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by hilzoy
This week, the Senate is taking up not one but two completely idiotic issues. Von has already commented on the first: a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage. I watched some of the debate on this while eating a late lunch, and it was surreal: endless talk about the importance of marriage, which supporters of gay marriage fully concede, and virtually nothing about what, exactly, writing a ban on gay marriage into the Constitution is supposed to do to strengthen it. Sam Brownback did say that if we start changing the laws of marriage, we will send the message that marriage can be whatever we want it to be. Curiously, I do not recall conservatives making this argument when other changes to marriage laws were made -- for instance, when some states introduced covenant marriage. And I heard someone on NPR arguing that marriage is primarily designed to benefit children, and thus should be reserved for heterosexual couples. Why this line of argument wouldn't support legalizing marriage for gays who plan to have or adopt children while banning it for heterosexual couples who don't, as well as for infertile and elderly couples, is a mystery.
I have my own ideas about how to strengthen marriage. While there are some couples whose strength and virtue would allow them to survive whatever life threw at them, many marriages that might flourish given a normal dose of life's vicissitudes break apart when they encounter serious and unforeseen strains. Some of these strains -- e.g., those produced by one spouse's persistent infidelity -- have nothing to do with public policy. Others, however, could be greatly mitigated by government action.
For instance: the husband of one of the people who used to clean my house (before I moved) was recently in an accident that left him needing a long series of operations to reconstruct his legs. Both he and his wife had medical coverage through his job; however, his job requires that he be able to use his legs, and so the day of his accident was also the day on which he lost his job, and thus his (and his wife's) medical coverage. After an enormous amount of effort, they qualified for a medical assistance program here in Maryland; but they accumulated a lot of medical debt before they were accepted by it, for which they remain liable. They are presently surviving on her earnings and help from their families, who can't really afford it but are helping out anyways. But the debt is an enormous, and unresolved problem.
She quit working as a maid shortly before I moved, to take a job shelving things at a large chain store. It pays less, but it doesn't require her to drive around while paying for her own gas, and moreover, it will allow her to work nights, so that she can take care of her husband during the day. When exactly she plans to sleep is a mystery.
As best I can tell, their marriage is fine. (I haven't inquired too closely, though, not wishing to pry.) But, obviously, they are not the only couple to have serious and unforeseen medical problems that get them into real financial trouble. And equally obviously, real financial trouble is exactly the sort of strain that can break a marriage apart. So I have a modest proposal: let's christen our next attempt to provide health insurance for everyone the Defense of Marriage Act and see if we can get cultural conservatives to sign on. Universal health insurance would save more marriages than any number of mean-spirited attempts to prevent loving couples from getting married, let alone writing bigotry into the Constitution. And after watching GOP strategists expect them to leap up like Pavlov's dogs at the mere mention of gay marriage, cultural conservatives just might be open to other possibilities.
As if this weren't enough, the Senate plans to move on to consider making the repeal of the estate tax permanent. This is a staggeringly bad idea. It would cost the treasury a trillion dollars in its first decade. At a time when we are cutting back on veterans' benefits, children's health care, and all sorts of other things for the sake of deficit reduction, this is something we cannot afford, especially since the children of the wealthy are the last people on earth who need help. The last time I wrote about this, I explained why I think this:
"If we have to cut taxes on someone, trust fund babies are the last people in the world we should cut taxes on. I know whereof I speak, since I am one of the relatively small number of people in this country who would actually benefit from the repeal of the estate tax. I have already been extremely lucky. Financial worries never cast their shadow over my childhood. I never had to listen to my parents argue about money, or wonder why they seemed so worried all the time. I was in junior high before I realized that most people didn't get jobs in order to make a contribution to the world. When I was a kid, we went to all sorts of interesting places -- I particularly liked the summers in Sweden and France. I got a truly great education, as a result of which I have been able to land on my feet and do well in pretty much any environment I've ever found myself in. Moreover, at the end of it, I was not in debt, so I could take any job I wanted without having to worry about paying off my college loans. Likewise, when I decided to buy my first house, I did not have to save up for the down payment. And on, and on.
Now: I do not feel guilty about this. I didn't deserve any of it -- how could I possibly deserve being born into my family? -- but I don't feel that I should have been less lucky; only that it would be great if other people could have as wonderful a childhood and education as I did. What I do think is this: that the idea that we should send our country into debt, and mortgage our children's future, to give more money to the likes of me is morally grotesque. I have already had every advantage I could possibly ask for. Things have already been stacked heavily in my favor. Partly as a result, I am doing just fine. And I am, therefore, just about the last person we should be going into debt to give more money to."
