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The first U.S. space station was Skylab, which NASA carefully dubbed an "Orbital Workshop" in order to distinguish it from the "real" space station it hoped to launch into low-Earth orbit (LEO) before the end of the 1970s. Skylab - a converted 22-foot-diameter Saturn S-IVB rocket stage - was launched on the last Saturn V rocket to fly. Three three-man crews lived and worked onboard the single-launch station for a total of 171 days between 26 May 1973 and 8 February 1974.
Nearly three years earlier, budget cuts had killed the Saturn V, so that NASA had been forced to abandon plans for a single-launch, 33-foot-diameter, multi-deck core space station. The Space Shuttle, originally intended as a cost-saving reusable space station crew and cargo transport, was tapped to serve also as the station's sole launch vehicle. This meant that the Shuttle Orbiter's payload bay dimensions (15 feet in diameter by 60 feet long) and maximum payload mass (in theory, about 32.5 tons) would dictate the size and mass of station modules and other components.
It also meant that NASA could not begin to launch its station until after Space Shuttle development and flight testing were completed. When the last crew left Skylab, the Shuttle's orbital maiden flight was set for early 1978. Operational flights were to start by 1980. In the event, the first Shuttle mission, STS-1, did not lift off until April 1981. The Shuttle Orbiter Columbia remained aloft for two days before gliding to a landing on the dry lakebed at Edwards Air Force Base (EAFB), California.
By then, engineers at NASA's Johnson Space Center had been at work for two years on a design for a Shuttle-launched space station that they dubbed the Space Operations Center. The SOC included a laboratory for experiments in microgravity, but it was conceived mainly as a construction site for large structures, a servicing center for satellites, and the home port of a small fleet of space tugs. It was intended, in fact, to serve as a space shipyard, the take-off point for voyages beyond LEO and the industrialization of space.
On 20 May 1982, a little more than a year after STS-1 and a little more than a month before STS-4 (27 June-4 July 1982), NASA Administrator James Beggs established the NASA-wide Space Station Task Force. President Ronald Reagan was on hand at EAFB Runway 22 that U.S. Independence Day to welcome Columbia home, and some within NASA hoped that he would use the occasion to declare his support for a permanent Earth-orbiting space station, "the next logical step" after Shuttle. Instead, Reagan declared only that the Shuttle was operational.
Reagan withheld his support for a further 18 months, until the beginning of the 1984 election year. During his 25 January 1984 State of the Union Address, he echoed President John F. Kennedy's May 1961 "Urgent National Needs" speech by calling on the U.S. civilian space agency "to develop a permanently manned space station and to do it within a decade." Reagan made mention only of the station's role as a laboratory. It would, he said, "permit quantum leaps in our research in science, communications and in metals and life-saving medicines that can only be manufactured in space."
Despite this clear message, NASA refused to abandon its plans for a shipyard in orbit. In August 1984, the space agency released a "reference configuration" intended to guide aerospace companies bidding on Space Station Program contracts. Called the "Power Tower," it included a 400-foot-long single main truss where SOC-like space construction hardware might eventually be mounted. In NASA artwork depicting the station, featureless boxes stand in for unspecified large user payloads and hoped-for shipyard elements.
NASA envisioned that spacewalking astronauts would bolt together the Power Tower truss in orbit piece by piece. During Shuttle mission STS-61B (26 November-3 December 1985), in fact, spacewalking astronauts successfully tested two truss-assembly methods in the payload bay of the Orbiter Atlantis.
From the Power Tower evolved the "Dual Keel" in late 1985. In May 1986, NASA released its Space Station "Baseline Configuration." It was a Dual-Keel station measuring 503 feet wide and 361 feet tall (image at top of post). The new design included about twice as many truss elements as the Power Tower, providing ample room for both space-facing and Earth-facing user payloads and eventual addition of space construction facilities. Assembly in orbit was to begin in 1992 and be completed by Reagan's 1994 deadline.
The Baseline Configuration was dead on arrival, however, because of the 28 January 1986 loss of the Shuttle Orbiter Challenger and its seven-member crew. By March 1986, NASA and its contractors had begun work to scale back the Space Station. At first it shrank but retained its Dual-Keel shape. After that, in the "revised baseline configuration" of 1987, it lost its keel trusses, becoming only a single truss with solar arrays at either end and laboratory and habitat modules at its center. NASA made sure, however, that the design included "hooks" and "scars" that would enable eventual expansion to the Dual-Keel design.
President Reagan christened the Space Station Freedom in 1988. The following year, with the Station expected to be over-budget, overweight, underpowered, and too demanding to build, NASA abandoned the Dual Keel configuration entirely. At the same time, planners proposed an advanced "transportation node" space station for the early 21st century. This proposed separation of functions was an acknowledgment that an orbital shipyard's jolts and vibrations would wreak havoc on microgravity experiments.
The year 1990 saw new problems. Persistent hydrogen fuel leaks grounded the three-orbiter Shuttle fleet for nearly half the year, renewing doubts about the Shuttle's ability to launch, assemble, resupply, and staff Freedom. Against this background, news emerged of a dispute within NASA over estimates of the number of spacewalks required to build and maintain the Space Station. The row triggered congressional hearings in May 1990.
In a report released on 20 July 1990, former astronaut and spacewalker William Fisher and JSC robotics engineer Charles Price, co-chairs of the Space Station Freedom External Maintenance Task Team, declared that Freedom would need four two-man spacewalks per week during its assembly and 6,000 hours of maintenance spacewalks per year after its completion. This amounted to 75% more spacewalks than the official NASA estimate, which was already considered excessive. Fisher called the spacewalk requirement "the greatest challenge facing the Space Station."
In November 1990, with new budget cuts in the offing, NASA began yet another Freedom redesign. At about the same time, Space Industries Incorporated (SII), a small engineering firm for which Maxime Faget, co-designer of the Mercury capsule, worked as Technical Advisor, began to examine a radical new approach to solving Freedom's persistent problems. SII performed its Orbiter-Derived Station (ODS) study on contract to Rockwell International, prime contractor for the Shuttle Orbiter.
SII noted that the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Science, Space, and Technology wanted a "permanently manned Space Station, that meets our International Agreements, retains a capability for evolution, and has minimum annual and aggregate cost." At the same time, it explained, scientists and engineers of the space technology development and microgravity and life sciences research communities wanted NASA to provide an orbiting laboratory "without spending the entire available budget on the laboratory rather than on the experiments."
To satisfy these needs, SII proposed to draw upon Space Shuttle design heritage and operational experience. Specifically, the company proposed that NASA launch in 1996 an unmanned "stripped-down" Orbiter - one without wings, tail, landing gear, body flap, forward reaction control thrusters, or reentry thermal protection - to serve as Freedom's largest single element. Removing systems with a total mass of 45,600 pounds would boost the Orbiter's payload capacity to 81,930 pounds, permitting it to transport a 56.5-foot-long pressurized module permanently mounted in its payload bay and four pairs of rolled-up 120-foot-long solar arrays under streamlined housings along its sides. The pressurized module would include a single docking port and a hatch linking it to the stripped-down Orbiter's two-deck crew compartment. In effect, SII's approach would briefly restore the space station launch capability lost when the U. S. abandoned the Saturn V rocket.
What follows is a synthesis of information from two SII documents concerning the ODS. The first, a set of presentation slides, is not dated, though individual slides in the presentation carry dates in July 1991. The second is the company's final report to Rockwell International dated September 1991. When the documents differ in significant ways, it is noted.
Copying NASA parlance, SII referred to the launch of the stripped-down Orbiter as Mission Build-1 (MB-1). Upon achieving a 220-nautical-mile-high orbit inclined 28.5° relative to Earth's equator, the ODS would turn its payload bay toward Earth, open its payload bay doors to expose the pressurized module and door-mounted radiators, and unroll its solar arrays to generate up to 120 kilowatts of electricity. At that point, the ODS would achieve Man-Tended Configuration. MTC meant that the station could be staffed while a Shuttle Orbiter was docked with it. According to SII, NASA's Freedom would not achieve MTC until MB-6, and its solar arrays would not generate 120 kilowatts until MB-10.
During a normal Space Shuttle mission, the twin 6,000-pound-thrust Orbital Maneuvering System (OMS) engines would ignite twice to complete orbital insertion after the Orbiter's three Space Shuttle Main Engines (SSMEs) shut down and and its External Tank separated. The OMS-1 burn would put the Orbiter into an elliptical orbit; then, at apogee (the high point of its orbit), OMS-2 would raise its perigee (the low point in its orbit) to make its orbit circular. Subsequently, the OMS engines would be used to perform major maneuvers and would slow the Orbiter at the end of its mission so that it could reenter the atmosphere. The OMS engines would burn hypergolic (ignite-on-contact) hydrazine/nitric acid propellants.
SII proposed changes to the stripped-down Orbiter's OMS pods to increase reliability and enable long-duration use. A hydrazine monopropellant system would replace the bipropellant system. The SSMEs would insert the stripped-down Orbiter directly into its initial elliptical orbit, then two sets of four 500-pound-thrust OMS engines - one set per OMS pod - would each draw on a pair of propellant tanks to perform the OMS-2 circularization burn at apogee. The propellant remaining after the OMS-2 burn (about 13,000 pounds) would be sufficient to resist atmospheric drag and supply OMS pod attitude-control thrusters for two years.
SII suggested that the OMS tanks be refilled in orbit after they exhausted their hydrazine, but provided no details as to how this might be accomplished. Alternately, the company suggested, a new propulsion module might be docked with the ODS after the modified OMS pods ran out of propellant.
With MB-1 complete, SII's ODS would provide 11,000 cubic feet of pressurized volume. It would include 58 standardized payload racks in its pressurized module. NASA's Freedom, by comparison, would have no habitable volume at all until the addition of the U.S. lab on MB-6, and would not exceed 10,000 cubic feet of pressurized volume until MB-13. The U.S. hab and lab modules would together hold 48 racks.
In SII's July 1991 design, the large module launched in the stripped-down Orbiter payload bay on MB-1 included only hab module functions, and MB-2 in 1997 would see a piloted Shuttle Orbiter deliver the U.S. lab module. In its September 1991 final report, SII combined lab and hab and substituted a 47.5-foot-long "core module" for the lab on MB-2. The cylindrical core would include eight docking ports on its sides and one at either end.
One of the core's end ports would be docked permanently with the port on the hab/lab module. Visiting Shuttle Orbiters would dock with the Earth-facing port at the core module's other end. Addition of the core module would increase ODS volume to 15,000 cubic feet. NASA's Freedom would not exceed 15,000 cubic feet of volume until MB-16.
SII envisioned that ODS assembly flights would be interspersed with utilization flights beginning immediately after MB-1. One such mission would occur in 1996, and three would take place in 1997. In addition to enabling early research on board the ODS, some utilization flights after MB-2 would deliver supplies and equipment in a drum-shaped Logistics/Life Support Module (LLSM). Astronauts would dock the LLSM to a core module side port using the visiting Orbiter's Canada-built Remote Manipulator System (RMS). Spent LLSMs would be returned to Earth for refurbishment and reuse. SII placed the ODS toilet and shower in the LLSM, arguing that servicing waste and water systems on the ground would be preferable to doing so in orbit.
SII noted that its station would need very few assembly and maintenance spacewalks. It would, nevertheless, include a modified Shuttle Orbiter airlock attached to one of its core module side ports. The airlock would reach the ODS during a utilization flight after MB-2. Because assembly would be relatively simple and spacewalks minimal, SII assumed that the ODS could do without its own RMS. The company did not address how deletion of the station RMS would affect NASA-Canada relations.
The second assembly mission of 1997, MB-3, would see arrival of an Orbiter bearing in its payload bay an eight-man Assured Crew Return Vehicle (ACRV), or space station lifeboat. With the docking of the ACRV at a core module side port, the ODS could be staffed by eight astronauts in the absence of a visiting Orbiter. NASA called the ability to maintain a full crew with no visiting Orbiter present "Permanent Manned Configuration" (PMC). NASA's Freedom would not achieve PMC until MB-16.
The year 1998 would see three assembly flights, all international in character, and three utilization flights. In his January 1984 State of the Union speech, Reagan had invited U.S. allies to lend a hand in building NASA's space station. MB-4 would see astronauts use the visiting Orbiter's RMS to dock the pressurized part of the Japanese Experiment Module (JEM) to a core module side port. On MB-5, they would add the European Space Agency's Columbus laboratory module. The ODS would thereby achieve its maximum volume: 24,000 cubic feet, or about 8,000 cubic feet more than planned for NASA's Freedom. M-6 would add Exposure and Logistics facilities to the JEM.
SII recommended that the core module Earth-facing port be capable of rotation to enable visiting Orbiters to position themselves in the manner most convenient for a given assembly mission. During MB-5, for example, the visiting Orbiter's nose would face in the ODS's direction of flight so that its RMS could place the Columbus module at its designated core module side port. During MB-4 and MB-6, it would face in the opposite direction so that JEM components could be added.
MB-6, which would take place near the end of 1998, would mark the end of ODS assembly. By then, SII's station would have hosted seven utilization flights. For comparison, NASA's Freedom would host no utilization flights until 1998, when three would take place, and would not be completed until 2000.
SII proposed ways that the baseline ODS might be upgraded. The company noted that, beginning with MB-10, NASA's Freedom would provide experimenters with more electricity (180 kilowatts) than would the ODS. If this power level were judged to be necessary for ODS operations, then a 60-kilowatt "power kit" could be added during a utilization flight. The company suggested that the kit's rolled solar arrays be attached to a special port installed in the stripped-down Orbiter's nose behind a streamlined faring.
The ODS would include no provisions for space-oriented experiments; all of its modules would be mounted on its Earth-facing payload bay side. This reflected the science and technology community's desire for a microgravity lab and the fact that highly capable automated astronomy satellites (for example, the Hubble Space Telescope, launched 24 April 1990) were available. If, however, space-oriented experiments were desired, then the side of the hab/lab module facing the stripped-down Orbiter's payload bay floor could include a docking port identical to that on its Earth-facing side. A tunnel through the payload bay floor and Orbiter belly would provide access to the space-facing port.
Probably the company's most controversial proposal was to accelerate ODS assembly by stripping down Columbia, NASA's oldest Orbiter. SII noted that Columbia was the heaviest Orbiter with the least payload capacity. It assumed that NASA would replace Columbia with a new, lighter Orbiter, increasing the Shuttle fleet's overall capability. SII called this "disposing of the worst and and replacing it with the best." Some components stripped from Columbia could, it suggested, be used in the new Orbiter to save money.
By the time SII submitted its final report, NASA's latest Freedom configuration had been public for three months. The new design included truss segments that would be launched pre-assembled, shorter U.S. modules, and other changes meant to reduce the number of spacewalks and assembly flights required to build and maintain it. The Station would, however, lose yet more capability (notably in the area of electrical power, which was reduced to about 60 kilowatts at PMC). The April 1991 redesign set the stage for Freedom's near-cancellation in 1992 and its revival as the International Space Station beginning in 1993.
Shuttle Derived Space Station Freedom, Space Industries International, Inc./Rockwell International Space Systems Division, presentation materials, n.d. (July 1991).
Expanded Orbiter Missions Final Report: Orbiter Derived Space Station Freedom Concept, prepared by Space Industries, Inc. (SII), Webster, Texas, for Rockwell International, Inc., Downey, California, September 1991.
"Operation Scale-Down," Tim Furniss, Flight International, 29 May-4 June 1991, pp. 76-78.


