text:
Originally published in the Winter 2019 MLA Newsletter
The arrival of the MLA convention Program is something I have looked forward to since I joined the organization over three decades ago. The Program has changed over the years: following the redesign of PMLA, its plain brown cover has given way to a light gray one with a colorful image. Although the Program is now available to the membership in electronic format, I have to confess that I'm still attached to the print issue. Going through the whole issue page by page with red or blue pencil in hand is a journey through the changing landscape of our profession, including its desires and anxieties.
In 1985, the year I attended my first MLA convention in Chicago, debates in the profession revolved around the role of theory, especially poststructuralism, in the field of literary studies. Today, as even a cursory glance at the Program for the 2020 convention in Seattle indicates, our desires and anxieties have shifted. The theories that used to generate so much heat in the mid-1980s are now so embedded in the profession that the only disputes they create are about ends rather than means. The center of our intellectual attention has certainly moved elsewhere—to questions about the human or the species, environmental survival, law and rights.
Some of these preferences have, of course, been overdetermined by the presidential theme and its linked panels, but I suspect that they also reflect a collective sense of the precarious situation in which the humanities find themselves. The need to figure out how to manage the crisis in the humanities has certainly prompted the MLA to develop programs and forums to train and prepare its members for the changing professional landscape.
But amid this concern with survival and coping in precarious times, the MLA convention also showcases the kinds of stories and conversations that enrich us all. This year's convention features, for example, panels and sessions that recognize how the humanities, even though they seem to be under siege in the university, are thriving in public. The success of the humanities in the public sphere in the twenty-first century is evident in how communities across the country have come to embrace the mission of the national organizations charged with the protection and nurturing of the humanities, including the NEA and NEH.
Moreover, within the concentric circles that bring together scholars of literature and supporters of the humanities inside and outside institutions, there is an important, though not always acknowledged, binding force: our community of writers. We know that writers are important to literature because they provide us with the texts that are the bread and butter of our trade; we turn to them and their words of wisdom in times of cultural stress; we count on them to connect us with a reading public; and, above all, we turn to these masters of the word to help us think through the myriad issues that we face as we try to figure out what it means to be human.
For the January 2020 convention in Seattle, I have invited two distinguished writers to help us think about what it means to be human: Viet Thanh Nguyen, the author of the Pulitzer Prize–winning novel The Sympathizer, will help us understand the meaning of lives lived across and outside borders. And Charles Johnson, the author of the acclaimed novel Middle Passage, will remind us, once again, about the meaning of our shared humanity. Finally, since the twenty-first century marks the return of poetry to the center of public conversations, I will be delighted to present the Phyllis Franklin Award to Toi Derricotte and Cornelius Eady, the founders of Cave Canem, the sacred space that has taught us about the invaluable place of poetry "in the lives of people of all ages and backgrounds."


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https://www.ttiionline.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/soccer-ball-on-soccer-field.jpg 533 800 Nadia Minato /wp-content/uploads/2015/04/TTII_logo_2015_web3.png Nadia Minato2019-09-20 13:28:492019-09-20 13:31:41Nob Hill Soccer Club – Sunrise, FL
Nob Hill Soccer Club – Sunrise, FL
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The park was originally opened in October 2002 and is mostly open to the public except when the Sunrise youth soccer have their weekly practices during the fall/winter season.
The clubhouse is open all year
nd is used for many events including weddings. This year, the park underwent some improvements, including turf replacement on the 3 soccer fields.
We were pleased that Target Technologies was able to contribute to this project.

subset: commoncrawl


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text: NEW DELHI: The French government has rejected Indian negotiators' demand for a 50 per cent offset clause citing sharp cost escalation but offered to participate in 'Make in India' projects to carry forward the talks for 36 Rafale fighter jets that have hit turbulence. Defence sources said India's insistence on the offset clause, tweaking of weaponary technology and plans to set up two bases for Rafale fighter jets would lead to cost escalation. Offset policy was first introduced as part of the Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP), 2005, under which a foreign company has to invest back a portion of the deal into India. "The 50 per cent offset clause was part of the original tender that was floated for 126 fighter jets. The French President and Indian Prime Minister have now decided to go in for a direct purchase of 36 Rafale jets. So, how can 50 per cent offset clause be asked when the French are offering the fighters at the same rate at which its Air Force is buying," defence sources said. READ ALSO: Rafale fighter jets deal with France runs into problems How Narendra Modi reworked Rafale deal, and why it's a winner They added the French have instead offered to undertake 'Make in India' initiatives. "The French can look at the option for making Falcon business jets in India or even the Rafales for future besides other projects," the sources said, adding the French government has made it clear that their companies would like to be part of 'Make in India' initiative. The sources said the offset clause will simply drive up the cost of each aircraft. It is not just the offset clause that the French are worried about. Indian Air Force wants to integrate a Israeli helmet mounted display with the Rafale fighter jets besides tweaking the weaponry technology so that the aircraft can fire a missile other than what the Rafales carry. The missile, sources said is of American make. "The changes asked for are not like changing tyres in cars. It takes time, effort and money, all of which will again drive up the cost," the sources said.


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text:
The 2018 Arkansas Derby – Magnum Moon
April 10th 2018 – Updated April 14th 2018 6:26 PM CST
The last of the major Derby preps are coming up this Saturday at Oaklawn Park. I totally love the Arkansas Derby and Oaklawn Park but won't be able to preview it accurately as I will be in Las Vegas on vacation until Saturday afternoon.
Overall, from anticipated entries, this is Todd Pletcher's trainee Magnum Moon's race. I don't feel at this point that this Derby prep that any colt that can beat Justify, Mendelssohn or Bolt d'Oro. I don't even think that Magnum Moon, who I would make this Arkansas Derby's favorite, is even Todd Pletcher's best Derby hopeful at this point. That honor goes to Audible–the Florida Derby winner.
But we will see. I reserved judgement, for the most part, until all Derby preps are run. But barring some unexpected result, your top four Derby hopefuls at this point are: Justify, Mendelssohn, Bolt d'Oro and Audible. I do love Magnum Moon's pedigree so perhaps I may move him up my rankings with a great performance.
Below are the entries, post-positions, weights, jockey assignments and morning line odds:
The Arkansas Derby – 1 1/8th Mile – Race #11 at Oaklawn Park – Post-Time: 6:18 PM CST. Televised by TVG
Post/Horse/Weight/Jockey/Trainer/ Odds
1. Beautiful Shot (122) – Eramia/Desormeaux – 30/1
2. Machismo (118) – Spieth/Quartarolo – 20/1
3. Ten Fold (118) – Espinoza/Asmussen – 4/1
4. Dream Baby Dream (118) – Contreras/Asmussen – 15/1
5. Solomini (118) – Prat/Baffert – 2/1
6. Magnum Moon (122) – Saez/Pletcher – 8/5
7. Plainsman (118) – McMahon/Van Meter – 30/1
8. Quip (122) – Geroux/Brisset – 9/2
9. Combatant (115) – Santana Jr/Asmussen – 6/1
Update: No scratches to report. I liked straight Win bets on Magnum Moon but not at 1/2 or 3/5 live odds. A Place bet on Solomini might pay out as much, if not more, than a win bet on Magnum Moon. If this race has taught me anything the last five years, sometimes there are surprise performances. Although I think Magnum Moon will win, I am laying low and making a $2 Place bet on Plainsman at 99-1. And a $2 Exacta keying Magnum Moon over Solomini, Plainsman and Quip. That is 6 over 5,7,8. So $8 total bet.
On the Docket…
I am planning a big article for US Racing. Last year, one of my articles was the top viewed article on that site during Derby month. I hope to duplicate that accomplishment this year and I think you will enjoy it.


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Adrian Payne's memoir begins in 1940, with his early
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adventures on the Long Range Mountains. Told anecdotally, this charming memoir
illustrates a life will-lived on the Great Northern Peninsula, where women and
men worked hard from season to season and family always came first.


