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• Oct. 22, 2004 |
3:20 p.m. ET
Cast your sci-fi ballot: After weeks of preparation, it's finally election day. ... No, not that Election Day, but the start of the voting period in our "Red, White and Bluetopia" contest for political science-fiction.
Over the past week, we've published entries from six finalists who have sketched out positive visions associated with the Republicans, the Democrats and "neither of the above." Between now and the day before the Nov. 2 presidential election, you can cast a ballot for your favorite entry using our unscientific Live Vote.
This is structured like a primary election, so two winners will be selected for prizes: the top vote-getter, and the highest-rated tale in a different color category. Thus, the two finishers could be Republican Red and Democratic Blue, or one of those plus a neutral White, but not two of the same color.
Each of the two winners will receive a $20 Amazon.com gift certificate that can be spent on a "Fahrenheit 9/11" DVD, a copy of the book "Unfit for Command," a Ralph Nader T-shirt or whatever else they want.
You can find all the entries below, in backward chronological order, or you can consult this hot-linked recap as a refresher:
Entry 1 (Redtopia): "The Keys to Success," by Robert Cornell, looks back at the early 21st century from history class in 2042.
Entry 2 (Redtopia): "The View From the Top," by Tom Hill, looks down on Earth from a Constellation-class starship 2.9 million kilometers away.
Entry 3 (Bluetopia): "Giving Away the World's Most Valuable Technology," by Stephen Kraus, looks ahead to the AE Prize and the fuel-cell era.
Entry 4 (Bluetopia): "Business Triumphant," by Rob Preece, looks provocatively at the economic power that could be unleashed by a "right-D" state of mind.
Entry 5 (Whitetopia):"Rainbow-topia," by Ross Mulker, looks at the State of the Union during a time when elections have been replaced by a lottery.
Entry 6 (Whitetopia): "First Marshall Package Arrives on Earth," by Michael Huang, looks at a time when we just might need some Red Planet relief.
The winners will be determined at noon ET Nov. 1. After that cutoff, winners will have to provide contact information for transferring the gift certificates. If you have any follow-up ideas about how politics can move beyond party lines in the future, feel free to drop me a line and I'll provide a sampling of the feedback in the run-up to the election. And get ready for a couple of new reader-participation exercises next week, having to do with paranormal experiences and high-tech toys.
• Oct. 22, 2004 |
9:30 p.m. ET
Weekend field trips on the World Wide Web:
• The Economist: Girl power in evolution
• 'Nova' on PBS: 'The Missing Link'
• NASA: Blinding flashes in outer space
• Wired.com: Chips coming to a brain near you
• Oct. 21, 2004 |
7 p.m. ET
Election science alert: The editor-in-chief of America's most prestigious scientific journal is adding his voice to the chorus of concern over paperless electronic-voting systems. In an online editorial (PDF file), Donald Kennedy of the journal Science sums up the emerging scientific view on the reliability of such systems.
'"The consensus view, with which a few will disagree, is that for traceability, electronic machines should provide for a voter-verifiable audit trail in which the computerized system prints a paper ballot that is read and verified by the voter," Kennedy writes. "Such paper confirmation can be given to the voters privately, as well as retained by officials for later verification."
Kennedy notes that few of the e-voting machines out there for the 2004 election have such a "paper trail" capability — and then he sketches out some worrisome scenarios for the November elections. What happens, for example, if a Bush victory depends on a razor-thin win in Ohio, and it turns out that the paperless-vote totals disagree with the exit polls?
"Thus, the aftermath of a savagely partisan U.S. election turns into a field day for conspiracy theorists, and trust in government takes another hit," Kennedy says.
Such concerns have been rumbling among activists and computer-security experts for months, but they sound more authoritative when they come from the scientific establishment. The early problems reported in Florida only add to the sense of unease.
Kennedy doesn't offer up any instant prescription for e-voting headaches — although he notes that the concerns already raised by computer scientists have led election officials and e-voting vendors to beef up security. Other observers have noted that the e-voting debate has added to the push toward on-paper absentee voting.
Get yourself up to speed by clicking through "Making Your Vote Count," our special report on the voting process, and our Learn how voting systems work, from paper ballots to e-voting. interactive. Then follow along with us as we watch for polling-place glitches and showdowns on Election Day and beyond.
• Oct. 21, 2004 |
7 p.m. ET
X Prize party news: The invitations are going out for the X Prize award gala, scheduled Nov. 6 at the St. Louis Science Center. We initially reported that the soiree, during which SpaceShipOne's team is to get its $10 million check, would be a $500-a-plate affair. However, the online reservation form (PDF form) sets out a more complex fee schedule.
If you take a tight-fisted approach to aviation history, you can opt for "Ground Control" seating at $275 a ticket. The "Starship" option, at $800 per couple, will get you closer to the stage, and the "White Knight" package is even more exclusive, at $1,500 per couple. As previously reported, you can call 314-286-4633 for more information. The registration deadline is Nov. 1, and the St. Louis Science Center reports that it's already receiving plenty of faxed-in forms.
Meanwhile, one-time X Prize contenders are quietly working on their own launch preparations. The leader of the Canadian da Vinci Project team, Brian Feeney, told me today that "we're still moving toward a launch" from the prairies of Saskatchewan — but liftoff could conceivably come later than Nov. 1, when the team's existing launch license expires.
Feeney pointed out that the license is determined by the term of the project's launch insurance. If the da Vinci / GoldenPalace.com space effort needed more time, the insurance and the license could be put back into force for a later time frame, he said.
"Having climbed so many hurdles in this project, that doesn't even fall into the hurdle category," Feeney told me.
In the meantime, the "Cape Kindersley" office in Saskatchewan will be closed down until local authorities are notified about the timing of the da Vinci Launch, the Saskatoon Star-Phoenix's Web site reports. (Scroll down to the last item.)
And on Washington state's Olympic Peninsula, the Space Transport Corp. is still working toward another test launch of its Rubicon rocket, following up on August's blow-up . But on its Web site, Space Transport says the test will likely be "a private affair" in late October or early November, with the results posted afterward.
• Oct. 21, 2004 |
7 p.m. ET
Scientific smorgasbord on the World Wide Web:
• The Guardian: What lies beneath
• Defense Tech: Pentagon 'hearts' NASCAR
• NASA: Saturn's rough around the edges
• Archaeology Magazine: Cooking ancient recipes
• Oct. 20, 2004 |
6 p.m. ET
Politics beyond party lines: Do you think you could do a better job than the major political parties when it comes to charting a course for the long-term future? In our "Red, White and Bluetopia" contest, some Cosmic Log readers gave it a try, coming up with science-fiction mini-stories that followed a road not likely to be taken by the Republicans or Democrats.
This "none-of-the-above" category is known as Whitetopia — that is, a political utopia that avoids Republican Red as well as Democratic Blue policies. The Whitetopia category yielded the most entries, and six semifinal entries were reviewed to come up with the two finalists published below.
Starting Friday, you'll be able to vote for your favorite entries in Red, White or Blue. The biggest vote-getters in the top two categories, as of noon ET Nov. 1, will win $20 gift certificates. Do you have your own idea for taking politics beyond party lines? Send a quick note — no more than, say, 100 words — and I'll pass along a selection of the feedback.
Entry 5 (Whitetopia):
"Rainbow-topia," by Ross Murker:
Actually, things have been going very well since the election revolts of 2008: No more expense of campaigning, conventions, elections, no more mudslinging, no more political advertising clogging our entertainment media — just a simple lottery draw from among citizens who meet the criteria: They're over 35, they were born in the United States, they have served at least four years in an active U.S. armed forces branch, and they're willing to serve a standard two-year term as president.
Taxes have been much easier to bear since they did away with the thousands of pages of tax codes and brought the issue down to its simplest form: 18 cents of every dollar earned, collected from every tax entity, whether citizen, trust, or corporation, no matter where on the globe the dollars were earned, as long as the tax entity resides, maintains citizenship or licensure, or even does the majority of its business, within U.S. borders. All those exceptions were so wasteful. It's a great feeling knowing everyone gets truly equal treatment under the laws.
Speaking of equal treatment, have you seen the overhaul of the punishment statutes? It seems that murderers will now actually spend more time in prison than drug dealers, and child rapists will no longer have special protection inside prisons. Oh, and the bankruptcy rewrite was long overdue — no more "scaling" of what's allowed to be kept based on the fictional wealth one had previously. Equal treatment under the laws indeed — how refreshing!
Scaling fines to address severity of various crimes was a nice change, with all those automakers paying per-ton fines for the pollution their products generated before the switch to bio. So was the rewrite in product liability law: The use of a product finally and properly determines where liability resides, rather than which side can afford the best lawyers.
Personal responsibility is on the upswing, although that wave of vigilantism that swept the country a while back was probably somewhat overdone. Admit it, though: Wasn't it fun seeing the crack-dealers begging for admission to the jails so the crowds wouldn't get them? Would've been the highest-rated TV ever if it wasn't such a huge public participation set of events...
