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A Light on the Croatian Coast
From the May/June 2011 issue of National Geographic Traveler
I've been warned that, like almost everyone living in Croatia's Dalmatian Islands, Jure Kvinta suffers from pomalo, a condition said to be so insidious, so overwhelming, so unstoppable, that it could undermine my entire mission. That would be tragic. I've come all the way to Croatia to find Jure, to conduct business of the utmost importance with him. Jure is the lighthouse keeper on Lastovo Island, one of the most far-flung and isolated of the Dalmatians. By all accounts, Lastovo is an enchanting little outpost, a place of limestone peaks and hidden inlets with just 600 people living in a medieval village surrounded by vineyards and olive groves.
The lighthouse itself is like something out of a fairy tale, I'm told, a majestic beacon perched on a 229-foot cliff overlooking the shimmering Adriatic. Jure's father kept the lighthouse, as did his father before him. Admittedly, I've become fairly obsessed with the structure ever since seeing a photo of it online. There are 48 Croatian lights scattered across the Adriatic, all built in the 19th century, each stunning and inspiring in its own way. But only the one on Lastovo has a connection to my decidedly obscure, Slavic last name—Kvinta. Given that there aren't that many Kvintas on the planet, my mission is simple: travel to Lastovo, meet Jure, determine if we're kin, and claim possible bragging rights to having a fabulous European lighthouse in my family.
BUT THE FULL implications of pomalo don't reveal themselves until halfway into my five-hour ferry ride from the mainland city of Split, when I notice that my fellow passengers can hardly keep their clothes on. By the time we reach Brac Island, the blonde to my left has discarded her sweater and is sunning herself in a lacy, push-up bra. By Hvar, the two hairy, middle-aged men to my right have abandoned their shirts and ordered more beer. By Korcula, the young guys behind me are down to their boxers and smoking a hookah pipe as big as a barber pole.
Things deteriorate from there.
When I can finally make out Lastovo in the distance, the push-up bra has disappeared completely, the hookah is making its way around the entire ship, and several crew members have joined the hairy guys in belting out a medley of Croatian folk songs.
"Pomalo," mutters the Italian grandmother seated next to me, shaking her head.
She spits out the word like an unexpected anchovy on a pizza. Pomalo, she explains, is an entrenched Dalmatian philosophy of life that suggests some combination of "easy," "slowly," "no problem," "maybe tomorrow," "relax," and "have another coffee." All of which is fine, Grandma concedes, unless you actually need to accomplish something. "I have a 400-year-old house on Korcula," she says. "It needs work. You think I can get these people to work on my house? Look at them. Mama mia! It is impossible!"
I'd been assured that Jure would meet me at the ferry terminal on Lastovo, but after all the passengers disembark and disperse, I'm left standing there alone with a suitcase in one hand and my passport in the other. I had entertained romantic notions of presenting my ID to Jure, of embracing him right there on the dock as my long-lost cousin. But he's nowhere in sight. I dig for my cell phone.
"Jure, this is Paul Kvinta."
"I cannot get you," he says, sounding like he's still waking from a nap. "Take a taxi."
"A taxi?" There are no taxis. There are no cars. I'd studied the map. The village is six miles from here, the lighthouse two miles beyond that. I look across the dusty road. There's the ferry office, a tiny grocery store, and the Lizard Lounge. That's it.
"I will call you a taxi," Jure says and hangs up.
I lug my suitcase to the Lizard and wait.
THE CAB WINDS THROUGH pine forests and over hills until I finally glimpse the lighthouse rising alone at the end of a windswept peninsula. It seems the epitome of something Luka Bekic had told me the day before back on the mainland: "We are a seafaring country. We've been that for centuries."
Croatia has 1,244 islands sprinkled along its rocky coast, and Bekic, director of the International Centre for Underwater Archaeology in Zadar, spends his time trolling their shores, recovering evidence of the maritime powers that have historically battled for control here: the Romans, Illyrians, Venetians, and others. "Even the Romans probably built some kind of lighthouses," Bekic explained, "maybe just metal baskets with fire." By the 19th century the Austro-Hungarian Empire had erected 48 proper lighthouses in the islands, locating them near strategic shipping lanes. Later, after Croatia declared its independence in 1991, the government refurbished several of the lighthouses and assigned them double-duty as inns. Today, island-hopping travelers can rent apartments in 11 Croatian lighthouses, including Jure's.
"Mr. Kvinta?" a woman inquires as I step from the taxi. She's leaning against the low stone wall encircling the lighthouse. She pronounces "Kvinta" not like I do (kuh-VIN-tuh) but like some of my relatives back in Texas: "Quinta."
"That's me," I say, handing her my passport.
She studies it.
"Yes, Quinta," she acknowledges and introduces herself as Nada, Jure's wife. In broken English she explains that Jure should be back soon from errands. She has auburn hair, gentle eyes, and an inviting smile, and my heart warms at the thought that she might be family. I whip out my notebook and begin rifling questions. Is Jure's family originally from Croatia? How long have Kvintas been on Lastovo? Where…
Nada throws up both hands. "Easy, Quinta, easy," she protests. "Pomalo, pomalo."
"No working!" she insists. "Coffee."
Their cottage sits in the shadow of the lighthouse, and we cross a patio to their front porch. On a picnic table Nada plunks down two coffee cups and two shot glasses. In the former she pours thick, black Turkish coffee. In the latter she pours rakija, a grape-fermented Adriatic liquor. Coffee and rakija. That's how they roll in the Dalmatians.
"Zivjeli!" she says, clinking glasses with me and downing the sweet nectar. We have some more. Then some more after that.
After several fortifying rounds, I wobble over to the lighthouse to see my apartment. The structure, built in 1839, consists of a single-story, whitewashed building with green shutters and a limestone tower rising from the roof. My apartment is reached via a dark and moody corridor, but the digs themselves are delightfully spacious and airy. I park my gear and climb 98 steps to the top of the tower, where I find a five-foot-tall, rotating glass lens and a mesmerizing view of the Adriatic. I look south, where there's no land for over a hundred miles between me and Italy's bootheel. I step onto a catwalk outside and, circling around, catch a bird's-eye view of Jure and Nada's life: their vegetable garden, the vats where they ferment rakija and wine from their own grapes, the table where Jure cleans his daily catch. On the patio, a torn fishing net waits to be mended. Their curly haired dog suns itself on the lighthouse steps. In the distance I spy a moped sputtering up the unpaved road. By the time I descend the tower, Jure is strolling through the front gate. I introduce myself.
"Yes, yes," he says. "You are Quinta, I know." Jure resembles a lion with a mane of wild curls, intense eyes, and several days of stubble.
"We might be related," I suggest, hopefully.
"Maybe," he says, eyeballing me. "There is plenty of time to discuss that. Have you had coffee?"
"Um, yes."
Nada pours us more coffee and rakija.
Sensing that we're not going to discuss genealogy anytime soon, I inquire about activities on the island. I'd heard about hiking, scuba diving, boating.
"You could take a nap," Jure suggests, lighting a cigarette.
"Yes, nap," Nada seconds. "This Robinson Crusoe place. Peaceful. You must to relax. Later for working." She extends both hands in an Eastern meditative pose and closes her eyes. "Ommm."
"Yes," says Jure, exhaling. "You must relax."
I CHOOSE INSTEAD to explore Lastovo village, only to find that everyone is doing exactly what Jure and Nada are doing—drinking coffee and hanging out. In the cafés along Ulica Pjevor, clusters of old men laugh and talk animatedly with their hands. I order a cappuccino, and in no time I'm chatting with white-haired Luka Fulmizi, who tells me something mind-boggling. "My house is a thousand years old," he says. "We've been in it for 40 generations." Would I like to see it?
Soon Fulmizi and I are climbing the narrow stone streets of Lastovo, a vertical village set in a natural amphitheater, that, curiously, faces inland rather than toward the sea. Unlike other Dalmatian towns laid out proudly on seafront real estate—places like Split, Hvar, and Dubrovnik—Lastovo has hidden completely its churches, bell towers, and red-roofed villas from the scrutiny of passing ships. Fulmizi shrugs. "We were notorious pirates," he says. After the Venetians destroyed the then seaside Lastovo in 998 as punishment for its pirating ways, residents built a new village undetectable to the outside world. They then promptly resumed attacking Venetian ships.
Fulmizi's four-story home with its thick walls and gracious veranda was the third house built after the Venetian sacking. To underscore just how old that is, he leads me to the indoor well that provides his drinking water. There's a five-inch-deep groove in the lip of the well where ropes have worn down the stone, the result of ten centuries of hoisting water to the surface. "But why have water when we can have wine?" Fulmizi says, as we segue to his wine cellar. He pours me a glass of dry red from one of four stainless steel vats on a table. His grapes, he explains, come from the 1,500 vines he tends not far from the village.
"Jure makes his own wine, too," I tell him.
"Many people here do," Fulmizi says. "It is difficult to export; we are so isolated. We make it for ourselves." He takes a sip and adds: "We enjoy life."
Later, after we part ways, I seek more perspective by scrambling to the top of 1,368-foot Hum peak, Lastovo's highest point. From here I can see not only Jure's lighthouse but two others, just barely, one on Susac Island 20 miles to the west and one on Glavat, almost the same distance to the east. Both islands are even smaller than Lastovo and uninhabited. Gazing at these lighthouses and at the endless water in all directions I sense the isolation Fulmizi mentioned. I can see why folks here might be wary of energetic, overeager outsiders who can't sit still.
I decide to embrace pomalo.
- Nat Geo Expeditions
This doesn't mean I cease all activities. In fact, over the next several days, I manage to scuba dive the site of a Roman shipwreck off Lastovo's northeast corner, where the seafloor at 90 feet is littered with amphorae, the ceramic vessels that Romans used to transport wine. I also take a boat to Glavat Island, a speck of land 150 yards wide, where the only residents are thousands of shrieking gulls that circle round and round the lighthouse like some eerie scene from Hitchcock's The Birds.
But mostly, I spend my time chilling with Jure and Nada at the lighthouse. We talk music. We talk soccer. Jure takes me fishing. Nada makes me exquisite meals from our catch: pan-fried bonito in olive oil, grilled lobster, octopus goulash, all washed down with bottomless glasses of wine. "Eat, Quinta!" Nada exhorts. "Eat!"
Slowly, bit by bit, some family history emerges. "It's funny," Jure says one afternoon while patching his net on the patio, a cigarette dangling from the corner of his mouth. "When my grandfather kept the lighthouse, this place was Italy. When my father was here, it was Yugoslavia. Now I am here, and it is Croatia. We have lived in three different countries, but we have not gone anywhere!"
Then, one evening at sunset, with a breeze coming off the sea and Nada's specialty spread out before us—chilled tuna and vegetable antipasto salad—the information dam breaks. We're well into our first bottle of red when my hosts suddenly produce a trove of books, family photos, ID cards, documents of every sort. One book mentions the name Kvinta on Lastovo as far back as the 1600s. Hmm. How do I square that with the fact that my great-grandfather came from what is today the Czech Republic, some 700 miles north of here?
"The Austro-Hungarian Empire included both Croatians and Czechs," Jure says. "Maybe they moved about within the empire."
Then Nada raises another complicating factor: What if Jure isn't Slavic at all but Italian? It's possible that his name really is Quinta, which is common in Italy. We're stumped. Uncertain how to proceed, we start a second bottle.
I ask Jure for his story, and he launches into it, how he was the lighthouse keeper first on Palagruza Island, then Susac, then Lastovo; how he and Nada survived Serbian bombing runs; how they happily raised two children here at the lighthouse.
"Family," Nada says, becoming misty-eyed.
"To family!" Jure toasts. "Zivjeli!"
By our third bottle the lighthouse is flashing its mighty beam across the dark sea, a bazillion stars are twinkling above, and Jure's face has begun blurring into Nada's. "Do you have children, Quinta?" Jure-Nada asks. There's a little girl, I explain, in an orphanage; I'm trying to adopt her. Intrigued with this, Nada grabs my hand and begins reading my palm. Jure translates. "You will get your daughter, Quinta," they tell me. "But wait. There's more." Nada carefully examines my creases and swirls. "You will have a son too. A biological son!"
According to my palm, there's only one way this son can come into being. "You and your wife must come to the lighthouse," says Jure-Nada. "We will lock you in there for ten days. The food we will pass through your window. Outside we will parade around the lighthouse and cheer you on: Go, Quinta, go!"
I hold on to the table, trying to digest this astonishing prediction and trying even harder to keep from falling into my salad. That's when Nada, with eyes burning, thrusts her face within inches of mine and howls, "Quinta, come home!" She points at the lighthouse. "Come home to lighthouse, Quinta! Come home!"
We laugh. We cry. We haven't a shred of proof that we're related, and yet, via the mysteries of pomalo, Jure and Nada graciously accept me as family. As for the lighthouse, not only can I claim it, I can call it home.
Writer Paul Kvinta is still waiting for the adoption of his daughter to go through—and looking forward to taking her to Lastovo. Aaron Huey photographed "Landscapes of My Father" in our March issue.


