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Identifying Stakeholders' Responsibilities for Closing Achievement Gaps: District and School Based Strategies
Discussion Guide 3
Closing achievement gaps is complex and challenging. A variety of strategies are needed to address the many factors that contribute to the gaps, only some of which NEA members influence directly.
This guide focuses on district- and school-based strategies for closing achievement gaps. Strategies that focus on out-of-school factors are addressed in Discussion Guide #4, Identifying Stakeholders' Responsibilities for Closing Achievement Gaps.
Many districts and schools have used the six groups of strategies below to make progress in closing achievement gaps. Begin by reviewing the strategies, and then move to the discussion questions that follow.
District- and School-Based Strategies that Can Help Close Achievement Gaps
1. Engage Students' Families
Families play a significant role in ensuring that students are ready to learn and in supporting learning throughout school.
Family support is essential to community support.
Outreach to families is culturally and linguistically sensitive.
2. Intervene Early
Early learning experiences help students enter school ready to learn.
Students gain these experiences at home and in child care, pre-K, and kindergarten programs.
Early screening identifies children needing medical or social services to succeed at school.
3. Target Current Resources, and Seek Adequate Funding
Targeting resources on closing achievement gaps focuses schools' efforts.
Adequate funding supports students with achievement gaps.
Achievement gaps often increase over time at under-funded schools.
District- and School-Based Strategies that Can Help Close Achievement Gaps
4. Provide Comprehensive Support to Students
Social and health services meet student needs that affect learning.
Role models expose students to successful individuals.
Student mentors provide personal support and direction for students.
Peer tutoring provides students with additional instructional support.
5. Build a School Environment that Supports Learning
The school is safe, orderly, focused on academics, and sensitive to students' diversity.
The entire staff shares responsibility for closing achievement gaps.
Extended learning opportunities, such as after-school sessions, are provided.
Test and other performance data help the school identify achievement gaps and close them.
Faculty and staff have time during the school day to plan, participate in professional development, and operate as a professional learning community.
6. Build Classroom Environments that Support Learning
Students have access to qualified teachers.
Teachers provide instruction that results in breadth of learning and depth of understanding.
Instructional time is free of interruptions.
Reduced class size leads to high-quality instruction and individual attention
Discussion Questions
1. Consider the achievement gaps and factors that districts and schools can address. This discussion guide highlights six strategies various districts and schools have used successfully.
- Will any of these six groups of strategies address the factors we identified as contributing to local achievement gaps in our school?
- Are there other district- and/or school-related strategies that are needed to address the local achievement gaps and contributing factors that we identified?
2. How would we start to implement some of these strategies? Are some especially important to implement? Should some be implemented before others?
Related Content
» Identifying Achievement Gaps in Your School, District, and Community - Discussion Guide 1.
» Identifying Factors that Contribute to Achievement Gaps - Discussion Guide 2.
» Identifying Stakeholders' Responsibilities for Closing the Achievement Gaps: Stakeholder Actions - Discussion Guide 4.


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John Powers, artist, blogger at Star Wars Modern, as well as Rhizome contributor, might now add "script doctor" to his bio. Yesterday, he unveiled his recent project — a rewrite of the script for Prometheus. I asked Powers several questions over email about his improvements to the script:
What was your reaction to Prometheus? How does that compare with your feelings about the films Alien andAliens?
I was disappointed but still engaged. I had been looking forward to the film. After Requiem I could never have been lured back to another Alien movie, but it was Ridley Scott. And while I really don't like slasher films at all, body horror is something I've always been fascinated by. From Cronenberg's Fly, to Aronofsky's Black Swan, to Natali'sSplice, body horror has always been a genre that my imagination has latched onto. Alien is the ultimate. I would love to know the page count of academic papers written on the sexual horror of those films. When I realized Scott was making a stab at 2001 via Alien- ala a scifi film about God (but founded in body horror) I got really excited.
So Prometheus has more in common with 2001 than the original Alien?
To horribly misquote Allen Ginsberg: I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness, starving, hysterical naked, dragging themselves through the exercise of filming their own 2001; A Space Odyssey.
In 2002 Steven Soderbergh made a run at it (and bombed), via Post-Soviet chic, with his remake of Solaris. In 2006 Darren Aronofsky all but destroyed any artistic credibility he had by making The Fountain, a over-blown scifi opus about life, the universe, and everything. A year later Danny Boyle did it with a little more success (but not much) with his movie Sunshine (wrote about that one). In 2010 Christopher Nolan was clearly aiming for the Kubrick-esque moon with his film Inception (I wrote a LOT about tht one). And Terrence Malick was clearly swinging for the Jovian moons with Tree of Life.
All these films excepting Inception (which is more about the film director as God, than God) are catastrophically flawed. All of them attracted A-list talent (Clooney, Jackman, Dicaprio, Spicoli...) and all were clearly passion projects on the part of their directors...

subset: commoncrawl


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Families grieve in Damascus after attack on school
November 12, 2013
DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Families in a central neighborhood of the Syrian capital wept quietly Tuesday as they retrieved the bodies of four children and their bus driver killed in a mortar attack on their school in a predominantly Christian area a day earlier.
The strike was the latest rebel reprisal to hit Damascus as government troops press ahead with a crushing weekslong advance into opposition-held suburbs, often relying on indiscriminant artillery fire themselves. Such mortar attacks by rebels seeking to overthrow President Bashar Assad have been on the rise.
"Those children were angels," said Marwan Qabalan, a family friend picking up the body of nine-year-old Vaniciya Mekho from the morgue. He said the girl's parents couldn't bear to see her, still dressed in a school uniform and covered with blood.
Often-random rebel mortar fire has hit shops, churches, homes and embassies in the capital this year, killing dozens of civilians. But Monday's shelling of Risaleh school in the Bab Sharqi neighborhood shocked residents in particular because the casualties were children.
A fifth pupil died early Tuesday, raising the number of children killed to five. Four other children and two supervisors were also wounded in the strike, and another mortar attack the same day on nearby John of Damascus school wounded 11.
Also Tuesday, Kurds announced a transitional autonomous administration to run day-to-day affairs in regions they dominate in Syria's northeast. Nawaf Khalil, a spokesman for the Kurdish Democratic Union Party, or PYD, said the announcement was made in the city of Qamishli.
Overstretched from fighting rebels across most of the country, Syrian troops withdrew from Kurdish areas last year, leaving a security void. Since then, Kurdish militiamen led by the PYD, seen by mainstream rebels and some other Kurdish groups as being pro-government, have been fighting to purge their areas from Islamic extremists and al-Qaida affiliated militants.
The Kurdish move could be a first step toward setting up an autonomous region similar to one they administer in northern Iraq. It was not immediately clear however if other groups supported the announcement by the PYD and a few other small groups.
In Damascus, the morgue visit was organized for journalists by Syrian officials who otherwise typically restrict reporters' access to events. All victims were Christians. Associated Press TV footage showed somber pallbearers placing a small white coffin with a gold cross on the lid into the back of a hearse. Three men carried out another coffin, as woman dressed in black cried out: "What a waste, what a shame!" A hospital medic draped a white robe over six-year-old Majd Shahadeh before he was placed in a coffin.
"I am proud because I am the mother of a martyr and I am ready even to sacrifice my other two sons for Syria," said the bus driver's tearful mother, Samira Abu Sukkeh. UNICEF called the shelling "barbaric," saying in a statement that "all those with influence in Syria have a moral obligation to respect the sanctity of children's lives and ensure that schools remain a place of safe refuge."
The attack triggered outrage among residents of the capital who have largely become accustomed to violence and mortar fire in recent months, with many parents to terrified to let their children return to school. Education official Rami Shahin said only 100 of some 750 pupils at John of Damascus attended classes Tuesday.
Elsewhere in Damascus, mortar shells continued to draw blood, with state media saying a strike near the office of a pro-Assad Palestinian group wounded 10. The shells can be easily lobbed into the city from footholds on its outskirts.
Despite the attacks, rebel fighters say infighting and waning weapon supplies have weakened them in recent weeks. The government has also besieged many of their enclaves and made inroads in the northern province of Aleppo as well.
Tuesday's fighting centered around the suburb of Hejeira, one of a patchwork of sprawling neighborhoods and towns just south of Damascus that have been opposition strongholds for the past year. In recent weeks, government forces have taken control of four nearby strongholds, most recently the nearby town of Sabina.
Assad's efforts there were bolstered by Shiite fighters from Iraq and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, said the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which has a network of activists on the ground. A spokeswoman for a Damascus-based Syrian rebel council corroborated the claim, speaking on condition of anonymity however for fear of reprisals.
An Aleppo-based anti-government activist said rebels were on high alert in the northern city on Tuesday, fearing government troops backed by various Assad allies would soon try to storm their eastern strongholds. The activist, who uses the pseudonym Abu Raed in order to avoid identification by the government, said rebel fighters had been ordered to present themselves for duty or be punished.
"They want to halt the army's advance," he said. "The regime is coming." Western-backed rebel groups have not been sent weapons or ammunition for at least a month, Abu Raed added, saying the cutback was part of a regional tactic to force Syria's opposition to agree to participate in an international peace conference to end to the three-year conflict.
The fractured opposition however has so far demurred from saying outright it would attend the proposed talks in Geneva— welcoming the conference but with preconditions unlikely to be met.
Karam reported from Beirut. Associated Press writer Diaa Hadid contributed reporting.


