/fashion/20091129-pulse-slideshow_2.html
Duana: your internet skills TERRIFY me
Lainey: dude. That wasn't even 20 seconds.
Michelle: I read the article last week!
Duana: Why can Blair rapid cycle between good and evil but when Chuck does it's some sort of moral problem?
Lainey: because girls can explain it away with menstruation
Duana: Also - motorcycle in hallway?
Michelle: Weird. And Bart has replaced the GG voice?
Duana: HAH . True.
Duana: would you want an $18000 bag from a friend? What if you get bored?
Michelle: I will accept a $1800 bag but not a $18000 bag.
Duana: that's a very clear moral line, M.
Lainey: how about if it was black market and it came from my mother?
Duana: OK, Lily is TRYING to get Rufus to break up with her. I'm telling you. St. Pat's day
Michelle: Well he'll sleep with the lady from the co-op meeting in 2 weeks.
Duana: OK so Nate's going to sleep with
Michelle: Maureen?
Duana: Ew EW EW Drama masks on the wall = PROBLEM
Duana: This girl is crazy. Or whatever it is they said she was.
Duana: Now, here's the thing. K Rutherford's plastic help, if any, is so good that she and Chuck could really quite feasibly be a couple.
Michelle: True observation. And her hair is especially shiny this episode.
Lainey: good old patrician bone structure. Also note we barely comment on Dan's scenes even when there's internet moaning involved?
Michelle: Didn't Lily adopt Chuck?
Duana: But now he's 19?
Michelle: Ya but does that change anything.
Duana: Oooh, beautiful calfskin bags.
Duana: You mean how she's still a 19 year old mistress, and how Tripp looks like he's wearing pajamas? No.
Lainey: what's with the knit hats?
Michelle: Ok. Now I hate Tripp.
Lainey: the crying. It broke you.
Duana: What was her name, with Ted Kennedy? I mean, it's times like this that we know the show is for us and not the 15 year old children.
Michelle: No, really this means the show is just really layered. Like a Shrek cartoon.
Duana: Mary Jo Kopechne
Duana: And Nate is devastated because why? Because he took off? He knows this is the kind of guy he is.
Lainey: It's this an elaborate scheme to reunite Nate and Serena? Because… it's just so much effort.
Michelle: I don't know what to type about drama girl's shirt.
Lainey: Why does she have Maureen's face? Are they the same?
Duana: When I did a grade 12 drama exam where I played Fran Drescher, I wore something similar and yet more understated.
Michelle: Next time you call, I'm going to answer "What now Duana"
Duana: You mean you don't already? Heh. I'll respond with "Stop looking at me"
Michelle: Excellent.
Duana: OK, so Maureen has engineered the taking down of Serena so that she can retain...what, exactly?
Michelle: Her seat at the luncheon.
Michelle: I enjoyed that punch.
Duana: I did too. But the breast tucks on Maureen's coat are really, really bothering me
Lainey: I am saying. What is happening when I like Nate best?
Duana: I love how LIly is routinely like "Well, I was a whore, it's in your genes"
Michelle: I can't stop laughing.
Michelle: Blair left in a robe. Now that's a friend.
Duana: It's true.
Lainey: I would come for you both in my pink jammies.
Duana: Is any character on TV not afraid of hospitals? Or dentists?
Lainey: but they're suuuuch bad luck.
Michelle: This is like the Reality Bites scene in the hospital with Ethan Hawk
Lainey: did you see the back of her head? it was actually greasy.
Duana: Blair has matching pajama flats?
Michelle: Of course.
Duana: I just don't think these two are good for each other, are they?
Michelle: Not for the show they're not.
Duana: like, they trade off having neuroses but I'm not sure it's the same thing as being good for each other.
Duana: You're right, they could have the same relationship if they were sleeping with other people.
Lainey: Noooo. They're my emotional anchors.
Michelle: on another note - I just saw Nine today, and I can tell you Blair has infinitely more wrinkles than Nicole Kidman.
Lainey: was Third Lip a good dancer?
Duana: Leighton is what, 26 pretending to be 22?
Michelle: apparently 23
Duana: OK, Maureen strides into their house without announcing herself?
Duana: Dan's smirk belies his love for V
Duana: Also, what is her scarf, that she's wearing?
Michelle: It's the scarf version of the drama girl's blouse
Duana: OK, so ff your theory by two weeks.
Duana: Rufus on the prowl
Duana: I like that Dan still goes to the brooklyn loft and Jenny pretends it doesn't exist.
Duana: NB - when's the last time blood siblings on this show talked?
Michelle: Very wise observaton.
Duana: WHO?
Michelle: It's going to be his mother, right?
Duana: She never really died?
Michelle: They did leave that open ended. Why isn't he running after her?
Duana: I guess he doesn't believe it to be her?
Michelle: Well at least a lot actually happened in this ep.
Duana: This is true
Lainey: and now we all disagree on skeevy T
Duana: But there's not a single relationship I want to see play out romantically
Lainey: um, yeah, so… I'm down with Nate and Serena.
Duana: I MISS HILDUFF
Michelle: There needs to be some new blood - but not a Tripp or Maureen like character.
Duana: I agree. But again, these people could easily be 30.
Lainey: Sue Sylvester cross over. Imagine.
