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Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Let's Talk About MY PERIOD! Yay For YOU!
23rd passes.
24th passes.
25th passes. Now I am starting to sweat.
26th I must be pregnant, right? I take another pregnancy test. NEGATIVE. I shake it and look at the thing. Where did my period go? It's not something that you can just loose, like keys, is it?
27th passes.
28th passes. I wonder if I have a disease. I call my mother and tell her I'm dying from no period and that I'm sorry I wasn't a better daughter.
29th passes. My brow is furrowed all day long.
30th, the full moon arrives, and with it, long awaited AUNT FLO. I feel the need to announce this loudly in the bathroom at work, just like a two year old going potty in public for the first time. It was a triumphant moment. My coworkers, both men, want to know what I'm beaming about all of a sudden. We have a celebratory Mountain Is Not Pregnant coffee toast..."Salud!" "L'Chaim!" Yes, seriously.
So, we are fine. I had pneumonia, people, and I suppose that is enough to royally knock me off of my internal clock. All these people said,"you don't seem that sick", and now I know I was really sick because MY PERIOD WAS LATE FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER!!!!!! I must have been on the brink of death. My body literally didn't even know what day it was.
So, this is the great thing for which I am very grateful. Right now, I would love to be pregnant, and I would also be just as happy NOT to be pregnant. No harm, no foul. The agony was in the not knowing. Yes, I did actually refer to myself as The Barren Queen in conversation, that was like, only once.
love and light,
your friend,
Under Construction
I've been playing with several template ideas since the kids went to sleep. Just because it looks like this tonight doesn't mean it is a finished product. It is kind of like looking at my lego creation...and I'm still building! This tool is so easy to play with, I may have a new design for every day of the week!
I am so spoiled. I came home from a work in a very negative mood, like I usually do, and both of my girls made me pictures that say "I love you" and "you are the best mom" and my man even brought me Ben and Jerry's, served to me in the bubble bath. (((sigh))) (((perfect))))
I have a little thing about losing my keys. I think there is a problem in my brain. Actually, I'm quite sure of it. Tonight my little one looked at a picture of Alicia Keys on the cover of a magazine and said,"Is that Alicia Keys? Her last name is Keys? Does that mean if you went shopping with her, you would lose her?"
I didn't share my icecream with her.
I hope you evening was lovely, too!
Love and Light,
Your Friend,
Monday, March 29, 2010
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Freegans Without The Dumpster
Freegans are people who employ alternative strategies for living based on limited participation in the conventional economy and minimal consumption of resources. Freegans embrace community, generosity, social concern, freedom, cooperation, and sharing in opposition to a society based on materialism, moral apathy, competition, conformity, and greed.-Freegan.info
They had a print making workshop, and I may not be 8 years old, but I participated gleefully, thank you. Here is my print.
Here is the top part of the huge, amazing fountain that I rescued from the trash the other day.
Yesterday, while helping out on the paper route, I screamed,"Stop the car! Fucking insane Americans are throwing away canvases still in the wrappers!" Look at this haul, people! It wasn't even my birthday! That's an easel in the wrapper, too!
Here are the kids, inspired by their museum trip, painting. The little boy is our neighbor, and my buddy. He has the most genuinely positive attitude of anyone I know. He is the subject of my print. Doesn't it kinda sorta look like him?
Elder Daughter's Hanna Anderson dress? Free, too! It was lovingly handed down by another little girl who had outgrown it. I've said it before and I'll say it again, whether you are buying or re-using, I highly recommend Hanna Anderson. Those little dresses seem like they are made of galvanized steel...completely indestructible, soft comfortable and well-suited for real life.
I drove to Walmart yesterday for the first time in about six months...cat litter and laundry soap was calling me. Do you have a recipe for homemade laundry soap? The re-use children's clothing store is gone. The used bookstore is gone. The candle store is gone. The kitchen supply store is gone. Empty storefronts and for rent signs dot the main drag. About half of our friends are out of work. When I get down about not being able to provide the lifestyle I grew up with to my children, my mother tells me,"hunker down and wait it out. Be thankful you have a job and don't stick your neck out too far."
We live on a tiny income, but we also live in a time when so many are relearning the simple ways. The time has truly come.
Free Sunday Things I Love:
- Mountain Stage Radio Show
- Public Parks, just now showcasing daffodils and magnolia buds
- Making Love
- Free Day at The Art Museum
- New York Times Magazines (free if your married to the paperboy!)
- Make Cookies. Borrow Baking Powder from a neighbor.
- Sit Out Front in a Wicker Chair With a Cup of Tea. Smile at dog walkers going by
- Yoga
- Read Twilight, and feel totally cliche doing it, but forced to soothe your (my) curiosity, and then really enjoy it, and then feel mundane for enjoying it
- Watch Your Beautiful Yet Nocturnal Husband Sleep, and take his picture
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Zen, Leukemia, The Alphabet and It's Debatable Level Of Ease To Learn
Diane is a Christian with a capital C, and one heck of a lover of all kinds of people. I am a meandering Wiccan who lately hangs out with Buddhists, a tattoo artist, and I say "fuck" a lot, yet Diane's compassion even extends to me. We do share many of the same interests, though. I really care about raising compassionate children. I love to do things the old fashioned way. I want to learn about homemaking, because I've got a home and I've got no one else to make it, and I have learned a lot from Diane's tips and tricks. We also are both SERIOUSLY anti-consumerist (pro-simplicity?) and we both have more than one daughter who is !awe-some! But now is the time where I am going to give a very high compliment. Diane incorporates her faith in all that she does, and she makes me FEEL loved and in the spirit, without ever, ever judging me.
Now, I came to think about this because I was surfing around in blogland, and I came upon bunches of Christian ladies who are wow-with-the-nasty. This one lady (who's name I won't mention, I really don't know her at all, I just stumbled in!) was talking about this book about organizing. The book used the term ZEN, said the lady, but don't worry, because it wasn't really Buddhist. Its just that zen is the new way to say,"I'm from LA," but she was sure that no one in LA could relate to her because who in LA even BREASTFEEDS????
Dear readers, far be it from me to defend Los Angeles, but I personally breastfed while residing in that city. I'm just saying. Haters, if you are reading along in a perfectly nice book and you stumble across the word Zen, it won't bite you and infect you with Zen-leporsy. Zen is a pacifist.
Oy vey!
All that being said, Welcome Back, Diane! I know you are not a hater, and have never even had Zen-leporsy.
Yes, I'm in a rare mood.
It's just that child rearing has really backed me into a corner lately. I was just interrupted mid-rant by my little one saying,"Mama, did I have leukemia when I was a baby?"
"NO! Who told you that!?"
I didn't really need to ask. There are only three people at home, and that makes Older Daughter the culprit.
"Did you tell her she had leukemia?"
"Can you please not tell your sister that she had leukemia because she never did?"
Now they are singing the alphabet. In spanish.
The alphabet is easy to learn! Yeah! Get down!
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Lurkers! De-Lurk!
(I'm totally bluffing. I'm not going anywhere. I'm addicted.)
I discovered a colossal garden fountain. Someone was throwing it away and I rescued it from the side of the road while walking home from girl scouts. It looks like stone, but its really some kind of plastic, and it has a lion's head that water spurts out of. Pretty cool. It is right now residing in the back of my truck. It's huge. You could baptize a baby in it. I NEEDED one of those.
My daughter's school choir sang that Fireflies song that's on the radio at their concert last night. It was nice. They had bells. Today's children don't even KNOW the retarded songs we had to sing in elementary school choir. They were painfully dumb. If someone told us we could sing a song that was on the radio, we would have passed out.
My husband and I had planned to move this spring, but recently decided not to. I was intimidated by the concept of moving us all right now. I'm glad to postpone for the time being. Maybe I'll feel like it at the end of summer.
I asked my daughter if she would please shoot me when I became so old that I forgot what I was doing in the middle of providing my phone number, and she said,"I will NOT shoot you! I will love you and I will write your phone number on your hand!" Awww! She will not shoot me!
