text: AboutSoaking Pool RulesAbout our pools... Hours: Hours: 8 a.m. 'til 1 a.m. Minors with an adult, 8 a.m. 'til 8 p.m. Hotel guests only The Soaking Pool will be closed the second Tuesday of every month for maintenance. Upcoming Events see all events Burger Month Friday, July 10 Cocktail Making with McMenamins Friday, July 10 35th Anniversary of the Brewpub Law Monday, July 13 Cocktail Making with McMenamins Friday, July 17 Set below street level at the Crystal Hotel, our oasis ebbs and flows in the midst of the bustling city. Overnight guests can unwind after a long day of shopping or meetings or before heading to the Crystal for a concert. The pool is for overnight guests only; those 18 and older need a photo ID. Minors are permitted with an adult before 8 p.m. Forget Your Swimsuit? No problem. We have suits - both men's and women's - for sale right here at the hotel. Ladies can choose from a selection of retro, vintage-inspired Popina Swimwear options, while men can purchase a pair of comfortable McMenamins board shorts. And if you'd like a truly unique memento of your stay in downtown Portland, Popina's even makes customized swimwear - visit their shop just around the corner at 318 NW 11th Ave. or call them at (503) 243-SWIM for details. Soaking Pool Rules Minors (persons under 18yrs) must be with a parent or guardian at all times No minors permitted in pool after 8pm No smoking in the pool No Glass containers Please be respectful of other guests No horseplay, jumping or diving No pool toys or recreational flotation devices Swimsuits are required & swim diaper required for any child not potty trained, NO EXCEPTIONS Do not add bubble bath, soaps or fragrance into the water No outside beverages or containers are allowed The Hotel cannot be responsible for lost or stolen items Items left behind in the soaking pool will be kept for one week before being donated. Failure to comply with these rules and regulations is grounds for us to deny access to the soaking pool, Thank you, Management About Our Soaking Pools It is important to know that chlorine is present in our soaking pools. All of our pools (Edgefield, Kennedy School, Old St. Francis School, Grand Lodge, Crystal Hotel) utilize salt cells that convert low levels of salt (sodium chloride) to chlorine. This means that a saltwater pool is not actually chlorine-free – it simply utilizes a chlorine generator instead of a direct addition of chlorine. To meet health department requirements, we also add granulated chlorine to break down and release contaminants from the pool. The benefits of our saltwater spa systems include: Smoother, softer-feeling water Diminished chloramines formation Less odor Eco- & earth-friendly Gentle to hair, even colored or blonde Reduced eye irritation Soothing to skin Health benefits when using mineral salts Easily adjusted sanitizer level Many people previously convinced that they had an allergic or other aversion to chlorine found no such problems after experiencing a salt-based system. A salt system allows us to more precisely control the sanitizer output, often requiring lower levels to achieve water purity. The mineral salts have many health benefits of their own. Additional chemicals that we use to maintain proper chemical balance for bathers include: sodium bicarbonate, soda ash, calcium chloride, sodium bisulfate, muriatic acid, and monopersulfate (commonly referred to as MPS). Salinity Levels: Lower Than You Think When we think of saltwater, the ocean comes to mind. Seawater has a strong salty taste, and it can cause metal corrosion. Fortunately, the levels of salt used in our systems are very low by comparison. The table below give you some perspective: Salinity Comparison (parts per million) Ocean water: 35,000 ppm Human tears: 9,000 ppm Ability to taste salt: 5,000 ppm Saltwater spas: 3,000 ppm


text:
But Andy Gabrielson's loss underscores something I long have said about chasing ... the greatest danger to chasers has been the danger we all face whenever we get in our vehicles and set out on the road to any destination. This primary danger is not associated at all with the destination. We lose 40,000 Americans on the road every year, but somehow most of us, including chasers, drive under the assumption that it won't happen to us! The evidence is that with a population of roughly 300 million souls, the odds of dying in a motor vehicle accident in a year are 40,000/300,000,000 = 0.00013, or 1.3 chances in 10,000. Pretty low probability, right? In 2011, a terrible year for tornadoes, around 550 people died as a direct result of tornadoes. In 2011, an anomalous year for tornado fatalities, the chances of an American dying in a tornado that year were 550/300,000,000 = 0.00000183, or 1.8 chances in a million! No chasers died as a result of tornadoes in 2011, nor in any other year ... so far.
Storm chasing has been going on since the mid-1950s, although chasing has experienced surges of participation since then, and it now has many more participants than I ever imagined possible when I started chasing in 1972. 2012 is my 40th year of chasing. Some of the things I've thought about chasing have proven to be pretty much wrong. Unfortunately, my concern with the dangers of the road has proven to be justified. You don't have to be an irresponsible "yahoo" chaser to put yourself at risk. Any chaser on the road is at risk!
Many people are now doing this, and so we have the prospect of having more chasers killed as time passes. Given that there may be more than 1000 storm chasers nowadays, with an ever increasing number of "extreme" chasers who are ready to flirt with the danger of being within a tornado, it seems likely that a storm eventually will claim the life of a chaser for the first time. In my essay about chasing with responsibility and safety, I listed the primary dangers associated with chasing - in order of importance according to my essay, they are:
- Being on the road
- Lightning
- The storm

subset: commoncrawl


text:
SUPERSEDED (click for Active standard)
Active (view current version of standard)
1. Scope
1.1 This test method produces cavitation damage on the face of a specimen vibrated at high frequency while immersed in a liquid. The vibration induces the formation and collapse of cavities in the liquid, and the collapsing cavities produce the damage to and erosion (material loss) of the specimen.
1.2 Although the mechanism for generating fluid cavitation in this method differs from that occurring in flowing systems and hydraulic machines (see 5.1), the nature of the material damage mechanism is believed to be basically similar. The method therefore offers a small-scale, relatively simple and controllable test that can be used to compare the cavitation erosion resistance of different materials, to study in detail the nature and progress of damage in a given material, or-by varying some of the test conditions-to study the effect of test variables on the damage produced.
1.3 This test method specifies standard test conditions covering the diameter, vibratory amplitude and frequency of the specimen, as well as the test liquid and its container. It permits deviations from some of these conditions if properly documented, that may be appropriate for some purposes. It gives guidance on setting up a suitable apparatus and covers test and reporting procedures and precautions to be taken. It also specifies standard reference materials that must be used to verify the operation of the facility and to define the normalized erosion resistance of other test materials.
1.4 The values stated in SI units are to be regarded as standard. The inch-pound units given in parentheses are for information only.
1.5 This standard does not purport to address all of the safety problems, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety and health practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use. For specific safety precautionary information, see Notes 2, 4, 5, and 6.
2. Referenced Documents (purchase separately) The documents listed below are referenced within the subject standard but are not provided as part of the standard.
ASTM Standards
A276 Specification for Stainless Steel Bars and Shapes
B160 Specification for Nickel Rod and Bar
B211 Specification for Aluminum and Aluminum-Alloy Rolled or Cold Finished Bar, Rod, and Wire
D1193 Specification for Reagent Water
E177 Practice for Use of the Terms Precision and Bias in ASTM Test Methods
E691 Practice for Conducting an Interlaboratory Study to Determine the Precision of a Test Method
E960 Specification for Laboratory Glass Beakers
G40 Terminology Relating to Wear and Erosion
G73 Test Method for Liquid Impingement Erosion Using Rotating Apparatus
G117 Guide for Calculating and Reporting Measures of Precision Using Data from Interlaboratory Wear or Erosion Tests
G119 Guide for Determining Synergism Between Wear and Corrosion
G134 Test Method for Erosion of Solid Materials by Cavitating Liquid Jet
ICS Code
ICS Number Code 77.060 (Corrosion of metals)
UNSPSC Code
UNSPSC Code 41114624(Vibration testers)
|Link Here
|Link to Active (This link will always route to the current Active version of the standard.)
Citation Format
ASTM G32-98, Standard Test Method for Cavitation Erosion Using Vibratory Apparatus, ASTM International, West Conshohocken, PA, 1998, www.astm.orgBack to Top


text:
House by Mauro Brigham
Mauro Brigham Demonstrates The Chateau D'eau House
Mauro Brigham, the author of the highlighted work House:CHATEAU D'EAU by Mauro Brigham says, Conversion of an old watertower into a house. A landmark building with huge efforts needed in isolation and integration of the technical installations and technology, a very diverse architecture language made of 8 sided spaces, cylindrical rooms, domes and 5meter high ceilings, a "vertical living life-style" and proximity of the national airport of less than 500 meters. These are the main ingredients of this very singular project.
House by Mauro Brigham Images:
End of the article, click here to go back to previous page, or alternatively go back to World Architects homepage.