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At Salisbury Antiques we have a large selection of stock, mostly comprising of English and Continental 18th and 19th Century furniture. We also have a good selection of antique country furniture from both England and France with some more extravagant walnut pieces from the Low Countries. Salisbury Antiques now also stocks a selection of good quality painted antique furniture to cater for those going for the more contemporary look but with added character.
To compliment an impressive array of furniture, Salisbury Antiques offers a mix of antique interiors, including a fantastic selection of antique mirrors ranging from charming antique dressing table mirrors to palatial antique overmantel mirrors. The Centre also houses many other period and decorative items for the home such as antique oil paintings, antique bronzes, and antique clocks. There is also a well stocked cabinet of antique weaponry, always housing something of interest to the avid collector.
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Offered for sale is this fantastic Georgian antique mahogany demi lune card table.
Height : 75 cm - 29.53 in
Width : 90 cm - 35.43 in
Depth : 45 cm - 17.72 in
Salisbury Antiques has clarified that the mahogany demi Lune card table is antique and it's date/period of manufacture is Georgian.
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French Marble Topped Amboyna Commode c.1890
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subset: commoncrawl


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|Softening Charm
|Hand Movement
Makes an area/object rubbery and bouncy
- "Good morning class. Today's lesson will most assuredly involve learning how to cast the Softening Charm, Spongify."
- —Filius Flitwick addresses his class.[src]
The Softening Charm (Spongify) is a spell that softens a target area or object, making it rubbery and bouncy.[1][2]
The Softening Charm is part of the first-year Charms syllabus at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry,[1] and is later revised in second-year Defence Against the Dark Arts.[2]
Behind the scenesEdit
- In the Harry Potter video games in which it features, to use this spell, a Spongify mat is needed, which is an area that has a swirly symbol on it. Performing the spell on the mat will cause a purple mist to cover the mat, which, when jumped on, will bounce the player high into the air and onto higher ledges or other otherwise inaccessible areas.
- A spellbook for this spell could be found somewhere within Hogwarts and was located by Harry Potter.
- Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (video game) (First identified as Softening Charm)
- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (video game) (First appearance)
- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (video game)
- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (film)
- Harry Potter Trading Card Game
- Pottermore
Notes and referencesEdit
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (video game) - PS2 version
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (video game) - PC version
|Professors: Filius Flitwick
|Textbooks: The Standard Book of Spells · Achievements in Charming · Quintessence: A Quest
|Charmbook writers and charm developers: Miranda Goshawk · Scarpin · Felix Summerbee · Randolph Keitch · Basil Horton · Mnemone Radford · Elliot Smethwyck · Jarleth Hobart
|Charms studied at Hogwarts: Levitation Charm · Fire-Making Charm · Softening Charm · Cleaning Charm · Cheering Charm · Glacius · Summoning Charm · Banishing Charm · Silencing Charm · Mending Charm · Reductor Curse · Colour Change Charm · Growth Charm · Water-Making Spell · Aresto Momentum · Locomotion Charm
Community content is available under CC-BY-SA unless otherwise noted.