It's great that younger people are also free and being taught wherever their vouchers and interests lead them. Basic literacy is still taught in public schools, but once that test is satisfactorily passed, it's up to the student, parents and whatever guides they trust. The increase in job and overall satisfaction has been truly wonderful to see.
Yes, I'd say we're much better off, as a family, a community and a country — I just wonder why it took us so long to realize that "We, the People" refers to, well, us!
Thank you, fellow citizens of the United States of America, for these few moments of your time. As always, if you have any suggestions, ideas or concerns, you may address them to me at firstname.lastname@example.com. I'm Ross Murker, your president. Our nation and the state of our Union still stands strong. Good night.
Entry 6 (Whitetopia):
"First Marshall Package Arrives on Earth,"
by Michael Huang:
Thursday, December 23 — The first aid package sent under the New Marshall Plan has arrived in the United States of America. The 60-metric-ton package — containing food, life support systems and agricultural, industrial and communications equipment — landed successfully in California. The package was launched nine months ago from Mars City Spaceport.
The New Marshall Plan, announced last year by President Kennan, will deliver humanitarian and economic aid to Earth nations recovering from the Third World War. It is modeled on the American-funded reconstruction of Europe after the Second World War.
• Oct. 20, 2004 |
6 p.m. ET
Virtual newsstand on the World Wide Web:
• Nature: Auras may be generated in the brain
• Discover Magazine: Bring back the Buddha
• National Geographic: Was Darwin wrong?
• Scientific American: Heartbeat poetry
• Oct. 19, 2004 |
7:30 p.m. ET
Dispatches from Bluetopia: What would America look like under the visions put forward by the presidential campaigns? We've heard a lot about the nightmare scenarios for Sen. John Kerry, as described by President Bush ... and vice versa. But there's been relatively little about the best-case scenarios for the long-range future, other than Bush's hopes for space exploration and Kerry's hopes for stem-cell research .
This week's "Red, White and Bluetopia" contest is aimed at correcting that, by giving proponents of Republican Red and Democratic Blue policies an opportunity to extrapolate those policies into the sci-fi future. On Monday, we started with the two Red finalists. Today we present the Blue finalists, and on Wednesday we'll publish the two White ("neither of the above") finalists. You'll be able to vote for your favorites starting Friday, with the winners announced on election eve.
Entry 3 (Bluetopia):
"Giving Away the World's Most Valuable Technology,"
by Stephen Kraus
Although John Kerry's surprising easy victory in the 2004 was driven in large part by unrest in Iraq, it was also driven by a shrewd maneuver engineered by a latecomer to the campaign: Ragin' Cajun James Carville. Carville's brainstorm: Create a simple, 10-point, voter-friendly platform — the "Blueprint for the Future," styled after the "Contract with America," which ushered in the short-lived Gingrich revolution of the early '90s. Where Al Gore had failed to make the case that he could represent the people in his "people versus the powerful" paradigm, Kerry was successful in positioning himself as the "candidate of the future" while painting Bush as symbol of the past.
It turned out that Kerry's Pillar No. 4 would be the first tipping point of the 21st century: "Make the United States the world leader in alternative energy technologies." On the stump, he found the eloquence that had previously eluded him:
"Four decades ago, John F. Kennedy challenged this nation to land a man on the moon and return him safely to the earth before the decade was out. Today, I challenge the best and brightest of this nation to land us in a new era of world leadership, and to prove that our technological prowess knows no bounds. We lead the world in every form of technology except one. When I become president, we will lead the world in every form of technology, bar none. I challenge some American to step forward, to be the next Henry Ford, the next Thomas Edison."
Of course, this high-road talk was very different from John Edwards' constant campaign refrain about "George Bush and his buddies from Enron" wanting to keep our nation dependent on the archaic technology of fossil fuels, and destroy the environment in the process. Regardless of their stylistic differences, the Kerry-Edwards Blueprint for the Future caught the imagination of America, and swept both into office.
Kerry's clean-energy initiative didn't have the budget of the Apollo program. But borrowing a page from the X Prize, which ushered in the era of commercial space flight, the government created a multibillion-dollar alternative energy (AE) prize subsidized in part by Bill Gates, Larry Ellison, Oprah Winfrey and Sam Walton's offspring. The result was an influx of mildly crazy entrepreneurs and venture capitalists. They engineered a breakthrough in fuel-cell technology that revolutionized how energy is created, transmitted and stored throughout the world. Suddenly, energy was clean and virtually free.
Certainly Kerry deserves much of the credit for inspiring the AE Prize. But its worldwide impact resulted from a crucial decision by President Hillary Clinton and Vice-President Thomas Friedman, who captured the White House when Kerry was unable to run for re-election due to injuries arising from a freak windsurfing accident. Their brainstorm: Give the fuel-cell technology away.
Clinton's strategy was inspired in part by the success of open-source operating systems such as Linux : Given away free, they opened up other lines of business, such as consulting, for companies with the appropriate expertise. Although the United States gave the basic fuel-cell technology away, solving energy crises throughout the world, Detroit made the best fuel-cell cars, Boeing made the best fuel-cell planes, and so on. Just as digital technology led to more documents and thus more paper being used, rather than the "paperless office" which never emerged, the markets for these devices using fuel cells exploded, leading an economic renaissance domestically.
Abroad, ripple effects were felt as well. Oil-based monarchies such as Saudi Arabia fell, giving way to the beachheads for democracy and equality in the Middle East that Iraq never became. President Clinton sent her husband Bill to the Middle East, where he was able capitalize on the new optimism to broker the Israeli-Palestinian peace accord he so narrowly missed as president. Carbon dioxide levels decreased, the greenhouse effect subsided, and the ensuing enthusiasm for preserving the environment led to a boom in conservation and education efforts throughout the world.
The foreign-policy inconsistencies and the perceived arrogance that hampered America's image abroad gave way to a new image for America, one more consistent with her self-image: a leader, a beacon of democracy, a liberator of humanity, architect of the 21st century.
Entry 4 (Bluetopia):
"Business Triumphant," by Rob Preece:
Scott Anglewood switched mode to audio on his latest eBook so he could keep his eyes on the road. Not that he needed to: His new Lincoln drove itself. Still, he liked to override when he saw a chance to pick up some time — and time was money.
He was late again. Lisa wouldn't be happy, but she had her own business designing foods for the latest concept restaurants. She'd understand.
He did override when he saw the legless man begging on the side of the road.
"Spare me 20 bucks?" The Lincoln's air conditioning automatically picked up when it sensed the odor seeping through the open window.
Scott thrust out his business card. "My company makes cyber-prosthetics. You can refit yourself and be as good as new. Get a job or whatever. No reason you should have to panhandle."
"Yeah, sure. And how am I going to pay for that?"
"Take out a loan. You're worth it. Once you're on your feet, you'll be able to pay it back in no time."
"You think that's pretty funny, don't you, rich guy? Back on my feet — very funny. But legs or no, I got no job. Who's going to hire me?"
Scott was losing sympathy fast. "Then start your own company. Like I did." Pretty much everyone he knew had started their own companies. America didn't have a lot of jobs working for someone else any more. You had to use your creativity to create something new, not use your muscles to re-create billions of the same old thing. The Chinese and Indians were too good at the mass production stuff.
"I lost my legs fighting for my country. I think maybe my country owes me something for that."
"Contact the VA office. Or universal health care. They'll pay for your legs if you can't. I've got to go."
"But how about a few twenties?"
"Sorry, I've got no change."
Lisa was waiting for him, looking gorgeous as always, in a one-time dress that uncovered parts of her body while he watched, flashing back to opacity just when his eyes started to focus on whatever was revealed.
"I thought those were old-fashioned."
"Everything old is new again. You know that." She ran a hand across his smooth cheek. "Looks like you finally went in for a permashave. It'll make things more comfortable when we smooch."
All of a sudden, Scott was in a hurry. The Chamber of Commerce meeting was important, of course. He got lots of business from the networking he did there — and Lisa got even more. But a night alone with Lisa was worth sacrificing a few bucks. Unfortunately, though, Lisa liked to draw out the suspense, make him wait, impatiently, until she decided she was ready.
"Come on. I got a new car, I'll drive."
She had one of the new solar jobs, practically weightless and actually environmentally positive, according to the sales material. Scott preferred the weight of a steel and plastic vehicle and good old-fashioned fuel-cell technology to power it. Still, Lisa was more into style than he was, and hers was the more impressive conveyance. It would get them noticed at the COC meeting, let Lisa brag about the styles she was bringing to the dinner table.
He figured the COC meeting was practically the same as the ones his father would have gone to — if his father hadn't been a union man rather than an entrepreneur. A fast-talking inspirational speaker wasted a few minutes, then they got into politics.
