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Now I realize an article about onions is not terribly Christmassy or even sexy. However, throughout the holiday season, we all want to look our best and stay as healthy as possible and, despite their pungent aroma, the humble onion must not be overlooked. Actually, the onion, in my opinion, is less humble than a true member of the vegetable royalty.
I was drawn to write this article after a conversation with a Jordanian lady in Central Park. Our children were playing together and we were discussing the huge number of vaccinations the U.S. insists that children get – up from just a few in our childhood. We were both frothing at the mouth about the flu vaccination and its implications for destroying the immune system of our youth as well as our right to choose what our children's bodies are pumped with. She told me that when she grew up in Jordan, when children got the flu, their parents and grandparents would slice onions and put them in the feet of socks and draw the socks on the children for the night. Apparently, it is a magical solution for fever and flu. Intrigued, I was drawn to explore further and found a list of the below benefits.
(Regarding the flu shot, if you don't want your child to get it – just find a doctor on the same page and have them tick off the form without actually injecting your child. Stories about deaths and paralysis of children from this year's flu shot are more and more in the news.)
If you are worried about onion breath: take a shot of vodka or hydrogen peroxide (spit out the h.p.) – both kill bacteria in the mouth, brush your teeth and tongue with baking soda and floss, rinse with water, and chew parsley or mint leaves!
Note the amazingly decadent recipe at the end of this article… Continue reading


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£179.99 (inc. VAT)Quantity:
Every cartridge diamond stylus becomes worn after a period of play.
Around 500 hours for a conical stylus, 300 hours for an Elliptical stylus, 1000 hours for a Microlinear stylus, and 800 hours for a Shibata stylus.
Our VM95 Series dual moving magnet cartridges can be used almost forever by replacing the interchangeable stylus. It is no longer necessary to purchase a complete cartridge when your diamond is worn out, you can simply buy the matching replacement stylus, but also enjoy the experience of upgrading your cartridge with a different stylus.
The six models of VM95 Series cartridges all use the same electromagnetic engine-body, therefore each of the six replacement styli are perfectly compatible.
Microlinear profile diamond stylus offers high frequency response with less wear and distortion than elliptical or conventional linear contact styli.
The AT-VM95C cartridge is fitted onto the 9g aluminium die cast body headshell
|VM Stereo Dual Magnet
|1/2" centres
|Frequency Response
|20 - 25,000 Hz
|Channel Separation
|23 dB (1 kHz)
|Output Channel Balance
|1.5 dB (1 kHz)
|Output Voltage
|3.5 mV (@ 1 kHz, 5 cm/sec)
|Vertical Tracking Angle
|Vertical Tracking Force Range
|1.8 - 2.2g (standard 2.0 g)
|Stylus Shape
|Stylus Size
|2.2 x 0.12 mil
|Stylus Construction
|Nude Square Shank
|Aluminium Pipe
|Coil Impedance
|3.3 kΩ (1 kHz)
|Coil Inductance
|550 mH (1 kHz)
|DC Resistance
|Static Compliance
|20 x 10 – 6 cm / dyne
|Dynamic Compliance
|10 x 10 – 6 cm / dyne (100 Hz)
|Wire Used for Coil
|T.P. Copper
|Recommended Load Impedance
|Recommended Load Capacitance
|100-200 pF
|15.5 g
|21.2 × 21.4 × 62.4 ( H x W x D mm)
|Replacement Stylus
Whether it's on the boardroom table, the stage or in the studio, Audio-Technica products are trusted time and again by industry professionals looking for reliable, lovingly developed audio products for all budgets.
It's Audio-Technica's commitment to innovation, customer service and meticulous design that ensure professionals turn to us to provide solutions in conferencing, houses of worship, broadcasting, live sound, recording studios and beyond.
For over 50 years Audio-Technica has worked alongside leading figures in sports and music broadcast to develop and hone a range of products that deliver on the highest level.
Audio-Technica have developed and delivered products to power the Grammys, World Cup, Super Bowl, Commonwealth Games as well as every Summer and Winter Games from Atlanta 1996 to Sochi 2014.
Founded in 1962 by Hideo Matsushita, Audio-Technica positioned itself immediately as a leader in the manufacture and design of innovative audio products.
Its expertise in innovation quickly spread to various new fields and led to the development of tone arms, microphones and headphones. Audio-Technica soon became a benchmark in those fields. Making history.
A self-made man and audiophile, Hidéo Matsushita was the former Director of the Tokyo Museum of Modern Art. It all started in his workshop, with the hand crafting of stereo cartridges. 50 years later, Audio-Technica has become a global leader in audio innovation.
Humility, passion, creativity and expertise in sound are the core values behind Audio-Technica's legacy, greatly inspired by its founder - whose imprint on the company's philosophy is still felt today.
Audio-Technica's passion for listening evolved in the 70's, when it started designing headphones, building upon a legacy in innovation, meticulous engineering and artistic design.
Today, Audio-Technica's audio products have become globally synonymous with consistently high sonic performance paired with impeccable build construction and artistic design.
All Audio-Technica products come with a two year warranty as standard meaning you can enjoy your product safe in the knowledge that you're covered.
All Audio-Technica products purchased from Audio-Technica Europe are guaranteed for two years from the date of purchase to be free of defects in materials and workmanship. In the event of such defect, the product will be repaired or replaced without charge*.
(* T&Cs apply)

subset: commoncrawl


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Olive oil may seem simple. The olive is a fruit. Its oil is its juice. Virgin oil is mechanically pressed without using heat or chemical processes. Extra virgin oil has particularly low acidity. You use it for cooking and salads.
But seriously, any gourmet worth his hand-harvested French sea salt also needs to know that a "peppery" Tuscan-style olive oil pairs well with arugula and radicchio, that butter lettuce and micro greens should be dressed with a less "assertive" oil—hold the vinegar—and that a hint of bananas marks the flavor of one oil produced in Alpes de Haute-Provence. Olive oil is a deep subject for aficionados who characterize varieties using a vernacular familiar to wine connoisseurs. The passion is growing in Napa Valley, California, where small producers make exquisite boutique oils and a tour operation caters to enthusiasts (www.greatolivetours.com).
Rose Malindretos, who spent summers on Crete surrounded by olive groves and now represents the O & Co. shops that specialize in olive oil, says that more than a hundred different olive varieties can be pressed for oil. Some varieties are specific to regions. Climate and soil govern taste, which varies from year to year. The parent company, Oliviers and Co. (www.oliviersandco.com), currently cellars 33 oils from 11 Mediterranean countries. Some producers bottle but a few hundred liters a year. Such oils are intended as condiments. Peppery oil from the frantoio olive is ideal for drizzling over a steak or roast. The tanche olive yields a buttery oil, perfect for dressing greens, poached fish or even strawberries.
Many olive oil millers combine varieties to their taste, to make oil specific to an estate. Rather than mixing oils, they press several fruit varieties together. Californians Rachel and William J. Casey take a slightly different approach at Poplar Hill (www.poplarhilloliveoil.com), their St. Helena estate: half the hand-picked fruit from the estate's 40 acres of 88 lucca olive trees are pressed when new and green for pungency; the other half when ripe and black for mellowness. The product: less than 500 vintage bottles of delicate, elegant oil, recommended for "bumping up" the flavor of fresh micro greens and as a substitute for butter in baking.
—Warren Kalbacker


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Boy, 3, shot in chest while playing with gun
Police say boy, 7-year-old sister found gun in parking lot
Police in Hagerstown said a 3-year-old boy accidentally shot himself Friday morning while he and his sister were playing in a parking lot.
Emergency crews were called to the parking lot behind a building in the unit block of West Franklin Street around 11:15 a.m. to find the victim with a gunshot wound to the chest.
Investigators said the boy and his 7-year-old sister were playing in the parking lot when they found a handgun and began playing with it. The gun eventually went off, hitting the boy.
The 7-year-old ran into the building and alerted her parents, who called 911.
The boy was stabilized and taken to Meritus Medical Center. His condition is unknown at this time.
Investigators said the .22-caliber Beretta was found at the scene with no extra rounds in it. Only one round had been fired, police said.
It's unclear where the children got the handgun or if they were being supervised at the time.
Police continue to investigate. Anyone with information on the case should call Hagerstown police at 301-790-3700 ext. 234.
See breaking news in your area? Upload photos and videos to ulocal!


