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Difference between revisions of "North"
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'''Time:''' 5:30pm
'''Time:''' 5:30pm
'''Location:''' Ryerson University Library [http://goo.gl/maps/pSUf 350 Victoria Street] - you will need to be let, I'll check periodically before 5:30pm, after 5:30pm tweet or text me

'''Location:''' Ryerson University Library [http://goo.gl/maps/pSUf 350 Victoria Street]- you will need to be let, I'll check periodically before 5:30pm, after 5:30pm tweet or text me

'''Location of Social:''' Unless someone has a better suggestion [http://www.les3brasseurs.ca/eng/toronto_yonge.php 3 Brewers] at 275 Yonge Street, Toronto
'''Location of Social:''' Unless someone has a better suggestion [http://www.les3brasseurs.ca/eng/toronto_yonge.php 3 Brewers] at 275 Yonge Street, Toronto
Revision as of 17:56, 24 July 2012
Welcome to the home of the new Ontario/Canada chapter of Code4Lib. Our aim is to create more opportunities for Code4Lib folks in the Ontario/Quebec/Manitoba/Northeast USA area to meet up in person.
- 1 Mailing list
- 2 Code4lib North Meetups in Toronto
- 3 Code4lib North Meetups in Ottawa
- 4 Third Meeting: University of Windsor, May 24 and 25th, 2012
- 4.1 Schedule
- 4.2 Cost
- 4.3 When and Where
- 4.4 Accommodation
- 4.5 Social Events
- 4.6 Food
- 4.7 Format
- 4.8 20 minutes talks :: feel free to sign up
- 4.9 5 minutes talks :: feel free to sign up
- 4.10 20 or 40 minute workshops: each one teach one
- 4.11 hackfest ideas :: scheme schemas
- 4.12 hackfest ideas :: feel free to add to the list
- 4.13 code4lib north organizational team
- 4.14 hashtag and twitter list
- 5 Second Meeting: McMaster University, May 5-6, 2011
- 6 First Meeting: Kingston ON, May 6-7, 2010
- 7 Who's interested in Code4Lib North?
- 8 Meeting Location Suggestions for the Future
Mailing list
Want to participate in Code4Lib North meetups and receive "North"-oriented Code4Lib announcements? Join the code4lib mailing list. (The code4lib-north mailing list was discontinued.)
Code4lib North Meetups in Toronto
Purpose: To connect with other code4libbers in the area and start building a code4lib community in Toronto, Ontario. (taken from the Ottawa group =P )
Hashtag: #code4libTO (unofficially) since many also use #c4ln and just the general #code4lib
Second Meetup
Date: August 14 : http://www.doodle.com/psp9pvkczfs4vps7
Time: 5:30pm
Location: Ryerson University Library 350 Victoria Street, 489B - you will need to be let, I'll check periodically before 5:30pm, after 5:30pm tweet or text me
Location of Social: Unless someone has a better suggestion 3 Brewers at 275 Yonge Street, Toronto
Ideas: There have been an number of ideas floating around, so please feel free to suggest other ideas, sign up, and/or vote for which you'd like to see happen this time.
- Lightning Talks
- Mini Workshop/Hacktime
- Github basics +1
- Making your Library Website Responsive
- Pears and Nachos +1
- basically we pair up as mentor/mentee for person A to teach something person B is interested in learning
First Meetup
First meetup I figure it would just be casual/social. I'm hoping that next time we can find a space for lightning talks/short presentations as well.
Date: Thursday, June 21st
Location: C'est What, 67 Front Street East, Toronto
Sign up: Reservation has been made! under my name (Cynthia). I'll see most of you at 5pm! Please also bring cash as they have a one tab policy.
- Cynthia - 5pm
- Nick Ruest - 5pm
- Dileshni Jayasinghe - 5pm
- Steven - 5pm
- Sarah - 5pm
- Nina - 5.30pm
- Alan - 5pm
- MJ - 5:30pm ?
- Andrew - 5:30pm
Code4lib North Meetups in Ottawa
Purpose: To connect with other code4libbers in the area and start building a code4lib community in Ottawa, Ontario
Next Meetup
Thanks everyone who came out to our meetups this spring, and a special thanks to everyone who gave a talk. We'll take a break for the summer see each other in September (we already have some talks lined up!)
Past Meetups
The inaugural code4lib Ottawa meetup occurred on March 28, 2012 and was a simple meet-and-greet at a local pub. Since then, we try to combine this social event with some short interesting talks. Here is what we have learned about in recent meetups:
June 13, 2012 - Lightning Talks
|Description of Talk
|Devin Crawley from the Ottawa Public Library gave us a quick preview of the API to their BiblioCommons catalogue. The API will be publicly available this fall.
|William Wueppelmann talked about what's going on at Canadiana.org and how they host and manage their huge digital collection and their efforts to achieve certification as a Trusted Digital Repository (TDR).
|Mary Beth Baker spoke about the local tech scene in Ottawa and got us to consider the potential for collaboration with other groups.
April 24, 2012 - Show and Tell Session
|Description of Talk
|Max Neuvians
|Social-biblio.ca : An approach to Twitter data visualization, archiving, and the larger narrative.
|Richard Akerman
|Richard Akerman and Mary Beth Baker are organizing a Reading Garden at the upcoming Canadian Library Association conference. They are seeking advice on how to provide wireless access. Anyone with ideas is encouraged to get in touch with them.
|Warren Layton
|A quick demo of LibraryBox, a wireless filesharing device, which may have interesting applications in government and other libraries where IT restrictions can limit network use.
Third Meeting: University of Windsor, May 24 and 25th, 2012
The schedule has now been moved to an editable google doc at : http://led.uwindsor.ca/c4ln otherwise known as: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1dlTqrBNfiYwjRpVnUvJbtW0K7en1ndVp84WqWbfOrvE/edit
This unconference runs on love... and the kindness of the Leddy Library who will provide : coffee, lunch, and wireless and the space
When and Where
Dates: May 24 and 25th, 2012 (it's on!)
Times: 9 am start time. 4 pm end time
Location: 4th Floor, Leddy Library, University of Windsor: http://www.uwindsor.ca/ Google Map: http://tinyurl.com/7a79qvw
Contact: email@example.com
The University offers rooms and suites for travellers, youth, and families seeking overnight, short or extended accommodations through its Conference Services: description of services provided. Use this Registration Form to book a room with Conference Services.
In addition, University of Windsor special visit rates may be available by calling the local number and asking for the University of Windsor rate at certain hotels (which shouldn't dissuade you from staying wherever you prefer):
Holiday Inn Select 1855 Huron Church Road, Windsor Tel: 1-800-465-4329 or 519-966-1200 (3 km from campus)
Hampton Inn & Suites 1840 Huron Church Road, Windsor Tel: 800-Hampton or 519-972-0770 (3 km from campus)
Quality Suites Downtown 250 Dougall Ave., Windsor Tel: 519-977-9707 (3 km from campus) (frequently used hotel for participants in Conifer hackfests)
Caesars Windsor 377 Riverside Dr. East, Windsor Tel: 800-991-8888 (3 km from campus)
The Windsor Riverside Inn 333 Riverside Dr. West Tel: 519-977-9777 (2 km from campus)
Travelodge Hotel Windsor Downtown Windsor 33 Riverside Dr. East Tel: 519-258-7774 (3 km from campus)
There are no bed and breakfasts in the immediate area but the Argyle and Olde Walkerville Bed and Breakfasts are a bus ride away.
Social Events
There's nothing formal planned but on Wednesday and Thursday nights, we'll try to informally coordinate places to have supper together.
I suggest that those around on Wednesday night meet up at the Rock Bottom Grill at 3236 Sandwich Street, Windsor. It will busy because it's "2 for 1 Wing Night" but it should be worth it.
For those who love experimental film, there is the Media City Film Festival taking place in Windsor and Detroit. Jason Scott aka textfiles will be speaking at the Ann Arbor Public Library on Wednesday night
We will be providing lunch and snacks. (please email organizers if you have a dietary restriction - we will be ordering vegetarian options but we want to make sure we have enough!)
Generally folks informally gather for supper.
Here are some of our nearby options: WindsorEats: Windsor West
But there is much more if we wander farther afield: WindsorEats
Near the university on Wyndotte Street are various Asian dining options including:
And here's a list of places that could probably fit 40 people:
A combination of 20 talks, 5 minute lightning talks, an Ask Anything session, workshops / hackfest time. We will try to find time for everyone who wants to present!
We have talks in the morning and hackfests in the afternoon. We will finalize the speaking schedule Thursday morning but we will try to split the talks between the two days equally.
20 minutes talks :: feel free to sign up
|Ted Lawless
|easyArticle - streamlining access to library materials with OpenURL, automated interlibrary loan submission, vendor APIs, Django/Python.
|Mita Williams
|my sekret art project
|John Fink and Warren Layton
|Embedded Hardware Hijinx
|Alison Hitchens
|RDA for coders/systems folk presentation in Google Docs
|Andrew McAlorum
|Our favorite jQuery modules for Drupal 7
|David Fiander
|The state of the ebook marketplace
|Dan Chudnov
|William Denton
|Having provocative fun with reference desk statistics in R
5 minutes talks :: feel free to sign up
|Nick Ruest
|Other Redmine uses
|Tim Ribaric
|Circumvention using the Cloud? slides
|Alison Hitchens
|#catcode: Cataloguers embrace Code Year slides on Google docs
|Mita Williams
|"My god, it's full of stars! lists": building the library website that will incorporate Jamun.
|Dan Chudnov
|occupy 1923
|Graham Fawcett
|A Web-based video annotation tool (for peer review, possibly captioning, maybe for some nefarious library uses we haven't imagined)
20 or 40 minute workshops: each one teach one
- a workshop you are willing to lead
- Intro to Git, if demand warrants -- if not, no big deal (John Fink)
- Environmental monitoring on the cheap (Doug Sartori)
- (I program in a few languages, and could do a teaser-session on one of them if there's interest. Maybe Python, Haskell, Clojure or D?) (Graham Fawcett)
- Intro to the Twitter API, including how one might use it to make a Twitter bot (Rick Scott)
- a workshop you are willing to lead
- a workshop of what you would love to attend
- intro to IRC, meet zoia (Mita, Warren, Sarah, John F)
- how to create a twitter bot (Mita, John F, David F)
- intro to Git (Warren, Sarah, David F)
- a workshop of what you would love to attend
hackfest ideas :: scheme schemas
- build your own twitter bot; bot battles