Photos from Wenn.com


text:
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text: Machinery Journal April 25, 2014 10:23 PM Tweet TAGS: Marketing, Overseas December 18, 2014 By Nate Birt Top Producer Managing Editor Email Drill Improves Seed Performance At the heart of the redesigned Model 5211 grain drills from Landoll Corporation is an externally fluted seed meter that lets farmers plant a wider range of seed sizes, including improved performance with alfalfa and soybeans. The four models, ranging in width from 10' to 20', are capable of no-till and conventional seeding and available with a standard three-point hitch, optional pull hitch or coulter cart. A gauge and threaded seed shaft adjustment offers a precise seed rate. Features include 15.8" blades on double-disk openers; standard soil-control strips; swivel-type press wheels; a Loup Monitor System including population monitor, bin level sensor and acremeter; and a pneumatic down-pressure spring. Main seed boxes have a "V" bottom for easy cleanout. List price range: $27,475 to $75,935. For more, visit www.landoll.com. Tractor Power and Comfort Joining the Puma Series tractors from Case IH are six new models ranging from 125 PTO hp to 205 PTO hp. These machines can provide additional power up to 25 hp when constant hydraulic flow is needed or during high-speed transport. The Puma tractors are Tier 4 Final-compliant and equipped with 6.7-liter Case IH FPT engines with the exclusive SCR-only technology. Enhanced cab features have been carried over from the earlier Tier 4 Interim models and include a headliner with improved air-conditioning controls. Additional storage features in the cab provide office-in-the-field comfort. The MultiControl armrest's MultiFunction handle has been updated with raised and ergonomically shaped buttons for added ease of operation. The controls are also backlit for more efficient nighttime operations. The cab boasts up to 63.2 sq. ft. of glass with the optional clear, shatterproof 4.5-sq.-ft. roof panel. Price range: $136,669 to $200,156. For more, visit www.caseih.com. Spacious Spraying Duo Versatile self-propelled sprayer models SX240 and SX280 offer farmers more comfort while spraying. The SX240 features a 240-hp engine coupled with a liquid tank made of poly that holds 1,000 gal. of product and a rinse tank that holds 100 gal. The SX280 features a 280-hp engine and either the 1,000-gal. poly tank or a 1,200-gal. stainless steel tank for liquid product. Its rinse tank holds 120 gal. Boom lengths of 90' or 100' are available for both models, and boom height ranges from 25" to 72". Both machines come standard with the HQ Cab, with 140 cu. ft. of space and 73.5 sq. ft. of glass. Inside are armrest-mounted console controls and a hand accelerator control for managing boom height and wing tip. Eight rotating eyeball vents ensure climate control. List price: $291,168 for the SX240; $304,863 for the SX280. For more, visit www.versatile-ag.ca. Tools to Manage Heavy Residue Three products from Sunflower can help farmers improve tillage performance. The 6631 Vertical Tillage Series, replacing the 6630 Series, is built with a heavier frame for soil penetration and levelness, and the front gang is repositioned for better machine balance. The series includes seven models from 20'5" to 37'5" working widths, the exclusive Saber Blade and three finishing attachment options. The 1436 Disk Harrow is available in working widths from 20'5" to 35'4". It is built with leading weight per ground-engaging blades, a 20° overlapping front disk angle and full concavity blades. Farmers can choose optional blade spacing and three finishing choices. Released in its first phase of features, the Sunflower Tillage Technology package is an ISOBUS-compatible monitoring technology for the 6631 Vertical Tillage Series and 1436 Disk Harrow. The system monitors levelness fore/aft and side-to-side, depth, acre count and service intervals. The electronics package comes factory-installed. Price range: $55,250 to $99,329 for the 6631 Series; $46,534 to $78,230 for the 1436 Disk Harrow; and $3,299 for the electronics package. For more, visit www.sunflowermfg.com. Back to news


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Remembering Steve King's greatest hits
, Daily Times Herald Columnist
Thursday, November 1, 2012
Western Iowa Republican Congressman Steve King is a master at finding or manufacturing controversy, issuing provocative statements, and reveling in the national media attention that follows.
The Book of King is an ever-expanding collection of often incendiary and generally artful political barbs. King is nothing if not a prodigious producer of these outrages, which are by equal measure eagerly swallowed by his wide-eyed supporters and gobbled by the mainstream media and ideologically fueled websites. The undeniable result: national profile.
King's provocations, he admitted in a Downtown Sioux City Rotary Club meeting a few years ago, covered by Bret Hayworth of The Sioux City Journal, are carefully contrived for maximum effect.
According to King, he plans everything he says. It's weighed ahead of time, never off-the-cuff and designed to stir discussion of key issues.
The founder of a construction company, he knows the ways of rural Iowa and how to connect with a crowd. He got himself elected as a state senator in Kiron before winning the 5th Congressional District seat in 2002. But with his conservative base seemingly locked in, King is eschewing the traditional path of conservative Iowa Republicans like Chuck Grassley and Terry Branstad, who rose in popularity as they migrated from the right wing toward the political center.
At one point in his seventh and final debate with Democrat Christie Vilsack in Mason City on Tuesday King produced a comment that ran afoul of a decade-long career we've cataloged.
"I think it's important to keep the message positive," King said.
This from a man who called Howard Dean a "coward" in a news release and described his concerns with a "big, powerful, angry, black man" protesting the war in Iraq.
And later, he offered this contention, "I don't do things for political purposes."
OK, you be the judge. The following is a list of some of our congressman's rhetorical highlights over the past decade. Let's call it "Steve King's Top 10 Greatest Hits:"
1. He idolizes Joe McCarthy
In the fall of 2005, King referred to widely disgraced red-baiter U.S. Sen. Joseph McCarthy as a "hero for America" and continues to defend the statement.
Joseph McCarthy is the political leader who cried wolf in the 1950s and nearly cost us the Cold War. He's the inspiration for much of the movie "The Manchurian Candidate," for heaven's sake.
Most Americans see footage of the McCarthy hearings or remember the era and shudder at the thought of what the censured senator represented.
Not King. He sees a role model, a political jukebox hero.
"It's extraordinarily bad judgment or he's historically illiterate," Art Neu, a Carroll attorney and former Republican lieutenant governor, said of King's 50-year retroactive McCarthy endorsement.
2. King makes fun of an old lady
In 2006, King suggested that iconic journalist Helen Thomas, then 85 years old, was ugly in a joke about radical Islam's belief that martyrs will be rewarded with virgins in the afterlife.
"There probably are not 72 virgins in the hell he (Abu Musab al-Zarqawi) is at," King said at the Iowa GOP State Convention. "And if there are, they probably all look like Helen Thomas."
3. King likens illegal immigrants to animals
In July 2006 King went to the House floor to display the model of a wall the Kiron Republican said he personally designed for the U.S. border with Mexico.
"We need to do a few other things on top of that wall, and one of them being to put a little bit of wire on top here to provide a disincentive for people to climb over the top or put a ladder there." King said in explaining his design. "We could also electrify this wire with the kind of current that would not kill somebody, but it would be a discouragement for them to be fooling around with it. We do that with livestock all the time."
4. King compares homosexuals to unicorns and leprechauns
In a Dec. 12, 2003, news release about Sioux City Judge Jeffrey Neary's decision to grant two lesbians a divorce King said the following: "Unless I am mistaken it was in Vermont, not Iowa, that Howard 'The Coward' Dean slyly signed midnight legislation making same sex unions legal. Unicorns, leprechauns, gay marriages in Iowa — these are all things you will never find because they just don't exist. But perhaps Judge Neary would grant divorces to unicorns and leprechauns, too.'"
5. The "Big, powerful, angry, black man" remark
Because of his concerns about the impact of war protests in America, King went to get a firsthand view of the anti-war demonstrations and speeches in Washington, D.C., just after the war in Iraq started in 2003.
The congressman spent about 90 minutes among war protesters around the Washington Monument and other places in the nation's capital. One episode stood out to King, and he described it to me during an interview.
