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The cold air wedge has done it again -- but this time, we should be thankful.
The wedge -- a pocket of cool, damp but relatively stable air that is pushed into the Carolinas Piedmont by high pressure systems over New England -- usually causes us plenty of problems. In winter, areas inside the wedge are prone to ice storms and snow.
In spring, the wedge often contributes to those chilly, rainy days. Does anyone remember the day before Easter?
A wedge of cool air was locked in place Monday across the northern half of North Carolina. While Charlotte was in the lower 80s on Monday afternoon, temperatures were 20 degrees cooler in Raleigh and Greensboro. Computer models, as they usually do, vastly underestimated the strength of the wedge. The models predicted the cool air would remain north of Charlotte.
It didn't. About 11 p.m. Monday, the wedge front pushed south of Charlotte. Dew point temperatures, which measure the level of humidity and instability in the atmosphere, dropped sharply. The wind shifted from south to northeast.
And at that moment, Charlotte was protected from the severe weather to the west.
As is often the case, the wedge of cool air was pushed up against the mountains. Cooler air sinks, and so it often is lodged against the mountains. That is why strong storms dumped several inches of rain overnight in Burke, Caldwell, McDowell and Catawba counties -- areas that were along, or just outside of, the cool air pocket.
So the big question is how long the cool air will remain in place?
Once again, the compute models predict the cooler and more stable air will retreat northward Tuesday. I enjoyed the comment from Justin Lane, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service's office in Greer, S.C. Talking about the predicted northward movement of the cooler air, he said, :"I don't have a lot of faith in that."
More likely, it will be late Tuesday night or early Wednesday before that happens.
Eventually, the severe thunderstorms probably will reach the Charlotte region. But the presence of the cool air wedge in Charlotte has prevented a couple inches of rain from falling overnight. That will decrease the overall storm total for the area and lessen the threat of flash flooding from whatever rain falls Tuesday night and Wednesday.
Tuesday, April 29, 2014
This time, the cold air wedge does Charlotte a favor
The cold air wedge has done it again -- but this time, we should be thankful.
Monday, April 28, 2014
Is storm threat for real? And what about Quail Hollow?
Since late last week, meteorologists have been beating the drum -- increasingly louder every day -- about the threat of severe weather and flash flooding this week in the Carolinas.
There is a group of people that complains about weather stories that forecast doom and gloom, and I understand all that. The critics are tired of having their fears built about bad storms (or their hopes built over winter snow) ... only to have the bad weather not develop.
This time around, the threat seems legit. This isn't a localized situation of a few severe storms developing on a hot summer afternoon.
|Radar image from Monday morning.
There also will be a warm front in the Carolinas later Monday, and those fronts tend to serve as triggers for severe storms.
If nothing else, look at what happened Sunday in Arkansas, Oklahoma, Nebraska and Missouri. And then watch developments Monday, especially in northern Mississippi and southern Tennessee.
Flash flooding might wind up being the biggest problem from the next three days' bad weather. Regardless of whether there are severe storms, we'll see repeated rounds of heavy showers and thunderstorms. The Carolinas have received well-above-average rainfall since December, and it won't take much to trigger flooding.
So, yes ... this appears to be a legitimate threat.
Now, will it have an impact on the Wells Fargo Championship out at the Quail Hollow Club this week?
It looks as if the four competitive rounds, Thursday through Sunday, have a reasonable chance of being played without a lot of interruptions. There still might be a shower or two in the area around daybreak Thursday, but the chances seem good of everyone getting in their first rounds. The next problem would be Saturday, with a chance of showers again. But that looks like a scattered shower situation.
Temperatures won't be summer-like. We'll be looking at daily highs around 70 degrees and morning lows around 50. It'll feel more like early April.
As for the pro-am tournaments and practice rounds early this week ... Monday's pro-am should make it through without big problems. But any activity scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday looks mighty unlikely.
Sunday, April 27, 2014
Tornado, flood threat looms this week
A slow-moving and massive low pressure system is expected to cause a wide variety of stormy weather across the Carolinas from Monday evening into Wednesday night.
Severe thunderstorms, tornadoes and flash flooding will be threats for the Charlotte region this week, and National Weather Service forecasters say it's a foregone conclusion that the area will be under various severe weather watches and warnings over the next few days.
"This will be a very active weather week," said Scott Krentz, of the National Weather Service office in Greer, S.C.
The severe thunderstorm and tornado threat began Sunday in the Midwest and is expected to shift eastward Monday into the Tennessee Valley and Mid-South. By later Monday, that threat will reach the western Carolinas.
"I think most of the day Monday will be OK, with a few showers around," Krentz said. "But things will start to degenerate around sunset Monday.'
The severe thunderstorm and tornado threat will be at its greatest in the Charlotte region from Monday evening through Tuesday. Forecasters say a warm front that will stretch east to west along the Carolinas border Monday morning will push slowly north during the day and evening. That front will be the focal point for trouble.
"The wind shear will really increase after dark and continue to be high during the night," Krentz said, referring to a weather condition in which winds blow from different directions at various levels of the atmosphere.
Often, especially during the warm season, thunderstorm activity dissipates in the evening, with the loss of daytime heating. That will not be the situation Monday night and early Tuesday, due to the advance of low pressure and the presence of the warm front. Krentz said areas north of Interstate 40 probably will escape the severe threat Monday night, but the warm front is forecast to push northward into Virginia on Tuesday, so all parts of the Carolinas will be at risk then.
The nature of the threat changes as we go through Tuesday, Krentz said. He said severe storm will remain a possibility, but repeated episodes of heavy showers and storms will cause a flooding threat.
"I think that we'll probably be under a flood watch by then," he said, referring to Tuesday and Wednesday.
Krentz said computer models indicate about 3.5 inches of rain will fall in Charlotte from Monday night until precipitation tapers off later Wednesday. About 4.5 inches is expected in the South Carolina Upstate.
Thursday, April 24, 2014
1st major severe storm threat begins this weekend
The same slow-moving low pressure system that is expected to bring several rounds of heavy rain and thunderstorms to the Carolinas next week is forecast to produce the nation's first major outbreak of severe weather this weekend.
One round of showers and storms is predicted to affect the South on Thursday evening. That area of precipitation also might trigger some severe storms Friday afternoon and evening in eastern North Carolina.
But the big event will take shape Saturday and Sunday.
A deep low pressure system is forecast to move very slowly across the Midwest both days. The center of that low is predicted to move -- at a snail's pace -- along a stationary front that will be struck in an east-west line across Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky, Missouri and Kansas.
Areas to the north of that front are in store for a lot of rain and chilly temperatures through the middle of next week. Areas to the south, like the Charlotte area, figure to get milder temperatures but several clusters of showers and potentially heavy thunderstorms.
Evan Myers, an Accu-Weather meteorologist, said Thursday that the first major tornado outbreak of the year is expected to develop Saturday in northern Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Kansas and southwest Illinois. By Tuesday and Wednesday, that area will reach the Southeast.
"Indications are it will move slowly," Myers said.
NOAA's Storm Prediction Center in Oklahoma also is warning about severe weather caused by the slow-moving low. It is mentioning the chance of strong tornadoes this weekend in the Deep South and the Mississippi Valley.
By the time that precipitation area reaches the Southeast later next week (Tuesday and Wednesday, most likely), the nature of the threat is expected to change from tornadoes to a pattern of damaging wind gusts, hail and flash flooding.
Next week figures to be very interesting for the Carolinas.
Incidentally, meteorologists agree that once the low pressure system eventually wobbles off the East Coast late next week, a pattern of summer-like weather will take hold in the South. The week of May 5-11 could produce a lot of 80s in the Carolinas.
Wednesday, April 23, 2014
What to wear at the Wells Fargo: How about a rain coat?
The feature story on the Charlotte Observer's website Wednesday afternoon is a piece by Cristina Bolling on what fans should wear at next week's Wells Fargo Championship golf tournament.
Cristina's story focuses on what a well-dressed golf fan will wear to Charlotte's PGA tournament.
My suggestion: Rain gear.
By nearly every prediction, it looks as if we're in for a very wet week -- with the emphasis on "very."
The computer models insist on creating a blocking pattern over Greenland and northeast Canada. That will stall the west-to-east movement of weather systems across the United States. And considering that a slow-moving low pressure system is expected to be in the eastern half of the country next week, it's a recipe for days of rainfall.
The good news is that it apparently won't be a cold rain -- at least not in the Carolinas. Chilly temperatures and the rain could be confined to areas north of the Mason-Dixon line. High temperatures each day look to be from the upper 60s to the mid 70s.
But the upper-level low pressure system will barely move during the week, becoming a cut-off low pressure system that is left outside the jet stream and becomes stuck over the eastern United States. In those kinds of situations, we tend to get frequent periods of showers and thunderstorms. Severe thunderstorms usually don't develop in those patterns, but storms with heavy rainfall are more likely.
The exact timing is a bit uncertain, but it appears as if showers will begin to move into the Carolinas on Monday, with the amount of rainfall increasing Tuesday and Wednesday. It could be the end of the week before the cut-off low finally meanders off the East Coast.
Charlotte's rainfall since early December is several inches above average, and it appears as if we'll add to the surplus next week.
Saturday, April 19, 2014
An update on this Easter weekend washout
It's late Saturday afternoon, and an update on what to expect for Easter might be in order -- especially many people will be attending sunrise services in the morning.
Obviously, the weekend so far has been a miserable washout. In fact, the spring break week for children in the area has been largely a bust. That also goes for the original forecast for this weekend. If you'll remember, we were talking as late as Wednesday about 70 degrees (with clouds) for Saturday and sunshine and 70s for Sunday.
A low pressure system that was stronger than expected and slower than expected has ruined all that -- just like a cold high pressure system over New England ruined most of the outdoor plans for students last week.
We're approaching 2 inches of rain from this weekend's storm, and we've passed 4.5 inches for the month. That means April will make five of the last six months with above-average rainfall for Charlotte. Let's remember that the first time we have five straight dry, warm days, and someone starts talking about "drought."
So what about the rest of the weekend?
Easter Sunday will not start great.
Since the left-over moisture from the very slow-moving low pressure system will still be around in the morning, and we'll still have a cool northeast flow, I think daybreak will be cloudy, misty and cool (upper 40s).
Figure on the clouds hanging around all morning, then slowly breaking in the afternoon. It won't be a warm day, either. Those morning clouds and the northeast breeze will limit highs to the mid 60s, and that might be a stretch.
Temperatures today were more than 20 degrees below average, and they'll be 10 degrees below average Sunday, too.
In short, it'll be a great indoor Easter.
It looks like conditions turn warmer next week, and since the students will be back in school and most of us back at work, that figures.
Back in March, we said spring would be slow to arrive this year in the eastern United States. And it has played out that way. Cold air has been persistently lodged in the northeastern part of the country since January. Here in the Southeast, we've had brief warm spells over the past few weeks, but cold high pressure repeatedly has wedged its way into the Carolinas, and we've been visited by these cold rainy systems.
Until the pattern breaks, expect more of the same.
The good news is that the pattern has kept storm systems from moving up the Tennessee and Ohio valleys, for the most part, and that has saved us from severe weather outbreaks.
Thursday, April 10, 2014
Are we safe from frost? What about Easter weather?
The two questions I've been hearing a lot in recent days concern frost and the advance outlook for Easter weekend.
As you well know, there are dangers in giving definitive answers in either case. The date of the last frost is an average, with wide variations. And predicting the weather for Easter, which is 10 days away, taxes the limits of meteorology.
But let's talk about it.
The average date of the last frost in Charlotte is April 2, according to numbers I found, although I also discovered a listing that said "somewhere between April 1 and 10." By either of those averages, we are safe.