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Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS20 Review: 20X Pocket Megazoom Loaded With Options
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Generic Company Place Holder Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS20 Compact Camera
For a pocketable camera, the 14-megapixel Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS20 ($350 as of May 15, 2012) is about as loaded as they come. The trait that will jump out at you--literally, if you're facing the camera--is the Lumix ZS20's 20X-optical-zoom lens (24mm to 480mm). Like that zoom lens, the Lumix ZS20's laundry list of features keeps on going and going.
It's a good pocket megazoom option for manual-minded shooters, thanks to aperture-priority, shutter-priority, and full manual exposure controls. It has excellent video options, as it shoots full 1080p video at a clip of 60 frames per second. It's a touchscreen camera, but it also provides traditional buttons and dials for accessing some in-camera features more efficiently.
In addition, the ZS20 comes equipped with futuristic extras, such as 3D still shooting, in-camera GPS with mapping features, a high-speed video mode, and continuous-shooting speeds that reach up to 10 fps at full 14-megapixel resolution and 60 fps at 2.5-megapixel resolution.
All of that adds up to a camera that does a whole lot, though the ZS20 stumbles a bit in image quality and battery life. In the end, this camera's many benefits significantly outnumber its shortcomings. It's one of the most versatile pocket megazooms you can buy right now.
Performance, Image Quality, and Video Quality
Traditionally, Panasonic's cameras have met the challenge in the PCWorld Labs' subjective tests for image quality. The Lumix line usually errs on the side of underexposure and muted colors in Intelligent Auto mode, which is rare for today's cameras; everything from a smartphone camera to a DSLR tends to oversaturate and "punch up" colors these days, as the masses gravitate toward vibrant images with bright colors. If you'd prefer the punchy colors of other cameras, the Panasonic Lumix ZS20 can do that, too; you'll just need to use the camera's exposure compensation controls or set it to the Expressive Color option in its Creative Control menu.
In Intelligent Auto mode, the Lumix ZS20 captured understated photos that earned scores of Good in most of the PCWorld Labs' testing categories. Our panel of judges rated the Lumix ZS20's images as Good in exposure quality, color accuracy, and sharpness; in image distortion, however, we gave it only a Fair grade.
You can see the full-size photos used for our subjective tests by clicking on the thumbnails at left.
In PCWorld Labs subjective tests for video quality, the Panasonic Lumix ZS20 posted scores of Good for both video and audio capture. The camera's video performance in low light isn't much to write home about, but the 1080p AVCHD clips it shot at 60 fps in our well-lit test setting looked remarkably smooth, if a little dull and gray in terms of white balance.
You can view the bright-light and low-light clips we used for our subjective tests below. Select 1080p from the drop-down menu in each player to see the full-resolution videos.
In battery life, the camera kept up its run of Good scores, with a CIPA rating of 260 shots per charge of its lithium ion cell with the GPS functions turned off. Keep in mind that that shot count should dip significantly if you leave the camera's geotagging features turned on.
Shooting Modes and Features
Like many of today's best pocket megazooms, the Lumix ZS20 has no shortage of shooting options. In addition to aperture-priority (with maximum settings of F3.3 wide-angle and F6.4 at telephoto), shutter-priority (1/2000 second to 8 seconds), and full manual modes, the camera focuses very quickly, and it has a range of options that make the most of its CMOS sensor and autofocus speeds.
For instance, you can use the camera's touchscreen to select a moving object to focus on in motion-tracking AF mode, and you can change focus points on the fly while shooting video (although the camera does produce a bit of lag and searching when jumping between focus points, especially in less-than-ideal lighting conditions).
Creative shooting modes include a motion-controlled panorama mode; a 3D mode that creates an .MPO-format still image when you pan the camera from side to side; several high-speed options for recording stills and video; and a menu of Creative Control options that add tilt-shift, vignette, and monochrome filters to your shots as you snap them. You can apply the Creative Control filters to your photos after you shoot them, too; using them in this way creates a copy of your original shot rather than overwriting it.
Using the camera's Quick Menu button, you can set the resolution and continuous-shooting speed, and one setting has a tremendous effect on the other. If you set the megapixel count to 2.5, you can ramp up the camera's burst speed to 60 shots per second. In the camera's scene menu, you can also select 'High Speed Video', which allows you to capture a 320-by-240-pixel video at 220 frames per second.
The high-speed burst modes work well if you can deal with lower-resolution output and slow post-shot processing times. You have to wait about 10 seconds after shooting a batch of burst images for the camera to write the photos to the memory card. I experienced those wait times with a Class 10 card--about as fast a card as you can get--so you'll likely need to wait even longer if you're using a Class 4 or Class 6 card. The rapid-fire images are largely worth the wait if shooting fast action is important to you, but you may be able to capture only every other pitch or every other swing at a baseball game due to that image-processing lag.
In addition to those shot-to-shot speeds, the Lumix ZS20 makes use of its sensor and processor speed with a couple of exposure-bracketing and image-stacking modes for high-dynamic-range photos and handheld low-light scenes. Both modes are accessible via the scene menus. The HDR selection snaps three shots in rapid succession and then stacks them, while the Handheld Night Shot mode snaps as many as six shots to create a single, well-exposed photo in low-light environments without a flash.
Hardware and Design
The well-built Lumix ZS20 is bulkier than a basic point-and-shoot, but not by much. At 1.1 inches deep and 4.1 inches wide, it will fit in some people's pockets. The camera is bulky enough to host a handgrip, which is rubberized and comfortable; it does the job when you're shooting with one hand.
The control scheme on this camera is fairly standard-issue, but it gives you a choice between using the 3-inch touchscreen and pressing the physical buttons for triggering the shutter release, adjusting the zoom controls, swiping through photos during playback, selecting a focus point, and accessing other in-camera features. One nit to pick is that it's not always clear when the touchscreen is enabled for menu selections; you can touch on-screen icons at the top levels of each menu, but once you drill down deeper into the menus, you'll need to use the directional pad.
In many ways the Lumix ZS20 is better suited for manual-minded photographers than the latest touchscreen-heavy interchangeable-lens cameras in Panasonic's GF series are. It's great to have the ZS20's touchscreen controls for focusing and motion-tracking AF in the mix, but it's even better that the camera doesn't ditch the traditional mode dial and physical buttons entirely. In a lot of cases, using the physical buttons and knobs gives you faster access to some settings than navigating a series of touchscreen menus does.
The physical controls consist of a mode dial, a shutter release, a zoom control, a video-record button, and an on/off toggle, all on the top of the camera. You'll also find a stereo mic on the top of the camera, as well as an indicator light that lets you know when the camera's GPS functions are running. In addition to manual controls, scene modes, a 3D-shooting mode, and other entries on the mode dial, two custom entries provide quick access to your own mix of exposure settings; such a feature is rare on anything other than a DSLR.
On the back, to the left of the 3-inch touchscreen, are a dual-purpose button for accessing exposure settings and the map interface; a round directional pad that also gives you one-touch access to exposure compensation, flash controls, macro mode, and the self timer; and two buttons below that adjust display settings and jump to an abbreviated Quick Menu of settings such as image resolution, ISO, white balance, and burst modes. The ZS20 also has a capture/playback toggle switch, which is one of my few gripes about the camera: Because you're locked into either shooting or playback mode, you can't just half-press the shutter button to force the camera into capture mode when you're viewing images.
On the side of the camera is a well-built door that covers a Mini HDMI port and an A/V-out port. As usual, the bottom of the camera has a tripod mount and a door that covers the battery port and SD/SDHC/SDXC card slot.
GPS Features
I tested the camera's GPS features in San Francisco, so this section should be an indicator of how well the geotagging works in a big U.S. city. The Lumix ZS20 goes beyond most GPS-enabled cameras out today by including in-camera mapping features and tagging photos with real-world location names. You'll need to wait a few minutes (and remain outside with a clear view of the sky) when establishing an initial GPS connection; once you do, however, you'll have the ability to view your location on a map during playback, as well as to see the locations of your photos while you're viewing them on the camera.
It works, as long as you have fresh GPS data. When I failed to keep a constant GPS connection--or to reconnect once I got to a new location--the camera "remembered" the last place I had been, and tagged all photos with that location. I was able to edit mistagged photos manually, but the on-screen instructions aren't exactly clear on how to do so. You have to use the directional pad to fill out the location name manually; an on-screen touch keyboard would have sped things up a bit.
The tagged photos integrated perfectly with Flickr when I offloaded them to a computer. Clicking 'Add this photo to your map' in Flickr put the photo in the right spot--it even pinpointed the section I took the photos from in AT&T Park, which was impressive.
Viewing the photos on the in-camera map interface was a little more frustrating, as I couldn't get the maps to zoom in far enough. I wasn't able to see a block-by-block map of my location in the camera; the closest I was able to zoom in was a several-hundred-mile bird's-eye view of the California coastline. It did properly identify my location in San Francisco, but Los Angeles and San Diego were both visible on the map at its tightest zoom. Although you can swipe the screen to move around in the map interface, pinching to zoom in on a more-granular map view doesn't zoom in close enough.
The ZS20 has more far-reaching in-camera GPS features than most other current cameras, but the usability issues I encountered with its in-camera mapping features were significant. It's best to think of those in-camera maps as a "nice to have" extra, as the geotagging features really shine only after you've offloaded the images to a computer.
Bottom Line
For $350, the Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS20 certainly doesn't skimp on features, and it's designed with the demanding traveler in mind. You'll find better overall image quality in other cameras, but the ZS20's range of shooting options is second to none in its class. If you buy this camera, you may want to delve into its scene modes, white balance settings, and creative controls outside of Intelligent Auto mode for the best results.
This story, "Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS20 Review: 20X Pocket Megazoom Loaded With Options" was originally published by PCWorld.
Generic Company Place Holder Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS20 Compact Camera
The Lumix ZS20 is a top-tier travel camera, thanks to a far-reaching zoom lens, built-in GPS with mapping, extensive shooting options, and good (but not great) image and video quality.


