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The latest in an ongoing series of themed collections of creative projects assembled by Prosthetic Knowledge. This edition brings together music videos by artists for whom the internet is a primary medium.
Rosa Menkman, 03: Karate aka ☵ ☲ // 010 101 // kǎn lí. GIF extract from music video for Little Scale.
The terms "net art" and "music video" are, while useful, close to becoming retronyms. With electronic technology becoming more easily available and ubiquitous, we are in a time where "new media" is not necessarily "new". As McLuhan famously punned his own phrase, "The Medium Is The Massage:" "All media work us over completely. They are so pervasive...that they leave no part of us untouched, unaffected, unaltered." This applies to the internet, which is becoming more and more familiar and available, making the boundaries and definition of Net Art less and less clear.
Music videos (or at least, how music is promoted and delivered) are also changing—we are seeing more and more examples which are not necessarily traditional viewing experiences. For example: Machine Stop by Duologue, which uses WebGL to display Kinect-gathered performances which the participant can edit; Skrillex Quest, an online interactive game; works by Aaron Koblin. Maybe the word "video" is returning to one of its possible etymological origins, in which it was linked to the word "idea," and away from its more familiar definition...
Despite these shifts, though, both are still enjoyable cultural forms with plenty of creative possibilities still to be explored. In this short playlist, I bring together several works by unique creatives most often associated with Net Art applying their talents to the music video. Enjoy.


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Essential cream that contains a rich moisturizing energy, the mild cream fluoride form a moisturizing barrier to dry skin.
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subset: commoncrawl


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Selecting the right chiller is generally dictated by capacity, and there are many philosophies on the best way to control, operate, and calculate system operational costs.
Learning objectives
- Understand the variety of chiller options based on load requirements.
- Learn to calculate a simplified cost/ton estimate for estimating chiller initial investment costs.
- Know the appropriate calculations for determining chiller plant operational costs.
Chilled water systems are cooling systems that circulate chilled water throughout a building for cooling and dehumidifying a building's air. They come in all shapes, sizes, and configurations. Chilled water systems are closed-loop systems, meaning that the system water is continually recirculated and not exposed to atmospheric pressure, similar to domestic water systems. While selecting the type of chiller to use is generally dictated by capacity, there are still many philosophies on the best way to control, operate, and calculate system operational costs.
The first step in chiller selection is understanding the options available. A building's block load will determine the overall capacity, whereas part load will determine the number and quantity of chillers required, with multiple chillers providing the ability to stage chillers in response to load. A block load will take into account building diversity and load changes based on exposure, internal and external loads, and building schedules because all portions of the building will not be peaking simultaneously. The function of a space may also dictate sizing and plant reliability. Essential services, such as data centers or hospitals, require reliability and redundancy with the use of a backup chiller or chillers for N+1 or 2N redundancy based on an owner's requirements. Furthermore, the hourly building profile run time may require equal or unequally sized chillers.
Chiller compressors
The first category of chillers is defined by the method used to compress the refrigerant. Positive displacement compressors operate with two mechanical devices, such as scroll- or screw-shaped rotors. These devices trap refrigerant vapor and compress it by gradually reducing the volume to increase the pressure.
Most small chilled water plants—up to approximately 200 tons in capacity—use scroll compressors for production of chilled water. Scroll chillers start as low as 20 tons and increase in size to approximately 200 tons. As the capacity increases, the chillers increase the quantity of scroll compressors, typically of equal sizes to provide the total chiller capacity required. The disadvantage is that chiller capacity control is provided as stepped control instead of modulating control. Although the multiple compressors may be a disadvantage for capacity control, generally they are piped with multiple refrigerant circuits which provide some system redundancy. For example, an 80-ton chiller may have four 20-ton compressors, with two compressors on each refrigerant circuit. Failure of one compressor will cause a loss of capacity but will still allow the chiller to remain in service and provide partial cooling output.
Once the capacity exceeds the size of multiple scroll compressors, typically four to six 30-ton scroll compressors, chillers use screw compressors. Screw compressors are available in sizes up to about 500 tons. Screw compressors have the ability to vary the cooling output capacity from 100% to 20% via the use of a slide vane to limit refrigerant delivery to the compressor and provide a smooth, modulating transition between capacities. It is important to note that screw chillers have only one compressor, so a loss in the compressor would cause a complete loss in chiller capacity. Screw chillers typically have very good full-load and part-load kW/ton efficiencies. Screw compressors also are generally louder than scroll compressors, with higher noise levels in the lower frequencies octave bands.
The third and final type of compressor, a centrifugal compressor, operates on a different compressor philosophy that relies on dynamic compression to compress and raise the refrigerant pressure. A rotating impeller is used to accelerate the refrigerant and allow the conversion of velocity energy into pressure energy. Centrifugal chillers start at approximately 200 tons and go up to thousands of tons depending on the number of compressors. Centrifugal compressors are typically used for compressing large volumes of refrigerant to relatively low pressures and can be configured specifically to the application by changing the number of stages, compressor speed and size, impeller diameter, refrigerant type, and condenser and evaporator shell sizes. Capacity control of centrifugal chillers is accomplished through inlet vanes at the inlet of the compressor that varies the refrigerant flow in stages in response to the building load. A variable frequency drive (VFD) also could be used for capacity control to vary the speed of the impeller rotation in conjunction with inlet vanes. Inlet vanes and VFDs accomplish different objectives: inlet vanes are used for buildings that may have a large load variation, while VFDs should be used for buildings that have large variations in lift, which equates to changes in condenser relief. VFDs are not always an appropriate option for chillers and their use greatly depends their ability to vary temperatures. Regardless, close attention should be paid to low load conditions near 20% capacity, in which the efficiency degrades rapidly and causes the chiller to operate in a condition known as surging.
Centrifugal chillers also operate at high speeds, which can result in more vibrations and noise transmission into the building structure, but are extremely reliable and robust devices. Centrifugal compressors have great efficiencies throughout their operating range and are relatively compact for the amount of tonnage that can be provided per sq ft of mechanical room space. A centrifugal chiller can vary capacity continuously in lieu of stepped control, which can provide capacity output based on the building load profile. This enables accurate temperature control while using only the energy required. Figure 2 shows two centrifugal chillers serving an office building.
Related articles
- Refrigeration for big Business and Manufacturing (rangrefrigeration.wordpress.com)
- The Beginner's Guide to Cooling (miketendstotravel.com)


