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BBC – Future – Technology – Smarter networks for smarter phones
Smartphones: They are called that for a reason.
Over the last few years our mobile handsets have been transformed into portable computers packed with an ever increasing digital intelligence. Today, devices like the iPhone pack the same punch of one of the iconic Cray supercomputers that dazzled computer scientists in the 1980s.
But, according to Rich Howard, former head of Wireless Research at Bell Labs, it is wrong to assume that this raw computing power is used for smartphones most obvious functions.
"Most of what it does is make the communication work, not running some app you've pulled up," he says.
In fact your smartphone is in a constant dialogue with the mobile phone network, working out which radio mast it should associate with and how best to transmit any information. When it is time for a call or a spot of browsing, the smartphone then has to encode and compress data as well as protecting it from degradation. At the same time, it constantly has to navigate the complex network of base stations and mast, ensuring there is a smooth transition as you move from one to another.
This is where a mobile's computing power comes into play and it has allowed the amount of data handled by the networks to grow a by a factor of a million since the first phones were introduced in the 1980s.
The trouble is, there is more and more demand being put on today's networks, with some predicting that the amount of data that they will have to handle will increase by a further factor of a thousand by 2020. Making phones even smarter will help. But the industry is now also exploring innovative new ways to shuttle this data around and keep up with our insatiable appetite for data.
The most basic approach is just to build more base stations for our mobiles to talk to.
The whole concept of cellular networks is based on dividing up cities and countries into "cells" served by a single base station that connects to a number of customers. As long as the transmissions from different masts don't overlap and interfere, everyone is happy. So halving the size of each cell and turning the power down is a quick way to double the number of wireless connections. But it comes at a cost. Each 3G tower costs around $50,000 . Add all of the cabling infrastructure to connect them to the network, and the total soon mounts up.
Nevertheless, mobile operators have increasingly been decreasing the size of cells and increasing the density of the network, adding nanocells, picocells and femtocells to public areas like malls and airports, buildings and even to single homes.
Perhaps the logical conclusion of this is the so-called attocell, proposed by Professor Harald Haas of Edinburgh University. His idea would allow individual rooms in a house to be further subdivided into individual cells. To do this, rather than using a wireless radio antenna, he proposes to use the humble light bulb as an antenna.
"Every light bulb in your house could form an individual access point," Professor Haas enthuses.
"You could serve a laptop in one corner of a room with one bulb and have another bulb serving your tablet in another corner."
What makes Professor Haas' proposal possible is the development of ultra-high-performance light emitting diodes (LEDs), which can flicker at tens of millions of cycles per second. Data can be encoded into those flickers – too fast for anyone to notice or be disturbed. And the data can be sent to the bulbs through a buildings standard electrical wiring.
"Our latest research shows that the data density can be 2,000 times higher than using radio links," Professor Haas claims.
The idea capitalises on a growing trend in wireless communications – the convergence between mobile telephony and wi-fi internet access, once built for good reason to very different specifications. In fact, says Apurva Mody, who chairs an international committee developing standards for wide-area wireless internet access, mobile operators have saved themselves $50-99 billion a year by offloading a lot of data-intensive traffic to smartphones via the internet. That's because every time you download a video to your smartphone through your home (or work) wi-fi, you've eased the load on the phone system.
"If all that data had come through the mobile networks," he argues, "they would have had to build another 350,000 towers to meet demand".
Mixed signals
This kind of thing helps, of course. But part of the appeal of mobile – and one of the reasons it grew so quickly – was that it unshackled people from fixed connections. To continue its growth, mobile firms know that any solution to the bandwidth crunch needs to provide the same freedom. Hence why the industry is constantly scrutinising the radio spectrum for any new opportunities.
Currently, everything up to 300 GHz is spoken for – mobile phones are only permitted to use tiny portions, squeezed in between the bands allocated to broadcasters, radar, air traffic control, the military, satellite communications, even astronomers for whom keyholes must be left clear so they can tune into the universe. That's why every time a little more spectrum is released from some defunct use, operators are prepared to spend billions for a small slice of the new radio resource.
As a result, mobile firms are also looking at ways to use their existing capacity more efficiently.
And it is here that they may strike gold, according to Professor Lajos Hanzo, head of the department of telecommunications at the University of Southampton.
"The coding techniques used in smartphones are inching towards their theoretical limits," he says. "But those are under idealized conditions. In the real world, their implementation rarely reaches the theoretical performance. "
In other words, if you're standing right next to a radio mast, with no other users in sight, and there's no radio interference, your link will be just about as strong as it theoretically could be; there would be no way of squeezing more bits through the spectrum.
But the world is not like that. We are far more likely to find ourselves far from the base station, wirelessly shouting to be heard among all the other transmissions, our signal broken up by reflections off metal buildings, or fractured by leafy trees. And it is these calls – straining from near the cell edge – that account for most of the shortfall from theoretical performance.
Various tricks are being considered to compensate for these deficiencies.
For example, Phil Pietraski and Bob DiFazio of Interdigital Communications, have proposed the idea of fuzzy cells. Cell edges, they reason, do not have to be rigidly defined. When we're at the edge of one cell, we are also within earshot of the next. It's a matter of convenience that our mobiles talk to one mast and not the other until we cross some imaginary line on the ground.
Fuzzy cells blur the boundary. Pietraski and DiFazio say it is possible to tweak the radio transmissions from towers in such a way that their footprints overlap at the edge, so that users approaching the mobile no-mans-land become connected to two masts, while other users further from the crossover don't suffer from additional interference.
Of course, coordinating the digital conversations becomes more complex. Under this system, instead of linking one handset and one base station, your mobile would hold two conversations with two base stations. Those would then talk to each other through the hard-wired "backhaul" of the network, to make sure no mistakes are made. If your "hap-" and "birth-" head off in one direction, while "-py" and "-day" go the other, you want to be sure they both get picked up and sent together to your aunt as a complete birthday greeting.
Nevertheless, tests by Interdigital show that the method greatly increases the throughput for users at the edge, without impacting on customers more deeply embedded within the conventional cells. The company is currently working with a series of partners to bring the technology to market.
Network intelligence
Other ideas raise the complexity of communication even further. For example, one of the hottest topics in mobile communications now is so-called cognitive radio.
The idea stems from observations that – despite much of the radio spectrum being carefully allocated to different uses – much of it is idle for large periods of the day. Cognitive radio proposes a handset smart enough to sniff the radio environment, and opportunistically sneak into any bandwidth that was momentarily free, much as a pedestrian crossing a crowded precinct would seek out a path through the gaps in the crowd, negotiating a path step-by-step.
Anant Sahai of Berkeley University has been drawing up maps of spectrum use across the United States, to get an idea of the opportunities for cognitive radio.
"There's a lot of spectrum allocated to government that's underutilised. For a very good reason. If the band is allocated, for example, for emergencies, then most of the time there aren't emergencies, and it's not used. So obviously there's a lot of spectrum that could be used for mobile phones and other data services at those times."
"The challenging question," adds Gerald MaGuire of the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, part of the original team who proposed the idea, "is whether that kind of spectrum can be shared dynamically, in such a way that if the services did need it, they can reclaim it very quickly."
At the moment, spectrum allocations come tied to very tight technical restrictions making sure that one user's equipment doesn't cut across another user's allocation. With cognitive radio, Maguire warns, that licensing would have to extend to the software that does the decision making and retuning the frequencies – software that would be loaded onto millions of handsets, and might be hacked.
Trust will be a very important issue, agrees Sahai.
"In the old days, when you were you allocated a particular band, you were the only one using that band, and you only had to trust yourself and the entities you control. When you talk about cognitive radio, it becomes very interesting because there are multiple users, and they don't all belong to the same system, so you have to be able to build trust between them."
This is one reason why full-blown cognitive radio, which might roam across the whole spectrum, may be a long way off.
'Low hanging fruit'
But shades of cognitive radio are already visible in the campaign to free up TV "white spaces", already high up the political agenda in the United States.
White spaces are the safety zones that separate TV broadcasters who are transmitting on the same frequency in different cities. But that means that across the world, huge amounts of spectrum is going to waste.
Apurva Mody finds the prospects thrilling, particularly because TV spectrum by its very nature is good for propagating over large distances, making it ideal for his aim of wide-area internet access.
"Five billion people across the world have no access to the internet. And the TV spectrum is ideally suited to connecting them."
When he's not promoting the new wi-fi standard, Dr Mody chairs the Whitespaces Alliance, an international pressure group pressing governments to allow secondary users access to this unused spectrum.
TV spectrum is "the low hanging fruit" for cognitive radio, agrees Anant Sahai – and not only in the wide open spaces between cities. "Even in densely populated areas like city centres there is still a lot of white space – megahertz upon megahertz. What's more, the economics work out that you can deploy more infrastructure per square kilometre than you can in Wyoming."
And because the spectrum is much more complicated in urban environment, cognitive radio will be essential as you go from street to street in finding which frequencies are free, and which you'll have to give up.
Companies are already gearing up to build the equipment that can hop into the white spaces. Among them is Neul, a UK company based in Cambridge, that has just announced what it says is the first integrated circuit capable of communicating over the TV white spaces.
True cognitive radio is still a long way off, says William Webb, Neul's Chief Technology Officer.
"Devices can't really detect transmissions with enough certainty to be sure what frequencies are free," he explains. Instead, the system queries a geographic database indicating which frequencies are free where and when.
Designing the 4mm-wide chip was not easy, Webb admits. One of the key problems was to keep the signal from the chip phenomenally clean, ten times purer than that from 3G and 4G devices. This is because the devices will be operating in frequencies very close to commercial transmissions, and any corruption of the signal would result in interference with broadcasts that would be unacceptable.
That kind of consideration will be critical for any future implementation of full-blown cognitive radio. One compromise Neul had to make was to keep the data transmission rates low. High wave purity combined with high data rates would put an impossible demand on battery life, Webb says.
If cognitive radio can develop beyond those TV white spaces, then the available spectrum could grow enormously. But it would have knock on effects, not least for our smartphones.
"The first problem would be the antenna – one that could be reconfigured to operate across the whole wireless spectrum in an affordable and practical way for a small handheld – that would be impossible at the moment," says Przemysław Pawełczak, software researcher at Delft University of Technology.
Then there would be the escalating complexity of the additional layers of programming the frequency-hopping protocols, and the battery-draining demands of the hardware.
"But the biggest problem is that people in the industry are sceptical, they are afraid of change. But I don't know of any idea that's more disruptive – I think it's the ultimate idea of what our radio devices should do. But we have a long way to go to implement it."
BBC – Future – Technology – Smarter networks for smarter phones.