I had dinner at Cali Burrito. It's my ~*`*'~*Favorite*~*`*'~. I had two tacos that have crunchy shells wrapped in soft shells, with black beans inside, pico de gallo, cheese, tomatoes and lettuce, with homemade salsa on the side. In the past week, I have had TWO meals with meat. I'm going in a good direction, folks.
I'm going to a women's circle next week at the place where we went to the Equinox Fire Circle. I'm embarrassed with over-eagerness.
Today was a day that seemed like a total loss. The thing is, I was really, truly convinced that I would have it together as an adult, and it turns out I am one thousand times more awkward and self-conscious now than I was at 13. How IS that? My mother always gave the impression of being in total and complete control, perfect credit and shiny kitchen floors. Where are my shiny kitchen floors? Did I drop my poise and sophistication at the laundromat?
Even though I feel like I am in a constant state of disarray, I've got sweetness all over the place if I take the time to notice it. Maybe MORE than my mother did. I'm a beautiful mess.
What was sweet in your day?
***PS-I'm having trouble with blogger and/or this template. I'm sorry for the fonts being messed up, and the links not being in order, etc. I'm working on it.
Love and light,
your friend,
Monday, March 22, 2010
Blessed Be! Happy Spring!
by: Elder Daughter, The Awesome
We discovered that my little daughter's teacher is a Tibetan Buddhist, and she invited us to a seasonal fire ceremonyHERE. The website shows the house, but it doesn't show the lovely rolling, wild hills going in all directions around the house. We drove up a road, off a road, off a road, and with every curve my heart beat faster. "YES," it sang. "This would be what you have been looking for." I had friends all around me. I invited some neighbors along with kids close to my children's age, and when we arrived we found many people we knew already from school.
The ceremony was taught to the leaders by Incas in Peru, but it was surprisingly similar to what I have followed for the past 15 years in studying Wicca. There was a fire. There were drums. The corners were called and released. We thanked God. We reminded ourselves how lucky and grateful we are to be here. We asked for healing.
He has never been to a ceremony with me before. Can you even BELIEVE that? I tell you, I've been letting ceremonialism lapse altogether, but to think that we have been together for four years and never attended a circle together is eye-opening. A beautiful thing about our relationship is that we allow each other a lot of space. It was the only way we could work with our very different, very full lives.
During the ceremony, every one was invited to put a stick in the fire. My husband did not put his stick in the fire, and I started to worry,"Does he think this is dumb? Is he bored? Does he want to go home?" When we were in the car on the ride home, I said," Thank you for coming with me. You don't have to come again if you don't want, but it meant a lot to me that you did. How come you didn't participate in the ceremony? Did you feel weird about the whole thing?"
He said,"Let me think because I want to say this right." I started to panic. He went on to say,"I saw that this was a very spiritual moment for everyone there. There was no one who was, like, halfway doing it. I don't really understand the tradition, so I wanted to watch. I didn't want to cheapen the thing by participating half-heartedly or without understanding what I was doing. I think of it like visiting another church, but not taking communion."
Oh! my heart swelled for him so much when he said that. Oh! I fell in love with him all over again.
I took away a lot from the ceremony. The drumming allowed me to get into a trance state and really open up for the first time in a long time. I (re)learned that I am a part of everything, and everything is God, so hating myself is really hating everything which is hating God. The drumming came to mean,"I! Love! My! Self! I! Am! A! Part! Of! Earth!" I relearned that being a spiritual woman is a huge part of who I am and when I don't fulfill this obligation I am unhappy. I've already tattooed this concept on my neck, yet I STILL have to be reminded.
I filled up with love for my children and my husband and my community and nature, and really,really, is there anything else? I learned that I don't have to try and control everything. Life comes to me, and I can relax at always trying to drive it alone. I kind got a good shake from Grandmother Cosmos, who told me to WAKE UP! You are too grown to be pretending you don't know who you ARE!
So, feeling that Wiccan tradition may be exhausted for me, I've found myself an invitation into Tibetan Buddhism and Incan Shamanism. I never thought myself a Buddhist because I thought I am too exuberant! Who can smile beatifically in meditation all day? Not me! I like the whooping and hollering of Paganism, but I think this chance is too good to pass up. I'm gonna check out the women's circle, and see if I can go.
I am so happy and proud and grateful that I finally get to raise my children however I want to. The custody battle hobbled me in so many more ways than you might imagine. Everything I did was to please a social worker, rather than to please my moral values. I dressed to please the social worker;I got a job to please a social worker; I decorated my home to please a social worker; I suppressed my spiritual curiousity to please a social worker; I sent my kids to public school to please a social worker; I chose a pediatrician to please a social worker...it really is sick and sad, and I am so happy that is OVER!
I knew that I would be happy again once spring came.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
My I Am Poem
Mine turned out sort of depressing, but where else can someone be truly morose than in self-reflexive poetry?
I am so tired that I want to cry.
I wonder when I will feel strong and light again.
I hear the life-breath in my watery lungs.
I see pneumonia leaving me.
I want pneumonia gone.
I am so tired that I want to cry.
I pretend that I feel strong and light again.
I feel like a stone bouncing down a pebbly incline.
I touch the ground, spinning and bumping.
I worry that I will stay a stone.
I cry because I'm rolling, rolling, rolling down.
I am so tired.
I understand that healing is coming.
I say nothing. I have to save my breath.
I dream of swimming, light and strong, laughing and splashing
I try to float, but always I am rolling down.
I hope pneumonia will soon leave me.
I am so tired that I want to cry.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
DeNiro and The Chocolate Drops
And this is the remake that I heard on the radio today THAT TOTALLY BLEW MY MIND.
I heard this on the local non-profit radio station. Philly's XPN is available for streaming, if you aren't around here, and it absolutely the best radio station ever created. My husband and I are in agreement that Rhiannon Giddens is not even real. How does she sing AND fiddle like that? And it doesn't even stop there. She sings Gaelic madrigals, too.
And now, folks, the miracle of the day: My husband DANCED. Thank you, Carolina Chocolate Drops. I salute you. Here is the song that can sway even devoted non-dancers-
As a rule, my husband does not dance. When we were married, I had to lead, and that was the last time he swayed to the music. He is a white, northeastern Metalhead, and dancing is just not part of this culture. Sure, sure, his grandfather was Puerto Rican, but my husband, sadly, did not get one single dancing gene. He did, however, get the big butt appreciating gene, and for that I am eternally grateful. This song moved whitey to grab a honey and spin her around.
Just the other day I was making fun of my husband's redneck style, and he pointed a skinny finger at me and said,"You better give up on trying to deny your redneck heritage if you like this music!" "Yes, my grandmother's family is from West Virginia, but WHAT IS YOUR EXCUSE!?" He doesn't really look like a redneck. Lately he's been wearing this army coat, and he looks more like Deniro. From Taxi Driver. (((Shaking my head sadly)))
What? KrAzY is a style! Can you see it? Imagine the green army coat. If you move the mohawk to a goatee, you've got my man. Maybe it's the chronic insomnia that creates that look. I've heard that DeNiro, a method actor, didn't sleep during the filming of Taxi Driver, and well, you know that my husband is either a ninja or a vampire, and has no need for sleep. Unconditional love, baby. This would be a great time for me to do a photoshop cut and paste of hubby's head on DeNiro's body, but that will go on the pile of creative ideas that I had that I don't have time to excute. It's a big pile.
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Back In The Saddle
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Being Stupid Is Nice
My sleep life is wonderful. Last night I dreamed that my husband was the promoter for a huge heavy metal rave in a warehouse. There was black room after black room filled with bands and party people in weird costumes. There were zaftig naked women painted to look like cats. There was a band that was playing on mattresses and singing heavy metal songs very quietly in whispery voices as if they were lullabies.
Brittany Spears was there, and a few friends from high school, and a few current friends. I was trying to get to the back of the building because I knew my husband was working there, but I kept running into people and interesting things and getting sidetracked. I was wearing lime green high heels, and a blue scarf with skulls on it on my head. It was entirely real, and when I woke up I felt like I had been out all night, and not asleep in bed at all. I came home from work halfway through the day. Why WHY can't I live in my imagination? Having a body is such a bore. I certainly hope that this is my last incarnation into a meat suit.
