text:
California Dreaming
Coastal Campout Along Highway 1
The Outs- Ellen Jo Roberts
The Noise
September 2010
California's Highway 1 is just a road, just a narrow curving ribbon of macadam perched along the western edge of the USA. It's also something legendary, lyrical, mythical, magical: from books, magazines, movies and commercials.
A National Scenic Byway, it's been designated an "All American Road".
We all dream of Highway 1, as part of our collective consciousness.
My husband and I celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary this summer, a milestone worthy of a special road trip celebration. We wanted to be part of the dream, so we planned a Highway 1 adventure. All year we poured over library books, maps, brochures, Google Earth, and the state park websites, plotting our journey, booking our reservations. For Chad, the planning part is sometimes even more exciting than the trip itself. For months he lay awake in bed at night, satellite imagery dancing in his head.
We travelled on the cheap, loaded up with camping gear and a picnic basket full of dry goods. Our only "luxury" was renting a Toyota Prius for its excellent fuel economy (averaging 50+ mpg), lower environmental impact, and modern comforts like satellite radio, climate & cruise control. We do all our longer road trips like this. Renting a car conserves both our vintage Volkswagens and our marriage.
The scenic routes Chad chose were both more direct, and more time consuming. After our first 13 hours on the road, we arrived in San Luis Obispo County, in a seaside town called Avila Beach, where we set up our tent after dark, at an area campground. The next morning we were up early, making our first memories of Highway 1, via San Luis Obispo. "SLO" as the locals call it, is hopelessly adorable, chock full of tidy Mediterranean bungalows and well-groomed yards. It's home to California Polytechnic State University ("Cal Poly"), and the delightfully tacky 1950s "Madonna Inn", with its outsized pink sign, and crazy gingerbread flourishes.
Highway 1 through the central California coast is one of the rare things that lives up to the hype. You fear a collision from gawking at the scenery. It's also achingly slow moving, constantly curving, elevating, and bound to cause moments of nausea in even the sturdiest passenger. It is riddled with delightful pull-offs and scenic overlooks. The ocean on a cloudy day is grey, but when the fog lifts the water changes color to an unbelievable turquoise, with tangled forests of kelp floating offshore like vegetable soup.
Big Sur, from "El País Grande Del Sur" (big country to the south), a moniker given by Carmel's early Spanish settlers, remains fairly remote and sparsely populated. Highway 1 wasn't completed through the area until 1937, and electricity didn't arrive until the 1950s. Vast stretches are unpopulated, and the mountainous terrain to the east is Los Padres National Forest. The area is historically wealthy with inspiration for photographers, artists , beatniks, poets, writers, and other free spirits escaping from large cities to the south and north.
"McWay Falls" is an icon of Big Sur, a t-shirt emblem just like the Bixby Bridge further north. Located near Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park, the waterfall tumbles west of Highway 1 onto a secluded seashore, sheltered in a stone cove. The only creatures on the beach below it were seagulls. It's off limits to humans, though a boardwalk above allows views of the beautiful scene.
A few hours north on Highway 1, with every mile taking twice as long as we'd planned, we headed east to the quicker 101 to make up some speed to our next destination, San Francisco. It was nearly sunset by the time we arrived in the foggy city by the bay. Even the dreary weather couldn't dim its loveliness, all vertical and cascading down hills in vintage perfection.
Cold in July, with everyone was wearing sweaters, coats and hats, I kept thinking of Mark Twain's joke :" The coldest winter I ever spent was the summer I spent in San Francisco." Perhaps it was a culmination of a long day of driving, the maps strewn everywhere in the cramped car, Chad arguing with the GPS lady-- I dunno-- but I burst into tears driving down famously steep Russian Hill. I was so scared!
We've driven on some hair-raising mountain roads before, crawling boulders in the wilderness, but nothing has ever frightened me as much as Lombard Street in San Francisco. I'm no "Bullitt".
There are stoplights at the top of a 45 degree hill. There are points where you cannot see the road above/ below you and you must just have faith there is nothing in your way as the light turns green. And if your car isn't in great shape- if the engine is weak or the brakes are bad-- you'd better just go home.
Our San Francisco night was spent at the Motel Capri, an inexpensive mid-century gem located in the Marina District, close walking distance to many interesting street scenes.
Time in San Francisco was too short: just a night and part of the next morning-- not nearly enough to soak up this vibrant city. Hiking up the steep streets on a Sunday morning with all of my cameras clattering, I was grooving on the big city life, being just a face in the crowd, one of many. No one batted an eyelash at me (unlike in my own tiny town where I am a featured landmark.) San Francisco is a smart, wealthy city, beloved by many who've left their hearts there. The streets are so steep it's a full-on cardio work out all the time. A friend of mine lived there for 7 years and says, "Try walking up and down those hills every day, yeesh! I ended up in Delaware - flat as a pancake. To paraphrase Tony Bennett 'I Left My Girlish Figure in San Francisco.'"
From San Francisco we crossed the Golden Gate Bridge north to Marin County, to have lunch with a dear favorite friend, an Arizona ex-patriot. She and her surfer beau live in a cozy 1910 built "love shack" near the sea in tiny Stinson Beach, and invited us to stay.
We cancelled our camping reservations at Manresa Beach State Park near Santa Cruz in favor of setting up tent in their garden amidst their surfboards, nestled between the fog-shrouded Mt. Tamalpais, "Birthplace of Mountain Biking", and the cold grey waves of the Pacific.
Marin County is notoriously suspicious of outsiders. Nearby Bolinas is famous for removing their city sign, to discourage tourists. Hanging with the locals we were instantly accepted as locals by proxy. Romping and running wild with our dogs on the beach was a thing of pure joy. Our friends cooked us a wonderful dinner, we drank wine, laughed, and told stories well after dark. It was a highlight of our trip and finally felt like the vacation had begun.
Highway 1 north of San Francisco is fragrant with eucalyptus. The giant groves of quick growing Australian trees are not native, and have their detractors for this reason. Despite this, the willowy giants have somehow become synonymous with California. The gold rush and railroads brought the species here in the 1850s, when the state government authorized and encouraged their quick growing establishment. The astringent smell of the eucalyptus fills our noses.
Suddenly we are in love with this part of California. My mind wanders back to the beautiful eucalyptus tree we already have, in our own Arizona front yard.
Our next campsite was back down the coast at San Simeon State Park, followed by a night at Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park. We'd reserved all of our campsites months earlier, most of them at state parks for about $40 per night.
Pfeiffer Big Sur, a popular park since 1933, is a bit magical, nestled into the redwoods, and delineated by the clear grey green Big Sur River. There were swarms of ladybugs everywhere when we arrived. I wouldn't have been surprised at all to see a unicorn.
Side note: They sell beer (!) at California State Parks. (Hey Arizona State Parks, ya' listening?) After setting up tent it's customary to take a dip in the Big Sur River. Hot, sunny, drinking beer in the river—just like home.
Chad led us on a sunset expedition to nearby Pfeiffer Beach. Amazing, framed by giant sea bound monoliths, and smooth purple sand, Pfeiffer Beach was blustery cold, full of photographers, picnickers sipping red wine, unruly dogs, and loud crashing waves.
Our final night on the Big Sur Coast was spent at Kirk Creek, a federal campground. There are world-class resorts all up and down Big Sur, each charging hundreds of dollars a night. None would compare to this $22.00 campsite. When we arrived, our jaws dropped. Site #11 at Kirk Creek was the best campsite we've ever had in our lives: big, beautiful, carpeted by soft grass, high on a bluff overlooking the sunny Pacific, surrounded by sweet scented wild fennel, sage, and yarrow. A steep trail leads down to the rocky shore below.
Unpacking, setting up, breaking down, and repacking camp every day was hard work. The Prius was so small we basically had to unload the entire car, and reload the entire car every day. Thank God for Chad's engineering-style mind. The camping life is hard work, toting water, lifting gear, washing dishes outdoors, washing our hair in sinks—everything takes more time and energy.
And somehow, the food tastes better. The sleep in the tent is more restful.
The hard work makes everything more valuable somehow.
Without showers for days, we were kinda' grungey, with our rock star hair and dirty feet like a couple of goddamn hippies. It didn't bother me at all, until we took the dogs for a stroll through a field of tall dried thistle, just north of nearby Sand Dollar Beach. Headed to a special seashore Chad selected, I looked down at the dogs and noticed little dark dots all over them. Yanking my chihuahua up by his harness, my fears were confirmed. Ticks! The dogs are covered with ticks!! Panic sets in and a shriek wells in my throat. I start brushing them off of him frantically, brushing them off my bare legs, and looking for the nearest exit. Sitting on a barren bluff, high above the rocky beach, socked in with raging high tide, I managed to clear all the ticks off of Floyd, because they are easy to spot in his pale fur. Ivan, the Boston Terrier was not as lucky. We manage to find most of them in his dark brindley fur, but miss the final two until the next day.
That night I feel itchy all over, and wish for a shower.
Away from the sea and back to the desert, we spent a night at a 1950s built motel in Palm Springs. San Francisco in July is cold enough for polar fleece. Palm Springs in July is like a blast furnace. It was still over 100 degrees when we rolled into town at 9pm, and already back up to 109 by 9am the next day.
Travel tip: Palm Springs motel rooms are cheap in July.
"Salvation Mountain", about 75 miles from the Coachella Valley in a remote sun-baked location near Niland, has been on my list of places to see for years. Our last day on the road, we head a lil' bit out of our way down to see this amazing bit of folk art. The Colorado Desert sits below sea level, and is sparsely occupied during the summer. Bombay Beach along the Salton Sea is a 1960s resort town gone wrong, a post-apocalyptic paradise full of bombed out trailers and land locked boats.
Further south is "the last free place", Slab City, a transient community setting up camp on concrete slabs left behind from a World War 2 military installation.
We arrive at Salvation Mountain, a massive bit of crazily colorful religious folk art created by Leonard Knight. Mr. Knight, 78, has spent decades carving and coating the side of a dirt hill with adobe, straw, thousands of gallons of donated paint, and various versions of "God is Love", scripture, and testimony to Jesus.
Everything is fancifully painted: cars, trucks, bikes, boats. 113 degrees at high noon. I thought my Chuck Taylors might melt. Salvation Mountain was worth the many out-of-the-way miles. It is a true thing of beauty, and as important to American iconography as Highway 1.
Driving through the heat of day, we arrive back in our neighborhood by dusk.
The Verde Valley always looks really good after a long road trip, after driving through many random small towns of assorted quality.
"You know something, this place we live in is pretty damn good. It looks pretty great here." Back at home we feel exhilarated, relaxed, as we pour over Polaroids, tip back cold California beers, and sit close to the eucalyptus tree.
Ellen Jo Roberts lives in a historic brick bungalow in Clarkdale Arizona, with Bike Daddy Chad, 2 small dogs, a cat, and a collection of vintage Volkswagens, none of which have cruise control, air conditioning or satellite radio.
Read all about it at ellenjo.com