hackfest ideas :: feel free to add to the list
- twitter bot war with code4lib The Great Eastern? http://wiki.code4lib.org/index.php/GreatEastern
- changing Odessi XML records to MARC XML so OCUL libraries can load MARC for Odessi, esp. Stats Can stuff. We started this project at TUG, so need someone to help me get further or finish! New note: Chris put what he did so far on github(Alison)
- @CanadianPoetry Sprint: Canadian Poetry Online needs an overhaul! Canadian Poetry is a web anthology of contemporary Canadian poetry, providing biographies and full-text poems from Canada's leading poets. Join in this code sprint to help with the migration to Drupal, site building, development, and theming of the new version. (Andrew)
- LibraryBox is a customized version of PirateBox that can run be run on the inexpensive TP-Link MR 3020. Currently, it acts as a simple file server but it could potentially offer a more library-focused service, such as an eBook server for nearby devices using OPDS. (Warren)
- Evergreen: The Evergreen project is currently recruiting volunteers for the Google Summer of Code effort and has a list of project ideas. Some of these ideas, if not already claimed by a student GSoC participant, might make for interesting hackfest projects. Or we could rewrite the MARC editor in Dojo.
- SPLURGE: The Scholars Portal Library Usage-Based Recommendation Engine began at a hackfest in February and has been worked on since then, but it needs one last push to get all of the pieces joined together so that an easy-to-use "people who borrowed this also borrowed that" service built on shared circ data can be tested. There are four parts to SPLURGE: data cleanup, getting it into a properly configured database, a web service that talks to the database, some Javascript that can dropped into a catalogue to talk to the web service. They all exist, but not all of them are quite done and they don't all talk to each other. The purpose of this hackfest project would be for people to familiarize themselves with the work that's been done, and then try to finish it up.
code4lib north organizational team
- Mita Williams
- Karen Pillon
- Peter Zimmerman
- Jennifer Soutter
- Cathy Maskell
- Ranti Junus (Michigan State)
hashtag and twitter list
- c4ln2012
- c4ln
- https://twitter.com/#!/copystar/c4ln
Second Meeting: McMaster University, May 5-6, 2011
Sign Up
We can handle a maximum of 50 people and you can signup here: http://c4ln2011.eventbrite.com/.
When and Where
Dates: May 5-6, 2011
- 1280 Main St. West, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario - (map)
- Mills Memorial Library, Lyons New Media Centre (4th floor)
Our helpful folks in Research Collections put this guide together a while back.
Parking, Campus Map, Public Transit
- Parking - I understand we have the most expensive parking in OCUL. I'm sorry :( - There is one bit of good news: if you park in the M lot, the day rate drops from $20 to $5. The M lot is about a 10-12 minute walk from the library, and there is a shuttle that will take you part of the way.
- Campus map - we are building #10 - Mills Memorial Library
- Public Transit
- HSR buses that come to campus are: 1, 51, 5c, 52, and 10 - The 10 and 52 drop off by the hospital, the others drop off right outside Mills.
Keep with tradition set last year - No cost and McMaster University has tentatively agreed to provided coffee, lunch, space, and wireless.
Day 1:
- Hackfest (send problems/proposals to John Fink and Nick Ruest)
Day 2
- 5-minute lighting talks
- 20-minute talks
- BOAF/breakouts
20-minute talks
I'd like to start a new tradition with Code4Lib North and deposit the slides and *maybe* recordings of the presentations in our IR. If people are cool with this, I can get it all setup prior to the event.
|William J Turkel
|Functional Programming Workout
|Dileshni Jayasinghe & Majid Valipour
|Programming at Scholars Portal: apps and APIs
|William Wueppelmann
|The Canadiana Web API
|Dan Chudnov
|WWIC? Linked Library Data as a Customer Service Medium
|Mita Williams
|We're jamun (and we hope you like jamun too)
|William Denton
|Getting started with R
|Alan Harnum
|When All You Have Is XSLT, Everything Looks Like XML: Heterogeneous Cloud-Based Content Management Using Google Docs and Other Services
|Wendy Huot
|Why can't a web page be more like a book? Using LaTeX with Readability to generate better 'print friendly' versions of web pages
|Chris Charles
|Introduction to Google Refine
|Karen A. Coombs
|Zend Framework: making using web services easier
5-minute lighting talks
|Andrew McAlorum
|Transition to Unity
|Dale Askey
|Fun with Failure, or, Learning to Stick a Fork in Things
|Alison Hitchens
|Getting testers to test what you need to have tested!
|Alison Hitchens
|Using RT Tracker for user feedback
First Meeting: Kingston ON, May 6-7, 2010
Sign up
Free registration -- but registration is now closed (we have 40+ signed up).
When and Where
May 6-7, 2010
- Thursday: 2pm-5:30pm, followed by dinner and drinks
- Friday: 9am-4:30pm
Meeting location:
- 93 University Ave, Queen's University, Kingston Ontario (map)
- Meeting room: 1966 North Reading Room, Level 7, Douglas Library Building (floorplan) - located on the top floor, just follow the signs to find the room.
There was no charge. Queen's University very generously supplied the space, the Internet connection, and free lunch on Friday!
How to get involved
Join the mailing list. That is where the planning will happen.
- 5-minute lighting talks
- 20-minute talks
- BOAF sessions
- Maybe a hackfest.
How many are attending?
45 people have registered. Most will be attending.
Thursday May 6:
- 2pm-5pm: Open format (hang out and hack)
- Evening: Go out for dinner and drinks
- 9am-4:30pm: Schedule currently "under construction" -- see table below.
Morning Break: 10:30-10:45 .... Lunch: 12-1 ....
Afternoon: 5 minute lightning talks .... "Birds of a feather" breakout sessions (sign up sheets on front table)
|William Denton
|Walter Lewis
|Exposing Linked Data
|Art Rhyno
|Open Layers and Newspapers (Walter Lewis)
|MJ Suhonos
|Location-aware Mobile Search
|Alan Harnum
|Building A Library Website with Endeca technology
|Wendy Huot
|"Your feedback, please": library web design critique
|Glen Newton
|Using Open Source Tools for Visualization and Semantic Mapping in a Large Scale Article Digital Library
|Eric Palmitesta
|John Miedema
|OpenBook WordPress Plugin Update - Why It's Cool to Love OpenURL +++
|Nasser Saleh
|Coagmento!: a potential collaborative search tool
Who's interested in Code4Lib North?
Declare your interest in a Code4lib North chapter:
- Wendy Huot, Queen's University
- Michael Vandenburg, Queen's University
- William Denton, York University
- John Fink, McMaster University
- Nick Ruest, McMaster University
- Walter Lewis, Halton Hills/OurOntario
- Edward Corrado, Binghamton University (NY, USA)
- Warren Layton, Library of Parliament (Ottawa)
- Pascal Calarco, University of Notre Dame (IN, USA)
- Rob Fox, University of Notre Dame (IN, USA)
- Mita Williams, University of Windsor
- John Fereira, Cornell University
- MJ Suhonos, Toronto Public Library
- Dianne Dietrich, Cornell University
- David Fiander, University of Western Ontario
- Peter Schlumpf, Avanti Library Systems
- Roy Zimmer, Western Michigan University
- Kimberly Silk, Martin Prosperity Institute, University of Toronto
- Andrew Darby, Ithaca College (Ithaca, NY)
- Laura Harris, Grand Valley State University (western Michigan)
- Tim Ribaric, Brock University
- Sibyl Schaefer, University of Vermont
- Peter Ellinger, Ontario Legislative Library, Toronto
- Keith Jenkins, Cornell University
- Patrick M. Lozeau
- Mike Kreyche, Kent State University
- Graham McCarthy, Ryerson University
- John Miedema
- Janey Chen, Ontario Legislative Library, Toronto
- Rob McDonald, Carleton University
- Amy Buckland, McGill University
- Tricia Williams (pgwillia), Consultant/OurOntario
- Mike Beccaria, Paul Smith's College (Paul Smiths, NY)
- Amanda Etches-Johnson, McMaster University
- Art Rhyno, University of Windsor
- Mary Beth Baker, CIC (Ottawa)
- Wayne Schneider, Hennepin County Library
- Carol Serroul, CISTI
- Graham Stewart, University of Toronto Libraries
- Peter Zimmerman, University of Windsor
- Margaret Kipp, University of Wisconsin Milwaukee
- Dan Scott, Laurentian University
- Lawrence Wardroper (Courts Administration Services Library, Ottawa)
- Matt McCollow, McMaster University
- George Duimovich, NRCan Library (Ottawa)
- Bobbi Fox, Harvard University Library (Massachusetts)
- Dileshni Jayasinghe, OCUL, University of Toronto
- Eric Palmitesta, OCUL, University of Toronto
- Alexander O'Neill, Robertson Library, University of Prince Edward Island
- Chris Beer, WGBH (Massachusetts)
- Robin Isard, Algoma University (Sault Ste Marie ON)
- Pat Moore, Carleton University (Ottawa ON)
- Alan Harnum, Toronto Public LIbrary (Toronto ON)
- Colin Prince, University of Toronto Libraries
- Tom Keays, Syracuse University LIbrary (Syracuse, NY)
- Chris Charles, University of Guelph (Guelph, ON)
- John MacGillivray, Carleton University (Ottawa ON)
- Lester Webb, Kingston Frontenac Public Library (Kingston ON)
- Elizabeth Goldman, Kingston Frontenac Public Library (Kingston ON)
- Jennifer O'Donnell, Kingston Frontenac Public Library (Kingston ON)
- David Smith, Kingston Frontenac Public Library (Kingston ON)
- Loren Fantin, Our Ontario,Knowledge Ontario
- Daulton Theodore, Carleton University (Ottawa, ON)
- Peter MacDonald, Hamilton College (Clinton, NY)
- Rebecca Larocque, North Bay Public Library (North Bay, ON)
- Doris Rankin, Library and Information Management Consultant, Ottawa, ON
- Diane Bédard, Learn Ontario & Our Ontario; Knowledge Ontario
- Andre Vellino, CISTI / University of Ottawa
- Mark Swartz, Queen's University
- Adam Wead, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Library and Archives (Cleveland, OH)
- Pramila Thakur, Ontario Legislative Library, Toronto
- Anthony Petryk, University of Ottawa
- Jan Dawson, Ask Ontario, Knowledge Ontario
- Glen Newton, Carleton University
- Patrick McMaster, Leeds & the 1000 Islands, Rideau Lakes, and North Grenville Public Libraries
- Nasser Saleh, Queen's University (Kingston ON)
- Stéfan Sinclair, McMaster University
- William J Turkel, University of Western Ontario
- Shirley Lew, Vancouver Community College, (Vancouver BC)
- Edward Bilodeau, McGill University
- Andrew McAlorum, University of Toronto Libraries
Meeting Location Suggestions for the Future
- Toronto, Ontario
- Sudbury, Ontario
- Ottawa, Ontario
- Montreal, Quebec


