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While engineers and designers feverishly worked overtime on the advancement of a four-passenger sports car they code-named the F-car, the Chevy public relations, advertising and marketing group prepared the world for the introduction of an automobile they called the Panther.
All through the summer season of 1965 essentially every aspect of the car's design and development, from initial design sketches to clay designs, was photographed and thoroughly recorded. Chevy used the assets to produce a 30 -minute film The Camaro for sale in Charles City VA , which was later shown on TV and in movie theaters. They also introduced females's clothing called the Camaro Collection and even a Camaro roadway race video game.
Chevy Camaros For Sale
In November, Chevy sales executives and imaginative people previewed prototype designs at the GM Tech Center. Campbell-Ewald, Chevy's age-old ad agency, right away began work on catalogs, direct-mail advertising and sales promotion materials, along with print, outdoor and TV/radio marketing. In April 1966, at the New york city Car Show Interview, Chevrolet sales executives confessed no name had actually been selected for the new car, however did announce that pricing of 1967 Chevy Camaro for sale in Charles City VA design will be in the Corvair-Chevy II range.
Throughout early 1966 Chevy agonized over a name for its Mustang-killer. GM's upper management was nervous about the aggressive undertones of the Panther name. A comparable bout of cold feet would later on cause the Pontiac version, code word the Banshee, to be renamed Firebird. Over its brief life time, the F-car had been called by numerous names including Wildcat, Chaparral, Commander and Nova. It's likewise reported that Chevy considered using the letters "GM" in the name, and developed G-Mini, which progressed into GeMini and finally Gemini. However, GM's upper management vetoed the concept, fearing the car might be a failure.
Automotive legend has it that somebody at Chevrolet lastly proposed the name Camaro and upper management quickly agreed. Although the name has no genuine significance, GM researchers apparently found the word in a French dictionary as a slang term for "buddy" or "companion." It's rumored that Ford Motor Company researchers likewise discovered other meanings, consisting of "a shrimp-like animal" and an arcane term for "loose bowels."
Because a number or pre-launch products had currently been released using the Panther name, Chevy's most pressing obstacle was to now relabel their new Mustang killer, the Camaro. Camaros are found in Charles City VA by looking for classic car dealers.
Once inside dealers in most metro locations, purchasers were alleviated to not one but 3 Camaro designs. Chevy made every effort to provide their largest dealerships with a base sport coupe, Camaro RS and a Camaro SS convertible. The strategy was an extension of the imaginative method used in Chevy's national ads which showed all three Camaro designs under a tag line, "How much Camaro you desire depends on just how much driver you want to be."


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Looks like Brand New Condo is no longer available on Rent.com which means this information is likely out of date.
Brand new condo.
Brand New. Great location. 2nd floor unit. only $1100 per month. owner is very flexible on terms.
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subset: commoncrawl


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Curator Photo Wall Mounting System
We've seen many grid-style photo walls and photo mounting techniques here at AT, and it's safe to say we tend to like the look and functionality of casual, swappable photo displays. The Curator Company has designed a simple wall mount for 4 x 6 photos that relies on a non-damaging adhesive and the tension produced by bending the picture slightly to put your snapshots on display.
Each picture is hung using two mounts, that are aligned with a guide provided with each set. The adhesive can apparently be re-used, but the mounts might not work with photos printed on regular paper or that have been damaged by moisture.


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such as "Introduction", "Conclusion"..etc
Fiorillo et al. [15] associated the presentation of five different visual stimuli to macaques with the delayed, probabilistic (pr = 0, 0.25, 0.5, 0.75, 1) delivery of juice rewards. They used a delay conditioning paradigm, in which the stimulus persists for a fixed interval of 2s, with reward being delivered when the stimulus disappears. After training, the monkeys' anticipatory licking behavior indicated that they were aware of the different reward probabilities associated with each stimulus.
Figure 1a shows population histograms of extracellularly-recorded DA cell activity, for each pr. TD theory predicts that the phasic activation of the DA cells at the time of the visual stimuli should correspond to the average expected reward, and so should increase with pr. Figure 1a shows exactly this – indeed, across the population, the increase is quite linear. Morris et al. [16] report a similar result in an instrumental (trace) conditioning task also involving probabilistic reinforcement.
By contrast, at the time of potential reward delivery, TD theory predicts that on average there should be no activity, as, on average, there is no prediction error at that time. Of course, in the probabilistic reinforcement design (at least for pr ≠ 0, 1) there is in fact a prediction error at the time of delivery or non-delivery of reward on every single trial. On trials in which a reward is delivered, the prediction error should be positive (as the reward obtained is larger than the average reward expected). Conversely, on trials with no reward it should be negative (see Figure 1c). Crucially, under TD, the average of these differences, weighted by their probabilities of occurring, should be zero. If it is not zero, then this prediction error should act as a plasticity signal, changing the predictions until there is no prediction error. At variance with this expectation, the data in Figure 1a which is averaged over both rewarded and unrewarded trials, show that there is in fact positive mean activity at this time. This is also evident in the data of Morris et al. [16] (see Figure 3c). The positive DA responses show no signs of disappearing even with substantial training (over the course of months).
Worse than this for the TD model, and indeed the focus of Fiorillo et al. [15], is the apparent ramping of DA activity towards the expected time of the reward. As the magnitude of the ramp is greatest for pr = 0.5, Fiorillo et al. suggested that it reports the uncertainty in reward delivery, rather than a prediction error, and speculated that this signal could explain the apparently appetitive properties of uncertainty (as seen in gambling).
Both the ramping activity and the activity at the expected time of reward pose critical challenges to the TD theory. TD learning operates by arranging for DA activity at one time in a trial to be predicted away by cues available earlier in that trial. Thus, it is not clear how any seemingly predictable activity, be it that at the time of the reward or in the ramp before, can persist without being predicted away by the onset of the visual stimulus. After all, the pr-dependent activity in response to the stimulus confirms its status as a valid predictor. Furthermore, a key aspect of TD [17], is that it couples prediction to action choice by using the value of a state as an indication of the future rewards available from that state, and therefore its attractiveness as a target for action. From this perspective, since the ramping activity is explicitly not predicted by the earlier cue, it cannot influence early actions, such as the decision to gamble. For instance, consider a competition between two actions: one eventually leading to a state with a deterministic reward and therefore no ramp, and the other leading to a state followed by a probabilistic reward with the same mean, and a ramp. Since the ramp does not affect the activity at the time of the conditioned stimulus, it cannot be used to evaluate or favour the second action (gambling) over the first, despite the extra uncertainty.
We suggest the alternative hypothesis that both these anomalous firing patterns result directly from the constraints implied by the low baseline rate of activity of DA neurons (2–4 Hz) on the coding of the signed prediction error. As noted by Fiorillo et al. [15], positive prediction errors are represented by firing rates of ~270% above baseline, while negative errors are represented by a decrease of only ~55% below baseline (see also [14,18]). This asymmetry is a straightforward consequence of the coding of a signed quantity by firing which has a low baseline, though, obviously, can only be positive. Firing rates above baseline can encode positive prediction errors by using a large dynamic range, however, below baseline firing rates can only go down to zero, imposing a restriction on coding of negative prediction errors.
Consequently, one has to be careful interpreting the sums (or averages) of peri-stimulus-time-histograms (PSTHs) of activity over different trials, as was done in Figure 1a. The asymmetrically coded positive and negative error signals at the time of the receipt or non-receipt of reward should indeed not sum up to zero, even if they represent correct TD prediction errors. When summed, the low firing representing the negative errors in the unrewarded trials will not "cancel out" the rapid firing encoding positive errors in the rewarded trials, and, overall, the average will show a positive response. In the brain, of course, as responses are not averaged over (rewarded and unrewarded) trials, but over neurons within a trial, this need not pose a problem.
This explains the persistent positive activity (on average) at the time of delivery or non-delivery of the reward. But what about the ramp prior to this time? At least in certain neural representations of the time between stimulus and reward, when trials are averaged, this same asymmetry leads TD to result exactly in a ramping of activity toward the time of the reward. The TD learning mechanism has the effect of propagating, on a trial-by-trial basis, prediction errors that arise at one time in a trial (such as at the time of the reward) towards potential predictors (such as the CS) that arise at earlier times within each trial. Under the asymmetric representation of positive and negative prediction errors that we have just discussed, averaging these propagating errors over multiple trials (as in Figure 1a) will lead to positive means for epochs within a trial before a reward. The precise shape of the resulting ramp of activity depends on the way stimuli are represented over time, as well as on the speed of learning, as will be discussed below.
Figure 2 illustrates this view of the provenance of the ramping activity. Here, a tapped delay-line representation of time since the stimulus is used. For this, each unit ('neuron') becomes active (i.e., assumes the value 1) at a certain lag after the stimulus has been presented, so that every timestep after the stimulus onset is consistently represented by the firing of one unit. Learning is based on the (dopaminergically-reported) TD error, formalized as δ(t) = r(t) + V(t) - V(t - 1), with V(t) the weighted input from the active unit at time t, and r(t) the reward obtained at time t. Updating the weights of the units according to the standard TD update rule with a fixed learning rate, allows V(t) to, on average, represent the expected future rewards (see Figure 1 caption). As each subsequent timestep is separately represented, TD prediction errors can arise at any time within the trial. Figure 2a shows these errors in six consecutive simulated trials in which pr = 0.5. In every trial, a new positive or negative error arises at the time of the reward, consequent on receipt or non-receipt of the reward, and step-by-step the errors from previous trials propagate back to the time of the stimulus, through the constant updating of the weights (eg. the error highlighted in red). When averaging (or, as in PSTHs, summing) over trials, these errors cancel each other on average, resulting in an overall flat histogram in the interval after the stimulus onset, and leading up to the time of the reward (black line in Figure 2b, summed over the 10 trials shown in thin blue). However, when summed after asymmetric scaling of the negative errors by a factor of d = 1/6 (which simulates the asymmetric coding of positive and negative prediction errors by DA neurons), a positive ramp of activity ensues, as illustrated by the black line in Figure 2c. Note that this rescaling is only a representational issue, resulting from the constraints of encoding a negative value about a low baseline firing rate, and should not affect the learning of the weights, so as not to learn wrong values (see discussion). However, as PSTHs are directly sums of neuronal spikes, this representational issue bears on the resulting histogram.
Figures 1b,d show the ramp arising from this combination of asymmetric coding and inter-trial averaging, for comparison with the experimental data. Figure 1b shows the PSTH computed from our simulated data by averaging over the asymmetrically-represented δ(t) signal in ~50 trials for each stimulus type. Figure 1d shows the results for the pr = 0.5 case, divided into rewarded and unrewarded trials for comparison with Figure 1c. The simulated results resemble the experimental data closely in that they replicate the net positive response to the uncertain rewards, as well as the ramping effect, which is highest in the pr = 0.5 case.
It is simple to derive the average response at the time of the reward (t = N) in trial T, i.e., the average TD error δT(N), from the TD learning rule with the simplified tapped delay-line time representation and a fixed learning rate α. The value at the next to last timestep in a trial, as a function of trial number (with initial values taken to be zero), is
where r(t) is the reward at the end of trial t. The error signal at the last timestep of trial T is simply the difference between the obtained reward r(T), and the value predicting that reward VT - 1 (N - 1). This error is positive with probability pr, and negative with probability (1 - pr). Scaling the negative errors by a factor of d ∈ (0, 1], we thus get
For symmetric coding of positive and negative errors (d = 1), the average response is 0. For asymmetric coding (0 d pr = 0.5. However, δT is positive, and concomitantly, the ramps are positive, and in this particular setting, are related to uncertainty, because of, rather than instead of, the coding of δ(t).
Indeed, there is a key difference between the uncertainty and TD accounts of the ramping activity. According to the former, the ramping is a within-trial phenomena, coding uncertainty in reward; by contrast, the latter suggests that ramps arise only through averaging across multiple trials. Within a trial, when averaging over simultaneously recorded neurons rather than trials, the traces should not show a smooth ramp, but intermittent positive and negative activity corresponding to back-propagating prediction errors from the immediately previous trials (as in Figure 2a).
Enter the code exactly as it appears. All letters are case insensitive.