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The search found 417 results in 0.024 seconds.
Computational sociology leverages new tools and data sources to expand the scope and scale of sociological inquiry. It's opening up an exciting frontier for sociologists of every stripe—from theorists and ethnographers to experimentalists and survey researchers. It expands the sociological imagination.
We provide an overview of associations between income inequality and intergenerational mobility in the United States, Canada, and eight European countries. We analyze whether this correlation is observed across and within countries over time. We investigate Great Gatsby curves and perform metaregression analyses based on several papers on this topic. Results suggest that countries with high levels of inequality tend to have lower levels of mobility.
Urban sociologists and gentrification scholars have long been interested in examining the combination of structural and micro‐level forces that result in the displacement and exclusion of low‐income residents from changing neighborhoods. However, the types of everyday activities and the social and spatial practices that exclude residents who remain in these neighborhoods are an understudied part of the gentrification story. How are exclusive spaces created? What are the specific social processes that lead to exclusive space?
The rise of global environmental governance regimes allegedly contradicts the process of an environmental "race to the bottom" (RTB) that results from capitalist globalization. We examine new developments in this area through a qualitative case study of the Basel Convention. Here, we find that new regulations in toxic wastes governance are in fact being co-created with industry actors and aim to accelerate the flow of toxic "resources" to less-developed countries.


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T-Mobile Hopes Trade-In Offer Will Lure iPhone Customers From Rivals
As it prepares to begin selling the iPhone 5 on Friday, T-Mobile is starting an aggressive program encouraging iPhone owners from other carriers to switch to T-Mo.
T-Mobile will offer a variety of discounts for those who trade in an iPhone 4, iPhone 4S or iPhone 5. The discounts come in the form of a lower upfront payment, bill credit, and discounts of the monthly device financing cost.
In each case, trading in an iPhone will bring the upfront cost down from $99 to zero, with additional credits depending on which model of iPhone is being traded in. The total savings can add up to hundreds of dollars.
"It really is the simplest and most affordable way to get into an iPhone 5," T-Mobile Senior VP Andrew Sherrard said in an interview.
The trade-in offer is slated to run through June 16 — Father's Day.
As for overall iPhone business, Sherrard said that T-Mobile is pleased with preorders, but declined to say how many had come in.
"We're really happy and pleased with how that's going," Sherrard said. "We think we are going to see some good traffic in our stores on Friday and Saturday."
T-Mobile will start selling the iPhone 5 at 9 am local time on Friday.


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Everyone has a dream of "Travelling to Japan"... I bet you had dream of this...
But no everyone really able to step into Japan for once... In Malaysia, it is too costly to go visit Japan, most recent heard cost of travelling is about RM 7000 for 7days 5nights per person.
Anyhow, don't let go your dream, work hard to save money for the Japan trip.
Many people may ask, how about we don't know their language, how we can go travel without communication breakdown? Cost of travel is the main factor for you to step back but Language barrier is the another main thing for you to think twice before pick up any travel plan.
Luckily Agnes and I know a little bit of Japanese language, both of us attended Japanese language class (She did it locally, I did that at Yokohama during AOTS training)... Just nice for travel and shopping.
Here wish to introduce some website for those who plan to visit Japan, it might come handy if you know how to use it.
Both site provide you the most accurate weather forecast. In Japan, you really need to check about the weather before you step out from hotel or home. It weather can change from day to day, hour to hour...
Think, check before go out will save all the time of waiting or trouble.
Here to introduce my favorite site...
This website is superb, it can show you all the possible route to go somewhere from where you are. The fastest, the most save money or the most comfortable route will be listed out. All you need to do is to key in the from and the destination.
Next will be how to read their language...
You can do translation from Japanese (Nihongo) to English or Chinese and even to Korean, vice versa in split second. Just copy and paste the sentence you copied and paste it, then click, and you will get the translate version. I found this program translate Japanese language more accurate compare to others...
If you still have many doubt, just drop by their Japan Tourism Agency and get more information
Ok, I bet you will equipped yourself with something now, before you arrived in Japan. Use them wisely, widely and you will never regret...
If you still not sure how to do all these, drop comment at here, and I will try to assist you as much as possible. or goto HERE
Labels: Japan 日本 2 comments | Links to this post