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About the Department
The Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics prepares students for well-paying positions in both business and government. Economists work in all facets of the business world, including banking, insurance, mining, manufacturing, and retailing.
Since economists are trained to think analytically and critically to solve complex issues, a degree in economics is one of the best majors for students intending to enter a master of Business Administration program, as the economics degree will develop the skills that business schools are looking for in their applicants. For the same reason, economics is one of the best undergraduate preparations for law school.
The economics profession has grown rapidly since the end of World War II. In today's globalized economy, both large and small firms hire economists.
Larger firms frequently have large divisions dedicated to economic research, while smaller firms tend to rely on economists to help in finance, planning, and forecasting.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
"Technology is the great equalizer," Eric Clarke, president of Orion Advisor Services, says. "In our industry, technology has allowed advisors to go out on their own as independent investment advisors and still provide their clients the same level of service that the wirehouses have traditionally provided." Advisors can provide robust performance reports, as well as branded web and mobile access to accounts, he continued. "There's a lot that technology has done, and most importantly, it has allowed them to service their client as an independent advisor fiduciary."
Orion Advisor Services, founded in 1999, currently provides performance reporting on over $70 billion in assets and services over 275 firms.
"With our platform, we're definitely focused on helping our advisors run more scalable businesses using technology. We focus on helping them be more efficient, more profitable," Clarke says. The great benefit, he says, is "there's a real opportunity here for advisors to use technology so that they are able to enjoy their business again, so that they're able to spend time with their clients and manage portfolios and not worry about the back-office administrative tasks."
Technological changes happen quickly, Clarke says. "If we look back 15 years ago, we were barely starting to use email accounts," he recalls. "Fast forward to today where advisors have the opportunity to use mobile technology to run their businesses. It's just unbelievable the difference that technology has made in our business and the efficiencies that it brings to advisors."
"We're right on the cusp of this technological innovation explosion," Clarke says. "Firms that embrace that type of technological innovation are going to be positioned very well to succeed in the future. The firms that don't I think are going to be left behind."
While technology has certainly made advisors more efficient and more profitable, the most important benefit, according to Clarke, is that it's helped advisors get closer to their clients and solve problems for them. "It allows them to communicate with their clients in a much richer format. It allows them to report to their clients in exactly the way that investors best relate to their portfolios," he adds. Social media is one such tool, allowing advisors to communicate with their clients in a more meaningful way, grow their business, build brand awareness and get referrals and introductions.
"In essence, [technology] has enabled advisors to spend time doing what they do best and effecting actionable outcomes for their investors."
The challenge, however, will be in learning how to put technology to best use.
"The biggest challenge that advisors have got to be prepared for right now is figuring out their firms' mobile strategy," Clarke says. Half of Internet traffic is coming from mobile users so advisors need to create a website that is user-friendly and works for mobile devices. "How do they report and provide information back to their clients through mobile devices? How do they provide market commentary through mobile devices? I think that advisors face this challenge today and how they respond to it in the next 12 to 18 months is absolutely critical."
While a firm's mobile strategy is most important, advisors also need to learn how to use technology to further their value proposition, Clarke says. "They've got to figure out a way to use tech to enhance those services and their value proposition so they can be competitive as we move forward in this industry."
Find out who was named on the 2012 IA 25 in Investment Advisor's May issue.
Check out more extended interviews of the 2012 IA 25 at AdvisorOne.


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Browsing Americas Archive by Subject "Saint Louis (Mo.)--Economic conditions--19th century"
Now showing items 1-1 of 1
In Senate of the United States (1845)The U.S. Serial set is a specially bound, consecutively numbered version of all House and Senate reports and documents. Many, but not all, of the government documents in the Americas archive come originally from the U.S. ...


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Shorewood man's death ruled homicide
Clarence Charles, 57, found dead Tuesday night
The death of a 57-year-old Shorewood man has been ruled a homicide, according to the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner's Office.
Clarence Charles, 57, was found dead in an apartment Tuesday night.
Police Chief David Banaczynski said officers responded to an apartment at 4460 N. Oakland Ave. around 8 p.m. Tuesday after a man was reported missing.
When officers entered the apartment, they found Charles dead inside.
WISN 12 News reporter Christina Palladino spoke with Charles' older sister, who said she last spoke with him Sunday night.
"We didn't expect to find him like that. He was missing. We normally talk to each other every other day, and we didn't talk on Monday, and we knew something wasn't right," Marilyn Charles said.
Marilyn Charles said after her brother didn't show up for dinner Monday night, she called over to his employer, the Metro Market grocery store in downtown Milwaukee.
Co-workers told her Clarence missed his shift behind the deli counter. That is when Marilyn called police.
Roundy's Inc. issued the following statement Wednesday evening about Charles' death: "We are deeply saddened by the loss of our employee, Clarence Charles. Above all else, our thoughts and condolences are with his family during this difficult time. During this grieving process, we are doing everything we can to assist our employees who have been affected in any way, by providing counseling and support."
Some people who live in the apartment building said they are concerned about their safety.
Anna Reardon was scheduled to move out before this happened and told Palladino she's glad she is.
"I was a little shocked. I didn't know what was going and immediately called my apartment manager to see what was happening," Reardon said.
The family said Clarence was a happy, outgoing person.
The state Department of Justice's Division of Criminal Investigations is assisting with the investigation.


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Bringing comfort and empowerment to seriously ill patients
New palliative care program trains physicians to focus on quality of life
When Jennifer Cohen decided to pursue a fellowship in palliative care, she had difficulty finding a program that was open to pediatricians like her. Most people — and academic programs — associate palliative care solely with end-of-life, or hospice, care for adults.
"It's actually much more," said Cohen. "Palliative care is about helping patients of all ages and their families deal with serious illness — something every doctor should know."
When she learned about the UC Davis Hospice and Palliative Medicine Fellowship, which welcomes doctors from all medical specialties, she was excited.
"The fellowship offers experiences in a variety of settings and with a wide range of patient experiences — inpatient, outpatient, adult, pediatric. No other program is so complete," said Cohen, who is the first to participate in the new medical training program.
Adjusting to life with disease
Palliative care is an emerging medical field that helps patients adjust to life with conditions such as COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), cancer, AIDS and heart failure. In addition to providing medical treatment, physicians with this subspecialty training help with questions such as:
- Where do you want your treatment to take place?
- How do you want to manage pain?
- How much technological intervention do you want to include in your care?
- Do you want to participate in research?
"Palliative care closes the gap between treating disease and treating people."
— John MacMillan
"There are many options available, and physicians need to help patients understand what those options actually mean," said John MacMillan, clinical professor of internal medicine at UC Davis and director of the fellowship program. "Palliative care closes the gap between treating disease and treating people."
Quy Tran experienced that gap both as a son caring for his mother through cancer treatment and during his own medical education.
"My mom's physician meant well, but we felt rushed and didn't get the sense that he wanted to meet our needs," said Tran, who today is an inpatient cancer physician at the Sacramento VA Medical Center and assistant clinical professor at UC Davis. "As a medical student and resident, I discovered there simply isn't a lot of formal training that helps doctors address the patient as a whole person."
To bridge that gap, Tran and MacMillan launched the UC Davis Hospice and Palliative Medicine Fellowship in 2012 with funding from UC Davis, Kaiser Permanente, VA Northern California Health Care System and SAFE Credit Union. Up to two participants are admitted to the one-year program, which includes a research component. Cohen is assessing the needs of expecting parents whose babies are not expected to survive. Opportunities for a second, research-focused year also are possible.
Beyond primary care
While doctors who practice palliative care often come from primary care fields, MacMillan says the approach is useful for specialists like psychiatrists, cardiologists, neurologists, pulmonary physicians and surgeons who help patients navigate life with long-term illness. He also hopes to extend the training in the future to include nurse practitioners, chaplains, social workers and others.
"As baby boomers age and chronic disease diagnoses continue to increase, the need for palliative care services will expand far beyond what physicians specifically trained in this specialty can provide by themselves," MacMillan said. "Every member of the care team should be comfortable acknowledging when a patient is ill and understanding the patient's wishes — well beyond just handing out 'do not resuscitate' forms."
According to Cohen, although compassion and communication skills are useful, the training — including intensive reading, online scenarios, working with patient-actors, expert mentorship and delivering patient care — is truly preparing her for situations she will encounter. The fellowship is also exposing her to a variety of practice approaches with rotations at UC Davis, Shriners Hospitals for Children – Northern California, VA Northern California Health Care System, Kaiser Permanente, George Mark Children's House and the Center for AIDS Research, Education and Services (CARES).
Cohen's most valuable education so far has been in the art of facilitation. Differences of opinions about what is best for a patient can arise among patients and their families or among health-care team members, who can become personally involved with patients. The conflicting views can be confusing and counterproductive.
"I'm learning to bring divergent opinions together in ways that ensures that the patient's desires are brought forward and honored," she said.