"I saw a big, powerful, angry, black man come up to the flag, the flags that were held along the streets by the 'Support Our Troops' people, and he was just screaming, 'Burn that racist flag! Burn that racist flag!'" King said.
6. Congressman claims John Kerry would have lost World War II
In the summer of 2004, King issued a statement about the just-dedicated World War II memorial in Washington, saying, "Can you imagine if John Kerry had been president during WWII? We'd all be speaking Japanese and German right now!"
It would have been interesting to hear King say that at the dedication of our Veterans Memorial monument here in Carroll. Would you be OK with politicizing such an event?
7. King defends "hazing" at Abu Ghraib
"The dismembered and charred corpses of American contractors dangling over the Euphrates River in comparison to the abuse committed by a few soldiers at Abu Ghraib are like the crimes of Jeffrey Dahmer compared to those of Heidi Fleiss," King said in a statement. "What amounts to hazing is not even in the same ballpark as mass murder."
8. King says Iraq is safer than Washington, D.C.
In the summer of 2006, on the floor of the U.S. House, King says it's more perilous for civilians in Washington, D.C., than Iraq.
9. King endorses back-seat babymaking
When discussing potential solutions to concerns about Iowa's population during a Carroll Rotary Club meeting, King singled out Singapore's plan to increase pregnancies, which he said included the injunction, "put newspapers in your car (windows) to get more privacy." Added King, "I remember those things when I read them. They kind of stand out in my mind."
10. King defends the widow penalty
King uses a preposterous hypothetical that characterizes our servicemen as booze-hounds prone to one-night stands and black-out drunk marriages. "A soldier, man or woman, could get drunk in Bangkok, wake up in the morning and be married, as will happen sometimes in places like Las Vegas or Bangkok, be killed the next day, and the spouse who was a product of the evening's celebration would have then a right to claim access to come to the United States on a green card," King said during debate on the widow penalty, according to The Des Moines Register.
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Beat that dead horse, Doug!
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Peggy Staley
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If you are a republican, I understand your reservations about voting for a democrat. As a democrat myself, it would take a lot for me to vote for a republican, so I get it. I don't think anyone can deny that at a time when we need to get things done in Washington (tax reform, fiscal cliff, wind energy tax credit, farm bill, etc.), Steve King will continue to be a non-player in these important debates. He will take his hard right position and unwillingness to compromise into the congress when we need a voice from the 4th district. Christie Vilsack will be a part of the debate and work to get things done in a bipartisen way. King will not be.
Steve King has passed only 1 bill that he wrote in 10 years in congress. It was naming a building. In one congressional vote to acknowledge what slaves built in the 1800s, Steve King was the only one to vote no in the entire 465 person House of Reps. He was unable to get his own leadership to even bring the Farm Bill up for a vote after a severe drought in our state.
My family has ran a detasseling business out of Carroll for the last 20 years. I took over that business a few years ago. My daughter and I were out there running a crew this past summer in the blistering heat and saw first hand the condition our crops were in. With that in plain sight in his own district, did anyone hear him outraged that the Farm Bill was not passed?
Bottom Line: Steve King is not effective in Congress. He is made to be a right wing talk show host or a Fox News contributer. That is probably what his plan has been all along. Let's give him the opportunity to be the person that he is and give Christie Vilsack the opportunity to actually represent us.
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(Reuters) - An unmanned minehunting vehicle developed by Lockheed Martin Corp (LMT.N) has shown improved reliability in new tests, moving it a step closer to use on U.S. warships, Navy officials said on Thursday.
An improved version of the Remote Minehunting System has completed 850 hours of testing, paving the way for 10 weeks of development and operational testing this fall, which should allow the system to go into use in 2015.
"Ultimately, this system is going to take sailors out of the minefield," Steve Lose, the Navy's program manager for the Lockheed system, told Reuters in a telephone interview.
Hunting for mines in harsh, murky waters is a critical mission for the Navy. It is keen to shift that work to unmanned systems and keep sailors out of harm's way. Sea mines are inexpensive weapons that are readily available to terrorists, rogue nations and potential adversaries.
Lockheed's Remote Minehunting System combines a diesel-powered, stealthy unmanned vehicle, or Remote Multi-Mission Vehicle (RMMV), with advanced sonar sensors to help Navy ships search for mines faster and more efficiently.
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Lose said the testing completed last week showed the equipment operated successfully, on average, for 115 hours before breaking down, up from 45 hours previously and far exceeding the Navy's 75-hour requirement.
The system is a key part of the mine countermeasures package planned for the Navy's new Littoral Combat Ships, relatively small vessels used close to shore. Early technical and reliability issues prompted the Navy to require improvements. Delays in fielding that system, and a separate anti-submarine warfare package, have sparked concerns in Congress, which is keeping a close watch on the LCS program.
Lockheed and Australia's Austal (ASB.AX) are building two different models of the new warships, which are designed to help patrol coastal areas, find mines and chase down potential attackers.
The Navy decided three years ago to halve its planned order of RMMVs to 54, which raised the cost of each of the remaining vehicles and triggered a review. The reliability improvements were imposed as a condition for allowing the $1.4 billion program to continue.
Completion of the extensive at-sea testing of the system, coupled with a recent contract for its integration onto the new LCS warships, is good news for Lockheed, which is also one of two companies building the new warships.
If the next phase of testing goes well, Lockheed stands to receive orders for 44 more RMMVs in coming years, Lose said.
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"With the completion of the reliability testing, we are a big step closer to addressing the need for a safe, efficient mine warfare capability for the U.S. Navy," Steve Froelich, program director at Lockheed's mission systems unit, told Reuters in an emailed statement.
Reporting By Andrea Shalal-Esa in Paris; Editing by John Wallace


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For those wondering about Prices, Prime 1 is making an assload of Arkham statues in 1:3 and Batman as well as the Arkham Knight are $900US. Harley, Deathstroke as well as some others cost a bit more (I'm guessing due to bases, etc?). Their 1:2 Heath Ledger, Batfleck and Superman are $2000US. That should give you an idea of what to expect in terms of prices depending on the scale. Their products are high quality and their Ledger Joker for example has the head sculpt done by Adam Gu who use to make a killing on his custom 1:6 sculpts and the clothes are made by Kato who is the best in the business (you wouldn't believe how much his 1:6 custom joker replacement clothes would sell for). It looks like the 1:2 scale statues have the clothing though for extra realism while 1:3 is all sculpted.Aside from price, one thing that will get very tricky is finding places to store the boxes.
Thanks for the heads up Ahmetal. 1/4th! Wow. Gonna be huge! I posted a few suggestions on the FB thread.