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Fett is just in too many products- I know he sells, but seriously, we should start a thread to find out how many Boba Fetts some of us have after 12 years of modern collecting. I bet I have 12 or more, and I haven't even been trying.
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Alternator - Land-Rover (LR005866)
2003-2005 Land Rover Range Rover
- List Price: $1,262.74
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Home >> Uk + Ireland >> England >>
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"A county of England, bounded by, Shropshire, Cheshire, Derbyshire, Warwickshire, and Worcestershire. It is in length about 54 miles, and varies in breadth from 18 to 36. It is divided into 5 hundreds, which contain 1 city, 21 towns, 181 parishes, and 670 villages. The principal rivers are the Trent, Dove, Sow, Churnet, Stour, Penk, and Manifold. The air is reckoned pleasant, mild, and wholesome. The middle and southern parts are level and plain, and the soil is good and rich; the north is hilly, and full of heaths and moors. Staffordshire is famous for its potteries, its inland navigations, and its founderies, blast furnaces, slitting mills, and various other branches of the iron trade. The mines of coals, copper, lead, and iron ore are rich and extensive; and there are also numerous quarries of stone, alabaster, and limestone. Stafford is the county town. Population, 510,504. It sends 17 members to parliament."
[Barclays Complete & Universal English Dictionary, 1842-1852]
Archives and Libraries
- Staffordshire County Council's page describing the county's Archives Services
Staffordshire Record Office
County Buildings
Eastgate Street
Telephone: U.K. 01785 278379, Overseas (+44) 1785 278379
Telephone: (Bookings) U.K. 01785 278373, Overseas (+44) 1785 278373
Fax: U.K. 01785 278384, Overseas (+44) 1785 278384
William Salt Library
Eastgate Street
Telephone: U.K. 01785 278372, Overseas (+44) 1785 278372
Burton-upon-Trent Archives
Burton-upon-Trent Library
High Street
Telephone: U.K. 01283 239556, Overseas (+44) 1283 239556
Stoke-on-Trent City Archives
Hanley Library
Bethesda Street
Telephone: U.K. 01782 238420, Overseas (+44) 1782 238420
- Dudley Council's page describing the council's Archives & Local History Services
Dudley Archives & Local History Service
Mount Pleasant Street
West Midlands
Telephone / Fax: U.K. 01384 812770, Overseas (+44) 1384 812770
- Sandwell Council's page describing the council's Archives & Local History Services
Sandwell Community History & Archives Service
Smethwick Library
High Street
West Midlands
Telephone: U.K. 0121 558 2561, Overseas (+44) 121 558 2561
Fax: U.K. 0121 555 6064, Overseas (+44) 121 555 6064
- Walsall Council's page describing the council's Archives & Local History Services
Walsall Local History Centre
Essex Street
West Midlands
Telephone: U.K. 01922 721305, Overseas (+44) 1922 721305
- Wolverhampton Council's page describing the council's Archives & Local History Services
Wolverhampton Archives & Local Studies
Molineux Hotel Building
Whitmore Hill
Telephone: U.K. 01902 552480, Overseas (+44) 1902 552480
- Registers of Catholic missions in Staffordshire are held at Birmingham Archdiocesan Archives.
The Archdiocese of Birmingham's pages include details of their Archives Services
Archdiocesan Archives
Archdiocese of Birmingham
St Chad's Queensway
West Midlands
Telephone: U.K. 0121 2362251, Overseas (+44) 121 2362251
(Wednesday - Friday, 11AM - 6PM by appointment only)
- A list of general works on the county of Staffordshire
- Maps, Plans, Manuscripts, Documents, etc., for sale relating to Staffordshire - Lesley Aitchison.
Business and Commerce Records
- Staffordshire Archives Service has published "A Summary Guide to Holdings of Business Records" listing business records held by Staffordshire Record Office, the William Salt Library and Lichfield Record Office.
- The Birmingham & Midland Society for Genealogy & Heraldry have produced transcripts of the Monumental Inscriptions of many Staffordshire churches and burial grounds.
References to the transcripts may be found on the individual parish pages.
- The Birmingham & Midland Society for Genealogy & Heraldry have also produced a CD of 141 of the above transcripts containing over 144,000 names with a linked surname index.
- Rosemary Lockie's Wishful Thinking pages include many transcripts of Staffordshire Monumental Inscriptions.
- The Church Monuments Society Staffordshire page has photographs of many Staffordshire Church Monuments.
- Staffordshire Record Office have filmed burial registers for the following cemeteries:
- Burslem 1884 - 1969
- Cannock 1880 - 2003
- Carmountside 1947 - 1969
- Fenton 1887 - 1969
- Hanley 1860 - 1969
- Hartshill 1884 -1969
- Longton 1877 -1969
- Rugeley 1884 - 2003
- Smallthorne 1879 - 1969
- Stile Cop 1984 - 2003
- Trentham 1960 - 1969
- Tunstall 1868 - 1969
- Uttoxeter 1861 - 2004
- The Birmingham & Midland Society for Genealogy & Heraldry have transcribed the filmed cemetery registers held by Staffordshire Record Office. The transcripts, which are searchable by surname, year and region, are searchable on line on the Staffordshire Burial Indexes Page on the BMSGH Website
Church History
- "The Old Parish Churches of Staffordshire" by Mike Salter, published by Folly Publications, 1996, ISBN 1-871731-25-8 (2nd Ed) contains descriptions, photographs and plans of many of the old parish churches of the county.
- "Staffordshire Incumbents and Parochial Records, 1530-1680" by Walter Landor, was published by William Salt Archaeological Society, in "Collections for a History of Staffordshire, Volume 1915."
- "The Registrations of Dissenting Chapels and Meeting Houses in Staffordshire, 1689-1852" by Barbara Donaldson, was published by The Staffordshire Record Society, in "Collections for a History of Staffordshire, 4th Series, Volume III, 1960."
- Histories of individual churches may be found on the individual parish pages.
- The North Staffordshire Methodist Heritage Pages contain a wealth of information on the Methodist movement in the north of the county and include histories and photographs of chapels in the area.
- Staffordshire Archive Services' Staffordshire Past Track pages include a selection of old photographs, plans and drawings of selected churches in the county.
- A Listing of the Church Photographs & Images on GENUKI Staffordshire
Church Records
Civil Registration
- Certificates of birth, death and marriage relating to the pre-1974 county of Staffordshire can be obtained from the Superintendent Registrars at the following District Register Offices:
If ordering from a District Office, please note the following: (a) the cost of a certificate is £10.00 (from 1st April 2012) - send a Sterling cheque payable to the Superintendent Registrar (unless otherwise indicated in the above references) plus return postage or two International Reply Coupons; (b) the St Catherine's Index references are of no value; (c) for marriage certificates, the precise place of marriage must be given; (d) Civil Registration in England and Wales began on July 1st 1837.
- For full details of earlier District Register Offices, the areas they covered and where the registers are now located, see Registration Districts in Staffordshire.
- The Staffordshire BMD project is making the birth, marriage and death indexes for the county freely searchable via the Internet. Although the indexes are not yet complete for all years and districts, the database will eventually cover Staffordshire births, marriages and deaths for the years 1837 to 1950.
- The West Midlands BMD project is making the birth, marriage and death indexes for the register offices in the West Midlands county freely searchable via the Internet. Although the indexes are not yet complete for all years and districts, the database will eventually cover Sandwell, Dudley, Walsall and Wolverhampton births, marriages and deaths for the years 1837 to 1950.
Correctional Institutions
- A transcript of the Criminal Register Indexes held by the Public Record Office (Class HO 27), has been published by Stuart Tamblin. Volume 15, covering Staffordshire and Shropshire, 1805-1816, is available on fiche or disk. Further details are contained on Stuart Tamblin's Family History Indexes Pages or from the Birmingham & Midland SGH or the Society of Genealogists.
- Staffordshire Record Office holds the following prison records:
- Stafford Bridewell Register, 1792-1806
- Stafford House of Correction Register, 1806-1815
- Stafford Register of Debtors, 1793-1807
- Stafford Register of Felons, 1793-1816
- HM Prison, Stafford, Registers, Admission and Discharge Books, 1878-1908
- HM Prison, Stafford, Photograph Album of Prisoners, 1883-1911
Court Records
- Transcripts of Staffordshire Quarter Sessions Rolls have been published in the following volumes of "Collections for a History of Staffordshire":
1581-1589 -- 1929 volume
1590-1593 -- 1930 volume
1594-1597 -- 1932 volume
1598-1603 -- 1935 volume
1603-1606 -- 1940 volume
1608-1609 -- 1948-9 volume
- Transcripts of The Star Chamber Proceedings at Stafford have been published in the following volumes of "Collections for a History of Staffordshire":
Henry VII & Henry VIII -- 1907 volume
1516-1549 -- 1910 volume
1498-1553 -- 1912 volume
- The William Salt Library holds a collection of around 200 Staffordshire Assize Calendars covering the period 1746-1861 with many gaps, and a few volumes from the 1890s, 1920s and 1944.
A transcripts of four Assize Calendars from 1842-43 has been published in the Fourth Series, Volume XV, 1992 of "Collections for a History of Staffordshire"
Description and Travel
- An historical description of the River Trent.
- The Staffordshire County Council pages include information on local government, industry, leisure and tourism.
- The Community Council of Staffordshire's Gateway to Staffordshire Communities on the Web pages include information on present day communities and parishes
- A list of Trade Directories of Staffordshire.
- A listing of Inns, Taverns & Public Houses in Staffordshire from Parsons & Bradshaw's Staffordshire
General & Commercial Directory, 1818 Part 3 transcribed by Helen Verrall.
- A listing of Inns, Taverns & Public Houses in Staffordshire from Pigot's 1830 Directory of Staffordshire
transcribed by Helen Verrall.
- Steve Birks' transcription of The Potteries section of Pigot's 1828/9 Directory of Staffordshire.
- The Archives CD Books Project is reproducing many trade directories on CD. For Staffordshire these include Parson & Bradshaw's 1818, Pigot's 1822, 1828, 1835 & 1842, White's 1834 & 1851, Harrison & Harrod's 1861 and Kelly's 1868, 1880, 1900, 1912, 1932 & 1940 directories.
- On behalf of GENUKI, Graham Jaunay is now providing country-level surname lists, organised by county - here is his On-line English Names Research Directory.
- John Fuller has provided full details of MIDMARCH, STAFFORDSHIRE and ENG-BLACK-COUNTRY the Genealogy Mailing Lists covering this county. This is but a small part of the data available on the "Genealogy Resources on the Internet" pages maintained by John and Chris Gaunt.
- Bill Harrison has provided some useful resources for Staffordshire researchers.
- Information on the location of Quaker Records in Staffordshire provided by the Quaker FHS.
- The Staffordshire Look-up Exchange. Volunteers are offering look-ups in various research references.
- The Midlands Historical Data project produces searchable facsimile copies of old local history books and directories of interest to genealogists. It specialises in the three counties of Warwickshire, Worcestershire and Staffordshire, working closely with libraries, archives and family history societies in the area. Digital images are made freely available to participating organisations to improve public access, and the project is funded through sales of CD's.
- John Herson's Irish Families in Victorian Stafford is a case study of Irish families from their origins in Ireland to their dispersal in the worldwide diaspora. John is trying to answer the question 'what happened to the emigrant Irish?' by tracing the history of all the Irish families who settled in the town of Stafford. The site offers information about the Irish families in Victorian Stafford and contact details to find out more about your possible Irish ancestors in Stafford.
Historical Geography
- A description of the Hundreds of the county of Staffordshire.
- Staffordshire Boundary Changes which may cause problems for researchers.
- Staffordshire County Council's Staffordshire Past-Track website has a wealth of historical data and photographs of the county
- The Distinctly Black Country website is "a network for understanding yesterday's landscape today" in the Black Country area of South Staffordshire and North Worcestershire
- Black Country History is a searchable website which allows users to find information about documents, maps, photographs, art works, objects and more held by archives and museums services within the Black Country.
The partners involved in this website are Dudley, Sandwell, Walsall & Wolverhampton Archives & Museums
The National Archives Manorial Documents Register pages Gives the location of all known surviving manorial records. Select Staffordshire in the search page to give a list ordered by Manor
- Reproductions of old Ordnance Survey maps for many areas of Staffordshire and the West Midlands are available from Alan Godfrey Maps.
- Genmaps Old Maps of Staffordshire page provides links to several old maps of the county.
- The London Ancestor site includes 1885 Boundary Commision Maps of the UK including a Staffordshire County map and Borough maps of Wolverhampton, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Hanley & Stoke.
Medical Records
- The Middlesex University Asylums Index includes details and brief histories of asylums in the county.
- A view of North Staffordshire Infirmary, c1915.
Military Records
- Transcripts of Staffordshire Military Records have been published in the following volumes of "Collections for a History of Staffordshire":
Military Service of Staffordshire Tenants 1377-1399 -- 1893 volume
Muster Roll of 1640 -- 1894 volume
Muster Roll of 1539, Offlow Hundred -- 1901 volume
Muster Roll of 1539, Cuttlestone & Pirehill Hundreds -- 1902 volume
Muster Roll of 1539, Seisdon & Totmonslow Hundreds -- 1903 volume
Militia Roll of c1685, Pirehill Hundred -- 1941 volume
- A transcript of the Musters of the Militia, 1781-82, Indexes held by the Public Record Office (Class WO 13), has been published by Stuart Tamblin. The Staffordshire volume is available on fiche or disk. Further details are contained on Stuart Tamblin's Family History Indexes Pages or from the Birmingham & Midland SGH or the Society of Genealogists.
- A list of the In Memoriam notices posted by Staffordshire Rootsweb members in November 2002.
- Meir Central Methodist Church World War 1 Memorial Tablets
Names, Geographical
- "Notes on Staffordshire Place Names" by W.H. Duignan
Published London, 1902.
- "The Place Names of Staffordshire, Part One, Cuttlestone Hundred" by J.P. Oakden, published 1984 by The English Place Name Society (ISBN 0-904889-09-2).
Further volumes covering the other Hundreds of Staffordshire were planned but none have been published to date.
- Chris Phillips' medieval English genealogy web site includes an index to place names mentioned in the titles of topographical articles in the published Staffordshire volumes of the Victoria County History.
Names, Personal
- Norman Holt's Index of Boat people of the Wolverhampton Canal System
- Staffordshire Archives Service has published "Staffordshire Family Collections" listing family papers held by Staffordshire Record Office and the William Salt Library.
- The major county newspaper for Staffordshire was the weekly Staffordshire Advertiser. The William Salt Library holds a complete run of the newspaper from 1795-1973.
An index to the Births, Marriages & Deaths 1795-1820 was published by the Staffordshire Record Society in 1968 and a second volume covering 1821-1840 was published in 1986.
- The Newsplan Site lists around 1100 newspaper titles published in the West Midlands region (including Staffordshire) since the eighteenth century with locations holding copies of the relevant titles.
- Local newspapers in the area with on-line editions include:
- The Sentinel published in Stoke-on-Trent.
- The Express & Star published in Wolverhampton.
- Your Leek Paper published in Leek.
- The Peak District Mines Historical Society Ltd have provided lists of mines in Staffordshire:
- Staffordshire Name Indexes Staffordshire Police Force Registers, 1842-1920 has a searchable database of the forces personnel records.
- Midlands Pubs Staffordshire Breweries pages include a brief history of many Staffordshire based breweries.
- An index of Staffordshire Photographers 1868-1940.
- The Black Country Bugle is a weekly newspaper specialising in local history of the Black Country area of South Staffordshire and North Worcestershire.
- The Blackcountryman is a quarterly magazine published by the Black Country Society specialising in local history of the Black Country area of South Staffordshire and North Worcestershire.
- Mick Pearson's Index to the Blackcountryman.
- The Midland Ancestor covering genealogical research in the counties of Staffordshire, Warwickshire & Worcestershire is published quarterly by Midland Ancestors (formerly BMSGH).
Politics and Government
- Chartist Ancestors Black Country Chartists page includes a history of the movement in the Black Country with names of many men active in the movement.
Poor Houses, Poor Law etc.
- Peter Higginbotham's Workhouse page has details and photographs of the workhouses in the county.
- The Staffordshire Past Track site has prints of the almshouses in the county.
Probate Records
- For pre-1858 wills for Staffordshire the main probate court was the Consistory Court of Lichfield. The probate records are held by the Lichfield Record Office which has manuscript indexes to the wills held.
- Post-1858 wills for the whole of England are indexed at the Principal Probate Registry in London which holds copies of all wills.
A District Probate Registry was established in Lichfield for the county of Staffordshire and copies of wills proven here for the period 1858-1928 are deposited at Lichfield Record Office.
- The UK Schools History Website Staffordshire Section has historical details and photographs of schools in the county. (This link is in fact to a copy, from about 2003, of the website provided by web.archive.org, since the actual web-site seems to be no longer available.)
- Steve Birks' Potteries Website includes historical information on the Background to Education in The Potteries.
- Aldridge Local History Society.
- Audley and District Family History Society.
- Biddulph & District Genealogical & Historical Society.
- Black Country Society.
- Burntwood Family History Group.
- Colton History Society.
- Midland Ancestors (formerly Birmingham & Midland Society for Genealogy & Heraldry).
- Midland Catholic History Society.
- Ridware History Society.
- Sedgley Local History Society.
- Smethwick Local History Society.
- Staffordshire Borough Heritage Group.
- Staffordshire Record Society.
- Staffordshire Parish Register Society.
- Tipton & Wednesbury Family History Society.
- Walsall Family History Group.
- West Bromwich Local History Society.
- Willenhall History Society.
- Wolverhampton History and Heritage Society.
- Hearth Tax returns for 1666 for the county have been published in the following volumes of "Collections for a History of Staffordshire":
Pirehill Hundred -- 1921 volume
Seisdon & Offlow Hundreds -- 1923 volume
Totmonslow Hundred -- 1925 volume
Cuttlestone Hundred -- 1927 volume
Lichfield -- 1936 volume
- Some Staffordshire Poll Tax returns have been published in the 1970 volume of "Collections for a History of Staffordshire":
- The Staffordshire Plea Rolls and Final Concords for the reign of Henry III (1216-72) from The Staffordshire Historical Collections, Vol. 4, digitised on the British History Online website
- The Staffordshire Plea Rolls for the reigns of Edward I, Henry II & III (1218-38 & 1272-94) from The Staffordshire Historical Collections, Vol. 6, Pt 1, digitised on the British History Online website
- The Staffordshire Plea Rolls for the reign of Edward I (1294-1307) from The Staffordshire Historical Collections, Vol. 7, Pt 1, digitised on the British History Online website
- The Staffordshire Plea Rolls for the reign of Edward III (1327-41) from The Staffordshire Historical Collections, Vol. 11, digitised on the British History Online website
Voting Registers
- Staffordshire Record Office holds electoral registers for the county constituencies for the periods 1832-1908, 1918-1939 & 1945-1974.
- Electoral registers for the borough constituencies are held at the appropriate local library or archive department.
- Details of deposited poll books for Staffordshire towns will be found on the appropriate town pages. Locations of poll books with area coverage are as follows:
Whole County 1747 (William Salt Library & Staffordshire Record Office)
North Staffordshire 1832 & 1837 (William Salt Library)
North Staffordshire 1865 (Stoke on Trent City Archive)
South Staffordshire 1835 (William Salt Library)
West Staffordshire 1868 (William Salt Library & Stoke on Trent City Archive)
Totmonslow North 1832 (Stoke on Trent City Archive)
- The Midlands Historical Data project have produced the 1868 West Staffordshire Poll Book on CD.
The parish listing is now on a separate page
This county is maintained by Mike Harbach with help and information provided by a number of assistants.