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Bacterial cell culture
From OpenWetWare
- Glass culture tubes with metal caps and labels
- Medium from media room or customized
- Fireboy or Bunsen burner
- Glass pipette tubes
- Motorized pipette
- Micropipettes and sterile tips
For a typical liquid culture, use 5 ml of appropriate medium. The amount in each tube does not have to be exact if you are just trying to culture cells for their precious DNA.
- Streak an agar plate from glyerol stock. Incubate plates overnight in the 37 °C room.
- Take your plates from the warm room. Take an aliquot of the [Endy:Preparing Antibiotic Stocks|antibiotic](s) needed from the freezer, and set it on the bench to thaw.
- Flame a glass pipette, open the bottle of medium and flame the mouth, measure out the amount you need to fill your tubes, flame the cap and recap the bottle as quickly as possible.
- Remove the tube cap, flame the top of the culture tube, pipette in 5 ml, flame the top of the tube, and cap it.
- Pick up one colony by tapping a small 0.1 microliter pipette tip (on a pipette) on the surface of the plate. Uncap a tube, flame the top, eject the tip into the tube, flame, cap. You can also use a sterile toothpick for transfer, but this method gives a clear indication of which tubes have been inoculated.
- Pipette the desired amount of antibiotic into each tube along the wall. Do not put the non-sterile part of the pipette inside the tube and use a new tip for each tube.
- Vortex each tube for 1-2 seconds to mix well.
- Take the tubes to the 37 °C room. Turn the rotating rack off using the dial to decrease the speed. Do not use the switch because the motion is too abrupt. Add your tubes in a balanced layout. If you have an odd number, there are extra tubes for balance in the box on the floor next to the machine. Dial the machine back up to 7.
- Wait overnight or until your cells have reached the desired concentration.