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Kristen Stewart is nothing short of gracious. Upon walking into this interview a few minutes behind schedule, she proffers a hug and an offer to "stay until you get everything you need." There are no publicists, handlers, ringleaders, or beefcake bodyguards hanging around, and she is dressed in 7 for All Mankind jeans and Converse kicks. For the world's highest-earning actress—last year she dethroned Sarah Jessica Parker and Angelina Jolie at the top of the Forbes list, to the tune of $34.5 million—the lack of pretense is really quite remarkable…not that this is her favorite part of the job. "I really love people," she says as she hops into a chair and folds her tiny frame like origami. "You can't not as an actor. It's just strange meeting someone and going, Okay, you start at square one and I will try and make up for what you already think you know about me."
The 10,000-pound gorilla in the room is of course that people—present company included—think they know a lot: how much she earns, whom she dates, and even more intimate details. Since her Twilight reign began, digging into Stewart's personal life has become a bit of a blood sport. (To wit, a gossip rag recently splashed a photo of her with presumed boyfriend Robert Pattinson and announced that she's pregnant. She's not.) The Star Wars-esque emotional force field that she instinctually activates for self-preservation is palpable. In this instance, her armor is enhanced by pulled-back hair, glasses, and an oversize bomber jacket that serves as a kind of cocoon. There's a slightly feral air to her presence—she's jumpy and prone to pacing—but all the anxiety is kind of endearing. She's young and excitable, and having weathered the highs and lows of 2012, she claims to feel stronger than ever before.
"I have realized that you can close yourself off to life if you put walls up, but it's a difficult thing," she says. "You can't see over, people can't see in, and you also can't see out. So I've gotten quite comfortable with just being unafraid. I keep saying the same thing: it's not about being fearless but really just embracing the fears and using them."
It's of little surprise then that she describes her latest project—the indie adaptation of On the Road—as "a fucking amazing experience." Jack Kerouac's seminal novel as seen through the lens of director Walter Salles features Stewart as the shy and somewhat guileless 16-year-old bride Marylou. Her husband, Dean Moriarty (brilliantly portrayed by Garrett Hedlund), takes her on a wild ride as they crisscross the country, living to the fullest and then some. The sparkling cast also includes Sam Riley, as Sal; Tom Sturridge, as Carlo; and Kirsten Dunst, as Camille. Amy Adams, Viggo Mortensen, Steve Buscemi, and Terrance Howard make stellar cameos.
"I would have done anything, I would have played any part," says Stewart. "Marylou is remarkable because she's got a tough core. When you're a teenager, a year can be crippling to maneuver through. You're just out there questioning things, and so to be completely okay with that and not think that there's anything wrong with you, that's something I've recently understood. I'm 22. Marylou started this whole thing when she was 15."
When it comes to the Beat Generation's radical ideology of choosing the life you want to live versus succumbing to bourgeois expectations, Marylou is the perfect pilgrim. She expertly rolls and smokes joints, dances as if possessed by a divine spirit, carouses late into the night, and engages in threesomes with her beloved and his best friend, even efficiently issuing synchronized hand jobs while driving cross-country. But to hear Stewart tell it, the part is only slightly more provocative than some of her previous roles.
It's a pretty fucking odd thing to want to pretend to be another person," she says, "and then have a lot of other people who watch you do that. You have this experience of reading something, and if you don't bring it to life, you're basically deleting it. Every day of shooting you're depriving the world of having that. The responsibility is amazing.
"Until you really get to know the woman behind the character, it's difficult to connect the dots," she continues. "I'm a contemporary, sensitive, normal girl, and it's difficult to try and empathize with someone who seems to have a lack of empathy. She seems a bit callous in the book. She's literally the farthest…I have never encountered a person that had their nerves so fucking close to the surface."
Any freshman psych student could draw parallels between the fictional Marylou's demeanor and Stewart's protective façade. Delicate and darling, the two of them are also tough as hell. But whether the actress realizes it or not, her defensive posture only makes her more beguiling, by revealing how susceptible she is underneath it all. "Oh, I could have worked with her all week, or done a movie with her," says Inez van Lamsweerde, who with her partner, Vinoodh Matadin, photographed Stewart for this cover story a short while after compromising photos of the actress with her Snow White and the Hunstman director had surfaced. "We worked with her for a Gap campaign in 2006, and even back then she was extremely intelligent and questioned everything. You could say anything to her and she would respond in a wonderful way. She is that delicate blend of masculine and vulnerable. She is unbelievably beautiful, not just on the outside but also in her being. She gets right in, there is no in between."
The admiration is mutual. "When you find yourself with people like that, you can really thrive," says Stewart of Inez and Vinoodh. "It was fun. I would follow them wherever they wanted to go. I had a really good time that day, I was kind of shocked by that."
Photo shoots and fashion in general have become an increasingly important part of Stewart's evolution. Together with longtime stylist Tara Swennen, she concocts looks that consistently become much-ballyhooed fodder for the style blogs. Former Balenciaga creative director Nicolas Ghesquière, who hired Stewart to be the face of his Florabotanica fragrance, says that "she is never scared of strong fashion choices, which is very exceptional for an actress. For me she is a true heroine. The fact that we had the opportunity to work on an artistic adventure together is fantastic."
Fashion, of course, is a huge component of moviemaking, an art to which Stewart was drawn from a young age. She grew up on sets; her parents, Jules and John, still work as a script supervisor and stage manager, respectively. ("I started doing the job because I wanted adults to talk to me," says Stewart. "I wanted to be on set in a different way than just hanging around.") After starring in bit parts in film and television, she landed the role of Jodie Foster's daughter in Panic Room. The Oscar-winner was impressed by the chutzpah and dedication of her younger costar, and has remained a fairy godmother of sorts as she learns to navigate the topsy-turvy world of Tinseltown. Stewart was even handpicked to announce that Foster would receive the Cecil B. DeMille award at this year's Golden Globes.
On the Road is perhaps the perfect segue to the new challenges on which Stewart is about to embark. There are rumors of a Snow White sequel, but with the Twilight chapter closed, one surmises she is ready to start anew, and she is clearly bracing herself for the next thing—in this case a comedy called Focus, in which she plays a young vixen who catches the eye of a veteran grifter. "The script is really fun and I love the writers and directors, Glenn Ficarra and John Requa," she says.
Stewart has never conquered the Great White Way, but she'd be up for it. ("Theater is a completely different way of working, but, yeah, I would be very much down.") She also tosses out the idea of being part of an ensemble cast that would ideally include fellow actresses whose work she greatly admires. (How many starlets do you hear saying that these days?) "There are so many cool girls out there!" she says, name-checking Jennifer Lawrence, Amy Adams, and her best friend, Dakota Fanning.
"I am not closed off to anything right now," she says, smiling. "That is what I was saying about not having any more walls up. I don't want to deprive myself of any bit of life." By the end of our conversation, Stewart is a bit more relaxed—hair down, glasses off, bomber jacket removed—and cracking jokes aplenty. That nervousness she was experiencing before has apparently been channeled. Like a true Beatnik, she is embracing life as it comes.

