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Posted: Apr 13, 2013
WALTHAM, Mass.- On Saturday April 13th, the men's and women's track and field teams competed at the Brown Springtime Invitational in a non-scoring meet.
On the men's side, the Judges turned in two top-five performances in the mile-run. Senior Alex Kramer (No. Andover, Mass./ No. Andover) led the way, coming in third in the event, just a quarter of a second out of second place. Kramer finished with a time of 4:12.96. Classmate Mik Kern (Groton, N.Y./ Groton) was also impressive, completing the race in 4:14.21, good for fifth place. Meanwhile in the field, rookie Adam Berger (Concord, N.H./ Concrod) was eighth in the triple jump with a leap of 40 feet 5 1/2 inches (12.33 meters).
On the women's side, senior Kim Farrington (Shirley, Mass./ Ayer) led the way in the triple jump. Farrington's distance of 34 feet 2 1/4 inches (10.42 meters) was good for seventh place. Juniors Amelia Lundkvist (So. Portland, Maine/ Cheverus) and Victoria Sanford (Andover, N.Y./ Andover) also turned in impressive performance in the mile run. Lundkvist and Sanford finished 12th and 13th respectively with times of 5:12.09 and 5:12.33.
Both squads continue their season on Saturday April 20th at the Fitchburg State Invitational.


