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Danielle Wright finds there's still magic in the greatest show on Earth
In our entertainment-focused world, it's hard to imagine just how exciting it must have been in years gone by when the circus came to town - a procession of colourful trucks arriving to create a world of wonder in small towns across New Zealand.
The circus today has been bent and shaped into amazingly diverse representations of the original that would have even the most hardened circus strongman weak at the knees with awe.
Just look at the high-energy Circolombia with its street-circus theatre, the glamorous 1930s-era Cantina, the colourful contortionists of Zirka Circus or the action superstars of Nitro Circus Live.
If you haven't been to the circus for years, it's time to take another look.
Here's our pick of the big tops this season:
Urban by Circolombia
Wednesday, March 13, to Sunday, March 17, at The Civic, Auckland. Cost from $35 C Reserve, all ages. Book at The Edge, ph (09) 357 3355 or 0800 289 842.
Lauded by critics as "high-attitude, high-energy" and "bad, sexy, dangerous", Circolombia is one of the most respected and sought-after circus acts in the world. A mix of acrobatics and dance, the young artists' latest work is Urban, showcasing the best of the Colombian national circus school, Circo Para Todos, where members of Circolombia trained.
Expect gravity-defying stunts and a gritty, no-holds-barred circus-theatre experience to a soundtrack of Latin rap and hip-hop that, by all accounts, is not to be missed.
March 6-24, The Festival Club, Aotea Square. Tickets $65 (adult). Book at The Edge, ph (09) 357 3355 or 0800 289 842.
The circus has taken on many guises since the first show back in ancient Rome. My favourite, though, has to be the 1930s circus style, with its glamorous ladies and dashing young men performing spectacular feats. You think walking on a tightrope looks hard? Try it wearing stiletto heels. Award-winning Cantina showcases this stylish circus era with its underground circus-cabaret including acrobatics, optical illusion and tightropes. There will also be a live soundtrack performed on old-fashioned instruments under the big top of a Spiegeltent.
Nitro Circus Live
Today at North Harbour Stadium, Auckland, and February 6, Waitangi Day, at Waikato Stadium, Hamilton. Both events start at 6.30pm, prices from $39 and upwards to Super VIP at $149. Tickets from Ticketek.
If you like stunts Evel Knievel would be proud of, you can't beat the pure adrenalin of Nitro Circus Live. It's a live-action sports show with FMX, BMX and skate spectacles, as well as a 15m Nitro Gigant-A-Ramp.
The Nitro crew are from the MTV hit series and 3D movie, as well as X Games medallists showcasing their skills and nerve. There's even an extreme wheelchair athlete, who is a crowd favourite, as well as displays on kids' trikes, snow skis, Barbie cars, garbage bins, chilly bins and more.
Zirka Circus
Catch a mini-performance at the Auckland Easter Show on March 28, or watch the website for dates in Hamilton, Bay of Plenty and Gisborne before June, when a new show and nationwide tour begins. Ph (07) 211 7599.
Zirka Circus has the world's biggest "Globe of Death", which has up to five motorbikes racing around it at any one time. General manager James Finlayson says it has been likened to a giant cheese grater but, thankfully, there have been no nasty accidents on it.
"There's also a ballet dancer who does her routine on someone else's head and shoulders, that's spectacular," says Finlayson. "We also have an incredible group juggling, set to hip-hop music, and the overall atmosphere in the huge tent makes it very special."
Finlayson's partner, Jeni Ho, comes from a long line of circus performers who founded a circus school in China. Although Zirka Circus is based in New Zealand, all performers are Chinese and it's an integrated show, rather than with a ringmaster announcing each act. As a contemporary circus it is animal-free, and a nationwide tour takes about two years to complete.
Hat in the ring
If you've ever dreamed of joining the circus it's a lot easier than you think, with workshops for budding performers all over New Zealand.
The internet sends you on a lot of wild goose chases to groups that are no longer active. Save yourself the hassle and start by getting plugged in to your local circus community - they'll know all the newest and best classes and clubs to join. Here are some to get you started:
Circus Kumarani
Circus Kumarani's main office is at 14 Parenga St, Dargaville. Ph (09) 439 5152. Connect on Facebook by searching "friends of kumarani". Other Circus Kumarani branches include Waipu, Whangarei and Wellsford.
"A big part of our focus is helping people feel good about themselves, so they will be more positive about their surroundings and the people in them," says manager Jenny Huriwai, whose classes are for all ages and abilities. "We are much more than a circus - we're about building a community.
"To start with, it's more about binding balance in the body, hand/eye co-ordination and building up muscular skills, as well as associative play - working in parallel play with others, social interaction, trusting and being trusted, as well as being part of a group," says Huriwai, whose son holds the title of World Street Champion in unicycling and mentors some of the performers.
Choose from trapeze, unicycling, fire-spinning, hoop fitness, acro-yoga, globe-walking, stilt-walking and more general circus classes for pre-schoolers through to adults.
Auckland Community Circus
11 Coleridge St, Grey Lynn. Ph (09) 361 3801. Classes for term one will be at Victoria Park, see website for details.
Frances Kelliher and her partner Thomas Hinz set up Circus Kumarani about 10 years ago. They moved to Auckland and set up the same concept here. The circus works with mixed abilities, such as with deaf students and the mental health community, as well as performing at kindergartens, retirement homes and major events.
"In the circus there's a spectrum. There are really new avant-garde professional performers to be inspired by, and then there's the 'having a go' performers," says Kelliher.
"We're more at that end. We try to use the circus for other purposes, such as social causes, building self-esteem and life skills. It's a way to engage people."
Kelliher points out that overseas such a circus is called a "social circus", yet to have an impact she stresses that it still needs to be professional.
General circus-skills classes include acrobatics and a bit of performance, and are broken up into groups: 5 to 8-year-olds, older kids, adults and people with disabilities.
"It's really starting to come alive," says Kelliher about the Auckland circus scene.
"Circus skills are great for people who don't normally get into sporty things; they'll find some skill they'll get addicted to learning. There's also behind-the-scenes - working on the lights, costumes, props, filming and editing.
"It seems to bring people together from all backgrounds."
100-102 Motions Rd, Western Springs. Ph (09) 845 0295.
Complete with a suspended circus rig with static trapeze, a hanging hoop and aerial silks, Tapac holds workshops and classes for all levels and ages - from as young as 8 to the oldest in the class, a man in his late 50s.
"We have all the equipment you can think of, so we can cater to everyone's wants and needs, says tutor Mike Baker.
As well as learning acrobatics and tumbling, the classes will help in developing motor skills, strength, flexibility and endurance, as well as the possibility of making new friends - probably while hanging upside down.
The Castle Circus Studio
4099b Great North Rd, Kelston, West Auckland. Ph 021 728 597. Facebook.com/thecastlecircusstudio.
The Castle Circus Studio provides circus classes for all ages, from beginners to professional performers. There's everything from "Hip Hoop" fitness, the "Foxie French Pole", juggling or a Cyr wheel workshop.
Serious fun
Clown Doctors visit hospitals throughout the country to cheer up sick children and their families. They also offer businesses humour workshops and have "New Zealand Smile Days", starting on May 31.


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Today is the last day of our Clearance Sale! Don't miss out on a chance to save an extra 15% off all Clearance items. Use these handy links to make your shopping experience easier.
- Shop the $5 and Under Section
- Shop the $7.50 Section
- Shop the $10 Section
- or Shop ALL Clearance
Happy Monday!


text: Hello, I want to install Scyld Beowulf (2.0 Preview Release) on a cluster with diskless slaves. Can somebody tell me what configuration I have to do? My /etc/beowulf/fstab lokks like this: /dev/ram3 / ext2 fs_size=65536 0 0 none /proc proc defaults 0 0 none /dev/pts devpts gid=5,mode=620 0 0 $MASTER:home /home nfs defaults 0 0 Is that alright? what is the fs_size? Do I have to run beofdisk, or just to boot the slaves with boot-disks? When I boot the slave, It says: ... System boot phase 1 ... eth0: 3Com 3c905c Tornado at 0x800, *** INVALID CHECKSUM 0021 *** 00:04:... ... sending RARP requests.. RARP: 00:04:76:20:00:CF -> 10.0.0.10 boot: Connecting to 10.0.0.1:1555 Then it gets stuck. What is wrong? In beosetup, I dragged the MAC adress to the center panel and clicked "apply". (Have I misconfigured the network on the master? How can I know what ethernet card is the cluster one? I put eth0 for the beowulf ethernet. If it was the other I wouldn't see the MAC addresses in beosetup ,... no?) Any help would be appreciate. Thank you. David


text:
We attended my friends' wedding on Saturday evening. It was a very warm day (by Seattle standards) - in the high 90s - but the location was a park and cultural center on the Puget Sound, so it was warm, but perfectly breezy.
I wore my new dress, and even though it was supposed to be WARM, I brought my customary cardigan. The dress has an open back; and I don't usually make it a point to show off any part of the 19 inch scar that follows down my spine from a few inches shy of my neck.
But the dress and my scar aren't really the point of this post.
RD and I were standing with our friends (not the bride and groom) discussing how much fun this wedding was. The husband (hers, not mine) remarked that there seemed to be a lot of "young people" at the wedding (context - bride is 28, groom is 36, the commenter is 51). We all nodded in agreement.
A few seconds later, it occurred to me:
Was I one of the "young people" he speaks of?
It's no longer clear.
I don't necessarily want/need to feel like one of the "young people".
I just don't want to bum them out.
And, hopefully this time - I didn't. Scar and all.
PS. This was the taco truck featured at the wedding, and OMG, it was delicious. TACO TRUCK!