subset: commoncrawl


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The recent release of the iPhone 5—and the consequent onslaught of new cases—means that it's been a few weeks since we've taken a dip into the arena of iPad cases. Fear not, however, for our team of intrepid researchers has been biding its time, waiting patiently for the opportunity to bring you news of new protective accessories for your tablet of choice. We present our (almost) weekly iPad-case roundup.
AccessoryGeeks: The iLoveHandles Cyclops (iPad, iPad 2, and iPad 3; $35) is a furry monster of a case that keeps your iPad safe from dents and scratches while giving it a very unique and…fuzzy look. It's made of a soft material designed to mimic the fur of teddy bears, while its hands—yes, hands, can be used to keep your screen clear of dust and fingerprints. This author may or may not have attempted to purchase one (strictly for research purposes, mind you), only to discover that the company seems to be currently sold out.
Fabrix: The Leather Satchel (iPad, iPad 2, and iPad 3; $179) is designed primarily to house one of Apple's MacBooks (up to the 15-inch versions, including the Retina MacBook Pro). But a special pocket at the front can be used to carry an iPad and several accessories. The satchel is made of fine leather, features two secure clasps to safely carry all your electronics without having to worry about spillage, and can be purchased in either black or tan.
Fu-design: The Screamer (iPad 2 and iPad 3; $60) is a leather cover that includes a convenient flip stand and is compatible with the iPad's magnetic sleep/wake feature. It includes all the appropriate cutouts to ensure that you enjoy unfettered access to your tablet's ports, buttons, and cameras, and it sports a cool design featuring mascot Fu Robot.
iLuv: The Pangborn Art Collection (iPad 3; $80) is a portfolio-style case that is built with a soft interior to protect your tablet from the vicissitudes of everyday life, and the case can be propped up for viewing in several landscape-orientation positions. The case features one of three designs by artist Dominic Pangborn, and includes several cutouts to provide access to all of the iPad's ports, buttons, and cameras.
Incase: The company's Warhol Collection, inspired by the legendary designer who so aptly captured the essence of pop art, has been updated with the addition of the Warhol Portfolio (iPad 2 and iPad 3; $80), which, in addition to featuring many of Warhol's iconic designs, can be converted to a stand for viewing in landscape orientation. The case comes with a zippered closure for maximum protection during transport.
For a more classic look, the Origami Jacket (iPad 3; $70) features a special front cover that takes a cue from the popular Japanese art of folding paper to help prop up your iPad at six different viewing angles in both landscape and portrait orientation. The very same front cover is also compatible with the iPad's magnetic sleep/wake feature, and it is complemented by a hardshell back that provides excellent protection. The back shell features all the appropriate openings for cameras, buttons, and ports.
LaunchPort: The LaunchPort System (iPad 2 and iPad 3; starts at $149) is a docking solution that allows you to attach your iPad to just about any surface you can think of (and a few you probably can't). At its heart is the Sleeve, a case (available in black or white) that safely protects your tablet and provides a connector to which one of several mounts, called Stations, can be attached. The company currently makes two kinds of stations: one designed for horizontal surfaces, and another for their vertical counterparts.
LifeEdge: Second to small children, with their uncanny ability for destruction, water is likely the iPad's most insidious enemy—a splash in the wrong place, and you're in for a very expensive trip to the Genius Bar. Luckily, LifeEdge has you covered with its Waterproof Case (iPad, iPad 2, and iPad 3; £99), which is 100 percent waterproof, provides excellent sound-transmission characteristics, and even features a convenient handstrap for easy carrying. It comes in grey, aqua, lime green, or pink.
Looptworks: You're probably very familiar with the concept of recycling, but what about "upcycling?" That's exactly what this company specializes in: It collects and recycles unused—but still new—scrap materials from clothes and accessory manufacturers, and refashions them into unique and environmentally friendly protective accessories for consumer electronics. Among the many models, you'll find the misleadingly named Laptop Sleeve (iPad 1, 2, and 3; $30), which nevertheless is designed to fit Apple's tablet. The sleeve is made of soft, high-quality neoprene; includes a convenient zippered pocket for loose changes and cables; and is available in blue, grey, orange, or red.
Pelican Products: The i1075 Hardback (iPad, iPad 2, and iPad 3; price unavailable) is a serious carrying case for use in rugged scenarios. It's designed to keep your iPad safe from all sorts of mishaps, including inclement weather, drops, water immersion, and, probably, nuclear war. It features a convenient shoulder strap, and an integrated easel helps you stand your tablet up during use.
USBFever: The SecurityLocker (iPad 3; $93) is a rigid-plastic case designed to keep sticky fingers (no, not your kid's digits—the other sticky fingers) away from your tablet. The case features a secure lock with a steel cable that can be wrapped around an immovable object to help prevent theft, and it can be arranged to work as a stand in landscape orientation. A shoulder strap can also be attached to the SecurityLocker, allowing for convenient, hands-free transport.
iPad 2 family
Read our full iPad 2 family review
iPad (third generation) family