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October 2013 Translations Worth Checking Out: The "Our Flight to Frankfurt Is Delayed" Edition
As mentioned last month, I decided to start this monthly round-up for two reasons—to highlight a few interesting books in translation that other venues likely won't, and because I think there's more to literature that the monthly Flavorwire listicles. (One more Flavorwire thing: It's totally fine that we're not on the 25 Best Indie Presses list, but did you have to title it "Fuck You, Open Letter"?)
I'm writing this in haste, putting to use the four hours of "found time" that US Airways granted me by canceling my flight. Not that I really mind—I think I'm one of the few people who, aside from the remarkably uncomfortable seating options, doesn't mind airports. If I could concentrate as well at work as I can in airports, we'd be golden. (And by "golden," I mean, probably on that Flavorwire list.) The only thing that ever really gets to me are all of the asinine "businessmen" talking nonsense into their Nextel phones. What are these people even on about? I swear, I've eavesdropped on so many conversations that the NSA should hire me, but the only conclusion I've come to is that our entire economy runs on Excel pivot tables for mysterious "services," about which the client is always a) unsatisfied, and b) a total prick. I wouldn't be surprised if half these "businessmen" were just playing dress up to try and convince everyone that the U.S. economy wasn't totally fucked. "Look! My cell phone's not even on! What, did you really think Nextel phones worked? All I know about Excel is Minesweeper." Business is stupid.
OK, this month's books.
Wigrum by Daniel Canty. Translated from the French by Oana Avasilichioael. (Talonbooks, $14.95)
We ran a review of this book a week or so ago, and Patrick Smith captured all the things about this that first grabbed my attention when I saw it at BEA:
Known also as a graphic designer in Quebec, Canty takes those skills and puts them towards this "novel of inventory" and creates a framework from which to hang the inventories. We get a table of contents, where oddly, the preface follows the only chapter, we are given a set of "Instructions to the Reader" and the whole work ends with an index. The bulk of the book is the collection, the objects ostensibly found by the collector Wigrum, the man behind these collections (though the book throws this into doubt; there are other collectors, other writers). They are arranged alphabetically, all with an illustration in the margin, a touch that gives them more weight, rather than letting the story dominate the scale. It is a nice graphic touch, and eventually becomes part of how the book complicates itself.
That's all great, but undersells the fun of yelling out "WIGRUM!" every once in a while. Such a great word that sounds both threatening and goofy all at once.
Milk and Other Stories by Simon Fruelund. Translated from the Danish by K. E. Semmel. (Santa Fe Writers Project, $12.00)
Kyle and Simon were in Rochester just last week to talk about Milk, an early book of Simon's, and Civil Twilight, a more recent, and stylistically very different, novella, and I think you should really read both of these books.
Also, we'll have a recording of the event up on Three Percent in the near future along with the one we did with Jean-Marie Blas de Robles. Watch both of these—they turned out to be two of our best ever Reading the World Conversation Series events.
Kyle Semmel is, like me, a die-hard Cardinals fan. How we grew up in Rochester, NY and Bay City, MI and became St. Louis fans is a bit strange, but Vince Coleman, Ozzie Smith, Willie McGee, and Whitey Herzog should explain most of that. My baseball imagination was totally captured by those mid-80s teams who stole more than 240 bases a year (over 300 in 1985!)—a number that's insane by today's standards. (Jacoby Ellsbury lead the majors with 52 stolen bases this year; Vince Coleman stole 110 in 1985.) I loved the idea that you could succeed not by being all jacked up and huge, but by bunting and stealing every base even when the world knew you were going to be running. That's baseball to me.
And for that reason, I've been through the emotional wringer the past few years, with Game 6 against Texas being the high point, and hating the shit out of San Francisco last year. After falling into a deep depression about last night's loss, I'm fairly certain that the Cardinals will go down 5-1 today before staging a miraculous ninth inning comeback that will end with my heart exploding. Baseball.
Final sports note: Fuck Boston. Not only are their fans the worst—a sickening combination of faux-put upon ("But we didn't win for years! We're long-suffering!") and entitlement ("We spent the most money and didn't win last year—we deserve it!")—but their franchise decided to carve "BOSTON STRONG" into the outfield. That's tasteless to me, although I did predict that Boston would (grossly) capitalize on the Marathon Bombings as another reason why they "deserve" to win this year. "We've got to heal the city, ya' know?" Shut up and please get swept by the Tigers. And screw Bill Simmons.
Private Pleasures by Hamdy el-Gazzar.& Translated from the Arabic by Humphrey Davies. ($18.95, American University at Cairo Press)
I'm currently reading another book that Humphrey Davies translated—Leg over Leg or The Turtle in the Tree concerning The Fāriyāq, What Manner of Creature Might He Be by Fāris al-Shidyāq. I mentioned this a while back as a sort of Arabic Laurence Sterne, and now that I'm more than halfway through the first (of four?) volume, I can affirm that this is a pretty apt comparison. I'll write a full-length review later on, but I just want to say that this is nothing what I had expected a book written in Arabic in 1855 to be like. It's filthy—I particularly like the bit where the people in the pub argue about what type of person is the happiest and decide that the whore must be, since she gets both money and pleasure and the devotion of her clients—and funny and obsessed with language. The language bits seem like the most difficult for Davies to translate, which is why there are hundreds of footnotes, but also make it clear that Fāris al-Shidyāq was a super-intelligent, strange man.
In a way, this reminds me of Macedonio Fernandez's The Museum of Eterna's Novel (The First Good Novel) for all of its delays and sections addressed to future critics and readers and religious men and the like. Definitely worth reading.
Misfortunates by Dimitri Verhulst. Translated from the Flemish by David Colmer. ($23.99, St. Martin's Press)
I haven't read this Verhulst book yet—I really like Problemski Hotel when I read that years ago—but I do have a DVD of the movie version in my office:
Leapfrog and Other Stories by Guillermo Rosales. Translated from the Spanish by Anna Kushner. ($14.95, New Directions)
New Directions brought out Rosales's The Halfway House a few years back to great acclaim, so I'm sure this collection will also do pretty well.
It's hard to write about Rosales without mentioning his personal history, which is really bleak and awful. He was born in Cuba in the 1940s, but was forced to leave for Miami because of his "morose, pornographic, and irreverent" works. The rest of his life was spent going in and out of psychiatric hospitals, and he finally took his own life at the age of 47 after destroying most of his unpublished manuscripts.
The Elixir of Immortality by Gabi Gleichmann. Translated from the Norwegian by Michael Meigs. ($18.95, Other Press)
Other Press sure doesn't shy away from publishing gigantic books. Where Tigers Are at Home, which I HIGHLY recommend, and I guarantee you'll want to rush out and buy after watching the RTWCS interview with Blas de Robles, came out in March and clocks in at 832 pages. A True Novel by Minae Mizamura, which comes out next month, is 880 pages and comes in two volumes with a slipcase. This novel, The Elixir of Immortality is 768 pages long.
God bless Other Press for publishing such huge tomes at a time when the conventional wisdom is that readers have an attention span of approximately 140 characters. I love big-ass huge books, which brings me to—
Blinding: The Left Wing by Mircea Cartarescu. Translated from the Romanian by Sean Cotter. ($22.00, Archipelago Books)
Along with Leg over Leg and the new Pynchon (which I'm really enjoying so far), this is the third book that I brought with me for this trip to Frankfurt. It's the first book in a trilogy, and, to tell a whingey publishing story, Open Letter tried to get the rights to this book but we were rejected. (Cartarescu wasn't impressed with us. But to be fair, this was back in 2006 before we had any books.)
Let me just quote you a part of Archipelago's press release:
Blinding takes us on a mystical trip into the protagonist's childhood, his memories of hospitalization as a teenager, the prehistory of his family, a traveling circus, secret police, zombie armies, American fighter pilots, the jazz underworld of New Orleans, and the installation of the Communist regime.
I won't be surprised if this wins the 2014 BTBA for Fiction.
The African Shore by Rodrigo Rey Rosa. Translated from the Spanish by Jeffrey Gray. ($13.00, Yale University Press)
Rodrigo Rey Rosa is an author I know I should read—some of his works were translated into English by Paul Bowles—but haven't gotten to yet. I love the idea that The African Shore is a work of "dystopic travel fiction," and I especially love what Roberto Bolaño said about Rey Rosa:
Miguel Ángel Asturias, Augusto Monterroso, and now Rodrigo Rey Rosa, three giant writers from a small, unhappy country.
Also, that owl is eating a frog. I am both disgusted and intrigued. Intriguingly disgusted.
The Dark by Sergio Chejfec. Translated from Spanish by Heather Cleary. ($14.95, Open Letter)
Moment of Open Letter self-promotion: Chejfec is one of the best Argentine writers working today. If you like Javier Marias, if you like W.G. Sebald, you will like all of Chejfec's books. And of the three we've published—My Two Worlds, The Planets—I think this is my favorite. It has the concise style of My Two Worlds with the plotted aspects of The Planets. Both of his other books have been finalists for the BTBA, and with another stunning translation by Heather Cleary, I suspect this one will also make the shortlist.
Speaking of Heather Cleary, you need to check out the Buenos Aires Review. This is a fantastic new online journal that Heather is involved with, and which is spectacularly designed. It's loaded with great writers and translators—from Russell Valentino to Tyrno Maldonado to Pola Oloixarac and more—and has recently been recommended to me by multiple people who just wanted to make sure I was aware of this "amazing new website." Check it out!
The End of Love by Marcos Giralt Torrente. Translated from the Spanish by Katherine Silver. ($22.00, McSweeney's Books)
As part of Middlebury's Clifford Symposium, I had the opportunity to meet Yumiko Yanagisawa, a Swedish-Japanese and English-Japanese translator who, over the course of her career, has worked on almost 80 different titles. Not only is she one of the most prolific translators of our time, but throughout Japan there are reading groups dedicated to her translations. This is something that an American translator can only dream of.
That said, I know that I'll pay serious consideration to anything Bill Johnston, Margaret Jull Costa, Esther Allen, Sean Cotter, Susan Bernofsky, or Katherine Silver translates. And more. (Then again, I am weird, and not a typical reader.)
I know nothing about The End of Love, but I would totally join a Katherine Silver book club and read this.