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Educators who work directly with English-language learners should play a major role in determining when, and if, the students no longer need the specialized services, newly issued guidance from the Council of Chief State School Officers recommends.
Close to 30 states rely on a single benchmark—results on an English-language proficiency exam—to determine which English-learners are reclassified as English proficient while only 15 states use teacher input or evaluation.
In the new guidance, authors make the case that relying on a single, high-stakes assessment is problematic, and that states should rely on two or more measures to determine when students exit English-learner status. Using multiple measures allows for "more robust reclassification policies and procedures," they argue.
Robert Linquanti, a senior research associate at WestEd, a San Francisco-based research group, and H. Gary Cook, Rita MacDonald, and Daniella Molle of the Wisconsin Center for Education Research, wrote the report.
"Professional standards of education and psychological testing clearly stipulate that high-stakes decisions regarding students—particularly education program placement and provision of services for English learners—should not be made on a single test score, and that 'other relevant information' constituting complementary evidence is warranted," the authors write.
"EL reclassification policies and practices can and should be strengthened, made more coherent, and standardized within states in ways that enable local educators ... to meaningfully participate in making reclassification decisions."
Robert Linquanti, a senior research associate at WestEd, a San Francisco-based research group, and H. Gary Cook, Rita MacDonald, and Daniella Molle of the Wisconsin Center for Education Research, wrote the report.
To develop a more complete picture of ELL students' English proficiency, the guidance offers sample processes on observing and analyzing how ELLs use language in the classroom—including how well they read, speak, listen, and interact with others.
"We maintain that additional sources of evidence complementary to large-scale annual ELP (English-language proficiency) assessments are necessary to ensure valid inferences and appropriate educational decisions for a group of students that are a protected class under federal law," the authors write.
Part of an ongoing effort to bring more consistency to services for English-language learners, the guidance is the latest in a series related to moving toward more common policies and practices to identify, classify, assess, and reclassify ELLs as former English-learners.
Here's a look at the guidance.
Related Stories
English-Language-Learner Classification Can Impede Student Growth, Study Finds
States May Move Closer to Uniform Way of Identifying ELLs
CCSSO Offers Guidance on Reclassification of English-Language Learners
ELL Assessment Group Moves Ahead on Standards, New Tests
New Guide to Help States Commonly Define English-Language Learners
Photo Credit: Andrew Echeverria, left, gets help from Joel Miller, a veteran educator who teaches a course for long-term English-learners at Fairfax High School in Los Angeles. The course was created to help students who have struggled to become proficient in English. --Emile Wamsteker for Education Week
A version of this news article first appeared in the Learning the Language blog.


text: From: "Spacetraveler" firstname.lastname@example.com Newsgroups: alt.religion.scientology,alt.clearing.technology,nl.scientology, de.soc.weltanschauung.scientology,fr.soc.sectes Subject: Is Andreas Heldal-Lund attempting to avoid delicate situations...? Message-ID: firstname.lastname@example.com Date: Thu, 10 Feb 2005 07:22:41 GMT Since early nov last year I have had 2 particular posts, I have been reposting them with various intervals, and I have been in particular nudging Andreas to get a reply from him on them. It is about this page where he talks about Fair Game and a SP/PTS pack from 1989 he claims that he has. http://www.xenu.net/fairgame-e.html I had found some inconsistencies on that page. They are laid out in detail in the following latest 2 reposts: Fair game again....conveniencies and leaving out data....Armstrong, Rice & Heldal-Lund. Course manual "PTS/SP COURSE - How to Confront and Shatter Suppression" 1989 edition He also failed to finish our discussion which you will find [here] Is he not responding because they are uncomfortable to them? It is my experience that the critics running around the ARS do not have much of a stand against someone who knows what he/she talks about. The general displayed behaviour is that these 'critics show up to spout their entheta, their ridicule or various empty claims or questionable associations of some data. And when they then face oppropriate opposition of something, they either joke about it, or they may say that they now have spent enough time on this (for example) crazy 'Spacetraveler' and they will killfile. Or they may disappear into thin air away from that discussion, only to show up somewhere else doing the exact same thing they always have been doing, spouting, ridicualing, attacking. In fact Barbara considered the ARS being a 'snakepit', I have changed my mind about that now. It is not a 'snakepit', it's a 'rathole'. You see, snakes kill to survive, to get food, just one bite and you are not aware of anything anymore. Rats however will bite you whenever they can, and wherever they want, and as often they please, and you will 'feel' these bites. If you are hurt, they will just continue, they will not stop... Back to Andreas... Does he not respond because he may have seen what happened with various of the ARS critics when they started to into battle with me. The latest exposure was Tory. You know, people want to on top of the other ones. Of course you have to keep away from those who may be a threat to you being that. Andreas will be nudged, and emails will be send to him directing him to these posts, and then we will see what kind of wood he is made of... and if he does not respond then we will also know where we stand where it concerns him... Spacetraveler


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4 Stars
Apr - Oct
24 Hours + Transit
Beginners, All
From £3350
Close to the world renowned dive sites of the Bligh Waters.
Hidden away in a perfectly idyllic setting on Fiji's northern sunshine coast, Wananavu is a four star island paradise experience with the easy convenience of still being on mainland. Just over 2 hour's journey from Nadi airport, on arrival at the resort you will be greeted by smiles and the biggest "Bula!" in the real Fiji. Whether you are looking for a scuba dive resort to get below the surface on the world renowned dive sites of the Bligh Waters, say "I do" in a beachfront wedding ceremony or just doze to a book, Wananavu Beach Resort will seduce you and keep you far from the maddening crowds found on Fiji's larger resorts.
Set amongst lush tropical gardens along the beach front and perched on the hill with endless views over the crystal clear waters of the Cakau Batidra Reef and Nanavu Islands, Wananavu's accommodation is designed so you can relax and feel rejuvenated by your tropical holiday. The 34 bures are all beautifully appointed, tastefully decorated and have a distinctively Fijian feel so you can escape from the modern world and truly relax as there are no TV's or radios in the rooms allowing you to switch off and surrender yourself to the lost art of relaxing.
Wananavu's chefs take pride in creating great dishes so that your dining experience will be a memorable part of your stay on this picturesque island resort. Glorious weather means you can choose to dine on the deck where you can take in the panoramic views of the clear blue Pacific Ocean and the lush tropical gardens. In the evening what could be more perfect than a drink on the deck while you watch the sun set and the ceremony of the lighting of the flares?
The resort has been designed with fun and relaxation in mind. With a range of free facilities and attractions for you to try on, you can choose to go on cultural tours with host interesting talks on the history and culture of the region, herbal medicine and the Fijian flora and fauna. If underwater activities are all you want then Dive Wananavu is able to showcase everything that makes the Bligh Waters legendary. As the only land based dive operation in Fiji that is able to offer on-site and on-demand NITROX, Dive Wananavu encourages you to take advantage and extend your time below.
Overlooking swaying coconut palm trees and the azure blue Bligh Waters you will find Wai Spa, this is the perfect place to indulge yourself and be pampered by the resort's professional staff.
Surrounded by a lush tropical garden Wananavu's Garden View Bures are the perfect place to unwind and enjoy your time in paradise. Tastefully decorated in Pacific style with timber floors and attractive artwork, the 4 one bedroom bures and 1 two bedroom bure are ideal for couples and family groups.
The sight of the ocean and the scent of flowering hibiscus, frangipani and proteas greet you every morning when you wake in the Ocean View Bures. Situated just above and below the main complex, the 14 one bedroom bures ensure privacy plus easy access to all Wananavu's facilities.
Wake to tropical sunshine and the sound of the gentle waves lapping the beach. Stroll to the water's edge and take a dip, go snorkeling, laze in a lounger, or relax in a hammock slung between two coconut trees. The 8 one bedroom Beach Front Bures are ideal for couples and small families.
A Fijian honeymoon is a dream come true with the Pacific Ocean as a backdrop, complete privacy and luxurious surroundings. You couldn't get a more romantic accommodation than the Honeymoon Bures.
Friday, 06 December 2013
Lured by the promise of world-class reefs and adrenaline-fueled shark encounters Marcelina Jesus ventures to the wild islands of Fiji.
Click the enquire button to make an enquiry for this resort or if you are interested in
a bespoke itinerary. One of our experts will discuss the products available
and create your personal itinerary.
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Reviews from our Clients, Journalists, Photo Pro's and our own Experts
Our reviews and blogs are an additional guide to evaluate if the holiday is exactly
what you are looking for or not. Some love an Eco-Resort, some love air-con and a flat screen TV,
we aim to ensure you get what you are looking for, at great value for money.
Click the enquire button to make an enquiry for this resort or if you are interested in
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and create your personal itinerary.
Volivoli Beach
Ra Divers is one of Fiji's longest established diving operations located on the grounds of the Volivoli Beach Resort in a small village north of Viti Levu called Rakiraki. This professional SSI Dive Resort was established in the 1980's offering a variety of dive packages for beginners and advanced divers.
Ra Divers crew are renowned for their local knowledge and expertise and the current managers have been running the dive centre for over five years. Their experience diving the Bligh Waters has allowed for superb dive sites to be handpicked for a truly unique experience. Most of the best sites are no more than 20 minutes by boat from Volivoli Beach.
Volivoli Beach is one of the best places in Fiji to learn to dive. Ra Divers have an open air classroom where beginners can get certified with a SSI open water diver course and then explore the shallow waters right off the sand spit.
Dive Packages : All dive packages are based on boat morning dives. When you book a package of 6 dives or more you can take advantage of free shore diving.
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The PADI Scuba Diver course consists of three main phases:
Knowledge Development (online, independent study or in a classroom) to understand basic principles of scuba diving – just the first three of five sections of the Open Water Diver course.
Confined Water Dives to learn basic scuba skills – just the first three of five dives of the Open Water Diver course
Open Water Dives to use your skills and explore – just two of four dives of the Open Water Diver course.
This is the most popular dive program in the world! And can be your chance to have a lifetime of intense adventures.
The PADI Open Water Diver course consists of three main phases:
Knowledge Development ( online, independent study or in a classroom) to understand basic principles of scuba diving
Confined Water Dives to learn basic scuba skills
Open Water Dives to use your skills and explore!
The most popular PADI specialty course. Scuba diving with enriched air nitrox gives you more no decompression time, especially on repetitive scuba dives.
You'll learn why diving with air that has higher oxygen and lower nitrogen content gives you more bottom time, along with enriched air equipment considerations. During a practical session, and two optional (or required) scuba dives, you'll:
Discuss managing oxygen exposure.
Practice analysing oxygen content in your scuba tank.
Set your dive computer for diving with enriched air nitrox.
Be a leader who mentors and motivates others. Gain dive knowledge, supervision abilities, and become a role model to divers around the world.
The PADI Dive master course teaches you to be a leader and take charge of dive activities. Through knowledge development sessions, water skills exercises and workshops, and hands-on practical assessment, you develop the skills to organize and direct a variety of scuba diving activities. Topics and practical workshops include:
The role and characteristics of the PADI Dive master
Supervising dive activities and assisting with student divers
Diver safety and risk management
Dive master conducted programs and specialized skills
Business of diving and your career
Awareness of the dive environment
Dive setup and management
Mapping an open water site
Conducting dive briefings
Organizing a search and recovery project and a deep dive
Conducting a scuba review and skin diver course
Assisting with Discover Scuba Diving and leading Discover Local Diving programs.