But you'll be taking a chance, as you know, by planting anything tender vegetation now. It's a small chance, but we've had freezing temperatures as late as April 25 in recent years (31 degrees on April 25, 2005). And it doesn't take freezing temperatures at Charlotte Douglas International Airport for frost to develop. If it's in the mid 30s at the airport, there easily could be frost nearby.
Looking at the last several years, here are the last dates of chilly temperatures:
2013 ... April 20 (39 degrees)
2012 ... April 24 (39 degrees); also April 13 (34 degrees)
2011 ... May 5 (36 degrees)
2010 ... April 29 (38 degrees)
Computer models show some chilly air infiltrating the Carolinas next week after the current warm spell is broken. If skies are clear at night, we easily could see some mid and upper 30s in the region. However, there are signs that the period from Wednesday through Good Friday, the three-day period of the coolest weather, could be cloudy. That would keep overnight readings warmer than they otherwise might be.
About Easter ...
Several long-range forecasts show the same thing next week -- cloudy and rather cool temperatures from Wednesday through Saturday, the day before Easter. Predicted highs are in the mid and upper 60s, and there could be some rain around Good Friday.
But the good news is that most of those forecasts show clearing skies and much warmer temperatures for Easter Sunday, with highs around 80 degrees.
Monday, April 7, 2014
The amazing power of the cold air wedge
We talked for several days about the revved-up weather that we were expecting today. It was to be a one-two punch of heavy rain in the morning and then severe storms in the afternoon and evening.
The first part developed pretty much as expected. But the severe storms apparently will be a no-show for the Charlotte region.
And it's all because of the amazing power of the cold air wedge.
A quick review ... the cold air wedge is the name given a condition in which cool air becomes trapped in the Piedmont and foothills of the Carolinas and Virginia. Typically, an onshore wind brings the cool air into the Carolinas. Since cold air is heavier than warm air, it sinks -- and becomes trapped against the mountains.
Sometimes we get what's called an in-situational cold air wedge. The air is relatively cool and quite dry. Then precipitation from a low pressure system arrives. As it falls into the dry air, it cools temperatures even more.
Often in these situations, a warm air mass is lurking somewhere to the south or southeast. Occasionally, a warm front plows into the cold air wedge and erodes it. Usually, the cold air wedge holds on. When that happens, Charlotte is stuck in the soup, with chilly, damp conditions.
Weather computer models frequently err in predicting the erosion of the wedge. They tend to forecast the wedge will break down, but that often doesn't happen. Today is the latest case in point. The warm air that several of the models predicted would reach the I-85 corridor by Monday afternoon hasn't even pushed west of I-95.
The cold air wedge is a real pain for meteorologists, whose forecasts are busted when the warmer air never arrives. Charlotte was supposed to have reached the middle 60s by late Monday afternoon. Barring something unexpected, temperatures will remain stuck in the lower 50s.
At 3 p.m. Monday, it was in the upper 70s along the coast and about 40 miles inland. Temperatures were 30 degrees colder along the I-85 corridor. And to the west of the mountains, temperatures were in the low and mid 60s, on the other side of the trapped air.
Sunday, April 6, 2014
Monday could be a wild, wacky weather day
Rainy days and Mondays are not a big hit with most people, especially when they're one and the same.
But Monday could be a very interesting day for weather geeks, especially if you live in the southern portion of the Charlotte region.
A big storm system that covers hundreds of miles and much of the South will affect the Carolinas on Monday, bringing plenty of rain and a chance of severe weather in some places.
If you live to the northwest of Interstate 85, chances are Monday will be a chilly, wet day -- and not a whole lot more. Places like Hickory and Statesville probably will stay in the lower 50s for much of the day, with a steady, soaking rain falling.
To the southeast of I-85 ... that's another story.
First, for the basics. The center of low pressure will move northeastward Monday, crossing Tennessee and into Kentucky. A cold front that pushed south of Charlotte on Friday evening is moving back to the north as a warm front. Forecasters say any severe weather that develops Monday will be in the warmer, more unstable air.
The question is how far north that front will get. Cool high pressure to our north and falling rain have created a cold air wedge over the Carolinas, and severe weather won't develop in that cool pocket. But the northward-moving warm front on Monday will trim back the cold air pocket. Computer-generated forecasts show the warm front pushing as far north as I-85.
Typically in these situations, the cold air wedge is very difficult to dislodge. If Charlotte, Monroe, Rock Hill and Lancaster get into the warmer air, it probably won't happen until mid or late afternoon.
So here are some things to look for Monday:
1. A lot of rain across the entire area. The National Weather Service is predicting about 1.6 inches in Charlotte, Concord, Monroe, Rock Hill and Salisbury. The forecast is closer to 1.8 or 1.9 inches in Gastonia, Lincolnton, Hickory, Statesville and Shelby. Heavier amounts are possible, however.
2. Most of South Carolina will get into the warm, unstable air.
3. As the warm front moves into North Carolina, it will push inland toward the foothills. Areas east of U.S. 1 are likely to get into the warm, unstable air. How much of the area between U.S. 1 and I-85 gets into the warmer air? That's the question mark.
4. Winds in the atmosphere -- south of the warm front, at least -- will be set up to create rotating thunderstorms.
5. There will be remarkable contrasts in temperatures Monday. Don't be surprised to see some afternoon temperatures in the foothills in the upper 40s, while it's 75 degrees in Columbia or Florence, S.C. And especially in the early afternoon, don't be surprised to see readings around 70 degrees near Wadesboro or Pageland, S.C., while it's 15 to 20 degrees colder in Gastonia or Lincolnton.
6. If fog develops, it could be a sign that you're near the warm front. Warmer air will pile into the area from upper levels of the atmosphere, squashing the cooler air toward the surface. That's when fog develops. If it's foggy in your area, and the ceiling suddenly lifts (and the temperature climbs), it's an almost certain sign that you're south of the warm front.
Friday, April 4, 2014
Monday could be a stormy and very wet day
We've been spared the typical springtime weather woes of heavy rain events and severe thunderstorms, largely because of that persistent block of cold air to our north that pushed its way into the Carolinas frequently in February and March.
But things are shaping up for a potentially wild day on Monday.
Our string of 80-degree days will come to an end when a cold front pushes across the region later Friday night. Behind the front on Saturday, we'll have a very nice day, with partly sunny skies and temperatures somewhere around 70 degrees.
But then things go downhill.
Low pressure is expected to form in the lower Mississippi Valley on Sunday and push northeast. The track of the system is important, because the center of the low is predicted to push across Louisiana and Mississippi through Tennessee and then Kentucky.
Clouds will increase in the Carolinas on Sunday, and it probably will be a chilly day, with temperatures not getting much above the lower 60s. And rain from the low pressure system is expected to arrive by Sunday evening.
Andrew Kimball of the National Weather Service's office in Greer, S.C., said computer models indicate "copious amounts" of moisture will be spread northward from the Gulf of Mexico into the Carolinas.
How much is "copious"? Some of the computer-generated forecasts show up to 3 inches of rain falling from the system. That would be enough to cause some flooding problems in areas where the heaviest rain falls.
But that's not all. Remember the cold front that passes through our area tonight. It will stall somewhere to the south of us this weekend, then be dragged northward by the low pressure system pushing up through Tennessee and Kentucky. All the ingredients will be there for severe weather sometime Monday.
Areas to the south of that front will be at risk of severe thunderstorms with damaging winds and hail. And tornadoes will be possible, too.
It's nearly a sure thing that much of South Carolina will be in the warm sector south of the front. Kimball said computer models predict the front will move far enough north to put the I-77 / I-85 area in the warm sector, too. And there even is a possibility of the front pushing up to the foothills.
Rain, some of it heavy, is a very strong possibility from Sunday evening through late Monday. And severe weather will be in the mix, too.
We'll watch how this develops over the next few days.
Wednesday, April 2, 2014
Snowfall totals, and more Grandfather Mountain
I saw a list of North Carolina snowfall totals for the 2013-14 season, while I was looking around on various weather bulletin boards the other day. I don't recall exactly where I saw it, but I think it was at the American Wx page (www.americanwex.com).
Anyways, I was struck at the lack of uniformity in snowfall in various parts of the state. Some reporting stations within a few miles of each other had very different totals.
I think these totals came from CoCoRaHS observers, so they might not be the same numbers you get from the official National Weather Service reporting stations.
By the way ... I wrote a story online last week about the recruiting drive for more CoCoRaHS observers. Sometime in the next few days, I'll devote one day of this blog to some of the interviews I conducted with those observers. They are really neat people -- true weather geeks.
But back to the snow ...
In our part of the state, most of the snow fell Feb. 10-13. We had some light snow on the night of Monday, Feb. 10, then about an inch on grassy surfaces on Tuesday, Feb. 11. The major snow fell on Feb. 12 and 13.
Anyways, here are some of the numbers I culled:
Mount Mitchell ... 35.5 inches
Boone ... 33.8
Winston-Salem ... 16.3
Greensboro ... 15.3
New Bern ... 14 (kind of strange for a coastal area to be among the state leaders, but that's the way it works sometimes)
Rockingham ... 10.3
Salisbury ... 10.1
Concord ... 9.6
Asheville ... 9.4
Charlotte ... 9.3
Hickory ... 8.7
Greenville ... 7.2
Raleigh ... 5.8 (that number seems low)
Wilmington ... 0.6
Snow-lovers are never satisfied, but it seems as if they had a good year. It always kind of intrigues me how people in the Carolinas cheer for snow, while their counterparts in the North would be happy to have snow-less winters.
More on Grandfather Mountain ,,, Yesterday, I wrote about the iconic Grandfather Mountain sign being crushed by wind gusts Sunday. The sign had stood for more than 50 years in Linville, but the impact of rough weather over those five decades finally claimed the sign.
Today, I heard from Sherry Fletcher, who says she and a group of people are lobbying officials to replace the sign -- with something resembling the original Grandfather Mountain sign. She says they have a Facebook page with 600 members. Here's a link, if you're interested -- https://www.facebook.com/groups/498965223547384/
And I have a correction to make. Yesterday, I wrote that the 13 inches of snow in February at Grandfather Mountain set a record for the month. I should have known better, because that total is far too low for a record.
Anyways, Kellen Short of Grandfather Mountain sent me a note today, reminding me that the February total was the most for this season. He says they believe the February record is 36.81 inches of snow, in 1971. And the record for any one month is 64.05 inches in March 1960. That, of course, is the month when it snowed every Wednesday over much of the state.
Tuesday, April 1, 2014
Sunday's wind claims an iconic victim
Those gusty winds that left tree limbs cluttered across your yards and knocked out power to some Carolinas residents on Sunday also did a number to one of North Carolina's well-known tourist attractions.
The large wooden sign that advertised Grandfather Mountain for the past half-century was flattened by wind gusts early Sunday in Linville. Officials at Grandfather Mountain say the sign, at U.S. 221 and N.C. 105, had been designed by architect Charles Hartman, the same person who designed the famous Mile High Swinging Bridge.
"The sign was an icon in North Carolina's travel industry," said Harris Prevost, vice president of Grandfather Mountain Stewardship Foundation. "It was pure Americana -- 1950s, all the way. We're sorry to see this piece of history lost forever."
Grandfather Mountain officials say the sign was painted in bright yellow and green when it was built in the late 1950s, and then repainted in tan and brown in 2006. (The photo of the damaged sign above was shot by Kellen Short of the Grandfather Mountain Stewardship Foundation.)
The weather station at the Mile High Swinging Bridge recorded winds of up to 92.5 mph early Sunday. That is a lot stronger than elsewhere in North Carolina, but Grandfather Mountain is noted for having some extreme winds.
Wind speeds recorded atop the mountain came into question from some scientists, especially after the anemometer measured a 200 mph gust in 2006. Critics said the measuring device was mounted atop a building, allowing wind to funnel up the side of the building to the top -- producing an inaccurate measurement.
Grandfather Mountain officials responded by positioning the anemometer atop the Swinging Bridge, free of any interference.
Record Snow ... By the way, Grandfather Mountain set a record in February for the snowiest month ever up there. More than 13 inches fell during the month, including 10 inches on Feb. 13. That was the same storm that brought about 8 inches to Charlotte.
Sometime over the next few days, I'll publish a list of snowfall totals across the Carolinas for the winter of 2013-14.
But Mount Mitchell led the way with about 35 inches, a few inches more than Grandfather Mountain.
This is the iconic Grandfather Mountain sign that was felled by Sunday's strong winds.


