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Anyone see the pictures scalextric posted yesterday of Goff's mg6? looks quite good
Anyone see the pictures scalextric posted yesterday of Goff's mg6? looks quite good
There were also pictures released of the unliveried VW Passat yesterday. Both look
John Cleland - "Jason Plato's a fecking animal"
Has anyone got a link to these pictures?
2016, year of the Goff...
BTCC Predictions Champion 2013 !
They've also released the first pictures of the BTCC Honda Civic too.
John Cleland - "Jason Plato's a fecking animal"
Just a quickie to say that the first two cars; Goff's MG and Priaulx BMW are now out and available to buy from all good Scalextric suppliers.
Got mine direct from Scalextric's website and they turned up on Monday morning, both really good models and I am sure some of the diecast fans would be impressed by the level of detail.
Tordoff's BMW and Plato's VW are due out soon and then the two Honda's just before Christmas.
Any update on when the sets will be released?
2016, year of the Goff...
I see the 2017 btcc range has been released, a set (much cheaper than last years) & new cars
The 2018 cars (i.e. 2017 liveries) have now been previewed and the following will be available later this year;
Andrew Jordan - BMW (should be out February 2018)
Matt Simpson - Honda (should be out January 2018)
Gordon Shedden - Honda (March 2018)
Turkington - BMW (March 2018)
Then later this year we should also see Jake Hill's Team Hard VW CC, which is actually quite a striking livery.
Disappointed no Focus or Levorg as Scalextric made noises about these cars during the later part of 2016, but given the Focus facelift to an RS probably made sense, also Hornby (who own Scalextric) are going through a re-structuring at the moment so new investment is being restricted for the time being.
I'll still be getting all of them, I have all of the 2016 & 2017 releases (including those in the sets) and think they are really good value for the money, but then I love the BTCC and love Scalextric so for me its as good a combination as Star Wars Lego!!


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This week Papertrey Ink is celebrating their 5th anniversary, which is such a great milestone! I didn't get a chance to take part in the day 1 activities, but on today's 5th Anniversary Post there were some digital freebies offered up, and I created two cards with them! Here is my first card:
Corner Rounder: Creative Memories

subset: commoncrawl


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Over the past week, I've been keeping an eye out for what's been happening in Salt Lake City at the NGS Conference, and I have been reading Dick Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter and Randy Seaver's Genea-Musings blogs, as well as Thomas MacEntee's Geneabloggers, the Mormon Times newspaper, and of course, the NGS blog.
A few Canadians (that I know of) have been down to the conference including Alison Hare (she gave two lectures there, and will appear at the upcoming OGS Conference 2010), Ed Zapletal and Rick Cree from Moorshead Magazines, and Louise St. Denis from the National Institute of Genealogical Studies.
As well, Chris McPhail from the British Isles Family History Society of Greater Ottawa (BIFHSGO) was there to pick up first prize in the Anglo-Saxon Connection newsletter category, for their newsletter, Anglo-Celtic Roots. Congratulations to BIFHSGO, and to Chris, as editor!
If I missed any fellow Canadians there, please send me an email, and I will mention you here.
One thing which we can check on at home is the new beta version of the FamilySearch website, FSBeta.FamilySearch.org.
FamilySearch president, Jay Verkler, says that this is the result of the Worldwide Indexing Project, and that they will add about 300-million more names to it.
He said "the flow of names to the Web will continue as The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints seeks to index all of the approximately 3.5-billion names stored on microfilm in the Granite Mountain Records Vault. It will take about 10 years to index all the records, a task previously projected to take more than a century to complete."
I spent this afternoon putting in the names of my genealogy, and although nothing was added to my search, there are million of names left to go, so the BARCLAYs, HALEYs, WEBSTERs, MORTONs and so on will show up somewhere in time, I am sure.


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Bob Woodward: Yes.
Deep Throat: You've done worse than let Haldeman slip away: you've got people feeling sorry for him. I didn't think that was possible. In a conspiracy like this, you build from the outer edges and go step by step. If you shoot too high and miss, everybody feels more secure. You've put the investigation back months.
Bob Woodward: Yes, we know that. And if we're wrong, we're resigning. Were we wrong?
Way to set the bar low, Pennsylvania.
We have never subscribed to - or even understood - the theory that Corbett deliberately stalled the Sandusky investigation for political reasons. What's significant - and tragic - is that the investigation was stalled. That Corbett should get a pass from the public because he didn't intentionally stall it for political reasons is baffling.
That's not to say that the delay in prosecuting Sandusky is entirely unrelated to politics. The report confirmed what we have long alleged: Corbett's obsession with prosecuting members of the legislature, and assembling those indictments before officially launching his gubernatorial campaign, contributed heavily to the delay.
Two of the agents on the Sandusky Task Force didn't begin working on the case until early April of 2011 - two full years after Corbett took over the case - because they had been working "almost exclusively" on Bonusgate-related investigations and prosecutions for the previous several years.


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Understanding how the shape, type, and orientation of wood grain will change with temperature, weather, and age, and designing wooden objects to accommodate and even take advantage of those changes, is a lot of what separates a dabbler in carpentry from a pro. Case in point, this article and series of videos by Ron Walters, hosted on Matthias Wandel's legendary woodgears.ca.
Ron, who is a craftsman of wooden machines, has figured out that, to best withstand environmental changes, the grain in a wooden clock wheel should run in a circle around the circumference, and in radial "spokes" in the middle. Real trees don't grow that way, of course, so if you're really serious about cutting wooden gears that will weather the seasons well, you need to cut them from blanks made up from a bunch of smaller pieces of wood arranged and glued so that the grain pattern, on the whole, is correct.
That, IMHO, is hardcore. Click through below to see how it's done.
Circumferential & Raidal Grain Solid Wood Wheels for the Solaris clock