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New York City came out almost unscathed from Hurricane Irene, but flooding and other unexpected damages caught various inland towns on the Northern Seaboard by surprise
From North Carolina to Maine, communities cleaned up and took stock of the uneven and hard-to-predict costs of a storm that spared the nation's biggest city a nightmare scenario, only to deliver a historic wallop to towns well inland.
In New York City, where people had braced for a disaster-movie scene of water swirling around skyscrapers, the subways and buses were up and running again in time for the Monday morning commute. And to the surprise of many New Yorkers, things went pretty smoothly.
But to the north, landlocked Vermont contended with what its governor called the worst flooding in a century.
Streams also raged out of control in rural, upstate New York.
In many cases, the moment of maximum danger arrived well after the storm had passed, as rainwater made its way into rivers and streams and turned them into torrents. Irene dumped up to 11 inches (28 centimetres) of rain on Vermont and more than 13 inches (33 centimetres) in parts of New York.
"We were expecting heavy rains," said Bobbi-Jean Jeun of Clarksville, a hamlet near Albany, New York. "We were expecting flooding. We weren't expecting devastation. It looks like somebody set a bomb off."
Irene killed at least five people in the Dominican Republic and Haiti. The first known casualty was a woman who died trying to cross a swollen river in the US territory of Puerto Rico.
The death toll for 11 eastern US states had stood at 21 as of Sunday night, then rose sharply to at least 38 as bodies were pulled from floodwaters and people were struck by falling trees or electrocuted by downed power lines.
A driver was missing after a road collapsed and swallowed two cars about 62 miles (100 kilometres) northeast of Montreal.
The tally of Irene's destruction mounted, too. An apparently vacant home exploded in an evacuated, flooded area in Pompton Lakes, New Jersey, early Monday, and firefighters had to battle the flames from a boat. In Albany, New York, a suburb of Guilderland, police rescued two people Monday after their car was swept away. Rescuers found them three hours later, clinging to trees along the swollen creek.
"It's going to take time to recover from a storm of this magnitude," President Barack Obama warned as he promised the government would do everything in its power to help people get back on their feet.
For many people, the aftermath could prove more painful than the storm itself.
In North Carolina, where Irene blew ashore along the Outer Banks on Saturday before heading for New York and New England, 1,000 people were still in emergency shelters, awaiting word on their homes.
At the same time, nearly 5 million homes and businesses in a dozen states were still without electricity, and utilities warned it might be a week or more before some people got their power back.
"Once the refrigerator gets warm, my insulin goes bad. I could go into diabetic shock. It's kind of scary because we don't know how long it's going to be out for," said Patricia Dillon, a partially paralysed resident of a home for the disabled in Milford, Connecticut, where the electricity was out and a generator failed. Her voice cracking, she added: "I'm very tired, stressed out, aggravated, scared."
As the storm continued its march into eastern Canada, Irene brought strong winds, gusting near 55 miles (90 kilometres) an hour, to parts of southern New Brunswick, northern and mainland Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island.
Environment Canada said the strongest winds were felt just east of Quebec City on Ile d'Orleans, where gusts of 70 miles (113 kilometres) an hour were reported.
The impact of storm left about 165,000 power customers in Quebec without electricity Monday, while tens of thousands more in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia were also waiting for the lights to come back on.
Up and down the Eastern Seaboard, commuters and vacationers found their travel plans scrambled.
Airlines warned it would be days before the thousands of passengers stranded by Irene find their way home. Some Amtrak passenger service in the Northeast was suspended.
Commuter trains between New Jersey and New York City were not running. Trains between the city and its northern suburbs were also disrupted.
In Vermont, the state's emergency management headquarters stood empty, evacuated because of river flooding from Irene's heavy rains. Rescuers used a boat and bucket loaders to pluck seven people from a swamped mobile home park in Lyndonville.
Flood waters also shut down the Vermont Emergency Management headquarters, the Vermont State Hospital and other state agency offices. About 50 patients were moved from the psychiatric hospital to other facilities.
In upstate New York, authorities were closely watching major dams holding back drinking water reservoirs.
Early estimates put Irene's damage at $7 billion to $10 billion, much smaller than the impact of monster storms such as Hurricane Katrina, which did more than $100 billion in damage. Irene's effects are small compared to the overall US economy, which produces about $14 trillion of goods and services every year.
Many people were surprised by the destruction that Hurricane Irene wrought in communities far inland. But National Weather Service records show that 59 per cent of the deaths attributed to hurricanes since the 1970s have been from freshwater flooding.
As for why the flooding was so bad this time, Shaun Tanner, a meteorologist with the forecasting service Weather Underground, noted that August had been unusually wet, and Irene's sheer size meant huge amounts of rain were dumped over a very large area.
"More attention should have been paid to the torrential rain that Irene was going to dump not only on coastal areas, but also inland. That was clear several days ahead of time," Tanner said.


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WASHINGTON (AP) ? The U.S. economy started the year off well with busier factories, higher retail sales, more jobs and growth in home sales.
The Federal Reserve said Wednesday that all 12 of its banking districts reported some level of growth in January and the first half of February.
Manufacturing output rose in all districts. Auto manufacturing, steel makers and other metal producers all reported solid growth.
Home sales increased in at least half of the districts, a notable improvement from the Fed's last report in January. Sales are expected to climb further in four districts. And six districts reported rising construction of apartments.
Some manufacturers did report concerns about Europe's financial crisis, the Fed said in its report, known as the Beige Book.
The Beige Book is released eight times a year. The findings from each of the Fed's regional bank districts are all anecdotal; there are no numbers.
The report comes amid other signs that the economy is picking up. Employers have added an average of 200,000 net jobs per month in November, December and January. That has pushed the unemployment rate down for five straight months, to 8.3 percent in January.
Most economists are predicting another big month of job growth in February, based on a steady decline in applications for unemployment benefits and more optimism in business surveys.
More jobs have boosted Americans' incomes and their ability to spend, a key driver of economic growth. Incomes increased in the second half of last year by much more than previously estimated, the Commerce Department said Wednesday.
Factory production jumped last month and December was their strongest month of growth in five years, the Fed said earlier this month in a separate report. Consumer confidence rose to its highest point in a year this month, as measured by the Conference Board.
Even the depressed housing market is flashing signs of a modest rebound.
Homebuilders are increasingly optimistic after seeing more people express interest in buying a home. Sales of previously occupied homes have reached their highest level since May 2010, one month after a federal tax credit expired. And contract signings to buy a home kept rising in January, suggesting completed home sales will continue to increase.