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Lisa Chavez and the UNM Non-Creative Writing Program
The beat goes on and on at the University of New Mexico re Lisa Chavez. Or more precisely the beating up of Lisa Chavez continues unabated.This time the beat is orchestrated via an article in the Chronicle of Higher Education on the Lisa Chavez controversy and then by a cacophony of bloggers comments which demonstrated little or no factual and/or ethical understanding of the history of this controversy. There have been exceptions, of course, and one glowing exception has been Amy Letter's piece, "The Scarlet "SW" for Sex Worker" published on the Rumpus blog.
Amy Letter's states-
…the crux of the matter is that afterwards, other faculty in the English department went on a witch hunt. And "witch hunt" is really the phrase for it, with more-than-average appropriateness: just as Medieval women who did not sufficiently conform to contemporary ideas of womanliness were pursued without reason, taunted, tortured, and deprived of their lives, some at the U of New Mexico want to pursue Chavez without reason, shame her, torment her, and deprive her of her job."
Such is definitely the crux of the matter. As the dankprofessor has previously commented, Chavez's opponents are moral crusaders who will only be satiated when Chavez is exiled from their community of the righteous, or more appropriately stated their community of the self-righteous. Rational argument has no place for them. When their position was not affirmed they attempted to resort to coercion and intimidation via a myriad of lawsuits. Chavez has remained essentially silent in terms of responding to the shrillness of the UNM English faculty crowd, but she herself caved into the lawsuit fever by filing her own lawsuit. In academic issues, coercion, legal or otherwise, should hardly ever displace the rigors of academic discourse. The academic scene has all too often become the new legal turf where lawyers can freely run amok.
Letters goes on to set the scene in quasi Biblical terms-
It goes beyond "Biblical": I mean, the Bible talks about forgiveness too. But those are the later parts. Bronze Age desert dwellers would certainly recognize what Harjo and Warner and the others want to do: they want to purge by fire what they perceive as an uncleanness in their community. They want to wash their hands in Chavez's metaphorical blood.
Or putting it in Dankian terms, they want complete power over Chavez to work their will on a woman who insists upon willing for herself. She refuses to be used as an agent of the power hungry faculty. It is ironic that Warner, et. al, apparently embrace a real world s-m scenario, no fantasy here- punish her, degrade her, exile her. No apologies forthcoming from these s-m practitioners.
Letters continues
…I believe, some in the U of New Mexico English department have lost their minds. They have ceased to see Chavez as a person — with whom you reason, from whom you accept apologies and make peace. They now see her as a beast: an unclean danger to the innocent who must be destroyed lest this imagined corruption spread. The basis for this view is sexism, but not the simple kind: it's a complex built of the anti-woman attitudes that make some want to label and objectify and destroy a woman, just because they don't like how she uses sex and her sexuality; attitudes that make them want to drag her before an assembly of disapproving peers to have them yell "shame,shame!" like the red-clad girls in The Handmaid's Tale; attitudes that make them want to sew a scarlet "SW" for "sex worker" on the lapel of a woman who dared earn money dominating men on the phone.
I use the literary references for a reason. This is an English department we're talking about. They study history and culture and society and psychology, they exercise empathy daily just to understand what they read, they live in the world of perspective and points of view. They should be able to see beyond their own. They should know better.
More precisely this is a creative writing program we are talking about; however, this is a creative writing program in which creativity appears to be absent. Harjo, Warner and their colleagues appear unable to to comprehend that what Chavez and some of their students engaged in involved fantasy and role playing or in other terms was a form of theater or performance art.
Yes, this was a form of theater which offended some of the creative writing faculty. But so what? Can one be a creative writer and worry if potential readers may be offended? Such is antithetical to the creative mind. Whatever the creative writing faculty may worship it is not creativity; their worship is the god of normal.
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A Blue View is a weekly perspective on the life aquatic, hosted by National Aquarium CEO John Racanelli.
From the smallest plants and animals invisible to the human eye to entire ecosystems, every living thing depends on and is intricately linked by water.
Tune in to 88.1 WYPR every Tuesday at 5:45 p.m. as John brings to the surface important issues and fascinating discoveries making waves in the world today.
April 16, 2014: Floating Forests
Click here to listen to John discuss
the important role mangrove forests
play in the health of our oceans!
Gardeners in Maryland know that most trees in our temperate climate don't like having wet feet. And water that's salty? Forget about it. Around here, having tree roots submerged in saltwater is guaranteed to kill off your landscaping.
But far south of the Chesapeake, fringing tropical and subtropical coastlines, there exist floating forests of mangroves, whose roots grow in a luxuriant tangle at the ocean's edge. And there, they thrive.
Botanists call the 50 species of mangroves halophylic, or "salt loving." Mangroves have adapted to putting down roots where other plants can't: in areas inundated daily by the tide; in thin, nutrient-poor, low-oxygen soils; and in water that varies from fresh to brackish to salty. Just how much salt can mangroves tolerate? Well, typical seawater has a salinity of 35 parts per thousand; in other words, about 35 grams of salt for every liter of sea water. Some species of mangroves can survive in salinities of more than 90 parts per thousand!
To thrive in this salty abundance, these plants need strategies to clear the excess salt. Some species excrete it through glands in their leaves. Others use their roots.
The weird, knobby roots of mangroves actually make traveling to paradise for a tropical vacation possible—tough, woody evergreen mangroves stabilize the soil and prevent many islands from simply washing away.
Thank the mangroves, too, for the colorful diversity of fish and invertebrates you see on your next coral reef dive. Many oceanic and coral reef fish—including snapper, tarpon and lobster—spawn in the nursery provided by the mangrove's submerged tangle of roots. A mangrove forest is a rich hub of biodiversity, supporting a unique ecosystem of bacteria, plants, mammals, amphibians, invertebrates and birds—some found nowhere else.
Earth's largest mangrove forest—the Sunderbans of India and Bangladesh—is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, home to at least 250 species of birds, endangered estuarine crocodiles and even Bengal tigers!
In North America, mangrove swamps are found throughout the Gulf Coast, from Florida to Texas. The largest mangrove forest in the United States is in Florida's aptly named Ten Thousand Islands National Wildlife Refuge. This special place is home to many endangered species, including West Indian Manatees, and clouds of scarlet ibis and white pelicans.
Although mangrove forests host so-called "charismatic megafauna" like manatees and tigers, truly their greatest treasure may be the thick mud of mangrove leaf litter—fertile with bacteria and fungi—that accumulates in the water below the trees. There, detritivores, like crabs and other animals, feed on decaying leaf litter and contribute to a complex food web that begins, literally, in the mud.
Other microfauna encrust the mangrove's submerged roots, including a profusion of filter feeding mussels and barnacles. Like Chesapeake's oysters, mangrove barnacles efficiently filter pollutants from the water.
These crustaceans and mollusks in turn support populations of shrimp and fish that are economically important to Gulf of Mexico fisheries. So, the next time you're dining on sustainably-caught shrimp, take a moment to thank a mangrove for your meal.


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G4 announces their on-site events for San Diego Comic-Con 2010 including signings with Olivia Munn, Blair Butler, Kevin Pereira and more:
Thursday, July 22
12:00-1:00PM – X-Play LIVE: A Show on Television – X-Play's Official Comic-Con PANEL
Through 12 years, 3 name changes and over 1,000 episodes X-Play has persevered as the most watched videogame show on television. Each episode is packed with brutally honest reviews, previews, hands on demos, and the occasional off-hand reference to early David Cronenberg movies.
Join hosts Adam Sessler and Morgan Webb with correspondents Blair Herter, Kristin Adams, Abbie Heppe and the X-Play crew as they take questions from the audience, reveal world exclusive behind-the-scenes stories, and mock whoever dares ask about the infamous "Crisis Core" review. You'll find out what it really feels like when you win a Telly, how deep cable is a life changing experience, and why having a career playing videogames can actually be as fun as it sounds.
*In Booth Signings:
Blair Herter 10 am – 11:30 am
Morgan Webb 2 pm – 3:30 pm
Adam Sessler 4 pm – 5:30 pm
Kristin Adams 6 pm – 7 pm
Friday, July 23
3-5 PM PT – G4 Cast Autograph signing
Autograph Area 2
Fans attending Comic-Con are invited to meet Kevin Pereira, Olivia Munn, Alison Haislip and comic book expert Blair Butler who will be signing autographs in Autograph Alley.
*In Booth Signings:
Kevin Pereira 10:30 am – 12 pm
Olivia Munn 12:30 pm – 2 pm
Chris Hardwick 2:30 pm – 4 pm
Alison Haislip 5:30 pm – 7 pm
Saturday, July 24
"Comic Con '10 Live" – Four Hours of Live Coverage
Saturday, July 24, 3-7PM ET/PT, only on G4
Hosts Kevin Pereira and Olivia Munn will be joined by comic book maven Blair Butler, correspondents Alison Haislip, Blair Herter and others, to deliver some of the most exciting news from the convention.
5-6 PM – "Attack of the Show!" Attacks Comic-Con – AOTS' Official Comic-Con PANEL
Indigo Ballroom, Hilton Bayfront Hotel
Fans are invited to join Kevin Pereira, Olivia Munn, Alison Haislip, Blair Butler and "AOTS" producers as they bring attendees the closest thing to being on a LIVE "Attack of the Show," an interactive Comic-Con panel. Fans will see the world premiere music video, "I'm Awesomer Than You", written by Parry Gripp for "Attack of the Show", starring Kevin & Olivia. Fans will also get a chance to grill the hosts & Executive Producers of the show and find out the dirty secrets and television tricks behind favorite "Attack of the Show" stunts such as Kevin and Olivia chopping and eating animal intestines, the 420 "Marijuana" Special, and the failed Guinness World Record attempt of a skywritten ASCII penis.
*In Booth Signings:
Blair Butler 10:30 am – 12 pm
Sunday, July 26
In-booth Trivia Challenge hosted by "X-Play" Special Correspondent Blair Herter and G4's Movie Expert Chris Gore with prizes provided by G4
*In Booth Signings:
Angie Greenup 10 am – 11:30 am
Chris Gore 3:30 pm – 5 pm
* All booth signings are on a first come first serve basis with wristbands being given out at the G4 Booth the day of the signing when the convention floor opens.