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This is likely more than you ever wanted to know about working with coconut but it is worth it. Most of our foods require a breaking in program for the cook before anyone gets it right. This suggests that coconut is particularly easy to use with some not so obvious tips you would never think up without someone telling you. Now we know to buy inexpensive bulk shredded coconut and make your own of everything.
We all need to be more adept at working with unfamiliar staples, just to eat better. Coconut milk became one of my staples simply because Thai curry paste became both cheap and easier to work with for excellent results.
And once you begin displacing dairy with coconut, it is hard to quit.
Homemade Coconut Milk, Coconut Cream and Coconut Butter
Coconut is amazing. You can turn it into flour, milk, oil or butter. You can drink the water. You can simply eat the coconut. You can buy it shredded or in cans. Most of us don't think about how simple it is to make things ourselves and so we pay $14 for a jar of coconut butter or $2.50 for a can of coconut milk and resign ourselves to shelling out for it because it's awesome.
My kids have to take milk to school to fulfill some bullshit calcium requirement and since they're dairy free, we've been sending them off with coconut milk. I've tried watering down canned coconut milk but it tastes…canned. I had started buying coconut milk "drink" in tetra paks, but at $2 each, it was getting expensive. Plus, one look at the "vitamins" on the side revealed that all the additives were artificial – even in the Trader Joe's brand. I read a post on The Primal Parent about the damage that those artificial vitamins can do and how to make your own almond milk(which I did, and it was amazing but I can't send the kids off to school with any type of nut product). So, I set off to make my own coconut milk. I simply used shredded coconut instead of nuts and used the same procedure.
The result was the silkiest, smoothest most delicous coconut milk I've ever had. It was fragrant. With a flavor I'd never tasted before. It tasted…fresh. The first batch I made separated in the fridge and had to be brought to room temperature and re-blended in order to drink it so I set about tweaking it. The fat congealed in one big lump and floated to the top. Frequent attempts to shake it back into submission only resulted in the lump getting bigger, much like dairy butter. (In case you're curious, the fat that separated was pure coconut cream — or more correctly, coconut butter, but we tend to think of coconut butter as something else — I'll get to that later. We'll just call it cream for simplicity's sake.) It was richer and smoother than the coconut cream you buy in the store and didn't taste like it had come from China, which is how the stuff I've found tends to taste. It was solid like a block of butter is when you first remove it from the fridge, but when it warmed up it had the consistency of whipping cream.
Coconut butter is like peanut butter — the flesh of the nut with the absolute shit blended out of it. It's not technically "butter" any more than almond butter is butter, but it is beyond amazing. It's also very expensive. Artisana sells a 16-oz jar of Coconut Butter for almost 14 bucks. Sure, it's raw. And organic. So is the stuff you can make at home. I estimate you can make a 16-oz jar of the stuff yourself for less than three dollars, depending on how much you got your coconut for. I bought a jar before I started experimenting so that I would know what it tasted like. It tasted like an orgasm feels. There is no other way to describe it.
So how do you make these things yourself? Well, here are the recipes.
Coconut Butter
You're going to feel like a dimwit when I tell you how easy this one is, but don't. Please. We've become programmed to think that only the all-powerful food industry holds the secret to foods like mayonnaise, peanut butter and pickles, but they are incredibly easy — and way cheaper — to make at home.
Things You'll Need:
· Blender (a high powered blender like a Vitamix work the best but any old blender will do.)
· Shredded Coconut (I use Bob's Red Mill Fine Macaroon Unsweetened Coconut. You can use any brand you want, but make sure it is finely shredded and unsweetened.)
1. Put the shredded coconut in the blender and put on the lid. You'll want to use at least a couple cups of coconut since it reduces and you'll definitely want more than a tablespoon of finished product.
2. Turn on the blender and gradually turn it up to high.
With a Vitamix, you'll have finished coconut butter in about 3 minutes. With a regular blender, it might take as long as 15-20 minutes, but it will eventually turn into butter. Turn off the blender and scrap down the sides if you need to once the butter starts to form. Blend to desired consistency (just taste it to figure out how smooth you want it).
That. Is. It.
Note: Don't add any type of sweetener to your coconut butter. I know it looks like icing, but it isn't. I tried to make "icing" by adding some agave nectar and strangely enough, it dried the coconut butter out. No amount of re-blending gave it back the wonderful consistency it had before I added the agave. It should be fine if you're using the coconut butter in a recipe that also calls for sweetener.
Coconut Milk and Cream
You can use this exact same recipe to make cashew milk, almond milk or any-type-of-nut milk, including a wonderful blend of all your favorites. Just make sure you drain and rinse the nuts and use fresh water in your recipe. With coconut milk, you use the same water that you soak the coconut in. This is the only difference.
Things You'll Need:
· Shredded Coconut
· Blender
· Filtered Water
· Tea towel (I use Flour Sack Towels. Love, love, love them.)
· Clean glass bottle
· Funnel if your bottle has a narrow mouth
· Guar Gum (if you want the cream to stay emulsified in the coconut milk)
· Sugar/Honey (optional)
· Vanilla (optional)
You'll have to experiment with coconut to water ratios to get the consistency that you like but here are some basics that I like:
· Coconut milk to drink: 1 cup coconut, 4 cups water
· Coconut milk to cook with: 2 cups coconut, 4 cups water
1. Soak coconut in filtered water for several hours or overnight. I just do this step right in my blender. Less mess, fewer dishes. Work smarter, not harder. Flip the switch a couple times during the day to mix it all up, if you feel the need.
2. When you're ready, turn the blender on high for 2-3 minutes in a Vitamix, a little longer (say 5 minutes) in a regular blender.
3. Set up your glass bottle, funnel and tea towel.
4. Strain the coconut milk by pouring it slowly into the funnel and squeezing the excess liquid into the bottle. You can discard the leftover pulp or use it for recipes. (It's rather tasteless at this point) Repeat until all the milk is strained.
5. When you've finished straining your coconut milk, you have several options. If you want it unflavored and unsweetened, or you want coconut cream you can go ahead and drink it now or put it in the fridge. Otherwise, you're going to need to return it to the blender. This is what I do.
6. I add 1 tsp of vanilla, 1 tablespoon of regular sugar and 1/4 tsp of guar gum while the blender is on. That way the guar gum doesn't clump. I usually mix the guar gum with the sugar and add them together. It seems to work quite well.
7. When the coconut milk is flavored/sweetened to your taste, pour it back into your glass bottle.
A note on using Guar Gum: The following pictures are of freshly made coconut milk using guar gum. Notice the separation on the left. Even though you've used guar gum, the coconut milk will separate several times. Just give it a little shake to remix it. The guar gum keeps the fat from clumping when you refrigerate it and will eventually keep it emulsified once the temperature has dropped. If you don't use any, you will end up with a clump of coconut cream that will not mix back into the milk unless you bring it to room temperature and reblend it. Using Xanthan Gum makes a product thicker and is not what you want in this case, unless you want to thicken the coconut milk up. I caution against this, though. If you want thicker coconut milk, use more coconut and less water. Xanthan gum gives your finished milk a slimy feel, especially if you use too much. Be careful with the amount of Guar Gum, too. The same thing can happen. A scant 1/4 tsp in 4 cups of water is enough.
8. Your fresh coconut milk will keep in the fridge for 3-4 days. You can also freeze it, but be prepared for some separation when it thaws.
Let me know how it turns out for you! Try making some other nut milks. My favorite is cashew milk. Just make sure you soak the nuts for about 12 hours and dump the water out and rinse before beginning. Nuts contain phytic acid and other anti-nutrients you don't necessarily want to drink.
Save yourself some time:


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Wednesday, September 05, 2007
Onto the Superior Sawtooth 100 (102.5) Mile Trail Run
I had hoped that I would forget my thoughts as I stood on that hill. I hoped that I would forget that I looked at my pace chart and saw that I was right on pace for a finish. I had hoped that I would forget that I just. didn't. feel. like. finishing. that. fucker.
It was too hard. And I was too easy.
I remember it all. Vividly. Move vivid than I care to remember. I am still not ready to put into words what all happened inside of my mind at that moment. Someday I'll be able to talk about it, to write about it, but tonight, I still can not.
Tonight I've packed my drop bags. I've packed a bag for each of the stations. The first station with drop bag access is 4 hours in. I'll carry gels, blocks, beans and gummies. The first aid station is 10 miles out, I can refuel on 'real' food there.
I have 4 big REI waterproof drawstring bags for clothing, shoes, lights, etc. For the other stations I've packed a huge Ziploc baggie with gels, gummies, blocks, beans, socks, foot potion, Advil and Ecaps. I packed a bag with a clean top and bra for the morning, I've never changed clothing during an ultra. I don't know why I always think I may want a change of clothing for the morning.
I've found rides for the boys to football and baseball, run off maps for Steve to get to their games, laid out football and baseball uniforms for practice and games, made meals in advance, bought birthday presents and cards for parties, filled up paint ball tanks and ammo for the tournament. I think we are all set. I can't imagine just being able to leave for a race with the only preparation being getting myself packed!
Tomorrow after bringing the boys to school I have a telephone conference, then I'll head out to beautiful Lutsen and Lake Superior. I'm going to have a blast! Really, all of my friends will be around. I'm rooming with Maria, Bonnie, Les; all of which are running the 100. Also Alicia, who will pace me from mile 77 where I dropped last year, will be staying with me, as well as Lynette who will pace Maria, and Doug, who will shuttle us all to the start and to the pre race activities tomorrow evening.
John and Jason are running the 100, Wynn and Duke are running their first 100's and man, I think one of these dudes is going to win this beast. They are young, strong and FAST. I just hope they don't end up racing each other and pushing too quickly. John, Scott, Nancy and Tom will be volunteering; Pierre, Don, Rick, Maynard will be marking and tearing down. It'll be a crazy, fun reunion of sorts. Oh, and Larry and Colleen will be masters of the event. Now I'm thinking I shouldn't have listed so many friends because of course I'm missing someone.
I'm excited.I'm scared. I have feelings much like two years ago after I decided to run 50 miles instead of trying 100 at FANS. I was filled with anxiety as I prepared for FANS that next year. But I did get retribution. I will here at Superior too.
Then I wonder, why does it matter? Why does a DNF bother me so? Why do I have to go back and finish this?
I don't know. It's just me. I will finish. 37:59:59 and I am happy :)
Run On!
9 comments:
I too have one DNF whose memories invoke regret and a sense of my own weakness. But sometimes in weakness we respond and find out in an even deeper way who we really are - it's all part of the journey, as you know so well! And what a journey it is! I wish you the BEST at this race and am praying for you - and also your mom. I know you WILL do your best. I can't wait to read your report.
- judi ~ said...
Julie, your training and mental preparedness will shine through! Best wishes for a wonderful FINISH!
A friend told me "There are two kinds of ultrarunners. Those who have DNF'd and those who will DNF." (Actually, I think this is a slight variation on a quote by another Portland ultrarunner, substituting in "DNF" for "had a bad day"...but that works too.) We DNF for all kinds of reasons...and each and every one of them is valid for us in that time and place. We pour so much of ourselves into these races, completely committing to them emotionally and physically, that DNFing feels like a shattering blow. But we are bigger than the race. We are more than the race. We pick ourselves up, learn from the experience, and move on....and that is emotionally harder than finishing, in my opinion. You are super strong and super prepared. Have a great race, embracing each challenge as it presents itself, one at a time, and celebrating the beauty of the trail and the amazing ultra community. Have a blast!!
Caroline from Portland
- Olga said...
Caroline said it all. Now get your mind clear and your butt moving'!
Good luck, Jul!
Hi Julie,
I read your blog quite a bit and am wondering about this new "Elite" adventure you are embarking on? What does that entail?
Thanks for being an inspiration.
You will do it this year. Relentless forward progress! Have a great day on trail!
Dear God,
Thank you in advance for Julie's success in this challenging run! Thank you for the power you will give her when she feels weak. Thank you for the support of her friends and family. Thank you for the wonderful, exstatic feeling she will have when she meets her goal this time around! In Jesus name, AMEN!!!
- Rebecca said...
Looking forward to hearing about your run.
I have been thinking of you on and off all day. Hope you are doing well and running strong, I am sure you are. Can't wait to hear from you and no matter the outcome, MANY of us think you are a HUGE winner and hero.


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Goldsboro Milling Company – The Turkey Industry
Every year in the U.S., an estimated 252 million turkeys are slaughtered for human consumption, more than 42.5 million of these birds are raised in North Carolina, making it the nation's second largest turkey producing state (Minnesota is the first). The turkey hatchery where COK's investigator worked for three weeks is owned by Goldsboro Milling Company, a company that recently announced its acquisition of 51% of the shares of Butterball, LLC, the industry's most widely recognized brand name and now the nation's largest producer of turkey products.
Read our report "Animal Suffering in the Turkey Industry" to learn more.