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ALBANY >> A nurse at the Albany-Stratton VA Hospital says she's been reprimanded for whistleblowing.
The case against Valerie Riviello, a 28-year employee at the hospital, is just one of about 60 instances of alleged retaliation taken against whistleblowers that is now under investigation by the Office of Special Counsel.
Riviello, 55, said in November, she was caring for a female patient, a victim of military sexual assault, who had been placed in a two-point restraint around 6:30 a.m.
By 9 a.m., she said, that while nurses thought the patient was ready to come out and cooperate, the attending physician did not agree.
By 1 p.m., the patient had wet herself and was aching from remaining in the same position for six and a half hours. Riviello said she then called her supervisor, who approved the nurse's plan to remove the restraints and allow the patient to use the bathroom. After seven hours, the patient was released from the restraints.
Riviello said the hospital's policy is to place patients in the "least restrictive environment."
The attending physician was angered by their actions, she said. Her supervisor told her not to worry.
But days later, Riviello says she was told to step down from her position as nurse manager, and to tell her staff that it was her idea. She said she was told to create a new nurse educator program — a task usually performed by a team of nurses — and was stripped of her clinical duties. She also took a pay cut of $6,000.
"They pretty much threatened me that if I didn't [step down], things would get very ugly, and they did," said Riviello.
In March, Riviello's supervisor served her with a reprimand for "failure to follow the patient's plan of care" for the incident.
Riviello went to Tully Rinckey PLLC, an Albany-based law firm which often works with federal employees, and was subsequently served with a 30-day suspension without pay for giving her lawyer patient information.
"That's perfectly legal," said Cheri L. Cannon, Riviello's attorney. "As a whistleblower, she's allowed to give that information by law."
Cannon said they have filed two complaints with the Office of Special Counsel, one about the excessive restraints, and another for the retaliation Riviello has faced.
"It's a two-fold thing," said Cannon. "…Our aim is to expose the situation at the particular hospital and get it corrected so it doesn't happen again. On her personal behalf, we'd like to get her job back and like for her to be able to move forward without fear and for other nurses to feel they can bring attention to situations that need to be corrected."
Since November, others have come to Riviello hoping she can bring light to more issues.
"Other nurses come to me with complaints, slipping notes under my door, envelopes, sending me emails," Riviello said. "Not just nurses but other employees throughout the hospital, social workers, psychologists, janitors — everybody's just giving me information and I'm like, bombarded."
While the VA nationwide has been under scrutiny for lack of funding among an influx of veterans returning home, Riviello, who works in the mental health division, said she believes it's the leadership that has contributed to the "culture of fear and retaliation" at the hospital.
"I do see that there's probably not enough staff," she said. "Some of these patients have really complex issues and it takes a lot of people to help them, and there's just not enough time and people in a day to do it, in mental health, anyway."
While Riviello has since regained her title and pay, she still works in an office 8 hours per day on the education program.
A spokesman from the hospital said he could not comment on the case while OSC is investigating, and issued a statement instead.
"...We take any allegations involving patient care very seriously," the statement read. "We have an open environment for employees, one where we encourage them to come forward and utilize the venues available to raise issues and concerns. Upon invoking their right to go to the Office of Special Counsel, we feel it is important that the process be fully pursued and the claim reviewed. The Albany Stratton VA Medical Center values all internal and external reviews as opportunities to affirm the quality of our medical care and practices and to identify opportunities for improvement."
The Office of Special Counsel said last month about 50 cases alleging threats to patient health or safety at the VA nationwide were under investigation, representing more than a quarter of all matters referred by OSC for government-wide investigation.
"The VA, and particularly the VA's Office of the Medical Inspector (OMI), has consistently used a 'harmless error' defense, where the Department acknowledges problems but claims patient care is unaffected," Special Counsel Carolyn Lerner wrote in a letter to the White House and Congress in June.
"This approach hides the severity of systemic and longstanding problems. OSC raised similar concerns previously, and today's letter is OSC's most thorough accounting," said a statement from the office.
"There's a lot of front line nurses, doctors and people who really do care," said Riviello. "But there's this culture — we could actually do a lot better. It's not the VA that I first came and worked for."
Molly Eadie can also be reached at 270-1288.


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Hi all,
I know some of you have already seen this in my blog post this morning, but for those who haven't, I wanted to announce that our very own Josh Wedin has joined Dunechaser's Blocklog as a contributor. Hurray!
Well, many of you may say, "It's no longer just Dunechaser's blog, is it?" and you'd be right! But "Blocklog" is pretty boring, and also wrong. (My excuse is that I grew up in Japan, and all of my friends -- just like AFOLs there now -- called LEGO bricks "LEGO blocks.)
So, I'd like to offer a prize of some sort, to be determined at a later date (since I just thought of this as I was typing this post), to whoever can come up with the best alternative to "Dunechaser's Blocklog." I'd like to relaunch fairly quickly (I'm not liking the plain "Blocklog" with the boring green banner that's up there now), so let's say ... until next Monday at midnight, Pacific Standard Time (GMT minus eight).
Okay namers, go!
Edit: And some fine print. Sorry TFOLs, I'm gonna have to restrict this to AFOLs. I appreciate that many of you read my blog and post comments frequently (you're probably some of my -- our -- best readers), and for that you have my deepest appreciation. Unfortunately, I don't feel like dealing with parental permission to get your home address, should we choose your idea. Sorry.


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Connection Finder
20,516,844 people are connected to each other on our global family tree.
Enter any two WikiTree IDs below to see their connection. more information
Member of the Week: England and Scotland project member Mike Butler. He uses WikiTree's Family Anniversaries feature every day to share profiles with cousins on Facebook. This weekend he is competing in the Source-a-Thon with the Kiwi Crew. Check Tudor-4's connection. Check Yates-6903's connection.
Profile of the Week: American Founding Father Alexander Hamilton. Check Tudor-4's connection. Check Yates-6903's connection. Which historical figure portrayed in the musical Hamilton are you most closely connected to?


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Cavalleri is always careful to the market evolutions, and in the perspective to be in the forefront on its reference sector it supervises the new opportunities that the market can offer and the rumours coming from customers, either historic or new ones.
Thanks to this continuous activity, a new type of machine creates from our workhouses, specifically thought for the wide market of table cloths and more in general for the catering one.
The machine is designed for the realisation of table cloths packs, in the packages that usually it's found in commercial centres and in the wholesales points.
The final product is generated from the classical coil of TNT, or dry paper, or any other material right to building material for customers welcome in restaurants, pizzerias, dining halls, etc. The weight range is larger to the one specified for the reference market, tracing the Cavalleri's characteristics (for more information, follow related section in this site).
Our experience, acquired in many years, guarantees a cut precision on the order of one tenth of millimetre in conjunction to an objectively high speed. In fact it's easy reaching 60-70 tablecloths per minute during normal machine running.
Cut & fold family is composed by different models, each one characterized by a different width. Smaller model is the TP12 with a 1,050 mm width, and so on until the TP15, 1,550 mm width. Consequently is varying the maximum width that the coil can have, and the max. width of produced tablecloths. For the max. length point of view, instead, it remains fixed on 1000 mm for each model. All other characteristics that machines have, i. e. their frames and all their values, are the same, nevertheless the model.
The cut & fold permits the realisation of already folded tablecloths starting from a coil of material usually used in this field. The coil is unwound and pre-emptively longitudinally folded before its insertion under the pulling system and the blade for its transversal cut.
The longitudinally folding system can be decided during the commercial discussion. In our portfolio we have some solutions, and specific necessities can be evaluated together with the customer during the negotiation. When the film arrives under the blade (at machine input), it has already acquired all the needed longitudinal folds. Starting from this point, all other folds will be only in transversal sense.
All fundamental parts of the machine (cut section, transport, transversal folds, piling and evacuation) are managed by a devoted brushless motor, to control the single working part independently from the others, although the entire synchronism of the machine is maintained. This is particularly useful in the transversal folds managing, i.e. their dynamic offset setting and calculus.
At machine output, the folded tablecloths are transported by one or more rubber mats to the piling section. In this machine part each tablecloth is piled on the precedent ones on a translating tray, that downshift until the programmed number of tablecloths forming the packet is reached, and from it on a rubber mat for exiting. The final mat transports the packet to the operator or toward a bag-making machine in-line to the ours.
Definitively the machine integrates the machines park of Cavalleri, permitting our entrance in a world that until today remained marginal for us. Customer who buy a machine like this acquires the certainty to have a rich, well done production and above all answering to all the quality standards that only Cavalleri can offer.
In the follow all machines parameters are shown:
Who purchase the machine, can freely choose its characteristics, in terms of additional features that better meet working requirements:
Furthermore every machine has a modem like standard equipment, to remotely connect to it. In this manner electronic problems can be resolved without a physical intervention, but directly from office. This mean an evident money and time saving.
Cavalleri, thanks to its technical support, can intervene and resolve all problem type (mechanical, electric or electronic) that sheeter presents. The sheeter can be placed all around the world, but it's always possible have an highly qualified technician to resolve your problems, for a machine revamping or only to answer at any curiosity you can have around sheeter running. Our reaction times are very short, to limit damages due to production standstills.


