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Alle Neue Segelboot kaufen Italien
Bavaria Vision 462020Auf Anfrage
Enjoying life on the water simply should not remain a mere vision. A VISION 46 makes this a reality. This yacht is made for people who want to stay on board for long periods of time without compromising any luxuries – at least, not any which are technically possible on a yacht. The VISION 46 has space for living and storage space for everything you like to have with you when sailing in both the two cabin and three cabin versions.Mehr481
Bavaria C502020Auf Anfrage
With family or with friends – the BAVARIA C50 is about the pleasure of sailing, but it's about relaxation too. Together you can enjoy a fabulous time on water or on land, and with a lot of people. That's because, as well as a three, four and five-cabin version there is even a six-cabin version available. As with the BAVARIA C45, the C50 comes in three different equipment levels: 'Holiday', 'Style' and 'Ambition'.Mehr21
Bavaria Vision 422020Auf Anfrage
With a VISION 42 you will not only experience first class sailing, you will also be a first class sailor! This is made possible by an extraordinary, unique exterior and interior layout. The companionway from the cockpit to the saloon is moved to starboard in the deck assembly, which opens up new possibilities for the cockpit layout – a cockpit table is incorporated, fitted with a handle to transform it into a sleeping surface. There is also is plenty of space for sunbathing behind the two helms – and not only for the helmsman.Mehr131
Bavaria Easy 9.72020Auf Anfrage
BAVARIA EASY 9.7 is focused only on the essentials. It is up to each owner to decide if she will be a day sailor, weekender, yacht or racing yacht – because she can be all of these. Her open stern, spacious cockpit and functional and elegant interior makes it clear what sailing is all about – fun! The uncluttered layout makes the BAVARIA EASY 9.7 safe and efficient to be handled under sail by a crew of one or two. The genoa winches can be reached by the helmsman with a handle, making manoeuvring a breeze. That's why I'm easy!Mehr9
Bavaria Cruiser 462020Auf Anfrage
The jury said: "European Yacht of the Year 2015". We say: that comes as no surprise! That is because you would be hard pressed to find another sailing yacht in its class that offers more space, more comfort, more luxury if you want it, and is also this easy to handle. One special feature: if you would like to make 4 cabins out of the 3-cabin version, the huge forward cabin can be transformed into two smaller cabins in just a few steps. Clever and innovative – like everything from BAVARIA.Mehr171
Bavaria Cruiser 412020Auf Anfrage
Whether you want to go on a relaxing holiday cruise with your family, take a short break with friends or just spend a few days alone as a couple – welcome to the CRUISER 41, welcome to a whole lot of fun. The CRUISER 41 is available in a 2- or 3-cabin version. Our CRUISER 41S was designed for sailors with sporty ambitions. She is for the owner who would like to compete in regattas and championships – and wants to be out there with the front runners. A taller mast and a slightly deeper keel are two of the characteristics that distinguish the 41S from her CRUISER sister, the 41.Mehr161
Bavaria Cruiser 46 Style2020Auf Anfrage
You will love spending time below deck. The BAVARIA CRUISER 46 Style takes your breath away with her luxurious interior design – the best materials, comfortable upholstery, classically elegant ambience and plenty of light. Plus the possibility of customisation – for example in the colour of wood, the floor and the choice of upholstery. Whatever you desire.Mehr7
Bavaria Cruiser 41S2020Auf Anfrage
Whether you want to go on a relaxing holiday cruise with your family, take a short break with friends or just spend a fewdays alone as a couple – welcome to the CRUISER 41, welcome to a whole lot of fun. The CRUISER 41 is available in a2- or 3-cabin version. Our CRUISER 41S was designed for sailors with sporty ambitions. She is for the owner who wouldlike to compete in regattas and championships – and wants to be out there with the front runners. A taller mast and aslightly deeper keel are two of the characteristics that distinguish the 41S from her CRUISER sister, the 41.Mehr101
Bavaria Cruiser 512020Auf Anfrage
The CRUISER 51 is one of our largest sailing yachts. But you hardly notice this when she is sailing, so unbelievably easy does this boat handle. Designed to accommodate up to ten crew members, the standard version comes with three cabins. However, at the owner's request this could be changed to five cabins – to meet every need.Mehr161
Bavaria Cruiser 51 Style2020Auf Anfrage
Perhaps it is because of German engineering. Or being 100% Made in Germany. Or our attention to detail – with high-quality materials and first-class design. Or maybe it is all of this that makes the CRUISER 51 one of the most popular privately owned yachts from BAVARIA. She embodies outstanding, uncomplicated sailing characteristics, as well as the ultimate in comfort – her exterior and interior alike are pure luxury. And if that is not enough, the owner can incorporate personal wishes into the design. Satisfaction guaranteed.Mehr9
Bavaria Cruiser 342020Auf Anfrage
We believe that even smaller yachts can be tremendous fun. With the CRUISER 34 we have succeeded in bringing together the most important aspects of sailing – sailing pleasure and spaciousness – in one boat. This yacht has excellent – and very safe – sailing characteristics. The XXL cockpit area is pleasantly commodious during sailing and in between. And below deck there is all the room you need for six people. The CRUISER 34 is the small, yet still very great BAVARIA. It comes in a 2- and a 3-cabin version with single or twin helm positions.Mehr101
Bavaria C572020Auf Anfrage
The BAVARIA C57 is a pure expression of class, elegance and the finest craftsmanship. With the design and style of a megayacht, it sets new trends and boasts a long waterline which guarantees high basic speeds. Employing our new BAVARIA VacuTec Technology, we have made the BAVARIA C57 into a sailing yacht with a light, ultra-stable hull to add to its awesome design and exclusive appointments. With decades of experience, extraordinary results like these are par for the course.Mehr71
Bavaria Cruiser 372020Auf Anfrage
The CRUISER 37 is a cruising yacht for sailors who like to be sporty but don't want to neglect the relaxing aspect of their leisure time either. Get it all with the most comfortable spaciousness – in the 2-cabin version for four people or the 3-cabin version for six. The CRUISER 37 offers sportiness and pleasure par excellence.Mehr131
Bavaria C452020Auf Anfrage
When we designed the BAVARIA C45, we wanted to create a yacht which people would feel completely at home on – with features like the huge bathing platform, big cockpit and bright saloon – and also a yacht of the utmost flexibility. There are therefore three versions: 'Holiday', 'Style' and 'Ambition'. Furthermore, this is the only yacht in its class available in a five-cabin version as well as three and four cabins, and which has a dinghy garage for a tender. The new BAVARIA C45 is an absolute all-rounder.Mehr12
Fountaine Pajot Catamaran Alegria 672020Auf Anfrage
Presenting a Flagship to deliver breathtaking bluewater holiday experiences for everyone to share… An expansive flybridge with an authentic ocean terrace and a forward cockpit that can accommodate a jacuzzi; just some of the hallmarks of a lifestyle worthy of the finest homes and affording the incomparable pleasure of owning a Flagship. The Alegria 67, a trully catamaran yacht, evokes your finest senses, whether you are on the Flybridge experiencing the exhilaration of sailing or simply relaxing on the decadent lounges or sunbathing beds. Sheer Style…The Alegria 67 is true to her name – the Portugese word for 'joy' – offering sublime relaxation spaces including an expansive flybridge, private lounges, foredeck Jacuzzi, a cockpit seamlessly integrated with a saloon featuring panoramic sea views, her Beach Club embedded gangway, and much more. The stunning interior is boldly modern and incredibly spacious to deliver the ultimate in comfort and luxury… The Alegria 67 offers you the choice of situating your epicurean galley in the passageway to enhance the main living space, or alternatively level with the saloon where you can enjoy the chef's presence. Indulge in unforgettable gourmet experiences with fine wines and fresh produce handpicked from one of your stopovers, or just relax with light refreshments and cocktails with friends before disembarking to dine ashore… Three versions of the Alegria 67 are available… • Owner's version with an exceptional suite in its own hull.• Lounge version, which features a galley along the passageway so the saloon is exclusively dedicated to entertaining and relaxation.• One version in which the catamaran is designed with numerous cabins (each with ensuites) and crew space to meet specific requirements.Mehr341
Fountaine Pajot Lucia 402020Auf Anfrage
BE CAPTIVATED BY DESIGN, COMFORT AND PERFORMANCE! This exciting new 40-foot catamaran sailboat has been exclusively designed to deliver a simply superb experience at sea and while moored. Remarkable volumes and light-filled living spaces allow you to comfortably share the experiences and create life-long memories with family and friends. The Lucia 40 is a true revolution in her class. No other catamaran sailboat of her size has fabulous living space of the Lucia 40, which includes a luminous saloon, generous cabins, expansive 12m2 cockpit, and a decadent lounge area on the bow that spans more than 3m2! She is also the only 40-foot catamaran sailboat that includes four bathrooms and also boasts the largest Owner's suite available in her class. Beautifully appointed, the Lucia 40 has all the contemporary conveniences you need for carefree cruising, so you can relax in comfort while experiencing the catamaran's impressive performance at sea.Mehr201
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Before today, I had never heard of Jim Kidney. And I certainly hope this isn't the last time I do.
Kidney, a longtime trial attorney for the Securities and Exchange Commission, delivered a barnburner of a going-away speech at his retirement party last month, which has only just begun to make the rounds publicly. Thanks to the union that represents the agency's employees, everyone can now read the whole thing. After a career in the SEC's enforcement division that began in 1986, Kidney, 66, was gracious, polite and full of good humor. And for the most part he didn't name names. But sometimes it wasn't hard to figure out whom he was talking about.
For example, note his reference to "broken windows" in this passage:
Combined with the negative views of the civil service promoted by politicians and the beatings we take from the public, it is no surprise that we lose our best and brightest as they see no place to go in the agency and eventually decide they are just going to get their own ticket to a law firm or corporate job punched. They see an agency that polices the broken windows on the street level and rarely goes to the penthouse floors. On the rare occasions when enforcement does go to the penthouse, good manners are paramount. Tough enforcement –- risky enforcement –- is subject to extensive negotiation and weakening.
That one could end up sticking like a glop of tar to Mary Jo White, the SEC's current chief. Back in October, as Bloomberg News reported at the time, White gave a speech in which she said her enforcement program would emulate the "broken windows" strategy used by former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani to signal that disorder would be not tolerated.
"Minor violations that are overlooked or ignored can feed bigger ones, and perhaps more importantly, can foster a culture where laws are increasingly treated as toothless guidelines," she said. "And so, I believe it is important to pursue even the smallest infractions."
There's something to be said for that, sure. But the SEC also has to go after big fish, not just guppies. And after about a year at the SEC's helm, White is turning out to be not much different than her recent predecessors in that regard. There have been a handful of cases against big names such as JPMorgan Chase & Co. and hedge-fund manager Philip Falcone, but few that caused more than a flesh wound — and never a settlement where a defendant was required to admit liability for fraud. (Heaven forbid.)
There's a lot more that Kidney said that's worth repeating, including his comments about the revolving door:
I have had bosses, and bosses of my bosses, whose names we all know, who made little secret that they were here to punch their ticket. They mouthed serious regard for the mission of the commission, but their actions were tentative and fearful in many instances. You can get back to Wall Street by acting tough, by using the SEC publicity apparatus to promote yourself as tough, and maybe even on a few occasions being tough, if you pick your targets carefully. But don't appear to fail. Don't take risks where risk would count. That is not the intended message from the ticket punchers, of course, but it is the one I got on the occasions when I was involved in a high profile case or two. The revolving door doesn't push the agency's enforcement envelope very often or very far.
Here's what he said about the SEC enforcement division's obsession with measuring its performance by the number of cases it brings:
It is a cancer. It should be changed. I have suggested to our higher ups on several occasions starting a discussion about factors we –- after Monday, you — should weigh in evaluating investigations to be sure our resources are being well-spent and properly distributed. It has gone nowhere. One argument against change is that the press and Congress are welded to our own anvil. But I submit that there are not more than a dozen reporters who matter covering the commission, and about the same number of Hill staffers. I imagine they would welcome coming to an educational event about the division's new metric, one which focuses on quality, not quantity. Who could be against it? Goodness knows we spend millions promoting even our emptiest achievements. Why not promote a new metric that will be sensible and helpful? Current management of the division would either adjust or leave.
Nor does he think much of the SEC's recent efforts against small-time fraudsters in far-away countries:
I saw on Tuesday on one of those hallway screens we have now at the home office showing a slide promoting how the SEC now goes after defendants in China, India and, for all I know, Moldavia and other obscure nations. My question: Are we so sure that our own domestic corporations and audit firms are law abiding that we can spend vast quantities of staff time and taxpayer money worrying about firms in other countries because a handful of ADRs are sold on U.S. markets? Are we so paralyzed by the organizational stovepipes we have created and made more and more of that we can't flood the zone on important cases instead? Do we have to preserve bureaucratic organizational boundaries by sweating the minutiae just so each organizational unit can claim to have enough to do to protect some manager's turf? When a case against an Indian corporation which likely will default or settle for a meaningless (in India) "sin no more" injunction is as important as one against a Wall Street giant, and I know for a fact that in some instances way more is spent on the lesser case, there is a problem with our management. It has been going on a long time. It should stop.
Here's a thought: How about making Jim Kidney an SEC commissioner the next time a seat comes open? As he said: "We need to get and keep at all ranks people who believe in the mission of this agency, believe in afflicting the comfortable and powerful, and are willing to put their time in. Those people are becoming quite scarce." Especially at the top.
See also:
SEC's Gallagher: Fiduciary rule likely not coming
SEC gets 26% funding boost under Obama's 2015 budget
Federal regulation: 5 things to expect in 2014