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Biofuels bust
The New Times reports that a judge has decided that the US Environmental Protection Agency is a bad joke. The EPA's biofuels mandate has been officially ruled to be absurd, because of its requirement that fuel companies incorporate cellulosic ethanol in their products whether it was possible to buy such ethanol or not.
A federal appeals court threw out a federal rule on renewable fuels on Friday, saying that a quota set by thefor incorporating liquids made from woody crops and wastes into car and truck fuels was based on wishful thinking rather than realistic estimates of what could be achieved.
Heads will not roll, however. This is the government we are talking about.


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Now Shipping! Riffworks Standard - Guitar Recording Made Fun!
Guitar recording made fun. Capture ideas at the moment of inspiration. Set a tempo and start recording by strumming your guitar. Experiment with song structure using a simple Riff-based workflow that records bite-sized pieces and encourages experimentation with song arrangements. Tracks are created automatically as you play. Record multiple takes or layer parts without stopping the creative flow. The RiffWorks interface will inspire you to create songs using a familiar "real-world" interface - it looks like gear! RiffWorks is easy and fun to use because the focus is on playing, not engineering. Record efficiently, stay creative, produce high-quality songs, jam online, and podcast your tunes without ever putting down your guitar. RiffWorks is the most guitarist-friendly recording software ever!
Add beats easily to your guitar and bass parts with InstantDrummer. Pick a groove, count off a tempo, and InstantDrummer inspires you to play along with its continuously varying drum tracks using perfectly matched, full kit studio drum recordings. Spin the INTENSITY knob to set the mood from mellow to aggressive. Dial in some VARIATION to get a constantly evolving beat. AMBIENCE adds room sound and GAIN sets the level. No tedious editing or disappointing sounds, just a great drummer, ready to jam. InstantDrummer is an integral part of RiffWorks. Eight FREE InstantDrummer sessions are included with RiffWorks Standard and more are available online.
Includes 7 studio quality effects plus AmpliTube 2 Live. RiffWorks includes seven effects from Sonoma Wire Works. Add great sounding, fully optimized effects like auto-wah, multiband compression, modulation, delay, reverb, and British style EQ to your tunes. Effect algorithms were passionately designed by Sonoma Wire Works for superb sound quality, and are optimized for maximum performance. Plus the included AmpliTube 2 Live, with 15 guitar and bass amp combinations of the most sought after gear, 11 effects, mic-modeling with 2 microphones and position controls, built-in tuner and more than 128 customizable user presets, is able to produce tons of different guitar tones.
Instantly podcast to an enthusiastic community of musicians. Share songs with and get feedback from other RiffWorks users and the world. RiffCaster is a free service for all RiffWorks users. The system is a breeze to use and there is plenty of room for content. Now with instant podcasting! Plus RiffLink (60-day trial version included) offers RiffWorks users built-in online collaboration. Share a song session over the Internet with up to 4 other musicians and chat while you're at it. Riff recording allows musicians to play along with each other in what feels like real-time with no worries about latency. New tracks show up as soon as they are finished streaming and are always perfectly in sync. Each layer is instantly streamed to other current users and is also saved on the server for those who wish to contribute later.
Questions and Answers
1. How is RiffWorks different than other recording applications (DAWs)?
RiffWorks is fun and easy to use and allows you to focus on playing guitar, not engineering. It acts as a sketchpad that quickly captures musical ideas and complete songs, including great sounding drums and effects. You can even set the tempo and start recording by strumming a guitar. Its unique Riff-based workflow sets it apart from any traditional DAW.
2. Is a hardware device required to record with RiffWorks?
Yes, RiffWorks requires an ASIO device on Windows or a Core Audio device for Mac OS X, like the StealthPlug. Any ASIO/Core Audio compatible interface would suffice, while guitar-dedicated interfaces, such as the StealthPlug, provide the best experience. For a complete list of recommended hardware, please visit the Sonoma Wire Works website at: www.sonomawireworks.com.
3. How many tracks does RiffWorks allow?
Like any DAW, the number of tracks that you are capable of depends on your computer, but RiffWorks allows up to 24 layers per Riff, plus backing tracks from the InstantDrummer and Rex player.
4. Can you record a whole band with RiffWorks?
RiffWorks records one input at a time. It is meant for recording individual musicians, but you can all take turns. With RiffLink online collaboration, you don't even have to be in the same country to record songs together.
5. Can RiffWorks play loops?
Yes, RiffWorks includes a unique InstantDrummer that makes playing drum loops easy. It also has a Rex Player that can play up to 4 Rex loops simultaneously.
6. Are there drum loops included?
Yes, there are 9 InstantDrummer sessions in a variety of styles from top drum companies included. This adds up to several hundred MB of easy-to-use drum content.
7. Does RiffWorks include any effects?
Yes, RiffWorks includes 7 studio-quality effects that can be added to the input, layers, Riffs, and backups. It also includes IK's AmpliTube 2 Live.
8. Does RiffWorks support plug-ins?
Yes, RiffWorks supports audio effect plug-ins - VST on Windows and AU on MacOS, such as IK's AmpliTube LE, AmpliTube 2, AmpliTube 2 Live, Ampeg SVX as well as any other amp modeling plug-in or other effects plug-in.
9. Can RiffWorks sync with other audio applications?
Yes, RiffWorks is a ReWire mixer and can sync with other ReWire devices like Reason and Live.
10. Does RiffWorks work on Mac OS X Universal (Intel powered Macs)?
Yes, it is fully MacTel compatible.
11. What Makes RiffWorks Standard different from RiffWorks Line 6 Edition?
RiffWorks Line 6 Edition is included only with the GuitarPort in Line 6 GuitarPort RiffTracker. RiffWorks Standard differs from RiffWorks Line 6 Edition in the following ways:
· RiffWorks Standard can be used with all ASIO and Core Audio hardware. RiffWorks Line 6 Edition is keyed to Line 6 hardware only.
· RiffWorks Standard supports several plug-in amp models and plug-in effects. RiffWorks Line 6 Edition supports only Line 6 software.
System Requirements
G4 1.33GHz (Intel CoreDuo or G5 1.8GHz recommended), Core Audio input device, Mac OS X 10.4 or later, including Mac OS Universal, 512MB of RAM (1GB recommended), 1GB of disk space free for installation, 5 GB of disk space free for recording, Activation, RiffCaster & RiffLink require an Internet connection.
PIII 1GHz (P4 or equivalent 1.8GHz recommended), ASIO driver capable audio interface - Also see Recommended Hardware, Windows XP, 512MB of RAM (1GB recommended), 1GB of disk space free for installation, 5 GB of disk space free for recording, Activation, RiffCaster & RiffLink require an Internet connection.