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Hubbard Radio Washington DC, LLC. All rights reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.
Hubbard Radio Washington DC, LLC. All rights reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.
"Inside the Reporter's Notebook," is a bi-weekly dispatch of news and information you may have missed or that slipped through the cracks at conferences, hearings and the like.
This is not a column nor commentary — it's news tidbits, strongly sourced buzz and other items of interest that have happened or are happening in the federal IT and acquisition communities.
As always, I encourage you to submit ideas, suggestions, and, of course, news to me at firstname.lastname@example.com.
The shuffling of the chairs among the ranks of the chief information officers continues, but this time it's not about who's leaving, but who's coming.
Insight by Red Hat: Join us for an enlightening panel discussion with moderator, Justin Doubleday and agency and industry leaders who will explore the strategies and tools aimed at empowering the modern digital-native workforce in the intelligence community.
Richard McKinney now heads up the Transportation Department's IT shop. McKinney comes to DoT from the Center for Digital Government, where he was a senior fellow. He also was the CIO of Nashville and Davidson County, Tenn., from 1999 to 2005, and then a government technology advisor for Microsoft's state and local government division.
"I am deeply honored to have been appointed as the next CIO for the Department of Transportation," McKinney wrote in a note to staff obtained by Federal News Radio. "This is an exciting time in government IT with all of the new possibilities ushered in by cloud computing, mobility and shared services. Internal business needs as well as public expectations are requiring government to rethink how they effectively manage, deliver and secure digital services and information. I am looking forward to the work and the challenges that lie ahead and the opportunity to work with the entire team at DOT. Quite simply, I can't wait to get started."
McKinney replaces Nitin Pradhan, who left the agency in August after spending three years at DoT.
Along with McKinney, the Agriculture Department and the State Department moved acting CIOs to permanent ones.
At USDA, Cheryl Cook assumed permanent status March 24. She had been acting since Chris Smith left to work for Accenture in March 2012.
Cook also brought in Joyce Hunter to be her deputy CIO of policy and planning on April 8. Hunter spent most of her career in industry, including most recently as the chief executive officer of Vulcan Enterprises, an IT strategic planning consulting organization.
Cook's ascension to permanent CIO is an interesting move. USDA, once again, moves the CIO role to political from career. The agency did that during the Bush administration when Chuck Christopherson was both CIO and chief financial officer.
With the USDA CIO job becoming political, it marks a growing trend across government. Other political positions include the departments of Defense, Veterans Affairs, Homeland Security and Labor, and the Environment Protection Agency.
Over at State, Steven Taylor dropped the acting title April 3. He had been in that role since August when Susan Swart left to work at the International Monetary Fund.
Taylor has worked at State since 1988 when he joined the Foreign Service. He served a management counselor in Cairo and Athens, and he was posted at six other major foreign cities.
There are still several agencies awaiting permanent CIOs, including DHS, VA, NASA, Housing and Urban Development, and the Office of Personnel Management, which just posted its CIO job on USAjobs.gov. Additionally, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Transportation Security Administration also are looking for new technology chiefs.
The Office of Management and Budget quietly posted the annual E-Government benefits report to Congress May 9.
The inside joke among those in the federal IT community is the only people who read the 286-page report are the people who write it, a handful of former OMB officials and a few of media nerds (your truly included).
Congress first required the report in the 2005 appropriations to cover fiscal 2006. OMB released it in February 2007.
The reason for a benefits report came from some concern on Capitol Hill about what agencies were really getting for all this money being spent on electronic government.
Want to stay up to date with the latest federal news and information from all your devices? Download the revamped Federal News Network app
But the real reason behind the report is a former political appointee didn't like the e-government effort and got some Hill staff to put potentially initiative- killing provisions in the appropriations bill. So, OMB negotiated it down to an annual report on where the money is going and the benefits the programs bring.
As part of its PortfolioStat 2 initiative, OMB in January proposed to eliminate the report, saying "Through the IT Dashboard, the performance benefits of all major IT investments are reported by the 24 CFO Act agencies. The publication of this report is duplicative and outdated given that the information on the IT Dashboard is more current and is reported on a monthly basis."
But until Congress approves OMB's request, the benefits report continues.
Some highlights:
Tear down this wall … CXOs. Yes, there is a wall, maybe not a Berlin Wall, but maybe more like a cubicle wall.
And to break down those real or artificial barriers, the CIO Council led the creation of a new CXO Collaboration Team that includes members from all the other federal councils — CFO, Chief Acquisition Officer, Chief Human Capital Officer and Performance Improvement Officers.
"None of this innovation, none of these cost savings will occur and cybersecurity will not get better unless we are working as a CXO team both from within OMB, working across the E-Government Office, the Office of Financial Management, the Office of Federal Procurement, the Office of Performance Management and the human capital office as well," said Lisa Schlosser, deputy administrator in OMB's Office of E-Government and IT, at the recent CIO Survey conference sponsored by TechAmerica. "By working together at our level and doing more CXO collaboration within the agencies, I think we are coming to a bigger awareness of how important it is to have better training standards, consistent training standards so the acquisition community understands what the IT community needs, who understands what the financial community needs, and certainly the human capital community needs to understand that as well."
The CXO Collaboration Team will examine problems and find solutions, and share best practices in a more holistic approach.
"By focusing on more CXO collaboration, we will understand more what we need to do to make sure our workforce is better enabled to drive innovation in today's environment," Schlosser said.
That type of collaboration is growing across government. OMB encouraged agencies to bring all stakeholders together first under TechStat sessions to fix problematic IT projects, and later under PortfolioStat sessions to address duplication across the agency.
Dave McClure, the General Services Administration's associate administrator in the office of Citizen Services and Innovative Technologies, said this type of collaboration is even more key in this time of budget reductions.
He said collaboration among the important players helps to make decisions on where to spend resources, both when it comes to new money and savings.
"We just stood up a business review board to provide this type of enterprise examination," he said at the TechAmerica event. "Whenever you save money, there will be 18,000 people trying to grab it to spend it on their project. It's just as hard to prioritize what you are going to spend in new areas on. It's extremely difficult because every business owner will have projects that they desperately need to spend this on. It's a prioritization challenge of what to do with new investment of money. It's challenging in government because we are stovepiped into our individual programs and offices instead of taking an enterprise view."
Out&AboutBusy week coming up, starting with the Excellence in Government conference Monday and Tuesday at the Ronald Reagan International Trade and Conference Center in Washington. Speakers on the schedule include acting GSA Administrator Dan Tangherlini, DoD's deputy chief management officer Beth McGrath and former Vice President Al Gore. Then FOSE returns to the Washington Convention Center Tuesday through Thursday with a lineup of sessions and speakers that include federal CIO Steve VanRoekel and Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.), chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee announced a field hearing in Fairfax, Va., on data center consolidation, and Carper's committee will look at program duplication across government on Wednesday based on the Government Accountability Office's annual report.
April 29: Communication breakdown over FITARA? Lawmaker wants answers from DHS
April 12: A deeper dive into the 2014 budget
March 22: A deeper focus on strategic sourcing, boosting acquisition and cyber workforces
Copyright © 2023 Federal News Network. All rights reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.
Jason Miller is executive editor of Federal News Network and directs news coverage on the people, policy and programs of the federal government.
Follow @jmillerWFED


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There are no experimentally validated pharmacological means of preventing laminitis; however, locally acting pharmaceutical agents with the potential to prevent laminitis have been identified. Demonstrating therapeutic drug concentrations in lamellar tissue is essential for evaluating the efficacy of these agents. The aim of this study was to develop an experimental technique for repeatedly sampling lamellar interstitial fluid. A technique for placing ultrafiltration probes was developed in vitro using 15 cadaver limbs.
Journal: The Veterinary Journal
Comparison of Insulin-Induced Digital Vessel Ring Responses of Laminitic and Clinically Healthy Horses
Journal: Journal of Equine Veterinary Science
Hyperinsulinemia leads to insulin resistance of blood vessels and interferes with circulation of laminae of the equine foot. The objective of the study was to compare the digital vessel responses of clinically healthy and laminitic horses with and without experimental induction of insulin resistance. Vessel segments (artery and vein) collected after euthanasia were cut into 3-mm wide rings and were prepared in tissue baths containing Tyrode solution for response studies. Two rings of each vessel type from each horse were used as nonresistant, and two were made insulin resistant.
Effect of endotoxin on leukocyte activation and migration into laminar tissue of isolated perfused equine limbs
Journal: American Journal of Veterinary Research
Objective—To investigate effects of endotoxin on leukocyte activation and infiltration of the laminar tissue in isolated perfused equine limbs.
Sample—10 right forelimbs and 3 left forelimbs collected from 10 healthy adult horses after slaughter at a licensed abattoir.
Continuous digital hypothermia initiated after the onset of lameness prevents lamellar failure in the oligofructose laminitis model
Journal: Equine Veterinary Journal
Reasons for performing study
Prophylactic digital hypothermia reduces the severity of acute laminitis experimentally but there is no evidence for its efficacy as a treatment once lameness has already developed.
To investigate the therapeutic effects of digital hypothermia, applied after the onset of lameness, in an experimental acute laminitis model.
Study design
Randomised, controlled (within subject), blinded, experimental trial.
Morphological and cellular changes in secondary epidermal laminae of horses with insulin-induced laminitis
Journal: American Journal of Veterinary Research
Objective—To determine cellular changes associated with secondary epidermal laminae (SEL) in forefeet and hind feet of ponies with insulin-induced laminitis. Animals—8 ponies. Procedures—Laminitis was induced in 4 ponies by IV administration of insulin and glucose; 4 control ponies received saline (0.9% NaCl) solution IV. Laminar tissue samples obtained from the dorsal aspects of the hooves were histologically evaluated. Primary epidermal lamina (PEL) length and width and SEL length, width, and angle were determined.
Regulation of hypoxia-inducible factor-1α and related genes in equine digital lamellae and in cultured keratinocytes
Journal: Equine Veterinary Journal
Reasons for performing study
Hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1A) is an important protein in the regulation/induction of many genes in the cellular and tissue response to hypoxia and a central mediator in inflammatory signalling. As both hypoxia and inflammatory events are purported to occur in the lamellar epidermis in sepsis-related laminitis in the equid, HIF-1A may play a central role in this disease process.
Usefulness of Doppler ultrasonography to assess digital vascular dynamics in horses with systemic inflammatory response syndrome or laminitis
Journal: Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association
Objective—To evaluate the usefulness of Doppler ultrasonography as a method to assess changes in digital vascular dynamics in horses with systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) or laminitis.
Design—Cross-sectional study.
Animals—42 adult Andalusian horses.
Category: Equine - Imaging - Laminitis - Ultrasound
Risk factors for equine laminitis: A case-control study conducted in veterinary-registered horses and ponies in Great Britain between 2009 and 2011
Journal: The Veterinary Journal
Laminitis is a highly debilitating disease of the foot known to have a complex and multifactorial aetiology of metabolic, inflammatory, traumatic or vascular origin. The disease has major welfare implications due to unrelenting pain associated with degenerative changes, which often necessitate euthanasia on welfare grounds. Despite this, there have been few high-quality studies investigating risk factors for equine laminitis, and only a limited number of risk factors have been previously investigated.
Journal: Equine Veterinary Education
Radiographic studies are an essential component in evaluation of horses with laminitis. The standard radiographs that should be obtained to aid assessment of horses with laminitis are the lateromedial, horizontal dorsopalmar and dorsal 45° proximal palmarodistal oblique views. This article will summarise the assessment of these 3 projections in the laminitic horse as well as discuss the prognostic significance of common radiological abnormalities in horses with laminitis.
Category: Equine - Imaging - Laminitis - Radiography
Journal: Equine Veterinary Education
Although glucocorticoids have been used successfully for the treatment of noninfectious inflammatory diseases of horses for more than 35 years, their use has been attended by a fear of the induction of laminitis. This paper reviews the evidence for this fear and the possible mechanisms whereby glucocorticoids could participate in laminitis induction.