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Usual time, usual place, and usual short notice. What more can I say
Bring your latest modelling efforts to view etc. etc. if that is the weather has allowed you time to do any.
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It's clear—precision is important during diagnosis. Of all imaging technologies, MRI or Magnetic Resonance Imaging gives doctors the clearest, most precise image of the inside of the body. It's sophisticated, and uses a strong magnetic field to show the structure and detail of organs, soft tissue and bones, which can pinpoint all types of issues from abnormalities to disease.
Vista Health System performs MRIs with your comfort in mind. Nervous about your test? Just speak to one of our staff.
Magnetic resonance images are produced by using two natural, harmless forces–magnetic fields and radio waves. Using this technology, Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is used to produce computer-generated images of the anatomy that can be used by physicians to obtain clinically useful diagnostic information; MRI exams are non-invasive, painless and have no known side effects.
Images created by the MRI scanner are performed without the use of radiation. Unlike an X-ray, the MRI can "see" through hard bone to the soft tissues in your body like muscles and internal organs. These images are very precise, showing the difference between normal and abnormal tissues. Used as a primary diagnostic tool, MRI can provide quick and accurate diagnostic information for your physician. In some situations, this procedure can reduce the need for further procedures such as exploratory surgery.
MRI images are formed when signals generated with a magnetic field and emitted by body tissue are processed by computer software to create clinical images. Different tissue characteristics are revealed through this process and translated into different contrast levels on the image. A typical procedure averages 30 minutes or longer depending on the information required by your physician.
Vista Health System offers both open and closed MRI scanners. The open environment helps some patients stay more relaxed during the test. And the new technology offers quality images as well as decreased testing time. Your doctor, in consultation with our radiologists, will decide which scanner is best suited for you.
The MRI procedure is used for all parts of the body and is effective in the clinical evaluation of the following conditions:
Please wear comfortable, athletic-type clothing (a sweat suit, etc.) without metal snaps or zippers. Gowns will be available should you need them.
Because of the magnetic field in the magnet room, you will be asked to leave the following items in a locker outside the scan room:
You may also be asked to remove makeup, dentures and/or hearing aids.
You will be asked if you have had brain, ear, eye or other surgeries or if you have any of the following:
If you are pregnant, please notify your physician and the technologist performing the exam.
Important: Please be sure to check with your physician if you are uncertain about any of the above mentioned items.
In the magnet room, a technologist will assist you onto the padded table. The table will move slowly into the magnet opening. You will hear sounds similar to a drumbeat as pictures of your body are formed. Your doctor may order contrast (dye) to be administered for your test to enhance areas he is concerned about.
At all times during the exam, a technologist will be able to see and hear you.
The exam takes anywhere from 30 – 75 minutes, depending on the type of MRI exam your doctor has requested. It is important to lie completely still while the images are being acquired. Motion will affect the sharpness of the images.
If ordered by your doctor, we offer an I.V. sedation program administered by an anesthesiologist to insure you the most relaxed experience possible during your MRI exam.
Because there are no side effects (unless you have had anesthesia), you may leave immediately following the procedure. A specially trained, board-certified radiologist will review your MRI images and provide a written report to your physician promptly. Results are normally available in less than 24 hours. Your doctor will schedule a time with you to discuss the results of your exam.
Cancellations are sometimes unavoidable. However, should the need arise, please call 847-360-6930 to cancel or reschedule an appointment. This courtesy assists the staff in daily scheduling of other patients who may be waiting for an appointment.
Vista Health System has three convenient north Lake County locations to provide easy access to area patients. Staff consists of specially-trained technologists and board-certified radiologists experienced in MRI technology.
For more information or to make an appointment, please call our Central Scheduling department at (847) 360-6930.
Vista Medical Center East
1324 N. Sheridan Road
Waukegan, IL 60085


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NEW YORK (AP) - Betsey Johnson didn't just have a party at Lincoln Center. She led an exercise class.
NEW YORK (AP) � Betsey Johnson didn't just have a party at Lincoln Center. She led an exercise class.
The tireless 71-year-old designer, best known for punky prom dresses and a lot of pink, introduced her fall collection Monday as a theatrical exercise video for the Style Network program "Betsey and Lulu," which follows the lives of Johnson and her daughter.
It was a catwalk of energetic, giggly models in active wear chatting on cellphones as they waved to attendees, then an exercise routine led by the designer that included running in place, yoga and pull-ups. Rows of pink yoga mats were strewn on the runway, each accompanied by a pair of high-top sneakers, towels and wine bottles.
The collection, named "BJ Kicks A," veered from the high school dance party looks that she has championed for decades, running toward a junior high school gym class with a lot of cheek. It was an explosion of neon pink and yellow, animal prints and plaids on mini dresses worn over leggings, a veritable visual feast piled over one another.
A bright yellow and black tartan plaid mini dress served as the base for black leggings, a shiny red belt, and a black-and-white patent leather jacket accented in lipstick red and backed with a giant red heart. A string of white pearls alluded to the idea that perhaps the dress could be appropriate outside the gym. And to top it off, the models � as well as Johnson � pulled their hair into long ponytails, then donned contrasting bowl-cut style wigs to demonstrate just how flouncy it all could be.
Taken as separates, the clothes were more approachable than Johnson's standard party looks, and somehow more on-trend. The leggings, some in solid black, others in brightly colored camouflage or neon floral prints, was a Johnson take on the printed trouser look.
A sheer animal-print dress was in neutral browns and had a calf-length hem, as did many of the other dresses in the collection. A neon floral printed peplum sweatshirt was a fun take on an office-y silhouette, and the handful of faux-fur coats and vests looked surprisingly luxe. As a whole, branching out beyond prom dresses was a smart move for the brand, which filed for bankruptcy protection more than a year ago and is now owned by Steve Madden.
Closing the show, the models took to the yoga mats as Johnson emerged in leggings and neon-yellow high-top sneakers and flopped to the floor. As she and the models ran through the gamut of exercise routines � push-ups with their hands in the extra pairs of sneakers, weight lifts with the wine bottles, yoga positions and leg stretches � the message was clear: this is active wear, so be active in it!
By the time the sweaty models � some tired and barely keeping up � exited the runway, Johnson's trademark show-ending cartwheel and ensuing split didn't look so out of place after all.


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With its extensive programme of diverse events, the Herzog August Library is not just for students and researchers.
Exhibitions, concerts, readings and talks are regularly held here. The Herzog August Library in Wolfenbüttel near Braunschweig is not only a library and research centre for the Middle Ages and early modern period, it also houses a museum that sheds light on the history of the library and its collections.
Opening times:
Tuesday-Sunday 10am-5pm
To nyttige hurtigtaster for å zoome i nettleseren:
Forstørre: +
Forminske: +
Mer hjelp får du fra nettleserleverandøren ved å klikke på ikonet:


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The 2XU Elite Compression Long Sleeve top offers the ultimate upper body and arm support during intense activity. Powerful PWX WEIGHT panels are targeted across the shoulder, and also the obliques for improved posture and technique. Graduated compression in the arms promotes circulation for faster warm up and recovery. Perfect for rigorous training sessions, competition and faster recovery from the toughest of workouts.
- Greater oxygenation of blood for faster recovery
- Reduced fatigue through less muscle oscillation
- Reduced muscle soreness
- Reduced long-term overuse injuries
- Faster muscle warm up pre-exercise
- Greater power output
- Heightened proprioception – awareness of limb placement for agility
- Powerful PWX WEIGHT in arm panels provides extra support to forearm muscles under high impact.
- PWX WEIGHT fabric targets the upper back to pull the shoulders back, open the chest and enhance posture and breathing.
- PWX WEIGHT supports the obliques for greater postural awareness and support to lower back.
- PWX FLEX fabric supports the bicep, tricep, pectoral and core stomach muscles.
- Graduated compression enhances circulation for faster recovery.
- Raglan sleeve construction for unrestricted movement
- Flatlock seams to reduce chafe for greater comfort.
- Powerful Invista LYCRA® for exceptional fit, support and recovery.
- Antibacterial and UPF50+ sun protection.
- High filament yarns for dryness – wicks sweat from the skin to the fabric exterior.