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what does "poorley written" mean?
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I've seen peeople say things are "poorley written" when to me theres honestly nothing wrong
the thing is I dont think I have a very good grasp on what it means when somthing is "poorley written" aside from very obvious examples
so what is it?
-is it dialouge?
I'd like examples...and not painfully obvious ones like the room, but ones that are less obvious, and reasons why
reason I ask is (you may have seen from other threads) I've been getting into writing some stories and I want a better understanding of things I should be avoiding
Must not say Vault101's spelling, must not say Vault101's spelling, must not say Vault101'spelling.
It can be a number of things, from pacing, to character dialogue, to actual characters (Mary Sues and such).
Really, the best thing you can do is read, and read often. You'll get a feel for what is good and what is bad.
... it's "poorly".
Sorry, I had to.
If something makes you laugh and the intended reaction was not laughter, it's probably poorly written.
If you're getting bored while watching or playing something (and it's not because the gameplay is tedious or repetitive), it's probably poorly written.
If you want to skip every cut-scene so you can get back to the action, the game is probably poorly written. This one is more of a variable though, because some things are inherently more interesting to some people than others. For instance, I find Metal Gear Solid to be very interesting, but I fully understand other people who say that the cut-scenes drag on for far too long and I believe that a good editor was desperately needed to slap Kojima's hands away from the scripts at some point.
There are things that are badly written but entertaining nonetheless - See the entire Devil May Cry franchise, particularly 3 and 4 because 1 has a practically nonexistent story and 2 is a convoluted piece of piss-whiffle. In this case, there's generally a high amount of cheese and self-awareness present within the writing, which is what elevates it to being entertaining in the first place.
When it comes to dialogue, there's a certain balance that needs to be struck between exposition dumping and fluffy banter. Too little and the characters won't feel developed, but too much and it'll feel tedious to try going through all of it. There's more leeway in general with dialogue than with descriptive prose though, because typically it's not as difficult to visualize a conversation as it is the location an author is trying to portray. Also, it's not all that difficult to excuse your way out of characters that are 'poorly written' on purpose, especially if they're juxtaposed against well-written characters.
Aaaaaaand there's the entire forum being ninja'd.
Haha the misspelling of the title just makes this hilarious. One thing that I would consider to be poor writing is using too many complex descriptors when something simple would do.
Well there's the obvious spelling and grammatical errors for starters.
Plot holes especially, that deserves a double mention because of how badly it can ruin something.
When I gave Tyra Banks's novel Modelland a try (shutup I was bored), I found that she made what I consider to be the biggest mistake any writer can do. She forgot that the readers don't know and feel the things that she knows and feels about the story. For instance, in the beginning the main characters mocks a girl who hasn't done anything to her. The girl being mocked starts acting like a rhymes-with-hitch later in the book, but at that point we had been given no reason to dislike her, so the protagonist just seemed mean when she mocked her. In short: Make sure that the readers get the impression they're supposed to get from your characters.
good advice!
when I think about it, I think uncharted is kind of badly written.....as Ive said before 99% of the dialouge is sarcastic banter which is tedious when theres nothing to contrast too...the only 2 times I ever found somthing actually funny said in an uncharted game was in U3 a charachter refers to the villan as "scary poppins" and at the end when sully screams "THIS IS WHY WE CANT HAVE NICE THINGS" as the level collapses
and in ME3 the charachters would (annoyingly) go into codex mode and spew out facts that the player SHOULD REALLY KNOW at this point in the series
Read Twilight. If Stephanie Meyer did it, you shouldn't.
Really, the best way to tell if something is good or not is to see if it is interesting, fun, and surprising. If everyone sees something coming, it isn't well written. My girlfriend hates watching movies with me because she has shitty taste in movies, and 9 times out of 10, I can see what is coming next. The times I don't, I call a plot twist that the writer is actually too lazy to use, and even she thinks it was a shittily written piece of ass that was badly written.
Also, CHECK FACTS! If you use science to explain something, make sure it makes sense to the people who are reading it.
And dear GOD, spell check yourself often, as your spelling and grammar are atrocious.
- Bad spelling/grammar
Those are the main ones for me.
Well if it's meant to be funny that's not bad, but like watching a cutscene in say World of Warcraft. Yeah laughing at that is bad writing.
Well if you are on the IMDB message boards, 'poor writing' is a tortured and abused term which people use to describe any narrative direction or event they didn't like in a tv show or movie "I didn't like that the writers killed off this character so therefore they are talentless hacks".
In the reality outside of those deluded minds, if something is poorly written it is basically just awkward to read and/or has a lot of spelling/grammatical errors. Pretty much everything Supertegwyn listed.
This is a rather wide and broad subject and question, but I'll break it down for each of the topics you've listed below, 'cause it applies to all of them.
For dialogue poorly written things can be in a couple of varieties. It usually crosses with character and plot as well though.
Characters are a bit odd. There isn't a right or wrong way to do them, it all depends on the story. For the most part, keep the characters consistent with the type of story you're writing. If you're writing a more serious story, have the characters not be 2D cutout tropes that are bleedingly cliched and have little to no personality. If you're writing a light hearted story where the characters themselves don't really matter, kinda like a kids story, feel free to make the characters as lite on detail as you like. In fact, overdoing the character can sometimes make it not fit in with the story as well. Mostly I'd say play it by ear. If it doesn't feel right, its not right.
Plot is rather like characters. How it goes depends on what sort of story you're writing. Golden rules, however, are to not make a convoluted mess out of it. Everything should always be within reason, and should be explained later. I.E; its fine to have something that makes no sense at some time, but you have to explain it later, and even then you should probably foreshadow it as well. No giving the character an amazing ability to fly for no reason then just writing it off as "He discovered he could fly". Nonono, that doesn't cut it unless you're writing a kids book. At the very least he should be foreshadowed as having powers that he still doesn't know all the secrets behind. Preferably something more substantial than that though.
Of course these are obvious examples, but using actual examples is likely to ignite flame wars 'cause everyone's got an opinion on the Internet.
Anyway, best way to tell if your writing is poorly written or not is to read over it yourself and see if it sounds awkward, if it does - fix it - if it doesn't, pass it on to someone else to review. If they don't think it sounds awkward - cool. If they do - fix it. Repeat until you've got a broad range of opinions on it and most, if not all, people think it sounds fine.
Really though, most of this stuff is rather obvious. If it feels even slightly awkward, or like it wouldn't happen IRL or IRL if IRL was the world in your story, then it shouldn't be there. Unless that's intentional, but you've got to play that card carefully as well.
I wouldn't agree with this. If its meant to be a really major twist that people shouldn't be coming, yeah, then its poorly written if its obvious.
'Do you remember,' he went on, 'writing in your diary, "Freedom is the freedom to say that five plus five make ten"?'
'Yes,' said the audience.
The bad writer held up his two hands, their backs towards the audience, with the all fingers extended.
'How many fingers am I holding up, audience?'
'And if I say that it is not ten but twelve -- then how many?'
The word ended in a gasp of pain. The needle of the dial had shot up to fifty-five. The sweat had sprung out all over the audience. The air tore into their lungs and issued again in deep groans which even by clenching teeth they could not stop. The bad writer watched them, the ten fingers still extended. He drew back the lever. This time the pain was only slightly eased.
'How many fingers, audience?'
The needle went up to sixty.
'How many fingers, audience?'
'Ten! Ten! What else can I say? Ten!'
The needle must have risen again, but they did not look at it. The heavy, stern face and the ten fingers filled their vision. The fingers stood up before their eyes like pillars, enormous, blurry, and seeming to vibrate, but unmistakably ten.
'How many fingers, audience?'
'Ten! Stop it, stop it! How can you go on? Ten! Ten!'
'How many fingers, audience?'
'Twelve! Twelve! Twelve!'
'No, audience, that is no use. You are lying. You still think there are ten. How many fingers, please?'
'Ten! Twelve! Ten! Anything you like. Only stop it, stop the pain!'
Abruptly they were sitting up with the bad writer's arm round his shoulders. They had perhaps lost consciousness for a few seconds. The bonds that had held their bodies down were loosened. They felt very cold, they were shaking uncontrollably, their teeth were chattering, the tears were rolling down their cheeks. For a moment they clung to the bad writer like a baby, curiously comforted by the heavy arm round their shoulders. They had the feeling that the bad writer was their protector, that the pain was something that came from outside, from some other source, and that it was the bad writer who would save them from it.
'You are slow learners, audience,' said the bad writer gently.
'How can we help it?' they blubbered. 'How can we help seeing what is in front of our eyes? Five and five are ten.'
'Sometimes, audience. Sometimes they are twelve. Sometimes they are eight. Sometimes they are all of them at once. You must try harder. It is not easy to become sane.'
I suggest getting yourself a copy of The Elements of Style by Strunk and White. It's hard to find a better source on what separates good writing styles from bad ones.
Something else you might want to check out is author Jenny Trout's blog where she's been doing chapter summaries of the 50 Shades of Grey trilogy. The books are a great example of bad writing, and Jen explains just what makes them fail so hard (she's also hilarious to read. But the books do have adult content, and Jen does write for mature audiences, so take that into account.) As a bonus, Jen is now releasing her own story in the same genre as 50 Shade (that's "BDSM romance" not "Twilight fanfiction") for free, so there's a well-written story for comparison.