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Strange Waters: A Conversation with Bruce Cockburn
A recent post at Pop Dose devoted to "If I Had a Rocket Launcher" reminded me of this interview I did with Bruce Cockburn nearly four years ago. Time flies. This conversation was originally published in Issue 14 of Beyond magazine and is republished here with their permission.
• • •
"If ever there was a need for a Jeremiah to come along and to rant at us, it's now."
I actually laughed when he said it—partly because, in context, it was funny (he laughed too); partly because it's exactly the type of thing one expects to hear from Bruce Cockburn, a songwriter who has devoted the bulk of his four-decade career to documenting our many strange failings and fears. The temptation when writing about Cockburn is to transform him into just such a prophet, to imbue his songs and his public persona with a moral seriousness that unfairly eclipses all that makes his music so wonderfully human. If Cockburn's characters, like the Old Testament Jeremiah, occasionally weep and wail against some approaching doom, they are just as likely to be touched by humor or mischief or lust, and they nearly always manage to transcend the circumstances of their daily lives, if only for a moment.
Cockburn also writes great love songs and plays a mean guitar.
After studying at the Berklee School of Music in Boston and gigging with a string of rock bands around Ottawa, Cockburn released his first collection of original material in 1970. His list of accomplishments since includes more than 25 albums, eleven Juno Awards, three honorary Ph.D.s., and a membership in the Canadian Music Hall of Fame. Cockburn has also been honored for his humanitarian work, which has taken him, among other places, to Nicaragua, Mozambique, Cambodia, communist Europe, and, most recently, Iraq. Each experience has eventually found its way into songs like "If I Had a Rocket Launcher," which rages against the injustice of America's military intervention in Central America, or "Last Night of the World," which marvels at an encounter with "hope among the hopeless."
Violence shone a different light on everything
Suddenly it's repression, moratorium on rights
What did they think the politics of panic would invite?
Person in the street shrugs — "Security comes first"
But the trouble with normal is it always gets worse
— The Trouble with Normal" (1981)
Cockburn is finally home again. In June 2003, he set off on tour in support of his latest CD, You've Never Seen Everything. It's a typical Bruce Cockburn album: a collection of songs built from journalistic images and virtuoso musicianship that documents our world with equal measures of wonder, anger, awe, and exasperation. The post-9/11 world, these songs suggest, is a place of grave danger, irrational fear, and, as Cockburn sings in the title track, "unbelievable indifference." But there is also, despite it all, a blossoming potential for spiritual and political awakening. "I'm still here," Cockburn intones on the opening cut. "I'm still here."
After nearly a year-and-a-half and multiple swings through North America, Europe, and Australia, Cockburn's tour wrapped in November 2004, the same month that saw the re-election of George W. Bush. Given the timing of our conversation and the content of You've Never Seen Everything, the U.S. presidential election seemed a logical place for us to begin.
Beyond: Does the political climate in which you're touring affect the shows in any specific ways?
Cockburn: Normally not, really. I guess it obviously affects the mood of the audience to some degree, but I don't notice that when I'm on stage. I mean, people are into the show or they're not. And most of time they are, so that's what you feel, more than the specifics of what they brought with them.
But it affects me, too. I wasn't totally surprised by the outcome of the election, but obviously it was disappointing. We have to live with what we have to live with for the foreseeable future. Another four years is going to take a long time to correct. We're going to be living with the Bush world for a long time. That's the way it is, and it's regrettable, but we have to find some way to deal with it.
Beyond: There's something especially maddening about Bush's use of "moral values" rhetoric to sell a political ideology.
Cockburn: It's toxic as all get-out. These guys, these smug [pause] people—polyester-clad people … [laughs] I guess it's not fair to imply that kind of designation because other kinds of people wear polyester, but, you know, it's the smugness that is just rank. If ever there was a need for a Jeremiah to come along and to rant at us, it's now. These people need to be shaken, and I'm afraid that they will get shaken, but in the process they're going to make sure that the rest of us get shaken too. And in some very ugly ways. It's worrisome.
Beyond: I would imagine that there are particular songs that people want to hear right now. Like, I think I would be disappointed if you didn't play "The Trouble with Normal."
Cockburn: [laughs] Well, the same old, same old. That song's twenty years old and it still fits. It could be fifty years old and it would still fit, probably.
People have their own particular preferences. The songs I hear people hollering out for most are the personal songs: "All the Diamonds," "Pacing the Cage," "Waiting for a Miracle." Occasionally, someone will call out for "The Trouble with Normal." And "Rocket Launcher," of course. If I haven't played it in the show, it'll get a big howl for the encore. A lot of people are relating to that song. Everybody associates the frustration and anger they feel with "Rocket Launcher," I think.
Beyond: Generally speaking, it seems that your more explicitly political songs take one of two paths. One path I think of as "snapshot songs," where you just shine a light on a particular moment and bring it to life. Like, I was thinking of "Dust and Diesel," where you capture something of the political climate of Nicaragua in that image of a smiling girl directing traffic with a .45 strapped to her cotton dress. And then there are songs like "The Trouble with Normal" that seem to be a more polemical voice of righteous anger.
Cockburn: Yeah, and they're more general in their targeting. "Call It Democracy" would be in that category, too. It's specifically aimed at the policies of the International Monetary Fund, but that's representative of a whole system of things, which is the real problem. "Rocket Launcher" fits that former category, too, of trying to capture a moment. It was how I felt when I experienced a particular . . . the sense of being with those refugees who had experienced those things.
I don't rationalize that much before I write a song. After the fact I can kind of tell what, if any, category it belongs in. But when I'm writing a song, I'm thinking about whatever feelings I have that want to be written down. Sometimes it's anger, sometimes it's hope, sometimes it's fun, sometimes it's sex, sometimes it's encounters with the Divine, which certainly qualify as expressions of a moment because the contact generally doesn't last long. I write all of the songs the same way, the mechanism's the same. Different feelings come up, different triggers switch that get those feelings moving.
Beyond: You seem to have an obsession with images of light and dark. There's a certain metaphorical quality to that, of course, but what most attracts me to those moments is that so many of your songs are composed like a photograph or like a sequence in a film. Was that an organic development for you?
Cockburn: It grew over time. I don't think it started out like that. "Going to the Country" [from Cockburn's debut album] is sort of a proto-version of that approach, maybe. Most of the songs on that album are a bit less focused. "The Bicycle Trip" is sort of goofy, and I don't really count that, but "Spring Song," "Man of a Thousand Faces," "The Thirteenth Mountain"—they're describing a state of things, and it's a state that is sometimes sought after, it's a state that happened already.
But over time the angle of approach shifted slightly, and I began to write more and more in a style that I think you rightly described as "cinematic." I think of it that way, sometimes, when I'm thinking about it at all. It's evident to me that that's what I'm doing. Putting a song together in terms of little scenes. And the chorus, if there's a chorus, will tie them together or bridge them. I do that a lot. I watch a lot of movies. Maybe that's why. [laughs]
Beyond: "Tokyo" seems to fit that category. There's even a line where you're describing a car accident and it actually says, just like a screenplay, "Cut to crumbling guard rail."
Cockburn: I started writing "Tokyo" on a plane home from what I think was probably the second trip to Japan, in the late-'70s. That accident scene that it describes—I mean, I didn't actually see it going into the river—but, on the way to the airport, we drove past that. I don't know if it's as true now as it once was, but touring in a place like Japan made one's emotions open, made your heart open, because you're so dependent on people. Not only do you not understand the words that you're reading, but you can't understand the letters they're written in. So you're completely dependent upon the people around you for everything. That state of dependency, I found, made me particularly vulnerable. So passing that accident scene at the end of what was really the fantastic experience of this whole tour seemed to . . . well, it was particularly intense because of that state.
I was feeling it out on the plane after I'd left and just tried to capture something of what it felt to be in Tokyo with that included. The accident scene stood in stark contrast to everything else about Japan. Everything else that I experienced was positive, pretty much. Even the drunk guys pissing in the street. It was colorful and amusing and down-home in a funny kind of way—all these guys in business suits acting like this. So even that was positive. And here was the violence of this accident, which shone a different light on everything.
Beyond: Like "Tokyo," so many of these "snapshot" songs are tied to the place that either inspired them or where they're actually located. Inner City Front, for example, plays like a map of Toronto.
Cockburn: Yeah, it's really geographically specific, down to the street names. I was living on Smithern Avenue when I wrote that, in the neighborhood that it's describing. That "cinematic" thing, it may have started with the Humans album: "Tokyo" and a few other songs on that album. I'm not sure. I'd have to dig back and see if it was as apparent before that. But by the time we get to Inner City Front, it's really full-on, conscious, "I'm painting a scene now, and the next verse is going to be a different scene, and they're related in various ways."
The eternal things are eternal
There's a rainbow shining in a bead of spittle
Falling diamonds in rattling rain
Light flexed on moving muscle
I stand here dazzled with my heart in flames
— "World of Wonders" (1985)
"You Pay Your Money and You Take Your Chance," the opening track of Inner City Front, includes one of Cockburn's most striking images. It's a street scene at night, and the narrator has been drawn from his apartment by the sound of a screaming woman.
By the time I reach the corner they've all vanished
Just a deaf kid talking like Popeye to a large fleshy laughing man in a blue shirt
Like a Flannery O'Connor story, the song is an intersection of grotesque characters that ends with an unexpected glimpse of grace: "And through it all, somehow, this willingness that asks no questions."
Cockburn: Yeah, well, grace. Grace lives in the dirt, you know?
Beyond: Right.
Cockburn: If you want to call it "dirt." I don't know if that's exactly how I think about it. If you've got to wait until you're sitting out on a mountaintop somewhere to experience grace, you're probably going to miss it. [laughs] It's not really grace then. You've constructed an atmosphere for yourself to get in touch with an aspect of yourself. But it's that gleam in a "bead of spittle." That's where the grace is. It's all over the place.
Seeing it in other people, for me, has always been more difficult than finding it in a landscape or in something that happens to me or in some other subjective thing. But occasionally I get lucky and I get to see it in people, too. Or, at least—I mean, I see it in people fairly often—but I see it in a way that can be translated into part of a song.
Beyond: Those moments are sprinkled throughout your songs. Like, "In the Falling Dark," with its images of the "hard-shelled husbands and wives"—these mundane images of everyday life that are illumined by something sacred. And then all the way up to You've Never Seen Everything with "Everywhere Dance": "The Dance is truth, and it's everywhere."
Cockburn: Not everybody hears this, but I think the song "You've Never Seen Everything" is talking about that, too. The whole point of that song is, this shit is happening all around us and we can't ignore it. And we shouldn't try to ignore it. We should deal with it. But you've got to remember that that's not the only thing there is. The song kind of goes at it from a negative perspective, because it's saying "here's all this stuff and we don't see the light coming down everywhere," but it is. The implication is that it is coming down everywhere, but we're not looking.
Beyond: You seem to retain a sense of hope despite it all.
Cockburn: Well, the eternal things are eternal. [laughs] Love and God and even the planet, in any terms that matter to us. I mean, the planet will go on without us, if need be. Indefinitely. Until the sun dies, or whatever. But there's a rhythm to things and . . . I'm getting tired of using the word "interconnectedness," but it's the only word I can think of. The realities of life are so much bigger than the shit we're stepping in that it just doesn't matter.
Nobody makes a living being a poet
Don't let the system fool you
All it wants to do is rule you
Pay attention to the poet
You need him and you know it
— "Maybe the Poet" (1982)
In January 2004, Cockburn visited Iraq as part of a delegation whose purpose was to assess and document the humanitarian situation there, or, as he would later describe it, to experience "American empire building" first-hand. By the following summer, he had added a new song to his touring repertoire: "This is Baghdad," which he describes as a "landscape," like "Tokyo." Cockburn has consistently shrugged off suggestions that his political engagement is some kind of mission, instead comparing it to an "organic urge" to tell the truth about important—and often unreported—aspects of human experience.
Beyond: In "Maybe the Poet," you remind us that "the poet shows you new ways to see."
Cockburn: At the time I wrote that I was aware of the phenomenon in the Soviet Union of dissidents being incarcerated in psychiatric institutions, which, of course, is utterly sinister. An evil way of treating dissidents. And, of course, poets tend to be dissidents if they're saying anything truthful because the truth is always inimical to authoritarian regimes and to people who like power, generally. So you go telling the truth and you get in trouble.
In the Soviet Union they were institutionalizing people and really fucking them over, but in North America we don't do that. We just buy them off. Or bury them under layers of the commercially available substitute. And so you take someone like Allen Ginsburg, who was as much a prophet as anyone in the Bible. Here's a guy who is really saying what people need to hear, and some people are listening but not the majority. Of course, there are far more poets, and Ginsberg was good enough and lucky enough to get some sort of public profile early on and to keep it, to a certain degree. But there are all those people trying to tell the truth as they understand it.
Nobody makes a living being a poet. [laughs] You do something else, and you do that on the side. Or you do something on the side to put food on the table. That's where I was coming from [in "Maybe the Poet"]. Illustrations of how we shut out people who are trying to tell the truth.
I sang that song in East Berlin. We had an East German translator—this is in the early-80s, before we had even a hint that the wall was going to come down—and I was told later by people who were in the audience that the translator was doing a pretty good job of summarizing what I was singing about and talking about until we got to that song. I said something about the Soviet Union, basically what I just told you, and that part didn't get translated. [laughs]
Beyond: Your career has taken you to some remarkable places, which leads me to my last question. I have to ask you about "Strange Waters," which is a song that I can't seem to stop listening to. It's another of those "cinematic" lyrics.
Cockburn: "Strange Waters" was a reflection on something that was another recurring thought. Around the time that I first started thinking of myself as a Christian, I tried to understand what that was by reading the books that were available and by listening to a lot of people. In a way I tried to be a fundamentalist, but it didn't really take.
One reason it didn't really take was that, over time . . . I officially became a Christian in '73 or '74, but by the end of the '70s, I'm watching these . . . I turn on the TV and I see these people coming on shows like 100 Huntley Street and they're testifying that they were an alcoholic, they'd lost their job, and then they found Jesus and everything was okay now. He's healthy. He's working again. He's not drinking.
And my experience was the exact opposite. It was just so obvious that the journey that we are invited to embark on as spiritual beings—whether we approach it through Christianity or anything else, any other door—that journey is a journey fraught with peril. It's intense, it's not . . . in no way are you ever invited to sit back and go, "Whoo, I'm okay now." It's just not part of it.
"Strange Waters" is really addressing that. It's just a list of all these bizarre things I've encountered, and I'm saying to God, [laughs] "Somebody said you would lead me beside still waters." But that hasn't been my experience. These waters are fairly troubling. And yet it's going where it has to go, and so clearly. It feels clear to me, anyway.
Sidebar: Recommended Albums
In the Falling Dark (1976)
A landmark album both because it signaled a transition from Cockburn's earlier acoustic music to the jazz- and rock-infused sound of the 1980s and because it is generally considered the most eloquent exploration of his newfound Christian faith. Cockburn calls "Silver Wheels" an ode to the "headlong, highway rush-type poetry" that Allen Ginsburg was writing at the time.
Humans (1980)
Written during a period of great change in Cockburn's personal life, the songs on Humans are an expression of his evolving desire to test his faith in action. Along with "Tokyo," the album also includes "How I Spent My Fall Vacation," a travelogue from Cockburn's harrowing encounter with a gun-toting policeman in Rome. "Fascist Architecture" is an audacious allegory for his failed marriage.
Stealing Fire (1984)
The back jacket of Stealing Fire features a portrait of Cockburn in disheveled green fatigues. His 1983 visits to Central American refugee camps generated this, his most vitriolic collection of songs, including "Maybe the Poet," "If I Had a Rocket Launcher," and "Dust and Diesel." The success of its single, "Lovers in a Dangerous Times," made Stealing Fire one of Cockburn's best sellers as well.
Nothing But a Burning Light (1991)
In the early-1990s, Cockburn signed with Sony, who built his reputation in the U.S. by re-releasing his back catalogue and by actively promoting this album. Produced by T-Bone Burnett and featuring guests such as Jackson Browne, Sam Phillips, and Booker T., Burning Light is a deliberately "rootsy"-sounding album that features a blistering cover of Blind Willie Johnson's "Soul of a Man."
The Charity of Night (1996)
Fans at cockburnproject.net recently voted The Charity of Night their favorite Cockburn album. Accented throughout by Gary Burton's vibraphone and by backing vocals from Ani DiFranco, Jonatha Brooke, Patty Larkin, and Maria Muldaur, it is a jazzy album that features several of Cockburn's best spoken word songs, including "Get Up Jonah" and "Birmingham Shadows." Charity closes with "Strange Waters."
You've Never Seen Everything (2003)
Cockburn's post-9/11 album is by turns angry, exhausted, and hopeful. "Trickle Down" is a seething indictment of globalization and corporate welfare, but it's balanced by songs like "Open" and "Everywhere Dance," which direct our attention to the sacred beauty of the everyday. Collaborators here include jazz pianist Andy Milne, who co-wrote two songs, and Emmylou Harris.