I'm getting into dangerous territory with missed work. Because I have not been at my current job a year yet, I do not qualify for FMLA, which would allow me the flexibility I need. I really need flexibility all the time, being a parent, and just being me. Shockingly, me and corporate america aren't a great fit.
I was remembering that not long ago my husband and I were fighting every day. Now I can't even remember what all that was about. I have been thinking a lot about the beauty of his jaw. Today he left a love note in my truck for me to find on my way home from work. This disease is forcing me to let go of everything. I don't have the energy. I don't have the energy to find matching socks in the morning, let alone formulate an argument. Maybe that is what it feels like to be really old,"I'm really pissed off at you right now....um....but it's gone now....what were we talking about?"
I feel the same about work. "I hate this job...oh, look, donuts...lalala." It is good not to think so much. I have to save my creativity for dreaming.
People Like Lists
My kids kick ass.
It was the little one's birthday. My husband planned the entire day for her because I had to work, plus pneumonia. He has been planning to run wrestling birthday parties, so this was good practice for him. He borrowed some wrestlers and some neighbor children and put on a show for the kids, and then let the kids play in the ring. He put a suitcase way high above the ring with presents inside, and then claimed the heel had stolen all the birthday presents. Inside the suitcase were dozens of comic books for all the kids to share. SO COOL, and I missed it, of course. Still, the kids had a great time, and my husband was a hero.
It is now 9:46 and I feel like it is four in the morning. Everything is so exhausting. Breathing is exhausting, but I am doing pretty well. I have had a string of nice days and things seem to be looking up. I'm not in terrible pain or anything.
Things Little One Got For Her Birthday:
-A secret agent spy v-tech video game that looks like a laptop
-a webkinz mama and baby lamb.
-earrings in a fancy box from Paris, France
-a bathingsuit and beach stuff
-a diary with a lock
-a really cool doodle book
-48 pieces of sidewalk chalk
-a tinkerbell desk set
-pocky (japanese candy)
-tickets to Alice in Wonderland in 3D (yes, it was awesome)
Things The Homeopath is Treating Me For
2)healing from the damaging drugs I chose to take like zoloft and codeine
3)uplift for depression
4)balancing and drainage for my ears and for moving out of my rut
Things I Saw in My Most Amazing Dream Last Night
-a blue tiled metro station
-a waterslide that went over a highway
-an artisan's mall where each kiosk had really cool glass and tile mosaics over the top
-chainsaw sculptures
-a fancy restaurant
Children's Books I Have Recently Read While Trying To Get Better (I have the children trained so that I can just bellow and they bring me another one)
-The 18th Emergency by Betsy Byars
-Skylark by Patricia MacLachlan
-Jet Getaway and Other Amazing Escapes by Thomas G. Gunning
-A Haunting In Williamsburg by Lou Kassem
-It Couldn't Happen To Me, Three True Stories Of Teenaged Moms by Beth Johnson
Ok, guys. I'll try to have something more intelligent to talk about soon. Really.
Friday, March 5, 2010
I'm really ok. Really.
Pneumonia is an abnormal inflammatory condition of the lung.[1] It is often characterized as including inflammation of the parenchyma of the lung (that is, the alveoli) and abnormal alveolar filling with fluid (consolidation and exudation).[2]-wikipedia
Don't worry, I'm not dying. I'm not even horribly ill and green and gasping for breath in a white linen victorian nightgown, with my dark hair tumbling about me and blood on my lace handkerchief.
I just felt reeeeeeeeeeeeeaally sick and reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaally tired. I had this cough, and when I coughed, it felt like an ax was hitting my head. But I'm not coughing like, all the time. I'm coughing only sometimes, and I was going for walks in the park and stuff yesterday. I was in the grocery store, and I was talking to insurance companies and making doctors appointments, etc. I talked to the homeopath and I drank some super vitamin c drink, and I thought, "Hey, look at me! I'm on the road to recovery!" I was even planning on going to work for a half day today.
Then I went to the doctor and he said,"Pneumonia." I was astounded because I think of pneumonia as gasping for breath in a hospital bed. I have pneumonia with a small p, I guess.
I have these new, shiny insurance cards, and I was on a roll with using them, so I also took myself to the dentist FOR THE FIRST TIME IN TEN YEARS. What? You don't go to the dentist with pneumonia? Buck up, kid. I like to bundle all of my suck into one fun filled day. That little sharp thing that they stabbed in my tender, sweet, virgin gums HURT LIKE A MOTHERFUCKER until I told myself that it felt just like being tattooed, and that I can handle it and relax. I did have the instinct the shove the hygienist roughly, but I didn't. Really. I didn't.
My wisdom tooth, only one, thank god, is growing in sideways under the skin inside my jaw . Not crooked. Completely sideways. The roots go to the left and the crown goes to the right. Do you think this could be the cause of all of my sore throat/ear/sinus misery? Well, I guess we will find out because I have an appointment with SURGEON!!!! SURGEON!!!! Sorry, I'm afraid of that word. Let's not talk about it.
The rest of the day I slept. This was different from all of the other days this month that I slept. This time I did not feel guilty because I have FRICKIN' PNEUMONIA people! I can sleep and read children's books and eat girl scout cookies all I want now.
Monday, March 1, 2010
March Miracle..Pennies From Heaven
Me-"You are the best kid in THE WORLD!"
Her-"No, I can't be the best kid in the world because all the moms think their kid is the best kid in the world, and then no one really knows who the best kid in the world is."
Me-"Yes I do know! You! Duh!"
So, you know all those people who have blogs that are all like, "My life is so BEAUTIFUL! Look at my beautiful children! And my beautiful dog! And my beautiful toilet paper dispenser! I'm so funky/cool/crafty/kind/proactive!" Well, this is not one of them. At Mountain's house, we will tell you if shit stinks. Today was fucking excrutiating.
There are some days with depression that are physically painful. Today was one of them. I came home from work, kissed my family, and flopped down on my bed. I was looking, again, for the answers to all of my problems on the bedroom ceiling. The girls came tumbling in with a big birthday bag overflowing with gifts.
"Look what we got!"
"What the heck!? Where!?"
"You know the nice lady in the apartment across the street? She GAVE it to us!"
"Let me see that..."
Tumbling out came a tin of tea, a lavender filled eye mask, some lovely bubble bath, some stationary, a candle, and three gift cards! With money on them!
Little one in hand, I marched myself across the street, into the apartment vestibule, and rang the buzzer. My neighbor buzzed us in and we marched up the black and white tiled steps to her door.
"Did you give this to my kids!?"
"This is really good stuff! These are your birthday presents! There are gift cards! With money on them!"
"I know."
"Ok, so you have to take them."
"No, I gave them to your girls."
"No, you have to take them."
"No, I gave them to your girls."
"Oooh, Mommy! She has a kitty..."
"Be nice to the cat. You have to take these back!"
We went back and forth. It turns out that these were gifts that she was given a long time ago by people that she doesn't like. She kept them in the bag because she didn't want to look at them and now she wants to purge herself of them. I couldn't get her to take them back. I really did try.
So, my day started excrutiating, but it ended up like Christmas. Can you even BELIEVE that? We decided that we will buy her a gift with the gift certificates and surprise her back. You never really know, though, do you? You never know what a day will bring.
I found three things in the bag for three of my cubicle cellmates. I'm going to pay it forward tomorrow.


text:
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subset: commoncrawl


text:
The effects of artificial night lighting on animal behaviour and fitness are largely unknown. Most studies report short-term consequences in locations that are also exposed to other anthropogenic disturbance. We know little about how the effects of nocturnal illumination vary with different light colour compositions. This is increasingly relevant as the use of LED lights becomes more common, and LED light colour composition can be easily adjusted. We experimentally illuminated previously dark natural habitat with white, green and red light, and measured the effects on life-history decisions and fitness in two free-living songbird species, the great tit (Parus major) and pied flycatcher (Ficedula hypoleuca) in two consecutive years. In 2013, but not in 2014, we found an effect of light treatment on lay date, and of the interaction of treatment and distance to the nearest lamp post on chick mass in great tits but not in pied flycatchers. We did not find an effect in either species of light treatment on breeding densities, clutch size, probability of brood failure, number of fledglings and adult survival. The finding that light colour may have differential effects opens up the possibility to mitigate negative ecological effects of nocturnal illumination by using different light spectra.