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Friday 25 January
|Physeter (1)
The sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus) is the largest of the toothed whales, with males growing up to 20 metres in length. The sperm whale also has the largest brain of any living animal, and it was a sperm whale that was pitted against Captain Ahab in Herman Melville's classic novel, Moby Dick (2).
Sperm whales have huge square heads, comprising almost a third of the total body length (2) (3); indeed the specific name macrocephalus means large head. Uniquely among cetaceans, the single blowhole is located on the left of the head rather than on the top (3) and so these whales are easily identified at a distance by their low, bushy spout, which is projected forward and slightly to the left (2). Further down the body toward the tail there is usually a large hump on the back, followed by a series of smaller bumps (3). The dark brown to bluish-black skin, which is splotched and scratched, is said to have a texture like that of a plum stone (2) (3). Males tend to be somewhat larger and heavier than females (3), and have larger heads in relation to their body size (6).
The huge heads of sperm whales contain a large cavity, the spermaceti organ, filled with a waxy liquid called spermaceti oil. This wax can be cooled or heated, possibly by water sucked in through the blowhole, and thus shrinks and increases in density (helping the whale sink), or expands and decreases in density (helping the whale rise to the surface) (5). Whalers likened the substance to semen, and this is the origin of the common name of the species (6).
The sperm whale lives in either nursery or bachelor groups. Nursery groups consist of a number of adult females and immature males and females (2) (6). Males leave these groups when they become mature and join bachelor groups, which consist of males of 7 to 27 years of age (6). Older males live in small groups or singly, and visit nursery groups to mate with females during the breeding season (6). Most groups of sperm whales tend to number between 10 and 15 individuals (4).
This magnificent ocean mammal uses echolocation to find its prey in the dark ocean depths (6). When foraging, powerful sound waves are emitted from the large head; these can stun and even kill the squid, octopuses and fish on which it feeds (4). The sperm whale can make deep dives to depths of up to 3,000 metres (almost 2 miles) that can last as long as two hours (2) (6). This is the deepest dive made by any species of mammal (6).
Male sperm whales reach maturity at 10 years of age, but they do not begin to mate until they are around 19 years old and a length of 13 metres. Females become mature at between 7 and 11 years, when they are around 9 metres in length. A single calf is born between July and November after a gestation period of around 16 months. The calf is suckled for up to two years (4). Groups of females protect their young by adopting a defensive 'marguerite formation' in which the calves are placed in the centre of the group surrounded by a circle of females, facing tail outwards (4).
The sperm whale is found in all of the oceans of the world, except the high Arctic (6).
Although primarily an inhabitant of the open ocean in offshore areas, the sperm whale may also occasionally be seen closer to land, providing that the water is deeper than 200 metres (2). It occurs in tropical to sub-polar waters (2).
The sperm whale has a long history of commercial exploitation (1). Large-scale hunting began in 1712 in the North Atlantic, based at Nantucket in America (4). It was not widely hunted for its meat, but for ambergris and spermaceti. Ambergris is a substance that collects around the indigestible beaks of squid in the stomach of the whale, and was highly prized for use as a fixative in the perfume industry. Although artificial alternatives are now available, some perfume makers prefer to use ambergris today. Spermatceti was used in the production of cosmetics and candles (7). The sperm whale still has an economic value today for meat in Japan. Since the 1980s, the International Whaling Commission brought an international moratorium on whaling into force. Despite this measure, Japan continues to hunt sperm whales, and relatively small numbers are taken each year with hand harpoons at Lamalera, Indonesia (1). Further threats include entanglement in fishing gear and collisions with boats (1). Although whaling has, with the exceptions outlined above, largely ceased, the after-effects of such prolonged and intensive hunting are still being felt today. It is thought that the selective hunting of the largest, breeding males will have decreased pregnancy rates, and the loss of the largest females from nursery groups would have decreased the survival of the groups (1).
As a species, the sperm whale is not facing immediate threat, but some populations need to be carefully monitored, and there is need for tight management of any exploitation (1). In the eastern tropical Pacific, recent whaling was extremely intensive, and birth rates at present are very low. The Mediterranean population is particularly susceptible to collisions with ships and entanglement with fishing gear (1).
Learn more about the sperm whale and its conservation:
This information is awaiting authentication by a species expert, and will be updated as soon as possible. If you are able to help please contact:
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© François Gohier / Auscape International
Auscape International
PO Box 1024,
Tel: (+61) 2 4885 2245
Fax: (+61) 2 4885 2715
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Friday 25 January
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Monday 24 September


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Joe Simpson I'M NOT GAY!!!
Rumors be damned ... a frustrated Joe Simpson is telling friends and colleagues the stories that he's switched teams are absurd.
There have been several reports out recently that Joe has told his family he's gay and that's why his marriage fell apart. There are also reports about several guys he's rumored to be dating/hooking up with.
Sources who speak with Joe tell TMZ ... Jessica Simpson's daddy says it ain't so ... that the stories are "ridiculous."
The people we spoke with are split -- some believe him, and some think he's just not ready to come out publicly.
So we gotta ask ...
Source: Tmz


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Earth scientists are trying to get our attention. Well, that's an understatement – they are apoplectic, waving their arms in the windows of the super mall that our culture has become. Yes, we don't notice them because we're shopping, with iPhones glowing in our faces and white wires in our ears.
The King of the Slow Motion Shoppers is Barack Obama. He's doing the tai chi of total hesitation. He puts off the pipeline. He puts it off until after the apocalypse. In so doing, he encourages all citizens to enter the gradualism of shopping where basic change, structural way-of-life change, is impossible. Shoppers are morphed into Obama-like ditherers, lost in a cloud of alternatives, the product, the packaging, competing prices, warranties, credit, resale value, prestige value, sex life value, status value. Shopping forces upon us its false complexity.
In the last year study after study has been published by a world of natural scientists. The IPCC report from the United Nations is the most famous, but there are many others. These groups of conservation biologists, paleontologists, climatologists, – across the spectrum of disciplines within the natural sciences, add up to an unprecedented gathering of scientists around a single issue, which you might call "Life on Earth."
Each of these learned researchers is reporting the mass death on the island of life that they are studying. Each professor's specialty is dying before her eyes. Thousands of scientists are shouting to us from their coral reefs, wetlands, glaciers, cloud forests and mountain streams, from every conceivable eco-system. They all conclude their reports with the same thundering pronouncements, like a secularized Book of Revelation. "Super storms that will overwhelm economies..." "Migrations from the coastal cities and global south..." "Methane levels like the Permia Extinction of 250 million years ago..."
Our response? As the fires, droughts, floods and storms increase, we are less and less interested. At least in the United States, this is what the pollsters tell us. The climate catastrophe isn't a product that is meeting sales projections. Consumers seem to suffer an attention deficit when it comes to self-induced mortality. It doesn't get the best placement in Walmart's aisle.
And yet, it's strange how in this era of the Sixth Great Extinction, the most popular movie is in the saving-the-world genre. Now it's Captain America. All those Marvel films. A super-hero with fantastic powers saves us from a super villain, the film's stand-in for climate change. Maybe this is the problem.
The apocalypse with the five stars on Amazon isn't the real one. The End-Times with 600 special effects engineers catches our eye, and the actual one with the oceans crushing cities – that's just another disaster in the tabloids.
We shop for our super heroes, but we don't believe that we can be that hero ourselves. Heroes don't suffer from gradualism. We do.
Even the threat of a world that will cut short our childrens' lives isn't enough to motivate us. Something about how we are living has taken our fight or flight mechanism and disabled it.
How do we put the move in the movement? There is no Earth Movement without millions of us moving. How can we possibly estimate what it will take? Let's just say: Millions of heroes will have to be pretty damn heroic. We must move to change how we personally live, and simultaneously challenge institutional power. We'll have to help each other repair those fight or flight evolutionary tools. To get our instruction manuals and repair kits, we'll have to leave our computers and malls and walk back toward the eco-systems where the naturalists are stranded. We'll need to learn some old things from scratch.
Each of us will be called upon to be radical in our own way. A fossil fuel extraction site appears in your kitchen window and you up and chain yourself to a bulldozer. People are doing such things, every day, around the world. Local eco-warriors are being murdered at the rate of two a week. The movement is beginning.
Our leader is the Earth itself. You know how not-gradual a tornado can be when it goes shopping in a big box store full of sweatshop-made CO2-emitting tchotchkes? The Earth is our teacher. The Earth will train us to shout like Typhoon Haiyan. We need to move the ground and make people jump. We must to keep the pressure on with the thoroughness of Lake Cameron in Somerset or implacability of the tourist-killing Tasmanian heat.
Where are the super-heroes for the Earth? That's a trick question. They aren't in the past, or on the silver screen. The heroes aren't "over there." They are here. They are you and I. We're here and are we ready? Of course we are, because we want to live. We're ready to launch an Arctic 30 in every ocean, a Chelsea Manning in every regiment, a Sea Shepherd in every whale hunt, a Wangari Maathi in every clear-cut, a Pussy Riot in every church, a Vandana Shiva on every farm.
I can hear Sam Cooke singing "A Change Is Gonna Come!"