text:
Ukraine has announced a one-day halt in its fight against separatists in eastern Ukraine to allow international investigators to reach the downed Malaysian airliner's crash site.
Kyiv said the move Thursday was in response to a plea by United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to stop fighting near the crash site.
Observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe have tried several times to access the area but have had to turn back because of safety concerns.
Ban told reporters Wednesday that he is "deeply disturbed" that investigators have not been able to access the site. He said key evidence remains in the area and noted that the bodies of the crash victims have not all been found.
Families of the victims of the crash, which killed 298 people July 17, are anxious for investigators to reach the scene. Some human remains are believed still at the site, after about 200 sets of remains were transferred to the Netherlands for identification last week.
Speaking during a visit to the Netherlands, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak on Thursday called for an" immediate cessation of hostilities in eastern Ukraine." He also stressed that investigators need to be given full access to the crash site.
U.S. analysts say the Malaysia Airlines plane - downed over eastern Ukraine - was destroyed by a Russian missile likely fired by rebels who believed the aircraft was Ukrainian.
New sanctions go into effect
Meanwhile, Russia's central bank is promising to support financial institutions hit by new sanctions imposed by the United States and the European Union aimed at punishing Russia for its support of the separatists in eastern Ukraine.
The bank on Wednesday promised to "take adequate measures'' to support institutions affected by the sanctions.
Stock markets in Moscow opened lower Wednesday as the the measures against Russia's banking, oil and defense sectors went into effect.
Announcing new U.S. sanctions targeting Russia's energy, financial and defense sectors, President Barack Obama linked the new penalties to the shootdown of the Malaysian airliner. U.S. analysts say the plane downed over eastern Ukraine was destroyed by a Russian missile likely fired by rebels who believed the aircraft was Ukrainian.
In Brussels meanwhile, ambassadors from the 28-member European Union agreed to new penalties on Russia, including an arms embargo and a ban on trade of equipment for the Russian oil and defense sectors. German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the EU measures against Moscow were "unavoidable."
It is not clear what further actions the U.S. and Europe are willing to take if the situation remains unchanged.
On Tuesday, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said there is not a "shred of evidence" Russia seeks to end the violence and bloodshed in eastern Ukraine.
Speaking during a joint appearance in Washington with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin, Kerry again called for Russia to use its "considerable influence" with separatists in eastern Ukraine to ensure that the Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 crash site in eastern Ukraine is secured. He accused the separatists blocking access to the site where the airliner crashed earlier this month.
The U.S. secretary of state also said there is "clear evidence" of rocket and artillery fire from Russian territory into Ukraine.
Klimkin stressed the importance of reaching a cease-fire with the pro-Russian rebels, with the aim of restoring Ukraine's territorial integrity.
Their comments came as tensions between Russia and Ukraine escalated, with Moscow accusing Kyiv of a cross-border attack and committing "war crimes" in eastern Ukraine.
Some information for this report provided by AP, AFP, and Reuters.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
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text:
Monday Beauty PollMonday, December 3rd, 2012
By Glinda
My last poll asked how you felt about Rita Hayworth's 40's hair, and it was split pretty evenly between lurve and lukewarm. Me, I'm a big lurve on that one.
Hey, have you heard that eye crystals are trying to be a thing? The above was taken at Dior's Spring 2013 runway show.


text:
Part 2 of the the sixth chapter of our guidance on politics. Don't play politics. Build relationships. It's the same thing.
You don't have to "play politics." Very few professionals want to or like to. But that's only because politics is what people call it when things don't go the way they like. But politics are just relationships.
Play/Download This Cast
This Cast Answers These Questions
- Should I play politics?
- How can I get better at office politics?
- Why does politics have a bad reputation?
Mentioned in This Cast
- Politics 101 - Chapter 1 - Count Your Votes
- Politics 101 - Chapter 2 - Meeting Prep: Who Wants What
- Politics 101 - Chapter 3 - The Myth of The Just World
- Politics 101 - Chapter 4 - Know Thine Enemies
- Politics 101 - Chapter 5 - Favors Matter
See Shownotes For Additional Mentioned Casts
Other Parts of This Series
Download/Buy Documents
|Politics 101 - Chapter 6 - Politics Are Just Relationships Shownotes
|Purchase this item


text:
Comment Period For Offshore Drilling Ends Friday
There are very strict limits on where oil and gas companies can drill offshore. Most of the activity is in the Gulf of Mexico. But the Obama administration is weighing whether to expand offshore drilling to other places, and that includes the Atlantic Coast. For much of this summer, the government has been collecting comments from the oil industry, from states, environmental groups and also the public. The deadline to submit comments is today. NPR's Jeff Brady has more.
JEFF BRADY, BYLINE: Government planning processes can be pretty dry. But this one is getting a lot of interest, both from the oil industry and environmental groups. An agency called the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management is just starting to develop a five-year plan. It'll tell oil companies where they can bid for federal leases to drill offshore starting in 2017. The oil industry is arguing the government should open up more areas. Erik Milito is an executive with the American Petroleum Institute
ERIK MILITO: We haven't had the ability to really look at the Atlantic or the Pacific in about 30 years now. So what we'd like to do is have an opportunity to get out there and just see what's there - see if we have oil and natural gas.
BRADY: Milito says he's encouraged by an Obama administration decision this year to allow seismic surveys off the Atlantic coast. That's a first step to searching for petroleum deep under the seafloor. If oil and gas is found there, it could extend the country's current drilling boom. And Milito says that has been good for the economy.
MILITO: From 2007 to 2012, any exploration and production side - jobs actually increased at a 40 percent rate, while the rest of the economy saw jobs at really a flat rate.
BRADY: And Milito points out increasing production is reducing the U.S. trade deficit because the country is importing less crude. The governments also hear from environmental groups who have a very different message; they point to BP's 2010 accident and oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. While regulators in the industry have made some big changes to improve safety, other recommendations have languished in Congress. A presidential commission offered a series of recommendations, including more money to regulate the industry and increasing the $75-million cap on liability for spills. Lois Epstein is with the Wilderness Society.
LOIS EPSTEIN: Congress hasn't done what those commissions recommended. And it's been four years since the BP spill, and we're just not ready.
BRADY: Epstein says more of those changes should be made before drilling is allowed. She hopes the government will not open up new areas off the Northern coast of Alaska. While companies already drilling in the Arctic say they're ready if a spill happens, Epstein is not convinced. And she says extracting and burning the oil contained there presents other problems.
EPSTEIN: The Arctic Ocean could be a very significant source of additional greenhouse gases worldwide.
BRADY: Comments like this are just a sampling of what the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management is receiving now. By the middle of this week, the Bureau says it had 235,000 comments, most of those from letters supporting drilling along the Atlantic Coast. The agency says it will likely be three years before a final plan is released. Jeff Brady, NPR News. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.


text:
New Insulator Could Help Grid Weather Storms
High voltage cables are typically insulated with special water-resistant polymers that have high-dielectric strength. When the cables get whacked by an especially strong rain or snow storm the insulation may not block all of the moisture. The leaks can lead to a loss of electrical current or even damage to the cables. Typically, the insulation will regain its ability to block water hours, or even days, later.
Engineers know that cable insulation can temporarily lose its ability to repel water under extreme conditions. Now researchers at IBM and Swiss electric-grid builder ABB think they can create an insulating material that can stay water repellent longer—or at least recover quicker. [Philip T. Shemella et al., "Surface Dynamics of Amorphous Polymers Used for High-Voltage Insulators," Journal of Physical Chemistry B]
Using computer simulations, the researchers are studying the molecular dynamics of a new type of polymer under a variety of conditions. Based on the tests so far, the companies claim this virtual insulator can help prevent the 7 percent loss of electricity experienced on average in the U.S. during transmission.
Anything that can reduce stress on overtaxed electrical grids would be welcome. Just ask the one million people still in the dark from last weekend's early season snow storm in the northeastern U.S.
—Larry Greenemeier
[The above text is a transcript of this podcast.]