"We need a more business-friendly government," Scott observed to the woman on his right — a woman whose right eye was one of his products, a special that let her zoom in, eliminating the need for a microscope, telescope or any other sort of scope.
"Business has never been better," Martha reminded him.
"Yeah, but taxes stink." Nobody ever liked paying taxes, although the high income of the all-entrepreneurial economy made the burden bearable.
"Oh, Scott. You are so right-D. Don't you think Scott is a right-D, Amy?"
Of course Amy would think so. She thought anyone who didn't mind taking occasional bucks from the government to deliver health care products was right-D. She also disliked Scott because she'd had a crush on Lisa going back for eons — even after she'd hooked up with Martha.
"Maybe so," he said. "But just because they're wrong about some things doesn't mean they're wrong about everything."
"Hey, break it up, you guys. Josh here has finally had his breakthrough. You really want to hear about it."
Josh had been on the verge of a breakthrough since 2005, so Scott wasn't holding his breath. On the other hand, letting Martha and Amy gang up on him wasn't a great plan. "What do you have, Josh? Finally cure cancer?"
Josh gave that the half-laugh it deserved. "Diabetes. One of the 3,000 stem-cell lines that went public domain last year did the job. Poof — no more insulin, no more needles, no more people losing their feet and sight."
Scott joined in the applause. Josh would be rich. Well, he'd paid his dues, even worked for Scott for a while until he built up the funding he needed for his own lab.
The rest of the COC meeting was same-old. Scott got a few business leads — one from an Egyptian, and another from a Frenchman of all things. Lisa persuaded a major Chinese restaurant chain to trial-market one of her dinner plans.
Traffic was light as they returned home, Lisa's solar job barely grinding along at 70 because she'd parked it in the shade that afternoon and the batteries were running down.
"You really are a right-D," she murmured to him as she switched the car onto full auto and cuddled up next to him. "You don't really think things would be better if the hard-R's hadn't imploded back in '04, do you? I mean, they preached the same low-tax pro-business line you talk."
He shuddered. Before he'd decided on robotic prosthetics, he'd studied economics. "Come on, Lisa. Without some sort of health care system, we could never have had the explosion in entrepreneurship that created the new economy. Plus, they wanted to drive the gays out of the country — half our best ideas came from them. Besides, I'm a scientist. And a 5 percent tax rate isn't really killing us."
Lisa nodded. "They said that letting gays get married would mean an end to marriage, and look at us. We've been dating for years and no ring."
Scott grinned. "I'm going to take that as a proposal. And the answer is yes."
• Oct. 19, 2004 |
7:30 p.m. ET
Progress and parody on the scientific Web:
• The Register: Fuel-cell laptop to be unveiled
• New Scientist: Scientists seek to create 'three-parent' babies
• Technology Review: Power on a chip
• The Onion: Stem cells may hold cure to ailing campaign
• Oct. 18, 2004 |
8:40 p.m. ET
Dispatches from Redtopia: The presidential campaign is in full mudslinging mode as the candidates reach the two-week countdown. With so much negative campaigning, it seems almost like a science-fiction concept to contemplate the positive long-term visions for Republicans, Democrats and others. So we're only too happy to oblige with the "Red, White and Bluetopia" political science-fiction contest.
A couple of weeks ago we solicited science-fiction plot treatments that were inspired by the positive political visions of "Red" and "Blue" America, as well as "White" entries that hewed to neither party line. Over the next three days, we'll roll out six finalists, selected from the entries received: two each for "Red," "White" and "Blue." If you have any feedback on the entries, send it in and I'll pass a selection along on Thursday. Beginning Friday, you can cast your ballot for your favorite science-fiction tale.
The top vote-getter as of noon ET Nov. 1, the day before Election Day, will receive a $20 Amazon.com gift certificate, as will the highest finisher of a different color.
We'll start with the two Red entries. Thanks to all who entered, and may the best visionary win:
Entry 1 (Redtopia):
"The Keys to Success," by Robert Cornell:
Steven sat at his terminal, as his freshman history class was about to start. He found history particularly compelling these days, as they had just started studies of the early 21st century. Study of this era caused Steven to think about how many things in 2042 he and his friends took for granted — and how incredible it was that Americans endured so much back then.
It was so easy to take for granted that, these days, no one has 25 percent of their income — or any of their earnings — stolen from their paychecks by the government. And yet, those at the turn of century had been tolerating that very thing for so long!
It was easy to take for granted that, these days, nobody — no "institution" — cared about racial or ethnic demographics. And yet, in those days, "race" was actually used to allocate admissions to the very university that Steven was attending!
It was easy to take for granted that the democratic principle of equal representation had taken hold in every nation on the planet — that tyranny, oppression, persecution and religious jihad had evaporated from the Middle East and everywhere else. It amazed Steven that once there were actually Americans who opposed fighting for the very freedoms everyone enjoyed and took for granted these days!
Steven was excited that today they would be examining the root causes behind the revolutionary changes he and his friends now took for granted.
Chapter One: "Democracy, Liberty, Capitalism and the Republican Party — the Keys to Success."
He savored every word.
Entry 2 (Redtopia):
"The View From the Top," by Tom Hill
The camera view is filled with a somewhat cluttered-looking spacecraft interior. In the middle, a thirtyish woman hovers. "Greetings to the people of Earth! This is Elizabeth Short, commander of the Endurance. We asked for a live downlink today because it is the halfway point in our journey to check out this craft for the length of a return trip from Mars. We've been on this journey for just under two and a half months, and today, for the first time since we left our refueling station, we are moving back toward our home. We wanted to take this time to share something special with you.
"As everyone knows, this is the second trial run of a Constellation-class spacecraft to shake it down for a long mission. These ships, and the others like them, have served us well as lunar ferries, but it's time to stretch their capabilities a little more. We've added a lot of supplies in a logistics module, and a lot of equipment to keep us in clean air, clean water and warmth for 200 days, allowing us to complete one long orbit around Earth and collect the prize. The first try to certify these craft for the trip was cut short by a carbon dioxide filter that..."
Her glance moves past the camera for a moment.
"Folks, my cameraman just reminded me that you didn't tune in tonight to revisit recent space events. Today, as our craft hovers over our home planet at almost 2.9 million kilometers, we're going to turn our ship so we get to look back on Earth. Normally, this is something we don't do because takes a lot of the sun off our solar panels, but for this special occasion, it's the right thing."
The camera pans over her shoulder, through the window visible behind and out into the depths of space. After focusing on a bluish dot, the view zooms in, and the dot resolves into two thin crescents, lit from the right side. The larger one has the land, sea and cloud patterns familiar to all those who live on Earth, while the smaller one looks familiar in color but not in pattern, as the moon is closer to Endurance, and people are receiving their first live views of the far side of the moon.
As the planet resolves itself and becomes larger, the camera operator's jerkiness becomes more apparent, until he mounts his eye to the world in place. Then the view is motionless, and the hyper-sensitive camera provides some of the best views possible of Earth from a distance of nearly 3 million kilometers.
There is a moment of silence, and then the commander's voice comes over the link again. "Like our time on this mission, or even on our home planet, the time we can spend looking back in this way is fleeting. As we look upon this cradle of humanity, we on the Endurance are reminded of the amazing things that humankind can accomplish when they set their minds to a goal.
"No matter what your religious preference, even if it is 'none of the above,' this image has to invoke a powerful emotion within you. We are four people, in a small bubble of gases a long long way from home. Yet we are connected to all of you on the surface, and we look forward to seeing you again soon.
"I'm going to be quiet now, and let the scene speak for itself, after taking this last moment to wish everyone below a very Merry Christmas."
• Oct. 18, 2004 |
8:40 p.m. ET
The $10 million party: More details are emerging about the Nov. 6 award ceremony for the X Prize, during which a trophy and a $10 million check will be handed over to the team behind the SpaceShipOne rocket plane . The event will be a $500-a-plate, black-tie-optional gala at the St. Louis Science Center, beginning with cocktails at 6 p.m., according to Gregg Maryniak, executive director of the St. Louis-based X Prize Foundation. During the day, a variety of educational events will be presented for the public. The science center will be in charge of handling the reservations for the gala, Maryniak says.
Update for Oct. 19: The St. Louis Science Center says 314-286-4633 is the number for reservations.
• Oct. 18, 2004 |
8:40 p.m. ET
Your daily dose of science on the Web:
• Popular Science: The new right stuff
• NASA: 'Solar Minimum' is coming early
• Carnegie Mellon U.: Robots and thought
• Technology Review: Global warming bombshell
• Quark Soup: Global warming caveats
The fine print: Looking for older items? Check the Cosmic Log archive. Share your perspective on cosmic subjects with Alan Boyle. If you link to this page, you can use http://cosmiclog.msnbc.com or http://www.cosmiclog.com as the address. MSNBC is not responsible for the content of Internet links.