If I recall correctly, in the comments to that post, someone asked why the government had any business taking any part of my parents' estate. The answer is pretty obvious: the government has to be funded somehow. We could fund it by taxing income, or wealth, or the purchase of toothpicks, or any number of things, but we have to fund it somehow. To my mind, estates are one of the best things to tax. Taxing inheritances does not discourage people from working or investing or doing anything else that needs encouragement. Its main social consequences are promoting charitable giving and reducing inequality of wealth, both of which are good. No one deserves to inherit large sums of money: I, for instance, do not owe my wonderful parents to my own hard work, my personal merit, or anything other than sheer blind luck. As I noted above, most people who are in a position to benefit from the estate tax have already benefitted enormously by being the children of wealthy parents; in the case of those who have not benefitted from this, presumably lack of money is not the problem. For all of these reasons, I would favor a much higher marginal tax rate -- say, 80% -- on estates above $3.5 million. Repealing the estate tax, at a time when we allegedly cannot afford to provide health insurance to the working poor, to reconstitute the Louisiana wetlands, or to pay for body armor for troops in combat, would be obscene.
I can't imagine what new horrors next week's Senate calendar will bring. A Constitutional ban on bestiality and necrophilia? War with France? Making the mere mention of either of Janet Jackson's breasts a felony? With today's Republican leadership, there's just no telling what the future has in store for us.


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Enjoy the epitome of comfort and safety with CT Airlink
Published on: Sunday 7th July 2019
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subset: commoncrawl


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The wacky musings of 26-year-old Jenna Mourey, vlogger moniker Jenna Marbles, usually accompanied by little more than her dogs, a few props and her living room wall in Santa Monica, have made her the fifth-most popular YouTube presence to date. I've watched her videos before—How To Trick People Into Thinking You're Good Looking is probably the biggest deal, as well as How To Avoid Talking To People You Don't Want To Talk To—and they're pretty fucking funny. She often riffs on Men-Mars/Women-Venus topics as well, e.g. What Women/Men Do On The Internet: it's pretty stereotypical stuff, but it's meant to be lighthearted and maligning.
Last year, the UCLA publication Fem Newsmagazine deemed her a "revolutionized feminist" and praised her for being "fearless, outspoken and not afraid to talk about topics that others might find sensitive. At times her videos are crude and her choice in vocabulary is poor [but] nevertheless, she is proud of who she is." However, her most recent video, posted Wednesday, "Things I Don't Understand About Girls Part 2: Slut Edition," has been garnering many cries of slut-shaming and "concern trolling" (I never heard that one before!)
She maligns one-night stands with her first point: girls "have fucking body issues" and it doesn't sound fun to "get ass-naked with a stranger and do sex things to him. We don't know each other... and on top of that... maybe he's got big plans of chopping me up and keeping me in the freezer for awhile. Or he's got ten roommates who are gonna come in and gang-bang you for awhile. I watch Law & Order: SVU."
(This, incidentally? Nowhere near as cringe-worthy as Mindy Kaling's invocation of Law & Order: SVU in her own jeremiad against one-night stands in Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me: "Ultimately, it comes down to this: How embarrassing would it be for me to be talking to a detective at a precinct after you tried to rape and murder me in my home, and not be able to tell him your name or any information about you because we were having a one-night stand? I've seen Law & Order: SVU. I know how it works." GAH. I have a sense of humor, though! So like... that's satire, right? But it's hard to tell in the context of the rest of the über-judgy chapter, so GAH.)
Mourey goes on to offer her friendship to these sluts: "You should come be my friend, because I would never let you go home with a dude... to go get murdered, and herpes. I watch SVU. It happens. I care about you. I'll take care about you." Breath. "The next thing I wanna talk about is stupid sluts." (Stupid sluts, as we learn, indulge in "slut logic," as in "anal sex is not actually sex.")
Some other gems:
Help them. Help the sluts of the world make good, non-slutty decisions... because I think they're just a little lonely and sad."
Hooking up with a lot of dudes doesn't make you cool. Hooking up with one dude that you care about, and know, and have strong feelings for, makes you cool.
Read: If you want to have sex, ever, you should probably get a boyfriend.
Although expecting every woman to advertise a certain brand of feminism is akin to censorship (duh) and that kind of uniformity of gender values would never be expected of a dude, the sad thing is that her fanbase is largely comprised of 13-17 year old women who are gonna run around talking about "stupid sluts." And I have a 17-year-old sister. :/
'Things I Don't Understand About Girls Part 2: Slut Edition' [YouTube]


text:
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Kitchen Remodeling FAQs
When you are having your kitchen remodeled, many questions may come to mind.
Here are some of the questions that are frequently asked over a wide range of kitchen remodeling topics.
What is typically involved in kitchen remodeling?
Kitchen remodeling is generally composed of 4 elements:
- Demolition (including appliances and cabinetry)
- Repair, if necessary
- New construction or installation of cabinets, flooring, countertops, and/or appliances
- Final cleanup; project close-out
When remodeling a kitchen, what should I pick first?
This is a tough question and will depend largely on the layout of your kitchen but generally speaking, you should start with picking out appliances.
How long does it take to renovate a kitchen?
A kitchen renovation depends on the condition of the existing kitchen, how many changes you prefer and other factors such as your budget or if you plan to move out. In a nutshell, for an average-sized (6×5-ft) kitchen with all new cabinetry and appliances it takes about 3 weeks.
How much does it cost to install new kitchen countertops?
The cost to install new kitchen countertops varies from $2.75 per square foot for laminate up to $10+ per square foot for engineered stone and hand-cut natural stone. The average is about $7.25 / sq ft installed.
How much does it cost to install a new kitchen sink?