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Someone once asked me, "What will you do when you retire from illustration?" I was stumped for an answer. Retire from illustration? I had never thought of it as something one retired from. Why would I ever stop doing something I love so much? If I should be so lucky as too live a long life, I hope I will always feel that way. Today, on her 100th birthday, I am inspired by my friend Sheilah Beckett. Sheilah has been illustrating for a very long time - and continues to do so to this very day.
Please drop by Sheilah's Facebook page and wish her a Happy Birthday. She is truly an inspiration to us all!
Celebrating illustration, design, cartoon and comic art of the mid-20th century.
Thursday, September 05, 2013
Happy Birthday Sheilah Beckett!
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Early Eocene land bridges allowed numerous plant and animal species to cross between Europe and North America via the Arctic. While many species suited to prevailing cool Arctic climates would have been able to cross throughout much of this period, others would have found dispersal opportunities only during limited intervals when their requirements for higher temperatures were met. Here, we present Titanomyrma lubei gen. et sp. nov. from Wyoming, USA, a new giant (greater than 5 cm long) formiciine ant from the early Eocene (approx. 49.5 Ma) Green River Formation. We show that the extinct ant subfamily Formiciinae is only known from localities with an estimated mean annual temperature of about 20°C or greater, consistent with the tropical ranges of almost all of the largest living ant species. This is, to our knowledge, the first known formiciine of gigantic size in the Western Hemisphere and the first reported cross-Arctic dispersal by a thermophilic insect group. This implies intercontinental migration during one or more brief high-temperature episodes (hyperthermals) sometime between the latest Palaeocene establishment of intercontinental land connections and the presence of giant formiciines in Europe and North America by the early middle Eocene.
1. Introduction
Holarctic interchanges of plants and animals during the Eocene have long been known [1–13]; however, details of their nature and timing remain little understood. Eocene North America and Europe were only a short distance apart (figure 1), which, combined with eustatic sea-level drop, resulted in land connections between them. Dispersal was possible across a forested, unglaciated Arctic via Greenland by a northern 'De Geer' route through Fennoscandia and a southern 'Thulean' route through Iceland, the Faroe Islands and Great Britain [2–7,10,12]. An epicontinental seaway (figure 1) probably restricted dispersal between Europe and Asia at least some of this time.
The mammal fossil record shows discrete waves of intercontinental migrations during this interval, most notably at the Palaeocene/Eocene boundary 'mammalian dispersal event', when major groups simultaneously appeared across the Holarctic [4,10]. Early Eocene Europe and North America shared the highest number of mammal genera in the Cenozoic [2]; they also had pronounced floral similarities, indicating numerous intercontinental range extensions of plant taxa [3,5,7]. While it has long been recognized that the distributions of modern insect taxa implies Eocene cross-North Atlantic migrations [1], direct fossil evidence has only been reported recently [8,9,11,13].
Increasingly, fine-scale variations in early Eocene Arctic climate are becoming known, with mostly cool, but seasonally equable temperatures prevailing, but with episodic hyperthermal intervals of increased temperatures, some brief and intense [14–18]. Insect taxa previously shown to have co-occurred in Europe and North America in the early Eocene all had ranges including localities where mean annual temperature (MAT) is estimated as cool (far-western North America) or is not known (Fur Formation, Denmark). The new, giant formiciine ant from the Eocene of Wyoming described here, however, was a thermophilic insect, providing evidence of the role played by early Eocene hyperthermal events in facilitating selective trans-Arctic intercontinental dispersals [3–7,12]. Variations in climate would have then acted as a filter gate across high latitudes, mediating differential access between continents for species populations according to their individual physiological requirements.
2. Material and methods
We follow the morphological terminology used by Lutz [19,20] and Wappler [21], except in referring to abdominal, not gaster, segment identifying numbers (abdominal segments A3–7 = gaster segments I–V). Palaeoclimatic analysis of MAT of the fossil ant localities (table 1) used either published proxies for MAT [18,22–24], or new analyses based on previously published data on the proportion of dicot leaf morphotypes with non-toothed margins using the leaf margin analysis equation of Miller et al. [25], and the leaf area analysis equation for estimating mean annual precipitation (MAP) from Wilf et al. [26]. Occurrence data for modern large ants were gathered from published records and personal communications (electronic supplementary material). The latitude and longitudes of these records were entered into the WorldClim software [27], which provided estimates of MAT, coldest yearly quarter mean temperature and MAP to a square kilometre level of spatial resolution.
3. Systematic palaeontology
Formicidae Latreille 1802;
Formiciinae Lutz [20];
Titanomyrma lubei gen. et sp. nov.
(a) Etymology
Genus name derived from the Greek Titan, often used to indicate large size, and myrmex (Greek: ant), gender feminine. The specific epithet is formed from the surname of the collector of the holotype, Louis Lube.
(b) Holotype
Denver Museum of Nature and Science no. 9041 (labelled DMNH 9041); part only, body in dorsal aspect, anterior portions of right forewing, very little of left.
(c) Locality and age
DMNS locality 784, Farson Fish Beds, Laney Member of the Green River Formation; Sweetwater County, Wyoming; latest early Eocene, approximately 49.5 Ma [28].
(d) Type and included species of Titanomyrma
Titanomyrma giganteum comb. nov. is here designated as the type species of the genus, which also includes Titanomyrma simillimum comb. nov and T. lubei sp. nov.
(e) Diagnosis: Titanomyrma
As provided for Formicium by Lutz [20], amended here by: gaster shape variable: ovate or more slender/cylindrical; A5 width relative to other gaster segments variable; relative lengths of A3–7 variable.
(f) Diagnosis: Titanomyrma lubei
Queens separated from other species of Titanomyrma most easily by gaster characters: more slender, length/width: 2.14 (T. giganteum, 1.40; T. simillimum, 1.50); middle half roughly cylindrical (others ovate, A5 widest); A3 length about a quarter width (others about a third); A4 about three times A3 length (others less than twice); A5–6 about half as long as wide (others about a third); A3 not curved around the petiole at joining.
(g) Description: Titanomyrma
As provided for Formicium by Lutz [20], amended here by change in description of gaster (cf. diagnosis, above).
(h) Description: Titanomyrma lubei queen
As in diagnosis; figures 2 and 3a,d; immense size, body approximately 51 mm long; head rounded-triangular, approximately 5.5 mm long; approximately 7 mm wide, about a third alitrunk length; antennae, eyes not known; mandibles about a third head length; alitrunk approximately 15 mm long, wing bearing; legs short, tibia III 6 mm; forewing probably in size range of T. giganteum queens; waist single segmented, petiole approximately 5.5 mm wide, lacking anterior peduncle; gaster 31 mm long, 14.5 mm wide, without constriction between A3 and A4; spiracles (known on A4–6) long, narrow.
4. Discussion
(a) The status of formiciine species
Titanomyrma is confidently assigned to the Formiciinae by character states unique within Formicidae: extremely large size combined with large, slit-like spiracles [19,20,29], which associate it with T. giganteum and T. simillimum (early middle Eocene Germany: Messel, and cf. these species from Ekfeld Maar [19–21]), both transferred here to Titanomyrma from Formicium. Formicium brodiei Westwood, Formicium mirabile Cockerell [30–32] (both Bournemouth, UK; middle Eocene) and Formicium berryi Carpenter [33] (middle Eocene Claiborne Formation, Puryear, TN, USA; incorrectly called Wilcox Formation by Carpenter [33,34]) are only known from forewings, and were grouped with the German species by the similarity of their venations.
The distinctive gaster shape of T. lubei is confidently not an artefact of preservation; the tergites are clearly shaped differently than are those of the German species, where A5 is wider than A4 (gaster segments III and II) [20] (figure 3b,c). In T. lubei, however, these are of similar lengths and maximum widths (figures 2 and 3a). Its legs are notably more gracile than those of T. giganteum and somewhat more so than those of T. simillimum. The mandibles are poorly preserved, but appear smaller than those of the German species (figures 2 and 3a–c). Wing length basad the pterostigma in T. lubei is about 24 mm, similar to that of the T. giganteum holotype queen [20], indicating a forewing length within the range of T. giganteum, larger than in T. simillimum [20]. However, the body of T. lubei is closer in length to the T. simillimum holotype, 53 mm [20].
We propose the genus Titanomyrma for the new species and transfer the two German species to it, as grouping them within Formicium would compound an existing problem that can no longer be avoided.
Lutz [20] recognized the difficulty of defining the genus based on the limited information provided by a single forewing specimen of the type species, F. brodiei. He, therefore, used the characters of the new species 'F.' giganteum and 'F.' simillimum to form his genus diagnosis and description, effectively employing them as sort of 'functional type species' ('Since Westwood only illustrated the wing, but did not describe it formally, the following new finds from Messel will provide a more detailed diagnosis and description'. p. 182, our translation from the German).
Further, in ant taxonomy generally, because of the variability of wing characters and the small amount of their study compared with those of other insect groups, and by the traditional availability of more commonly collected wingless worker caste specimens, wings are usually ignored or de-emphasized in defining modern species; they are invariably defined by workers.
There appears to be considerable plasticity of wing characters in Formiciinae in particular. Venational morphology of the holotype wings of F. brodiei ([20], fig. 1c) and F. berryi ([20], fig. 2c) falls within variability between the left and right wings of a specimen of 'F.' aff. giganteum ([21], fig. 95). Further, note the differences between the forewings of this specimen of 'F.' aff. giganteum and the 'F.' giganteum holotype ([19], fig. 3b) and paratype 6 ([19], fig. 5). Also, size differences between males and females of the German species indicate the possibility that smaller and larger wing species could be conspecific [19]. Such examples indicate deep problems in the usefulness of formiciine wings for defining species.
By these reasons, we propose to clarify formiciine taxonomy by considering Formicium as a collective genus containing the wing species, which we consider tentative, and erecting the nominal genus Titanomyrma to include the new species and the two German species. As a collective group, Formicium would have neither a diagnosis nor a description, but would be defined as including all species of Formiciinae that cannot be placed in a nominal genus owing to lack of sufficient preserved characters. Formicium brodiei ceases to be Formicium's type species (a collective genus has none: ICZN Article 67.14 [35]). Formicium, however, remains the type genus of Formiciinae, and the subfamily name is not affected.
A team of palaeoentomologists is currently undertaking a major examination of the Formiciinae (T. Wappler 2011, personal communication), with large numbers of new specimens available with which to confidently establish intra- and interspecific variability. We expect that this work will greatly clarify the positions of the wing species. Here, we provide what we recognize is a brief, interim diagnosis and description of Titanomyrma, with the understanding that these will soon be established with greater detail by the Wappler team.
(b) Thermophily, size and the Formiciinae
To assess the climatic constraints of Formiciinae, we reconstructed the MAT, coldest quarter mean temperature (CQMT) and the MAP of the sites where they have been recovered. Further, we calculated the climate space occupied by the largest living ants to ascertain whether there are common climatic trends associated with great size that are general to ants. Based on analysis of their habitats, the Formiciinae were clearly thermophilic; they are only known from hot climates, with MAT > 20°C (table 1 and figure 4a). This is also supported by their great size, as almost all of the largest modern ant species are restricted to the megathermal climates of the tropics.
The great size of T. lubei was only exceeded by that of the largest known ants, T. giganteum and T. simillimum, the reproductives of which are estimated to have had the mass of a small bird [19]; indeed, the body of T. lubei is larger than that of a rufous hummingbird (figure 3d).
Although the average size of workers within modern ant communities tends to increase with latitude [36,37], almost all of the largest individual living ant species (any caste ≥3 cm long) inhabit tropical regions with MAT over 20°C (figure 4a,b). They are scattered among subfamilies, have differing castes as the largest achieve great size by different morphologies and are widely separated on different continents.
— Dinoponera spp. (subfamily Ponerinae): tropical Brazil, Bolivia and Peru. Dinoponera species (Dinoponera gigantea, Dinoponera lucida, Dinoponera longipes, Dinoponera mutica and Dinoponera quadriceps) reach and may exceed 30 mm in length [38], except Dinoponera australis (25 mm or less), whose range extends outside the tropics. They lack morphologically distinct worker and queen castes [39,40].
— Dorylus wilverthi (subfamily Dorylinae): equatorial Africa [41–45]. The largest living ant, with queens reaching 52 mm long [46], similar in size to T. lubei. Great size is achieved here, however, in a much different manner: the gaster is approximately 80 per cent of body length (cf. fig. 16–13a of Hölldobler & Wilson [46]), compared with approximately 60 per cent in T. lubei. Queens show a suite of characteristics restricted to legionary ants, including physogastry, where the gaster becomes swollen, distended with sclerites widely separated by a membrane, containing expanded ovaries that allow rapid production of large numbers of eggs and so extremely large colonies [42,47,48].
— Camponotus gigas (subfamily Formicinae): southeast Asian region [45,48,49]. Queens average slightly over 31 mm in length, and major workers approximately 28 mm, but reach 30 mm [48,50].
— Myrmecia brevinoda (subfamily Myrmeciinae): eastern Australia [51]. Major workers reach 36 mm and queens 31 mm in length [52]. Only a subset of those ant groups synonymized as M. brevinoda reach lengths over 3 cm [52,53].
Seven of these eight species inhabit distinctly megathermal environments (figure 4a,b): the five large Dinoponera species have a distribution with a median MAT of 25.7°C, with a CQMT of 23.9°C; D. wilverthi median MAT is 24.7°C, CQMT 23.4°C; and C. gigas median MAT is 25.3°C, CQMT 24.2°C. Only M. brevinoda breaks this pattern, with a range extending through eastern Australia from the hot tropics of northern Queensland (approx. 16° S) south to warm-temperate Victoria (approx. 39° S). This is, then, the only modern ant species of this great size that includes part of its range outside of the tropics. The species, as it is currently defined, however, includes those that Clark [52] discussed to be over 3 cm in length as a subset, as well as various groups whose largest individuals (any caste) are recorded only reaching about 24 mm in length. The records of great size appear to be only from Queensland and adjoining northern New South Wales, i.e. the northern part of this range [52]. The range of M. brevinoda as a whole has a median MAT of 17.0°C and a CQMT of 11.6°C. The range of Clark's [52] larger form, however, has a nearly megathermal MAT of 19.4°C and a CQMT of 14.3°C.
All of these modern ants inhabit mesic to wet climates, in agreement with MAP estimates for Messel, Puryear (new analyses here) and Green River [22] (see the electronic supplementary material, table S1). The Eocene Arctic was probably a rainforest [15,16], so moisture availability would not have been a barrier.
High temperatures extended well out of the modern tropical belt in the Eocene [15–18,22,23,54–56]. Formiciines are exclusively known from climates with an estimated MAT of about 20°C or greater; MAT of Messel, Puryear and Bournemouth were all megathermal. The climate of the Farson Fish Beds within which T. lubei was recovered has not been characterized, but estimates for comparable Green River Formation localities indicate similarly hot conditions (table 1 and figure 4a).
The cooler, microthermal to lower mesothermal [54,55] early Eocene Okanagan Highlands localities of far-western North America bear a number of ant species over 1.5 cm in length—in one case greater than 2.5 cm—but none are known to reach 3 cm [9,57]. A species from the early Eocene Danish Fur Formation is also about 2.5 cm long [9,58]. Ants from the late Eocene cool upland at Florissant, Colorado and from Palaeocene and Eocene ambers (Sakhalin, Baltic, Ukranian, etc.; indeed, any amber) are not known to reach such sizes (e.g. [59–63]).
(c) Eocene Arctic climate, hyperthermal events and intercontinental dispersal
Thermophilic organisms face physiological barriers to dispersal outside of the high MAT climate spaces to which they are adapted [12,23,64]. Eocene Arctic fossil floras indicate that temperate (i.e. upper microthermal to lower mesothermal) conditions predominated across intercontinental connections, with early to middle Eocene floras from Greenland and Axel Heiberg Island (50–40 Myr ago) giving MAT estimates of 12–16°C, probably too cool to support dispersal of Formiciinae throughout much of the time when this must have occurred [12–16]. Brief, cyclic warming events of approximately 2–4°C possibly driven by ventilation of oceanic carbonates were unlikely to have been of sufficient intensity to facilitate formiciine dispersal [65]. However, during larger global hyperthermal events linked to injection of greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere from sedimentary reservoirs, Arctic MAT increased by 5–10°C to perhaps approximately 23°C, with the coldest month mean temperature greater than 8°C at approximately 85° N palaeolatitude [18], which would have been suitable for formiciine dispersal across high latitudes. These include the brief (approx. 170 kyr) Palaeocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum at the Palaeocene–Eocene boundary (about 55.5 Ma); the Eocene Thermal Maximum 2 (about 53.5 Ma); and the longer Early Eocene Climatic Optimum, about 2 Myr of the latest early Eocene [14,17,18]. That is, the early Eocene physical bridge between Europe and North America that was normally climatically impassable for Formiciinae must have had episodic openings of a physiological gate allowing the dispersal of these giant ants and other thermophilic organisms across the Arctic.
We thank L. Lube, collector and donor of the specimen; J. Baldwin for software consultation; G. Alpert, B. Bolton, E. Jarzembowski, H. Lutz, V. Makarkin, M. Moffett, D. Notton, M. Pfeiffer, Z. Qian, S. Robson, A. Ross, B. Taylor, R. Taylor, T. Wappler and S. Watanasit for discussion and information. We thank C. Labandeira and an anonymous reviewer for helpful comments. This research was funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) through a postdoctoral fellowship to S.B.A., and Discovery Grants to R.W.M. and D.R.G.
- Received April 6, 2011.
- Accepted April 15, 2011.
- This Journal is © 2011 The Royal Society