I suspect each P1 berserk piece to sell out which hopefully leads to them making more than the 5 planned characters. their 1/3 statues cost ~$1000 so their 1/4 will probably cost ~$700-$800?. their first berserk piece will by my first statue can't wait. they gave a date, march 2017, is that when the first statue will be released or is that when they will first unveil it?
good to know and yeah their witcher line looks sooooo good, geralt and his base look amazing, can't wait to see a painted eredin and ciri
First Teaser Guys
So much for creative poses... lol. Oh well, hopefully the likeness and paint job wlil be amazing. But I have to say I'm a bit disappointed with the pose thus far.


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kellix45, on 26 February 2017 - 01:45 PM, said:
This is a suggestion certain famous planes have been left out like the F6F Hellcat, and others in specifically there are practically no American attack planes, like the A20 Havoc it could carry 4000 of bombs and had like 8 50 calibers in its nose, the A26 and the B25 had 12 50 calibers in the nose. Anyway there are other countries like Japan and France that had good fighters that are not in the game. Like the Nakijma Ki-84 Radien-Frank. which could be a tier 6-7 plane. Please take a look at the list below and other people please add in your suggestion.
Fighter planes
British - Hawker Fury
American-F6F-Hellcat- F8F-Bearcat- F82 Twin Mustang, Bell P-63 Kingcobra, American versions and Russian P39 American versions and Russian- I know the Russian one has been done. I have one.
France- Dewoitine D.520
Japan - Nakajima Ki-44- Tojo Nakajima Ki-84-Frank- Hayate, Kawasaki Ki-61- Tony
Attack Planes
American - Douglas SBD Dauntless,, Douglas A-20 Havoc Douglas A26,Invader -Douglas A-1 Skyraider, Curtiss SBC Helldiver. B-25 Mitchell Attack bomber
British - De-HAVALLAND Mosquito- Attack version
Add the P-63 Kingcobra
Edited by Caecias, 17 April 2017 - 07:44 PM.


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Adaptive Behavior Assessment System® - Second Edition
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"Who in the room thinks that if Goldman Sachs hit a rock, a hypothetical rock — I'm not saying they have, I'm not saying they will — today, who here thinks they would be allowed to fail, like Lehman Brothers did, unimpeded by any government bailout, starting Monday morning? Can Goldman Sachs fail?"
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See more of the transcript in Business Insider
Simon Johnson is Ronald A. Kurtz (1954) Professor of Entrepreneurship and Professor of Global Economics and Management


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The San Diego Chargers are being investigated for what is potentially one of the most unsuccessful attempts at breaking the rules in NFL history.
FOX Sports insider and NFL Network contributor Jay Glazer reported Sunday that the Chargers were caught using an illegal "stickum-type" substance against the Denver Broncos on Monday night.
Glazer reported that the NFL already had started an investigation before Monday night's game. A Chargers equipment man was seen hiding a possible illegal sticky substance and giving to players. A line judge saw it and had it confiscated and sent to the Broncos and the league.
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The Chargers blew a 24-point lead Monday night against the Broncos and lost 35-24.
Follow Gregg Rosenthal on Twitter @greggrosenthal.


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The Mets' never-ending search to add pitching depth continued today with the signing of Livan Hernandez, El Duque's half-brother. Hernandez, 34 next Friday, will compete with Jon Niese, Freddy Garcia and Tim Redding for the fifth starter role. He was signed to a minor league deal, but could earn $1 million if he makes the big league roster.
Bet on it.
"I just feel we need to have numbers," said GM Omar Minaya. The Mets have 29 pitchers in camp.
Hernandez is an innings eater. He threw 180 last season for Minnesota and Colorado, but logged at least 200 the previous eight years. He has won at least 11 games the past nine seasons.
I like the signing. Minaya is right; a team can't have too much pitching, and Hernandez has a history of durability.
This signing also leaves Pedro Martinez out in the cold.


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Xbox 2/360 Controller PC Compatibility
Posted by Oscar M. Cantu Categories: PC, Xbox 360,
Will Poole, Microsoft VP, confirmed on Wednesday that the controller of the Xbox 2/360 will be compatible with Microsoft's next operating system, Longhorn. Just how it will be used on the PC has yet to be known. Will the next Xbox blur the lines between home entertainment and personal computer just like Mr. Gates dreams? Sure seems like it. Needless to say, we will not know for sure just what role the Xbox 360's controller will play in the next Microsoft OS for possibly months to come.
Read More | Total Video Games
Yahoo: My Web
Posted by Oscar M. Cantu Categories: Internet,
Yahoo has launched a test version of their latest search offering – My Web. These tools will allow users to save, search and even share any information they find on the Internet. What I find very interesting about this service is that Yahoo is incorporating these tools to its instant messenger and its new blog service. This will allow users to share, comment, and even subscribe to search information of other users – building a community devoted to finding information of a specific theme. The stored search history and pages can even include notes to remind you what the page consists of or simply to jot down ideas based on that web page. The services are currently being tested, but as soon as they are released to the public, Yahoo will make their API available to developers so that they may include the web tools in their next project.
Read More | Yahoo: My Web via BBC News
Madden Next Generation Trailer
Posted by Oscar M. Cantu Categories: PlayStation 3, Sports, Wii, Xbox 360,
In case you've missed the newest Madden commercial, here it is. EA Sports is showing off their next gen Madden on their web site along with five beautiful screenshots of the game. This is all to show off what the next generation consoles can do and to get us drooling in anticipation for the coming weeks. If you missed the commercial during the NFL draft, then head on over to EA Sports and check it out – remember to wipe after you're finished.
Read More | EA Sports
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How-To Set Up A PSP Web Portal
Posted by Oscar M. Cantu Categories: Internet, Mods/Hacks, Portable/Mobile,
So it seems that the PSP browser is easily the most popular PSP mod/hack to date, but just how do you go about setting up that infamous web portal? Thanks to engadget's recent How-To Hacks contest, anyone can set up a web portal for their PSP by following the recipe. Be warned, this tutorial is a long read, but that's a good thing since that means more detailed instructions. So go ahead and make your own web portal so you too can browse the web and read the latest gaming news and previews on Playfeed all from the comfort of your beloved Playstation Portable.
Read More | engadget
Siemens To Sell Mobile Division
Posted by Edwin Soto Categories: Cell Phones, Corporate News,
German electronics giant Siemens is planning to doing away with their mobile division. It seems that the approximate loss of almost $2 million a day, which can be attributed to the mobile division, is reason enough to justify its sale. So far none of the other popular mobile companies (LG, Motorola, Nokia, etc.) seem interested in investing in Siemens technologies.