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Robb Flynn, the lead singer of the heavy metal band Machine Head, posted a story on the band's official website today that included an unexpected cameo from Elaine La Russa, wife of former Cardinals manager Tony La Russa.
Life has a funny way of playing out, how seemingly innocuous encounters can take you to places you never thought you'd go.
Flash back to about a year and a half ago... I'm walking through Whole Foods in Walnut Creek talking on the phone to my friend Tom when a lady and her daughter approach me wide-eyed. "Are you fucking Robb Flynn?!" ... "I could be..." They scream with delight and make a big ol' to-do, "oh my god, we're huge fans, I love 'The Blackening', I'm Tony La Russa's wife!" I'm tripped out, they're both super nice, we take pictures, my friend is laughing his ass off, more about the fact that I was swarmed in a freakin' Whole Foods than anything else.
We're going to go ahead and assume that this is the first time that a heavy metal musician has been accosted by a screaming fan who also happens to be the wife of a former major league manager. This story is already strange enough, but it doesn't stop there.
So, last February we headline The Warfield in San Francisco, and after the show, who walks in but Elaine, Devon and Tony La Russa. A bunch of my Chicago buddies are there and lose their minds, and hilariously begin sneakin' pictures with him while he's talking to someone else by "leaning in" and snapping a quick pic (which became the legend known as "The La Russa Lean"). My baseball fanatic Dad FREAKS OUT, and Tony L blows my mind when he tells me that I "have so much charisma, he wishes he could bottle it and make his players drink it".
"You have so much charisma, I wish I could bottle it and make my players drink it." Those are real words that were spoken by Tony La Russa to the lead singer of Machine Head. That actually happened. The world is a strange place.
Flynn goes on to talk about how La Russa recently invited him to play an acoustic set at a fundrasier, at which Elaine's credibility as a true metalhead became undeniable.
I get back to him on New Year's Eve and and say yeah, and if he's up for it, I can maybe jam a couple of acoustic songs. He's down.
It's an anniversary gift for his wife Elaine, who is a raging metalhead... like, bananas for super-random-obscure-euro-metal kind of metalhead. Elaine La Russa is the real deal folks.
Flynn isn't just making stuff up, either. A three-year-old article about Elaine and Tony's Animal Rescue Fund includes this tid bit:
A hard core heavy metal music fan, she travels frequently to attend shows across the country to see her favorites - KISS, Metallica, Black Eyed Peas, Guns 'n Roses, Iron Maiden, and other groups, including California Symphonies, Journey, Yanni, and more. She also giggles about playing Rock Band video games at home.
OK, so the Black Eyed Peas and Yanni don't exactly qualify as "super-random-obscure-euro-metal," but we'll assume that Elaine toned down her musical tastes for the sake of the readers of the Belleville News-Democrat.
But yeah, Elaine La Russa: big time metalhead. Now you know.
h/t Nirav


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A Republican lawmaker is pushing to add Oklahoma to the list of states in which so-called chemical castration is an option for certain sex offenders, albeit an option that rarely gets used.
State Rep. Rick West, a first-term lawmaker from Heavener, said he filed the bill at the request of a constituent and that he fully intends to push for its passage, though it's likely to face strong opposition, even in a conservative state with a tough-on-crime reputation.
If approved, Oklahoma would join at least seven other states that have laws allowing courts to order chemical treatments that reduce male testosterone for certain sex offenders, although experts say the punishment is rarely carried out and one described it as a "half fantasy" version of criminal justice.
"When I knocked on that guy's door when I was campaigning, he said: 'I'll vote for you if you'll run this bill,'" West said.
West, who has introduced a measure that would allow tobacco back inside state prisons, said he's confident his constituents would support efforts to prevent sex crimes, especially against children.
Under the bill , anyone convicted of a sexually violent offense could be required as a condition of release to take the drugs designed to reduce a male offender's testosterone and sexual libido. A second offense would require the treatment unless a court determined it wouldn't be effective.
California became the first state to pass such a law in 1996, and since then at least six other states have passed laws allowing it in some form, including Georgia, Florida, Louisiana, Montana, Oregon and Wisconsin, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Texas allows repeat sex offenders to voluntarily elect to be surgically castrated.
It's unclear how often the procedure is used, but it appears to be rare. For it to be used in California, a judge would have to issue an order as part of a convict's sentence. Only a couple of parolees are currently required to receive the treatment every year, said prisons spokesman Luis Patino. Prison officials in Montana and Louisiana are aware of only one case in each state in the last decade in which a judge ordered the treatment.
Oklahoma's American Civil Liberties Union chapter is concerned about West's proposal, saying that requiring unwilling offenders to undergo such treatments likely violates the Constitution's 8th Amendment.
"It's hard to imagine this couldn't be considered cruel or unusual," said chapter spokeswoman Allie Shinn, who added there's little scientific evidence to suggest such treatments are even effective.
"I don't want to place too much faith in the Oklahoma Legislature to avoid blatantly unconstitutional proposals, but we're hopeful this bill, as written, is just too extreme to move," Shinn said.
While drugs used to diminish an offender's sex drive can be effective, they are mostly successful with offenders who want to change their behavior and take them as prescribed, said Frank Zimring, a law professor at University of California at Berkeley and an expert on sex crimes.
But he said the laws are generally about good politics since sex offenders are an easy target, and not necessarily about sound criminal justice policy.
"Chemical castration is half advertising slogan, half fantasy," Zimring said. "There are chemicals which are supposed to, if dosages are maintained, reduce sex drives. That isn't castration."
The Oklahoma Legislature has over the years entertained various bills involving the castration of sex offenders. In 2002, a measure allowing chemical or surgical castration of sex offenders made it all the way to the desk of Republican Gov. Frank Keating, who promptly vetoed it and derided it as "silly."
Online: House Bill 2543: http://bit.ly/2DDJxKB
Follow Sean Murphy at https://twitter.com/apseanmurphy


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WASHINGTON (AP) - In a video released Sunday by al-Qaida, American hostage Warren Weinstein said he will be killed unless President Barack Obama agrees to the militant group's demands.
"My life is in your hands, Mr. President," Weinstein said in the video. "If you accept the demands, I live; if you don't accept the demands, then I die."
Weinstein was abducted last August in Lahore, Pakistan, after gunmen tricked his guards and broke into his home. The 70-year-old from Rockville, Md., is the country director in Pakistan for J.E. Austin Associates, a Virginia-based firm that advises a range of Pakistani business and government sectors.
In a video message posted on militant websites in December, al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahri said Weinstein would be released if the United States stopped airstrikes in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia and Yemen. He also demanded the release of all al-Qaida and Taliban suspects around the world.
The White House had no comment Monday on al-Qaida's demands or Weinstein's plea.
The SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors militant messages, said Al-Sahab, al-Qaida's media arm, posted the Weinstein video on jihadist forums Sunday.
"It's important you accept the demands and act quickly and don't delay," Weinstein said in the video, addressing Obama. "There'll be no benefit in delaying, it will just make things more difficult for me."
He also appealed to Obama as a father. If the president responds to the militants' demands, Weinstein said, "then I will live and hopefully rejoin my family and also enjoy my children, my two daughters, like you enjoy your two daughters."
After his kidnapping, Weinstein's company said he was in poor health and provided a detailed list of medications, many of them for heart problems, that it implored the kidnappers to give him.
In the video released Sunday, Weinstein said he would like his wife, Elaine, to know "I'm fine, I'm well, I'm getting all my medications, I'm being taken care of."


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45th CENTRAL Canadian Symposium on Water Quality Research
- Date: February 22, 2010 - February 23, 2010
- Location: Canada Centre for Inland Waters, 867 Lakeshore Road, Burlington, Ontario
- Chair: Dr. Chris Marvin
- Programme Schedule
- Book of Abstracts
37th Eastern Canada Symposium On Water Quality Research
October 27, 2023
2023 Water Canada Summit
June 7-9, 2023
Delta City Centre, Ottawa
Arash Zamyadi joins Monash University
Congratulations and best wishes to Dr. Arash Zamyadi who has joined the Department of Civil Engineering at Monash University.
Dr. Banu Örmeci selected as an International Water Association (IWA) Fellow
Congratulations to Prof. Banu Örmeci who has been selected as an International Water Association (IWA) Fellow
Dr. Farokh Laqa Kakar receives 2022 Dr. C. Ravi and Shanti Ravindran Award
Congratulations to Dr. Farokh Laqa Kakar for receiving the 2022 Dr. C. Ravi and Shanti Ravindran Award for Outstanding Doctoral Thesis for the Faculty of Engineering and Architectural Science at Toronto Metropolitan University
National Water and Wastewater Conference 2023
November 12 - 15, 2023
Sheraton Fallsview. Niagara Falls, ON
This annual conference offers a wide-ranging technical program covering almost all aspects of the municipal water sector, while offering the best networking environment for Canada's water leaders.
Annabelle Rayson wins Stockholm Junior Water Prize
Annabelle Rayson, a Canadian High School student has won the Stockholm Junior Water Prize. Congratulations to Annabelle.
R.D. Tyagi wins Lifetime Achievement Award 2020
Professor R.D. Tyagi has been awareded an IconSWM-CE Lifetime Achievement Award 2020 in recognition of his significant contribution in the fields of waste management and environmental protection.
Farokh Kakar seeks to join IWA Emerging Water Leaders steering committee
Farokh Kakar, Chair of the IWA-YWPs-Canada, has decided to extend her contribution to the YWPs community globally by joining the IWA Emerging Water Leaders steering committee. She is running for (a) YWP Coordinator or (b) Co-chair.
The voting link is https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/Z692BYT
The deadline for voting is July 15, 2020.