The cost to install a new kitchen sink varies widely, anywhere from $300 for an inexpensive all-plastic unit up to $2,000+ for a high end single bowl stainless steel / porcelain undermount sink. The average is about $450.
Is granite safe?
Granite has been studied extensively and found to be safe for use in homes and kitchens. Two of the primary concerns with granite are particulate contamination, like asbestos, and radon seeping from the stone into the air. Careful sealing, testing, and ventilation can eliminate these risks.
What are the benefits of using granite countertops?
The countertops are one of the most important features in a kitchen and can be used to add value, style, or convenience. There are many benefits to using granite countertops. They come in a range of colors and styles. This can be used as an opportunity to create a cohesive feel or add variety depending on the style you want your kitchen to remodel to take. Granite is also durable, so it will last for decades before needing any repair work done on them.
How do I know whether or not my cabinets need to be replaced?
A good rule of thumb is to replace your cabinets if they are more than 15 years old. They will no longer be up to code and may have a variety of issues that come with them, including safety hazards. If the cabinet doors don't open or close correctly this is also an indicator you should call in professionals for replacement services.
What is the most expensive part of a kitchen remodel?
The most expensive part of a kitchen remodel is the kitchen floor.
Adding new hardwood floors typically costs about $6-7 per square foot, while ceramic tile has a cost of around $4-$5 per square foot. Natural stone tiles are pricier (around $9-$10 per square foot), but they can last for decades without needing to be replaced due to their high quality and beauty.
Can you remodel a kitchen for $5000?
It depends on the type of remodel. You can make some basic changes for around $5000, but a full overhaul will be more expensive and could cost upwards of $25,000-$50,000.
How much does it cost to install new countertops?
The cost to install new kitchen countertops varies widely, anywhere from $1,000 to as much as $10,000 depending on the material chosen and labor involved. In general, costs follow roughly these guidelines:
- Laminate or other inexpensive materials: around $1,000 for standard 30" x 66" installation
- Corian or other synthetic quartz surfaces: around $2,000 for standard 30" x 66" installation
- Granite or another natural stone surface: around $4,000 for standard 30" x 66" installation
The cost of labor will depend on many factors such as the size and difficulty of the countertop. Often, contractors quote a price based on the square foot of countertop that will cost between $2 and $10 per square foot, though this price can vary greatly depending on the contractor and area where you live.
Is a kitchen remodel a wise investment to make in my house?
A well-done kitchen remodel can be a sound investment if it truly enhances your enjoyment and quality of life in the home. If you plan to stay in the house for at least 10 years, then you will recoup a large percentage of the cost because new kitchens are valued higher than older ones.
What are some common problems when constructing a new kitchen?
Some common problems that arise when constructing a new kitchen include: lack of storage space, poor lighting, and oddly configured rooms. Be sure to plan out how you will use the kitchen in order to avoid these problems.
What is the most expensive part of a kitchen remodel?
The most expensive part of a kitchen remodel is typically the appliances. Depending on your budget, you might be able to get away with just replacing your countertops and cabinets; but if you want new high-end stainless steel appliances, that money can really add up quickly.
What materials are commonly used in modern kitchens?
Styles in modern kitchens vary. They can be made of stainless steel, black granite countertops, and sleek white cabinets for an elegant look that will make your kitchen stand out from the rest.
The list goes on with a variety of options to suit different tastes or budgets.
Is it cheaper to refinish or replace cabinets?
It depends on the age and makes of your cabinets. If they are less than five years old, it is usually cheaper to refinish them rather than replace them with new ones. Older models will need to be replaced rather than refinished.
The cost for replacing a cabinet can range anywhere from $160 -$200 per door while the cost for refinishing a door can range from $70 -$100.
Additionally, modern cabinets are easier to assemble than older ones and they come fully assembled as opposed to being made of multiple pieces that need assembly.
What materials are commonly used in modern kitchens?
There are many different materials used in modern kitchens. Examples include:
- Laminate - This material is made of layers of plastic that have been laminated together, which gives it a glossy finish and makes for an easy-to-clean countertop. It also comes with a variety of colors and designs which can be matched to your home's color scheme.
- Granite - Granite is a durable natural stone that has been used for centuries in kitchens and other locations of the home, mainly because it offers strong durability and can withstand heat from cooking or dishwashing.
- Natural Stone - A more expensive option than laminate, but this material gives you a richer look with its natural surface.
- Formica - A manmade material that is durable and easy to clean, with a variety of colors.
What adds the most value when remodeling a kitchen?
When remodeling a kitchen, adding new cabinets is almost always a homeowner's first consideration. However, if you want to increase the resale value of your home, think beyond cabinets and consider elements that add real value - like an island or breakfast nook.
What are the pros and cons of kitchen remodeling?
There are many benefits to a kitchen remodel including increased resale value for your home, improved ergonomics in your space with an updated layout, and potentially lowered energy costs due to new materials. However, there is no guarantee that an updated kitchen will lead to the desired increase in your home's value.
What should you not do in a kitchen remodel?
When remodeling your kitchen, be sure to communicate with the contractors and designers throughout the process.
