text:
Small farmers in the rural Indian state of Bihar are setting yield records for rice, potatoes and wheat — without the use of genetically engineered (GE) seed or pesticides.
Using an agroecology technique known as SRI, the farmers have more than quadrupled their previous yields. An official from the state's Ministry of Agriculture calls SRI "revolutionary."
The acronym stands for System of Rice (or root) Intensification, and was developed by researchers from Cornell University working with Madagascar farmers in the 1980s. As described in a recent article in The Guardian, it is basically a "less is more" approach in which farmers plant fewer seedlings with more space between each plant, keep the soil much drier and carefully weed between each plant to aerate the soil.
For rice farmer Sumant Kumar, this meant a jump from four or five tons per hectare to 22.4 tons per hectare when harvest time came.
Agroecology is "best hope"
These bumper crops from agroecological farming reinforce what we know from previous studies. According to the most comprehensive analysis of world agriculture to date — the World Bank and U.N. sponsored International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Scientific and Technology for Development (IAASTD) — agroecology is our best hope for feeding a hungry world.
As The Guardian reports, SRI has incredible potential:
SRI appears to offer a long-term, sustainable future for no extra cost. With more than one in seven of the global population going hungry and demand for rice expected to outstrip supply within 20 years, it appears to offer real hope. Even a 30% increase in the yields of the world's small farmers would go a long way to alleviating poverty.
Dr. Surendra Chaurassa from Bihar's Ministry of Agriculture explains why the state agency is now investing heavily in SRI training:
"Farmers use less seeds, less water and less chemicals but they get more without having to invest more. This is revolutionary. I did not believe it to start with, but now I think it can potentially change the way everyone farms."
And these impressive yields significantly impact farmers' lives. As one Bihar farmer put it, "My whole life has changed. I can send my children to school and spend more on health. My income has increased a lot."
Still pushing GE?
The state of Bihar will invest $50 million to promote SRI next year, and is looking for additional support. One ministry agronomist points to the need for additional farmer training for the knowledge-intensive approach: "The biggest problem we have is that people want to do it but we do not have enough trainers."
Yet even as agroecological methods like SRI are resulting in record-breaking harvests, western government agencies and foundations are holding back their support. And industry continues to aggressively promote pesticide-dependent GE crops as the solution to world hunger.
However, GE crops consistently fail to live up to the hype. After three decades and billions of public dollars spent on GE research in the U.S., we have yet to see a GE crop that delivers on the promise of increased yields. Instead, GE crops have been responsible for dramatic increases in herbicide use — precisely because most of them are engineered to withstand increased applications of these chemicals. And it is no accident that the world's largest GE seed manufacturers are also the world's largest pesticide companies.
Meanwhile, small farmers grow 80% of our food worldwide. And in rural India, farmers like Sumant Kumar are driving what's fast becoming known as the "new green grassroots revolution" as they demonstrate techniques that can truly feed the world.
p.o.p 's and esp. the hormonedisruptors were discovered in the nineties .
o.a. Theo Colborne et al . wrote at that time : Our Stolen Future.
For me this explained the explosion of certain tumors amongst my patients
Know a bit about SRI; interested to hear any comments on why (permanently) flooded-field rice growing is so prevalent (and so old), if SRI is so much more productive (on a per-area basis). Why weren't people doing it this way centuries ago?
I understand from F.H. King that the Chinese rationale for the 'traditional' method is that rice seedlings are grown in dense 'nurseries', allowing the (future) rice paddies to be used for other crops in the meantime. This system is more labor intensive, but provides a greater diversity of crops; and I assume total system yield is higher (economic value, if not calories).
Perhaps the economics are different now (in some places): less oversupply of labor than traditionally (rural-urban migration), increased input costs (purchased seed and fertilizers vs. self-supply), other issues?
Look forward to continuing to learn more.
David/South China
Less is more approach in which farmers plant fewer plants with more space between each plant, maintain more and carefully remove dry soil between plants to aerate the soil. http://ciscolatestdumps.blogspot.com/


text: I attempted to install an SSL certificate on a virtual host on ISPConfig 3.0, built on a Ubuntu Maverick platform. Now when I attempt to restart Apache2 it fails. I get the message "NameVirtualHost xx.xxx.xxx.xx:80 has no Virtualhosts Action start failed Can someone assist getting the interface up and running again and the SSL resolving correctly.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
[Global: Africa]
California Sen. Barbara Boxer co-sponsored Wisconsin Sen. Russ Feingold's LRA Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery Act, even though it strengthens the hand of dictatorial, anti-gay, genocidal Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, whose human rights record includes not only war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide in his own country, Uganda, and in neighboring Congo, but also the criminalization of homosexuality, with a penalty of 14 years to life.
Museveni's Minister of Ethics and Integrity James Nsaba Buturo was one of the most vocal champions of Uganda's proposed Anti-Homosexuality Act, a.k.a. Hang-the-Gays Bill. On June 3, the Ugandan website The New Vision published a report titled "Museveni warns against sodomy," quoting President Museveni: "The African Church is the only one that is still standing against homosexuality. The Europeans are finished. If we follow them, we shall end up in Sodom and Gomorrha."
One of the LRA Disarmament Act's goals is ending the use of child soldiers, but Museveni's own army has been criticized for having a recruitment age of 13, and Museveni himself bragged about his child soldiers and introduced them in a news video still readily available on YouTube.
The LRA Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery Act passed the Senate on March 10 this year, the Senate two months later on May 12, and President Barack Obama signed it into law, Public Law No. 111-172, on May 24. Three months after that, on Aug. 26, a leaked United Nations High Commission on Human Rights Report on Human Rights Abuse in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), 1993-2003, documented Yoweri Museveni and his army's collaboration in the genocidal massacres of Rwandan Hutu refugees and Congolese Hutus led by Rwandan President Paul Kagame's Rwandan Patriotic Army in neighboring D.R. Congo, as did the letter produced by International Criminal Tribunal on Rwanda defense lawyer Christopher Black, recently published for the first time by Monthly Review Zine, then by Global Research and the SF Bay View. That letter included this passage:
"Rest assured that our plan to continue shall be pursued as we agreed at our last meeting in Kampala. Last week I communicated with our big brother Yoweri Museveni and decided to make some modifications to the plan. Indeed, as you have noted, the taking of Kigali quickly provoked a panic among the Hutus who fled to Goma and Bukavu. We have found that the presence of a large number of Rwandan refugees at Goma and the international community can cause our plan for Zaire to fail. We cannot occupy ourselves with Zaire until after the return of these Hutus."
The UNHCHR report documents the Rwandan Patriotic Front Army's massacres of these Hutus upon their return and their massacres of Rwandan Hutu refugees and Congolese Hutus in Congo, with the help of Museveni's army, the Ugandan People's Defense Force.
Black Star News Editor Milton Allimadi has reported that Museveni was the first dictator in the Great Lakes Region to be guilty of using targeted rape, including male on male rape, to spread HIV to decimate the indigenous Acholi region of Northern Uganda.
The bill, strangely, has no dollar figure attached to it – yet – so it could easily become an open tab for the further militarizing Uganda and further strengthening Museveni's hand, or it could actually fund recovery in the indigenous Acholi region of Northern Uganda, where Acholi organizations have begged President Obama not to fund any more military action because, they say, that would only exacerbate and further widen the conflict to surrounding regions, as it already has in neighboring Congo.
Or, it could be a bill written and passed into law but never funded.
Unlike many other senators who co-sponsored the LRA Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery Act, Barbara Boxer has not yet scheduled a meeting to discuss it with her constituents. To contact her San Francisco office, call (415) 403-0100; LA office, (213) 894-5000; D.C. office, (202) 224-3553.
San Francisco writer Ann Garrison writes for the San Francisco Bay View, Digital Journal, Examiner.com, OpEdNews, Global Research, Colored Opinions and her blog, Plutocracy Now. She can be reached at email@example.com.
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 email@example.com and firstname.lastname@example.com
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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 email@example.com and email@example.com
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text:
Preeminent University of Hawaii scholar presented with national awardUniversity of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
Sea Grant College Program
World renown scholar and University of Hawaiʻi Sea Grant College Program (UH Sea Grant) author, Dr. Isabella Abbott, will be honored with the Botanical Society of America's (BSA) Centennial Award at the society's annual meeting this week in Chico, California. This award is presented to members of the BSA for their outstanding contributions to botanical sciences, service to the BSA and past recognition of excellence. It is the highest honor the BSA bestows.
Abbott is the Wilder Professor of Botany, Emerita at the University of Hawaiʻi as well as Professor Emerita at Stanford University, and has had a long and distinguished career. She is well known in Hawaiʻi for both her scholarly contributions as well as her efforts to heighten cultural awareness surrounding traditional uses of seaweed. Dr. Abbott completed her bachelor's degree at the University of Hawaiʻi in 1941 and went on to earn a master's degree at the University of Michigan and her Ph.D. at the University of California, Berkeley in 1950.
She was the first female faculty member in the Biological Sciences Department at Stanford, teaching for many years at the Hopkins Marine Station. She then returned to the University of Hawaiʻi in the early 1980's to teach ethnobiology, and has become the world's leading expert on limu.
Abbott has received numerous professional accolades including a 2005 Living Treasures of Hawaiʻi award.
Abbott's academic writings include over 100 scholarly papers and 8 books including the upcoming book Hawaiian Reef Plants to be published this Fall by UH Sea Grant.