subset: commoncrawl


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Under the gleaming, lifeless sprawl of an alien dystopia, a desperate top-secret experiment is taking place. A machine is built to travel beyond the depths of space and time. It finds a primitive dimension and a planet whose inhabitants seem to have been expecting it.
This is the short film version of the music video for the track Kananana by The Emperor Machine (Andy Meecham). The original version can be found here.
Written and directed by: Cassiano Prado. Stop Animation: Guilherme Marcondes. Editor: Jordan Crute. Director of photography: Peter Emery.
Production Companies: Agile Films and Mixer Brasil. Sound Design: Kieron Teather AKA Wolfson at Element Audio.Also tagged Agile Films, buildings, bw, Cassiano Prado, claymation, Guilherme Marcondes, jewels, Mario de Toledo-Sader, micro, science fiction, suitcase


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Tooling Article
Why Choose In-Die Welding?
|This die is outfitted with equipment for nut insertion via welding onto a progressive strip. In-die welding for such applications can save big money for stampers over traditional secondary welding operations given sufficient part volumes.
Technology exists to join parts and add fasteners within the press bed, with welding units and accompanying automation tuned to the press stroke and fitted into the die framework. The key is marrying this technology with the right jobs.
Myriad Advantages
For insertion of nuts to sheetmetal parts, for example, in-die welding boasts numerous advantages over secondary joining operations. Labor is a major cost savings as in-die welding and automated delivery of nuts to the weld unit eliminate the need for shop-floor personnel to handle parts out of the press, deliver them to a secondary station, set up the parts, place the nuts and perform welding. Even given automated welding, labor is needed to reach that point.
Also, secondary welding eats up floorspace, a major consideration in many tightly packed metalforming shops. Consider the amount of space needed to house a full secondary operation. Then consider how such space must be freed up near the press—premium space to be sure—to help minimize part transport after forming. Transport is another issue. How much time is wasted while parts route to a different area of the shop or even to an outside vendor and back? In-die welding can eliminate all of that.
Energy costs, a huge issue these days, rise as secondary operations such as nut welding demand their own power sources. The meter already is running on the press line, so energy use is minimized if operations can be piggybacked there. And being automated, in-die welding offers a quality advantage over manual secondary welding.
The repeatable process ensures high-quality joining part after part, with setup standardized and stored for each job. Sensors can verify nut presence and that welding has been performed, and process parameters for each weld can be stored for analysis.
Comparison Shows Potential Savings
Ocon Automated Systems, Barcelona, Spain, provides comparison information that points to the potential savings of in-die welding. The company offers patented in-die welding units for resistance welding of nuts and bolts. The units, available for retrofit or installation in new progressive, transfer or tandem dies, can weld at press speeds to 60 strokes/min. and can weld from above, below and even on cams.
Suppose Company A and Company B use progressive tooling to produce two-out parts at the rate of 70 parts/min. Company A performs secondary semi-automatic welding at the rate of 6 parts/min. while Company B opts for in-die welding. With the job requiring 1 million press strokes,
Company A must spend 5500 hr. (three operators across three shifts) to complete it on time. Company B requires only 476 hr. of job time. Setup and ancillary work are not included in these calculations.
Company A spent $104,000 for the progressive die along with nut-feeding and welding equipment, while Company B spent $230,000—$55,000 for the die, $35,000 for nut-feeding equipment and $140,000 for three in-die-weld units and related machinery. Though initial cost for stamping plus in-die welding cost $126,000 more than stamping and welding as a secondary process, labor costs at Company A eat up that initial savings. Using Company A as a baseline, Company B can pay off its in-die-welding investment in approximately half a year.
As Ocon officials note, cost savings depend primarily on the weight/
dimension of the part and the number of parts to be produced. If in-die welding saves $0.15 per nut, with, say, 330 nuts in a family of parts for the same automobile, the process would save $50 per automobile for the metalformer.
This progressive strip shows how in-die welding is employed at Gestamp MB Navarra to fasten nuts. The process also works in transfer dies.
Mercedes-Benz Supplier Makes the Switch
Impressed with in-die-welding advantages and ROI timeframes, Gestamp MB Navarra, a unit of Tier One automotive supplier Gestamp, runs Ocon units on some of its stamping presses in Spain.
Ocon's welding units, 70 mm thick, accept nuts, bolts and studs from the company's feeders. Each welding unit is controlled by a welding cabinet, featuring adaptive medium-frequency timers. The welding units have inputs and outputs for communication with the press and welding cabinet. The welding and feeding cabinet rests on wheels to facilitate movement from press to press, with simple connection via multi-connectors allowing the feeder to be changed in less than 5 min. Different feeders can be connected for applications where more than four elements are needed.
The Mercedes-Benz supplier inserts 17 million nuts and bolts annually, according to Fernando Napal, Gestamp MB Navarra technical director, so it needs an efficient insertion method.
It purchased its first Ocon in-die-welding unit three years ago, for a small progressive die that produces two-out shock-absorber parts. Prior to in-die welding, the metalformer manually placed parts into dedicated secondary welding machines. These units allowed nut insertion at a rate of 425-700 parts/hr. for similar parts, but the two-out prog. die churns out 2600 parts/hr, stamped and nut-welded. Napal estimates a cost savings of about $0.18 per part using in-die welding in the application. MF
See also: OCON Automated Systems S.L.
Related Enterprise Zones: Welding
Reader Comments
I like the valuable info you provide in your articles. I'll bookmark your weblog and check again here regularly. I'm quite certain I'll learn plenty of new stuff right here! Best of luck for the next!
Do you need to use special cutting presses for this in die welding.