1. Introduction
Light pollution has shown a worldwide increase in the past century, especially in the past six decades [1], and artificial lighting of urbanized and rural areas continues to increase. Nineteen per cent of the Earth's surface experiences nocturnal illumination from artificial sources and one-fifth of the world's population lives in areas where the Milky Way cannot be seen with the naked eye [2]. Light pollution is considered a problem for many organisms, including humans; evidence for short-term negative effects of artificial light on several species is accumulating [3]. Modern light-emitting diode (LED) outdoor lighting allows for custom-built spectra, and adaptation of the light spectrum could be one of the options to reduce the effects of night-time light pollution on ecosystems [4].
One reason why light pollution has such a profound effect on organismal function may be that organisms have evolved under a natural light–dark cycle with high levels of light in daytime and very low levels of light at night. In birds, photoperiod is one of the most important factors determining daily activity patterns as well as seasonal timing. Their internal circadian and circannual clocks are entrained by light stimulation of photoreceptors to time physiological activities to the appropriate time of the day and year [5]. Artificial night lighting is hypothesized to affect the perceived photoperiod, and thereby change the natural and temporal behaviour of birds, which in turn might affect their fitness [6].
Research has only recently focused on changing light conditions at night, and the understanding of the ecological consequences of light pollution is still limited. A well-known response of birds is attraction to artificial light, which causes high mortality of seabird fledglings owing to fatal collisions and higher predation [7], and of songbird nocturnal migrants owing to exhaustion at light sources [8]. Other studies on bird populations in the wild have shown that the presence of street lights may cause several species to sing earlier at dawn [9,10] and in the year [11], female blue tits (Cyanistes caeruleus) to advance egg laying [12] and female great tits (Parus major) to increase chick feeding rates [13]. In an experimental study in a controlled environment, nocturnal illumination advanced the reproductive physiology of blackbirds (Turdus merula) on a short-term basis [14], but suppressed reproductive activity in the long run [15]. An experimental study in a wild godwit (Limosa limosa) population revealed that early arriving godwits chose nest sites at greater distance from road lighting than late arriving birds [16]. This relatively small set of studies all demonstrate rather short-term effects of light pollution on the behaviour of birds. Experimental studies on the effect of light on life-history traits and fitness components in a field situation with no other anthropogenic disturbance are lacking [17].
The role of spectral composition in the impact of nocturnal illumination on avian behaviour is poorly studied [18], although the omission of specific colours could mitigate possible negative effects [17]. Gonadal growth, a measure of reproductive readiness, is dependent on the wavelength of the light to which birds are exposed; longer wavelengths (red light) advance growth [19]. Nocturnally migrating birds are disoriented by illuminated spots, especially with overcast skies, and removing red light from the spectrum makes this effect less pronounced [20,21]. A possible mechanism is that cryptochrome receptor molecules are dependent on short-wavelength light, which aligns with the wavelength dependency of magnetoreception observed in behavioural tests (the avian radical pair mechanism hypothesis) [22,23].
In order to gain more knowledge on the effects of artificial night lighting on life-history decisions and fitness components of wild individuals of passerine birds, we studied their response to light at night during the breeding season. We make use of a unique, large-scale, experimental set-up in The Netherlands, where we assess the effects of three different colours of street lighting on several species groups [24]. At our eight study sites, previously dark, natural habitat is experimentally illuminated with white, green or red light, in addition to a dark control. As a result of the altered perception of photoperiod owing to the light at night, we expect birds that are breeding in illuminated territories to start laying eggs earlier compared with those in the dark. For light colour, we expect the strongest effect for white light, then red light (which is known to affect the reproductive system [19]), followed by green light. Although light at night may increase male fitness [12], we have no clear expectations for effects towards different colours of nocturnal illumination on fitness components. If light attracts insects at night, resulting in higher insect density in illuminated areas in daytime, the fitness of insectivorous bird species may increase. However, light at night may adversely impact daily rhythms and reproductive physiology, and thereby decrease fitness. The experimental nature of our set-up gives the possibility to test the effects of nocturnal illumination independently of other anthropogenic disturbances normally associated with light at night.
2. Methods
(a) Experimental set-up
At eight sites in The Netherlands [24], we illuminate previously dark natural areas with street lamps (intensity 8.2 ± 0.3 lux, measured directly under the lamp at ground level), from sunset until sunrise. Each site has four transects with five lamp posts with LED lights, each transect with one light colour treatment: Fortimo white, ClearSky green and ClearField red light (Philips, Amsterdam, The Netherlands) and a dark control (poles without lamps). Within each site, each transect was randomly assigned a light treatment. All three lamp types emit full spectrum light; however, green lamps have an increased blue and reduced red, and red lamps have an increased red and reduced blue emission (for details on the spectral power of the light, see Spoelstra et al. [24]). The intensity of the light at ground level at all transects is standardized for human vision (in lux), such that the light of the three different colours is perceived by humans as equally intense. The sensitivity spectrum of birds differs from that of humans; most birds perceive colours through four single cone types [25]. The intensities of the treatments are therefore different for birds. The ability of birds to see UV light [26] does not contribute to this difference as the UV emission of our lights is negligible. We chose to standardize the intensity at all transects in lux, because the street lamps we have placed at our study sites are eventually intended for road lighting for human purposes.
Sites consist of coniferous, deciduous or mixed forest edge habitat where four transects, each consisting of five lamp posts, were placed perpendicular to the forest edge in 2012, and at one of the sites in 2013 (figure 1 and [24]). A large variety of species groups are monitored yearly at these sites, see also Spoelstra et al. [24]. In order to study the breeding ecology of cavity-breeding passerines, at each site 36 bird nest-boxes (diameter entrance hole 32 mm) were placed in the forest in the year the lamp posts were set up (288 in total). Our sites have few natural cavities. The placement of nest-boxes follows a standardized pattern, in order to test the effects of light on individuals nesting at different distances from the lamp posts (figure 1).
All data were collected during the springs of 2013 and 2014. The nest-boxes were occupied by breeding pairs of four species; great tit, 96 broods in 2013 and 151 broods in 2014, pied flycatcher (Ficedula hypoleuca), 47 and 66 broods, respectively, blue tit, nine and 24 broods, and coal tit (Periparus ater), three broods in 2013 and one in 2014. Here, we report on the life-history traits and fitness components for the great tit, a small, 18 g resident songbird, and the pied flycatcher, a 12 g trans-Sahara migrant songbird (sample sizes for blue tits and coal tits were too small to conduct meaningful statistical analysis).
(b) Field methods
Nest-boxes were checked twice weekly from the end of March until the end of the breeding season (end of June/early July) in 2013 and 2014. We recorded nest stage, number of eggs and species. In this study, we used data only from first broods for both species; both replacement broods and second broods were excluded. All clutches that started more than 30 days for great tits, or 22 days for pied flycatchers, after the first clutch in that site and year were considered to be replacement clutches. First egg laying dates were calculated on the assumption that one egg is laid per day. The number of eggs after clutch completion (clutch size) and exact egg hatching dates were recorded. During the nestling stage, chicks were ringed with a numbered aluminium ring (8 days after hatching in great tits, 6 days after hatching in pied flycatchers). The mass of the chicks, a measure of fledgling quality [27], was recorded using a digital scale (nearest 0.1 g, 15 and 13 days after hatching in great tits and pied flycatchers, respectively). Adults were caught in the nest-box using a spring trap and ringed with a numbered aluminium ring (great tits: 8–9 days (2013) and 10–12 days (2014) after hatching; pied flycatchers: 6–7 days (2013) and 9–11 days (2014) after chick hatching). Nests were checked after the chicks fledged, and the number of fledglings is the number of chicks that left the nest.