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paper gain
Also found in: Dictionary, Thesaurus, Medical, Legal, Encyclopedia.
Related to paper gain: Realized Gain
Paper gain (loss)
Unrealized capital gain (loss) on securities held in a portfolio based on a comparison of current market price to original cost.
Paper Gain
A gain on an investment that has not yet been realized. That is, a paper gain occurs when the current price of a security is higher than the price the holder paid for it, but the holder still owns the security. As a result, there is the possibility that the paper gain might be erased if the price goes back down. A paper gain represents an increase in one's net worth, but it may or may not affect one's lifestyle. See also: Paper loss.
paper gain
See unrealized gain.


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When it comes to fantasy playoffs, you have to be cold. No attachments. No remorse. In any H2H redraft (non-keeper) league, you can't be afraid to drop a player that is day-to-day or struggling badly. Now, do you drop a top 40 player who has been having a bad few games to pick up a player ranked 150th? Maybe not, because a top 40 player playing poorly can still give you value. Nevertheless, if there is better value on the waiver wire than someone you are currently plugging in, don't be shy. I'd rather win with an ugly roster than lose with name recognition. With that out of the way, let's see what was going on Tuesday night in the NBA.
LaMarcus Aldridge – He shot 9-16 for a line of 20/8/3. He's a stud. You start him in all leagues and you laugh that kind of way where your head tosses back and you can't keep your eyes open. You nut.
Jonny Flynn – 10/3/5 in 25 minutes, but I warn you not to add him. There is no value here. If he was beer, he would be a Bud Select 55 watered down with children's tears.
Russell Westbrook – He scored 32 points on 16-26 shooting while dishing out 8 assists. Unfortunately, he missed three free throws and three pointers each, but no one is purfekt (GET IT LOL).
Goran Dragic – If he's injured, he still went 17/2/7, so, hey, sometimes you find comedy in Dragedy.
Rodrigue Beaubois – Off the bench, 14 points (including 1 three), 5 assists, 1 steal, 3 rebounds. I am going to start writing his name on my Mead notebook.
Courtney Lee – 10 points on 4-13 shooting, but the consolation is Courtney let you have 2 three pointers and a groping (under the shirt but above the bra).
Jason Terry – Played over 34 minutes, 5-14 shooting, 12/1/4. Hasn't done enough recently to warrant a roster spot, but it all depends on how deep your league is. In 24 team leagues, I would add him in a heartbeat.
Tony Parker – Hasn't missed a beat, scoring 24 points on 9-17 with 7 assists. Meanwhile, Danny Green scored 1 point. ONE lousy point. He missed ALL of his shots, including FIVE three pointers. CAPS LOCK RAGE!
Martin Gortat – Double Double Toil and Trouble: 21/14 with two blocks.
Shannon Brown – He went five of ten from behind the arc, wracking up 32 points but not much else (3 assists, 1 rebound). He's not terrible interesting. However, if your league counts pillow fights, I would add Shannon and Courtney.
Josh Smith – 30/14/5 with 2 steals and a block. He may have had the game of the night. Nice to see him making a three again after a recent dry spell.
Ivan Johnson – Scored 17 on 7-7 shooting including a three, but Ivan is mostly terrible.
Monta Ellis – Missed from downtown on all three attempts, but he still cumulated 33 points, 4 rebounds, 8 assists and a steal. Did you know Monta is also a girl's name? What's going on, is this the WNBA?
Epke Udoh – A rather unremarkable 8/10/1 but the three blocks make it more enticing. Dig past the surface, though, and you'll see the blocks come in spurts, like my sem…inal novel I am working on. The ideas come in spurts.
Andre Iguodala – Still out with patella tendinitis. I think that's what you get if you mix Nutella with ground beef.
Alonzo Gee – Three from downtown, 13/9/3 and a steal. Gee whiz, he is a solid option (cue sad trombone).
Jodie Meeks – 31 points, most of which came from 7 three pointers. Not much else, though, but if you have Meeks on your team, that's pretty chic. That may have just won you that category for the week. Magnifique!
Pau Gasol – I like to talk about him. 19/17/3 is a good night. It makes me forget his neckbeard and the fact that I want to call him Paul.
Matt Barnes – 18/10/3 with 2 blocks. In his prior three games, he averaged 8.6 PPG, 1.6 BPG, 3 APG, and 5.6 RPG. For that, I say "why the heck not?" Matt Barnes, you and I shall party like it's 2009.
Mickell Gladness – Played 4:54 and shot 0-1, but I just wanted to highlight his name.
Brandon Rush – Off the bench, he netted 23 points, including 2 threes, and he also blocked 2 shots. In the past week, he has been averaging 2.2 blocks and 2.0 threes per game. Fancy!


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Peak Pilates Power Circle III
An evolved version of the traditional magic circle as designed by Joseph Pilates, The Power Circle is made of coated spring-steel which resists rust and corrosion. The perfect resistance, as tested instudios worldwide, the 3-band Power Circle can be used to add challenge and variety to your individualworkout or to group mat classes.
- 3 band spring-steel, rustproof-coated Power Circle
- 2 cushioned, contoured latex-free grips
- 14 in. diameter


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Driver killed on I-81
HASTINGS (AP) -- The northbound lanes of Interstate 81 north of Syracuse have reopened after being shut down for more than eight hours by a five-vehicle accident that claimed the life of a central New York teenager.
State Police Investigator Tom Quilter says 19-year-old Liberty Tanner of Pulaski was driving north when her car broke down in the center lane around 10:15 p.m. Wednesday between exits 31 and 32 in the Oswego County town of Hasting.
Quilter says her car was rear-ended by another vehicle, causing three other vehicles to collide in a chain-reaction crash. Police say Tanner died in the crash and three people in other vehicles suffered non-life-threatening injuries.
I-81's northbound lanes were closed until 6:45 a.m. Thursday. Traffic was diverted to Route 11 while the lanes were shut down.


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© The Samuel Johnson Birthplace Museum
- The Museum stands in the centre of the historic city of Lichfield, which remained close to Johnson's heart throughout his life. Best known for his Dictionary of the English Language, Johnson spent the first 27 years of his life in the large, imposing house which overlooks Market Square, frequently returning until shortly before his death in 1784. The Grade I listed building contains a varied mix of displays, reconstructed rooms and audio-visual media. Visitors are taken through the colourful life and major achievements of Lichfield's most famous son, from troubled childhood, through literary obscurity and financial poverty, to world renown and success. Our growing calendar of special events means that visitors can come again and again to see the wonderful house in a variety of guises throughout the year!


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This site uses cookies (both technical and profile) directly and by third parties to offer you a better browsing experience and, when you are online, customised advertising messages in line with your preferences. If you select "Continue", you consent to the use of cookies. For more information or to withdraw your consent click here.
Colour not available


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Since few hours when I open the shop, the left panel next to it (where you have the guides with the item builds) is empty. I can select a guide again, but the default guide is not containing my custom build. This is for all heroes. How can I recover my custom builds?
UPDATE: If I go to http://www.dota2.com/workshop/builds I see a number of builds like: Lion (Scratch), Wraith King (Scratch), ... those are my builds. but those do not show in game.


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Home › Classroom Resources › Lesson Plans
Lesson Plan
Analyzing Advice as an Introduction to Shakespeare
|6 – 8
|Lesson Plan Type
|Standard Lesson
|Estimated Time
|Four 50-minute sessions
|Lesson Author
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Students read and analyze the advice given in Mary Schmich's 1997 Chicago Tribune column "Advice, Like Youth, Probably Just Wasted on the Young," which inspired the popular recording "Everybody's Free (to Wear Sunscreen)" by Baz Luhrmann. Exploring the column and its recording, students focus on both content and style through the following central questions: What advice is being given? To whom is it given? How good is this advice? Using similar analytical techniques, students then explore the advice that Polonius gives to Laertes in Shakespeare's Hamlet. Based on this exploration, students write their own advice poems as a final activity.
Advice Text Rubric: Use this rubric to assess students' advice poems.
In their article "Shakespeare through the Lens of a New Age," Linda Tabers-Kwak and Timothy U. Kaufman explain, "English teachers constantly seek to bring relevance to Shakespeare's works, and if we agree with Rosenblatt that our role is to help students gain a broader and deeper insight through literature itself' (107), then we must utilize ways to take the best that literature can offer-Shakespeare, for instance-and help students truly embrace the text in a way that they deem relevant and worthwhile to the age in which they live" (73). Music and advice columns provide, according to Tabers-Kwak and Kaufman, a gateway to Shakespeare that allows students to focus "a perspective about Elizabethan drama through a twenty-first century lens" (71). This popular-culture lens ultimately "remov[es] Shakespeare's unapproachable' stigma . . . and promises to open more investigative doors for student exploration among all levels" (73).
This lesson plan focuses on connecting popular culture (music and advice columns) to a short passage from Hamlet, giving students the opportunity to investigate Shakespeare's language and ideas in a concentrated and specific situation. As Michael Milburn explains, "tackling an entire play, trying to elucidate language, plot, and historical context all at once" can be overwhelming to students (76). Middle school students, he suggests, can have a more positive experience with Shakespeare's language by studying a specific Shakespearean speech, removed from plot and historical context. Students can then focus on interpreting the structure and language of Shakespeare in a concentrated exploration.
Further Reading
Milburn, Michael. "Selling Shakespeare." English Journal 92.1 (September 2002): 274-79.
Tabers-Kwak, Linda, and Timothy U. Kaufman. "Shakespeare through the Lens of a New Age." English Journal 92.1 (September 2002): 69-73.


