text:
- Research article
- Open Access
A comparison of tests for Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium in national genetic household surveys
- Yan Li1, 2Email author
© Li; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. 2013
- Received: 15 August 2012
- Accepted: 18 February 2013
- Published: 1 March 2013
This study is motivated by National Household Surveys that collect genetic data, in which complex samples (e.g. stratified multistage cluster sample), partially from the same family, are selected. In addition to the differential selection probabilities of selecting households and persons within the sampled households, there are two levels of correlations of the collected genetic data in National Genetic Household Surveys (NGHS). The first level of correlation is induced by the hierarchical geographic clustered sampling of households and the second level of correlation is induced by biological inheritances from individuals sampled in the same household.
To test for Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium (HWE) in NGHS, two test statistics, the CCS method [1] and the QS method [2], appear to be the only existing methods that take account of both correlations. In this paper, I evaluate both methods in terms of the test size and power under a variety of complex designs with different weighting schemes and varying magnitudes of the two correlation effects. Both methods are applied to a real data example from the Hispanic Health and Nutrition Examination Survey with simulated genotype data.
The QS method maintains the nominal size well and consistently achieves higher power than the CCS method in testing HWE under a variety of sample designs, and therefore is recommended for testing HWE of genetic survey data with complex designs.
- Complex sampling
- Condensed coefficients of identity
- Quasi-score test
- Taylor linearization
This study is motivated by population-based family data collected from National Genetic Household Surveys (NGHS), in which complex samples (i.e. sample collected with stratified multistage cluster sampling), partially from the same family, are selected. There are two levels of correlations of the collected genetic data in NGHS. The first level of correlation is induced by the hierarchical geographic clustered sampling of households and the second level of correlation is induced by biological inheritances from individuals sampled in the same household. Moreover, national household surveys often apply differential selection probabilities of selecting households and persons within the sampled households.
NGHS from various countries, such as the Canadian Health Measures Survey [3], Health 2000 Survey from Finland [4] and the US National Health and Nutrition Examinations Survey [5], have collected blood samples, from which DNA can be extracted for genetic analyses. For example, the NHANES III, a nationally representative survey of the U.S. population conducted by National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), has genotyped candidate genes for participants 12 years and older. NHANES III employed a complex sample design, involving stratified multistage cluster sampling, to select participants [6, 7]. Multiple blood-related individuals are often sampled from the same household. On average 1.6 persons are sampled per household [8].
There are at least three complications to analyze data collected in NGHS: 1) differential population weights, 2) hierarchical geographical correlation among families, and 3) genetic correlation within families. As known, genetic variability can differ by race [9] and social-economic factors [10]. The same factors, in complex sample designs, are often used to define sampling strata. Different selection probabilities are applied to each stratum and oversampling is often conducted to increase the efficiency of the estimates for certain subgroups (e.g. African Americans were oversampled in NHANES III). As a result, differential population weights related to genetic variability are associated with participants in the study. The second complication of geographic correlation in genetic variations is induced because race and social-economic status of individuals vary by location of residence, and multi-stage clustered sampling is often geography-based. Lastly, genetic correlation is induced by genetic inheritance from biological parents within the household. Therefore, inflated variances of the estimates for the genetic quantities due to differential population weights, geographical intracluster correlation among households, and the genetic correlation within households are resulted. Consequently, the sample distribution with respect to genetic factors can be considerably different from the underlying population distribution. Researchers who implement complex sample designs should perform analyses with adjustments for the sample design complications. If analysis for simple random samples (SRS), instead, is performed on data collected with complex sample designs, the inference may be invalid.
Testing Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium (HWE) of marker genotype frequencies has been widely recommended as a crucial step in genetic association studies [11–13]. The Hardy- Weinberg principal states that without disturbing genetic-related factors (e.g., non-random mating, selection, migration, or mutation) the genotype frequencies at an autosomal locus will attain equilibrium (i.e., HWE) in a single generation and maintain this equilibrium in future generations. Testing for HWE is useful because for non-codominant loci that are in HWE, genotype frequencies can be estimated from allele frequencies or vice versa, and more powerful genetic association studies are possible [14]. A variety of test methods have been developed to test HWE in SRS [15–20]. There are, however, limited literatures in developing HWE tests for genetic data collected in NGHS, considering both levels of correlations and differential weights.
Methods developed by She et al. [1] and Li et al. [2] appears to be the only two HWE tests available that consider all of the three complications. Interestingly, both methods are derived along different directions. In brief, tests developed by She et al. [1] are essentially corrected Pearson Chi-Square (CCS) tests. The exact joint distribution of the three genotypes from father, mother, and offspring were derived under HWE. Assuming a diallelic locus (i.e. alleles A and a) of autosomal genes, there are 10 possible genotype combinations among parents-child triads when ignoring the mating orders of father and mother. If HWE holds, the observed number of families in each of the 10 categories follows a multinomial distribution. Departure from HWE was then tested with the corrected Pearson chi-square statistics, including first-order correction, second-order correction, or a Satterthwaite F-version second-order correction [21, 22]. By contrast, Li et al. [2] proposed a quasi-score (QS) test based on quasi-generalized estimating equations (GEE). Different from the regular GEE where the covariance matrix are often unknown, covariance matrix of the observed genotypes in the quasi-GEE are derived from the condensed coefficients of identity (CCI) [23], which appropriately measures the second level of genetic correlation among family members within families. The first level of correlation due to hierarchical geographic sampling of families is considered in the variance estimation of the estimated quasi- scores with respect to the fixation index (correlations between any pair of alleles within individuals, characterizing the departure from the HWE) using Taylor linearization methods.
In Li et al. [2], the QS method is claimed to advantage over the CCS method because the CCS method is limited to one type of family structure, i.e., 2 parents and 1 offspring (2P1O), while the QS method allows for a wide range of family structures. Trio (2P1O), however, is one of the common study designs in genetic association studies, e.g. transmission disequilibrium test. For the analysis of genetic data from 2P1O, Li et al. [2] didn't make thorough comparisons between the two methods analytically or numerically. In addition, the QS and the CCS methods appear to be the only two existing methods that take account of the two levels of clustering effects induced by the national genetic household surveys (NGHS) (i.e. geographic correlation among families within PSUs and genetic correlation within families). Which method should be recommended in the analysis of NGHS genetic data collected from 2P1O families? For survey practitioners, it is important to select a proper test that maintains the nominal levels, but with higher power.
In this paper, we examine and compare the performance of two methods, in terms of the sizes and powers, via Monte-Carlo simulation studies under a variety of complex sample designs with differential weighting schemes and varying magnitudes of the correlation effects. It is observed that the QS method maintains the nominal size relatively well and consistently achieves higher power than the CCS method in testing HWE using data collected from 2 parents and 1 offspring in NGHS. In Section "Methods", we outline the detailed methodology of the CCS and the QS tests. Both methods are compared in Section "Results" via simulation studies on the finite sample performance and applied to a real data example from the Hispanic Health and Nutrition Examination Survey with generated genotype data. Finally, the paper is wrapped up in Section "Conclusions".
Consider household surveys with stratified multistage cluster sample designs such as used in NHANES. These types of sample designs are described briefly as follows: The population of individuals is subdivided into disjoint primary sampling units (PSUs) usually based on the geographic locations of residence. For example, PSUs can be small cities or counties or contiguous cities/counties. The PSUs are grouped into strata so that they are approximately homogeneous with respect to certain demographic and geographic characteristics. At the first stage of sampling, a random sample of PSUs is selected from each stratum. At the second stage, smaller geographical units, so called secondary sampling units (SSUs), are randomly sampled from the sampled PSUs. Households/families are further randomly selected from the sampled SSUs, and at the ultimate stage individuals are randomly selected from sampled households/families. For each sampled individual, the inclusion probability is the product of the inclusion probabilities at each stage of sampling, and the corresponding sample weight is defined as the inverse of the inclusion probability. In most surveys the sample weights also involve adjustments for nonresponse and poststratification and can be considered as the number of people in the population represented by the sampled individual.
Let there be H strata with I h PSUs in the h-th strata for h = 1, 2,…, H. Within the PSU-hi for i = 1, 2, …, I h , data is collected on J hi families with K hij individuals selected in the jth family and j = 1, 2, …, J hi .