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By Karin Calloway
Related Menus
Sunny Couscous Salad
Couscous is a quick cook's friend. Pour boiling liquid over the top, cover and set aside. That's all the cooking required. This salad gets its sunny flavor from a double dose of freshly squeezed orange juice. The orange juice and some spices make this a salad recipe you'll turn to often. It is delicious served alongside the Citrus-Q Salmon recipe on this site, but also makes a nice picnic salad served with hamburgers or grilled chicken at your next cookout.
Makes 6 servings.

subset: commoncrawl


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Could new government rules jeopardize children's privacy and safety?
By Larry Magid
The Federal Trade Commission's proposed revisions of the rules that implement the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) is well meaning and well-timed. It's well meaning in that the FTC truly does care about the privacy and safety of children and it's well-timed in that it's the first revision since COPPA was implemented back in 1999 during the days of Web 1.0. Back then there was no Facebook and no smart phone apps. There were websites, including some that were using information collected from children to send them marketing pitches, which is why Congress decided to clamp down with a law that requires verifiable parental consent before a site could collect personally identifiable information from children under 13.
Over the last several months, the FTC has been taking another look at COPPA, seeking to update it to modern times and, in August, issued a proposed set of new rules.
As I wrote at the time, the new rules recognized some of the changes such as the role of apps and third party plug-ins and sought to add Internet protocol addresses (IP address) to the list of "persistent identifiers" that also includes tracking cookies that are used to display ads based on a user's behavior, in some cases on sites other than the site displaying the ad.
I also mentioned some unintended negative consequences of the rule changes, which prompted my ConnectSafely.org co-director Anne Collier and me to submit an official comment for the FTC to consider as it finalizes its rule changes.
Unintended consequences & ConnectSafely's FTC comment
Our comment, which we've posted on ConnectSafely.org, outlines our concerns about the unintended consequences for both children and small businesses that create apps for mobile and social networking platforms. While we are sympathetic to the (mostly) small businesses that create apps, our primary concern is, of course, for children and we believe that over-regulation could actually jeopardize children's privacy and safety. I know that sounds a bit far reaching but consider that the proposed rules could — among other things — require parents to verify the identity of children who click on YouTube videos if those videos are embedded on sites aimed at children — a common practice.
Requiring that parents submit child's name and age to both the site operator and to the source of the embed, is a "remedy" that's more harmful than the disease it seeks to cure. Curently, Google and virtually every other site on the Internet (including this one) gets the IP address of every visitor. In theory, it could be possible to identify the household or device of that individual in some cases, but in practice is extremely difficult and generally requires a court order. But if the FTC requires parents to verify their child's identity, that very information the rule is attempting to protect, will in fact be disclosed. That doesn't protect children, it makes them more vulnerable.
Platforms and compliant apps
Another proposed rule change would hold both the platform developers (like Apple, Facebook and Google) and the developers who write apps for their ecosystem responsible for compliance with COPPA without providing the app developer additional resources to comply. It strike us that if the FTC wants to extend its rules to app developers (a reasonable idea), it should enable platform developers to provide the verification for them with the assurances that there are consequences for any app developer who fails to comply. We wrote:
"An updated COPPA rule should make it practical for platform operators such as Apple, Google and Facebook to enable parents to provide verifiable consent to the platform which can then pass it on to app developers – most of whom are very small businesses with few if any resources for collecting consent on their own – with the understanding that the developers must adhere to COPPA guidelines or be subject to being kicked off the platform as well as to any potential civil or criminal consequences.
Our comment also covers the chilling impact that the rules could have on small businesses that offer education and entertainment resources to children. We worry that the cost of compliance will discourage legitimate businesses from catering to children while having no impact on sleazy businesses that will continue to violate the privacy of children and other visitors. Of course kids will continue to seek content, but if well-meaning legitimate businesses fail to provide it, kids could be driven "underground" to sites — perhaps some operating from outside the United States — that are only more than happy to "serve" and potentially exploit them. As my ConnectSafely.org co-director Anne Collier stated it in her recent post about COPPA, "The more government tries to regulate, requiring protections that by definition restrict children's free expression, the less likely it is that children will stick around to "enjoy" that safety. If they do go underground to sites, apps, games or other services that aren't compliant – whether in the US or outside of it."
COPPA could be "so 2012″
Finally, we worry that an overly specific set of COPPA rules could quickly render the legislation obsolete in the face of ever changing technology. We do support a broad framework that requires sites to operate ethically but we also feel that there needs to be an on-the-ground constant conversation involving the stakeholders including the sites and apps, parents and the kids themselves. As we said in our comment:
The last thing we want is for people to look back at COPPA revisions a few years from now and say, "that's so 2012."