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Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Vol. 2, by Edward Gibbon, [1781], at sacred-texts.com
When the suffrage of the generals and of the army committed the sceptre of the Roman empire to the hands of Valentinian, his reputation in arms, his military skill and experience, and his rigid attachment to the forms, as well as spirit, of ancient discipline, were the principal motives of their judicious choice. The eagerness of the troops, who pressed him to nominate his colleague, was justified by the dangerous situation of public affairs; and Valentinian himself was conscious, that the abilities of the most active mind were unequal to the defence of the distant frontiers of an invaded monarchy. As soon as the death of Julian had relieved the Barbarians from the terror of his name, the most sanguine hopes of rapine and conquest excited the nations of the East, of the North, and of the South. Their inroads were often vexatious, and sometimes formidable; but, during the twelve years of the reign of Valentinian, his firmness and vigilance protected his own dominions; and his powerful genius seemed to inspire and direct the feeble counsels of his brother. Perhaps the method of annals would more forcibly express the urgent and divided cares of the two emperors; but the attention of the reader, likewise, would be distracted by a tedious and desultory narrative. A separate view of the five great theatres of war; I. Germany; II. Britain; III. Africa; IV. The East; and, V. The Danube; will impress a more distinct image of the military state of the empire under the reigns of Valentinian and Valens.
I. The ambassadors of the Alemanni had been offended by the harsh and haughty behavior of Ursacius, master of the offices; 88 who by an act of unseasonable parsimony, had diminished the value, as well as the quantity, of the presents to which they were entitled, either from custom or treaty, on the accession of a new emperor. They expressed, and they communicated to their countrymen, their strong sense of the national affront. The irascible minds of the chiefs were exasperated by the suspicion of contempt; and the martial youth crowded to their standard. Before Valentinian could pass the Alps, the villages of Gaul were in flames; before his general Degalaiphus could encounter the Alemanni, they had secured the captives and the spoil in the forests of Germany. In the beginning of the ensuing year, the military force of the whole nation, in deep and solid columns, broke through the barrier of the Rhine, during the severity of a northern winter. Two Roman counts were defeated and mortally wounded; and the standard of the Heruli and Batavians fell into the hands of the Heruli and Batavians fell into the hands of the conquerors, who displayed, with insulting shouts and menaces, the trophy of their victory. The standard was recovered; but the Batavians had not redeemed the shame of their disgrace and flight in the eyes of their severe judge. It was the opinion of Valentinian, that his soldiers must learn to fear their commander, before they could cease to fear the enemy. The troops were solemnly assembled; and the trembling Batavians were enclosed within the circle of the Imperial army. Valentinian then ascended his tribunal; and, as if he disdained to punish cowardice with death, he inflicted a stain of indelible ignominy on the officers, whose misconduct and pusillanimity were found to be the first occasion of the defeat. The Batavians were degraded from their rank, stripped of their arms, and condemned to be sold for slaves to the highest bidder. At this tremendous sentence, the troops fell prostrate on the ground, deprecated the indignation of their sovereign, and protested, that, if he would indulge them in another trial, they would approve themselves not unworthy of the name of Romans, and of his soldiers. Valentinian, with affected reluctance, yielded to their entreaties; the Batavians resumed their arms, and with their arms, the invincible resolution of wiping away their disgrace in the blood of the Alemanni. 89 The principal command was declined by Dagalaiphus; and that experienced general, who had represented, perhaps with too much prudence, the extreme difficulties of the undertaking, had the mortification, before the end of the campaign, of seeing his rival Jovinus convert those difficulties into a decisive advantage over the scattered forces of the Barbarians. At the head of a well-disciplined army of cavalry, infantry, and light troops, Jovinus advanced, with cautious and rapid steps, to Scarponna, 90 *_0079 in the territory of Metz, where he surprised a large division of the Alemanni, before they had time to run to their arms; and flushed his soldiers with the confidence of an easy and bloodless victory. Another division, or rather army, of the enemy, after the cruel and wanton devastation of the adjacent country, reposed themselves on the shady banks of the Moselle. Jovinus, who had viewed the ground with the eye of a general, made a silent approach through a deep and woody vale, till he could distinctly perceive the indolent security of the Germans. Some were bathing their huge limbs in the river; others were combing their long and flaxen hair; others again were swallowing large draughts of rich and delicious wine. On a sudden they heard the sound of the Roman trumpet; they saw the enemy in their camp. Astonishment produced disorder; disorder was followed by flight and dismay; and the confused multitude of the bravest warriors was pierced by the swords and javelins of the legionaries and auxiliaries. The fugitives escaped to the third, and most considerable, camp, in the Catalonian plains, near Chalons in Champagne: the straggling detachments were hastily recalled to their standard; and the Barbarian chiefs, alarmed and admonished by the fate of their companions, prepared to encounter, in a decisive battle, the victorious forces of the lieutenant of Valentinian. The bloody and obstinate conflict lasted a whole summer's day, with equal valor, and with alternate success. The Romans at length prevailed, with the loss of about twelve hundred men. Six thousand of the Alemanni were slain, four thousand were wounded; and the brave Jovinus, after chasing the flying remnant of their host as far as the banks of the Rhine, returned to Paris, to receive the applause of his sovereign, and the ensigns of the consulship for the ensuing year. 91 The triumph of the Romans was indeed sullied by their treatment of the captive king, whom they hung on a gibbet, without the knowledge of their indignant general. This disgraceful act of cruelty, which might be imputed to the fury of the troops, was followed by the deliberate murder of Withicab, the son of Vadomair; a German prince, of a weak and sickly constitution, but of a daring and formidable spirit. The domestic assassin was instigated and protected by the Romans; 92 and the violation of the laws of humanity and justice betrayed their secret apprehension of the weakness of the declining empire. The use of the dagger is seldom adopted in public councils, as long as they retain any confidence in the power of the sword.
While the Alemanni appeared to be humbled by their recent calamities, the pride of Valentinian was mortified by the unexpected surprisal of Moguntiacum, or Mentz, the principal city of the Upper Germany. In the unsuspicious moment of a Christian festival, *_0080 Rando, a bold and artful chieftain, who had long meditated his attempt, suddenly passed the Rhine; entered the defenceless town, and retired with a multitude of captives of either sex. Valentinian resolved to execute severe vengeance on the whole body of the nation. Count Sebastian, with the bands of Italy and Illyricum, was ordered to invade their country, most probably on the side of Rhaetia. The emperor in person, accompanied by his son Gratian, passed the Rhine at the head of a formidable army, which was supported on both flanks by Jovinus and Severus, the two masters-general of the cavalry and infantry of the West. The Alemanni, unable to prevent the devastation of their villages, fixed their camp on a lofty, and almost inaccessible, mountain, in the modern duchy of Wirtemberg, and resolutely expected the approach of the Romans. The life of Valentinian was exposed to imminent danger by the intrepid curiosity with which he persisted to explore some secret and unguarded path. A troop of Barbarians suddenly rose from their ambuscade: and the emperor, who vigorously spurred his horse down a steep and slippery descent, was obliged to leave behind him his armor-bearer, and his helmet, magnificently enriched with gold and precious stones. At the signal of the general assault, the Roman troops encompassed and ascended the mountain of Solicinium on three different sides. !_0080 Every step which they gained, increased their ardor, and abated the resistance of the enemy: and after their united forces had occupied the summit of the hill, they impetuously urged the Barbarians down the northern descent, where Count Sebastian was posted to intercept their retreat. After this signal victory, Valentinian returned to his winter quarters at Treves; where he indulged the public joy by the exhibition of splendid and triumphal games. 93 But the wise monarch, instead of aspiring to the conquest of Germany, confined his attention to the important and laborious defence of the Gallic frontier, against an enemy whose strength was renewed by a stream of daring volunteers, which incessantly flowed from the most distant tribes of the North. 94 The banks of the Rhine !!_0080 from its source to the straits of the ocean, were closely planted with strong castles and convenient towers; new works, and new arms, were invented by the ingenuity of a prince who was skilled in the mechanical arts; and his numerous levies of Roman and Barbarian youth were severely trained in all the exercises of war. The progress of the work, which was sometimes opposed by modest representations, and sometimes by hostile attempts, secured the tranquillity of Gaul during the nine subsequent years of the administration of Valentinian. 95
That prudent emperor, who diligently practised the wise maxims of Diocletian, was studious to foment and excite the intestine divisions of the tribes of Germany. About the middle of the fourth century, the countries, perhaps of Lusace and Thuringia, on either side of the Elbe, were occupied by the vague dominion of the Burgundians; a warlike and numerous people, *_0081 of the Vandal race, 96 whose obscure name insensibly swelled into a powerful kingdom, and has finally settled on a flourishing province. The most remarkable circumstance in the ancient manners of the Burgundians appears to have been the difference of their civil and ecclesiastical constitution. The appellation of Hendinos was given to the king or general, and the title of Sinistus to the high priest, of the nation. The person of the priest was sacred, and his dignity perpetual; but the temporal government was held by a very precarious tenure. If the events of war accuses the courage or conduct of the king, he was immediately deposed; and the injustice of his subjects made him responsible for the fertility of the earth, and the regularity of the seasons, which seemed to fall more properly within the sacerdotal department. 97 The disputed possession of some salt-pits 98 engaged the Alemanni and the Burgundians in frequent contests: the latter were easily tempted, by the secret solicitations and liberal offers of the emperor; and their fabulous descent from the Roman soldiers, who had formerly been left to garrison the fortresses of Drusus, was admitted with mutual credulity, as it was conducive to mutual interest. 99 An army of fourscore thousand Burgundians soon appeared on the banks of the Rhine; and impatiently required the support and subsidies which Valentinian had promised: but they were amused with excuses and delays, till at length, after a fruitless expectation, they were compelled to retire. The arms and fortifications of the Gallic frontier checked the fury of their just resentment; and their massacre of the captives served to imbitter the hereditary feud of the Burgundians and the Alemanni. The inconstancy of a wise prince may, perhaps, be explained by some alteration of circumstances; and perhaps it was the original design of Valentinian to intimidate, rather than to destroy; as the balance of power would have been equally overturned by the extirpation of either of the German nations. Among the princes of the Alemanni, Macrianus, who, with a Roman name, had assumed the arts of a soldier and a statesman, deserved his hatred and esteem. The emperor himself, with a light and unencumbered band, condescended to pass the Rhine, marched fifty miles into the country, and would infallibly have seized the object of his pursuit, if his judicious measures had not been defeated by the impatience of the troops. Macrianus was afterwards admitted to the honor of a personal conference with the emperor; and the favors which he received, fixed him, till the hour of his death, a steady and sincere friend of the republic. 100
The land was covered by the fortifications of Valentinian; but the sea-coast of Gaul and Britain was exposed to the depredations of the Saxons. That celebrated name, in which we have a dear and domestic interest, escaped the notice of Tacitus; and in the maps of Ptolemy, it faintly marks the narrow neck of the Cimbric peninsula, and three small islands towards the mouth of the Elbe. 101 This contracted territory, the present duchy of Sleswig, or perhaps of Holstein, was incapable of pouring forth the inexhaustible swarms of Saxons who reigned over the ocean, who filled the British island with their language, their laws, and their colonies; and who so long defended the liberty of the North against the arms of Charlemagne. 102 The solution of this difficulty is easily derived from the similar manners, and loose constitution, of the tribes of Germany; which were blended with each other by the slightest accidents of war or friendship. The situation of the native Saxons disposed them to embrace the hazardous professions of fishermen and pirates; and the success of their first adventures would naturally excite the emulation of their bravest countrymen, who were impatient of the gloomy solitude of their woods and mountains. Every tide might float down the Elbe whole fleets of canoes, filled with hardy and intrepid associates, who aspired to behold the unbounded prospect of the ocean, and to taste the wealth and luxury of unknown worlds. It should seem probable, however, that the most numerous auxiliaries of the Saxons were furnished by the nations who dwelt along the shores of the Baltic. They possessed arms and ships, the art of navigation, and the habits of naval war; but the difficulty of issuing through the northern columns of Hercules 103 (which, during several months of the year, are obstructed with ice) confined their skill and courage within the limits of a spacious lake. The rumor of the successful armaments which sailed from the mouth of the Elbe, would soon provoke them to cross the narrow isthmus of Sleswig, and to launch their vessels on the great sea. The various troops of pirates and adventurers, who fought under the same standard, were insensibly united in a permanent society, at first of rapine, and afterwards of government. A military confederation was gradually moulded into a national body, by the gentle operation of marriage and consanguinity; and the adjacent tribes, who solicited the alliance, accepted the name and laws, of the Saxons. If the fact were not established by the most unquestionable evidence, we should appear to abuse the credulity of our readers, by the description of the vessels in which the Saxon pirates ventured to sport in the waves of the German Ocean, the British Channel, and the Bay of Biscay. The keel of their large flat- bottomed boats were framed of light timber, but the sides and upper works consisted only of wicker, with a covering of strong hides. 104 In the course of their slow and distant navigations, they must always have been exposed to the danger, and very frequently to the misfortune, of shipwreck; and the naval annals of the Saxons were undoubtedly filled with the accounts of the losses which they sustained on the coasts of Britain and Gaul. But the daring spirit of the pirates braved the perils both of the sea and of the shore: their skill was confirmed by the habits of enterprise; the meanest of their mariners was alike capable of handling an oar, of rearing a sail, or of conducting a vessel, and the Saxons rejoiced in the appearance of a tempest, which concealed their design, and dispersed the fleets of the enemy. 105 After they had acquired an accurate knowledge of the maritime provinces of the West, they extended the scene of their depredations, and the most sequestered places had no reason to presume on their security. The Saxon boats drew so little water that they could easily proceed fourscore or a hundred miles up the great rivers; their weight was so inconsiderable, that they were transported on wagons from one river to another; and the pirates who had entered the mouth of the Seine, or of the Rhine, might descend, with the rapid stream of the Rhone, into the Mediterranean. Under the reign of Valentinian, the maritime provinces of Gaul were afflicted by the Saxons: a military count was stationed for the defence of the sea-coast, or Armorican limit; and that officer, who found his strength, or his abilities, unequal to the task, implored the assistance of Severus, master-general of the infantry. The Saxons, surrounded and outnumbered, were forced to relinquish their spoil, and to yield a select band of their tall and robust youth to serve in the Imperial armies. They stipulated only a safe and honorable retreat; and the condition was readily granted by the Roman general, who meditated an act of perfidy, 106 imprudent as it was inhuman, while a Saxon remained alive, and in arms, to revenge the fate of their countrymen. The premature eagerness of the infantry, who were secretly posted in a deep valley, betrayed the ambuscade; and they would perhaps have fallen the victims of their own treachery, if a large body of cuirassiers, alarmed by the noise of the combat, had not hastily advanced to extricate their companions, and to overwhelm the undaunted valor of the Saxons. Some of the prisoners were saved from the edge of the sword, to shed their blood in the amphitheatre; and the orator Symmachus complains, that twenty-nine of those desperate savages, by strangling themselves with their own hands, had disappointed the amusement of the public. Yet the polite and philosophic citizens of Rome were impressed with the deepest horror, when they were informed, that the Saxons consecrated to the gods the tithe of their human spoil; and that they ascertained by lot the objects of the barbarous sacrifice. 107