Corrected chi-square tests
Joint distributions of three genotypes from parents-child triads
Familial type
Joint probability
an F version of , is asymptotically distributed as F distribution with df_numerator = and under the null hypothesis.
Quasi score test
Li et al. [2] suggested a quasi-score test for testing HWE. They considered a locus with a (≥2) different alleles and general familial relationships with family size K hij (=1, 2, 3…). Define M = a(a + 1)/2, the number of possible distinct genotypes. The data are collected on the vector of variables y hijk = ( y hijk.1 ,…, yhijk.g,…,yhijk.M-1) for each sampled individual, where yhijk.g equals to 1 if individual-hijk has genotype g and 0 otherwise for g = 1, …, M-1. Define a parameter vector θ = (p, r) T , where p = (p 1 , …,p l , …, pa-1) denotes the (a-1) independent allele frequencies and the frequency of the last allele, and r denotes the fixation index. Under the null hypothesis of HWE, we have fixation coefficient r = 0.
where y hij and u hij are vectors representing values over family members k = 1,2…,K hij , and w hij represent a block-diagonal matrix whose block-matrices are w hij , a (M-1) by (M-1) diagonal matrix with each of diagonal elements the sampling weight associated to individual-hijk. Note that the quasi-estimating equation, constructed at the family level, considers genetic correlation among family members via Var(y hij ).
As known, family sizes and family relationships differ across families.
is asymptotically a T 2 distributed variable with (U-H) denominator degrees of freedom with the total number of sampled PSU's, where is a consistent estimator of the covariance matrix of . Please refer to [2] for the estimation of covariance of .
Monte Carlo simulations
Let the finite population be of size N = 300,000 individuals consisting of M = 2,500 PSU's with each PSU composed of 40 families with each family having 2 parents and 1 child. Considering a biallelic locus (allele A and allele a), the parental genotypes are generated independently according to a multinomial distribution with frequencies of , p(Aa) = 2(1 − r)p A p a , and . Given the parental genotypes, the genotype of the child is generated according to Mendelian law.
In the simulations, two different sample weight distributions are employed: (1) the sample weight value of one is assigned to all the sample individuals, i.e. w ≡ 1, so that there is no differential weighting effect; and (2) sample weight values of 1, 3, and 5 are each randomly assigned to one third of the sample of individuals, denoted by w ≡ {1, 3, 5}. The second weighting scheme is to mimic the real situation where the sample weights are noninformative of the genetic data. For example, surveys oversample the older person or younger children (e..g NHANES), leading to differential sample weights that are independent of the genotypes. The type I error rate and power are calculated based on 1,000 simulation runs with varying values of allele A frequency pA = 0.1, 0.3, or 0.5. We calculate the rejection rates, defined by the proportion of 1,000 simulation runs for which the p-value is less than the significance level α (=0.05), to evaluate the performance of the five tests and QS, given by (1), (2), (3), (4), and (6), respectively. Please recall the first 4 tests were proposed by She et al. [1] and the QS test was proposed by Li et al. [2].
Sizes and powers given by five HWE tests: 40 families within each PSU are independent
#r = 0
r = 0.03
r = 0.05
Sizes and powers given by five HWE tests: 40 families within each PSU are correlated
#r = 0
r = 0.1
r = 0.2
By comparing results from two simulation studies (see Tables 2 and 3), it can be observed that the tests are more powerful when the families within PSUs are independent, relative to that when the families within PSUs are correlated. For example, under w ≡ {1, 3, 5}, it requires r = 0.03 for the QS test to achieve the power of 0.209 when the families are independent (see last row of Table 2); whereas r needs to be as large as 0.10 for the QS to reach the similar power of 0.216 when there exists correlation within PSUs (see last row of Table 3).
In conclusion, the QS test appropriately incorporates two levels of correlations of genetic data, and thus maintain the nominal levels relatively well, and consistently achieve the highest power compared to , or , across different sampling strategies.
Example from the Hispanic health and nutrition examination survey with generated genotype data
We use data from the Mexican-American part of the HHANES [27] that consisted of household interviews and physical examinations conducted between 1982 and 1984 for a random sample of non-institutionalized Mexican Americans aged 6 month to 74 years residing in selected areas in the southwestern part of the US.
The HHANES had a stratified multistage cluster sample design; see [27] for further details about the sample design. At the last stage of sampling, individuals were sampled from selected households with rates based on age: 50 % for 2–19 years, 75 % for 20–44 years, and 100 % for 45–74 years. This within-household sampling was accomplished systematically from a household roster obtained by the interviewer. Within a sampled household, all household members related by blood, marriage, or adoption were considered to be a family. To compare the CCS and QS methods, we restricted our analyses to families with two parents and one child, resulting in 307 sampled families. Thus, totally 921 sampled individuals are involved in the data analysis.
Since the HHANES did not genotype their sampled individuals, we generated genotype data using a two-step procedure by following [2]. In step 1, the allele A frequency pA was generated from the Beta distribution p A ~ Beta((1 − r)f A / r, (1− r)(1 − f A )/ r) when r ≠ 0. When r = 0, p A takes f A , where r is the fixation coefficient. In step 2, for each parent, two alleles were drawn at random from the binomial distribution Bin (2, p A ). Given parental genotypes, the genotype of a child was randomly generated by the Mendelian law.
According to the within-family sampling design of HHANES, we set the within-family weights to be 2 if the individual is 2–19 years; 1.33 if the person is between 20–44 years; and 1 if the person is 45–74 years. The final sample weight for each sampled individual was provided and calculated by the product of inclusion probabilities at each stage of sampling with nonresponse and postratification adjustments. For construction of family-level weights, we follow [28] by taking the average of the remaining weights (= final sample weight / within-family weight) of 2 parents and 1 child in each of the sampled families. Family-level weights will be employed in the analysis.
P-value from Hispanic Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data analysis where the genotype data is generated with allele frequency f A =0.3 and varying fixation coefficient r
r = 0
r =0.1
r =0.2
r =0.3
In this paper, we compared test statistics recently proposed by She et al. [1] and Li et al. [2] for testing Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium of genetic data collected from 2P1O families in NGHS. Both methods consider two levels of clustering (correlation) effects with the first level induced by the hierarchical clustered sampling of families and the second level induced by the biological inheritance within families. Based on results from our small sample simulation studies, we have the following observations. First, when genotypes among families within PSUs are independent, i.e. there is no first-level correlation from sampling families, the sizes of and QS (when r = 0) maintain the nominal level across different weighting strategies and the QS test achieves the greater power under alternative hypothesis of r > 0. Second, when genotypes among families within PSUs are correlated, the sizes are conservative for and tests. Compared to , the QS test maintains the nominal level relatively well. In terms of the power, however, the QS test consistently achieves higher power than , or across different sampling strategies. Therefore, based on our limited simulation results, we would recommend the QS test for testing HWE of NGHS genetic data.
We originally planned for testing HWE using the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey III (NHANES III) genetic data. However, in order to access NHANES III genetic data, researchers are required to be onsite at NCHS in Hyattsville, Maryland. Being located out of the state of Maryland, we are not able to access the data. Considering the similar survey components in Hispanic Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (HHANES) as in the NHANES III, we decided to apply the developed tests to HHANES with simulated genotype data. Although the genetic data are simulated, all the sampling components, such as the stratification, hierarchical clustering, family size, and family relationships, are real, and thus the analysis can still serve as a useful illustration for testing HWE in NGHS. However, we admit that the fact of simulated genotypes in the real data analysis is one of the limitations in this study.
In the simulation studies, the family members are selected by family relationship (i.e. 2P1O). In real surveys, however, individuals could be selected by their phenotypic characteristics, e.g., diseased or disease-free, which are often correlated within certain susceptible genetic variations. The magnitude of this correlation will differ depending on the susceptible genetic variations of interest. In our simulation studies (results not shown), both methods produced biased estimates of allele frequencies and the type I error rate is inflated when within-family selection is highly related to the genotypes. In future research, an extension of the QS estimator will be studied to account for within-family weights that are correlated with genetic variations.
The author thanks Mr. Tony Tsai for R scripts attempted for methods by She et al. (2009) in the simulations of this study.
Authors' Affiliations
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This article is published under license to BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.