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|"I visited Just Oxtails for the first time on 5/18/07 and I
must say my taste buds went into a praise, this is
true soul food, comfort food and food that was
prepared with love. It brought back memories of great
family gatherings. The drive across town was well
worth it."Rillia J.
|"I visited your restaurant a while back and I really
enjoyed the food. Those sweet potatoes were the
bomb as well as the other menu items. I only wish
that I lived in the Houston area. There would be no
more Burgers and Fries for me…
Just Soul from Just Oxtails!"
Tiffiney B.
|"Whenever I have a taste for oxtails, Just Oxtails is
the place to go…I always enjoy the food and
generous portions given. Keep up the good work.
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Personal habits like smoking are influenced by many factors such as family, environment, and peer pressure. Teens have also been shown to be highly influenced by images and messages delivered through the media. This can make teens more likely to mimic smoking they see on television or in the movies. About one-third of teens that try smoking will become established smokers, putting them at risk for a number of serious illnesses.
A school-based survey in New Hampshire in 1999 found that teens most exposed to characters smoking in the movies were more likely to start smoking. Researchers from Dartmouth Medical School wanted to determine if the increased rates of exposure to movie smoking also increased the rate of established or regular smoking in teens. The study, published in Pediatrics, found that the higher the level of movie-smoking exposure, the higher the chance of the teen becoming an established smoker.
This cohort study used a follow-up survey on 1,791 children. The children had all participated in the 1999 study when they were 10-14 years of age. The initial baseline survey included questions about known risk factors for smoking and smoking status. The 1999 survey also determined the level of movie-smoking exposure by offering the teens a list of 50 movies that were popular between 1988 and 1999 and had smoking images. The students were divided in to four groups based on their level of exposure (level 1 least movie exposure-level 4 highest movie exposure).
The follow-up survey for this study was given to the teens 7-8 years after the 1999 study. This survey only focused on the total number of cigarettes the teens had smoked. If a teen had smoked more than 100 cigarettes, it was defined as established smoking. The risk of established smoking increased as movie exposure increased. When compared to the teens with the least smoking movie exposure (level 1):
There are other factors that have been shown to influence teen smoking such social pressures, sensation seeking, self-esteem, and parental education and disapproval. Even after accounting for these influences, movie exposure still had a significant effect on teen smoking.
Smoking is deadly. No one should do it. If an adolescent can make it through high school without picking up the habit, they are very unlikely to start later on, particularly if they attend college. However, children who begin smoking regularly are at extremely high risk of becoming lifelong smokers. Anything that can be done to safely and effectively prevent teens from smoking ought to be done.
One approach, based on studies like this, attempts to limit the exposure of teens to risk factors for smoking initiation. While a variety of groups are working to decrease the amount of smoking images in media directed at youth, it is unrealistic to believe that children will never be exposed to smoking images. Other methods are necessary. The importance of direct and frequent communication with your child about the dangers of smoking cannot be overemphasized. Talk to your child about images seen in ads or movies, the dangers of smoking, and ways to handle peer pressure. This will only work, of course, if you don't smoke yourself. If you do smoke and have had trouble quitting, there's no better motivation than the health of your child.
American Heart Association
American Lung Association
National Cancer Institute
Dalton MA, Beach ML, Adachi-Mejia AM, Longacre MR, Sargent JD, Titus-Ernstoff L. Early exposure to movie smoking predicts established smoking by older teens and young adults.Pediatrics.2009 Apr 23;123(4):551-558.
Last reviewed June 2009 by Richard Glickman-Simon, MD