II. The fabulous colonies of Egyptians and Trojans, of Scandinavians and Spaniards, which flattered the pride, and amused the credulity, of our rude ancestors, have insensibly vanished in the light of science and philosophy. 108 The present age is satisfied with the simple and rational opinion, that the islands of Great Britain and Ireland were gradually peopled from the adjacent continent of Gaul. From the coast of Kent, to the extremity of Caithness and Ulster, the memory of a Celtic origin was distinctly preserved, in the perpetual resemblance of language, of religion, and of manners; and the peculiar characters of the British tribes might be naturally ascribed to the influence of accidental and local circumstances. 109 The Roman Province was reduced to the state of civilized and peaceful servitude; the rights of savage freedom were contracted to the narrow limits of Caledonia. The inhabitants of that northern region were divided, as early as the reign of Constantine, between the two great tribes of the Scots and of the Picts, 110 who have since experienced a very different fortune. The power, and almost the memory, of the Picts have been extinguished by their successful rivals; and the Scots, after maintaining for ages the dignity of an independent kingdom, have multiplied, by an equal and voluntary union, the honors of the English name. The hand of nature had contributed to mark the ancient distinctions of the Scots and Picts. The former were the men of the hills, and the latter those of the plain. The eastern coast of Caledonia may be considered as a level and fertile country, which, even in a rude state of tillage, was capable of producing a considerable quantity of corn; and the epithet of cruitnich, or wheat-eaters, expressed the contempt or envy of the carnivorous highlander. The cultivation of the earth might introduce a more accurate separation of property, and the habits of a sedentary life; but the love of arms and rapine was still the ruling passion of the Picts; and their warriors, who stripped themselves for a day of battle, were distinguished, in the eyes of the Romans, by the strange fashion of painting their naked bodies with gaudy colors and fantastic figures. The western part of Caledonia irregularly rises into wild and barren hills, which scarcely repay the toil of the husbandman, and are most profitably used for the pasture of cattle. The highlanders were condemned to the occupations of shepherds and hunters; and, as they seldom were fixed to any permanent habitation, they acquired the expressive name of Scots, which, in the Celtic tongue, is said to be equivalent to that of wanderers, or vagrants. The inhabitants of a barren land were urged to seek a fresh supply of food in the waters. The deep lakes and bays which intersect their country, are plentifully supplied with fish; and they gradually ventured to cast their nets in the waves of the ocean. The vicinity of the Hebrides, so profusely scattered along the western coast of Scotland, tempted their curiosity, and improved their skill; and they acquired, by slow degrees, the art, or rather the habit, of managing their boats in a tempestuous sea, and of steering their nocturnal course by the light of the well-known stars. The two bold headlands of Caledonia almost touch the shores of a spacious island, which obtained, from its luxuriant vegetation, the epithet of Green; and has preserved, with a slight alteration, the name of Erin, or Ierne, or Ireland. It is probable, that in some remote period of antiquity, the fertile plains of Ulster received a colony of hungry Scots; and that the strangers of the North, who had dared to encounter the arms of the legions, spread their conquests over the savage and unwarlike natives of a solitary island. It is certain, that, in the declining age of the Roman empire, Caledonia, Ireland, and the Isle of Man, were inhabited by the Scots, and that the kindred tribes, who were often associated in military enterprise, were deeply affected by the various accidents of their mutual fortunes. They long cherished the lively tradition of their common name and origin; and the missionaries of the Isle of Saints, who diffused the light of Christianity over North Britain, established the vain opinion, that their Irish countrymen were the natural, as well as spiritual, fathers of the Scottish race. The loose and obscure tradition has been preserved by the venerable Bede, who scattered some rays of light over the darkness of the eighth century. On this slight foundation, a huge superstructure of fable was gradually reared, by the bards and the monks; two orders of men, who equally abused the privilege of fiction. The Scottish nation, with mistaken pride, adopted their Irish genealogy; and the annals of a long line of imaginary kings have been adorned by the fancy of Boethius, and the classic elegance of Buchanan. 111
88 Ammian, xxvi. 5. Valesius adds a long and good note on the master of the offices.
89 Ammian. xxvii. 1. Zosimus, l. iv. p. 208. The disgrace of the Batavians is suppressed by the contemporary soldier, from a regard for military honor, which could not affect a Greek rhetorician of the succeeding age.
90 See D'Anville, Notice de l'Ancienne Gaule, p. 587. The name of the Moselle, which is not specified by Ammianus, is clearly understood by Mascou, (Hist. of the Ancient Germans, vii. 2)
*_0079 Charpeigne on the Moselle. Mannert - M.
91 The battles are described by Ammianus, (xxvii. 2,) and by Zosimus, (l. iv. p. 209,) who supposes Valentinian to have been present.
92 Studio solicitante nostrorum, occubuit. Ammian xxvii. 10.
*_0080 Probably Easter. Wagner. - M.
!_0080 Mannert is unable to fix the position of Solicinium. Haefelin (in Comm Acad Elect. Palat. v. 14) conjectures Schwetzingen, near Heidelberg. See Wagner's note. St. Martin, Sultz in Wirtemberg, near the sources of the Neckar St. Martin, iii. 339. - M.
93 The expedition of Valentinian is related by Ammianus, (xxvii. 10;) and celebrated by Ausonius, (Mosell. 421, &c.,) who foolishly supposes, that the Romans were ignorant of the sources of the Danube.
94 Immanis enim natio, jam inde ab incunabulis primis varietate casuum imminuta; ita saepius adolescit, ut fuisse longis saeculis aestimetur intacta. Ammianus, xxviii. 5. The Count de Buat (Hist. des Peuples de l'Europe, tom. vi. p. 370) ascribes the fecundity of the Alemanni to their easy adoption of strangers.
Note: "This explanation," says Mr. Malthus, "only removes the difficulty a little farther off. It makes the earth rest upon the tortoise, but does not tell us on what the tortoise rests. We may still ask what northern reservoir supplied this incessant stream of daring adventurers. Montesquieu's solution of the problem will, I think, hardly be admitted, (Grandeur et Decadence des Romains, c. 16, p. 187.) * * * The whole difficulty, however, is at once removed, if we apply to the German nations, at that time, a fact which is so generally known to have occurred in America, and suppose that, when not checked by wars and famine, they increased at a rate that would double their numbers in twenty-five or thirty years. The propriety, and even the necessity, of applying this rate of increase to the inhabitants of ancient Germany, will strikingly appear from that most valuable picture of their manners which has been left us by Tacitus, (Tac. de Mor. Germ. 16 to 20.) * * * With these manners, and a habit of enterprise and emigration, which would naturally remove all fears about providing for a family, it is difficult to conceive a society with a stronger principle of increase in it, and we see at once that prolific source of armies and colonies against which the force of the Roman empire so long struggled with difficulty, and under which it ultimately sunk. It is not probable that, for two periods together, or even for one, the population within the confines of Germany ever doubled itself in twenty- five years. Their perpetual wars, the rude state of agriculture, and particularly the very strange custom adopted by most of the tribes of marking their barriers by extensive deserts, would prevent any very great actual increase of numbers. At no one period could the country be called well peopled, though it was often redundant in population. * * * Instead of clearing their forests, draining their swamps, and rendering their soil fit to support an extended population, they found it more congenial to their martial habits and impatient dispositions to go in quest of food, of plunder, or of glory, into other countries." Malthus on Population, i. p. 128. - G.
!!_0080 The course of the Neckar was likewise strongly guarded. The hyperbolical eulogy of Symmachus asserts that the Neckar first became known to the Romans by the conquests and fortifications of Valentinian. Nunc primum victoriis tuis externus fluvius publicatur. Gaudeat servitute, captivus innotuit. Symm. Orat. p. 22. - M.
95 Ammian. xxviii. 2. Zosimus, l. iv. p. 214. The younger Victor mentions the mechanical genius of Valentinian, nova arma meditari fingere terra seu limo simulacra.
*_0081 According to the general opinion, the Burgundians formed a Gothic o Vandalic tribe, who, from the banks of the Lower Vistula, made incursions, on one side towards Transylvania, on the other towards the centre of Germany. All that remains of the Burgundian language is Gothic. * * * Nothing in their customs indicates a different origin. Malte Brun, Geog. tom. i. p. 396. (edit. 1831.) - M.
96 Bellicosos et pubis immensae viribus affluentes; et ideo metuendos finitimis universis. Ammian. xxviii. 5.
97 I am always apt to suspect historians and travellers of improving extraordinary facts into general laws. Ammianus ascribes a similar custom to Egypt; and the Chinese have imputed it to the Ta-tsin, or Roman empire, (De Guignes, Hist. des Huns, tom. ii. part. 79.)
98 Salinarum finiumque causa Alemannis saepe jurgabant. Ammian xxviii. 5. Possibly they disputed the possession of the Sala, a river which produced salt, and which had been the object of ancient contention. Tacit. Annal. xiii. 57, and Lipsius ad loc.
99 Jam inde temporibus priscis sobolem se esse Romanam Burgundii sciunt: and the vague tradition gradually assumed a more regular form, (Oros. l. vii. c. 32.) It is annihilated by the decisive authority of Pliny, who composed the History of Drusus, and served in Germany, (Plin. Secund. Epist. iii. 5,) within sixty years after the death of that hero. Germanorum genera quinque; Vindili, quorum pars Burgundiones, &c., (Hist. Natur. iv. 28.)
100 The wars and negotiations relative to the Burgundians and Alemanni, are distinctly related by Ammianus Marcellinus, (xxviii. 5, xxix 4, xxx. 3.) Orosius, (l. vii. c. 32,) and the Chronicles of Jerom and Cassiodorus, fix some dates, and add some circumstances.
101 At the northern extremity of the peninsula, (the Cimbric promontory of Pliny, iv. 27,) Ptolemy fixes the remnant of the Cimbri. He fills the interval between the Saxons and the Cimbri with six obscure tribes, who were united, as early as the sixth century, under the national appellation of Danes. See Cluver. German. Antiq. l. iii. c. 21, 22, 23.
102 M. D'Anville (Establissement des Etats de l'Europe, &c., p. 19-26) has marked the extensive limits of the Saxony of Charlemagne.
103 The fleet of Drusus had failed in their attempt to pass, or even to approach, the Sound, (styled, from an obvious resemblance, the columns of Hercules,) and the naval enterprise was never resumed, (Tacit. de Moribus German. c. 34.) The knowledge which the Romans acquired of the naval powers of the Baltic, (c. 44, 45) was obtained by their land journeys in search of amber.
104 Quin et Aremoricus piratam Saxona tractus Sperabat; cui pelle salum sulcare Britannum Ludus; et assuto glaucum mare findere lembo Sidon. in Panegyr. Avit. 369.
The genius of Caesar imitated, for a particular service, these rude, but light vessels, which were likewise used by the natives of Britain. (Comment. de Bell. Civil. i. 51, and Guichardt, Nouveaux Memoires Militaires, tom. ii. p. 41, 42.) The British vessels would now astonish the genius of Caesar.
105 The best original account of the Saxon pirates may be found in Sidonius Apollinaris, (l. viii. epist. 6, p. 223, edit. Sirmond,) and the best commentary in the Abbe du Bos, (Hist. Critique de la Monarchie Francoise, &c. tom. i. l. i. c. 16, p. 148-155. See likewise p. 77, 78.)
106 Ammian. (xxviii. 5) justifies this breach of faith to pirates and robbers; and Orosius (l. vii. c. 32) more clearly expresses their real guilt; virtute atque agilitate terribeles.
107 Symmachus (l. ii. epist. 46) still presumes to mention the sacred name of Socrates and philosophy. Sidonius, bishop of Clermont, might condemn, (l. viii. epist. 6,) with less inconsistency, the human sacrifices of the Saxons.
108 In the beginning of the last century, the learned Camden was obliged to undermine, with respectful scepticism, the romance of Brutus, the Trojan; who is now buried in silent oblivion with Scota the daughter of Pharaoh, and her numerous progeny. Yet I am informed, that some champions of the Milesian colony may still be found among the original natives of Ireland. A people dissatisfied with their present condition, grasp at any visions of their past or future glory.
109 Tacitus, or rather his father-in-law, Agricola, might remark the German or Spanish complexion of some British tribes. But it was their sober, deliberate opinion: "In universum tamen aestimanti Gallos cicinum solum occupasse credibile est. Eorum sacra deprehendas. . . . ermo haud multum diversus," (in Vit. Agricol. c. xi.) Caesar had observed their common religion, (Comment. de Bello Gallico, vi. 13;) and in his time the emigration from the Belgic Gaul was a recent, or at least an historical event, (v. 10.) Camden, the British Strabo, has modestly ascertained our genuine antiquities, (Britannia, vol. i. Introduction, p. ii. - xxxi.)
110 In the dark and doubtful paths of Caledonian antiquity, I have chosen for my guides two learned and ingenious Highlanders, whom their birth and education had peculiarly qualified for that office. See Critical Dissertations on the Origin and Antiquities, &c., of the Caledonians, by Dr. John Macpherson, London 1768, in 4to.; and Introduction to the History of Great Britain and Ireland, by James Macpherson, Esq., London 1773, in 4to., third edit. Dr. Macpherson was a minister in the Isle of Sky: and it is a circumstance honorable for the present age, that a work, replete with erudition and criticism, should have been composed in the most remote of the Hebrides.
111 The Irish descent of the Scots has been revived in the last moments of its decay, and strenuously supported, by the Rev. Mr. Whitaker, (Hist. of Manchester, vol. i. p. 430, 431; and Genuine History of the Britons asserted, &c., p. 154-293) Yet he acknowledges, 1. That the Scots of Ammianus Marcellinus (A.D. 340) were already settled in Caledonia; and that the Roman authors do not afford any hints of their emigration from another country. 2. That all the accounts of such emigrations, which have been asserted or received, by Irish bards, Scotch historians, or English antiquaries, (Buchanan, Camden, Usher, Stillingfleet, &c.,) are totally fabulous. 3. That three of the Irish tribes, which are mentioned by Ptolemy, (A.D. 150,) were of Caledonian extraction. 4. That a younger branch of Caledonian princes, of the house of Fingal, acquired and possessed the monarchy of Ireland. After these concessions, the remaining difference between Mr. Whitaker and his adversaries is minute and obscure. The genuine history, which he produces, of a Fergus, the cousin of Ossian, who was transplanted (A.D. 320) from Ireland to Caledonia, is built on a conjectural supplement to the Erse poetry, and the feeble evidence of Richard of Cirencester, a monk of the fourteenth century. The lively spirit of the learned and ingenious antiquarian has tempted him to forget the nature of a question, which he so vehemently debates, and so absolutely decides.
Note: This controversy has not slumbered since the days of Gibbon. We have strenuous advocates of the Phoenician origin of the Irish, and each of the old theories, with several new ones, maintains its partisans. It would require several pages fairly to bring down the dispute to our own days, and perhaps we should be no nearer to any satisfactory theory than Gibbon was.