text:
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Former Attorney General of Louisiana, Charles C. Foti, Jr., Esq., a
partner at the law firm of Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC ("KSF"), announces
that KSF has commenced an investigation into Nu Skin Enterprises Inc.
On January 15, 2014, an article in Chinese newspaper The People's
Daily alleged that Nu Skin had been misrepresenting its influence
and creditworthiness in brochures and through advertisements disguised
as news reports. The article also alleged that the Company was suspected
of conducting illegal multi-level marketing activities in China. The
next day, it was announced that China's State Administration for
Industry and Commerce had ordered local authorities to investigate the
media reports.
On this news, Nu Skin was downgraded by multiple analysts, and the price
of its shares plummeted-from $136.47 on January 14 to $4.80 on January
16, 2014.
In conducting our investigation, it comes to the attention of KSF that
Company insiders sold over $49 million of their personally-held stock
during the relevant period and before the Company's illegal activities
became known.
KSF's investigation is focusing on whether Nu Skin and/or its officers
and directors violated state or federal securities laws.
If you have information that would assist KSF in its investigation, or
would like to discuss your legal rights, you may, without obligation or
cost to you, e-mail or call KSF Managing Partner Lewis Kahn (firstname.lastname@example.com)
or KSF Partner Melinda Nicholson (email@example.com)
toll free at 1-877-515-1850.
About Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC
KSF, whose partners include the Former Louisiana Attorney General
Charles C. Foti, Jr., is a law firm focused on securities class action
and shareholder derivative litigation with offices in New York and
Louisiana. KSF's lawyers have significant experience litigating complex
securities class actions nationwide on behalf of both institutional and
individual shareholders.
To learn more about KSF, you may visit www.ksfcounsel.com.
[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
ITEXPO: February 14 - 16, 2018 | Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Real Time Web Solutions Conference: February 14 - 16, 2018 | Fort Lauderdale, Florida
IoT Evolution Expo : January 22-25, 2018| Orlando, Florida


text:
Post by Emily Smith
Featured on the MAKE blog yesterday is an article about why Maker Faire is such a great fit for educators. Check out some of the testimonials here.
Some testimonials from various educators (via MAKE):
"Maker Faire is a great opportunity to get my students out from behind the computer and put their ideas into the world in a tactile way."
—Brian A., college professor of art and computer science, Emeryville, Calif.
"I am always inspired and motivated (a hard thing to do at the end of a school year!) from all the new approaches to materials and sharing. Makes for great material to chew on over the summer and apply in the next fall's lessons. I just photograph and download on my computer as an 'inspired images' album."
—Kirsten J., high school teacher and college professor of art, San Francisco, Calif.
"Maker Faire exemplifies the best coming together of creativity and science. As a teacher I feel it is not only important to convey theories, laws, and equations to my students, but also give them a sense of what can be achieved by the power of these scientific ideas that they can relate to in their day-to-day lives." —Thanh-Lam N., high school science teacher, San Jose, Calif.
See more testimonials on MAKE Magazine.
If you're in the Bay area the weekend of May 22nd and 23rd, get your tickets for Maker Faire San Francisco today! Just one more day for early bird passes


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SEATTLE — Five minutes after the final whistle, when the postgame TV interview was over, the last Washington Husky player on the field made his way up the tunnel and to the locker room moments after the rest of his team had already done so.
And fittingly, Bishop Sankey was running.
Just in case a school-record 40 carries wasn't enough work for the junior running back, Sankey decided to leave the field in a near sprint, 50 or so extra yards on top of the 161 he gained earlier to lead the Huskies to a 31-13 victory over Arizona.
"He's a stud," right tackle Ben Riva said. "We're lucky to have him."
The Huskies are indeed fortunate to have Sankey, who has now gone over 100 yards in seven of his past nine games, dating back to last season.
They also need to be careful with him.
Washington coach Steve Sarkisian knows he must balance the desire to give the ball to one of his best offensive weapons with the need to limit the pounding Sankey takes over the course of a season. That's why after Sankey's 35-carry performance against Illinois, Sarkisian told reporters, "That's too many carries for him over the longevity of the season."
So if 35 is too many, what the heck is 40 carries? On Saturday, with sheets of sideways rain mucking things up, it was a necessity, though one the Huskies had better hope they don't have to repeat.
The season is still young, and conference play is just getting going, but early on these Huskies look like a team finally ready to get over the seven-win hump, like a team that could perhaps be ready to contend with heavyweights Stanford and Oregon in the tough Pac-12 North — though we'll find out a lot more about that in the next two weeks.
But if the Huskies are going to continue to be explosive on offense and be among the conference elite, they'll need a healthy Sankey to do so, and as Sarkisian himself knows, that means there can't be too many nights like this.
And while Saturday's crazy weather played into Sankey's work load — the Huskies ran the ball 61 times — there is another reason the running back has had massive workloads in two of the past three games: the Huskies run a lot of plays. And if they're going to go up-tempo all year, that means Sarkisian needs to go out of his way to mix other running backs into the game more often.
"That's critical for us," Sarkisian said. "We will continue to get more out of Jesse (Callier). He's been impressive, he's getting better and better and better, we saw it there late in the ballgame. We'll probably implement him more early on, and we need to find that third guy. We need to get Dwayne (Washington)'s confidence back and we need to get (Deontae Cooper) really taking that next step, too. And again, I don't know if we're going to have another game this year where we rush the ball 61 times. That's a lot of rush attempts."
So yes, the Huskies would rather not have a repeat of Saturday night when it comes to Sankey's workload, but they sure were glad he was up to the task this time. With an unpleasant fall monsoon passing through Seattle during the first half, Keith Price was not able, nor was he asked, to sling the ball around like he normally would. Price ended the half just 4-for-12 passing for 39 yards, but the Huskies still had an 11-6 lead thanks in large part to Sankey's 23-carry, 101-yard first half.
"Yeah, he was a warrior tonight," Price said. "He ran the ball extremely well. … We needed to lean on our run game today. We knew it was going to be extremely hard to throw the ball down field, so we were kind of conservative with that, and Bishop and Jesse did an awesome job."
Sankey didn't come into the game thinking he would break Corey Dillon's school record of 38 carries, but he did know it would be a busy day nonetheless.
"We knew we had to come out and pound the rock with how the weather was," he said. "I think we did a good job just sticking with it and constantly moving the chains.
"However many times they need me to carry it. When I'm out there, adrenaline's pumping, and I'm not really thinking about how many carries I'm at or what the limit is. I'm just trying to pick up yards and move the chains."
Herald Writer John Boyle: firstname.lastname@example.com.


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Since 2002, Eoin Galvin and Nick Palatucci – formerly Nicky Darger (Smath) – have been playing together as Readyville. The heartbreaking country/folk songs they provide are a far cry from their former Bay Area punk bands, including Chloe's Ego and The B-Sides (Maximum Rock'n'Roll Records), but they still contain the taut enthusiasm and simplicity of straight-ahead punk rock. These days it's just housed in a well-worded, chronically upset, country music shell.
In the last couple years, Readyville has been extremely lucky to play regularly with great Bay Area artists like Two Gallants, Nedelle, and several now-labelmates at venues that range from the legendary redwood walls of the Café Du Nord to the spraypainted walls of 924 Gilman. They have weathered a public feud with a friend they've eulogized in song (he's still breathing) and also become a fave band of Village Voice music editor Rob Harvilla. Through it all, they've maintained the same plaintive-yet-rowdy approach to songwriting and life in general.