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Single-Engine Controls
Side Mount
Controls that work. Simply, reliably, year after year.
You're fully covered. Right down to the controls and gauges.
The outstanding warranty coverage on Mercury engines also extends to the controls and rigging components on your boat. If your builder or dealer uses genuine Mercury gauges and controls when installing the new engine on your boat, the warranty coverage for those rigging components now matches the total warranty of your engine. This means you could have up to an additional two years of control and rigging component coverage – based on the engine purchased.
Throttle & Shift Cables for Mechanical Controls.
Available in a wide of range of construction types and lengths to match your boat, engine and your control station. Both digital and mechanical control options. For outboards, petrol and diesel sterndrives and inboards. Mercury® has the throttle and shift cables that work.
Other cables are solid core. Sounds good, but it isn't. Mercury cables have a flexible core. They're more forgiving in tight, difficult installations. And more capable of handling shift loads. The idea is to bend, not break. And keep you on the water, not in the shop.
The toughest people on cables are Mercury engineers. It's about finding the right materials. And putting them through the most rigorous tests. It's all about confidence. Every system totally behind you. Including your cables.
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Compact, economical, single-unit "outside the wall" design.


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So I'm a beginner welder, I went to school and got my certification and learned nearly every process directly related to welding and fabricating . I've probably been welding Educationally for about 3 years and Professionally for about 8 months. I do not claim to be the best welder in the world but I can weld in all positions with consistent nice durable welds (SMAW GMAW FCAW.) I've noticed that it's nearly impossible to get a job that pays more than $10/ hr with out 5-10 years of professional experience. Im just wondering if some of you guys could give me a hint on where to look for a kick *** career in welding. I'm young, not married and have nothing tying me down, I can travel to anyplace and willing to relocate me.
No announcement yet.
Beginner Welder here...
new posts
Learn to weld pipeline and come to columbiana county here in Ohio!!
Senior Member
- Sep 2009
- 571
Not trying to sound hateful here but wondering how he would learn pipeline before seeking out a job doing just that?
I understand the frustration of trying to find a job when company's want experience and everything else under the sun yet only pay peanuts. I see it ads around here all the time.
Plus they want to bring you on through a temp service. These company's usually end up being a stepping stone and can't keep good help.
Sounds like your well on your way with 8 months under your belt and wanting more. Keep it up and never settle. Don't be afraid to move on when your job gets stale and you can look down the road a couple years and see if you don't move you'll be right where you are today.
- Feb 2011
- 64
Beginner Welder here...
Whatever you do don't settle I haven't been this much longer than you and I will admit first hand don't settle. I made mistake with a supposed aerospace company only to get laid off as soon as the project was done along with countless others and due to no real form of quality control that experience is useless as far as other aerospace companies goes. If you do and side projects for friends, family, or some small fab shop that needs stuff welded every so often but not enough to be steady pay, keep track with before and after pics as well as description of project it could help later on. I learned that the hard way.
Chairman Of The Board
- Sep 2005
- 5741
Beginner Welder here...
Don't take it the wrong way but your a school welder you probably have a lot to learn. You said yourself your young, I get a lot of these guys coming outta school bragging, always complaining about money it takes time. As long as your working hard and paying attention to what's going on around you, you will get there.
Thats true they won't be working here forever... but he said he's single and un-tethered. Sounds like an excuse to get experience, see the country, and get paid to do it!
Im from north Jackson and live in Hanoverton.
Hey all,
I live in Mcleod county here in Minnesota, and there are a lot of companies within half-hour of home that are hiring, paying anywhere from $12-18 an hour, depending on experience. No guaranteeing you anything Albert, but it might be worth a trip out here to check out some opportunities. Look up Hutchinson manufacturing in Hutchinson Mn, AgCo in Jackson MN, and Caterpillar in the twin cities. Many of these shops are looking to hire straight out of school welders, and you said yourself your not tied down. So, if your looking for some opportunities, check out a few of those places, and good luck finding a job!
P.S. Listen to BellBoyMotorsports, DONT SETTLE!!! If a job just doesn't seem right for you, just move on and try something else, there are so many sides to welding you wont run out!
Senior Member
- Nov 2006
- 366
Albert, get more expierience. I bet your welds are pretty and very consistent but will they pass x-ray. I suggest getting a job in a shipyard and going through their training program, you will gain great expierience and all while getting paid. Learn to weld in very confined spaces and stay at the job for a year or two and move on to other welding jobs and try to get into an apprentice program and with your youth and determination you can go on to a wonderful and rewarding career. I come from a shipyard environment and have seen many welders do as I have mentioned and go on to better paying jobs. I stayed in my job because it was in my home city. I wish you much luck and success in your journey in the welding world.
Bill (Wheelchair)
The Dakotas are booming with the oil Industry. North Dakota is the new Texas as Far as oil production. There are opportunities to weld in the Dakotas and the pay is very good. Can you pass a pipe welding test or a structural plate welding test in all positions right now?Lincoln Idealarc 250
Miller Bobcat 250
Thermal Arc Hefty 2 feeder
Thermal Dynamics Cutmaster 52
Torchmate CNC table
Originally posted by snoeproe View PostThe Dakotas are booming with the oil Industry. North Dakota is the new Texas as Far as oil production. There are opportunities to weld in the Dakotas and the pay is very good. Can you pass a pipe welding test or a structural plate welding test in all positions right now?
Also plenty of manufacturers looking for welders out here too. Case, Cat, Deere to just name a few of the big ones. Also alot of smaller co's looking too.


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FOCUS Units
The Department of Christian Education's Resource Website, developed by the Orthodox Church in America, offers a virtual treasury of resources for teachers, parents and children of all ages. There are lessons and materials for the whole family, from pre-school through adult study groups.
Print Entire Unit Journey to Pascha
The unit begins with the story of Lazarus and the celebration of Jesus' joyful Entrance into Jerusalem, then goes on through each day of Holy Week, focusing on what Jesus taught His disciples, and what happened to Jesus as He was brought to trial, put to death and buried. Finally, the celebration of the events that led to His Resurrection!
Print Entire Unit My Orthodox Family
This 6 session unit focuses on the growth of Orthodox Christianity in North America, the saints and leaders who were our Orthodox "pioneers" in this hemisphere, the growth of parishes founded by hundreds of thousands of immigrants from many Orthodox lands, the emergence of a truly "American" church life, and the responsibilities we are called to share today.
Print Entire Unit The Theotokos
A unit in 5 lessons about the major feast days of the Theotokos using iconography, hymnography, scripture and activities. The Nativity, Entrance, Annunciation and Dormition of the Theotokos are covered. A final session describes various icons of the Theotokos, including the Tikhvin Icon, which recently returned home to the Tikhvin Monastery in Russia.
Print Entire Unit The Nativity Season
This 5 Session unit, The Nativity Season, prepares learners for the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Sessions include children's Bible stories for use in church schools and at home, activities, and information about saints, hymns, and prayers of the Nativity season. Sessions also include iconography and readings to help students understand the meaning of the season.
The introduction to this unit is appropriate for all the age levels and we offer it here as a background for you, and as a source of information to share with your students. Much of the information was taken from the book These Truths We Hold, published by St. Tikhon's Orthodox Thelogical Seminary. There are four lessons per level, which print out in one continuous .PDF file.


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that were only picked a day or two before. That wonderful fresh tomato fragrance is still strong, the slices are juicy and succulent, especially with a sprinkle of good olive oil, another sprinkle of aged balsamic vinegar, and a dash of garlic salt and fresh pepper.
1/2 lb (dry) penne, cooked according to package directions and drained. (I used whole grain penne but any kind will do...you could use another type of pasta, too, if no penne is in your pantry)
1 1/2 cups cooked chicken, cut into bite sized pieces
5 oz (half a box) frozen spinach, thawed and drained
2 cups tomato sauce, fresh if possible
1/2 cup feta cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon dry oregano
1 teaspoon dry basil
salt and pepper to taste
three sticks string cheese (or about a cup grated mozzarella cheese)
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease a 9 x 13 inch baking dish. Set aside.
In the pot that the penne was cooked in, mix together the cooked chicken, frozen spinach, tomato sauce, feta cheese, Parmesan cheese, oregano, basil and salt and pepper. Add the cooked and drained penne and stir to combine. Put this mixture into the prepared baking dish.
Cut the string cheese into coins and place evenly over the pasta mixture (or scatter the grated mozzarella evenly over the casserole.)
Bake in the preheated oven for 45 -50 minutes or until heated through and the cheese is melted on top.
Serve while hot. A salad and some crusty bread is a nice addition to this dish.
Serves 6 -8.


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I'm so excited! This week Guillermo del Toro started releasing viral videos to help in the marketing of the kaiju fest that is Pacific Rim! OMG you must watch now. And check out the frickin' cool blueprints below. This movie just begs to be made into the greatest roleplaying game ever.
|ABOVE: The Russian Cherno Alpha. I love the way the head looks. It's
kind of a cross between a cylon helmet and that of a knight's jousting helm
from the Middle Ages, only with huge cannons on the shoulders.
|ABOVE: The Japanese Coyote Tango. This looks like a smaller, swifter Jaeger.
My guess is that it is highly maneuverable and we can expect to see some
karate-style moves in this particular robot.
|ABOVE: The Chinese Crimson Typhoon. Note the multiple arms. My guess is that this
thing will break loose with some really awesome multiple arm spinning action
and probably flame throwers of some kind. I'm sure Kaiju will not like fire.
|ABOVE: The Australian Striker Eureka. This thing is gonna be a massive slice
and dice warrior Jaeger. Just look at those blades on its forearms. Plus the huge
reinforced chest makes me think we'll see some real pro wrestling moves from
this baby.
It's Pacific Rim just in time for Christmas. I hope you are looking forward to this movie as much as me. It's quite possible I may be more excited about this show than I was about Prometheus.
Have a great weekend.