Read More | Yahoo! News
DETECT: Concussion Verification System
Posted by Edwin Soto Categories: Misc. Tech,
Designed at Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University, DETECT can tell if it is necessary to pull a player out of a game - or if it is okay to send them back in - as it can identify a concussion in a matter of minutes. It is certainly revolutionary, as it can be hard to tell right off hand. Its creators also hope to start testing it at the Georgia Tech football games next season. The DETECT devices will likely run between $500 to $1000.
Read More | CNN
Family Entertainment and Copyright Act Signed By Bush
Posted by Jesse Easley Categories: Internet, Music, Video Games,
The Family Entertainment and Copyright Act has been signed and approved. This act is to reduce/eliminate the amount of piracy of pre-release movies, music, games, etc. The act itself is very concrete in stating that even if you have one pre-release file in your shared folder, whether you downloaded it or not, you are subject to fines and prison time for up to 3 years. It does specify that it pertains to files being prepared for sale in the US. As of right now, it's not clear on how this act will pertain to people who re-distribute TV shows and movies from other countries.
"The protection of intellectual property rights is vital to the movie industry," said Rep. Lamar Smith, a Texas Republican who joined Bush for the signing ceremony. "This bill is necessary to ensure that all those involved in the production of a film, from the director to the set carpenter, are not cheated."
Read More | The Family Entertainment and Copyright Act
NEC To Provide eDRAM for Next-Gen Xbox Graphics
Posted by Jesse Easley Categories: Xbox 360,
NEC has announced that they will be provided eDRAM for the next generation Xbox system graphics system. This partnership is a great step for the Xbox because this partnership will help provide incredible graphics and great High-Definition content.
"The next generation Xbox platform will provide gamers with a highly advanced graphics experience," said Todd Holmdahl, corporate vice president, Xbox Product Group. "NEC Electronics' cutting-edge embedded DRAM technology plays a vital role in enabling our graphics engine's performance, while its manufacturing process provides a reliable resource that can deliver the volumes required to support what will be an extremely popular gaming platform."
Read More | NEC Press Release
Google Users Beware
Posted by Jesse Easley Categories: Internet,
If you're an avid Google user, (and really, who isn't?), be sure to pay close attention to how you type Google's address into your browser. Security company F-Secure made an announcement that if users were to visit "Googkle.com" they would be bombarded with various trojan viruses, spyware, and backdoors. The attack is aimed at users in a rush or that simple put in a type, as the "k" key is right next to the "l" key.
Read More | F-Secure Advisory
Xbox 2/360 Showing Signs of Backward Compatibility
Posted by Edwin Soto Categories: Internet, Xbox 360,
We are all itching to know if this is going to be possible. It's all speculation so far and no official word in sight until the official MTV debut. However, this blurb on an Xbox Live questionnaire seems to be saying a bit more than it is letting on:
Xbox Live is an online gaming service that works across both the current Xbox system and the future Xbox 2. You will be able to play online and compete against others across both consoles. If you are playing an Xbox game on Live you will be able to compete against people playing that same game on Xbox 2.
So what does this mean? Well it could be just a re-release of Live games currently on the Xbox (doubtful) or that the Xbox 360 will ship with the ability to play current Xbox Live games - hence, backwards compatibility.
Read More | The Inquirer
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Christmas Gift Ideas for Mom
Between cooking meals, shopping for presents, and preparing for guests, Mom works hard to make Christmas perfect every year. Show her your appreciation with a thoughtful Christmas gift she'll love and use. Whether it's a gift for her favorite hobby or something to pamper her, this list will give you some ideas for the perfect Christmas for mom gift.


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With members of the City Council and the Rhode Island Airport Corporation (RIAC) in closed negotiations over airport expansion, the results of a poll commissioned by the construction trade unions released yesterday find most Warwick residents consider the airport a good neighbor and favor its expansion.
"We were hoping people would see that it is something supported by the people of Warwick," Rhode Island AFL-CIO President George H. Nee said of airport projects that include the extension of safety areas to one runway and the lengthening of the other from 7,166 to 8,700 feet. Although the city administration saw no grounds for an appeal, the City Council voted to challenge the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) decision approving the projects. That action was filed late last year in the Washington Appellate Court.
Last Wednesday the council committee gave RIAC CEO Kevin Dillon a list of demands including such proposals as the relocation of the Winslow Park ball fields on which it would be willing to drop its suit. And yesterday the parties started negotiations with hopes of reaching a resolution as soon as this Friday.
The timing of the poll conducted from Feb. 13 to Feb. 16, just of Warwick residents, is no coincidence.
"Now we have some facts to show the council," said Michael Sabitoni, president of the RI Building and Construction Trades Council and business manager of Laborers Local 271. And he believes the results will carry some weight.
"When you're a political animal, you usually look at a poll," he said.
Of the 304 people who answered the survey, 56 percent supported FAA approval of the extended runway while 42 percent did not. Seventy percent felt the airport is a good neighbor and 25 percent disagreed.
Fleming Associates that conducted the poll also asked residents if they favored the City Council's action to challenge the FAA decision. Of the respondents, 37 percent favored the appeal while 54 percent did not; 8 percent were not sure and 1 percent refused to respond.
The poll carried some political overtones as well, which council members will surely spot.
To the question, "If your councilman supported the expansion of the airport runway, would you be more or less likely to support him or her for re-election," 45 percent of the respondents said more likely, 34 percent said less likely, 17 percent said no difference and 4 percent were not sure.
In response to the poll's first question, other than establishing the age, gender and whether the respondent is a registered voter, 53 percent felt Warwick is headed in the right direction, 29 percent said wrong direction, 10 percent unchanged and 8 percent unsure.
That finding didn't escape the notice of political pundits, who point out it is a ringing endorsement of Mayor Scott Avedisian. The approval rating far exceeds the 18 percent given Gov. Chafee and the numbers of state elected officials.
Avedisian, who learned of poll results Tuesday, called the approval rating "fantastic and very encouraging for us."
He said the poll "bears out what everyone thinks." As for the findings on airport projects, Avedisian thinks it is reflective of the understanding this has been a long process during which airport plans have been scaled back from two 10,000-foot parallel runways to a single 8,700-foot runway. Avedisian had held out for 8,300 feet, but that didn't happen.
"Everyone realizes we got some good concessions and safeguards," he said. He was also not surprised with the good neighbor rating.
"Kevin definitely listens to people and he is willing to get out among the people," he said of Dillon.
Nee said four unions, the State Chapter of the AFL-CIO, the RI Building and Construction Trades Council, Working Rhode Island and Build Rhode Island, teamed up to pay for the poll. He said what they spent is proprietary information.