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The growing availability and use of genetic testing in the clinical setting raises a number of ethical, legal and social issues and questions that healthcare providers should become familiar with. For example, how should such tests be regulated? Should "home brew" tests be regulated by the FDA just like diagnostic devices? What level of analytical validity (accuracy of the test result), clinical validity (use of the test as a diagnostic tool), or clinical utility (use of test result for treatment) should be required for tests offered to the public? What counseling should be provided for recipients of test results, and who should provide that guidance? How can the public be protected from discrimination? This section provides healthcare professionals with links to more detailed information about the ethical, legal and social challenges that accompany genetic testing.
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Alert 2007-27
Subject: Counterfeit Cashier's Checks
Date: May 24, 2007
Description: Community First National Bank of West Plains
Counterfeit Cashier's Checks of Community First National Bank of West Plains, West Plains, MO
To: Chief Executive Officers of All National Banks; All State Banking Authorities; Chairman, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System; Chairman, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation; Director, Office of Thrift Supervision; Conference of State Bank Supervisors; Deputy Comptrollers (districts); Assistant Deputy Comptrollers; District Counsel; and All Examining Personnel
The above-named bank has reported that counterfeit cashier's checks issued in the bank's name and using a correct routing number of 086518765 are being presented for payment nationwide in connection with a variety of lottery scams.
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Richard C. Stearns
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Some days you feel it would had been better to not quit the bed.
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Yesterday I passed all the day with a strong pain in the back, and I couldn't even go to work. I passed the morning just checking that all the doctors near me where full, and the rest of the day trying to do something useful with my laptop... until yesterday evening, when the screen of the laptop decided enough was enough, and stopped working since then.
Today I'm feeling somewhat better, but it still hurts. I'm using the Mac now. I passed the latest hours installing emacs, getting a decent developer environment and doing some work on the javascript engine.
It turns out I was not just lacking concat and reverse on Arrays. It seems that I can't even read my own TODO items. I just had toString, join, pop and push, and thus I was lacking concat, reverse, shift, slice, sort, splice and unshift.
I have implemented now all of them, and they have all of them worked at the first try, except for splice (I got wrong some indexes on some for loops on splice). O'Caml is truly an outstanding language.


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Bad puppy
Bad, bad puppy.
Oh I feel for her!
why do they always pick the favorites?
It probably won't be much consolation that he shares her good taste.
Yikes. Good thing he's so cute.
Have you seen this picture? http://dideonphotos.shutterfly.com/1474#1453
It looks like XiXi and was taken at the orphanage mid September 2009.
That's so nice of you to point out XiXi's photo to me. Yes, I had seen it back when we were waiting to go to China. That's actually how I learned he was still in the orphanage!
Thank you!
Oh dear! What a pathetic picture.
Uh oh!!!!!!!! :-(


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Velour Seat Covers
Reviewed By Angela C (Saint Joseph, MO) Reviewed for a 2007 Suzuki SX4 —5/25/2011 11:41 AM
I am very pleased with my seat covers. They were easy to install and do not move around when getting in and out of my vehicle. They are plush and look like they have always been in my car. Everyone keeps commenting on how nice they look!


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Queenstown Travel Information
The Basics
GMT +12 (GMT +13 from last Sunday in September to first Sunday in April)
Electrical current is 230 volts, 50Hz. Oblique flat blade plugs are standard.
The official languages in New Zealand are English and Maori.
Travel Health
There are no health risks associated with travel to New Zealand. New Zealand's accident compensation scheme (ACC) covers emergency treatment for visitors, but health insurance is recommended to cover any additional charges and for those not entitled to free emergency treatment. Those intending to participate in adventure activities, such as bungee jumping, white water rafting, etc should ensure that their travel insurance covers these types of activities.
Gratuities are not expected in New Zealand and service charges are not applied to bills, but it is acceptable to tip at your discretion.
Safety Information
New Zealand has a reputation as one of the safest destinations in the world, however sensible precautions against petty theft are still advised.
Local Customs
Quarantine procedures mean that strict bio-security regulations are in place at immigration points into New Zealand. It is illegal to import most foodstuffs, and care should be taken when importing wood products, golf clubs and shoes (which may have soil and dirt attached), and items made from animal skin. The immigration arrivals card has full details.
New Zealand is ranked first in the World Bank's Ease of Doing Business rankings, so those looking to do business in New Zealand are sure to find that the corporate atmosphere of the country is well-suited to their ambitions. The business culture of New Zealand conforms to a typically British model - being formal, reserved, and conservative. However, New Zealand's corporate culture distinguishes itself from the metropole with its characteristically Antipodean warmth and friendliness, creating a relaxed, yet professional atmosphere, in which rewarding personal relationships may be developed among associates.
The general approach to management in New Zealand is hierarchical, with decisions being made by senior-level executives - though ideas, input and collaboration, from all members of the organisation, are also highly valued in the New Zealand workplace. Business etiquette in New Zealand will be familiar to those who've worked in western corporate environments before. Use titles, until instructed not to do so, and maintain eye contact when speaking to your associates. New Zealand businessmen tend to favour forthrightness, honesty, and hard work over self-aggrandisement and empty promises - they will be far more interested in what you actually do, than what you merely say you can do.
Business meetings should be scheduled at least a week in advance, and then confirmed a few days before they are due to take place. When raising an idea or responding to someone else's, present your point directly, and back it up with facts and figures - while a relaxed, human-orientated atmosphere is prized in the New Zealand workplace, business decisions remain unemotional, and motivated by the business' best interests. The dress code for business in New Zealand is difficult to pin down, though you should always appear well-groomed and presentable. For a first meeting, men should stick to a dark suit, worn with a tie; and women should wear a smart dress/business suit/pants suit and limited accessories. The official language of business in New Zealand is English, and business hours are generally from 8.30am (or 9am) to 5pm, Monday to Friday; and 9am to 12.30pm on Saturdays.
The international access code for New Zealand is +64. The outgoing code is 00 followed by the relevant country code (e.g. 0061 for Australia). City/area codes are in use, e.g. (0)9 for Auckland and (0)4 for Wellington. Vodafone offers GSM 900 coverage in and around the main cities and popular holiday areas.
Duty Free
Travellers to New Zealand over 17 years do not have to pay duty on 50 cigarettes, or 50g of cigars or tobacco, or a mixture of all three not exceeding 50g; three bottles of spirits or liqueur each containing not more than 1,125ml; 4.5 litres of wine or beer; and other goods to the value of NZD 700. Goods exceeding the allowances must be declared. Personal effects not dutiable include items such as jewellery, binoculars, portable radios, prams, camping equipment, cameras and video cameras. Prohibited items include concealed firearms, foodstuffs, animals, plants and plant products. It is forbidden to export Greenstone, Maori antiquities and Paua shells (unless they are products manufactured from such shells). Prescription medications need to be accompanied by a doctor's letter and the original prescription, they should not amount to more than three months worth of the medication.
Become our Queenstown Travel Expert
We are looking for contributors for our Queenstown travel guide. If you are a local, a regular traveller to Queenstown or a travel professional with time to contribute and answer occasional forum questions, please contact us.


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Nearly two decades ago, in the fishing town of Rathgama, south-west in Sri Lanka, a young boy started playing cricket in the beach. Despite his mother's protests the boy would rush to the beach every day after school to enjoy a game of cricket. The boys played tennis ball cricket in the sandy beaches against the sea breeze. To bowl quick in these conditions, the boy had to adapt his action and develop a strong upper body. Within 3 years time from that time, Lasith Malinga broke into the Sri Lankan national team. What lessons can the Tigers camp take away from the Sri Lankan model to produce the likes of Malinga or Vaas? Jeeshan Mirza provides some valuable insights studying the successes of his resident team.
Fast Bowling Lessons From Sri Lanka
by Jeeshan Mirza
Published: 26th August, 2012
On the 18th of October 2011, Sri Lanka took on Pakistan in the first of a three match test series in Abu Dhabi. Sri Lanka was fielding an exciting debutant by the name of Nuwan Pradeep. Pradeep who had an unorthodox action was known to be able to bowl at 150kph. Media and the fans were not shy about making comparisons with Malinga. Sri Lanka batted on Day One. The second day, when Pradeep finally got to bowl his first ball, was incidentally his 25th birthday. As he strode in to deliver his first ball it was another milestone for the fast bowling unit of Sri Lanka's Centre for Excellence.