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The 2012 flu season got off to a slow start until the number of cases spiked last week, prompting officials at the Centers for Disease control to urge people to get their flu shots now. Currently, the highest level of flu activity has been reported by states in the South. NBC's Robert Bazell reports.
This year's flu season has kicked in early, with activity up significantly across the nation, particularly in the south and southeast, federal health officials say.
"It looks like it's shaping up to be a bad flu season," said Dr. Thomas Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The percentage of aching, feverish folks who went to the doctor with influenza-like illness had reached the national baseline of 2.2 percent, the earliest that has happened in the regular flu season in nearly a decade, the 2003-2004 season. Flu season may start as early as October, but typically peaks in January or later.
Five states reported high levels of flu activity -- Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee and Texas. Widespread activity was reported in four states, regional activity was seen in seven states and 19 states reported local flu activity, CDC officials said. That was up from eight states that reported local flu activity the previous week.
Michael Patrick / AP file
Linda Howard, 66, of Knoxville, Tenn., gets a flu shot from nursing student Elizabeth Wallace at free flu shot clinic in October.
By contrast, last year's flu season started late, with an uptick in cases not starting until February.
Health officials are urging people to get their flu shots now, including babies older than six months, and all adults and children. Every year, about a quarter of the U.S. population gets the flu and an average of about 36,000 people die.
The strains making people sick are influenza A -- both H3N2 and the 2009 H1N1 or pandemic swine flu strain -- and influenza B. So far, the vaccines manufactured for this season appear to be a good match, health officials said.
But the H3N2 virusmay typically cause more severe symptoms than the other flu bugs, noted Dr. William Schaffner, chairman of the Department of Preventive Medicine at Vanderbilt University. His staff has already started seeing flu patients in Tennessee.
"We're all a bit antsy," he said.
About 120 million doses of flu vaccine are available this year, Frieden said. About 112 million people have received their flu shots so far, officials said.
The key to avoiding the flu is getting the shot, the experts emphasized.
"We are particularly encouraging people who haven't gotten vaccinated to do it," said Dr. Melinda Wharton, acting director of the CDC's Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases.
Related stories:


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THE ROLLING STONES ARE COMING! The iconic band is playing a music festival north of Toronto
WATCH ABOVE as National Entertainment editor Mark Daniell and music critic Jane Stevenson get us ready for the Rolling Stones coming to Toronto ( well almost)
What do YOU think?
Tweet and Facebook us!
And don't forget to subscribe to our YouTube Channel.