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The ALS/Capita case: how much longer?
The granting of a legal monopoly on the provision of interpreting services across UK's justice sector bodies is looking more and more like a needless mistake.
Pride of profession and solidarity unite interpreters in the face of global challenges
The granting of a legal monopoly on the provision of interpreting services across UK's justice sector bodies is looking more and more like a needless mistake.
The ALS/Capita contract for justice sector interpreting in the UK has met with fierce and justified criticism – in the press, on the streets and most recently in Parliament. And it's about more than r
A flawed procurement process, no proper dialogue with practitioners, and conflict of interest are just a few of the snags spotlighted in AIIC's written statement on interpreting services under the Fra
A NATO staff interpreter for more than 20 years (and Senior Interpreter for fifteen), Chris is also co-director with Julia Poger-Guichot de Fortis of the "CCIC" – the Cambridge Conference Interpretati
The essence of interpreter ethics can be expressed in a single word: confidentiality
L'éthique de l'interprétation en un seul mot: confidentialité.
A practitioner's take on the new book by Nataly Kelly and Jost Zetzsche
Technology is evolving rapidly. Let's break it down into a few general categories to better grasp how innovations are affecting interpreters.
The next best idea: Open casting for selecting interpreters.
Is Italian-language interpreting on its way out? Looked like it for a while. We didn't think it was a good idea—and the Italian government agrees.
Workload, new technologies, remote interpreting and secondary trauma among international court interpreters were on the agenda when the AIIC Staff Interpreters met in Strasbourg.


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Once again I'm gravitating towards Chicago. This one has been on heavy rotation in the house recently.
I'm reading Greg Milner's excellent book "Perfecting SoundForever". I'm almost at the end now and well into digital samplers and Pro Tools territory. AAC and MP3 are a few pages away. In short, a million miles away from the recording techniques (then still mainly focussed on faithful reproduction) that would have been employed when The Five Stairsteps entered the studio in 1967 and laid down this song that would end up as only a B side (!) on their fifth release on the Windy C label.
This record has a wonderful open sound I think – it's bursting with "presence". You could almost believe it hadn't been recorded in a studio at all, but instead, outside, on a street corner somewhere, or maybe in Grant Park – and the sun would have been shining - and the Burke family would have been holding their heads to the sky.
Yes, I'm really feeling it.
I can't help thinking we've somehow lost something along the way.
(I hope the feeling isn't too dissipated by conversion to MP3!)


text:
Friends, family, and colleagues of Officer Crouse gathered to honor his service and sacrifice. Less than six months ago, Officer Crouse was shot and killed while he was administering a routine traffic stop on Virginia Tech's campus. He was 39-years old and left behind a wife, Tina, son, Dustin, and four step-children.
Officer Crouse formerly worked at the New River Valley Jail in Dublin, VA, the Montgomery County (VA) Sheriff's Department and was a U.S. Army veteran.
In 2012, the names of 362 officers, including Officer Crouse, will be added to the Memorial walls, 163 names of officers killed in 2011 and 199 historical fatalities. All of the newly-engraved names will be formally dedicated on the Memorial during the 24th Annual Candlelight Vigil on the evening of May 13, as part of the National Police Week observances.
News Coverage of Unveiling Day:


text:
Course Title: Prepare tender documentation in the property industry
Part B: Course Detail
Teaching Period: Term2 2014
Course Code: MKTG6015C
Course Title: Prepare tender documentation in the property industry
School: 130T Engineering (TAFE)
Campus: City Campus
Program: C5298 - Diploma of Property Services (Asset and Facility Management)
Course Contact : Program Manager
Course Contact Phone: +61 3 9925 4338
Course Contact Email:email@example.com
Name and Contact Details of All Other Relevant Staff
Cathryn (Cathy) Kite
Program Co-ordinator
email@example.com (email is the preferred contact)
Nominal Hours: 30
Regardless of the mode of delivery, represent a guide to the relative teaching time and student effort required to successfully achieve a particular competency/module. This may include not only scheduled classes or workplace visits but also the amount of effort required to undertake, evaluate and complete all assessment requirements, including any non-classroom activities.
Pre-requisites and Co-requisites
Course Description
This unit of competency specifies the outcomes required to prepare tender documentation for property or facility management and maintenance operations. It requires the ability to determine property requirements accurately, develop detailed budgets, and prepare documentation according to established tender criteria and conditions. The unit may form part of the licensing requirements for persons working in the property industry, including in the real estate, business broking, stock and station agency and property operations and development sectors, in those States and Territories where these are regulated activities.
National Codes, Titles, Elements and Performance Criteria
National Element Code & Title:
CPPDSM5036A Prepare tender documentation in the property industry
1. Determine tender requirements.
Performance Criteria:
1.1 Tender brief and other relevant documentation are obtained and analysed to establish tender requirements in consultation with relevant people.
3. Prepare tender documentation.
Performance Criteria:
3.1 Business equipment and technology are used to gather and compile relevant information in a suitable format according to organisational requirements.
2. Estimate resource requirements.
Performance Criteria:
2.1 Financial, physical and human resource requirements are determined according to tender requirements.
Learning Outcomes
Refer to elements.
Details of Learning Activities
Students will learn through a number of planned activities (face to face classes, workplace/site visits, simulated workplace learning, online learning via blackboard and other forms of structured teaching and learning). Students will be observed and assessed through their planned activities throughout the duration of the course.
Teaching Schedule
Learning sessions and assessment session shall be delivered.
Learning Resources
Prescribed Texts
Other Resources
Overview of Assessment
Assessment may incorporate a variety of methods including written/oral activities and demonstration of practical skills to the relevant industry standards. Participants are advised that they are likely to be asked to personally demonstrate their assessment activities to their teacher/assessor. Feedback will be provided throughout the course.
Assessment Tasks
Blackboard is an on-line resource with the lesson plans for each unit. Within Blackboard are the session lessons plans, assessments, resources and other materials required for completion of each unit of competency. Blackboard Collaborate is an on-line delivery system within Blackboard that may be utilised as a virtual classroom that may be a part of the overall lesson delivery plan.
A Journal is a student's own notes and reflections that demonstrate their understanding of the materials delivered in the course. Students will be required add to the journal with their own observations as part of the assessment requirement. .
Projects and Presentations
Students may be required to complete individual and group projects that are assessments. These may be in the form of reports, research, analysis, and other documents that provide evidence of the competency in the unit.
Assessment Matrix
Practical activities and projects, and oral presentations
Blackboard activities
Other Information
Competency requirements and Grading:
To be deemed competent students must demonstrate an understanding of all elements of a competency. Assessment methods have been designed to measure achievement of each competency in a flexible manner over multiple tasks.
Students are advised that they are likely to be asked to personally demonstrate their assessment work to their teacher to ensure that the relevant competency standards are being met. Observation of students performing work is used to confirm competency.
Grading available are:
Grade level Competency Level
CHD Competent with High Distinction -The learner will confidently apply novel but relevant solutions to unfamiliar and complex tasks.
CDI Competent with Distinction -The learner will confidently evaluate alternative solutions to an unfamiliar task or problem and use the most appropriate solution.
CC Competent with Credit -The learner will elegantly apply appropriate facts, rules and standard solutions to achieve an unfamiliar task or problem with confidence.
CAG Competency Achieved - Graded -The learner will be able to apply facts, rules and standard solutions to achieve a predictable task or solve a problem.
NYC Not Yet Competent
-Although the learner exhibits access to a limited range of facts and rules, the learner has difficulty applying these facts and rules to a familiar task.
Study and learning Support:
Study and Learning Centre (SLC) provides free learning and academic development advice to you.
Services offered by SLC to support your numeracy and literacy skills are:
assignment writing, thesis writing and study skills advice
maths and science developmental support and advice
English language development
Please Refer http://www.rmit.edu.au/studyandlearningcentre to find more information about Study and learning Support
Disability Liaison Unit:
If you are suffering from long-term medical condition or disability, you should contact Disability Liaison Unit to seek advice and support to complete your studies.
Please Refer http://www.rmit.edu.au/disability to find more information about services offered by Disability Liaison Unit.
Assessment Submission:
Turnitin is an online text-matching service which can be used to support academic integrity and address plagiarism. All submissions via Turnitin within Blackboard include the relevant wording for the e-Submission authorisation process. Students are to use Turnitin. to verify that the work submitted is their own work and referenced accordingly. This software will be used by all staff to ensures original work by students is checked at submission of the assessment.
The University is obliged to obtain clear student authorisation on all assessable works. RMIT's e-Submission process provides a valid authorisation equivalent to a signature on a paper coversheet allowing students to submit assessment works electronically.
The e-Submission process requires that specific wording and a link to the assessment declaration is included in your assessment documentation in order to comply with legal and statutory obligations, and can be used with all RMIT teaching technologies, including;
• Blackboard
• PebblePad
• WebLearn
• RMIT's Google Apps for Education (Gmail, Drive, Sites etc.)
The use of fully electronic submissions saves significant time for both staff and students.
Good practice
• Providing clear advice to students on the e-Submission process as part of their assessment expectations assists in ensuring that it is straightforward for RMIT students to submit work electronically.
• Students can submit non-electronic works via conversion by a digital scanner, i.e. paper-based assessments can be scanned and submitted for assessment via the e-Submission process.
• Establishing a Turnitin assignment in Blackboard is a quick way to provide an e-Submission process for a class group.
Students must submit all assessment task electronically via blackboard as directed by their teacher.
Students are not to email or hand assessment tasks to teachers in class, corridor or cafeteria etc
Late submission:
If you require an Extension of Submittable Work (assignments, reports or project work etc.) for 7 calendar days or less (from the original due date) and have valid reasons, you must complete and lodge an Application for Extension of Submittable Work (7 Calendar Days or less) form and lodge it with the Senior Educator/ Program Manager.
The application must be lodged no later than one working day before the official due date. You will be notified within no more than 2 working days of the date of lodgement as to whether the extension has been granted.
If you seek an Extension of Submittable Work for more than 7 calendar days (from the original due date) must lodge an Application for Special Consideration form under the provisions of the Special Consideration Policy, preferably prior to, but no later than 2 working days after the official due date.
Assignments submitted late without approval of an extension will not be accepted or marked.
Refer to RMIT University Policies and Procedures, verify for most recent version.
Special consideration:
Please Refer http://www.rmit.edu.au/browse;ID=riderwtscifm to find more information about special consideration
Plagiarism may occur in oral or written presentations. Plagiarism is the presentation of another person's work, idea or creation as one's own; without appropriate referencing. Plagiarism is not acceptable. The use of another person's work or ideas must be acknowledged. Failure to do so may result in charges of academic misconduct, which may result in cancellation of results and exclusion from your course.
Please Refer: www.rmit.edu.au/academicintegrity to find more information about plagiarism
Other Information:
All email communications will ONLY be sent to your RMIT email address and you must regularly check your RMIT emails.
Course Overview: Access Course Overview