Pradeep didn't have much luck in that UAE series, nor did he enjoy any success in the recently concluded Test series against Pakistan at home. But what was impressive about this is how well Sri Lanka fast tracked a player who only held a leather ball for the first time when he was 20 years old. Pradeep is a recent addition to a growing list of promising pace bowlers with which Sri Lanka has been blessed in recent times. The list includes established bowlers like Nuwan Kulasekara, Thilan Thushara, Dilhara Fernando, Chanaka Welegedara, Dammika Prasad as well as all rounder's like Farveez Maharoof, Thisira Perera, Angelo Matthews, and emerging bowlers like Isuru Udana, Shaminda Eranga, Suranga Lakmal to name a few (I have not even mentioned the Under 19 prospects).
Chaminda Vaas
Don't think these Sri Lankan bowlers are world class? Then let me remind you about Chaminda Vaas and Lasith Malinga. With 400 wickets in ODI's, and 355 wickets in Tests, Chaminda Vaas has retired as one of the best pace bowlers not only in Sri Lanka but in the world. Lasith Malinga may have only played one third of the matches Vaas had, but in this short time he has established himself as one of the best limited over fast bowlers in the world. His slingy action, toe crushing yorkers and funky hairdo inspire youngsters around the World. In the past Sri Lankan bowling has always been about Muralitharan. Spin has been their key strengths, and they were famous for making turning tracks at home. So how have they produced so many quality pace bowlers in the last decade or so? How have they produced world class fast bowlers like Vaas and Malinga?
Mashrafe Mortaza
Last bowling and Bangladesh- for some reason these two words don't seem to go together. Not because our bowlers can't bowl quick, but because most of our pacers have failed to make a mark since we got our Test status almost twelve years ago. Bowlers have come; bowlers have gone. They have played a bit role and then disappeared or got relegated to the fringes. Some got injuries, some lost form and some lost consistency; but, very few achieved a record worthy of talking about or inspiring the next generation. Look at the list: Hasibul Hossain, Manjural Islam, Morshed Ali Khan, Tareq Aziz, Tapash Baisya, Syed Rasel, Shahadat Hossain, Khaled Mahmud, Shafiuddin Ahmed, Mohammed Sharif, Mahbubul Alam, Talha Jubair, Alamgir Kabir are just to name a few. All these bowlers have made their contribution, but none have done what Vaas did for Sri Lanka, or Heath Streak did for Zimbabwe. But as they say, every cloud has a silver lining. Mashrafe Mortaza with his brave heart spirit has won the respect of cricketers all over-despite all his injury problems. Rubel Hossain, Shafiul Islam, Nazmul Hossain show promise. However none have the world class tag which their teammate Shakib has earned. So how can we develop a Vaas or a Malinga or even a Kulasekara? How can a country of 20 million with similar culture, economic development and infrastructure develop so many quality pace bowlers while we cannot? Well, here are a few theories:
Sri Lanka possesses one of the most organized school cricket systems in the world. Most schools have their own grounds, practice wickets, and qualified coaches. There are age groups in each school which means that the senior team is continuously fed with young talent from junior teams. Schools also prefer to play the longer version of the game which helps to develop strong basics. Local cricketing authorities have even gone to the extent of shunning T20 format in school cricket as they believe it spoils the cricketer's basic skills. School cricket also gets plenty of coverage and following. In fact, one of the most anticipated sporting events in the country is a 3 day match between two leading schools (Royal & St Thomas) which is considered second-longest uninterrupted cricket match series in the world (Older than Ashes, started in 1879). High profile matches like these put youngsters into the spotlight right away. This provides Sri Lanka the perfect platform to develop young talent. Most of Sri Lanka's top cricketers are products of school cricket system. To promote fast bowling, authorities have started to develop bouncy sporting wickets from school level. In 2011, Sri Lanka Cricket has even made a rule in school cricket-than fast bowlers must use the new ball in first ten over's (To counter a growing trend of bowling spinners early). Such is the depth at which the cricketing body goes to, to develop pace bowlers.
Rumesh Ratnayeke
Sri Lanka has not produced all these pace bowlers by accident or luck or from a golden generation. They have come through their pace academy and the hard work and perseverance of numerous fast bowling coaches like Rumesh Ratnayake, Champaka Ramanayake (Former Bangladesh bowling coach), and current coach Anusha Samaranayake . They have worked in continuum since late 1990's from the fast bowling unit of Sri Lanka Centre of Excellence.
Before this unit was set up, promising fast bowlers used to be sent to MRF Pace Academy for two to three weeks of training. The think tank than realized there is not a lot a bowler can learn in two weeks, and there is no use sending bowlers to Dennis Lillee and co unless there is someone following up on the players development. This resulted in the formation of a fast bowling academy, which is now a part of their centre of excellence. The unit scouts for young talent from around the country then recruits those who pass the fitness and technical test (Aged 19-23). The youngsters are trained five days a week and are given food, accommodation and clothing. They are given strong grounding on the basics and introduced to swing, reverse swing, variation etc. The unit also has its own fitness coach whose aim is to keep the bowlers in prime, physical condition. Apart from working on technical and physical skills, the coaches put in a lot of emphasis on the development of mental and psychological attributes. The unit believes mental skills are imperative to help a bowler succeed in the flattest of all wickets which may provide no assistance whatsoever. This intelligence is clearly visible in all of their pace bowlers: from Malinga to Kulasekera to Matthews. Angelo Mathews with his modest pace and limited skills once ripped apart India in a flat track with a career best return of 6 for 20. Recently Thisira Perera has also destroyed Pakistan in an ODI match with a 6 wicket haul. Now these guys don't have the pace, bounce and swing of bowlers like Brett Lee or Steyn or Hilfenhaus. But they know how to read batsmen; they know what to bowl, where to bowl-their strategy is all about intelligence. Already they have shown they can knock down and top quality batting sides like India in flat sub continental wickets.
Successful trainees of the fast bowling unit are introduced into the A team and some are fast tracked to the national team. The unit has been credited for the development of Lasith Malinga, Kulasekara and the numerous emerging pacers who are currently breaking into the team. Sri Lanka also has a separate fast bowling coach who works solely with the national team bowlers. Currently Champaka Ramanayake is carrying out this role. So one bowling coach works with the bowlers in the pipeline, while the other works with those who have made it to the national team.
Richard McInnes
Now compare their structure with ours. Our high performance unit, which has had its fair bit of success, has been functioning in on and off mode (BCB has made an excellent decision in appointing Richard McIness to resume the work of the unit). We never had a specialized pace academy, and have shuffled our fast bowling coaches between national team and academy. Fast bowling coaches have also come and gone, often we have had to wait months to replace those who have left. All of them worked intermittently and none of them worked according to a long term strategy. One day a coach was working with youngsters, next day he was asked to assist national team players. So what happens to the youngsters when the coach is on national duty and vice versa?
The Sri Lankan academy is not equipped with world class infrastructure and doesn't possess speed guns, biometric specialists and high tech cameras like you get in Australia or England or South Africa. Its success can be simply attributed to a clear and concise long term strategy, careful planning and perseverance of their coaches.
Sri Lankan fast bowling coaches consider physical attributes as the most important criteria in the selection of fast bowlers. According to them a fast bowler can have pace, can have skills but they will not last if they don't have the right physical attributes. Consider the plight of Mashrafe Mortaza. When he made his debut he could bowl at 145 kph and generate good swing and bounce-something we were not used to seeing in Bangladeshi bowlers. In fact, Mashrafe was the only Bangladeshi bowler who could force batsmen to play on their backfoot! Without any doubt, Mortaza is Bangladesh's best ever fast bowler. Imagine if he didn't have any of these critical injuries, where he could have been today!
Generally Sri Lankan youngsters are fitter than Bangladeshi youngsters. How? Again this starts early. Sports are an important part of schooling. Each youngster is likely to pursue 2-3 sports simultaneously in their school life before they decide on cricket-basketball, swimming, rugby, football, athletics, and volleyball and so on. Dilhara Fernando for instance was a basketball player who was lured into the school cricket team because of his height. Pursuing so many sports leads to the youngsters becoming better athletes. Think about it- a young school boy in Colombo will stay back after school for mandatory swimming or cricket, while a Bangladeshi boy will be home getting ready to go for tuition classes.