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Hello all,
I am from Australia if the prior greeting did not explain this already.
I have always been a very keen fan of Marathon and the series, ever since I was young and my parents gave me a Mac for xmas. All my friends were playing Terminal Velocity and Doom and Rise of the Triads, when I was playing Glider.
then Something Awesome happened, Finally a game to rival all the other FPS Dos counterparts. and hence started my love with the Marathon Trilogy.
anyway, Peace!


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Saul and the Witch of Endor
You won't find vampires and werewolves in the King James Bible, but witches (referred to as mediums) and spirits rising from the grave are mentioned. One famous incident occurs in the book of 1 Samuel, when Saul, King of Israel, secretly contacts a woman with powers for summoning the dead. Her name is not given in the story, although in popular culture, she has become known as the witch of Endor.
According to the Biblical account, the prophet Samuel is instrumental in making Saul king of Israel, and continues to provide counsel during Saul's reign. After Samuel dies, Saul faces an enormous threat from an army of Philistine soldiers assembled to attack Israel. Saul's prayers and attempts to seek divine aid are unsuccessful.
Desperate for advice, Saul disguises himself and seeks out a medium. Although she expresses reluctance at first, she eventually agrees to summon the spirit of Samuel for Saul.
Things go downhill from there.
And Samuel said to Saul: 'Why hast thou disquieted me, to bring me up?' And Saul answered: 'I am sore distressed; for the Philistines make war against me, and God is departed from me, and answereth me no more, neither by prophets, nor by dreams; therefore I have called thee, that thou mayest make known unto me what I shall do.' 1 Samuel 28:15
Samuel foretells that Saul will be defeated in the upcoming battle, and that he and his sons will be killed. These prophecies come true, and Israel suffers a crushing defeat, after which Saul commits suicide.
Amy Arden assisted in the development and production of the Manifold Greatness website and Family Guide. She is a Communications Associate at the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, DC.


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|Happy Birthday Fidel Castro
Happy Birthday Fidel Castro
Our "wish-list" to Comandante Fidel Castro on his 85th Birthday is:
For a World of Peace,
For a World of Truth, where people Worldwide join hands,
For a World of understanding, a World of tolerance and respect,
For the concurrent demise of neoliberalism and militarization which destroy people's lives,
For the outright criminalization of America's imperial wars,
For a World of Social Justice with a true "responsibility to protect" our fellow human beings,
To Truth in Media. For a World in which journalists are committed to reporting the truth,
Happy Birthday Comandante Fidel,
You are the source of tremendous inspiration. Our thoughts are with you.
Long Live Fidel Castro Ruz
Michel Chossudovsky, on behalf of the Global Research Team, Montreal, August 13, 2011
[and in the name of all of us.]
Full article [ please read]
Happy Birthday Fidel Castro
by Michel Chossudovsky


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chase (someone or something) around(redirected from chasing her around)
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chase (someone or something) around
To chase someone or something in what becomes a circuitous pursuit. I can't chase the dog around all morning, I have to get to work! After chasing the criminal around for an hour, the police were finally able to catch him.
chase someone or something around
to follow someone or something around in pursuit. (There is an implication that the person or thing pursued is attempting to elude whatever is in pursuit.) The dog chased us around in play. It chased around all the children.


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The Tragedy of U.S. Iran Policy
The latest orchestrated frenzy over Iran's nuclear program is reaching a crescendo. If the Obama administration were genuinely interested in increasing the prospects for a diplomatic resolution, it would be trying to lessen Iran's perception of insecurity. Instead, every new policy initiative on Iran heightens that insecurity. Unless Iran responds to all of this in a way that few predict it will, each day brings us closer to another war in the Middle East.
Iran likely wants a nuclear option, if not a nuclear weapon, for a variety of reasons. The most important is security. The different treatment meted out to Iraq and Libya, on the one hand, and North Korea and Pakistan on the other taught Iran that the only sure way to avoid being attacked by the United States is to acquire a nuclear arsenal. Iran also probably seeks the international prestige of being at least an incipient nuclear state.
When Iran hears the constant threats emanating from Washington—the almost daily repetitions that a preventive war is "on the table," attempts to strangle the Iranian economy, and legislation taking containment off the table—Tehran's belief that the United States has aggressive intentions is confirmed. Iran knows that a nuclear capability wouldn't provide it with power projection capability or allow it to dominate the Middle East. Rather, Iran would move from being a weak state with no deterrent to a weak state with a small deterrent. Tragically, the main reason America and Israel are so frantic about the Iranian nuclear program is that neither country wishes to allow itself to be deterred by Iran. In an election year, all of the political pressure on the administration is going to push the administration to make the problem worse, not better.


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|Main ingredient:
|potatoes, broccoli
|Preparation time:
|30 Min.
Your location: » Cooking tips & Culinary trends » Recipes » Recipe search » Recipe detail
|Main ingredient:
|potatoes, broccoli
|Preparation time:
|30 Min.
Peel the potatoes, clean the broccoli and cook until almost done. Cut the boiled potatoes into slices and place one layer in the pan. Dice and brown the boiled ham, then spread it on top of the potatoes. Place another layer of potatoes on the potatoes/ham and then add the broccoli florets.
Melt the butter in a pan (preferably the one in which you fried the ham) and dust with flour. Let the dish become slightly brown . Deglaze with the milk, stir thoroughly to ensure there are no lumps, add the processed cheese and dissolve it in the milk.
Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Spread the sauce over the gratin, sprinkle it with cheese and leave it in the oven for ca. 30 minutes at a temperature of 180°C - 200°C.
Do you have any questions, suggestions or wishes with regard to our products ? The Fissler Customer Service will be pleased to help you.
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We're not sure when, in popular culture, "pimping" became a positive reference, but frankly we are starting to get a little sick of it. The latest in this unfortunately overused verb is a book by Brad Miser called Pimping Your Mac Mini. Not to worry, this book isn't about putting your mini out on the corner to turn tricks, but instead to use another highly overused piece of pop-culture terminology: "tricking it out." 123Macmini.com (what's with that name anyways?) has pointed us to the book which claims to have detailed instructions on various aspects of upgrading and customizing the Mac mini, such as RAM and hard drive upgrades and even installing it into the dashboard of a car.
The Mac mini, which costs approximately 22.5 times more than this book (US$21.99) has been enjoyed the admiration of many Mac, Windows and Linux users—lots alike for its small size, low dB (decibels, not Drunken Batman) output, and relatively low price point. The Mac mini will enjoy the first anniversary of its unveiling early next year at MacWorld San Francisco Conference and Expo.


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Heat Pump Cleaning Company
$125 for a Replacement Filter for Your HRV Ventilation System or $95 for Your DVS Ventilation System incl. Installation from HPCC Hamilton (value up to $290)
- Highlights
- Fine Print
- Company
The Offer
- Keep your home ventilation system running efficiently & effectively – your filters need changing yearly for DVS & every 2 years for HRV!
- 2 options:
- $125 for a Replacement Filter for your HRV Ventilation System (value $290)
- $95 for a Replacement Filter for your DVS Ventilation System (value $165)
- Installation by one of their fully trained and qualified technicians.
- Includes travel within 25km of Hamilton CBD, additional travel $1.50 per km.
- If you have a home ventilation system other than HRV or DVS, use the discussion board to enquire.
- You'll be looked after by their fully trained & qualified technicians.
- 100% Kiwi owned and operated.
What We Like
Ever tried breathing? Pretty easy, right? But it gets a lot harder if you try breathe through a dusty pillow, or a pair of old socks. (Don't ask me how I know this. I have my reasons.)
Which is why it's so important to change the filter regularly on your home ventilation system, to help them with the task of ventilating your home and removing condensation, keeping you and your family healthy and happy. Believe it or not, DVS systems need their filters changed every year - and for HRV systems it's every two years.
Trouble is, it can be pretty pricey getting your filters replaced, especially given that some home ventilation systems require as many as three filters.
The Heat Pump Cleaning Company, as you may have guessed, specialise in cleaning and maintaining heat pumps, so you know youre dealing with the experts. Check out more about what they do.
The Fine Print
Offer expires on 27/04/2016
Booking essential, subject to availability
For home ventilation systems only
Missed appointments will incur a $44 surcharge or voucher void
Travel included within 25km of Hamilton CBD, additional travel $1.50 per km
Not for commercial use
Some homes will require more than one filter - technician will advise the number of filters after onsite inspection
If an additional filter is needed, please pay Heat Pump Cleaning Company directly
No exchanges
No refunds or cash back (except where required by law)
Must be used in 1 visit
Not for use with other offers