text:
If you're looking for a guy to write a screenplay about a drug-fueled monster with no regard for the law or human life, you could do a lot worse than the guy who wrote "Training Day."*
Ayer, whose script for "Training Day" helped Denzel Washington win an Oscar, has been hired to write a new, updated version of the 1983 Al Pacino classic "Scarface," reported Deadline.
In fact, Ayer's new take on the story will blend the '83 version with elements of the original 1932 film to tell the story of an immigrant who comes to America and muscles his way to the top of a criminal empire. You can be sure this will play great in the border states, let's hope it comes out while Congress in gnashing its teeth over what to do about immigration.
U.S. & World
"I see it as the story of the American dream, with a character whose moral compass points in a different direction. That puts it right in my wheelhouse," Ayer told Deadline. "I studied both the original Ben Hecht-Howard Hawks movie and the DePalma-Pacino version and found some universal themes....There are enough opportunities in the real world today that provide an opportunity to do this right. If it was just an attempt to remake the 1983 film, that would never work."
Ayer is currently putting the finishing touches on "End of Watch," which he wrote and directed, starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Pena as partners on the LAPD and best friends. We're gonna guess one of them sleeps with the others wife--any takers?
*Please not the the lack of a "little friend" joke.

subset: commoncrawl


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DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - An Iowa mom is speaking out against the Food and Drug Administration's ban on donations of some tissue from gay men after her son died and some of his organs were rejected.
The Des Moines Register (http://dmreg.co/1oJkJ9R ) reports that Sheryl Moore of Pleasant Hill was told that some of her 16-year-old son's tissues wouldn't be donated because his sexual history was unclear.
Moore says the Iowa Donor Network accepted his heart, lungs and kidneys. But they wouldn't take other tissues, including bone, tendons and eyes.
Moore's son, A.J. Betts, committed suicide last July. She says the refusal of his tissues floored her because she thinks the federal safeguards are archaic.
FDA regulations restrict certain tissue donations from men who have had sexual contact with other men within the past five years.


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The Calendar app on your iOS device and Mac features a built-in holiday calendar that's customized based on the holidays that are most recognized in your country or region. These include official government, religious, and other traditional holidays.
Display the holiday calendar
On your iOS device, go to the Calendar app and tap Calendars. Scroll down to Other and tap or to turn the holiday calendar on or off. The name of the holiday calendar indicates which country or region will be displayed. You might need to refresh your calendar after you make changes in order to see the changes. Go to the Calendar app and tap Inbox. Then slowly swipe down from the top of your screen.
On your Mac, go to Calendar > Preferences, then click General. Then click "Show Holidays calendar" to turn it on or off. If the holiday calendar is turned on, but you don't see it, click the Calendars button in the upper-left corner of the Calendar app. Make sure that the holiday calendar under Other is selected. You can also go to the Calendar app, click Calendars, then select or deselect US Holidays. You might need to refresh your calendar after you make changes in order to see the changes. Go to Calendar > View > Refresh Calendars.
If you see multiple holiday calendars, you might be subscribed to a third-party holiday calendar or an older iCloud calendar. To unsubscribe from those calendars, follow these steps:
- On your iOS device, go to the Calendar app, then tap Calendars. Scroll down to the iCloud section and search for a holiday calendar. Tap , then tap Delete.
- On your Mac, open Calendar and look under Other. Control-click and select Unsubscribe.
Add other calendars
The Calendar app uses an industry standard format called "iCalendar" for exchanging and scheduling calendar information. You can subscribe to additional calendars like sport schedules and school events. These calendars appear in the iCloud section of their calendar list, learn how to add them.


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Opinion analysis: New curb on crime lab reports
A closely divided Supreme Court on Thursday continued its pattern of restricting prosecutors' use of out-of-court statements to get criminal convictions, ruling that a report of a crime lab is valid evidence only if the technician who did the testing or observed it — not a substitute witness — is called to the stand. But the main opinion, and a concurring opinion, labored at length to stress just how little the Court had decided. It was clear that the Justices who controlled the outcome had been put on the defensive by an aggressive dissent — typical in this line of cases.
The case of Bullcoming v. New Mexico (09-10876) was a test of whether a five-vote majority would remain to protect the constitutional legacy of the Court's seven-year-old ruling that for the first time demanded that live witnesses be summoned to court in a criminal trial, to face cross-examination for statements made outside of court that could help persuade a jury to convict. That basic ruling came in Crawford v. Washington. Since the most recent sequel, the 5-4 decision in Melendez-Diaz v. Massachusetts, in 2009, two Justices from the majority then have retired, so Bullcoming was the first chance to see whether their replacements would be part of a majority adhering to the Crawford doctrine.
The result was somewhat uncertain. Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who replaced Justice David H. Souter, supported the outcome and joined most of the main opinion but also wrote on her own to put special emphasis on "the limited reach" of the main opinion (written by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg). And Justice Elena Kagan, who replaced Justice John Paul Stevens, joined most of the Ginsburg opinion, but not support the concluding section that suggested ways for prosecutors to get crime lab reports before juries, and also did not join Sotomayor's recital of what was not decided — a recital that also might be a road map for prosecutors from here on.
Without counting the numbers, it appeared that what might be called the current "Crawford majority" was a bit shaky. That could not be said, though, of the dissenters. Those four, using the same kind of strong rhetoric they did when Melendez-Diaz went against their views two years ago, protested with renewed vehemence about the majority's barring of "reliable" evidence of crime because of their devotion to a "wooden formalism" in applying the Constitution's Confrontation Clause.
This renewed battle over the Sixth Amendment right of an accused person to confront, face-to-face, those who were his accusers, came in the most routine kind of criminal case: drunk driving. By the 5-4 vote, the Court overturned a decision of the New Mexico Supreme Court. That court had upheld the conviction of Donald Bullcoming of Farmington, N.M., on charges of aggravated drunk driving. Bullcoming was sentenced to two years in prison.
The majority on Thursday ruled that Bullcoming's confrontation right had been violated because prosecutors were allowed to offer a crime lab report analyzing Bullcoming's blood sample, and had called to the witness stand not the lab analyst who did the tests, but a supervisor at the lab who had neither done the test nor observed it being done. Producing such a substitute, or "surrogate," witness, the Court ruled, is not sufficient to satisfy the Sixth Amendment confrontation right. This, the Court said, logically followed from the Melendez-Diaz ruling, which had ruled that a crime lab report could not be introduced without some live testimony from an analyst to defend it and to be cross-examined about it.
In the crime lab sequel case of Bullcoming, the Court decided, in the words of Justice Ginsburg as she announced the decision orally, "we decide who that live witness must be." The only person who could fill the role on the stand, she wrote, is an expert who actually did the testing and prepared the lab report the prosecution wants to offer, or a person who closely observed the testing that led to the report. Even if the lab report is otherwise entirely reliable, Ginsburg wrote, only a technician closely involved in its preparation can be the one to defend it and face defense lawyers' challenging questions.
The main opinion suggested that there is often an opportunity for some missteps to be made in the laboratory as evidence is analyzed, but said the Sixth Amendment demand for a witness to defend that report could not be dispensed with even if the testing was done entirely within scientific standards. And the technician directly involved has to appear, the opinion added, whether or not that individual was fully competent in a technical sense and entirely credible — possessing "the scientific acumen of Madame Curie and the veracity of Mother Teresa."
Using a surrogate, such as an uninvolved lab supervisor in Bullcoming's case, the Court said, "could not convey what [the technician who did the test] knew or observed about the events" in the lab as the testing was done and a report prepared. And, it added, a surrogate could not "expose any lapses or lies" on the part of the analyst who did the tests and signed the resulting report.
Those declarations had the support of Justices Kagan, Sotomayor, Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas (although Thomas refused to support a footnote that suggested that some "business and public records" could be admitted as evidence even without confrontation, because of the benign purpose for which they were offered. Justice Sotomayor made further clear in her separate opinion that the lab report used against Bullcoming should not have been admitted.
Kagan, Thomas and Sotomayor did not support what was labeled Part IV of the Ginsburg opinion, which had the support only of Scalia. In that section, Ginsburg contended that the ruling would not "impose an undue burden" on prosecutors. She then discussed several ways by which "forensic evidence" — that is, crime lab reports — could be offered at trial. She suggested that states could require labs to preserve the evidence so that it can be retested and then call to the stand the technician who did the new analysis if the technician who did the first report is not available, or pass a law that would require prosecutors to give defense lawyers advance notice of a plan to use a lab report and take away the defense's confrontation right if they failed to demand that the preparer appear.
In that section, Ginsburg also sought to marshal statistics — different from those used by the defense to make an opposite point — that past Crawford rulings have not caused the sky to fall.
Justice Sotomayor's concurring opinion also sought to answer the dissent's anxious worries over impact, suggesting that a lab report might come into evidence on its own if it had not been prepared with the purpose of creating evidence of a crime, a lab supervisor might be allowed to come in to defend a report if he or she had a personal connection to the test at issue — such as observing the technician who did the testing, expert witnesses might be used to give their independent opinion about a lab report if the report itself is not admitted, or "raw data generated by a machine," with no other subjective analysis of its contents, might be admissible along with the testimony of an expert witness on such a machine.
Justice Anthony M. Kennedy's strongly worded dissent was joined by Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr., and by Justices Samuel A. Alito, Jr., and Stephen G. Breyer. Much of the dissenting opinion amounted to an argument favoring admissions of reliable documents as evidence in criminal trials. A good deal of the rhetoric, though, was merely a continuing complaint about the entire line of cases beginning with Crawford, and a renewal of complaints about how those rulings are disrupting the way crime labs operate and criminal trials are conducted.
Recommended Citation: Lyle Denniston, Opinion analysis: New curb on crime lab reports, SCOTUSblog (Jun. 23, 2011, 2:35 PM), https://www.scotusblog.com/2011/06/opinion-analysis-new-curb-on-crime-lab-reports/