text:
By Anurag Bhide (https://medium.com/sporting-opinion)
I watched Liverpool's FA cup 4th round replay at West Ham featuring the heartbreaking 121st minute winner for the hosts, and was surprised when one particular news piece somewhere mentioned in passing that Liverpool played as many as 8 young or inexperienced players in the tie. Curiously it had not occurred to me at all during the game that so many youngsters were playing, but upon reflection did find it to be very much true. Smith, Ilori and Flanagan started in the backline (with Lucas also filling in there for that game, it was a very unusual backline it must be said), Stewart, Chirivella and Teixeira manned the midfield while Ibe started out wide and was joined by Divock Origi in the 59th minute.
Which adds up to a whole lot of inexperience on the pitch, but somehow did not seem like it during the game. Indeed, it did not seem to far from a regular first XI to me, so let's look at why that was.
Smith has been hugely impressive whenever given a chance this season. Flanagan, at 23, is not exactly a 'youngster' anymore, and was immense in our gloriously tragic title tilt two years ago. Ilori was only brought back from his unproductive loan at Aston Villa and put in because of the absurd number of injuries that have afflicted our assortment of centrebacks. Heck, even the emergency loan replacement, Steven Caulker, was out.
Ibe has been a first team regular for so long that it's easy to forget he only just turned 20 2 months ago. Origi, also 20, also doesn't feel like a young player since our striker crisis (himself included) has made every fit striker seem like a key player.
So it's only really central midfield where we had rested our first choice players without it being necessitated by injury. Joao Teixeira seems to be a bit of a late bloomer; at 23, that he hadn't established himself on the periphery of the first team could have meant him running out of chances at Anfield, but he's doing that this season. Which brings me to what were for me the most impressive performances of the game, from the two players in the engine room of our side. Not only did Kevin Stewart and Pedro Chirivella last 120 minutes, they did it without looking a single bit out of place or out of their depth, against a side that is sixth in the PL, and 4 points above ourselves. Add to that the fact that even the attacking midfield support in the shape of Teixeira and Coutinho was withdrawn just under the hour mark, and the duo were left to fend off the opposition themselves for over an hour to support an extremely lopsided attack comprising 3 strikers plus Ibe, and that they did so with aplomb makes their performance all the more impressive.
All of this made me wonder why such a side with 8 youngsters didn't feel like an inexperienced side, and the answer probably has something to do with the number of outings these players have had in recent months thanks to the spate of injuries across the board as well as the number of matches we have had to play through our progress in the cups especially via replays. This finally led me to look at our entire squad, and the number of young players is staggering. Here I'm breaking down the squad position-by-position into the following age groups — Young/Potential first team players (players 23 and under), Approaching their prime (24 to 26), In their prime & over the hill (27 and above). These definitions have been applied a bit loosely, in that Coutinho & Moreno have been classed as approaching their prime on account of being first-choice, while Flanagan, Ings, Teixeira are bunched with the youngsters, although all of them are 23. I am not including other young players here who haven't featured much yet, or are out on loan, but only those that have already broken through this season.
|Young/Potential first team players
|Approaching their prime
|In their prime & over the hill
|Jon Flanagan (23)
Brad Smith (21)
|Alberto Moreno (23)
Nathaniel Clyne (24)
|Jose Enrique (30)
|Tiago Ilori (22)
Joe Gomez (18)
Andre Wisdom (22)
|Mamadou Sakho (25)
Dejan Lovren (26)
Joel Matip (24)
|Martin Skrtel (31)
Kolo Toure (34)
|Central Midfield
|Emre Can (22)
Marko Grujic (19)
Kevin Stewart (22)
Cameron Brannagan (19)
Jordan Rossiter (18)
Pedro Chirivella (18)
|Jordan Henderson (25)
Joe Allen (25)
|James Milner (30)
Lucas Leiva (29)
|Attacking Mid/Winger
|Jordon Ibe (20)
Lazar Markovic (21)
Joao Teixeira (23)
Luis Alberto (23)
Sheji Ojo (18)
|Philippe Coutinho (23)
Roberto Firmino (24)
|Adam Lallana (27)
|Divock Origi (20)
Danny Ings (23)
Samed Yesil (21)
Jerome Sinclair (19)
|Daniel Sturridge (26)
Christian Benteke (25)
Mario Balotelli (25)
The first thing that strikes you looking at the table is that there are just 6 players that can be said to be in their prime or over, out of which one (Enrique) is persona-non-grata at Anfield and another (Toure) is 34 and out of contract in the summer. That means save for 4 players, every single one has the potential to improve.
Starting with the fullbacks, we have 4 between the ages of 21 & 24, and at their best, they have proved to be good enough to get into the Champions League spots. Inconsistency is the issue to be sorted here, something that ideally should be resolved on the training ground and this looks a position that does not need transfer money to be thrown at.
Between Sakho, Lovren and Matip, there is the definite potential for a formidable regular defensive partnership, with a backup that's not too big a drop in class. Skrtel should slip into the Kolo Toure role of senior centreback dusted off for cup ties while hopefully injury does not rob Joe Gomez of the immense potential he has shown early in the season. Ilori and Wisdom, sadly, do not seem to be developing into Liverpool standard players, but hopefully either can be convinced to stick around as a sticking plaster in case of emergencies.
There is a goldmine of talent in central midfield. Marko Grujic is supposed to help us forget about Dele Alli next season, while the sooner Can (or Klopp) decides if he's a destroyer or a shuttler, the better it will be for everyone. I'm hoping Stewart can become a Francis Coquelin story for us, while there is huge potential in Brannagan, Chirivella & Rossiter.
In attack, we need Coutinho, Firmino & Lallana on the pitch together frequently. Ibe's highs are very high and lows are very low, while Markovic's numbers this season at Fenerbahce aren't too shabby either. There are a number of other options like Teixeira (not that one) and Alberto there as well, but we need to assess in the summer if they can make the step up to first team standard, or need to be jettisoned.
Up front, the situation is much the same. Ings & Origi haven't been fit long enough to be properly assessed, while opinion remains divided on Benteke. For me, he deserves more chances even if he's not performing currently as I still believe if he clicks, the potential there is immense. Sturridge is an expensive luxury and should be treated as such. He cannot be relied upon. Sadly, it looks like Sinclair won't be extending his contract.
In summary, NO MORE SPENDING ON YOUNG POTENTIAL PLEASE! Our roster of young players is certainly good enough for the near future; it's the first team that's in need of upgradation. Midfield especially is chock full of talent, as is the attack. If anything, one young centreback wouldn't go amiss, and if they decide Teixeira & Alberto aren't good enough for us, then in attacking midfield as well. But that apart, the time has arrived for FSG to move away from their strategy of investing in talent that has the potential to pay off in the future and start thinking about the here and now.
What we really need to invest in is upgrading the first team regulars. A centrehalf in Matip is already lined up, but upgrades on Milner, Lucas & Allen, that will slot right into the starting XI are an absolute must. Benteke is perhaps a miss, Sturridge isn't there most of the time and Balotelli is Balotelli, so plenty of surgery needed upfront as well. And I'm not even going to talk about Simon Mignolet. It's only the attacking midfield that presently looks good enough to compete at the level we want to, thanks to our two Brazilian tricksters.
The raw materials for the future are already there in the squad, all they need is to develop alongside each other and reach their full potential. As much as I hate saying it, there is something to be learnt from Spurs here. Many of them were written off as expensive flops, but thanks to some patience and good work on the training ground, they are in the title race, and it is on the back of their young brigade. For instance, last season, they had an impressive young pairing in midfield in Mason & Bentaleb and this season they've done even better with a new young pair in Alli & Dier. That's the kind of youth development we should be focusing on, working with what we have rather than constant chopping and changing.