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KGAI-Montgomery County Airpark, is situated in a convenient location with easy access to the Metropolitan area.
We offer Contract fuel through World Fuel Alliance, however with fuel releases we can honor other Fuel Management Companies. We have also recently become a member of CAA. We offer coffee, hot chocolate, ice, water, newspapers as well as fresh baked Uncle Ralph's Cookies on Fridays! The onsite restaurant, Airport Cafe, offers catering and a comfortable place to have lunch or breakfast. Please visit website, www.dcmetroaviation.com, for more information about our facilities.
We look forward to seeing you soon!
Data is submitted by registered FlightAware members on 2019-Dec-31 15:09.You must register or login to edit FBO information.
Jet A and 100LL airport fuel prices for all FBOs at KGAI


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The second law of thermodynamics asserts that things move from a state of high energy to a state of low. The universe, which began as a ball the size of a marble, exploded with such energy that it is still expanding X years later.
Rain falling from the skies dissipates the energy imparted to it by gravity. This rain, falling over millennia, seeks the lowest possible level, the level, that is, where the energy could no longer be dissipated. In its descent the water has carved rivers, valleys, streams and paths.
When Boston was a village, cows and cowherds followed these riven paths, and the paths became the growing city's streets. The city planners and residents laying out the streets allowed not only the energy of the water but the energy of decision to move freely, letting it take the easiest path "downhill." They built along the cow paths, called the cow paths streets and later paved them.
Imagine now the nation's first immigrants, flowing from a state of high order (Europe) into a state of low (the New World). Europe, in this case, could be said to be shedding its energy, as any engine must do, and this new source of energy—the immigrants—transformed the land.
The Native Americans lived here for millennia in more or less the same way. Nothing much changed their culture, as there was no new energy source to do so. Then the Spanish introduced the horse, which was—and is—a machine harnessing cheap energy (the sun) and turning it to use. The use to which Native Americans turned this new device was marauding, theft and conquest: in short, war, which is, finally, the dissipation of excess energy in the quest for cheap energy. (There is, proverbially, nothing more difficult to get than "easy money." And otherwise incomprehensible wars may, perhaps, be explained as the thermodynamic effect of "throwing good money after bad.")
The First World War was fought between the two most advanced and most closely aligned civilizations in Europe. Germany and England, in the heat of the Industrial Age, had energy to expend (look at their military uniforms), and this excess energy was spent in braggadocio and the incessant prosecutions of various claims of territory and allegiance. These claims were as real to those rulers, and perhaps to their peoples, as is first love to a 17-year-old. The force of their claims was not delusion but truth, driven by the intolerable goad, in the youth, of hormones and, in the state, of wealth.
America, at the height of our power, more powerful than any nation in history, blundered into that war that announced and accelerated our imperial decline. Was it "a good idea" to spend 10 years in Vietnam at the cost of 60,000 American dead and, quite literally, inestimable treasure?
How did it happen? May we not indict the second law of thermodynamics? For the roots of this war, as that of the First World War, may be found in pretension born of excess. Germany had pretensions to stewardship of various Balkan states. And we to be stewards of Indochina—why? What poor man has these delusions? They are an outgrowth of surplus.
Greater power demands more effective outlets for its use, which is to say for its dissipation and waste—either directly (the internal combustion engine) or through inefficiency (fashion). Here, the emperor is like the billionaire, who has the power not necessarily to accomplish his supposed goals (a bigger yacht, a cliffside home) but to expend energy in their pursuit. The richest man, with his pick of mates, may marry a shrew. He must make decisions, and whichever decisions he makes will involve the expenditure of energy and the risk of total—and the certainty of potential—waste.
The billionaire may also invest his money. Here, in addition to risking his investment, he is diluting his power over it. Here he has, like a sovereign nation, made an alliance with other forces of control: advisors, accountants, lawyers, consultants. These treaties are made to promote not only the stated goal, mutual security, but the unstated pursuit, individual self-estimation. Both are at risk. He may give money to a hospital; the hospital bearing his name may prove inefficient or corrupt. Britain may have had treaties with Czechoslovakia and France against Hitler, but Chamberlain broke the British treaty of military support with Czechoslovakia. The Czechoslovak army, the most efficient on the continent, was larger than Hitler's and could have defeated him. Having sacrificed Czechoslovakia, Chamberlain then abided by a treaty with France for the mutual defense of Poland; both of these actions, his original betrayal and his subsequent support, led to World War II. Why would Chamberlain act with such absurd inconsistence? Because he was human.
As we are a product of energy (some quantum folks would say we are energy), we must run downhill; that is to say, we, forced to make decisions, must regularly choose wrongly, which is to say, expend irretrievable energy. Therefore, all civilizations must eventually fail. Lincoln put it magnificently in his Second Inaugural Address, in which he suggests that all the wealth accrued through slavery may have to be dispersed through the medium of war.
But there is, of course, no status quo ante, and the effects of slavery, and of the Civil War, are, even today, occupying our energies, physical and mental; and original unfortunate choices in the source of cheap energy (slaves) are still playing out their course downstream in affirmative action, welfare, "diversity," busing and our foreign policy (those with darker skins are considered "more worthy"), just as they did in Jim Crow segregation, lynching and miscegenation laws.
Is this progression toward chaos a sign of man's evil nature or, put differently, of our ineradicable propensity to search for an easy way to do a hard job? The introduction of slavery into the United States, and the refusal of the Continental Congress to outlaw it in our Constitution, was a predictable human vote for something-for-nothing, for cheap energy; or, say for energy conservation, in the avoidance of a difficult choice. It turned out, in the event, to be the most expensive choice our country ever made.
Slavery was abolished at the cost of great agony, sacrifice and waste. It was the expenditure of energy in the service of Good (a rather unique choice and one recapitulated by our participation in World War II). Here the United States, as a body politic, acted to defend the powerless, with no ulterior motive. But two things occurred, the first being that such massing created the most expeditious machine for the dissipation of energy the world has ever known, the Federal Government; and the second, that we, as a people, had learned a Good Trick.
This trick ("doing good") gave to the body politic great satisfaction, as it should, and to politicians great opportunity to exert and expand their power and to solidify their perch on the catbird seat, through demagoguery.
Our Good Trick, in fighting the Civil War for Good, persisted. We fought the Spanish in Cuba and the Philippines for similar reasons, not the least of which was to defend the honor of an American white woman who was supposedly examined and affronted by Spanish officials in Cuba. Our cultural memory retained the sterling example of heroism in the Civil War, and newspapermen like William Randolph Hearst, and others who might otherwise profit from the Spanish-American War, brought it about.
The presumption of goodness, on the part of a country or an individual, is moot. Information is costly, and we humans tend to make the easiest choice and call it good. So the defeat of tyranny in the Second World War, as the machine was not yet exhausted, led to the occupation of Japan and Germany and the restoration of their economic health.
But our occupation of Japan led to the defense of South Korea and thus to our doctrine of opposition to Communism, which led us to Vietnam.
Was our stance against Communism a mistake? In Asia, arguably so (North Korea is Communist today, as is all of Vietnam); in Europe, we must say no, as our presence through the Cold War kept Europe free of totalitarian slavery.
But note that, with the fall of the Soviet Union, the United States' presence in Europe, always opposed by the very folk protected by it, is decried at home; and we, in the waning days of our empire, withdraw our forces, creating that cheap energy (material resources and slaves) that will, in time, be garnered by Russia or by a revived Ottoman Empire.
We cannot escape the essential nature of the machine, which is human nature and its elaboration into society. The billionaire must have a bigger plane, and the country must have its excess cathected into war, government "programs" and other attractive waste.
The healthy uses of our energy are spelled out in the Constitution, and they are reducible to the law that the government shall do only those things the States cannot do, and the States only those things from which the individual may profit but with which he cannot supply himself (courts, roads, sewers and so on).
The attempt of the body politic to live under the Constitution has resulted in 226 years of strife. It must, as individuals must differ in their intelligence, goodness, information, resolve and willingness to debate. That is the meaning of "a free society."
The Constitution is the possession of the American people. It is not the fiefdom but rather the rule book of those employed to administer it. It is, however, inevitable that with the growth and prosperity of the Country, energy would become diffuse—flowing from a state of high entropy (the individual) to one of low, the government.
The rejection of Governmental power in aid of the governed is so rare as to be the stuff of legend. (When George III heard of George Washington's resignation as commander, the king remarked, "He is the greatest man in the world.")
The question, finally, is, What is going on here? How is it possible that Germany and England, twice in two decades, retired to the traditional dueling grounds to kill off an entire generation of their youth? Why did we follow France to Vietnam, and Russia into Afghanistan? Why have we, the citizen—owners of this country, allowed an entrenched class of bureaucrats to have control over our laws and resources? Here is my own law of thermodynamics: The blonde always breaks up the band.
The successful band attracts groupies. The groupie, girlfriend, boyfriend, spouse of the most successful member of the band may inherit a certain power. He or she, at the least, may, in bed, comment upon or indeed contravene the decisions made in the studio. He or she is taking easily offered (cheap) power and using it. Does this make these operations evil? Not necessarily. The paramour may very well have the interests of the band at heart and may even have musical knowledge and insight. But the mechanism of decision (the band in the studio) is forever altered and weakened. The other band members, faced with this new regime, each will find his or her own blonde (paramour, agent, brother-in-law), for the precedent has been set, the compact has been broken, and energy will take the most efficient path downhill, and thus it ends in court. As it does with our government in the waning days of American hegemony.
What can one say of a country in which elected officials voted, in a 2,400-page bill, to give the government power over six percent of the economy, according to laws that no one had read? "We have to pass the bill to find out what's in it," said Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House. Is this an example of daylight madness? Of course.
It is also an example of the dissipation of energy.
Money, put in the vulgate, has burned a hole in our pocket. The larger yacht looks not only attractive but essential to the billionaire, the trophy wife to the successful merchant; and our actions in concert cannot but partake of our individual nature, which is to expend energy and, after the fact, to explain the expenditure as reason.
Is the West dismantling itself because we are fools? Of course we are fools; we are human. Is this devolution inevitable? Yes, though its course and speed are unforeseeable.
Is my view overly bleak? I don't think so. The human body, a machine, has its natural span. We have extended the human life span greatly, but it cannot be extended indefinitely, as such would fall afoul of the Second Law.
We might understand our lives as a house built on a cliff. In an attempt to enjoy the view (get something for nothing), we spend much time and energy (including the expenditure of information costs) testing the soil, researching various modes of construction, studying or paying others to study winds and tides and the optimum architectural design to promote structural longevity. And then we build our house. Do we intend it to last forever? We know that neither it nor we will last forever, but we plan to have it last a "reasonable" amount of time.
But we may have sited our house in error, winds may change, the soil reports may have been inaccurate or, indeed, fudged; a freak, which is to say rare but probable, wind or earthquake may tumble our house down the cliff. It may outlast us, but neither it nor we will last forever. And no civilization can last forever.
Note that a large component of energy is expended in information costs: what is the best site for the house, what are the best materials, who is the best architect, what is a reasonable price and so on. The Wright brothers profited from their own pursuit of information, from years of testing and thought, and from the energy expended by hundreds of others in studying not only the nature of flight but of air, winds and mechanics.
Now the United States has turned its back on manufacturing. And the current administration is, inexplicably, tragically, opposed to development, experiment and the personal wealth that funds them; we may see, if we step back, an astonishing phenomenon. We, American citizens, do a small fraction of the physical work done a century ago; we do a fraction of the manufacturing work done a generation ago. But the energy this work amassed must be dissipated (just as the billionaire must dissipate the hundred million or so for the new yacht advertised as "the latest thing").
Our current administration, our President, who has not vetoed one spending bill in one and a half terms, has risen to power as a proto-Marxist; that is, one dedicated to an equal distribution of goods, such equality effectuated by the state's ability to confiscate and award.
Note that those things he has done in supposed support of conservation (banning drilling, banning the Alaska pipeline, banning development the EPA might find objectionable, attempting to overtax medical devices, bludgeoning a health care bill through Congress) have, inevitably, resulted in a greater consumption of energy—just as the production of the electric car uses more energy than the continued use of the aged internal-combustion vehicle.
All expenditure of energy increases disorder. It seems there is no exception. Is there, however, any comfort? I think so.
A myth is not an untruth. It is an attempt to state, poetically or symbolically, a shared foundation belief that cannot be empirically proved. When quantum physicists posit the big bang, they are, essentially, retelling a myth first noted some time before.
I refer to Genesis, in which we are told there was nothing and then there was something. The something, in the Bible, is called God; the physicists call it the singularity, that which came from nothing and caused everything. Both formulations may be reducible to "Damned if I know.…"
In the Bible we are told God created the heavens and the earth (the universe, which was void and dark), and the spirit of God hovered upon the face of the waters. And so the first process described in our foundation myth (the foundation myth of the West) was evaporation, which is to say the movement of energy from a more- to a less-ordered state.
God then, as we know, created light, day, night and a firmament between the waters below and the waters above, which machine we may, if we wish, recognize as a cell and the text as a description of the cell dividing. The cell, of course, grows into various creatures and, eventually, culminates in Woman and Man, who, in their first human act, get into trouble.
And there we have it. Adam and Eve form a family, which begins to fight and kill. Other families arise; none are happy. Jacob's prosperity leads to children who quarrel, and one of them, Joseph, is abandoned to slavery. He rises to be vizier of Egypt. Moses, another Jew risen to prominence, takes the slaves out of Egypt, and they reward him by clamoring to go back and put an end to all this foolishness.
They do not know how else to dissipate (employ) their energies. So, as they cannot any longer use their energies according to the way of slaves, they turn their energies on Moses, who has forced them into this new, traumatic position.
I will not belabor the parallels with the current position of Western democracy wending its way back to the sea.
Of what is all this headlong elaboration in aid? Toward what are we rushing and why? This daunting problem seems to admit of no solution at all, but if we address it not as a problem but as a solution in itself, it may begin to make some sense.
If before the big bang there was nothing, and if all energy since then is expended in the manner best suited to return the world to that state, then all seemingly random permutations of energy dispersal must be attempts to accelerate the return to chaos.
Life then, human and otherwise, may be understood not primarily as the desire to perpetuate life (which just begs the question "Why?") but as an attempt to maximize this dispersal.
The paramecia, reptiles, primates and so on evolved toward the agent best capable of waste; that is, the human being, whose sole adaptive excellence is the ability to conceive of and create increasingly effective engines for the discovery and dispersal of energy.
Though we may not find this purpose flattering, we may draw comfort in being part of a universal plan in which even if God did not love us, he must admire our capacity to throw ourselves into our work.
This article was originally published in the 60th Anniversary Issue of Playboy. Check out more from the issue at and from every issue in Playboy's complete archive, visit iplayboy.com.
Illustration by Chris Buzelli