text:
PRINCESS ANNE, MD - (May 21, 2014) - Select members of the University of Maryland Eastern Shore's Class of 2018 will get a head start on their college experience as participants in two "Summer Bridge" programs designed specifically for new students.
Both provide a preview of life inside a college classroom and out over a six-week period, according to Dr. Stephanie L. Krah, director of UMES' Center for Access and Academic Success.
Up to 100 freshmen will have a chance to earn six credits, three in English and three in math, by enrolling in the Summer Enrichment Academy (SEA), which runs from June 22 to Aug. 1.
Preparation and Adjustment for College Entrance (PACE), the other program, is for 50 high school graduates with provisional offers of admission from UMES and will be held during the same six-week stretch.
Participants in both programs will live in Murphy Hall, a residence hall on the university's historic Academic Oval.
Both of the extended orientation efforts are part of UMES' strategy of laying a foundation for new students to be successful right away and to finish their undergraduate work in four years.
"We often find that (freshmen) are anxious about going off to college, or unsure of how they will make friends," Krah said. "Our programs allow for students to really get an opportunity to get a jump start their college career."
Krah's eight-member staff will partner with 10-to-12 UMES professors who have signed on to work with the students.
"We think it is important for new students to be comfortable interacting with faculty, staff and administrators," Krah said. "Everyone here wants to see them succeed" and graduate.
Credits earned by the 100 students in the SEA program will count toward the total needed to earn a degree. Tuition, room and board range from $1,600 (in-state) to $2,900 (out-of-state).
The 50 PACE program participants will, in effect, be auditioning for spots in the next freshman class by working closely with instructors to brush up on their ability to do college-level reading writing and math.
"We want to help those students we believe have the potential to be successful and to get an understanding of what they can expect in college," Krah said. "Our message is: 'You have potential'."
Krah said PACE students' progress will be monitored closely and participants have the opportunity to earn admission for the fall semester, which begins Aug. 25. The PACE program fee is $700.
Krah said she and her staff will follow Summer Bridge program participants closely during the 2014-15 academic year by tracking their progress, holding occasional workshops and scheduling mandatory meetings with academic advisers.
For more information, contact the Center for Access and Academic Success at (410) 651-6215.
Bill Robinson, director, Office of Public Relations,410-621-2355.


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For no particular reason other than a few serendipitous songs popping up when I was playing my music on random the other day, I thought I might do a little bit of a country profile here. Well, scratch that. I'm not particularly interested in surveying all of Italy, scouring its lacquered boot from thigh to heel for all the heavy metal fit to print. Instead, I present for your edification and/or casual annoyance a few of my favorite metal albums from the center of history's most whined-about empire.
The land of Berlusconi is, if the records I've chosen to highlight here are any indication, far more than the libidinous Mediterranean caricature and reckless administrative policy would suggest. By no purposeful design, just about all of these albums tend toward the black-ish side of heavy metal's family tree. Perhaps most notably, then, given the genre similarities, is that for the most part, these acts don't seem to all be coming from one centralized black metal scene* (the way we imagine things do in France, Finland, Mozambique, or wherever). Chalk it up to the proximity of Vatican City, perhaps, or a lingering fondness for the somewhat corpulent severity of Il Duce. Who knows. Something is rotten in the state of Italy, a confused Hamlet might emote (well, not Hamlet himself, of course, but, just fuck along and let me have my wordplay, you ass).
Spite Extreme Wing, Vltra (2008)
This black metal band first intrigued me with their previous full-length, Non Dvcor, Dvco, but it's on this, their most recent and, sadly, last album, that they really shine. A great dry production lends excellent clarity to the generally straight-ahead black metal within, which is given just enough touches of the avant-garde to keep the listener on her toes. The tracks are all untitled, though the band slips in both a Misfits and a Beatles cover, which blend in rather better than one might suppose. Special credit should also be given to that gorgeously evocative cover art. No need to be tethered to the ol' black and gray tones forever, black metal chums.
Stormlord, Mare Nostrum (2008)
This album kicks so many tremendous servings of ass that it really ought to be illegal. I suppose the best way to describe Stormlord is 'blackened power metal', but lest that dreadful word-mash make one think of Children of Bodom or whatever fucking black metal Dragonforce churned out before they were Dragonforce, have no fear. This is purely epic, regal metal that deserves a far greater audience.
Void Of Silence, Human Antithesis (2004)
Void of Silence is a somewhat clean-sounding doom/death act from Italy, through which has rotated a number of excellent vocalists. 2004's Human Antithesis has the distinction of featuring the unparalleled vocal talents of Alan Averill of Primordial fame. Just earlier this year, the band released a brand new album which is also quite tasty, featuring the vocals of Brooke from The Axis Of Perdition. His vocals on that new album are something of a revelation, given the bile-flecked delivery of pure caustic rage typical of TAOP; with Void Of Silence he sounds like someone who has just realized he can belt out true epic doom vocals, and wants to wring every last possible speck of emotion from each phrase. Human Antithesis is probably still the better record, with sounder songwriting and the more stridently confident vocals of Nemtheanga. Honestly, it's worth the price of entry just for the title track along, a gargantuan 20 minute journey to the deep, dark recesses of doom, like the crumbling edifices of history so oft-represented in the band's artwork.
Absentia Lunae, In Vmbrarvm Imperii Gloria (2006)
Absentia Lunae is probably my favorite band of the ATMF stable, which also includes Melencolia Estatica, Locus Mortis, Urna, Arcana Coelestia, and others. To be honest, most of those bands share a similar aesthetic and sound, so if you like one of them, chances are you'll enjoy most (if not all) of the rest; still, Absentia Lunae's first album ekes out a triumph in my book, for its rather stately take on this much-abused genre. It has that rather depressive air, without ever veering anywhere near to the abominable pit of mawkishness and repetition known as 'depressive' or 'suicidal black metal'. Blech. Go listen to Dio, you fucking mopes.
Hiems, Worship Or Die (2009)
Side project of dude from Forgotten Tomb, which project, frankly, I couldn't give two shits about. I really dug Hiems' first record Cold Void Journey, but it was really just a perfection of a particular crisp, blasting version of black metal, whereas its follow-up adds a bit of black and roll spite and a touch more experimentalism, to quite headbangingly catchy effect.
Beatrik, Requiem Of December (2005)
I know, I know. I've just been yelling at you about this album recently. Thing is, Beatrik's swansong of an album is so utterly gripping that I feel like it needs to be shared. Seriously, why aren't you listening to this album RIGHT NOW?
HomSelvareg, HomSelvareg (2005)
This band is also broken up now, which is a shame, really. Their self-titled album (which, in its re-release – pictured above – also features bonus tracks from an earlier demo) is absolutely nothing new in the realm of black metal blasting, but it just feels so right. The 1990s had the paradigmatic Grieghallen production, with its lofty reverb and wispy clarity; HomSelvareg's album – rather like Hiems' Cold Void Journey – has an entirely different way of doing things, and it just touches me in all the right places. Gross.
Thee Maldoror Kollective, A Clockwork Highway (2004)
This lot are a bunch of fucking weirdos, that's for sure. While the previous album from the Kollective, New Era Viral Order, will probably speak a bit more clearly to one's blackened inclinations, I prefer A Clockwork Highway, on which the ambient, industrial, soundtrack elements become the actual building blocks of the songs, rather than superficial drapings atop fuzzily elastic-sounding 'industrial metal' riffing, as was too much the case on the previous album. Alongside the strangeness of latter Manes and (maybe) Ulver, this TMK album is a great mood piece, albeit one that will never quite let you fully relegate it to mere background.
Aborym, Fire Walk With Us! (2001)
Aborym have also just put out a new album – Psychogrotesque, out now on Season Of Mist – but for my money, this remains their best moment. Fire Walk With Us! is genuinely unsettling music that ripples with a current of untamed electricity. Yeah, it's black/industrial, so if that's not really your thing, I understand the hesitation to fully engage with this. But, c'mon, it's got Attila Csihar (of Tormentor, Mayhem, etc., etc.) on vocals, and the album closes out with the great tandem shot of a woozy cover of Burzum's "Det Som Engang Var" and a seriously disorienting ambient/noise track in "Theta Paranoia." This record won't just raise the hair on your arms; it will turn your arms into robot appendages, which will corrode and rust before your eyes while your gaze is transfixed by album cover's red moon rising over a technological apocalypse. Give it a chance – let this album get under your skin.
This is, of course, ignoring your Bulldozers and your Ephel Duaths and your Abgotts and your, erm, Rhapsodies of Fire. Exhaustiveness is not the point. However, finding something new (note that every one of these releases comes from the past decade) from one of Europe's less prominent extreme metal breeding grounds, well, it's like picking out a choice figure out of the pandemonium (should that be panangelium?) of the Sistine Chapel. (This preceding sentence brought to you by the familiar trope in music criticism that Michelangelo's paintings are an easy analogue to a few dozen angsty young musicians bashing out hymns to the devil.) Salute!
*Though such congregations do crop up here and there – see the grouping of artists around the ATMF label/ethos for a prime example of that in action, or, more loosely, the always-intriguing Code666 label. Always curious to know if a few bands develop, followed by a sympathetic label, or if it goes the other way around. Case studies abound, assuredly.