text:
This is the second short blogpost looking at recent trends in what's happening with learning disability inpatient services in England to accompany the #7daysofaction campaign. This one looks at levels of ward security for people with learning disabilities in inpatient services in England from 2007 to 2015, using inpatient census information (see here http://www.hscic.gov.uk/searchcatalogue?productid=19718&q=learning+disability+census+2013&sort=Most+recent&size=100&page=1#top , here http://www.hscic.gov.uk/searchcatalogue?productid=20487&q=learning+disability+census+2013&sort=Most+recent&size=100&page=1#top and here https://www.improvinghealthandlives.org.uk/publications/1161/A&T_and_other_specialist_inpatient_care_for_people_with_LD_in_the_Count-Me-In_census ).
There is currently a lot of debate about different types of specialist inpatient service (particularly attempts to define Assessment and Treatment Units as fundamentally different to secure, forensic inpatient services), so I thought it would be useful to get an idea of trends in the number of people in these types of service over time. However, from 2007 to 2015 the categories of some types of inpatient service reported in censuses have changed substantially, and certainly from 2007 to 2010 underwent a time of definitional instability (with the number of people in services defined as ATUs going up and down so rapidly that this had to be a feature of how the same service defined itself over time rather than anything else - revealing in itself). So, as a relatively consistent measure of how services define themselves in terms of the 'risk' of the people they house, level of security (general, low, medium, high) seemed to be a better bet.
The graph below shows the number of people in learning disability inpatient services at general, low, medium and high levels of security, according to censuses conducted (with some gaps) from 2007 to 2015. As the previous blogpost reported (see http://chrishatton.blogspot.co.uk/2016/04/state-of-independents.html ), the overall number of people in learning disability inpatient services dropped substantially from 2006 to 2010, reflecting the tail end of 'regular' deinstitutionalisation, with slower change from 2013 to 2015.
If history is any guide, in a general process of institutional closure you would expect to see the biggest reductions in units at lower levels of security, and from 2007 to 2010 this is the pattern. The number of people in units at 'general' security levels dropped by 20%, with a further big drop in numbers to the 2013 census (although little change from 2013 to 2015). Amongst the specialist inpatient services that are left in England (where there are not supposed to be any generic long-stay hospital units any more) these presumably more or less map on to Assessment and Treatment Units.
The patterns are different at increasing levels of ward security, where you might expect general institutional closure programmes, in the absence of a specific focus on these types of unit, to have less of an impact. And from 2007 to 2010, this is again what we see; the numbers of people with learning disabilities in low secure, medium secure, and high secure inpatient services all stayed pretty static. Of course, in 2011 along came the Panorama programme on Winterbourne View, and the government and policy response specifically aiming to reduce the number of people in these types of inpatient settings. What happened next?
For people in low secure inpatient services, the number of people in low secure services in 2013 was roughly similar to the number of people in these services in 2010, with big reductions (a drop of 32% in 2 years) in the number of people in low secure services from 2013 to 2015.
However, the (smaller) number of people in medium secure services increased from 2010 to 2013, by 28%, and has stayed broadly consistent from 2013 to 2015. On a smaller scale yet, the pattern is the same for people in high secure services; an increase from 47 people in 2010 to 73 people in 2013, staying at a consistent level to 2015.
The increase in the number of people with learning disabilities in medium secure and high secure inpatient services between 2010 and 2013 is hard to understand, especially at a time when national policy was pushing in the opposite direction (and overall numbers of people in inpatient services were dropping). Did more people with learning disabilities really become highly dangerous between 2010 and 2013? Did something change in the criminal justice system, so that more people who would have ended up in prison before were diverted into medium and high secure inpatient services instead?Or are inpatient services adapting to new market conditions and creating more 'specialist' service niches that are more resistant to closure?

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Sunday, 20 May 2012
D/S Marstenen
Lowry refers 9 times to a ship called Martensen in his novel Ultramarine. The ship is Norwegian out of Oslo. The only ship with a name that is near to the Martensen on the Norwegian records is the D/S Marstenen. Given Lowry's prolific mis-spelling of names then the ship he refers to in the novel is more than likely the Marstenen.
Built in Fredrikstad, Norway in 1915. Tonnage: 1832 gt, 1114 net, 3050 tdwt. 8/1915: A/S D/S Marstenen (Vilh.Torkildsen) Bergen; 2/1938: Skibs A/S Vilhelm Torkildsens Rederi(Vilh.Torkildsen) Bergen Launched as Viv. Manager: Vilhelm Torkildsen, Bergen. Sank 1940 - See her fate on War Sailors.
"The last ship on the wharf was the Martensen, from Oslo. But the Martensen was as silent as a graveyard on a dead planet. (Pg. 84); "There's a Norwegian ship in dock, Norman," I said. "Let's go there. What ship?" "T.S. Martensen" (Pgs. 97-98); "On - on to the Martensen" (Pg.100); "the S.S. Leeway from Swansea had docked forward of the Martensen." (Pg. 101); "Come on, let's all go to the Martensen." But the Martensen still seemed deserted." (Pg. 102); The Martensen was following close to stern." (Pg. 155); The Martensen changed he course eastward, their firemen were now dumping ashes overside." (Pg. 155).
Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)


text:
Fun with Polka Dots: 10 Round & Rainbow Items to DIY or Buy
Bouncy balls, pom-poms, and garlands — what could be more fun? These round, rainbow-hued, and spirited items make it possible for everyone — adults included — to get in on the joy.
To DIY:
1. DIY Rope and Pom Pom Rug, on Curbly
2. Bouncy Ball Floor, on Hello Sandwich: If the hassle of implementing this idea for a floor seems too great, it's easy to adapt for table tops and trays.
3. Scandinavian Hanging Shelf, on Tête d'ange
4. Bouncy Ball Vase, on Cheerful Events
5. Felt Ball Garland, on Oh Happy Day
To Buy:
1. Colorku, on Amazon, $31.49
2. Midcentury Modern Rainbow Abacus, from Vintage Tie Girl on Etsy, $140
3. Wool Felted Hot Pad Set, on Amazon, $34.99
4. Orbit Clothes Rack, from Land of Nod, $49.95
5. Cotton Ball String Lights, from zecotton on Etsy, $11.50 for 20


text:
This information is provided for your convenience and may no longer be valid.
Know more about this business than we do? Cool! Please submit any corrections or missing details you may have.Help us make it right
Southmart Chevron located at 415 2nd Ave NW in Cullman, AL services vehicles for Gas Stations, Convenience Stores. Call (256) 737-6035 to book an appointment or to hear more about the services of Southmart Chevron.
Be the first AL.com user to add photos or videos of Southmart Chevron
Southmart Chevron can be found at 2nd Ave Nw 415. The following is offered: Convenience Stores. The entry is present with us since Sep 8, 2010 and was last updated on Nov 12, 2013. In Cullman there are 32 other Convenience Stores. An overview can be found here.