(c) Statistical methods
In all models, we fitted the interaction between light treatment (a factor with four levels: dark, green, red and white) with the distance of the nest-box to the nearest lamp post, because we expected the effect of light to decrease with light intensity (see electronic supplementary material, figure S1 for the relation between light intensity at nest-box level and distance to the nearest lamp post). We also included site (a factor with seven levels in 2013 and eight in 2014) as a random effect to account for between-site differences. Additionally, in the models for fledgling mass, we added brood size (the number of chicks that hatched) as an explanatory variable and nest-box as a second random effect, to account for common environment effects of chicks raised in the same brood. Sex was used as explanatory variable in the models for adult survival. We analysed the data for both species and both years separately.
Data on settlement of the breeding pairs were analysed using a generalized linear-mixed-effects model (GLMM) with binomial error structure and occupancy of the nest-box (0, not occupied; 1, occupied) as response variable. Egg laying dates (first egg; in April date, May 1 = April 31) and clutch sizes (number of eggs) were analysed using linear-mixed-effects models (LMMs). Fledging success was computed in two steps as the distribution of the number of fledged chicks for the great tits was strongly zero-inflated. First, we analysed the probability of brood failure (0, at least one chick fledged; 1, no chicks fledged) in a GLMM with binomial errors. Second, we analysed the number of chicks fledged excluding brood failures in an LMM, following Reed et al. [28]. Pied flycatchers had very few nests that failed (10 of 108); therefore we analysed only the number of chicks that fledged excluding brood failures (LMM). Fledgling mass was analysed using an LMM and adult survival using a GLMM with binomial errors (0, found breeding in 2013, but not in 2014; 1, found breeding in 2013 and 2014). All statistical analyses were done using R v. 3.1.1 [29] with a significance level of α = 0.05.
3. Results
Our light treatment had no effect on the probability of nest-box occupancy by great tits or pied flycatchers. In great tits, nest-boxes closer to the lamp posts were occupied less often in both 2013 and 2014; this effect was the same in the dark control transects (table 1).
In 2013, there was a significant effect of light treatment on laying date of great tits: birds in green and white illuminated transects laid their eggs on average earlier than those in the dark control (figure 2a and table 1). In 2014, however, there was no effect of light treatment on laying date. In pied flycatchers, we found no effect of light treatment on lay date in either year (figure 2b and table 1). Clutch size in both great tits and pied flycatchers was not affected by light treatment, but in 2013, great tits laid larger clutches further away from the poles, independent of treatment (table 1).
Light treatment did not affect the probability of brood failure (no chicks fledged) or the number of chicks fledged (if at least one chick fledged) in great tits in either year (figure 3a and table 1). In 2014, great tits breeding further away from the poles fledged fewer offspring, again independent of treatment. In the pied flycatcher, the number of chicks fledged was also not affected by light treatment (figure 3b and table 1).
In 2013, but not in 2014, fledgling mass in great tit broods was explained by the interaction between treatment and distance to the nearest lamp post, in combination with brood size (see table 1 for estimates). For pied flycatchers, there was no treatment effect on fledgling mass in either year (table 1).
The probability of survival from breeding season 2013 to breeding season 2014 did not differ between light treatments in both great tits and pied flycatchers (table 1). Some of the surviving females and males moved from one light treatment to another between years, but without any clear pattern (out of 18 surviving female great tits eight moved; out of 12 surviving great tit males one moved; out of six surviving female pied flycatchers one moved; out of 12 surviving male pied flycatchers eight moved).
4. Discussion
We assessed the effects of light at night with different spectral composition on the breeding biology and fitness components of two wild songbird species. The effect of light treatment on timing of egg laying, one of the life-history traits, was not consistent across species and years. Fledgling production, an important component of fitness, was not affected by light at night in both species; fledgling mass was, but only for one species in 1 year. Thus, we did not show clear, unidirectional effects of experimental nocturnal illumination on fitness.
Settlement of our birds at the study sites was not affected by light treatment, but occupancy rates for great tits were higher further away from the lamp posts, also in the control treatment. Owing to the spatial pattern of our nest-boxes, the density of nest-boxes decreases with increasing distance to the lamps. Great tits usually defend territories larger than 25 m radius (the distance between our nest-boxes) during the breeding season [31], and thus each territory will contain more than one nest-box, leading to the observed pattern of increased occupancy rates further away from the lamp posts at all four treatment groups. In contrast, pied flycatchers defend just the area directly around their nest-box [32], which may explain the absence of an effect of distance on occupancy rate observed in this species. We found no effect of artificial light at night on clutch size in either species.
Our findings on seasonal timing of great tits in 2013 are in line with the advancement in lay date of blue tits in illuminated territories reported by Kempenaers et al. [12]. However, the effect of artificial light on lay date was not consistent in our study. One key difference between the study by Kempenaers et al. and ours is that our study is experimental and thus treatments differ only in the level of light at night, whereas in Kempenaers et al., differences in light levels may be correlated with other anthropogenic factors (e.g. lighted territories were also closer to human habitation).
Day length is a strong cue in timing of the start of egg laying [33] and light at night could lead to birds perceiving a longer photoperiod. In 2013, light treatment had a significant effect on the start of breeding of great tits. In 2014, when spring was warmer and birds laid much earlier, there was no effect of light at night. An explanation for this difference could be that in cold years with a late season, such as 2013, photoperiod may play a more pronounced role in the onset of egg laying than in warm years with an early season [34], such that artificial night lighting would only affect laying date in the former. Obviously, 2013 and 2014 differed in more than just their mean spring temperature, but it is well known that temperature and photoperiod are the most important environmental variables affecting lay date. We could not identify clear differences between individual light colours, but the overall effect of light treatment may be mainly caused by the advancement of lay date in white and green light. If this is indeed the case, this effect is contradictory to our expectation that red but not green light advances breeding. However, the effects of red light [19] were reported for gonadal growth, whereas the timing of actual egg laying may be affected in a different way. Data from more years are needed to reveal an interactive effect of light at night and spring temperatures. Laying date of pied flycatchers was not affected by nocturnal illumination, which may be related to their timing of migration; they arrive at their breeding grounds a few days before the first eggs are laid, and so exposure to the light at night might not be long enough to affect timing of egg laying. In addition, different spectra may have differential effects on different species because of species specific spectral sensitivity [35].
Artificial night lighting did not significantly affect reproductive success in either species. In pied flycatchers, fledgling mass was not affected by artificial light at night; however, in great tits chick mass depended on treatment in relation to distance to lamp posts in 2013, but not in 2014. There are thus no strong indications that fledgling production or fledgling quality is affected by artificial night lighting. Nocturnal illumination did not influence the survival rates from breeding season 2013 to 2014 in either species, but the amount of data on adult survival is limited.
Fitness effects of nocturnal illumination in birds have, as far as we know, never been studied experimentally in the field. We present the first results on this here, which suggest that the effects of artificial night lighting on breeding success are absent or small. This study is one of the first to document no, or very little, effect of artificial light at night on individual organisms (see Gaston et al. [36]). Although we have data from 288 nest-boxes over 2 years, the dataset we present is still relatively small, so that only relatively strong effects would have been detected. Clearly, more data are needed to draw conclusions on fitness effects and ultimately contribute to evidence-based advice on nature friendly outdoor lighting.
Our study is experimental in the sense that we started illuminating a formerly dark forest and kept part of it dark. We placed the same number of nest-boxes in all transects using the same pattern. However, it was not possible to control for settlement differences, because individual birds were free to choose whether or not to start breeding near the lamp posts. This choice opens the possibility that a non-random selection of the population breeds in nest-boxes under light at night. However, we did show that the breeding density of birds did not differ between light treatments, and birds that survived from 2013 to 2014 did not move to a particular light colour or away from the illuminated area to the dark control.
Because the light intensity quickly decreases with increasing distance from the lamp posts, there are ample dark places relatively close to our nest-boxes. The nest-boxes furthest away from the lamps are not different from those in the dark transects in terms of light intensity. Birds breeding in the illuminated nest-boxes thus have the opportunity to escape the direct effect of light by moving away from it or by being inside the nest-box. This behavioural modulation could also explain the absence of strong effects on breeding success. We are currently doing measurements to determine how much light adult birds actually perceive at our experimental field sites. Chicks in nest-boxes receive very low light levels (typically below 0.05 lux), even if these boxes are directly under the lamps. We want to stress, however, that the light levels used in our set-up are representative for outdoor lighting of, for example, roads.