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Hurricane vs. Tornado: What's the difference? What's the difference between a hurricane and a tornado? By Storm Shield Meteorologist Jason Meyers.
Hurricane Size Comparison - We compare the sizes and power of hurricanes, tornadoes, typhoons & cyclones, from a tropical storm to a category 5 hurricane such as Hurricane Irma, Hurricane Andrew & Hurricane Katrina, and even go beyond what you'd expect!
Incredible footage from space shows massive lightning storms in Hurricane Irma - All these flashing yellow dots are lightning storms.
Why a storm surge can be the deadliest part of a hurricane - It can start before a hurricane even makes landfall.
St. Martin Islanders Survey Hurricane Irma's Destruction - Two residents from St. Martin island's two nations, the French St. Martin and the Dutch St. Maarten, describe Hurricane Irma's destruction.
Sunday, September 10, 2017
Interesting Facts about Hurricanes
Labels: Educational, Hurricane Irma, News
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Martin Luther King, Jr., would have been 82 this month, and his assassination occurred nearly 43 years ago. As we get further and further from that time, memories get fuzzy and a kind of collective amnesia sets in, as Vincent Harding has observed, some of it deliberately promoted amnesia. So, the question is how to remember King clearly and to see that amazing moment in history that he participated in through a sharp and focused lens? Three things come to mind.
First of all, King was a radical. Not the venomous kind that promotes reckless violence against innocent people; quite the opposite. King was a radical in his criticism of the root causes of injustice, and in his brilliantly imaginative vision of a different, more just and humane world. For example, King did not just urge protesters to be non-violent, he urged politicians and governments to be non-violent. In 1968 he took a brave stance against the war in Vietnam, in a speech in New York City's Riverside Church, that cost him some of his liberal supporters. He criticized the injustices of capitalism: persistent poverty, inadequate aid to workers and the poor, and growing wealth disparity. Let us remember he died demanding not simply integration, but labor rights for striking sanitation workers in Memphis.
Secondly, King was not a king. He was not a superhero who rushed in to singularly rescue black people from the evils of American racism. He acted in concert with others, many others, some of them with longer careers in social justice struggles than himself. There is a famous analogy in King's Nobel Prize acceptance speech, one he used many times, in which he compares his work to that of a pilot guiding a plane. The pilot is important, King concedes. However, that safe journey could not be achieved without the sometimes invisible work of a very skilled and committed ground crew. I might chose a slightly different analogy, but the point is an important one. As Ella Baker was fond of saying, "King didn't make the movement, the movement made King."
King understood this. We cannot build a movement for social justice by hanging our hopes on a single charismatic leader, no matter how articulate, committed, and brilliant he or she may be (not King and not Obama).
Individuals change their minds, and their loyalties. They get assassinated. Most fundamentally, individuals are only as strong as the collectives and communities that surround them, that keep them safe and honest and grounded and accountable. So, celebrations of King have to go hand in hand with celebrations of the maids and porters students and teachers who struggle tirelessly in what we now term the civil rights movement.
We have to also remember the folks like Ella Baker, who was an activist and strategist for over 50 years in groups fighting racism, poverty, and repression. And Fannie Lou Hamer, who had no formal education and lacked the credentials that King enjoyed, but who was one of the most courageous and revered leaders in the civil rights movement of the South. And, of course, there are white activists like Anne Braden, who dared to stand up for justice and freedom at the risk of being attacked and ostracized in her own southern community.
Finally, part of remembering King's legacy is remembering the dangers of political repression and vitriolic persecution. Recent events in Tucson come to mind. King lived under a constant fear of assassination because his visibility and outspokenness made him a target. But something else made him a target, too: The way in which his critics vilified him, attributed sinister motives to his actions, called him un-American and a danger to the traditional values of our nation.
Those folks are outliers now, but they were not outliers in King's time. They were politicians and editors, civic leaders and sheriffs. The violent rampage that left six people dead in Arizona last week and many others injured was carried out by one troubled man. However, he chose a political event and targeted a politician. And he did so in a climate where that same politician had been a literal bulls-eye on political hit list. When violent metaphors are used to "target" opponents we should not be surprised when one disturbed person takes the bait.
But here is a sad and troubling irony: Tea party organizers can bring guns to rallies and put their political rivals under bulls-eyes on websites and have that accepted as legitimate political activity, while non-violent activists who criticize government policy are under attack by the FBI. I refer here to the Supreme Court decision in June against the Humanitarian Law Project, which essentially criminalized their efforts to offer conflict resolution training to people immersed in violent conflicts around the world. This decision made it a crime to provide "material support" to any organization the government designates a terrorist group, but established a ridiculously broad definition of support. The ruling has been the basis of FBI raids on the homes of activists who support Palestinian rights and oppose the U.S. war in Afghanistan. The people the FBI is targeting do not advocate the use of guns or even own them; they advocate peace and justice.
King, too, was a peace activist who supported anti-colonial struggles and was under constant FBI surveillance. His phone was tapped, his mail was opened, he was followed and watched. People he trusted were enlisted to spy on him. Government agents plotted how to undermine his leadership, especially as he moved more toward the left.
So, let's remember three things this MLK Day: the honorable tradition of progressive democratic radicalism that looks deeply and widely at the causes of injustice and tries to root them out; the danger of investing all our hopes and dreams in a savior-type leader; and the persistent danger of witch hunts that seek to silence and intimidate dissidents and make everyone else afraid to come to their aid.
In King's words, "Change does not roll in on the wheels of inevitability, but comes through continuous struggle. And so we must straighten our backs and work for our freedom. A man can't ride you unless your back is bent." Instead of praising King for battles already fought, let's look around at the pervasive injustices that still exist, from the obscene disparity in wealth to the abandonment of our educational institutions. From the unchecked growth of prisons for the poor to the escalating oppression of the Palestinian people in Israel and Palestine. Let's pay tribute to King, and Baker and Hamer and all the others who fought the good fight by building a sustainable movement for a more just and humane world.
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Good day everyone,
Decided to throw together another state of the game/community for World of Tanks Console. This time covering something that's been a bit of a longstanding issue between the console versions developers, Wargaming Chicago-Baltimore, and the community that is concerned about the direction they are taking the game. Hopefully this can help provide a better picture of what is going on than the few snippets of news I'm able to post. With that, let's get started.
For the majority of World of Tanks Console's life we've followed our PC counterpart, at least in terms of content. We saw releases for tank lines in the same manner as PC, even down to order. Tanks were moved, renamed or reshuffled to be virtually identical to our older brother, though there were a few tweaks as time went on, the Aufk. Panther was made into a Premium for those who had it in their garage upon the introduction of the SPC.1C, the KV-85's 122mm gun kept the old rate of fire of the KV-1S when it was a Tier 6, and so on. Eventually the motto for World of Tanks Console, at least according to its developer, was that "we are and always have been a completely separate entity". To be honest it's actually not a bad idea. The playerbase is different, the hardware has its own unique limitations, such as supporting a 12 year old console, and improvements could be made upon the template which PC has set, and for a while things looked that way. Crew training was simplified, reducing the crew to a single commander (with XP earnings adjusted to allow a number of crew skills to be trained in a reasonable amount of time) and the penalty of switching between classes in Premium tanks was removed, making crew training even less of a hassle. Credit earning also received a boost, allowing players to advance along the lines at a quicker rate, fitting the shorter amount of time console players tend to stick with any one game before another release.
Not a bad start, a few quality of life improvements to suit the more casual player, and if they carried that sort of thought through development I might not be writing this now. I am however, as it's become increasingly apparent that the idea of us being "our own game" is a bit of a fallacy, both in theory and in practice. Our reliance on PC server builds perhaps can't be helped. Ignoring balance issues that have been around for years in the name of "being unique" certainly can be.
The questionable decisions of WG Chicago have caused a bit of debate within the community, though that may be putting it lightly. The question simply is:
Are we our own game, or is WarGaming Chicago using that an excuse for lazy development?
A "Unique" Approach to Balance
The catalyst for this would be the recent announcement of the Grille 15 coming to console. A welcome addition, looked forward to by many players as a replacement for one of the most toxic machines in the game, and arguably a better one. Then we received the news it would be sharing space with the old Waffentrager at Tier X. The response is exactly what you would expect, some were outraged, some defended the decision. WG defended the decision with the reasoning that they didn't want to take away a favorite tank from people (also used to justify the Lorraine 40t staying in the tech tree) and they wanted new players to have access to it.
Then the stats for the Grille were released. Virtually identical to its introduction on PC. Same alpha, 750. Same rate of fire, 3.64. There was one issue though, here is a quote from the last live Q&A with one of the game's Lead Designers:
…we look at all the changes that PC does and we're inheriting and compare them with how tanks in our ecosystem are doing and then make the call on a per tank basis. This tank gets this, but doesn't get this, we're going to add this…
The Grille received none of that attention. It's a 150mm gun with 750 alpha entering a version of the game where Tier X TDs never received the alpha nerf they received on PC. Aside from the Foch 155, we still have 850 alpha. Though upon release a bizarre inconsistency emerged when viewing the tank in the consoles module viewer, with average damage for ammunition listed as 817, though right next to it the ammunition stats show the damage range for AP being consistent with 750 alpha.
A year ago the FV4005, and its accompanying line, were introduced with post-nerf view ranges. 4005 came into a game of 400 meter view ranges with 390. A year later view ranges had finally been nerfed, but the machine is still a far cry from being competitive when other options are a Waffentrager E-100 with a 6-shot clip and a FV215 183 with unnerfed mobility and HESH penetration (with no plans for that changing).
So now we're here with a Grille coming into the game already gimped against its peers, and even it's own Tier 9 leadup, as the Waffentrager Pz. IV has an unnerfed view range 20 meters greater than either of its Tier Xs. Will it perform poorly? Maybe not. That's not the point though. The point is that WG refused to properly balance it for our game before its introduction, even after flat-out saying that's not the case.
Of course even on the rare occasion that they do attempt to balance a tank before release they manage to get it wrong. STA-2 was tested and released with the exact same stats from its PC release. Supertest pushed for it to receive preferential matchmaking, which it got, only for the tank to get the same buffs it did on PC about a month later. It still has the preferential matchmaking, and I can attest that it performs spectacularly in that environment. The same case occurred with the Panther 8.8, another Tier 8 that received preferential matchmaking even after it never needed it.
The result of this copy/paste method of balancing tanks has lead to a confused mess of gameplay. Corridor maps prevail as much as they do on PC, and manage to be even worse, as camouflage is virtually nonexistent on console. PC players coming to console can tell you that a passive spotting location from PC will be gone on console, being inhabited by a single bush (that may not even have a camo bonus) or completely barren. This has created a harsh environment for anything that has neither armor nor alpha, in particular light tanks. Lines with poor acceleration, such as the AMX autoloaders, are now forced to active spot and brawl alongside M41s and T-54 Lightweights, as passive spotting is almost impossible even on non-urban maps. The problems of lights being out spotted by mediums and TDs is even more prevalent, and lights trying to stay alive while active spotting are usually destroyed before long, leaving artillery untouched unit the mediums and heavies break through.
This particular case could have several solutions, eliminating outdated hardware aside. View ranges across the board could be nerfed, allowing lights to outspot their competitors. Thought the inevitable introduction of Tier X lights might complicate that down the line. Perhaps a buff to the camo values of scouts, somewhat lessening the blow of the far more barren maps. Would they work? Who knows, but it's a direction that could be taken, and it's certainly more than WG Chicago have done to address the issue.
A "Unique" Approach to Mechanics
Something that can be tied to balance, but warranting its own point, as changes in core mechanics are something that can be noticed even by the most casual of players. Before consoles update 3.5, the developers at WG Chicago had made it clear that they thought very little of PC's introduction of enhanced physics, with Creative Director TJ Wagner even going so far as stating that tank flipping is the "stupidest feature ever" despite the benefits that light tanks, forced into active spotting roles on maps strewn with rubble as to not overload our older hardware, and other classes would have now that they wouldn't be stopped by every curb or rock. If you're a console player you know that regardless of Wargaming's opinion on the matter, the update came, as the physics update was set in the server version we updated to. Rather than work to keep them out a compromise was reached and the tanks would now flip after 10 seconds (though it has many issues, from not recognizing a tank merely on its side, to also allowing what would otherwise be a dead tanker to escape even while being shot at).
It's not the first time something like this has happened either. There have been several cases on the forums where a certain requested feature has been answered with "We need to update the server version to the equivalent on PC", and it raises certain questions. The most glaring is how can we be considered an entirely separate game when we're so irrefutably tied to PC? When we don't even have the independence to decide which mechanic changes we bring over the idea of WoT Console being able to stand on its own seems ludicrous. Only time will tell if this also ends up being the case with 9.18's artillery changes. The console devs have shown they either don't quite grasp the idea or are misrepresenting it to their console audience, and don't seem keen on importing it over (or addressing the issue of artillery at all), though the possibility remains that it will be forced in with a server update.
A "Unique" Approach to Content
One of the more glaring issues in WG's attempt to distance themselves from PC has been its ideas on the key component to World of Tanks, that being the tanks themselves. I've gone over the console team's love of gaudy paint jobs on their Premium tanks, but the question still remains: Why? Why after so many request are Premiums being brought over from PC with permanent camouflage patterns that the player is forced to pay real money for? Especially when some of that content is so haphazardly put together?
One of the first examples, and perhaps most troubling, would be the Cromwell Knight. For months the console community expressed interest in the PC's Berlin Trio, especially the Cromwell B, as it was at a time that console had few UK premiums. After months of we finally heard what we'd been waiting for, we'd get a premium Cromwell. It wouldn't be the B though. What we got was this thing:
Nobody asked for that. Not one single player who bothered to voice in on the matter wanted a Cromwell with a giant Union Jack paint job that they couldn't cover. The sting of this wouldn't be quite as bad if not for this statement from the last Twitch Q&A:
Will we ever get the Cromwell B?
TJ- We already have too many Cromwells in the game, so I always put it down on the TBD list.
Complete disregard for the community's requests, all in the name of putting a "unique" spin so it can be called original content. Both of the premium Cromwells (one of which is a Tier 6 light tank) were both console ideas implemented far after the community expressed its desire to see the proper Cromwell B, it's nobody else's fault but their own that there are "too many Cromwells" (even though the addition of Heavy Tank No.6 alongside the Hammer and Tiger 131 will lead to three premium Tiger 1s in addition to the tech tree Tiger). This is a pattern repeated across nearly every premium tank released since June of 2016. A premium tank can't simply be released, but needs a WG Chicago exclusive camo while the unmodified version is held up for months (despite TJ's claims as that being a 'choice', forcing players to buy something they don't want or to wait for months is stretching the concept of choice a bit).
Why is there this obsessive need to put you're own stamp on it first? Even after the community has largely expressed that they either don't care or outright hate being charged full price, plus the gold price of camo, for what on PC would essentially be a skin mod. Even attempts at "historical" based content are rife with errors that could have easily been avoided. One of the most blatant examples being Tiger 131, perhaps one of the most famous tanks in the world (for those who are interested in the subject anyway), but Wargaming couldn't even bother to look at the massive amount of reference material out there to get the model right:
One of the most photographed tanks in the world, and still details like that are allowed to slip through. Another example was Wargamings attempt at introducing a "German Captured KV-1" which most will tell you was something along these lines:
A KV-1 with a German 75mm and commander cupola. Looks nice, it unique, and the idea of strapping German parts onto Soviet tanks is well within WG Chicago's ability, as they proved with the T-34-88.
Instead we got a reskin of the tech tree KV-1, granted one with a paint job inspired by history, but with a unhistorical armament, despite the photographs clearly showing the armament:
Given this absolutely neglectful attitude to history and player requests, perhaps its not surprising that WG Chicago hasn't taken steps towards being a unique entity with the implementation of a unique tech tree line. There's plenty of material, and as the Czech and Swedish lines have shown, you can get quite a bit from what may at first seem like a long shot, to say nothing of tank rich nations already in game such as the U.S. or the Soviets (though most of those tend to end up as premiums it seems). WG also stated their stance on implementing a tech tree:
Some players have suggested adding Italian tanks into the other tech trees.
TJ- Yeah, I saw that. I thought it was a really good idea.
Could it open the door to an Italian tech tree?
TJ- Possibly. If PC adds an Italian tree we can add it along with how we're adding other nation tanks now.
So rather than try to make something truly unique, they would rather wait for PC's team to do the leg work of organizing tiers and modules, instead possibly destroying any potential tech tree by seeding premiums into other nations.
So in short, we're a separate entity that is completely at the mercy of PC's server building. Rather than using our freedom to balance and refine the game for a console's hardware and playerbase they'd rather copy/paste PC tank stats and bring in new machines into a field completely different from the one they were balanced for, and neglecting problematic or neglected tanks for months or even years. Instead of taking full advantage of their artists and the wealth of research material available to create new and interesting content, they'd rather piece together bits of other tanks and pretend it's totally new, such as the T-34-88, or bringing up something long forgotten from supertest and pretending it's an unique creation, as with the AMX Chaffee. Even worse, taking something long desired on PC and tacking it on in order to look better than their parent company, which most of you have likely figured I'm referring to the Chieftain.
World of Tanks Console is not a unique or wholly separate entity from its PC parent. Something like World of Tanks Blitz is more fitting. It has its problems, but its content and game play are at least somewhat more tailored to its audience, with smaller maps and teams leading to quicker battles for mobile users on the go (and the limits of the hardware). At best, we on console a repainted version of the PC, a reinterpretation of things already done before with a few new splashes of color. Graffiti spray painted onto a piece that while not perfect is at least attempting to be improved. Worse yet that graffiti is now used to justify an equal or greater price than the original.
It is a shame, as a truly passionate team could use the freedom of being on a new platform to create a truly great game, or use the vast amount of research material available to embrace the subject matter, as the era the game covers is rarely seen on consoles these days. Instead WG seems content on taking advantage of console players more casual attitude towards games, dismissing the PC team's attempts to fix longstanding problems, and creating gimmicks to draw in players on the weekend rather than craft a game that can retain them. As time goes on the waning interest of the playerbase continues to demonstrate this point. Knowledgeable players leave the active community, and 4 year old shooters draw in bigger crowds than even the most tempting free premium tank. How long will this go on? Only time will tell. Perhaps it's that a marginal number of paying players can sustain such a backwards and minimal approach to development. For a lot of us though, it's a disappointing path to take.