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PLAN!T NOW advocates empowerment of people through information and connection, and creates dialogue between people living in hurricane and severe-storm affected areas and those who should prepare in coastal regions of the United States, Mexico and the Caribbean. Operating with the understanding that no matter where you live, a natural disaster can happen at any time, PLAN!T NOW advocates the power of preparedness.
The Grenada Relief Fund
In 2004, Hurricane Ivan slammed into the tiny island of Grenada. The Category 5 storm sheared the rainforest trees to stubs, ripped the roofs from 90 percent of the homes, killed dozens of people and left many others devastated. As word spread of the destruction, a small group of highly passionate people led by actor Morgan Freeman were moved to intercede on behalf of the island and its communities.
Freeman remembers receiving a telephone call from friends in that country. They told him people on the other side of the island were desperate to get food, water and medical aid. People were sick, dehydrated and in danger of dying, and relief efforts were very slow.
"I had to try and help," Freeman says. Thus, the Grenada Relief Fund (GRF) was born. To get the word out about Grenada's dilemma, the members of the GRF focused on publicizing the islanders' stories of survival and perseverance to communities worldwide. With the help of international partnerships between the Grenadian government and ministries, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), U.S. nonprofits and corporations, Grenada became a gold-star example of how to recover from severe storm and hurricane disasters.
Formation of PLAN!T NOW
In December 2007, The Grenada Relief Fund was renamed PLAN!T NOW. Through education, research, local partnerships and indirect relief in the form of scholarships, grants and micro loans, PLAN!T NOW focuses on preparedness.
"Disaster happens when preparation doesn't," Freeman says.
PLAN!T NOW is a 501 (c) (3) IRS designated tax-exempt public charity that works coast-to-coast in the United States. With branches in Santa Barbara, CA and Chapel Hill, NC, its proactive efforts encourage people and communities to access the tools they need to reduce the loss of life and destruction caused by these storms.
Communities We Support
PLAN!T NOW assists coastal and island areas that lie between Belize, Barbados, Trinidad and North Carolina. The organization gears its information to the industries that are most prevalent in the Gulf Coast and the Caribbean. These industries include farming, fisheries, oil, hospitality and tourism.
In the United States, our work focuses on the areas north along the eastern coastline of North Carolina; northwest along western Florida; west along southern Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana; southwest and south along southeastern Texas; and extends about 100 miles inland. In the Caribbean, our work targets, but is not limited to: Aruba, Northern Antilles, St. Lucia, Barbados, Puerto Rico, The Bahamas, The Cayman Islands, Trinidad and Tobago, Grenada and Jamaica.
In Central America, our work is aimed at those living on the Gulf side of Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama.
Undergraduate Relief Scholarships Program. In 2009, PLAN!T NOW awarded $30,000 to storm-affected students as part of its Undergraduate Relief Scholarships Program.In 2010, the funds will be expanded, and a new category added: awards for students pursuing degrees in the hazards sciences. Click on the link for more information.
Local Partnerships. Visit our Partners page to learn more about local partnerships in the United States and beyond. Entertainment industry corporations, NGOs, local businesses — our partners help us reach out to a variety of communities with messages of preparedness.


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Necessary and/or Sufficient Conditions with Modular Math
Date: 12/01/2006 at 19:24:49 From: Sam Subject: Modulo If x is congruent to y modulo 10 whenever there exists an integer k such that x - y = 10k, identify which of the conditions below are "sufficient", "necessary", "necessary and sufficient" or none of these in order that x is congruent to y modulo 10. (a) x - y = 50 (b) x - y = 5 (c) x - y is divisible by 10 (d) x - y is divisible by 5 (e) x - y is divisible by both 5 and 2 (f) x and y are both even I don't understand what is meant by sufficient, necessary, and sufficient and necessary.
Date: 12/01/2006 at 23:05:30 From: Doctor Peterson Subject: Re: Modulo Hi, Sam. A condition A is "necessary" for a result B if B is true ONLY if A is true; that is, A HAS TO be true in order for B to be true. We say that B implies A, or "B only if A". A condition A is "sufficient" for a result B if B is true WHENEVER A is true; that is, A is ENOUGH to force B to be true. We say that A implies B, or "B if A". A condition A is "necessary AND sufficient" for a result B if both of the above are valid; we say that A is true IF AND ONLY IF B is true. A and B are equivalent. As an example, suppose I asked whether "x and y are both even" is a necessary and/or sufficient condition for the product xy to be even. Since IF x and y are both even, THEN xy is even, it is a sufficient condition; knowing they are both even is enough to be certain that the product is even. But xy will also be even if only one of the factors is even; so having both even is NOT necessary. See also: Necessary and/or Sufficient http://mathforum.org/library/drmath/view/60701.html Now look at your definition: x is congruent to y modulo 10 whenever there exists an integer k such that x - y = 10k. In ordinary language, x and y are congruent (mod 10) if they differ by a multiple of 10. So we can take the first condition: x - y = 50 This says that x and y differ by 50, which is a multiple of 10; so they WILL be congruent. This is a sufficient condition. But is it necessary? What if x and y differed by, say, 40? They would still be congruent, but this condition would not be true. So it is NOT necessary. If you have any further questions, feel free to write back. Give me whatever answers you have, and we can discuss any mistakes you've made. - Doctor Peterson, The Math Forum http://mathforum.org/dr.math/
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text: On Wed, Oct 03, 2001 at 02:24:37PM +0200, Hubert Feyrer wrote: > On Wed, 3 Oct 2001, Jukka Marin wrote: > > root@lintu x11/gnome # pkg_delete -f imlib-188.8.131.52 > > pkg_delete: file `/usr/X11R6/bin/imlib_config' doesn't really exist > > Segmentation fault (core dumped) > > Let me know if things work after a 'pkg_admin rebuild'. It seems it works OK now. It whines about some missing files, but it no longer crashes and it seems to do the job. Thanks! -jm


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DVC Training | EDIUS | Ordering EDIUS or EDIUS upgrades | EDIUS Workgroup 9 full version
Order the full version of EDIUS Workgroup 9. This main difference between the Workgroup and Pro versions is that the Workgroup version has many features needed by broadcasters. However for a full list of the advantages of the Workgroup version click here. EDIUS Workgroup does not need to connect to the Internet at all. It is easier to activate when you install it if your computer is on the Internet but you never need to connect the machine to the Internet afterwards, unlike the Pro version, which must connect once a month.
The EDIUS licence lets you use EDIUS on one machine at a time. You are allowed to install it on two computers, but you are only supposed to use one machine at a time. If you are using your copy of EDIUS on two computers at the same time you are breaking the licence agreement; you should buy two copies if you are planning to use both at the same time. You can activate your copy of EDIUS twice and deactivate it twice in one month. . If you loose all your activations because a computer has crashed or been re-installed then you will need to contact Grass Valley support to get your serial number re-enabled.
This is fairly similar to other editing programs. Avid will only let you have one activation although you can activate/deactivate as much as you want; Premiere lets you have 2 activations, and with the Creative Cloud you can log in and out of the software when you need to.
In early versions of EDIUS you did not need to connect to the Internet at all, and used a USB dongle to licence the software; since EDIUS 6.5 the software has been activated over the internet. With EDIUS Workgroup this only needs to be done once and you never need to connect to the internet again. There is also an offline activation feature.
EDIUS Pro has to be activated via the internet and has to check the licence once a month via the web. If you do not do this the program will stop working until it can be validated. This does not cost any money and if your computer is on the internet permanently you may not even notice. If you do not use your computer for 2 or 3 months this is not a problem. You will need to connect to the internet to reactivate EDIUS when you next start the computer but the fact that you did not use connect for a couple of months is not an issue. You also need to create an "EDIUS ID", which is a very simple process, just like creating a webshop account.
If you do not want to connect your machine to the Internet or are not allowed to then you will need to buy the Workgroup version.
You can activate EDIUS Workgroup using the offline activation and then you never need to connect to the Internet with the EDIUS computer again.
There are definite advantages of connecting your machine to the Internet and making a Grass Valley EDIUS ID to register and activate your software, but with the Workgroup version you do not need the EDIUS machine to be on the internet. There are quite a few differences between Workgroup and Pro which are mainly aimed at giving more broadcast-oriented features in the Workgroup version. There is a full list of the differences between the Workgroup and Pro versions below.
With EDIUS 8 there are two versions of EDIUS 8 – EDIUS Pro and EDIUS Workgroup. The two versions are very similar, and you can edit a project in Pro and then open and edit it in Workgroup and go back to the pro version later with no issues. EDIUS Workgroup does have some extra features - most of which are aimed at broadcasters. Here is a summary of the features:
If upgrading from EDIUS Pro 7 to EDIUS Pro 9 you may notice a couple of features have been removed. The following are features that were in EDIUS Pro 7 and are now only in EDIUS Workgroup so you will lose these features if you upgrade from EDIUS Pro 7 to EDIUS Pro 9.
With the Pro version of EDIUS you have to connect to the internet once a month to validate the licence. You only pay for the software once – when you buy it – and do not pay every month. However, your machine must connect to the Internet once a month otherwise EDIUS will stop working and will not work again until the computer is connected to the Internet again.
If your machine is always connected to the Internet then you do not have to do anything, EDIUS will automatically check the licence with not intervention from you.
If you do not use the machine for 2 months then the computer will simply need to be connected to the Internet when you turn it on again. You do not have to turn the computer on every month; simply after a month EDIUS will not work again until you have plugged the machine into the Internet. Once activated, which EDIUS will do automatically simply by running the program, you can disconnect from the Internet again for another 30 days.
If you do not want to put your computer on the Internet every month (some people do not like to connect their editing computer to the Internet at all) you have to buy the Workgroup version of EDIUS.
This version of the tutorial is for people who have ordered EDIUS 9 using the links on this website.
When you place your order you will be sent to a web-page with the download links for the tutorial, and an email will be sent to you automatically with the download links included. The links will stay active for 3 days. If you have any problems downloading the tutorial please email us at firstname.lastname@example.com or ring 01273 205700.
The tutorial covers much of the same ground as our popular EDIUS 7 tutorial and has some new sections which have been made using EDIUS 8.
Our EDIUS tutorial is quite long, because it is very comprehensive and covers just about everything in the program. It is therefore going to take us quite some time to remake the whole thing so that it uses the EDIUS 8 interface. Nearly everything in EDIUS 8 works the same ways as it does in EDIUS 7 so apart from the interface being a bit "flatter" the chapters made using EDIUS 7 are actually relevant to EDIUS 8. Obviously it would be nicer if all of the sections were remade with the interface looking exactly like EDIUS 8, but we have not completed this work yet. It will take us some time to do this and you will have the option to buy the updated version at a reduced price when it is available.
In re-filming sections using the EDIUS 8 interface we have also updated the tutorial and added some extra information. The sections we have remade so far:
The sections on effects, audio, editing and import all are made with EDIUS 7. It will take a few months to get them all redone and we will also be creating new videos on the new features coming in EDIUS 8 in the meantime.
If you order this version now you will be able to "upgrade" to the version which is completely remade in EDIUS 8 for about Θ20, when it is available.
If you want to see a complete list of all of the chapters please click here.
When you have placed your order you will be sent to a webpage with download links for the tutorial. The entire tutorial is about 4GB and we have split it into smaller sections to make it easier to download. You will need to download all the sections before you can install the tutorial. Download all the sections into the same location.
Once downloaded just click on the first part and you will be prompted to decided where the tutorial will be installed (it defaults to the Windows drive). You choose the location and then the tutorial should install all the sections for you. Once finished you will have a shortcut on the desktop which will run the tutorial. After the tutorial has installed you do not need the installation files.
The tutorial runs in a web browser, like a web page. The first video in the "introduction" section contains a video on how to use the tutorial and find various sections. Even though the tutorial runs in a web browser you do not need to be connected to the Internet to use it. It will run entirely from your local machine.
The download links will remain active for 6 days. If you need to download the tutorial again at a later stage then contact us and we can send new download links to you. You will also be sent an email with the links to the address you used when ordering.
If you have any questions or problems please contact at firstname.lastname@example.com
Email email@example.com
© 2014 - 2018 DVC Training