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Sudan: Could Nuba mountains be next conflict?
The seemingly tranquil village of Kauda in central Sudan's beautiful Nuba mountains poses one of the greatest challenges to Khartoum.
South Sudan will become independent in July, following a long civil war. But that does not mean the country left behind is united.
The people of the Nuba mountains, in the north, are on a collision course with President Omar al-Bashir and his party.
The Nuba are a collection of language groups that are sometimes described as more a political or geographical entity than a homogenous ethnic group.
They follow Islam, Christianity, or traditional religions - but crucially, most see themselves as very different from the Arab elites in Khartoum.
"Despite all the talk about my Arabism, my religion, my culture, I am a Nuba, I am black, I am an African," is how the late Nuba war hero Youssif Kawa Makki put it.
Many Nuba rejected what they saw as attempts to Islamise and Arabise them.
"They [Arabs] discourage you that your religion is not good, tell you to just be a Muslim. They can give you money to change your name to a Muslim one. Anything about your culture, they can destroy it," says Kuku Idriss, a Nuba youth leader.
During the second north-south civil war, many Nuba fought on the side of the southern Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) rebels, now set to form the new country's government.
The SPLA is often seen as a southern movement, but its stated aim was to reform the whole country, creating a new Sudan, a secular state where diversity was respected.
This resonated very strongly with many Nuba.
The fighting in the Nuba mountains was particularly fierce.
In 1992, a jihad or holy war was declared, allowing northern troops and Arab militias to kill even those Nuba who were Muslim.
Human rights organisation Africa Watch likened the attacks on the Nuba to genocide.
A ceasefire was signed in 2002, but it is no surprise that feelings against President Bashir still run high.
Beer drinkers
In Kauda, at least, people have every chance to express their anger.
The village is essentially under the control of the SPLM, the political wing of the SPLA.
"In fact, all the counties round here are controlled by the SPLM," says the party's local chairman, Younan Ajour.
Life here is very different to most of northern Sudan.
Local alcohol, like the heady beer marissa, is openly sold, in defiance of the Sharia, or Islamic law, officially imposed in the north.
Women brew it in their homes, then bring it to a line of rough shacks and pour it into calabashes for thirsty customers.
"We don't appreciate Sharia, and don't want it to reach us here," says one drinker, Angelo, an SPLA soldier.
"We have our independence and we hope in the future to be independent," he adds.
The alcohol is not the only difference.
Students in Kauda are taught in English, not Arabic, and sit exams from Kenya or Uganda.
A young teacher, Yassir, says he has 94 students in his class.
He brushes aside the suggestion the separate curriculum and language of education could leave the pupils out of step with the rest of the north.
"We are planning to have our own universities, which will be operated in English," he says.
Peace, not war
In a well-publicised recent speech, President Bashir said once South Sudan secedes, there would be no place for ethnic or cultural diversity in the north, and Islam would be the sole source of law.
This has got many Nuba worried.
"We don't want a war, we need peace," says Mahmoud Badawi, who has set up Kauda's only hotel.
But that does not mean simply giving in.
Tens of thousands of Nuba soldiers are in the SPLA in the south, and will almost certainly return to their homeland after southern separation - possibly with their weapons.
Officials and ordinary people say there is no way they will give back Kauda or any of the other "liberated territories".
"We know our people are very strong, they are very patient, but we don't forget our grievances," says politician and historian El Nour Burtail.
"Our nature as you can see is mountainous, and when we move, we are strong like mountains."
War crimes
The Nuba mountains are at the heart of Southern Kordofan state, which borders South Sudan.
Stability here is crucial not just for the north, but for the south.
Southern Kordofan is also next to Darfur, where a separate civil war, albeit one based on Khartoum's neglect of the periphery, rumbles on.
Southern Kordofan's governor, Ahmed Haroun, is wanted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes and crimes against humanity allegedly committed when he was in Darfur, adding to Nuba unease.
The tensions have infected the whole state, with SPLA soldiers and forces loyal to President Bashir's National Congress Party everywhere.
This month's elections are meant to lead to popular consultations on the region's future - but to the dismay of many in the Nuba mountains, this does not include the option of independence.
The election results themselves could also spark off real problems.
The Nubas' determination to be different has been a problem for Khartoum for years, and that is almost certain to continue.
It is not hard to find people offering dire warnings - like Najwa Musa, the head of the Nuba Relief, Rehabilitation and Development Organisation.
"If they will continue to impose the Sharia law, the Islamic religion and the Arabic language on the people, you will see a new Darfur coming up."