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[Letter From The Publisher]
To: Jason Pizer, President
Trinity Real Estate
Dear Mr. Pizer,
This is my fourth "Letter from The Publisher" regarding the plight of unionized employees who work for Trinity owned properties managed by FQM/Alliance.
After my third letter to you, on October 3, Michael Rodriguez, president of Alliance Building (FQM) and Robert Abreu, Executive Vice President met with two of the employees, Melvin Munoz and Antonio Lanzarotta.
In the meeting with Lanzarotta, among other things, Rodriguez discussed with the employee, the e-mail messages that Lanzarotta said he had previously sent outlining problems at the workplace, including retaliation against employees who complained about favoritism, and discrimination; Rodriguez said he had never received these e-mail messages, which Lanzarotta informed him had never bounced back.
Nevertheless, Rodriguez assured Lanzarotta --in fact he gave him his word-- that he would never ever face retaliation. This of course was not honored by FQM/Alliance managers as I outlined in my last letter; Lanzarotta was wrongfully and unlawfully barred from speaking directly with Trinity executives, which is a violation of a National Labor Review Board (NLRB) ruling of March 8th, 20ll. That agreement was signed by Abreu on behalf of FQM/Alliance on February 25, 2011. I am sending a copy to you via snail mail. Lanzarotta also was ordered to vacate his long-time parking spot after his recent meeting with Rodriguez and Abreu.
The parking had been removed back in April with the "excuse" that there was construction in the building and part of this construction was happening in the loading dock. After the meeting, the building foreman Mark Kelly, who had never parked in the loading dock and has been working in the building not even a year was allowed to park his car where Lanzarotta used to park. He even suggested that both he and Kelly could park their cars in that same bay, with one car in front and one in the back and there would even be room to spare. However, he was informed by Christian Gonzalez, the building manager, and by Mark Torello Director of engineering FQM/Trinity, that Gonzalez had an agreement with Kelly permitting him to park on that space.
Lanzarotta finds these developments very hurtful because in their meeting, Rodriguez told Lanzarotta that he too once was a janitor and was "treated like crap" by managers, and that was the reason why he decided to become a manager, in order to protect the little guy. Lanzarotta and Rodriguez also discussed racism at the Trinity-owned building. A former chief engineer, Gary Stankiewicz, who worked for FQM/Building Alliance for over 10 years and had a very close relationship with Vinny Petta (a manager), had created a hostile and oppressive environment, by ordering other employees, including Lanzarotta and a co-worker Melvin Munoz, not to speak or associate with Black employees, including Prince Valcarcel, an immigrant from West Africa.
Munoz believes that this is part of the reason why he was retaliated upon because he rejected this directive. Many Black employees in fact had complained about this immoral and racist directive for years. Stankiewicz even told Munoz that Valcarcel was ordered by Vinny to go and work at another Trinity building, at 100 Avenue of Americas in 2008 as a way to humiliate him. At the Ave of the Americas building, the mechanic/building super Kenneth Goedtel was White; Valcarcel who already had an engineer's license, had to train him on basic repairs. At the same time, Valcarcel whose previous post was at 75 Varick Street, was instructed only to deal with the building's mechanical equipment while Kenny was the only one supposed to speak with and associate with the building manager and tenants.
What's more, Stankiewicz told Munoz's co-worker, Lanzarotta, that Valcarcel would never run a building and that he "looked like a monkey" and that "his face is too black." During their recent meeting, when Lanzarotta told Rodriguez about Stankiewicz, he said had he ever been informed, he would have fired Stankiewicz immediately. Yet, this chief engineer worked there for 10 years until 2008. Employees believe it was no surprise that Valcarcel was discriminated against by his immediate supervisor, Vinny Petta, because of the intolerance promoted by Stankiewicz. (Petta told Lanzarotta that he was very upset with Valcarcel because, in a meeting with John Coleman, then manager on the FQM/Trinity account, Valcarcel had allegedly called Petta a racist).
So, it came as no surprise that on June 22, 2009, after Valcarcel reported his allegations of racism, and illegal betting on the Trinity properties, that Petta showed up with two security guards and ordered Valcarcel to leave. Petta unilaterally and unlawfully dismissed Valcarcel, even though FQM/Alliance later claimed that Trinity had, coincidentally, issued a letter asking for a one-man reduction in force.
Two months after the alleged one-man reduction, an engineer, Bob Lorenc was legally fired. Yet Valcarcel was not recalled to take his place and a new mechanic was hired to fill this position even though a collective bargaining agreement was in place. As soon as Valcarcel's six months recall rights expired another engineer was appointed at the same building where he'd worked, 100 Avenue of the Americas. Additionally, even though it was alleged that Trinity had requested a one-man reduction because the company could not afford Valcarcel's salary, four new employees were hired by the FQM portfolio and four new janitorial positions created.
Valcarcel was never given a copy of the alleged reduction in force letter from Trinity, which was unusual to say the least. He was not given any written reason for his removal by Petta; he also was not given the required one week's notice, and also received no communication from his union 32BJ. Up today, Valcarcel does not have any written explanation as to why he is not being allowed to return to his work place or why he stopped receiving a pay check more than two years ago.
Some employees believe that the culture of racism that he had encouraged and promoted by Stankiewicz has never been addressed directly by management and eradicated. They also brought up the issue of diversity in management and encourage you to look into that with their assistance and documentation. Perhaps this would be an appropriate time for Rodriguez to send a companywide e-mail message to managers and employees, reinforcing management's stated position against retaliation and against racism and any other form of discrimination.
At the meeting with Rodriguez, Lanzarotta outlined the circumstances under which he believed Valcarcel was wrongfully dismissed. Rodriguez expressed surprise that Valcarcel never received any written explanation; never received a week's notice; and never received one months notice from his union. Valcarcel, who has a family to feed, still remains locked out of his workplace, without the benefits or income he should have enjoyed since 2009.
In a separate meeting, Rodriguez discussed with Munoz his repeated requests that FQM/Alliance honor the signed agreement for his back pay. Munoz had been underpaid for two years even though he had an engineer's license. He estimates that he is owed $100,000 since he was underpaid at a lower wage rate for years. Rodriguez had promised that he would look into the matter. The agreement for Munoz's back pay was signed by signed on behalf of FQM/Alliance by Abreu. There was a follow up meeting between Munoz and Abreu and Mark Torello.
Abreu informed Munoz that the agreement was for Munoz to get paid at the engineer's rate starting on January 1, 2009. First; this is an acknowledgment that Munoz had indeed previously been underpaid. More important, however, the agreement clearly states that he would be paid the monies owed to him as you will see by the copy I am forwarding to you Mr. Pizer.
The Black Star News's motto is "speaking truth to empower." This newspaper is dedicated to defending the rights and interests of working people who help keep the wheels of the economy turning.
My office is always open and willing to help in any way as Trinity works to resolve the issues that have been brought to your attention by these dedicated employees who say their sole interest is to create a just work environment for all.
Milton Allimadi
Publisher/Editor in chief
The Black Star News
(212) 481-7745
cc: Michael Rodriguez
Robert Abreu
I think you have "Filtered HTML" turned on here. If you switch to "Full HTML," it will probably...
Black Star News has been producing stellar investigative journalism since 1997, including focusing on police brutality and other abuses targeting marginalized communities. We have broken several major stories. We welcome news tips to firstname.lastname@example.com and email@example.com
We need your advertising support to produce strong journalism, especially during periods of economic instability, so please contact firstname.lastname@example.com for advertising rates and long term packages.
Black Star News has been producing stellar investigative journalism since 1997, including focusing on police brutality and other abuses targeting marginalized communities. We have broken several major stories. We welcome news tips to firstname.lastname@example.com and firstname.lastname@example.com
We need your advertising support to produce strong journalism, especially during periods of economic instability, so please contact firstname.lastname@example.com for advertising rates and long term packages.
All content is copyright Black Star News © 2011. All rights reserved.


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Global Sea Level Likely to Rise as Much as 70 Feet in Future Generations
March 19, 2012 Piscataway, NJ — Even if humankind manages to limit global warming to 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit), Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change recommendation, future generations will likely have to deal with a completely different world.
A world with sea levels 12 to 22 meters (40 to 70 feet) higher than now, according to Professor Kenneth Miller of Rutgers University. His research team published their research results this week in the journal Geology. They reached their conclusion by studying rock and soil cores from the late Pliocene epoch (2.7 million to 3.2 million years ago) taken in Virginia, New Zealand, and Eniwetok Atoll in the north Pacific Ocean. During the late Pliocene epoch the carbon dioxide level in Earth's atmosphere was the same as today's level and atmospheric temperatures were 2 C higher than today.
Published at: Geology
Tag Archives: soil cores
Global Sea Level Likely to Rise as Much as 70 Feet in Future Generations
Posted in Hot News
Tagged climate change, Eniwetok Atoll, Kenneth Miller, New Zealand, rock cores, Rutgers University, sea level change, soil cores, Virginia


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September 12, 2008 at 2pm – San Francisco, CA I am looking to play a few sets today with anyone who is a 4.5-5.5 skill level. I'm a bit rusty, but ever since moving out to SF have been dying to play. Organized by Jeff | Type: a, few, sets
© 2020 Created by Mark / The Mayor. Powered by


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Theyskens' Theory Runway | Fashion Week Fall 2013 Photos
Theyskens' Theory Fall 2013 Runway
Theyskens' Theory Fall 2013 Runway
Olivier Theyskens delivered another minimalist-cool Theyskens' Theory Fall '13 lineup, and with it, came a fresh batch of ultratailored blazers, slouchy knitwear, menswear-inspired trousers, and slick leather accessories. It's a collection meant to be mixed and matched, layered up, and stripped down to its very core pieces — and with that kind of styling versatility, you know this is the stuff no-fail wardrobes are made of. Click inside for our 15 favorite styled Winter looks courtesy of Theyskens' Theory Fall 2013.