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This is a bit outside the Capital Region, but worthy nonetheless. Have you ever been in the store, buying something that comes with a huge amount of packaging, and thought, why doesn't the maker _ rather than the buyer _ have to deal with having that recycled
The Onondaga County Resource Recovery Agency in Syracuse, which handles recycling for the county, also wonders why. The agency has adopted what it is calling "the first comprehensive resolution in the northeastern U.S. urging the state legislature to require brand owners to pay for the reuse or recycling of certain products sold in the state."
The agency wants the state to get behind a concept called "Extended Producer Responsibility." That would make the makers of certain products, along with the packaging, responsible for the cost of discarding them.
"It's the fair and environmentally wise next step for waste management," says OCRRA Executive Director, Tom Rhoads. "EPR legislation will give producers the incentive to design products less toxic and easier to reuse and recycle."
Presently New York City and eighteen states around the country have EPR laws requiring producers of electronic products to pay for collection and recycling of the products they sell in those jurisdictions.


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No Sleep Society Clothing Interview With Mike Garcia
http://www.nosleepsociety.com/ Industry Expert Gary Ajene interviews urban clothing brand No Sleep Society's founder Mike Garcia. In the interview they discuss what it takes to start a streetwear brand, his inspirations to start brand and more on the fashion industry! To see more of his brand go to the site below!


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Perfect for social media campaigns and blogs. Web photos (up to .5 MP). 1 Seat.
Learn More
Build a high res library or promote your brand. Up to Large (2.5-4.5 MP). 5 Seats.
Learn More
Get more high res photos and more. Up to Large (2.5-4.5 MP). 25 Seats.
Learn More
no people, square, indoors, day, rear view, lying down, one animal, animal themes, domestic animals, pets, dog, sofa, humor, sunglasses, party hat, pet clothing, white, framed, haired, laying, brown, hairy, photograph, spectacles, frame, canine, animal, mammal, domestic animal
white framed sunglasses laying on brown and white haired dog


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We have an Inner and an Outer purpose… Everyone's Inner purpose is the same… We are here to AWAKEN in our Awareness of Truth… This means that our primary focus in life should be on simply BEING… because WHAT WE ARE is the most important thing… NOT WHAT WE DO. What we do, and DOING things is what our Outer Purpose is all about… and they are both important, but what we do could never substitute fulfillment of our TRUE GOAL in life…
Awareness of our inner purpose, is the foundation for fulfilling our outer purpose.
Everyone's outer purpose may be different, and it changes over time. As humans we are constantly changing and expanding our consciousness, so we will likely feel different at various places in our life… The issue many people have is aligning their INNER & OUTER PURPOSE. Most people get caught up in either doing too much, and watching life pass them by as their health, sanity, and relationships teeter on the edge. Or they are completely stagnant, overwhelmed, or just plain confused. Even the most amazingly creative and hard-working people often find themselves stuck, because deep inside they have the awareness of WHO THEY THINK THEY ARE (but thinking you are someone (a person) is a construction in the mind). Who you truly are is pure eternal being – the one watching the thinker. Sometimes people can't find a way to EXPRESS what they feel inside , or they have blockages preventing the energy to flow where it needs to. Something else that happens is that sometimes the EGO gets so involved in the doing of things, that the person spends all their time fulfilling their ego, trying to do what they think will make them who they want to be, neglecting their TRUE SPIRITUAL SELF, the ETERNAL SELF, that doesn't need to do anything.
There are some people who have a sense of prosperity and are enjoying the freedom that comes along with that… While others are constantly thinking about how badly they want to prosper, and to feel that sense of freedom. But there is no substitute for the REAL FREEDOM that is available to all of us in each moment, if only we shift our awareness… See, because even those folks that are freed up financially, or with perfect health and not much stress, are still likely to be craving more, still focusing on what they need to change about themselves to improve who they are, or their life in some way… If we slow down, go within, and MERGE our INNER & OUTER PURPOSE, something happens… When we bring our awareness of WHO WE ARE AS SPIRITUAL BEINGS here to AWAKEN and EXPAND OUR CONSCIOUSNESS, into ALL THAT WE DO, that is when the magic happens. Our innate nature is to be happy.
Instead of trying to accomplish tasks to get from 'ok' to 'good', or 'suffering' to 'happy', we have to make that choice in the moment to accept that in reality we are fine how we are in each moment. We must rise above just surviving and find meaning in our life!
Our state of consciousness is what determines our life path experiences… Sure you can work hard, make ends meet, stay up late and tweak every little aspect of your hustle to get things right and make the money, or sustain that image, or get people to notice you, but it won't be enough to ever find lasting joy or contentment… That type of living structure always ends in some type of suffering… Whether you portray that to others or not, the truth is, YOU ARE SUFFERING… and the only way to relieve yourself of that, is to shift your awareness to your INNER PURPOSE, which is not about what you do…
The AWAKENING that is happening is WORLD WIDE… On some level, everyone is feeling the energies bringing us into heightened awareness of what it truly important in life. For some people the awakening process is a transformational series of experiences they undergo… Sometimes people awaken suddenly, and it is so powerful that it is irreversible. Either way we awaken, it is always a process of integrating our conscious awareness into our lives.
When we are awake, we know we are the awareness behind our thinking… When we are awake, our PRESENCE overpowers our thoughts, and we align with UNIVERSAL INTELLIGENCE…
If you feel like you must DO something to initiate your own awakening process, or get the process started, you are off track and just letting your ego get too involved. There is nothing you can do about your awakening process, because when you try to, it just becomes an image of what you think that "awakened person" looks and acts like, and you try to live up to that image in your mind, and play a role you create unconsciously- which is completely fake and inauthentic. Sadly, when you look around, MANY people are living in this mental state. They have the image of what they want to be in their mind, so their ego does everything it can to collect all the pieces that make this image look real, and work hard every day to uphold an image of something that is not truly an expression of where that person is inside… Because inside the person who is fixated on their OUTER, is a lost and confused soul, that deeply craves their own awakening, and is simply looking for fulfillment in all the wrong places.
To the naive, these high-fashioned spiritual-looking types that say all the right things to appear in a state of awareness, look like the real thing… They can't see through the illusion, and end up falling victim to being inspired by the falseness that vanity breeds.
Perhaps there are those people who are in the beginning stages of awakening to their inner purpose, but they are no longer able to make sense of what their outer purpose is…? There is this disconnection between what someone feels they want to do inside on a spiritual level, so they aren't doing work that fulfills them… They feel that they have to keep their regular job to support their family, or sustain their living situation, etc. It can be a very lonely place to be… If you see how messed up the world is, and how so many humans are caught up in fulfilling a void in themselves, yet are unable to because they are trying to DO things and BUY things and are stuck on the mental aspect of it, but your awareness is not fully arisen inside you and integrated into your life- you are still suffering, perhaps even more so… because that feeling of SEEING, and KNOWING you are not in alignment, and sensing that deeper inner purpose and how you envision it as a manifested work of your outer purpose, and not finding the way to make it happen is so frustrating! That's why there are so many "Life Coaches" these days. It's actually a very trendy and popular (and high-paying) job to get into right now, because there are so many people stuck in the middle of that awareness between INNER & OUTER Purpose and unable to merge the two.
The meaning we find in life must always be from a state of constant awareness of our connection to ALL THAT IS, and our TRUE SPIRITUAL SELF…
No matter what we do, if it is not based in a foundation of spiritual self-awareness, we will inevitably lose the meaning in the things we do because life is constantly changing. We can't pretend to find true meaning in our life in things that may disappear tomorrow. Yes, you may find meaning in being a mother and that is your outer purpose right now… but that meaning you find there is temporary… because what happens when the kids grow up…? What happens when you are unable to find all that meaning in your life when the kids don't need you as much…? Or what if you find meaning your life in the work you do as a nurse, or lawyer, or secretary, or teacher… what if you lose your job, or retire… what then? What happens when the things you put your outer purpose works into change and you're left hanging without knowing where to turn for fulfillment anymore…? Well, that may be when you awaken and realize that your TRUE PURPOSE is already happening within.
The way to steer clear of falling into the trap of the ego trying to find meaning in falseness, is so stop thinking about TIME. It doesn't matter what you do, it's all about how you do it, which is a reflection of who you are, and if what you do is done while ignoring your inner purpose, it will end up getting destroyed by time, and ultimately destroyed by the fact that your ego was trying to do it for selfish reasons. Even if you are trying to help the world, and create amazing things for all to benefit from, if you are doing it while ignoring your inner purpose, you will not find lasting fulfillment, and chances are you will end up suffering and be on the search for meaning again in your life.
So instead of always trying to make it BIG or do something so grand, and constantly be striving toward making it to the top, and getting everything just right, paying for all these coaching sessions, or workbooks, and eCourses, and whatever you think you need to heal and propel the YOU who you want to change into what you want to BE, look at the small things going on in your world. Humble down and bring your attention to the present moment, and start there… It takes the edge off and helps you gain composure. It really is essential to do, if you want inner-peace and to find meaning in your work.
When you forget your main purpose in life, and you put importance in the concept of trying to achieve something, you cut off the power of the UNIVERSE… Stress, anxiety, anger, frustration, and suffering rise up and take your power from you… simply because you are focused in TIME, and not in the present moment. Don't let people fool you into thinking that you need to DO this or that to become successful.
The next time you meet someone, or have a conversation with someone, give them your full attention. Make your BEING there with them be more important that everything else in the world… Stop thinking of what you can sell or buy or get from people, and just bring your focus to the field of awareness between you… That energy is what is building the relationships that are taking us into a higher state of living in peace on this EARTH. When we exchange energy with others in an awareness of our main purpose, everything that we want or need to do will happen more easily and smoothly. You wonder how "successful" people make things look so effortless, or why they appear so at ease and comfortable with themselves…?
You've been lied to. YOU CANNOT BECOME SUCCESSFUL. YOU CAN ONLY *BE* SUCCESSFUL.
Shift your consciousness to that awareness of BEING, and watch how your life changes… There will be a new sense of quality in every little thing that you do… You can choose to live as a successful person in each and every moment you are alive. So start now! Don't let anyone confuse you into thinking that your success is from anything else.