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Find Our Latest Video Reviews on YouTube!
If you want to stay on top of all of our video reviews of the latest tech, be sure to check out and subscribe to the Gear Live YouTube channel, hosted by Andru Edwards! It's free!
Monday November 12, 2012 3:16 pm
2012 Holiday Gift Guide: Cooking for Geeks cookbook
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Smart Home, Techies, Under $100, Under $25, Under $250, Under $50, Under $500
We've hit you with a bunch of gadgets in our 2012 Holiday Gift Guide this year, but don't think we forgot about the readers out there. One of the books that we recommend this year is Cooking for Geeks. Written by Jeff Potter, the book not only includes great tasting recipes, but it focuses on the science of cooking, and includes a bunch of kitchen hacks to actually teach cooking instead of just recipes to follow. It's loaded with info, and is worthy of being gifted to your favorite geek this hoiday season. It's available in paperback, as well as on Kindle. You can get it now from Amazon for $20.23, which is a 42% discount.
Honorable Mention: What Einstien Told His Cook: Kitchen Science Explained
Read More | Cooking for Geeks
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Mat (Clodagh Emoe, 2008-ongoing) via
On a recent episode of Fringe, a mad scientist arch-villain primes two parallel worlds for destruction by re-tuning the frequency of each planet to resonate at the same pitch. A semi-literal bridge that connects the worlds makes this simultaneous ruination possible. The uniting functionality is familiar: an open line enables communication, and much like the telephone and its network offspring, a bridge makes connection possible. That open line has served as a hopeful means of connection to magic, the fuzzily understood, and the otherworldy.
Remote became routinely possible with the telephone. Electronically transmitted speech enabled nearly immediate, if once-removed, conversation. The device, as described by philosopher Avital Ronell, both amplified a voice across distance and marked the physical absence of the other. A call's origin, the voice on the other side, could be logically anywhere, or from beyond. One story goes: Alexander Graham Bell, influenced by Thomas Watson's interest in phatasmic communication and seeking a means to communicate with his much-loved departed brother, ended up inventing the telephone.
Could transmission and recording instruments reveal the unknown? Ethereal forces were felt and unseen — what was imperceptible to the naked eye might be seen by a technologically augmented one:
The Medium Eva C. with a Materialization on Her Head and a Luminous Apparition Between Her Hands (Albert von Schrenck-Notzing, 1912) via
The mind-consciousness interface is direct and hopefully unburdened by interpretative infrastructure. Fringe's FBI agent heroine possesses slight telepathic and telekinetic abilities that lubricate her passage between worlds. She requires no intervening interface; her mind is the bridge, her thoughts go unmediated from input to considered output. (For more on brain interfaces and interaction, go here for the Near Future Laboratories SXSW talk; slideshow here).
Direct communication from mind to the external results in ...


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Claire Donahue is a Team USA swimmer and won a gold medal in the 4x200m freestyle relay at the London 2012 Olympic Games.
|President Obama and Vice President Biden
A Part of History
September 14, 2012
Since I made the U.S. Olympic Team, I have been given so many new and exciting opportunities. For the first time since the Olympic Games I got to see good friends again, my teammates. As soon as I saw them in D.C. I was glowing. I was so excited to see everyone. We were giving hugs and embracing like we hadn't seen each other in years. However, when we were all back together, it felt like we never left. We were cracking jokes, laughing hysterically, and catching up. Talking about all the things we've been doing, conversing about all the fun we are having, and, of course, showing off our Olympic rings tattoos. We knew we just had a short trip to reunite, so we took advantage of every second of quality time together, enjoying it all.
There was one thing we got to do that reminded me a lot of the Olympic Games, being more than just yourself or a swim team. You got to be a part of a much bigger group – Team USA. When we were in London one of my favorite parts was being more than just myself and being able to meet so many different athletes from all over the world. Here I got that same feel with the other U.S. athletes. We got to know them and they are just as much fun. At one point I got to sit on the bus with the Paralympic swimmers and they were cracking me up the entire time. Those sort of experience are what make life so much fun. This trip was one of many experiences. You get the small moments and the big moments all at once.
|On the South Lawn
I loved being able to see all my teammates, but it made it so much sweeter being able to share so many of these moments and experiences together with such an amazing group of people. The Olympic Trials and London were obviously huge moments, but so was meeting the President of the United States. The White House was amazing. I've never been through Washington before, so even the drive over was incredible, being able to pass by the Washington Monument. When we got to the White House I was in shock. I couldn't believe I was actually there. The entire estates were gorgeous, like a dream. The entire day was a dream. Hearing Michelle and Barack Obama speak seemed very surreal. To have the President of the United States speak to you is an incredible feeling. They seemed so real, making jokes and having a good time. At the end we even got the chance to meet them. I am very excited to say I got a hug from both the President and First Lady. Then being able to tour the White House was so neat. It feels like you're a part of that history. Another one of those experiences of a lifetime.
Whirlwind Continues
September 13, 2012
The past two months for me have been quite the whirlwind. From making my first Olympic team in June to now, I've been able to do so many new and amazing things. I've gone overseas for the first time, gone to France and London, met amazing people, and I got to compete in the Olympic Games. When I came back to the States, I got to talk to schools, be honored at baseball games and NASCAR, and have interviews and photo shoots. I've been able to do all these amazing things and now I can add meeting the President of the United States to my list. How unbelievable is that?
After the Olympics were over, I came home and I thought all the excitement was going to die down. I was definitely wrong. As soon as I got back, I was asked to do dozens of different things -- like going to schools, throwing the first pitch at baseball games, watch a NASCAR race in Bristol, speak to churches, be in parades, and have a pool named after me. These were things I never thought I'd get the chance to do, so I did all of it. It definitely kept me busy, but I've been loving every bit of it. It's priceless being able to enjoy myself, meeting so many great people, and being able to see the excitement on kids' faces because they got to meet an Olympian.
Now I get to be one of those kids -- all excited -- because I get to reunite with my teammates from London. One of the things I love about swim teams is that you become so close, it's like a family. The month the U.S. swim team was together we created that. I can't wait to see my swim family! Since we went our separate ways after London, I've spoken with some, but I haven't seen any of them since. Yet. Since I found out about this trip, the excitement has grown, and now it's so close. It felt so weird after London not having everyone around to talk to, hang out with, or train together. You've created these bonds with these people, so being able to see them after being apart is like the excitement at Christmas. I keep imagining the thrill it will be when we arrive in D.C.
On top of seeing all my teammates, I get to have another experience of a lifetime with them. We get to visit the White House and meet the President. How cool is that? I feel so lucky and so honored to be able to hear him speak. I can't imagine what that might be like, shaking the hand of a legend and hearing what he has to say. A man so good with words and that has done and seen so much. Just thinking about it leaves me speechless. To top all of that off, we get to tour the White House. Such a historic place. All the incredible people that have been there.
This new opportunity is another one of those many recent experiences I will never forget.


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Search this website. You can use fund codes to locate specific funds
Ian Kennedy is Chief Operating Officer for the international business of Federated Hermes and a member of the Executive Committee (ExCo). Ian joined the international business of Federated Hermes in 2015, taking responsibility for finance, IT, legal, HR, operations and facilities. As COO, Ian's role is to ensure that we operate a best-in-class organisational infrastructure to support its clients, investment teams and business development activities. As a member of ExCo, his responsibilities include development of corporate strategy and delivery of profitability.
Ian entered the City in 1992, joining Prudential Bache Ltd, initially as European accountant and subsequently as regional risk and control manager. In 2002, Ian joined Dryden Wealth Management as Finance Director, joining Fortis in 2005 when they acquired the firm. Ian became COO for the UK wealth management and private banking division, ultimately acting as interim CEO and leading its sale to BNP Paribas in 2009-10, where he then became Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer of BNP Paribas Wealth Management UK.
In 2012, Ian established InvestMe Financial Services LLC, one of the earliest firms in the UAE to be approved for investment advisory business activities by the Securities and Commodities Authority in Abu Dhabi. The firm was an active supporter of disadvantaged children in India, funding the creation of 11 schools in some of the poorest areas of the country.
Ian qualified as a chartered accountant with Arthur Andersen & Co and holds a BSc in Biochemistry from King's College London.