subset: commoncrawl


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Ian Hacking
Ian Hacking is the author of The Social Construction of What? and, on mental illness, Rewriting the Soul and Mad Travellers.
In the LRB Archive:
Lost in the Forest: Who needs the DSM? · 8 August 2013
- DSM-5: Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition by the American Psychiatric Association
Diary: Walking in the Andes · 10 September 2009
Judith Baker and Ian Hacking
How Shall We Repaint the Kitchen?: The Colour Red · 1 November 2007
- Cognitive Variations: Reflections on the Unity and Diversity of the Human Mind by G.E.R. Lloyd
Almost Zero: Ideas of Nature · 10 May 2007
- The Veil of Isis: An Essay on the History of the Idea of Nature by Pierre Hadot, translated by Michael Chase
Whose body is it?: Transplants · 14 December 2006
- Strange Harvest: Organ Transplants, Denatured Bodies and the Transformed Self by Lesley Sharp
Making Up People: clinical classifications · 17 August 2006
What is Tom saying to Maureen?: What We Know about Autism · 11 May 2006
- The Science and Fiction of Autism by Laura Schreibman
- Send in the Idiots, or How We Grew to Understand the World by Kamran Nazeer
Get knitting: Birth and Death of the Brain · 18 August 2005
- The 21st-Century Brain: Explaining, Mending and Manipulating the Mind by Steven Rose
Mindblind: Religion's evolutionary origins · 21 October 2004
- In Gods We Trust: The Evolutionary Landscape of Religion by Scott Atran
What did Aum Shinrikyo have in mind?: Sarin in the Subway · 19 October 2000
- Underground: The Tokyo Gas Attack and the Japanese Psyche by Haruki Murakami, translated by Alfred Birnbaum
'Screw you, I'm going home' · 22 June 2000
- Conquest of Abundance: A Tale of Abstraction Versus the Richness of Being by Paul Feyerabend, edited by Bert Terpstra
Mitteleuropa am Aldwych: The Lakatos-Feyerabend Correspondence · 20 January 2000
- For and against Method: including Lakatos's Lectures on Scientific Method and the Lakatos-Feyerabend Correspondence by Imre Lakatos and Paul Feyerabend, edited by Matteo Motterlini
Gabble, Twitter and Hoot: language, deafness and the senses · 1 July 1999
- I See a Voice: A Philosophical History of Language, Deafness and the Senses by Jonathan Rée
Taking Bad Arguments Seriously · 21 August 1997
The Passing Show · 2 January 1997
- On Blindness: Letters between Bryan Magee and Martin Milligan
Aloha, aloha · 7 September 1995
- What 'Natives' Think: About Captain Cook, For Example by Marshall Sahlins
Pull the Other One · 26 January 1995
- The Bell Curve: Intelligence and Class Structure in American Life by Richard Herrnstein and Charles Murray
What's best · 27 January 1994
- The Nature of Rationality by Robert Nozick
Plato's Friend · 17 December 1992
- Metaphysics as a Guide to Morals by Iris Murdoch
Severals · 11 June 1992
- First Person Plural: Multiple Personality and the Philosophy of Mind by Stephen Braude
His Father The Engineer · 28 May 1992
- Understanding the present: Science and the Soul of Modern Man by Bryan Appleyard
Locke rules · 21 November 1991
- Locke. Vol. I: Epistemology by Michael Ayers
- Locke. Vol. II: Ontology by Michael Ayers
Living Things · 21 February 1991
- Cognitive Foundations of Natural History: Towards an Anthropology of Science by Scott Atran
Signing · 5 April 1990
- Seeing Voices: A Journey into the World of the Deaf by Oliver Sacks
- When the mind hears: A History of the Deaf by Harlan Lane
- Deafness: A Personal Account by David Wright
Putnam's Change of Mind · 4 May 1989
- Representation and Reality by Hilary Putnam
- Mental Content by Colin McGinn
Making up the mind · 1 September 1988
- The Computer and the Mind: An Introduction to Cognitive Science by P.N. Johnson-Laird
Solipsism · 4 February 1988
- The False Prison: A Study of the Development of Wittgenstein's Philosophy, Vol. I by David Pears
- Wittgenstein's Nephew by Thomas Bernhard
Knowledge · 18 December 1986
- How institutions think by Mary Douglas
Select a letter to see more contributors: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z


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WASHINGTON - U.S. officials say they have received a new video of captured U.S. Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, but it is not clear when the video was taken.
A senior defense official says the video came to light several days ago, but there were no other details.
Bergdahl was taken prisoner in Afghanistan on June 30, 2009. It is believed he is being held somewhere in Pakistan.
The Taliban have said they would free him in exchange for several of their most senior operatives who are being detained at the U.S. detention facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
The officials were not authorized to publicly discuss the matter by name and spoke on condition of anonymity.


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Akira Yasuda, better known as "Akiman" is about as big as they come among Japanese game designers and illustrators.
Besides designing and planning titles like Forgotten Worlds, Final Fight, and Street Fighter II, he's created some of gaming's most iconic characters and art, such as for, again, Street Fighter II.
For a guy with credits like that, you'd think he'd command a high price for illustrative work. And you'd think that Enterbrain, the publisher of Japan's biggest game magazine Famitsu, would know that.
According to Akiman's blog, Enterbrain offered Akiman ¥8,000 (US$103) for a drawing and requested six drawings for a game character.
"My rate is from ¥100,000 ($1,300) for one drawing," Akiman blogged, adding that he would do illustrations as part of a large assignment for ¥80,000 ($1,000), but that things like the character design fee were not included in the illustration fee.
Even at ¥100,000, Akiman's rate isn't outrageous. Enterbrain's offer, however, was.
8000 [akiman's blog via はちま起稿]
(Top photo: SNK vs. Capcom SVC Chaos | Akiman/Capcom)


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Automatic versioning in Xcode with git-describe
Do you manually set a new version number in Xcode every time you release a new version of your app? Or do you use some tool that updates the Info.plist in your project like
agvtool or
PlistBuddy? Either way, you probably know that it's a pain to keep track of the version number in the project.
I recently spent some time trying out various methods to automatically get the version number from git and put it into the app that Xcode builds. I found that most of them have drawbacks, but in the end I found a way that I finally like most. Here's how.


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Are you sure?
This action might not be possible to undo. Are you sure you want to continue?
The Indian Education - Elementary Teacher Passbook® prepares you for your test by allowing you to take practice exams in the subjects you need to study. It provides hundreds of questions and answers in the areas that will likely be covered on your upcoming exam.


text:
Bearing Point
BearingPoint is a CCH Tagetik Consulting Partner
BearingPoint is a long-established European business and IT consultancy with an entrepreneurial, adaptive flair and the ability to proactively drive business change among the customers. They offer people management skills and functional expertise based on their particular industries, as well as an ability to adapt their strategic insights to the individual concerns. They focus on risk and compliance, optimization of corporate management and they enhance financial functions. They aim always to achieve sustainable, measurable results and therefore the largest possible value proposition for their customers. BearingPoint is independent, run by an European management team and organized as a partnership. BearingPoint is pmOne Consulting Partner for CCH Tagetik.
Join the CCH Tagetik Partner Network!
Deliver the results your clients expect as well as generate new business.
Let's win together!