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Rockefeller Group Distribution Center
Rockefeller Group Distribution Center obtained LEED Silver certification and provides a definitive standard for the design, construction and operation of a green building. It is the first LEED-certified, Class A, 100% concrete spec industrial/distribution center ever developed in Southern Arizona. One major feature of the building's green design is its 40% performance water use reduction.
Towne Air Freight signed a lease at the property in October 2009, and will consolidate its two existing Tucson locations into 17,711 SF. The facility will provide this particular client a venue to store TSA-certified imported goods until they are inspected and cleared by customs.
Developer: Rockefeller Group Development Corp.
Honorable Mention: Spectrum Ridge, Phase I
Developer: Spectrum Ridge OF, LLC


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Muslims Burn a Christian Alive in Pakistan
By Lee Jay Walker – THE SEOUL TIMES
Tokyo Correspondent
|Christians in Pakistan
In Pakistan it is clear that minorities reside in fear because non-Muslims are deemed to be inferior and the state apparatus is not working when it comes to protecting minorities from Islamic radicals. Therefore, another Christian was killed in barbaric circumstances because Arshad Masih, a Christian, was burnt alive.
Arshad Masih was brutally killed by Muslims because he refused to renounce the Christian faith. He died from burns which covered 80 per cent of his body and it took three agonizing days before he finally passed away from being burnt alive by Muslims.
It is clear that in modern day Pakistan you have elements within the Muslim community who have deep hatred in their hearts and who have little time for diversity or religious pluralism. Instead, some within the Muslim community desire to kill in the name of Islam and to victimize all non-Muslims and minority Muslim followers like the Ahmadiyya.
In 2009 a Muslim mob burnt Christians alive in Pakistan and you had many other cases of severe persecution. The ongoing violence and persecution is relentless and minorities can be killed or victimized on a whim.
Therefore, just like 2009, the same cycle of violence is being directed towards non-Muslims and others like the Ahmadiyya Muslims who face vilification and persecution by the dominant Sunni Muslim community.
Already in 2010 you have had major cases which have been highlighted and this applies to the brutal killing of a 12 year old Christian girl called Shazia Bashir and the burning alive of Arshad Masih.
According to Christian advocacy groups Shazia Bashir was raped and tortured to death and Sohail Johnson from Sharing Life Ministry Pakistan (SLMP) was scathing about the ongoing situation in Pakistan. For Sohail Johnson stated "….that 99 per cent of Christian girls from poor families are hired by wealthy Muslims, and are often physically, psychologically and sexually abused." He continued by stating that "In some cases, their employers marry them off to Muslim servants, and forcibly convert them to Islam."
Sohail Johnson also highlights the institutional system in Pakistan which is betraying citizens who come from non-Muslim backgrounds. He comments that "These vulnerable Christian girls do not have any state protection. We urge the government to ensure protection of these disadvantaged girls."
Therefore, for Christians, Ahmadiyya Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs, and other minorities, it is clear that the government of Pakistan, the legal system, the police, and other vital institutions, are neglecting a significant part of the population.
In modern day Pakistan the growing trend of radical Sunni Islam is on the rise and for minorities they face death and persecution. Radical Sunni Islam is clearly a menace to all in Pakistan who espouse moderation or pluralism.
Yet what is even more alarming is that the brutal murders of Shazia Bashir and Arshad Masih were done by ordinary Muslims and they did not kill them in the name of radical Islam. On the contrary, these normal Muslims in Pakistan deem others to be inferior and this is clearly based on Sharia Islamic teaching and the Hadiths. After all, non-Muslims are not equal according to Islamic Sharia law and the Hadiths, therefore, this hatred and loathing towards minorities is inspired by the very teachings and systems of Islam itself.
Therefore, in modern day Pakistan the threat is multiple and this applies to radical Sunni Islamists, the state apparatus, the legal system, and ordinary Sunni Muslims who commit evil towards minorities because of the notion of supremacy, which is stated in the Hadiths.
I hate to think how many more Christians, Ahmadiyya Muslims, and other minorities, will be killed before real change happens in Pakistan?
Lee Jay Walker


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longer filter life
thanks to improved dewatering results.
Globally there is a strong movement towards sludge treatment in the waste water industry. The main reason is stricter local legislation which forbids sludge discharge into the environment (bodies of water, fields). Therefore, sludge becomes a remarkable cost factor for plant operators. Sludge digestion can offer cost advantages by reducing sludge quantity by around 50% while also providing a valuable energy source – biogas.
To avoid additional costs, it is common practice to reduce the amount of sludge by dewatering and to prepare it for further processes like drying or incineration. But the dewatering must be closely monitored to avoid missing dewatering targets or over-demanding polymer consumption for sludge conditioning. This also holds true for the digestion process of the sludge to produce biogas because the Anaerobic bacteria need stable process conditions.
Improve dewatering results and reduce chemical consumption with a Coriolis mass flowmeter
Optimize digester and power generator control with a unique biogas measurement portfolio for wet and dry gases
Monitor the digester process and ensure stable process conditions with a unique portfolio for wet and dry biogas applications
Polymer solutions for sludge conditioning have to be prepared by dilution on site for sludge treatment. The target is to achieve harmonized polymer concentration to gain good, stable dewatering results and long dewatering cycles. The volume flow measurement of conditioner and diluting water is the standard solution for proper dilution and dosage control. Our highly accurate magmeters with chemical-resistant liners are easy to install and have proven themselves in practice.
Because the achieved polymer concentration can vary, an optimal ratio between polymer and suspended solids in the sludge is not always given. An 'advanced' control possibility is given by a Coriolis mass flowmeter which offers a second output in addition to flow: media density. The measured density of the polymer solution opens the possibility of constant polymer agent dosage to the sludge stream and improves the dewatering results significantly.
Optimized dewatering results also need to control the incoming sludge concentration. A Standard solution often used is a combination of volume flow (magmeter) and an optical sensor for suspended solids in sludge. This combination is efficient and reliable in most cases but optical measuring of the suspended solids can be limited due to very dark sludge. Density measurement using Coriolis is a proven alternative guaranteeing stable and good sludge dewatering.
In the digester process, the bacteria have to be protected against critical process conditions. This means the process control has to guarantee the following:
Constant temperature and nearly neutral pH value
Darkness and absence of oxygen
Harmonized load of the process
Sufficient retention time
Monitoring of biogas production
Biogas flow rate and methane concentration are the first parameters that indicate process disturbances in anaerobic sludge digestion. However, environmental conditions such as large flow dynamics, water-saturated biogas, changing methane concentration and extremely low pressure make measuring these parameters difficult for most devices. Our unique ultrasonic flow devices offer a solution to this challenge.
Striking the balance between legislative obligations and cost efficiency is one of the main challenges in the wastewater industry today. Our industry consultants all over the world are familiar with your local requirements and can make specific recommendations on how to improve your processes. Based on their expertise and and our dedicated instrumentation portfolio they achieved remarkable results together with our customers.
cost savings due to less consumption of conditioner chemicals
employees worldwide
years of experience in measurement instrumentation
Please select your market / region


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|Searching in IUScholarWorks Repository for AFS Gray Literature
Open Folklore is an online open-access portal to an abundance of folklore-related resources. However, to make use of this important tool, one needs to understand that as a portal, Open Folklore houses almost no content itself; rather, when used effectively, it points users toward the places where these multitudes of open-access materials live. If you want to learn how to take advantage of this invaluable (and award-winning) resource, please keep reading.
Below, you'll find instructions for accessing and working
with one of the most requested features of Open Folklore—the teaching resources
bank.The same instructions apply to all material, including all AFS "Gray Literature," that is housed in the IUScholarworks Repository.
1) Go to http://openfolklore.org/.
2) Because teaching resources such as syllabi and lesson plans are generally not intended for publication or distribution outside of the classroom, they fall under the category of "gray literature." So, in the main menu bar, click on "Gray Lit."
3) The "Gray Literature" page offers a thorough explanation of the kinds of materials that are categorized as gray literature, but to get to the teaching resources, one needs to scroll all the way to the bottom of the page. Here, you'll find a bulleted list of "communities" in the IUScholarWorks Repository. Under the bold heading "American Folklore Society," click on the link for the IUScholarWorks Repository.
4) You should now be on the AFS "Community" page in the IUScholarWorks Repository, one of the places where a good deal of AFS-related open-access material lives. Scroll down a bit and you'll see that this "community" is composed of a "sub-community" and several "collections" (disregard the sub-community for the moment). Under "Collections in this community," you'll see a list of resource collections: click on "Folklore Teaching Resources Collection."
5) Once you've arrived at the "Folklore Teaching Resources Collection" page, you might notice that the only content that seems to be available is whatever is under the "Recent Submissions" heading at the bottom of the page. Clicking on one of these recent submissions will take you to a page where you can view more information about the item (its title, author, date created, etc.) and download or view it as a PDF.
6) Unfortunately, the IUScholarWorks Repository won't immediately show you all of the items in a given collection, so if you want to browse more than the five items available under "Recent Submissions," you need to know how to search the collection. In the "Browse" column on the left side of the screen, you'll see a subheading to browse "This Collection" (in this case, teaching resources).
Under that subheading, you'll see options to browse by issue date, author, title, or subject. Clicking on one of these links will lead you to the entire collection, organized according to whichever option you've chosen. For example, I've clicked on "Titles" here:


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New B-1 & B-2 Visitor
B1 & B-2 Visitor Visas
B-Visas (Visitor Visas)
The B visa category is used for citizens of a foreign country who wish to visit the U.S. temporarily for business (B-1), for pleasure/ tourism (B-2), or a combination of both (B-1/B-2). B-1 business visa are allowed for business or professional activities related to their employment or business abroad. The main intent for B-1 visa type is for business purposes. B-1 visitors are not permitted to engage in employment of any kind while in the U.S.
B visitors can remain in the U.S. for up to 6 months. All visitors coming to WKU who will need travel reimbursement must enter the U.S. in B-1 status. Engagement of a B-2 visitor can only be made if the intent of the business purpose was made after the individual had already arrived in the U.S.
Payments to B-1/ B-2 or Visa Waiver participants
In November 1998, Congress passed the American Competitiveness and Workforce Improvement Act of 1998 (ACWIA) granting academic institutions the authority to pay honoraria to visitors in B nonimmigrant status who enter the U.S. to provide usual academic services to the university. B visitors are now permitted to receive honoraria, speaker fees, travel reimbursements and other incidental payments for legitimate academic activities. Please note that all payments for travel, incidental expenses or per diems must meet the requirements set forth in WKU's Travel Reimbursement policy.
It is important to keep in mind that this law does not change any existing tax provisions. B visitors who will receive an honorarium will need to have either a Social Security Number or an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number. Certain other documents are necessary in order for the University to make these payments, and may need to be obtained while the visitor is in the U.S. Additionally, for honorariums there is normally a 30% tax withholding applied unless the guest is eligible for a tax treaty which allows waiver of the 30% withholding requirement.
To determine if the B visitor is eligible for a tax treaty, the individual must meet with the Tax Compliance Accountant and if eligible, complete international tax registration.
The information above is only a brief summary. For more information about requirements for B Visitor VISAS, please contact the International Legal Affairs Specialist.
Further Immigration Information
International Employee Services
Travel Abroad and Reentry on H-1B Status
Department Specific Information
Department Manual for Hiring Foreign Nationals
B-1 & B-2 (Visitor Visa) Information
Useful Links
Some of the links on this page may require additional software to view.


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Welcome to the Atomic Archive. This site explores the complex history surrounding the invention of the atomic bomb - a crucial turning point for all mankind. AJ Software & Multimedia presents this site as an online companion to its latest CD-ROM, Atomic Archive: Enhanced Edition.
The museum, a partnership between the Nevada Test Site Historical Foundation and the Desert Research Institute, is an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution and is located just east of the Las Vegas strip. The goal of the museum is to preserve and foster public accessibility to the history associated with the Nevada Test Site (NTS) and the Nation's nuclear weapons testing program. To learn more, click here.
For more than forty years, the two superpowers, the United States and the Soviet Union directly threatened each other with nuclear weapons. This period of time is referred to as The Cold War. This section explores the major events of this period including; the development of the hydrogen bomb, the nuclear arms race, détente, nuclear proliferation and the nuclear world after the end of the Cold War. To learn more, click here.


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What did digital pioneer Alan Kay mean by, "The Internet was done so well, but the Web, in comparison, is a joke. It was done by amateurs"?
When Kay speaks, programmers listen. But like anyone who puts forward an opinion, he opens himself up to being misinterpreted. That was the case last July in an interview with long-running publication *Dr. Dobb's Journal*. At one point, the inventor of object-oriented programming chimed in:
The Internet was done so well that most people think of it as a natural resource like the Pacific Ocean, rather than something that was man-made. When was the last time a technology with a scale like that was so error-free? The Web, in comparison, is a joke. The Web was done by amateurs.
Stack Exchange user kalaracey can't have been the only programmer confused about the meaning of Kay's quote, but he's the one who asked about it. Several devs answered.
See the original question here.
Read further
Karl Bielefeldt answers (41 votes):
Kay actually elaborates on that very topic on the second page of the interview. It's not the technical shortcomings of the protocol he's lamenting, it's the vision of Web browser designers. As he put it:
You want it to be a mini-operating system, and the people who did the browser mistook it as an application.
He gives some specific examples, like the Wikipedia page on a programming language being unable to execute any example programs in that language and the lack of WYSIWYG editing, even though it was available in desktop applications long before the Web existed. Twenty-three years later, and we're just barely managing to start to work around the limitations imposed by the original Web browser design decisions.
Related: "What is JavaScript, really?"
Kay doesn't get how messy lower-level protocols are
Chris Adams answers (8 votes):
I read this as Kay being unfamiliar enough with the lower level protocols to assume they're significantly cleaner than the higher level Web. The "designed by professionals" era he's talking about still had major problems with security (spoofing is still too easy), reliability, and performance, which is why there's still new work being done tuning everything for high speed or high packet loss links. Go back just a little further and hostnames were resolved by searching a text file which people had to distribute!
Both systems are complex heterogeneous systems and have significant backwards compatibility challenges any time you want to fix a wart. It's easy to spot problems, hard to fix them, and as the array of failed competitors to both shows it's surprisingly hard to design something equivalent without going through the same learning curve.
As a biologist might tell an intelligent design proponent, if you look at one and see genius design, you're not looking closely enough.
There's some truth to the claim
In a sense he was right. The original (pre-spec) versions of HTML, HTTP, and URL were designed by amateurs (not standards people). And there are aspects of the respective designs and the subsequent (original) specs that are (to put it politely) not as good as they could have been. For example:
- HTML did not separate structure/content from presentation, and it has required a series of revisions—and extra specs (CSS)—to remedy this.
- HTTP 1.0 was very inefficient, requiring a fresh TCP connection for each "document" fetched.
- The URL spec was actually an attempt to reverse engineer a specification for a something that was essentially ad hoc and inconsistent. There are still holes in the area of definition of schemes, and the syntax rules for URLs (e.g. what needs to be escaped where) are baroque.
And if there had been more "professional" standards people involved earlier on, many of these "miss-steps" might not have been made. (Of course, we will never know.)
However, the Web has succeeded magnificently despite these things. And all credit should go to the people who made it happen. Whether or not they were "amateurs" at the time, they are definitely not amateurs now.
Find more answers or leave your own at the original post. See more Q&A like this at Programmers, a site for conceptual programming questions at Stack Exchange. And of course, feel free to login and ask your own.


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Darrell Ceciliani, who has been out since June 27 with a strained hamstring, returned as the DH and was 3-for-4 with a strikeout. He's played a whopping 15 games this season in a season essentially lost to his hamstrings. When he's played, he's hit: 18-for-57 (.316/.375/.474). The issue is that he has barely played and will probably have to repeat St. Lucie to begin 2013.
RF Cesar Puello was 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI. In 12 games in August, the 21-year old hit .293/.383/.488 with six extra-base hits (good) and 1 walk against 13 strikeouts (alarming). Again, note that he's playing right, while Alonzo Harris plays center. That's interesting.
C Blake Forsythe was 2-for-3 with a triple and a homer. The double was his 16th and the homer his 8th as part of a .262/.361/.427 line in 80 games. Scouts are still at least a little intrigued by the 23-year old's size and strength.
RHP Erik Goeddel followed up seven shutout innings in his last start with a clunker variety: 4.2 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 4 K. He's now allowed 103 hits in 96 innings while working to a 3.75 ERA in an FSL where the league-average is 3.88.
A: Asheville Tourists 8, @ Savannah Sand Gnats 7
The Gnats had a 5-0 lead after two innings and a 6-5 lead after three but could not hold it in a mess of a game that featured: 15 runs, 30 hits, 37 AB combined with RISP, a disputed inside the park HR call, two Gnats thrown out at home plate in the third inning, and all in a brisk 3 hours and 42 minutes.
Before we get to the game, a pair of minor injury updates.
- CF Gilbert Gomez returned to the lineup for the first time in a week. He had been out with a bruised hand sustained when he took a throw off the palm sliding to break up a double play.
- SS Matt Reynolds, the 2012 second round pick, missed his second straight game with a strained groin. The timing is poor for the 21-year old who had just started to hit: .333/.412/.500 in 16 games in August.
Domingo Tapia: 4 IP, 10 H, 7 R, 5 ER, 0 BB, 5K, 1 HR.
The homerun was the first he had allowed in 102.1 innings this year. It came on an inside-the-parker on a ball that should have been a double pulled on the ground down the leftfield line into the corner. However, the ball lodged itself under the bench in the Asheville bullpen. The rule is that the ball stays in play unless it is stuck. Pron threw up his hands to ask the umps to stop play. 1B ump Mike Patterson did the same. The Asheville runners kept running and both scored. Pron, seeing the runners continue, kept digging under the bench, and eventually found the ball and threw it very late home. The key to the ruling is that the ump put his hands up during the play, to signal dead ball (and double) but that allowed the runners to continue running. It was an awful interpretation of a bad rule.
Anyway, as for the 20-year old Tapia, who gave up a season-high 10 hits. He looked untouchable in the first. He lost a little location in the Tourists five-run third. Many of the balls were hit hard, and a whole bunch of grounders some snuck through the Gnats infield including replacement SS Ismael Tijerina. However, this is what happens when you try to attack a good lineup with fastballs and no breaking ball. As hard as he throws and with his changeup, location can get him through the South Atlantic League.
Someone asked me on Twitter whether, with one start remaining, the Mets should shut Tapia down. Unless he's hurt, the answer is "no." This is part of what development is about: learning to pitch deep into seasons. He threw 56 innings last year, and is up to 102.1 this year with just 85 hits allowed.