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The Microsoft conspiracy interpretation of American Pi
It's not commonly known, but while he was writing songs in the late 60's and early 70's, Don McLean was auditing Computer Science courses at Harvard in order to gain an understanding of what was then primitive music software.
There he learned the wondrous legends from the Dawn Time of Cybernetics: of Babbage, Turing, and Hopper. There he witnessed the original Mark II and its famous moth. There he wrote his famous song, "Vincent", about the popular starfield screen saver (which he erroneously believed was invented by J. Vincent Atanasoff).
There, too, he became acquainted with a teenage prodigy with whom he shared some classes; a boy whom McLean would later characterize as "Satan", who would seize control of the entire world's cybernetic industry. That boy was the young Bill Gates.
McLean, spiritually chilled by his encounters with the ruthless Gates, experienced an uncannily accurate prophetic vision a la Nostradamus and wrote a song, "American Pi" (frequently misspelled "Pie"), reminiscing about the Golden Age of Computing, its contentious present (in 1969) and its apocalyptic future. Woven into the vision are observations and commentaries on such varied subjects as Kurt Cobain, James Joyce and General Motors. The following is an interpretation of the cryptic lyrics of this enigmatic song.
A long, long time ago...
Computing can be said to have originated with Stonehenge or earlier; but remember, McLean here is speaking from a prophetic dream. "A long, long time ago" is in fact the era before 1969, the year that the Internet, the modern Operating System and "American Pi" itself were born.
I can still remember how
That music used to make me smile.
And I knew if I had my chance,
That I could make those people dance,
And maybe they'd be happy for a while.
McLean was eventually unsuccessful in his pursuit to safeguard copyrights of musical material from computer duplication. Ironically, his efforts at Harvard in the 60's and 70's may have inspired Gates to formulate a method of compromising these copyrights.
But February made me shiver,
With every paper I'd deliver,
Bad news on the doorstep...
I couldn't take one more step.
February, 1975 marked the delivery of BASIC to Altair Systems, the first step on the road to World Domination for Bill Gates and Microsoft.
I can't remember if I cried
When I read about his widowed bride
A clever play-on-words. The "wi(n)dowed bride", is, of course, the IBM PC. IBM's founder, Thomas J. Watson, died suddenly in 1943 when he was crushed by one of the world's five PCs (which at the time weighed 1.5 tons).
But something touched me deep inside,
The day the music died.
UNIX time calculations are valid on most processors (i.e., those which store the variable time_val as a 32-bit signed integer) for 2^31 - 1 seconds past 00:00:00 GMT, 1 January 1970 (which coincidently was the moment that "American Pi" was sent to the publisher), or until 03:14:07 GMT, 8 July 2038, when the UNIX time registers will overflow. July 8, 2038, we shall see, will be thought of by future generations as the Day the Music Died.
So bye bye Miss American Pi,
McLean here decries the strict syntactical rules enforced by the spellchecker in Microsoft Word. Random arrangements of characters, or "Pi", would never be allowed by automatic spellcheckers and would be replaced by similar but inappropriate legal words. (As an example, "goan" would be replaced by "goad", and "frig" by "fig"; James Joyce would never have been a great author had he used Microsoft Word.)
Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry.
A sly chuckle aimed at software used in General Motors (and other manufacturer's) automobiles; even the slightest moisture can destroy the car's computer and render the vehicle worthless. McLean is willing to risk driving his car near the levee, but only because the levee is dry.
Them good ol' boys were drinkin whiskey in Rye
Ryebrook, NY, is where a group of top-level IT executives gathered (no doubt with copious amounts of fine adult beverages) to decide the format of Windows 95 and therefore the hierarchy of the Net for the next ten thousand years.
Singing "This'll be the day that I die,
This'll be the day that I die."
When the time registers overflow on 8 July 2038, all UNIX-based processes will die. (I don't know about you, but I'm sure not going to be wearing a UNIX-controlled pacemaker then!)
Did you write the book of love,
And do you have faith in God above,
If the Bible tells you so?
A reference to Waite Group Press, publishers of both the Microsoft/Windows Bibles and Love Bytes, paeans to the slavish adoration which they pay towards their deity, Bill Gates.
Now do you believe in rock 'n roll?
Can music save your mortal soul?
And can you teach me how to dance real slow?
You don't know what slow dancing is until you try to play your Manhattan Transfer .wav's on a 386SX running Windows.
Well I know you're in love with him
'Cause I saw you dancing in the gym
You both kicked off your shoes
...i.e., they're down to their (Win)Socks.
Man, I dig those rhythm 'n' blues
I was a lonely teenage broncin' buck
With a pink carnation and a pickup truck
Carnation, WA is the site of Gates' soon-to-be-completed pink stucco Xanadu. By a cryptic coincidence, it is also the last resting place of that human bucking bronco, Bruce Lee and the place where Kurt Cobain "shot up" just before driving off in his light utility vehicle ("pickup truck") to commit suicide.
But I knew that I was out of luck
The day the music died
I started singing...
Now for ten years we've been on our own
In 1980...or by the AT&T calendar, 10 UE (Unix Epoch)...IBM bypassed UNIX, turned to Microsoft for its operating system, and the age of the PC dawned. From 1970-1980, UNIX was "on its own" with a virtual monopoly on the OS market.
And MOS grows FAT on a rolling stone
There are several interpretations of this mysterious statement. The Microsoft OS (MOS), Windows, has "grown fat" consistently in terms of market share since 1980, thanks largely to biased comparisons with other OS's using such benchmarks as whetstones and Dhrystones. However, as McLean is cynically suggesting, people who live in glass houses (i.e. with lots of Windows) shouldn't throw stones, or even roll them fast.
On the other hand, Ken Wright (firstname.lastname@example.com) points out that MS-DOS 2 imposed a File Allocation Table (or FAT) structure onto hard disks. The FAT structure was designed for floppies of only 360K or less, and of course the early hard drives, which weighed around 14 pounds (or, in British usage, a stone). The FAT, after installation of Windows, would certainly be overwhelming.
Conversely, Rolling Stones have gotten fat on MOS; see below.
The following passage is a hazy rendition of McLean's vision, told in the past tense, in a manner similar to Dante's Divine Comedy. Frequent references are made to the "King", the "Jester" and "Satan". The King, as we shall see, is (or was) AT&T; the Jester is Apple/Steve Jobs (remember, Apple was founded on April Fool's Day), and Satan is, of course, Bill Gates.
But that's not how it used to be
When the jester sang for the King and Queen
Steve Jobs cut his teeth on the "blue box", a device which "sang" the 2600Hz tone which allowed him to rip off AT&T for thousands in long distance calls.
In a coat he borrowed from James Dean
And a voice that came from you and me
The image Apple projected in the Macintosh ad campaign was an odd hybrid of a denim-clad, outlaw-like Rebel Without a Cause and a typical, computer-illiterate Everyman.
Oh, and while the King was looking down
AT&T suffered from a number of investigations and corporate scandals in the 70's, leading eventually to divestiture in 1983.
The jester stole his thorny crown
Before Microsoft, Jobs and Apple were the only challenge to AT&T's market lock.
The courtroom was adjourned,
No verdict was returned.
This is a reference to the legal hemming and hawing leading to the Sporkin Opinion.
And while Lenin read a book on Marks,
Following the tragedy at the V. I. Lenin Reactor at Chernobyl, U.S. technology firms (including Microsoft) scrambled to introduce their products into the former Soviet market. Even Netscape has tried to market Mozilla Web servers in Russia, including with each package a list of suggested Book-marks.
The quartet practiced in the PARC
The "quartet" consists of Gates, Paul Allen, Jobs and Steve Wozniak. (Actually, a pair of duos, if you think about it.) Michael Haynes (firstname.lastname@example.com) spotted the reference to the Xerox/PARC facility which developed a pre-MS Windows/pre MacOS windowing operating system.
And we sang dirges in the dark
The day the music died.
We were singing...
Helter Skelter in a summer swelter
Microsoft has made a headlong rush to release Windows 95 by its summer deadline, even though 32-bit compatibility is absent, making the product useless.
The birds flew off with the fallout shelter
Eight miles high and falling fast
Refers to the UNIX editor EMACS (Eight megs and constantly swapping). The relevancy is to the constantly changing operating system background of UNIX, missing in all MS products except for NT. This causes MS products to fall from grace in the eyes of most EMACS users. (firstname.lastname@example.com (trohling) (hmm...))
It landed foul on the grass
The players tried for a forward pass
With the jester on the sidelines in a cast
Of course, Microsoft is not alone in its inability to be fully compatible with UNIX usages, such as casts. McLean shows here the frustration of trying to pass arguments using a Mac C++ compiler, and winding up throwing past the sidelines.
Now the halftime heir was sweet perfume
What with technological advances, it is estimated that the time it takes a microprocessor to execute an instruction halves every 18 months. Yet technological "advances" at Microsoft involve increases in execution time and memory usage! Something smells here, and it ain't Chanel No. 5.
One contributor also notes the astonishingly accurate prediction of the birth of the Microsoft heir to Gates in the mid-point of his life, a development which must smell sweet to him...until it comes time to change diapers. Of course, this assumes Gates will provide reliable product support.
While sergeants played a marching tune
Let's not forget who started us marching down the ol' Internet road. One hint: check their domain.
We all got up to dance
Oh, but we never got the chance
'Cause the players tried to take the field,
The marching band refused to yield.
Between them, Microsoft/UUNET and Apple/AOL are just a few yards short of putting the Net Ownership game in the bag.
Do you recall what was revealed,
The day the music died?
We started singing
And there we were all in one place
A generation lost in space
With no time left to start again
McLean has clearly experienced the futility of trying to use a Memory Manager with Windows, then being unable to save his thesis document generated in MicroSoft Word after running out of storage.
So come on Jack be nimble Jack be quick
Jack Flash sat on a candlestick
'Cause fire is the devil's only friend
Mick Jagger should catch a lot of heat for selling (for $12 million) the rights to "Start Me Up" to Microsoft for the Windows 95 promo campaign. But then what can you expect from the man responsible for the AOL Interview Fiasco?
And as I watched him on the stage
My hands were clenched in fists of rage
No angel born in hell
Could break that satan's spell
Who could not feel rage at watching Gates' theatrical presentation at the official unveiling of Windows 95, complete with a 3-d virtual simulation of none other than Jay Leno, whom Aaron Barnhart called part of a "match made in hell"?
and as the flames climbed high into the night
To light the sacrificial Write
One contributor perceived the horrific message implied in these lines. MacWrite (later Claris Write), the original Mac word processor, was "sacrificed" to the market dominance of Microsoft Word. Naturally, highly negative responses ("flames") from Mac users only served to whet Bill's determination to take over not simply the IBM world, but Macintosh as well.
I saw satan laughing with delight
The day the music died
He was singing...
The song concludes with a touching lament about the rise, decline and fall of the vast CyberWasteland which is USENET.
I met a girl who sang the blues
Doctress Neutopia.
And I asked her for some happy news
McLean and Gates were at Harvard at about the same time as Kibo.
But she just smiled and turned away
I went down to the sacred store
Where I'd heard the music years before
But the man there said the music wouldn't play
A touching complaint about McLean's frustrated attempts to play the .au's he downloaded from alt.binaries.sounds.music with the Off-the-Shelf software he bought from Microsoft.
And in the streets the children screamed
The lovers cried and the poets dreamed
Over twenty years ahead of its time, an uncannily accurate description of talk.bizarre.
but not a word was spoken
The church Bells all were broken
Alert reader Tim Legg observes that this line could be describing a puzzling characteristic of the PC-XT's made in the early 1980s, where the ASCII bell was almost a two second beep. The ASCII bell character on these XTs was the character 04H. But on Pentiums, the ASCII bell is a nearly inaudible click. One could say that the bells are broken since someone didn't calculate for the higher processor speed of a Pentium over an XT.
Another interpretation is that AT&T's (Bell's) UNIX monopoly was broken with the IBM adoption of Microsoft's OS. (Another, far more sinister interpretation is that McLean, anticipating the posts on alt.2600, has broken AT&T's RSA key!)
And the three men I admire most
The Father Son and Holy Ghost
They caught the last train for the coast
David Lawrence,Gene Spafford and Ron "Asbestos" Dippold. What a sad vision. McLean is implying that, in the future, even the three most steadfast rocks of USENET may be co-opted by Gates' empire.
The day the music died
and they were singing...
(Oh yes, and if you spell out words with the chord structure, it reads


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Foundation Farm was founded in 2006, following 10 years of experimentation in various forms of organic vegetable growing methods. It was yet another step towards developing a professional and sustainable farm, a farm which would allow a family to live happily and sustain itself given today's economical demands.
More can be learned about the driving forces behind the farm in the Farm Philosophy page.
Many of the farming methods used at the farm are extensions of gardening techniques fine-tuned on a small scale. FF is within a 20 acre pasture, of which only five acres are dedicated to farming. The actual surface in yearly cultivation is 24,000 square feet (1/2 acre), the balance of the land being needed for paths, general access, buffer zones and other areas (production shed, living area). We are located in Northwest Arkansas, 10 miles North of a very picturesque town called Eureka Springs and 45 miles from a growing urban area comprising Fayetteville (home of University of Arkansas), Springdale, Rodgers and Bentonville. Our bioregion is the Ozarks, with soft landscapes made of hills, pastures, woods (oaks and pines mostly) and good water (lakes, creeks, springs and ponds). We are in climate zone 6 and get around 40 inches of water yearly.
In addition to our commercial farming activities, we offer a training program referred to as our farm school. We feel one of our highest priority is to educate and motivate our next generation of small scale farmers. Our planet needs it and our people do too. There are very few places where the art of farming is taught. We hope to spawn 100 new farms in our area alone over the next 20 years. Please refer to the Farm school page.
last modified on: Sunday February 01, 2015 10:15 AM -0600