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SARATOGA SPRINGS -- Fingerpaint, a strategic advertising agency in Saratoga Springs, recently acquired Cotton Hill, an Albany company that provides full-service audio and video production. Cotton Hill has helped create sound and video for regional and national clientele across multiple industries, including education, banking, law, entertainment, health care and tourism. "We wanted to strengthen our in-house television, radio and online video capabilities, and we found the perfect partner in Cotton Hill," said Ed Mitzen, Fingerpaint's founder and one of its four partners. "The staff there is expert at producing digital media and also has extensive experience in audio post-production." Mitzen said the purchase lets Fingerpaint serve clients in every aspect of broadcast and online content production. "Fingerpaint's goal of creating breakthrough work for its clients is a perfect fit for us," Cotton Hill founder Ray Rettig said. "We've worked with Fingerpaint as a partner for years, and we're looking forward to taking our clients' work to an even higher level together." Cotton Hill will be rebranded as a Fingerpaint office. Its state-of-the-art studio, designed by renowned studio architect John Storyk, will remain in Albany. All of Cotton Hill's staff will join Fingerpaint, bringing the agency's employee count to 82. Employee-owned Fingerpaint is committed to original thinking and uncommon collaboration. Seefingerpaintmarketing.com
. Saratoga Springboard supports Saratoga Mentoring SARATOGA SPRINGS -- Saratoga Springboard, a group of young professional volunteers dedicated to empowering Saratoga County nonprofits, has teamed up with Saratoga Mentoring to enhance community programs. For more than 20 years, Saratoga Mentoring has provided services to youth who are in challenging circumstances. In working with past project partners such as Caffe Lena, Franklin Community Center and Saratoga Springs Preservation Foundation, Saratoga Springboard has provided signature fundraising events that the agencies carry out in subsequent years. "This year, our focus is a bit different," said Alysa Arnold, founding member and Saratoga Springboard vice president. The group will work to raise awareness and establish a marketing plan that coincides with an annual appeal to the community, which Saratoga Mentoring will execute. At the same time, they are looking for unique opportunities to increase funding. "We are so glad to have the support of Gaffney's in our mission," Arnold said. Through their partnership, Saratoga Mentoring will unveil a new logo, launch a social media campaign to better connect with the community and educate the public about its mission, with the ultimate goal of raising needed funds. "Saratoga Mentoring is truly remarkable. The volunteers there care for the entire family unit, not just the children enrolled in the program," said Betsy Boland, founding member and Saratoga Springboard president. "They take extreme care to ensure all the needs of the family are met. It is inspiring to witness, and I wish more people were aware of the amazing opportunities the nonprofit provides." To learn more, go tosaratogaspringboard.com
. BSNB completes branch renovations GALWAY -- Ballston Spa National Bank recently completed renovations at its Galway office at 5091 Sacandaga Road. In keeping with the renovation theme, special offers for home improvement loans, home equity lines of credit, mortgage loans and other bank services will be available to the public through mid-July. The Galway office is one of five BSNB locations to undergo renovations this year. Originally opened in 1974, the location now offers the safety and convenience of a drive-through ATM, an updated look and an enhanced banking experience. "BSNB has been a proud member of the Galway community for some 39 years," BSNB president and CEO Christopher R. Dowd said. "With this investment, we hope to build on the strong relationships we have established over the years and to enhance the service and support we provide to our customers." Renovation celebrations at the Malta, Stillwater, Greenfield Center and Milton Crest offices are scheduled for this month.