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Software developers routinely use open source components to boost productivity and improve the quality of their code. The problem for enterprises is that companies using open source must properly manage it and comply with its licensing, as with any third-party code.
That becomes difficult to do when corporate leaders do not know their computer systems are running open source code. Even licensing compliance becomes an unwieldy threat when the coders themselves have a lackadaisical attitude toward copyrights and licensing requirements.
If you think your company's computer system is insulated from open source because contracts you use or government compliance standards exclude it, think again. Open source is pervasive in both proprietary and open software. Good and bad code is found in both software models.
The question is not "does my company use it?" Instead, ask what you're going to do to manage it and to comply with license requirements.
"Many enterprises view open source as code that is free to copy. I think that open source has become so pervasive and so accepted that some of the safeguards -- and some of them are pretty important -- have just been discarded," Matt Assay, vice president of corporate strategy and marketing at MongoDB, told LinuxInsider.
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Twofold Problem
The software industry today has a thin line separating pure proprietary from pure open source. There is a vast gray area in between, where chunks of open source code are embedded. Commercial software companies do not always divulge that code. Independent coders often freely borrow from open source libraries without attaching licensing notifications.
One problem is that the GitHub generation does not seem to care as much about code vetting as did coders in earlier years. In the time span from 2007 to 2010, open source became very popular. Enterprises tried to manage it, according to MongoDB's Assay.
"My sense is that developers do not really look at licenses any more. They are not even looking at which license is applied and does it comply. I think these are issues that attorneys look at, though. I do not think the developers are thinking a lot about the licenses anymore," he said.
This reaction to licensing compliance may have resulted in part from more permissive Apache-style licensing in the past few years. The industry used to be a bit too focused on all of the license controls. It may swung too much in the other direction with respect to open source code, Assay suggested.
R&D Blues
This changing attitude toward open source compliance and awareness has a clear impact on research and development for enterprises. It stems in part from a difference in developmental models, suggested Rick Howard, chief security officer of Palo Alto Networks.
"Commercial organizations do not open up their code base for review. The open source model gives the impression that many eyes could review the code at any given time. It keeps everybody honest in theory. In practice, some of these code bases are huge, and not many people -- except those directly involved in the project -- ever look at it," he told LinuxInsider.
Open source applications and open source code in proprietary programs power enterprise operations. Thus, R&D has a major stake in managing open source code, noted Barry Shteiman, director of security strategy at Imperva.
"Open source code is a huge part of what runs the software industry today. Most companies use open source in one way or another, either as libraries to cut development time -- for example, not having to 'solve' a problem that has already been solved by others -- and take advantage of the power of thousands of developers tinkering under the hood of their software," he told LinuxInsider.
A Clean Sweep Affair
Managing open source code in the enterprise takes a willingness and a process. Typically, one or both are easily swept under the corporate rug.
"I think most enterprises have all sorts of open source code running through their programs. I think some are even embedded. I think either they don't know about it, or they know about it but do not understand the ramifications of what the license may be doing or what the license may be requiring," Assay said.
The Secret in the Sauce
It may not be uncommon for corporate officials to ignore open source usage. One large financial enterprise used open source throughout its computer system even though it had an agreement with the software developer not to use open source code.
"The big secret was that everyone there was using it. They were using open source with all sorts of varying licenses. No one was controlling it," Assay said.
It's not that every financial institution is overlooking open source use in its software. It is more likely that it is just too hard to manage the literally billions of lines of code out there, he said.
No Comprendo
The overriding issue is really one of comprehension. Managing the use of open source in the enterprise involves several distinct steps. There is a selection process. There is a scanning step. There is an approval process, noted Phil Granof, executive vice president and chief marketing officer for Black Duck Software.
"Open source has been in the process of defining itself for decades now. It has been defining its role in the enterprise more recently. It has been a long road in getting people to understand what that role is and how can it be better utilized," he told LinuxInsider.
Perhaps the biggest part of the process is recognizing that managing open source use and license compliance is a logistics issue. The industry is just beginning to understand the magnitude of the challenge and the reward. However, enterprises need help in achieving this, according to Granof.
"Open source presents a collision of quality and quantity. There is a huge assortment. Somehow you want to bring it into your company. It is a logistics issue," he said.
License Compliance Depends
Dealing with compliance and licensing issues depends on a couple of things. The factors include recognizing how open source adds to the value chain and how it is currently in that value chain, explained Granof.
The process also includes assessing the dichotomy between proprietary and open source software, along with the old notion that never the two shall meet. How to deal with the answers depends on whether the company already has an open source policy in place, he said.
If there already is a policy in place, managing compliance generally is easier. Compliance has a sort of pre-filter. Without that kind of policy in place, compliance gets much tougher. Then the solution requires an automation and scanning of the software the company has installed, explained Granof.
"In general, whenever we do a scan, more than 99 percent of the time we find open source code. On average, about 90 percent of the time, companies are unaware they had it in there," he said.
What Then?
Then it comes down to what is the level of security risk, and what is the level of operational risk. Also to be considered is what are the vulnerabilities associated with the found open source coding.
"That is not really a manual effort. That has to be done in an automated way. There are just too many lines of code," said Granof.
Managing open source code and complying with its licensing are essential. Embedding vulnerable third-party components, whether open source or commercial, is a common security challenge for technology companies, according to Marc Maiffret, chief technology officer of BeyondTrust.
"This is because most companies do not have a good process around how they handle third-party code that gets included in their products. This third-party code can, of course, have vulnerabilities, and a proper process needs to be in place to continue to keep that shared code up to date for any security fixes," he told LinuxInsider.
Ensuring Security
Open source code is not inherently a bad thing. There is no cause for greater concern over the security of open versus closed source, Maiffret noted. Rather, the concern should focus on the proper auditing and security of code in general.
"People tend to think of this as an open source problem, because it is more common for people to use third-party open source code within their product. But there are plenty of insecure third-party closed source components that companies will leverage and equally do a bad job at keeping them up to date," said Maiffret.
Poorly trained developers write both closed and open source code. Enterprises need to look at each product or component on its own, he cautioned.
"There is just as much bad commercial code being written as open source and vice versa," Maiffret said.
Driving Innovation
Open source has become shorthand for free and good quality software, noted MongoDB's Assay. So users are not thinking about licenses, risks or obligations to the community.
The looseness involving the widespread use of open source and lack of attention to licensing requirements is inbred into software coders today. They grew out of an age when coders have been trained in a world of open source, according to Black Duck's Granof.
"When you bring in coders to your company, you want the brightest and the best. They are going to be using open source. That is where the brightest and the best are right now," he maintained.
The Inevitable Option
For enterprises, it is not a matter of deciding when or if they should adopt open source. It is a matter of whether you already have it, suggested Granof.
Is it merely a matter of how fast you want to be able to understand what is in your software and prepare for things like Heartbleed? Or simply be hygienic and compliant as an organization as the licenses demand?
"It is that pervasive in enterprise," Granof said.
Control or Fail
Enterprises need to recognize that open source poses a conundrum over access to the best software at a business-advantageous price, said Assay.
"So they have to make a choice. Do I innovate and use open source in a less controlled fashion?" he wondered. "Or do I try to heavily control it and risk being left behind, and have my company or firm not compete as well?"