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Mike Littwin's Weekly GOP Power Rankings for Dec. 9, 2011
Or, the circus loses its Donald.
Newt Gingrich's race to the top was nearly trumped by The Donald's race to the bottom. Trump is the week's big loser, which is quite the trick, given that he's not even running (we hope). It was stunning to see the Republican candidates, most of them so so eager to kiss the Donald's ring, turn around and kick some Trump butt by turning down his debate offer. Rick Santorum and Gingrich were the only ones to accept Trump's invite. Santorum can't turn anyone down these days, but agreeing to be party to the Trump-athon may just show how out of touch the Newtster really is.
Now to the board (last week's rankings).
1. Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich. Subject to tomorrow's debate, after which we'll break the tie. (1 and 2)
3. Ron Paul. Led the pack in turning down The Donald. Has to get props for that. (3)
4. Rick Perry. He has made his big play with disturbing gays-and-God TV ad. If guns are next, I hope we get to watch him shoot a coyote. (6)
5. Jon Huntsman. With a little luck, he could finish fourth in NH. Congratulations. (7)
6. Michele Bachmann. Book tour not working out so well. 3,000 copies in two weeks. (5)
7. Rick Santorum. The good news: Now has a 50-50 shot at Donald endorsement. (4)
8. Gary Johnson. Yes, Gary Johnson.
Bonus pick: A fond farewell to the Hermanator, who last week finished 9-9-9. Now he'll never have to talk about Libya again. It was Libya, right?
UPDATE: Newt Gingrich was the debate winner, meaning Mitt Romney, for the first time, was the debate loser. (Think I'm wrong? I'll bet you $10,000 I'm not.) Best line of debate comes from Michele Bachmann: Newt Romney. In biggest shock, Rick Perry had decent debate. Of course, no one asked him how many justices were on the Supreme Court.


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Win two tickets for the Women In Rock Festival 2010 and a Six Magics T-Shirt.
Write an email to email@example.com answering this question: What is the title of latest album of the Dutch band Stream of Passion?
The lucky winner will be chosen among all the emails received, and will be sent an email with the notification.
Winner: Tadej Roškar


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This year, after decades as a teacher of writing and literature at Lane Community College, I'm finally retiring, takin' off my chaps, hangin' up my spurs, drapin' my guns over the bedpost, kickin' off my boots and slouchin' to the rockin' chair. And lest some tax-dodgin' right-wingnut works up a froth about my becoming a PERS burden, I'd like to point out that I've paid my dues: I'm 69, started paying taxes when I was 16, taught my first college-level class at UO in 1966, did 10 years at UO, five years at PSU, taught my first class for LCC in 1981. I've never had a summer off. So I'm not much inclined to listen to the whining of some stingy shill who got rich by gambling with other people's money then, win or lose, charging fees for the privilege. I'm pretty clear here on who's the host and who's the parasite.
But I'm not sure I really know how to stop. Lately, I've often found myself stopped, staring, especially at the gardens and grounds of LCC, at the hordes of students bustling to and from classes, at the dozens of staff and faculty who daily work in the minds. And I've wondered: Do the citizens of Lane County who make this place possible really get enough chances to savor the pride they so rightly deserve to feel?
Public education at all levels has been under relentless attack, especially in the last 20 years. Budgets have been slashed repeatedly; then, when classes have swollen in size and days cut in number to the degree that teachers can no longer teach effectively, then the critics want teachers to carry the blame for schools' decline. Some anti-tax twit pipes up: "Those kids aren't learning, 'cause the teachers aren't teaching. Cut their damn budgets and maybe they'll start." That kind of thinking, if it continues, will lead public education into a black hole.
For now, LCC is holding its own, despite a decade of budget-cutting and soaring enrollments. Only rational cooperation between the college and the staff and faculty unions have prevented a group-melting disaster. Citizens of Lane County who seek a measure of civic sense should visit LCC — they're always welcome — stroll the campus, see what their support has built: the beautifully tended flowers and shrubs, many of them serving as laboratories for biology and botany classes; the state-of-the-art Health Sciences building, essential to developing — and employing — the next generation of nurses, medical office assistants, lab techs and others; the newly completed Longhouse, a giant step toward restoring pride and recognition of Oregon's Native peoples; the Culinary Arts and Hospitality Management program, a lean operation that nevertheless trains our future chefs, cooks, events planners and others; diesel tech, computer sciences, foreign languages, the Lane Aviation Academy. I can't list them all, but the people of Lane County have together made this fine college possible and they deserve a little buzz of community pride, especially now when nasty negativists have tried to make "community" a dirty word.
And when you get home, pull a cork on a nice little wine, also a product of our own community and neighbors. Try, for example, Territorial Vineyards 2011 Riesling ($12), such a pretty little white, just off-dry, its delicate touch of natural sweetness accenting the flavors that mimic the essence of fresh pears. Whip up a stir-fry of our farmers' spring veggies; make some music with this charming riesling.
Or taste the pink in Stanton 2011 Pinot Noir Rosé ($13). This is no cloying, schlocky "blush"; flavors trip across the palate — strawberries, rose petals, cherries, rhubarb — and just cry for another sip.
Lane County's own college, Lane County's tasty wines: My heart swells with gratitude for being a part of you, and having you a large part of me. Thanks.