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Shell Pipeline Co. Monday began accepting supplemental binding open season bids for its Houma-to-Houston pipeline reversal project.
The bids will allow shippers to transport crude from Houston to either St. James or Clovelly, La.
Shell announced plans in 2011 to reverse the flow of its Houma-to-Houston pipeline to take advantage of production from booming shale plays in Texas; when complete, the reversal could send approximately 300,000 barrels per day of crude from Houston to refineries along the Gulf.
Last month it began partial operation, delivering crude from east Houston to the Port Arthur area.
Kim Windon, a spokeswoman for Shell, said the limited open season bids, which began Monday, allow shippers to contract for excess capacity. Bids close at noon central standard time, March 27.
Shell Pipeline's Ho-Ho reversal project will provide west-to-east pipeline access to additional crudes for refineries across 300 miles of the Gulf Coast, including those from the Eagle Ford and Permian shale plays and the Bakken.
Shell said the pipeline reversal project is intended to complement new pipeline infrastructure being built in the Houston and Nederland area.


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The JSPPopupContainer JSPs are located in the /var/opt/SUNWportal/portals/<portal_id>/desktop/developer_sample/JSPPopupContainer directory. These JSPs were used to detach a channel from a JSP-based Desktop. However, this container is no longer used by the developer sample. The detached windows in developer sample are now drawn by the popup.jsp, popupmenubar.jsp, and providerwrapper.jsp in JSPTableContainer. These JSPs are present for backward compatibility only.
The list of JSPs in the JSPPopupContainer directory and their description are:
Displays the contents of the channel inside the detached window.
Displays the Update, Close, and Logout links inside the popup window.
Combines the above JSPs.


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Wine Talk / G-K
Dan Goldfield: Bookster Wines
Dan Goldfield talks about the winemaking philosophy behind Bookster Wines and the Quirinos Project. Find out what he's looking for in these well contructed chardonnay, pinot noir and zinfandel offerings. And how does he balance fruit, acidity and tannins in his great Russian River Pinot Noir? More »
Trivento Argentina - Federico Galdeano
Leslie Sbrocco tastes two new releases from Trivento with winemaker Federico Galdeano. As one of Argentina's top exporters, their malbec and torrontes are great choices for food and wine pairing. More »
John Kolasa: Bordeaux Winemaker
Bordeaux winemaker John Kolasa talks with Wine Taste TV about the 2004 vintage for Rauzan Segla and Chateau Canon. Will the neglected vintage that offers great value today develop into greater wines after another decade in the bottle? More »
Paul Hobbs, Harvest
Harvest time in the Paul Hobbs vineyards, possibly the most exciting time of the year. When is the Pinot Noir and Chardonnay fruit perfect for picking? Paul Hobbs visits the Lindsey Estate and Ulises Valdez vineyards and makes the call. More »
Daniel Johnnes
Paul Grieco talks with Daniel Johnnes, big-time sommelier turned small-time wine producer. Find out what made Johnnes fall in love with Burgundy, and what's so important about finding a wine with a 'Sense of grape, sense of place, and sense of man.' More »
Dan Goldfield: Dutton Goldfield
Dan Goldfield's roots run deep making chardonnay and pinot noir in the Russian River Valley for some of Sonoma's top wineries. Since 1999, he and Steve Dutton have been making their own wine from some of the most distinctive vineyard properties in the area. Now Dan shares his passion and philosophy for wine and the vineyard land with WineTasteTV. More »
Peter Michael Winery
For cult cabernet and highly rated chardonnay, Peter Michael Winery has all the right ingredients. High above Knights Valley, explore the dramatic range of rugged vineyards and fine wine with the Peter Kay and WineTasteTV. More »
Champagne Henri Giraud
You can practically feel the bubbles tingling on your tongue as Paul Grieco speaks with Claude Giraud of the Champagne label Henri Giraud. They discuss the exciting changes in the Champagne market. More »
Kuleto Estate, Mountain Vineyard Wines
WineTasteTV visits with Pat Kuleto, who established himself as a visionary of food and style in the restaurant business. Now he has built a breathtaking mountain property with Kuleto Estate wines -where he's making cabernet sauvignon, chardonnay, syrah, and more. Get an insider view of the property and share Pat's passion for wine, terroir, and establishing family roots in the wine business. More »
Bill Harlan
His Harlan Estate wine is one of the most sought after Napa Valley cult wines in the world. His passion and determination have built a beautiful estate vineyard that will last for generations. Join Bill Harlan as he shares his philosophy for wine and hopes for the future with WineTasteTV. More »
Seth Kunin
Bonnie Graves goes into the winery with Seth Kunin, whose hand-crafted, Rhone style wines have gotten rave reviews since he started his own label in 1998. With a dedication to quality, and some of the finest Central Coast fruit, he's a minimalist winemaker you'll want to know. More »
Kosta Browne's Dan Kosta
Kosta Browne's cult wine status has made their pinot noir one of the hottest tickets in the wine world. Bonnie Graves talks with Dan Kosta about their humble beginnings as waiters and their single minded focus on quality and rich pinot noir expression. More »
Pat Kuleto's Philosophy for Living
Pat Kuleto shares his philosophy for wine, food, and life with WineTasteTV. His ranch is one of the most stunning properties in Napa Valley, and it's a self-sustaining little village driven by his incredible creativity and vision. More »
Angelo Gaja
Angelo Gaja revolutionized winemaking in the Piedmont and sparked innovation throughout Italy. In this candid interview, Gaja shares his rich personal history and winemaking philosophy with Ben Giliberti. More »
Paul Hobbs, Harvest Part II
Harvesting the fruit starts the second critical phase of winemaking. Paul Hobbs leads us step-by-step through the journey from vine to bottle. More »
Paul Hobbs, Philosophy
What makes a truly stunning Chardonnay or Pinot Noir? Hear first-hand how Paul Hobbs consistently produces some of California's top wines. More »
Paul Hobbs
Paul Hobbs explains his deeply rooted ideals for wine, family, and a sense of place. Explore his new winery and see how passion, tradition and a respect for the land contribute to the quality of his wines. More »
A to Z Wineworks
They're billed as 'Aristocratic Wines at Democratic Prices.' How bad can that be? Paul Grieco speaks with A to Z Wineworks Sam Tannahill and Deb Hatcher, and together they taste Night and Day, the winery's bold new wine. More »


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"What if GOD Was My Coffee?" (An Inspirational Post from Your Career Engineer)
Don't Get Anxious – Get Prepared! Fact: I am NOT a morning person! In fact for years its been a well know fact, "don't say anything to Francina…until she has HAD HER COFFEE." A couple of sips of Joe and I am off running and getting all my career, life and business places and spaces in order. Well, last week I was having an amazing and inspirational conversation with my Pastor Adrian Woodard and he contacted me…EARLY in the morning. It must have been pretty obvious that my voice was reflective of the fact that "I have not had my coffee yet" and "Pastor A" has discerned this limitation. He is a quick study and he knows I struggle in this area (plus I say "I need my coffee" all the time).
So how interesting it was to me that "Pastor A" said, "Francina, GOD should be your Coffee." and he proceeded to shower inspiration, encouragement and an alert that he just may pop in an EARLY call or two "every now and then" to remind me of this. We both laughed and enjoyed a chuckle of the moment. But after we ended our chat, I thought about it, "what if GOD was my coffee?" (That's just Like Pastor A, always trying to make me slow down, wait and …ponder!) So I thought of all the reasons, celebrations, problems, situations that I use coffee to make it through my day versus taking additional time out for a moment with GOD. So this is what I have come up with take a look and let me now what you think.
What if GOD Was My Coffee …What Would I Do Differently?
- Can't/Won't Start My Day Without Coffee: Before my feet hit the ground, I am often in a dream state and can't get it together without my cup of coffee. In my mind, nothing starts, until I make that Dunkin Donuts run and after 10 or 15 minutes, I am good to go. Now, imagine in this scenario if coffee was replaced by GOD. What a difference it would make in the start and finishing of my day! (Relying on GOD to start…everything!)
- Need a Boost – Coffee to the Rescue ( Here I Come): Ok, so it's an all night gig, or I have to get a TCE project done! Well, I RUN to the coffee…because in my mind, I can't do it with out the boost. I need that edge, that sweet and powerful caffeine to give me the rush I need. Imagine, if my running was to the author and finisher of my faith, the one who designed me and created my purpose. The one who I believe is the Alpha and Omega in my life. Now, imagine in this scenario if coffee was replaced by GOD. Shouldn't this be the place where my true "boost, edge & power" should come from. (Another hum moment).
- Coffee Warms Me Up it Just Feels Good: A cold winter night or having a cup of coffee as I socialize with family, friends and peers. Great conversation over a cup of coffee is an American tradition. Let me own this, it's MY tradition. It feels good, it's comforting, it's accepted, everyone understands it. Now imagine in this scenario if Coffee was replaced by GOD. Is he not comforting, should I care whether he is accepted by all as long as HE is accepted by me?
- I love Coffee, I May Even be Addicted to It: Dunkin Donuts is definitely my friend. I can't stay away from the place (and I won't share my other addiction for those gosh darn donuts). But I have got to tell you as a New Englander, this is the best cup of coffee on the planet and I LOVE IT. In fact, I have even tipped out of the house…at night…for a cup of this good stuff (yes I am that addicted). Now, imagine in this scenario, if Coffee was replaced by GOD. The same love and sense of not letting go..the quenching of my thirst…is a feeling/action that should be destined for GOD and not my "cup of coffee.
Yes, this is a different type of TCE blog post for me and an opportunity for me to share my journey on ensuring my faith should be as evident as the many cups of coffee in my life. Who knows, maybe it will encourage someone else to rethink…their coffee. I am not here to convert or convict you…that not my job. But I was compelled to share this part of my journey, as it's been one of the most "teachable moments" in the last 10 months of my life. I have to thank "Pastor A" for a powerful statement that was re-engineered to a great question which I hope will get a lot of us…thinking.
The really cool thing is, I am not writing this post on a coffee fix…doing this one totally on my own (let me correct that, with GOD). I look forward to your comments, thoughts, posts and shares. #TG4FNL