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30 June 2017 I purchased my first ever VX! Ebony #0209!
Here it is as it sits today: 01 September 2018 (this pic will be updated as things change)
Down to business...
The VX:
Vehicle: 1999 Isuzu Vehicross
Last Four: 0209
Color: Ebony
Engine: Factory 3.5L V6
Transmission: Factory Auto
Current Wheel Size: 16"
Current Tire Size: 265/70R16
Plan for project: The plan is fairly simple. Prove that you can build a daily driver / Overland Vehicle without the need to drop $40,000+ on the base vehicle before you even get started, and look good doing it!
Total Spent: $7,500
Completed Repairs/Upgrades/Modifications:
- Repair Bad Brakes (All of them) (Complete)
- Remove Vinyle Wrap (Complete)
- Get Transmission Working (Complete)
- Replace Battery (Complete)
- Passenger Door Exterior Window Seal Missing (Complete)
- Drivers Door not opening from outside (Complete)
- Recondition Yellowed Head Lights (Complete)
- Get Replacement Keys Made (Complete)
- Transfer Case Fluid Change (Complete)
- Build/Buy Bracket for Battery Tray (Complete)
- Install Sound System (Complete)
- Recondition/Replace OEM Sterio Antenna (Complete)
- Replace Front Half Shafts (Complete)
- Fix EGR error code (P0405) (Complete)
- Get A/C serviced (works but makes a lot of clicking noise) (Complete)
- 1 or 2 Inch Lift (Complete)
- Recondition Winshield Wiper Arms. (Complete)
- 31 Inch Tires (Firestone Destination A/T @ 265/70/R16)(Complete)
- Fix high idle issue(Complete)
- CB Radio (Complete)
- Winch (Badlands 12,000lbs) (Complete)
- Winch Mount (Complete)
- Trailer Hitch Install (Complete)
- Repair leaks in the windshield washer system. (Complete)
- Full Engine Service (Complete)
- Install Transmission Shift Solenoids (Colmplete)
- Repair door window motors (Both Sides) (Complete)
- Diagnose and repair ABS Light (Complete)
- Repair Door Window Tilt Issue (Complete)
- Install Auxiliary Fuse Block Under Hood (Complete)
- Install Brush Gard (Complete)
- Change Diff Fluid (F/R) (Complete)
Planned Repairs/Upgrades/Modifications:
- Install Trailer Light Plug (Plug & Additional Wiring Installed but not functioning)
- Repair Drivers Front Fender (Changed to repair after closer inspection)
- External Spare Tire Mount w/ Fuel Can Holder (Trooper Tire Carrier Purchased)
- Rock Sliders
- Install Switch Panel (Purchased (Installed USB ports, still waiting to get switches))
- Install Storage System
- Install Manual Locking Hubs
- Install "Blue Wire Mod" for TOD interrupt
- (Will Add More As I think of things, but that is enough for today)
Work Log:
30 June 2017: Purchased the VX
01 July 2017: Started to remove the faux carbon fiber vinyl wrap (Drivers Door, Drivers Rear Quater Panel, Rear Door complete)
02 July 2017: Weather was wonkey, so I replaced the transmission filter, both pan gaskets, and new synthetic fluid. Also added 1 Quart of Lucas Oil "Transmission Fix".
03 July 2017: Removed more of the faux vinyl wrap. Still have Roof, Metal part of the hood, and plastic grill surround to do.
04 July 2017: Ordered Weather Strip for the exterior passenger door.
04 July 2017: Removed vinyl wrap from hood.
07 July 2017: Repaired driver door not opening from outside.
08 July 2017: Got three replacement keys made.
09 July 2017: Finished removing all the Vinyl Wrap
10 July 2017: DIY Solution found for door weather strip
10 July 2017: Got license plates and went for first test drive. Break issue discovered.
11 July 2017: Unstuck dragging break caliper. New "groan" noise detected, attempting to diagnose.
13 July 2017: Confirmed order for weather trip for exterior passenger door.
13 July 2017: Ordered Blue Tooth OBD2 Reader
13 July 2017: Diagnosed "groan", low transmission fluid, I didn't buy enough and it was lower than I thought.
15 July 2017: Checked for error codes with OBD2 scanner. P0113 and P0405
15 July 2017: Verified Transmission Fluid Levels
17 July 2017: Conducted first shake down drive.
19 July 2017: Cleaned and polished headlight after removing headlight pod.
19 July 2017: Reinstalled headlight pods.
21 July 2017: Cleared all OBD2 Error codes but P0405 (EGR).
21 July 2017: Conducted General Maintenance around engine bay.
22 July 2017: Tranfer case fluid change complete.
22 July 2017: Discovered numerous leaks in the windshield washer system.
23 July 2017: Discovered Rear Brakes not working
24 July 2017: Purchased Rear Break Pads. Storms Preventing Install Today.
24 July 2017: Purchased and installed battery bracket (Universal Fit)
30 July 2017: First attempt at installing OEM window seal failed.
31 July 2017: New front speakers on order.
31 July 2017: New head unit on order & waiting to ship.
31 July 2017: Clips for Window Strip on order, waiting to ship.
31 July 2017: Devious Plans still in development.
31 July 2017: Possible cause of 0405 error code found.
01 August 2017: Tried last possible cause of code 0405, failed.
04 August 2017: Replacement Head Unit finally ships. Finally!
05 August 2017: Head Unit and speakers arrived today!
07 August 2017: Head Unit Installed. Need to finalize mount.
08 August 2017: Head Unit Install complete.
11 August 2017: Started Rear Brake Work, issues discovered
15 August 2017: Replaced one (1) rear lug stud
15 August 2017: Finished Rear Brakes! Finally! (M:167357)
16 August 2017: Replaced OEM radio antenna
25 August 2017: Ordered replacement half axles for the front.
01 September 2017: Installed new front brake pads.
01 September 2017: Installed new front axle half shafts.
01 September 2017: Inpected and repacked front wheel bearings.
01 September 2017: Installed exterior window seal clips.
04 September 2017: Installed EGR Valve (P0405 now clear)
15 September 2017: Installed replacement air filter box
15 September 2017: Installed replacement brake booster hose
15 September 2017: Cleaned the MAF sensor
23 September 2017: Installed New Air Filter
23 September 2017: Installed New MAF Sensor
23 September 2017: Installed New 130 Amp Alternator
24 September 2017: Tightened up steering box, removed play from steering
25 September 2017: A/C system seems to be working normal again.
14 October 2017: Site was down, performing work log update.
14 October 2017: Installed new throttle position sensor.
14 October 2017: Installed new idle are control valve.
14 October 2017: Purchased a number of engine parts to install this weekend.
14 October 2017: Purchased Old Man EMU suspension (shocks and coils) to be installed this weekend.
14 October 2017: Began cardboard modeling of winch mount/off-road bumper.
14 October 2017: Removed/Replaced/Repaired more wiring.
15 October 2017: Lift Kit Installed, driver window motor quit.
21 October 2017: Replace Fuel Pressure Regulator on fuel rail.
22 October 2017: Replaced intake and throttle body gasket.
22 October 2017: Fixed driver window not going up all the way.
24 October 2017: Ordered the OEM VX CrossBars today. Hopefully they will ship on the 26th.
25 October 2017: New tires and alignment.
29 October 2017: Installed new intake manifold gasket.
30 October 2017: Fixed high idle issue! Yay!
31 October 2017: OEM Yakima Roof Bars for the VX installed.
10 November 2017: Installed a Reese Roof Basket, Phone Mount, and a 2nd new upper intake manifold gasket.
15 November 2017: Ordered a Curt Hitch from e-trailer.com
24 November 2017: Completed CB Radio Install.
25 November 2017: Purchased Winch. Curt Hitch Arrived.
20 December 2017: ABS Light came on
26 December 2017: Removed Crash Bumper
26 December 2017: Started to build winch mount
30 December 2017: Completed fabrication of winch mount
31 December 2017: Installed Winch Mount and Winch (Not wired up yet)
01 January 2018: Winch wired and working, pulled steel cable off
13 January 2018: Trailer Hitch Install Completed
23 January 2018: Installed passenger window motor. Window now tilts
10 February 2018: Window Washer leaks seems to have fixed themselves. Probably dry seals.
16 February 2018: Dropped at a shop for an entire engine workup.
20 February 2018: Got the VX back from the shop, new EGR valve installed (yes, again)
24 February 2018: Did the SeaFoam clean due to an EGR related CEL, codes staying clear for now.
07 March 2018: Pulled and cleaned the "Mode Selector/Neutral Safety Switch".
17 March 2018: Replaced all five shift solenoids.
17 March 2018: Replaced the transmission mount.
17 March 2018: Replaced the transmission filter.
24 March 2018: Conducted Fuel System Pressure Test
24 March 2018: Replaced Fuel Filter
25 March 2018: 1st Successful test drive with no issues what so ever.
30 March 2018: Finally changed the spark plugs.
31 March 2018: Drilled the plastic "grill" to allow winch clutch access.
02 April 2018: Got dash switch mount inserts.
06 April 2018: Attempted a "window" fix, passenger side. New regulator required.
12 April 2018: Greased window tracks both sides.
21 April 2018: Purchased A/C Condesor Fan.
21 April 2018: Purchased Heated, Leather, Power seats.
01 May 2018: Purchased In Channel Rain Gaurds.
04 May 2018: Installed WeatherTech In Channel Rain Gaurds.
25 May 2018: Reinstalled A/C Condenser Fan.
25 May 2018: Installed wireless winch controller.
25 May 2018: Removed after market car alarm.
25 May 2018: Removed Rear Seat.
26 May 2018: Test fit replacement seats. Failure.
31 May 2018: ABS System repaired.
06 June 2018: Repaired Passenger Window Function.
15 June 2018: Purchased new TPS
15 June 2018: Purchased RTV for transmission pan
16 June 2018: Fixed leak in transmission
16 June 2018: Installed BlueSea Fuse Block under hood
18 August 2018: Replaced both front brake calipers and pads
27 August 2018: Lost Key to Lug Nuts (Will have tire shop remove them)
27 August 2018: Obtained Fog Light & 4WD switch from another Isuzu
27 August 2018: Obtained Brush Gaurd
01 September 2018 Brush Guard Installed
30 September 2018 Replaced rear speakers
27 October 2018 Started to work on the Transmission Shift Shaft Seal
28 October 2018 Finished Shift Shaft Seal replacement.
03 November 2018 Changed Differential Fluid (F/R)
09 November 2018 Replaced Throttle Position Sensor (Second New One)
23 November 2018 Replaced lower intake manifold gasket (drivers side failed).
23 November 2018 Discovered failing MAF. Will attempt to clean before replacing.
30 November 2018 Installed new MAF.
31 December 2018 installed new TPS.
19 January 2019 Painted Cladding
17 February 2019 Removed Rear Seatbelts
01 July 2019 Passenger Window Motor Failed


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A new book by Dr. Barry Bandstra of the Hope College religion faculty provides a detailed linguistic analysis of the first 11 chapters of Genesis.
Titled "Genesis 1-11: A Handbook on the Hebrew Text," the book is geared toward intermediate and advanced students of biblical Hebrew. It is the second volume in "The Baylor Handbook on the Hebrew Bible" series published by Baylor University Press of Waco, Texas.
The 629-page book's emphasis is on enhancing students' understanding of the Hebrew language and the biblical text. It uses an approach to linguistic understanding called "functional grammar," which explores why clauses are worded and used together as they are.
The analysis of each group of verses begins with a translation that reflects the structure and features of the Hebrew text, which often differs from the way that the text is rendered to flow smoothly in English. The first five verses of Genesis 1, for example, read as "Initially deity created the heavens and the earth. And the earth was an emptiness and a void. And darkness is on the surface of deep-water, and a wind of deity hovers on the surface of the waters. And deity said, 'Let light be.' And light was. And deity saw the light that good it is. And deity made separation between the light and between the darkness. And deity named the light day, and the darkness he named night. And evening was. And morning was. Day one!"
Bandstra is the Evert J. and Hattie E. Blekkink Professor of Religion and director of academic computing at Hope. His primary scholarly interests are the Old Testament, biblical Hebrew linguistics and the use of computing technology as an instructional tool.
Since 2002, he has been the program chair of the Linguistics and Biblical Hebrew section of the Society of Biblical Literature.
A member of the Hope faculty since 1983, he has taught 16 different courses at the college, ranging from the beginning-level "Introduction to Biblical Literature" course, to "Archaeology and the World of the Bible," to a seminar for religion majors on the Dead Sea Scrolls, to the interdisciplinary "Encounter with Cultures" course. During the 1980s and 1990s, he led multiple Hope May Term courses in the Middle East. His analytical approach in his new book is based on his approach to teaching about biblical Hebrew at both Hope and Western Theological Seminary.
Bandstra has spent more than two decades designing materials for both the personal computer and the Web. In 1989, he received one of only 12 Apple Computer Courseware Development Grants awarded to the Consortium of Liberal Arts Colleges; in 2000, britannica.com gave his multimedia textbook "Reading the Old Testament" a four-star "Superior" rating; in 2002, he received a grant from the Wabash Center for Teaching and Learning in Theology and Religion to develop "Reading Hebrew: A Biblical Hebrew Internet Course," which he has made available for free.
His other publications include the textbook "Reading the Old Testament: An Introduction to the Hebrew Bible," now in its third edition; a chapter on "A Maccabean Jewish State" in "Biblica: The Bible Atlas"; three articles in the "Encyclopedia of the Ancient World"; and several articles in edited books and scholarly journals. He has also presented numerous papers and invited addresses.