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A Love-Hate History: Oil And Fishing In The Gulf
A Love-Hate History: Oil And Fishing In The Gulf
Second in an occasional series.
The local fisherman feared their way of life was in jeopardy when the first oilmen arrived in Cajun south Louisiana. But over the last half century, the two industries learned to live together. Oil and gas brought jobs and opportunity for many families.
Now, with the offshore oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, some are asking the question: "At what cost?"
A Balancing Act
In the 1953 film Thunder Bay, Jimmy Stewart plays an oil prospector who comes to the Louisiana Bayou. He and his partner have a solution to the "offshore problem" -- a barge platform that can plumb the deep Gulf waters. A shrimper's daughter is wary: "They'll spoil everything they touch," she says. "Oil crews with their filthy men and their filthy money."
The old film underscores the decades-long balancing act in Louisiana to harvest its most valuable natural resources -- the sweet crude deep below the seafloor, and the fertile waters above, teeming with fish and shellfish.
Anthony Chauvin has always been a man to "drag nets in the Gulf." The retired shrimper and boat builder now helps his son, David Chauvin, run the Mariah Jade Shrimp Company in Chauvin, La. The family's roots are in the water.
"Grandpa Cap Chauvin, he was the first trawler. My daddy was the second, I'm the third, and David's the fourth, and his kids are the fifth generation," he says.
It's always been a family business. Cap Chauvin's five daughters made the nets their father and brother used to trawl shrimp.
Today, the Chauvins have hung up their nets. The outriggers on their boats instead pull boom through the Gulf of Mexico to catch spilled oil.
When The Oil Arrived
At 63, Chauvin is too young to remember when the first oil speculators came to Terrebonne Parish in the 1940s. But he remembers his grandfather Cap didn't like it one bit.
"When the oil company first came down here with the Cajuns, they didn't want the oil company," Chauvin says. "And they couldn't stop 'em."
Eventually, he says, the oil companies hired local people and paid them good money. So by the time Chauvin was fishing, the oil rigs were just as much a part of the Gulf seascape as the brown shrimp he was chasing.
Disappearing Coast: Part 1
"You know, we live with the oil companies down here, and we get along," he says. He even used to work in the offshore oilfields himself.
"At times, I've seen myself in the wintertime, fishing wasn't good when I was a young man. So we would go and work for the oil company. And then when the season would come back, we would go back fishing, you know."
Often, fishing took place around the oil rigs and platforms, he says, where you could find the most shrimp.
There's a replica of an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico exhibit at the Audubon Aquarium of the Americas in New Orleans. School-age children file past the giant saltwater tank where sea turtles, sting rays, sharks and schools of tarpon circle around the legs of the rig, which serve as an artificial reef. Some of the kids are surprised to see that the exhibit is sponsored by BP and a host of other oil companies.
The exhibit illustrates the intricate relationship between coastal Louisiana and the oil and gas industry, according to Mark Davis, director of the Institute on Water Resources Law and Policy at Tulane University Law School.
"Even here, we were essentially proudly telling people how integral not only is oil and gas to just the sea life in the Gulf and our way of life, but it's essentially become integrated in the entire ecology," Davis says. "The irony is almost overwhelming."
He says Louisiana's relationship with the oil and gas industry has been a dicey one, balancing the need to protect the nursery grounds that produce a bountiful Gulf with the need to industrialize a traditionally poor state.
Taming A Wild Coast
Dating back to early European settlers, Davis says, there's been a drive to tame and develop Louisiana's coast.
Number Of Oil Platforms Off Louisiana Coast: 1942-Present
"Culturally, we viewed wetlands during much of that era as wasteland," Davis says, "and even though the people who lived in those regions knew the bounty that came from it, when somebody finally comes to you and says, 'How would you like to make four times more money than you've ever made in your life? How would you like to have a shot at a different future?' It's hard to say no. That looks like progress."
But Davis says the price of that progress wasn't acknowledged -- until now.
Louisiana's wetlands are disappearing at an alarming rate of 25 square miles a year. If that continues, an area the size of the state of Rhode Island will be under water by 2050.
Most scientists say oil and gas activity is responsible for about one-third of the state's total land loss.
Looking back, Chauvin has seen it happen in Terrebonne Parish.
"They came up in here and they dug bayous all over the place, cut across the marsh maybe a mile, two miles," he says. "And then at the end of that they'd come set a rig right there. So our marsh was cut open all over the place. That's how it disappeared."
The straight line cuts through the marsh are in stark contrast to the natural curves of the water weaving through stands of cord grass.
Big Promises, Low Returns
Chauvin says despite early wildcat promises of oil riches, families like his don't have much to show for it. They have oil rights "all over" the parish, but he says the checks he gets are "pennies on the dollar."
"Sometimes they send us a check -- it's almost laughable -- they send you a check: $10, $15, $20," he says.
He tells the story of an uncle who let the state build a levee behind his house near Lake Boudreaux. The 14 acres of land he had on the other side disappeared into the water.
Annual Percentage Change In Louisiana Shrimpers
"And then the rig came one day," Chauvin says. It was drilling where the uncle's land once was. When he protested, the state said it was part of the lake now.
"It's almost like they stole it from him," Chauvin says.
He wonders now what might have been different if the powers that be had listened to his grandfather 70 years ago.
"Five generations later, here we are," he says. "Are they going to have a sixth one? I really don't know. Is this place going to exist another 20 years from now down here? I really don't know."
This story was produced for broadcast by Evie Stone.


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Le Grand Bal a pattern for future success
So grand … If you're holding a fundraiser in the future, the surefire recipe for success would be to honor Judy and James Black and have Michele and Mitch Smith serve as the co-chairs of the event. This past Saturday evening, Lamar University's College of Fine Arts and Communication hosted the 2011 Le Grand Bal: "Rhapsody in LU" at the Montagne Center. The evening began with cocktails, conversation and perusing of LU student/faculty art available for purchase. PYTs and their escorts entered the Dishman Art Museum and were offered libations, appealing appetizers and a chance to bid on fantastic art! Guests then migrated to the Montagne Center where they entered a room awash in blue and white hues with tablescapes of crystal candelabras and a giant chandelier (cleverly thought out by Tammy and Tootsie Crutchfield) over the dance floor. Sensational sounds of The Works and The Night and Day Orchestra kept the well-heeled group on the dance floor most of the evening as they fortified themselves on the bountiful buffet (even sushi this year) provided by Chartwell's. Busy bartenders poured the Le Grand Bal signature drink "The Red and Black" made with Crystal Head Vodka (a product of Dan Aykroyd and our own talented artist John Alexander). The former and fellow artist flew in from New York for the evening to pay tribute to lifelong friend Judy Black, who was smashing in her blue dress. Spotted in the glitterati of the 450-plus that mingled, dined and danced the night away were Tonya and Mitch Toups, Susan and Jimmy Simmons, Sallye Keith, Danita and Doug Fierce, Ivy and George Pate, Lynn and Chris Castle, Pat Avery, Melody and Pat Parsons, Rita and Barry Davis, Norma and Alan Sampson, Pat Willard, Bonnie and Robert Madden, Mary Jane Garth, Susan and Tim Byrum, Sandra Clark, Brenda and Burnice Wilson, Tamara and Frank Domino, Marilyn and Ed Gripon, Camille and Chris Ohmstede, Judy and George Dishman, Jenny and Paul McKay (this cute couple is heading to the Rocky Mountains in Denver), Bonnie and Rob Tortorice, Susanne and Bob Birdwell, Pat and Keith Carter, Martha and Bill Black, Susan and Jordan Reese, Stephanie and Bernie Daleo, Pat Klein, Sally Bundy, Lettie and Warren Goehringer, and the honorees' children and spouses, Lou and John Black, and Lori and Robert Black. An elegant and enchanting evening!
Images from Cocktails and Art auction for Lamar Le Grand Bal
Images from Dinner and Dancing at Lamar Le Grand Bal
Back in the saddle … Co-chairs Jim and Tom Broussard are saddling up to save lives at Champagne & Ribs benefiting the Gift of Life Prostate Cancer Program honoring Joe Penland and Walter Umphrey on Tuesday, April 12, at Cowboy Harley-Davidson. A preview party was held this past Tuesday as Wild Hogs Round-Up chairs Beverly and Jerry Nelson organized this event at Madison's to get folks in the swing of the big jamboree to spur up support for this great cause. Chewing on crawfish and wrangling in all of the fun were Jo and Tommy Vance, Karen Fontenot, Randy Trahan, Kathy and Joey Catalano, Carlo Busceme, Sandy and Joseph Fertitta, Becky and Larry Hunter, Vicki and Tim Bauer, Larry Thorne and too many more to mention.
Images from Gift of Life-Wild Hog Round Up
Day tripping … Last week, longtime friends Kelli Maness, Matthew Maness, Carol Snowden, Jessica Malach and yours truly decided to spend a cultural day in nearby Orange. Touring the Stark Museum, Presbyterian Church, J. Scotts Florist, W.H. Stark House and Shangri La Botanical Gardens, the merry group delighted in the sights enough to work up an appetite for lunch at the Old Orange Café. Take the 20-minute drive east on I-10 and discover the wonderful history and unique attractions of this neighboring city.
Candles and cakes ... Belated b-day to Ann Lee and Steve Jennings. Champagne toasts to Ashley Norman, Jessica Prince, Jennifer Patterson, Ronda Harkey, Betsy Jenkins, Liz Cokinos, Ava Isabell, Lila Oxford, Steve Roane, Kathryn Phelan, Elizabeth Phelan, Margaret Green, Betty Greenberg, Rocky Chase and Suzanne Pate.
Until the next RSVP!