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What cameras or other equipment do you use? Lighting? Greenscreen? Discuss or post a product review here!
For my youtube videos I'm stick using my noob iPhone 4 and my iMac, can anyone give me suggestions and links to good cameras I can buy to use for...
I am looking to buy a camera to film mainly interviews and fish rooms (needs to be good in low light.)
$650 budget
Canon 800D (T7i) or Canon 70D?
I will do most photography than videos
I watch rooster teeths lets play channel and how do they have so many people in one room but dont have echos from each others microphones?
I've recently bought an Elgato HD to record my gameplay and do funny videos with friends. When I invite my friend to a party (Xbox 360) it records...
Ok, so I've done some research and come up with these options for optimal gameplay recordings:
- Audacity: To record voice through microphone,...
I have an Elgato capture card (The older one) that I use to record PS4 gameplay
Recently it has started dropping frames and looks very choppy.
I have a camera that has 480p. That's clear enough right? When AVGN made HQ versions of his first videos they were in 480p.
I am looking for some better equipment to film my vidoes.I have left some spacific questions and the price ranges where they apply. Any suggestions...
Hey guys, here's a list of the equipment I use to make PS4 LP videos.
Capture Card: Elgato
- The Elgato is better than the Hauppage in every way...
Ok gang, let's hear what you guys are using!
Post in here what your set up is-
Camera make & model?
and what should i use, just audacity ?
Has anyone used one of these? I was thinking about getting one because I've heard they give pretty good quality for the price, what do you guys...
I think its time to invest in a new camera. Currently the only camera I have is a Flip minoHD. Ive been look into the Canon line of camcorders just...
Features are the most important thing which is needed to remember while buying a camera.
So i need some advice on computers and cameras so what webcams and computers are you using
Hey All,
Check out this DSLR Camera Slider review!
Hope you enjoy!
Kind regards,
I love this DSLR camera. Sure this isn't the best but it can do a lot compared to expensive end ones by Canon. Here's one of my test video and a...
hi so what is a cheap alternative to some decent equipment, I am currently using a HD phone. Tell me what you think of some of my footage -
main -...
I have a Canon t2i and I edit on a MacBookPro with Final Cut Pro 7 and After Effects CS5
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GOP Win Sets Up Struggle With Obama
Republicans seize control of the House and come close to parity in the Senate as voters send Obama a blunt message.
Republicans won up and down the ballot and all over the country in a major drubbing of President Obama and congressional Democrats. They won with strong support from Tea Party activists on the right and from independents in the center. They capitalized on the heightened voter concern about the economy and the high rate of unemployment. And they won support from Americans worried that the federal government is too big and is spending too much.
Republicans easily took control of the House of Representatives, picking up 60 seats as of Wednesday morning, with the potential to add half a dozen more when all the close races are decided. They knocked off several veteran Democrats, including Armed Services Committee Chairman Ike Skelton of Missouri, Budget Chairman John Spratt of South Carolina, and Transporation Chairman Jim Oberstar of Minnesota.
In the Senate, the GOP fell short of a majority, but not by much. Republicans held all of their own seats and added at least six more, winning in Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, North Dakota, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, where incumbent Russ Feingold was defeated. The pickup of six gives the GOP at least 47 seats, with a chance to go to 48 when the close race in Washington is finally settled. Democrats could take solace in the victory of Majority Leader Harry Reid in Nevada and Democratic incumbents Barbara Boxer in California and Michael Bennet in Colorado. They also held hotly contested seats in Connecticut and West Virginia.
Republicans dominated the 37 gubernatorial elections, picking up the prize in Florida, Ohio, Michigan, New Mexico, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, though they lost California, where Democrat Jerry Brown was elected. Republicans also captured a majority of the legislative seats across the U.S., putting them in a strong position for the vital redistricting process that will begin next year.
The Republican gains will make Ohio Rep. John Boehner the next Speaker of the House and increase the clout of Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky. Both will have their hands full trying to unite a more diverse Republican caucus that includes scores of Tea Party activists. GOP divisions were apparent even as the returns were coming in. Sen. Jim DeMint of South Carolina, who bucked the party establishment to back several GOP insurgents, warned the winners not to let themselves be co-opted by the leadership when they get to Washington.
Democrats face an even more daunting task. Their Senate majority will be too slim to get anything done without Republican cooperation, and they'll be virtually powerless in the GOP-run House. Of small consolation is the fact that House Democrats will be more united. Close to half of the conservative Democrats in the Blue Dog coalition lost their seats Tuesday, shifting its balance to the left. In both chambers, there are few moderates left. Compromise will be very difficult.
Though they won big, Republicans acknowledged they benefited from voter anger toward Democrats, rather than high ratings of their own. Millions of voters -- especially the growing number of independents in the country -- don't like either major party very much.
Exit polls confirmed what everyone already knew -- that the biggest issue was concern over the economy, especially the jobless rate, which is stuck at almost 10%. Republicans will try to address it by pushing for a permanent extension of the Bush tax cuts and lower corporate taxes, but as long as Obama has the veto, they'll be forced to compromise with Democrats.
Republicans are also certain to attempt to reduce federal spending by tens of billions a year. Their efforts won't come close to erasing a $1.3-trillion deficit, but they will show effort and newfound determination to slow the federal spending spigot.
GOP leaders will also try to rework the health care law. After a perfunctory push for repeal, they'll acknowledge they don't have the votes for that, but they'll push to change and delay as many provisions as they can.
As for major legislation, the big Democratic wish list is on ice. There'll be no movement on a large energy cap and trade bill, for instance. And nothing on immigration reform.
Making it all more difficult: The 2012 presidential election campaign officially began Tuesday night. Obama will become more defiant, quick to point a finger at Republicans for gridlock and intransigence as the weak economy only very slowly recovers. Republicans, with newfound authority, will blame the White House for not cutting taxes or not cutting spending more.


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Earlier this week, Apple chief Tim Cook announced a new record of 575 million iTunes accounts. Since Apple announced in 2009 it had reached 100 million, that means that Apple would have had to add an average of 500,000 new iTunes accounts per day in the last three years.
Asymco's Horace Dediu plotted out the numbers since 2009 to calculate its growth rate, according to AppleInsider. If the numbers are correct, Apple will add another 100 million accounts by the end of 2013.
If the numbers are correct, it also means that Apple's account base is growing much faster than its peers. While there's no evidence to refute Apple's numbers, there's also not a lot to directly confirm either. The closest evidence was in April, the NPD Group released a report that gave iTunes a 63 percent share of the U.S. digital music market -- about three times that of Amazon. iTunes also received about two-thirds of video downloads, too.
Essentially, Apple's numbers are wildly positive and indicate mammoth growth. Unfortunately, we have to consider if those numbers are a bit too optimistic, especially considering that 500,000 people a day would have to be creating a new iTunes account to make the numbers work.


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While the region's movie industry has made a romance or two in its time, nearly every heart-tugger in the world weakens before one of Southern California's truly intense twosomes: food lovers and historic restaurants that may be in danger of demolishment.
Letters will be written, passionate rallies held, and, if everything works out, the structure will still stand, as was the case earlier this year at NORMS La Cienega, which had the words "wrecking ball" floating above its big-window'd facade for several weeks.
Sometimes, though, the structure ends up standing in a whole new place. Look to Downey, and the very first Taco Bell, the storied eatery that founder Glenn Bell opened in 1962. It's currently at 7186 Firestone Boulevard, but as of the weekend before Thanksgiving, it will be in Irvine, at the Taco Bell corporate offices.
U.S. & World
Yep, "Taco Bell Numero Uno" is going on a epic overnight roll on the streets of SoCal. Date? Thursday night, Nov. 19 into the wee smalls of Friday, Nov. 20. Hours? 10-10:30 p.m. to just before 6 o'clock in the morning, or so.
You remember Space Shuttle Endeavour, and LACMA's Levitated Mass, and the other big things we so regularly move around in SoCal; it takes time to put a formerly unmovable thing on wheels and move it.
To call the structure beloved among Downey denizens is to traffic in understatement, and to say that its fans were worried when word of possible demolishment arrived at the start of the year is equally understated.
For while it has housed a number of different eateries over the last three or so decades, it remained, to many local long-timers, the Taco Bell they grew up going to after games and before dances.
Organizations like We Are the Next of Long Beach and the Downey Conservancy sprung into action at the news of the building perhaps being razed, as did Taco Bell, which met with the civic-minded, past-preservation groups.
We Are the Next's Executive Director Katie Rispoli met with both the property's current owners, which alerted the groups to the building's vacancy and potential demolishment, and Rispoli began to meet with the company to see what the wee building's future might be.
Taco Bell went full hashtag – #savetacobell – which helped spread the early word. The company found funds to put the arch-laden landmark on wheels and transport it to its HQ, and the conservancy and We Are the Next provided guidance and input on the process.
Ms. Rispoli shares that the structure, which cannot be entered, will not be on view once it reaches Irvine. But her hope is that one day it may have a "beneficial public use" and perhaps even return to Downey, its forever home.
Like the romance between food people and historic restaurants, civic organizations and major companies can sometimes unite in a moving, and movable, cause. It's a slice of Downey delight, and regional whimsy, and its a restaurant that birthed thousands of others around the globe.
Want to see it? Catch a nap on Thursday, if you can, because this'll be an all-nighter. There's a live webcam of the roll -- of course there is -- and some true-blue burrito buffs may make for a curb on Firestone, to wave goodbye to a local legend.