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I ran into a small issue with WPF radiobuttons where pressing tab on the GUI will only select the radiobutton that is checked off but will skip other ones in the same button group. However, if I press Ctrl + Tab instead, then all radiobuttons in the same button group gets their turn to be selected.
Is this an in-built behaviour of WPF? If so, is there some way I can make Tab works like Ctrl + Tab for this instance? I've tried changing tabIndex, isTabStop, and various navigational properties but none worked.


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Upgraded Canadarm could be vital for future exploration
Posted: October 4, 2012
A next-generation robotic arm with finer dexterity and lighter materials will be required for planned exploration missions to deep space, asteroids and Mars, according to Canadian officials who unveiled new robotics concepts last week.
The Canadian Space Agency showed off prototypes of future robotic arms Sept. 27. The concepts were developed over three years with $53 million in funding from a 2009 economic stimulus package passed by the Canadian government.
MDA Corp. built a 49-foot prototype telescoping arm for use in human spaceflight and a smaller 8.4-foot arm with the ability to refuel satellites and repair components in space.
The large, telescoping arm can be stowed to fit on commercial spaceships and NASA's Orion crew capsule, according to Gilles Leclerc, the Canadian Space Agency's director-general for space exploration.
According to Leclerc, the arm could be used to assemble habitats in deep space or help astronauts exploring destinations such as asteroids.
The smaller arm would build on technology on Canada's Dextre robot, a two-armed device used to install experiments, work on electronics, and demonstrate satellite refueling procedures outside the International Space Station.
NASA and CSA have not agreed on what role Canadian robotics will have on future exploration missions, but top officials in both agencies have discussed collaboration, Leclerc said in an interview with Spaceflight Now.
"Regardless of future space destinations, space robotics will be required for a variety of missions, from rovers that act as robotic planetary explorers to robots that will repair and refuel satellites and space telescopes," Leclerc said. "No matter the mission, Canada will be ready."
Canada provided robot arms - or Canadarms - to fly on the space shuttle, and a 58-foot manipulator named Canadarm 2 is on the space station with the Dextre robot.
"Like all Canadians, I am proud of the iconic Canadarm, that served the space shuttle program for three decades, as well as the next-generation Canadarm, which will further Canada's legacy of excellence in space robotics," said Gary Goodyear, Canada's minister of state for science and technology.
The Canadian government also earmarked 2009 stimulus funds to develop rover technology to be used on the moon and Mars, according to Leclerc.