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Artist Statement
As an artist I use the material in different state of being in order to challenge and expand people's perception of their surroundings and belongings. Using different approaches, I visualize the relationship between thought and the material present. Taking interest in spatial issues, I work with exteriors and interiors containing real and fabricated history. The symbolically charged beauty of nature, the expectations of total freedom; I am fascinated by the modern conception of nature and how this can create controversy. I also reflect on the fundamental Romantic feeling of loneliness that seems to be the concern of most contemporary representations of nature.
My work is driven by "being in" the process, with the primary motivation of exploring. My aesthetic hinges upon a minor de-contextualization of a thing or feeling so that it can be used a means for us to re-experience the familiar in a way that lets us see it again for the first time. My fulfilled work will have an introspective supple quality, like the way a mist shrouds and soften a form, giving it potential to slip just before you fully recognize it. I seek creation, with the material being able to embrace more than a faded cast of an action once happened. I am fascinated by the clays ability to be reused and transformed into future forms and ideas, in contrast to its hard and resistant state as ceramics.
In a world that seems to have fallen either apathetic or frenetic in wanting to make a difference, I hope my work is an honest reminder of the importance of the reality of dreams, and the necessity of feeling a little overwhelmed.
*"The romantic, sentimental, mythological attachments accumulated in recent past have been necessarily shed like old skin. With this current generation of artists´works (post mid 1990´s); a cool re-evaluation of the intrinsic properties; history; social position; and physical nature of the medium are well underway. Material/Process as an integrated aspect of the concept; as a vehicle with which to make a critical statement, or take a particular stance of on an issue; from the artist`s personal position."


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Contact Us877.823.3669
The definition of "productivity" often differs between people depending on aspects like their job function and what they are looking to accomplish. To some, productivity is simply crossing a task off their to-do list, while to others it is about measuring the success in completing a specific task. Whatever your personal definition of productivity is, there are life hacks you can incorporate in your daily routine that will increase your efficiencies, but have little to do with requiring you to work harder at your desk - Here are 4 habits that will set you apart from the rest of your colleagues and enhance your overall performance.
Open enrollment is an annual process whereby employees elect benefits for the following year. During this time, employees can opt into not only insurance options, but also benefits such as flex spending or health savings accounts. During this period, employees have the option to enroll, modify or opt out of benefit programs. While this can be a stressful time, here are a few reasons why this process is important.


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Your favorite music making robot duo Daft Punk is back and they've brought new tunes! Listen to a brief tease of the latest Daft Punk track (which premiered last night on SNL). The sounds are delightful, but everything else is left open. All we really know is that Daft Punk will be releasing their sweet music manna to the masses sometime in 2013 through Columbia Records. But when? WHEN?
[via High Snobbery]


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LUIS Suarez could only sit and watch from the sidelines as Costa Rica's shock 3-1 victory over Uruguay in Fortaleza gave England an unexpected boost.
The Liverpool forward is still recuperating from keyhole surgery on a knee injury and is being held back for the clash with Roy Hodgson's side in Sao Paulo.
On this evidence his arrival cannot come too soon for Uruguay as fellow striker Edinson Cavani opening his World Cup account with a 24th-minute penalty turned out to be as good as it got.
With Uruguay missing a spark and failing to capitalise on their lead Costa Rica seized their chance with two goals in eight minutes early in the second half to blow Group D wide open after just one game.
Arsenal's 21-year-old forward Joel Campbell, who hit the headlines with a stunning strike against Manchester United in the Champions League while on loan at Olympiacos, and Oscar Duarte's first international goal did the initial damage as Suarez remained rooted to the bench.
Campbell then applied the coup de grace six minutes from time with a slide-rule pass which substitute Marcos Urena slid past goalkeeper Fernando Muslera from a narrow angle with virtually his first touch.
Uruguay were supposed to be the ones with the goals in reserve as they started with Cavani and Diego Forlan, who had 57 between them even before the latter scored his 22nd in 63 internationals.
Suarez beats them all with 39 but it is not only his goals but the threat he poses and the runs he makes which usually give his nation the edge.
Without him Uruguay looked lifeless and lacking in ideas and that only served to give their opponents the confidence to believe they could get something out of the game and they duly did.
Maxi Pereira's wild swing at Campbell in added time summed up Uruguay's frustration and the 30-year-old's red card rules him out of the England game.
The match kicked off with pitchside thermometers showing 33 degrees Celsius but the temperature was raised further when Oscar Duarte's foul on Diego Lugano early on ensured a Uruguay handball in this World Cup passed without major incident - unlike Suarez's save on the line against Ghana which helped put them into the semi-finals in South Africa four years ago.
Lugano's centre-back partner Diego Godin turned home at the other end, only to be denied by an offside flag - but there was no excuse for Cavani uncharacteristically slicing wildly wide with the goal at his mercy seconds later.
Yeltsin Tejeda, guilty of several reckless tackles in the first half, escaped sanction for a two-footed lunge on Cristian Rodriguez but he was punished from the resulting free-kick as Julian Diaz's challenge on Lugano in the penalty area was more like a rugby tackle, allowing Cavani to slot home from the spot.
Costa Rica's response saw Campbell's audacious left-footed effort from 30 yards whizz just past Muslera's left-hand post and Christian Bolanos fire into the side-netting via a deflection.
Muslera also missed Rodriguez's inswinging corner but, fortunately for him, so did Giancarlo Gonzalez at the far post while at the other end Forlan's deflected shot looped up wickedly and Keylor Navas only just got back to tip it over the crossbar.
For all Uruguay's supposed potency up front they were made to pay for not providing their feared strikers with enough chances as Costa Rica turned the match around in four second-half minutes.
Wing-back Cristian Gamboa's cross picked out Campbell 12 yards out and he hammered the ball unerringly past Muslera, who was helpless to keep out a diving header by Duarte who, moments earlier had missed a glorious chance for an equaliser from a carbon-copy Bolanos free-kick move.
Coach Oscar Tabarez sent on midfielders Nicolas Lodeiro and Alvaro Gonzalez to rectify the situation - Suarez's fitness meaning even this was not a dire enough situation to risk him - but it was Costa Rica substitute Urena who had the decisive say before Pereira lost his head late on.


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Pyrography - Woodburning
Although often referred to as woodburning, the art of pyrography can be worked on just about any natural surface, including gourds, leather, and paper. Crafters can achieve a wide range of tones and shades using basic burning tools, creating images with texture and depth that appear almost lifelike. These books can help you to learn the techniques and see the possibilities.


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The Digital Library is a database of articles about successful VoiceThread projects. Our hope is to create a resource that offers guidance and inspiration for people undertaking new projects. Please contribute a VoiceThread to help the Digital Library grow.
All About Polar Bears - Kindergarten ESL by Monica Schnee
Monica Schnee taught a nonfiction social studies/science unit about polar bears. We spent a lot of time reading books, looking at websites, particularly National Geographic and Nature on PBS. They collected facts, a word that children learned in nonfiction. Then, each student chose a fact, wrote it and had to illustrate it like a true nonfiction illustrator.
Higher Ed Grammar Practice - Infinitive or Gerund?
Students practice grammar by forming sentences from a word cloud.
Language learners use VoiceThread to practice speaking - Bophany Huot, City College of San Francisco
This is a great example of how an ESL student can practice her computer skills and her language skills to talk about everyday activities. Students can practice speaking as many times as they like before they can show it to their teachers/classmates.