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I have the feeling that I am capable of becoming VERY tiresome on the subject of my new selective focus lens, but what can I say? I love my Lensbaby.
Today's series of photos was taken at the Fort Smith National Cemetery--yep, we have an awesome old fort, a gallows where a noose is hung on the anniversary of its executions (yes, seriously--ask me sometime and I'll tell you a really funny story about that), and a gorgeous national cemetery that holds not only the judge who ordered all those hangings, but also an uncle or two.
Yes, the military does indeed love itself some uniformity, but I think it's also a beautiful illustration of the way in which a generous repetition of one simple element can add meaning and impact to a scene.
Monday, December 28, 2009
A Wreath for Every Soldier
2 comments:
- Jim Borthwick said...
Tell us the story about the noose 'n' gallows!
- December 29, 2009 at 1:00 PM
- Halle said...
Your photos are very beautiful... I totally understand the consumming need to try out the new feature of sadi camera at each and every moment. I did the very same thing when my sweet hubby bought me a new one!
- December 29, 2009 at 9:14 PM
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- Fragrance description
- About the brand
- Review
Fragrance description Bath & Body Works Lovely DreamerIngredients
The perfumed body cream Bath & Body Works Lovely Dreamer will become an integral part of your daily skin care routine. It hydrates perfectly, nourishes and gives the irresistible scent of the fragrance in the same range.
- Composition
- Woody Notes, Iris, Musk, Bergamot
- Consistency
- cream
- Active ingredients
- shea butter
About the brand Bath & Body Works
Bath & Body Works is love at the first sniff. One of the greatest American brands specialising in cosmetics and the most amazing home fragrance. The brand always looks for the most exciting trends and combinations of notes to make your every day special.
The philosophy of Bath & Body Works is to improve your well-being through simple everyday rituals of pampering self-care. This is why the brand has come up with a wide range of cosmetic products with unique scents. Bath & Body Works body care is designed in collaboration with top master perfumers.
The especially popular Bath & Body Works candles will create a unique and cosy atmosphere in any home while making it look stylish with their modern and playful design.
Fill your day with the gorgeous aroma of Bath & Body Works products.


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Macky Auditorium's century-old time capsule to be unveiled
One hundred years ago, Colorado Gov. John Shafroth, a group of University of Colorado dignitaries and leading Boulder citizens stood on a barren hillside overlooking the town and laid the cornerstone for what would become the Boulder area's premier performing arts venue.
On Friday, Oct. 8, Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter and CU-Boulder Chancellor Philip P. DiStefano will reveal the contents of a time capsule placed in that cornerstone exactly 100 years earlier as Macky Auditorium celebrates its centennial. The unveiling, free and open to the public, begins at 4 p.m. in the Macky Auditorium gallery.
The time capsule, a bronze box holding mementoes and artifacts of the era, was unearthed and opened earlier this month in a small commemorative event attended by campus officials and representatives of the Boulder Masonic Lodge.
The Boulder Masons oversaw the laying of the cornerstone and placing of the time capsule 100 years ago. Carefully conserved by CU Heritage Center professionals, the capsule's contents will provide an engaging look at the university, the city and the state a century ago.
"We knew that a time capsule had been placed during the cornerstone ceremony through descriptions in the files of the Boulder Masons and newspaper reports of the time," said Alan Cass, former director of Macky Auditorium and a member of the team that led the search for the historical box. "However, none of these reports noted where the time capsule was actually located.
"We had an excellent team, including staff from CU's Facilities Management department, and after an extended search and a lot of digging, we finally found the capsule wedged inside the cornerstone, accessible only from underneath."
The auditorium is the legacy of a bequest from Andrew Macky, one of the area's original settlers and one of the fledgling town's leading bankers.
Throughout its history, Macky Auditorium has played a central role in campus life, with its 2,600-seat auditorium serving as a gathering point for the campus community. Over the years, it also has housed the offices of the CU President, the Dean of Students, the Department of Journalism, the Registrar, the Book Store and Admissions.
The home of the Artist Series since 1937, the stage at Macky has remained a cultural cornerstone for the campus. Dignitaries such as Eleanor Roosevelt, Richard M. Nixon and the Dalai Lama have spoken from its stage, as well as performing luminaries such as Neil Young, Tori Amos and George Carlin.


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LANSING (AP) -- An administrative court that hears appeals about taxes in Michigan has eliminated a backlog of 40,000 cases and launched efforts to make the system more user-friendly, officials said.
The Michigan Tax Tribunal said its enhanced website now has electronic filing and case management systems, as well as an enhanced docket search. The technology upgrades are broader part of an effort to improve the tax assessment dispute process.
A business process review and other work allowed the Michigan Tax Tribunal to eliminate the backlog, officials said. Before 2011, the state said the tax appeals process took 20 to 24 months. Now, officials said the process takes an average of 7 to 10 months.
"These improved systems move the tribunal to a more paperless environment and save staff and the public valuable time and resources," Mike Zimmer, executive director of the Michigan Administrative Hearing System, said in a statement last Thursday.
"We look forward to continuing to improve our efficiency and further reduce the length of the appeals process."
Earlier this year, an idea was raised to replace the tribunal with a Michigan Tax Court whose judges and magistrates would have more experience and higher pay. The proposal came after complaints that the current process was too complicated and had inconsistent results.
Most appeals before the Michigan Tax Tribunal involve property taxes, but the court also hears other state tax issues. One criticism of the tribunal was its use of paper copies of small claims appeals, making it difficult for property owners to research cases.
With the new electronic filing system, users can initiate an appeal, respond to an appeal and file stipulations, motions and other documents. Use of the electronic filing system is free, and it will be accessible by users, their attorneys or authorized representatives.
The enhanced docket search allows users to search cases filed in 2014 by county and offers more detailed docket information, including electronic copies of filings.
Published: Mon, Feb 17, 2014