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Pig QuikFence® 6/30/12
A portable electric fence designed to keep "free range" pastured pigs in. The bottom strand is suspended 6" above the ground to prevent pigs from rooting soil onto the fence.
Put your pigs to work by using their rooting and foraging instincts to your benefit. Selectively till gardens, pastures, woodlots or just about anywhere else on the farmstead. Once a section is tilled, it's easy to take down the fence and move the pigs to their next job site.
New! Now available as a Complete Starter Kit—includes netting, extra support posts, solar fence energizer, ground stake and a wireless tester.
Common Uses
- As a perimeter or subdivision fence for pastured pigs.
- Allows pigs to forage gardens, orchards and fields after harvest.
- Replacement for pens made of heavy wire panels.
Pig QuikFence® is intended for domestic pigs. To create a barrier for feral hogs, consider HogNet® instead.
|Pig QuikFence® 6/30/12
|30" installed
|Horizontal Strands
|6 conductive
|Vertical Strands
|Plastic struts spaced every 12"
|Roll Length
|50' and 100'
|Premium Superconductor
|Electrical Resistance
|32 Ω/per 1000'
|Line Post Options
|Single Spike (SS)
|Line Post Material
|White PVC, 0.75" diameter
|Spike Length/Diameter
|Distance Between Posts
|Horizontal Spacings
|4", 4", 4", 6", 6"
(from bottom to top)
Each roll comes with 1 Warning Sign and 1 Repair Kit.
- #208062 - $0.89 per ft (100' roll with single spike posts)
- #208061 - $1.44 per ft (50' roll with single spike posts)
See PDFs and videos above for additional installation instructions.
To train, set up Pig QuikFence® fence alongside (1 to 2 ft away) a secure permanent fence that the pigs can't get through. Make sure the netting is electrified—at least 3000V at the end of the fence. Introduce the pigs to the fence and monitor for a few hours.
Electric fence is a pain barrier, not a physical barrier. A common mistake is not electrifying it. Animals may escape or become entangled (and may die). On a % basis, entanglement is very rare, but it can and does occur. If animals are scared or starved it will not keep them in. The first time you put the animals in the net, you should be available to watch them for a while. That way if one were to get into the fence and get caught, you can turn the power off and get them loose.
Warning! Due to risk of fire, do NOT use continuous output energizers with electric netting or electro-plastic conductors such as rope, twine or tape. Use only with a low or wide impedance intermittent pulse energizer. (Fi-Shock™ brand energizers which are sold as low impedance, continuous current output should NOT be used with electric netting.) All energizers sold on Premier's website use an intermittent pulse and are suitable for use with electric netting.
Dry conditions and wintertime usage may reduce the effectiveness of electric fencing. Ice and heavy snow can flatten netting and thereby damage it.
Dry or frozen ground may cause post spikes to bend or break if inserted with force. Pilot holes may be needed. We recommend using drivable or single spike posts in hard soils. Double spike posts provide more stability when the ground is soft.
Listed below are recommended optional components. Your particular situation may require alternative recommendations. Please call and talk to our fence consultants if there are any questions at 800-282-6631.
Energizer Kits
Solar IntelliShock® 60 Energizer with Wireless TesterItem #113300 -
Solar powered 0.60 joule energizer used with electric fences to contain sheep, goats, poultry, swine, cattle and horses. Effective against predators.$285.00
Posts and Accessories
FiberTuff™ Post, 30" tall, 19mm diaItem #208052 -
Fiberglass-reinforced support posts for ends, corners and major directional changes. Commonly used with electrified net fences.$3.86
Fence Connectors and Accessories
5-Light Wireless Fence TesterItem #200006 -
Low cost 5-light wireless tester to measure approximate fence voltage. Used to determine if your energizer/charger is working properly.$15.00
Fence Connectors and Accessories
Warning SignItem #346000 -
Attaches to an electric fence or netting to warn people that the fence is electrified.$1.20
Fence Connectors and Accessories
Clip (replacement only) for QuikFenceItem #325312 -
A replacement clip for the bottom of any of our QuikFence posts.$0.50
Fence Connectors and Accessories
Repair Kit for Sheep QuikFence, Pig QuikFence, Cattle QuikFence & Deer QuikFenceItem #201721 -
A handy repair kit that includes all of the essentials to patch tears and holes in electric net fences.$2.00
ElectroNet Gate (7.5 ft x 35" tall), black/white with black postsItem #340611 -
Easy access in/out of electric net fence enclosures without having to turn off the energizer. Perfect for sheep or goat paddocks. 35" tall installed.$48.75
Posts and Accessories
NetPost 19/30/SS (white) - For: Pig QuikFence 6/30/12Item #208063 -
Replacement line posts for Premier's netting. Designs for each type of net, double or single spike.$2.90
Fence Connectors and Accessories
Clip (replacement only) for QuikFenceItem #325312 -
A replacement clip for the bottom of any of our QuikFence posts.$0.50
Fence Connectors and Accessories
Repair Kit for Sheep QuikFence, Pig QuikFence, Cattle QuikFence & Deer QuikFenceItem #201721 -
A handy repair kit that includes all of the essentials to patch tears and holes in electric net fences.$2.00
Fence Connectors and Accessories
Brass Ferrules for NettingItem #200500 -
Neat item used to repair broken horizontals in electric netting.$0.14
Fence Connectors and Accessories
Replacement - Electrical clip for nettingItem #200900 -
This clip is designed to connect all the horizontals on any electrified netting together electrically.$0.25
Fence Connectors and Accessories
Top Cap (replacement only) for 19mm/.75" dia net postsItem #206502 -
Replaces lost, misplaced or broken plastic caps (for posts 0.75" in diameter) on netting posts. Holds top strand of net in place so there is less sagging.$0.21
Write a Review
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Hitalo B from Tennessee
I have a total of 4 fences from Premier 1. Between goat, chicken and pig netting this is by far the most pleasurable material that I have!
Easy installation, effective, light, and well built.
At the moment I'm recovering from an injury and still I'm able to set up this fence using my crutches... a little extra info. Lol!
Talon Z from Idaho
Great product so far! Thinking about ordering more, I currently have 200'. I'm accidentally raising 15 weaners during the winter months, hopefully it will hold up to a Idaho winter. I know it's not intended to be a permanent fence, but it's cheaper and faster to put up than traditional methods. I'll write another review after winter.
Jennifer M from Tennessee
This pig netting is just amazing I can't say enough good things about it. I also have the poultry netting that works amazing also . You won't regret buying any of there products.
David K from Oregon
This is the best fencing to use for hogs
Cal P from Oregon
I have AGH and I have had a very hard time keeping them in an area. I started by using some of the other netting I had... they just picked up the bottom and walked out.... I tried wire, they just ran right through it. I put panels on the other side of the wire that worked better but it took too long to move them as I move them every 4-7 days... I got this netting and wow it was a game changer. the trick was the netting with one strand of wire on the inside... they don't even try now. Funny part is our other pigs duroc and kune kune have never gotten out once...


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Within this year's Fuori Salone program Danish Crafts, an independent institution established under the Danish Ministry of Culture, will once again showcase the most recent works of 14 selected Danish designers: MINDCRAFT
The exhibition is on display in Zona Tortona, Spazio Vuoto, 55a via Savona.
"The exhibition asks us to consider many of the absurdities of everyday life and society that we have more or less come to take for granted and consider normal.
Thus, MINDCRAFT10 is an exhibition that probes our conscience, appeals to us and challenges us, compelling us to consider and address the messages conveyed by the works and to answer the questions they raise."