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Woman Raped – Man Arrested, Another Sought – July 13, 2010
Kevin L. Hoover
Eye Editor
ARCATA – A woman was raped by two men the evening of Monday, July 5 in the wooded area between the Community Park softball field and U.S. Highway 101.
A suspect was arrested within minutes, and another is being sought.
Kevin Scott Walker, 37, of Eureka, was booked into the Humboldt County Jail on a charge of rape.
The second perpetrator is described as a white or Indian male adult in his early twenties with dark, shoulder-length hair and thin facial hair. He was last seen wearing a dark-colored jacket.
The attack took place just footsteps away from a softball field where players were wrapping up an evening game. About 600 people had attended the event, unaware of the violence taking place just out of view among the trees at the field's edge.
Richard Marks, president of the Mad River Softball Association, was present for the incident's aftermath, and assisted in the response. He wrote an account on his Samoa Softball blog.
With the field lights just turned off just after 10 p.m., Marks and other ball players were out in the parking lot talking when a young woman approached them.
"Out of the dark came a young lady who asked one of our umps for a cell phone so she could call her dad and tell him she was raped!" Marks wrote. "One of the lady players in the league who is a trained nurse tended to the upset young lady until the Arcata officers showed up within minutes."
On hearing that the assailant might still be in the nearby woods, Marks turned the field lights back on while Field Rep Chris Avelar and Umpires Eli Woodward and Mike Manacho scrambled over to the wooded area to search for the suspect.
"I know the area decently because I chase balls there all the time," Avelar said. In a litter-strewn clearing perhaps 30 feet into the trees, they located Walker. He refused to come with them out of the woods.
Woodward said Walker's behavior was erratic, and, he believes, intentionally deceptive. "Initially, he was upright and talking to us bright-eyed and awake," Woodward said. "Then he went into his act."
Woodward left Walker momentarily and followed the trail toward the freeway to look for another suspect, but didn't locate anyone. On returning to the clearing, he said Walker had curled up on the ground and partially concealed himself under low tree branches. "I tripped over his legs," Woodward said.
When police arrived at the parking lot, the ball players led officers over to the wooded area, and Walker was arrested without incident. By then, he was behaving extremely erratically, as though delusional.
On being led to an ambulance, Marks said that "he started spitting on the EMT and pissing all over. He started yelling, 'Don't you know who my father is? He is going to kill you!' Then he started chanting loudly, 'Beelzebub, Beelzebub, Beelzebub, Beelzebub!'"
"The EMT was pretty upset, because he got peed on and spit on," Marks said. Walker's mouth was then wrapped to prevent him from spitting.
"I told the cops I thought he was just playing possum," Woodward said.
Marks said the victim, initially calm, had become hysterical, attempting to kick out the windows of the APD car in which she had been placed. She was eventually taken to Mad River Community Hospital for treatment.
Disturbing details
The witness accounts include several horrifying details, with suggestions that there may be more to the story than police have so far been able to verify.
Woodward said the victim was shaken, but not distraught when she first appeared in the parking lot and asked to borrow a cell phone. Avelar described her as "kind of crying."
Woodward said her face bore a fresh red handprint, the fingers clearly outlined on her cheek, apparently from one of the rapists clamping his hand over her mouth to keep her silent during the attack.
APD Sgt. Todd Dokweiler said the rape survivor's family lives in Eureka. Woodward said she called her father on the borrowed cell phone. Witnesses said she told him she had been raped and that it sounded like he told her to take a cab home. She said that she couldn't, because her boyfriend had robbed her.
"She told her dad that her boyfriend had left her high and dry and stolen her money," Woodward said.
Several of those present report hearing the victim mention three men, not two, the third being the boyfriend. Some mentioned seeing two other men, not just the one outstanding suspect, leaving Walker behind in the wooded area and escaping via the trail that leads up to Seventh Street.
"She said her boyfriend and the two guys were friends," Avelar said.
Dokweiler confirmed that the victim initially mentioned three men. "Within a few minutes, she recanted that," he said.
He said the woman had become acquainted with Walker downtown earlier in the day. "That's why she could identify him," he said.
That night, she may have encountered Walker and the other suspect along Seventh Street. The three then descended into the wooded area. "She went in there willingly," Dokweiler said.
Walker is offering no assistance in identifying the other suspect. "he isn't talking to us," Dokweiler said.
A grungy greenspace
The wooded area is a greenspace buffer between the Community Park and the freeway. It was labeled a "wildlife sanctuary" on the original plans for the park complex, though has proven popular as a campground for urban travelers, with heavy day use as a party spot.
As such, the area is routinely trashed, with City personnel clearing out the usual mounds of garbage associated with campsites. That, Dokweiler said, has diminished somewhat with the restoration of Arcata's two park rangers.
"Those areas are not the problem they once were," Dokweiler said. "The rangers go in there mornings and evenings."
But, he noted, "It's still a spot that provides concealment." During the day, people do use the area to drink beer and smoke marijuana.
The area shows evidence of frequent use by travelers, and is strewn with the same types of garbage found in Community Forest and Marsh campsites. Beer cans, alcohol bottles, food wrappers, containers and soggy clothing litter the periphery of the clearing where Walker was located. A discarded cardboard sign reads, "ARCATA 101N PLEASE HELP." A dusty, unopened can of tuna rests under a branch.
Walker's prior incident
According to the online archives of Eureka's Times-Standard newspaper, Walker pleaded guilty in 2008 to felony assault in Trinidad along with 18-year-old Collin Roczey, after witnesses reported the two holding another man down, slamming his head on the ground, hitting him with a metal pipe and stepping on his face while shouting racial slurs. Police Chief Ken Thrallkill said that the two had sodomized the man prior to the beating.
Walker and Roczey were arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon, sexual assault and kidnapping, but pleaded guilty to the assault charge in a plea deal. The incident was initially prosecuted as a hate crime, but that and the sexual assault charge were dropped because the victim, a traveling fisherman, couldn't be located.
The two were sentenced Wednesday to three years probation with no additional time in jail, plus 300 hours of community service.
'Two sides of the world'
Days afterward, some of those who aided the unknown rape survivor are still dealing with issues of their own following the event.
"I just can't believe this was happening while we were playing," Woodward said, shaking his head.
"It's unnerving," Marks said. "People were recreating and right behind us is humanity at its worst. It's two sides of the world."
On his blog, Marks wrote that "This whole thing was like in slow motion and surreal. What is going on in our world, when this kind of evil is so close to real life? Just a bunch of softballers having fun and playing ball after work within feet of druggies doing what they do, making life hell on others."
He credited Arcata Police and Arcata Fire for their quick response, and his fellow players for wading into the woods to capture Walker.
"Right now, my heroes are my field rep and the umpires who ran out there and detained him."