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DODTechipedia, the wiki-based suite of services designed to get innovative technologies rapidly into the hands of military service members, may have come together at "light speed" but that doesn't mean the road wasn't rocky.
Development work was done on a rapid pace but it wasn't easy, said Christopher Thomas, chief technology officer of the Defense Technical Information Center (DTIC), which helped develop and now hosts DOD Techipedia.
Defense Technical Information Center's forums allow information sharing at various classification levels
Project at a glance
See the full list of agency winners
See the GCN Executives of the Year
For example, there were technical challenges with single sign-on tools and concerns about security and cross-agency collaboration, said Noel Dickover, a contractor who specializes in emerging technologies and social software media in DOD's Office of the Chief Information Officer.
DTIC started work on the beta version in June 2008 and launched it ithat October. Several months later, in February 2009, DTIC and partner agencies unveiled DefenseSolutions.gov, a public portal through which companies, entrepreneurs and research organizations can offer ideas on potential technologies that might meet DOD needs. The classified version of DODTechipedia debuted in April 2009.
DTIC developed the DOD Techipedia wiki by using Confluence, a development tool from Atlassian. Confluence was chosen because it is based on Java and integrates with DTIC's Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP)-based user management system.
The wiki registration process takes advantage of the LDAP registration system. On the unclassified network, registration is simplified by using the DOD Common Access Card, which can be used to log on to the wiki. DTIC uses Siteminder to provide a single sign-on to DOD Techipedia and other applications.
DOD Techipedia uses the open-source MySQL database to reduce database costs, and runs on Sun Microsystems servers that are standard throughout the DTIC hosting environment.
The amount of work put into developing Techipedia from June to October, and quickly following with a classified piece, was a tremendous effort, Dickoversaid.
And it is important to note that for those involved, developing and maintaining Techipedia is not their primary job, Thomas said. The Defense Research and Engineering allocated several million dollars for the initial work. Developers from DTIC, DDR&E as well as DOD's CIO are contributing to efforts to develop and maintain Techipedia.
But everyone involved feels that they want to make a difference, making sure that soldiers, sailors and other military service members have the technology they need to perform their tasks -- which enhanced cooperation among the agencies involved, Thomas said.
About the Author
Rutrell Yasin is is a freelance technology writer for GCN.
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text: Create custom die-cut shapes including circles, ovals, and squares with a stitched look in record time using the Stitched Shapes Dies. Dies help you create unique die cuts with just a quick run through your die-cutting and embossing machine. Detailed dies include ejection holes so you can remove the paper easily.* 12 dies* Largest die: 3-1/4" x 2-3/8" (8.3 x 6 cm)* Use with a die-cutting and embossing machine


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meHiLove - Solace EP OUT NOW @ Beatport!!!
13 марта 2017 г. состоялся релиз "meHiLove - Solace EP".
Label: Silk Music
Release date: March 13, 2017
meHiLove has been a cherished contributor to progressive since the very beginning of this decade; in fact, his first offering to our imprint was back in June 2011. We are delighted to present a new two-track EP by the Ukrainian melodic maestro.
The release kicks off with "Solace," which Max Flyant initially teased on his "Only Silk 04" mix last year. Throughout the composition, a light, retro-tinged bassline is punctuated by relaxing vocal stabs, as well as a heavily filtered, yet sunny piano theme, which eventually unfurls. Overall, as the track title implies, the main melodic and atmospheric themes conspire to create a serene and deeply comforting ambience. If the universal greeting of "good morning" were to be accompanied by a soundtrack, this song would prove a worthy candidate.
The gorgeous B-side, "Airy," finds meHiLove in vintage form. Specifically, lush melodies, infected with a just a hint of melancholy, pour over the listener, as a slightly more uptempo progressive house groove begins to take shape and slowly crescendo. In the main break, a soothing piano theme is introduced, which leads into the drop (alongside a delicious arpeggio), very much to hypnotic effect.
14 March 2017 20:21


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If you are a current IMG producer and have Producer Area access, please enter your login information below.
If you are currently a licensed health insurance provider and are not already contracted with IMG, please click on the "New Producer Contracting" link below. This is a quick and easy process, and you can be selling IMG insurance plans immediately upon submitting your contract to IMG.
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Start-to-finish trip planning
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Enter dates to see full pricing. Additional fees apply. Taxes may be added.
Planning a Santorini vacation? We're here to help!
The southernmost of the Cyclades group of Greek islands, Santorini is a vision of bright-white houses atop towering multicolored cliffs that rise out of the deep-blue Aegean Sea. Crescent-shaped Thira is the main island, surrounded by four smaller islets, and a bird's-eye view hints at the volcanic history that has shaped this small archipelago. Once circular, it was known as Strongili, 'the Round One', but some 3,600 years ago, at the height of the ancient Minoan civilization, a mighty volcanic eruption caused the centre of Strongili to sink, leaving a water-filled crater—Santorini's famous caldera.
The volcano is now dormant, but there are sulphurous springs at the centre of the caldera, and you can visit the site of the ancient Minoan city destroyed by its most violent explosion. The same volcanic activity has created striking black- and red-sand beaches and left rich soil that supports a small but established wine industry.
This Greek beauty with its swoon-worthy views and stunning sunsets has a dry Mediterranean climate that hovers close to 80 degrees in July and August. These peak summer months can be very busy indeed, so consider coming in spring or late summer/early fall, when the weather will still feel very pleasant and you can enjoy Santorini's considerable charms in relative peace.
Wonderful walks
The capital and entry point to Santorini is Fira, a town of whitewashed cubic houses lining winding lanes and squares. Its chalky walls and blue church domes sit balanced atop cliffs striated with volcanic rock, many of its buildings now home to restaurants and bars with heart-stirring caldera views. Santorini's second town, in terms of popularity at least, is Oia, at the island's northern tip. Equally blessed with picturesque architecture and a caldera-edge perch, it is known for its dazzling sunsets – a ringside seat and a glass of chilled Santorini white is an unbeatable combination.
One of the best ways to take in the beauty of this volcanic landscape is to walk it, and there are more than a dozen routes around the island, marked with sturdy wooden signposts. The clifftop track between Fira and Oia is deservedly popular and will take you about 3 hours (longer if you stop to gawp from the many viewpoints along the way). It's best to start out early, as the going can be heavy in the midday sun. If you take a morning hike to Oia you can arrive by lunchtime and descend the zig-zag stair-paths down to the little port of Ammoudi Bay below. There's a small rocky beach and a clutch of tavernas serving up simple but super-fresh seafood.
Beaches and ruins
Scenic trails also link two of Santorini's other big draws—its gorgeously craggy volcanic-sand beaches and fascinating ancient historical sites. Perissa beach, a long stretch of fine black sand dotted with colorful umbrellas and served by a string of cafes, is one of the best. It is positioned on the island's east coast, south of another very popular spot at Kamari beach. In between the two, on the imposing Mesa Vouno hill, sits the archaeological site of Ancient Thira, home to ruins from the Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine eras, worth exploring if you can drag your gaze from the view of the glittering Aegean below.
On the south coast, you'll find the ancient Bronze-Age site of Akrotiri, one of the most important prehistoric settlements in the Aegean. The prosperous merchant city was buried beneath thick layers of lava and ash in the massive eruption that created Santorini's caldera, and today about one-third of the area has been excavated. Houses, sometimes three stories high, huge ceramic storage jars, pottery, and colorful frescoes paint a fascinating picture of the sophisticated ancient Minoan society. Nearby the famous Red Beach, with its rust-hued sand and brick-red cliffs, is quite a stunner—the path down is steep, however, so you'll need more than flip-flops for a steady descent.
Take a wine tour
While Santorini might not immediately spring to mind in any list of the great grape-growing nations of the world, it does, in fact, produce a number of good-quality, well-regarded wines. It has been designated an AOC domain and its rich volcanic soil is known for producing crisp, mineral whites, as well as vinsanto, a sweet fortified dessert wine. Wineries across the island offer tours and tastings, which make for a rather delicious day out.
Experience the luxury of our villas in Santorini
Whether you seek spectacular clifftop seclusion for the perfect honeymoon in Santorini or are traveling with friends and would like to immerse yourselves in the gentle buzz of one of the island's lovely old towns, we have just the villa for you.
Homes in Imerovigli
Imerovigli, on the west coast of Santorini, is a smart little village overlooking the caldera. Our Imerovigli villas are perfectly positioned for sitting and soaking up the view and are only a short distance from the ravishing sunsets of Oia. Sugar-white terraces feature turquoise pools overlooking the wide-open Aegean while cool interiors offer a calm retreat when the sun is at its peak. Sunscreen and a bottle of crisp local white are all you need for a long, lazy and very luxurious day.
Fira rentals
If you're looking for an authentic Santorini experience, then check out our villas in Fira . Fall for the curved white walls and domed ceilings of one of the area's traditional cave houses, furnished to provide the ultimate in luxury and comfort for your vacation. You'll find sublime views, terraces for soaking up the sun or sipping an after-dinner glass of vinsanto, and the services of a private chef upon request. With all this just minutes from the pretty winding streets of the island's main town, you'll have a tough choice whether to head out and explore or stay right where you are.