text:
About this paper
With the global energy industry facing an onslaught of new challenges, oil and gas companies can no longer rely on techniques and technologies of the past. Today's companies participating in the exploration and production, transportation and storage, refining/processing and distribution of hydrocarbons need every competitive advantage that's available. Fortunately, the measuring and monitoring devices and IT systems used over the past 20 years are capable of providing data that can create new vistas of business acumen and operational effectiveness. By using analytics strategically, oil and gas companies can create intelligence from new data sources and make groundbreaking, profitable decisions – with confidence.
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The Coral Sea is perhaps best known and celebrated for the area that occupies much of its western edge: the Great Barrier Reef, which fringes the northeastern Australian coast. The world's largest coral reef, it was designated as a World Heritage Site in 1981 in recognition of its extensive biological diversity and richness; six years earlier, the Australian government established the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, which regulates some activities (such as fishing) in some areas and bans them altogether in others.
Now, a new report suggests that a similar degree of protection should be extended to the sea as a whole, an area of nearly 1 million square kilometers (386,000 square miles) that would create the world's largest marine park. The report, Australia's Coral Sea: A Biophysical Profile, published Friday by the Pew Environment Group, notes that, while the Barrier Reef may be the sea's most famed feature, the Coral Sea contains 18 shallow reef systems which, because of their "small size, isolation from each other and high exposure to cyclones and storms," may in fact be more vulnerable than their larger, better-known cousin. Altogether, says the report, the sea contains 49 different habitats, "from thickly forested islands to small sandy cays" that provide nesting and feeding areas for endangered green turtles and 36 species of seabirds.
The East Australia current forms in the Coral Sea, carrying warm water and tropical species southward; partly as a result, the sea is a global biological hotspot for large marine species. It is home to at least 28 species of whales, dolphins and porpoises, and to 52 species of deep-water sharks, rays and chimeras, 18 of which are found nowhere else. It is the site of the world's only known spawning aggregation of black marlin, and one of only three known spawning aggregations of lanternfish, which attract large, feeding schools of tuna, billfish and marlins - making the Coral Sea one of the last remaining places where such species can be found en masse.
However, the report notes that 341 bird and animal species in the sea are listed on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, 51 percent of which show declining population trends. Hence, Pew's call for protective action.
Article continues: http://news.discovery.com/earth/seeking-protection-for-coral-sea-110822.html#mkcpgn=rssnws1


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Wear the type of socks you'll wear with your shoes and measure feet in the afternoon (feet typically swell during the day). Distribute weight evenly before measuring.
Step 1 Stand up straight on a hard surface with your heel against the wall and a piece of blank paper taped to the floor, flush against the wall beneath your foot.
Step 2 Have someone mark the longest part of your foot (referred to as heel-to-toe length) on the paper with a pen or pencil, or measure yourself if necessary. Repeat with the other foot, as right and left sizes may be different.
Step 3 Use a ruler to measure the heel-to-toe length you marked for each foot.
The Nike F.C. Shoe is built for comfortable all-day wear with performance that lets you play wherever the game finds you. Nike React technology in the midsole is lightweight, responsive and durable with a gum rubber outsole that provides versatile traction on a variety of urban surfaces.
Low flat rate shipping is available on all retail orders shipping within the continental USA . Expedited shipping is available for an additional fee.
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Everyone remembers that brilliant used car commercial from Monday, right? The one where the 96 Maxima is touted as a "stunning tour de force"?
Well the director of social media marketing for Nissan North America took notice of the ad, and then did this...
The owner had lowered the price on his craigslist ad to $900, but Nissan offered him his original asking price of $1400 and then also threw in $1000 to a charity of the owners choice.
This is how you win at social media marketing.


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I'm trying to learn how to download images and files from a website trough a java program. The code below is copied from Reading Directly from a URL (The Java Tutorials > Custom Networking > Working with URLs). This program is supposed to display the html file code from the url provided.
Quoted from the site:"When you run the program, you should see, scrolling by in your command window, the HTML commands and textual content from the HTML file located at Oracle | Hardware and Software, Engineered to Work Together. "
My problem is that it works for some websites, but not for interfacelift.com. It doesn't display anything for that website. I'm trying to figure out why.
import java.net.*; import java.io.*; public class URLReader { public static void main(String[] args) throws Exception { URL oracle = new URL("http://interfacelift.com/"); BufferedReader in = new BufferedReader( new InputStreamReader(oracle.openStream())); String inputLine; while ((inputLine = in.readLine()) != null) System.out.println(inputLine); in.close(); } }


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"Eminently "Gladwellian"…Herbert clearly shows the effects of various daily mental maneuvers and peppers the text with explanations of how the human mind has evolved." —Washington Post
"Brings a twist [to the psychology shelf]…could keep us from making mistakes whose consequences range from dying in an avalanche to failing to follow directions because we don't like the font they're written in." —Sharon Begley, Newsweek
"Think twice before you trust your gut…Herbert uses real-world examples and cutting-edge research to show how heuristics–hardwired mental shortcuts we think of as intuition–can both help and hinder the decisions we make every day." —US News & World Report
"Counters the argument set forth in titles like Malcom Gladwell's Blink… successfully shows readers how ancient shortcuts can impact our modern living and how to use this knowledge to make better decisions." —Library Journal
"Wray Herbert displays his gifts as a science writer par excellence…On Second Thought goes a long way toward leveling the mental playing field by outing the hidden power of our unconscious mental models." —Daniel Goleman, author of Emotional Intelligence
"There is one way to be rational, and many ways of being irrational. With stories, anecdotes, and studies, Wray Herbert takes us through a guided tour of our many irrational tendencies, holding our hand, and helping us to see the mistakes we all make every day."—Dan Ariely, author of Predictably Irrational
"A wonderful book that should be read by the public and experts alike…the most complete statement currently available on the foibles manifest in everyday decision-making and surely one of the most interesting books that I have had the pleasure of reading." —Ellen Langer, author of Mindfulness
"Wray Herbert is one of our finest writers of psychological science…here he blends the most fascinating findings from cognitive psychology with his own experiences into a seamless story of the mental biases and quirks that help us navigate through life—and occasionally get us stuck in brambles. On second thought . . . I'd say the same thing."
—Carol Tavris, coauthor of Mistakes Were Made
"A fascinating and important book that reveals the invisible errors we make time and again… don't tackle any big adventures or major undertakings until you've read On Second Thought. It could save your nest egg, your relationship, and even your life. No kidding!"—Sarah Susanka, author of The Not So Big Life
"From 'looming maladaptive style' to the 'cooties heuristic,' Wray Herbert takes us on a journey through the styles of thought we usually take for granted. In clear and lively prose, he describes psych experiments and real-life quandaries that reveal how our cognitive habits get in our way – or, occasionally, save our skins. It all adds up to a fascinating book that is altogether a treat. —Robin Marantz Henig, author of Pandora's Baby: How the First Test Tube Babies Sparked the Reproductive Revolution


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Monday, September 28, 2009
Stashing the Shoes: Yet More Options
Shoe storage seems to be a field with continual innovations. Last November, I wrote The Definitive Guide: 15 Ways to Store the Shoes. But since then, I've found yet more options - so here's an update.
In the one-of-a-kind arena, we have the Shrine shoe rack - a way of displaying a special pair of shoes. [via Better Living Through Design]
In the area of shoe racks, there's this unusual option, called the Nest shoe rack. There's also a wall-mounted version. [via Cribcandy]
And here's another shoe rack - available in two widths, and a number of finishes. This comes from The Bramble Company, which uses only sustainable wood from Indonesia - and is now also replanting trees. You can't buy directly from the company, but you can search for a dealer by you. (Hint: Searching by state seems to work best; search by city or by zip code will only work if there's a direct match.) I don't see any distribution outside the U.S. Update on Jan. 29, 2012: I'm no longer finding this product.
In the realm of cubbies, there are configure-it-yourself shoe organizers, either two-wide or three-wide. You can add as many tiers as you like.
And finally, I need to thank organizer Claire Tompkins for pointing me to the Shoe Skirt.
6 comments:
- Joan K said...
Love, love, love the Bramble Company shoe shelves. Thanks for highlighting these. You are always such an amazing resource for new products.
- September 28, 2009 at 11:57:00 AM PDT
- Gail said...
I always have somewhat ambivalent feelings about things that encourage us to organize the over-consuming we have done. On the one hand, organization is great, on the other hand, we Americans consume way too many of everything - too many clothes, too many shoes, too many of - well, everything. So - like I said, ambivalent.
- September 28, 2009 at 3:31:00 PM PDT
- Jeri Dansky said...
Joan, I'm so glad you liked them!
Gail, I know what you mean. Don Aslett writes about "junk bunkers" - items we can use to store yet more junk. Everything from a jewelry box to a pegboard to a desk organizer to a shoe organizer can be a junk bunker, he says.
I try to balance posts that help people make better purchasing (and decluttering) decisions - for example, see my my Sept. 24 post - with those that provide useful storage options. Because sometimes those same items that can be "junk bunkers" are actually helping store useful stuff.
I could start each storage-option post with "Assuming you've decluttered your stuff, and you are now looking for storage for the remaining things which you use and/or love ..." - but that would get pretty tiresome!
- September 28, 2009 at 8:49:00 PM PDT
- Gail said...
Jeri, I have never heard the term junk bunkers but I like it!
- September 28, 2009 at 9:16:00 PM PDT
- Unknown said...
I would highly recommend buying the original Shoe Skirt from wwww.shoeskirt.com.
The website is working and offering a special 2 for 1 deal!
Enjoy organizing : )
- September 29, 2009 at 10:16:00 AM PDT
- Jeri Dansky said...
Marla, I've updated the post to note that I no longer get the warning message when I try to go the the shoeskirt.com web site. Thanks for letting me know that it's OK now!
Now if the site would just not make noise at me when I go there - letting me choose to run the video if I want to ...
- September 29, 2009 at 11:39:00 AM PDT


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Barb Moore!!! CONGRATS to Barbara Moore from THE FABRIC PEDDLER on winning the ANNIE DOLL MAKE DO!!!!! Her name was drawn out of the hat!!!!!
Thanks so much to EVERYONE who entered......another giveaway is just around the corner!!! :)
Posted by Becky at 4:07 PM 3 comments
Posted by Becky at 8:01 PM 4 comments


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