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What are your thoughts about this dispute? Comment on Facebook.
The teachers strike will likely continue well into September after hopes of mediation were crushed, classes were formally cancelled for Tuesday's scheduled opening day, and each side blamed the other.
Some school districts warned parents to brace for a lengthy shutdown of schools.
"We suggest parents make alternative arrangements for the coming week and look to the very real possibility that a resolution may take much longer," Jordan Tinney, Surrey's superintendent of schools, said in a letter to parents. "The disruption is especially unsettling when there appears to be no end in sight.
Vancouver and other districts sent similar letters Monday.
Patti Bacchus, head of the Vancouver school, said she is disappointed schools wouldn't be opening Tuesday. "This isn't good for anybody," she said.
Although it is risky for both sides, she said it might be time for binding arbitration, or at least unfettered mediation with a mediator empowered to make public, non-binding recommendations.
"We need to get kids in school," Bacchus said. "But it needs to be a deal that's fair — it can't be another heavy-handed deal that's going to end up in court."
Veteran mediator Vince Ready declared an impasse Saturday after exploratory talks with the union, the B.C. Teachers' Association, and the employer group, the B.C. Public Schools Employer's Association. Ready said the sides are still "a long, long ways apart" on class composition, benefits and wages.
BCTF president Jim Iker called Sunday for Premier Christy Clark to meet with him.
"If the education minister and BCPSEA do not have the authority or the willingness to do what it takes to reach a fair settlement, then Premier Clark needs to become directly involved," Iker said. "She can no longer sit on the sidelines."
Clark posted comments on Facebook Sunday: "Unfortunately, the BCTF rejected our offer to reopen schools while the two sides enter mediation to reach an agreement. Instead, the BCTF is sticking to its strike and demanding twice as much money as everyone else in the public service has received. That's not fair for the 150,000 dedicated women and men who have reached long-term agreements with affordable raises. Class composition is priority #1 — more educators helping more students. BCTF or CUPE, it doesn't matter because students' needs come first."
The two sides are close on wages: the government is offering seven per cent over six years and the BCTF is asking for eight per cent over five years.
Where the two sides part ways is on class size and composition. The government is offering to continue its Learning Improvement Fund, worth $75 million annually. The BCTF wants $225 million a year to address class size and composition issues, which would be primarily used to hire additional teachers.
The BCTF is also asking for $225 million more over five years to deal retroactively with grievances planned after winning two B.C. Supreme Court rulings on class size and composition bargaining rights.
Education Minister Peter Fassbender said it comes down to money.
"There is still over $300 million of gap between what the government has put on the table . . . and what the BCTF is asking for," he said. "If we were even to consider that, who should we take that money from? Health care? Other social services in the province?
"We have been clear we are not going to put our fiscal plan in this province into deficit to meet the unrealistic demands of the BCTF."
Fassbender said in an interview that half of the $300-million gap between the two sides is a $5,000 signing bonus that the teachers are asking for. "That is just unrealistic. No other public sector union has received that," he said.
The other half are benefits that are distinct from the grievance fund, he said.
Rob Fleming, the NDP education critic, called Sunday for Fassbender to be relieved of his duties as minister for failing to provide public education to British Columbians.
On Monday, NDP leader John Horgan joined Iker in calling for the premier to become directly involved.
"Your continued absence throughout this crisis shows a lack of leadership when British Columbians need it most," Horgan said in an letter. "Our children's education is too important for you to do nothing but tweet platitudes and let an incapable minister continue on a destructive path.
"Your government's funding freeze is unrealistic and counter-productive to achieving your own stated education goals and the ability to achieve an immediate settlement."
Fassbender said Clark is involved in the dispute.
"It is amazing to me that Mr. Iker and Mr. Horgan think that the premier is not personally involved. The premier is totally engaged and we talk all the time," Fassbender said.
Bacchus questioned the government's "affordability zone" and said the share of the provincial budget going to public education has shrunk.
"How come we can't afford public education the way other provinces can?" she asked. "What was the devastating thing that happened that we can afford so much less for kids now?"
The BCTF says B.C. spends $1,000 less per public school student than the national average.
Fassbender maintained the government has no plans to legislate teachers back to work, something he accused the BCTF of hoping for.
Iker informed his members that Ready told the BCTF that the government is trying to "negotiate out of the court case."
He was referring to demands from the employers group. One would say either side could terminate the contract within 60 days of a court decision, but that demand has been withdrawn. The other lays out the government position on class size and composition, but ends with the sentence: "These provisions supersede and replace all previous articles that addressed class size, composition and staffing levels."
The BCTF sees this sentence as an "escape clause" for the government in the continuing court case.
The B.C. Supreme Court has ruled, twice, that teachers' constitutional rights were violated a decade ago when bargaining of class size, class composition and specialist teacher ratios was stripped from their collective agreement. The province has appealed.
Iker said the BCTF had trimmed $125 million from its proposal, while BCPSEA "did not bring one new penny to the table. Nothing new for our students learning conditions or our teachers working conditions."
The BCTF said Ready is monitoring the situation and could become involved again if he thinks the impasse is broken.
No one knows exactly how long a strike could drag on, but in 2011, a Labour Relations Board ruling said that schools could be closed for up to two weeks without "serious and immediate disruption to the provision of educational programs."
Fassbender said the employer is not considering asking for a similar ruling in the current dispute.
"We want a negotiated settlement at the table. That is where it should be happening. It should not be happening in any other venue — the legislature, or the courts or the LRB — it should be happening at the negotiating table," Fassbender said.
Beyond two weeks, the report ruled that allowable disruption to education would vary depending on a student's grade or the time of year in which the disruption occurred. But even at that point, he would allow teachers to strike one day a week, with their pay reduced accordingly.
Fassbender urged parents with schoolchildren to register for financial support from the province as a way to offset some of their added expenses incurred during the strike. Under the program, parents can claim $40 in assistance per day, per eligible student 12 years old and under, to be paid out after an agreement is reached. The launch of the program was frustrated when a link to the application for assistance was not working for part of Sunday, a glitch that was fixed by Monday.
Teachers went on strike in June, closing schools for the last two weeks of the year, after more than a year and a half of failed negotiations.
Recent timeline of the dispute:
June 2013 - A two-year contract for B.C.'s teachers expires.
Sept. 2013 - Teachers start their bid in B.C. Supreme Court to have their contract provisions regarding class-size limits and staffing ratios restored to 2002 levels.
Jan. 2014 - Teachers win court case. Justice Susan Griffin finds the government twice passed unconstitutional legislation aimed at stripping teachers of bargaining rights. Griffin finds the province did not negotiate in good faith during 2012 bargaining, and even tried to provoke a strike.
Feb. 2014 - Province appeals decision, with Peter Fassbender saying it would cost government $1 billion. Government received temporary stay of ruling. Fassbender later emails teachers directly, attempting to explain the govenement's side.
March 2014 - teachers vote 89 per cent in favour of a strike. Initial government offer was for seven per cent increase over six years, followed by raises tied to inflation for a total of ten years. Teachers wanted 13.5 per cent increase over three years.
May 2014 - Government meets teachers' plan for rotating strikes with wage cuts and a partial lockout.
June 2014 - Teachers lower their wage demands to eight per cent over five years, government offer remains at seven per cent over six. Class size and composition continue to be sticky point in negotiations.
June 10, 2014 - The BCTF says its strike pay fund is running dry. Teachers nevertheless vote 86 per cent in favour of a full-scale strike.
June 17, 2014 - schools close on account of dispute.
June 20, 2014 - Both sides agree to mediation with help from Vince Ready, who initially declines the charge.
July 2, 2014 - Mediator and B.C. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Kelleher cannot bring the two sides together.
July 16, 2014 - Finance Minister Mike de Jong unveils budget surplus then says there is no plan by government to pass back-to-work legislation before start of school year.
July 31, 2014 - province announces $40 a day contingency plan for parents of young schoolchildren should the strike continue past Sept. 2.
Aug. 8, 2014 - the two sides come together for the first time since schools shut down in June. Both sides call for further negotiations over the next few weeks.
Aug. 27, 2014 - Fassbender calls for a two-week "stand down" from strike action once mediation begins.
Aug. 28, 2014 - Ready meets with Fassbender, Jim Iker, the president of the BCTF, and James Cameron, the chief negotiator of the BCPSEA.
Aug. 30, 2014 - Ready walks away from the table with both sides too far apart for mediation.
Sept. 2, 2014 - Scheduled start of the 2014/15 school year.
With a file from Matthew Robinson
Sun Education Reporter
Follow me: @TracySherlock
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Even the most ardent historian, male or female—citing Amazons and tribal matriarchies and Cleopatra—can't conceal that women have basically done fuck all for the last 100,000 years. Come on—let's admit it. Let's stop exhaustingly pretending that there is a parallel history of women being victorious and creative, on an equal with men, that's just been comprehensively covered up by The Man. There isn't. Our empires, armies, cities, artworks, philosophers, philanthropists, inventors, scientists, astronauts, explorers, politicians and icons could all fit, comfortably into one of the private karaoke booths in SingStar. We have no Mozart; no Einstein; no Galileo; no Ghandi. No Beatles, no Churchill, no Hawking, no Columbus. It just didn't happen.
Nearly everything so far has been the creation of men—and a liberal, right-on denial of it makes everything more awkward and difficult in the long run. Pretending that women have had a pop at all this before but ultimately didn't do as well as the men, that the experiment of female liberation has already happened but floundered gives strength to the belief that women simply aren't as good as men, full stop. That things should just carry on as they are—with the world shaped around, and honouring, the priorities, needs, whims, and successes of men. Women are over, without having even begun. When the truth is that we haven't even begun at all. Of course we haven't. We'll know it when we have.
~Caitlin Moran
Do you agree or disagree with the above sentiment and statements, and why or why not?
NOTE: I'll be contrarian in the discussion, both because I find it fun, and also because echo chambers are boring.
Views: 2375
The conversation reminds me of the ugly, in class, harrangs offered to the male students in a Feminist Theory class I took years ago. Guys were labled 'bastards' in the class, all eight of us, and were dared to 'prove' otherwise!
Again, someone's shit stinks. Watching my father abuse family and friends because 'he was a MAN, and women were second class citizens', gave me a deep incentive to look at my own life and beliefs. Forcing anyone to measure up, or making them feel worthless, is ugly. Taking some obvious ugly position, just to see how much heat can be generated, just more of the same.
Okay, go find discussions that don't make you uncomfortable. Meaningful discussions generally do make some people uncomfortable, however, or they would have been discussed out long ago.
Sadly, Unseen, this is not one of thoughs conversations. This is a fool useing the Strawman fallacy, and you falling for it!
Jehanne de'Arc (Joan of Arc) is certainly a woman of the past whose convictions and abilities cannot be denied. It is ironic though that her faith in jesus was unable to prevent her demise by men of jesus.
In the 21st century the contributions of women to all fields of study will become increasingly prominent. The Bronze Age shackles of misogyny are rapidly falling away. You go, girl!
I don't think the argument was made that no woman had contributed to history, but rather that women have underperformed in history, with an addenda that we'll take note of it when it happens.
Although you and other respondents make an interesting point (i.e., for every woman of note in history you can probably name 20 men of equal note)... even if true it does not matter.
All that should matter is that some individual achieved whatever it was that they achieved. Radioactivity got investigated. Does it really matter that it was investigated by a woman? Does it really matter that the best science popularizer alive today is black? Or that the President of the United States had a black parent?
What mattersis what's in your head and what you have accomplished, not what plumbing you have or how much melanin you had while doing it.
That having been said any present barriers to achievement on the basis of these non-essential characteristics should be torn down. They are racist/sexist and disgusting. But trumpeting the accomplishments of people specifically because of these non-essential characteristics is just as racist or sexist.
Does it matter that the 100m sprint has been done quicker than a man, or should the sexist division of gender in the olympics be scuttled?
And to step off my dissent, of course there should be no societal hindrances against accomplishment. But that's kicking in open doors, isn't it?
In athletics, the differences are not non-essential. In more intellectual pursuits like science, they are.
But in male dominated society wouldn't you suppress works and rewrite history to show that a man did it anyway if possible?
But in a christian dominated society wouldn't you suppress works and rewrite history to show that a christian did it anyway if possible?
Of course a christian man did everything great. If your point is that woman have far underperformed in history (herstory) than are you saying that performance demands the will to cheat?
I think women are equal to men in every way except physically. Men TEND to be more muscular and capable of more sudden and effective outbursts of energy. However, I think it's clear there are hardwired differences and hormonal differences that make women different in ways that reflect themselves in the different histories of men and women.
One can assert that the fact that pyramids, giant corporations, political coups, symphonies, etc., tend to be the product of male efforts, not female, is due to the oppression of women, and no doubt that's part of the truth. Yet, I don't think most women in history have aspired to such accomplishments. The few exceptions (Cleopatra, Madame Curie, and Georgie O'Keefe for example) are conspicuous by their rarity.
I'm not saying it's due to a lack of talent or ability, but that most women have person-centered lives and rarely have found in themselves an overwhelming desire to master power, be it political power, intellectual power, or artistic power. And most of the women who have competed head to head with mean have produced journeymanly results rather than earthshaking or revolutionary results.
Consider the impressionist movement in art. It produced only several woman painters of note, Mary Cassatt being the most well-known. However, I don't think anyone considers their art quite the equal of the top male impressionists, Van Gogh, Cezanne, Degas, Toulousse-Lautrec, or Manet.
More than social conditioning or sexual politics, I think what has kept women from excelling in fields competing with men is a difference in the balance between the hormones estrogen and testosterone. Men and women have both hormones but in a different balance. That and some of the hard-wired behaviors and tendencies accounts in a very large way for the difference.
The ability to be aggressive and ruthless and obsessively single-minded about things is more of a mail characteristic and that accounts for how Arcus could even frame such a question, designed as I'm sure it was to be provocative and perhaps even insulting.