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Sam Sills, 16, romped to glory in the Bic Techno Under 17 boys' division while 14-year-old Kieran Martin and Sam's sister Saskia Sills, 13, ensured Britain enjoyed a golden whitewash in the Under 15s, taking the top prize in both the boys' and girls' events at the RYA Events-run Championships at Weymouth and Portland National Sailing (WPNSA).
There was further medal joy for the host nation as no fewer than four other sailors secured podium positions - Saskia's twin Imogen took Under 15 girls' silver following a ding-dong battle with her sister for the crown all week while Ali Masters (Raceboard Youth), Adam Purcell (Under 15 boys) and Barrie Edgington (Raceboard Masters) all claimed bronze medals.
Across the other four classes France, Italy, Spain and Greece all notched one title apiece as Veronica Fanciulli's (ITA) dominance of the Under 17 girls' fleet was transformed into a gold medal today, Benoit Bigot flew the flag for France at the top of the Raceboard Youth fleet - as four French sailors finished inside the top five - and Gonzalez Ruiz (ESP) clinched the Techno Open title.
In the Raceboard Masters, a fascinating contest came to a thrilling conclusion as 1996 Olympic champion Nikos Kaklamanakis (GRE) nipped ahead of Portugal's fellow five-time Olympian Joao Rodrigues at the death to claim gold.
Opting to sail the RS:X board for the event, Kaklamanakis revelled in the heavier breezes witnessed at WPNSA this week and dominated the class from day two having decided not to sail in the lighter airs on day one.
However, although Kaklamanakis did not have it all his own way on the final day - as moderate breezes of 14-17 knots allowed the non-RS:X Raceboard sailors to make more of an impact - the Greek stole in to claim the crown from Rodrigues' clutches as the advent of the second discard in the 11th and final race enabled Kaklamanakis to discard his last remaining Did Not Compete (DNC) score from day one giving him a final score of 12 points to Rodrigues' 15.
For Sam Sills, the 2009 Techno Under 17 title is his second World crown, Sills having won Techno Under 15 gold in 2007. Sills was also crowned 2009 Techno Under 17 European Champion in Lacanau, France in April.
He was the standout act in the fleet, leading from day two and picking up no fewer than eight race wins in his 11-race series as Mateo Sanz Lanz (ESP) wins silver and Louis Giard (FRA) bronze. However the laidback Brit insists victory wasn't as easy as it looked.
He said "It was a really tough competition the fleet was double the size of the Europeans and the standard's been really high. I've been really pleased with my speed this week and have managed to stay consistent and with safe starts. I didn't want any letter scores.
"I really wanted to nail this event with it being my last on the Techno and in Britain. People may have expected me to do well but I try not to let that pressure bother me and I actually tend to do better when the pressure's on a bit. The whole British team has performed and made a big statement here so I am really pleased."
Kieran Martin is another 2009 World and European Champion - he enjoyed a close battle with Albert Chaillot (FRA) during the early exchanges of the week but after taking a six-point lead into the last day, Martin's final day scores confirmed victory with Chaillot second and Martin's RYA Team GBR teammate Adam Purcell putting on a great show for bronze.
The Sills twins, also both medallists at the Europeans, swapped the lead over the course of the regatta before a nailbiting final race climax saw Saskia snatch the gold ahead of her sister.
Veronica Fanciulli was also untouchable from day two and the 2009 European silver medallist made no mistake taking gold this time out enjoying a 14-point final advantage over Clidane Humeau (FRA) in second with Hadas Zaga (ISR) in third.
Olivier Pinlou claimed Raceboard Youth silver sandwiched between Benoit Bigot, who leapfrogged his friend into pole position on the last race, and Ali Masters while Sara Martel and David Valliverdu ensured it was a medal cleansweep for Spain in the Techno Open.
A record 350 sailors, from 27 countries, have been in action at WPNSA since Monday with event debuts being made by nations such as the USA, Canada, Turkey, Singapore, Argentina and Peru.
Source: IWA


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Texas Gov. Rick Perry told CNN's John King moments ago that it's not Iowa, but South Carolina, that may be the real decider in the GOP 2012 presidential nomination.
No wonder: latest polls show Perry could come in back in the pack of the race in the Hawkeye State.
Still, in the final hours before Iowans caucus, Perry was charing hard, bolstered by 500 volunteers from around the country, including a team of state legislators from California.
He went on the attack against GOP frontrunner Mitt Romney and former Penn. Senator Rick Santorum, surging in the final hours.
Perry said Romney has had "a consistency problem," adding that "a Massachusetts governor that put individual mandates in place" for health care and helped formed the basis for Obamacare "is not going to sell in South Carolina."
And Santorum doesn't have the money or the campaign to move on strongly, he said.
Asked if he's worried he'll be a spoiler who will weaken the eventual GOP candidate — as Republicans have seen in the past, Perry said no.
"This election..is so different from any election that you've ever seen in the past," he said. "This election is far from decided and today won't decide it..South Carolina will come near giving us a better clue who's going to be the Republican nominee."


text:
If you're already missing Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton's flirtations on "The Voice," you're in luck.
Stefani will be back on the show this season, but instead of competing against Shelton as a coach, she'll be working with him as his team's advisor in season ten.
E! News has confirmed the couple's collaboration, which sounds kind of like a match made in "Voice" fan (and adorable couple-fan) heaven.
U.S. & World
Stories that affect your life across the U.S. and around the world.
Names of other advisors will be released shortly, but so far, we know that Miley Cyrus will serve as key advisor throughout the season. She has already been posting photos with her tongue and coach Christina Aguilera.
Stefani's return to the show is not a surprise, given both how fabulous she is on the talent competition and how much fans have loved her on the series. "She's very close to the show," NBC boss Bob Greenblatt said in January when we inquired about her possible new position.
Aguilera is back as coach for season 10, alongside fellow "Voice" vets Shelton, Adam Levine and Pharrell Williams.
Season 10 of "The Voice" returns Monday, Feb. 29 at 8 p.m. on NBC.
(E! and NBC are part of the NBCUniversal family)
PHOTOS: Gwen Stefani's "The Voice" Looks
CLICK: Miley Cyrus and Christina Aguilera Are Twinning With Tongues Out on the Set of "The Voice"