text:
I already wrote about the saga over at Fousesquawk over a year and a half ago. To briefly sum it up: "conservative" blogger Gary Fouse banned me from commenting on his website due to me being a mean ol' meanie-head who said bad things about him. (In other words, I called him out on his lies and the fact that he can't even define what Global Warming is, even though he's certain that it's not happening.) I will admit that I still check out his site from time to time, but if I'm honest, I rarely read what he's actually writing. I only click on the links that have comments, as I hope that Siarlys Jenkins, a frequent critic of Fouse) has something amusing to say. I've even commented a few times using a pseudonym, but that's pretty rare. I realized that there's no point in trying to reason with those who don't understand what reason is in the first place, so there's no point in getting in protracted debates with somebody who's as thick as Fouse.
Turns out that Gary is on to me! Or, at least, he thinks that he is. He recently wrote a post called "Hi Lance!" where he offered the details of somebody who's been visiting his site. Apparently somebody in Lafayette, California has visited his page, and this person works for the Contra Costa County Office of Education. Man, he's really got me! Only I work for the Mt. Diablo Unified School District, and my job site is in Pleasant Hill. And I'm usually not using the computer there at 3:51 on a Friday. And I don't use a Mac.
So yeah, that wasn't me. Do I sometimes check the site while I'm at work? Sure, but only in my down-time. I don't exactly stop a lecture to read Gary's latest posting of George Galloway in a skintight outfit.
Of course, there's his goon squad of Miggie the Misanthrope (stole that term from Siarlys) and Squid, who feel safe in making fun of me, like a Chihuahua who barks at a Rottweiler who's chained to a tree. Apparently, I'm a "Global Warming Nut" which everyone knows, because I write about it so often. I probably must have written about it at least two or three times in the past few years! I'm a NUT! (Apparently, asking people to simply define something before they deny it is a "nutty" thing to do!)
So Gary posts about me, and yet I cannot write a comment because he refuses to approve any of my responses. The really funny thing is that he's scanning through his blog visitors with such meticulous detail. I sometimes check to see where my visitors are coming from, but apparently he likes to know every little detail. And I don't exactly get why it's a big deal that I visit his site. Did he somehow think that by banning my comments, he was banning me from reading the site?
I can only conclude one thing from all of this. Gary is in love with me, and he misses me. Of course, being a married man and a "conservative", he can never admit his undying affection for me. Obviously he must have deep feelings for me, as it's pretty clear that I'm on his mind. When I emailed him about this, he acted like a
I don't exist, yet he needs to call me out on his blog for...ummm...reading his blog.
It's okay, Gary. I cannot return your affections, but I will not judge you for your loving me. The best part is that you can feel free to comment on my blog as much as you want. I promise not to delete them, as now I feel much more pity for you than annoyance. I know that you are still hurt about my "Lies and Ignorance at Fousesquawk" because calling people out on their ridiculousness is something you NEVER do. I still stand by what I say, and I invite you to defend yourself any time you wish. Show me I'm wrong, and I'll write "Gary Fouse proves me wrong!"


text:
Store Manager - Hereford - 37.5 Hours
- Recruiter
- Ryman
- Location
HerefordCounty of Herefordshire
- Salary
- Competitive
- Posted
- 10 Oct 2017
- Closes
- 30 Oct 2017
- Sector
- Hair & Beauty
- Job Type
- Manager
- Contract Type
- Permanent
You have taken the first step to becoming a part of one of the most exciting and innovative brands in the high street and online. Ryman trade from more than 200 stores nationwide and a very comprehensive on-line store.
We never underestimate how essential our colleagues are to keeping our business moving and growing. We are looking for people who are passionate about our products. You are what makes Ryman, and in return we do everything we can to make it a great place to work.
The Job: Store Manager
Location: Hereford
Salary: Competitive Salary and Benefits
Contract Type: Full-Time
Contract Hours & Shift Pattern: 37.5 Hours
We are "Passionate about Retail" so we want people who are passionate about what they do, are resilient, flexible, good team players and good with detail. We're also looking for a good mix of bright ideas and common sense and a strong work ethic.
- Ensure the branch optimises all sales opportunities
- Create an environment of mutual trust and respect
- Accept responsibility for the overall security of the branch
- Efficiently implement all Ryman systems, procedures, policies and regulations
- Ensure the introduction of new promotions and product is communicated to all colleagues and customers
- Maintain a good example through excellent time keeping, attendance and personal appearance standards
- Take responsibility of recruitment and selection of new colleagues
- Be approachable to colleagues at all times
- Ability to serve customers enthusiastically and thereby demonstrating excellent sales techniques and customer relations
- Demonstrate the highest levels of customer service and train and coach colleagues to deliver the same
- Ability to deal with customer queries and complaints
- Leadership - Guide individuals towards task accomplishment
- Great planning and organising skills
- Strong background within Retail Management
- Knowledge on KPI's
- Passion and Enthusiasm for the Ryman brand with the ability to become an advocate, inspiring others within the team to deliver the same
- Exposure to a fast paced multi-tasking environment
- Ability to communicate effectively with the branch management team
- Ability to motivate the team, utilising their different qualities to enhance their overall effectiveness.
- Strong Communication and team working skills
Please note this job description is not exhaustive and you may be required to carry out other duties as and when required. Due to the high volume of applications we receive for each position, only successful candidates will be contacted.


text:
Jim decided to share the story of how his daughter was groomed and abducted by paedophiles, in order to help other children and parents.
"Her mother and I divorced when Lucy was five. Her mother has some serious health issues, so Lucy has lived with me, almost exclusively, for 6 years. We are very close and there is a lot of love, laughter and music in our home. She's my little Princess.
We live in a small, rural town. It's quiet and nothing much happens. I thought it was a safe place to raise my little girl.
I work around forty hours a week, but I don't want to say what I do or where I work.
I was aware of paedophiles and grooming, obviously, but I never thought it would happen to my little girl.
I thought she was safe here, with me.
I was wrong.
Looking back, I…
View original post 5,165 more words