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Obituary & Guest Book Preview for Thomas D. Houston
Thomas D. Houston Obituary
Published in The Birmingham News on Jan. 1, 1900
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: Thomas D. 'Butch' Houston Aug. 24, 1948- Dec. 4, 2013 Thomas D. 'Butch' Houston, formerly of the Rosedale area of Homewood passed away in Cincinnati...
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Doctor failed 'to respond to requests'
The complaints to the Medical Council were made by K Doc and cover the years 2005-2010.
Allegations that a Kildare doctor failed to respond to requests for help in a timely manner, and treated patients and colleagues in an aggressive, confrontational or unprofessional manner, has opened before the Medical Council's fitness to practice committee.
Dr Aoife Kavanagh of Naas, Co Kildare is facing a range of accusations relating to her work for an out-of-hours medical service K Doc, which the hearing heard covers Kildare and parts of west Wicklow.
At the opening of the hearing this morning, the inquiry was told a female worker in Oghill nursing home in Monasterevin had become upset with Dr Kavanagh's response to a call for help with a case in which a patient died.
Patrick Leonard BL told the inquiry the nursing home worker had called K Doc in the early hours of the morning in May 2005 and sought assistance for the elderly man whose breathing had become difficult. She had spoken to Dr Kavanagh on the phone but felt the need to call again about a half an hour later, when the patient's blood pressure had dropped.
Mr Leonard it would be the worker's evidence that Dr Kavanagh had warned that if she came out to the nursing home and discovered the patient's condition to be normal, she would report the situation. Dr Kavanagh did attend the patient who died at about 2.30am. Mr Leonard said the worker had become "distressed and upset" with Dr Kavanagh and believed she was owed an apology.
The complaints to the Medical Council were made by K Doc and cover the years 2005-2010.
The complaints also allege that in October 2005 Dr Kavanagh was publicly "aggressive and unprofessional" with a member of staff in Newbridge Treatment Centre, in relation to a decision by the staff member to make appointments for two patients, as opposed to referring them for treatment to a facility in Celbridge.
It is also alleged that Dr Kavanagh failed to respond in a timely manner to a letter dated October 16 2005, from K doc management in relation to the incident at Newbridge Treatment Centre.
Dr Kavanagh was also accused of taking a "confrontational and unprofessional" manner with the mother of a patient in December 2009 and failing to respond to a letter in a timely manner from the medical director of K doc, dated January 7, 2010.
However, the hearing heard from Charles Meenan SC for Dr Kavanagh who said the medical council's own expert witness had reviewed a number of allegations and found that while the issues about responding to letters may have been tardy, they did not amount to professional misconduct.
The committee agreed to strike out three allegations of professional misconduct.
Evidence was also given that Dr Kavanagh had moved her address in the period in question and some letters appeared to have been sent to an address at which she was lot residing.
The hearing is continuing and is expected to last for about five days.


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November 9, 2008
"˜Sea Monster' On Verge Of Extinction In Mexico City
Beneath the gondolas in the remains of a great Aztec lake lives a monster-like creature called the axolotl, which looks something like a Muppet with a slimy tail, feather-like gills and mouth that curls into an strange smile.
Also known as the "water monster" and the "Mexican walking fish," the axolotl (pronounced ACK-suh-LAH-tuhl) was a crucial part of Aztec legend and diet. Despite Mexico City's sprawling development, the foot-long salamander survived until now in the polluted canals of Lake Xochimilco, now a Venice-style destination for tourists poled along by Mexican gondoliers in festively painted boats.
However, scientists are now racing to save the creature from extinction as it struggles against the draining of its lake habitat and deteriorating water quality. And adding insult to injury, nonnative fish introduced to the canals are now eating its lunch "" and its offspring.
The long-standing International Union for Conservation of Nature now includes the axolotl on its annual Red List of threatened species, and experts say the creature could be wiped out in just five years.
Some are considering repopulating Xochimilco with axolotls bred in captivity, while others are calling for a series of axolotl sanctuaries in canals cleared of invasive species.
"If the axolotl disappears, it would not only be a great loss to biodiversity but to Mexican culture, and would reflect the degeneration of a once-great lake system," Luis Zambrano, a biologist at the Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), told the Associated Press.
While the total number of axolotls in the wild is not known, the population has dropped from 1,500 per square mile in 1998 to just 25 per square mile this year, according to a survey by Zambrano's scientists using casting nets.
The figures represent a steep fall from grace for the creature with feathery gills and a visage resembling that of the 1970s Smiley Face that inspired poet Ogden Nash to coin the phrase: "I've never met an axolotl, but Harvard has one in a bottle."
Millions of axolotl once lived in the vast lakes of Xochimilco and Chalco on which Mexico City was built. Using four stubby legs to pull themselves along the bottom or their stocky tails to swim like alligators, they sought plentiful aquatic insects, small fish and crustaceans for food.
According to legend, Xolotl "" the dog-headed Aztec god of death, lightning and monstrosities "" changed into an axolotl to flee into Lake Xochimilco upon hearing he was about to be killed by other gods.
The axolotl's decline began when Spanish conquerors began draining the lakes, which continued over time to quench the thirst of one of the world's largest and fastest-growing cities. Lake Chalco was completely drained during the 1970s to prevent flooding. And in the 1980s, Mexico City began pumping wastewater into the few remaining canals and lagoons of Xochimilco.
Two decades ago, African tilapia were introduced into Xochimilco in an imprudent effort to create fisheries. The tilapia then joined with Asian carp to dominate Xochimilco's ecosystem, eating the axolotl's eggs while competing with it for food.
Researchers say the axolotl is also threatened by agrochemical runoff from farms and treated wastewater from a nearby Mexico City sewage plant.
Roberto Altamira, a 32-year-old local fisherman, remembers the axolotl as a part of the local diet when he was a boy.
"I used to love axolotl tamales," he told the AP as he rubbed his stomach and laughed.
However, people no longer eat axolotls, he says, primarily because fishermen almost never find them.
"The last one I caught was about six months ago," says Altamira, a long-time gondolier in Xochimilco's narrow waterways.
Meanwhile, the axolotl population is mushrooming in laboratories, where researchers study its remarkable traits, such as its ability to completely re-grow lost limbs. Axolotls have played critical roles in research on embryology, regeneration, evolution and fertilization.
The axolotls have the rare trait of retaining their larval features throughout their entire adult life, something called neoteny. And although the creatures live all of their lives in water, they can breathe both under water with gills or by taking breaths of air from the surface.
On a 9-foot-wide "lentejilla" covered canal, with air that smells of sewage and sulfur, Zambrano's researchers test water quality and look for axolotls. A team member finds the trademark water ripple of an axolotl, and the crew hurls its net. But just two tilapia in a sopping-wet mass of lentejilla are captured.
Scientists are not yet in agreement on how to save the axolotl. A pilot sanctuary is expected to open in the coming months in the waters around Island of the Dolls.
Zambrano proposes up to 15 axolotl sanctuaries in Xochimilco's canals, where scientists would install a barrier and clear the area of nonnative species.
Ben Johnson, the Toronto Zoo's curator of amphibians and reptiles, said that without carp, the water would clear and plants the axolotl depends upon to breed could flourish again..
"If you take the insults away, the lake has an amazing latent potential to heal itself," he told the Associated Press.
Veterinarian Erika Servin, who runs the Mexico City government's axolotl program at Chapultepec Zoo, is looking into potentially introducing axolotls from the lab into the canals. However, further study is needed to ensure the process doesn't cause diseases and genetic inbreeding issues.
Xochimilco residents may be yet another obstacle.
Scores of people make their living pulling tilapia from canals or growing flowers and vegetables on nearby land. Removing the fish or closing down nearby farms would likely face significant opposition.
But one thing is certain, time is running out as the debates continues.
Considering its role in research alone, "we owe it to the axolotl to help it survive," said Johnson.
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Puppy: Brody
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Brody was born on December 24th of 2011. He is a red tri male Australian Shepherd who is constantly looking for attention and affection from every person he encounters. He is extremely playful and can make a toy out of just about anything, especially shoes. Brody more or less mastered potty training after 2 days and is one of the smartest dogs around.View Profile


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Bowler is a market leader in the production of racing and high performance all terrain vehicles, and has been since 1985. The UK pioneers in Rally Raid cars, we have never stopped competing at the highest levels and during this time we have designed, developed and produced some of the most innovative, durable and exciting all terrain vehicles ever seen.
The Bowler Wildcat, Nemesis and now the EXR have all been proven in the toughest race in the world – the Dakar. Each evolution of Bowler has refined the knowledge and experience gained from the previous one, and we are now proud to offer the EXR – the ultimate all terrain supercar.
Based in Derbyshire in the UK, we use both technology and craftsmanship to deliver vehicles with style, strength, performance and an unrivalled spirit of adventure.