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Nutrition Facts
Percent Daily Values (DV) are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
Servings and Times
Cups of Fruits and Vegetables Per Person: 1.5
Ingredients and Preparation
- Chop spinach; place in medium bowl and add the pimentos and thyme.
- In a large non-stick frying pan over medium heat, sauté the scallions in olive oil until soft, about 5 minutes.
- Add the spinach mixture and warm through. Return to the bowl, add mozzarella, and set aside.
- In another medium bowl, whisk together the eggs and water.
- Place the frying pan over medium-high heat and let stand for about 2 minutes.
- Add 1 teaspoon margarine and swirl the pan to distribute it. Add half of the eggs (1 cup egg substitute).
- Lift and rotate the pan so that the eggs are evenly distributed.
- As the eggs set around the edges, lift them to allow uncooked portions to flow underneath.
- When the eggs are mostly set but not dry (in 2 to 3 minutes), spread half of the spinach mixture over the eggs.
- Use a spatula to fold the omelet in half. Cut in half and transfer to individual dishes. Repeat with the remaining 1 teaspoon margarine, eggs, and spinach mixture.
- Sprinkle each serving with about 2 tablespoons of tomatoes.


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I own a 2000 Ford Ranger V/6 with 120,000 miles. On some cold mornings, the truck will start to buck until I get up to 60 miles per hour. I have replaced the sparkplugs, plug wires and several bottles of injector cleaner. What can you suggest?
Question: I own a 2002 Cadillac Deville with only 66,000 miles. There is an engine knock that the dealer says is carbon buildup. They did a de-carbon treatment and the noise went away for a while. I went back and they said the de-carbon treatment will cost $400. What is the problem with this engine? How can I prevent the problem?
Answer: When we have a customer with this problem, we suggest the use of full-synthetic oil, premium gasoline and brick acceleration entering onto the freeway once a week. The carbon buildup is from a mixture of slow driving and oil deposits.Question: I own a 1998 Buick with 115,000 miles. The car screeches as soon as I make turns; the tighter the turn, the louder the screech. The local shop checked the car and could not find the problem.
Answer: The problem sounds like the serpentine belt is slipping under the load of the power steering pump. The technician can mark the belt and power steering pulley with Wite-Out, start the engine, let it idle for 30 seconds without touching the steering wheel, then shut the engine and check the marks. Next, start the engine and turn the steering wheel until the screech is heard. Again, shut the engine and check the marks. Make sure the belt is the correct size and the automatic belt tensioner spring is good. There is an adjustment mark on the automatic tensioner, and it can be checked with the belt on.Question: With gas prices high, how is the quality of the gasoline in the discount gas stations? Some people say the gas is poor quality and even dirty. Another friend says there is a lack of additives in the cheap brands. Is this true?
Answer: Here's the real deal: The off-brand gas can actually be the big-name brand that costs much more at the name brand stations. As for being dirty gasoline, it absolutely isn't. Dirty gasoline would come from old dirty underground storage tanks. The additives you mention do have some merit. The big-name gasoline refiners have their own secret additive packages. Each company has its own recipe of additives. They all claim to have the best.Question: I own a 2006 Hyundai Sonata V/6 5 speed automatic sportronic transmission. When in the manual mode and shifting from first to second, the transmission shift feels like it is slipping. I went back to the dealer and they said there is nothing they can do. I test drove a 2009 Sonata and the transmission was very firm shifting. The dealer said that if the transmission was slipping, the computer would set a trouble fault code. Do you have any ideas?
Answer: If the transmission was actually slipping enough, the computer would set a trouble fault code. The window of slippage is set up in the computer and it sounds like the slippage is not enough to set a fault code. You can try changing the transmission fluid, and using only the recommended fluid. The newer vehicles have much better programming and design.Question: I own a 2000 Ford Ranger V/6 with 120,000 miles. On some cold mornings, the truck will start to buck until I get up to 60 miles per hour. I have replaced the sparkplugs, plug wires and several bottles of injector cleaner. What can you suggest?
Answer: The first step is a check of all the basics and full engine performance test and computer test. There could be a trouble code pending that does not set on the check engine light. I looked on our Identifix Web site and there are many complaints just like yours. The majority of times, the problem is the camshaft position synchronizer. Have your technician take a test drive on Identifix.com.Question: I own a 1992 Oldsmobile Toronado. The transmission shifts hard, and the engine seems to idle high. I went to a transmission shop, and they did not find any problem. Next stop was a certified repair shop; they replaced the engine mounts. The car still has the same condition. What do you suggest?
Answer: The first step is a computer scan looking for trouble fault codes, even if the check engine light is not on. There are many possibilities. The engine idle speed will need to be repaired before the transmission testing can begin.Junior Damato writes weekly about cars. You can send questions to him care of the Old Colony Memorial, 182 Standish Ave., Plymouth, MA 02360. He can be heard live on WXBR radio 1460, 7-10 a.m. Saturday mornings.


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Rachael Ray Cutlery and Accessories
It's not just the name that sold us on these products. They are designed by some very creative people in Australia and the knives have a great feel. The sharpening system is remarkable and we have a smaller version that will be available soon from Gerber. The knives range from the introductory selection at very low prices to the copper tipped metal handle series.
Home Gift Ideas Rachael Ray Cutlery and Accessories


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I'm kinda amused to see this old post suggesting that perl developers are happier than other developers. I can well believe it. I've always been happy playing with perl than the other languages I know, although I'm not quite convinced by the method.
Just a thought though – personally, I'm happier on smaller code bases than larger code bases. Could it be that perl sees more use for moderately sized systems and other languages are used to create developer depressing byzantine balls of mud?


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lncal1

09/20/2012,09/27/2012,10/04/2012,10/11/2012,10/18/2012,10/25/2012,10/26/2012,11/01/2012,11/02/2012,11/08/2012,11/09/2012,11/15/2012,11/29/2012

840:153g:Projects/project23

yyyy/MM/dd

OWWNB

Y

|Customize your entry pages
Team Members
Cloning of the Outer Membrane f-type Cytochrome(OmcF) gene
One of the best and most studied organisms on the production of bioelectricity would be the anaerobic bacteria of Geobacter sulfurreducens.This microbe is able to produce high current densities in microbial fuel cells and there has been broad studies on extracellular electron transfer to Fe(III) oxide in this organism which might provide insights into extracellular electron transfer to electrodes. Through some research Geobacter sulfurreducens has been shown to have several outer membrane cytochromes that may be involved in the electricity production. One particular gene, the outer membrane f-type cytochrome or OmcF gene has shown its involvement in the electricity production process through a study done by researchers at the University of Massachusetts. In this study they worked with OmcF deficient microbes and found that there was a significant decrease in the reduction of Fe(III) and a decrease in current production in this microbe. By the tests done by the researches, OmcF is is shown to be required for proper levels of transcription of other genes that are highly regulated when this microbe grows on the surface of an anode of a microbial fuel cell as compared to the growth on a soluble electron acceptor. Thus showing that the OmcF plays a role in regulating proteins that help aid in the electron transport across the cell membrane. This involvement is why we have chosen to clone this particular gene.
Accession Number:AAR35805.1
1.)Grow Geobacter sulfurreducens on NBAF media
23F_omcfsf - 5'= GAATTCGCGGCCGCTTCTAGAGATGAGAGGGCTTGCCCCGGT=3'
pBad/araC which is induced through the use of L-arabinose, and inhibited by araC [1]
psB2k3 [2]
File:Cloning the omcF gene-1.ppt
File:Recombinant DNA- Final Presentation 2b.pptx
Kim, B., Postier, B., DiDonato, R., Chaudhuri, S., Nevin, K., & Lovely D. (2008). Insights into genes involved in electricity generation in geobacter sulfurreducens via whole genome microarray analysis of the omcf-de!cient mutant. Bioelectrochemistry, Retrieved from http://www.geobacter.org/publication-files/18538641.pdf [3]
Important Results and Milestones
Recently Edited Notebook Pages


text:
As of late, it has looked as though the Mazda2 will not be making a visit to America, due mostly to the presence of the Ford Fiesta in the US market. We'd gotten close to accepting this and just moving on when Mazda once again piqued our interest. Jim O'Sullivan, head of Mazda North America, mentioned at a lunch with reporters that Mazda was maybe considering bringing diesel Mazda2's over here. Sort of.
What was actually said was:
"We're not ready to make the announcement but obviously we sell diesels in Europe. The Mazda2 is extremely successful in Europe and Asia. We're continuing to watch that space in America."
Hatch tease... [The Car Connection via eGMCarTech]


text:
The Internet Services of Union Pacific Railroad Company are to be used for business purposes only. Internet Services shall not be used by an employee for his or her personal use or private gain. At no time may an employee use Internet Services in violation of company policies, practices, or local, state, or federal law. This policy includes all Internet Services, electronic mail systems, facsimile, and electronic bulletin board communications, including the Internet or the World Wide Web. If you are not an employee of Union Pacific Railroad Company or a party authorized to use this system or access this screen, please cease your use immediately. Failure to do so may place you at legal risk.
All information contained within the Internet Services is an asset of the company. Employees must ensure there is no external distribution, whether intentional or inadvertent, of material which is of a proprietary, confidential, or copyrighted nature.
Information contained within Internet services and electronic mail communications, both online and in backup archives, is a business record, comparable to a printed business memo, and can be accessed and disclosed as the business deems it is necessary.
In addition, the company may disclose the contents of Internet Services and electronic mail communications, sent or received by and to employees, whenever it believes such disclosure is required to investigate possible violations of company policy, or to ensure integrity and security within the Internet Services and electronic mail system, or in support of court order or subpoena, or for any other lawful or business reason. Accordingly, authorized personnel of the company may review electronic communications.
The company reserves the right to change its Internet Services and electronic communications policy at any time.