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Boris Horvat / AFP - Getty Images
A hardhat worker walks around the construction site for the ITER fusion experiment in Saint-Paul-les-Durance, France.
The standard joke about nuclear fusion is that it's the energy technology of the future, and always will be. Well, fusion is still an energy option for the future rather than the present, but small steps forward are being reported on several fronts. That even includes the long-ridiculed campaign for "cold fusion."
Efforts by the Italian-based Leonardo Corp. to harness low-energy nuclear reactions (the technology formerly known as cold fusion) have reawakened the dream of somehow producing surplus heat through unorthodox chemistry. Today, Pure Energy Systems News reported that Leonardo's Andrea Rossi signed an agreement with Texas-based National Instruments to build instrumentation for E-Cat cold-fusion reactors.
Will this venture actually pan out? The E-Cat reactors are so shrouded in secrecy and murky claims that it's hard to do a reality check, but most outside experts say that the concept just won't work.
Some observers are similarly pessimistic about the other avenues for fusion research. The basic physics of the reaction is well-accepted, of course. You can see the power generated when hydrogen atoms fuse into helium when you look at that big ball of gas in the sky, 93 million miles away, or when you watch footage of an H-bomb blast.
But no one has been able to achieve a self-sustaining, energy-producing fusion reaction in a controlled setting on Earth, even after more than a half-century of trying.
Laser ignition
Researchers had hoped to reach that big milestone, known as ignition, at the $3.5 billion National Ignition Facility by the end of 2010. But in last week's issue of Science, Steven Koonin, the Energy Department's under secretary for science, was quoted as saying "ignition is proving more elusive than hoped" and added that "some science discovery may be required" to make it a reality. (Coincidentally, Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced this week that Koonin will be leaving his post.)
The big challenge is to tweak all the factors involved in NIF's super-laser-blaster system to maximize the energy directed on tiny pellets of fusion fuel, and minimize the loss of energy through tiny imperfections or interference. "We're at the end of the beginning," NIF's director, Edward Moses, told Science.
How much longer will it take? The new director of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, where NIF is headquartered, told the San Francisco Chronicle that he was convinced the facility would attain ignition "in this fiscal year" — that is, by next October.
Magnetic confinement
If NIF hits that schedule, it'll be way ahead of the world's most expensive fusion experiment, the $20 billion ITER experimental project in France. ITER is taking the most conventional approach to creating a controlled fusion reaction, which involves magnetic containment of a super-hot plasma inside a doughnut-shaped device known as a tokamak. The European Union and six other nations, including the United States, have divvied up the work load with the aim of completing construction in 2017 and achieving "first plasma" in 2019.
Right now, Oak Ridge National Laboratory and US ITER are testing a fuel delivery system that would fire pellets of ultra-cold deuterium-tritium fuel into the plasma.
"When we send a frozen pellet into a high-temperature plasma, we sometimes call it a 'snowball in hell,'" Oak Ridge physicist David Rasmussen said in an ITER report on the tests at the Dill-D research tokamak in San Diego. "But temperature is really just the measure of the energy of the particles in the plasma. When the deuterium and tritium particles vaporize, ionize and are heated, they move very fast, colliding with enough energy to fuse."
The tricky part has to do with shaping the pellets just right to produce the desired reaction. When it comes to snowballs in hell, the devil is in the details.
The politics of ITER is just as tricky as the technology. Considering the economic problems that are afflicting the world, and Europe in particular, will there be funding to support the development timeline? Last month, one of the leaders of the European Parliament's Green bloc called ITER a "ticking budgetary time bomb."
Wiffle-Balls and other wonders
Smaller-scale fusion research efforts, meanwhile, are getting a lot of good press. For example, the Navy-funded experiments in inertial electrostatic confinement fusion, also called Polywell fusion, are continuing at EMC2 Fusion Development Corp. in New Mexico. The latest status report for the $7.9 million project says that the test reactor, known as a Wiffle-Ball because of its shape, "has generated over 500 high-power plasma shots."
"EMC2 is conducting tests on Wiffle-Ball plasma scaling law on plasma heating and confinement," the brief report reads.
The Polywell system is designed to accelerate positively charged ions inside a high-voltage cage, in such a way that they spark a fusion reaction. If enough of the ions fuse, the energy could exceed the amount put into the system.
In the past, leaders of the EMC2 team have told me that their aim is to build a 100-megawatt demonstration reactor. Nowadays, EMC2 is more close-mouthed about their progress, primarily because that's the way the Navy wants it. But the report about 500 high-energy plasma shots brought a positive response from the Talk-Polywell discussion board, which has been following EMC2's progress closely. "I'd be drunk by now if those were shots of whiskey," one commenter joked.
Privately backed efforts are moving ahead as well: Last month, Lawrenceville Plasma Physics reported reaching a record for neutron yield with its "Focus Fusion" direct-to-electric generator. And this week, Canada's General Fusion and its magnetized target fusion technology were featured in an NPR news package.
"I wouldn't say I'm 100 percent sure it's going to work," General Fusion's Michel Laberge told NPR. "That would be a lie. But I would put it at 60 percent chance that this is going to work. Now of course other people will give me a much smaller chance than that, but even at 10 percent chance of working, investors will still put money in, because this is big, man, this is making power for the whole planet. This is huge!"
Is it a huge opportunity, or a huge waste — especially considering that the energy technology of the future will have to compete with present-day technologies such as solar, wind, biofuel and nuclear fission? Feel free to weigh in with your comments below.
Update for 3:40 p.m. ET Nov. 11: Some commenters have rightly pointed out that there are many other nuclear fusion and high-energy plasma initiatives under way, including the Z Machine, a huge X-ray generator at Sandia National Laboratories in New Mexico. The journal Science quotes Sandia researchers as saying the machine could be used to start testing the feasibility of pinch-driven fusion, but conducting a definitive test would require a far more powerful machine.
Science also notes that some researchers suspect NIF's indirect approach to laser-driven fusion, in which fuel pellets are placed inside a pulse-shaping cylinder known as a hohlraum, may not be as efficient as it needs to be. Research groups are investigating direct-drive laser fusion at the Laboratory for Laser Energetics in Rochester, N.Y., and the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington.
More about fusion:
- Fusion goes forward from the fringe
- Levitating magnet coaxes nuclear fusion
- Out-of-this-world ideas win NASA funding
- Physics turns from fission to the future
Connect with the Cosmic Log community by "liking" the log's Facebook page, following @b0yle on Twitter or following the Cosmic Log Google+ page. You can also check out "The Case for Pluto," my book about the controversial dwarf planet and the search for new worlds.


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Rashida Jones was also at the 2014 Golden Globe Awards, held at The Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California on Sunday (January 12).
The 'Parks and Recreation' star took a whimsical approach to the evening in a Fausto Puglisi Spring 2014 creamy-white gown, stitched with the most glamorous palm trees ever—being as they were outlined in crystal and metallic-gold paillettes.
Slit thigh-high, the dress was accented with a black skinny belt, a colour which obviously informed her choice of black Brian Atwood 'Tribeca' platform sandals, instead of the runway's dynamic pair of sky-blue heels.
Still, she embellished the dress with other fun accents, including Ana Khouri Patricia pearl ear cuffs, a gold and diamond Stem ring and a black diamond triple Lucky ring, finishing the look with a top knot and a deep berry lip.
Credit: Style.com & Getty


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Meet Your New CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund Winner: Greg Chait of The Elder Statesman
Last night, Greg Chait of The Elder Statesman was awarded the 2012 CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund, which pairs him with a business mentor and includes a cash prize of $300,000. Runners-up Jennifer Meyer Maguire and Tabitha Simmons will also get the gift of mentorship, as well as $100,000. Chait makes the kind of high-quality knitwear that's […]Read more


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Today's guest post comes from T. Neal Tarver, a native Texan living in Wisconsin, Tom has served churches in Texas and Wisconsin. He, his wife Ellen, and son Daniel lived and worked for three years as missionaries in the Russian Far East. Tom speaks enough Russian to both converse and confuse.
In 2011, Tom was selected as a semi-finalist in the American Christian Fiction Writers' Genesis contest. He's also been a two-time winner of MBT's "Make Every Word Count Flash Fiction" contest. His debut novel, Dark Eyes, Deep Eyes, is available through WestBow Press, Amazon, BARNES & NOBLE, and other retail outlets.
He currently writes from his home in Richland Center, Wisconsin, or from wherever his travels take him. He posts articles weekly at A Curious Band of Others. Tom has spoken in churches across America, and in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East.
3 Moves That Get You Closer to God
Doggone it!
No Internet connection again.
Check the cable connections.
Flick the router power button off and on again.
Still … nothing … nothing at all.
This has been a problem I've had for weeks now—a hit-or-miss Internet connection and it's been more miss than hit. I've had trouble communicating via email. I haven't been able to Google facts. I've gotten assignments in a day later than planned. Pictures for a newspaper article couldn't go out when I needed them to.
All because … doggone it … no connection with the Internet.
Until …
I moved.
I don't mean changed addresses. I simply mean I got up from the kitchen table where I was comfortable and started working at the coffee table (which isn't comfortable but, hey, now I'm connected).
Been having trouble connecting with God lately? May I suggest you move.
Move your body. If you tend to nod off during prayer time (and I have), maybe you need to relocate. If I sit in my comfortable easy chair, I nod. If I kneel at my easy chair, I tend to remain awake and aware of what I'm doing.
Even better for me, I walk. The movement stimulates my mind and allows me to pray with greater energy.
Move your schedule. In other words, reshape your schedule around your priorities. I had to rethink my email priority. It swallows up enormous amounts of time if I let it. In the past, I'd check email first thing in the morning, but what I thought would take a few moments would chomp out a huge hunk of my time.
I still check email but I've moved it down the priority list. My prayer and devotional time zipped to the top of the list (mainly because, if I wait until I have time, I find no time in the day).
Move the clutter. For financial reasons, we decided television in our home wasn't a priority so we dropped cable (and without it, we get no programs). I am amazed how much time I have for other things, like sleep, when I'm not watching sports on television.
This also opens up reading time, studying time, devotional time, walking-the-dog time … I think you get the point.
I moved something out and allowed time for other things to move in, including time with the Lord.
One benefit of the move to the coffee table is I'm closer to my wife (she does her computer work—editing, Facebook conversations, etc.—on the couch by the coffee table). I find when I move my body, my schedule, and the clutter I'm also closer to God.
What moves would you add to the list?


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| December 24, 2013, 10:01 am
Video game developers roared back to life in 2013 after a disappointing 2012, reinforcing the fact that old and ideas can sit comfortably next to new ones as long as they're thoughtfully presented.
The much-anticipated PlayStation 4 and Xbox One consoles made their fall debut even as players continued migrating to tablets and smartphones for indie games and the simple, addictive pleasures of puzzlers like the Candy Crush Saga.
Most big-budget sequels and prequels fell flat, however, including beloved franchises like God of War, Crysis and the Batman: Arkham series. But clever takes on classic properties like Super Mario Bros. and Tomb Raider also resulted in some of the biggest successes.
Here are my favorites of 2013.


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Oneida County Executive candidate Rodger Potocki slammed incumbent County Executive Anthony Picente's proposed $360 million 2012 budget at a press conference Thursday morning.Can't wait to see these two in a debate . . .
"What is Picente doing? It is obvious that he has created an election year budget of smoke and mirrors that not only fails to meet state law but uses gimmicks to cover up the failure," Potocki said . . .
But what debate? Perhaps the most important office in the County, but no information about a debate being scheduled. Has anyone scheduled one? If not, why not?
Is anyone ducking the possibility?
It sure is quiet around here!


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1) What would one expect to see and experience in using the hexagram ritual to invoke a planetary force in the Body of Light, and having done so successfully?
2) Why are the tables of 777 memorised first prior to making invocations of particular forces? If the correspondences represent facts of nature in some way, wouldn't they be able to discovered without prior memorisation? Wouldn't it be better to attempt to invoke the force/idea, observe results, and then compare them to the correspondence tables afterwards?
Apologies if I have misunderstood the nature of the exercise here. If the idea is, in testing particular aspects of a vision, to ensure that the right idea has been invoked cleanly and effectively, surely memorisation makes the exercise more one of testing the congruence of the vision to subconscious memory, rather than anything more 'objective', which might be better tested without the aid of memory prior to receiving the contents of a vision.
If each aspirant has an astral universe peculiar to them, are the correspondences an attempt at establishing a conventional, consensus set of interrelated pieces of information? Why is knowledge of a convention that has to be pre-memorised valuable?