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What IBM® Storage Networking Can Do For Your Business
IBM Storage Networking SAN24B-6 is an entry-level switch that combines high-performance capabilities of 4, 8, 16 and 32 Gbps with point-and-click simplicity and enterprise-class functionality. It provides small to midsized data centers with low-cost access to industry-leading Gen 6 Fibre Channel technology and the ability to start small and grow on demand—from 8 to 24 ports—to support an evolving storage environment. IBM b-type Gen 6 Fibre Channel products are designed to unleash the full potential of new storage technologies for the new high-performance application workloads.
Gain maximum flexibility
Configurable with Ports on Demand (PoD) for 8, 16 or 24 ports and supports 4, 8, 16 or 32 Gbps speeds with proper transceivers. Includes an integrated power supply and four built-in fans.
Benefit from industry-leading technology
Delivers industry-leading Gen 5 and Gen 6 Fibre Channel technology in a flexible and easy-to-use solution, and is easy to deploy with the EZSwitchSetup wizard.
Adjust to evolving storage requirements
Provides advanced 32-Gbps performance to unleash the full potential of new storage technologies for the new high-performance application workloads.
Key features of the IBM Storage Networking SAN24B-6
Deliver always-on business operations
IBM b-type Gen 5 and Gen 6 technology leverages a rich heritage of Fibre Channel innovation to deliver industry-leading reliability for the world's most demanding data centers. Using Fabric Vision technology and VM Insight, administrators can quickly identify abnormal VM behaviors to facilitate troubleshooting and fault isolation, helping to ensure maximum performance and operational stability.
Simplified management and robust network analytics
Fabric Vision technology provides visibility across the network with monitoring, management and diagnostic capabilities that enable administrators to avoid problems before they impact operations. Fabric Vision technology includes VM Insight, Monitoring and Alerting Policy Suite (MAPS), Fabric Performance Impact (FPI) Monitoring, dashboards, Configuration and Operational Monitoring Policy Automation Services Suite (COMPASS), ClearLink Diagnostics, Flow Vision, FEC and Credit Loss Recovery.
IBM Network Advisor
IBM Network Advisor is an optional software management tool that provides an enhanced user interface and additional capabilities to simplify b-type Fibre Channel management. It helps diagnose and resolve issues to maximize uptime, increase operational efficiency and reduce costs. The wizard-driven interface reduces deployment and configuration times by allowing fabrics, switches and ports to be managed as groups. Customizable dashboards display performance and health indicators.
Flexible, simple and easy to use technology
SAN24B-6 delivers industry-leading Gen 6 Fibre Channel technology in a flexible and easy-to-use solution that cost-effectively scales from 8 to 24 ports with PoD. It is easy to deploy with the EZSwitchSetup wizard, featuring a simple user interface that dramatically reduces deployment and configuration times with as few as three steps.
Access Gateway mode
IBM Storage Networking SAN24B-6 can be deployed as a full-fabric switch or as an Access Gateway, simplifying fabric topologies and heterogeneous fabric connectivity (the default mode setting is a switch). Access Gateway mode4 utilizes N_Port ID virtualization (NPIV) switch standards to present physical and virtual servers directly to the core of storage area network (SAN) fabrics. This makes Access Gateway transparent to the SAN fabric, greatly reducing management of the network edge.
Technical specifications
IBM Storage Networking SAN24B-6 switch at a glance 4, 8 and 16 Gbps when using 16 Gbps SFP+ transceivers 8, 16 and 32 Gbps when using 32 Gbps SFP+ transceivers
Product number
Hot-swap components
Small form-factor pluggables (SFPs)
One-year; customer-replaceable unit (CRU) and on-site, 9×5 next-business-day response; warranty service upgrades are available
Port speed
Optional features
Please refer to the SAN24B-6 Redbooks Product Guide to review most current optional features
Width: 42.88 cm (16.88 in.) Height: 4.29 cm (1.69 in.) Depth: 30.66 cm (12.07 in.)
5.76 kg (12.65 lb) with one integrated power supply, without transceivers
IBM Storage Networking SAN24B-6 switch at a glance
4, 8 and 16 Gbps when using 16 Gbps SFP+ transceivers
8, 16 and 32 Gbps when using 32 Gbps SFP+ transceivers


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Hawaiian Koa - Koa Paddles & Traditional Hawaiian Weapons. These functional handmade Hawaiian Canoe Paddles are designed to be displayed in your home or office. Each paddle is unique with respect to color, curl, & character of the wood. These paddles are made by our Master Paddle Maker and each one is a true unique treasure from Hawaii. WHAT YOU SEE IS WHAT YOU GET! WE GUARANTEE IT!
Koa is a very prestigious wood known mostly for its amazing grain. Tikimaster.com has a great selection of Koa paddles for your home decoration as well as the best selection and craftmanship of traditional Hawaiian weapons on the Web...at the best possible price, guaranteed!


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Many of the topics we cover here at Design News have different meaning to different people. I often use the phrase, "Ask 10 different people about XYZ, and you'll get 10 different answers." Oddly, the topic here, the Internet of Things, a.k.a. IoT, would appear to be a somewhat vague term. However, I've found that most people in the industry are very aware of the term and offer a similar response as to what it actually is. People often refer to the cloud when thinking of IoT, and that's not necessarily wrong. But the cloud is just one component of the IoT, albeit an integral component.
So we are clear, the Internet of Things is a machine-to-machine (M2M) connection. It lets two (or many) devices communicate over the Internet. Some people even use the terms M2M and IoT synonymously, although M2M has been around longer.
IoT technology has become so prevalent that there's now a consortium based on the topic. Aptly named the Internet of Things Consortium (IoTC), the group is dedicated to accelerating the development of the IoT ecosystem with a focus on interoperability and usability, data openness and security, and market development. The IoTC is a non-profit organization based in San Francisco. According to its website, IoTC membership is open to "enablers of the IoT ecosystem via hardware, software, data, or services."
The services that an IoT connection could enable include:
- machine-to-machine communication;
- machine-to-infrastructure communication;
- remote tele-health, including patient monitoring;
- continuous monitoring of firmware upgrades;
- asset tracking;
- remote security;
- home and industrial building automation.
While attending a conference of embedded developers recently, one software guy told me: "IoT is only a hot topic because silicon vendors are pushing it, so they can sell more 32-bit SoCs."
Another response was: "The IoT devices available today have very limited functionality. But from a consumer perspective, the possibilities are endless. The same could also be true from a commercial perspective, if it's done right."
In a recent study conducted by VDC Research, the top two (by a wide margin) inhibitors to broader adoption of the IoT are end customer demand and maturity of available products. Clearly, these are obstacles that are easily overcome as more IoT products infiltrate the market.
Before true commercial success can be achieved, the security aspect must be addressed. In most systems, a breach can occur at any point in the chain. So it's imperative to have no weak links. The breach may either be inadvertent or intentional, but that really doesn't matter. In that same VDC study, 73 percent of the respondents said that its devices are either somewhat, very, or extremely vulnerable to a security attack.
We're getting there, and it's just a matter a time.
Related posts:


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Your body clock alarm is just as accurate as the one on your phone: your body naturally takes note of what time you want to wake up and wakes you up.
There's evidence you can will yourself to wake on time, too. Sleep scientists at Germany's University of Lubeck asked 15 volunteers to sleep in their lab for three nights. One night, the group was told they'd be woken at 6 a.m., while on other nights the group was told they'd be woken at 9 a.m..
But the researchers lied-they woke the volunteers at 6 a.m anyway. And the results were startling. The days when sleepers were told they'd wake up early, their stress hormones increased at 4:30 a.m., as if they were anticipating an early morning. When the sleepers were told they'd wake up at 9 a.m., their stress hormones didn't increase — and they woke up groggier. "Our bodies, in other words, note the time we hope to begin our day and gradually prepare us for consciousness," writes Jeff Howe at Psychology Today.
(via digg)


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Möllinger, David (1709-1786)
David Möllinger, an outstanding German Mennonite farmer, "the father of agriculture in the Palatinate," was born 24 January 1709 at Dühren near Sinsheim, Baden. He married Maria Kindig of the Immelhäuserhof on 8 February 1732. In farming he was a pioneer. At first he lived in Mutterstadt in the Palatinate, where his father Vincenz was farming, and in 1732 moved to nearby Cronau, where he increased his small patrimony (500 florins) "through trade and crafts." In 1744 he bought land near Monsheim.
Möllinger's success at extensive farming was widely acclaimed. He distilled liquor, brewed beer, made vinegar, fattened cattle, and cultivated the land. He was the first to manufacture liquor from potatoes. A byproduct of his distillery was some valuable cattle feed. To feed his cattle he also raised certain kinds of clover. In 1769 he lost much of his hay through a flood of the Rhine. Then he transferred his meadows to the higher lands and planted grain on the lower. He purchased part of a neighboring wooded hill, planted the bare top of the hill in clover and scattered limestone over it, which he ground in a mill driven by horsepower, and raised an amazingly good crop. A complete revolution in the system of crop rotation followed. Instead of letting every field lie fallow each alternate year, the soil was improved by the use of clover, his stand of cattle was trebled, the fertility of the soil increased, and the prosperity of the farmer improved. "All of this the Palatinate owes a single man, a Mennonite" (Schwerz). He died at Monsheim on 3 May 1786.
The monthly periodical of the historical society of Frankenthal (Frankenthaler Altertumsverein) of June 1904 published a guest book of his family containing more than 350 entries, some of them very important persons, a glowing tribute of the high esteem he enjoyed.
"Aus dem Stammbuch der Familie Möllinger." Mennonitischer Gemeinde-Kalender (1933): 116-25.
Correll, Ernst. Das Schweizerische Täufermennonitenlum. Tubingen, 1925: 122-126 contains an excellent description of Möllinger's "model farming."
Crous, Ernst. "The Mennonites in Germany Since the Thirty Years' War." Mennonite Quarterly Review 25 (October 1951): 235-262.
Hege, Christian and Christian Neff. Mennonitisches Lexikon, 4 vols. Frankfurt & Weierhof: Hege; Karlsruhe: Schneider, 1913-1967: v. III: 152f.
Schwerz, J. N. Der Ackerbau der Pfälzer. Berlin, 1816.
|Christian Neff
|Date Published
Cite This Article
MLA style
Neff, Christian. "Möllinger, David (1709-1786)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1957. Web. 30 Sep 2023. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=M%C3%B6llinger,_David_(1709-1786)&oldid=146631.
APA style
Neff, Christian. (1957). Möllinger, David (1709-1786). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 30 September 2023, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=M%C3%B6llinger,_David_(1709-1786)&oldid=146631.
Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 3, p. 731. All rights reserved.
©1996-2023 by the Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. All rights reserved.