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This just in from Borders. They wanted to thank Twilighters for coming to their stores to celebrate the DVD and book releases, so this is what they are going to do: Their merchandising team is doing a first in its coupon efforts here: Twilight fan appreciation. What they did was create a coupon that is Buy ANYTHING in the Twilight Saga (books, DVD, apparel, you name it) that is at the store and get the next item 50% OFF. It's an in-store only coupon (meaning not available for online purchase). It's the first time any of their items like the sweetheart candy, Edward Cullen doll or t-shirts have ever had a discount.
From what Borders told us, "The thing is the fan sites we love are the only folks that are going to get this coupon to share with the community so it truly is appreciation for you all as it won't be posted anywhere else – not even our site until you all have put it out there. Ending this email as I started it, with a BIG thanks and hope this offer is something that will help the fans get their hands on those items they really want that are out there :- )"
The offer is good April 6-12, 2009 Get the coupon here.


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Jess Reinhardt won the 100 fly in a conference-record and NCAA B cut time of 53.18 on Friday.
Thanks to fast swimming all around, Liberty is in second place after day two of the 2013 CCSA Women's Swimming & Diving Championships. The Lady Flames took home two individual championships and eight podium finishes on Friday night. The team also broke two conference records and four program records on the day, while posting three NCAA B cuts. Liberty is in second place with 378 points, while Florida Gulf Coast leads with 544 points. Georgia Southern (300.5), Gardner-Webb (242) and North Florida (226) round out the top five. Liberty's Jess Reinhardt won the 100 fly in a conference-record and NCAA B cut time of 53.18. Teammate Bethany Wakeley, last year's 100 fly champion, placed second in a lifetime-best 54.72. Laura Day claimed her first event championship, winning the 100 breaststroke while swimming an NCAA B cut and lifetime-best 1:01.45. Emilie Kaufman also swam an NCAA B cut, placing third with a time of 1:02.09. In the 100 backstroke, Liberty took second and third for the second year in a row. Brye Ravettine swam 55.68 to finish second, while Emily Duff clocked a lifetime-best 55.72 for third. Kendall Hough took fifth in a lifetime-best 55.84 Cori Gary tied for third in the 200 free (lifetime-best 1:50.73), good for her second third-place finish of the meet. Meghan Babcock and Bethany Wakeley evenly split first place in the 200 free B final, tying for ninth place overall while both clocking a lifetime-best 1:51.89. Liberty's 800 free relay claimed second place in a program-record 7:27.97, trailing just Florida Gulf Coast (7:25.84). Emily Duff led off, followed by Bethany Wakeley, Cori Gary and Kendall Hough. Chloe Thomas swam a season-best 57.45 in the B final of the 100 back to place 11th overall. Ranndi Grubbs finished 13th overall in the 100 fly, swimming a lifetime-best 56.54 in the B final. Liberty's A relay disqualified in the 200 medley relay, undoing a potential second-place finish in the relay. Liberty qualified 12 swimmers for Friday night's finals, including eight in A finals and four in B finals. In the process, the Lady Flames broke two conference records and clocked three NCAA B cuts in the morning. Kaufman swam a lifetime-best 1:01.04 to earn the first seed in the 100 breast, breaking the conference record while also gaining a B cut. Day finished second in prelims with an NCAA B standard swim and then personal best time of 1:01.75. Reinhardt's conference-record time of 53.58 in the 100 fly won prelims while also giving her an NCAA B cut and a then lifetime best. Wakeley, the 2012 CCSA 100 fly champion, was second in prelims to Reinhardt in 55.28. Grubbs clocked a 56.68, earning 15th position in finals. In the 100 back, Ravettine swam her fastest time of the season, 55.46, to qualify in second. She was one of three Lady Flames to make the 100 back A final, followed by Emily Duff (5th. 55.99) and Kendall Hough (8th, 56.31). Chloe Thomas earned a B finals swim, qualifying 13th in 57.31. Gary, Babcock and Wakeley all swam lifetime bests to make the 200 free finals. Gary's time of 1:52.18 was good for sixth in qualifying. Babcock (9th, 1:52.58) and Wakeley (12th, 1:52.75) both gained spots in the B final. During prelims for the 100 fly, Katie Shoemaker placed 20th in a lifetime-best 57.58, right in front of Rachel Nelson, who swam a season-best 57.91 for 21st position. Sarah Kendrick clocked her best time of the season at 1:02.02, finishing in 42nd place. Sarah McCorkle finished in 23rd in the 200 free with a season-best 1:54.71, while Emily Mudd's top season time of 1:58.73 earned 35th. Mallorie Chambers went a season-best 1:13.67 in 100 breast prelims, while Jennifer Garzinski swam her fastest 100 back this season, 59.74, to finish in 32nd place. The 2013 CCSA Swimming & Diving Championships conclude tomorrow. The third and final day opens at 10 a.m. with the preliminary heats of the 200 backstroke, and finals will start at 6 p.m.


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Vehicle Recalls
Manufacturers Starting with the Letter J
Manufacturers Starting with the Letter J
Quick Find
What is a recall?
A recall is an action by the Company to remedy a safety or emissions related concern related to a vehicle defect or regulatory requirement. It may require that you return your vehicle to the dealer for service. If your vehicle is not affected, it may be because it was built at a different time or using a different part than the affected vehicles.