Unfortunately the question of what separates good writing from bad is very complex. Writing is a craft--there's a LOT that goes into it. So find some resources on the subject (there are lots of books on the topic and probably several websites as well) and study up.
Uncharted is another one of those "your mileage may vary" games, when it comes down to it. It's no exemplary piece of writing in video games, but there's nothing particularly offensive about it either. The character of Nathan Drake is a sarcastic tosser, but there is a reason for that and the worst part of the writing is that it never really pays off in the end. If we had seen Nathan Drake, beaten and broken and behind his mask of sarcasm, it would have elevated him to the realm of a legitimately good video game character. I mean, the closest thing is the whole desert section of Uncharted 3, and Drake goes right back to normal afterwards, doesn't he?
But the writing itself is another one of those Devil May Cry-esque situations, because while a lot of people hate Drake's character because of how nonchalant he is in combat, I generally found his quips to be amusing - Partly because staunch, manly, grimacing, grunting men in power armor is something that's been done to death and it was nice to see a protagonist that tries to stay lighthearted in the face of certain danger. Also, I guess the frequency of his sarcasm was just lower for me than literally everyone else on the planet, because I hardly ever heard him doing anything more than "Haha!" or other such short exclamations.
And the Mass Effect franchise as a whole is a large offender of giving certain characters overblown exposition dumps. Particularly Liara.
One thing that can turn me right off a book is unnecessary detail, or huge chunks of it at once. Don't spend a page describing someone if they have one line, and if they are worth describing, generally you have enough time to break the description up a bit. Conversely, make sure you describe important details. For example, a good crime thriller is one in which it's entirely possible to work out the criminals identity at the same time or before the lead. If we aren't told a detail crucial to the case until after the criminal is caught, that's bad writing.
Edgar Allan Poe, King of the Short Story, felt that everything that is in a story should be there for a reason. Which means that unnecessary details, tangential loose-ends, and pretty much anything that makes your story drag is an example of bad writing.
One very clear example that always bugged me is the French fairy-tale "Bluebeard." The story itself is interesting, but the titular villain's blue beard... is completely pointless! There's never any explanation as to why his beard is blue, and it has absolutely nothing to do with the central theme of the plot. His beard could have been any color, and it wouldn't have changed anything except the stupid title of an otherwise pretty good story.
That's just one example of one particular kind of bad writing. There are many ways to make writing good or bad.
For the record, I suck at writing dialog.
Damn it Daystar, you ninja'd me!
OT: To answer your question... dialogue, characters, and plot can be poorly written, often at the same time. My own way to check dialogue I've written - or in other books/games as well for that matter - is to read it out loud. If it sounds weird, stilted, and/or unnatural then it's poorly written. Characters that blend into each other, where you could literally substitute one for the other and no one would know the difference, is an example of bad character writing.
Bad spelling/grammar however doesn't mean that the story itself is bad, it just means it'll take the person reading it longer to understand and get into it - which isn't a good thing. So make sure you have a friend to act editor for you; every writer needs one.
Generally, it means stuff like character saying things that no person would say, or grammatical errors.
The problem with that phrase is that people will often use it to describe things that they just don't like. For example, the whole idea about having too much detail. There can't really be too much detail if the writer is good enough, although I guess some people just don't like it. I would say that something is poorly written if it doesn't flow well or fails to absorb the reader into the story and the character's world.
Aside from this, there are techniques that really shouldn't be employed in writing. Firstly, the ones like Chairman Miaow mentioned about crime thrillers. You can't create a mystery by just withholding information. That's cheating. Then there are things like writers using a lot of different words instead of "said" in dialogue.
Anyway, this is really too wide a topic. Maybe you can find a book that details those bad writing techniques that should be avoided.
Explaining bad writing with good writing, that's the way to do it.
Once up on a time there was a man named Charlie, he did not have anything in his pockets. He walked to the shop and took €5 out of his pocket and bought a cake. The end.
First, important point: most people don't know what's good writing and what's bad writing, including people commenting on this thread. This also includes myself :) I have some idea, but I don't think I have read and analyzed prose enough to really know this well.
If you want to know what's good and what's bad writing I'd suggest you have to read a lot, and not only for entertainment, but read and reread stuff, analyzing the prose, rhythm, etc. Write and have people you think are good writers critique your work. Critique other people's work. Read some more, and then more, try to understand what makes good writers good and bad writers bad. Rinse, repeat, etc. It's a process.
Also, understand this: people like things that are badly-written (stephanie meyer, most videogames, etc), and often don't like things that are well-written (James Joyce, etc). Liking stuff is really different than it being well-made, though they're not completely uncorrelated. Well-written prose can be incredibly boring, and badly-written stuff can be fun/exciting. In a story the emotional elements may draw the reader in more than simply whether the writing is "good" or "bad".
So, there are many dimensions, and the road is long. When people say "writing in X is bad" they're often really saying "I don't like X" or something like it, although of course most people have an intuitive grasp about quality. It depends a lot on the amount of previous exposure one had to writing (and good writing in particular).
I don't really know what to tell you. Someone a little better versed in writing than myself could probably give you very specific reasons, but all I can really tell you is that there is a difference, and it's pretty obvious. If you're having a hard time telling the difference, read something really well written, like "Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss, and then immediately read something that isn't as well written, like "Harry Potter." I'd like to take this opportunity to say a book doesn't have to be well written to be a good book. Anyway, you can really tell the difference between the masterful way Rothfuss uses language and the merely mediocre way Rowling does. It's like, when Rowling writes, she writes well enough that the language doesn't get in the way. When Rothfuss writes, he writes so well that the language enhances the story.
You might be a better critic of painting than me, most people are, but for me it's kinda like looking at a kid's crayon drawing and an impressionist painting. They're both kinda blurry, and not really accurate depictions of what was painted or drawn, and I couldn't point to anything and say, this is why they're different, but I'd know the impressionist painting was of a higher quality.
So, I guess my point is, go ask your English teacher, or if they don't give you a satisfactory answer, go down to the local college and ask one of the writing professors. They'd probably be able to tell you why one is better, but all you have to do is read something like "Name of the Wind" side by side with something like "Harry Potter" or something like "Sword of Truth" or even something that's really well written, but not quite as masterfully done like the "Night Angel" trilogy and the difference becomes pretty apparent.
Can I disagree? I think in some cases, specially in movies, the characters dialogue doesn't feel realistic, but I still consider it well written.
The true meanings of poorly written:
Character wise
- Characters peform differently to how they have been developed.
Story wise
- Plot holes.
What many people think it is:
- "It was badly written because I didn't like it".
Poorly written can mean many different things, I like to use it to describe any and all of these:
1) Bad spelling, grammar and or punctuation.
2.) Poor characterization, i.e. they don't make sense and you can't relate to them, or they have less personality than a plank of wood.
3) Plots or actions that don't make sense, i.e. a character acts in a certain way despite all their previous actions leading you to believe they wouldn't act this way etc, basically it's clear the author needed them to do x for the plot and y to be driven and progress.
4) Poorly written plot points.
5) Getting facts or in the case of fanfiction canon details wrong.
6) overuse or under use of descriptions; if you're a good writer you'll get it just right, i.e. enough to get the point across but not so much you're bored out your mind, think Tolkien's descriptions, okay we get it there's a leaf on the tree, no need to go into so much detail, I do have an imagination after all so let me use it.
7) Poorly written dialogue, so for example you might have a kid character that speaks far too maturely and for me that's poor dialogue unless it's clear they're some kind of super genius who's well read, because most kids don't speak properly and their words often run together and they may also have a lisp, so writing phonetically sometimes is appropriate. So for example a young child might not say "I don't like it! Do I have to?" but instead "I dun like it! Do I hafta?" Similarly you could have a professor type character that's supposedly educated yet they talk like an idiot because the author has a poor vocabulary.
8) Lastly poor pacing, this doesn't refer to how fast or slow the overall plot is, but how good or bad plot point 1 flows to plot point 2 etc and so on.
Poorly written can refer to anything you listed, or many more things. If a story has flat or unengaging characters, then the characters are poorly written. If the dialog is unbelievable or doesn't flow well, then the dialog is poorly written. If the plot doesn't make sense, doesn't move at a satisfying pace, doesn't engage the audience properly, or doesn't conclude satisfyingly then the plot is poorly written. There are also certain stylistic things that can indicate poor writing--too much detail, not enough detail, too many adjectives, bad similies and metaphors, too much description of scenery, things like that.
I've never read any H.P. Lovecraft books, but I've heard his dialog often leaves something to be desired. I don't think I can find it, but the example I saw was somebody like a farmer who was dying, yet giving a long and drawn out almost Shakespearian speech as he was dying. In reality there is no way a farmer would speak that way, and the way he was saying the dialog was overly dramatic and unrealistic. So that's an example of poorly written dialog--dialog that doesn't match the character, doesn't fit the situation, or resorts to stereotypes.