Apart from direct effects of nocturnal illumination, for instance changing the perception of day length which relates to seasonal timing, there can also be indirect effects. Nocturnal illumination can, for example, affect insect abundance [37] which is the major food source for our birds during the breeding season. In our experimental set-up, it is not possible to separate these direct from indirect effects, and additional experiments in a controlled environment are necessary to identify causal relationships.
In this study, we show that experimental nocturnal artificial light in the field can affect timing of egg laying and fledgling mass, a predictor of recruitment, but only in one species and in 1 year. For most life-history variables and fitness components, we found no effects. Given the widespread use of artificial light at night, many breeding birds are exposed to light levels similar to those in our study. The non-consistent effects that we found indicate the need for long-term studies. Furthermore, if the magnitude and direction of possible effects depend on the spectral composition of the light, that could open up the possibility to mitigate specific ecological consequences with the use of coloured nocturnal illumination.
Light pollution is considered a global biodiversity threat [1]. Evidence of a wide variety of effects on behaviour of birds is accumulating, but many important questions remain to be answered: does light at night matter on a larger scale, are terrestrial breeding bird populations doing poorly in areas with more night-time illumination? The experimental design described here creates the opportunity to answer these questions; to do so we will continue to record data on nest-box breeding birds as well as all other birds present at our sites (as described in Spoelstra et al. [24]) during the coming years.
Ethical statement
This study was carried out with the approval of the Animal Experimentation Committee of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Authors' contributions
The set-up and design of the study origins from elaborate discussion between M.E.V., K.S. and R.H.A.v.G. K.S. and R.H.A.v.G. established the field sites. Data were collected by M.d.J., J.Q.O. and A.D.S. and analysed by M.d.J., M.E.V. and K.S. with input from R.H.A.v.G., A.D.S. and B.K. The paper was drafted by M.d.J., M.E.V. and K.S., and J.Q.O., A.D.S., R.H.A.v.G. and B.K. have contributed to the writing.
Funding statement
This research is supported by the Dutch Technology Foundation STW, which is part of the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO), and which is partly funded by the Ministry of Economic Affairs. The project is supported by Philips and the Nederlandse Aardolie Maatschappij (NAM). J.Q.O. was supported by an NSF postdoctoral research fellowship in biology (DBI-1306025). A.D.S. and B.K. were supported by the Max Planck Society.
Competing interests
We declare no competing interests.
We are grateful to Dutch nature conservation organizations and terrain owners for allowing us to perform our experiment on effects of artificial lighting on their terrain; Staatsbosbeheer, Natuurmonumenten, the Dutch Ministry of Defence, Het Drentse Landschap and the Municipality of Ede. We thank volunteers of the Dutch Centre for Avian Migration and Demography for contributing to the collection of data and Phillip Gienapp for extensive statistical advice. We are especially grateful to Ilse Scholten, Mark Eugster, Jasper Buijs, Koosje Lamers, Helen Schepp and Sofia Scheltinga for participating in the fieldwork and in data processing.
One contribution of 14 to a theme issue 'The biological impacts of artificial light at night: from molecules to communities'.
- © 2015 The Author(s) Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved.


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2014 SLP Panther Camaro: I'd Buy It Over a ZL1
June 18, 2014
I've never been a big fan of the 5th generation Chevy Camaro. I don't really love its cartoonish looks, arrow-slit front window, gimmicky interior or its truck-like powertrain in the SS version. (The V6 version isn't worth discussing. It's all Mustang all day there.)
But then I drove a ZL1. Turns out, all the Camaro needed was a supercharged V8 that would fry the rear tires if you looked at the gas pedal funny.
The ZL1 was fast, controllable, comfortable, made cool noises, and generally made me want to go for long drives where the tires came back all melty and feathered. That car was fun. That car made me happy. Our long-term 2014 SLP Panther is all that and then some.
I may be biased here. See, I was raised in New England where the car scene was dreadful. (Though one BMW tuner had a slick McLaren F1 and a customer with an F1 LM, but that's for another day...) The cars on the road were, for the most part, made by Subaru, Saab and General Motors. Things had 4/AWD and were equal parts rust and indifference.
An import scene tried and failed. Exotics roamed Boston, but were just showpieces. The cars that were loved were American and most had V8s. There were a couple Chevelles, some Mustangs, a spattering of Mopars (my neighbor had a Petty-blue Road Runner Super Bird that I never appreciated as a youngin') and some truly frightening Grand Nationals running 12s or low 13s...which at the time was nutty.
But what really caught my still unlicensed eye were the fourth-generation Pontiac SLP Firehawks. Nothing, not even the 9C1/Police Interceptor cop cars had more mythical misinformation behind them. The Firewhawks surely had 400-450 hp (again, for the time, this was an insane number). They'd run 12s on street tires. The exhaust was so loud it was illegal. It would outrun a ZR1 Corvette. It was a racecar.
There were some nuggets of truth here: The car sure was loud and it would beat a ZR1 Corvette in a straight line according to tests at the time. But it only had 315 horsepower and ran something like a mid/low 13. But hard numbers and reality don't really matter when you run up on one at a stop light, burbling away, fat tires poking out of the fenders a little, Firehawk script subtly waiting for those in the know to notice.
They were always black. They were always clean. And they were always driven by guys who would do a burnout if you just asked the right way. Meaning, if you asked at all. Or gave them the thumbs up. Or looked at them. Or pulled up next to them. Pretty much if they were stopped, there was going to be a burnout and then a pair of red taillights sinking off through the trees.
I wanted one then and I still kind of do.
Our SLP Panther does away with the subtlety of those early cars, but still retains the cool. It's louder than a ZL1 inside and out. Boring people would call it too loud. The ZL Short Throw Shifter is better than the stock one out on the streets — that 1-2 shift at full whack is a thing of beauty. And finally, I like the supercharged LS3 more than I like the supercharged LSA in the ZL1. The LS3 here has a higher rev-limiter (even if it does crash into it annoyingly hard) and feels zingier (technical term) than the LSA. Oh, and in our testing the Panther outran the ZL1 turning in a 12.5-second quarter mile at 116.0 compared to the ZL1's 12.7 @ 114.7.
Our Panther wears a $67,020 sticker price as equipped while a similar ZL1 will run you $63,435. $4,000 isn't an insubstantial difference, but "cool" doesn't fit on a balance sheet and if it did, it'd be worth more than $4K.
Mike Magrath, Features Editor


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Wayétu Moore's remarkable debut novel, She Would Be King, is a fantastical and nuanced history of the founding of Liberia...
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"Carmen Lyra's marvelous trickster tales wake the reader to a sharper understanding of 20th-century history. Lyra's stories and sketches--characterized by a sharp wit, wonderfully audacious candor and wry humor--help us reimagine the map of the Western Hemisphere."--Valerie Miner, University of Minnesota
"Carmen Lyra is one of many Central American women writers who were significant players in literary, intellectual, and political circles during their lifetimes but who have been studied and remembered less than they deserve. Recent scholarship is beginning to change this, and Horan's work is a welcome contribution to this effort. Her witty renderings into colloquial English of Lyra's folk and fairy tales are an invitation to read them aloud."--Janet Gold, University of New Hampshire
These Central American trickster tales and satirical and realistic stories by Carmen Lyra (the pseudonym of María Isabela Carvajal, 1888-1949) are the first translation into English of the writings of a leading revolutionary who was also an early 20th-century folklorist and children's writer. This volume presents her popular folktales, including her most famous work, Tales of My Aunt Panchita, alongside her influential social criticism. The familiar Central American folk character "Uncle Rabbit," derived from both African and Native American folklore, is featured in the tales, while her children's play, Christmas Fantasy, portrays another wily rabbit trying to pass as the Child Jesus.