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This week at the Court: In Plain English
I have been predicting for weeks that opinions were going to start coming down fast and furious, and this week has certainly proven me right (not that I was terribly prescient "" that always happens at this time of year)! This week, the Court issued opinions in six cases, including two of the Term's blockbusters, making law all over the map on issues such as prison reform, employment of undocumented workers, and state secrets. What's more, this week is only the start; as Tom and Amy noted on the Live Blog, we still have not seen opinions in a few of the cases argued last fall, including those involving violent video games and gender discrimination in citizenship.
But let's start with one of the week's major headliners: Brown v. Plata, a case brought against California's governor (when it was argued, the case caption included the Governator, who has been in the news for other reasons lately) by prisoners who "" as a result of severe overcrowding in California's state prisons "" have been subjected to terrible conditions such as inadequate medical care, lack of appropriate living and toilet facilities, and poor mental health care for many, many years.
The case is particularly significant because many may think, "Well, these prisoners did something bad, they are in prison, so they don't need to live in luxury." But the overcrowding here was so bad, the Court held, that it violated the Eighth Amendment prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment. In other words, even though prisoners do not have all the same rights as other Americans, they are at least entitled to decent living conditions and adequate care. Furthermore, the only way to remedy the constitutional violations is to reduce the prison population, a difficult proposition at best, given California's current financial situation.
Justice Kennedy wrote the Court's opinion, which was joined by the four so-called "liberal" Justices: Justices Sotomayor, Kagan, Breyer, and Ginsburg. As you probably know, especially since Justice O'Connor left the Court in early 2006, Justice Kennedy has been known as the "swing vote." He is now more senior than any of the Justices who joined him in Plata; because the senior Justice in the majority assigns the opinion, he apparently assigned the opinion to himself. Indeed, it appears that this case affected Justice Kennedy deeply. In the opinion, he described the inmates' "needless suffering" and even attached photos of the prison overcrowding (an unusual, although not unheard of, step).
The Court split five to four in Plata, however, and "" as in so many constitutional cases "" Justices Scalia and Alito had a very different take. As is typical, these conservative Justices were worried about public safety, especially if the overcrowding were achieved by releasing a huge number of prisoners (estimates range from 30,000-45,000) back onto the street. And that is certainly a hard issue: California now has to reduce the prison population drastically over the next two years. How can it do that? Either by releasing prisoners (which would be a public safety risk), building more prisons (but California is practically bankrupt), or by finding somewhere else to house the inmates (same problem). Other, more remote possibilities? Some have suggested that California repeal its "three strikes" law (which sends defendants to prison for life if they are convicted of three felonies, including apparently minor ones) or use county facilities to relieve the overcrowding.
So Plata was a dispute about whether the federal government could step in and regulate a state prison system. Another of this week's big cases, Chamber of Commerce v. Whiting, also involved a potential clash between federal and state powers, this time involving immigration. A few years ago, Arizona "" fed up with what it saw as problems created by illegal immigrants "" passed a law that would suspend or revoke the licenses of business owners who hire undocumented workers. Employers in the state would also have to use a federal program, E-Verify, to make sure that all of their employees were legal to work in this country. Business groups and immigrants' rights groups challenged the laws; they argued (and the federal government agreed) that the Arizona laws were "preempted," or trumped, by federal laws governing immigration. Yesterday, the Court rejected those arguments. It made clear that as a general rule, immigration is not just the bailiwick of the federal government; here, a federal immigration law that bars states from punishing employers who hire undocumented immigrants does not preempt Arizona's laws. In fact, said the Court (in a majority opinion by Chief Justice Roberts), the states and the federal government work together to make law in this area.
We have talked often about "statutory construction" here on the blog, and this case is an excellent example of how the Justices can differ on just what a statutory term means. Here, although the federal immigration law prohibited states from punishing employers who hired undocumented workers, it also contained a "savings clause," or exception, that allowed the states to use "licensing or similar laws" to punish those employers. Logically, the Chamber of Commerce (representing employers) argued (with the dissenters in Whiting agreeing) that business licenses were not the kind of licenses Congress had in mind; such an interpretation would cause businesses to close down and would constitute a very harsh punishment, contrary to Congress's statutory intent. But Arizona (with whom the Chief Justice and the majority agreed) said that "licenses" meant just what it said, and, moreover, the law would not overly interfere with Congress's intent. This kind of interpretation issue frequently arises in the Court's statutory cases; the Court's job is to define the ambiguous term so that future courts can apply the definition consistently.
The same kind of statutory interpretation issue arose in two of the other cases decided this week, United States v. Tinklenberg and Fowler v. United States. In Tinklenberg, the Court considered a provision in the Speedy Trial Act, a federal statute that guarantees criminal defendants the right to a trial within seventy days, in part so that delays cannot keep them in jail indefinitely when bail is not granted or feasible. Still, the Act contains a number of exceptions that will stop the seventy-day clock from running "" including, as relevant to this case, the filing of pre-trial motions, which are questions or issues that the trial court should decide before a trial begins. Writing for the Court, Justice Breyer explained that any filing of a pretrial motion will stop the Speedy Trial Act clock, even if it does not or is not expected to delay the trial. Under the Court's decision, any number of defendants may await their trials longer while in jail; keep in mind, however, that both the prosecution and defense may file pre-trial requests.
Similarly, in Fowler, the Court was interpreting the federal witness tampering statute, which makes it a crime to kill someone to prevent him from reporting a federal crime to a federal law enforcement officer. The question in the case was whether the mere possibility that the victim would make the report was enough to invoke the statute, or whether there had to be a reasonable chance that he would report the crime. The Court, in another opinion by Justice Breyer, held that there had to be at least a "reasonable likelihood" that the victim would report the crime for the statute to apply; in other words, the likelihood of communication to a federal officer must be more than "remote, outlandish, or simply hypothetical."
The Court declined to decide another closely watched case, Camreta v. Greene, in which police had interviewed a child about allegations of child abuse without obtaining either a warrant or her parents' permission. While that legal issue might be a fascinating one "" those of us who are parents might find it particularly relevant to our lives "" the Court did not even reach the question about whether the interview was permissible. Instead, it held that the case was "moot," a legal term meaning that there was no longer a controversy in the case, because the child in question was now almost eighteen years old and had moved across the country, so that she doesn't need to be protected from the school's interviewing practices any longer. Still, on another "procedural" point (or one that has to do with how cases are litigated), the Court also held that the petitioners "" a police officer and a social worker "" government officials could properly bring their case, even though they prevailed in the court below.
Why? Well, the new rule revolves around a concept called "qualified immunity," which means that government officials cannot be sued for violating the Constitution if the rule that they were violating was not "clearly established" by either a court decision or a statute What's unusual about the Camreta opinion, though, is that it allows the police officers who won under a qualified immunity claim in the court below to continue to litigate their case. Remember, the Court generally only hears cases when there is an ongoing dispute; if the police officer and social worker won, then they should be happy and go home, right? No, said the police (with Justice Kagan writing for the Court majority to agree), because the Supreme Court should tell them whether what they did was actually unconstitutional.
So how will Camreta play out from here? Well, the Supreme Court "vacated" the decision of the Ninth Circuit, so Officer Camreta can still contest the lower court's ruling that his actions were unconstitutional. We'll be watching closely "" the issue could come back to the Supreme Court in a few years on the Fourth Amendment issue (as long as the child in question doesn't "age out" on the long road to Supreme Court review).
Finally, in General Dynamics v. United States, the Court held unanimously that it could not decide a case that involved "state secrets," even to resolve a contract dispute with the federal government over the development of a stealth aircraft. While the plane manufacturers claimed that the government owed them money for their work on the project and argued that the government's lack of cooperation had led to the problem in the first place, the government refused either to pay them or explain, citing military secrets as the reason. Justice Scalia, writing for the Court, agreed that the fact that the litigation revolved around state secrets meant that no court could properly decide the issue (because requiring the government to produce the information in its defense would require release of the secret information) and held that each side could keep the money it had.
Recommended Citation: Lisa McElroy, This week at the Court: In Plain English, SCOTUSblog (May. 27, 2011, 9:14 AM), https://www.scotusblog.com/2011/05/this-week-at-the-court-in-plain-english-3/


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13 times 13 equals magick!
This year our special day is extremely magical. It will also be a Full Moon in perigee(supermoon), that will be the closest the Moon will have been to Earth in all our lives(last time was 1948) and won't come this close again till 2034. It will peak during the morning hours of the next day, so we will enjoy this glorious phenomenon for two nights. I will do my favorite ritual. Four marked corners with white candles and me in the middle. Under each candle a piece of paper written with a spell. I will burn the spell times four and chant it times many.
The number 13 is a sacred number as there are 13 Moon cycles in a year. The year (20)13 my daughter was born. November 13th my life changed. And now 13 years have passed!
Thank you Goddess for all the love you've given us!
Blessed be!
at 11:44:00 PM
11 comments:
- Leanna said...
OH MY GODDESS!!! I did the same thing. I cast a spell for someone to come into my life too, and it was my husband David. We celebrated our 14th wedding anniversary on September 7th. This is scary. We really must be Witch sisters.
- November 8, 2016 at 12:37 AM
- Leanna said...
Oh, happy anniversary you guys.
- November 8, 2016 at 12:38 AM
- jaz@octoberfarm said...
what a wonderful story!
- November 8, 2016 at 12:45 AM
- Hindustanka said...
Hello... And Happy Anniversary! Isn't it wonderful to find the one who was always meant to be yours and were meant to be his? :)))
Have a happy celebration!
- November 8, 2016 at 9:43 AM
- Shadow said...
You are blessed. Love and luck your path, your way. Congratulations to you, to all 3 of you.
- November 8, 2016 at 9:51 AM
- Sandra Cox said...
That is a beautiful story. I smiled the whole time I read it. I missed the moon last night but will check for it tonight.
- November 8, 2016 at 8:45 PM
- Stephanie Faris said...
Happy anniversary. Such an interesting story!
- November 9, 2016 at 2:15 AM
- Magic Love Crow said...
That is so beautiful!!! My heart is smiling!!! I have to tell you, I know "my special one" is close! Funny how we sense things and when the time is right, we are blessed! I wish you both so much and more!!! Truly beautiful! I love your picture! I can't wait for the super moon! Big Hugs and Much love!!! Happy Anniversary!!!
- November 10, 2016 at 2:56 AM
- Magaly Guerrero said...
Happiest (early) Anniversary to you both! And thanks so much for sharing the bit about the hands. It made me giggle. And today, I need lots and lots of giggling.
- November 10, 2016 at 5:56 PM
- mahler76 said...
Πάντα μαζί και ευτυχισμένοι εύχομαι!
- November 14, 2016 at 12:05 PM
- angela said...
When it's meant to be. It will be.
I'm so happy you found one another
- December 5, 2016 at 2:20 AM