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Like most years, we have a very busy Christmas day. Christmas 2013 began with the girls running downstairs in the morning to see what Santa left. First they checked out to goodies in the stockings.
Look, Santa left me some yogurt!
Sylvia was very happy with her Frozen dolls. Just what she asked for!
We packed up the car and started the trek to Northfield. We didn't get more than a mile down the road, and we turned back home. Adam was driving Jamie's car and the roads were pretty slippery. We decided to go back home and take the other car. No big deal... just repack the entire trunk!
It did take a bit longer to get down to Northfield, and we passed several cars in the ditch, but we made it fine.
Presents and Dan and Kelley's new house
Cousin Shaelyn showing off her new blanket
After a quick bite to eat, we got the girls changed into their Christmas dresses and headed over to the farm for lunch and more presents.
Getting ready for the present exchange
All opened, but getting ready for the 5 minutes of swapping
Sylvia "throwing a fit" because something "wasn't fair"
Sylvia spent a couple days with Grandpa and Grandma chicken following Christmas day, so Violet came home with Jamie and Adam to try to get back into a "normal" routine.
The one big change this Christmas season was celebrating the Brodd Christmas in the same calendar year! We all headed out to the cabin on Saturday the 28th.
Opening presents after lunch.
Still opening presents...
Grandma Cabin showing off her new scarf and mittens from Jamie
It isn't a Brodd (Lickfett) Christmas without making homemade ice cream. This year both Sylvia and Violet helped out in the cranking.
Snack time!
Sylvia helping Grandma make the cookie salad
Sylvia got to lick the beaters off - Yummy!
Last, but certainly not least, we celebrated our last Christmas on New Year's Day at Mike and Charleen's place. It was the start of the arctic chill, so we didn't have a chance to play outside, but the boys got their fix of hockey and football, while the younger kids stayed entertained.
The girls opening presents
Violet with one of her new dolls. This one is super soft!


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Dear Miss Snark,
You recommend USPS Priority + Delivery Confirmation for sending out requested manuscripts, but I think it's bum advice because I just did exactly that and my pages arrived on Saturday when the agency was closed, so a notice was left for them to either pick up my manuscript at the post office or call the post for redelivery. How inconvenient and off-putting is that! Maybe that's what assistants are for, but I don't think assistants appreciate the extra Monday morning hassle either.
Well, I'm surprised there was mail delivery to an office on Saturday here in NYC. Most offices have the mail held over till Monday.
My experience has been that the mail carrier scans the bar code and leaves the envelope on a delivery confirmation. I've never had to trek to the post office to get one.
Don't confuse confirmation with certified mail. Two entirely different things.
And if in fact the mail is at the PO chances are the agent will NOT go get it. I never do.
And I didn't recommend it at all. The wording was "if you really absolutely have to spend more than a first class stamp, use delivery confirmation". I think priority mail is a total waste of money.


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Available ebook formats: epub mobi pdf rtf lrf pdb txt html
S.L. Naeole has always loved the smell of books, the feel of books, and the destination that a book is guaranteed to take you. She knew from an early age that she was meant to write, to create those very same books she loved so much and vowed that one day, she would.
Now, after getting married and starting a family, she has finally made her dream come true. As the author of Falling From Grace, she's found a venue with which to allow her dreams to become the reader's, and transport them to worlds and lives where fantasy and reality blend seamlessly. With several more books in the works, including three sequels to Falling From Grace, she's hoping to give to her fans the same desire and affection for the written word that she had as a child.
S.L. Naeole writes from her home in Hawai'i, with her husband, four children, and cat by her side cheering her on and providing endless amounts of inspiration.


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The Two-Way Interview
It starts BEFORE you say hello! You never have a second chance to make a first impression, so make the first one count! The interview should be treated as a two-way, professional conversation. In a fairly short amount of time, the interviewer has an assigned task to learn about you.
Be Prepared
Employers reveal that the biggest interview "no-no" is a lack of company knowledge. Advance preparation is critical to your success; employers expect you to know something about them and what they have to offer before you ever get to the interview stage. They also expect you to know what you are looking for and communicate your goals clearly during the interview process.
The true goal of an interview is to gather the necessary information to make an informed decision should you be offered the job. It is to your advantage to make sure the job and the organization are a good match for you and the employer.
The Career Center offers a number of resources and programs to assist you with your preparation.
- Interviewing Checklist
- Career Center Library
- Career Center Seminars
- Researching Employers
- Career-Related Websites
- Perfect Interview
Interview Training — Mock Interviews
Interviewing is one of the major steps in the screening process for employment and for acceptance into a graduate or professional school. To make sure your interviewing skill is what it should be, we suggest you take advantage of our "How to Interview" seminar (check our complete schedule of events for upcoming seminars) and then schedule an individual appointment for a mock interview.
A mock interview is a simulated employment or graduate school interview conducted by professionals that gives you the opportunity to practice your skill and see yourself from the interviewer's perspective. The practice interview will be recorded and then you will view it along with the interviewer, who will help you recognize your strengths and the areas that need more polish.
- Appointments must be scheduled in advance (plan for 1 hour).
- Bring a copy of your resume.
- Dress as if you are going to a real interview.