Do not make any major design decisions before talking it over with a professional because you might regret those decisions later on in the project or find out that they are more expensive than you expected.
Should my kitchen cabinets go to the ceiling?
The answer is: yes and no.
Cabinet height is a matter of preference in most cases. You could have cabinets that go to the ceiling or you may prefer lower cabinets with an open space above them and lighting installed for ambient illumination.
The best way to decide what's right for your kitchen remodel is by considering how it would look from different angles throughout the kitchen.
What is the lifespan of kitchen cabinets?
Kitchen cabinets have a lifespan of about 30 years. This is due to the moisture in the air and from food spills, which cause them to rust and warp over time.
What are the different types of kitchen layouts?
There are three main types of kitchen layouts:
1. Galley Kitchen
A galley-style kitchen is typically long and narrow with a single row of cabinets on one side of the room, and appliances on the other. This style limits traffic flow in the kitchen, allowing you to complete tasks without distractions from others in your household. It is typically used in small spaces where space is at a premium, and works best with one or two people cooking.
2. L Shaped Kitchen
The L-shaped kitchen floor plan features an island or peninsula that serves as a divider between the cooking area and the rest of the room. This design creates more countertop surface area than galley and U-shaped kitchens. This gives the cook an area to prep food that is separate from where other family members are able to sit and visit. However, there is wasted space in the room because no one can walk completely around either side of the kitchen island/peninsula.
3. U Shaped Kitchen
A U-Shaped kitchen floor plan creates a large cooking area with no wasted space. This kitchen design features an island or peninsula that serves as a divider between the cooking area and the rest of the room. The U-shaped kitchen is great for entertaining. It provides enough surface area to prepare food for groups of people without creating traffic patterns that inhibit movement around the cooking area.
4. Combination Kitchen Floor Plans
Combinations of kitchen floor plans are very popular because they offer the benefits of more than one style. For example a galley kitchen that opens into a nook is considered a combination plan. The "L" shaped kitchen is also considered to be a combination plan. This particular design features an island with seating which is great for entertaining.
Do I need to do anything after a kitchen remodel?
Yes, it's important for you to clean up any construction debris that may have been left on the premises by contractors or installers. You also want to keep your new floors protected from being scratched as soon as possible so make sure you place mats at all entrances to the kitchen and cover your new wood flooring with protective sheets during this time.


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Re: Difficulty with saving Package .m files
- To: mathgroup at smc.vnet.net
- Subject: [mg110444] Re: Difficulty with saving Package .m files
- From: John Fultz <jfultz at wolfram.com>
- Date: Fri, 18 Jun 2010 07:44:01 -0400 (EDT)
- Reply-to: jfultz at wolfram.com
On Fri, 18 Jun 2010 01:24:57 -0400 (EDT), M Kelly wrote: > On Jun 17, 6:11 am, John Fultz <jfu... at wolfram.com> wrote: >> On Thu, 17 Jun 2010 02:04:10 -0400 (EDT), M Kelly wrote: >>> I am having difficulties in saving or editing the Package .m files. >>> If I open a .m file and attempt to make any changes to it and then >>> Save the file or even use Save As, then it always wraps every line >>> with (* *) annotation brackets, making the file unusable when I >>> attempt to load in the definitions with Get[]. >>> >>> Does anyone have a solution to this problem, or is it the case that >>> Mathematica is just forcing me to use the IDE Wolfram Workbench to >>> make any changes? >>> >>> Any help would be appreciated. >>> >> By default, cells created using the Code style will be saved as >> executable code, >> while those created using the Input style will be saved as commented >> code. The >> two styles are useful so that you can maintain code which you can >> execute inside >> the front end for testing or bootstrapping purposes, but which doesn't >> get >> deployed for runtime use. >> >> If you open a .m file, you should be in an environment where all new >> cells >> created by default are Code cells. If you're working with a .nb file, >> then you >> will have to make sure to manually change the style to Code (Alt+8 or >> Cmd+8, or >> Code under the Format->Style menu) before choosing the Save As command >> and >> creating a package file. >> >> Sincerely, >> >> John Fultz >> jfu... at wolfram.com >> User Interface Group >> Wolfram Research, Inc. >> > Thanks John > > I appreciate your quick response. > But why didn't WRI just stick with the old system of using > Initialization cells? > This worked in both environments. I don't know what you mean by "both environments". The Code style was introduced simultaneously with the package editor, if that's the environment you mean. And the Code style sets the InitializationCell option. > Also I was unable to find anywhere > in the documentation that > mentions Code cells. Shouldn't the tutorial and Guide on Packages at > least make some reference to this important difference for .m files? I don't disagree that this could be better documented. > Regards > Michael > Hi again John > > I have just gone through the documentation in version 7 and nowhere > can I find a reference to the Code style for cells. It is not > mentioned in the documentation for Cell, Style, Package (.m). And when > you go to the Front End and use the Menu Format->Style there is no > Code style explicitly mentioned. Unless you're using a legacy notebook with an embedded legacy stylesheet, or unless you have a stylesheet sitting in $UserBaseDirectory or $BaseDirectory that's overriding the default behavior, then you've just overlooked it. It's sitting right between Text and Input in that menu. > You have to actually open a package, choose a cell and then go to > Format->Style->Other before it tells you that these are cells with the > style "Code". > Why the secrecy? There is no secrecy. The behavior you describe is neither the designed behavior nor the behavior which has been observed by many people on this forum (where the package editor and the Code style have been occasionally discussed in the past few years). Additionally, the Code style is the default cell style in the package editor. The default behavior is to create package code...you actually have to do something different if you want to create Input cells which are not part of the package code. > Especially since this is a very important aspect of the Mathematica > program: being able to store executable code! > Can this please be resolved with some documentation or others will > have the same unnecessary problems that I experienced. > > Regards > Michael Sincerely, John Fultz jfultz at wolfram.com User Interface Group Wolfram Research, Inc.