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Check Below for recent Updates
Original Post from July 31, 2012
It's got to be something that keeps the Bellingham Herald referring to the City of Bellingham Initiative No. 2012-2 concerning the people's right of self-government as "coal train initiative" or the "No Coal! initiative" as they just did in their article BNSF joins legal case against Bellingham coal train initiative.
John Stark wrote that article and another article last month where he also referred to the initiative as the "no-coal-train initiative" and "Coal-Free Bellingham initiative" so perhaps the money or what could be a John Stark bias? Maybe? Maybe the Herald stands to lose a little advertising revenue from irate hamsters if they actually call the initiative for what it is; a proposal to radically depart from our normal way of governing.
So is it money or what? I don't really know, but as long as the local media keeps failing in their duty to the public and keeps playing into the hands of the Bellingham Bill of Rights folks, the dollars to sort out the mess is going to keep adding up for we the taxpayers. On the other hand, if the Herald actually served their readers with untainted information, this initiative would likely die a sudden death from lack of public support. Instead, this initiative drive enjoys continued wide public support because the Herald and the Bellingham Bill of Rights people continue to widely market this as a no coal initiative.
What? You still believe this is about coal trains running through Bellingham? Sorry, but you're among those who have been mislead. If this were just about coal trains running through Bellingham then the initiative might read something like this,
BALLOT TITLE FOR CITY OF BELLINGHAM INITIATIVE No. 2012-2
City of Bellingham Initiative No. 2012-2 prohibits railroads from transporting coal in the City.
"Should this measure be enacted into law?" Yes?______ No?______
Instead the initiative actually reads like this,
That's right a true anti-coal train initiative would have one point, banning coal trains, but this initiative has about 10 points with only one of them being the transport of coal.
- concerns the people's right of self-government
- This measure would establish the sovereignty of Bellingham residents
- the rights of natural communities
- rights to a sustainable energy future and a healthy climate;
- prohibit corporations from transporting coal in the City;
- deny legal personhood and constitutional rights to corporate violators
- deny the use of federal and state preemptive law to corporate violators;
- deny the validity of contrary permits;
- authorize private party civil enforcement actions
- repeal all inconsistent provisions of existing City ordinances
So if transporting coal is only one of ten points, then why doesn't the Herald refer to this initiative by one of the other nine points like the Bellingham Sovereignty Initiative, Right to Sustainable Energy Future Initiative, or the People's Right to Self-Government Initiative? Again, I don't know if it is it money or what?
What? Even after reading the initiative, you still don't believe that this isn't about coal trains? Would you believe it if you heard it straight from the horses mouth? You can if you want. In fact Stoney Bird, a retired corporate lawyer on the steering committee for Coal Free Bellingham, who is proposing the initiative, was just on The Joe Show earlier in the week. Among much legal ramblings and rantings he had these telling words.
And I'm really optomistic about its getting on the ballot, the cities claims against this initiative really focus on one part of the initiative which is the ban on coal trains, there's much more in it, the whole Bill of Rights, is is goes beyond that.
if you look at it, what, the core of this initiative is the bill of rights
So if both the initiative and it's authors say this isn't about coal, then why does the Bellingham Herald? Is it Money or What? Who are they beholding to?
Update for August 4th
And they"re still at it. Judge Snyder reinforced that the initiative is about restructuring government, rather than about banning coal transport, when he ruled that the initiative cannot be put on the ballot because the "initiative exceeded the scope of city government's power and would have, among other things, attempted to nullify state and federal laws." Yet the Bellingham Herald still headlined this as an "Anti-coal initiative" and described it as an "initiative that would have blocked the transport of coal through Bellingham will not be on the November ballot in Whatcom County."
Update for August 6th,
Which Bellingham Herald poll results will they go with? Will they use the set of results you see after you take the poll? Or will they use the set of results you see when you click "See how you Compare" link? The first shows more city residents supporting the initiative while the second shows an opposite result with more city residents opposing.
Updated again for August 6th,
Listened to Natalie McClendon on the 8/6/12Joe Show podcast this afternoon and when Joe asked her what she thought of the Initiative/Bellingham Bill of Rights, she responded that her first impression had been that she was reading a declaration of independence. As Joe chuckled he threw in a secessionist comment that went along the line of if Texas can secede the why not Bellingham. The point of this is that the initiative and the Bellingham Bill of Rights are also recognized by former chair of Whatcom Democrats and local progress talk show host as not really about Coal, so why doesn't the Bellingham Herald? Is it Money or What?
Updated one more time on August 16th
The Herald Politics Blog titles a post Rally planned for August 31 in favor of public vote on anti-coal-train initiative giving us yet one more example of misrepresenting the initiative to the people as a Coal issue. Don't bother to think about this being put on by the local Socialist Alternative group, the Bellingham Bill of Rights people still calling themselves Coal Free Bellingham in spite themselves saying this is not about coal, and Decolonize Whatcom who are really the ReOccupy crowd which I believe gave us the guy who disrupted the County council meeting with a mic check.
And yet another update on August 17th. Wow has it been only one day?
It took just one more day/article for the Herald to refer to the Bellingham Bill of Rights initiative as the "no-coal measure" and the "no-coal-train initiative." The article State appeals court to hear Bellingham no-coal measure continues the push to get the measure on the ballot as some kind of popularity poll. Although the results of the poll would be inaccurate because with the efforts of the group and the Herald, people believe they are voting against coal trains when they are in fact voting against our proven system of government.
"The point is to get (the no-coal initiative) on the ballot, and then the powers that be begin to understand where the wind's blowing," Bird said.
The "powers that be" (and I hate that lame cop out phrase) are all the voters in our state and nation. That includes the people of Bellingham, but they are a small minority of the people of Washington and the people of the US. who actually are in control of transport of goods (coal and otherwise). It's in our US Constitution. it's Article1, Section 8, Clause 3. It's called the Commerce Clause because it reserves for the federal government, exclusive power over trade between states, foreign nations and Indian tribes. We the people of the United States are the "powers that be" to which Stoney Bird refers. The people of Bellingham have the same rights, the same representation, and the same power as anyone else in out nation to control the flow of coal trains. I don't know what the Bellingham Herald hopes to gain by conspiring with Stoney Bird's separatists to take rights, representation and power from US citizens, but making enemies is no way to sell papers.
It's Official! One more headline on August 28th claiming this initiative to be about coal trains.
I won't deny that in another portion of the article they did refer to this as also about the Bellingham Community Bill of Rights, but the headline and opening sentence are what they are, which is deceptive regarding the true nature of the initiative.
Place Holder for next Update about the Herald referring to this as a Coal thing