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ON ARCHITECTURE- Brick-a-brac: City to sell old Mall bricks to the public
Update 2/5/09: The City has made a decision on what to charge for the bricks at the surplus property sale tomorrow: $5 each and you can buy up to 10 bricks.
"Only a small portion of the bricks will be sold in this manner," says Luchard. "The majority of the bricks will be sold either by Invitation for Bids or by online auction." Luchard also says that one local citizen has expressed interest in buying 10,000 bricks.
City planners have finally made a definitive decision about what to do with the Downtown Mall's old bricks. While most of the damaged ones will be ground up and used for trail cover, says planning chief Jim Tolbert, thousands of intact bricks will be sold to the public online and at the City's monthly surplus property sale, which is held on the first Friday of every month.
According to Jennifer Luchard, the City's procurement manager, demo crews have been stacking intact bricks on pallets and will haul them down to the City Yard on 4th Street. Luchard says they hope to have some 'unclean' bricks– those with mortar still attached to them– available for sale there on Friday, February 6, from 12pm to 3pm, with pallets of clean bricks available beginning next month.
Luchard says there has been considerable interest in the bricks, from individuals who simply want a single brick, to contractors wanting several pallets to use for their projects. Luchard says they are still debating how much to charge for the bricks.
At one point, the City had considered offering the old Mall bricks to merchants as a giveaway to customers for shopping at their store, but that idea never made it past discussion. (And given the upheaval the project has caused, you could forgive merchants for never wanting to see another brick again.)
At City Council's Monday meeting on February 2, a PR campaign was unveiled that will place signs with affirmations about the Mall project all over town, with such phrases as "We're hitting the bricks so you can too," "These bricks are made for walking" and "We'll have you back on the bricks in no time."
But some merchants wonder if affirmations will be enough.
"The Mall merchants are taking a terrible beating," Cynthia Schroeder, owner of the clothing store Spring Street, told Council. "...the Mall is like a ghost town right now."
Schroeder said she worried about the number of vacancies on the Mall and hoped that downtown landlords and the City would do something to stimulate occupancy. Indeed, on a stroll down the Mall recently, the Hook counted at least 11 vacant retail and office spaces.
Ghost town or no, the city's anticipating a booming retail biz in bricks.
"We want to try to sell them in small amounts, for people who just want a piece of history or add to their patios, "says Luchard, "but we're also going to sell them in larger lots."
The larger lots, says Luchard, will be sold on the government surplus auction website Govdeals.com. There is also a plan to invite bids on sections of the brick that have yet to be removed, selling the spoils to the highest bidder.
Luchard says the city has already salvaged an estimated 8,000 clean bricks, but did not have a count yet on the unclean bricks, many of which have yet to be removed. There are an estimated 375,000 bricks on the Mall, and as city planners said before the project began, 80 percent of them appeared to be in good shape.
Indeed, some– including City Councilor Satyendra Huja– felt that the bricks were in such good shape that they should have been re-used for the $7.5 million project itself.
"First, we need to use the bricks we have, clean them up, and reuse them," Huja said last June, before eventually approving the project. "This will save money and preserve the character of the Mall."
At a packed public meeting on the project last July (Tolbert said it was the biggest crowd that had ever assembled at City Space), most felt that the exiting Mall bricks simply needed to be repaired.
The biggest applause of the evening, along with a few hoots and hollers, went to City resident David RePass, who questioned the basic rationale of the project.
"We have been told that the Mall renovation, quote, 'will preserve the original design.' Well, that's not true," he said. "A fundamental part of the design has been discarded: the mortar between the bricks."
The new bricks are being laid in sand, without mortar, which city planners have said will make them easier to install and maintain.
"It scares me that you didn't think of reusing the existing brick," said another speaker at the July public meeting, his voice rising in indignation as he pointed out that most of the bricks, according to the city's own planners, were in good condition.
As Tolbert predicted, many of the old bricks are being destroyed or damaged by the removal process, which, in the interest of keeping the five-month project on schedule, has involved scraping them up with a small back hoe and piling them into a dump truck with a front-end loader. But now that the decision to sell them has been made, crews appear to be handling their removal more carefully.
6 comments
What to do with those bricks?....
Haul them over to the city park next to the library, and build an enclosure to hide Charlottesville's monument to Jim Crow....
the embarrassment of the brick-work would mediate the shame of that statue.
R. Arthur, The statue is art and it is a part of history. No one agrees with the platform of all historical persons of the past. Thomas Jefferson owned slaves. Do you object to the thousands of objects in the city that relate to him? On this one, I say: Learn from the past and move on. 2009 is not 1863. 1863 did happen though. Perhaps you can start a campaign to fund the building of another statue for Lee Park. I see no reason why the city wouldn't allow the inclusion of another art form, representative of a new era.
What about the other statues? Lewis and Clark, Stonewall Jackson, and the Confederate Soldier on Court Square? History is here to stay. My guess,collectively all of the pieces are worth millions. The local govts. ain't gonna scrap em.
Maybe in the 1860's that statue was art, or heritage, but at the time of it's erection it was ugly intimidation.
And it still is.
The statues can be moved.
Plop - This town just seethes racial oppression, often only thinly veiled as economic segregation. I wouldn't blame you one bit if you wanted to get away from us hate mongering rednecks. (Oh, how it hurts to think that of my inclusion in that group!)
I fell so damned bad about all of this mess that I'll personally help you move. I figure the least I can do is help you take the first step towards recovering from the trauma that living in this den of hatred has caused you and yours.
I want to jump off of a bridge when I consider that I call Charlottesville my home and its citizens my friends. As long as a monument stands to document our shameful history, I'll never be able to get the weight of Jim Crow off of my back. The horror!
Poop and Reality Bites, I do not agree with acts of racial oppression or intimidation. Those statues were not erected by yours truly, so I don't accept the blame for their presence on city property. Go ahead, go to city council and the county and ask that the pieces be moved. My guess, you won't get very far with your mission. Whether you or like it or not, Lee, Jackson, Lewis, and Clark are historical figures. I don't entirely agree with any of their missions either. The men are historical figures just the same as Monticello is a historical property. As you know, slavery happened at Monticello. Do you want to also move that place? You appear very angry about the statues. Instead of talking to the wind, why don't you plant yourself in Lee Park and conduct an educational presentation on the evils of slavery and the Civil War. In other words, stop casting blame and be productive.