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Americans' Calls to End Drone Strikes Delivered to US Embassy Pakistan
For Immediate Release
October 3, 2012
Media Contacts:
(Islamabad) Robert Naiman, +92 3419-853377, +1 217-979-2957, email@example.com
(US) Megan Iorio, +1 908-400-9480, email@example.com
Americans' Calls to End Drone Strikes Delivered to US Embassy Pakistan
Letter signed by Alice Walker, Noam Chomsky, Naomi Wolf, Oliver Stone, Danny Glover, Tom Hayden, Patch Adams, other prominent Americans; 3,000 petition signatures from US citizens delivered to Acting Ambassador Richard Hoagland;
Hoagland disputes allegations U.S. drone strikes target civilian rescuers
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan—3 October 2012—Today a group of US peace advocates delivered a letter to the US embassy in Islamabad signed by twenty-six leading US authors, film directors, professors, activists, and a Nobel Peace laureate, calling upon US authorities to end US drone strikes in Pakistan, and to bring US drone strike policy into compliance with US and international law. The letter, which was organized by the US group Just Foreign Policy can be found online at http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/node/1312.
The letter cites the 474 to 884 civilian deaths caused by US drone strikes in Pakistan since 2004, including 176 children. It also cites attacks on civilian rescuers and the state of constant fear experienced by civilians in the area where drone strikes are conducted, as documented by a Stanford/NYU study released last week.
Petitions from 3,000 additional US citizens were also delivered at the embassy calling for an end to U.S. drone strikes in Pakistan. The petition signatures will also be presented to President Obama as a follow-up.
During the meeting with Acting US Ambassador to Pakistan Richard Hoagland, Robert Naiman of Just Foreign Policy challenged Hoagland to respond to reports that CIA drone strikes in Pakistan have targeted civilian rescuers, and assertions by international law experts that such targeting is clearly a war crime under international humanitarian law, regardless of whether US drone strikes in Pakistan are otherwise legal.
Hoagland responded, asserting that there are never any deliberate strikes against civilian rescuers and that he has never in recent times seen any deliberate strike on rescuers. Hoagland has been Deputy Chief of Mission at US Embassy Islamabad since February 27, 2011.
Naiman followed up by pointing out that even if civilian rescuers were not deliberately targeted, the practice of "secondary" or "follow-up" drone strikes intrinsically puts civilian rescuers at risk. Naiman urged Hoagland to follow up on recent reports by NYU/Stanford Law and Columbia Law/CIVIC, as well as earlier reports by The Bureau of Investigative Journalism/The Independent and the New York Times indicating that civilian rescuers had been targeted, and issue a public statement in response to the allegations, noting that this would increase the transparency of the policy. Hoagland agreed that investigation by the Embassy followed by a public statement would increase the transparency of the policy and that that would be a good thing, without committing the Embassy to doing so.
"When Americans found out what the war in Afghanistan was, they turned against it," said Naiman, Policy Director of Just Foreign Policy. When Americans find out that the drone strike policy in Pakistan is killing and terrorizing civilians and hitting civilian rescuers, they will turn against the drone strike policy in Pakistan as well."
The US peace activists who delivered the letter and petitions are in Pakistan as part of a delegation organized by the US peace organization CodePink. While in Pakistan, the delegates are meeting with members of Pakistani civil society as well as US and Pakistani officials to help bring about an end to US drone strikes in Pakistan. The delegation plans to travel to Waziristan for a peace march and to meet with drone strike victims this weekend.
Letter: Prominent Americans Call for End to U.S. Drone Strikes in Pakistan
Just Foreign Policy petition: End US Drone Strikes in Pakistan
Just Foreign Policy is a nonprofit nonpartisan advocacy organization that works to reform U.S. foreign policy so that it reflects the values and interests of the majority of Americans. For further information see, go to http://www.justforeignpolicy.org.


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The Players Amateur's position on the calendar gives many of the country's top college players a chance to play for a spot in a PGA TOUR event during their off-seasons each summer.
It's also pretty convenient for some of the best amateurs who hail from the Southern Hemisphere.
This year's Players Am includes 13 players from Australia and five from New Zealand. July is a winter month at home for these golfers, so they're spending the season playing tournaments across the United States.
"It's winter back home, so it's unplayable," said Rory Bourke, a 24-year-old from Melbourne. "We need to go play somewhere, so these events all sort of string into where you can be here for two months. It's perfect, really."
Bourke is competing in his first Players Amateur, the first of four U.S. events he's playing this summer. He said he played his last tournament in Scotland, then went home for 10 days before flying to South Carolina.
The Porter Cup in Lewiston, N.Y., is up next week, followed by the Western Amateur in Highland Park, Ill., and the United States Amateur in Cherry Hills Village, Colo. Bourke will also attempt to qualify for a Nationwide Tour event while he's in the United States.
Bourke said several of the Australians in the Players Am field will play the Southern Amateur in Arkansas. Some of them are still trying to qualify for the U.S. Amateur.
"We try to get into the biggest tournament of the week," Bourke said. "I'm enjoying it, having a great time."
A couple of the international players made themselves at home in the second round, on an otherwise difficult Friday at the South course. Australia's Daniel Nisbet and New Zealand's Ben Campbell were two of three players who shot rounds in the 60s. The other was Stanford senior Andrew Yun.
Jake Higginbottom, an 18-year-old from Charlestown, Australia, is also in his first Players Am. He played in several junior tournaments in the U.S. last summer. He said he may return in 2013, then take a shot at qualifying for the PGA TOUR.
"Hopefully, if everything goes to plan, I might come back here next year, then turn around and go to qualifying school," Higginbottom said.