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NEW YORK - Weekly yoga classes eased pain and improved functioning in some people with chronic lower back pain -- but the yoga sessions weren't any better than regular stretching classes, according to a new study.
Researchers found that participants in both types of classes had better functioning and fewer symptoms after three months than back patients who were only given a book with advice on preventing and managing pain.
"We've known for a while... that exercise is good for back pain," said Dr. Timothy Carey, from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, who wrote a commentary published with the study.
Yoga, he told Reuters Health, "seems to be a perfectly good option for people with back pain, but it is not a preferred option."
Finding that yoga and stretching had about equal effects means it was probably the stretching involved in yoga - and not the relaxation or breathing components of the practice - that helped improve functioning and pain symptoms, researchers report today in Archives of Internal Medicine.
For the study, they divided 228 adults with long-lasting back pain into three groups. Patients in the first two groups went to either weekly yoga or stretching classes for 12 weeks and were asked to practice on their own between classes. Both types of classes focused on stretching and strengthening the lower back and legs.
Patients in the third group were given a book with back pain-related exercise and lifestyle advice and information on managing flare-ups.
After the 12-week program, people who had gone to the group classes reported significantly lower scores on a questionnaire measuring how much pain interferes with daily activities, compared to those given the book.
The questionnaire rated daily "disability" level on a scale of zero to 23, with 23 being the most severe. At the 12-week mark, the exercise groups had dropped from an initial average score of 10 in the yoga group or nine in the stretching group to between four and five in both groups. The people who received the book started with an average score of nine and at 12 weeks had dropped to about a seven.
More participants who did either yoga or stretching also said that their back pain had diminished or was gone. Sixty per cent of people in the yoga group reported improvements in pain, compared to 46 per cent in the stretching classes and just 16 per cent of people who only got the books.
Improvement in symptoms
Three months after the end of classes, symptom improvements were similar in people who had done either stretching or yoga, and still better than in the third, non-exercise group.
And at both the end of class sessions and three months later, twice as many of the class participants reported cutting back on pain medications, such as non-steroidal anti-inflammatories (NSAIDs) - about 40 per cent versus 20 per cent in the book group.
"Here is an option that is something worth trying," said Karen Sherman from the Group Health Research Institute in Seattle, who led the study.
With either stretching or yoga classes, she told Reuters Health, practice is a must for patients. "There is absolutely no treatment that works for everybody... (but) if they're willing to practice, they should go ahead and give it a try."
Carey said the findings suggest that the best type of exercise for people with back pain depends on their preferences and what's convenient.
"It's important that people do exercise they enjoy," he said - that way, they're more likely to stick with it. And, "you don't need to drive 50 miles to the nearest yoga class if there's not one near you," Carey added.
He highlighted group exercise in general as a way to stay motivated that's also relatively inexpensive.
Sherman said attending a single yoga or stretching session costs about US$20 (S$26), but probably varies in different parts of the country. That would be cheaper than other options for managing lower back pain, such as acupuncture and massage or talk therapy.
And, she added, "Once a person learns how to do these in a way that's safe for them, they can do them on their own."
The study was funded by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine.
While it didn't include people with severe back pain - so the findings don't necessarily apply to them - Carey said that "almost anyone with back pain can benefit from stretching exercises."


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Louisiana Hunter Cited for Illegal Deer Hunting
Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Enforcement Division agents cited a Chauvin man on Nov. 6 for allegedly illegally hunting deer in Terrebonne Parish.
Richard Luneau, 24, was cited after agents found him butchering two deer near his residence on Bayouside Drive in Terrebonne Parish. An anonymous person told the agents that Luneau had taken the two deer with a rifle during the archery only season that was ongoing in Terrebonne Parish. When the agents arrived, they found Luneau in the process of cleaning the two deer, one doe and one button buck, that he allegedly admitted to killing with a .270 caliber rifle.
Luneau was issued citations for taking deer by illegal methods and taking over the limit of deer. It is currently a violation of state law to take more than one antlerless deer per day.
If convicted, Luneau faces fines between $250-$500, or jail time up to 90 days, or both plus court costs per violation. He also faces civil restitution penalties of $524.54 per deer.
Both of the allegedly illegally taken deer were seized by the agents and later donated to charity.
Agents involved in this case were Sgt. Richard Purvis and Agent Dean Aucion.
For more information, contact Lt. Col. Keith LaCaze at 225-765-2988 or [email protected].