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You've all heard the claim that we aren't really atheists, we are just mad at god. (Or you will see such things as "so and so claims to be an atheist.")
Today, though I saw an argument in chat with a theist, and someone else's account of an argument they had out in public, and I stopped to wonder if maybe we aren't sometimes encouraging this line of bullshit, albeit unwittingly.
What happened in both cases was the atheist began recounting all the sorts of horrible things Yahweh is portrayed as doing or believing or commanding. In one case, I saw the atheist say "why should I love god when he won't love me back?"
The problem with this sort of thing is we usually don't take care to phrase our remarks to make it clear that god is a character of fiction. When discussing the misdeeds of Yahweh we tend to fall back on a convention we use when we talk about a fictional character in a book. We refer to him by name and talk as if the guy was real and the book was not fiction, for example, "In George Orwell's 1984, Winston Smith was arrested for thoughtcrime," not, "In George Orwell's 1984, the character Winston Smith..."
We know what we mean, because we both know Winston Smith (or god) is fictitious. But they don't know god is fictitious.
Talking this way with someone who believes the fictional character is real might cause him not to understand you are just following the convention. Your phrasing sounds to him like you accept god as real, he "knows" god is real, so he assumes at some level you think god is real.
What I am suggesting here is that you ever want to bring up how nasty this being is, you make it clear that you don't think he exists, make sure you put "fictitious" (or equivalent) in every other sentence at least, and not let them think for a minute that you assume the existence of god.
Yes I know that when you just said you were an atheist this shouldn't be necessary, but obviously many of these people don't understand atheism in their guts, so don't let their paradigm default you into a "believer but mad at god" box.
Views: 6340
I do see your point, Steve. Theists are probably too stupid to see that, when we atheists speak of a jealous, wrathful, genocidal "God," we are being facetious. It is an ironic way of pointing out that God is NOT real, since a REAL, caring God would not be like Yahweh.
Seriously, I still intend to continue speaking that way about "God" to theists, because it always flummoxes them. If they choose to take me seriously, that is their problem, because it merely emphasizes that they indeed must concede that their God is jealous, wrathful, and genocidal. And those are His GOOD qualities! (hint: I am being facetious).
What we need to be doing is to make it clear that our issue is with the character that the theists believe in
It would be very difficult for an atheist to be mad at God. An atheist, by definition, does not think that any God or Gods have ever existed. Thus there is nothing to be angry at.
It is rather easy for an atheist to be angry with many Christians however. For myself, i do not like being told I cannot make my position known as as Christians find it too hard to take. Strange however that they always start off with "Are you a believer?" Thus proving that they know there are a large number who do not.
I have had my life threatened numerous times because I write against religion every chance I get.
I have recently learned something and have changed my methods. If atheists continue to denounce religion as they usually do, it will only incite the more fundamental Christians into a tirade of defensive posturing, causing them to openly throw out any form of defense they have--usually without thought as to reality.
If however we do not become argumentative, we do not cause them to defend. Then their mental defenses are not so triggered and they are more open to looking at things rationally. Additionally, if a Christian, in any reading is first made to take a logic test, they formulate a mental set that is more conducive to thinking in the logical manner and they find it easier to limit the dogma in favor of reality. Argument is the last thing they need. Thus the usual books that have come down the pike by Dawkins, Hitchins, et al only provoke and create stronger intent to deny reality.
Might I suggest that we do the only thing that will work? We form a strong club that does not argue religion, but simply denies it openly as a fable and if anything, we laugh politely at those poor afflicted people who cannot find reality and must limp along as marks suffering from the biggest con job in history.
Offer them friendship and understanding, but never any arguments. Just accept what we, as atheists know. There are no Gods, there never were, it's simply a fable, like all the other fables we have been telling our children, and it's high time it stopped harming people.
I am a psychologist and what I propose is far more workable than the arguments or attempts to push logic. These people are ill and they will not get better on vinegar. They need a spoon full of honey, a warm blanket around their shoulders, and an understanding friend to ease their pain. It's tough to know that you have been made a fool by your parents and your clergy.
It would be very difficult for an atheist to be mad at God. An atheist, by definition, does not think that any God or Gods have ever existed. Thus there is nothing to be angry at.
To you and me that's exceedingly obvious, I almost wrote "well, duh" here. (Wait, I just did.) That's not my point, nor was I trying to claim otherwise.
But there are many theists who can't imagine there actually is such a thing as a genuine atheist. They might even say "I don't believe in atheism" which will confuse us because atheism is the lack of a belief; there's nothing to believe in, as an atheist. But what they are actually saying here is they don't believe anyone can actually be an atheist; they don't believe atheism as a school of thought, really exists.
Samantha, you made me think again! How about something like this to make them pause and listen for more:
"No way. Hey, I'm not angry at Santa Clause any more, either!"
Once, in a conversation with my sinister-in-law, she exclaimed "I don't even think it's possible to really not believe in god!"
Exactly. How long did it take for her to finally accept that you might, actually, in fact, really, sincerely, not believe in god? I don't know her, but I wouldn't be surprised if the answer was "she still doesn't."
I wonder what her response to your comeback about Zeus and Athena was. Did she ever really get it?
Firstly, great article!
Secondly, I, too am guilty of this in some ways. Theists tend to try to be tricky with wording in arguments.
Because of that i have taken to say "Your deity <enter rest of sentence here>"
Not only does it imply that it is not mine, it also reminds them that their deity is not the only one around. If you really want to get the point across, use "Your supposed Deity"
It is also good to know what their understanding of Atheism is, if they have, as is often the case, attached a whole wagonload of preconceptions about lacking morality and chance based senseless life to it, then you might as well either stop the discussion or explain the meaning of atheist first.
They will understand that you definately do not believe in a personal god, or any god for that matter but also that while God equals morality for them, atheism only declares before mentioned absence of believe in a higher power.
I think that is important as i have sometimes come across the argument that i am angry because i know that my devious and unholy lifestyle (i unfortunately do not have any of that) angers god and as such i try to besmirch his name in anticipation of the judgement that will surely come to me.
Very, very bizarre train of thought.
I just returned from North Carolina where I told my 34-Y-O niece that I was an atheist and when I returned to Texas I was informed that I "upset her". That's part of the problem, believers, and I had no idea she was an "active" member of her, or any church, all take it personally and don't of won't see that I am not trying to influence them to toss it over, I just want to make it clear it's non-productive to hit on me for their invisible friend in the sky. One would think a 34-Y-O would not be so damn upset, especially when I was not aware of her conversion; oh-well.
That's another point, what makes the so bloody certain he, she, or it is up there? Why not over there or down there; oops, "down" is the residence of satan, another myth exactly like the one they worship, strange.
No, I just do not like the idea of god. It's kind of like saying "Omg, you don't believe in Zeus! You're definitely mad at him!"
I personally don't like the character of Zeus in the old Greek mythologies. He was a bit too much of a womanizer for me.
That doesn't mean I believe in him, though.
Steve's premise here is sound, and while Jens Schwaiger's response of "Your supposed deity" isn't unreasonable, I am concerned that undertaking more labor in a debate may also be counterproductive. If and when we atheists allude to what we have concluded is a fictional character, then it isn't expecting too much to assume that reasonable people are aware of our implication. I don't know ANY theist who, after I said "Atticus Finch is amazing in that story" asked me "So you do think he's real! What do you think he's up to now?"
If we start taking this too far, like getting upset when some says "Oh my god" upon seeing a car crash, then we're closing even further the door that leads to honest, open discussion, for we are trying to quell language and expression. Fiction is parable, and yes there are those who take it literally, but there are plenty who do not. We should do nothing less than to set the highest standard for intellectual debate, and while this obviously involves clarity and a conscious rejection of political correctness, it does not preclude poetical expression. If there are those who simply cannot conceive of our conclusion, so what? An individual who does this can be dismissed with impunity, as he/she has firstly done to you. Shrug them off, and move on to theistic individuals who want to have a REAL discussion.
And yes, there are plenty of those. Not all theists are stupid, mindless, exorcising, snake-handling, book-burning, clinic-bombing, terroristic nutjobs. In fact, the majority of them are not. They deserve our initial assumption of respect until they've proven unworthy by the aforementioned practices. And respectable people aren't those you tip-toe around and refuse to "offer any arguments" as John Cook so wrongly suggests. The majority of theists are NOT mentally ill. They've simply drawn an opposing metaphysical conclusion. Dismissing them as mentally impaired is an attempt to evade the debate altogether. They're human beings capable of advanced cognition, just like us atheists. If we lower our own standards, then it's US that appear weak.
If and when we atheists allude to what we have concluded is a fictional character, then it isn't expecting too much to assume that reasonable people are aware of our implication. I don't know ANY theist who, after I said "Atticus Finch is amazing in that story" asked me "So you do think he's real! What do you think he's up to now?"
The difference is that the theist doesn't believe Atticus Finch is real, and therefore won't be tempted to think that you believe Finch is real.
Some theists have real difficulty wrapping their minds around the thought that someone might actually not believe god exists. How many times have you seen or heard one say "Joe Blow claims to be an atheist?" They are assuming there that Joe's problem isn't actual atheism but willful denial of an "obvious" truth that Joe fact really believes in--as if Joe were to verbally deny that there was such a thing as sex even though he just bragged about boffing his girlfriend last night. You could rightfully claim that Joe was only claiming to be a-sexist. And thus, this theist thinks they are right to claim there really is no such thing as a genuine atheist. This sort of theist has difficulty imagining the atheist point of view--much less agreeing with it!
This person's first problem isn't that they are theists, it's that they can't imagine anything but theism. So why make it easier for them to continue thinking there is no such thing as sincere atheism?
It's true that some theists don't have this problem; they do understand what atheism is but just don't agree with it. It's safe in that case to use the hypothetical mode when talking about god. But unless you know the person really well, you can't know that, and frankly I don't think one can know this about some particular theist without having had a discussion with them. (It's a bad sign when their response to hearing your declaration is something like "surely you don't really believe that.") If they show signs of denying that you could possibly really be an atheist and are just saying so to be outrageous or something, don't give them any possible reason to latch on to it. Expecting them to assume you are talking about god in a hypothetical mode is asking too much of someone who can't imagine sincere disbelief.
The majority of theists are NOT mentally ill. They've simply drawn an opposing metaphysical conclusion. Dismissing them as mentally impaired is an attempt to evade the debate altogether. They're human beings capable of advanced cognition, just like us atheists. If we lower our own standards, then it's US that appear weak.
Absolutely agreed. We should not tar them all as idiots or nuts. (Even the nuttier ones are often perfectly intelligent, just too wrapped up in their worldview to make any sense to those who don't share it.)
But even a mentally competent individual can fail to think outside of the box--which is in this case their belief that the existence of god is so obvious no one can really deny it. And it doesn't help them break out of the box when your overt phrasing actually is consistent with the inside of their mental box. It comes across to them as you really being in that box with them in spite of your denial; it's easier for them to imagine that than it is to imagine actual thinking outside of the box.
If we start taking this too far, like getting upset when some says "Oh my god" upon seeing a car crash, then we're closing even further the door that leads to honest, open discussion, for we are trying to quell language and expression.
I am not in any way advocating this, I am talking purely about watching what we say when we discuss the god of the bible with a theist. However I must point out that some theists will in fact latch onto a surprised/dismayed "OMG" as an indication that you are really, deep down, a believer--it's what they are trying to get at when they claim there are no atheists in foxholes. It's an occupational hazard we all have to deal with; you may worry about it enough to try to switch to "holy shit" or "fuck a duck" or "what the fuck" but I certainly won't condemn an atheist who says "oh my god" if that's what they grew up saying and it's a "burned in" habit. But he or she does need to realize what might happen if they say it in front of the "wrong" theist.