Lyra's realism is represented by her satire of high society in "Tales of the Cothnejo-Fishy District," and her "Silhouettes from the Maternal School" describes the founding of Latin America's first Montessori kindergarten. She denounces the exploitation of workers in "Bananas and Men," while "Golden Bean" reveals crooked dealings in the coffee business.
Although Lyra's writings form the core of this book, the editor's essay offers important biographical information about an author and cultural milieu unfamiliar to many in the United States. Those readers interested in Latin American literature, women writers, and folktales will find this book interesting and informative. And the tales are simply wonderful reading!
Elizabeth Rosa Horan is director of comparative studies in literature and associate professor of English at Arizona State University. She is the author of the award-winning Gabriela Mistral: An Artist and Her People and the translation editor (with Marjorie Agosin) of House of Memory: Short Stories by Latin American Jewish Women Writers.


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- Connect
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Click here for the most current version of Yale's campus map (including accessibility info). A printable PDF version of the map may be found here. To have an accessibility map mailed to you, please send an email message to email@example.com or call the AYA at (203) 432-2110.
For those staying on campus, AYA strongly recommends that you park your car for the weekend and use the Reunion Shuttle to get around campus. (See the Getting to New Haven & Around Campus portion of this Web site for Shuttle hours of operation.) Yale's Pierson-Sage Garage (280 Whitney Avenue just north of the Peabody Museum) is available to alumni during reunions free of charge. Other Yale lots have either limited or no access.
Public parking lots and garages are also available, often for a fee, and may have limited hours; many are not open overnight or on Sunday. Street parking is not recommended other than for brief periods, as it is subject to meters, ticketing and towing.
All reunion hotels provide parking for guests for a nominal fee.
Pierson-Sage Garage at 280 Whitney Ave. is free for reunion guests and is the only Yale lot that allows continuous free parking through the weekend. Pierson-Sage is a covered, guarded parking structure accessed via the Yale parking lot at the intersection of Whitney Avenue and Humphrey Street, just north of the Peabody Museum. As you enter from Whitney Avenue, turn right immediately; Pierson-Sage will be straight ahead. The Reunion Shuttle makes regular stops at Pierson-Sage; please look for the "Reunion Parking" sign near the garage entrance.
The directions below are to Pierson-Sage Garage on Whitney Avenue. Please consult a campus map for routes to other campus locations.
From north: Take Exit 61. Drive south on Whitney Avenue for approximately 4.5 miles. At the next traffic light after the intersection with Edwards Street, turn right into the parking lot (Humphrey Street goes to your left).
From south: Take Exit 57. Drive east on Route 34 (Derby Avenue) for five miles to the fork of Derby Avenue and George Street (three blocks past the Yale Athletic Fields). Bear right on George Street. Continue on George Street to York Street. Turn left on York Street and then right on Elm Street at the third light. At the fourth light, turn left on Church Street, which becomes Whitney Avenue. The parking lot is on the left one block after the Peabody Museum.
From north: Turn off turnpike at I-91 North Exit (Hartford, Springfield Exit) and continue for a short distance on I-91 to Trumbull Street, Exit 3. Follow I-91 directions below.
From south: Take Exit 47, I-91 North (Hartford, Springfield). Follow I-91 directions below.
From north and south: Take Exit 3 (Trumbull Street). Stay in the middle lane and continue straight through the traffic light onto Trumbull Street. At the second light turn right on Whitney Avenue. The parking lot is on the left one block after the Peabody Museum.


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Table of Contents
The Local
Government Act gives Regional Districts the authority to enact subdivision
servicing and zoning bylaws. Section 87 of the Land
Title Act authorizes the Approving Officer to refuse a subdivision
if it does not conform to these bylaws. A local government may regulate
the provision of works and services in subdivisions by bylaw, including
standards for highways pursuant to Section 506 of the Local
Government Act.


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Help support Grout Elementary by having dinner out at Pizzicato Pizza on October 26th. At the end of the night, Pizzicato will tally their store receipts and send us 20% of their earnings for the day! Pizzicato Pizza 2045 SE Division 503.764.9786Read more
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Life Among Tentacles
Life Among Tentacles
The symbiosis between clownfishes and sea anemones is a fascinating subject of study. The sea anemones are mostly fixed to the substrate and rarely move. Each anemone thus form the territory of its associate fish, which therefore seldom venture far from it, retreating into its tentacles when feeling threatened. Dr. Cuthbert Collingwood first made a written account of the association of sea anemone and anemonefish in 1868 though the phenomenon may be know prior to this.
Sea anemones live throughout the world's oceans and up to 40mts of depth in clear waters where sunlight can reach. Many types of marine creatures live in symbiosis with sea anemones such as anemone fishes, damsel fishes, various trpes of shrimp (Periclimenes brevicarpalis and Thor amboinensis) and Porcelain Anemone Crab.
Fishes, crabs and shrimps keep the body of sea anemone clean of parasites and instead get protection from sea anemone's stinging tentacles.


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$1,500 1 bed 1502 West Jackson Boulevard, Chicago IL, 60607
Previously Listed $1,500 1 bed
1502 West Jackson Boulevard, Near West Side, Chicago, 60607
Commute to Downtown Chicago
1502 West Jackson Boulevard is a seven minute walk from the Blue Line at the Racine stop.
This apartment is in the Near West Side neighborhood in Chicago. Nearby parks include Skinner Park, Giribaldi Park and Union Park.
1502 West Jackson Boulevard has a Walk Score of 92 out of 100. This location is a Walker's Paradise so daily errands do not require a car.
Check out this great 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom apartment available in Medical District, just 3 blocks to the Racine Blue Line. Features include brand new carpeting throughout, modern eat-in kitchen, high ceilings, updated bathroom, and decorative fireplace. Heat is included in the rent and there is laundry in the building for your convenience.
Pets allowed: No
Near West Side, Chicago, 60607
Daily errands do not require a car.
Transit is convenient for most trips.
Flat as a pancake, excellent bike lanes.
About your score
Explore how far you can travel by car, bus, bike and foot from 1502 West Jackson Boulevard.
1502 West Jackson Boulevard has excellent transit which means transit is convenient for most trips. Car sharing is available from Zipcar, RelayRides, I-GO and Getaround.
Rail lines:
Blue Line
0.3 mi
Pink Line
0.5 mi
Green Line
0.5 mi
UP-N Union Pacific North
1.3 mi
UP-W Union Pacific West
1.3 mi
UP-NW Union Pacific Northwest
1.3 mi
Bus lines:
126 Jackson
0.0 mi
X9 Ashland Express
0.1 mi
9 Ashland
0.1 mi
20 Madison
0.2 mi
1502 West Jackson Boulevard compared to all of Chicago.
Lowest crime area.
Lowest crime area.
How do you feel walking near 1502 West Jackson Boulevard?
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1502 West Jackson Boulevard is in the Near West Side neighborhood. Near West Side is the 25th most walkable neighborhood in Chicago with a neighborhood Walk Score of 86.
Moving to Chicago from another city? View our moving to Chicago guide.


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The iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus are completed with new features including the 3D Touch. Users can use 3D Touch to see previews, find useful shortcuts, and more.
Here are things you can do with the 3D Touch according to apple website:
- Get information about a location—directions, a phone number, and more—by pressing a pin in Maps.
- View the contents of a playlist in Music.
- Preview a webpage by pressing a Safari link within Safari or from an email message.
- Preview a specific note's content within a list.
- Preview a video from a thumbnail.
- Make a Live Photo come to life.
- Access your default card, relevant pass, or last transaction by pressing Wallet on the Home screen.
- Get more information about movies, TV shows, and music videos in the Videos app.
- Learn how far you've read in a book in iBooks.
- Call, send a message to, or email a contact by pressing his or her phone number.
- View a location in Maps by pressing an address.
- See a list of recommended games by pressing Games in Game Center.
If you wish to change 3D Touch sensitivity, go to Settings > General > Accessibility > 3D Touch.
The 3D Touch on iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus gives you more ways to interact with your new iPhone. You can press to peek at images and documents. You can also display helpful options when pressing links, addresses, and phone numbers in email messages.