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Comprehensive breast cancer care — from screening to treatment and recovery
Early detection of tumors is the key to the best outcomes. With breast cancer, mammography is the key to early detection.
The goal of the annual mammogram is to detect cancer before clinical signs and symptoms – like swelling, lumps, skin irritation or dimpling, breast or nipple pain or discharge – are noticeable. Mammograms should be part of annual health screenings beginning at age 40, unless a woman has an increased risk of breast cancer. If a woman's mother, sister or daughter has had breast cancer, then she should discuss her risk and screening protocol with her physician.
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Lee Memorial Health System's Breast Health Centers use the latest, leading-edge equipment to provide the most accurate diagnosis possible, and have earned the designation of Breast Imaging Centers of Excellence from the American College of Radiology. To make an appointment at one of three convenient locations, call 239-424-1499.
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A delegation lead by Craig Heron, President of the Canadian Historical Association, met with Ian Wilson, Librarian and Archivist of Canada, and two of his senior executives, to discuss the reduction of hours at LAC and other issues today, Tuesday 23 October. A complete list of meeting participants is below.
A press release from CHA will be posted here soon.
Ian Wilson confessed that the reduction in hours without consultation was a mistake. He listened carefully to the interventions from delegation members and undertook to review the decision on opening hours with his management team within the context of a mid-year organizational review, the results of which should be apparent by the time of the first meeting of the LAC Services Advisory Board which will likely be held toward the end of November.
Meeting participants
Ian Wilson, Librarian and Archivist of Canada
Doug Rimmer, Assistant Deputy Minister,
Michelle Doucet, Director General, Services
Craig Heron, Canadian Historical Association
Peter Di Gangi, Algonquin Nation Secretariat
Grace Welch, Association for Canadian Map Libraries and Archives
John Reid, British Isles Family History Society of Greater Ottawa
Jean-Francois Lozier, CHA Graduate Students' Committee
Marc Vallières, Institut d'histoire de l'Amérique française
Krista Cooke, National Council on Public History
Brian Osborne, Ontario Historical Association
Andrew Waldron, Society for the Study of Architecture in Canada
Susan Swan & Deborah Windsor, Writers' Union of Canada
Tuesday, 23 October 2007
No change in LAC hours, but early consideration promised
A delegation lead by Craig Heron, President of the Canadian Historical Association, met with Ian Wilson, Librarian and Archivist of Canada, and two of his senior executives, to discuss the reduction of hours at LAC and other issues today, Tuesday 23 October. A complete list of meeting participants is below.
8 comments:
Representation at the meeting seems very light from the "library" side (e.g. where was the Canadian Library Association?). As the public service changes affect all researchers, one hopes that "library" researchers will also be heard or are they happy with the changes???
- 24 October, 2007 10:04
- WJM said...
Why only organizational reps?
Joe and Jane Researcher - library, archival, or both - don't have an organization to speak for them. And after what happened on C-36 I don't trust LAC, or the organizations its chooses to consult with, to represent the public interest.
- 24 October, 2007 16:28
- JDR said...
To set the record straight, to the best of my knowledge the folks meeting with LAC were selected by the CHA, not LAC.
WJM's point is based on the trust he has, or rather hasn't, developed in LAC. That takes time to win, or win back -- something that clearly hasn't happened.
The promised open consultation session every 6-8 weeks at LAC should provide such an opportunity for the unaffiliated to voice their views, and if the informal consultation in September is any guide then everyone who attends will be given the opportunity. But words will only go so far. I need to see tangible service improvements.
- 24 October, 2007 20:38
The Canadian Library Association sent a letter to the National Archivist expressing its concerns with the service cuts.
- 26 October, 2007 19:40
As a librarian, I don't think any us are happy with the service cuts at LAC. Actually, I don't believe librarians are happy with many things that go on at LAC. Most of us just don't believe that the bureaucrats who now run the place will pay any attention to input from the professional communities (librarians, archivists).
Nor do we really believe that Ian Wilson cares about anything on the library side of the organization. Records Management is his priority. And the approach being taken is pure National Archives - cut the front lines and staff the backrooms. At the same time that staff at 395 Wellington are being reduced, new positions are being created at the corporate office.
- 26 October, 2007 19:52
- WJM said...
To set the record straight, to the best of my knowledge the folks meeting with LAC were selected by the CHA, not LAC.
Again, with the hindsight of C-36, that's not much better.
There is a big difference between throwing open the doors to let the sun shone in - which is what needs to happen - and giving a pre-selected group of people a password to the door, and a flashlight.
Will the six-to-eight-weeks sessions also be as "well-advertised", and held mid-afternoon on a weekday, I wonder?
- 28 October, 2007 00:30
It would appear that others have caught the LAC disease:
Cost recovery, limited access subvert the archive's role
Stephen Hume
Vancouver Sun
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
In a democracy, you can't plan where to go unless you know where you've come from.
This principle is sufficiently important that the mandate of our provincial archive was set out in law when it was founded as a separate agency in 1908. Its duty is to preserve the documentary history of British Columbia.
It must hold and manage the records of government. It must increase and communicate knowledge of B.C. It must serve as an educational organization. It must provide access to these collections.
In some respects, the archive does well. Online finding aids are excellent, educational website tools, superb. However, after the archive was merged with the Royal B.C. Museum, cost recovery became the new ideological mantra and its performance suffered.
For example, citizens seeking to examine documents discover access restricted by reduced service and closed doors during hours when most working people can visit. The archive is open Monday to Friday and Saturday afternoons. Yet to retrieve original files one must attend when an archivist is on duty -- between 9:30 a.m. and 11:45 a.m. and between 1 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. weekdays, except Wednesdays and Saturdays, when there's no archivist.
Unfortunately, more than 85 per cent of us work Monday to Friday, mostly between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. This means full service is available only when the average working person cannot visit. So you must take a day off work or book vacation time if you wish to research original documents.
In fact, analyze the hours during which full service is available and the archive proves inaccessible 87.7 per cent of the available time each week. How does this meet that statutory mandate to "provide access?"
Don't blame those charged with managing the facility. They are under-resourced. Nor is this criticism of the archivists. In my experience they are helpful and efficient.
It is a criticism of politicians, who, to use Oscar Wilde's bon mot, know the price of everything and the value of nothing. There is something peculiar about a crucial public institution which is open when most of its clients cannot access its resources and closes during the hours when they can.
This reminds me of the character Major Major in Joseph Heller's novel, Catch-22, who evades responsibility by telling his sergeant never to let anyone in to see him unless he was not there.
The Vancouver Sun recently researched a series about the role of women in transforming the political, economic and social landscape of the province we enjoy today. In broader terms, it was intended to educate our half-million readers about some untold provincial history.
When the newspaper sought images to illustrate the series, here is what I'm told our photo and permissions researcher encountered:
- Canada's national library and archives, no charge.
- Vancouver city archives, no charge.
- Vancouver public library archives, no charge.
- University of Washington historical archive, no charge.
- U.S. national archives, no charge.
- Smithsonian Institution, no charge.
- B.C. archive -- well, news library researcher Kate Bird says while her memory isn't precise, she recollects charges for the 43 images selected into the thousands of dollars.
I understand reprint fees have since been reduced. Still, the last fee schedule provided me by The Sun's library staff cites an archive publication fee of $100 for use of a single image. I'm told even archival images originally handed out with provincial government press releases, some going back 50 years, are now subject to fees.
In my opinion, this cost recovery and restricted access policy subverts the archive's mandate to disseminate, educate and provide access to the documentary history that already belongs to all British Columbians, information which is essential to the functioning of a healthy democracy and for which your taxes have already paid and continue to pay.
I'll leave it to readers to ponder whether the archive should be shrinking or growing its relationship with the public it is required to serve. And whether politicians who don't mind blowing $1.5 billion on fast ferries and convention centre expansion overruns while offering high-minded platitudes about the value of literacy should be permitted to wash their hands of this great civic responsibility.
© The Vancouver Sun 2007
- 31 October, 2007 17:43
Now the LAC's decision has been raised in the Senate:
Debates of the Senate (Hansard)
2nd Session, 39th Parliament,
Volume 144, Issue 8
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Library and Archives Canada
Hours of Operation
Hon. Lorna Milne: Honourable senators, Treasury Board documents reveal
that when the National Archives and the National Library merged to
form Library and Archives Canada in 2002, the transformation was not
in any way supposed to reduce the quality of service delivered by the
new institution. Both institutions viewed the move as a strategic
opportunity to expand their mandates and to serve Canadians better.
However, as of September 1, service hours at the National Library have
been reduced from 47.5 hours per week to 30 hours per week.
In addition, reading rooms that were accessible to researchers between
eight o'clock in the morning and eleven o'clock at night, seven days a
week, are now open only until 8 p.m., and are closed on the weekend.
My question for the Leader of the Government in the Senate today is:
What message is this government sending to Canadians when it starves
the archives for money so these changes needed to be made? Is it okay
to be interested in our own history but only during business hours?
Hon. Marjory LeBreton (Leader of the Government and Secretary of State
(Seniors)): Honourable senators, I do not know what circumstances
prevailed in establishing new hours of operation for the Library and
Archives Canada so I will take the question as notice.
Senator Milne: Honourable senators, I thank the leader for that
answer. I look forward to the response. Researchers from all over
Ottawa and Canada converge on Ottawa to get their hands on the
tangible documents that depict and explain Canada's history. While I
can appreciate the mandated need of Library and Archives Canada to now
cut costs, I do not believe it should result in a tangible reduction
to the quality of the service delivered to Canadians.
The argument that more research occurs online is true and it is good,
but only 1 per cent of the collection is presently online. Therefore,
I would like the Leader of the Government in the Senate to inform
honourable senators how much money these changes will save Library and
Archives Canada, how many people have been taken off digitizing the
present collection to keep the open hours, and how many positions will
be completely lost because of these changes?
Is this government comfortable in knowing it is restricting all
Canadians from accessing their own history for the sake of a few GST
dollars that will amount to about one cent on each cup of coffee that
Canadians drink?
Senator LeBreton: Honourable senators, this government, probably for
the first time in some time, is concerned about our history, our
heritage and the fact that we have a great history and a great
heritage. Unfortunately, our Canadian youth, perhaps, are not as aware.
I am deliberately not looking at Senator Milne because I am sure she
is going through one of her song and dance routines again.
Senator Milne's question was long and detailed. The government, of
course, would not want in any way to restrict access to valid
information that would help Canadians to better educate themselves, to
know our history and to share a sense of pride in the country.
I shall take Senator Milne's question as notice — because to be
perfectly honest, I had not heard that Library and Archives Canada had
changed its hours. I know I am responsible for answering all questions
on behalf of the government, but the opening and closing hours of
Library and Archives Canada has not crossed my desk.
- 01 November, 2007 16:20


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Fukunaga is working with Chase Palmer on the latter's script for "No Blood, No Guts No Glory," reported Variety. Palmer's original script made the 2009 Black List, which offered the following logline:
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U.S. & World
The day's top national and international news.
The film is based on The Great Locomotive Chase of April 12, 1862, during which a group of men led by James J. Andrews who hijacked a southern locomotive and wreaked as much havoc as they could along the way--until Confederate troops caught up with them. The adventure was the inspiration for the Buster Keaton film "The General," which took its name from the stolen train.


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I recently came across this article from Nature. In it, it states that the snails have "tiny biofuel cells that extract electrical power from the glucose and oxygen in the snail's blood", and that the power obtained is dependent on "how quickly sugar and oxygen can be taken from the creatures' blood". They go on to say that the power obtained decreases over time, and that these implants could power future pacemakers in humans.
Would this application in humans require that a patient eats more and "breathes more" than average? Why does the power output decrease over time, and couldn't that potentially lead to the malfunctioning of a pacemaker?
- Van Noorden, Richard. "Cyborg Snails Power Up." Nature (March 12, 2012). http://www.nature.com/doifinder/10.1038/nature.2012.10210.


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November 25th, 2013
High-resolution cameras with automated processing for accurate image quality over the entire field of view
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Adimec will be in Booth 40 on the exhibition floor with demonstrations of these innovations and more.
About Adimec
Adimec specializes in the development and manufacturing of high-performance cameras that meet the application-specific requirements of key market segments, including machine vision, medical imaging, and outdoor imaging. Founded in 1992, the company partners with major OEMs around the world to facilitate the creation of industry-leading cameras. Its products meet a wide range of performance, size, cost, interface and application requirements and its Adimec True Accurate Imaging® technology provides new levels of precision and accuracy to vision systems. Adimec has offices around the world focused on creating customer value and satisfaction through local, personalized support. For more information, got to www.adimec.com. For more information on imaging and vision topics, check our blog.
Contact Information
Adimec Advanced Image Systems b.v.
Tel: +31-40-2353900
Fax: +31-40-2353905
Press Contact: M. Raaijmakers ()


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