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Surprisingly, Nate Robinson is only 20% owned in Yahoo leagues despite averaging 11 points, 2 threes, 4 assists and 2 steals over the past 2 weeks. Nate The Great has been back on the production
chain train (now this next part makes (some) sense), choo-chooing his way to 19 points (3-5 from deep), 5 boards, 6 assists, and 5 steals in 42 minutes last night. His see-saw movement usually happens pretty quickly (2 good games, 2 bad games, 3 good games, a bad game, so on), but I could still see Nate being on the most teams in your league by the end of the season. In 12 teams or deeper, I would certainly add Nate, unless your team is pretty stacked (like mine, cough). With Valentine's Day coming up, don't be afraid to choo-choo-choose Nate.
By the way, that cough was real. I've come down with whatever is plaguing the Hornets. Therefore, today's post is a bit light, but considering that I still put it out there, I think it's safe to say I'm basically a hero, right? No? Hello? Here's some highlights from last night:
Chris Paul – With 19 points, 5 rebounds, 16 assists and 2 steals, he reminded me why I went after him so hard in drafts. Good thing I didn't go after Kevin Love, eh?
Kevin Love – He will miss 8-10 weeks, it was reported yesterday. Sometimes fantasy sports deal you a bad hand, and losing your #1 pick is pretty effin' bad. In deep leagues, you can let him collect dust on your bench, but in shallow leagues, you have to cut bait.
Brandon Jennings – On a scintillating 12 of 24 from the field, BJ slurped up 35 points (5-10 from downtown), 6 rebounds, 6 assists and a steal.
Metta World Peace – φ had 23 points, including 3 of 8 from downtown, plus 8 rebounds and 7 bloody steals in 40 minutes. I think, by now, we've established his season is for real, but I could not pass up highlighting all those takeaways.
Alexey Shved – He reached 18 points (2 threes), 1 rebound, 3 dimes, 2 steals, but also the dreaded 7 turnover mark. I'd still eat him up if he was still available in your league, or if he was made of chocolate.
Larry Sanders – He accumulated 6 points and 7 blocks to go for the "More Blocks Than Points" Award, which is actually a repurposed singing bass plaque. He also had 12 rebounds, an assist and a steal
, while missing 3 of 6 from the free throw line.
Greivis Vasquez – He had 17 points, 2 threes, 4 rebounds and 3 steals, plus the all important 11 assists, just like my other boyfriend, Jose Calderon (14/2/11/1).
Josh Smith – Although bricking on 4 of 5 attempts from downtown, Smith still had 17 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists and 6 blocks. It's safe to say he's a superstar when he can greatly help and hurt you with the same stat line. Kobe Bryant (35/3/7/3/2 plus 5 TO) is impressed. Just kidding, Kobe has never felt a warm emotion towards another human being in his entire life.
Amir Johnson – It was a good night for rebounds, but Amir is the guy I'm going to talk about, given that it's his blurb: 19 points, 12 boards, 5 assists, a steal and a block.
Earl Clark – He had an impressive 22 points, 13 rebounds and 3 assists for the Lakers, as he filled in for the MIA Pau Gasol. Those 22 points are more than he scored combined all season, but he also never saw minutes. The day before, he played 21 minutes and finished with 5/9/3 and a block. He is worth a grab in deep leagues if you're hurting for boards.
Kenneth Faried – Ken produced a double double with 19 points, 19 rebounds, 2 steals and 2 blocks. What, no 20/20? Also, will this performance increase or decrease the amount of questions about Faried?
Jerryd Bayless – He missed all but 1 of his 7 attempts from beyond the perimeter, leaving him with just 5 points to go with 4 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals and a block.
Sacramento Kings – Rumor has it they will be moving to Seattle. I'm too sick to be annoyed by another city move. Okay, that's not true, but I am too sick to write at length about it.