text: Worksheet 4 - Deemed rate of return method for FLPsWarning: This information may not apply to the current year. Check the content carefully to ensure it is applicable to your circumstances. End of attention Complete the relevant parts of the worksheet for the interests you hold in the FLP. Read Deemed rate of return method for more information. Description of the group of interests in the FLP______________ Part 1 Opening value. A $ Multiply A by the deemed rate of return. B $ B × (the number of days you held the interest in the FLP during the notional accounting period ÷ the number of days in the notional accounting period [generally 365]) C $ Part 2 Convert the FIF amount at C to Australian currency at the rate of exchange applying at the end of the notional accounting period. D $A Part 3 If you have more than one group of interests in the FLP and completed more than one part 1 and part 2, add the amounts in each box D and show the total amount at E. If you had only one interest in the FLP, copy the amount from D to E. E $ Part 4 Did you receive any distributions from the FLP during the notional accounting period? See chapter 6 for information about reductions of FIF income. If No, then the amount at E is not reduced. Copy the amount from E to F. Include this amount in your assessable income. F $ If Yes, insert the amount, if any, of the distributions that are of the type to which subsection 530(1) applies - see chapter 6. [Section 530A] G $ Take G away from E. If the amount at H is positive, include it in your assessable income. If the amount at H is negative, do not include any amount in your assessable income under the FIF measures. For details on how to complete your tax return, refer to the attributed foreign income question in TaxPack or the instruction guides for company, trust, partnership and superannuation fund tax returns. H $ Last modified: 01 Apr 2020QC 18001


text:
Draining the budget to desalt the Colorado
YUMA, Ariz. - When people talk about 1990s boondoggles, conversation often turns to the superconducting super collider, the Hubble space telescope or the space station.
But consider for a moment a water-desalting plant in the middle of a desert.
Make it the largest, most expensive reverse-osmosis plant ever built, and keep in mind that it is not designed to purify water for drinking.
It is meant only to clarify water enough so that it can be dumped into farmers' fields.
Then consider that even though the plant was completed in May 1992, after 12 years of planning and $256 million in construction costs, it now sits idle.
Then you begin to get some appreciation for the Yuma Desalting Plant, built by the federal Bureau of Reclamation on the banks of the Colorado River four miles west of Yuma.
In a region covered with water-reclamation projects of fabulous expense and questionable usefulness, the Yuma plant may be the biggest laughingstock of all.
"I remember flying over that plant in 1983, and either the commissioner or the assistant commissioner - I can't remember which one - pointed to that plant and said, "See that? We're going to shut that down," " said Philip Doe, a Bureau of Reclamation environmental-compliance coordinator who has become an activist for changing the bureau's traditional role as a provider of huge subsidies to irrigators.
Somehow, this plant has survived every review that recommended shutting it down and weathered all questions of its effectiveness and exorbitant costs. It even withstood the fly-by finger-pointing of then-Reclamation Commissioner Bob Broadbent and his top aide, Hal Furman.
It stands now as a memorial to a time when virtually any reclamation project, no matter how grandiose, could be approved in a Congress ruled by Western representatives who believed any water problem in their parched region could be solved by the engineering feats of man.
In the case of the Yuma plant, the problem was rather small. The runoff from the farms in the Wellton-Mohawk Irrigation District, 30 miles east of Yuma, was so full of salt that it was dramatically increasing the salt content of Colorado River water.
It happened to drain into the river just a few miles north of the Mexican border, and Mexican farmers complained that the salt water was killing their crops.
By international treaty, the United States is obligated to guarantee at least 1.5 million acre-feet of Colorado River water to Mexico.
"This plant was never looked at or justified on an economic basis," said Harold R. Pritchett, deputy projects manager at the Yuma office of the Bureau of Reclamation. "It was a political decision made with the Mexican government." Pritchett said the plant was planned and built at a time when the national debt was not much of a concern. These days the staggering losses incurred every year in operating such projects as the Yuma desalter can't be justified.
"It's going to be difficult for us to undertake a comprehensive desalting-research program in our present budget," current Reclamation Commissioner Dan Beard said.
He said that while the Yuma plant was in operation from May 1992 to January 1993, some important research was accomplished, but "it's going to be very difficult for us to come up with the kind of dollars involved."