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|The newly-renamed court's facilities are said
to be "literally out of this world" ...
Star Chamber here
Star Trek here
|The newly-renamed court's facilities are said
to be "literally out of this world" ...
Being a child of the 1970s I grew up watching repeats of the original Star Trek before the concept of a split infinitive was ever even remotely introduced to me.
And of course, according to the Oxford University Press, the rule is based on a fallacy :-) (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/150458.stm)
For the record, the latest USS Enterprise was upgraded to include some funky extending/retracting seat belts in the latest film.
Is there any rational reason that it couldn't have just been the "Intellectual Property Court"?
What if I want to protect my rights but I am not enterprising, do I need to go somewhere else?
PCC renamed the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court and the abbreviation (IPEC) has been coined. A brief check reveals, UK 2538689 IPEC registered covering 'Legal advice; legal services; intellectual property services'in class 45 in the name of Clarke and Hartland Solicitors of Cardiff. Clarke and Hartland use IPEC as their Intellectual Property advice service.
You would perhaps have thought that the PCC/IPEC might have checked?!
Whatever it is called, it still seems to be lacking its judge... I hope Mr Justice Birss's replacement will emerge soon!ReplyDelete
Here's an anagram for any academic IP lawyers who are considering applying to be judges of IPEC:
Pert Lecturers to Plenipotentiary Lucre
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These photos can be directly accessed through one of our print stations and we are able to incorporate any branding/logos you may chose. This is a great way to gain company/brand exposure, with the option to share the images instantly through our Social Sharing App also.