I'm sure I've seen poorly written characters before, but for the life of me I can't think of any right now. I suppose I could go with Jar Jar Binks--his character is steeped in so many terrible stereotypes just watching him is painful. He didn't have to be that way, he could have easily been the comic relief sidekick without sounding like he's straight out of Huck Finn. But they wrote him that way, and that's how he came out.
As for bad plot, the one on my mind the most at the moment is the plot of Brave. I'll put it in spoilers in case some people haven't seen it yet:
As for advice on your writing, I highly recommend tracking down Stephen King's book called "On Writing." It's partially a memoir, but it also has some great advice on the foundations of writing. Also, and I don't know how old you are, but if you have the opportunity in high school or college try to take at least one creative writing class. You don't have to take classes to be a great writer if you have it in you, but in those classes you'll get a basic sense of storytelling fundamentals, and you'll take part in one of the most important parts of the writing process--critique. You'll have your work critiqued by others, and you'll learn how to critique other works, which in turn allows you to more effectively analyze your own work. And I'm sure there are plenty of message boards on the Internet that are writing communities, so just look up some of them if you're looking for critique but don't have a class to show your work to.
Apart from that, the best advice I can give you is read. Just go out and read stuff. If you don't know what you like or what you should read, there are lots of lists online of "Best fantasy books," "Best books with female protagonists," "Best mystery books," "Best sci-fi books." And as you read, try to pick out what you like about the story, and think about why you like it. If you find yourself really engaged try to think about all that's going on to make you engaged. Or if you're bored out of your mind, try to pinpoint why and take note of that as well.
For example, the Shannara series by Terry Brooks is a very celebrated fantasy series, and I recently tried to get into it but for the life of me couldn't. I realized it was because there were so many huge information dumps. The section I was reading before I stopped had this "mysterious stranger" sitting on the porch of an inn the main protagonist worked (who was a plucky young lad wanting to go on adventures). The boy was sitting on the porch listening to the stranger talk about the history of the world. This monologue went on for pages and pages. He talked about ancient wars fought between long dead races, listed the names of famous ancient warriors and far off lands, and that's exactly why I couldn't connect. I hadn't seen enough of the world yet at that point in the story to care about who such-and-such land was ruled by long ago. While stories of epic battles are great to deepen the lore of a world, if it doesn't have a parallel with what's going on in the present it just feels like I've stopped reading a story and started reading a history textbook.
I have no doubt later there were parallels drawn between the events of the past and the events of the present (like how in the Lord of the Rings the battle with Sauron at the beginning is parallel to the battles the characters face in Frodo's time), but until there is existing context within the story to connect the pieces I don't see why I as a reader should care about those long-ago battles or the people that fought in them.
But then some people love that. They love feeling like they're reading the history book of some far-off land. Personally I'm more interested in character-building than world-building, but you might not be and there is room for both in the world of writing.
Just want to add another example of a similar blog, Reasoning with Vampires, which aims at picking apart the Twilight series. It's very focused on proper sentence structure (as well as when it is okay to go against the rules) and the use of commas, dashes, colons, and the like. Be warned though, there are very high levels of snark in there. ;)
I think there's a difference between "bad story structure", and "bad writing". By "story structure", I mean the point or what is trying to be conveyed (ex: my nitpicky definitions). By "writing", I mean how something is conveyed (ex: being Clear, Concise, and Consistent). Grammar can also apply, although it has more to do with the mechanics of the language medium.
Yo, you dissin' my homeboy H. P. Lovecraft?
In art, brevity is the elegance of the hasty hearts.
Mysteries/thrillers are often a great place to find both good writing and bad, and it's usually very easy to see the difference in that context.
Were you able to determine the identity of the killer or solve all of the complex plot twists way before anyone in the story does? There's generally bad writing involved. Of course, there's always going to be some level of prescience on behalf of the reader, but if everything is too blatantly spelled out there is no mystery to the Mystery and the characters in the book end up feeling stupid because they don't see what's so obviously going on.
Were you totally unable to understand the identity of the killer even after the reveal or do you not understand any of the plot twists even after they've happened? Does the whole thing only make sense because the author says at the end that it makes sense? There's generally bad writing involved. Every Z needs an A. Everything that happens has to have some sort of reason and logic. The point of a mystery may be to confuse and misdirect, but if there is no trail to follow and no conclusions to be drawn, then it just feels as if the writer is throwing words at the wall and seeing what sticks.
Personally, I don't find bad writing to be anything too specific. It's more about the general feel of the piece. Dialogue, plotting, etc. can all be aspects of bad writing but I wouldn't necessarily say that any one is a make or break factor.
Gah, so many quotes. Could you give a bit more detail? How exactly do you mean that the dialogue doesn't feel realistic? Do you mean in terms of setting or other factors?
I love you.
That's what I meant, humour where it is not intended. Something like Twilight or 50 Shades of Grey.
It can be all of those things you listed, and it can be none of those things. Writing is an art, and the only way to get better at it is to practice. Here are two examples of poorly written and why I believe they are so:
1) In Killzone 3--or was it 2?--there's a level where you are suddenly driving a tank through the snow. In the previous level, you were on foot with no hint of the tank. Many people complained about the magical appearing tank, myself included. One person on here pointed out rather rudely that there are tanks in the background of the previous level. Okay, but it's still a poorly written transition. Mainly because there was no transition. All it would have taken would have been a few extra words. As the characters are running off, have one of them stop and look at the tank. "Hey, wait. I've got an idea." Done. If there are no transitions, even if the information/reasoning seems obvious to you (ESPECIALLY if it seems obvious to you since it's in your head), then you're going to get a lot of people telling you that you don't know how to write. You don't need to go into painful detail explaining everything, but you also can't assume that the reader knows everything you do. It's a balance.
2) Anakin Skywalker (and Mace Windu sort of). Oh, essays have been written on this character, but I will keep it down to one part. In Revenge of the Sith, Anakin rushes to Mace Windu's side. Mace has beaten the Soon-to-be-Emperor and says, "You are under arrest." Good, that's how a Jedi should act if they have completely defeated an opponent. Palpatine unleashes his last trick, which Mace easily blocks. This man is defeated. But suddenly, for no reason, Mace switches to executioner. "He's too dangerous to leave alive!" Wait, ten seconds ago you were going to arrest him? What happened? Bad character flip-flop right there. But it pales in comparison to what happens next.
You need to realize that a story has a life to it. You can guide it, give it a gentle push here or a slight redirect there, but when you start changing it to do what you want at the cost of the story and characters in it, you're murdering your story. Like I said, it's an art and it's going to take some practice. You also have to be ready to be told that your story sucks, and you suck, repeatedly (and yes, in those exact words if not worse). You'll need a tough skin.
Finally, learn how grammar works and learn how to spell. Screwing up the basics will make even the best story fall apart because no one will take it seriously.
And have fun with it. :-)
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This article or section needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of article quality.
- "Lost and forgotten be, darker than the darkness,
Where gates stand forever shut, till the World is mended"
- ― Tom Bombadil, Fog on the Barrow-downs
The Outer Void, or the Timeless Void, was a term used in various ways.
Cosmologically, it describes the uninhabited regions of (non)existence outside Time and Creation, the absence of the Flame Imperishable.
Melkor used to wander in the Void to look in vain for the Flame Imperishable.
The Timeless Halls of Ilúvatar seem to be apart from the Void; Eä is created amidst the Void but is not a part of it.
After his defeat in the War of Wrath, Melkor was cast out into the Timeless Void "through the Door of Night beyond the Walls of the World", but legends predict that he will return to the World before its end. The Void thus in that context refers to the vast distant empty spaces of Eä. This was often confused by Elves and Men with the Void that existed before the creation of Eä.[1]
Sauron's spirit also entered the Void after The One Ring was destroyed.[2]
It is also possible Gandalf's spirit entered the Void after his battle with the Balrog in Moria, as he "passed out of thought and time."[3]
The Void was also known as the Outer Dark (or the Outer Darkness), the Everlasting Dark, the Ancient Darkness. Qenya names were Avakúma, Oiakúma[4], and Kúma.[5][6]
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), Morgoth's Ring, "Part Five. Myths Transformed", "[Text] VII"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Silmarillion, "Valaquenta: Of the Enemies"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Two Towers, "The White Rider"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, "Addenda and Corrigenda to the Etymologies — Part Two" (edited by Carl F. Hostetter and Patrick H. Wynne), in Vinyar Tengwar, Number 46, July 2004, p. 8
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The History of Middle-earth Index, p. 31
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Lost Road and Other Writings, "Part Three: The Etymologies", p. 379
|Middle-earth Cosmology
|Anarríma · Durin's Crown · Menelmacar · Remmirath · Soronúmë · Telumendil · Valacirca · Wilwarin
|Alcarinquë · Borgil · Carnil · Elemmírë · Helluin · Luinil · Lumbar · Morwinyon · Nénar · Star of Eärendil · Til
|The Airs
|Aiwenórë · Fanyamar · Ilmen · Menel · Vaiya · Veil of Arda · Vista
|Arien · Moon (Isil, Ithil, Rána) · Sun (Anar, Anor, Vása) · Tilion
|See Also
|Abyss · Arda · Circles of the World · Eä · Timeless Halls · Two Lamps · Two Trees · Void