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Yesterday, we reported on the interesting possibility of Marvel Studios and 20th Century Fox possibly trading comic book characters for the benefit of both studios. In short, Fox's rights to Daredevil are set to expire on October 10th unless the movie goes into production before then (which is highly unlikely to happen). Marvel would extend Fox's rights to the character, if Fox allowed Marvel to use Galactus and Silver Surfer from the Fantastic Four universe. It would be a neat trade, and hopefully open the door for Marvel being able to use some of the characters they licensed off before the studio could develop movies independently.
However, Deadline is now reporting that this trade is far from a reality. Hit the jump for more.
According to Deadline, sources are "strenuously" denying the possibility of such a trade. Deadline adds that such a trade wouldn't make much sense from Fox's side since "Fantastic Four is a big priority and the studio would be crazy to give away a cornerstone villain it could use now or down the line. Especially when the studio is very lukewarm about rebooting Daredevil." The only talks currently happening are for Marvel to co-finance Daredevil, and I'm not sure what the benefit for that would be from Marvel's side if they don't get to use the character independently after Fox's reboot.
Galactus and Silver Surfer are definitely a big giveaway, and Fox has never signaled any intention to cross Daredevil into the Fantastic Four universe. If Daredevil lapses into the Marvel stable of characters, so be it. I'll just be happy if both franchises use their characters well. With director Josh Trank (Chronicle) and screenwriter Jeremy Slater attached to Fantastic Four, and Joe Carnahan (The Grey) circling Daredevil, both movies could be terrific.


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OTTAWA — The dream machine of my childhood is a tiny working steam engine with a gleaming boiler, a bright red wheel that really, really turns, and chrome and copper finish.
So why is it marketed these days for ages 16 and up? This is an instrument to thrill a child somewhere.
Let's step back in time for a moment. In the late 1960s or early 70s, I had a stationery steam engine that would be considered highly improper today. It sat in the den of my parents' house in Toronto when I was about eight.
I filled a little metal box of absorbent material with rubbing alcohol, put a few ounces of water in the boiler, and lit a match. Whoosh! My mother supervised from the next room, which meant that if I yelled she would come and see what was wrong, sooner or later.
I never yelled. Spilled alcohol on the table once or twice and accidentally lit it, a pale blue flame flickering over the table until the fuel was exhausted. But I never called for help. The table finish may have suffered, but it was Formica. Today's model uses safer wood pellet fuel.
I also owned a book called 101 Things For a Boy to Make, by Arthur C. Horth. Well into the 1950s it was a bestseller, showing children the basics of carpentry from tables to boats with working propellers driven by elastic bands. A later edition removed "Boys" from the title. Sequels listed 101 things for girls, for housewives and, in 1940, for wartime.
This book summed up the attitude of generations that believed children should be taught to experiment with their hands and minds, to use the world around them as an open source of materials for tinkering, building, creating, learning.
Thanks to this attitude it was normal for a kid to grab a saw and some plywood, or fiddle with a chemistry set, or head off to the woods with no parents and no ready lesson on environmentally sustainable use of forest ecosystems.
Horth's master work is out of print, but I recently found a copy at Bundock Books in Ottawa, the third edition, from 1938. It was an instant reconnection.
Some of the projects are pretty dreary. There probably wasn't much call for A Useful Fireside Stool at any point.
But Horth had his dark side. How about a spring-operated machine gun that fires homemade bullets?
My favourite is the hot air balloon.
Horth tells boys to cut out curving sections of tissue paper so that they overlap slightly and fit into a shape that's nearly a sphere, but elongated and left open at the bottom. You glue the paper sections together.
Then comes the good part. His design uses a ring of wire that holds a cotton ball near the opening. "When the balloon is ready, as shown at Fig. 8, swing it round in the air to fill it out, then pour a little methylated spirits (alcohol) on the cotton wool, light it, and hold it until the inside air is quite hot."
This is a big balloon — he suggests a diameter of three feet — so the prospect of a large amount of paper going up in flames is very real.
The prospect of burning yourself is also pretty good as you try to swing the balloon, keep it full of air, pour flammable liquid and light it before the balloon deflates.
You can just imagine one kid lighting it while a friend says: "The book says you keep holding it until it gets hot."
There's also a good chance that a breeze could lift some flaming paper over the fence. You hope your neighbour has a sense of humour.
Horth wasn't the only writer sending children into the path of danger. The American Boys' Workshop, by Clarence Budington Kelland, tells how to make your own bow and arrow and shoot things. Kelland was a colourful character with a bad temper and frustrated political ambitions. He wrote short children's fiction in the 1920s and 30s, and one of his stories, called Opera Hat, inspired the film Mr. Deeds Goes to Town.
Chemistry sets of the 1960s were different from today's. They had strips of magnesium that burned, even underwater, and iron filings, which burned, too. Some came with alcohol burners, a weaker version of the Bunsen burner. They used rubbing alcohol.
The Royal Society of Chemistry in Britain recently traced the history of chemistry sets for children and teenagers, and concludes the heyday occurred from about 1940 to 1960. The society says these were wonderful toys, and remain a terrific way to inspire children and teach them the pleasure of scientific inquiry.
But it adds, perhaps a bit sadly: "In these safety-conscious and litigious times, this is far from easy."
The society quotes Harold Kroto, who won the Nobel Prize in chemistry in 1996: "I really got a kick out of growing crystals. That did seem quite magical. However my main memory is of distilling formaldehyde with a school friend. The pungent aroma got in our eyes and had us running out into the back yard."
Formaldehyde has been classified as a known human carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer and a probable human carcinogen by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Bob Burk heads the chemistry department at Ottawa's Carleton University and laments the disappearance of old-time chemistry sets for children. Today's sets, he says, are "a pale imitation."
"I teach the first-year class. There are about 600 students coming into this every year. And what we've found is that probably half of them have never been in a chemistry lab of any description, which is amazing because the Ontario curriculum demands it," he said.
"And most of them, whether they've been in a lab or not, have never experienced anything outside a lab of this nature. So they can't connect what we're doing in the laboratory to their everyday life."
Fiddling with a chemistry set is one way to build a sense of what chemical reactions are, he says. But Burk is like a hockey coach teaching kids who have never played road hockey.
The child of past generations learned to use serious tools. Electricity for Boys, published in 1914, gives a list of things your child should be working with, and it's a long way from the typical craft store items today with their safe paper and rounded scissors:
"If a gas stove is not available, a brazing torch is an essential tool. Numerous small torches are being made, which are cheap and easily operated. A small soldering iron, with pointed end, should be provided; also metal shears and a small square; an awl and several sizes of gimlets; a screwdriver; pair of pliers and wire cutters."
It also advises "a variety of small drills; two wood chisels . . . 14 small cold chisels; hacksaw, 10-inch blade; small iron square; pair of dividers; tin shears; wire cutters; 2 pairs of pliers, one flat and the other round-nosed; 2 awls, centring punch, (and) wire cutters."
Through all these pursuits that would be judged too dangerous today, children learned a lot about how things worked. They made bookshelves, toy propellers, tents, camp fire pits, boxes, radios, electromagnets, even small boats. They learned to sharpen saws and chisels.
"These are the people who got the Apollos going to the moon!" says Claire Samson, an engineer, geologist and head of Carleton's earth sciences department.
She traces her career to the day when she was about five years old and an uncle gave her a geologist's hammer. Not the plastic kind you'd see in a story today, but a real one. The head has one blunt face and one sharp edge.
"I cannot describe to you the joy of using a geological hammer to split little pebbles apart. To this days it (the hammer) is in front of my eyes in my office," she says. "With a little magnifying glass and the sunlight I wrote 'Samson' on the wood handle. It's my most cherished object.
She continues: "When we were at the cottage on the St. Lawrence River I was pretty happy on my own, collecting pebbles and splitting them apart. Nowadays not a single parent would do that. Even our undergrads cannot use the hammer without the proper eye safety because chips can go in your eyes."
The experiments of childhood are a common theme among many people who create things. The recent biography of Steve Jobs describes how his father would take young Steve to the garage to take apart radios and see what made them run. Steve MacLean, president of the Canadian Space Agency and a veteran astronaut, sometimes tells interviewers about working on everything from bicycles to wiring in the workshop of his parents' home in Ottawa.
Mary Lou Vernon is a psychologist who runs the preschool lab at Western University, where children from the community provide a base for research into early childhood. She firmly believes that the opportunities to work with tools and to explore their surroundings help children to develop far beyond learning the immediate skills of hammering nails or sewing.
"You learn by tinkering," she says.
Going back to psychologist Jean Piaget in the 1940s, it's been shown over and over that children learn best when they can work with concrete objects first, and approach the abstract theories and calculations later.
"We've lost so much of that," Vernon says.
Partly it's our awareness of safety, but also it's the result of busy parents who don't have time to sit down with children and show them how the tools work.
"I think children need to tinker, but they also need to do this with someone in the family," she believes. "Projects like those in 101 Things for a Boy to Make are best suited for a child and an adult to do together, yet for much of their time at home "our children are growing up alone."
Some feel a generation is reaching adulthood without the instinct to take chances.
As a meteorite researcher, Samson mixes with space scientists. Both in the United States and Canada she feels that "things are over-studied. (They) reduce risk to totally zero. Do extensive studies, and after a few years we have nothing to show. Some kind of risk taking has gone out of the equation, with the result that everything does not get done."
On the day I spoke to Burk, the Duchess of Cambridge was visiting London children who were camping. It was the first time they had ever travelled outside the city. Finally, at age eight or nine, they were getting mud on their clothes.