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Alan Michael Wilt has not received any gifts yet
Posted on January 24, 2013 at 5:53pm 0 Comments 0 Likes
I've put up a couple of new reviews, from Goodreads readers, of my atheism-themed novel The Holy Family.
Posted on January 7, 2013 at 4:48pm 0 Comments 0 Likes
Here's a new blog post from yours truly:
A Boston Globe columnist by the name of Jennifer Graham has recently fallen under the spell of the theatrical and movie musical of Victor Hugo's 1862 novel Les Misérables. For some reason she has chosen to mark her love of the show by picking a fight with "professional atheists" . . . READ IT HERE
Posted on November 21, 2012 at 11:00am 0 Comments 0 Likes
Thanksgiving Day: an excerpt from "The Holy Family" by Alan Michael Wilt. #AtheistNovel #religion #atheism #writing
Posted on November 13, 2012 at 5:49pm 3 Comments 0 Likes
One element of my novel The Holy Family, which explores the nature of religious belief and unbelief, is a controversial painting of Mary, Joseph, and the infant Jesus. In the novel, the painting is the work of the narrator's daughter, a college student, and it causes a stir on the…Continue
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The Cabinet of Dr. Strangelove
A Fiery Peace in a Cold War: Bernard Schriever and the Ultimate Weapon
On November 1, 1952, American scientists led by the Hungarian émigré Edward Teller oversaw the detonation of the first hydrogen bomb, code-named Mike, on an atoll in the Pacific Ocean. Mike possessed more than eight hundred times the destructive power of Little Boy, the bomb that flattened Hiroshima. The following March, Teller and his collaborator, the Hungarian-born mathematician John von Neumann, spoke about their work at a classified meeting of the Air Force Scientific Advisory Board at Maxwell Air Force Base in Alabama.
An obscure Air Force colonel named Bernard Schriever happened to be in attendance. He was a handsome former pilot whose career had evolved into the unglamorous field of project management. At the meeting, Schriever thought he understood Teller and von Neumann to say that the technical characteristics of hydrogen bombs meant that it should be possible, by about 1960, for the United States to build extraordinarily destructive nuclear weapons—eighty times more powerful than Little Boy—that were also small enough to fit onto the tips of accurate, high-flying missiles.
In hindsight, it might seem inevitable that rocketry and atomic weapons, independent inventions of the demon-shadowed latter months of World War II, would be married into nuclear ballistic missile systems—the "ultimate weapon" of Sheehan's subtitle. Within the United States military of the early 1950s, however, there was little understanding of this technological potential. Curtis LeMay, then the head of the Strategic Air Command, America's newly christened nuclear deterrent and fighting force (both roles were considered valid and plausible at the time), believed ardently in the primacy of airplane bombers; he scoffed at the Air Force's missile men as impractical dreamers.
Schriever, however, had a visionary streak. On May 8, 1953, he traveled to the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton to meet with von Neumann, to make sure that he understood correctly what had been said in Alabama. As he waited in a lounge, Albert Einstein walked by, and Schriever rose to greet him. "There was a certain irony in the encounter," Neil Sheehan notes in his account of the scene in A Fiery Peace in a Cold War. Two years before his death, Einstein regretted the role he had played in educating Franklin Roosevelt about the possibility of the atomic bomb. In a matter of hours at Princeton, after an informal lecture by von Neumann, Schriever would be confirmed in his ambition to pursue a transformational advance in the atomic weapon's military potential.
In part because of LeMay's resistance, it was not until the summer of 1955 that Schriever and von Neumann obtained an audience with President Eisenhower, at the White House, to lay out their vision of a full-fledged intercontinental nuclear missile force. Vice President Richard Nixon, Secretary of…
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At the Gainesville Police Department in recent years, arrests of women on domestic battery or assault charges have sometimes outpaced the arrests of men.
One victim was found with blood turning the floor red from multiple stab wounds.
In another case, punches left the victim with a swollen right eye and lacerations on the inside lip.
After sharing a bottle of vodka, a couple began arguing. Then it turned physical with punches being thrown and skin being scratched before one was hauled to jail.
These are details from recent arrests in Alachua County for domestic violence. Those arrested were women. Their targets were men. And there are many similar cases.
While the traditional image of domestic violence is a man beating a woman, a review of arrest records shows that many women are being charged in connection with violence against their husbands or boyfriends.
At the Gainesville Police Department in recent years, arrests of women on domestic battery or assault charges have sometimes outpaced the arrests of men. In 2010, for instance, 38 women were arrested compared with 29 men. In 2012, 35 women were arrested and 33 men.
Meanwhile, more than 27 percent of those arrested by all law enforcement agencies in the county on domestic violence charges have been women over the past three years.
Why are so many women now being arrested?
Are women becoming more violent? Are police more willing to arrest women than they were in the past? Are men more willing to report domestic violence? Are abused women fighting back? Are men who abuse women calling police to claim that they were the victims in a game of one-upmanship?
Law enforcement, attorneys, victim advocates and counselors say all of the above play a role.
But one theme, in particular, dominates.
More and more states and local law enforcement require or strongly encourage the arrest of the primary aggressor when officers are dispatched to a domestic violence call. The pro-arrest policies were intended to protect women from abusive situations, but experts say the strategy actually has resulted in more women getting hauled to jail.
"With mandatory arrest policies, what has happened across the country is that there has been an increase in the arrest of women," said Laura Knudson, special services bureau chief with the Alachua County Sheriff's Office. "But they have also created a lot of safety. It's very hard when you get on scene with all of the chaos to determine the primary aggressor. The dilemma is trying to figure out what happened."
The fallout from an arrest can be devastating. A woman arrested can lose custody of her children or lose her job. She also can lose her life.
Bruce Ferris, a former Gainesville police detective who investigated domestic violence cases and is now a mental health counselor with Village Counseling Center, said many women charged with domestic violence are themselves victims of batterers and are defending themselves or striking out against repeated abuse.
"When she gets arrested, I'm really concerned about that because what's the chance she is going to call next time?" Ferris asked. "She was calling, reaching out for help, and all of a sudden she's in jail. I'm concerned that type of arrest may lead to a victim of murder, that essentially she has no one to turn to now."
The rise in mandatory or pro-arrest policies is traced in part to a 1984 federal court ruling that the Torrington, Connecticut, Police Department did not adequately protect Tracey Thurman from her husband despite restraining orders and other requests for help. She was left disabled and disfigured after a later attack. The court ordered the department to pay her $2.9 million in damages.
Also in 1984, a study in Minneapolis, Minnesota, funded in part by the National Institute of Justice, determined that arrest was more effective at curbing future violence than counseling or separating the parties without an arrest. Later studies had varying results.
Over the decades, more states have enacted arrest statutes. Some require arrest, while Florida is considered pro-arrest.
Statute 741.2901 states: "It is the intent of the Legislature that domestic violence be treated as a criminal act rather than a private matter."
Ferris said officers cannot ignore a battery. In some cases, it is clear that one person committed the crime and must be arrested regardless of gender, Ferris said.
A Gainesville woman, for instance, was arrested recently on a domestic battery charge after allegedly grabbing her partner's arm and pants and forcefully pulling him from the bed because she was angry at him.
But there are also recent cases such this: A woman was arrested on allegations she punched her partner multiple times, followed him in her car as he rode his bike away, threw her phone at him and hit him with her car.
The arrest report states the woman told police her partner was trying to get her in trouble because she was leaving him because of past abuse.
Ferris said past abuse cannot be considered at the point of arrest.
"We can't go, 'Well, she's been abused by him, so I'm going to forgive her punching him out.' It doesn't work that way," Ferris said. "It can't work that way. I think it should be tempered — that's why they bring me in on court cases as an expert witness. But a battery is a battery is a battery."
Things get trickier if both parties are violent.
Florida Statute 741.29 addresses the issue of primary aggressor, stating that arrest is the preferred response for the primary aggressor but not for the party who acted in self-defense or to protect another family member.
Sheriff's Sgt. Becky Butscher, who has worked many domestic violence cases, said determining the primary aggressor is a challenge that can take hours in a situation that already might be volatile.
The couple must be interviewed along with any witnesses. Wounds or injuries must be noted. Evidence must be collected.
Some men and women know the pro-arrest policies and use that against the other, Butscher added.
The officer then must evaluate all that and decide who to arrest.
"Every case is specific. Every case is handled differently. But they are very, very challenging because there are so many dynamics. They can be very time-consuming, and they can be very frustrating," Butscher said. "I would say that probably the majority of the calls that we respond to are domestic calls."
Theresa Beachy, executive director of Peaceful Paths Domestic Abuse Network, said abusive men are increasingly calling police to allege they were beaten to pre-empt the woman from calling police.
Often, the woman was defending herself when she scratched or bruised the man. Police see the injuries and arrest the woman, Beachy said.
"They'll get into an altercation where maybe he instigates it, and then he'll call and she'll get arrested," Beachy said. "She is less likely to do what he does when she calls the police. He'll get all puffed up — 'Well, you don't know how she is, she's crazy,' and will deny everything. Most of the time, the women freak out and start crying. They don't put up their own defense in the same way that men do."
Still, some of those arrested have histories of violence — domestic and otherwise.
In August, the Sheriff's Office arrested Claudia Bunch Dallas, 53, of Hawthorne, on a murder charge after her 64-year-old partner was found dead on the floor with multiple stab wounds.
Deputies were familiar with Dallas — she had numerous previous arrests for allegedly battering boyfriends and family members. Some of the arrests resulted in convictions.
Eighth Circuit Public Defender Stacy Scott said many of the women her office represents on domestic violence charges grew up in an environment in which pushing and slapping was a way of life that continues in their adult relationships.
Scott said mandatory or pro-arrest policies can be lifesaving, adding that some women are victims of extremely violent, ongoing abuse. Those women need all the resources they can get, she said.
But Scott added that mandatory or pro-arrest policies also can make situations worse because the arrest of a woman can have greater financial and emotional impacts on families.
"When these reforms were instituted, I think they were much needed. We feel sometimes the pendulum has gone too far in one direction," Scott said. "Oftentimes we'll see cases where 911 was called and the alleged victim will say, 'Well, I didn't want an arrest. I just wanted you to calm him down.' It can start into motion a process that causes more stress than what originally happened. Other times, we'll have situations where someone was angry with a person and know they can use 911 as a weapon."
Ferris and others say cases of a woman habitually abusing a man physically and emotionally are rare.
While there is a legal definition of domestic violence involving intimate partners, counselors also use a non-legal tool — the power and control wheel.
The circle has various categories of behavior that indicate an abusive situation. Included are the use of intimidation, emotional abuse, isolation, the use of privilege such as treating a partner like a servant or making all of the decisions, and denying, blaming or minimizing a partner's concerns.
Power and control belong almost exclusively to men in the domestic violence cases that Ferris worked as an officer and experiences as a counselor.
"I don't see women doing the power things. I see men doing the power things," Ferris said. "The woman who popped that guy in the eye didn't isolate him or minimize or blame him. She was angry, and she hit him. But the woman I saw yesterday in counseling who was told that she is ugly and won't amount to anything and who can't go to the mailbox to get the mail, that's domestic violence — a pattern of power and control over a victim."