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Ford says it wants to give the electric version of the 2012 Focus a unique sound, and has posted four possible choices to the intertubes — from faux internal combustion to what could be a toilet flushing on the starship Enterprise.
The four choices are available above, and in this critic's ear, the fake engine noise actually sounds the most attractive. But it does point out a conundrum: Who are these sounds for, anyway? If you're buying an expensive electric car, its silence is one of its selling points. If you're worried about walking into one, you want a sound that's recognizable rather than something resembling a herd of stampeding Roombas. And federal regulators aren't keen to let people customize their own sounds just yet.
If this is really the wave of the future, why not bring back something with a little more oomph.


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by Barbara Sherf
Chestnut Hill resident Pam Learned, who is caring for her husband with ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease), now knows that to care for him she must care for herself.
Learned took away that lesson a year ago during a three-day, two-night retreat given by Nancy's House, a non-profit organization in nearby Wyncote that offers caregivers a place to take care of themselves, connect with other caregivers and "just be" without worrying about caring for a loved one.
"I had been caregiving full-time for two and a half years without a break. Through Nancy's House I learned to take time for myself and to relax and breath throughout the day," said Learned, who now keeps in touch with others who had been to the retreat via e-mail. "Even though we don't meet in person, these women help me stay connected."
Elissa Lewin, founder and president of Nancy's House, loves all aspects of her role — with one exception. "The hardest part of my job and the part I hate is telling a caregiver that I have to put them on a waiting list. We can only run the respite retreats as I have money for them," said Lewin, who came up with the concept for Nancy's House following her own experience while caring for her father-in-law for five years. He had suffered from diabetes, Parkinson's, heart failure "and just enough dementia to make life interesting.
"It really wasn't until the day after he died that I realized I hadn't been sleeping well for five years. I had a conversation about this with my massage therapist, Nancy Brown, and that's when the seed for Nancy's House was planted."
The eight-year-old organization is based out of her Wyncote home, although she has barely been there lately since November is National Caregivers Awareness Month.
"We are always on a fundraising campaign. Our first grant was from the Greentree Foundation. We've also received grants from the Tackle ALS Foundation, and recently we were awarded a $10,000 grant from the Phillies Charities. However, individual fundraising is just as important in terms of raising awareness about what we do," she noted while manning a table during a recent fundraiser at Ten Thousand Villages in Chestnut Hill.
As a licensed psychologist, Lewin facilitates sessions in which eight caregivers are given the luxury of sleeping through the night for two straight nights, yoga and meditation classes during the day and three healthy meals a day. Each retreat costs approximately $7,500 to run, and the past several have been held at the ACE Conference Center in Lafayette Hill.
"The front desk staff greet us with hugs. I think they do so much corporate work that it makes them feel that this is something worthwhile."
With a dozen retreats under her belt, Lewin is recognizing a pattern among the participants in the sessions. "There is a lot of crying the first night and a lot of laughing the second night. Caregivers need to let go that first night and get a good night's sleep if they can, and many can't do it that first night. On the second day they find their joy and find themselves again, and they usually sleep well the second night," Lewin added.
Germantown resident Peter Solomon, Nancy's House Board president, was on hand at the Ten Thousand Villages fundraiser, which he organized along with another event earlier in the month at the Trolley Car Diner in Mt. Airy. Solomon, who did some caregiving for his late mother and aunt, was introduced to the organization through his role hosting a public affairs program on Sunday mornings on WIP 610 AM.
Board members Colin Robinson and Jim Vokoun, who have seen a number of their friends take care of partners with AIDS, embraced the concept of Nancy's House from the moment they heard about it.
"In our own experience when Colin was a caregiver for me, something like Nancy's House would have given him the tools to cope, and it would have been something to look forward to in terms of getting away," said Vokoun, who underwent cancer treatments from 2008-2010.
Chestnut Hill resident Stewart Graham is on Nancy's House advisory board due to his firsthand experience as a caregiver for his mother for a decade before she passed away.
"The last year was the most difficult, and I know I would have benefited from an organization like Nancy's House. While I had a lot of help from family and friends, I was the primary caregiver coordinating her care, and I would have benefited from some of the stress reduction techniques," said Graham, who was instrumental in getting a City Council proclamation passed in November recognizing Nancy's House for its efforts during National Caregivers Awareness Month.
"I'm happy to be able to shine a light on an issue that will only grow in the coming decade. It's nice to know there are places like Nancy's House that are there to help," said Graham.
Two area fundraisers will be held next week for Nancy's House: Tuesday, Dec. 4, 5 to 7:30 p.m., at Dovetail Artisans, 105 East Glenside Ave., Glenside (215-887-2220) and Friday, Dec. 7, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., at the 6th Annual Nancy's House Fine Art and Craft Sale at The Pavilion, 261 Old York Rd. in Jenkintown.
If you know a caregiver, offer to run an errand, make a meal or sit with his/her ill family member. For more information, visit www.nancys-house.org.
Barbara Sherf is a frequent contributor to the Local and a caregiver. She can be reached at email@example.com or 215-233-8022.