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SNVSAN3F August 2017 – November 2020 LMR33630
Refer to the PDF data sheet for device specific package drawings
Information in the following applications sections is not part of the TI component specification, and TI does not warrant its accuracy or completeness. TI's customers are responsible for determining suitability of components for their purposes. Customers should validate and test their design implementation to confirm system functionality.


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Sunday, 3 November 2013
28 comments:
- Jocelyn (@ihavecards)3 November 2013 at 09:21
The smile makes it all the spookier!ReplyDelete
He was well weird sniffing girls hair!ReplyDelete
- Charly Dove3 November 2013 at 09:47
He looks spooky! Sounds like he was a bit weird too. Hope you had fun though :)ReplyDelete
Mad scientist!ReplyDelete
- Charly Dove3 November 2013 at 10:03
Of course!ReplyDelete
he did freak younger kids out!ReplyDelete
Looks scary!!! xReplyDelete
you probably missed the werewolf show with your young man!ReplyDelete
Think I'd jump out my skin if he suddenly popped outReplyDelete
he was a bit creepy!ReplyDelete
- Coombe Mill (Fiona)3 November 2013 at 14:42
He looks very creepy.ReplyDelete
Luckily he was very funny too!ReplyDelete
- Rachel tryingforsighs3 November 2013 at 15:15
I don't think I would like to meet him on a dark night. He would definitely scare me :-)ReplyDelete
luckily was day light!ReplyDelete
Reminds me of the butler opening the door in Rocky Horror Show!ReplyDelete
Fabulous! XxReplyDelete
- Kim Carberry3 November 2013 at 17:09
Ohh very scary....hehehe xReplyDelete
was very funny as well as spooky!ReplyDelete
was good to be scared in an amusing way!ReplyDelete
- Scottish Mum3 November 2013 at 19:32
- Honestmum3 November 2013 at 22:04
OOh scary!ReplyDelete
- MyLifeAsAMummy3 November 2013 at 22:09
Very sinister looking. x x xReplyDelete
That's one very scary picture!ReplyDelete
luckily my kids weren't scared!ReplyDelete
only a bit ;-)ReplyDelete
I'm sure he'd be pleased to hear that!ReplyDelete


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Northcote is one of the most progressive electorates in Australia, but its representation does not stack up. On November 18 there will be a by-election in Northcote and we have the chance to make history by getting Lidia Thorpe elected to the State Parliament and turning Northcote Green. If elected, Lidia will be the first Greens member for Northcote and the first Aboriginal women elected to Victorian parliament.
In Melbourne we know what it takes to turn a seat Green. It takes people like you. We won the federal and state seats of Melbourne in 2010 and 2014 because people like you believed in a better Melbourne and put that belief into action. You hit the streets, the phones and the computer and together we made history.
We know that conversations are the best way to motivate people to take action. Join us as we flood the streets to have conversations with people in the Northcote electorate about the Greens and ensure history is made by electing Lidia Thorpe.
Never doorknocked before? No worries! Training and support will be provided on the day.
This date doesn't suit? Check out some of the other dates and events we have coming up in support of the Greens campaign in Northcote!
WHENNovember 04, 2017 at 10:00am - 1pm
WHEREElla's Home
148 Dundas St
Thornbury 3071
Google map and directions


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Android-x86 Project - Run Android on Your PC
This is a project to port Android open source project to x86 platform, formerly known as "patch hosting for android x86 support". The original plan is to host different patches for android x86 support from open source community. A few months after we created the project, we found out that we could do much more than just hosting patches. So we decide to create our code base to provide support on different x86 platforms, and set up a git server to host it.
This is an open source project licensed under Apache Public License 2.0. Some components are licensed under GNU General Public License (GPL) 2.0 or later. If you think we did something great, consider making a donation.
What is new?
See what we are doing now...
Older news ...
Project Goal
To provide complete solution for Android on Eee PC platforms first and then to provide solutions for common x86 platforms as well.
More screenshots can be found here.
Tested platforms
The tests are done by the project members and others from android-porting group.
Most of the models can run the native resolutions via i915 driver. Thanks to the kernel mode setting (kms) feature introduced since kernel 2.6.29.
FeaturesThe following features are available in the latest release (get it).
Source code
We provides a complete, compilable and workable source tree. Read GetSourceCode for how to use it.
You can also browse the code online.
Development (2019/03)
What we are working on now


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This open-air bar offers Hawaiian coffee and light breakfast items, salads, sandwiches and housemade gelato at lunch. As the day winds down, gather for sharing plates, local beer, wine and craft cocktails or end the evening with nightcaps and dessert. Guests can enjoy pool and other table games, relax with sports programs, or simply enjoy the view.
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Wake up and build your acai bowl, or choose from assorted pastries, parfaits and breakfast musubi.
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Malibu FarmPerched above Hulopoe Bay, this poolside restaurant features the freshest local and organic ingredients for delicious lunch offerings and beverages perfect for winding down the day.
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VIEWSThe perfect spot for a post-golf lunch, Manele Golf Course's aptly named restaurant offers 180-degree views of the water and a delicious selection of salads, appetizers and wraps. Or skip the round altogether and relax over cocktails with one of our house-made, ice-cream sandwiches.
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ONE FORTYIf you're looking for a hearty meal, ONE FORTY's menu is filled with cuts of prime and Wagyu beef, as well as seasonal Hawaiian fish grilled to perfection, all complemented by traditional side dishes and an extensive wine list.
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In-Room DiningWhether you want to share a romantic dinner in the privacy of your room or suite, need to feed a hungry family or are just looking for a quiet evening in, our extensive, in-room menu has just what you're looking for, day or night.


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Mr. Gasket Lime Crush Street Machine: 1966 Chevy Suburban
A Surf Wagon Off-Roaders Would Be Proud To Own
Related Video
What's Pewe doing next to a lime green slammed Suburban? Don't worry, he's not hanging up his sandals and trading in his rusty Flatties for a beach cruising street truck just yet. We normally don't cover trucks of the pavement pounding variety but we thought even the grumpiest and saltiest of wheelers would want to take a look at this classic Americon iron rig even if it probably isn't suited for the easiest of trails.
The great folks over at Accel stopped by to pay us a visit recently and we just couldn't help but admire their latest creation, even if it is sitting on staggered wheels. The Mr. Gasket Lime Crush '66 Chevy Suburban is an absolutely bad ass head-turning street machine that's loud and proud. Its easy to see why we would forget about broken parts on our rigs and our next wheeling trip when you spot this lime green truck rolling down the parking lot.
Up front you'll find a set of Billet Specialties 22x10-inch wheels and 24x12-inch wheels out back with sidewalls thinner than Pewe's sandals. The list of modifications include a Roadster Shop FAST TRACK custom chassis to get the big bad 'burban around the autocross with ease while modified hood and fender opening give the mean green beast enough room to tuck its wide tires while sitting low to the pavement.
The rear wheel openings were also stretched and reshaped while the fender to cowl panel seams were eliminated purely for a cleaner overall look. Both bumpers were also smoothed and tucked to tolerances tighter than a set of Accel shorty spark plugs.
As if that wasn't enough, the Lime Crush Suburban also features, shaved door handles, a flush mounted windshield and back glass, one-piece door and side glass, a custom fuel filler mounted behind a tail light as well as a super truck dual hump dash. The Dash also features a reworked original gauge cluster while a custom aluminum center console and a set of 1961 Chevy Impala front bucket seats give the interior it's clean classic lines. Rounding out the Hawaiian theme is a hand built teak floor that stretches throughout the inside of the Lime Crush Suburban.
It's not an all show and no go type of build either, this thing is as mean as they come. We have to admit, there's nothing quite like the sound of a healthy 502ci Big Block Chevy with a lumpy camshaft rumbling through town to get your heart rate pumping.
In any case, we thought you'd like to take a closer look at the Mr. Gasket clean 1966 Chevy Suburban dubbed Lime Crush" to get some bad thoughts brewing in your head for your next off-road build.
Check out all the cool details this tricked out '66 Suburban is packing!
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