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In March 1966, LIFE magazine published a feature under the quietly chilling headline, "The Crime of Being Married." Illustrated with photographs by Grey Villet, the article told the story of Richard and Mildred Loving, a married interracial couple battling Virginia's anti-miscegenation statutes. Villet's warm, intimate pictures revealed a close-knit family, including children and grandparents, living their lives in opposition to a patently unjust law — but also captured eloquent moments that suggested just how heavily the Loving's defiance of that law weighed on the very private couple.
The LIFE article and Villet's images, read and viewed today, assume a poignancy and power perhaps unimagined by the magazine's readers in 1966. The couple, after all, was awaiting an appeal on a court ruling that had, in effect, banished them from their hometown. At the time, the Lovings were adamant (in their own unassuming way) that they had no interest in being cast as Civil Rights heroes. All they wanted was to live their lives and raise their children in peace.
But decades later, we know what the people in Villet's published photographs — a frowning Richard Loving; Mildred Loving, her eyes downcast — might have hoped and prayed for, but could never ultimately count on: namely, that a year later, on June 12, 1967, the U.S. Supreme Court finally and unanimously decided the case of Loving v. Virginia, ruling against the state and finding all anti-miscegenation laws across the country unconstitutional.
Here, LIFE.com presents a gallery of Grey Villet's photos of the Lovings, along with sections of the article (below) that appeared in the March 18, 1966, issue of LIFE:
Both Lovings were born and raised in the isolated hill country around Caroline County, north of Richmond, where there has always been an easy-going tolerance on the race question. It stirred little fuss when the couple culminated a long and agonized courtship by traveling to Washington, D.C., to get married in 1958. But five weeks later the county sheriff routed them out of bed at 2 a.m. and took them off to jail. A local judge handed down a year's sentence but suspended it if they agreed to leave the state immediately and stay away for 25 years.
Badly frightened and unaware of their right of appeal, the Lovings lived five years of hand-to-mouth exile in Washington. Even so, they were re-arrested when they returned for a visit to Mildred's family. Released on bail, they wrote a letter to then-Attorney General Robert Kennedy, asking for help. This led the American Civil Liberties Union to take an interest in their case. The Lovings decided to take up permanent residence in Virginia and fight. Now their case will return to federal court — where Loving v. Virginia may well become the next big landmark in civil rights.
Richard and Mildred Loving realize that their fight will affect the lives of many other people if they win; there are probably a half million mixed marriages in the U.S. at present. But the Lovings do not look upon themselves as champions of civil rights.
"[We] are not doing it just because somebody had to do it and we wanted to be the ones," says Richard. "We are doing it for us — because we want to live here."
[Visit GreyVillet.com to see more of the photographer's work]


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Your favorite shows from Hulu may be coming to the iPad after all, but only if you're a paying customer. Sources speaking to MediaMemo say that Hulu is considering a pay version of Hulu on the iPad as part of its larger plan to eventually charge for content.
The company has been entertaining the idea of introducing some kind of pay model to its TV and movie offerings since at least mid-2009 and probably earlier. Since then, Hulu has been discussing the possibilities a little more publicly, with the most recent talks involving the idea of putting back episodes of shows behind a paywall while keeping recent TV episodes free.
The latest news out of MediaMemo has the company considering moving from a one-screen model (keeping shows limited to your browser) to a three-screen service: computer, TV, and mobile. "Just three screens alone is pretty enticing," one unnamed executive told MediaMemo.
Indeed, the browser limitation was one that we heavily criticized when the idea of Hulu charging for content first came out; if the company allowed TV and mobile streaming as part of the subscription plan, but kept browser-watching free, it could very well entice consumers to fork over a few dollars every month. "Everyone's concerned about making a strong offering at a good price, and not undercutting the existing business," another source said.
Such a move move wouldn't be surprising—it's a common practice for companies that offer multiple tiers of service to only make extras available to paying subscribers. The bigger question would be how Hulu plans to bring its content to mobile devices when Flash support is still missing from the most popular of those devices (iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad included).
The company isn't stupid, though—we were told recently that Hulu listens closely to customer requests and is constantly evaluating how it can improve the viewing experience. Translation: we'll consider ditching Flash for other technologies if our customers want it bad enough (and we can convince the content providers to go for it).


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This time around, ACRL was a better experience than last time, thanks in a large part to those of you who introduced yourselves to me, and to several of my LSW friends who spent a great evening together on Saturday. As I sat in the closing keynote (with IRA GLASS, people!!! Now that's how to close out a conference!), Ira's performance reinforced what I love about this profession, what made the sessions that worked work, and what had been missing from the sessions that failed to live up to my expectations.
He sat on that stage, surrounded by drapery, potted trees, two giant screens, an ACRL logo-bedecked podium, and stage lights. He sat there in a hoodie behind a tangle of cords, a mixing board, two high-powered CD players, and a large microphone. And in the midst of all this, there in that stark contrast of the majestic and the mundane, he explained that facts and their presentation can either be surprising and joyful, or they can be confining and boring. Story telling depends on suspense and on the story-teller's ability to couple facts with ideas. Plot isn't enough to hold our interest. Plots become stories when the story-teller can zoom out, so to speak, and show the broader landscape that gives these factual details their context. Story is all about how facts — so local, so specific — apply to something larger, something more meaningful.
Most of the sessions I attended were chock-full of facts. Several had organized those facts into a cohesive plot. Only a couple, though, managed to make those facts interesting and broadly applicable. Only a couple managed to zoom out and perform that first level of abstraction that would lodge in their listeners' minds, prime them for that level of anticipation and surprise that makes learning enjoyable.
Even beyond explicating my own enjoyment and my own learning at this particular conference (or lack thereof), I hope I can work a healthy respect for surprise, suspense, joy — story — into my teaching. Research is the quintessential environment for coupling facts and ideas, and it can be presented in ways that either stifle interest or expand it, ways that either bore or surprise. If my students learn nothing more than that what they find can interest people, I will consider that they have learned something important (and that they should come back to me to learn how to actually go about mimicking the research habits of scholars in their fields).
Ira may have covered this in the 20 minutes after I had to leave to catch my flight home, but I think the musical pauses he works into his show (and which he worked into his performance at ACRL) are also key elements of story telling. If his structure is plot, plot, plot, plot, idea, plot, plot, idea, then I think the pauses exist to give people space to comprehend. It's the serious version of comic timing, and it's just as important to the overall effect. And if there's one thing that I learned from watching both Ira and Sherman Alexie (another incredible speaker that I truly enjoyed listening to at this conference), it is that these pauses are carefully planned. There is nothing accidental about them, just as there's nothing accidental about the ideas that these story-tellers present to give their plots meaning.
I am very bad at pausing.
Little by little I will become a better teacher and presenter. And in a strange way, both the successful presentations at this conference and the presentations that failed to deliver served to illustrate just where I want to concentrate my efforts this coming term.