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Occupy's Pledge to FIGHT BACK
We Didn't Start the Class War
Josh Carmona pledged on to fight back against the 1% by doing the following:
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- Attend at least one meeting with their local Occupy group.
- Donate what they make in one hour to an Occupy-related project.
- Never go to work during a general strike.
- Help organize their co-workers to make demands.
- Start an affinity group to occupy something.
3873 others also signed the pledge. Will you pledge to fight back too? Click Here


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Unsealed Megaupload Seizure Warrants Reveal Use Of Flawed Logic... And An 'Undercover Computer'
from the did-it-wear-a-mustache deptLast month, we wrote about how the EFF, representing Kyle Goodwin, had asked the US district court handling the Megaupload case to unseal the warrants for the seizures of Megauploads domains and servers. The court has now ordered the documents unsealed. To be honest, there isn't too much surprising in them. There are some huge leaps to assume that hosting a cloud service somehow makes you criminally liable for what people do on that service. In fact, part of it ridiculously argues that the "proof" of criminality is the fact that the DOJ had alerted Megaupload to some infringing files, and those files had not been taken down. However, as Megaupload's lawyer points out, the "alert" was in the form of asking for cooperation, which Megaupload granted, and not to "interfere" in the investigation. Taking down the videos would be interfering. Megaupload's lawyer, Ira Rothken explained to CNET:
"MegaUpload was served with a criminal search warrant for alleged third-party user conduct and was advised not to interfere with that criminal investigation or with the files -- as such disclosure, would jeopardize the ongoing investigation. To ask MegaUpload to cooperate and then use that cooperation against them, to us seems to be both unfair and misleading."Most of the argument in the warrants is just repeating the already questionable claims in the indictment -- which is what you'd expect. They're also not all that different from previous domain seizure requests -- with a few notable exceptions. First, you'll notice that the special agent who conducted the investigation has all personal information redacted. Apparently the Justice Department would prefer that its agent not receive the ridicule that the agent who made myriad mistakes in earlier domain seizures received.
But what was really amusing was the description of the investigation, which apparently involved an "undercover computer."
Using an undercover computer, [redacted] observed how a visitor may view content hosted on Megaupload.com. For example, on November 20, 2011, [redacted] observed the copyrighted picture "Zack and Miri Make a Porno," which was released in 2008 by The Weinstein Company, on the website Megavideo.com.I'm still trying to figure out just what an "undercover computer" is -- and where I can buy one. Also, seems kind of random to choose Zack and Miri as the sample file to download -- especially given the director/writer of that particular movie, Kevin Smith, has talked extensively about how he believes "piracy" actually helps him gain more fans. Yes, the film's copyright is held by The Weinstein Company -- whose owners appear to have a slightly less enlightened view of infringement -- but it still seems like an odd choice.
In addition to those oddities, there are some other claims within the filings that don't make much sense. They make the argument that seizure is necessary with claims that are, simply speaking, not true:
Neither a restraining order nor an injunction is sufficient to guarantee the availability of the Subject Domain Names for forfeiture. By seizing the Subject Domain Names and redirecting them to another website, the United States will prevent supporters of the Mega Conspiracy or third parties from redirecting the Subject Domain Names to servers elsewhere in the world, and thus using them to commit additional crimes. Furthermore, seizure of the Subject Domain Names will prevent visitors from continuing to access the websites located at the Subject Domain Names.To put it simply: that makes no sense. Either a restraining order or an injunction would, in fact, prevent those other things from happening. Yes, Megaupload could have ignored the two, but then it would face additional charges for ignoring the court. Given that Megaupload had repeatedly engaged in various lawsuits against it in the US before, there was simply no evidence that Megaupload would directly ignore the court and, as such, face additional charges.
Finally, the documents also show the DOJ's request for these documents to be sealed. You can understand why they wanted the warrants sealed prior to the takedowns and arrests happening. But those all took place within a week of the seizures being approved by the judge. There was no reason to keep them under seal. Yet the DOJ claims that it "has considered alternatives less drastic than sealing, including, for example, the possibility of redactions, and has determined that none would suffice to protect this investigation." That is, of course, empirically and definitively false because we've now seen the unsealed and redacted document and they do nothing to endanger the investigation (other than, perhaps, revealing the weaknesses of the DOJ's arguments).
Filed Under: copyright, criminal copyright, forefeiture, investigations, seizure
Companies: megaupload


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Nicole has taught for taught for 6 years in the public schools. Enriching her students lives through the study of General Science, Geophysical Science, Biology, and Physics has given her an understanding of common pitfalls that students face and how best to handle them. She is also an adjunct instructor at a local University in their Science Department.
Through the use of hands-on teaching and brain-based learning, students are able to come to their own understanding of the material. Nicole also believes that the Internet is a powerful tool and that web-based simulations can be invaluable in assisting students in their understanding. Nicole has also worked to provide a vast array of science video questions. Having students take notes during a video increases their retention from the video and gives them something to take home and study. Through creating fill-in-the-blank video note guides, students can get comprehensive notes to take home while having enough time to both appreciate the video and get the notes.
State of Michigan Certified for state objective content in grades 7-12 in Biology, Chemistry, and Physics Presenter � Professional Development Days at West Bloomfield High School (Topics: �New Teacher Strategies� and �Increasing Parent and Student Communication Through the Use of E-mail�) Coach of Science Research Club at West Bloomfield High School, with students selected to compete at Intel International Science and Engineering Fair for two consecutive years (2004 and 2005). Presenter � Michigan Science Teacher�s Association, March 15th 2003 (�Using Simulations to Enhance Understanding of Basic Chemistry Concepts�) Head Coach of West Bloomfield High School�s Science Olympiad Team with teams competing at state-level competition for the first time in school history for two consecutive years (2004 and 2005)
BS- Michigan State University in Interdisciplinary Biological Science Chemistry and Physics minors MA- Michigan State University in Curriculum and Teaching
Please consider talking to your media and technology specialists about the possibility of installing Shockwave and Flash Media Player on your school computers. They open up a wide array of educational opportunities for your students. Also, have you checked your public library for videos? Most public library's have a selection of videos (like Bill Nye) and would be happy to loan them to you.
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Kleiner Perkins partner John Doerr has quietly joined the board of Flipboard, the maker of a mobile news-reading app.
Doerr is the best-known investor at Kleiner Perkins—and indeed, likely still the most famous venture capitalist in the world, having backed Amazon, Netscape, and Google in the 1990s, in a prescient bid that this Internet thing might amount to something.
For Doerr, this is a bold step that deeply increases his involvement in and commitment to the company, which had a slow start but is now seeing a dramatic increase in usage following the introduction of smartphone versions of its app, which was initially iPad-only. Doerr recently noted that the company is adding one user a second.
By taking the board seat, as opposed to assigning it to a less experienced partner, he is putting the full weight of his reputation behind Flipboard.
Neither Kleiner nor Flipboard ever announced the board change. But Kleiner updated its website within the last month to indicate that Doerr was the partner overseeing its investment in Flipboard.
Flipboard confirmed that Doerr had joined its board, which also included Flipboard founder and CEO Mike McCue and Index Ventures partner Danny Rimer.
Doerr is no stranger to the company, of course, which has been one of Kleiner's more prominent bets on social and mobile media.
"John has always been interested and around and helpful," says Marci McCue, Flipboard's vice president of marketing. For example, Doerr attended Flipboard's launch in July 2010. (Marci and Mike McCue are married.)
Doerr and Mike McCue have a long professional acquaintance going back two decades. McCue sold a company to Netscape, where Doerr was an investor and board member, and subsequently started an Internet-telephony company, Tellme, also with Doerr and Kleiner's backing.
For months following the departure of Ellen Pao, Kleiner didn't list a partner as involved with Flipboard. Pao was fired for what the firm called "performance issues" after suing the firm for retaliation and gender discrimination.


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Welcome to the CRG Discussion Forum!Forum registration problems: Make sure you enter your email correctly and you check your spam box first. *Then* email KurtS2@gmail for help.Classified ads are not allowed on the forum.
Jerry Titus in his T-G Firebird.Photo by Jerry MeltonNotice that the font of the number 27 is not the same style that was used in Sunday's race.Photo by Jerry MeltonThe '67 Camaro of Wayne Allen from Indianapolis, IN.Photo by Jerry MeltonDon Yenko and Jerry Thompson drove this ex-Smokey Yunick Camaro.Photo by Jerry MeltonPhoto by Jerry Melton


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- This event has passed.
Brain Builders in Lee
September 13, 2018 @ 10:30 am - 11:30 am
|Recurring Event (See all)
An event every week that begins at 10:30 am on Thursday, repeating until May 28, 2020
Read, sing, play, & talk during circle time &continue with fun table time activities, combining:
You lay the foundation for your child's success: Caring adults are the ultimate brain builders. Whenever children are nurtured and engaged in an interactive, enriching environment at home or in the community, that's brain building in progress!
This is a South Berkshire Kids event.Brain Builders at Lee Public Library with Michelle.