The plant alone cost $256 million, according to the Bureau of Reclamation. The total "salinity control program" in the Colorado River basin has already cost taxpayers $660 million, according to the Interior Department's inspector general. Parts of that salinity program, which Congress authorized in 1974, include lining the Coachella Canal in California with concrete to save water that normally seeps into the ground and building a series of wells along the U.S.-Mexican border to capture groundwater that could then be given to Mexico.
The desalination plant in Yuma has been closed since January 1993, when massive flooding along the Gila River destroyed some canals that carry Wellton-Mohawk drainage water to the facility. Reclamation engineers have been using the opportunity to decide what to do with the plant.
In its brief eight-month life, it never operated at more than one-third of capacity and processed a grand total of 23,000 acre-feet of water - about the same amount that would be used in a year on just six average-sized cotton farms.
Operating the plant costs $25.8 million annually, said Reclamation spokesman Bob Steele, although the inspector general's office put the cost at $33.7 million.
All of the water that is processed is unceremoniously dumped into the Colorado River and flows immediately into Mexico.
The water produced by the plant costs $290 an acre-foot. By comparison, the water Phoenix buys from the Salt River Project costs $7 an acre-foot.
The advantage of operating the plant is that for every acre-foot of water it desalts, another acre-foot can be diverted out of the Colorado River and into the Central Arizona Project canal at Lake Havasu, about 100 miles to the north.
But with the costs so high, engineers are considering just keeping the plant in stand-by status. The downside is that it would take a year to restart the plant, and even in stand-by status, it would still cost $6 million a year to keep the plant open.
Some environmentalists say the plant should be shut down once and for all.
"It's too bad there is no way to recoup a half-billion dollars, but it's gone. What can we do? We can stop before we lose even more," said Gail Peters, Arizona representative for American Rivers, a national organization that monitors water development projects.
Peters, in a recent letter to Beard co-written with six other environmentalists, pointed out that the lining of the Coachella Canal saves 132,000 acre-feet of water per year, which is now flowing into the Colorado River.
That is more than the desalination plant could have produced at peak capacity, which is an estimated 108,000 acre-feet. Also, in years when the Gila River is running strong, such as this year, the sediments of the Wellton-Mohawk district become so diluted that the water does not have to be desalinated.
Of course, even more desperate measures are being considered to increase water flow into Mexico.
The Bureau of Reclamation has considered removing existing vegetation along the lower Colorado River and replacing it with vegetation that uses less water.
There are also occasional whispers about reviving an option that Congress rejected in 1976: buying out the farmers in the Wellton-Mohawk district and retiring the farmland in the district.
That would have cost somewhere between $400 million and $558 million, according to estimates at the time. In retrospect, that would have been a cheaper option than the desalination plant.
That figure does not take into consideration the human costs, said Herb Guenther, a former state legislator and assistant general manager of the Wellton-Mohawk district.
The economy in the Mohawk Valley, where 4,500 people live, would be destroyed, he said.
"You lay off 400 people at Hughes (Aircraft Corp.), you lay off 400 people at Garrett, that's one thing," Guenther said. "When you look at the rural areas, it's a lot more fragile. If you want to write off a county, if you want to write off their social structure and their way of life, that's a different consideration. I hope we don't come to that."
What it might come to is a write-off of the desalination plant.
The Bureau of Reclamation budget for the Yuma plant has been cut from $13 million to $6 million. Formerly on ready-reserve status, the plant status now requires 60-90 days' notice for startup.
A group of Bureau of Reclamation employees have formed a task force to determine the plant's future, and Reclamation Commissioner Beard and Congressman Ed Pastor (D-Ariz.) were to meet with them this month.
In a place so big that quicklime and ferric sulfate, two filter agents, were supposed to be delivered by the boxcar, where three large ponds, each holding 4.71 million gallons of water, were built to help remove solids from the water, and where there is the largest gathering in the world of cellulose acetate membranes for filtering water, 90 workers wait and wonder whether they will ever have the chance to prove the plant's worth.
Asked how they are keeping busy, Steele said, "Well, we've had them doing a lot of maintenance projects. ... I guess they will run out, probably pretty soon."
This story was first printed in the Arizona Republic as one of a four-part series on the Central Arizona Project. For copies of the series, call 602/271-8017. The Republic charges a small fee for the service.
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Set-top boxes supplied by cable companies are likely using more power than desktop and laptop computers, and about 25% of the power used by a two-socket server.
More than 160 million set-boxes are in use in the U.S. A typical system with HD-DVR uses 446 kWh annually, according to a recent report by the Natural Resources Defense Council.
"These things [set-top boxes] never power down, so it's actually not surprising," said Mark Davidson, sustainability officer at JouleX, maker of energy management systems for data centers.
The set-top box industry is currently building devices with energy management improvements, and the council's report says that more recent models of set-top boxes with HD-DVR use about 275 kWh annually.
But in the aggregate, set-up boxes used 27 billion kWh of electricity in the U.S last year, the council said.
The last time aggregate power usage of all servers in the U.S. was studied was five years ago, so it's difficult to benchmark the overall power usage of set-top boxes. But in 2006, a government study put total power usage of all servers in the U.S. at about 24 billion kWh.
Davidson supplied some estimates on power usage for servers, desktops and laptops to make a comparison.