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Situation Chipper
The 2012 season will be Chipper Jones' last, signifying for me a quaint full circle of baseball life. From a goofy-grinned rook to an over-the-hill vet, I had the pleasure of witnessing it all, and I can't help but tip my cap to the future Hall of Famer for all he's done throughout his career, on and off the field.
With that, here is what immediately enters my mind whenever his name comes up:
The 1995 Season
Infuriated by a silent October in '94, I vehemently quit on Major League Baseball. I will have nothing to do with those crooked chumps! Who do they think they are taking away my Fall Classic!?!? Troglodytes the whole lot of 'em!
Yeah, but… see, there's this guy named Chipper. He's with the Braves. He's gonna be a superstar.
And he was. 23 bombs. 86 RBIs. And one cool stroke, from both sides of the plate. By the second half of the '95 season, all had been forgiven and I was hoarding baseball cards of a man with a goofy name.
The 2008 Season and Media Guide Photo
Now a lot of stuff happened between 1995 and 2008, but I want to focus on the monster season Chipper had. I recall arguing here with my lugubrious and oft-crotchety colleague, Mr. Allen Krause, whether or not Chipper could realistically hit .400. He made a good run at it, but had to settle for .364, and in the process provided one of the worst media guide photos of all time:
All-Star Weekend 2009
I had the good fortune of attending the ASG in St. Louis and taking in all the awesome that comes with such an extravaganza. As you can imagine, heavy drinking was involved, and on the evening of July 13, at a seedy bar deep in the heart of Soulard, I was an accomplice to my friend losing a $100 bar bet on whether or not Chipper played any significant time at any other position than third base during his career. I found out it only takes a few vodka bombs to forget that Chipper spent a some years manning left field for the Bravos. I think my pal has forgiven me for that absentmindedness. Now if only we could remember how we ended up in Sauget smelling like frosting, covered in glitter.
Yes, I'd say Chipper had a brilliant career, even if the last few years have looked more like an AH-64 Apache helicopter crash after attempting to push its limit. What's THAT look like? Glad ya asked!
Happy Friday!


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Documenting Almost Everything
Welcome to Part II in our series on Ithacans who work in the documentary format.
From filmmakers to archivists to publicists to TV correspondents, IC alumni (and faculty and students) are in virtually every corner of the documentary world. For many, preserving history through preserving film is the primary motivation. For others, docs are a way to express a passion, be it songwriting or snowboarding, or simply a tool to tell a compelling story, much like a pen and paper—or keyboard and computer—are for a newspaper reporter.
Certainly the subject matter is diverse, from the educational films about sex and women's reproductive rights made by Bryan Horch '92 (ICQ 2003/2) to the personal story shared by Matthew Ginsburg '88 in the HBO-aired Uncle Frank, about his charismatic uncle and aunt (ICQ 2004/1).
Here we introduce a few more IC documentarians, and look for Part III of this series in an upcoming issue.


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According to The Internet, which is never wrong, salad dressing probably kinda/sorta came into being about 2000 years ago when the lovely people of Babylonia began to use oil and vinegar to dress lettuce. I'm glad someone started the trend. See, I'm a rabbit: I not only love salad, I love just lettuce. All kinds of lettuce, every kind. I even love iceberg lettuce, such great texture, what a wonderful crunch. While I love eating all kinds of lettuce naked, I also love a good salad dressing. This leads to the first in a series subtly entitled "Never, ever, ever!"
Never, ever, ever buy salad dressing in a bottle. Ever.
There's only one reason to think you should buy salad dressing in a bottle, which is ease. Come on Tom, seriously. I don't have all kinds of time. It's so easy. I pick it up at the store, I crack open the bottle, I pour it on some lettuce, instant salad.
Um, No.
With a little initial prep, almost the same amount of ease gives you a dressing that is much healthier than anything you can get in a bottle. So making it at home makes much more sense. Plus, it tastes infinitely better. Trust me, do this once and you won't go back. You have to go to the store to buy the bottled dressing. Instead, while at the store, buy a few of products to have on hand for prep and you are ready, anytime, to make your own dressing. Eventually, you won't even be able to use a bottled dressing as you'll begin to taste the chemicals and processing. Making your own salad dressing, along with broth, an upcoming post, and tomato sauce, an upcoming post, are the easiest first steps to transforming your cooking, kitchen and eating habits. Plus, I'll say it again, homemade dressing tastes so much better. You don't have to love cooking or being in the kitchen to ease your way into your own dressing. And my homemade vinaigrette is, well, incredible. And versatile… it's great on it's own but you can also use it as the basis for a number of other dressings. It's so easy. Here we go:


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Lipka's hustle on bases earns praise from Fredi
CLEARWATER, Fla. -- You don't often see the kind of play Matt Lipka made in the ninth inning of the Braves' 2-2 tie with the Phillies at Bright House Field on Wednesday afternoon.
Well, Lipka does. He's already done it twice this spring -- more specifically, twice this week.
With Jose Constanza at third base and the Braves down by a run, the 21-year-old outfielder grounded into what looked like a possible game-ending double play to second base. Philadelphia's Cesar Hernandez made the throw home and started the rundown with Constanza, who was eventually tagged out by pitcher Brad Lincoln. That gave the speedy Lipka time to wheel around second base and head for third, forcing a rushed throw from Lincoln that sailed by third baseman Reid Brignac and into left field.
Lipka dashed home and tied the game, earning respect from Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez and the rest of his teammates. Some of them saw him pull off a similar move against the Nationals on Saturday, when he was credited with a single and scored on two errors.
"I liked the other one," Lipka said, "because I had a hit before it."
"It's a great thing to see," added reliever David Carpenter. "Yeah, it's a Spring Training game, but each game is important. You're trying to get yourself prepared right now for the regular seaosn, and guys are going about it the right way. They're busting their butt. He could've just put his head down and trotted to first, and that would be it. But he put his head down and busted his butt to get to third, and it was good baseball."
Likely to start the season with Double-A Mississippi, Lipka said he's just trying to learn as much as possible and maybe open a few eyes during his first stint in Major League Spring Training.
"That's your goal coming down here. I'm not pressing to make the club. I know I'm going to be in Double-A this year," Lipka said. "I'm just coming out here and trying to show these guys what my game's all about, and that's hard-nosed baseball, playing hard, working hard and just hustling on and off the field. To say that I can make an impression on these guys this early, I'm super honored and blessed by that."
And that's just what he's done so far.
"He's been impressive. He scored a run, and the ball was in the infield," Gonzalez said. "He adds that dimension of speed. ... I've been impressed by him, I really have."


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My first time posting on Think Atheist, so I thought some of you might find this to be interesting.
Ran across this today (http://worldviewwarriors.blogspot.com/2012/09/proof-of-worldwide-fl...)...a blog by the name of "Worldview Warriors" arguing for a biblical flood using this argument:
"The first obvious sign that a worldwide flood occurred is that there would be thousands upon thousands, millions upon millions of dead creatures buried underneath the surface of the earth. When we look at Geology, guess what? This is exactly what we find: thousands upon thousands and millions upon millions of creatures buried beneath the earth. Unfortunately, before secular humanists got their hands on the fossil record, creationists were poorly interpreting the fossils that were buried underground, which paved the way for secular scientists popularizing more scientific interpretations of the fossils. Today, creationists fight to set the record straight despite the fact that their interpretations are more reasonable and more logical than that of secularists."
Views: 1241
"The first obvious sign that a worldwide flood occurred is that there would be thousands upon thousands, millions upon millions of dead creatures buried underneath the surface of the earth"
No, it's purely evidence that animals where buried and preserved. We would expect jumbled marine and non marine fauna buried together if it was evidence of a flood. This is very rarely the case, and when it does occur it is generally due to secondary processes such as slope failure or reworking of sediments.
The focus on fossils is also absurd, as the fossils should be taken in context with the rocks they are in, if you have a chalk layer tens of metres thick it is evidence of no (or very little) input of terrestrial material in comparison to the microfossils which make up the chalk.
In other words it's an irrelevant conclusion http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ignoratio_elenchi in that there are fossils, but it has nothing to do with a flood.
" Today, creationists fight to set the record straight despite the fact that their interpretations are more reasonable and more logical than that of secularists."
This is just plain bullshit, the creationists don't offer a model which allows the fossils to be properly integrated into geology, let alone make predictions off the fossil distributions. I'm a petroleum geologist, we use the fossil record to help date rocks, allowing us to compare different wells and make predictions from the depositional environment what exists outside these wells. This gets combined with imaging of the subsurface (seismic data). If we for example have a few wells which penetrate a delta system, we can expect further inland fluvial deposits and further outboard a slope setting, this allows us to predict where we are likely to have reservoirs, source rocks etc.
Evolution in the form of fossils doesn't stand alone as a science, it is integrated into geology, and when combined provides massive predictive capabilities. A flood would have different sedimentary patterns, would less fossils and a less differentiated fossil record.
Thanks Alex. I think the predictive element is always telling. You would think creationists, if their "science" was right, would make a killing doing what you do for a living. I'm guessing that is why they stick to Sunday school materials. :)
There's nothing I can say that wasn't covered by Alex. Darwin figured this out in the 19th century. It's only right that creationists follow suit.
He continues towards the end of his masterpiece to say:
God's Word allows us to interpret Geology and the other sciences properly
He is just another YEC with little or no understanding of Science. The article is all wrong.
WTF?! "...(creationists') interpretations are more reasonable and more logical than that of secularists."? That's the specious claim made by the author of the article upon which this post is based. That might be a defensible statement IF fossils were all found in the same layer; but they are found in strata spanning millions of generations. Further, the more recent the stratum, the more complex the organism. That fact can ONLY be explained by science-based geology (and, by extension, evolution).
To the extent that the flood stories are descriptions of real events and not just mythological, they are fully consistent with local floods and do not require a global inundation. And if the flood covered all the mountains on earth, as the Noachic account in Genesis clearly states, then either God hadn't created Mt. Everest yet, or it was completely submerged. Given that the concept of the entire earth being covered by water five miles deep is ludicrous in the extreme, it is a logical conundrum no young earth creationist has ever been able to credibly explain.
The referenced article also argues that dinosaurs and people co-existed, and that preople called them "dragons." The last dinosaur (or "dragon," if he prefers) disappeared 65,000,000 years ago. The first humans appeared no more than 3,000,000 years ago, if that. So humans and dinosaurs never interacted. That's based on radiometric and geological evidence that is virtually irrefutable. But, interestingly enough, this bozo doesn't have anything to say about radiometric dating; I assume that's because he is too ignorant to be able to address it cogently.
The title of the article upon which this post is based is "Proof of the Worldwide Flood." But, ultimately, the author bases his conclusions on "God's written revelation," which, of course, doesn't even remotely qualify as scientific evidence.
Actually Mt. Everest is about 8.8 kms high, and 5 miles is about 8 kms so not that far fetched really. But to cover Earth with water to such a height would require about 3 times the amount of water than there is on Earth. I did the calculations long back. Where did all that water come from, and where did it go? Thin air isn't a convincing answer :)
I don't know when you did your calculations, Akshay, but the measurements have been changed as of 1999. It was previously believed to be 29,028 feet, as determined in 1954 by averaging measurements from various sites around the mountain. The new elevation has been confirmed by the National Geographic Society as being 29,035 feet (c.5.5 miles, determined using GPS satellite equipment on May 5, 1999.
It would require 1,194,845,753,604,350,656,512 - (1+ sextillion) - gallons of water to cover the earth to the top of Everest (disregarding the "15 cubits" more), and Earth, according to the National Geological Survey, holds only 326 quintillion gallons of water on, in, under, and above, our planet.
I just subtracted the volume of a sphere of radius 8.8kms more than the radius of the Earth from the volume of the Earth. There was some miscalculation and the possible answers were 3 times and 300 times. I think after rechecking I decided it was 3 times. Was a while ago and it is possible I made a mistake. Will recalculate and get back to you.
Akshay - I think you will find this indispensable -- world.std.com/~reinhold/BigNumCalc.html
Is that Java? I hate Java!
Anyways, I wrote a Python program to do the job for me, and it seems 300 times was closer to the mark than 3.
If you take the height of Everest to be 8.848 kms, then it would require 424.719906281 times the amount of water present on Earth to cover the entire planet. But I rounded the height of Everest down to 8 kms to account for all the hills and mountains on the planet, as they take up space too. This brought the number down to 383.935470418 times.
My sources are -
You can find, and run, the program here -
It's closer to 3, 70% of the world is ocean, Mt Everest is 8.8km high.
8.8/3 is closer to the average depth of the ocean in km than 8.8/300...
Erm, I don't think it works like that. I don't really understand your logic.
You have to calculate the volume of the sphere of radius 8.8 kms more than the radius of Earth, and then subtract it from the volume of the Earth. Then I made an adjustment for the volume the various hills and mountains take up, and viola, the magic number comes out to ~384 times the water on Earth. The math is all there, and it's all correct.