text:
Studying the genetic basis of traits involved in ecological interactions is a fundamental part of elucidating the connections between evolutionary and ecological processes. Such knowledge allows one to link genetic models of trait evolution with ecological models describing interactions within and between species. Previous work has shown that connections between genetic and ecological processes in Arabidopsis thaliana may be mediated by the fact that quantitative trait loci (QTL) with 'direct' effects on traits of individuals also have pleiotropic 'indirect' effects on traits expressed in neighbouring plants. Here, we further explore these connections by examining functional relationships between traits affected directly and indirectly by the same QTL. We develop a novel approach using structural equation models (SEMs) to determine whether observed pleiotropic effects result from traits directly affected by the QTL in focal individuals causing the changes in the neighbours' phenotypes. This hypothesis was assessed using SEMs to test whether focal plant phenotypes appear to mediate the connection between the focal plants' genotypes and the phenotypes of their neighbours, or alternatively, whether the connection between the focal plants' genotypes and the neighbours' phenotypes is mediated by unmeasured traits. We implement this analysis using a QTL of major effect that maps to the well-characterized flowering locus, FRIGIDA. The SEMs support the hypothesis that the pleiotropic indirect effects of this locus arise from size and developmental timing-related traits in focal plants affecting the expression of developmental traits in their neighbours. Our findings provide empirical insights into the genetics and nature of intraspecific ecological interactions. Our technique holds promise in directing future work into the genetic basis and functional relationship of traits mediating and responding to ecological interactions.
1. Introduction
One of the keys to bridging the connections between evolutionary and ecological processes is understanding the genetic basis of ecological interactions. This kind of knowledge allows one to link the micro- and macro-evolutionary genetic models at the heart of evolutionary biology with models of ecological interactions both within and among species. In this unified framework, patterns of genetic variation and covariation determine the evolutionary dynamics and reflect the nature of past selective pressures on traits involved in ecological interactions, while ecological interactions, in turn, govern evolutionary dynamics by determining the form and strength of selection acting on these traits. These ecology–evolution links underlie some of the most interesting questions in both fields, including those related to the evolution of competition (e.g. [1,2]) and the development of traits involved in processes such as niche construction [3]. Many related ecological interactions, such as competition and facilitation, have been shown to have a genetic basis [4–8] as have other broader processes at the community level such as community composition [9,10]. Further steps toward understanding connections between evolutionary and ecological processes can elucidate how evolution affects individuals interacting both within and between species. Ultimately, such information can improve our understanding of both natural and agricultural systems (e.g. [11]), yet there is surprisingly little known about the specific genetic basis underlying ecological interactions among individuals in a population.
In many species, the most important sources of ecological interactions are 'social' interactions between conspecifics (e.g. intraspecific competition; [12–14]). In these cases, the environment provided by conspecifics can have profound effects on the phenotype or fitness of individuals. These 'social environments' can arise from either direct behavioural interactions between individuals (e.g. [15]), non-behavioural traits expressed in conspecifics (e.g. [16,17]) or owing to degradation or alteration of the abiotic environment caused by neighbours that has an impact on other conspecifics [18–20]. Ultimately, through the social environment, a neighbour's traits may affect the expression of traits in a focal individual. In this way, social interactions can result in 'social effects' (also known as 'associate effects'; [21]), where traits expressed in one individual affect traits expressed in other individuals (see [22]). These social effects provide the opportunity for 'indirect genetic effects' (IGEs) when genes in one individual affect the expression of traits in other individuals, and indirect environmental effects when environmental effects on trait expression in one individual result in changes in the expression of traits in other individuals [23]. Theory suggests that the IGEs arising from social interactions can potentially have large effects on the dynamics of trait evolution [23,24], and empirical studies have implicated IGEs in a number of intraspecific [5,10] and interspecific (see [22]) evolutionary and ecological processes. However, despite the fact that studies have begun to investigate the evolutionary and ecological genetics of IGEs, scant empirical evidence exists for the functional basis of how genetic variation in one individual maps to traits expressed in other individuals.
The theoretical framework underlying IGEs is based on 'interacting phenotypes models' ([23]; illustrated in figure 1a) and allows for the partitioning of genetic (g) and environmental (e) effects when trait expression is affected by interactions between individuals. In these models, the phenotype of one or more focal individuals (phenotype D in figure 1a) affects the expression of traits in an interacting partner or neighbour individual (phenotype I in figure 1a). As a result of these social effects on trait expression, genetic factors in one individual affect the phenotype of another individual or individuals, with this effect being mediated through the first individual's phenotype. Therefore, the interacting phenotypes model provides a formal structure for understanding these effects because it allows genotypes of one individual to be linked to phenotypes of other individuals via these interactions. In turn, this allows a better understanding of the functional origin of the IGEs and their possible effect on evolutionary dynamics. Although we focus on intraspecific interactions herein, this approach can be equally useful in interspecific interactions, where genes expressed in individuals of one species map to the phenotypes of individuals of other species via phenotypically mediated interactions (see [10]). Therefore, the framework we discuss here can be easily extended to consider the diversity of ecological interactions that occur within and between species.
In previous work [8], we used a quantitative trait locus (QTL)-based approach in an experimental population of A. thaliana to identify the genetic basis of IGEs resulting from ecological interactions between neighbouring plants. We found not only a number of QTL underlying IGEs, but also that many suites of traits in the focal plants were pleiotropically linked with traits expressed by their neighbour plants (i.e. both were affected by the same QTL). However, it was not possible to establish whether the pattern of pleiotropy that we found was owing to (or closely tied to) the measured traits in focal individuals affecting the traits expressed in the neighbours (figure 1a), or, in contrast, whether the pleiotropy was caused by some unmeasured traits (illustrated in figure 1b). The interacting phenotypes framework implies that IGEs must ultimately be caused by traits in focal individuals that affect the expression of traits in their neighbours [25], and so the appearance of functional pleiotropic links between traits expressed in interacting individuals would be expected if the correct traits (i.e. the traits involved in the interaction) have been measured. However, traits may show pleiotropy if the traits expressed in interacting individuals are affected by the same locus but the two have no direct causal link, perhaps owing to a shared pleiotropic connection to some other unmeasured trait (see trait V in figure 1b).
To address the question of how genetic variation in the traits of one individual maps to trait variation in other individuals through functional relationships, we apply the theoretical framework of interacting phenotypes to a statistical analysis of social effects in the A. thaliana system, where IGEs have been previously documented [8]. We use path analysis to test for these functional relationships, because it can be used to describe and test hypotheses about directional relationships between variables. Path analysis has been used successfully to examine ecological [26,27] and evolutionary [28,29] relationships and fits well with the interacting phenotypes framework, which is built conceptually on path models [23]. However, in complex systems, with many traits spanning multiple individuals, there are so many possible relationships between traits expressed in interacting individuals that it is useful to look for relationships within individuals before examining any causal relationships between them owing to interactions. Factor analysis provides a system to summarize interactions by describing how sets of measured traits (e.g. leaf number, leaf size, plant height) form a single functional trait (e.g. 'light gathering' [30]). When used in conjunction, path and factor analysis are termed structural equation models (SEMs) and are extremely powerful in these complex situations. In our system, they allow for the testing of directional relationships between focal and neighbour populations as well as allowing for the association of many traits into a single composite trait (see figure 2 for various alternative model structures). Thus, using SEMs we can better understand how genotype makes phenotype within the individual, in terms of the relationship between traits, how traits within individuals together represent some 'hidden' traits, like resource pool or life-history strategy, and how features of one individual (genes, traits, hidden or measured) impact neighbours. While SEMs have been successfully implemented in ecological analyses such as studies of natural selection [29] and in QTL mapping [31,32], they have rarely been used to examine the nature of relationships between phenotypes (e.g. [33]), and have not previously been used to understand the genetics of ecological interactions.
Here, we use the SEM method to explicitly examine the functional basis to the pleiotropic relationship between the direct and indirect effects of QTL identified by Mutic & Wolf [8]. In doing so, we ask whether the variation in measured and composite traits of our focal plants appears to be the cause of variation in the expression of traits by neighbour plant traits, thereby linking the direct effects of the QTL on focal plant traits to their indirect effects on neighbour plant traits. We view our analysis as an illustration of a more general framework, and it is our hope that this general framework may be used more broadly to understand how IGEs link evolutionary and ecological processes.
2. Material and methods
(a) Experimental design
Details of the original experimental design are given in [8]. Briefly, our focal population is the set of 411 recombinant inbred lines (RILs) produced by crossing the natural accessions of Arabidopsis thaliana Bay-0 and Shahdara [34]. Each RIL was grown in a 2.5 cm pot with a standard neighbour genotype, the accession Ler-0. These pots were placed in the 'ArabiPatch' system (Lehle Seeds, Round Rock, TX, USA), which holds a set of eight pots, each fitted with a 30.5 cm tall tube to create a self-contained space for the pair of plants to grow and interact. We measured several traits at 42 days from planting in order to gather information related to plant development, size and fecundity. These traits included bolting time (BOLT), height (HT), flower number (FLWR), bud number (BUD), silique number (SILIQ), leaf number (LEAF), number of branches in the whole inflorescence (BRANCH) and dry weight (WT). Traits measured in the Ler partner plants are labelled with a 'p' prefix to denote 'partner' traits, while traits measured in the focal plants do not have a prefix. Table 1 provides a list of traits with their abbreviations for reference.
(b) Quantitative trait loci mapping
In order to pursue a functional analysis of interactions involving the population presented in Mutic & Wolf [8], we started by re-doing the analysis of direct and indirect effects of QTL. Although it might make logical sense simply to use the results from Mutic and Wolf as the foundation for the present analysis, the analysis was redone for several reasons. Firstly, it was decided that the analysis would perform better if traits were transformed to normality or near normality (see below), as most traits showed some skew that could alter the performance of the models (SEMs can be very sensitive to deviations from multivariate normality). Secondly, the set of 'late' traits from our previous work was not included in this analysis because the sample size was smaller, and SEM analyses (described below) are highly sensitive to sample size.
The re-analysis followed the same approach as described in Mutic and Wolf, which used a regression model to locate QTL (implemented in the CANCORR procedure in SAS; SAS Institute, Cary, NC, USA) (see [35,36]). Genotypes were assigned the index values of +1 and −1 for the Bay-0 and Shahdara homozygotes at a locus, respectively, Therefore positive allelic effects can be interpreted as the effect of replacing the Shahdara allele with the Bay-0 allele [34]. Because of deviations from normality, we natural log-transformed BOLT and square root-transformed WT, BUD, FLWR, SILIQ and BRANCH for both the focal and partner traits. Because the analyses presented here are focused on the SEM analysis of QTL effects, we include only the relevant results of the QTL analysis as a component of the methods. The analysis of the transformed variables showed essentially the same results as the analyses presented in Mutic & Wolf [8], but with most logarithmic probability ratio (LPR) scores being larger than in the original analysis (i.e. QTL effects are stronger in the new analysis based on transformed traits). The LPR scores are the negative logarithm (base 10) of the probability values for the tests of QTL effects. They are comparable with logarithm of odds (LOD) scores typically seen in QTL analyses. For example, an LPR value of 5 corresponds to a probability of 10−5.
(c) Focal locus choice
Many of the QTL identified by Mutic and Wolf explain a very small proportion of the phenotypic variance in the focal population (e.g. 2–4%), and, because the indirect effects of the loci were always weaker than the direct effects, they explained proportionally less variation in the partner plants (generally 1–2%). Therefore, our goal was to avoid pursuing a functional analysis at loci that explained a very small proportion of phenotypic variance and focus our attentions on loci with strong clear patterns of effect. To obtain enough power to use SEMs to pursue functional relationships between traits in the focal and neighbour plants and their association with QTL, it is important to use loci that show relatively strong direct and indirect effects. Thus, to allow strong inferences to be made from the analysis, rather than just parsing subtle alternatives, we choose to perform the functional analysis on a single locus of large effect: QTL 4.02 (located at ca. 2cM on chromosome 4; see [8]; table 1). QTL 4.02, located at the start of chromosome 4, was chosen because it shows a major effect on several traits, and shows much stronger indirect effects than any other QTL (see §3).
(d) Model building and rationale
To determine whether the observed pattern of pleiotropy found for QTL 4.02 was attributable to measured traits in focal individuals affecting the traits expressed in the neighbours (what would be called 'identified pleiotropy', figure 1a), or whether it was caused by some unmeasured traits ('unindentified pleiotropy', figure 1b), we used SEMs to examine the influences of focal plant phenotypes on neighbouring plants. Conducting a blind search for all possible interacting traits in focal and partner plants is not feasible given the very large number of trait pairs and would probably yield many false-positive interactions. We developed a method similar to Li et al. [33] to avoid blindly searching for interactions between traits. First, we performed path analyses to examine relationships between the QTL and the sets of traits it pleioptropically affected. We then used those traits and the QTL to form more functional models that described the relationships between phenotypes, and interactions that had a genetic basis. We used the AMOS program (SPSS, Chicago, IL, USA) to perform all of our analyses.
We stress that the building of SEMs is a process of hypothesis development and testing. Because model structures can be complex and there can be a near-infinite number of alternative model structures, model building is inherently exploratory in nature, with no single established optimal approach. Our goal is to determine the model that best describes the pattern of the genotype–phenotype relationship and how interactions between individuals mediate that relationship. This is towards the broader goal of testing the hypothesis that the traits we measured are involved in the interaction between neighbouring plants.
Our approach to building an SEM can be divided into five steps:
1. Conduct a series of path analyses between focal and neighbour traits. This first step of our SEM building is a biologically meaningful way to screen the interactions for the final model. We conducted path analyses in which paths were made pair-wise to link all traits in the focal plant to all traits in the neighbour plant. We evaluated the significance of each path in the analysis and eliminated any that were not significant. To avoid spurious effects that could arise from environmental covariances between neighbours, we used partial regressions to examine the effect of both the marker and the focal plant trait on neighbours together. Note, however, that although environmental covariances can lead to associations between the phenotypes of neighbours, they are not expected to lead to associations in the next steps between QTL in the focal plants and the expression of traits in their neighbours (i.e. they should not affect this 'causal' path). Furthermore, the environmental covariances between neighbours are diminished in our study because we replicated the pairs and have used means of the replicates in our analyses (environmental covariances should lead to associations between the phenotypes of plants grown together, but not so much between the average phenotype of one group and the average phenotype of that group's partners). This test also provides the criteria to determine whether the inclusion of focal plant traits in the model affected the significance of the QTL-to-neighbour trait mapping. If the relative strength of the associations between QTL and neighbour traits was stronger than the focal trait–neighbour traits, the interaction was not included in further analyses because it indicated that any interactions were probably caused by traits that we did not measure.
Importantly, we also included covariances between error terms, which can help account for the environmental covariance that impacts the associations between traits. Accounting for correlated error terms can thus improve model construction by more accurately describing the relationships between traits [37], and including these covariances can increase power by explaining more error variance among traits.
2. Create more manageable, reduced models by eliminating insignificant interactions involved with the neighbour plant traits. We reduced our model further by removing non-significant covariances added in step 1. This is not a simple process of removing all non-significant terms from the model because each change to the path models has the potential to affect all other parameters, so this was an iterative step. Steps 1 and 2 were combined in AMOS by examining 'modification indices' that indicate paths that will improve or detract from model fit, but are detailed separately here for clarity.
3. Use the path analysis model as a starting point for making an SEM. Our use of SEM, as opposed to using purely path analysis, was motivated by an effort to incorporate latent factors that more accurately described the genetic and phenotypic effects underlying traits. This is because it is quite likely that the traits that we measured are representative of some underlying characteristics of plants, such as the plant's resource budget or life-history strategy. Since our goal was to examine the hypothesis that genetically based focal plant phenotypes affect neighbour plant phenotypes, this step was aimed at helping to identify the best measure of the relevant traits, which might be best represented as latent factors. We used confirmatory factor analysis to form logical groups of traits. Confirmatory factor analysis is an approach to forming factors based on some a priori hypothesis or theory, which is generally motivated by our understanding of the biology of the system. Confirmatory analysis is essentially a way of testing hypotheses about the structure of factors. For example, we grouped size traits (height, weight) and reproductive traits (bud, flower and siliques) together into individual phenotypes because they have an intuitive biological meaning. However, we then used exploratory factor analysis to refine our model and test for more appropriate trait groupings based on factor loadings. Exploratory factor analysis is aimed at identifying factors without the use of a priori hypotheses, so factors are free to form based on the correlation structure of the data (see [38] for more details on confirmatory versus exploratory factor analysis).
4. Overall model fit was evaluated and then re-specified. This step established the significance of the interacting phenotypes themselves as functionally important, and provides a check that the model revealed additional information beyond the QTL mapping procedure. First, iterative model reduction was performed for both the focal and neighbour traits to include only relevant variables (traits) in the latent factors. Second, the path between the QTL and the neighbour trait (as in figure 2a) or neighbour latent factor (as in figure 2b,c) was removed if those paths were individually insignificant. This step tested whether the QTL showed some residual link to the neighbour trait beyond the proportion explained through the traits that appear to mediate the interaction (i.e. beyond the identified pleiotropy component, leaving some residual unidentified pleiotropic effect).
Determining overall model fit was performed by comparing model fits using likelihood ratio (LR) tests for nested models, and the Consistent Akaike's Information Criterion Index (CAIC; [39]) for non-nested model comparisons, because it accounts for over-parametrization of models.
5. Determining model utility and strength of phenotypic interactions. Regression weights and squared multiple correlations were used as sample statistics to examine specific portions of the model for fit. The correlations also described the amount of variance explained for specific variables by a particular model. Traditional t-statistics were used to assign significance to regression weights. We verified any of these significances using the 95% confidence intervals from a bootstrap of the regression weight.
We developed two types of models using this process: 'unidentified pleiotropy models,' which are SEMs that included QTL effects on indirect phenotypes independent of mediating direct traits (they are presumably owing to some unidentified traits); and 'identified pleiotropy models', where the indirect effects of QTL were mediated by direct traits such that the link from focal plant genotype to neighbour phenotype is mediated by the measured focal traits. We examined the relative strength of the identified versus unidentified pleiotropy models. This comparison provides a test of the null hypothesis that any pleiotropy is caused by some hidden (unmeasured) traits.
3. Results
(a) Quantitative trait loci analysis
The results of the QTL analysis (table 1) are similar to those previously obtained (see table 3 in [8]), and confirmed that the locus that maps to the start of chromosome 4 shows a major effect on several traits and much stronger indirect effects than any other QTL. The direct effect of this locus accounts for an average of 12 per cent of the variance in focal traits, including 20 per cent of the variance in fitness as measured by silique number. The indirect effects account for an average of 3 per cent of the variance in partner traits, making the indirect effect of this locus of similar magnitude as the direct effects of many other loci (see [8]).
This QTL is particularly interesting because it was previously mapped in a flowering time study ([34], and is believed to correspond to the flowering gene FRIGIDA (FRI)). Support that this QTL is due to molecular variation in FRI comes from the fact that the Bay-0 parental accession has a non-functional copy of this gene (known to accelerate flowering time), while Shahdara has a functional copy. FRI is one of the best-characterized flowering genes in Arabidopsis [40] and has also been shown to affect fitness of A. thaliana plants in the field [41], as well as drought tolerance [42] and inflorescence architecture [43].
(b) Path analysis
In the path analysis of pairwise effects to partner plant traits identified to be affected by QTL 4.02, we found that paths between traits in focal plants identified to be directly affected by QTL 4.02 are stronger than paths directly connecting QTL 4.02 to partner plants traits (table 2). These results suggest that the 'identified pleiotropy' models were generally better descriptors of the links between phenotypes than were 'unidentified pleiotropy' models. Note, however, that for some of these effects, the sign of the phenotypic effect for some traits is not always the same as the sign of the genetic effect. For example, height of the focal plant has a negative effect on the number of buds in the partner plant pBUD even though the locus has an overall positive effect, because of the larger positive effect of FLWR combined with some unidentified positive pleiotropic effect (figure 3).
(c) Structural equation models of interacting phenotypes
A large number of associations were found between phenotypes in the focal plants and neighbouring plants. Overall, our findings indicate that size- and development-related traits in focal plants affect size-/development-related traits in neighbouring plants. One particular focal plant latent factor (including HT, WT, FLWR, BUD, SILIQ, BRANCH, LEAF and BOLT) had effects on a neighbour plant latent factor (including pFLWR, pBUD and pBRANCH) (table 3 and figure 4). We examined the paths between the QTL and the neighbour plant latent factor, independent of the focal–neighbour phenotypic interaction; this model would encompass a portion of effects owing to the interactions that we modelled, as well as any unexplained portion owing to the locus' effects on other, unmeasured traits. This saturated model had a lower goodness of fit (χ2 and Normed Fit Index; NFI) than the reduced model; so we accepted the model with only a functional pleiotropic basis indicating that the majority of the traits measured account for the interaction overall.
4. Discussion
Using path analysis and SEMs, we have examined the functional relationship between the genotypes and phenotypes of our focal population, and the expression of traits in their neighbours. In doing so, we examined the pleiotropic connection between direct and indirect effects (figure 1) and demonstrated that the indirect effects of a QTL of major effect on the phenotypes of neighbours are likely to be functionally mediated by the locus' direct effect on focal plant size and development, and the resulting ecological interactions with neighbours. Thus, our analysis has uncovered an explicit connection between suites of size- and development-related traits in focal plants and expression of development- and fitness-related traits in neighbouring plants. As such, this is the first study to functionally describe how a genotype–phenotype map can extend across individuals.
In order to uncover the ecological basis of IGEs, we developed two types of path models and SEMs. Our SEMs were classified as either 'unidentified pleiotropy models', which are those where there are connections from the focal plants' genotypes to their neighbours' phenotypes, but the connection does not appear to be mediated by the measured focal plant traits, or 'identified pleiotropy models', where genetic effects of the focal plants on their neighbours are mediated by phenotypic interactions involving measured focal plant traits. That is, in the identified pleiotropy models, those with a path connection between the focal plants' genotypes and their neighbours' phenotypes were better fit than models with a direct connection between QTL and partner's trait, implying that we have identified the traits closely tied to the cause (using the term loosely) of the mapping from focal genotype to neighbour phenotype (figures 1 and 2). For the SEMs, our null hypothesis was that pleiotropy would be unidentified, in that it would not be associated with the measured focal traits, and when identified pleiotropy models fit better than unidentified, we rejected that null hypothesis.
We found strong evidence for identified pleiotropy underlying the IGEs of the QTL (tables 2 and 3). The identified pleiotropy not only explained more variance in neighbour plant traits than the unidentified pleiotropy model, but it also helped to clarify and paint a more detailed picture of the nature of the indirect effects (see below). This result supports theoretical models, which propose that IGEs occur as a consequence of social interactions mediated by interacting phenotypes [22,23]. Our results also provide the first evidence towards the building of an ecological explanation for the occurrence of genetic effects that transcend individuals. We note, however, that the true form of interaction in any plant population will be reciprocal (i.e. focal plants affect their neighbours while their neighbours affect them), which can lead to feedback between trait development in the traits of interacting plants. Such reciprocal effects cannot be identified through the analyses we present here, but rather, are part of the biological process that has established the observed net effects we find statistically.
The locus on which we have focused explains a large proportion of variation in the focal plant traits (an average of 12% of the variance per trait, with a maximum of 20% in silique number; table 1). This locus was previously identified by Loudet et al. [34] in a study of flowering time and maps to a region of the genome that encompasses the FRI gene. FRI has previously been shown to have pleiotropic effects on fitness-related traits [42,43], and our analysis shows that it appears to also have relatively strong indirect effects on partners (the indirect effects alone are significant at the genome level). As expected, this QTL did have a direct effect on BOLT. It also had a direct effect on a number of size- and development-related traits (HT, WT, BRANCH, LEAF, FLWR, BUD and SILIQ). These effects may also be expected to be linked to a flowering gene, given how these traits were all measured at a fixed point in time (42 days post-germination); plants that bolted earlier were further along their development with longer inflorescence stems, more branches and flowers. While these traits should not be directly equated to total fitness, such shift in development may increase fitness if there is environmental degradation (which would cause selection to be truncated).
We found that size and fecundity-related direct traits (HT, WT, BRANCH, LEAF, FLWR, BUD and SILIQ) tied to life history in the focal individuals were the functional origin of the indirect effects of the QTL, while the traits that were affected in the partner (pFLWR, pBUD, pBRANCH, pLEAF) indicate an earlier shift to reproduction (tables 2 and 3). A possible explanation for this relationship is that when focal plants bolt earlier (as determined by the FRI locus), they significantly change the light quality in the pot for their neighbours, causing acceleration of flowering and higher internode elongation in the partner plant. Such shifts in development are commonly observed in A. thaliana and other plants in response to increased shading from its neighbours [44–47]. Since A. thaliana and other early successional weeds are poor competitors, shifting to reproduction earlier might allow escaping competition and enhance overall plant fitness [48]. This is significant because it provides a potential link between IGEs and patterns of selection, and so finding fitness-related traits involved in these sorts of functional interactions further supports IGEs' role in altering a population's evolutionary dynamics.
It is perhaps not surprising to find that ecological interactions based on size- and development-related traits occur between plants. Such ecological effects are likely to arise as a necessary consequence of nutrient acquisition, including uptake of water and nitrogen [49], suggesting that loci contributing direct genetic variation by affecting resource acquisition traits may often show up as IGEs because they affect neighbours' resource pools. Empirical work also confirms the general importance of resource-allocation patterns in intraspecific interactions [50,51]. In contrast, facilitation through microbial colonization or competition for light may lead to positive associations, as observed here. Although there are various scenarios for how loci affecting allocation patterns might have indirect effects on traits in neighbours (e.g. allocation to leaf size or height in one plant may lead to shade avoidance responses in neighbours), there is no simple general expectation for the pattern of pleiotropy of direct and indirect effects. More importantly, there could be a combination of positive and negative effects through different traits as observed in this study. The SEM built with latent factors (figure 4) shows us that the traits in the interacting plants are complex multi-dimensional phenotypes, such that the overall phenotypic interaction is a result of complicated relationships between traits within the interacting plants, even though the overwhelming pattern is of positive effect. The relationships and patterns found by examining path models and SEMs show that the analysis with identified pleiotropic effects provides a more meaningful description of relationships behind the indirect effects than does a simple QTL analysis alone. We hope that this approach will also be useful in providing a specific functional hypothesis that can then be tested experimentally.
We thank Ed Harris, Will Pitchers, Richard Preziosi and Nick Priest for help in conducting the experiments and/or for constructive discussions during the development of these ideas. This research was supported by the National Science Foundation (USA), the Natural Environment Research Council (UK) and the University of Manchester.
One contribution of 13 to a Theme Issue 'Community genetics: at the crossroads of ecology and evolutionary genetics'.
- This journal is © 2011 The Royal Society