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Your morning roundup for July 2, the day a few Marines face time in the brig because they married solely for money.
What we watched: Copa America kicked off last night when Bolivia faced host nation Argentina. It'd have been a shocking upset if Lionel Messi et al lost. Here are some random thoughts from during last night's telecast:
It'd be nicer to have remembered more high-school Spanish, but it doesn't take fluency to know the announcer has pasión for Budweiser, the Rey de Cervezas. South American football's entertaining, but it just feels different than European (and MLS) games. They're good though. (Check out the run-up to an Ecuador goal against the Philadelphia Union last summer). Maybe they're just more street.
Argentina looks good, but with Diego Milito (bench), Carlos Tevez, Esteban Cambiasso and Messi, shouldn't they better? (And that goes beyond just tonight.)
Side note during a few unexciting minutes: Did they find the "Escaped baboon loping around Jackson (N.J.) near Great Adventure"? Speaking of Great Adventure, that place is fun, but you always think of the Haunted Castle fire when it's mentioned, don't you? Of course you do.
Yo, Messi's hair is shorter, and he's wearing some fly blue and yellow cleats which he had to change 11 minutes in. Tevez almost scored off a sweet pass from Messi in the 31st minute. They'll score soon. Messi to Cambiasso, threatening miss in the 33rd. Yellow card on Bolivia's Walter Flores. A few minutes later, No. 16 kind of headbutts Messi who — per the replay — got shovey with him first.
Bolivia's playing street ball, but Argentina's in total control, and then Tevez goes and gets a yellow — handball? — in the 38th minute. Bolivia threatens, but not really. Then Bolivia's Luis Alberto Gutiérrez went ahead and go yellowed, too. Nothing much more happens in the first half except the threat of more chippiness.
Argentina's Ángel Fabián Di María replaces Cambiasso at the half. A couple minutes in, defender Javier Zanetti allows for a Bolivia corner. Edivaldo Rojas scores on a sweet-ass back heel that most certainly should've been saved around the goal line in the 48th ("Criminal defending by Banega on the post.")
Trailing, Argentina's getting as feisty as their underdog foes were in the first half: Lavezzi gets a yellow in the 55th because of the sort of roughhousing that leaves foes on the grass. Robles, the foe, looks Taylor Hicksian as he ambles away. A couple seconds later, Lavezzi blew a 65-yard run with a worthless attempt on net. Or was it a cross. Hard to tell, it was so poor.
After an opponent comes close to tying the match, the Bolivian keeper Carlos Arias does the sign of the cross. Argentina looks like it's in trouble.
Argentina keeper Sergio Romero then makes a stellar breakaway glove save in the 66th. They're still the team to beat. In no small part because Lavezzi got subbed out. Mascherano barely misses with a rocket. Substitute striker Kun Agüero then levels the match with a full volley off a teammate's chest trap in the 76th. Great, great strike. Tie ballgame.
And that's how it'd stay. Major upset averted. Bolivia probably expected worse, and Argentina definitely expected better. Same as it ever was. (Brian Hickey)
What we're watching: Maria Sharapova and Petra Kvitova are currently doing battle in Wimbledon's ladies finals [Wimbledon]. If you're so inclined, play Slate's match-the-player-to-the-grunt game during TV timeouts. Kvitova took the first set 6-3 and just broke Sharapova's serve for a 1-0 second-set lead.
Even Fernando has jumped ship: Fernando Valenzuela donned an Angels jacket and threw the first pitch to his former Dodgers catcher Mike Scioscia. This, before the team the latter manages played — and got shutout by — the team they both used to play for. Follow? [L.A. Angels]
Punishment on the cheap: The University of Notre Dame's fine for contributing to football videographer Declan Sullivan's death was, as part of a "settlement deal," dropped to $42K. "In exchange for the smaller fine, the university is required to launch a national education campaign on the safe use of scissor lifts. [WGN Radio]
"Time of female football has come!": Russian women's premier-league side FC Rossiyanka has taken to dressing its players in bikinis. Svetlana Zhuravleva explains why: "The aim of this project is to attract attention to women football and to increase the popularity of it among male population of our country. We need to break the stereotype of women football as a non-spectacular kind of sport. ... Together we achieve the desired because Russian women football is bound to succeed!" [FC Rossiyanka]
T.O.'s baby mama drama: A Fulton County Superior Court judge set a July 26 hearing to consider Melanie Paige Smith's request that Owens be held in contempt of court. It's an owed child-support type of thing. Smith's Atlanta lawyer Randall Kessler said in court papers that Owens has refused to pay his full $5,000 monthly payment. [AP, via AJC]
Mutton-bustin' interlude:
A-Rod compliments a good friend: "They have the world's greatest player playing shortstop over there, and the most exciting," high-stakes poker enthusiast Rodriguez said, referring to electrifying New York Mets leadoff hitter Jose Reyes. "I turn on the TV every time I get a chance to watch him." He said this at a time when the teams are facing one another in the Subway Series. Which was nice. Game Two's on Fox this afternoon, depending upon where you live. [ESPN]
The short answer, of course, is no, no they're not: The Orioles went ahead and got one-hit by the Braves's Jair Jurrgens. This, on a day that a Baltimore columnist named Peter Schmuck went ahead and asked "Are the Orioles better off than they were a year ago?" [Baltimore Sun]
If dugout walls could talk: Per a "Fox! Sports! Exclusive!" Brian Wilson lost his shit after blowing a save in a game the Giants would end up winning anyway. To wit:
Wilson flung a Gatorade cooler in the Giants' dugout, which would have been a sufficient display for most mortals. Not Wilson. He procured a bat, gave himself a running start, and tomahawked the cooler as it sat on the ground. Then he smacked the wall with the bat for good measure.
He tossed the bat aside, stomped around for a few more moments, picked up the bat again, thought better of it, and dropped it with disdain.
Then came the most potentially perilous moment of the tantrum: He punched another object – apparently a tray of bubble gum or sunflower seeds – with his prized (right) pitching hand.
Asked afterward about his hand, Wilson replied, "My hand's fine. Ask the wall."
We are all Dave McKenna CXLIII: Here's your daily link to Dave McKenna's brilliant "Cranky Redskins Fan's Guide to Dan Snyder," which we'll be posting every day until wee wittle Danny admits what he did to Redskins fans's hearts is no better than a bunch of flash-mobbing kids cold lootin' a Sears store.
Sex toys, silent killers: Ten Greens Bundestag members recently submitted an inquiry to the government, titled, Sexual health as a consumer protection issue. "Many dildos, and other sex toys like vibrators and anal plugs, contain high levels of phthalates, other carcinogenic substances and toxic materials." [The Local] (H/T Tomuban)


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Your daily news briefing, with reports on the storms in the South, the royal wedding and President Barack Obama's birth certificate.
Quote of note
"This could be one of the most devastating tornado outbreaks in the nation's history by the time it's over." - CNN meteorologist Sean Morris. Fierce storms – many that spawned tornadoes – devastated the South yesterday, and the death toll has topped 250. Alabama has suffered the worst, recording more than half the deaths, and entire neighborhoods in the state have been destroyed. Check out a video below of a massive tornado in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
News to know
The moment the world has been waiting for finally arrives tomorrow – the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton. The wedding takes place at 6 a.m. EDT tomorrow, so you'll have to get up early if you want to watch it live. American media will cover the event all day, so keep an eye on your favorite TV station or website. And don't forget to check out the official royal wedding website.
Hot video
President Barack Obama talked to Oprah Winfrey about the "birther" issue after he released his long-form birth certificate. Watch a portion of the interview below.
GateHouse News Service


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Board approves hiring former deputy as additional police officer
SNOW HILL � Town officials in Snow Hill appear to be satisfied with next year�s proposed budget.
The commissioners made changes to the proposed 2013-14 budget in April and a public hearing was held Monday night on the updated budget with no comments or fanfare.
The board plans to approve it � likely without changes � at the June 11 meeting, according to Chairwoman Lorrine Washington and Town Administrator Dana Hill.
�It�s looking good, that�s all I can say,� Washington said about the budget after the meeting.
For employees, what may look good is a 2.5 percent cost of living raise. Elected official�s salaries are listed to remain the same as this year.
For residents, what might be good is that there are no utility rate or property tax increases.
This year, the town has a revenue neutral tax rate. The property tax is .35 per $100 of value. The value increased from more than $84.94 million this year to more than $93.04 million in the proposed budget.
The board agreed not to lower the property tax in order to ensure revenues for equipment upgrades, staff training and facility improvements.
Some fees may be adjusted, but the fee schedule was not available at press time.
The proposed budget is balanced at $853,800 in the general fund and $1,041,600 in the enterprise fund without allocating money from the fund balance, according to the budget message.
The water fund balanced at $558,735 and the sewer fund balanced at $482,865.
The Public Safety department has a proposed budget increase from $196,511 to $222,080 to allow for an additional full-time officer. This will bring the police staff to four full-time and three part-time officers.
Following a closed session, the board approved the hiring of Briant O�Briant, a former Greene County Sheriff�s Office deputy, to the police force.
Commissioners agreed to allow extended and/or overlapped patrol coverage of the town.
The board allocated $10,000, as it did last year, to housing enforcement under the community development fund for the demolishing of unsightly and dangerous properties.
No allocations were budgeted for the clearing of 4.5 acres adjacent to the cemetery, but the budget may be amended to include it, according to the budget message.
The enterprise fund includes $44,000 for the debt payment on the automatic water meter reading system, which the town is installing on a grant/loan. However, the full amount may not be required in the 2013 fiscal year.
Margaret Fisher can be reached at 252-559-1082 or firstname.lastname@example.com. Follow her on Twitter @MargaretFishr.
Breakout box:
2013-2014 proposed department budgets for Snow Hill:
Governing body $54,230
Administration $100,701
Election $5,000
Public Safety $222,080
Streets $89,675
Sanitation $128,800
Cemetery $67,830
Powell Bill $42,195
Community Dev. $143,289
Water $558,735
Sewer $482,865


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Art Los Angeles Contemporary: and the fair trifecta completes!
The month of January in Los Angeles became a triple art fair extravaganza for the collectors, observers and scene-sters.
The last one in the series,
Art Los Angeles Contemporary, held at the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, stayed true to it's name, and never blended eras.
So, with all of the contemporary pieces here, we of course were looking for the photographic in all of this.
Strict 2D imagery was not the standard. And on opening night, live performances, suitably framed, gave everyone a good look into the process, which produced still image tableaus for these artists, Jennifer Catron and Paul Outlaw (maybe not his real name)
Represented by Allegra LaViola Gallery in New York, the artists wandered about the fair, before posing in the frame. Check out the rest of their photographs here.
Down the lane a piece was this grouping of images, together with props, by artist Lee Materazzi, represented by the Quint Contemporary Art Gallery in La Jolla.
Along with the hanging laundry, a working washing machine is on site, completing a mundane experience, brought to the space.
Were collectors expected to consider the whole piece with accouterments for purchase, or just for the ambiance of the space, we are not sure.
There are many pieces that are very cool to see, although not photographic, and perhaps not PG-13.
You'll have to see those for yourself.
We wish these 3 fairs were combined or at the same time, like Art Basel in Miami, but not this year.
If you are looking for strict photo goodness, AIPAD is next in NYC, although you'll be going with more classic images there.
Make sure you check the events surrounding the galleries, though. There are some great performances,and artists discussions, connected with this fair. Like on Sunday, "In Conversation with Raymond Pettibon" looks like our kinda jam.
Time to hit the galleries and see what's new.
Art Los Angeles Contemporary
The Barker Hangar
3021 Airport Avenue
Santa Monica, CA 90405
Dates & Hours:
Thursday, January 27
First Preview (Invitation Only) 4pm – 6pm
VIP Reception 6pm – 10pm
Friday, January 28 11am – 7pm
Saturday, January 29 11am – 7pm