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Story highlights
"Dead zones" lack enough oxygen to support marine life
They are caused by agricultural waste and sewage flowing into sea
Sweden trialling plan to pump oxygen into Baltic Sea -- world's largest dead zone
Critics say it's a distraction from the need to reduce pollution
Aquatic "dead zones" are a tragic illustration of human beings' negative impact on the world's oceans. They are areas so overloaded with pollutants that they have difficulty sustaining any life.
The flow of fertilizers, sewage and industrial pollutants into rivers and seas has overloaded some coastal marine areas with nutrient waste such as nitrogen and phosphorus. This stimulates excessive growth of plants and algae, which use up oxygen dissolved in the water and kill off other marine life that depend on it.
Globally, their numbers are increasing, with more than 530 aquatic dead zones around the world, encompassing more than 95,000 square miles, according to the World Resources Institute (WRI). Some scientists believe climate change may also be making the situation worse.
But help may be at hand thanks to the development of a number of technological solutions that aim to bring the dead zones back to life.
Scientists in Sweden are testing an idea to pump oxygen into the Baltic Sea – which separates Scandinavia from mainland Europe and is the world's largest man-made dead zone – in an attempt to revive its dying ecosystem.
The Baltic region has suffered badly over the past 60 years from a rising flow of human and industrial waste. What's more, because the Baltic Sea is largely enclosed, such harmful pollutants take longer to be washed out than in open waters.
"As with all marine issues you do not see what is down there and sea bottoms are mostly neglected because in general people think there is no life," said Inger Naslund, from environmental group WWF Sweden. "The effects of human behavior is many times reflected at the sea bottom and should be discussed with a louder voice."
Attempts to reduce the waste being dumped into the Baltic have so far failed to stop the growth of the dead zone, now equivalent to around one and half times the size of Denmark.
The lack of progress has led a number of Baltic countries to consider technological interventions, or so-called "geoengineering" ideas (large-scale solutions to environmental problems), such as pumping oxygen into the water, and using chemicals to bind pollutants in sediments, in a bid to save the Baltic.
The Swedish government is funding research into the feasibility of using a wind-turbine driven oxygen pump in the Baltic, following studies carried out last year by the University of Gothenburg, which looked at the effect of pumping oxygen-rich surface water to the bottom of two Swedish fjords.
"Today everyone is focused on reducing nutrient inputs to the sea in order to reduce eutrophication (the effect of excessive nutrients) in the Baltic, but by helping nature itself to deal with the phosphorus that is discharged we can create a turbo effect in the battle against eutrophication," said Anders Stigebrandt, of the University of Gothenburg's Department of Earth Sciences.
See also: Floating turbine buoys offshore wind potential
If implemented, the Baltic Deepwater Oxygenation (Box) project would require around 100 pumping stations built around the Baltic Sea to transport oxygen deep underwater to counteract the declining amounts of oxygen and prevent the growth of the dead zone.
However, not everyone is convinced by the geoengineering ideas. Professor Daniel Conley from Lund University in Sweden, says they are "dangerous quick-fixes," which could have a number of "unforeseen" consequences and allow countries to ignore their obligations for reducing the waste they dump in the Baltic.
"It could completely change the ecology of the Sea," he said, adding that the oxygen-pumping plan could interfere with the reproductive successes of some fish species and cause the release of old contaminants buried underground. Conversely, it could also raise water temperatures and stimulate higher algae growth.
Scientists in Sweden are also testing the use of a chloride, used in treating drinking water, to try to bind phosphorus pollutants in sediments. But writing in science journal Nature, Conley was also skeptical of the idea of using chemicals to bind pollutants.
Conley says it is not yet known how long the pollutants can remain buried within sediments or whether it would even be legal to add large quantities of chemicals to the Baltic Sea.
Environmental groups within the Baltic region support the research into geoengineering projects but are doubtful it can be scaled up.
"Maybe these geoengineering ideas can work in a small inlet or lake but it would cost far too much to be a solution for the whole of the Baltic Sea," said Naslund.
See also: Australia to create marine parks
Baltic environmental group the Estonian Fund for Nature (ELF) says it does not rule out supporting geoengineering ideas like the oxygen-pumping plan but would wait to see a proper ecosystem report of any potential risks.
Conley says any geoengineering idea was likely to cost millions, and in the case of oxygen-pumping, would have to continue for several decades.
Such a large amount of time and money, he believes, would be better directed at reducing land-based sources of nutrients rather than at expensive and potentially harmful schemes to engineer a solution.
"The Baltic Sea Action Plan (BSAP), signed by all the nations surrounding the Baltic, sets targets for reducing nutrient waste levels. Sweden is now saying it wants to use geoengineering to help meet its targets. It's a politically quick solution to a very difficult problem," said Conley.
"These (oxygen pumping) plans are not solving the problem unless you reduce the nutrient waste being dumped in the Sea in the first place."


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The Vow, a full-bodied lunge for the heartstrings, has a humdinger of a premise, forcing its characters to face a question that most of us ask ourselves: If you could do the past five years over again, would you live them the same or take a mulligan?
A young married couple, Leo and Paige (Channing Tatum and Rachel McAdams), are rear-ended on a snowy Chicago night. He's all right, but she comes to with no memory of the past half-decade. These have been years of significant change. Asking who the president is, she's shocked to discover that it's Senator Obama — and, more shockingly, that she voted for him. Paige remembers being engaged to another man (Scott Speedman) in law school and preparing for a suburban life much like that of her parents (Sam Neill and Jessica Lange) in exclusive Lake Forest. Now she's married to a man she doesn't recognize, estranged from her posh upbringing, and working as a sculptor.
With no memories to ballast her to Leo and their life, Paige gravitates back toward the past that she'd jettisoned; Leo is pained, patient, and beseeching but privately appalled that the hip free spirit whom he married has regressed into a "sweater set–wearing, mojito-drinking sorority girl," now flirting with the ex-fiancé.
The Vow announces from the top that it is "inspired by true events," but though the film nods to mounting bills and professional stress surrounding the accident, anything resembling the actual pressures of social-economic reality are waved off as significant factors in Paige's decision between lives. No starving artists, Leo and Paige were living the bohemian-bourgeoisie ideal, with a dream loft and cool, promising careers — she pulling in corporate commissions, he running his own recording studio.
Capsulizing the complex differences between Paige's choices into easy-to-swallow forms — and highlighting the "right" choice for the viewer — The Vow makes the least of its concept, refusing to acknowledge that a love need not be perfect to merit holding on to (something the similarly themed Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind understood). The Vow does, however, offer an unobstructed view of charismatic performers, playing people working earnestly at a rather impossible situation. Bullnecked Tatum is about as convincing a studio nerd as Steve Albini would be as an Abercrombie model, but his shy manner around his stranger of a wife is touching — throat-clearing line readings that break down to butting his head against the immovable object of her mental block. After Wedding Crashers and Midnight in Paris, McAdams might seem consigned to representing the horror of WASP aridity, but she brings a bright bemusement to her part that refines Paige's crude dilemma, as though, having lived two stereotyped identities, she's able to find the joke in both. Closes with the Cure's "Pictures of You" and a chorus of sniffling.


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if I file before my STD goes into effect, will LFG deny the claim?
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Policy Holder Rating
Lincoln Financial made my life a living hell
Lincoln Financials wants to claw back my money
This is the second time I've been shorted in my check
Lincoln Financial denied my STD claim because one doctor didn't send them my medical information.
Lincoln cancelled my benefits because my doctor's notes were handwritten
Lincoln denied my disability claim even though Dr said I couldn't work
Lincoln doesn't think renal failute and 4 dyalisis treatments per day are enough to be. Disabled
They promised me min 10% of my salary and max 60%. I got 6%
Q: If I return to work only part time and decide I can't continue, will Lincoln Financial base my income on when I worked part time or full time?
Q: Does Lincoln Financial apply offsets to all claimants equitably?
Q: Does payback to Lincoln Financial, once approved for SSDI, include the first year?
Q: Is LF's doctor, who never spoke with me or evaluated me, allowed to clear me for work?
Q: Can LF discontinue my mental health benefits after 24 months?
Q: Can Lincoln Financial deny a total disability claim approved by a federal judge? Can I get a lump sum payout instead of fighting with them for the next 9 years?
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text:
Health and Counseling Services
Good health is important to students and to the College. The health services staff takes an active role in promoting wellness among students, including conducting programs on preventive health care, sexuality and healthy life-styles. Health and counseling services are available to all full-time traditional students when classes are in session during the fall and spring semesters. Health Services is located on the ground floor of Curtis Hall. Referrals to off-campus medical and psychological specialists are available as needed. Services include treatment of acute and chronic illnesses and injuries, immunizations, allergy injections and routine gynecological care. The College psychotherapists offer support and counseling on a broad range of adjustment and mental health concerns. Students may schedule visits with Health and Counseling Services during the academic year by calling 610-606- 4640.
Health Policy
Cedar Crest College is committed to providing a safe environment for its students and has formulated its Health Policy based on guidelines presented by the American College Health Association. Students with serious, acute and chronic conditions are encouraged to inform Health and Counseling Services about their illness so that they may receive evaluation and treatment and/or information and referral for appropriate care. Health information provided will be used, if necessary, solely as an aid to provide health care to the student. This information is strictly for the use of Health Services and will not be released to anyone without the student's knowledge or consent. The Dean of Student Affairs reserves the right to contact parents or guardians in situations where a student's health or welfare is at risk. On admission to the College students receive a College Health Form which must be completed prior to the beginning of classes. The form is reviewed by the Director of Health and Counseling Services and students are notified of any missing documentation. All immunizations must be completed and be up to date. Students who do not submit health forms prior to established deadlines are subject to a $50.00 weekly fine until forms are submitted. Resident students are not permitted to move in the residence halls without required health forms. The College requires all full-time students to have health insurance coverage. The College will provide a basic Accident and Sickness Plan for all full-time students who do not already have their own coverage. The cost of the plan will be included on the student's bill. A description of the plan and waiver cards for those who have other coverage are provided to students with semester materials or by the Finance Office. In cases of communicable disease, the College will follow the reporting requirements for all communicable diseases. All student concerns about communicable diseases should be directed to the Director of Health and Counseling Services.