text:
And a logical follow-up of that post.... One of the best tracks of the eighties' chart huggers, a world-wide top five hit in 1984. Wild Boys is based on a book by William S. Burroughs about renegade homosexual boys. Director Russel Mulcahy wanted to make a film based on the book, and Duran Duran was going to do the music (or at least the title song). The movie fell through, so Russel decided to direct the video for the song they had made - and produced one of the most notorious and artistic videos of the decade! The song is heavier than most from this band, and has been highlighted as one of the main inspirations of the heavy metal movement that originated shortly thereafter. The video is the extra long version. Enjoy!
Art Rock score: 9/10 (very strong song, one of 650 best songs of all time)
Monday, March 30, 2009
Wild boys
Posted by Art Rock at 4:20 pm
Labels: YouTube


text:
Welcome to Glenda's Cards!
This is another card made using Cricut Christmas Kitsch. The card image is found on page 34 and is cut at 4.5 inches. Just a note about this image---Using the same size for cutting the layer images produces much larger images than the card size. I am unsure if this is just my cartridge or maybe all Christmas Kitsch cartridges. I use the Cricut Craft Room to layout my images so I was able to resize the layers to fit the card. Papers are from K&Company Yuletide pad that I have had for some time--in fact, this is my second pad of this same design.
inside of card
Merry Christmas (page 88) is cut 2.5 inches. I think these cards turned out pretty using double-sided papers. The cards can be easily mailed.
Thanks for stopping by today!