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Terror suspect to face extradition
Judges have given Home Secretary Theresa May the go-ahead to extradite mentally-ill British terror suspect Haroon Aswat to the United States.
Earlier this year Mrs May was told to put plans on hold after judges said they wanted assurances from the United States government about the way Aswat would be cared for.
Today, two judges said they were satisfied with assurances given by American officials, following a High Court hearing in London.
Court sketch of terror suspect Haroon Rashid Aswat , 31, during his extradition hearing in January 2006. Judges have now said he can be extradited to the US (Elizabeth Cook/PA)
Lord Chief Justice Lord Thomas and Mr Justice Mitting said Aswat could be sent for trial in New York in accordance with arrangements made.
Aswat - who comes from Batley, West Yorkshire, and is thought to be in his late 30s - is wanted for allegedly conspiring with convicted terrorist Abu Hamza to establish a jihadi training camp in Oregon.
Hamza, who is in his 50s, was extradited from Britain to America nearly two years ago and found guilty of terrorism charges in May after a trial in New York. He has yet to be sentenced.
Judges were told that Aswat was suffering from paranoid schizophrenia and had been transferred from a prison to a psychiatric hospital in Britain.
Aswat's lawyers argued that he might suffer a relapse if held in an American jail pending any trial. And, at a High Court hearing in April, judges had said they wanted assurances about the way he would be treated.
Home Office officials said later that the case could yet be heard by the Supreme Court.
They said pending any Supreme Court application by Aswat's lawyers, extradition arrangements would be made.
"We are pleased the court has upheld the Home Secretary's decision to extradite Haroon Aswat to the United States," said a Home Office spokesman.
"The court agreed that the American authorities had provided sufficient assurances over the conditions in which Aswat would be held in the US.
"Aswat's legal team has been given an opportunity to seek leave to appeal to the Supreme Court. Subject to any application, arrangements will now be made for his extradition."
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Southwestern Colorado - Search For San Juan GoldPosted in Events on March 11, 2008
It was a beautiful, crisp September morning in Silverton and we were looking for gold! Aspen gold, that is. We had come north to this southwestern Colorado town for the fall color extravaganza but it appeared we had arrived a few days too early. The fall colors are fickle and fleeting and the signature golden hue we sought was still limited to a few small clumps of trees in the immediate area. From experience, we knew local color conditions can vary widely from valley to valley so we immediately put "Plan B" into effect. If the color wouldn't come to us, we would go seek it out! Our destination for the day was to be the ghost town of Carson, perched high on the Continental Divide, almost 30 miles distant. Covering that much ground increased our chances of finding some of the brilliant trees that we were seeking. The fact that the area we would be traversing is some of the most spectacular mountain scenery in the entire country did very little to dissuade us either.
1PhotosView Slideshow
After a leisurely "bed-and-breakfast" start time of nearly 10 a.m., we headed east out of town on Highway 110. The road quickly turns to graded gravel on leaving Silverton and then becomes much narrower, steeper, and rockier at the old town site of Eureka. We continued climbing to the ruins of Animas Forks, dropped into Low Range, and turned right and up toward Cinnamon Pass. Cinnamon Pass will always hold a very special place in my four-wheeling memories as it was the first high Colorado pass I traversed in a Jeep over thirty years ago.
Cresting the ridgeline, we started the long, gradual drop into the headwaters of the Gunnison River. This deep mountain valley has a generous carpeting of aspen clinging to its sculpted sides and our excitement rose as we noticed that the annual color change was much further along on this side of the pass. Just short of Castle Lakes, we started keeping a sharp lookout for the turnoff up Wager Gulch leading to our destination -- the abandoned mining camp of Carson.
4PhotosView Slideshow
We were looking for "gold," but over one hundred twenty years ago a man by the name of Christopher Carson was seeking gold of the more permanent variety. He staked out the Bonanza King Mine and several other properties when the mining district was organized in 1881. His mine was an early producer and the town that grew up in the area soon bore his name. History of the area is a little fuzzy, but it is probable that the name of Carson was actually used by two different towns created during two different mining booms. "Old Carson" is situated at the head of the gulch on both sides of the Continental Divide. The settlement grew up around the aforementioned Bonanza King Mine, the St. Jacobs, the Thor, and the other 150 or so claims in the area. Silver was king and the district grew rapidly. A road was built up Wager Gulch in 1883 to facilitate getting supplies in and the rich ore out. A southern route was added in 1887 when a competing road was pushed up Lost Creek from the Atlantic side of the Divide. Carson was a bustling, busy place until the silver crash of 1893 abruptly quieted the area. Additional discoveries of gold-bearing properties livened things back up for a time and nearly $200,000 in gold was taken out of the St. Jacob's alone in 1898. The long distance from the railroad and increasing extraction costs once again slowed production and by the early 1900s, the town was mostly silent.
A later strike at the Bachelor Mine led to the construction of a later version of Carson, and it is these buildings near the mine in Wager Gulch that still stand today. This well-preserved site is about 4 miles up Wager Gulch from the valley road. The road is steep and rocky in places but is still easily navigated by a stock SUV. As we climbed higher, the colors just kept getting better. Finally, at a switchback about halfway to the town site, we stopped, shut down the motor, and sat in enthralled silence.
7PhotosView Slideshow
It was one of those quintessential four wheeling moments: a rocky dirt road leading upward, suffused with the iridescent golden light that only aspen trees under a sunny sky can provide, canopied with a Colorado sky so blue that it defied description. It was one of those truly special moments that, at least partly, explains our passion for this form of recreation: a place to stop, pause, and just try to soak it all in.
We finally shook ourselves loose from our own little version of gold fever and pushed on up the trail. Right at the tree line, the buildings of "new" Carson pop into view across the meadow. A relatively recent upgrade to metal roofing should help keep the severe Colorado winters and their frequent and abundant snow load from erasing these buildings. Park the vehicles, stretch your legs, and explore the properties. Remember to take only photos and memories so future enthusiasts may do the same!
The road to the ridgeline was obvious at this point, and soon a four-way intersection on the Continental Divide slid into view. The road to the right quickly dead ends on a shoulder of Bent Peak. The road to the south also terminates with a viewpoint above the Lost Creek Valley and provides some good views back toward the scattered remains of Old Carson. A turn to the left passes some of the mining buildings and then climbs still higher up the ridge to the east. There is one stretch of road that is quite steep but if you know how to actuate a transfer case, head on up! The view from the crest is dramatic with the mighty San Juan range dominating the entire western horizon. A fork just past the crest leads to the historic La Garita Stock Driveway (left) and the road down past Heart Lake, Pearl Lakes, and eventually, the highway between Creede and Lake City.
We reluctantly turned to retrace our route, marveling once again at the magic of sunlit aspen groves on the downward trail. Even with all of our "gold" prospecting, town site explorations, and numerous camera stops, we slipped back into Silverton by 6 p.m.
Carson is one of those relatively out-of-way places that provides an unforgettable window into the rich history and stunning topography of the San Juan Mountains. Grab your favorite 4WD, a map, a camera, and a friend or two. And remember, there is still gold in those hills!


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Remembering Television Fathers
There have been all types of fathers throughout television history. In the early years of TV, fathers were typically portrayed in a positive light, as the head of the household. More recently, fathers are often times used as comical relief, and portrayed as bumbling idiots. Many sites this time of year will publish their lists of Best TV Fathers, or Worst TV Fathers, and we've done that in the past as well. However it's such a subjective thing, and often times a father who might land on the worst list is actually one of our favorites. So instead this year we've collected photos of the most famous television fathers from throughout the history of television, and then mixed in some of our personal favorites. They're as varied as fathers are in real life, and we'll let you decide which are the best, and which are the worst. Happy Father's Day.


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The game rules are listed as below, we reserve the right to edit, change, add or delete at any time, we also reserve the right to interpret these rules differently then they may appear in certain situations, meaning do not try to twist these rules to find ways around them.
Please check this page regularly for any changes or updates.
- Multiple Accounts
You are only allowed to have one account per individual. Players found to have multiple accounts also known as multis will have the main account banned and all other accounts deleted.
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No action will be considered as scamming as we have the tools to safe guard you from these problems. Failure to use them is done at your own risk. We will not interfere in any way, shape or form. This includes from or of a faction or company. We do not return either, or get involved in any way.
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Accessing another players account without their permission. Requesting a players login details or use of a website to gather user-names and passwords etc is forbidden.
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It is illegal to give away or sell your account and it is also illegal to buy accounts. If you do not want to play anymore simply stop.
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Selling or trading anything within your account for real currency and/or items for use outside of Torn is not allowed. This includes and is not limited to selling MSN addresses or pictures for Torn Cash (this does not include graphics paid for with the sole purpose of using within Torn).
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Reviewed By Edward W (FRESNO, CA) Reviewed for a 2006 GMC Sierra —11/3/2013 8:37 PM
Great kit, just needs a bit more research done on the pipe. Pipe rubs and starts rattling against the power steering metal hose couplings, even after several adjustments , problem still exists. I ended up putting a rubber pad on the tubing and zip tieing it in place before the power steering metal hose put a hole in the boost pipe!!


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16:14 Newcastle Sat 10 February 2018
- 480m
- 1st £125, Others £30 Race Total £275
Final Result
Race Details
- Winning TrainerP Rutherford
- Winning Time29.57s
- Runners6 ran
- Distances2 ¾, 3 ½, 2, 3 ½, 3 ¼
- Off Time16:14:23
- Forecast£28.33
- Tricast£52.41
Racing Tips
Value Bet: Hobbs has Steel
Ben Linfoot seeks out the value on day one of Cheltenham's November Meeting with Philip Hobbs' fancied to strike with a long-absent horse.
Simon Holt: Midnight feast
Simon Holt has a quartet of quality selections as Cheltenham opens its doors again for day one of the November Meeting on Friday.
Friday's racing preview
Nick Robson previews all of Friday's action including at Cheltenham but his best bet of the day runs at Lingfield - get his verdict for every race.
Next Race Off
Football Tips
Hunt for goals at Highbury
The early kick-off on Saturday sees Fleetwood take on Walsall in Sky Bet League One. Tom Carnduff is backing goals.
OUT NOW: Sky Bet Championship Podcast
Our latest Championship Podcast is out, as we discuss Norwich City's top form; young goalkeepers; and the Sheffield derby.
Rooney set to strike in final game
It's all about Wayne Rooney in his final game for England, and there is value to back him to strike against the United States.


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With summer around the corner, picnic lunches are around the corner, too. What better way to finish off a picnic lunch than with a fresh, seasonal dessert? This Strawberry-Shortcake-in-a-Jar is the perfect picnic treat because it's totally portable. In my mind, there's nothing worse than trying to bake, cover, and pack a cake for a summer picnic. Not only are you almost sure to ruin your pretty frosting technique, or wobble the cake right into crumbling, you also have to pack napkins and forks and tippy paper plates–which are as easily forgotten as they are tossed away. So, why not avoid the muss and fuss alltogether and pack your treats in sturdy glass jars? Not only are they fun for eating, they are splendidly easy to tote. Just put them together, screw a lid atop, and serve withing 2-3 hours.
A simple box cake is crumbled into jars and topped with a mixture of frosting and whipping cream, which protects the cake from too much seepage from the strawberries. A simple, splendid way to enjoy summer.
Strawberry Shortcake in a Jar
- 1 boxed yellow cake mix, baked according to package directions
- 1 can vanilla frosting
- 1 (8 ounce) whipped topping
- 1 quart fresh strawberries mixed with 1/4 cup sugar
1. Crumble the yellow cake mix into large chunks. Press a small amount of the crumbled cake mix into the bottom of four small canning jars. In a small bowl, mix together the frosting and whipped topping. Spoon a small amount on top of the cake layer. Spoon a few strawberries on top of the frosting layer, add another layer of cake, frosting, and strawberries.
2. Top each jar with a lid and ring. Store in the fridge up to 12 hours before serving.
Want more cakes in a jar recipes? Check out "Contain Yourself! 15 Beyond-Exciting Desserts in Jar!"