text:
The recreational survey released catch data by fishing region; Released = the animals caught then released
** Please make sure you display the appropriate confidence band for the measure you have selected.
To customise your query click the Customise Query button. The PivotGrid Field List should be displayed. Within the Hidden Fields box the first item is Measures, the remaining items are field groups. Click the + next to the item of interest to drill down to the available Measures or Fields. You can drag Measures to the Data Area of the PivotGrid Field List and you can drag Fields to one of the Filter Area, Row Area, or Column Area regions.
When you have set up your query click the Update button.
To remove Fields from your PivotGrid drag the field back to the Hidden Fields box.
Once you have selected the fields to display and have returned to the PivotGrid you can filter within a field, e.g. select one of the species available. The field buttons in the Pivot Grid often have a drop down button, click that button and then select the particular elements you want to display. For example click the drop down box on the Species field and tick only barramundi to display estimates only for barramundi.


text:
I used to do a regular comedy bit on the Internet Nexus blog every year about the amazing number of articles that popped up every year declaring that, seriously, this was the year of desktop Linux. Obviously, it never happened. Perhaps equally obviously, it's never going to happen. But those Linux guys. They do need to hope, and something to write about. Here's the latest example. And it's not even January yet.
This survey helps support the recent Forrester study, which found that Linux is becoming a credible threat to Windows on the desktop. Indeed, another recent desktop operating system survey, by KACE, a systems management appliance company, found that more Windows users are considering migrating to Mac OS and/or Linux (44 percent) than to Vista (13 percent).
What the survey failed to point out, of course, is that several hundred million Windows users will, in fact, migrate to Vista, regardless of what they're apparently thinking. And I'm here to tell you that they'll be pretty psyched about it when they do. There's a lot of wishful thinking in this article, but I think the truly relevant bit is as follows. And I'd point out that these results were found in a survey that was specifically aimed at people actually using Linux on the desktop.
In those businesses and organizations that have deployed Linux desktops, 39.5 percent are running Linux on more than half of their machines. Even in Linux-oriented groups, Windows remains the single most popular desktop system, with 59.6 percent running on half or more of their desktops.
So there you go. You can talk about what people intend to do all you want. But what people really do is run Windows. Even in the so-called Linux shops. I'm sure that explains why the article is titled "Desktop Linux on the rise, Linux Foundation reports" instead of something more truthful like "Even Linux users use Windows."


text:
Estimated read time: 5-6 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
BEIRUT (AP) — A Lebanese man with permanent U.S. residency who had been imprisoned in Iran for years on charges of espionage said Tuesday that he was subjected to "kidnapping, arbitrary detention and a show trial," adding that his release served to de-escalate tensions between the U.S. and Iran.
In his first comments after arriving in his native Lebanon, Nizar Zakka denied reports that his release was part of a wider deal but suggested that it had helped avert further escalation in the region.
Zakka's release comes amid heightened tensions between Iran and the U.S. after President Donald Trump withdrew the U.S. from Tehran's nuclear deal with world powers. It comes against the backdrop of high-stakes diplomatic activity aimed at easing tensions between the two foes.
"The initiative, from beginning to end, was born in Lebanon. ... But I won't deny that this initiative had positive results on the region and appears to have stopped much of what might have happened," Zakka told reporters shortly after arriving in Lebanon.
Zakka is one of several prisoners with either dual nationality or links to the West held in Iran. Lebanese officials have for years asked for his release, and it was not clear why Iran decided to act now.
The White House said it was "thankful" for Zakka's release but wants to see other Americans who are detained there released as well.
"We're thankful for the release of the individual in Iran," press secretary Sarah Sanders said. "The big question is there's several others and we want to see those people released as well." Sanders declined to say whether the U.S. government was involved in securing Zakka's release.
The U.S. State Department later released a statement welcoming Zakka's release from his "unlawful imprisonment."
"We hope that Mr. Zakka's release is a positive sign for American detainees in Iran," it added, referring to several U.S. citizens who remain in detention in Iran.
Flanked by his wife and siblings, Zakka spoke at the presidential palace, his first stop after arriving on a private plane at Beirut airport. He was accompanied by the chief of Lebanon's General Security Directorate, Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim, who had traveled to the Iranian capital to bring him home.
Wearing a dark suit and tie, Zakka flashed reporters the victory sign and hugged his brother Ziad before he went into a meeting with President Michel Aoun, who had personally requested his release.
"Mr. president, my family and I owe you for the rest of my life for what you did in order for me to win my freedom," Zakka said after the meeting. "I went there (to Iran) upon an official invitation to a country where I was kidnapped."
Zakka, an information technology expert, was arrested in Iran in September 2015 while trying to fly out of Tehran. He had just attended a conference there at the invitation of one of the country's vice presidents. The following year, he was sentenced to 10 years in prison after authorities accused him of being an American spy — allegations vigorously rejected by his family and associates.
Earlier on Tuesday, an Iranian judiciary official confirmed that Tehran has agreed to hand over Zakka to Lebanese officials, providing the first official confirmation of his release, which had been anticipated for days.
"A court has accepted the condition of freedom for Nizar Zakka and he will be handed over to Lebanese officials," judiciary spokesman Gholamhossein Esmaili said, according to the judiciary's Mizan news agency.
A report Monday on the Iranian state TV's website mirrored an earlier one carried by the semi-official Fars news agency about Zakka.
State TV, like Fars, quoted an anonymous source saying Zakka's forthcoming release should only be seen as a "sign of respect" for the Lebanese militant Hezbollah group and its leader, Hassan Nasrallah.
"In this regard, no negotiations have taken place at any level with any person or any government," state TV said.
Esmaili stressed that Zakka's release was within "the frame of the law."
"We reviewed the (Lebanese) president's request through the Supreme National Security Council," Esmaili said. "Also, the Lebanese Hezbollah group considered the approval of his freedom as prudent." The leader of the Iranian-backed Hezbollah has not made public comments about Zakka's imprisonment, but pro-Hezbollah media have said that Nasrallah had in recent days urged the Iranians to facilitate his release.
Zakka, who lives in Washington and holds resident status in the U.S., leads the Arab ICT Organization, or IJMA3, an industry consortium from 13 countries that advocates for information technology in the region.
In 2016, The Associated Press reported that Zakka's supporters wrote to then-Secretary of State John Kerry, stating Zakka traveled to Iran "with the knowledge and approval of the U.S. State Department, and his trip was funded by grants" from it.
Zakka's IJMA3 organization had received at least $730,000 in contracts and grants since 2009 from both the State Department and USAID, the lead American government agency fighting poverty and promoting democracy across the world.
The State Department has yet to respond to a years-old request from the AP for information about those grants.
Shahindokht Molaverdi, an adviser to President Hassan Rouhani who as a vice president invited Zakka to Iran, told the AP in September that Iran's government had "failed" to help Zakka, who was arrested by the country's elite Revolutionary Guard, which answers directly to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
"This is in no way approved by the government," Molaverdi said. "We did all we could to stop this from happening, but we are seeing that we have failed to make a significant impact."
Associated Press writers Amir Vahdat in Tehran, Iran, and Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, contributed to this report.
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