text:
NEW images coming soon....
It's been a hectic three months or so since I last gave you some news from the land of Dave Bain Illustration. I'm currently moving house, within Bristol, and will be hooked up to internet very soon, at which point I'll upload lots of new images for your thoughts and browsing pleasure.
1) Exhibitions 'Cover it Up!' and 'SBA Trail 2009' both went well and received lots of positive feedback. Prints were sold and that made me a happy boy. I also hung some small BIRDBOY drawings in 'Start the Bus' during June. One drawing was stolen: a fantastic compliment - although what sort of person steals a piece of art?
2) I'm currently finishing a long-term book project, but cannot reveal much more than that at this stage. I'll post up the images as soon as I've had them cleared.
3) I've completed a couple of jobs under the BIRDBOY name recently. One for an independent record label called Folkwood and the other for a local hotel/restaurant. These images I will post up as soon as I've had them cleared.
4) A BIRDBOY piece was sold through my Facebook Fan Page in a bit of a bidding war. I'll be doing this again for another orginal, framed piece - probably in a few weeks time.
5) I've just completed the artwork for the first of 'Norman Crumb's Extraordinary Adventures'. Again, I'll post up the images as soon as I get the thumbs up from Norman.
6) My next exhibition is 'DECKED' (a group show). We've just been spotlighted on the home page of Channel 4's Big Art Mob! Check it out here http://www.bigartmob.com so feel free to leave some comments!
7) I'm selling the 'Slipping Through' Image as a greetings card. Click here for more info.
8) I'm now also part of the 'BOYS WHO DRAW' collective and have drawn them the first banner on their blog.
9) Entrail's Zine published one of my images in their most recent issue.
10) There's a few bits and bobs that have currently slipped my mind, but as soon as I'm settled into the new place, then I'll get them up on here! Hope you're all enjoying the summer sun and haven't melted into a messy puddle of sweat and ice cream!!


text:
WASHINGTON – A US man was Thursday sentenced to 25 years in prison on terror charges, including threatening the creators of the animated series "South Park" for portraying the Prophet Mohammed in a bear suit.
Zachary Adam Chesser, 21, who grew up in the Virginia suburbs of Washington, had pleaded guilty in October to providing material support to a terror group and inciting violence against the South Park creators.
"Zachary Chesser will spend 25 years in prison for advocating the murder of US citizens for engaging in free speech about his religion," said US Attorney Neil MacBride.
"His actions caused people throughout the country to fear speaking out — even in jest — to avoid being labeled as enemies who deserved to be killed."
In his plea, Chesser admitted encouraging violent jihadists to attack the writers of South Park, among other targets.
He wrote on an extremist website that creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker risked the same fate as slain Dutch filmmaker Theo Van Gogh, who was murdered by a Muslim extremist in Amsterdam in 2004.
He also posted speeches by Anwar al-Awlaki which explained the Islamic justification for killing those who insult or defame Mohammed.
Al-Awlaki, a US citizen who lives in Yemen, has been targeted for killing by US forces as a global terrorist.
Chesser also pleaded guilty to attempting to provide material support to the Shebab, a Somalia-based group dubbed by the US State Department as a terror organization affiliated with Al-Qaeda.
Chesser admitted that he twice tried to travel to Somalia to join Al-Shabaab. In July, he was arrested while trying to leave for the second time, bringing his infant son as "cover."
He also advocated placing suspicious-looking but innocent packages in public places in an effort to "desensitize law enforcement" about a potential explosive device, according to the Justice Department. Once police were used to seeing the benign packages, real ones could detonated.
Prosecutors echoed recent officials who have warned that the United States faces a threat from homegrown extremists who are inspired by Al-Qaeda and are increasingly difficult to detect.
FBI director Robert Mueller has described a shift in Al-Qaeda's recruitment strategy, saying that since 2006, the network has focused on US citizens or legal residents instead of volunteers from the Middle East or South Asia.
"In admitting his guilt today, Mr Chesser reminded us of the serious threat homegrown jihadists pose to this country," MacBride said.


text:
love this stuff!
I put this on before going to sleep right before I put my regular moisturizer on and it feels amazing! Makes my skin feel silky smooth and when i wake up the morning my pores look so much smaller! I'm going to use every inch of these sample until it runs out. Definitely considering ordering this in the future.5


text:
Second post for you today, my interior lovers. A gorgeous summer home built by the Mediterranean Sea in Costa del Sol, Spain. It is U shaped and surrounds a pool and has two partially covered porches on the sides and a third one in the middle.
Hope you liked it, let me know! See you tomorrow, my friends!
All images from here.


text:
I just put my mom in hospice and felt moved to write this.
Friday, November 29, 2013
Dying Well
I just put my mom in hospice and felt moved to write this.
5 comments:
- Maria Lopez said...
One thing about death and aging is that most people have to deal with their own or a relative's decline eventually. My mother is severely disabled due to to Parkinson's disease. My father thinks she won't last much longer but if she does he will shortly no longer be able to care for her without help.
I have been haven't needed to care for her much due to the good work of my father and my brother but I've recently agreed to become more involved to give my dad a respite.
Some advice for you, don't assume that you will be willing and able to commit suicide before you face terminal decline and be sure you put a plan in place for your own care if you become incapacitated.
- November 30, 2013 at 8:18 AM
- Michael said...
My uncle was terminal cancer with no health insurance. He took the shotgun and went out his way. I respect that.
I wonder if the old cowboy way of going with a bottle of whiskey, a cigar and 45 out in the back forty is the way to go...
- November 30, 2013 at 11:53 AM
My dad just died, leaving me the next on the conveyer belt (my mother died a couple years ago, I'm the oldest sibling and male).
My dad suffered from mini-strokes (ischemia) for 8 years. It was basically a form of dementia, affecting his mobility (walking and strength) 8 years ago, to finally losing ability to swallow and basically starving to death in a way (he told the nurses he was hungry, while on his death bed). He went through the feeding tube and the IV for short periods, but it was just temporary. We and he decided against the feeding bag, because according to the doctors, it really wouldn't prolong life. So, I was at his bedside a lot in his final days (nursing home with visiting hospice). Eventually, his body stopped working (all he really could do was blink a little as it was) and his heart and lungs finally went out.
It's hard watching someone die (watched mom die, too with cancer). They were relatively young (76 and 79). You have to appreciate everything you can do at this point (like swallow), and try to do what make sense for you in life.
I hope your mom is comfortable (they said Dad was).
- November 30, 2013 at 1:42 PM
Hospice is a wonderful, comforting service. Peace be with you, Marty.
- November 30, 2013 at 8:49 PM
- Maria Lopez said...
A future comment concerning cryonics. While I am skeptical of this for it to have the best chance of working you need to die in such a way that your body is infused with cyroprotective chemicals within a very few minutes after your heart stops.
Prolonged lack of oxygen turns brain cells to mush and assuming that your brain structures do contain the information that makes you yourself you want that structure to be preserved as well as possible.
I, myself, will have nothing to do with cryonics since I actually don't care much about what happens to me after I die once, but to each his own.
- December 1, 2013 at 8:51 PM


text:
Fasten your seatbelts, kids- because I'm about to take you on a trip down
memory lane the masochistic nostalgia highway with yet another round of have beens, washed ups and never-weres.
Yes, it's Throwback Thursday again- and this week, we're kicking it 90's style.
The inspiration for this TBT actually came from an experience I had at a play a couple of weeks ago here in Toronto.
Yes, you read that correctly: BreezyK went to the theaaaataaah! Clearly I've been spending way too much time with Intellectual Dachshund.
Anyway, I was standing in line at the box office waiting for my homies, when suddenly I spotted a handsome gentleman to my immediate right. I was like
I turned my head to take a closer look, only to discover that this "cute guy" was actually BRANDON FREAKING WALSH!!!
Yes- Jason Priestley was standing directly beside me, breathing the very same air. I wanted to say something snarky like "hey, wanna go to the Peach Pit after this?" or "how's Brenda? still reeling from that pregnancy scare?"
But I refrained, and instead focused on obsessively studying every detail of his face. He was wearing a red K-Way type jacket, and looked a little worse for the wear- sort of like a hot dad post-soccer practice.
He was also shorter than I expected, but had movie star eyes: the kind that melt your heart and haunt your soul at the same time. We held eye contact for roughly 3 seconds. (I counted.)
Obviously I had to Google him afterwards. It's the responsible thing to do once you start dating someone new. I discovered that after such career highs as Choices of the Heart: The Margaret Sanger Story and People Magazine's 50 Most Beautiful 1991, Jason bounced around for a while before landing the role of a morally flexible car salesman on HBO's Call Me Fitz.
The show has received some critical acclaim and firmly re-trenched the Canadian starlet in D-List celebrity territory. Priestley is also starring in David Mamet's new play "Race", opening here in Toronto on Sunday. So, if you need me, I'll be sitting in the front row, wearing my ratty old 90210 shirt and cheering on my man until further notice. Jason, if you're reading this- let's try to make it 4 seconds this time. 😉
Savage Garden
This TBT is brought to you by the Bellagio hotel lobby, whose unofficial radio policy is: "All Savage Garden, All The Time".
I swear I heard their songs more times in the past 4 days than in the past 10 years combined. (Not that I'm complaining.)
For those of you who didn't slow dance to "Truly Madly Deeply" with your grade 6 boyfriend like I did, I'll give a little background: Savage Garden was an Australian pop/rock duo who first hit it big in North America back in 1998. Something about "Chicken Cherry Cola".
The band consisted of Darren Hayes on vocals and Daniel Jones on instrumentals. After producing a handful of hits in the late 90's, the pair split up in 2001 so Hayes could pursue his solo endeavours.
Hayes came out with the song "Insatiable" in 2002 which I never heard but somehow has over 4 million YouTube hits???
I initially credited this to his glorious frosted tips in the video:
but joke's on me, because Darren Hayes is actually a legit TBT success story! He has done four solo albums since Savage Garden, all of which have been commercially successful. According to Wikipedia, he also came out as being gay in the early 2000's and is a huge a Star Wars buff. Who Knew!
Now I know y'all remember pissing the night away to this one:
But what has happened to the Brit band since?
Well, apparently Chumbawamba has been together for almost 30 years (!!) and was originally formed as an anarchist movement.
After gracing the world with their surreptitiously anti-facist party anthem "TubThumping", Chumbawamba had a bit of an identity crisis. They signed under multiple different labels, recording songs in basically every genre possible: techno, punk, world, a capella folk. They even released a Japan-only mini album (wtf is that?) consisting entirely of country and western versions of their greatest hits. Oh, and I almost forgot- they also sometimes go by the name "Skin Disease".
Apparently they got tired of being the weirdest band on earth, because in 2012, they decided to call it quits.
So I know I say this about everyone, but this band REALLY needs their own reality show. I would totally watch that noise.
Off to find a way to make that happen!