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Okay, that is better :-)
All the news that's fit to assimilate[ Home | Blogs | Events | Robots | Humans | Projects | Podcasts | About | Account ]
Okay, that is better :-)
Hmmm, start making robots professionally and get bumped down to Journeyer? :-)
Wow, I haven't updated since July!
Well, work continues at USC. The motion capture suit project is entering testing and verification. Currently, we are testing three sensors (1 for elbow tracking, 1 for shoulder tracking, and 1 for reference.) A few months were burned designing an algorithm that fused the sensor information using floating point quaternions that could update at 100 Hz on a 8 bit, 16Mhz Atmel Mega32 processor with 32k of flash! I tried 2 algorithms from literature, Linear Gauss-Newton Iteration and a Quaternion-based Extended Kalman Filter. Both failed, the first because of a terribly slow 4x4 matrix inversion and the second because of size limitations. I scraped them and developed my own linear filter that works pretty well, although we are still tuning the parameters. Since this project is funded by DARPA, all of the info will be public domain, which can be VERY GOOD NEWS for anyone looking for a very small IMU with 3 axis gyro, 3 axis accelerometer, and 3 axis magnetometer for about 260 dollars in parts! If you are intersted let me know, I can always let you see what I got.
The humanoid is coming along. I have one arm and the body rapid prototyped and mostly constructed. I am most likely going to modify the servos so that I can just talk to them over a serial line using Atmel's cool addressing function. This way, I can get positional information back from the servo, and also program cool little functions like going slack when the joint hits something. I should have pictures up soon, I am waiting on the rapid prototyping company to send a piece that they had accidently left off of the last order, then I will have both arms and the body constructed. I feel this will give a better representation of the project, so I am holding out to take the pictures. It is cool though! Work continues on the head design to make it interactive and appealing, yet not scary to children or us for that matter. It is bigger than everyone expected, which wasn't very big since we are using digital servos. The arms are heavy enough to have to worry about inertia, etc. I think the size helps to distinguish this robot from the others that look like toys. I do want to invest a little bit of time over the summer developing a smaller version that may be purchased for at or under $3000 using rapid prototyping, or under $1000 for bulk plastic orders. I'll have to see if there is any interest for this though. Plus, you never know what is going to happen since I'll be graduating in June. There may be some good news, but I can't really talk about it now :-)
I am developing a new humanoid robot torso. The prototype is being funded. The size of the robot will be about 2 feet tall (from base to top of head). I have done quite a bit of work in Pro/E to get the basic design up. It will go through several changes over several cycles I am sure. The basic structure can be seen here. Let me know if you have any questions or suggestions.
Well, I am here at the University of Southern California Robotic Interaction Lab. I am building an "inexpensive" motion capture suite using inertial measurement units. Each unit is coming in at about 200 dollars, but has 6 DOF. I have designed a radio link between the suit and a host computer that will basically stream the data in. All the sensor parts are on order and the boards are being made. Each IMU is only 1.75x1.75x1" and is interfaced through a minidin connector, which also functions as the programming port. I think the design is solid and we expect that you can capture all movements of the arm, minus the fingers, using just 3 IMUs. So, that makes 6 for the arms, 6 for the legs, 1 for the head, and 1 for the upper torso = 14 in total. That is about $2800 plus another $300 for the link, puts us at about $3100, to capture the entire human body (less fingers & toes). That is a LOT better than $20,000, which is the base price of most of the motion capture systems out there. I am also sketching out the specs for what could turn into a humanoid robot interaction testbed, we will see.
The Mininaut project is now complete (as far as I am concerned :-) It got quite a bit of attention locally by appearing on several news stations and in a couple of newspapers. More importantly, I have secured a postition this summer at the University of Southern California to prototype an inexpensive motion capture suit; that should be a fun project. I think I am changing my research focus, I should be moving to enabling technologies for molecular robots. I have a proposal ready to be submitted for funding in mid May and will be working with several other people from a range of fields, including mathematics, physics, and chemistry. We plan on developing a predictive algorithm for molecular construction of robot parts. Everyone around here seems to think it is going to be a good project, I hope we finish :-) Anyway, if you are interested to know about anything that I have been or am involved with, let me know, I like to discuss these things :-) Oh, and thanks for reading this far!
An almost complete version of the poster I did for the mininaut project is available in powerpoint format on my webpage here. I ended up with first place :-) on to the research competition for the school and then will compete soon for all of the cal state universities. Busy times, hope all is well for everyone else.
Just to let everyone know, I have updated my website with the "Mininaut" project that I am working on. You can view it here
My robot is coming along well (the research one for the university.) I will finish the physical/electronic design this month, then I will start the programming. Not too much to report as far as progress because most of it has been done on the schematic. I did pick up a nice Sony VAIO laptop that is only 4 lbs - NICE! Check out the website that no longer serves as a home for the company I was developing, but rather a portal for robot activity.
If you stopped by LivingCreatures before, this is just to let you know that we have a new chat available to our members.
2012 Top 10 Robot Christmas Gift Ideas
DARPA Robotics Challenge Kick Off
2012 ASABE Robot Contest Photos
Interview with David L. Heiserman
David Anderson on Subsumption Robots
Review: Apocalyptic AI by Robert M. Geraci
Raspberry Pi Interview with Eben Upton
2012 VEX Robotics World Championship
Giant Dallas Robot Cited as Best Public Art
There's More Than One Way to Skin a Robot
Day of the Androids at Hanson Robotics


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Thursday, February 24, 2011
This past Saturday, I presented "Performance Tuning with Traces" at SQL Saturday #47 in Phoenix, Arizona. You can download my slide deck and supporting files here.
This is the same presentation that I did in September at SQL Saturday #55 in San Diego, however I focused less on my custom server-side trace tool and more on the steps that I take to troubleshoot a production performance problem which often includes server-side tracing.
If any of my blog readers attended the presentation, I'd love to hear your feedback. I'm specifically interested in hearing constructive criticism. Speaking in front of people is not something that comes naturally to me. I plan on presenting in the future, so feedback on how I can do a better job would be very helpful. My number one problem is I talk too fast!
posted @ Thursday, February 24, 2011 10:50 AM | Feedback (4) |
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Copyright © Tara Kizer


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Merkel: no alliance with new anti-euro party
BERLIN (AP) — German Chancellor Angela Merkel is making clear her conservatives won't consider an alliance with a new anti-euro party if it enters parliament in next week's election.
The upstart Alternative for Germany party advocates an "orderly breakup" of the eurozone. Its chances of getting the 5 percent support needed to win parliamentary seats on Sept. 22 are uncertain though some polls have shown it as high as 4 percent.
If it succeeds, that could complicate Merkel's chances of continuing her center-right coalition — generating speculation about alternative alliances.
Asked in an interview Saturday with the daily Hannoversche Allgemeine Zeitung whether she's ruling out any pact with the new party, Merkel replied: "Yes. This question really does not arise."
Merkel has insisted on tough conditions in exchange for aid to eurozone strugglers.


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An investigation by the U.S. Energy Department has found that San Francisco engineering firm Bechtel may have committed a wide range of safety and health violations at a plant it is building to treat high-level radioactive waste at Hanford, Wash., according to agency documents obtained by the Los Angeles Times.
The Energy Department halted construction at the plant earlier this year in the wake of allegations that the treatment complex had fundamental design and construction flaws.
The Hanford plant is being built to treat an estimated 56 million gallons of radioactive waste created from about half a century of nuclear weapons production. The waste is stored in underground tanks. At least some of those tanks are leaking radioactive sludge, posing a threat to the nearby Columbia River and making the $12.3-billion treatment plant one of the most urgent environmental projects in the nation.
The investigation report, dated Nov. 13, found that Bechtel had failed to follow procedures, maintain safety margins, train workers and correct items that did not meet requirements, among other problems.


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Only hotels in 48332 zip code are listed below. Search for cheap and discount hotel rates in Farmington, MI for your upcoming leisure or conference / group travel. We list the best 48332 hotels and motels so you can review the Farmington hotel list below to find the perfect lodging. Hotels in Oakland county and area code 248 are also listed.
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Category talk:Top level
Its About 325am here at Noise Bridge and im a little bit irriated. Let me introduce myself. !st of my name is Brandon. Im the newish heavyset black mail hoping to become a member soon. As it has come to my attention there have been some things that have been taking off of the memers shelves recently. As I am a new member I would expect a lil bit of raised eyes in my direction. But tonight do to some misinformation I was horaving around a borederline of memebers only area in search of a missing item. I was confronted rather harshly by somehere and not in so many words acts to leave. Afeter that point. I returned to my work and begging digging in the "hackable" area. At this point another person comes up to me very rudly and ask ME WHAT WAS i DOING GOING THRU THIS AREA AND THAT WE DONT LIKE PEOPLE HERE GOING THRU THE "HACKABLE ITEMS" HE THEN PROCEEDE TO THE DOOR AND BASCIALLY HOVERED OVER ME STARING AND WATCH ME. aT THIS POINT i HAVE AN ATTIUE AND i WALK AWAY. tHE POINT OF THIS POST IS TO SAY THAT I FEEL OFFENDED AND I DESERVE AN APOLIGY FOR SOMEONE. iM new i GET IT BUT SHOW SOME RESPECT ABOUT HOW YOU APPROACH PEOPLE.