Newer, two-socket x86 servers with up to eight core chips will run at rest somewhere between 150 to 200 watts. At full utilization, this energy usage can double to as much as 400 watts.
In terms of annual energy usage, a two-socket server may use approximately 1,314 kWh a year (which is simply just powering it on) to about 2,600 kWh per year.
Allowing for variations in workload demand, the average annual power use for a two-socket server is around 1,800 to 1,900 kWh annually.
Servers are expected to run 24x7, which isn't necessarily true for most desktops and laptops. But if these systems did run continuously, here's how much power they will take up.
Desktops use between 45 watts and 90 watts, so if they ran 24x7 they would use between 394 kWh annually and 788 kWh annually.
A laptop running between 30 watts and 75 watts will use between 262 kWh annually and 657 kWh annually.
Davidson said power utilization continues to improve with new generations of semiconductors, which deploy technologies such as speed step to change the chip's clock rate dynamically to reduce power usage.
Energy consumption is estimated by using wattage x hours used per day / 1000 = daily kilowatt-hour (kWh) consumption.
Utility bills are calculated by number of kWh used by the cost. For instance, a system that uses 394 kWh x 8.5 cents/kWh, is costing $33.51 a year, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which has a number of examples on its site.
Patrick Thibodeau covers SaaS and enterprise applications, outsourcing, government IT policies, data centers and IT workforce issues for Computerworld. Follow Patrick on Twitter at @DCgov, or subscribe to Patrick's RSS feed . His e-mail address is firstname.lastname@example.com.


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Star Trek Beyond San Diego Premiere! Meeting Simon Pegg! Zachary Quinto! Idris Elba! John Cho! And More!
August 5, 2016 Fanboying!
Star Trek Beyond, which is an amazing film by the way, had it's premiere at San Diego Comic Con. Normally, I wouldn't head out, but I'm a giant Star Trek fan and figured I should at least check it out. Share on Facebook


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Looking to Find Love and Marriage in Europe?
Try These Dating sites from Holland, Belgium and Germany.
Register for one or more quality dating sites in the list below for free, and start finding your new partner for a relationship or marriage in Europe.
Download Free Europe Dating Sites Guide
TIP! Use the Free Google Translator Tool to communicate in other languages like Dutch, German, French, Spanish etc.
If you want to date a European man or woman then use this list for the best sites to register.
Meet up with men and women from Holland (The Netherlands), Germany, France, Spain, Belgium, Portugal, United Kingdom (England), Italy, Luxemburg, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and Ireland.
They will be happy to connect with you!
Top Selection of European Dating Sites
Click on the blue link of the name of the dating site to go directly to the information and register page.
(don't forget to use the Free Google Translate Tool if there isn't an English option!)
- HappyPancake 100% Free Dating
- Pepper HOT Dating!
- relatieplanet
- lexa Dating
- Elite Dating
- Match4Me
- E-Matching
- Parship Dating
- Be2 Dating
- C-Date
- DateBord
- Safe Dating Network
- TeSamen (together)
- Tindl
- WeetWieJeDate (KnowWhoToDate)
Recommended: Dating4ALL.nl
Dating4ALL is an International Dutch dating site that caters for ALL tastes:
Available In Dutch, English, Spanish. Polish, French and many more languages.
Datingsites for Single Parents From Europe
Specially designed to meet lonely fathers and mothers. Try it!
Alleenstaande Vaders (Single Dads)
Alleenstaande Moeders (Single Mothers)
Senior Dating (for People over 40)
These sites are for more mature and stable relationships.
Nieuwe Relatie (New Relationship for over 40)
Adult and Affair Dating
As the name suggests, these sites are for people who would like to have an affair outside of their relationship or marriage, or they want to date without any strings attached.
These websites are also suitable for erotic dating.
Ondeugend Daten (Naughty Dating)
European Gay Dating Sites
The use of these sites is self explanatory 🙂
Millionaire Dating
If you want to meet a rich man or woman from Europe this is the best site.
Special Dating Sites European Singles
Kleine Mensen Dating (Short People Dating)
Lange Mensen Dating (Tall People Dating)
Maatje Meer Match (Dating For Overweight People)
Where To Find The Best Free European online dating Sites?
If you want to meet new people, find the love of your life or marriage, but you have no money, then obviously it is easiest to register for a free online datingsite.
However, most, if not all websites offer free registration and then limited functionality.
To see a list of the best European dating sites, have a look at this page to compare and register for free.
The best all-round, worldwide, safe and well known sites are OKCupid, PlentyOfFish (Pof), Match.com and eHarmony online dating.
Of course, there's also the very popular free app called Tinder.
If you wish to find a new partner, relationship, boyfriend, girlfriend, husband or wife, then treat it seriously.
Be prepared to spend some time and money on your search for love.
Don't you think it's stupid you can't afford to spend a little bit of money to pay for a premium subscription to an excellent dating site, but you can afford to go out, or spend a lot of money travelling or buying gifts?
Top Free online dating Sites
For this very reason here at ZoekEenDate.nl we compiled a list of the best dating sites in the Netherlands, Belgium and Western Europe for you which are totally free to register.