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Most of us end up with a handful of people who remember us. Teachers have thousands of people who remember them for the rest of their lives. I've been lucky to have had dozens of memorable teachers, and one of the first was Miss Molineux. Miss Molineux was young, enthusiastic, and kind. We were not just the seven year olds she taught, but her devoted fan club. She drilled us in multiplication, encouraged our developing reading, and stayed late to play cricket with us after school. To this day if I have to multiply 8 by 7, a whiff of Miss Molineux's perfume and 56 are simultaneous events.
Thirty years later I found myself teaching sums to would-be GPs. MRCGP exam candidates badly needed some remedial teaching in the basics of clinical epidemiology. It was, I'm afraid, classic pre-exam cramming with course attenders taking home a folder as "a living monument to temporary knowledge." Pretty quickly I became aware that teaching and learning numbers was a tricky business for both parties.
A small study found about 5% of US medial students scored zero or one when faced with three simple sums. When information on treatment choices was presented in different ways (relative risk reduction, absolute risk reduction, etc.) only 60% could provide a quantitative answer. Being able to do simple sums and simple clinical epidemiology were linked. I reckon it's at least 5% who struggle, and there are a few kind, intelligent, and hardworking doctors out there coping with unrecognised, but serious dyscalculia. Of course, numeracy is a two-way street. About 70% patients scored zero or one on the same simple sums, and patients with poor numeracy skills have significantly worse anticoagulant control.
Sometimes, perhaps a few times a week, we need some numbers. Anticoagulation reduces the relative risk of stroke by 60% in atrial fibrillation. That's impressive; most people would love to reduce their risk of a really bad thing happening by over half. But someone with AF and a Cha2DS2-VASc score of 3 has about a 3% annual absolute risk of stroke. So if a 1000 people with a Cha2DS2-VASc score of 3 don't take anticoagulation, in a year 30 of them have a stroke, but 970 don't. If we anticoagulate all 1000 people, 18 of the 30 people who would have a stroke don't, but there are still 12 people who have strokes despite anticoagulation. Without a crystal ball, we can't predict whether the patient in front of us will be one of the 970 who would be fine without treatment, would be one of the 18 we help, or one of the 12 who we try and help but don't.
Based on my experience, developing the skills to optimally convey risks and benefits using natural frequencies is a minority sport. Visual depictions can help this, but it's not an intuitive skill for most people. Shared decision making looks like another social movement, but I fear lots of us need the fragrant Miss Molineux and her times tables to make a comeback.
Competing interests: I declare that I have read and understood the BMJ Group policy on declaration of interests and I hereby declare the following interests: Employed part time by the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence.
Neal Maskrey's early career was as a GP before spending seven years as a medical manager and part time GP. After twelve years as a director of the National Prescribing Centre and programme director at NICE, he is now honorary professor of evidence-informed decision making at Keele University, and consultant clinical adviser in the Medicines and Prescribing Centre, NICE.


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A quick programming note, there's a new name around the site these days. Brad Butner has joined the TechVirtuoso team. I've known Brad for over 10 years now, and worked with him at Neowin and on another website before that. He's currently a developer for a major nationwide ISP, living in Washington state. We look forward to his valuable input.
On another note, I want to apologize for the lack of updates recently. A variety of personal/work issues have kept us all away from regular postings, that should all change next week.