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Anyone who has ever traveled with small children and juice cups knows; what goes in must come out. Our intake into our lives, whether it is food, behavior, what we read and who we hang with, are all part of who we are. All day long it's intake and output. This is one of the reasons 24 hour television news can be too much intake. We can't survive this way of life is we fill our "cups" with murder, mayhem and doom. Take a break once in a while to fill yourself with nourishment that comes from a beautiful landscape, a photo from your past, a hug from a child or a big fat gooey hot fudge sundae. There is so much in life that is good.
It's so easy to forget the pleasant, the beautiful and the uplifting as we pour the contents of our cups onto the ground. We fill our lives and time with doctor's appointments, self-pity, too much TV and soaking up the negative side of life. Sure, there's a lot of it out there but you don't have to "drink it." How do you fill your cup when it's dry and empty? Let me share a few ideas with you, okay?
Be Creative: In his book, An Anatomy of Illness, Norman Cousins talks about his friend Albert Schweitzer. Cousins states, "Albert Schweitzer always believed that the best medicine for any illness he might have was the knowledge that he had a job to do, plus a good sense of humor. He once said that the disease tended to leave him rather rapidly because it found so little hospitality inside his body. The essence of Dr. Schweitzer was purpose and creativity. All his multiple skills and interests were energized by a torrential drive to use his mind and body. To observe him at work at his hospital in Lambarene was to see human purpose bordering on the supernatural. During an average day at the hospital, even after he turned ninety, he would attend to his duties at the clinic and make his rounds, do strenuous carpentry, move heavy crates of medicine, work on his correspondence (innumerable letters each day), give time to his unfinished manuscripts, and play the piano. 'I have no intention of dying', he once told his staff, 'so long as I can do things. And if I do things, there is no need to die. So I will live a long, long time.' And he did—until he was ninety-five."
Certainly, if the great Dr. Schweitzer could ease his many responsibilities with music therapy and a good, finely tuned sense of humor, surely it would good for us as well. These ideas may not take our pain away from us, but we don't have to make it so darned welcome, either. Don't build your life around your pain; just drag it with you wherever you go.
Give it Away: You might say, "Me, in my shape? I have so little for myself why should I give anything to anyone else? I know, it is an enigma of sorts. It's somewhat like the magic cup. The more you give, the more the cup refills itself. Does not a nursing mother have more milk for her infant the more she gives? What you give is up to you. If you have a few extra dollars give to a worthwhile charity. Many organizations like the Wounded Warriors or St Jude children's hospital perform a great deal for others by many, like you and I sending in ten or twenty dollars each month. If you can make it to the store, buy extra and drop some of it off at your local food bank on the way home. Load up those extra books you've read and aren't going to read again, find a small box and take it to your local library. If they don't want it for the shelves, they will be having a book sale or know someone who can use them. If you have old coats or other clothing just hanging there in your closet, taking up space, donate it to a group that will get it to someone who has no coat.
While you're at it, give away your anger, your hostility and your morbid self-pity. You don't need them. Those you don't share, you just sweep them out with the dust on the floor and those puppy hairballs. Some folks I've known like to write these feelings on bits of paper, along with the names of people who have "crossed" them in some way and either shred them or mulch them into the garden.
Many believe and wisely so, if you give of your goods you're giving little compared to giving of yourself. Someone needs you today. You don't think so…open your eyes.
Beware What You Put In: Many years ago, as a young medical assistant before I became an RN, I worked for a group of ENT men who were also plastic surgeons. The one who dealt mostly with issues of the ears, nose and throat liked kids and he always seemed to be the one on the removal detail. Let me explain in a poem I wrote about him some time ago.
Doctor's Jar
A simple glass jar with Kerr stamped on the side
Resides in the place of honor on his desk.
A lifetime of retrievals on display for all to see.
Various colored buttons, copper pennies and Monopoly pieces,
A red and white aggie, tiny tin soldiers and paper clips,
All rest together with numerous baby teeth,
Barbie barrettes, fishing weights and bobbers.
His personal favorite is a green glass shooter
Just like one he had as a boy.
All have been reluctantly retrieved from screaming,
Runny-nosed children, strapped to gurneys,
Immobilized to prevent further harm and easier access.
Usually there was a crying mother at the side,
Whimpering , "It's not my fault," or "Wait 'til I get you home."
The jar filled with treasures
Proves his tangible worth as a specialist
Who knows how to use alligator forceps,
More impressive than any of the numerous
Framed diplomas on the wall.
I fear, as adults we just change venue. We put many things into our bodies, our "cups," which don't belong there, whether it's bitterness, rancor, too many drugs, too much alcohol or just fear of life. We need those alligator forceps to snatch them out. Beware what you allow into your body, your life and your mind. So many poisonous ideas out there, beware.
Put Goodness in your Cup: We all have within us the power for decency, kindness and courage. We need to admit our true selves' entry into our own lives. We need to stop trying to please others and discover who and what we really are. We can easily say yes to goodness and empower ourselves and thereby those around us. It's similar to those adages about a smile using less muscles than a frown, etc. Within each of us is the ability to aid, help, carry, give and love. Each day is comprised of 24 hours, as you know. That is life—your life and mine. We are each unique. Isn't that a wonderful idea to realize? You can do something I cannot do. I can do something I alone was created to do, as well. Embrace that idea. Don't let this daily pain keep you from finding the unique you. We each have talents, abilities, creativity, kindliness and the list goes on. I encourage you to find and have the confidence to discover who you are, love that person and go out there and drag your pain along with you. Live life in those 24 hours each day. Don't just exist.
What's in your cup today? Is it full or empty?
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There are a lot of good project ideas in this thread. I've tried to collect all of the specific ideas. I present these here in a poll. Since there are a lot of ideas, and an unknown number of voters, I'm not sure how good of a picture we will get.
I'd prefer some kind of instant-runoff voting, but we can't do that here, so let's simulate it with multiple polls. If this initial poll doesn't show a clear winning idea, let's cut the number of ideas in half (keeping the top 50% vote-winners) and try again. We'll pare it down eventually.
The options are presented in a randomized order.
Happy voting.


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Online Learning
Online Learning courses at Laurier provide a flexible and interactive way to learn. You may earn credits toward a certificate, diploma or degree.
For details on academic requirements, including those for a major or minor, refer to the Undergraduate Calendar.
Academic & Related Dates Spring/Summer 2012
Other Calendars


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Ideal for mid-sized vehicles, the ContiPremiumContact 2 features 3D grooves to optimise braking performance in both wet and dry conditions.
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Continental's ContiPremiumContact 2 is a superior quality tyre ideal for mid-sized luxury vehicles. It features 3D grooves to optimise braking performance in both wet and dry conditions. A higher number of tread blocks and an open inner shoulder allow water to be dispersed evenly, providing excellent protection against aquaplaning. Contact between the road and the tyre is maximised through a rugged tyre pattern and an asymmetric tread.
Developed in Germany, tested by experts and approved by vehicle manufacturers, Continental is a safe choice for your car, van, SUV or 4x4. Continental's award-winning tyres come fitted to one in three new cars built in Europe, and go through years of development and thousands of miles of testing before release. Tested in Continental's world-leading braking test facility, each German-engineered tyre is guaranteed to perform in the toughest conditions.
E Grade – Below average fuel efficiency, however there may in some cases be a good reason why the rolling resistance is higher, for example where tyres are specifically designed for more grip, such as sports car tyres or winter tyres.
B Grade – Nearly the best quality tyres to stop in the wet, stopping only 3m more than a grade A tyre but on average 15m shorter than a car on grade G tyres (on a wet road when braking from 50mph – testing according to regulation EC1222/2009)
2 Bars – Meets future EU noise limits
71 dB – Exterior noise level measured in decibels (dB). The lower the exterior noise level the better the environment near busy roads


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Nearest Town: Bonner's FerrySite Size: 30 mile loop
Highlights: Raptors, Shorebirds, Songbirds, Upland Birds, Waterbirds, Waterfowl
Access: Open late May - October 31. Access free of charge.
Directions: On US 95, N of Bonners Ferry, turn W on Riverside Ave (District 15/CR 18) (this rd is just south of the bridge crossing the Kootenai River); go W 7 mi to West Side Rd; R (N) on West Side Rd to FR 633 (Myrtle Creek Rd); W on FR 633 until it meets FR 661; S on FR 661 (over Cook's Pass); E onto FR 402 and continue down Snow Creek drainage to CR 13 (Lion's Den Rd). A side trip to Roman Nose Lake may be reached by turning off FR 661 at junction with FR 402/FR 1007. Allow at least 2 hours more travel time for this side trip.
Description: In the summer of 2003, a forest fire burned the first 5.5 miles of this loop. The burn provides excellent habitat for birds such as warblers, woodpeckers, Spotted Towhee, and Dark-eyed Junco. Watch for American Dipper in the streams. American Pipit is often seen at high elevations near Roman Nose Lake. Listen for Hermit and Swainson's Thrushes at higher elevations. Grouse and raptors may be spotted anywhere along the route.
More Information: USFS (208) 267-5561Bonners Ferry Chamber of Commerce(208)267-5922
General Services:
Handicapped Services:What do these icons mean?
Select a species from the list to view other sites on the Idaho Birding Trail Sites this species may be observed.


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LocationWaller, TX
Waller, TX 77484
New 2017 Dutchmen RV Aspen Trail 2790BHS
Dutchmen offers the convenient dual entry Aspen Trail 2790BHS travel trailer with a rear corner set of double size bunks for the kids, a rear full bath for cleaning up after a fun day outdoors, and an outside kitchen for the chef in the family, plus much more!
As you step inside the main entry to your left you will find a ladder for the double size bunk beds in the left corner of the trailer. The opposite rear corner provides a full bath with a toilet, tub, and a vanity with sink.
The single road side slide out opens up this space and includes a u-shaped dinette, and sofa with overhead cabinets. An entertainment center is located on the exterior wall of the walk-in closet and pantry along the curb side.
The kitchen also features a refrigerator, three burner range, microwave, overhead cabinets, and lots of counter space plus a double kitchen sink along the interior wall.
A front private bedroom offers a queen size bed, dual shirt closets and a shelf between them, plus a second entry/exit door from outside.
If you are looking for the outdoor chef in the family, take a look near the rear of the trailer at the outside kitchen. There is a two burner stove-top and sink, plus more!
RV ServiceRené gets things done. Great service. Thanks - Dan
Request More Information
Stock# 5576
Exterior Color: WHITE
Interior Color: SANDALWOOD
|31 ft 11 in
|Ext Height
|11 ft 3 in
|Interior Color
|Exterior Color
|Fresh Water Capacity
|52 gals
|Grey Water Capacity
|84 gals
|Black Water Capacity
|42 gals
Dutchmen Manufacturing has a long history of innovations and market leadership that dates back to 1988. They were acquired by Thor Industries in 1991, and are now one of the largest brands of conventional and fifth wheel trailers in the world. Dutchmen Mfg. produces several widely recognized brands of recreational vehicles which include; Aerolite, Aspen Trail, Breckenridge, Coleman, Denali, Dutchmen, Infinity, Kodiak, Komfort, Razorback, Rubicon and Voltage. With any Dutchmen product you will find the latest innovation and quality built recreational vehicles that will make your travel time away from home the most enjoyable. Dutchmen products include travel trailers, ultra lites, fifth wheels, toy haulers, destination trailers and park models.With Thor Industries financial strength and leadership in the Recreational Vehicle industry you can expect that Dutchmen Mfg. will be here providing the best products and service for years to come.