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And will likely come in handy to save Harry Reid's job in DC...
And it's refueled a long simmering controversy over the death of "Old Vegas" and whether a CityCenter-like business model is better for the Nevada gaming industry than the type of business model "one of the boys" would "think up".
Well, we know for sure that "one of the boys" wouldn't think this up!
Or this...
Or this...
Or this...
And especially this!
An environmentally friendly Vegas casino? REALLY??!!
So obviously, there is plenty to talk about CityCenter. And going into 2010, this will still be a major development in the ongoing saga of The Las Vegas Strip.
So first, let me remind you of something I wrote late last month about how quintessentially "Las Vegas" CityCenter really is.
So The Sun has a big story today on City Center's grand opening. Jim Murren's putting on his confident face for the grand occasion. MGM Mirage continues to reassure us that Dubai World's debt crisis won't send Las Vegas' newest attraction crashing to the ground. So City Center starts opening this week and all of Vegas holds its breath.
I really think Jim Murren's heart was in the right place with City Center. Despite what all the critics are saying, it is exactly what Las Vegas needs. Until very recently Las Vegas has lacked an urban center, an artistic edge, and forward-thinking design. But now with City Center, we finally have something to call our own... Not just another carbon copy of yet another world landmark, but a stunning collection of postmodern architecture that we can really call our own.
It just seems like this was cursed with bad timing and bad financing. MGM Mirage has relied on Dubai World to help complete this project, but now Dubai is collapsing on its own debt load. MGM Mirage has also taken on more debt than it could handle in trying to monopolize almost all the west side of The Strip. In many ways, the tale of City Center so far is a reflection of the George W. Bush era of unbridled corporate greed let loose to cannabalize our economy.
I guess in many ways, City Center is a reflection of Jim Murren himself. We see his beautiful artistic side with the whimsical design of the buildings, the public art adorned all over, and the "green" defining this entire project. However we also see Murren's darker corporate side with the construction death scandals, the now hot mess with the Dubai World financing, and the constant reminder that the era of "New Vegas", started 20 years ago when Steve Wynn opened The Mirage and brought the "Wall Street Raiders" to conquer Las Vegas, has come to a brutal end here as we contemplate how to move forward in a "New New Vegas" with a more sustainable, both environmentally sustainable AND economically sustainable, future.
I still hope for success with City Center. We need some success in Las Vegas for a change. I guess I'm now also hoping that this become a wake-up call to all of us that Las Vegas needs to change. "Old Vegas" left the building long ago with its mafia history and Old Hollywood glory, and "New Vegas" didn't quite work out as planned, fueled as it was by unsustainable real estate speculation and "construction begetting construction" that was long doomed to fail. Now the cynics and skeptics that always predict the fall and demise of Las Vegas have somehow always been proven wrong, as we somehow always adapt for survival and undergo a metamorphosis to ultimately thrive. But that's just it, we succeed when we change what's wrong and do what's right.
Las Vegas could have died when the luster of the new railroad wore off, but instead we legalized gambling and made marriage (and divorce) so damned easy that almosr anyone could do it. Las Vegas could have died when World War II ended and the military build-up eased off, but instead The Strip was born and Hollywood glamour transformed our once sleepy outpost in the Mojave Desert into the cutting edge of "cool". Las Vegas could have died when the mob was driven out of town by the feds and the gaming regulators, but instead Howard Hughes ushered in a new era of "corporate casinos" that led Kirk Kerkorian to build bigger and inspired Steve Wynn to build better. Las Vegas could have died with the post-9/11 tourist slump, but instead this town became the "it destination" that's now made us the most visited place on earth.
I really think Las Vegas is at another turning point today. And interestingly enough, City Center may lead us to our future. We will be reminded of Wall Street greed gone wrong, but also inspired by eco-friendly design done right. We will be horrified by the massive corporate debt loads and shady "wheelin-dealin'" enabled by the corporate right and conservative wet dreams of hyper-deregulation, but we will also be awestruck by the moving public art that will encourage us to let our imagination run wild and free.
City Center now embodies Las Vegas. It tells the story of our past, warts and "beauty marks" and liposuctions and facelifts and triple bypass operations and all. It reflects our present, a jarring contrast of celebrity panache and inglorious economic collapse. It shows the way to our future, hopefully one that includes living in concert with Mother Nature and building a stronger community with a sound economy.
So let City Center open and start a new chapter in the great Las Vegas story.
And now, I'll move onto something I wrote this month when I was a little miffed at MGM Mirage CEO Jim Murren "dissing" us Vegas locals.
Jim Murren is now in the hot seat over City Center. It's just starting to open up, and people are starting to wonder what will be next for MGM Mirage's big bet.
Will it fail?
Will it succeed?
What happens now to Las Vegas?
We'll all soon be finding out in the coming days, weeks, and months. In the mean time, a mini-scandal is emerging over what Murren said in the last video clip above. Steve Friess first caught this in the transcript of last night's "Face to Face", when Jon Ralston asked Jim Murren about what he had earlier told Friess for his LA Weekly write-up on City Center.
Here's the original clip from LA Weekly:
I've never been in Encore, when did it open up? I've never been into Palazzo. It's not that I don't care, I just don't need to go. But I do know – I have nothing against either one of those guys, especially Steve Wynn, I like him a lot. But [CityCenter] is not going to be, for most people, the same as just another resort opening up. I know it won't.
And in case you haven't yet started uploading that second video, here's how Murren made it worse.
"I live in Summerlin. I have a great community. I coach my kids. I have a lot of restaurants out there. If I didn't work in the resort community, I probably wouldn't come down here much. That was my point. That is my point as a counterpoint to CityCenter. I really believe it is not a casino-hotel. I really would not be upset at all if people never visit Aria that live here. ... ." [Emphasis mine.]
Donde los yikes??!! Does Jim Murren really want to kick sand in the locals' faces? And worse yet, does he really want to hand over all these potential customers to Boyd Gaming and Station Casinos on a silver platter? Many of my neighbors already complain all the time about how expensive everything on The Strip is, how much traffic always plagues The Strip, and how snooty all those fancy-schmancy hotels on The Strip are. By Jim Murren adding to "the snooty factor", how will he ever get my neighbors out of Green Valley Ranch, Sam's Town, or The M to venture to The Strip to see City Center?
I guess if he's really not all that upset if locals never visit Aria, Tony Marnell will really appreciate keeping more local business at The M.
But really, this is just one of the many concerns MGM Mirage should still have about City Center. I toured Crystals with my dad last weekend after I gave him an intimate "birthday celebration" at Aureole at Mandalay Bay. (By the way, I'm obviously NOT one of those Strip-hating locals!)
Now let me say that I just LOVE the design of this place! It's very "eco-chic", and I'm digging it. However, my dad wasn't...
That is, he wasn't finding Crystals all that attractive. For one, not all the stores are open yet. Furthermore, most of the ones that are open have already set foot in Southern California (where Dad still lives), in exclusive "shopping resorts" there like Orange County's South Coast Plaza and LA/Beverly Hills' Rodeo Drive. So not only might Jim Murren have a problem with Vegas locals, but he may also have trouble finding Californians to jump up the 15 to see something that they think they've already seen in LA and OC.
So what's his plan to lure in travelers who aren't all that into postmodern architecture and/or high-end designer label shopping? Does he have one?
I hope he does... And he thinks of one fast. I really think City Center can be a huge success, but only if it actually entices people to come and spend money in it.
And guess what? This means making it easy to move around City Center. This means making gamblers feel comfortable gambling in Aria. This means not alienating locals and SoCal weekenders. Oh yeah, and this means keeping up with the competition! I'll let Steve Friess explain that last bit some more.
Whoa, whoa, WHOA! [City Center President Bobby] Baldwin said Aria's casino is the economic engine of the whole she-bang and Murren knows that. But Murren doesn't even care if his neighbors ever see it and, if he didn't have to because he gets millions to do so, he might never bother either! This is not a ringing endorsement of the most significant financial element of your new endeavor, is it?
So let's remove Aria from CityCenter. Without it, you're left with four buildings containing private residences, two of which are also hotels that contain no shows or casinos. And you have a 500,000-square-foot "retail and entertainment district" with some of the most expensive products anyone can sell anywhere in the world, not exactly a locals-friendly shopping experience. Plus a whole lot of terrific art and an oft-mentioned pocket park that Murren recommends as a neat place to sit even though there's no place (yet) to sit. [...]
Again, there are lots of elements of CityCenter I love. But it is worrisome when a massive gaming company is being piloted by someone who isn't personally aware of his competition and seems so personally uncomfortable with the heart of his business.
Again, don't get me wrong, City Center is a great concept. I'm even liking the new ad campaign for Aria.
I just think MGM Mirage needs to remember that this needs to offer great products, great comfort, and great service for this to be a real success.
And I'll finish with this piece from November, when I shocked y'all here with my "commie lovin' socialist pinko!" self agreeing with Steve Wynn and Sheldon Adelson on something: Viva Las Vegas! :-D
Well, we have some bad news and some good news. First, the bad: MGM Mirage's bottom line REALLY bled red last quarter. The good news? They're looking at a better 4th Quarter so far.
With its CityCenter resort set to open, MGM Mirage today reported a loss for the third quarter as revenue fell on the Las Vegas Strip -- but also said its results are improving in the fourth quarter.
"We continue to show sequential improvement in our operating results over the course of 2009,'' Chairman and Chief Executive Jim Murren said in a statement.
MGM Mirage lost $750.4 million, or $1.70 per share in the third quarter vs. a profit in the year-ago quarter of $61.3 million or 22 cents per share. Net revenue of $1.533 billion was down from $1.785 billion.
The results include previously announced noncash accounting charges against earnings of $1.17 billion. These include a $956 impairment charge for the company's investment in CityCenter and $203 million to write down the value of condominiums under development there.
Yikes! Those are some serious losses. So why the hell is Jim Murren still so upbeat? MSNBC (via Stiffs & Georges) provided some answers earlier this week.
[Union Gaming Group analyst Bill] Lerner and others also predict a rebound in visitation of up to 5 percent next year as people check out CityCenter, take advantage of the ongoing bargains and begin to feel better about their own financial situation. International visitation is also increasing, says Jicinsky, and now accounts for about 15 percent of the total. (Last week, British Airways started daily, non-stop service from Heathrow; next May, XL Airways will start twice-weekly charter service from Paris.)
All of which bodes well for both CityCenter and Las Vegas and, perhaps, for travel in general. "We're a good microcosm of the broader business community," says Murren. "The next six months are going to be muted, but business travel and consumer activity are going to improve, particularly by April or May of next year."
And so far, even Murren's cross-Strip rivals are cautiously optimistic about City Center's ultimate success.
"We hope it grows the market," said Steve Wynn, chief executive at Wynn Resorts Ltd (WYNN.O). "But so far, the talk has been about its problems, instead of about what an incredible, unusual place it will be." [...]
Rival Las Vegas Sands Corp (LVS.N) is also rooting for MGM. "It think it will succeed," said Sands CEO Sheldon Adelson. "If it doesn't, they will lower the room rates and that will affect everyone."
Wynn said he is unable to predict 2010 hotel rates "with any degree of confidence," given the wide number of market variables related to CityCenter and the general economy.
I guess this is one of those rare times when I'll agree with both Steve Wynn AND Sheldon Adelson! I may be perceived as some "crazy extreme left socialist", but in reality I'm also rooting for MGM Mirage and City Center right now. I really do hope they ultimately succeed.
And so far, there's good reason to hope. The worst of "The Great Recession" is over, and once unemployment turns around more people will have more money to spend on such discretionary items as trips to Vegas.
Still, everything isn't coming up roses just yet. Again, unemployment is still high and even a lot of people with jobs are focusing on saving money right now just to stay on top of the bills. Unfortunately for the big casinos (but good for savvy travelers!), room rates are likely to remain in the bargain basement just to lure all those tourists here to see the shiny new Vegas attraction next to what was our shiny new attraction 11 years ago.
So don't fret too much, Las Vegas will very much survive the rest of this recession and ultimately recover. Just don't expect a return to 2000 or 2005 hey days so quickly. There may be some bumps along the way, but City Center will bring in the tourists and Sin City will go on.


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A Grande Bebedeira, 2009
João Maria Gusmão
Lisboa, Portugal, 1979; lives in Lisboa
Pedro Paiva
Lisboa, Portugal, 1977; lives in Lisboa
A Grande Bebedeira, 2009
16mm, color, silent
The films of João Maria Gusmão and Pedro Paiva investigate magical happenings, physical phenomena, ritualistic events, and scientific experiments by combining photograph, installation, sculpture and writing in the exercise of creating an experimental philosophy. Their works are depict commonplace and amateurish scenes or situations that constitute a cosmology that is invented departing from the principles and methods of science. The humor in their works emerges from a sophisticated web of ideas, that reinvents laws of the world in a fictional and poetic way.
Many of the films shown here were produced during periods of the artists´s residence in and around Brumadinho and the region of Ouro Preto and Mariana, between 2007 and 2009. Their prolonged stays in these locations revealed characters, stories, and myths to the artists that led to these films of a more or less narrative character. Their stay in Brazil is one of a series of periods of residency that the artists have dedicated themselves to in various parts of the world, especially in the former Portuguese colonies.


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Mayor Bloombers Wants Full Prosecution On New York Giants Reciever "Plaxico Burress" For Weapons Possession!
AP reports "The arrest of New York Giants receiver Plaxico Burress on a weapons possession charge drew the wrath of Mayor Michael Bloomberg Monday, who has waged a long fight against illegal guns during his time in office."
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