Bangladeshi players training as fitness coach Grant Luden looks on
Fitness is also a habit. It has a lot to do with diet, daily workout and exercise. Fitness is also an end result of discipline and work ethic. Several years ago, when I was working in Colombo there was something I used to observe every day. Every day on my way to work at around 7:30 AM, I used to see Chaminda Vaas jogging in the streets. On my way back from work at around 5:30 PM I would see him again jogging in the same area. Jogging twice a day was a part of his daily routine and an example of his commitment to fitness. Now can you imagine any of our bowlers doing this?
I have already mentioned Sri Lanka's fast bowling unit has specialized fitness coaches to look after bowlers. But sometimes even with the best fitness training and care you can't prevent injuries. This is where the unit again plays a key role. They take the responsibility in rehabilitating the bowler and gradually helping him get back to international cricket. They also work with the players so that that they avoid injuries. When Lasith Malinga first made it to the national team he was around 52 kg. The coaches knew if he had to maintain his speed he needed to work on his physique. A bowler with such weak frame usually gets injured in a matter of time. With the help of his coaches, Malinga developed a stronger and more muscular physique and now weights around 72 kg. Usually fast bowlers speed declines as he grows older. Malinga became quicker! Malinga bowled the fastest ball of Wold Cup 2011, a 155.7 kph delivery against New Zealand. Malinga had his fair share of injury problems which has even forced him to retire from the longer version. But he still remains very strong and fit enough to deliver in the shorter version.
Separamadu Lasith Malinga
Nearly two decades ago, in the fishing town of Rathgama (Sri Lanka's south-west coast), a young boy started playing cricket in the beach. Despite his protests of his mother, the boy would rush to the beach every day after school to enjoy a game of cricket. The boys played tennis ball cricket in the sandy beaches against the sea breeze. To bowl quick in these conditions, the boy had to adapt his action and develop a strong upper body. At the age of 18 he held a leather ball for the first time in a school match. Within 3 years time from that time, Lasith Malinga broke into the Sri Lankan national team. There has been no looking back since. In a short time Malinga became an iconic figure, match winner and the undisputed spearhead of the Sri Lankan bowling attack. Malinga is not alone. Legendary West Indian fast bowler Michael Holding also starting off with beach cricket. How was West Indies able to produce so many fast bowlers? There is a theory that they all benefitted from playing in the sand early on. Tape tennis balls played a key role in Pakistan's development of fast bowlers.
Every Pakistani youngster starts playing cricket with a tape tennis ball (whether on the streets or nets). To be successful with the tape tennis ball they need raw pace. So they adapt to a quicker arm action and use their every bit of strength. Sometimes even pace is not enough to prevent them from being whacked around the park. So they learn how to swing, learn how to bowl yorkers and slower deliveries. Every Pakistani fast bowler (From Imran Khan to Mohammad Amir) will say this is how they started their cricket, and that tape tennis played a role in their development.
Now what is the lesson in this for Bangladesh? Promote beach cricket, promote tennis ball cricket? Not exactly. The lesson is we may not be able to find a Malinga in the nets of Abahani practicing with a leather ball. We need to widen our search parameters. We need to look at villages, rural school cricket and often resort to the unlikeliest places to find a future fast bowler. Sounds easy in theory, but how can we implement this? This is where the decentralization of cricket will help. Individual's delegated responsibility of promoting cricket in the different regions must scout for such prospects and bring them into the system. This has been one Sri Lanka's key success factors-the ability to discover and bring in young talent from around the country.
We cannot develop fast bowlers overnight. Varun Aaron, Umesh Yadav probably the two fastest bowlers India has ever produced are only fruits of their 20 year campaign. It's all about a long term vision, plan, system and perseverance. Sri Lanka will produce many more Vaases and Malinga's. They have developed a system which will keep producing results. In his book Built to Last, Jim Collins says "great leaders are like clock builders,
not time tellers." We need Mustafa Kamal, Richard Pybus, Richard McIness and all other cricket officials to develop such a clock or a system which will enable us to uncover and develop talent. The development must not stop when a coach or president leaves.
All of a sudden BCB has made a flurry of excellent decisions-BPL, Pybus, McIness, National Cricket Academy. Let's hope such positive initiatives continue and the next one is the development of a pace academy. It will take our cricket ahead a long way!
About the author(s): The writer is an ardent Bangladeshi cricket follower based out of Colombo, Sri Lanka. He is known on the forum as jeesh and he welcomes feedback/comments at email@example.com
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After 32 years with the Burbank Fire Department, Ray Krakowski retired on Friday.
Krakowski rose through the department's ranks after starting in 1980 as a firefighter and paramedic, and later being promoted to engineer, captain and battalion chief.
He was named interim fire chief in 2009, and was appointed to the position permanently the following year.
He recently sat as acting city manager until the arrival of Interim City Manager Ken Pulskamp on Dec. 3.
Krakowski said his time in Burbank went by quickly.
"It goes by easy when you work with good people," he said in a statement.
Fire Marshal Tom Lenahan, a 25-year veteran of the department, will take over as interim chief while Pulskamp searches for a permanent internal replacement.
Pulskamp expects to hire a permanent fire chief by the end of January, said city spokesman Drew Sugars.
-- Alene Tchekmedyian, Times Community News
Follow Alene Tchekmedyian on Google+ and on Twitter: @atchek.


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Once all of the parts are laid down and you feel good about everything that was recorded, you can move on to mixing. A good mixing engineer is worth his weight in gold! Anybody can get a decent board mix shortly after the basic tracks and overdubs are done, but that is a far cry from a truly professional mix that will stand up to all those professionally recorded songs you hear on the radio. In fact, in most music circles, a board mix that doesn't take very long is called a demo and certainly not a record.
There are so many factors that go into a good mix, and one of the most important is patience—especially on behalf of the artist. You can expect to pay the studio for about four or five hours of mixing time, if it is not included in the day rate. For a really good mix, it can take even longer. Also, just because something sounds great in the studio, that doesn't mean it's going to sound great on your home system, in your car, or any other place where you are accustomed to listening to music. To make sure that your music sounds the way you want it to sound, it's a very good idea to bring in a CD of something that you think is a great mix. Then the engineer can A-B your recording to that outside recording. This gives you a reference point so that your mix doesn't go off on some sonic tangent that could end up sounding muddy or just plain bad.
Digital enhancers and exciters have revolutionised the sound of music over the last 20 years. Usually when people strive for that 'pro' sheen, all they need is an enhancer. Using a variety of techniques, these effects boost emphasise or enhance key parts of the musical spectrum -primarily the bass and treble.
In the days before virtual studios, adding excitement meant buying two-channel hardware units, notably the BBE Sonic Maximiser and Aphex Aural Exciter; and with even budget units costing ?150 or more, enhancement was usually only applied to the final mix. But for best results, the effect should really be added to Individual sounds first and then the whole mix.
Fortunately, there's now a wide range of software available in this area. Most mastering packages include an enhancer, and plug-ins can be inserted on multiple channels and use the latest algorithms, so for the price of one budget hardware unit, you can now apply top-of-the-range enhancement to as many channels as you want. Our advice: buy one and use it!
STEP BY STEP Using excitement and enhancement in the mix
1. Enhancers and exciters are powerful sound mangling tools, but when mixing you should usually be thinking about lust enhancing. We've slatted with a simple low cut from lOO Hz to get a clear signal and a Sonic Maximizer boost to the bass and treble (using plenty of both).
2. Next we open a multiband exciter and slowly start boosting frequencies. We've kept the ranges broad, though, as we're going for a more natural boost and sheen. We put the most boost in the range of 174Hz-2Kz to give the bass additional presence and tone.
3. Finally, we want to give our mid-range a little more bite. Rather than use EQ boost, which can sound a little harsh and unbalancing, we opt for a more creative third exciter. Sweeping the frequency across the mid-range, we settle on 770Hz for a better, crisper mid-range.
But how do they work?
Although the words 'exciter' and 'enhancer' are used interchangeably, they don't mean the same thing and neither tells the whole story. The words commonly apply to a variety of processing techniques that add sheen, sparkle or boost to various parts of a track's sonic spectrum.
The technology used varies, with some units simply adding EQ or tailored bass boost. Other techniques involve generating harmonics based on the target signal – an effect which can create sub-bass from a higher signal or add treble to a low- or mid-range signal.
The trouble with these techniques is that they often create a harsh increase, resulting in extreme ear fatigue. For this reason, you may use a different technique with Sonic Maximizer, adding no artificially generated harmonics. It's described as "eyeglasses for your audio system" but, marketing spiel aside, Sonic Maximizer employs some very clever programming to undo the unnatural sounding phase shifting inherent in any playback system.