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INTERVIEW! Mark O'Donovan and Shane O'Driscoll: Irish lightweights going heavy for Olympic goals.
Mark O'Donovan and Shane O'Driscoll are the 2017 world champions in the lightweight men's pair, training in New Zealand for 6 weeks along with Rio Silver medalists in the lightweight double, brothers Paul and Gary O'Donovan. We were lucky enough to catch up with the lads while they were here, and chatted to Mark and Shane about their plans for the 2018 season, including a switch to the heavyweight pairs event…
First things first, how do you like New Zealand?
Mark: Love it, great hospitality from the locals, and the weather was good until today, its pissing rain now so. but that's just to remind you of home, it's still nice and warm though
Shane: The rain drops directly down horizontal rather than vertical stuff we get at home
Okay, so good rain then?
Mark: Yea it is good, its actually still warm even when your drenched
Shane: I suppose like, usually in January and February for us like its snowing at home at the moment so no way would we get 2km racing in this time of the year, its just always long miles and stuff, so it's great to I suppose a taste of that early in the season
Is that the goal of the camp, to get a bit more top end conditioning that you usually wouldn't get at this time of year at home?
Shane: Absolutely yea and hopefully help us when we go back to Europe for the first world cup and the second world cup you know I suppose we are living on cobwebs
Mark: We'll have a head start on everyone, it's like getting 200m up on someone in the race so
Have you found it easy getting set up over here, and getting everything you need for training?
Mark: What can you say, Concept2 they're a great company you know, we got on to Bob over and he directed us to Kate who passed us on to Gary (C2 NZ), Gary gave us whatever we wanted and arranged all the chauffeuring of oars so
Shane: and no shortage of grips!
Mark: Yea, Gary was quite surprised at how hard we are on the grips
So, in your book, if you're not changing your grips every two weeks you're not doing it right?
Mark: Haha yea, but the selection is there, you can row whatever you want compared to other companies that may only have one or two shafts or one or two blades. The design and the robustness of the stick is absolutely brilliant you know.
Shane: We wouldn't use anything else
Mark: We've been looked after that's for sure
Speaking of Concept2 (funny that), what are your thoughts on the Concept2 indoor rower?
Mark: It's a very good training tool when you can't get out on the water.
Shane: We had been stuck on it for weeks on end at home, never got on the water for weeks. I don't know if we've just gone soft in our old age or something but…
Mark: You do get incredibly fit on it because you can't hide away from it you know? But the machine is, like the Concept2 machine compared to any other machine is like the C2 is the gold standard and everything else is really, does it even come within 60% of actually being as good, so if not even worse, so that's their own fault, so yea delighted to be able to use them yea.
This year you've switched from the lightweight pair to the heavyweight pair, other than getting 'heavy' does much change in terms of your approach to your race, do you race it any differently do you think?
Mark: Um I suppose that's something that will have to be decided then and there on the day but we're not really going to approach it any differently. We'll still try and make sure training is going better and make sure we're getting the adaptations we are looking for and then we'll just race it as we're going to do really. We don't really focus on how we are going to race, we might have a few little things to work on, but generally its going stable really. You can't really stop Shane when he gets going, he doesn't want for much except to give that oar abuse!
Shane: It's just when I get going.
Mark: He likes saying 'don't treat the oar like it's your mother' you've got to treat it mean you know, to get the return of it.
What have you got your weight up to now if you don't mind me asking?
Mark: I was doing well, I was over 80kgs up until a few days ago really. I suppose since our coach Dominic Casey came over, he's been driving a lot of training onto us so yeah, we've just been doing too many kilometers really and we're all wrecked and we're all tired and just dropping off the weight, probably loosing a bit of body fat which is no harm. We were a bit fat in the belly there, couldn't really rock over but the arms are getting smaller, the belly is getting smaller.
Shane: But it was a good thing that Dominic did see that we were putting on a bit of weight and he was saying that we were like well-fed calves. He was saying we were so big our bellies were getting so big that we couldn't rock over and things, and I think that kind of frightened him a bit. But I suppose he's used to dealing with lightweights anyway.
Coming from an event with a weight cap and being told what you have to weigh, to an open weight category, is it hard to work out what your race weight should be?
Mark: I mean with good reason we're not going to be as heavy as most of the heavyweights out there, realistically, because we're probably going to be the shortest in the field.
Shane: It will take time like, I mean you know this is our first year. We decided back last November to go heavyweight so you know, we're not doing too bad as it is now. We'd always like to be heavier but it will take a bit of time, it's like losing weight it takes time to put it on as well.
Shane (stroke) and Mark race the Men's Premier Pair at the 2018 New Zealand National Rowing Champs
Is the goal of going to heavyweight and making this change, to target an Olympic category boat and get to Tokyo?
Mark and Shane: yea that's right
Was it a bit of a disappointment for you when the lightweight four got cut from the Olympics? Is this a plan B to targeting that event?
Mark: There are various plans going on every year, plan A, B, C …plan A never works out. But um you know I suppose it was a great event, it was great to watch it, we never really competed at a high level in it so I don't have a personal attachment to it.
Would that have been the logical place for you in terms of the Olympic program up until now?
Mark: It would have been a very good prospect yea, and it would have been easier because we've got a lot of good u23 lightweights and you know they are coming up an awful lot, but ah yea I think it's the only way to go really.
Shane: We can't really control that you know, that decision was made and we just have to accept that and not dwell on it really.
I think a lot of people are really interested in decisions people like yourselves make, making the choice to go heavyweight or to switch to sculling, now that an Olympic berth in the lightweight four isn't an option. Is there quite a bit of interest in how you are getting on?
Mark: Yea. Of course, and it will be interesting you know. We're not going to be expecting to light the world on fire right away
Do you think having lightweights come in could make heavyweight rowing better? World-class lightweight rowers have a reputation for skill over strength, do you think that is something they will bring with them that will benefit heavyweight rowing?
Mark: There would be at times I imagine. But then it's also you know, they've got a massive advantage with levers and being bigger and their physiology is much better but like yea know at the end of the day most of them have to be told what to do so a lot of them can't really adapt to many of the situations that are given to them so, we always like to say that they're bungalows, they've nothing upstairs so its be nice to take on a few of these lads really.
Shane: We won't know until we get really stuck in you know and into some racing at home, just get it going and we'll see then you know. Last season we kind of changed our racing style a little and the stroke this season and I'm sure it'll happen again this year and the following year you know. Always just changing and seeing how we can go as fast as we can from A to B really.
What's the heavyweight program like in Ireland, have you got some talent coming through? Could there be a four in the future?
Shane: It's developing, I guess you know it's an area that we are really trying to pick up
Mark: It's been gone since 2008, and there was really nothing around for a couple of years then it's really only junior and U23 year levels that you might have something but a lot of them kind of fall off the rails again. But hopefully there will be some of them around that could push us on a bit and you know kind of try to edge away for seats and stuff like that as well you know.
There was a big representation of Irish rowers at the last world champs, Paul (LM1X) and yourselves won gold, and of course Paul and Gary got the medal in Rio, was that a boost for the sport at home?
Mark: With regards to numbers yea, so there's a massive influx in young athletes all the younger age groups, just a lot of numbers coming into the clubs. I see it with the bit of coaching I do in clubs around Ireland. A lot of them used to go recruiting but they don't do that anymore because its broadcast on national television, and there are just people flooding down to their local clubs they are having to turn away a lot of people. So it's good for the younger generation, and it will take some time to filter up.
Shane: I think school rowing is huge here as well, at home it's not as big, we rely on clubs really for developing youngsters you know.
After your stay in New Zealand you are heading to Australia? What are your expectations of Australia?
Mark: Much worse or much lower than what they are of New Zealand! Just a bit warmer weather at this stage is looking better, but hopefully its not so warm that we can't even step outside you know. We'll see, we don't want to be training too early in the morning either you know, but yea we'll take it as it comes, we did the longest stint here for a reason and that has been serving us well, but we're going to enjoy it really.
Shane: We're looking forward to it yea
Well it wouldn't be often that you get down here would it?
Mark and Shane: no no no
Mark: I think it's all our first times
Shane: Yea we're excited!
What did you like most about New Zealand?
Shane: The mountains, the hills, the lakes, the rivers, just fabulous scenery
Mark: Yea all of that
I hear you quite liked the Pineapple lumps, and Jelly Tip and Hokey Pokey Ice Cream?
Mark: Yea pretty good! That licorice ice cream was great too, Lewis road chocolate milk is fairly solid.
Shane: Yea it's all pretty good.
Next stop for Mark and Shane is the Australian Rowing Nationals from 19th-25th March.
All the best lads, we look forward to following your progress over the 2018 season!