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San Mateo Professional Alliance Networking Lunch
San Mateo Professional Alliance
Wednesday, December 4, 2019 from 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM (PST)
Event Details
The San Mateo Professional Alliance is a business networking and leads club and we are looking for additional members. The club provides each member with valuable opportunities to promote his or her business or profession and to network with other business owners. See us on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tax2_ZvM4ik or follow us on Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/SanMateoProfessionalAlliance. This week we are welcoming, John Murphy as our special guest speaker.
The San Mateo Professional Alliance's goal is very simple, to expand each member's business! To do this we meet regularly to have lunch, to learn about each others businesses and professions and to exchange business leads. The meetings run for about an hour. Each member and each guest provides a short introduction to his or her business and explains what kinds of business leads, customers and clients the person is looking for. Then, one of the members delivers a 15-30 minute promotional presentation to the group telling all the other members in more depth about his or her business or profession, the types of products or services provided, and what distinguishes the member's business from its competitors.
The club's membership is limited to only one representative from each type of business or profession. As a result, all tax and accounting referrals go to the one CPA in the club, all real estate legal matters go to the one real estate attorney in the club, everyone looking to buy or sell a home or condo are referred to the one Realtor in the club, everyone searching for a home loan is referred to the one real estate lender in the club, and so forth.
At the meetings, members may display and distribute business cards, company brochures and other informational materials. A member will exchange a business lead when the member believes he has information about someone who could benefit from another member's services or products. Business referrals are exchanged and the lead may be as simple as the name and phone number of a person the member wants to refer to another member of the club. This exchange is a very powerful tool! Wouldn't you like to have 25 other business owners referring you business from their current and future customers and clients, friends, relatives and acquaintances?
Club members are highly motivated to expand the club's membership base because additional members will produce more business leads and general networking opportunities for all members of the club.
Club dues are very, very low - $60 per year. Membership in the club gets you an automatic listing in the club's website and in the club's printed brochure (one time fee of $40). Unlike most other business leads clubs, our club is run by and solely for the benefit of the members. We do not pay high dues to some distant central ownership organization.
We are currently involved in a membership drive and are looking for new members in several categories of business. If you would like to increase the opportunities to promote your business or profession, to network with other business owners like yourself, and to increase your client or customer base, call us. Or join us any Wednesday at 12:00 noon for lunch. Or call Mike Foor, Realtor at 650.430.6500. Or contact Mike Foor through his website at http://www.mikefoor.com/
We also have an informal networking session just before our one hour meeting and another informal networking session just after the meeting. So come early before noon if you like, or stay late if you have the time after 1:00 pm and network with other business owners.
We meet every Wednesday for lunch at noon at Central Park Bistro, 181 E 4th Ave, San Mateo. Call Mike Foor, Realtor, at 650.430.6500 for further information.
When & Where
Central Park Bistro
181 E 4th Ave
San Mateo,
Wednesday, December 4, 2019 from 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM (PST)
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Viper gunslingers are members of the Vipers gang living in the Mojave Wasteland in 2281.
Along with the Jackals and Khans, the Vipers were one of three legendary raider tribes that emerged from Vault 15 in the years following the Great War. Although once a great scourge on the Wasteland, the Vipers have since been reduced to a very weak group of raiders by the lawbringing forces of the emerging NCR.
Viper gunslingers in the Mojave Wasteland are very similar to their Jackal gang member counterparts; low-level raiders equipped with poor weapons and armor. Most wear merc outfits or less commonly leather armor, while a few wear metal armor. About half of them carry weak melee weapons such as knives or tire irons, while the rest carry firearms such as 10mm pistols or 10mm submachine guns. After the patch 220.127.116.112, Vipers will occasionally be equipped with a grenade rifle. While generally weak, Vipers armed with grenade launchers can deal heavy damage, and those wearing metal armor can resist weak firearms and pose a threat to low-level player characters.
The greatest difference between Viper gunslingers and Jackal gang members is that Jackals mostly wear wasteland outfits while Vipers mostly wear merc outfits. Vipers are also slightly better equipped than Jackals, being more likely to carry firearms, although their armament is still fairly poor and many of them still only have melee weapons.
Viper gunslingers are sometimes lead by a Viper leader, who is significantly tougher and better equipped than his/her minions.
Viper gunslingers are hostile towards the majority of the Mojave Wasteland's other inhabitants, including traveling merchants and prospectors, both the NCR and Caesar's Legion, and even other raider groups such as the Jackals and the Fiends. They are allied with the Wasteland's mole rats, with whom they share some overlapping territory.
Viper gunslingers primarily control the stretch of Highway 95 between Nipton and Novac, and are typically first encountered ambushing the player in the highway canyon area east of Nipton. Viper camps can be found at the Hidden supply cave, the train tunnels southwest of Ranger station Charlie, the Highway 95 Viper's encampment, inside the Searchlight East gold mine, on the highway near the El Dorado Gas & Service north of Novac, and at the Horowitz farmstead north of New Vegas. A large ambush of several Viper gunslingers will appear at the raided farmstead once the player enters the home/trailer there.
Interactions with the player characterEdit
Interactions overviewEdit
|This character has no special interactions.
|Other items
|On death
|Merc outfit
Wasteland outfit
Metal armor
Leather armor
Leather armor, reinforced
|Lever-action shotgun or
10mm pistol or
Tire iron or
Knife or
10mm SMG or
.44 Magnum revolver
|random miscellaneous items, aid items, chems and food
- Vipers are reasonably resourceful; if you come across a Viper camp, you will usually get a 10mm pistol along with a decent amount of ammunition. They also carry a lot of junk (scrap metal, fission batteries, sensor modules, etc.).
- After the 1.3 patch is installed on your console, Viper gunslingers may carry grenade launchers at level 8 or above, and may carry 9mm submachine guns or grenade rifles below level 8. They rarely carry .44 Magnum revolvers or 10mm submachine guns.
Viper gunslingers only appear in Fallout: New Vegas.


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Roll that spliff phatly, pack some fresh ice into the binger, and set the Volcano to "toastify." It's time for tonight's Stoner Channel. We've collected our best high-times material for the discerning pothead so sit back, relax, and pass that shit on the left, yo.
Tonight's Green Candy x Goo hybrid comes to us from reader Kossmonaut
Click here for more hits from the bong.
World's Biggest Loop-the-Loop
I wonder why they have to paint a median on the loop, are they expecting oncoming traffic? Because that would be awesome. The 42-foot diameter loop was conquered by Li Yatao driving for the Zhejiang Youngman Lotus Automobile Co. out of Shanghai, China. [Neatorama]
Remind Yourself How Beautiful Nature Is By Watching This Stunning Yosemite Timelapse
Hi, remember this? It's nature—all the stuff that isn't on our screens.
This Magical Time Lapse of Los Angeles Inside a Snow Globe Makes Me Miss Home
Snow globe or crystal ball? The world may never know.
Making Bubble Hash
Please, Youtubers, when you're doing a video walk-through—USE A TRIPOD. Gaw, it's like having a bad case of baby neck.
Base Jumping Off the Most Insane Pool in the World
Singapore's Marina Bay Sands hotel seems as good a place as any, what with its high-rise Infinity Pool. Hopefully they at least bothered to pay their bar tab.
The Incredibowl Mini
This binger-chillum lovechild looks like it could be fun. It reportedly filters and cools the hit as you draw it into the expansion chamber and has a carb so you can stack in the same manner as a conventional water pipe. If comes in five bowl colors and retails for $75 at various B&M and online outlets. Check it out in action.
My only concern is the same I have with fundamental chillum design—why can't they tilt the bowl up just a bit so you don't have to hold the damn thing like a trumpet to keep the load from falling out? There is no low-pro method of smoking from one of them which negates the entire point of it being portable.
This Montage of People Falling Out of the Sky Is Not for the Faint of Heart
Two words—Geronimo!
Out of a Forest by Tobias Gundorff Boesen
The most adorable stop-motion carnage you'll likely see this week.
Are You a Green Gardener?
Care to show off your handiwork to the Internets? If so, we want pics of your best buds, your highest-tech setups, and your bushiest bushes. Send images—960x540 minimum but we prefer 1600x900—of your legal stashes (no High Times ripoffs please) to atarantola at Gizmodo.com and we'll feature the best at the top each night's Stoner Channel. Put "The Stoner Channel" in the subject line while you're at it.
And no, for the last time, we aren't interested in seeing your wicked meth lab setup Jerry. Stop it or we're calling the fuzz.
Image: Curtis Barnard / Shutterstock