Mastering is the process of finalizing a recording and preparing it for the final medium on which it will be played back by consumers, radio stations, Disc Jockeys etc. Mastering provides the final polishing touches to the recordings and maximizes the volume of the songs so that they are competitive with other commercial recordings played back in clubs, Jukeboxes, radios and CDs. Mastering also provides continuity between tracks when they are placed on a compilation album so that there are no sudden overall volume changes between tracks.
These color visuals are representations of particular moments in the mix. In order to represent a true mixing process, they would be flashing on and off to the music. Therefore, some of the visuals may look busier than the mix really is.
Of course, every song has its own personality and is mixed based on that. Therefore, don't assume that there is only one way to mix any style of music. These visuals are only a reference point from which you can begin to study what is done in mixes for various types of music.
With all this in mind . . . enjoy.
Hip Hop Mix
Generally a pretty busy mix with an 808 boom loud and out front. Note the fattening on the bass and the doubling on each of the keys. Note the delay on the synth and hi-hat. Especially unique is the doubling of the hi-synth with another instrument. The super high strings are flanged for a subtle, spacey effect. The snare is not very loud in this particular mix.
Hip-Hop Mix Visual Aid
Before we get into the actual mechanics of mixing, it's important to have some perspective on how this art has developed over the years.
It's obvious to just about everyone who's been around long enough that mixing has changed over the decades, but the why's and how's aren't quite so obvious. In the early days of recording in the 50's, there really wasn't any mixing per se since the recording medium was mono and a big date used only four microphones. Of course, over the years recording developed from capturing an unaltered musical event to one that was artificially created through overdubs, thanks to the innovation of Selsync (the ability to play back off of the record head so everything stayed in sync) introduced in 1955. The availability of more and more tracks begat larger and larger consoles, which begat computer automation and recall just to manage the larger consoles fed by more tracks. With all that came not only an inevitable change in the philosophy of mixing but a change in the way that a mixer listened or thought as well.
1. Intro
First of all, there's a difference between Mastering and Premastering: Mastering is a process, that matches premastered Audio material with the Demands of unified Pressing-Copying-Standards. Premastering is the process of finishing and polishing-up your mixdown… The tips I'll give in this article are suggestions, as there is no general rule or recipe how to make things sound good.


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In the genealogy category there are used pre-1960 postcards. The postcards will have a scanned image of the recipients postal name and address and also any senders identity. I am adding new postcards EVERY DAY as I am a keen genealogist. Located in the United Kingdom.
Footsteps - Quality Reproductions of Old Photographs
Several thousand photographs dating from about 1910 to 1930, depicting views of towns, villages, schools, churches, etc., of England and Wales.
A website of amateur photographer volunteers in the United Kingdom who are able to take pictures on request in their local areas, and email them on.
Aims to collect a photograph from every geographical grid square in the UK & Ireland. Fantastic if you want to find a photo of where your ancestors originated.
Gerry Palliser's Local and Family History Resource
The site contains two databases: the General Historical Database (GHD), and the Photographed Monuments and Inscriptions Database (PMID). These databases relate almost exclusively to Great Britain.
Charged to protect and celebrate England's historic buildings, monuments, parks, gardens, battlefields and wreck sites.
Search across national and local records of England's historic sites and buildings.
The public archive of English Heritage. Holds over 10 million photos, plans, drawings, reports and publications on archaeology, listed buildings, aerial photography and social history.
Over 300,000 images of England's built heritage from lamp posts to lavatories, phone boxes to toll booths, mile stones to gravestones, as well as thousands of bridges, historic houses and churches.
England's LGBTQ Heritage, The Slave Trade and Abolition, Disability History, Women's History.
Search nearly 400,000 records held in our national historic environment database including information on archaeological, architectural and maritime sites.
Photos that date from the 1850s and are a resource for people interested in England's social, industrial, architectural and archaeological history.
A small family business in the United Kingdom offering affordable, fully personalised photo-documentaries of the environment where ancestors once lived.
Old Photos of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and The British Isles.
Old UK Photos - Free high resolution old photos and pictures of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and British Isles
Old photographs of Wales, England, Scotland and Ireland. Of interest to all family historians.
Old passports and their history - passport collection and research. The source for passports & their history. The website is always up-to-date with the latest new, history and collectibles. From Tom Topol, expert in passports & their history, a member of the Ephemera Society of America & The Ephemera Society (UK).
Personalia deal in mainly British historical manuscripts, named photographs, portrait miniatures, medals and mementos of the 17th to 19th centuries. The business is specifically oriented towards historians and genealogists, and museums and archives.
Photo Restoration | Damaged Photo Restoration | Old Photo Repair/Restoration | Photo Reshaping/Reproduction Photographs Restoration Outsourcing India US UK
We offer complete image processing solutions and digital image processing services like photo restoration, photo enhancement, photo retouching, vector conversion and web design. Visit our site now to get the image processing solution.
Photos of Churches of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
Thousands of high resolution photos of places of worship in the Channel Islands, England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales.
Includes a remarkable dating calculator which allows the visitor to answer questions about their postcard print or Carte-de-visite and be supplied with an approximate date range when that form of media was popular in the UK.
The Photo Alchemist - digital photo restoration and digital photo books
We specialise in digital photo restoration and digital photo books for family and local historians. With more than 40 years' experience in photography, computer technology and genealogical research, we have both the knowledge to bring your photographs back to life and the understanding of how to present and share images effectively.
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text: On Jan 30, 2009, at 21:24 , Vincent Diepeveen wrote: > Now that you're busy with all this, mind quoting interconnects > switch latency? > > For example: If one of the cores c0 on our box is busy receiving a > long message > from a remote node in the network, a message that will take > significant time, > can it switch in between let go through a short message meant for > c1, and if so > what latency time does it take to receive it for c1? > Vincent, This is a good comment. Multiple DMA engines/threads in the HCA and/or different priority level to the DMAs are issues. I would claim, as usual in the HW vs. SW world, that the mechanisms are implemented in the hardware, but the ability of software to take advantage of this may not be there. Since, small messages often are required to get trhough in order to start a large one, e.g. rendevouz protocols, your example is relevant. You might have an interest in looking at the SPEC MPI2007 results at http://www.spec.org/mpi2007/results/mpi2007.html Here you will find different MPI implementations using equal or very similar hardware, and/or different interconnects. Out of the 13 applications constituting the SPEC MPI2007 medium suite, you will find the milage varies significantly. May be related to a response (in software) to your issue? > On Jan 30, 2009, at 6:06 PM, Greg Lindahl wrote: >> Even logp doesn't describe an interconnect that well. It matters how >> efficient your interconnect is at dealing with multiple cores, and >> the >> number of nodes. As an example of that, MPI implementations for >> InfiniBand generally switch over to higher latency/higher overhead >> mechanisms as the number of nodes in a cluster rises, because the >> lowest latency mechanism at 2 nodes doesn't scale well. >> [slight change of subject] Greg, we (and your former colleagues at PathScale) have exchanged opinions on RDMA vs. Message Passing. Based on SPEC MPI2007, you will find that an RDMA based DDR interconnect using Platform MPI performs better than a Message Passing stack using DDR. Looking at 16 nodes, 128 cores, Intel E5472, the Message Passing paradigm is faster on 5 (out of 13) application, whereas Platform MPI with its RDMA paradigm is faster on 8 of the applications. Further, when the Message Passing paradigm is faster, its never faster than 7% (on pop2). On the other hand, when PMPI with its message passing is faster, we talk 33, 18, and 17%. May be you will call it a single datapoint. But I will respond its 13 applications. And frankly, I didn't have more gear to run on ;-) Thanks, Håkon


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MORE PHOTOSEver wonder what it's like to live overseas for the U.S. Department of State? Here's a blog entry by Tara Rigler, a civil servant working as the Deputy Press Attaché at U.S. Embassy in New Delhi, India.