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Part 2 of 2: Read part 1 here.
In an unfinished basement where insulation sags from raw concrete walls is a door hung with a hand-lettered sign: This Way to Twiland.
The subterranean room is dark; sunlight barely filters through a Robert Pattinson beach towel hung over a window.
Above the bed, taped to the wall, are glossy headshots of the otherworldly characters from the Twilight films.
"Twilight is my obsession, my huge obsession."
Felicia Hogan is pale, with clear grey eyes that shift and reflect the colours around them, like water, darker in shade than in light. Her dark hair and ivory skin give her a kind of ethereal, supernatural beauty, evocative of Sargent's 19th-century portraits but for the lip, nose and eyebrow shot through with piercings and the steel hoop earrings with arrow tips.
"Vampires. They're magical. It's one of the worlds I go to sometimes."
She lets Shaylee, 4, her youngest, slide off her hip.
Felicia is 27, but with childlike wonder, she examines a small statue of a fairy. "This one doesn't have wings. She's a crow fairy, a dark fairy, they do more evil. They're the ones that usually are on the side of death rather than on the side of life, whereas a light fairy would be playing with doves. Doves take your soul to heaven."
Scattered on shelves and tucked into nooks are other fairies, tiny winged creatures. Sculpted dragons hang like sentries over the bed. In the few weeks the family has been here in this rental, Felicia has carefully unpacked and found a place for each of her magical beings.
Tatiana and Krista, her six-year-old twins, conjoined at the head, play on the floor of Felicia's dark bedroom in their Vernon home, as delicate and beautiful as the mythical creatures she named them for: Krista, from her favourite childhood movie FernGully, and Tatiana, whose name she found on a fairy website.
In the mystical, Felicia finds comfort, a realm that mirrors the unusual beauty of her own.
"I believe in it, I enjoy it, I love it. In a way it helps me cope with everything."
On her husband Brendan's side of the bed is a Hobbit map, and a dragon — dragons are his thing, she explains. On Felicia's side are conjoined twin stuffed dolls, a gift from Tyra Banks when the girls were infants.
Here, alongside the other enchanted beings, the girls are perfectly at home. They play on the floor, unaware of the interest they piqued in the scientific community with their ability to see through each other's eyes, to share sensory information between their conjoined brains.
"I think my magical world does surround the girls. A lot of the magic in my life comes from them," says Felicia.
In Twiland there are still boxes to be unpacked, but Felicia has decorated with care.
A crushed black velveteen throw covers the bed. Although she and Brendan sleep on a sagging air mattress, there is a bed frame, a gift from Brendan's parents.
An assortment of crystals are neatly arrayed across the dresser top; the red satin ring bearer's pillow from Felicia and Brendan Hogan's recent wedding is displayed alongside another Twilight poster.
The September wedding, put together the old-fashioned way — outdoors and with the whole family pitching in — almost didn't happen.
The family was in crisis: kicked out of their second rental in less than four months, they had just five days to pack up and move. It's been an ongoing story. Some landlords are uncomfortable with the attention the twins bring, the slow drive-bys of curious onlookers; sometimes the family just can't get the bills paid on time.
The upheaval was too much. The twins collapsed and were medevaced to Vancouver in critical condition, their blood sugar skyrocketing. The diagnosis: Type 1 diabetes. It's another challenge for the girls, another difficulty for the family.
The twins also suffer from seizures. They had their first at about 18 months; Tatiana's limbs started to convulse and a clicking noise came from her throat.
"It was the most frightening thing I had ever experienced," says Felicia. "I had no idea what was happening."
Dealing with the seizures has now become part of their routine. The girls take medication daily. They don't always have seizures at the same time; the seizures can be prolonged, lasting up to six hours. The last one, in January, was the worst. Krista's seizure sent Tatiana into tachycardia, her heart racing. "Tatiana was panicking because she didn't think sissy was going to be OK," says Felicia.
Their interdependence is real: if one dies, they will both succumb.
Tatiana suffers from high blood pressure because her heart does a disproportionate amount of the work for both girls; her kidneys filter more waste from their blood, pushing her metabolism to a greater degree.
"There is no lifespan for the girls. It's an unknown thing. With all the problems they've had, the seizures, now diabetes — and Tatiana, all the hard work she is doing with her heart. Any one of those things could cause an issue. We are never going to know," says Felicia.
The last year has been tough. Felicia's eyes are surrounded with dark smudges, her skin glitters here and there with faint sparkles. "I used to do my makeup every day, now I don't bother," she says, almost apologetically.
Felicia says she wouldn't trade a minute of her life for relief of its burdens. "The girls have taught me patience," she says, softly. "With them, you have to be patient."
From their struggle has come understanding, from their defiance of expectations, faith. When they were little, they used to fight over what they wanted to do, where to go, which way to turn.
"I had to explain to them. You girls are stuck. You are stuck together."
Felicia believes the family's precarious financial circumstances have contributed to the girls' health challenges. Being on welfare means being perpetually on the fringes of stability. What helped them cope was all banding together, pooling resources, caring for all the kids and living in one home. The whole family is stuck together.
"It's not just us and the girls, my mother is raising three teenagers, too," points out Felicia.
For Felicia and her mother Louise, none of the children is more important than the other: she considers herself as responsible for her nieces Lateefah, 15, Cynthia, 16, and Shyann, 11, who her mother is raising, as she is for her own children.
They have had to move four or five times in the last few years, and the last one was the worst. Whatever they couldn't take with them had to be left behind.
The best they could find this time was side-by-side ground-level and basement apartments near an industrial park, one for Felicia and her kids, the other for Louise, her disabled husband, her two adult kids and three granddaughters, in what locals of Vernon call "the ghetto."
In the middle of the crisis of homelessness, scrambling to find a new rental, came the sudden onset of diabetes.
"We feel the stress caused their diabetes. The stress affects their bodies. They don't understand if this is their home, why can't they stay here."
Stay-at-home dad
Brendan Hogan, 29, father of Felicia's children, sits shirtless in an easy chair upstairs, playing World of Warcraft on his laptop.
He's got a red mohawk, the same clear green eyes as the twins, an assortment of piercings and a heart tattoo with the name of his eldest, Rosa, on his left pec. He wants to get the rest of the kids' names, but tattoos are a luxury he can't afford right now.
Although it's afternoon, he looks groggy. He introduces himself as a "stay-at-home dad," with an important role in the home care, but since the birth of the twins turned a spotlight on the family, he's been the target of so much criticism for not working that the upright vacuum cleaner he keeps close to his chair might as well be a pitchfork.
Brendan has plenty of explanations for his inability to keep a job: His recent diagnosis of Crohn's disease. The debilitating migraines that plague Felicia. Someone needs to be here for the other three kids when Felicia has to go to Vancouver with the twins for their medical care.
Before the Crohn's diagnosis, Brendan worked occasionally in construction. Now he has been added to Felicia's social assistance file: having him on her file helps financially, but Felicia is used to defending him.
Her social workers are "always asking why he can't go to work," she says. It's been a no-win situation: before they sorted out their tumultuous road of breakups and makeups — when he still lived at home with his parents — if he worked and paid child support, whatever he contributed got deducted from her monthly assistance. It didn't really help.
Now, at least, she has him to pitch in around the house.
Her welfare cheque goes entirely to rent and food. Then it's two more weeks until the family allowance: just needing shoes for the kids throws everything out of whack.
She is saving up to buy a single ticket for herself to see the final Twilight movie when it comes out next month.
Felicia is accustomed to negative assessments of her situation from strangers. She says it truly doesn't bother her.
She's dealt with people calling social services to complain that the girls don't look well cared for, or there isn't enough food in the fridge.
"I do the best I can with what I have. I can't do any more."
Felicia has never been in danger of losing the children and pediatric neurosurgeon Dr. Doug Cochrane says they are one of the most "deeply engaged" families he works with.
Indeed, the children are vibrant and screaming with laughter much of the time. Brendan is off the easy chair soon enough to chase Shaylee, shrieking, through the house in an extended game of wrestle/tickle. The twins scamper from one family member to the other throughout the day, telling each how much they love them. To characterize the family as close-knit would be an understatement.
Another reality
Hollywood oddities agent Chuck Harris and his associate Adam Miller are representing the family and shopping a reality TV series around to networks, one that he insists will feature "the whole family." But just how will they be portrayed: Honey Boo Boo meets Abby and Brittany? Addams Family meets Jon and Kate Plus 8?
Harris says, "I can tell you in 10 words or less: Meet the most functional dysfunctional family in the world."
Felicia shrugs off the suggestion that it could be unfair or unethical to put the family, her twins at its centre, on television. "The goal is just to do it for a while, so the girls can get what they need," she explains.
Basics include better nutrition: the diabetes makes that more urgent. It's hard, on a fixed income, to make sure they have the high-quality food they need. The family relies on the food bank at times; staff know them, sometimes slip them a little extra. Their budget is so stretched they fall into the usual trap: McDonald's or Taco Time when they are on the road.
If the show gets picked up, their biggest dream is a home with modifications for the girls. Everything is getting harder for them: just to go to the bathroom, one girl has to squeeze in next to the toilet, bend her knees and balance, while her sister goes pee. They do it cheerfully, but as they grow, so do the challenges.
"The reality show for us would mean a stable life, not just for us but for the children. It would give us the opportunity to show everybody, not just here but around the world, not just what they are, but who they are," says Felicia.
It would mean freedom from the debt collectors that come calling; maybe they would get through the month without running out of food, or they wouldn't have to rely on the food bank to get through the holidays.
With the demands of travel for the girls' medical care, it's nearly impossible to stay afloat. Sometimes bills just don't get paid. Felicia wishes her son Christopher could play soccer. Her daughter Rosa has a severe learning disability. There is no college fund, for anyone.
"It sucks ... I want them to have everything and I can't give them everything. I don't have the means to do it. They don't understand. They are just little kids. They don't understand why everybody else can and they can't." This breaks her. Tears come.
The children, clustered on the back porch watching Felicia talk to yet another reporter, are a rainbow of striking individuality: her seven-year-old son Christopher has an emerald mohawk, her niece Cynthia, has a lip piercing and bright green hair. As they watch Felicia being interviewed, their faces crinkle into shy smiles. They don't hear the resignation in Felicia's voice, the depletion that no magical creature can shine up with fairy dust: "We are at our lowest. This is the lowest we have ever been."
A dream home
A five-minute drive from their current rental, just beyond the city limits where the land flattens out between rolling hills, is a home the family longs to buy.
Cattle graze on a ridge overlooking the property; the house is partly hidden in a yard studded with fruit trees; across the street, there are horses.
This is a house the family has had their eyes on for a while. The house has languished on the market for two years — it had a water problem, and bulrushes grow on the swampy ground, but Louise says that's all been fixed. If only they had $500,000.
Felicia and Louise walk about the property often, staring in the dusty windows of the ground floor and dreaming of what might be. The house has eight bedrooms and two kitchens. It's not a mansion, and it looks lived in, even run down compared with the new view properties lining the hillcrests between Vernon and Kelowna.
But the house means everything to the family: privacy, security, potential.
"This house is our dream home," Felicia says softly. "This would mean a lot of freedom for the girls just to be little girls. There is privacy here. They'd be able to play in their own yard and not get stared at."
The yearning for privacy, and the dream of earning it through a reality show, may seem like a contradiction, but that doesn't bother Felicia. Like the fairies she collects that reflect both darkness and light, like Tatiana and Krista, who can't be pulled apart, there is, she believes, a duality to everything.
They are already in the public eye; at their last rental the girls couldn't play outside without cars slowing down so people could stare; the current place, a set of ground floor/basement apartments, has the girls navigating staircases and has split up the family.
In the house, the whole extended family could be together.
"If for any reason my parents passed away, I would know my girls had a secure place to be and we wouldn't have to worry about uprooting them again," says Felicia.
Louise thinks they could run a family business on the acreage, storing boats and RVs; Felicia loves the big rec room on the ground floor where the girls could run and play as all children their age love to, at breakneck speeds, without the perilous stairs.
Felicia's brother Dougie, who manages the family's small delivery business — running pizzas around Vernon at night, or doing liquor store pickups — put himself forward as the family's face on the website gofundme.com, hoping by some miracle to raise money for the down payment. Among hundreds of other families using crowd-sourcing help to pay hospital bills, to bury the body of a loved one, to fund a dying child's last wish, Tatiana and Krista are just one more request.
Although the girls draw star turns on Anderson Cooper, and the awe of the medical community, curiosity is not conjoined with public support: four weeks after the family's plea went up on gofundme.com, the total raised still languished at $205.
Medical marvels
In Vancouver, Pediatric neurologist Dr. Juliette Hukin's office is a cheerful jumble of papers, stuffed file folders, stacks of small toys and Pokemon cards for her young patients. The shelves and walls are papered with colourful drawings.
Hukin has worked with, cared for and treated the Hogan twins since they were 21 months old.
She points to a screen where two coloured stick drawings represent the girls.
"The amazing thing about the girls is that they do have a connection in the brain, a bridge of white matter that connects the mid brain and the thalamus in both twins."
White matter is the connecting fibre in the brain through which neurons fire. The thalamus is the central hub of the brain through which both sensory and motor information is transmitted and relayed to other centres in the brain.
Their sensory connection, this bridge, which allows them to see through each other's eyes is, says Hukin, "incredible" and "a very special gift."
This ability became apparent very early, when one twin was watching a DVD, her mother noticed the other twin staring in the opposite direction, but responding to the movie.
Hukin's face lights up as she points to red and green stick figures that represent the two girls on her computer screen and describes what the latest functional MRI has shown: Stimulation of Krista's inner hand is received in the outer hemisphere of Tatiana's brain. Stimulation of Tatiana's inner foot is received in Krista's outer hemisphere.
It is difficult for Hukin to project just how these discoveries of the twins' unique abilities might help the scientific community's understanding of brain function. But, she says, "What it shows us is how adaptable the developing brain is, and how well children can accommodate to what they are born with. It shows that the brain can compensate for areas that are not developed in the usual way."
Because the girls are still too young to explain exactly how they see and do things, and must be under general anesthetic during MRI scans, little is known about whether the girls share motor information as well as sensory information.
Hukin says she is looking forward to seeing how the girls develop "as two closely connected individuals but independent and different personalities ... how they manage through life, adapting to the challenges we all have as we are growing up."
She looks forward to their visits; this last appointment, shortly before their sixth birthday, revealed remarkable new information about their shared sensation. "It's been an honour to look after these children ... the fact that Mother Nature has allowed these children to still be alive at five years of age and still functioning very well is a miracle, really."
Day-to-day life
It is the third straight day of medical tests in Vancouver. Felicia's face is drained of colour, her voice flattened with exhaustion. A documentary crew from Japan has been tailing them for a week, with agent Adam Miller supervising, and two PR officials from B.C. Children's Hospital on hand to negotiate every appointment the crew wants to attend and film.
The family has stretched their B.C. medical travel assistance budget — a little more than $400 to pay for gas and food for the twins, Felicia, her mother Louise, stepfather Doug and brother Dougie, over four days — but is nearly out of money. Calls from home indicate myriad problems to sort out with their landlord, and with the other children.
Today they meet with their pediatric endocrinologist for the first time. It's an important appointment for the girls: a crucial new relationship, and more blood tests.
Yesterday, the girls were rocketing around the hotel and Krista jumped off a sofa, twisting her ankle. It's not broken, but there is soft tissue damage and she can't walk.
Tatiana doesn't want to ride in the wheelchair. She is annoyed.
Felicia's hands are stuffed in the pocket of a black Nightmare Before Christmas hoodie, the one she wears every day.
Her mother, Louise, pushes the girls in the wheelchair. Their heads lean toward each other, small hands clasped. Two girls, a circle of one.
Their green eyes sparkle, small mouths split into grins.
Tatiana's and Krista's free hands lift and flutter, and wave, bat stray hair from their eyes, point at things, reach for their grandmother; their fingers play the air like they are plucking invisible strings.
Hospital staff stop to embrace their grandmother, and stoop over the girls, exclaim with delight; the girls chatter excitedly, aware perhaps, or perhaps not, that they have drawn around them a circle of light.
Felicia brightens as the well-dressed female doctors bend over to greet the girls; her hands come out of her pockets. Louise leans into an embrace.
Tatiana rolls her glacial green eyes up toward her grandma; Krista scrunches her face into a mischievous smile.
For a moment, everyone marvels.