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Teacher resources and professional development across the curriculum
Teacher professional development and classroom resources across the curriculum
Past, Present, and Promise is the first program in the DISCOVERING PSYCHOLOGY series. It provides an introduction to and overview of psychology, from its origins in the nineteenth century to current study of the brain's biochemistry. You'll explore the development of psychology in general and some of the paths scientists take to determine relationships among the mind, the brain, and behavior.
Experiment: Tracking Racial Bias
Psychology is defined as the scientific study of the behavior of individuals and their mental processes. Like many sciences, psychology has evolved with technology, giving doctors and researchers new tools to measure human behavior and analyze its causes.
In this program, Dr. Mahzarin Banaji from Yale University uses the Implicit Association Test (IAT) to measure how quickly positive or negative values are associated with white or black faces. Her subjects are shown a series of words and pictures and instructed to respond immediately by pushing a button to indicate their most automatic, reflex-like reactions. For example, they may be told to press a button in their right hand if the automatic association is good and to press a button in their left hand if the association is bad. The speed with which the subjects respond is an important element of the experiment because these quick, unconscious connections can reveal biases that differ from conscious beliefs.
The IAT results are matched against functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) data to track activity in the amygdala, the region of the brain that responds to fearful or negative images. By correlating data on the buttons subjects pushed with fMRI information about activity in the amygdala, Dr. Banaji and her colleagues have found some interesting results. The majority of the white American respondents showed an unconscious association of white with good and black with bad, while the African American respondents showed mixed results. Half more quickly associated black with good, and the other half associated white with good.
Tracking brain activity in controlled experiments reveals not only the region of the brain at work, but also the power of images and messages in our culture on the subconscious human psyche, bringing psychologists one step closer to understanding human behavior.
Dr. Banaji and her colleagues at Yale have created a Web site with a version of their IAT, which refines and improves previous methods of gathering data. Measure your own implicit attitudes and learn more about IAT research on their Web site. https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/demo/takeatest.html.
Discovering Psychology: Home | Series Info | Series Glossary | Pioneers | Site Map | Credits
Program Pages: Text Links to Programs 1-26
Explorations: History | Research | Brain | Development | Approaches
©2001 WGBH Educational Foundation All Rights Reserved
© Annenberg Foundation 2017. All rights reserved. Legal Policy


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Fiscal cliff deal reached
The White House and Senate leaders reached a bipartisan compromise on the fiscal cliff that would allow tax rates to rise on income over $450,000 and delay steep automatic federal spending cuts for two months.
(PHOTOS: Fiscal cliff's key players)
Story Continued Below
The Senate was poised to vote on the package some time after the clock turned to 2013 on New Year's morning, and the House could vote later in the day on Jan. 1.
The final deal was hammered out between Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Vice President Joe Biden, after nearly two months of talks between other leaders failed. President Barack Obama called Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) Monday night, and a Democratic source said both leaders signed off on the package.
( Full coverage of the fiscal cliff)
But there were indications that might have slightly overstated the case: A Senate Democratic aide insisted that Reid simply offered to give Biden a chance to sell Senate Democrats on the accord, as the vice president did at a 90-minute meeting at the Capitol. And Pelosi, in a statement issued shortly after 10 p.m., did not endorse or criticize the pact: the California Democrat said she was waiting for the Senate to act and then would present it to House Democrats to gauge their reaction.
Criticism came from all quarters, though it was unclear whether it represented a serious threat to the accord's prospects in Congress or the kind of complaints that were bound to precede such a difficult vote. Moderate Senate Democrats like Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) said the deal "kicked the can down the road" by failing to include entitlement reform. Liberals such as Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) complained that Obama and Biden gave away too much on taxes.
There was also a tactical divide between Senate Democrats and the White House. Many Hill Democrats believed they would get a much better deal if they waited until the new year and the country went over the fiscal cliff, but Obama did not want to risk blame for potentially pushing the United States back into a recession.
(Also on POLITICO: Grumpiness to go around inside Capitol)
Biden was enlisted to help sell the package to a skeptical caucus. Still, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said while Democrats have reservations, most agreed the deal is better than going over the cliff. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) called the mood in the caucus "somber."
Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) said he's "not happy but it's preventing an increase of tax rates for middle income Americans, and that's very good."
Leaving the caucus meeting, Biden said he felt "very good" about the deal's chances, warning reporters not to predict how the House or Senate would vote.
In a statement, House Speaker John Boehner promised to consider the Senate bill, but would not say whether the chamber would try to amend or simply accept it. He said that decision would be made after members have a chance to review the legislation.
The final sticking point was over delaying the across-the-board spending cuts slated to begin Jan. 2 known as the sequester. Those cuts will be replaced in equal parts by fresh government revenues and other targeted spending reductions.
A Senate vote on the package was expected early Tuesday morning. House sources have said they almost certainly will have to wait until later Tuesday to vote.


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Beef and Vegetable Stew with Crusted Onion Dumplings
Here is a good old-fashioned family stew – good meat and good vegetables simmering gently and slowly together, and in this slowness releasing precious juices that mingle to provide intense yet mellow flavours and the tenderest of textures.
Let's not be duped into thinking we don't have the time.This stew actually takes very little time – you'll be amazed. The time it does take is not yours. Tucked away in the oven, it will leave you free to go out for a couple of hours if you want to, ready to greet you with evocative, comforting aromas when you come home. I have included some dumplings in this recipe (because I like them!), but even without them it is perfectly good. Because our stew is going to have a long, slow cooking time, make sure, when you prepare the ingredients, that you cut everything into large chunks: if they're too small they'll tend to disintegrate. The very best meat to use is shin of beef, which has a lot of gelatinous connective tissue that is rendered down during the long cooking to give lots of depth and flavour.
Most beef labelled 'stewing' contains shin.
This recipe first appeared in Sainsbury's Magazine. Serves 6
- method
- Ingredients
Start off by placing the seasoned flour in a large bowl and dip each 2 in (5 cm) chunk of meat into it to get a good coating, then transfer to a plate.
Next, toss all the prepared vegetables in the remaining flour, then add all the meat and vegetables to the flameproof casserole dish and sprinkle in any remaining flour. Now add the thyme, season with salt and pepper, then pour in the cider, plus the Worcestershire sauce and butter beans. Put the casserole on the hob and bring it up to a gentle simmer before covering with a tight-fitting lid.
Place a sheet of foil under the lid to ensure a good seal. After that, place the casserole on the middle shelf of the pre-heated oven and cook for 4½ hours.
After this time, remove the casserole from the oven, set aside, turn the temperature up to gas mark 6, 400°F (200°C) and make the dumplings. Sift the flour, mustard powder and a little salt together, then add the suet, snipped chives and caramelised onion, and season with pepper and a bit more salt. Now sprinkle 3 tablespoons of cold water over all the ingredients and, using first a knife, then your hands, bring it all together to form a soft dough (adding a little more water if you need to).
Next, divide the dough into 12 portions and roll each one into a little round using the palms of your hands. Add them to the casserole so that a part of each one can be seen just above the surface of the stew.
Return the casserole to the top shelf of the oven and cook, without the lid, for a further 25-30 minutes, until the dumplings are golden brown and crusty.
Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 1, 275ºF (140ºC).
Using a fan-assisted oven? Click here


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View the photo gallery: Personalized plates
The California Department of Motor Vehicles overcharged by $6.3 million for its costs in handling personalized license plates, a new state audit has found.
The plates, which allow people to spell out their own messages, can cost motorists $49, plus $38 a year to renew, and the money is supposed to help the environment. The state can dip into the environmental fund to cover its costs, but the Bureau of State Audits found that they were not all justified.
DMV officials are responsible for collecting fees for personalized plates, plus a range of special-interest plates for Lake Tahoe, Yosemite Valley and other causes. The plates feature icons such as palm trees, a hand print, a firefighter or a whale tail.
The state is supposed to deposit the money in accounts for special use, such as the environmental fund for personalized plates or an arts fund for the plates with palm trees and a sunset. Proceeds go to efforts such as maintaining beaches and public coastal education programs, benefiting county veterans offices or firefighter support.
Auditors reviewed four of the agencies — the California Emergency Management Agency, the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training, the California Department of Food and Agriculture and the ScholarShare Investment Board. Those agencies used revenues from the Antiterrorism Fund and the California Memorial Scholarship Fund.
Audit of DMV special funds
In addition to overcharging for personalized plates, the state undercharged other funds by $1.1 million 2009–10 through 2011–12, the audit found.
Some funds were not spent as promised, the audit found, such as portions of the anti-terrorism fund. The state's emergency management agency used some to cover an employee's leave pay. Food and agriculture spent $896,000 on employee compensation, software costs, building leases and contract payments.
"Both Cal EMA and Food and Agriculture used money from the antiterrorism fund to pay the entire salaries of certain employees whose duties include activities related to both natural and man‑made disasters," the audit says. "However, neither state agency could provide signed time reports or other documents to support that the employees worked exclusively on activities to mitigate terrorist acts."
Parks and recreation and natural resources also could not provide full documentation of their spending of license-plate revenue on promised programs. Natural resources paid for an executive salary entirely from the environmental fund even though the executive's activities benefitted other programs, the audit says.
The audit also found that the state lost out on $22 million in revenues over two years by failing to collect fees allowed by law for special license plates, according to the audit. For example, the law specifies a fee of $99 for a personalized Olympic Training License Plate, but the DMV application shows an initial issuance fee of $50.
The DMV also failed to collect $12 million in retention fees from motorists who kept their commemorative plate but did not use it on their vehicle, the audit found.
"This report concludes that the state has not collected all revenue due from special plates and has spent some of the special plate revenue on expenditures that were unallowable or unsupported," Auditor Elaine Howell wrote in a letter to Gov.
DMV spokesman Armando Botello said the agency has generally not continued collecting fees from people who kept a personalized plate after they no longer have it on a car.
"DMV will do an analysis to determine whether it makes financial sense to change this practice," Botello said. "As for the other fees, DMV has developed plans to take corrective action."
Brown and lawmakers ordered the audit last year after a report found poor oversight of the program. The Associated Press in May reported that state officials used $3 million from
The plates cost $50, plus a $40 annual renewal fee. They feature an American flag and the slogan, "We Will Never Forget."