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DAMAC Properties Offers 24% Rental Guarantee
Luxury real estate developer DAMAC Properties has launched a 24% rental guarantee on selected units in Dubai, providing peace of mind to investors looking to capitalize on attractive prices in the Dubai real estate market.
Owners will be able to receive eight percent a year returns for the first three years following the handover of the units.
"We strongly believe that Dubai is set for stable growth in the medium term and we are backing that up by offering a 24% rental guarantee to give reassurance to buyers," said Niall McLoughlin, Senior Vice President, DAMAC Properties. "Eight percent a year return for three years is at the top end of any real estate market in the world and we are the only luxury developer in Dubai currently offering such a secure investment proposition."
"We have seen quite a bit of scaremongering in the market in recent months which can have a detrimental effect on sentiment in the market. By providing such a high, tax-free offering on our units, we are putting our head above the rest and underwriting any fluctuations that may occur down the line," added McLoughlin. "When you also factor in the potential for capital growth, I don't know of a better, more secure property investment opportunity anywhere."
While some recent reports have pointed to a softening in the market, Knight Frank's The Hub reports showed that a US$3 million investment in Dubai real estate would be worth US$4.8 million in today's market – more than any other global city including London, Paris, New York, Hong Kong, Singapore and Sydney.
The projects included within the 24% rental guarantee are: selected villas at AKOYA Oxygen and AKOYA by DAMAC master developments, DAMAC Towers by Paramount Hotels & Resorts (A, B and D), NAIA Ghalia, DAMAC Maison Majestine, Merano Tower, Paramount Tower Hotel & Residences, DAMAC Maison Privé (A and B), and NAIA Vantage.
As of 30th September 2015, DAMAC Properties has delivered 14,375 homes and has a development portfolio of over 37,000 units at various stages of progress and planning.


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Yes, indeed, Australia is a fantastic place. Come visit us!
Author GoH at Phoenix Comicon; 2010 Appearance Plans in General
Posted on September 4, 2009 Posted by John Scalzi 23 Comments
As noted by this tweet from the organizers, I will be author guest of honor at the 2010 Phoenix Comicon, in (wait for it… ) Phoenix, Arizona, over Memorial Day weekend (May 27 -30 for those of you not in the US). It should be a lot of fun. Their Twitter feed has the details on the rest of the guests, and the Web site apparently will be updated with the whole list on Friday morning.
This is also a fine time for me to note that aside from the Phoenix Comicon, I have no real plans to attend any other science fiction convention in 2010 as a working guest (i.e., doing panels and such). The reasons for this:
- Travel, writing and other scheduling conflicts causing me to turn down invitations;
- No new novels scheduled for publication in 2010;
- A bit of burnout from having attended a dozen conventions in the last couple of years.
I am looking into scheduling a couple of non-con appearances, and we're also hoping very much to get to AussieCon4 next year, because, hey, Australia. If we get there, it's a pretty sure bet I'll do panels, etc. But otherwise, barring an extraordinary change of circumstances that requires me to throw out my plans for next year and start over, this is pretty much it. So if you'd like to see me do my thing, Phoenix is the place you want to be in 2010.
23 Comments on "Author GoH at Phoenix Comicon; 2010 Appearance Plans in General"
Great! You'll be in Australia, but in Melbourne? Dang.
"No new novels scheduled for publication in 2010…."
*sigh* So we should be thinking 2011 or later for "High Castle"?
"High Castle" currently belongs in the "it's done when it's done" category.
Well, that's the thing. If we're going to go all that way, we're not just going to stay five days in one city. So we need to make sure we can take time to go other places too.
You'll be sure to get at least one fan! (not that would be me!) I'll travel the 14 hours (by car) to Melbourne… YAY DO IT!!!!
What the hell was I writing… "(not that would be me)" Disregard last insane post.
you'll be sure to get at least one fan (that would be me!!) I'll travel the 14 hours to Melbourne… Also you really *should* do the coastal Drive Melbourne to Sydney (or reverse) then you can do a book signing in my home town on the way OK? Thanks! I'll be sure to arrange that for you!!! :)
How about Bradfordcon? You could hold a convention right in town. Boost the local economy and you wouldn't have to travel very far.
There's the minor problem of no lodging in Bradford, don't you think?
Details, details. There was no lodging at Woodstock, either.
As a resident of Phoenix I'm looking forward to seeing you then. You do realize though it'll be around 102 degrees at that time.
Coming to Phoenix? Yay!
In late May? Hope you like heat.
On the upside, I understand you have a fondness for In-N-Out Burgers, and we do have those here.
Five days devoted to sightseeing in Australia (which obviously won't be your actual time budget, given that, well, there's a con going on, too) is a totally inadequate time to see even a tenth of what's there.
I spent ten days there last year, visiting my old homestead in Miranda, the Cronulla area, Sydney, the Blue Mountains, Cairns and the Great Barrier Reef, and felt I just scratched the surface. It's a cotton-pickin' continent, chock full of strange animals and intriguing history.
Unfortunately, given the economy and our current household budget, doesn't look like I'll be able to make this con, though I'd dearly love to able to combine that with some more looks at what Australia has to offer.
It seems unlikely I'll be doing any programming outside on a street corner, so I think I can handle the heat just fine. Also, you know. Grew up in Southern California and worked for five years in Fresno. I know from heat.
Scalzi-stock? When and where?
Sounds like you're set – according to the stats, May in Phoenix is about like July in Fresno. And honestly most folks never really have to deal with it – you run from an air-conditioned building, to an air-conditioned vehicle and back to an air-conditioned building.
That said, I still remember the day it hit 122F and they had to shut down the airport because the takeoff/landing tables only went to 120F (since corrected).
Four or five weeks in Australia should be enough time for you to scratch the surface of as many as half a dozen areas — or so I found around the time of the first Oz WorldCon. (No, I couldn't afford it then, but I'll never regret having done it anyhow.)
That was a rather long time ago, of course, and I'm told that the country has changed considerable — no longer can you expect that, if you discover after the plane that brought you to Alice Springs has departed for Darwin that your baggage hadn't been unloaded, the (sole) person working at the airport will get on the radio and have the plane return to deliver your gear. (Yes, that actually happened, though,to be honest, there were about a dozen of us in that predicament.)
And I suppose that, if you were to set part of some future book in Australia, you could claim all your trip expenses as an Income Tax Business Deduction, instead of just the portion covering the Convention itself. Mind you, spending a month in a country doesn't enable one to come even close to understanding it. (Actually, a whole lifetime isn't enough for some of us, though we might be able to fake it reasonably convincingly.)
This news just made my day! PCC is a great con; the organizers love what they do, and it really shows, year after year. Hopefully moving from Mesa (one of the suburbs of Phx for those who don't know) to their new venue in Phoenix itself works out well; I know it will give them some much-needed additional space. I just have one question:
Does this mean there will be a Scalzi/Wheaton Rock Band-a-thon?
I hope you don't mean you've only got 5 days in Oz? Sheesh. It'll take that long to get out of the car park at the airport.
Seriously though if you really only have 5 days Sydney and Adelaide are the closest big cities at about 1 and 1/2 hours flight each from Melb. Everywhere else you're starting to look at longer flights which will take up most of the day with transfers n'all. Otherwise if you fly into Melbourne and out of Sydney you can have interesting drive from Melbourne to Sydney (inland or coastal).
We do have it all though. Beaches, mountains, rain forests, deserts and sheep. Somewhere in the country it will be summer and elsewhere it will be winter (Melbourne).
Whatever you decide I think you'll have a ball. We'll make sure of it.
Besides Phoenix has a dry heat, not like here in New Orleans althought NOLA in May is very nice. NOLA in August, thats rough!!!
I was kind of wondering how you managed so much travel and convention appearances. I'm still unpacking from Confusion in January. (j/k) I guess you're human after all.
I have a vision of a few hundred Scalzi fans, arriving in Bradford in twos and threes, seating themselves on the front lawn facing the front porch. When the great man comes out to get the newspaper, the crowd looks up expectantly but remains silent.
Of course, that may not be John's vision. (Or not *vision*, exactly.)
Coolness, John. They treat guests REALLY well. Wil has been out here a couple of times and had a blast. Looking forward to seeing you in AZ.
The Wil Wheaton Rock Band event is definitely in the works and lots of good stuff with Scalzi. We've definitely got more room for programming and panels plus we can schedule stuff at the hotel where we won't have to vacate the place at midnight!
Lee Whiteside
SciFi Director, Phoenix ComiCon.