Greetings from New Delhi! I have been here almost 9 months, but it seems like only three -- there is never a boring moment in Public Affairs. Over the summer, I had four weeks of work-related trips. The first week of July, I took some Indian journalists out to the U.S.S. Nimitz via the Carrier Onboard Delivery (COD) flight. We departed from Chennai, flying almost 480 miles to the ship while it was still off the coast of Sri Lanka. The members of the press that accompanied me were great. (despite some of them getting sea sick!) Prior to the trip, most of the stories in the Indian press were focused on the nuclear weapons on board the ship and protests staged by the left who are concerned about growing cooperation between India and the United States, particularly in the area of military-to-military relations. The visit ultimately produced a number of stories about the men and women on board the ship and their mission. Our departure flight off the Nimitz was exciting as we went from 0-150 mph in 5 seconds! My type of launch! Also while in Chennai, I took another group of journalists out to the Nimitz when it was docked 3 km from the shore. The water was very, very rough, and three of the journalists lost it on the ferry ride out. Good thing I have a strong stomach. Though I heard about the protestors staging a rally near the port, I didn't see any of them. I did see a lot of happy shop keepers who more than welcomed the almost one million dollars the two-day ship visit brought to the community. I had dinner with the Admiral, the Captain, my PA colleague Kate, and some of the senior crew of the Nimitz on July 4th (my last night in Chennai), which was really fun -- what a great group of people!
In August, my boss sent me to Kathmandu to help out in the public affairs office at the Embassy there. I was supposed to stay 10 days but ended up staying 20. Kathmandu is surrounded by mountains and is far more manageable than Delhi as it has only a fraction of the population. Sadly, there has been a population boom in the city due to the Maoists driving people from their farms and villages to the city for protection. It was spooky seeing the Maoists burning tires, throwing bricks at cars (fortunately not at my car) and waving communist flags in intersections. My office sponsors William, along with his wife Margot, were my weekend site-seeing buddies. Visited temples, monasteries, went on a Hash run, and went hiking. We also saw several Maoist rallies, fortunately all were peaceful.
Last week, one of the Deputy Assistant Secretaries from DoD was in Delhi on an "Official Visit." The next two weeks will be consumed by the visit of NASA Astronaut Sunita Williams. Though Sunita was not born in India and is an American astronaut, as far as the Indians are concerned, she is an Indian. We've got a number of media appearances for her planned.
After a busy summer of ship visits, military exercises, and the excitement of the 123 Agreement (India-United States Civilian Nuclear Agreement), Fall will bring visitors, visitors, and more visitors! The Embassy will have visits from members of Congress, Cabinet members, and various other officials all converging on Delhi, Mumbai, and Chennai. It will be crazy, but we will survive.
Work is consuming at times, but not all encompassing. I've worked some long hours, but I've also had the opportunity for personal travel. India's terrain and sites are just as diverse as its people. I visited Leh, a city that sits at 12,000 feet in the Himalayas, Chennai in southern India, Darjeeling in northeastern India, and of course the Taj Mahal in Agra and the Amber Fort in Jaipur. Plus, I spent a rollicking week in Bangalore for the largest air show in India. America had an impressive display of hardware at the show with the F-16, F-18, the C-17, and the C-130 J on display. We also arranged to have one of the most influential men in India, Ratan Tata, fly in both the F-16 and F-18; pretty gutsy for a senior citizen (69-year-old man). And all of this happened with the civilian nuclear agreement looming over us. J I don't know if 20 months will be enough time to see India and other countries in South and East Asia.
Living in Delhi is certainly an adventure. I've been surprised how difficult it can be to accomplish the smallest things. Traffic in Delhi is a nightmare; between the cows, bicycle rickshaws going the wrong direction on the roundabouts, and killer buses, there is never a dull moment. At no time of day can you expect to make it to your destination with ease or on time. I just hired a car and driver, but before that I took taxis to and from work; that was a royal pain. I got tired of the daily battle trying not to get cheated by the taxi driver or having them take me on a long, confusing, and pricy route to the Embassy. Air conditioning also became a must, something that taxis lack. It takes 15 minutes to get to work in the morning and about 30 minutes to get home at night. It's safer but more expensive to have a car and driver. My driver's English is somewhat limited, so our drive is usually spent with me trying to make him understand what time to pick me up, drop me off, and take my housekeeper to the market.
Keeping healthy is another challenge – makes you look at food in a different light. Basic sanitation is difficult to maintain. I have a water distiller that the Embassy provides and my housekeeper maintains it. I do not brush my teeth with tap water and I am careful never to open my mouth in the shower, as ingesting the water could lead to Delhi belly. Been there, done that, do not want a repeat. Constant hand washing in this country is a must.
The overwhelming poverty that can be found in the country is difficult to accept at times. However, it is a country on the move and in rapid transition. Look forward to sharing more in near future.
Sarah in Pennsylvania writes:
I am interested in finding out more about a career with the D.O.S, specifically as a civil servant. What educational path is best?
Dipnote Blogger Frederick Jones writes:
@ Sarah - Civil Service positions at the State Department include six broad areas: Operations; IT, Engineering, and Security; Professional and Analytical Careers; Office Support Professionals; Finance and Accounting; and Executives. Your specific educational path will vary depending on which of those areas interest you the most. The Department has a wealth of information available online to help you. To begin, I suggest you look at the careers.state.gov website, specifically: http://www.careers.state.gov/civil-service/index.html. Good luck!
Robin in Romania writes:
I really enjoyed your description! It seems really fun! Besides that, it's tension. And I see more tension underway as Pakistan is preparing to move from monarchy to republic. We must accept the fact that Pakistan is not really custom with the way things are done in a republic.
P.S. Please excuse me since the English I speak is not that well.
Niles in Colorado writes:
Thanks for the blog! I'm an aspiring FS officer; I just took the FSOT, coned PD. In short: I want your job! Keep posting, please. I find your posts very entertaining and educational.
Judy in Virginia writes:
Tara, I believe individuals reading this blog should know that when Foreign Service positions cannot be filled by a Foreign Service employee, the Department opens those positions to Civil Servants (CS). This becomes an excursion tour for the length of assignment. So CS employees assigned to the U.S. often have the opportunity to serve and travel overseas. Not a bad method of exchanging life styles and understanding of foreign service life for a mere two to three years. Great job Tara.
Dan in Maryland writes:
@ Judy in Virginia -- Thanks for your post ... Relatively minor point, but in the State Department the most often used and official term for the temporary assignment of State Department Civil Service employees to Foreign Service positions overseas is a "Limited Non-Career Appointment to the Foreign Service" (or "LNA") tour, not an "excursion tour" as you put it. Employees serving on LNA tours do important jobs that are often located in difficult and dangerous places, and thus it is not really very appropriate to refer to this dedicated service as an "excursion."
Al in Washington writes:
@ Niles in Colorado -- Hey Niles:
I am an aspirng FS Officer too. Recently took the FSOT. How did you find it?
Raja in India writes:
I really liked your blog. I appreciate your love for the Indian tourist sites.
Just one correction. Darjeeling is not in Northeastern India. It is in West Bengal, in eastern India.
Mike in California writes:
Thanks for the great Blog. Quick question, I am going to Delhi for the first time later this month for 2 weeks. I need to hire a car and driver for the duration of my trip. Can you make any recommendations?
Mesut in Turkey writes:
Hi Tara, I had been in India for a couple of days -- New Delhi, Agra, and Bangalore, respectively, in the year of 1998. I remember the hygienic and environmental aspects of the country were disgusting. I wonder how you can cope with all that negative-ness for months? On the other hand, as far as I am concerned on internet webpages, India and especially New Delhi is undergoing an amazing modernization. Can you witness that boom in the city life, infrastructure, environment etc.? Do you believe that New Delhi has any chance to become a world class city, as claimed? Regards.
Tom in Wyoming writes:
Hi Tara
Preston in Colorado writes:
It is hard to imagine a more beautiful place on earth, like the photo. Its is your actual travel notes that can change ones mind about spending a length of time in India going to and fro. The part about India's poverty is well documented but to see it first hand is heart moving and life changing.
It must be great to work abroad for the state department finding new places to see.
Tonya in Oklahoma writes:
What a wonderful assignment! I'm so jealous! See my e-mail.


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Bit concerned about the faceless angels - and even more so about the lack of stars of ever-virginity on the Mother of God's maphorion. Marquetry allows quite fine detail to be used, as has been done with the letters of the divine name in the halo of the Christ-child in the last piece, so why these omissions?
And I do have a problem with work which is made to resemble icons, but is intended as "art".
Quote from: LBK on December 01, 2012, 06:10:01 PMAnd I do have a problem with work which is made to resemble icons, but is intended as "art".Why can't it be venerated? Because of stars? What about the "Joy of all who Sorrow"?