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"Now we can go into the wild," says Nancy Berliner as we step into a garden overgrown with waist-high weeds in the center of Beijing. This is no abandoned lot, but a largely untouched corner of the Chinese capital's famed Forbidden City. Nearby, hordes of tourists plod across the vast imperial plazas. But in the garden, the only swarms are mosquitoes. Amid the 20-ft. high rockeries, groves of bamboo grow virtually unchecked, and a wild wolfberry plant with ripening fruit stands in the middle of our narrow pathway.
The Forbidden City takes its English name from the fact that in imperial times it was truly off-limits: no one could enter and leave except with official permission. The 1911 revolution changed all that, and the Palace Museum, which was established in 1925, now sees more than 8 million visitors every year. But due to the Forbidden City's massive size its 179 acres house 980 buildings some of it remains closed to the public.
Those still-forbidden parts of the Forbidden City include much of the Qianlong Garden, built in the late 18th century as part of a retirement complex for the powerful and long-ruling Qianlong Emperor. While 27 structures have been maintained in the garden's exteriors, their interiors have been left largely untouched for most of the past century. Now, this "jewel of the Forbidden City," as Jin Hongkui, the Palace Museum's deputy curator calls it, is slowly being refurbished through a collaboration between the museum and the World Monuments Fund. And as part of that project, 90 recently restored objects from the garden will travel to the U.S. this fall for shows at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Mass., the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City and the Milwaukee Art Museum.
Many of the 18th century objects that will be displayed are symbols of the Emperor's devout Buddhism. They include a hanging panel filled with niches that hold intricate figurines of Buddhas, deities and historical teachers from the Tibetan Buddhist sect to which Qianlong belonged. There is an elegant lacquered screen covered with images of luohan, enlightened disciples of the Buddha depicted with exaggerated facial features, and a fascinating two-ft.-tall cloisonné mandala, used as a visual aid in meditation.
While treasures from the Forbidden City have traveled to U.S. before, this show is unique in that the objects have only been seen by a handful of officials, museum staff and other experts since the last Emperor left the Forbidden City in 1924. "They've neither been displayed in China or abroad. They've never been seen before," says Berliner, curator of Chinese art at the Peabody Essex Museum. "They're also from a part of the Forbidden City that's so different from the rest of the Forbidden City. These objects were made for a context that's about being contemplative. It's not about being big, official, national, a victorious ruler or emperor. It's about being a scholar and a Confucian and a Buddhist."
The U.S. tour starts at the Peabody Essex on Sept. 14. Palace Museum officials had previously visited the Massachusetts museum and were impressed with the Yin Yu Tang, a late Qing dynasty house that was relocated from China's southeastern Anhui province and rebuilt on the museum grounds. That connection eventually led to the decision to show the garden's restored items at the Peabody Essex, though some Chinese have complained that the objects should have first been put on display domestically. But Feng Nai'an, assistant director of the Palace Museum, says the overseas exhibitions are important to raising international understanding of the Forbidden City. "Our preservation work is relatively well known within China, both because of our own publicity and the masses of people who come here to see things with their own eyes," he says. "We felt that we should let our foreign friends learn more about our preservation work." The U.S. was also a natural destination, he says, because of the successful cooperation between the Palace Museum and the New Yorkbased World Monuments Fund on preserving the Qianlong Garden, which began in 2002. So far one building, the Juanqinzhai the Studio of Exhaustion from Diligent Service has been restored.
That structure includes a small living space with standing mirrors a novelty at the time and a small theater where the Emperor could have enjoyed performances. Massive murals depicting palace buildings, magpies, cranes and a bamboo trellis with trompe l'oeil images of wisteria that appear to hang from the ceiling were removed for cleaning and touch-ups. Specialists restored frames that had been carved from zitan, a rare wood, to resemble bamboo, and artisans in south China recreated fabrics and upholstery based on original designs.
Extending such efforts to the rest of the Qianlong Garden will not be easy. In Fuwange, the Pavilion of Achieving Hopes, which lies just to the south of the restored Juanqinzhai, the floors are barren, the wallpaper is peeling and one large section of wall looks to the untrained eye like it had burned damage that was actually caused by lacquer peeling to expose the wood beneath. The restoration of the entire garden is expected to last until 2019. "We don't want to rush through this," says Feng. "We want to move forward steadily." After a century of entropy, the Qianlong Garden will have to wait a little bit longer to see its full glory returned.


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Why Banks Won't Make a Lot of Money on PICC IPO
PICC is the latest Chinese company to hire multiple banks to take it public. The WSJ's Ken Brown explains why this trend is making it harder for banks to turn a profit in Asia.
This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.
I ... the the ... I he has ... a whopping ... seventeen thanks to take the company public ... I'm Deborah con joining me now is Ken Browne Hong Kong Air Chief and ... finance carrot ... cake and ... how the underwriters doesn't really take to do an IPO like this ... well ... it's a good question I not been a no was never hired ... this many banks to do an IPO ... Annie decoder rewriting the rules of the IPO game in Hong Kong ... okay so I mean ... obviously if you have so many benefits lower fee is right so so what the what is that the night in this particular deal and how does that compare to ... an impasse IPO's we've seen and not many this year but right right this is not a great year for IPO bankers in Hong Kong ... that are ready and in this this ... this deal so the fee is actually ... not that it's a big deal it's a three point six billion dollars deal ... to get the two a half percent ... of that in fees that relatively high for recent deals ... preceding ... being divided by seventy nine and it doesn't go weekly some a scheme or some extras ... for the average it out it's about five million dollars the bank ... still go back to the AIA IPO Coakley years ago ... these were lower ... but Kerr Bank was about thirty million pounds ... Kyi Chinese companies doing this and this seems to be a new formula not so ... new anymore in the past year ... Iran is saying that Chinese companies are getting ... out while listing the hiring a lot of banks so why why this ... well so that the companies that Chinese companies are pushing back so ... typically bankers re in these deals bankers in open ... broaden the investor's brain containers organizes here ... the Chinese companies to state-owned giants ... are running the show in silk ... typically citizen thing here it's been ... topical cornerstone investors to bring someone commits ... early to a big chunk and they get to make it in first dibs on the stock sell a I G is a big investor hearing of the five and two million dollars ... but typically ... the the company was going public ... will say hey where are you guys these banks and the new galactic or so ... this time they said ... you although I get quarter so investors will see how much you bring in the know me know when you've read then we'll give you your assignments in that thing and then determine what can you make ... of it I think that this is impacting the bank's business and strategy in some sense because you know ... I'm several years ago everything I think they were talking about our IPO's things and honk on them and thinks unified team competing of them ... but now and now that the formula is being said I when it tavern where they can make them ... yet well as with the bank has a scratching their heads about and honk on the spirit ... so they're making it harder to stop the bond market's been agreed on any issue this year he's a novice I that is beyond signed ... deals to be deals but know this this cash cow for the investment banks ... has really dried up you know ... the ECB even on the market it's been so slow here so ... outcome was the biggest IPO market in the world for the last three years ... up ... this year right now it's rained Number four or so after the New York Stock Exchange Nasdaq ... and calling for ... to know if you're honk on you know one of the ranks behind calling for ... if they get this deal done helped put him in a column