text:
Recently I've been optimizing the heck out of Noda Time. Most of the time this has been a case of the normal measurement, find bottlenecks, carefully analyse them, lather, rinse, repeat. Yesterday I had a hunch about a particular cost, and decided to experiment… leading to a surprising optimization.
Noda Time's core types are mostly value types – date/time values are naturally value types, just as DateTime and DateTimeOffset are in the BCL. Noda Time's types are a bit bigger than most value types, however – the largest being ZonedDateTime, weighing in at 40 bytes in an x64 CLR at the moment. (I can shrink it down to 32 bytes with a bit of messing around, although it's not terribly pleasant to do so.) The main reason for the bulk is that we have two reference types involved (the time zone and the calendar system), and in Noda Time 2.0 we're going to have nanosecond resolution instead of tick resolution (so we need 12 bytes just to store a point in time). While this goes against the Class Library Design Guidelines, it would be odd for the smaller types (LocalDate, LocalTime) to be value types and the larger ones to be reference types. Overall, these still feel like value types.
A lot of these value types are logically composed of each other:
- A LocalDate is a YearMonthDay and a CalendarSystem reference
- A LocalDateTime is a LocalDate and a LocalTime
- An OffsetDateTime is a LocalDateTime and an Offset
- A ZonedDateTime is an OffsetDateTime and a DateTimeZone reference
This leads to a lot of delegation, potentially – asking a ZonedDateTime for its Year could mean asking the OffsetDateTime, which would ask the LocalDateTime, which would ask the LocalDate, which would ask the YearMonthDay. Very nice from a code reuse point of view, but potentially inefficient due to copying data.
Why would there be data copying involved? Well, that's where this blog post comes in.
Behaviour of value type member invocations
When an instance member (method or property) belonging to a value type is invoked, the exact behaviour depends on the kind of expression it is called on. From the C# 5 spec, section 7.5.5 (where E is the expression the member M is invoked on, and the type declaring M is a value type):
If E is not classified as a variable, then a temporary local variable of E's type is created and the value of E is assigned to that variable. E is then reclassified as a reference to that temporary local variable. The temporary variable is accessible as this within M, but not in any other way. Thus, only when E is a true variable is it possible for the caller to observe the changes that M makes to this.
So when is a variable not a variable? When it's readonly… from section 7.6.4 (emphasis mine) :
If T is a struct-type and I identifies an instance field of that class-type:
- If E is a value, or if the field is readonly and the reference occurs outside an instance constructor of the struct in which the field is declared, then the result is a value, namely the value of the field I in the struct instance given by E.
(There's a very similar bullet for T being a class-type; the important part is that the field type is a value type
The upshot is that if you have a method call of:
then it's effectively converted into this:
int result = tmp.Foo();
Now if the type of the field is quite a large value type, but Foo() doesn't modify the value (which it never does within my value types), that's performing a copy completely unnecessarily.
To see this in action outside Noda Time, I've built a little sample app.
Show me the code!
Our example is a simple 256-bit type, composed of 4 Int64 values. The type itself doesn't do anything useful – it just holds the four values, and exposes them via properties. We then measure how long it takes to sum the four properties lots of times.
using System.Diagnostics;
public struct Int256
private readonly long bits0;
private readonly long bits1;
private readonly long bits2;
private readonly long bits3;
public Int256(long bits0, long bits1, long bits2, long bits3)
this.bits0 = bits0;
this.bits1 = bits1;
this.bits2 = bits2;
this.bits3 = bits3;
public long Bits0 { get { return bits0; } }
public long Bits1 { get { return bits1; } }
public long Bits2 { get { return bits2; } }
public long Bits3 { get { return bits3; } }
class Test
private readonly Int256 value;
public Test()
value = new Int256(1L, 5L, 10L, 100L);
public long TotalValue
return value.Bits0 + value.Bits1 + value.Bits2 + value.Bits3;
public void RunTest()
// Just make sure it's JITted…
var sample = TotalValue;
Stopwatch sw = Stopwatch.StartNew();
long total = 0;
for (int i = 0; i < 1000000000; i++)
total += TotalValue;
Console.WriteLine("Total time: {0}ms", sw.ElapsedMilliseconds);
static void Main()
new Test().RunTest();
Building this from the command line with /o+ /debug- and running (in a 64-bit CLR, but no RyuJIT) this takes about 20 seconds to run on my laptop. We can make it much faster with just one small change:
private Int256 value;
// Code as before
The same test now takes about 4 seconds – a 5-fold speed improvement, just by making a field non-readonly. If we look at the IL for the TotalValue property, the copying becomes obvious. Here it is when the field is readonly:
get_TotalValue() cil managed
// Code size 60 (0x3c)
.maxstack 2
.locals init (valuetype Int256 V_0,
valuetype Int256 V_1,
valuetype Int256 V_2,
valuetype Int256 V_3)
IL_0000: ldarg.0
IL_0001: ldfld valuetype Int256 Test::'value'
IL_0006: stloc.0
IL_0007: ldloca.s V_0
IL_0009: call instance int64 Int256::get_Bits0()
IL_000e: ldarg.0
IL_000f: ldfld valuetype Int256 Test::'value'
IL_0014: stloc.1
IL_0015: ldloca.s V_1
IL_0017: call instance int64 Int256::get_Bits1()
IL_001c: add
IL_001d: ldarg.0
IL_001e: ldfld valuetype Int256 Test::'value'
IL_0023: stloc.2
IL_0024: ldloca.s V_2
IL_0026: call instance int64 Int256::get_Bits2()
IL_002b: add
IL_002c: ldarg.0
IL_002d: ldfld valuetype Int256 Test::'value'
IL_0032: stloc.3
IL_0033: ldloca.s V_3
IL_0035: call instance int64 Int256::get_Bits3()
IL_003a: add
IL_003b: ret
} // end of method Test::get_TotalValue
And here it is when the field's not readonly:
get_TotalValue() cil managed
// Code size 48 (0x30)
.maxstack 8
IL_0000: ldarg.0
IL_0001: ldflda valuetype Int256 Test::'value'
IL_0006: call instance int64 Int256::get_Bits0()
IL_000b: ldarg.0
IL_000c: ldflda valuetype Int256 Test::'value'
IL_0011: call instance int64 Int256::get_Bits1()
IL_0016: add
IL_0017: ldarg.0
IL_0018: ldflda valuetype Int256 Test::'value'
IL_001d: call instance int64 Int256::get_Bits2()
IL_0022: add
IL_0023: ldarg.0
IL_0024: ldflda valuetype Int256 Test::'value'
IL_0029: call instance int64 Int256::get_Bits3()
IL_002e: add
IL_002f: ret
} // end of method Test::get_TotalValue
Note that it's still loading the field address (ldflda) four times. You might expect that copying the field onto the stack once via a temporary variable would be faster, but that ends up at about 6.5 seconds on my machine.
There is an optimization which is even faster – moving the totalling property into Int256. That way (with the non-readonly field, still) the total time is less than a second – twenty times faster than the original code!
This isn't an optimization I'd recommend in general. Most code really doesn't need to be micro-optimized this hard, and most code doesn't deal with large value types like the ones in Noda Time. However, I regard Noda Time as a sort of "system level" library, and I don't ever want someone to decide not to use it on performance grounds. My benchmarks show that for potentially-frequently-called operations (such as the properties on ZonedDateTime) it really does make a difference, so I'm going to go for it.
I intend to apply a custom attribute to each of these "would normally be readonly" fields to document the intended behaviour of the field – and then when Roslyn is fully released, I'll probably write a test to validate that all of these fields would still compile if the field were made readonly (e.g. that they're never assigned to outside the constructor).
Aside from anything else, I find the subtle difference in behaviour between a readonly field and a read/write field fascinating… it's something I'd been vaguely aware of in the past, but this is the first time that it's had a practical impact on me. Maybe it'll never make any difference to your code… but it's probably worth being aware of anyway.


text:
It really does take money to make money. So far, lawyers and other consultants have racked up $701 million in fees as they work to recover the $17.5 billion lost to Bernard Madoff's Ponzi scheme.
That's less than half of the $1.6 billion legal tab associated with the Lehman Brothers' bankruptcy - the largest legal bill in history. But it's a considerable sum that's still growing as efforts to make Madoff investors whole drag on. To date, court-appointed trustee Irving Picard has collected $9.3 billion in cash and assets and repaid $5.4 billion of that to victims.
The bulk of the fees associated with the case, $384 million, have been paid to Picard's law firm, BakerHostetler. Another $292 million has been divided among dozens of other law firms, and $25 million went to "general administrative" costs. Funding these payouts is the Securities Investor Protection Corporation, which collects dues from Wall Street firms that are used to restore lost assets to investors burned by bankruptcy or fraud.
The trustee files a bill every few months that must be approved by a federal bankruptcy court judge. Ten have been submitted so far and all have been approved. The latest tab, which covers a five-month billing period and comes to nearly $50 million, was filed last week. The total comes to 135,00 hours of legal services, which works out to about $364 per hour. Picard alone makes $890 per hour. He billed for 728 hours of work and earned a total of $648,000.
He and his colleagues spent about $8 million on various business expenses as they searched for the lost funds. That includes $400,000 for out-of-town travel, $67,000 in copying costs, $161,000 for online research, $1,206 on business meals, and $12.60 on faxes.
Related: Madoff destroyed thousands, including his son
Most of the money Picard's lawyers has collected came through settlements with former investors who withdrew more from Madoff's firm than they deposited. Even though many of these investors claim to have known nothing of the Ponzi scheme, the trustee is suing them for benefiting from it.
Forensic accountant Sam Rosenfarb, of Rosenfarb LLC, said that much of the fees were probably paid to accountants like himself, who can earn between $150 an hour and $700 an hour untangling a mess like the Madoff scam. Forensic accounting is the means by which the trustee determines which of the investors are net winners from investing in Madoff's firm.
"In order to take out more than you put in, you're really only taking that money from other victims, because Madoff didn't make any money," said Rosenfarb. "You're the beneficiary of other victims' losses. You're the beneficiary of the fraud."
Settlements have played a huge role in reclaiming the stolen money, as the trustee goes after individuals and companies that may have profited from the scheme. The largest settlement occurred in 2011, when the widow of Jeffry Picower, believed to be the biggest beneficiary of Madoff's schemes apart from the Madoffs, surrendered a whopping $5 billion from his estate.
In the pursuit of ill-gotten gains, the trustee has also sued various companies for allegedly profiting from the Ponzi scheme, but with mixed success. The trustee settled with Tremont Group Holdings, one of the largest groups of feeder funds in the Madoff case, for more than $1 billion in 2011. But suits totaling more than $20 billion against UBS (UBS) and JPMorgan (JPM) which are also accused of profiting from the scam, were tossed out by a federal judge in 2011.
Related: Breakdown of a Madoff legal bill
In 2012, a federal judge also threw out Picard's $20 billion suit against Italian bank UniCredit S.p.A (UNCFF). and Austrian banker Sonja Kohn. Both were accused of recruiting well-heeled European victims for Madoff's scheme. The judge rejected Picard's accusation that Kohn and UniCredit participated in organized crime.
Additionally, the trustee sued Mets owners Fred Wilpon and Saul Katz, who were also Madoff investors, seeking $1 billion. But Picard settled with Wilpon and Katz last year for just $67 million.
The trustee also sued the owners of the Mets, Fred Wilpon and Saul Katz, who were also Madoff investors, seeking $1 billion. But Picard settled with Wilpon and Katz last year for just $67 million.
Madoff's scheme came crashing down with his arrest on Dec. 11, 2008. He pleaded guilty three months later and was sentenced to 150 years. He is currently languishing in a federal prison in Butner, N.C.
His brother Peter recently began a 10-year sentence for helping to cover up the scheme.