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USA Basketball Team Celebrates Gold in Beijing!
Magic center Dwight Howard and the U.S. Men's Basketball team celebrates a championship in the 2008 Olympics.
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NEWS- Minutes bored: School leaders skip the details
The Albemarle County School Board has a string of dubious distinctions for allegedly withholding information: a Freedom of Information Complaint in early 2003, a "Muzzle Award" in 2004.
Now comes a move to shorten the minutes of meetings. No names, no mention of the various arguments– and the move has at-large member Brian Wheeler blasting the change as "a blow to the public's right to open government and transparency in our decision-making process."
Au contraire, says School Board Chair Sue Friedman, who argues that publishing the summarized minutes within two weeks allows the board to be far more responsive to the public than the much lengthier minutes, which can take six months to have typed up.
The time it takes to get minutes published is a long-standing issue, says Friedman, one that has never met the board's requirement that minutes be approved within two weeks of a meeting. When she and three other board members attended a Virginia School Board Association meeting about Robert's Rules of Order, they learned that the bible of meetings calls for a summary of actions, not a summary of what is said.
Wheeler disputes that interpretation, calling the new format, on his SchoolMatters blog, "Robert's Rules run amok." He demonstrates how the new minutes differ from the old. For example, at the September 14 meeting, the board spent 35 minutes discussing the controversial topic of flier distribution. "That would be boiled down to a sentence: 'The board discussed fliers,'" says Wheeler.
Wheeler, who discovered the switch when preparing for the September 28 School Board meeting, is not convinced the new format will save resources. "It also takes work to summarize," he says.
"We're not providing a transcript of the meeting," says Friedman, "but we do have a podcast or, if we're asked, a CD."
"I was an outspoken supporter of podcasts," says Wheeler, "but not to replace minutes."
At the October 12 meeting, the board approved a compromise: the minutes will include discussion of an issue– but not identify who said what.
"The end result is not in the public's best interest," says an out-voted Wheeler, noting that an information-seeking citizen can't keyword or Google a topic, leaving only the time-consuming option of listening to a multi-hour meeting.
Friedman maintains that's a better option than citizens going to the School Board website and not finding current minutes. But others, including a Daily Progress editorial, wonder why the clerk isn't given the help needed to produce the minutes.
"It's hard to get those minutes done, but that's the cost of open government," says former board member Gary Grant. "I'd rather see tax dollars spent on that than lunches or dinners for the School Board. You're supposed to err on the side of providing more information, not less."
While on the board, Grant's "Constituents Report" often irked fellow board members, particularly when he published the names of teachers whose contracts were not renewed. The Virginia Coalition for Open Government noted in its July 2002 newsletter that some members of the Albemarle School Board seemed overly interested in "stopping leaks."
The Board earned its Muzzle award from the Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression "for refusing to acknowledge a mistake" when a sixth-grader was forced to remove his NRA t-shirt, resulting in a $150,000 lawsuit against the county. (The matter drew further criticism when terms of the settlement were sealed, so citizens never learned how much the County's mistake cost the county or its insurance company.)
Friedman says those past incidents did not spur the new policy. As for info-hoarding perceptions, she says, "I think we realize that is opposite of our intent."
Joining Wheeler in opposing the plan was John Stokes. Board member Steve Koleszar abstained.
"We didn't necessarily need verbatim minutes," says Barbara Mouly, who joined Friedman, Diantha McKeel, and Pamela Moynihan in voting for the compromise. "I wanted something thorough enough so the public could tell the issue, the range of viewpoints, and the direction to staff."
Grant says that the provision allowing the clerk to put in details of discussions as long as the speaker isn't identified is "even worse" than a summary. And as for the board members who voted for the change, "They should be ashamed of themselves for taking away this facility for the public they're supposed to represent," he scolds.
"This fits into our commitment to be transparent and open to the community," Friedman repeats.
Brian Wheeler voted against the new policy.
1 comment
Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised (10th ed. Perseus Publishing 2000)
MINUTES TO BE PUBLISHED. When minutes are to be published, they should contain, in addition to the information described above, a list of the speakers on each side of every question, with an abstract or the text of each address, in which case they may be called "proceedings," "transactions," or the like. In such cases the secretary should have an assistant. When it is desired, as in some conventions, to publish the proceedings in full, the secretary's assistant should be a stenographic reporter or recording technician. The presiding officer should then take particular care that everyone to whom he assigns the floor is fully identified. Under these conditions it is usually necessary to require members to use a public address system. Reports of committees should be printed exactly as submitted, the minutes showing what action was taken by the assembly in regard to them; or they can be printed with all additions in italics and parts struck out enclosed in brackets, in which case a note to that effect should precede the report or resolution.
C. Alan Jennings
Professional Registered Parliamentarian
Baton Rouge, Louisiana


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Discover the natural beauty of Thailand at the tranquil and romantic Apsara Beachfront Resort and Villa, Khaolak,
located on a secluded beachfront in Khao Lak, Phang Nga province, just 95 kilometres from Phuket International Airport.
Phang Nga offers a myriad of stunning natural attractions including Phang Nga Bay
with hundreds of islets rising from calm emerald waters and the popular James Bond Island.
Apsara Beachfront Resort and Villa, Khaolak is a nature lovers' hideaway boasting white sands, azure blue Andaman Sea, tropical gardens and picturesque lagoon. Perfect for honeymoons and weddings, the serene resort offers a range of luxury accommodation from rooms and suites to private villas. With a rejuvenating spa, delicious dining venues and superior leisure facilities and services, guests will find all they need for a wonderfully relaxing holiday.
Resort Zone
The contemporary Thai design beachfront resort offers 195 guest rooms and suites in low rise buildings surrounded by flourishing gardens and lagoon. The spacious accommodation is decorated in modern tropical style and includes four different room types with something for everyone from singles, romantic couples and families.
Villa Zone
For ultimate privacy and great comfort choose one of the 60 pool or jacuzzi villas at Apsara Khaolak, situated just metres away from the warm clear waters of the Andaman Sea. The contemporary villas are tastefully decorated with soothing tones and feature pleasant outdoor living spaces and amenities.
Superior Room
42 sq.m.The 42sqm superior rooms are located in three-storey buildings overlooking the tropical gardens or swimming pool. The 93 rooms feature a private balcony, king-size or twin beds and a spacious bathroom with rain-head shower.
Deluxe Room
47 sq.m.There are 79 deluxe rooms sized 47sqm including a spacious balcony to enjoy the garden view. The delightful bathroom has a bathtub and a complimentary range of bathroom products
Pool Access
53 sq.m.Take a refreshing dip in the resort pool from the comfort of your accommodation when staying at one of the 19 ground floor pool access rooms. The 53sqm room features a spacious private terrace that leads directly to the free form swimming pool.
Jacuzzi Villa
120 sq.m.The 20 Jacuzzi villas are 120sqm and feature a separate living area with full width sliding glass doors allowing easy access to the tropical garden and dining area. There is one bedroom and a sofa-bed in the lounge for additional guests. The stylish bathroom has a separate shower, outdoor bathtub and walk-in wardrobe. The villa has full amenities and facilities including two flat screen TVs and a DVD player.
Pool Villa
180 sq.m.There are 40 well-appointed private pool villas at Apsara Beachfront Resort and Villa, Khaolak with 180 sqm of living space. The pool villas have simply interiors with fresh tropical décor featuring a romantic master bedroom and living room with convertible sofa bed, both complete with flat screen TVs. Other facilities include a walk-in closet, separate shower and outdoor bathtub. The exterior is ideal for outdoor living with a 4x6 metre swimming pool including a Jacuzzi seat and pavilion for dining and lounging in the shade.
The restaurants at Apsara Beachfront Resort and Villa, Khaolak will excite your taste-buds with authentic
Thai cuisine and international dishes with an innovative menu that includes the best of the east and west.
Enjoy the breakfast buffet with delicious fresh bread from the homemade bakery and savour the succulent seafood in our beautiful beachfront restaurant.
Kinnaree Restaurant
This restaurant has air-conditioned interiors and terrace seating options, and features large windows to enjoy the pleasant views of the swimming pool and gardens.
Open from 06.30 to 22.00 hrs. each morning begins with a generous breakfast buffet and moves on to international buffet lunch and dinner in high season, a-la-carte or set menu in green season.
Napalai Restaurant
Villa guests will find the Napalai Restaurant conveniently located next to the swimming pool with uninterrupted views of the tranquil beachfront.
The modern minimalist style venue is open from 06.30 to 22.00 hrs. and has indoor and outdoor seating serving an exciting menu of fusion and Thai cuisine.
Zeus Beach Bar
This breezy beach bar is simply barefoot restaurant and is located right on the beachfront making it a casual venue for lunch or dinner.
Open from 11.00 to 23.00 hrs. ideal for fresh seafood barbecues, pizza and cocktails at sunset. The a la carte menu offers a range of tantalising international dishes to suit the tropical climate.
Horizon Bar
Situated alongside the Napalai Restaurant, the sophisticated Horizon Bar has a comprehensive menu of wines, champagne and cocktails, a place where guests can unwind and enjoy the sunset views over Pakarang Beach.
Apsara Beachfront Resort and Villa offers quality facilities and services for leisure, pleasure and business.
The serene setting has over 150 metres of charming beachfront and a spacious lawn for guests to unwind on a lounger as the waves lap ashore just steps away.
The landscaped gardens add an exotic ambiance to the resort which offers convenient facilities for both resort and villa guests.
Gym & Game Room:
Open from 06:00 a.m. - 10:00 p.m., with weight training equipment, treadmill, stepping and exercise bike are available.
Swimming Pool:
Open from 08:00 a.m. – 07:00 p.m. There are two outdoor swimming pools; the main pool is located right on the oceanfront of Khao Lak with Children's pool, water slide and bubble seats.
The Apsaras Spa:
Open from 10:00 a.m. - 07:00 p.m., is located next to the lagoon surrounded by lush gardens, featuring 6 treatment rooms, steam rooms, 3 outdoor pavilions for Thai massage with lagoon and ocean view.
Kids Room:
Open from 10:00 a.m. – 07:00 p.m., spacious air conditioning kid's room, offers baby sitting services (on request), Kid's VDO, toys, comic books and games for kids.
Library and DVD Library:
Open from 07:00 AM - 11:00 PM, wide range of books, magazine, movies are available for our guest.
Internet Corner:
Open from 07:00 AM - 11:00 PM, five sets of PC are available for our guest.
|Swimming Pool
|The Apsaras Spa
|Beach Volleyball
|Beach chair
|Blue Water clear
|Cooking Class
|Cycling in The Rubber
Located on Pakarang Beach, our hotel is next to Khao-Lak, in Phang Nga, Thailand.