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By Jason Miks
GPS digital producer Jason Miks sits down with renowned evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins, author of the Selfish Gene and An Appetite for Wonder, to discuss readers' questions on religion, its role in society and whether children can be described as "Christian."
A number of readers noting your skepticism over religion's role in society ask whether an absence of religion would leave us without a moral compass?
The very idea that we get a moral compass from religion is horrible. Not only should we not get our moral compass from religion, as a matter of fact we don't. We shouldn't, because if you actually look at the bible or the Koran, and get your moral compass from there, it's horrible – stoning people to death, stoning people for breaking the Sabbath.
Now of course we don't do that anymore, but the reason we don't do it is that we pick out those verses of the bible that we like, and reject those verses we don't like. What criteria do we use to pick out the good ones and reject the bad ones? Non-biblical criteria, non-religious criteria. The same criteria as guide any modern person in their moral compass that has nothing to do with religion.
So the moral compass of any person is very much a part of the century or even the decade in which they happen to live, regardless of their religion. So we live in the early 21st century, and our moral compass in the early 21st century is quite different from 100 years ago, or 200 years ago. We are now much less racist than they were, much less sexist than they were. We are much kinder than non-human animals than they were – all sorts of respects in which we are labeled with a moral compass. So something has changed, and it certainly has nothing to do with religion.
You've been travelling to the States from the U.K. for a number of years. Have you noticed much of a change in the place of religion in the two countries over that time?
Notoriously, the United States is the most religious of the Western advanced nations. It's a bit mysterious why that is. In Britain, Christianity is dying. Islam, unfortunately, isn't. In Western Europe generally, Christianity is dying. Even in America, the figures show that religious adherence is being steadily reduced, and the people who now record themselves as having no religious affiliation is something like 20 percent. Many people don't recognize what a high figure it is, and so politicians here who feel they have to curry favor with religious lobbies should maybe take a look at those statistics and realize that not everyone in this country is religious.
You say it's a bit of a mystery why America is so much more religious than other advanced countries. Do you have any thoughts on why it might be? Tied to that question of disposition, several readers also wondered if there is a genetic predisposition toward faith?
There probably is, but I don't think that really explains why America is so different from Britain. The least implausible suggestion that I've heard is that Britain and Scandinavian countries, which are also very non-religious, have an established church, and that kind of makes religion boring. Whereas in America, there is constitutionally a bar against an established church, and that could be one reason why religion has become so popular – it has become big business, it has become free enterprise, rival churches vie with each other for congregations and especially tax free ties.
Some readers see you as very evangelical in your atheism. Do you feel it a duty, just as some Christians might to share the word of God, to spread an atheist point of view?
Duty is a funny word. But when you say evangelical, I like to think that I don't shout or shriek, but employ a quiet, sober voice of reason. And reason is on our side.
You've talked about feeling uncomfortable with the impact of religion on children. In fact, one reader asked whether you would prefer to see no under-18s at church. What's your take?
I certainly wouldn't wish to prohibit parents influencing their children. However, for the rest of the world, to label a child a Catholic child simply because its parents are Catholic, seems to me to be a form of child abuse. The child is too young to know.
You can see the absurdity of talking about a Catholic child of four when you think what it would be like if we talked about an existentialist child of four, or a logical positivist of four. In other words, we wouldn't accept the labeling of a child based the parents' belief, so why do we accept it when it's religion? Why does religion get a free pass when it comes to labeling children in this way?
Is it not delightful that the three most influential Atheists in history are, in no particular order:
Nietzsche: the philosophical godfather of Fascism.
Lenin,: the creator of communism.
Stalin: arch 20th century proponent of "humanistic principles".
The result of their "humanistic philosophies"?
At LEAST 100 million dead.
The time span:? 53 years between the death of Nietzsche and the death of Stalin.
I find it interesting how religions and dictators are so similar..
1) they both love to control
2) they both fabricate stories and expect people to believe
3) they both use fears to make people believe their fabricated stories..
and they both have caused more harm to human life..
amazing.. it's as if religionist need to live under a dictatorship
Oh! You want to play this stupid game. Lets see... No. Shut up. Religion has killed more than anything.
Clearly, there is absolutely no religious motive for the persecution of Jews in Soviet Russia and Nazi Germany. Hundreds of years of Christian discrimination against Jews obviously had nothing to do with anything!
Even though the bible say to stone Sabbath violator, in the past 2000 years it never happened, the bible, in many cases, speak in metaphor but yet instruct to do many good deeds, as giving to the poor, not to kill, respect other people property, etc. If I am atheist I do not have to follow any commandments at all including laws that secular society voted in majority or set by law because I do not have to accept any laws, set by religion or otherwise. All countries laws are coming out of one religion or another so if an atheist abide by them, even if it is from fear of being going to jail, he is not true atheist. If I am an atheist traveling in the desert and I do not like someone I see I will kill him and will not feel any guilt feeling at all.
thankfully the writers of the bible picked up some good info from secular society.. After all, it wouldn't sell if there weren't nice things in it. Makes the bad stuff palatable to the christians,.
Your last sentence is hilarious. So the only thing that's keeping you from being a child murdering psychopathic rapist mass murderer is your belief that an all-powerful man in the sky is always watching your every move, taking notes, and will get back to you later for your punishment? And that's moral, is it?
Nice to know that JC doesn't know the first thing about reading comprehension (context). And the militant theists are just so darn smart that the basic rules of logic and reading for comprehension escape them....
"If I am an atheist traveling in the desert and I do not like someone I see I will kill him and will not feel any guilt feeling at all."
Well, it's a good thing YOU aren't an atheist.
What utter nonsense. Ethics, morals, and laws have existed in ancient civilizations long before religions came about. And most modern laws are NOT based on religion (unless you live in some extreme Mid-East area that apply the Sharia). Laws and ethics are based on mutual respect of fellow human beings. Atheists have that respect for other humans, whereas religtards behave only for fear of punishment from an imaginary being. True moral and ethics do not require religion at all.
"Laws and ethics are based on mutual respect of fellow human beings. Atheists have that respect for other humans, whereas religtards behave only for fear of punishment from an imaginary being."
Interesting. So the religious are not worthy of the respect of the atheist?
"Mutual respect of fellow human beings." And I thought the "religitards" were the only ones living in a fantasy world (according to atheists). Perhaps you might add "mutual respect of fellow human beings who think and look and act as we atheists do?" Might make it a bit more accurate.
actorforchrist, I'm not sure where you're getting at. Are you saying that atheist are out hunting and killing theists? 'cuz that's what I'm talking about here, in response to some questions earlier of what's keeping us from blindly killing others.
But if you're simply complaining about theists getting no respect from atheist for their religious beliefs, well, religion, just like any other human ideas (such as political ideology) are subject to criticism. And keep in mind how little respect theists afford atheists. The notion that one can have no morals without religious-bases is telling enough.
No, actually spirituality has been around for at least tens and tens of thousands of years, before we were even modern humans. I disagree. It's an inherent part of human nature.
JC you do not understand Atheists at all. Please follow what I am about to say and MAYBE .I want you to think about how you feel about Zeus or any one of the thousands of Gods the world over .How does it feel to not believe in any of those Gods .You are an Atheists to all of those Gods .Do you feel any different because you are an Atheists ?.That is exactly the way I feel because I don't believe in your God . I am the same person ,I don't feel any different ,nothing changed. I still have my Morals. NOTHING has changed except I don't Believe in a God
Thank you. Well said. I doubt he'll get it , though.
No not every law came from a religion, technically in order for the concepts to be in the bible it would have to have existed before its making. And literally in order to be a true atheist by definition it just requires not believing in any magical sky fairy or synonym of the sort.
Congratulations on being insane.
Troy is beyond insane – he's just a blithering idiot. Way to drink the cool aide looser.
Atheist, non-murderer here. Your line of reasoning is foolish. Morality and ethics are not a Christian thing, nor are they a Muslim thing, or a Buddhist thing; they are a human thing. The Bible helps to communicate these morals via stories like the one about the 10 Commandments. To me, and to non-religious secularists everywhere, these teachings are, quite frankly, common sense. You don't have to be Christian to understand that killing someone is bad and to have no desire to do it.
Can't someone be a good person simply for the sake of being good? Not because they want to go to heaven and fear being cast into a lake of fire forever?
Agreed, I can't figure out why so many religious people assume if you aren't religious you must by immoral and commit horrible acts.
There are very vocal, combative types on both sides that tend to fuel the fire, so maybe everyone just feels under attack.
On a complete side note how about Pope Francis, that guy seems great! I still don't get the refusal to make women priests but most of what he says is amazing. He keeps emphasizing what I liked about religion when I was growing up and have not seem much of recently.
Are you up or down a chromosome? I don't murder people because I don't want them to suffer, especially when there is no gain to me. YOU on the other hand.... don't you claim god forgives all? Can't you murder willy nilly?
BREAKING NEWS: Jesus Christ, Vishnu, Thor, Santa Clause, the Easter Bunny, Zeus, God. All Same.
Hey JC,
I respect others having different opinions but your comments don't seem that logical. It doesn't make sense that an atheist would not follow the laws of society because they do not believe in God. Deciding if one believes that laws are good for society is very different than deciding if you believe in the laws of a religion. Sure there are athiest that don't respect laws, but I would contend their are religious people that do not respect the laws of the government, especially where they do not match up with their religious doctrine.
Ones morals and beliefs define ones actions. Not believing in a specific religion does not dictate an individuals morals.
Anyone else notice that the picture of Dawkins he has an unmistakeable frown? Kind of looks like he's thinking, "Oh great, another interview filled with shallow questions and insipid assumptions..."
Exactly what he wants you to think, when in fact such insipid and shallow questions are the only ones he wants to field.
I think he just always looks like that –
..I find it interesting how religions and dictators are so similar..
1) they both love to control
2) they both fabricate stories and expect people to believe
3) they both use fears to make people believe their fabricated stories..
and they both have caused more harm to human life..
amazing.. it's as if religionist need to live under a dictatorship
Funny how all the atheist societies have those same things in common with dictators. Ya just gotta love it when someone uses a sword that is double-edged...
Yeah, screw the Scandinavian countries! Those darned dictator heathens with their ikea and their meatballs!
you must use your brain here. Religions and dictators are quite the same. Atheists?? They are just independent thinkers. In fact they don't like dictators or religions.
Do tell, what stories are athiests making up? I'll wait...
I agree with you Jim.
JIm You need to do a fact check .Atheists are more peaceful than Religious people In fact the higher the belief in God the worse a Democratic country scores in all areas of social health
And atheists are like saints, they're clean and never do wrong? You are either an hypocrites or you just don't read every blogs about religion. There is plenty of atheists attacking people and name calling with no reason at all. And what about atheists supporting people who with their deviant behavior are spreading A I D S and killing mass number of people. Just a few weeks ago one of them infected more than 300 by himself alone.
As a whole we commit less crime, have higher IQ's, are better educated, have less abortions, less divorces and have a lower incarceration rate. Have a nice day.
Sure you are like saints. Who brainwashed you into thinking like that? You see kids these days who are godless committing more crimes that any previous generations. They take drugs, they kill their family members, the shoot innocent people in schools and the list goes on and on. Who says that godless atheists people commits less crimes?
Over the last 100 years 3 dictators that practiced atheism fully – Stalin, Hitler, and Mao Tstung – were responsible for slaughtering over 100 million people. More senseless killing than all previous centuries combined. Now what was that about the religious murdering people??
You forgot Mao Zedong: 78,000,000 murdered and
Pol Pot, 1, 700,000 murdered.
darn religions and dictators.. they have caused more destruction to human life.. let's not forget that christianity had their fun during the inquisition.
Give me a list of recent religious Dictators and the numbers they murdered...
I stated religions AND dictators.. quite similar groups..
quit wasting your time trolling, you clearly know nothing about anything
Mao and Stalin's personality cults were designed to deify them so people would obey. They might reject the traditional Judeo-Christian religions but they basically built their own religions, all in an attempt to manipulate the masses.
So explain why all these bloodthirsty dictators...clearly with a suspect Moral Compass...just happened to all be atheists....
they thought they were gods,, they learned from religions how to control, create fears and destroy. Actually, they sort of followed the bible with all its destructions
The Christian god is a dictator. He already wiped out most of the Earth's population with a great flood. Not only that, but according to Christianity, the vast majority of the Earth's population is going to suffer for eternity for not believing. Love me, worship me, do things my way or die. Perfect example of a dictator.
If you are the real Richard Dawkins, take me with you!
Dawkins: "but employ a quiet, sober voice of reason." For Example:
Christians? Mock them! Ridicule them! In public. Don't fall for the convention that we're all too polite to talk about religion. Religion is not off the table. Religion is not off the list. Religion makes specific claims about the universe which need to be substantiated, and need to be challenged, and if necessary, need to be ridiculed with contempt.
Ahhh the the quiet, sober voice of reason.
Exactly! Dawkins is a very polite badass. Love that guy!
Never mind the detail if that's what Dawkins actually said, even if so, which part of that is unreasonable?
Not sure where your conflict is. Sound perfectly reasonable. What part did you not like, the part where religion should be mocked?
Outlaw c i r c u m c i s i o n until age 18. At least give the baby boy a choice in the matter.
agreed,, and treat religion as p-orn.. let the kid reach adulthood before the brainwashing.
Then again, the religious don't like that because the brainwashing doesn't stick as well unless you start at an early age.
If it's going to be done, then better at birth, and it's not as if anyone ever grew up to feel having been cut was an issue.
Let his worship his God, ammonia , from whence all life has come according to him. I have a bottle beneath my sink so just in case it works I am prepared.
When you encounter someone who professes to be an Atheist, take the most personally advantageous action: eat him. Atheists are high in protein and a good source of B vitamins and amino acids. They tend to be greasy, so otherwise watch your intake of fats and cholesterol. Be discrete in your endeavors until Atheists are recognized as game animals by the state. Remember, you have nothing to fear except law enforcement as long as you have braised, roasted or broiled the Atheist to an internal temperature of at least 160 degrees.
They are also good in casseroles and fricassees.
Some within our movement have brought to my attention that since only a small percentage of the US population identifies as Atheist, a domestic shortage will soon ensue. The problem of the necessary importation of foreign stock is a real one, and though logistically challenging, should be met with by the harvest of readily available European animals. Atheists are common in Europe since the great conflagrations of WW II and the Cold War. The horrors perpetrated by Nietzschean inspired Fascism are not easily forgotten. And the long and draining Cold War–necessary defense against the wholly Atheistic social and economic philosophy of Marx and the realized atrocities of Stalin, et al.–has left Europe moribund and stagnate. The irony that so many Europeans have responded to the historical horrors of Atheistic philosophy by embracing Atheism themselves is delicious. I suggest we take advantage of it: literally.
Make no mistake. I am an Atheist myself. But I will never reveal this to the world. It serves my interests to call myself a Believer.
Do not bore me with notions of how I should obey my "inner moral sense". My moral sense is nothing more than a genetic imprint, a primitive survival advantage I have outgrown–much as I have outgrown the need for God. I can discard them both easily. They are worthless to me. After all, God Is Dead and the only good is what is good for me. I am the Superman. I am Beyond Good and Evil.
What have you been smoking tonight?
So I guess we should get our moral compass from anthropomorphic cosmic waste without a soul and no free will? Hmmm..
Set-up your Altar wherever you like, Steve.
Alright I will erect an altar in honor of time and chance, and hopefully my faith in a purposeless process will grow, and I will come to believe that it can create life and ultimately me. Then finally I can become an 'enlightened one' and show my intellectual superiority over those that dissent from this belief. I wonder what I can use for communion? Ah I know. Darwine. Although it does strange things to the mind, especially in the upside-down position.