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By: Dr Lynda Kelly, Category: Museullaneous, Date: 12 Nov 2009
What is museum authority and why do we need to think about it now?
The demands of the "information age" have raised new questions for museums. It has been argued that museums need to move from being suppliers of information to providing usable knowledge and tools for visitors to explore their own ideas and reach their own conclusions because increasing access to technologies, such as the internet, '… have put the power of communication, information gathering, and analysis in the hands of the individuals of the world' (Freedman, 2000, p.299). Freedman also argued that museums should become mediators of information and knowledge for a range of users to access on their terms, through their own choices, and within their own place and time.
Research has found that visitors appreciated the role museums could play as authoritative, trusted and credible sources of information, and that they were accessed by a wide range of people (Cameron, 2006; Ellenbogen, 2002; Falk, Brooks & Amin, 2001; Lake Snell Perry & Associates, 2001). In research conducted looking at controversial topics it was found that visitors welcomed museums having exhibitions and programs on these kinds of topics as long as they could comment on them somehow (Kelly, 2006). At the time that research was undertaken the Internet was in early stages of development, a Web 1.0 environment with a primary focus on access to information (Seely Brown & Adler, 2008). Since that time the Internet has opened up a whole new way of engaging users, with Web 2.0 now giving access to people – where those with common interests can meet, share ideas and collaborate. Seely Brown and Adler feel that the most profound impact of the Internet is '… its ability to support and expand the various aspects of social learning" (2008, p.18) and therefore, I suggest, to solve problems together.
In the most recent edition of the Exhibitionist, Daniel Spock discussed whether museum authority is '... up for grabs ... or following a long trend line'. He notes that museums have always been participatory spaces, however, I believe that now the ground rules have shifted due to Web 2.0. Daniel also makes the pertinent point that 'If you invite people to really participate in the making of a museum, the process must change the museum' (2009, p.7, emphasis in original). Audience research has long been the way museums can invite and encourage participation, and the new tools of the web (such as Facebook and Twitter) can enable a more transparent two-way dialogue between museums and their audiences, as Ellis and Kelly (2007) stated 'Web 2.0 puts users and not the organisation at the centre of the equation. This is threatening, but also exciting in that it has the potential to lead to richer content, a more personal experience'.
Many years ago now, Stephen Weil said that museums need to transform themselves from '… being about something to being for somebody' (p.229, emphasis in original), and Spock notes that addressing this may be hard as '... a museum has to be willing to both listen and change' (p.8). In my view, social media provides the perfect vehicle to take this further, with the museum being about doing with somebody and well as being for somebody.


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This week's lesson has some more ideas for writing "on topic" for you, and another "quick take" on a common spelling error. I'd love it if you'd continue to spread the word—please tell any Beginner and Intermediate writers you know about these lessons, and encourage them to pop by. Advanced and Masters writers are certainly welcome to add to the discussion!
Quick Take—the word 'supposed' is often spelled incorrectly, especially when paired with the word 'to'.
Here's the correct usage:
You're not supposed to wear flip-flops to a formal wedding.
The most common error I see with this word is 'suppose to' (without the –d), but I've seen lots of other variants: suppost to…suppoze to…suppozed to.
Like many other common errors, this is an "ear" error; we write the phrase the way it sounds, and in the phrase 'supposed to', the 'd' and the 't' sort of become one sound.
Try substituting the word 'expect' for 'suppose' in your sentence. If you'd use 'expected', use 'supposed.'
As I mentioned two weeks ago, I'll be using the Writing Challenge Judging Criteria as a basis for the next set of lessons. If you're not familiar with them, I encourage you to visit that thread. The criteria for the Writing Challenge work for almost any kind of writing, and mastery of them is a great exercise for writers of all levels.
Now on to the second part of "writing on topic," where I hope to answer the questions left in the last lesson and to give some more insight into "on topic-ness". Let me start with a few "don'ts"—things that will cause the judges to mark your entry low in that judging category.
1. Don't contrive a way for your entry to be "on topic". Remember that the topics are all unified by an overall theme. The theme for this quarter seems to be something along the line of "the writer's life." I don't have a list of the topics, but let's imagine that an upcoming one might be "Inspiration". Well, inspiration is another word for breathing, but if I write a piece about a person with a breathing disorder, no matter how well I write it, it's not going to be 'on topic'. Keep the overall theme in mind, as well as the week's topic. Your idea may be clever, but it's not going to win.
I'll use an early entry of mine as an example of "cheating" the topic—the topic was "Car Trip" for a quarter where the theme was "Vacations" or some such thing. I wrote what I thought was a delightfully out-of-the-box entry about a gal who buys a toy CAR, and then TRIPS when she's carrying it. It was a CAR TRIP…get it? Nudge, nudge? That was overly contrived and only marginally on topic (if at all).
Here's another example—for the "Geography" quarter, one of the topics was "United Kingdom". Several people chose to write about God's kingdom, and how we should all be united. Well, yes…we should. But that really didn't fit in with the overall theme of "Geography."
One more: There have been many weeks when the topic word could also be a character's name. If it's a "weather terms" quarter, and the word for the week is "Gale", writing about a character named Gale is really not on topic. That goes for any word that has more than one meaning. Choose the meaning that seems to best fit the overall theme of the quarter—and THEN start to think out of the box.
2. Don't have an entry in mind, and then look for a way to squeeze in the topic. I've read many pieces where the writers seem to have a predetermined agenda, and then they stick the topic in there almost in an offhand manner. This happens most often in non-fiction works and devotionals, so if those are your preferred genres, you need to be especially careful about this. If you're really determined to write an entry about "God's Grace", and the topic for the week is "Hula Hoops", you have a choice to make. A) Write your piece, but find a way to make a hula hoop integral to your point (an object lesson, perhaps? A childhood memory?), B) Write about "God's Grace" but not for the challenge—put it in the Regular Submissions area, or C) Write a story about a hula hoop, and save the "God's Grace" story for another time.
The one thing you really shouldn't do is to write the entry by starting out "As I watched my daughter with her hula hoop, I thought about God's grace…" Similarly, don't write the entry, then stick a weak analogy at the conclusion: "So God's grace encircles us, just like a hula hoop…"
Fiction writers do this, too. Unfortunately, it's pretty obvious to the judges when the topic is an afterthought.
So…we're back to the question of how to write on topic in such a way to score maximum points on that criterion. When I was writing for the challenge, there was a question I'd ask myself at some point in the writing process:
Could I have written this same story without [TOPIC]? If the answer was 'yes', I'd re-evaluate; it may not have been as strong as it should have been for that criteria.
The "Colors" theme was one in which this really came in to play. If you'll allow me, I'll give you a few examples:
RED—I wrote about a struggling actor who becomes a "red shirt" in an episode of Star Trek.
BLUE—A new mother with "baby blues", but since that was pretty abstract, I also made sure her baby was a little boy, and included her irritation with his boring color palette.
BLACK—A little girl thinks her "bad" grandma gives her the horrible black jelly beans because she doesn't love her.
GREEN—The main character was a leprechaun. 'Nuff said!
YELLOW—A southern woman of the early 20th century is discovered to be "high yellow" (mixed race).
In all of those stories, the color was integral to the plot—and no other color would have done. I read lots of stories that quarter in which colors were interchangeable…an orange car may have been essential to the plot, but a green or purple car could have served the same purpose. And yet I didn't write about those colors…I wrote about an actor, a little girl, a newlywed wife.
It's tricky and a bit subtle, but the more you write for the challenge—and the more you read winning entries—the more you'll "get it".
That's enough for now. No homework assignment this week, but I'd love to answer your questions about writing on topic. What can I clarify for you? Any comments?


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Bahrain Citizens Official passport holders are exempted from visa for their travels up to 90 days. Ordinary passport holders are required to have visa to enter Turkey and they can obtain their sticker type visas at the Turkish border gates upon their arrival.
Turkish visa requirements for Bahrain citizens informations on this page was gathered from Republic of Turkey Ministry of Foreign Affairs - http://www.mfa.gov.tr. Information can be different by the time you are reading this page. For the latest information, visit Republic of Turkey Ministry of Foreign Affairs - http://www.mfa.gov.tr website.


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Hours are 10am-7pm Tues-Sat and 11am-5pm Sunday
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This service is intended for the students, faculty and staff of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, as well as members of the Milwaukee community.
If you are not affiliated with the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, we can reply to a query only if it directly concerns the holdings of UWM Music Library. Please contact your local public or academic library for help with your musical questions.
For a more complete description of the UWM Music Library and its services please click here.
We will respond as soon as possible. If you have not heard from us within three (3) working days, please call the Music Library at 414-229-5529.


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Car Review
2013 Chevrolet Caprice: Overview
- V8 provides ample power for passing, acceleration
- Roomy interior for front and rear passengers
- Rear-wheel drive preferred by enthusiasts
- Ho-hum styling won't turn heads like a Charger or 300
- Unless you're a fleet buyer, you can't get one new
- Surprisingly expensive, considering equipment
What's new: The fleet-only 2013 Chevrolet Caprice is largely unchanged for the 2013 model year. The large sedan went on sale in 2011.
The full-size Chevrolet Caprice sedan debuted for the 2012 model year. Most car shoppers won't be able to buy a new Caprice. That's because the sedan is only offered to fleet buyers - and, in particular, police departments. But used models will likely become available as they're retired by police departments and other fleet agencies.
Based on the Australian Holden Caprice, the rear-drive Chevrolet Caprice offers only two engines for the US market. One is a 301-horsepower 3.6-liter V6. The other is a 6.0-liter V8 that makes a muscular 355 hp and 384 pound-feet of torque. Known to enthusiasts as the "LS2," that's the same engine that powered the 2005-2006 Pontiac GTO and the 2005-2007 Chevrolet Corvette. Unlike the GTO and 'Vette, however, the Caprice is only offered with a six-speed automatic.
The 2013 Chevrolet Caprice V6 starts around $32,000 with shipping. Adding a V8 boosts the base price by a few thousand dollars. But most shoppers won't ever deal with the Caprice's new-car pricing, since it will largely be available only on the used market.