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Norman to advise China golf team ahead of Olympics
- China is bringing in Greg Norman to advise the country%27s golf team
- Norman will institute a plan on instruction%2C mental training%2C course management
- Norman also will identify China%27s best prospects for the Olympics
HAINAN, China (AP) — China is turning to Greg Norman to identify and coach its best players for the Olympics.
The China Golf Association on Friday appointed Norman the exclusive advisory coach of its national golf team to get ready for the 2016 Games in Brazil and improve China's global standing in golf beyond the Olympics.
Norman, a two-time British Open champion and former No. 1 player in the world, will development a comprehensive plan of instruction, nutrition, mental training and course management, along with providing his own tournament experience.
He will appoint two assistant coaches to work with the China Golf Association staff. Norman will make regular visits to the national team's training facility in Nanshan leading up to the 2016 Olympics.
Norman also will identify China's best prospects for the Olympics and broaden the junior program to reach every province.
"I've always advocated for the growth and accessibility of the game and look forward to working with the CGS to bring my experience and longtime support of junior golf to China," Norman said. "My role is not only to help prepare the China national team for international competition, but to also teach social skills, etiquette, honesty and self-confidence in giving young Chinese golfers a pathway to their future as adults."
Norman has a wide ranging business operation, Great White Shark Enterprises, which includes golf course design. He has designed three golf courses in China.