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Quilty Pleasures
About Me
Sharyn Hutchinson
New Jersey, United States
I am the wife of a wonderful husband and the mom of three super adult kids and their spouses. I also proudly have three adorable grandsons. I happily taught preschool for 25 years. When I'm not with my grandsons I spend much of my time indulging in my "Quilty Pleasures."
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Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Wordless Wednesday
Wordless Wednesday
Ryder's Christening
St. David the King RC Church
October 28, 2012
Posted by
Sharyn Hutchinson
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Monday, October 29, 2012
Make-A-List Monday
Make-A-List Monday
The Week of October 22, 2012
(in review)
This has been such a busy week for me. I began my Ryder Time on my birthday, Monday.
It is hard to express the joy I felt spending time with my precious grandson. He is so good and only fusses when hungry or tired. I look forward to spending more time together as we develop our relationship.
Ryder, your
Grammy Lamby
loves you very much!!
Now, on to my list....
Redesign and complete piecing the 2009 Patchwork Party quilt that I have been working on.
I was able to finish piecing the top to this quilt.
I already had the green backing fabric so it is ready to be quilted. Unfortunately as I was completing the top I found another major pattern mistake. When participating in the Patchwork Party you gather blocks from 12 different shops and then choose a finishing kit. One of the shops sent me the wrong block with a completely different fabric. Now, you have to remember that this quilt was from 2009 -- 3 years ago. I was able to design my own block and create it with left over fabric. I thought I should contact the quilt shop anyway just so that they knew of the mistake. Believe it or not, they were extremely apologetic and will send me the correct block pattern and fabric. I'm not sure how they will do this as the fabric line is 3 years old but we will see. Even if I never see it I was able to work it out on my own.
Finish the quilt I am binding for Ryder and another project I am
working on for his Christening.
It was a joy to make this colorful quilt for my sweet Ryder.
I also knitted this cozy little sweater jacket and hat for him.
I gave Ryder this Prayer Lamb. When you squeeze his ear he recites The Lord's Prayer, The Hail Mary and The Glory Be. I hope he loves his little lamb from his
Grammy Lamby!
Continue working on the Heather Spence Mystery Quilt.
I am now caught up on all the clues. We should receive another clue on Friday.
Complete the folded fabric table mat I started in class last week.
I did not have time to finish this project this week.
Attend Strip Club at The Village Quilter in Mt. Holly, NJ.
This is a picture of the strips and the pattern. The pattern is from Cozy Quilt Designs...a quilt shop I visited when we went to El Cajon, CA a few years ago.
The green fabric will be the inner
border and the fall leaf fabric will be the outer border. I have not chosen the background fabric, yet.
Embroider some more Christmas Presents.
I did not get to this.
Design an English Paper Pieced Hexagon quilt.
This is a sample of English Paper Piecing.
I had a doctor's appointment this week so I was able to get this project started.
I will most likely not use orange and blue (even though I am a Mets Fan...haha) I just wanted to use two different colors to see the pattern as it emerged.
I am basing my hexagon quilt on a quilt designed by Bonnie Hunter of
If time, I will begin working on a fall wreath table topper using the Little Twister Tool.
I did not get to this project either.
As I said...It was a very
The Week of October 29, 2012
Spend Halloween with Ryder.
Work on the PQW Saturday Sampler block for November.
Attend class at The Village Quilter to make a Christmas Stocking for Ryder.
This pattern uses the same Little Twister Tool that is used for the fall wreath table topper above. With Hurricane Sandy barreling down upon us, class will most likely be canceled. Hopefully it will be rescheduled on a day I am free.
Complete the folded fabric table mat I started at The Village Quilter.
Continue working on the Heather Spence Mystery Quilt.
Embroider some more Christmas presents.
Finish designing my Hexagon quilt to be English Paper Pieced.
On Wednesday I will share some pictures of Ryder's Christening. It was a beautiful day spent with family, even with Hurricane Sandy approaching.
Until Next Time.....Happy Stitching!!!
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Sharyn Hutchinson
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Adobe is traveling to SXSW for our Annual Creative Camp, Friday March 7th at the Radisson Town Lake, Riverside Ballroom. This year we have five sessions on topics shaping the modern web. Relax in the Typekit pop-up library, a hang-out with 65+ specially-curated design books. Plus, you'll need your fuel to make it through SXSW and we've got you covered all day with lunch, and snacks galore – flavored popcorn, mini-burgers and petit BLT's plus a happy hour during our final session of the day.
Here's our session line up:
What Do We Build Next? 11:00 – 12:00
Get behind the scenes at Adobe and learn how our product development teams go from just an idea to a functional prototype ready for testing with real users in a matter of weeks for their newest web authoring tools. Devin Fernandez, Principal Product Manager, and Winsha Chen, Senior Computer Scientist will show examples of real projects under development right now.
5 Things Developers Need to Know About Design 12:30 – 1:30
In this session you will learn with Adobe Evangelist Paul Trani the techniques designers use as well as the things they wish every developer knew about design. Understanding these 5 things will not only make you better at design, it will help you work better with designers. We'll also be serving lunch during this session so make sure you come early to grab a sandwich and get a seat.
Rich Web Experiences & the Future of the Web 2:00 – 3:00
We're reaching a point where ideas we could only dream of in the past from interactive film to global multiplayer 3D gaming can become a reality, all living inside of your browser. We'll explore inspiring examples of how the web can be used to create rich media experiences and what's possible in the future with Adobe Creative Technologist CJ Gammon.
The Onions of Interactive Infographic Design 3:30 – 4:30
Interactive infographics make it possible for you to truly capture your audience and engage with them in a manner that simply is not possible when merely citing dry facts or statistics. This session will cover the value of creating animated, interactive infographics with HTML your readers care about using Adobe Edge Animate with Product Manager, Sarah Hunt.
The Ultimate Developer's Tool: Theory & Discussion 5:00 – 6:00
What do iOS, Android, and the Internet all have in common? They were all built using source code editors driven. But what qualities are needed in a modern code editor? Enjoy some cold beer and snacks while you engaging in a discussion with Senior Product Manager, Jonathan Dunlap, on how we can use our present knowledge to build the ultimate source code editor.
These sessions are official SXSW events. A badge is required to attend and no registration needed.


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I should have asked when i was in but does anyone know what beans are used in Notes at Covent Garden?
I popped in earlier and had a fantastic Cappuccino but then had a Dbl Espresso that I thought was terrible as there was no body at all; I can only describe the flavour as Lemon Sherbet and very acidic.
Just wondering if anyone knows the blend in order that I can avoid the blend in future?


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Photo: Chris Clinton / Getty Images
Some people may be reconsidering plans to grill hot dogs and steak based on a new report supporting the link between red and processed meats, and increased colorectal cancer risk. But, experts at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center say that small changes to what — and how — you grill can keep cancer off the menu.
"The good news is that you can do something to reduce your risk of colorectal cancer," Sally Scroggs, health education manager at MD Anderson's Cancer Prevention Center, said in a press release. "And, making just a few cooking adjustments when grilling can play a part in prevention."
Click through the slideshow for Scroggs' tips for a healthier barbecue.
— Dana Guthrie