"We took the initiative to do this," he said. He added that he is hopeful the poll will become part of the public debate as well as the decision process. "We've got to get some positive things going." He said delaying the projects could mean a lost opportunity for new jobs and possibly our place in line when it comes to federal funding.
Sabitoni said, "I think all along we knew in our gut that people favored this." He said it is understandable that immediate neighbors to the proposed airport projects would oppose them, but he feels most people realize the importance of the airport to the state's economy and future.
"We didn't skew it," Sabitoni said of poll results. "It is what it is."
As for whether it will actually change things and help the parties reach an agreement, Sabitoni said, "I'm pessimistically optimistic that the City Council will do the right thing."
The results of the poll can be viewed on the Beacon website: Warwickonline.com.
56% of a poll of 300 people out of 86,000 cannot be considered "most!" What is the margin of error? Probably 10% at least if the questions were fairly asked. They called me on the survey. Questions were leading - kind of like an infomercial. End result is probably inconclusive.
Great article ! Although it may seem to be a small sample in a large city... most surveys are based on randomness and not so much the quantity of entries. 300 is a fair amount to judge what people are thinking. Not to mention if that poll was opened up to the entire state you would see much more higher percentages for people in favor.
Mr. Langseth it is quite apparent you are anti-airport and that view will never change. So I'm sure we will see you post on every possible airport article which is why I'm going to do the same in favor.
At one time I wasn't sure about the expansion but I understand now just how vital it is to the city and state and the SAFETY of Warwick.
P.S. Your concerns for Winslow Park make me think that you aren't concerned for safety of the children. I for one would not want my child playing in dirt that is directly in line with the airplanes flying over head. Or, God forbid some kind of airplane mishap being that it is so close to the actual approach!
@ Michael12012...two issues with the survey...Union involvement and lack of numbers. The issue I have with your P.S. ... you have concerns for a childs safety in the short term, a game. But, not with people who live/work around the airport?!?! Airplane mishaps in a residential area also a great concern. As it shoould be for ALL of Rhode Island!!
I agree with Richard regarding 56% of 300 people being considered as "Most." If "Most" of the Warwick Residents were in favor of airport expansion then this would not be or would have not been an issue for so long. However, I do congratulate the Warwick Beacon for at least reporting the facts of the survey and responsible journalism opposed to Projo's tabloid reporting on Feb 22. I do wonder how many of those Warwick residents polled are in fact tax payers and not tenants of the City. Surveys should not be used as an objective source of measurement. Votes from Warwick residents should be the source of measurement as it is us who will have to live with the decision.
Great article John Howell, thank you. As a life long Warwick resident and a business owner. I moved my business OUT of Warwick in big part because of the airport. The exorbitant taxes and fees we pay as residents support and subsidize the airport and not many residents and business owners actually get any benefit. If they lengthen the runways, I will move to another town. But before them, I will make sure my city council rep and the mayor know why.
This is hysterical, unions getting involved with Politics as usual. Typical for Rhode Island! I can't wait for everyone to start whinig about their state taxes going up when the FAA chooses to only subsidize a smaller amount of the $500Million+ projected long term cost. Then there's the group who will be complaining about ticket fee's. Let's not forget the Airlines who are going too have to pay more, great way to attract bussiness. If it happens, it happens. I don't support it, most of my neighbors don't either. And we live 1 1/2 to 2 miles down way, but yes, plenty of black soot on houses and trees, oh and the noise level, which is bearable, I can't wait for that to increase. Excuse me for not wanting a larger airport. It's nice to see that the Unions care about us so much! After all, they're not looking out for themselves! They never do! Always concerned about the good of the "PEOPLE"
Their PEOPLE that is. But then again, who wouldn't want all that money pouring into them? I'm sure they'll give the best prices around to the state and the RIAC for all their hard, Union work... Check books out Rhode Islanders, there is a large reason they don't want this reviewed in a Federal Court... And it's not a a few hundred paving/construction jobs..


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The specific thought that brings this all to mind is National Novel Writing Month. A lot of writers are dedicating themselves to the task of writing a hefty 50,000 words during the course of the ensuing month, and that is no simple task.
So for them, for anyone who needs a little inspiration, I offer this poem. It is actually a rewrite of a poem by Edgar Best, "It Couldn't Be Done." This version is by Edward Carp.
Somebody said it couldn't be done,
But he with a chuckle replied,
Maybe it couldn't, but I will be one,
Who'll never say 'No!' 'til I've tried."
So he buckled right in,
With a trace of a grin
On his face, if he worried he hid it.
And he tackled that thing that couldn't be done,
And he couldn't do it.
Yeah, you might want to look up that original. But I hope I helped. ;D
National Novel Writing Month writers, or anyone in general: Keep trying, keep persevering, and never lose hope!
Sincerely, Nuile: Lunatic Wordsmith
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Logo handmade by Bannister
Column by Scott Green
Resource Spotlight: 100 Animated Features
By Andrew Osmond
Released by Palgrave Macmillan
On Coraline
Stop-motion isn't inherently warm or charming, any more than the witchcraft it resembles. Coraline points this up in its opening sequence, in which inhuman metal fingers unstitch a cloth doll, gut it of stuffing, and rebuild it as a replica of the main character. The sequence recalls Svankmajer shorts such as Jabbewocky (1971), in which plastic dolls are daintily cooked and eaten by other dolls.
On American Pop
Like The Lord of the Rings, American Pop is rotoscoped, the gaudily traced performance defined by overstatement that make many scenes look like filmed theatre, though the background evolve evocatively through the decades, from sepia to psychedelia. Much of the film has the depth of a comic-strip panel, telegraphing reversals of fortune like a brassy biopic, while the fictional family cornily creates real songs from 'As Time Goes By' to 'Night Moves.' But as fans noted, the film plays like a rock ballad, making it easier to enjoy its shameless dealt cues on second viewing. American Pop's pseudo-history makes a far better fit for Bakshi's technique than Tolkein's literal myth-making
100 Animated Features' entries offer a side bars with creative/production credits, but more than info sheets, the book offers context and evaluation of its subjects. There are few writers better suited to the task than Andrew Osmond. His book is accurate. I'm not sure if an animation historian will find anything to correct or quibble about. I can say that the anime conversation is tight. For example, I greatly admired the pair of paragraphs offering an excellent, economical and accurate well shaded portrait of Osamu Tezuka, identifying him as an innovator who emerged from a sea of pioneers thanks to his hits, but, as a great cartoonist, yet terrible businessman who could only inexactly be compared to Walt Disney. As another litmus test, the book also notably identifies Ninja Scroll as an artifact of anime's shock value gory/glory days far more significant to western audiences and distributors than to Japanese ones.