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The Paris suburb of Villiers-le-Bel has been plagued for several days by riots and the violence has spread to other areas as well. The problem stems from an accident at an intersection in which a motorcycle (which authorities say was speeding) collided with a police car killing the two people on the smaller vehicle, both of whom were teenagers of North African descent.
Based on the pretext that this was no accident — i.e., the policemen were waiting around for a motorcycle to run into — the local "youths" (predominantly Arab and/or Muslim) began looting and setting fires. A day-care center was one of the targets. When police and fire fighters arrived, the youths fired at them with hunting rifles. The police union says that the violence is more intense than it was during the infamous 2005 riots due to the widespread use of firearms.
The Sarkozy government reacted initially by calling for calm. However, once it became clear that police officers and fire fighters were being shot, the government escalated its rhetoric and vowed to take tough measures against those who engage in the violence. As Interior Minister in the prior government, Sarkozy also talked tough, and even referred to the rioters as "scum." However, the government did little to assert its authority over the lawless Paris suburbs.
Will it do so this time? Sarkozy and current Interior Minister Michelle Alliot-Marie (the first woman to hold this position) are talking a good game. Alliot-Marie sees good local policing — the cop walking the beat — as the key to long-term success. Whether this will be sufficient remains to be seen. Bringing a critical mass of the present rioters to justice seems like a pre-requisite to progress. Whether this will happen also remains to be seen.
In one sense the riots represent a more difficult problem for Sarkozy than striking government workers or unhappy students and teachers. That's because many of the rioters feel they have no stake in France and, indeed, have great antipathy for the country. Arguably, though, the problem is less urgent than others on Sarkozy's plate because most French citizens don't particularly care about crime in suburban slums and may be willing to tolerate occasional rioting as long as it is contained.
UPDATE: Things were somewhat less violent on Tuesday night but according to the Washington Post, scattered violence was reported in Villiers-le-Bel, and there were reports of unrest elsewhere, including car fires and a library burning in the southern city of Toulouse.
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Friday, August 22, 2008
Sometimes Reform Can Spell Disaster!
By Richard Firsten
Retired ESOL Teacher, Teacher-Trainer, Columnist, Author
Can you spell /pyu-sә-læ-nә-mәs/ the way it's normally written? I can't ― unless I look it up in a dictionary. I mean, why should I know how to spell it? I never use the word. Well, okay, it's spelled pusillanimous, and it means "afraid to take even a small risk" or "cowardly." Talk about a low-frequency word!
But what about /ne-bәr/ or /saI-ka-lә-ji/? Can you spell those the way they're normally written? Oh, you feel better now, don't you. You know I'm talking about neighbor and psychology, right? Did you have trouble spelling those two? I have a hunch you didn't. They're high-frequency words, so you've seen them and used them many, many times. That's why you had no trouble spelling them.
So how would you feel if I told you that from now on they should be nebr and sykaluji? How would that grab you? (I think I can see you grimacing.) That first one looks like it could be a kind of phonetic transcription of an ancient Egyptian word, and the other looks like it belongs to some Turco-Mongolian language. They certainly don't look like English anymore!
And that's my point. For years and years there have been many people calling for a drastic reform of English spelling. They claim that the majority of even US high school students can't spell well, and that too much time is spent trying to teach English speakers how to spell their language. I can't argue with them about that; I'm sure it's true. I'm also sure that we're stuck with the spelling system ― if it is a system ― that we've got, but I don't know if that's such a bad thing.
True, if you look over the history of English spelling, you can't help but laugh out loud at times when you find out what people did to make the system illogical, awkward, and somewhat inconsistent. Part of the problem comes from the fact that monastic scribes, and later on, printers, had a great deal of influence on how we spell words.
Do you know why so many words contain the combination ck? Some scribes decided that spelling could show it's necessary to maintain a short vowel sound if that vowel is separated from another vowel by doubling a consonant. That's why we know how to pronounce pinning vs. pining, or robbed vs. robed. But those scribes didn't like the look of kk ― it just wasn't esthetically pleasing to them, I guess ― so they arbitrarily decided to write ck instead. They thought that looked prettier. That's why we now write picked instead of pikked and won't confuse its pronunciation with piked. Hah!
And do you know why we spell the word lamb with that silent b? Well, those scribes kept the b in comb and tomb and climb as a reminder of their older forms in which the b was pronounced (camban, tumba, and climban). So when they wrote that word that means a baby sheep, they automatically added that b even though in its original form the word never had a b. We should still be writing it lam, not lamb! And the list of oddities like these goes on and on.
But let's get serious for a moment. It's all right ― or alright ― to scream for spelling reform, for a more phonetic way of writing English. But has anybody come up with a system that will work? Not the way I look at it. One big question I have to ask is, with so many variations in the pronunciation of English words, whose pronunciation will we choose to use as the standard for sound/symbol correspondence? If you want to make the system more or less phonetic like we find in Spanish or Russian or German, whose pronunciation will each vowel or consonant represent? Will it be that of the Australians, or New Englanders, or Cockneys, or the British who use "received pronunciation," RP? Take the word path. If I'm American, I say [pæθ]. If I'm British using RP, I say [pa:θ]. And if I'm a Cockney, I say [pa:f]. So how can we be true to a phonetic way of writing when one word can be pronounced so differently by people who are all native speakers of English? I think you see my point. It just won't work!
At any rate, we don't learn to read and write one letter at a time, not after the very beginning. We learn sight recognition, looking at a whole word all at once and recognizing what it is. We don't sound out each letter of a familiar word when we read it, not if we're normal readers. To me that's akin to how Chinese characters are read. They, too, are in a system that relies on reading by sight recognition. So this is one more reason I can't take those spelling reformers seriously.
And one other thing ― a very important thing ― that they overlook is the personality and unique identification that our spelling system gives to the written language. Take a look again at how I suggested we spell neighbor and psychology. For me there's something special, almost mysterious, about why those words are spelled as they are. And if I choose to, I can find out the reasons by learning more about the history of the language, which wouldn't be such a bad thing. Neighbor comes from two Anglo-Saxon words, neah and gebor, which mean "near farmer." I like seeing the remnants of those ancient words in the spelling. And psychology is really interesting, too. The p was pronounced in the original Greek word psychos, which means something like "soul." The Romans incorporated that word into their own language, but they had a problem. Greek had a sound similar to the Scottish or German ch that didn't exist in Latin, so the Romans chose to represent that sound as ch even though they pronounced it more like a k. Our one word is really from two Greek words, psychos and logos, which mean something like "the study of the soul." I find there's a romance in such spellings that I don't want to lose. Is it impractical? Perhaps, but it adds a character, a personality, a charm to English that I think well worth keeping.
Of course, the most compelling argument for not reforming the English spelling system is this: What will happen to spelling bees? Would you want to take away the fun that so many children have competing in those contests? Would you want to be that spoil-sport? Not I!
Tags: etymology, pronunciation, Richard Firsten, spelling, vocabulary