In checking Mail, you can press a message in the mailbox list for a peek at the message contents, then slide up to see a list of actions. You can also press a little deeper to pop the message open.
In checking Photos, you can press to peek at an image. You can then swipe up to share or copy it, or press a little deeper to pop the image to full screen. In order to get a Quick Actions menu, you can press the Camera icon on the Home screen, then choose Take Selfie.
You can also press a name in Messages, then choose to create an email message, make a voice or video call, or send a message.


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Being a meeting planner, you don't always get to choose the dates of your client's meetings. So I am spending my Valentine's Day at a hotel managing a meeting. I was up at 4 am and am expecting to get home @ 8 pm tonight---long day and there are 2 more after this one! But the hotel is taking good care of me----hot breakfast brought to me at 6 am followed by a Starbucks Caramel Mach at 7 am. Meeting Planner perks are fantastic!!
When I kissed Bill and Gracie goodbye this morning, I realized that I wont see my little girl awake until Thursday afternoon when this meeting ends. I think that is the hardest part of working fulltime; the lost time with my family. But I know that in the big picture, this is the right thing for us. Dont really want to get into that today---too depressing for Valentine's Day! :)
Sunday was Valentine's Day for Bill and I. Well, does quickly exchanging gifts during commercials on Grey's Anatomy count? Hope so! :) So tonight we will exchange cards, a kiss, and then we will probably be asleep on the couch in front of the tv by 11! Wow----Valentine's Day sure is exciting in the Barnhart house! No really---I always hated Valentine's Day growing up but now that I have my own family, I love it. Yes its only a day but its a day that you can spend reminding yourself and your family how special love is and that without it, nothing else matters.
So with that thought..........back to work for me! Happy Valentine's Day everyone!


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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Only 40% of all Americans have Wills to clearly state to whom they want to give their assets when they die. Thus, without a Will, the state where they reside at their death dictates how and to whom their estate will be distributed. Often, the government has an entirely different plan than the one they would have designed. However, even if you have a Will, you should periodically review it to be certain that it is up-to-date and clearly states your desires.
Even fewer people have a General/Durable Power of Attorney for financial matters in the event of any temporary or permanent mental and/or physical disability which occurs during their lifetime. Failing to have this type of Power of Attorney may require court involvement with higher ongoing costs for filing annual reports and obtaining court approval.
Finally, a Living Will coupled with a Health Care Power of Attorney states how one wishes to be cared for at the end of his or her life and designates a trusted person to access medical records, talk to one's doctors, and make treatment decisions for him or her.
The entire process of getting a Will prepared and signed is much simpler than people realize. I like to meet for about an hour with you to obtain basic information about your family circumstances and your assets. At the conclusion of our initial conference, I will give you a firm quote for the cost of preparing the Will. Within 3 or 4 business days, I can have the Will ready for you to review and sign. At that time, payment for my services is due.
Currently, the cost of a simple single person Will with no tax planning provisions is about $300. For married couple with trust for children, $600.00. For married couple without a trust, $500.00. More complicated tax-planning Wills with trust provisions are approximately $500 each. If your need for these estate planning documents go beyond those stated above, you are entitled, without obligation, to receive a specific written estimate of the fee likely to be charged before the documents are prepared.
I read that I should have a revocable living trust to avoid the cost of probate when I die. Is this a good idea?
People are often worried about the delays and costs associated with probate after reading horror stories about estate administration in places other than Iowa. The definition of probate is simply the legal process that transfers one's assets upon death to his or her beneficiaries. But each state has a different probate system, and many states have incredibly inefficient systems. Fortunately, Iowa has one of the lowest cost, most efficient probate systems in the United States, probably due to the number of senior citizens who reside here.
No estate can continue for more than three years under Iowa law without special permission from the probate court. In most cases, estates are closed within 9-18 months. I try and guide my clients through the probate process in 7-10 months for two reasons: I have developed a smooth in-office process for moving estates through probate as quickly as Iowa law will allow, and I want to see beneficiaries receive their money promptly.
Further, the costs of probate in Iowa are reasonable in comparison with other states. Under Iowa law, no fiduciary or attorney can request compensation in excess of a statutory cap on fees unless extraordinary circumstances exist. The statutory cap is essentially 2% of the assets includible in the estate. Some assets, such as life insurance payable to beneficiaries other than the decedent's estate, are excluded from the calculation of fees and court costs. And most importantly, no fees can be paid unless approved by the probate court.
However, there are some people who benefit from placing all of their assets into a revocable living trust. Generally, these persons own real estate outside the State of Iowa and have substantial assets (i.e., in excess of $1 million). Since the preparation of the trust documents and transferring all assets into the trust are time-consuming, the cost of doing so far exceeds the cost of a Will, sometimes 5-10 times more expensive. I usually am able to prepare a revocable living trust and transfer one's assets into it for approximately $3000. However, the more assets there are, the higher the expense in pursuing this planning device. In any event, you are entitled, without obligation, to receive a specific written estimate of the fee likely to be charged for all legal services you need and want.
In 2013 and beyond, the Federal estate tax applies if one's assets including life insurance exceed $5.25 million indexed for inflation. With appropriate tax planning, a married couple can shelter twice this amount from the Federal estate tax. So, for most people, this tax is not a concern.
Iowa is one of only a few states that has a state inheritance tax that is imposed on the money one receives as an inheritance from an Iowa decedent. However, spouses, children, grandchildren, parents, stepchildren and other lineal descendants can inherit an unlimited amount without having to pay the Iowa inheritance tax. Instead, only persons who are more removed relationally from the decedent have the tax imposed on their inheritance. This includes siblings, uncles, aunts, nieces, nephews, and in-laws. The highest tax rate which may be assessed currently is 15%. No inheritance tax is imposed on any money left to charity.
With no advance planning, you would need to have someone appointed by the court to be your legal representative to make decisions for you. Personal decisions, such as where you would live and what kind of care you would receive, are left to a guardian who must report annually to the court about your circumstances.
Financial decisions would be handled by a conservator who must report annually to the court on the status of your assets, all receipts and disbursements, and changes in your investments.
There are ongoing fees and expenses associated with guardianships and conservatorships, including annual bond premiums to guarantee that the conservator will properly handle your assets and report to the supervising court. Depending on the overall value of the assets under management, these annual fees and expenses can run into many hundreds of dollars if not more.
To avoid court supervision and the costs involved in a conservatorship, I recommend a Durable General Power of Attorney designating primary and alternate trustworthy persons to handle your assets if and when you would be unable to do so yourself. The cost of such a POA is about $250. If your need for this document goes beyond the usual POA provided, you are entitled, without obligation, to receive a specific written estimate of the fee likely to be charged before the document is prepared.
If you have a marketable home in a good location and within a reasonable price range, you may benefit from using me to handle all of the paperwork. Unlike a real estate agent, I cannot charge a commission based upon the selling price. Instead, I simply charge for my time which generally amounts to less than $1000. Again, you are entitled to receive, without obligation, a specific written estimate of the fee likely to be charged for my representing you in selling your home on your own.
Having sold my own home a few years ago and having represented many FSBO clients, I may be able to save you money as compared with usual property listing services.
More and more people are establishing their own businesses, especially in today's economy. I can help you decide which of the following legal entities would be right for you:
- Sole proprietorship
- General partnership
- Limited partnership
- Corporation
- Limited liability company
Depending on how many people are involved and what your plans are, we can discuss the most cost-effective, appropriate business organization for you.


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The Buffalo Bills were dominant on defense against the Miami Dolphins in Week 3 as they gave up just 14 points.
A big reason why the defense shut down the Dolphins is because of linebacker Preston Brown's play. He made seven tackles and pulled down two interceptions, returning one for a touchdown.
The performance was enough to earn him AFC Defensive Player of the Week honors.
More from FoxSports
Brown is the first Bills linebacker to win the award since Takeo Spikes did it in 2003, and he was the team's first linebacker to record a pick-six since 2011.
Brown now has 25 tackles on the season to go along with two interceptions and two passes defensed.


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Close-up of cradle cap on a baby's scalp
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