More than just getting the facts right, as previously seen in his BFI book on Hayao Miyazaki's Spirited Away and Satoshi Kon: The illusionist, Osmond gifts the field with an informed, well reason, well written critical approach. It's neither too insider nor too outsider. It's not wrong, grudging or out of nowhere. Axes aren't being ground and at the same time, the subject is not simply raised up as "magical."
Familiar with the subject, I found the anime entries to be satisfyingly encapsulations. Not just plot and creative details, but guide markers for what can be read into the features. Unafraid to interpret, evaluate or bring in outside opinions, Osmond accomplishes the trick of being insightful and yet always consistently what a familiar reader is liable to agree is on the mark, or at least consider valid (as compared to something like Clements and McCarthy's Anime Encyclopedia, a valuable book, but one which offered opinions with which I frequently disagreed). Few would call it unfair to point out of Sky Crawlers that "as usual with Oshii, there's an adorable basset hound (based on the director's beloved dog); characters musing on strangeness of an existence they can't change; and slips into extended static monologs."
In the End of Evangelion entry, he mentions the notorious opening, then after contextualizing it, spells out what appears on screen, chained into the observation "Compared to the series, the fill recalls a certain kind of fan-fiction which proclaims its nature through sex and violence forbidden in the source, like an X-rate Star Wars. Paedophilia and incest figure in barely sublimated form."
When it comes to movies that I spend less time thinking about, the survey proves perspective expanding. The point is less that it's new than that it's well presented. For example, the unawed, but appropriately appreciative view of the classic Disney features. This includes pointing out that the discussion of animation turning too live action, currently surrounding 3D and CG works, was already a talking point for Snow White. Osmond notes that critics felt that Pinocchio was too dark, and observes that its greatness is "haphazard," that it had five villains, and "untidily sprawling set pieces," that its magic is "almost shapeless." He points out that largely due war in Europe, Pinocchio and Fantasia were box office albatrosses. And, in turn, war played a signficant role in the context of Bambi.
I'll again admit to being subject to the geek pathological desire to classify things into neat niches. That niggling insistence gets more pronounced when it comes time to address something in an AICN Anime column. One of the few conceits to the "X Entries" style of compendium is an insistence on drawing connections, some of which are insightful or unobvious, some of which don't seem entirely necessary - such as pointing out that Ice Age and Tokyo Godfathers both reprise John Ford's Three Godfathers. To the extent that I have an issue with 100 Animated Features, it's that there's not really a naked proposition here. It's not simply a collection of essays nor is it comprehensive. Any "this book serves this purpose" or "this on your shelf will give you this" is a bit loose. It's not a "Top 100 Animated Feature Films" or a "100 Animated Feature Films You Should See." Good on it , for not succumbing to that over used proposition.
Then again, that quality suits the book's subject well. Osmond opens by the book with the statement that animated features are "one of the most unruly changelings in cinema." From underground to populist. Fantasy to documentary and memoir. Hand draw to stop motion to CG. Rotoscope to motion capture. In the discussion of Prince of Egypt, Osmond calls it an elastic medium. He points out how "in Hollywood cartoons, slapstick routinely gives way to song, to spectacle, to tragedy, to slapstick again." Likewise, a strength with which anime has been credited is its infidelity to a particular genre or tone, leaps between sincere seriousness and levity, grounded drama and extraordinary sc-fi. And, as this flexibility is true of particular work, it's true of the medium as a whole. Animated cinema is anything but monolithic.
Osmond constructs a mosaic image of the field. There's Disney... not all of the major and some of the significant minor (Aladdin, Bambi, Beauty and the Beat, Dumbo, Fantasia, Hunchback of Notre Dame, The Jungle Book, Lilo and Stick, Lion King, One Hundred and One Dalmatians, Pinocchio, The Rescuers, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, The Three Callaberos).
There's Dreamworks (Antz, How to Train Your Dragon, Kung Fu Panda, Prince of Egypt, Shrek), Fox Animation (Ice Age) and Pixar (Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Monsters Inc. Toy Story, Up, Wall*E).
There's Ralph Bakashi (American Pop, Frtiz the Cat), Dave Fleisher (Hoppity Goes to Town) and Don Bluth (Secret of NIHM). There's Sylvain Chomet (Illustionist, Tripplets of Belleville/Bellevelle Rendez-Vous) and Michel Ocelot (Azur and Asmar)
There's Hayao Miyazaki and his Studio Ghibli Isao Takahata (Grave of Fireflies, Kiki's Delivery Service, Laputa: Castle in the Sky, Takahata's pre-Ghibli Little Norse Prince. My Neighbor Totoro, Takahata's Only Yesterday - not available in North America, Ponyo, Porco Rosso, Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away , Whispers of the Heart - a Ghibli movie from Yoshifumi Kindo), Mamoru Oshii (Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocense, Sky Crawlers), Mamoru Hosoda (Girl Who Leapt Through Time, Summer Wars) and Satoshi Kon (Tokyo Godfathers, you can probably also include Memories - Osmond has a book out about Kon - Satoshi Kon: The Illustionist).
Relevant to this column, other anime covered include Akira, Mind Game, Neon Genesis Evangelion: End of Evangelion, Night on the Galactic Railroad, Ninja Scroll, Tezuka's One Thousand and One Nights.
There's early features, such as 1926'sThe Adventures of Prince Achmed and recent ones such as recent Persepolis, Secret of Kells, Sita Sings the Blues, Waltz with Bashir. And, there are a number of surprising inclusions such as Avatar, Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker, King Kong, Scanner Darkly and Secret Adventures of Tom Thumb (which I only remember for the inclusion of the trailer's inclusion on Manga Entertainment VHS - I half suspect that its inclusion here is a minute UK bias.)
Still, Osmond's writing and not the organization are the essential elements of 100 Animated Features. Feature animation is special. It's difficult and expensive, and so, even if it feels like we've been inundated by far too many CGI productions, it's important to remember that really, there haven't been that many animated movies produced. The subject of feature animation deserves and rarely receives the attention of a writer like Osmond. The book is not an essential reference guide, but if you value quality writing on animation, there are few places where you can find a better collection.
Anime Spotlight: Durarara!!
Part 02
Released by Aniplex
Country boy Mikado Ryugamine leaves home to attend high school near Tokyo's Ikebukuro entertainment district. He's not in town long before he's reunited with gregarious to a fault childhood friend Masaomi Kida; a peer who'd already spent a few years developing a familiarity, and history even, with the environment. The pair both turn an affectionate/protective eye towards quiet, bespectacled classmate Sonohara Anri.