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Articles of Faith: The unfortunate age of entitlement in America
Some will remember the hot book of the 1970s, "I'm OK -- You're OK" by Thomas Harris. Harris' tome was part of the self-esteem movement of the time. Thirty years later, self-esteem seems to have morphed into entitlement.
Perhaps the book for this decade will be, "I'm Entitled and So Are You! (Though Perhaps Not Quite So Much as Me)."
Such a book, popular as it might prove, would lack therapeutic value. A more helpful book might bear the title, "I'm Not Entitled and Neither Are You -- So Get Over It!"
Entitlement issues are increasingly a concern of psychologists and therapists. Pastors and some educators report similar concerns. We seem to have come to the place where we feel entitled to the good life. We're entitled to have everything work for us. If it doesn't, someone must be to blame, and you can be sure of at least this: Whoever is at fault, it isn't us.
What a crazy idea!
Imagine a pile of presents under the Christmas tree as large as Bunker Hill that's taken for granted. That's just the way it's supposed to be. Every kid has a right to presents by the heaps, and even that will disappoint if the latest, coolest thing isn't to be found.
A person standing on a beautiful beach in Hawaii with a frown on his face, muttering, "I really liked our spring vacation better" -- that's an entitlement issue, too.
I read that these days mental health types see young people on a regular basis who are absolutely certain their lives should be better than they are and someone else is to blame. But not only young people. This seems to be an intergenerational dysfunction. Working in an upscale retirement home can be a tough gig! Talk radio shows and their jocks specialize in identifying the culprits and not very often are they us. And when it's our own children who have stepped in it, the self-righteousness of parents can be a wonder to behold.
The upshot is a culture of complaint. We have, it seems, grown fluent in the language of blame, complaint and grievance, while having lost our linguistic capacity when it comes to words such as, "Please," "Thank you," and "I'm sorry."
We also seem increasingly disabled when it comes to those locutions that express personal responsibility for our part in the problems that beset us. After all, how can we possibly say, "It's my fault," when we've been weaned and schooled on self-esteem? If I'm OK and you're OK, then it must be "Them."
A sense of entitlement means that we feel that we have a right or a claim to something, whether it's the best school, a grand home, preferential treatment, or the good life.
How has this pervasive sense of entitlement come to pass? Is it self-esteem run amok? Is it the emphasis on "rights" in speech and thought? Is entitlement a corollary of affluence or a consequence of consumerism? Does it owe to being the world's sole superpower? Whatever the cause, this much seems true: Entitlement is the handmaiden of the ego, the sign of a neglected, malnourished soul.
Entitlement signals a rejection of the very DNA of America. Our national genetic code, at least at one time, was patterned on respect for the common man and woman. It was sequenced by a belief in the dignity of human life that's not the consequence of having, but of being.
My paternal grandmother, who grew up as an orphan in the Midwest, was imprinted with this genetic code and made a point of passing it on to me. During one visit to her quite humble home, I said something that must have sounded either arrogant or entitled. She fixed me with a stern look and said, "Mister, don't you ever think you are any better than anyone else!" It was memorable precisely because I knew beyond the shadow of a doubt that I was special to her, the apple of her eye. And yet putting my self above others was never to be tolerated.
In the end, it's the entitled who, however rich, are truly poor. Instead of knowing life as a gift, life turns into something that's taken for granted -- or worse, begrudged. That's real poverty, and no sense of entitlement can alleviate it.


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Monday, January 20 for Martin Luther King Day. *The Martin Luther King Branch ONLY will be open 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
The Library houses many extensive special collections in its archives. These finding aids describe MPL's special collections. Not all of the Library's special collections and archival materials currently have finding…
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KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Former Democratic Rep. Ike Skelton, who built a reputation as a military expert and social conservative during 34 years representing western and central Missouri in the U.S. House, died Monday in Virginia. He was 81.
Skelton died at Virginia Hospital Center in Arlington, Va., surrounded by his wife, his sons and their families as well as longtime colleague Russell Orban, who confirmed the death. The cause was not immediately released, but Orban said Skelton entered the hospital a week earlier with a bad cough.
A former prosecutor in his native Lexington, Mo., Skelton joined the national Kansas City-based law firm of Husch Blackwell following his 2010 defeat in Missouri's 4th Congressional District by Republican Vicky Hartzler, a state lawmaker who had strong tea party backing.
Skelton worked for the firm in both Kansas City and Washington, D.C., and maintained homes in Lexington and the Washington suburb of McLean, Va.
Skelton won the first of 17 congressional terms in 1976 and was chairman of the House Armed Services Committee at the time of his loss to Hartzler.
An astute military historian, Skelton helped build up Missouri's two military installations. As Whiteman Air Force Base near Knob Noster was losing its cache of long-range nuclear missiles, Skelton secured its future in the late 1980s by getting the Defense Department to place the new B-2 bomber there.
After redistricting made Skelton the representative for Missouri's Fort Leonard Wood in 1983, the number of troops undergoing training there more than quadrupled and the post's mission expanded from the Army to all branches of military service.
"No member of the Congress was more dedicated to America's defense and those who defend us than Ike Skelton," said U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt, a Missouri Republican who served with Skelton in the U.S. House. "He loved our country and its history and will be remembered for his contributions to both."
Born Dec. 20, 1931, Skelton met President Harry Truman as a teenager and had a lifelong interest in politics. He was elected Lafayette County prosecutor in 1956 and later practiced law with his father, but returned to elective office in 1970 when he won a six-year term in the Missouri Senate.
An endorsement from Truman's widow, Bess, helped him win his first race for the U.S. House.
"Missouri lost a giant tonight," said Democratic U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill of Missouri. "Ike Skelton represented the very best of Missouri, and fought tirelessly for the state he loved. Those of us lucky enough to call him a friend know that he lived the Missouri values of compromise and common sense. And in his half-century of service, he showed how Missouri could be a leader in contributing to the safety and security of our nation."
Until his loss to Hartzler, Skelton's closest call in a re-election bid had been a 10 percentage point victory in 1982, when redistricting changed his territory. He was a low-key campaigner but so dominant a political figure that late in his career, his campaign signs sometimes consisted only of the word "IKE" against a green background.
"He was beloved and respected by his colleagues on both sides of the aisle, and as Chairman of the Armed Services Committee, Ike was a devoted advocate for our men and women in uniform," President Barack Obama said in a statement. "To many in Congress and across Missouri, Ike was a mentor and a friend, and he will be missed."
House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi of California said, "Congressman Skelton's quiet confidence and unwavering conviction is a tribute to his roots and a testament to the political courage that defines the best traditions of leadership."
Among his civic activities, Skelton was a presidential appointee to the American Battle Monuments Commission, which is in charge of U.S. military resting places overseas, and the World War I Centennial Commission, which is planning next year's activities marking the 100th anniversary of the start of that war.
Skelton had been elected chairman of the Centennial Commission and was especially looking forward to its work, said Orban, who spent 16 years as a congressional aide to Skelton before moving into other government work in 1992.
"If he was known for anything it was for being a student of history. He prized military education and the use of history," said Orban, who was retiring from government when he accepted Skelton's invitation to practice law with him in Husch Blackwell's Washington office.
Skelton was honored at West Point in 2012 with the Sylvanus Thayer Award, presented to "an outstanding citizen whose service and accomplishments in the national interests exemplify the Military Academy motto, `Duty, Honor, Country.'"
In a Veterans Day 2010 speech at Lincoln University in Jefferson City, Skelton recounted how he dedicated his career to improving conditions for military troops, veterans and their families and to expanding the missions of Fort Leonard Wood, Whiteman Air Force Base and the Missouri National Guard.
He also expressed concern about the ability of the next Congress - led by Republicans in the House and Democrats in the Senate and White House - to find consensus. But he said his greatest concern was the potential for waning attention to the military.
"I am fearful that a chasm will develop between those who protect our freedoms and those who are being protected," Skelton said.
Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon said Skelton "embodied the true meaning of public service and will forever be remembered as a leader who left a legacy of greater prosperity and security for his district, our state and our nation."
Skelton had three sons with his first wife, Susan Anding, who died in August 2005. In 2009 he married Patricia Martin of Lexington, who survives along with his sons, U.S. Navy Capt. Ike Skelton V, James Anding Skelton and Harry Page Skelton.
Funeral arrangements are pending.
Associated Press writer David A. Lieb contributed from Jefferson City, Mo.


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It's no secret Warner Bros Interactive Entertainment is working on a follow-up to the smash hit Batman: Arkham Asylum, but what will it be called? Perhaps one of 15 newly registered, Arkham-themed website domains contains a clue?
Super Annuation has dug up 15 separate Arkham-flavoured domain records, each created on July 7, each pointing to Warner Bros name servers. While some seem more geared towards viral websites surrounding the game, like stopmayorsharp.com and wheresbrucewayne.com, others seem like they could definitely be contenders for the game's official name.
I'd buy Batman: Arkham City or Batman: Ashes of Gotham in a heartbeat, though I am particularly fond of Batman: Siege of Gotham. Most of the titles seem to point towards a Gotham City overrun by Arkham inmates. It would fit with the teaser trailer that came out of last year's Spike Video Game Awards.
Here's the full list of registrations:
- http://whois.domaintools.com/arkhamcity.com
- http://whois.domaintools.com/batmanarkhamcity.com
- http://whois.domaintools.com/batmanashesofgotham.com
- http://whois.domaintools.com/batmanbrokenground.com
- http://whois.domaintools.com/batmannewarkham.com
- http://whois.domaintools.com/batmangranddelusion.com
- http://whois.domaintools.com/batmanriseofarkham.com
- http://whois.domaintools.com/batmansiegeofgotham.com
- http://whois.domaintools.com/batmanstateofvillainy.com
- http://whois.domaintools.com/cityofarkham.com
- http://whois.domaintools.com/closearkhamcity.com
- http://whois.domaintools.com/peopleforgotham.com
- http://whois.domaintools.com/stopmayorsharp.com
- http://whois.domaintools.com/waringothamcity.com
- http://whois.domaintools.com/wheresbrucewayne.com
There's still the possibility that these domains have nothing to do with the sequel whatsoever, but as Giant Bomb points out, Mayor Sharp sounds like a reference to Quincy Sharp, the Arkham warden created specifically for Arkham Asylum. Unless he's making a movie cross-over, it looks like Warner Bros has big plans for Arkham's sequel on the internet.
Arkham Asylum Website Domains [Super Annuation via Giant Bomb - Thanks Ursas-Veritas!]