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Education is the most important function of state government. While there are some exciting and wonderful things going on in education North Carolina�s outcomes are far from what we want and need. A closer look might explain part of the problem.
We have three separate school systems in our state: k-12, community colleges and public universities, each with its own mission and with different and unwieldy governance structures that are not designed to work well together.
Our university system consists of 16 constituent universities, each with its own chancellor and politically appointed board. While they report and are accountable to the UNC system there are ongoing conflicts and competition among the schools, with the system itself and top leadership. The UNC system has a 32-member Board of Governors appointed by the General Assembly, not because of any education expertise but because of their political connections. The Board of Governors hires the UNC System President and establishes policy. More confusing, everybody directly and indirectly reports to the 170-member General Assembly. History records our lawmakers have picked winners and losers among campuses and are susceptible to powerful alumni and institutions with special favors like ACC basketball tournament tickets.
Our 58 Community Colleges aren�t designed better. There is a 21 member statewide board, half of which are selected by the Governor, with four by the House and four by the Senate. They hire a President but the state board and administration have, by design, less authority over individual colleges. Greater autonomy is given local presidents and their local boards of 13 members, four appointed by the local board of education, four by the county commissioners and four by the governor. Again, lawmakers hold the purse strings.
Then we have k-12 public schools. We elect the State Superintendent of Public Instruction but that person is not totally in charge. There is the appointed State Board of Education that sets policy, with 11 members chosen by the Governor. Each of the 115 school districts in the state has an elected school board and they appoint a superintendent. And every governor and most legislators fancies themselves education proponents, tinkering with policy, funding and operations. Lawmakers still hold the purse strings.
It would seem sensible that k-12 should be our highest education priority, with community colleges perhaps second and universities third, but until most recently our universities have gotten the most preferential treatment.
Our goal might be to have a seamless education experience but so long as we have the current confusing governance system coupled with so much political interference and competition for funding it is never going to happen.
If you started with a clean slate to design a world-class state education system you would likely want one person, an �Education Czar,� in charge to establish rigorous, clear standards and outcomes. This world-class educator would have regents for the three entities reporting directly to him or her. A board, either elected or appointed, would hold them all accountable and responsible. Somehow you would want to remove politics, with the legislature providing funding only.
While that scenario isn�t likely to happen it is time to give honest consideration to designing a better system. Education is too important not to do our best.
Tom Campbell is former assistant North Carolina State Treasurer and is creator/host of NC SPIN, a weekly statewide television discussion of NC issues airing Sundays at 9:30 am on Time Warner Cable Channel 9, Channel 19, and Channel 15. Contact him at www.ncspin.com.


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Time discussion
Proposal: Wednesday, 6-8pm
ML starts at 8pm. Our thinking was that 6-8 we can have talks and monopolize the long table downstairs. Any games going past 8 could be displaced to upstairs etc. as ML takes over.
I'm open to other time suggestions, but we ruled out Monday, which already has PyClass and Circuit Hacking, and Friday is both Mandarin Corner and, later, generally Going Out time. --skory
That's a good time for me. Are we meeting today? EmbeddedLinuxGuy 14:55, 18 March 2009 (PDT)
Wednesdays are usually bad for me
But I have a paper 9x9 learning board I could bring.


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The Hook - Charlottesville's weekly newspaper, news magazine
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Kay Peaslee
Observer founder Kay Peaslee has died
Published on
Jan 14th, 2012
1 comments
Less than two years after moving to Indianapolis, Kay Peaslee, the founder of the Charlottesville-Albemarle Observer, a weekly paper whose muckraking set a standard for 1980s and 1990s...
Oh, Kay! Liberal activist, editor Peaslee leaving Charlottesville
Published on
Mar 2nd, 2010
35 comments
Kay Peaslee is moving to Indianapolis and will take along her cat Yang Guifei– named for the most famous concubine of the Tang Dynasty. PHOTO BY COURTENEY STUART She covered news as the...
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The International Network for Environmental Compliance and Enforcement (INECE) Seaport Environmental Security Network (SESN) hosted its Third Workshop on Combating the Illegal Trade in Hazardous Wastes Through Seaports with co-sponsorship from the United Nations Environment Programme Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific. The workshop was held in Bangkok, Thailand on 19-20 January 2012.
The INECE SESN Workshop was attended by 38 participants from customs and environmental authorities from 10 countries in the Asia region, as well as from several international organizations. Representatives from countries in North America, Europe and Africa also attended. The complete list of participating country representatives includes: Australia, Brunei, Cambodia, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Pakistan, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, the United States and Vietnam. Additionally, officials from the Basel Convention Regional Center, AECEN, UNEP Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, IMPEL and the World Customs Organization attended the workshop.
The workshop consisted of plenary presentations and small group break-out sessions for training. The workshop was conducted in an interactive setting with opportunities for questions, discussion and networking. Participants also went on a site visit to Laem Chabang Port where officials from the Port Authority who provided an overview of port characteristics and activities, and Customs, who explained their process for targeting and inspecting shipments for hazardous waste. Customs officials also presented several case study examples of seized shipments of illegal hazardous waste. At the port, participants had the opportunity to observe the port's x-ray technology and to interact with customs officials to learn more about their targeting criteria and screening techniques. Following the visit to the port, participants enjoyed lunch together and wrap-up discussion.
The workshop produced several important outcomes, including a call for greater communication and more intense collaboration among the various national agencies responsible for environmental enforcement at seaports. It was noted that extending this communication and collaboration within the Asian region, as well as internationally, would be beneficial. Capacity building activities, especially in the areas of waste takeback, inspection methods, safety and risk/threat assessments, were identified as needs for the Asian region. Issues of particular interest included the export/import of electronic waste, the various definitions of hazardous waste and the need for effective regulations. Regular meetings within an active network were identified as necessary to improve communication, collaboration, and capacity building among Asian nations. It was noted that synergistic alliances between the BCRCs, UNEP ROAP, IMPEL, INECE SESN, AECEN, WCO and other organizations working in the region should be an important component of network development. INECE SESN and WCO will cooperate in the sharing of tools, such as the new INECE SESN Waste Takeback Guidance Manual.
The workshop was an important training opportunity for officials from countries that are participating in the Second INECE SESN International Hazardous Waste Inspection Project at Seaports. As with the first project, each participating country prepares and carries out focused hazardous waste inspections in its own seaports and shares the results with INECE. The Project will provide a means for competent authorities to better evaluate their own capacity for detecting and deterring illegal transboundary movements of hazardous wastes through seaports with the support or tools developed by INECE and international experts. The primary purpose is to build enhanced capacity at ports for more effective inspections of waste shipments through improved multidisciplinary cooperation of officials from environment and customs ministries, police and port officials.