text:
We took Judah to our neighborhood fall festival on Saturday and had a great time. While we were there we ran into some people we knew and Judah decided he loves Koree and thankfully the feeling was mutual. She helped him pick out a pumpkin and they even posed for pictures together. He's at such a fun age (17 months tomorrow) and it's fun to discover what he enjoys and things he doesn't care about. He follows directions really well, and by follows I mean completely understands and chooses if he's willing to obey depending on the way the wind is blowing that day. His sense of humor is developing and he likes making us laugh or joining in when he can tell somebody is telling a joke. If you can't tell by the pictures, Judah is a fat kid now. He's very solid with a fat face and huge belly which is even funnier when you realize he walks like Sherman Hemsley did on The Jeffersons. He's with his Gi Gi and Paw Paw tonight which is why I had a few minutes to blog before bed :)
Garlic Roasted Tomato Flatbread
50 minutes ago


text:
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Normal Newborn Home
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Rigin Oommen
റിജിൻ ഉമ്മൻ
O členu
I am a web lover dreams the web should be open and safe
Access Groupsnda
Tagsaffiliates, aoa, app development, army of awesome, boot2gecko, firefox student ambassadors, hackathons, india, kerala, l10n:translation, localization, mozilla firefox browser, mozilla kerala, mozillian, sf-monument, spreading, support, webmaker, mozilla_kerala, sumo, web dev, firefox os launch team kerala, asia, firefoxos, mozilla @ school, mozilla geolocation, social contributors, amo, app reviewers, marketpulse community, gen open, mentor, community builders, add-ons, communications
Dovednosti.net, .nodejs, angularjs, c, css3, html5, java, javascript, jquery, mean stack
JazykyAngličtina, Hindština, Malajálamština, Tamilština
Externí účty
- Bugzilla (BMO): firstname.lastname@example.com
- Mozilla Discourse: riginoommen
- Facebook: riginoommen
- LinkedIn: http://in.linkedin.com/in/riginoommen
- MDN: riginoommen
- Phone (Mobile): +919495788191
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April Morone
I vouch for Rigin Oommen for the work he does as a very astute app reviewer because he makes sure the apps look presentable, not just have been built to Mozilla's specifications for apps to be on Firefox Marketplace. His attention to detail is an asset to Mozilla, I feel.
Abin Abraham
I know Rigin for the past 2 years. He is the one of the active member in the Mozilla Kerala Community. He Contributes to the Firefox OS, SuMo, AoA,, Localization, Marketplace, Location Services and a long list too. He is involved with the organizing of the Mozilla Events in the Community.
His contribution to Mozilla is a long list
Recently he was selected as the Mozilla's Contributor of the Month. https://blog.mozilla.org/apps/2014/12/08/november-contributor-of-the-month-rigin-oommen/
I have known Rigin as an active Mozillian who has done a great job in evangelizing for Mozilla. He has participated and organized several events,also App developer for FFOS,do localization and has also contributed immensely towards the geolocation project .....
Abid Aboobaker
Actively contributing to FFOS development. Community member in Kerala. Owner of a BIG heart(and a body too)! :p
Midhun Manoj
App developer for FFOS. Does localization and has also contributed immensely towards the geolocation project.


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Further accounts of Richard Jones' descriptions of the man who irritated him on the Number 30 bus can be read on the J7 website here.
Update, 17 January 2011: J7 examine the testimony given by Richard Jones to the Inquests.
7/7 Inquests: Examining and documenting the proceedings of the Coroner's Inquest into the London Bombings of 7 July 2005, including analysis of the hearing transcripts and the evidence presented.
This man's testimony is a joke...not that he didn't see someone fiddling with a bag, but not a bomber, so why bother with his testimony? Effectively he is just another passenger on that bus and nothing more. He wasn't even on the bus when the bomb went off!ReplyDelete
Anonymous said 'so why bother with his testinony'?
Because, apart from Danny Biddle whose testimony J7 examined here, Richard Jones is apparently the only other witness to be referenced in the government's official narrative.
Richard Jones has been crossexamined .
(12 Jan , afternoon , p9)
18 Q. Were you intending to travel to the Angel area via the
19 Waterloo & City line?
20 A. Yes, and at that stage it was identified that there was
21 a power out, a power outage, that's the excuse that they
22 gave at that time.
1 A. Yes, the Waterloo and City Line was suspended due to
2 power outage, and I then took an alternative route to
3 the Northern Line and was intending to go to Euston and
4 then get the City branch back down from the
5 Northern Line to the Angel where I was working.
He said he reached Euston, was evacuated and took to the buses, walking back to Euston Square to get on the 30 bus one stop before it reached Euston and the crowd,
Jones was specifically questioned about the man he saw, :
8 Q. Now, Mr Jones, there's been some speculation about the
9 identity of that man, man A, and whether or not he was
10 connected to the bomber who was undoubtedly on the upper
11 deck of the bus, the number 30 bus, as it went
12 southbound, so I want to ask you, please, about what you
13 can recollect of that person, in order that we can
14 dispel any lingering concerns about whether or not he
15 was connected.
16 A. Okay. .....
11 Q. I'm going to ask you a little bit more, thank you very
12 much, about his appearance and description to see
13 whether or not we can exclude him from any connection to
14 the bomber, Hussain?
15 A. Okay....
22 A. No, there was no --
23 Q. -- or any kind of facial growth that you could see?
24 A. Yes.
25 Q. My Lady, Hussain had, of course, a short beard, some
1 growth, on his chin, as evidenced by the post-mortem
2 report.
16 Q. But I hope we've established, Mr Jones, that there
17 appears to be no connection with the bomber and nor that
18 that particular gentleman was doing anything other than
19 acting as an ordinary member of the public, a passenger
20 on the bus?
21 A. Correct.
22 Q. But your statement, I'm afraid, has been open to
23 conjecture and surmise in the way of these things in the
24 public domain.
25 A. Yes, I know.
Richard Jones also gave evidence about the journey of the bus from Euston to Tavistock Square, and was within thirty yards of the bus when it blew up, so was witness to the scene immediately after the explosion
"But your statement, I'm afraid, has been open to conjecture and surmise in the way of these things in the public domain"
His statement was taken as important by the media, the assumption that the fiddling man was the bomber was never corrected [at least nothing was ever mentioned, but of course the media are hardly likely to want to pour doubt on any sensational reporting angles...] and therefore his testimony is only valid as having been referenced in the 'narrative'.
In truth his testimony reads "I saw a guy on a bus" which would be similar or even identical to every other potential witness statement from the bus. If the media had dug deeper at the time and gained access to more bus passengers rather than rub their hands together with glee at the report of someone 'not white' on the bus fiddling with a bag [like just about everyone does on public transport!], then this man's testimony would not have been given any more credibility than someone who was actually on the bus at the time.
Quite how only two main witnesses have been referenced and 'quoted' by the MPS and the media when there was a busload of people has never ceased to amaze me...
J7 examine the testimony given by Richard Jones to the InquestsReplyDelete
There is no mention of a power outage at 8.30 which is when Jones said he arrived at Waterloo. No mention of the line being suspended until the Code Amber.
Waterloo & City DOM incident report
Normal service from the start of traffic. At 09:00 all services were suspended due to a number of incidents in London.
10:00 – 16:00
Service suspended
16.00 - 20.00
Service suspended
20.00 - Close of traffic
Service suspended
Waterloo & City DOM report
Numeral the DOM report for this line must be wrong when it states 'normal service from the start of traffic' as we know that Bank station was closed due to a security alert:
07.05 Bank – station closed due to security alert
Station closed and non-stopped due to an unattended bag on station. Station re-opened
07.27hrs. 22 minute delay.
Can't 'non-stop' a line that has only one stop so the line must have at least been suspended then.


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For the Application and Permit for Utility Facility Encroachment - Right-of-Way , CLICK HERE
Before the application review will start, we need:
1. The completed application
2. Plans
3. $150 non-refundable permit fee
Before submitting your application, initial pages 1 through 3 at the bottom of each page and make sure all fields on the last two pages of the application are filled in.
Along with your application, we need the plans showing in detail the location of the proposed work (see page 5). We also need the $150 application fee.
Our fax number is 770-389-7912. You may fax in your application. Do not fax in your plans.
Our mailing address is:
City of Stockbridge
4640 N Henry Blvd
Stockbridge GA 30281-3653