glad religion is slowly folding,, maybe humanity still has a chance.
Question. If Religion is not our moral compass than what is?
What makes it wrong for me to physically assault someone and take their property simply because I am stronger than them and can do it? What separates us from the animals?
first, we are animals. Next, it's evolution and a need to preserve life is why we wouldn't harm. There are many societies where religion was never exposed and the people cared for one another. If you need a religion to prevent you from harming others,, it worries me.
LOL...name one society where religion does not or did not exist...
you lived a limited life.. try taking a cultural anthropology course sometime..
"name one society where religion does not or did not exist"
That's like saying name a society where no murder has ever occurred. I'm not sure what you're trying to prove there. Just because something is ubiquitous does not mean it's good or even necessary.
@witchcraft...You don't have an answer, do you. LOL.
I am talking about applied anthropology.
Name one current society (cultural anthropology) or one past society (Archaeology), where religion does not or did not exist...
I love when atheists are saying that we are like animals, it's like saying whatever animals do we can too. What a bunch of morons, atheists and their Dawkins are.
What an ignoramus you are, Atheists@AreEvils. Do you not see that most human behaviors are no different than those of high order mammals, except with modifications adapting to our own society? Just what animal behavior are you thinking of that humans do not practice?
What makes a baby naturally console someone who's crying? What makes an atheist not kill someone. Why is there an underrepresentation of atheists in prison? Your argument is completely invalid.
Brother there is no such thing as an atheist in a fox hole. These people need comfort and a helping hand, why do you think atheists are underrepresented in prison?
They're not there, because guess who they turn to when they're down and out. It's no big surprise there's not a lot of unbelievers there.
Moral is based on respect for your human beings and nature. If you need an imaginary being to scare you into doing good, what does that say about you truly as a human being?
I am not religious, and I have no desire to hurt people. But if you feel like the only thing stopping you from hurting people is a belief in god, then you are right to believe in god. Don't let anyone tell you any differently. Keep your temper in check and go to church.
I'd be wary of anyone who needs the fear of an imaginary being to keep them from murdering other humans. Because if whatever reason they were unable to attend church for a period of time, be it health or work or whatever, they might just start going around killing others. People like that are weak minded and have no true respect for fellow human beings.
I certainly agree that anyone who feels such urges are a danger to society. It's kind of scary how many people here seem to feel like the only thing keeping them from hurting others is the fear of god. Bunch of messed up people...
The Atheist indicts god based solely on what happens in what is, cosmologically speaking, the blink of an eye. There is suffering by transient biological forms for an instant in time: therefore there can be no god. Atheists are fond of contemplating the vastness of the universe, but incapable of admitting there is a lot of real estate to cover in the quest for the divine: spatially as well as temporally. If you were the creator of a universe 100 billion light years in diameter, that probably is also multi-dimensional as well as eternal, would you hang around trying to impress a group of arrogant primates who a milli-second ago were brachiating among the trees of Africa?
only a blink of an eye? But I thought the earth is only 6000 years old, and we have been here for most of that time?
All believers are not Fundamentalist Christians.
"If you were the creator of a universe 100 billion light years in diameter, that probably is also multi-dimensional as well as eternal, would you hang around trying to impress a group of arrogant primates who a milli-second ago were brachiating among the trees of Africa?"
Well the answer is of course yes. Don't be silly.
I created this whole situation in which if these primates do not believe in me as their god than they will be doomed for eternity. They will not go to heaven but hell. Just for the simple reason that if they do not believe in me as their one true god than they will be damned for all of eternity.
So yea, I am the one that created this silly situation. I would have to be a total d*ck to not show up on a regular basis to help as many people as I can find eternal salvation. I mean I am god right, loving and compassionate???
likely jesus, if he really existed, had the greatest fabricated story, Kinda like humanity like to create stories. He was likely never buried. After all Pilot hated jews and demanded they be left on the cross until they were nothing but bones. No burials allowed.. the birds and maggots would eat everything to the bone.
Then again,, the christian stories were written well after the fact, they could create whatever they wished. Bet jesus and charlie manson could have teamed up
I like the way you described what the romans did with crucifixion. The romans were Godless just like atheists are. Nice way to treat and kill people. I swear it, a world with atheism is very dangerous.
The Romans were godless? Just what do you think Apollo, Mars, Venus, Ceres, Saturn, etc. etc. are? Idiots like you can't even get the most basic facts straight, and you claim that atheism is dangerous? A truly dangerous world is one filled with religitards, giving us atrocities like the Crusade and Inquisition.
What about Alfred Kinsey, Napoleon Bonaparte,Than Shwe, Kim Jong II, Jeffrey Dahmer, Jim Jones, Benito Mussolini, Mao Zedong, Pol Pot, Joseph Stalin, and many more. One that shines to be the next one in line seems to be Richard Dawkins.
A world with Atheists is dangerous, too cute.
I don't know one Atheist that talks to or listens to an imaginary friend in their head for guidance.
Now making executive decisions of any sort in 2013 based on what your imaginary friend said 2,000 years ago, now that is really dangerous.
No but there are plenty of them committing mass murders because they are brainwashed by their cult leaders,
??? Where.
The vast majority of cults are religious based. So you wouldn't find an Atheist there. Who exactly are you referring to that was an Atheist and was ordered to do a mass murder by his or her Atheist Cult Leader?
Please point out the exact time this situation happened. I am fascinated to read this story.
If you are going to make fantastical claims like this at least produce evidence to support it.
Atheism is a form of belief system. Atheism are just like a religion or a cult. Atheists have faith in their belief system. Also atheists hold someone like Richard Dawkins as their idol and leader. Do you have any other questions?
"My religion consists of a humble admiration of the illimitable superior spirit who reveals himself in the slight details we are able to perceive with our frail and feeble mind."
-Albert Einstein
Einstein also said he hates when people take him out of context and make it look like he was a believer.
So what did he mean by "illimitable superior spirit" in the quote, bright boy???
Einstein also said: "Einstein rejected the label atheist. Einstein stated: "I have repeatedly said that in my opinion the idea of a personal God is a childlike one. You may call me an agnostic, but I do not share the crusading spirit of the professional atheist whose fervor is mostly due to a painful act of liberation from the fetters of religious indoctrination received in youth."
So Einstein was a Deist. He was not an Atheist.
Yep, he was not an atheist.
No, that's just him saying he wasn't passionate about the cause of atheism because he didn't really feel he had to liberate himself from religion. He wasnt as threatened by it as some people are.
Do i need to post more about Einstein admitting not being an atheist?
The Bible is a moral compass regardless of opinion. We are talking about a book that has accurately predicted nearly 700 unpredictable event throughout history, and even there are more prophesies coming to pass. As a heart seeking for truth, the world we live in states that science is the answer, but science can only define what is happening, not why. And the science of a book like the bible that is 3 dimensional – a book of prophecy, a book of law (by the way over 90% of our judicial system & marriage laws have been build on), a book of poetry, a book of philosophy, a book of History and to ignore a "book" as the source of morals (please read proverbs and you tell) that no only is the top selling book IN HISTORY but also has proven it's prophetic (statistically impossible) and therefore bears consideration by even the greatest critics. Just because a person doesn't believe a thing, doesn't make it true. If your opinion can't heal your sickness, if your opinion can't produce wealth, it is simply another lesson that people's opinions can not change truth, it only brings attention to it. People, we die – and no matter how we feel about it, it won't change, and the Bible is a proven PROVEN supernaturally existent communication left to the earth to take heed to the end of our lives, our humanity and the world that will not be here forever. #ReadItBeforeyoudenyit
It is truth, not religion and because that is not the choice that people want - in their heart they deem it untrue.
Oh, please, it's a collection of fables. Anyone can pull from it what they want. I look on it as one of the first works of popular fiction.
How do you know it's only fable? You knew the writer and you sat many nights with him drinking wine?
Would you care to list some of those "accurate predictions" by the bible? And while at it, would you mind explaining why there hasn't been any miracles since after the first century AD?
There has been miracles. Go look up the story of our lady of Fatima. A very public spectacle, and prophesies given to some kids told to the pope that supposedly came true. But you either believe or you don't. No doubt atheists would see a miracle and say that was a great natural wonder that occured.
70,000 people saw the sun do really bizarre things at Fatima. In the early 20 th century. Guadalupe. A poor Indian worker met a lady while out walking. She told him pick flowers to take to the church. He did, and when he emptied them themout of his apron, in front of the priest, there was the image of the Virgin Mary emblazoned on it. You can go look at it. They say there are no brush marks on it. The guy was poor and not a painter. But again. People believe what they want to see. There are thousands and thousands of shrines and grottoes filled with braces and crutches, those personal miracles. Visions of Jesus or Mary. Or saints. There's miracles. Wether or not you choose to consider the evidence is another matter.
For all of Dawkin's anti-religious bluster, I will put money on this: if he finds himself walking down a dark inner-city American street after midnight and sees four tall young men in hoodies following him, he will feel FAR more relieved if he finds out those four young men came straight from a Bible study.
Which makes no sense, because I have a bunch of criminals around me who are devout Christians, and attend bible school, have religious tats, etc.
When you say criminals, do you mean people who are currently involved in criminal activity, or people who were once in their past?
"I have a bunch of criminals around me who are devout Christians..."
Yeah right, you're just TERRIFIED to walk the streets if you're surrounded by devout Christians around. As the rancher on the bull ranch one said, "Be careful not to step in the HOYA!".
The biggest criminals these days are the ones you atheists are supporting and i mean those who are spreading A I D S with their deviant behavior.
That would not be true in the south 100 years ago and if RD was black.
"That would not be true in the south 100 years ago....."
Ok 000, let's talk factual American history. Would the black man in the South feel safer if the white men following him were Abolitionists (Christians who LIVED what the Bible taught) or were self-proclaimed "Christians" who ignored what the Bible taught? Funny how you folks kinda FORGET the Christian abolitionists. They kinda get in the way of your anti-Christian bigotry don't they?
There are passages in the bible that fully condone the bible. Many in the south held these up as confirmation that slavery was rightous.
Goes to show how contradictory the bible is. Not a very good book to live by,
Fully condone slavery, that is...
Actually Christopher Hitchens writes the exact opposite in god is not great. He talks about how much more scared he would be to find out they just came from a church meeting. Granted Hitchens is now Dawkins, but for all intents and purposes they share enough of the same way of thinking that I think it's fir to say you are presumptious and dumb.
I wish we could post video clips...there is a great one where Dawkin's admits to the possibility of intelligent design...he is an arrogant, petulant man. Probably doesn't get much leg.
Possibility does not mean probability. Technically there is possibility for everything conceivable, but a 0.000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000001% chance is not saying much.
Everyone that is honest must admit to that possibility, no matter how far fetched. You could never 100% prove that a god doesn't exist.
But the same is true for the flying sphegetti monster....
@Thus Spoke a Modest Proposer
I totally agree with you.
Much leg. You mean getting laid? He is married to a woman. I'm sure he gets plenty.
out of a bible study as opposed to what? Would you feel equally safe if they just came out of a mosque? And since atheist have no organization there's really no counter example. Chances are, most muggers and thugs out there believe in religious mumbo-jumbo, as there is a demonstrated positive correlation between levels of poverty and religiosity.
They are coming from a D&D game.
Christians make up roughly 75% of the U.S. population, Atheists 2.4%. Meanwhile, Christians make up (again, roughly) 75% of the prison population while atheists... 0.07%.
That is to say, Christians are 34 times more likely to end up in jail than Atheists. That's just some rough maths, the actual numbers are closer to 40 times higher. Yes, some prisoners really are innocent and yes, being a criminal does not automatically make you immoral, but still the numbers are so skewed against Christians that the finer points of that question are irrelevant.
When you think about how it's mostly Christians who get to write those laws in the first place, it's fair to say that by their own set of standards, Christians are nothing less than barbarians.
wow you sounds like believe your own BS lol
LOL! Barbarians. That's a good one. I can just image my Mother wielding a sword and disemboweling the unbelievers.
If I say I am a Space Monkey from Planet Zolton...
Does that make me a Space Monkey from Planet Zolton???
If I say I am a Christian...
Does that mean that I AM a Christian???
Are you saying that some of the prisoners claim to be Christians just to spite the religion? Boy, you're really getting desperate in this debate, aren't you?
People who need the fear of a skydaddy to scare them into doing good are just weak minded. They lack empathy and respect for their fellow human beings.
Does occur to anybody that you can have morals and also believe in God. It that so hard to understand?
Another psychotic person who see trolls everywhere.
DieAtheists is a Troll ,he adds nothing to the conversation PLEASE DO NOT FEED HIM
You need to take your medications.
"It is interesting to contemplate a tangled bank, clothed with many plants of many kinds, with birds singing on the bushes, with various insects flitting about, and with worms crawling through the damp earth, and to reflect that these elaborately constructed forms, so different from each other, and dependent upon each other in so complex a manner, have all been produced by laws acting around us. . .
There is grandeur in this view of life, with its several powers, having been originally breathed by the Creator into a few forms or into one; and that, whilst this planet has gone circling on according to the fixed law of gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been, and are being evolved."
― Charles Darwin
Can a personal have good morals while not being a believer? Sure. Can a person have good morals and be a believer? YES. So what are we arguing about here? How about you people stop judging others and their beliefs.
Militant Atheists have a desperate NEED to be right...
They have a desperate NEED to convert others to their world view...
sound familiar???
Yeah, sounds like more blathering from a religionist
Really? I'm an atheist married to a christian woman, and I have no desire to change her world view. As for the need to be right? I accept any truth regardless of my feelings. In fact, I believe it's good to be wrong at times.
@Colin...sounds like blathering from an immature windbag...
Yeah, he is an immature windbag. I should have thought of that. Thanks.
Chuck D. There are no militant Atheists They are not the ones banging on my door with there Bibles ,they are not the ones telling people not to wear condoms in Africa while Millions of people die from aids ,they are not the ones who are closing all the Abortion clinics because of their beliefs ,Teach creation in school because its in there bible, Don't allow stem cell research, the list goes on and on because religion can not keep their beliefs to themselves.They MUST make everyone believe like they do
We are arguing where these good morals come from. And reading this article, a good case (un-countered) is that is doesn't come from religion.
LOL...define "good morals"...
Dawkins has been studying animals and comparing us to animals for too long. Only an atheist would put his nose sniffing someone else back rear end like animals do. That's the kind of morals atheists are having. Bravo Dawkins, you brainwashed these people into thinking that they are animals.
The notion that religion is the basis of morals is a straight denial that one can be moral and non-believer. That's what we are arguing here. That religion does not have monopoly on morals, nor is it even necessary. Morals come from secular sources.
They do court you. Why do you think America would be STUPID enough to elect Obama twice?
Obama is a Christian. Electing Christians is not the same as courting atheists.
The break will then be rendered wider, for it will intervene between man in a more civilized state, as we may hope, than the Caucasian, and some ape as low as a baboon, instead of as present between the Ne*ro or Australian and the gorilla.
Charles Darwin
Forget building up a straw man! It seems that Dawkins has built up the entire cast from the Wizard of Oz to tear it down!
No it doesn't.
I will love to debate Dr. Dawkins and I think there is a very good possibility I could challenge his disbelief. The real issue is not the established religions or what attributes have been assigned to God over the ages, but whether or not there is a "higher power" the source of life. I am prepared to pay for his flight and accommodation for the purpose of the debate.
Lol, I you think that is a fresh idea? You are sorely mistaken. The idea has already been debunked thousands of times.
Why is it that CNN gives this guy so much coverage? Funny how the most religious country in the Western world is also the most successful. Seems to me this non-believer is most vocal during downtrodden times, almost like a foreclosure sale. Seller beware.
The most successful country also used to be the largest slave owner country. Does that mean slavery contributes to success? What kind of straw man argument is that?
You do know CNN has entire section called the belief blog, right? This is one article. You are delusional.
Their last article involving him was extremely negative.