Most I've seen don't. They have coins but not starts.Is it really bad that those 95% of paintings Orthodox people keep at homes or churches that do not meet the canons are still venerated by them or treated as icons. Is it bad that they buy paper mounts or some printed out as they cannot afford a professional iconographer or cannot contact one?
If you spend long enough on this forum, you'll come away with all sorts of weird, untrue ideas of Orthodox Christianity.
I would suggest most persons in general avoid any question beginning with why.
One need not spend hardly any money for a traditional, canonical, proper icon. Many Athonite monks have only paper icons in their cells.
Put another way: If I had the money for a really professional, proper icon, I'd just as well give that money to the church, if I was determined to spend it on something of a religious nature. Is that bad?
Quote from: Shanghaiski on December 01, 2012, 07:16:45 PMOne need not spend hardly any money for a traditional, canonical, proper icon. Many Athonite monks have only paper icons in their cells.That's why consider the need fo "canonical icon" crusade a bit exaggerated. Not that I do not agree that there are bad icons.
Most I've seen don't. They have coins but not starts.Is it really bad that those 95% of paintings Orthodox people keep at homes or churches that do not meet the canons are still venerated by them or treated as icons. Is it bad that they buy paper mounts or some printed out as they cannot afford a professional iconographer or cannot contact one?
I have previously spoken on this forum on the almost complete takeover of traditional iconography by naturalistic religious art over several centuries, across all the Orthodox world. Much of this was due to official patronage of this "new" religious art, be it by nobles, kings, or emperors of countries where Orthodoxy was the dominant faith. There was no separation of Church and State – indeed, the king/emperor/tsar was a kind of earthly representative of the Church. To this day, the affectionate titles for a Russian priest and his wife are Batiushka and Matushka (Little Father, Little Mother). The same titles were used for the Tsars and Tsarinas of imperial Russia. History shows that many rulers of Orthodox countries, for better and worse, adopted (willingly or otherwise) western customs and mores, and imposed them on their nations or empires. In Russia, this led to the founding of state-sponsored iconographic workshops, which promoted the highly naturalistic "Synodal" or "Academic" styles, as well as imagery commonly found in western religious art. The "iconography" of the Moscow Cathedral of Christ the Savior, commissioned in the 1820s, reflects the almost complete dominance of western imagery over traditional iconography.The Kursk-Root icon of the Mother of God dates from the last decade of the 13th century, and consisted of simply an icon of the Mother of God of the Sign. As the repeatedly miraculous nature of this little icon became known more widely, it was decided at the turn of the seventeenth century, three hundred years after the discovery of the icon, to enlarge and "beautify" it by adding a broad border on which were painted icons of Old Testament prophets, and, in the upper border, an image of God the Father. The inclusion of the latter was hardly surprising, as such imagery had already begun infiltrating iconography.Greece, the other center of Orthodoxy, was not immune from extraneous influences. The Venetians colonized large areas of the Greek mainland, and many of its islands, prior to, or during, the Ottoman period. The Cretan School produced some of the most sublime and reverent iconography anywhere, but, unfortunately, eventually descended into an imitation of renaissance art, losing its liturgical and theological integrity. The progressive westernizing of the works of the iconographers Tzannes and Damaskinos is a good example of this.Keeping this in mind, and that of traveled iconographers themselves incorporating elements of western art in their works, is it any wonder that western forms of religious art soon became the norm? We have the examples of Sts Seraphim of Sarov and Nektarios of Aegina and their veneration of images we know to be suspect. But, are we to condemn these holy men? Are we to say that their sanctity is in question? Of course not. The fact is, that they had little choice but to venerate such images, as these images were everywhere.The hallowed ground of Mt Athos was not immune from these influences – indeed, there is, to this day, a profusion of suspect and uncanonical images on the walls of many of its monasteries. These include NT Trinities, eyes in triangles, and St Joseph the Betrothed holding the young Christ, which are clearly contrary to Orthodox doctrine and theology. The people of Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, Romania, and other nations in eastern Europe on the border of Orthodox East and Roman Catholic West similarly were surrounded by heterodox images, in all innocence. Can we blame them for holding their beloved Ostrobramskaya, Akhtirskaya, and Diveyevo icons to their hearts?So where does this leave us? God can, if He so chooses, to work His grace through imperfect vessels, be they human beings, or an imperfectly-mounted printed icon (the recent myrrh-streaming icon of St Nicholas), or an image that falls short of canonical guidelines. As He accepts and loves us, despite our multitude of sins and faults, so He has accepted these imperfect images. However, we are also expected to do what we can to "get right" with God.In terms of iconography, we can no longer claim ignorance of canon, scripture or liturgical deposit. It is increasingly difficult to claim illiteracy, geographic and cultural isolation for the perpetuation of images deficient or contrary to Orthodox doctrine and theology. It grieves me that certain people who conduct well-patronized classes in icon painting continue to promote uncanonical and deficient images. I am not convinced that this is being done in honest ignorance.On the other hand, I am heartened that some iconographers are painting "corrective" motifs on their copies of historic but deficient images, such as ensuring the Mother of God bears the three stars of perpetual virginity, that a motif of Christ or the OT Holy Trinity, instead of God the Father, is in the upper border of a Kursk-Root or Derzhavnaya icon of the Mother of God. I have also seen the removal of NT Trinities and eyes in triangles from prominent positions in some Orthodox churches in the city where I live. Small, but very welcome steps in the right direction.
Too funny not to post.
QuoteToo funny not to post.please, more decency! Such things make me sad. (But I see your're 18, so I can understand you a bit).
Have you forgotten what thread this is?
I have no problem if somebody posts such things. But to write that this is funny....mh.
And this "icon"- lord of the dance!!!! Kyrie eleison. Who creates such icons do you know maybe?
A gay Roman Catholic monk. I kid you not. He's called Robert Lentz and calls himself a master of iconography.
I think remarkable would better express what I think about it than funny.
Cyrillic, forgive me for my harsh statements.
Can't say that I've ever seen a train in an icon before.
I don't know if this would be "schlock" but this is in the Catholic Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Washington DC. I think the name of it is "Christ in Majesty."
st. bishop Barnaba (Macedonia)
Otherwise, it plays into the hands of the folks who want to make the Entrance of the Theotokos into the Temple an allegory.
...you can imagine so-called healing services of the pigpen. The books that could be written, you know: Life in the Pigpen. How to Cope in the Pigpen. Being Happy in the Pigpen. Surviving in the Pigpen. And then there could be counselling, for people who feel unhappy in the pigpen, to try to get them to come to terms with the pigpen, and to accept the pigpen.
Quote from: Dominika on December 05, 2012, 06:12:45 PMst. bishop Barnaba (Macedonia)It would be better, for iconographic purposes, if St. Varnava was actually crucified and actually made to carry a cross. Otherwise, it plays into the hands of the folks who want to make the Entrance of the Theotokos into the Temple an allegory.
Take a breath, read Ecclesiastes 1:9.
Ran across this one, which I had forgotten about.On the cover of an archdiocesan magazine, no less.
Quote from: Agabus on December 08, 2012, 12:51:08 PMRan across this one, which I had forgotten about.On the cover of an archdiocesan magazine, no less.What does the scroll say, either my screen or my eyes are failing me. Probably both.Weird.
"He went and preached unto the spirits in prison."Why the scroll is being broken by someone from Hades makes no sense.Nor why they are all slate-shaded.
Trains and cars? Well I raise you one St. Nicholas steering a boat!Is this schlock?
It's by the Orthodox priest who painted the trippy St Andrew and the modernist "Resurrection" I commented on earlier.
I just need to find out how to say it in Slavonic!
What do you think of this?
Here's one I found on Pintrest of God the Father
So it is no surprise to see St Leo the Great wearing the papal triple tiara, even though it would not have existed in St Leo's time.
and St Joseph the Betrothed holding the Christ-child
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JoshWedin wrote:I have a question about the whole "Son of an Illegitimate Gong Farmer" thing. Does this mean that Voran's father farms Gong without a license? Like he's a blackmarket gong farmer? How can you break the law regarding Gong Farming? I'm confused. Now if he was an Illegitimate Son of a Gong Farmer, that would be bad, but just not being licensed...that's not so bad.
Aliencat wrote:I don't think you understand Josh.
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