Durarara's opening credits feature this trio running out of school into a darkly fascinating cityscape, the apparent dangers of which include the circumstances surrounding a missing classmate, a recent development in which various flashy "color" gangs faded in favor of the more nebulous Dollars, rumors of a headless "Black Rider" motorcycling through the streets, attacks by a phantom "Slasher," and the stalking likes of monstrously strong debt collector Shizuo Heiwajima, and scheming, quick with a knife information broker Izaya Orihara.
If haven't watched Durarara!! online at Crunchyroll, watch out because one of the post cards packed in with the second set is a pretty apparent give away one of the series' fundamental mysteries... This set collects the end of the first season, the 12.5 bonus episode and the beginning of second. The stories/mysteries climb from each other, with each wrapping up to some extent, but also offering a purchase from which to dangle onto the next. The spoiler in question relates to one of these threads, setting up the major relation of the first half of the second season.
I've called Durarara!! an "urban mystery," and, unlike weaker anime, it is actually a mystery and not just a loose nod in the direction of the genre. Beyond seeing how gripping it remains, a second viewing of the series does underscore how the it does lay out clues, such that a spoiler does actually spoil some of the fun.
Piecing together Durarara's secrets is part of the series' pleasure s, but it's not the extent of them. The mysteries are in fact a function of the main point of attraction.
Light novel author Ryohgo Narita has created a series of interconnected chronicles. There's vampire clan conflict Vamp!, almost released in North America by Seven Seas back in 2007. There's Etsusa Bridge, set a couple decades in the future, concerning the outcasts living on a giant bridge being built between Sadogashima and Niigata, and, there's Baccano!, about the actions of a cabal of 18th century alchemists and the repercussions in Prohibition era America - adapted by Takahiro Omori, Noboru Takagi and Brains Base (the crew who adapted Durarara!!) in a broadly recommendable anime series.
Light novels typically specialize in being quick, entertaining reads, with a lot of attention paid to world building. That development might be a fantastic setting, as in Guin Saga or 12 Kingdoms. And/or, it might be in a convoluted mesh of characters and personalities, like in Narita's stories.
These are large casts. In its first, Guy Ritchie style - label the players opening credits, Durarara!! names 15 characters. It's close to 20 in the second intro. Then, Narita puts these hosts into something like a closed system. Others might serve as active agents, but the catalysts are those named individuals.
Baccano (from the Italian, "noise") shatters a film and constructs a kaleidoscope out of the serialized fragments. Through this fractured lens, it relates a unique circumstance, in which dangerous people bump into each other on the narrow corridors of a transcontinental train. It's the "black suits," organized fanatics who boarded under the guise of an orchestra, versus the "white suits," literally homicidal maniacs, dressed for a wedding party, looking to make a buck off their thrill kills, versus the "red monster." To really exacerbate the situation, the train is also transporting a pair of gleefully irrational thieves, a senator's wife and daughter, a youth gang lead by a weeping boy with a tattoo of a sword covering half of his face and a young woman with a missing eye and significant burn scarring. The ensemble cast is arranged to form a guns blazing, knifes drawn Rube Goldberg, propelled on the gears of complementary psychoses.
Defined by being set in city that is not only bustling, but characterized by attracting visitors and strangers, Durarara!! by its nature has a more permeable membrane around its nuclear cast than Baccanno. Armies like the Dollars and color gangs are likewise a fundamental element. At the same time, the anime dims out the unimportant. There are plenty of scenes in which the irrelevant classrooms full of students and streets full of pedestrians are grayed out - not just an animation short cut, but a significant adaption of blinders. Plot wise, police eventually take some notice, and break up the massive incidents, but a yakuza boss articulates why the career criminals don't bother with the Durarara!! doings.
Though less pronounced as the plot gets moving than earlier on, episodes of Durarara!! shift their focus between cast members, accompanied by voice over commentary, often with one character offering insight into another. Significantly, much what is said by this narration proves to be deceptive or mistaken and, in that, sometimes more revealing at a second glimpse.
Though by no means "about nothing" or liable to invite the overused "slice of life" label, Durarara's focus is its characters. There is plot and there is action and both are entertaining, but what drives Durarara!! is that network of motivation and perspectives. As I've said in the past, I believe that anime is generally at its most appealing when it is offering characters that draw the viewer's empathy and a presentation that offers a new experience. This set of episodes in particular reaches a point where Durarara!! locks down that appeal.
There is a pair of characters who worry about their survival to some extent. It's not entirely ironic that these are two of the series' most powerful figures. For the most part, characters aren't in fact living hand to mouth. Mikado Ryugamine worries about whether he can afford junk food. These aren't people engaged in battles for survival, or at least not battles that aren't of their choosing. Instead, their running into the traffic of Ikebukuro with the aims of asserting who they are and attempting to define how they relate to their environment.
Mikado Ryugamine has a name that invites comment (it evokes dragons and command, people think its something like a pen name), but, he's an otherwise non-descript teen. If Durarara!! conformed to conventions, he'd be complaining about being in danger and put upon. Early on, the included set of episodes explain that Mikado Ryugamine entered the Ikebukuro scene looking for something more fantastic than what was offered in the rice paddies of his home prefecture. His aim to find or create a more interesting world is reminiscent of Haruhi Suzumiya, the eponymous heroine quick to brush off anyone not an alien, ESPer or time traveler. I'm prone to be distrustful of pop culture that aims to boost a geek mindset, and there's something in that heroic search for something larger, more conforming to the expectation of anime/manga than mundane reality, that I'm wary of.
On a second viewing, I found myself thinking that that's not an entirely correct reading of Mikado Ryugamine. Distinguishing the character, he's neither born special nor a cipher muted for the purpose of allowing the audience to project onto him. Like many elements of Durarara!! you see clues of it before its significance becomes evident. Mikado Ryugamine is missing a certain bit of expected fear, a bit extra fascinated in dangerous elements, and a bit notably adept at thinking under pressure. He's a bit like the Mark Gatiss/Steven Moffat read on Sherlock Holmes, though more smart than genius, and more socially inclined.
Mikado Ryugamine is a significant gear, but still just one element, of a fascinating, complex moving machine. Baccano does that too, but Baccano fits it into a more genre-based romp. Durarara!! catches all the pieces with a Hello Kitty like right level of balance and abstraction. The thought comes to mind because the Black Rider has this great, yellow helmet with ear protrusions: eye catching, perfectly iconic and ready for merchandise. But, more than that, the whole composition works in the Hello Kitty way of being specific, but also open. People and circumstances are both exotic and identifiable dangerous and comfortable, fantastic and defined enough to actively think about.