text: Am 20.07.2008 um 18:29 schrieb Troy A. Griffitts: > Dear Manfred, > > Yes, you can operate this way. BibleCS just has both a main menu > section and also a toolbar for the most popular options. Options > aren't > turned on or off based on specific modules, so we don't really check > to > see if any module has a feature when turning things on/off-- kindof. > There might be one or two exceptions. Module Features are really not > 1:1 with Options. For example. HebrewDefs might be a feature of a > lexicon module to advertise that it can give Hebrew definitions. > Global > Option strings and 'OptionTip's are values which can be shown to the > user after i18n with a call to: > LocaleMgr::getSystemLocaleMgr()->translate(option_or_tip), though the > locale files haven't been updated with translations for them. > > I believe Bibletime lets you turn options on and off on a per module > basis, but there is no facility in the engine to help with this. > We've > talked about it and decided to disagree about the best way. When I > study, I either want to see strongs numbers or not. I want to see > xrefs > or not. I don't want to manage all of these options individually per > module. A quick toolbar click on or off for everything is best for > me, > and that's how the engine ended up. I understand people study > differently than me. > > Hope this helps. Yep, thanks. Manfred > > > > Manfred Bergmann wrote: >> Hi. >> >> Some API questions: >> >> There are features per module and global options. >> So for example if I want to show strong's numbers I need to check >> whether the module supports stong's by checking the feature: >> getConfig().has("Feature", "StrongsNumbers") >> >> Then, when I want to have stongs rendered (in the HTML output) I need >> to enable the global option? >> setGlobalOption("Strong's Numbers", "On") >> >> Is there anything else I need to do? >> >> >> I noticed the feature string constants are dofferent than the options >> constants. Is there a reason for that? >> >> Regards, >> Manfred >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> sword-devel mailing list: sword-devel at crosswire.org >> http://www.crosswire.org/mailman/listinfo/sword-devel >> Instructions to unsubscribe/change your settings at above page > > > _______________________________________________ > sword-devel mailing list: sword-devel at crosswire.org > http://www.crosswire.org/mailman/listinfo/sword-devel > Instructions to unsubscribe/change your settings at above page


text:
It's hard to believe that just four months ago we were writing about MC Bat Commander getting in front of the camera with the rest of his bandmates for the first episode of The Aquabats! Super Show! Today, fans of the The Aquabats will get one last chance this season to watch OC's favorite superhero ska band in action when the season finale premieres at 8 a.m. on kids TV network the Hub. We recently caught up with MC Bat Commander (aka Christian Jacobs) to talk about what it's been like as both creator and star of a show full of dastardly villains, tight costumes, epic one-liners and exclamation points.
OC Weekly: Describe to us how The Aquabats! Super Show! season finale of the goes down. We hear Weird Al makes a
Christian Jacobs: The Aquabats are pretty down on their luck at the beginning of the episode. And the Bat Commander does something that basically causes them to go broke and they figure out if they could be more like Super
Magic Power Man, "Weird Al" Yankovic's character–he's like superman, the
ultimate super hero–then maybe they wouldn't be so down on their
luck and people would come to their shows and they'd be more
popular…they're like "let's go save the world and we could
possibly be famous." So there's a crisis that happens and The
Aquabats go and try to save the day, but before they get the chance
of course, Super Magic Power Man shows up and he can fly and all this
stuff and he's a real super hero and The Aquabats are just chumps. So at one point the Bat Commander says "Alright, I guess
our work is done, I guess we have to go get real jobs." But then,
without spoiling it too hard, something happens that changes the
course of history and The Aquabats have to save the day after all.
There's some other surprises in there too. It doesn't end like
you think it would end, in a neat box.
that the first season is over, are there any plans to work on another
There's been a little bit of talk about it, but at this point we do
not know if we're getting a second season. In talking about it with
the network, I think they've been pretty stoked on the show. We
haven't got the official word yet, but we have our fingers
What have been some major learning experiences for you as the creator of the show?
There's a lot of things I could say, like "stick to your guns" or "don't stop believing" or whatever and that's all true for sure, but there's a lot of technical things I've learned. Being in front of the camera and trying to be a creative person behind the camera, that was something that was really new to me. Working with [director] Jason deVilliers and being on the same page is important so I know what's happening and I can completely trust the crew that they're gonna get it right. That's been the biggest learning experience. With Yo Gabba Gabba! and other skateboard videos I used to shoot, I was always just behind the camera. So being in front of the camera at the beginning was pretty nerve racking at first.
By the last episode, did that change at all?
Yeah, I think so. If you watch the first episode and you watch the last episode, you can see the comfort level of all the guys in the band, everyone was so much more comfortable with acting and conveying emotions. I include myself in that as well. In the early episodes I had a lot on my mind and you could definitely see it when you watched the show.
Are there any episodes that stand out to you as the best of the bunch?
There's definitely a few that stand out. I think the "Cowboy Android" episode plot was almost as epic as the season finale. I really liked the "Pilgrim Boy" episode as well, Samm Levine guest starred and "Weird Al" was in that one as well as "the President." It's so random and weird that it just makes me laugh.
How did "Weird Al" become a reoccurring cast member on the show?
I met Weird Al on the set of Yo Gabba Gabba!, because he was on an episode of that show. A couple weeks later after meeting him on the set, I was standing in line to see the Pixies at the Hollywood Palladium and I turn around and [Yankovic] was right behind me with his wife and I'm like "Wow 'Weird Al' likes the Pixies." So I said hi and we started talking and hit it off. And when we were doing Super Show! I thought it would be great if somehow [Yankovic] could be involved. We had a couple opportunities to cast him and he was on board. And having him willing to do it was great, obviously he's an icon, not only for my generation, but my son is 10 years old and he loves "Weird Al." He's got these parodies of new hits that I don't even know, whether it's Lady Gaga or Miley Cyrus. So I think it's rad that it kind of comes full circle like that. In the world of The Aquabats, who better to be the President or the mightiest super hero of all time than "Weird Al"?
If there's one way that you'd want the show to be remembered for this first season, how would you sum it up as far as its impact?
I hope we did a good job keeping it fresh and different for every episode. If you've never seen The Aquabats play live, if you watch the TV show it has that kind of unexpected element, and at the same time it's super fun and doesn't take itself too seriously, but takes the audience seriously enough to keep the unexpected stuff coming. The fact that we made it through a whole season and we're at the last episode is pretty awesome. If we don't get a second season, I think the rest of the band is just stoked to have done it.
Follow us on Twitter @OCWeekly Music and like us on Facebook at Heard Mentality.
Nate Jackson is the gatekeeper to your dreams of local dive bar stardom. If he writes about you, expect your band to be offered at least one more drink ticket than the rest of the bands on the bill. Get his attention with some groovy tunes and he might just do it. Then, boy will you feel special.


text:
Here's a joke from John Evans:
Little Sally came home from school with a smile on her face and told her mother, "Frankie Brown showed me his weenie today at the playground!"
Before the mother could raise her concern, Sally went on to say, "It reminded me of a peanut."
Relaxing with a hidden smile, Sally's Mom asked, "Really small, was it?"
Sally replied, "No... Salty."
Mum fainted.


text:
Welcome backFinish your .
Whether you want to learn how to start a business or you want to know the difference between living trust vs. will, you'll find the information you're looking for in our collection of legal help articles. Browse legal articles on the following topics: business formation and business management, intellectual property, estate planning, family legal matters, money matters, real estate, and many other topics. Get started by selecting a category below.