text:
Metal Hanging Basket With Coir Liner - 400mm
This hanging pot has a 400mm diameter and a heavy duty metal black powder coated wire basket with a spiral designed rim. It comes with a heavy duty black hanging chain and a quality coco-fibre liner.
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text:
Dodging the lunch rush wasn't as bad as I figured it would be this morning. The usual SE winds made for some challenging sections, particularly the climb up to Antioch. I accidentally left one bottle up in my office, leaving only the smaller bottle of Gatorade to quench my thirst. It was gone before I got to Turkey Creek Trail, so I hit the Trek Store for a water refill, then took Nieman home.
I took the Sorrento out to the Trek Store ride. The ride there wasn't without some goofing off. The ultra-steep multi-use path from Switzer has some gravel and dirt a few dozen yards to the north of it, and I took that steep gravel slope instead of the steep, windy paved path. Loads of fun! I goofed off a bit in the Trek parking lot as well. Sharpening my track stand skills, hopping curbs, going up and down stairs, etc. I had to adjust the front derailleur as well, but just with the barrel adjuster while orbiting the parking lot. On my way home, I conquered the same gravel slope I descended, and it was pitch black outside. The rest of my ride home from the Trek Store ride was the same route I took home from the Trek Store this afternoon.
I also had to run out and pick up some stuff for my wife to eat at work. I took the bike out again, for a grand total of a little more than 50 miles ridden today. Not bad at all. It's supposed to storm tomorrow, so I am thinking of keeping the mountain bike geared up. I may end up riding to the express bus tomorrow.
Also, this is my first post from Linux. I'm usually a big OpenBSD fan, and OpenBSD acts a lot like Linux in many ways. Getting it set up just the way you want it takes quite a bit of work, but once you have stuff installed, the programs work the same. Firefox for Internet browsing, OpenOffice for word processing, spreadsheets and the like. I love OpenBSD and won't get rid of it any time soon, but I downloaded Ubuntu Linux and gave it a shot on one of my old Pentium 3 (or is it Pentium /// ?) computers and it seems to be working pretty well. I'm such a geek. Sitting around me here at my computer desk, I have:
- Sun Microsystems SparcStation 5 Running OpenBSD 3.9
- Sun Microsystems Ultra 5 running Sun Solaris 10
- Dell PowerEdge 650 (1U Rackmount) running OpenBSD 4.1
- Dell OptiPlex GX150 (Mini Tower) running Ubuntu Linux 7.04
- Apple MacBook 2.0GHz running OS X 10.4 Tiger
- IBM RS/6000 Model 250 running IBM AIX 5.1/L
So, I got off on this huge nerd tangent. Are you happy now? I guess I'll go back to playing with Ubuntu and coming up with things to complain about.
Random Tunage:
Grand National - Talk amongst yourselves
Jon Secada - Do you believe in us