Most of these sites have free, but limited functionality, but it's a good start.
Remember, if you actually are prepared to pay for your membership, this means you are more serious and you will also find serious people on the site as well, as they have also paid for theirs.
Beware of Deceitful People on datingsites
Just think about what kind of men and women you can meet on a totally free site?
There is a good chance there will be people on there trying to deceive you, scam you or trick you out of your money.
It's much better to be prepared to pay some money for a good site, but even then you run a risk.
Try my tips page how to deal with bad people >>
Is it safe to meet people online?
It is safe if you take care.
As always, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
If they start asking your personal details very quickly, or they shower you with compliments, or say they love you very quickly, this does not happen in real life so in that case it is probably a bad person.
A good source to read about many experiences and answers you can find on Reddit.
If someone starts asking for money, then there's a good probability this person doesn't have good intentions.
Save Money With Coupons, Discounts and Deals
Many sites have promotions, where you can for example receive a discount or use the premium service for free for some time.
Have a look at the page below for an updated list of the latest offers and deals on online datingsites.
List of Good European Dating Sites
On the right hand of this page you can enter your email address and receive a free eBook wat you can download to get an updated list of all the best dating sites in The Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, United Kingdom.
It covers the major sites in Western Europe.
So if you want to meet a man or woman from Europe, I highly recommend you download that list!
What First message to send?
Keep it simple and use between 5 and 20 words.
Don't just say hi, how are you!
Mention something of their profile, make sure you read at least some of it!
Ask a question, don't just make a statement.
Give the other party a hook, so they can answer you.
Meeting Ukraine Women and Men
What's so special about women from Ukraine?
They are considered to be the most beautiful in the world.
You can meet them on sites especially designed to meet them.
Check UkraineDate for more details >>
Did you know there are also plenty of men and women from Ukraine living in Europe?
Check our International Dating Guide below to find Ukrainian singles on the internet.
International Dating Love Guide – Find Foreign Internet Singles
Looking to find love in Western Europe?
Find the best Datingsites in Holland, Germany and Belgium here >> https://www.hevac.be/EuropeDating
– Find singles in Europe for dating, love and marriage
– Meet men and women looking for love
– Expats living in Europe
– Tips for dating sites like Tinder, lexa, relatieplanet, Be2, Meetic, OKCupid, PlentyOfFish and many more
– Reviews of online dating Sites
– General Dating, sex Dating, Adult Dating, Erotic Dating, BDSM Dating, Professional Dating, Adultfinder
Free Dating sites in Europe for finding love and marriage – women seeking men – best dating websites Europe
سایت های دوستیابی رایگان در اروپا برای پیدا کردن عشق و ازدواج – زنان به دنبال مردان – بهترین سایت های دوستیابی اروپا
ভালবাসা এবং বিয়ে খোঁজার জন্য ইউরোপে বিনামূল্যে ডেটিং সাইট – পুরুষদের খোঁজা নারী – সেরা ডেটিং ওয়েবসাইট ইউরোপ
مواقع مجانية يؤرخ في أوروبا للعثور على الحب والزواج – المرأة تسعى الرجال – أفضل المواقع التي يرجع تاريخها أوروبا
Безплатни сайтове за запознанства в Европа за намиране на любов и брак – жени, които търсят мъже – най-добрите сайтове за запознанства в Европа
Sites de rencontres gratuits en Europe pour trouver l'amour et le mariage – les femmes à la recherche d'hommes – les meilleurs sites de rencontres en Europe
Kostenlose Dating-Seiten in Europa für die Suche nach Liebe und Ehe – Frauen auf der Suche nach Männern – die besten Dating-Websites Europa
પ્રેમ અને લગ્ન શોધવા માટે યુરોપમાં મફત ડેટિંગ સાઇટ્સ – પુરુષોની શોધ કરતી સ્ત્રીઓ – શ્રેષ્ઠ ડેટિંગ વેબસાઇટ્સ યુરોપ
Siti di incontri gratuiti in Europa per trovare l'amore e il matrimonio – donne che cercano uomini – i migliori siti di appuntamenti in Europa
უფასო გაცნობის საიტები ევროპაში მოძიების სიყვარული და ქორწინება – ქალების ეძებს მამაკაცებს – საუკეთესო dating საიტები ევროპაში
Darmowe randki w Europie do wyszukiwania miłości i małżeństwa – kobiety szukające mężczyzn – najlepsze strony randkowe Europa
ฟรีเดทเว็บไซต์ในยุโรปสำหรับการค้นหาความรักและการแต่งงาน – ผู้หญิงที่กำลังมองหาผู้ชาย – เว็บไซต์หาคู่ที่ดีที่สุดในยุโรป
Sevgi ve evlilik bulmak için Avrupa'da ücretsiz Arkadaşlık siteleri – erkek arayan kadınlar – en iyi arkadaşlık siteleri Avrupa
How I Hacked online dating – By Amy Webb
Amy Webb was having no luck with online dating.
The dates she liked didn't write her back, and her own profile attracted crickets (and worse).
So, as any fan of data would do: she started making a spreadsheet.
Hear the story of how she went on to hack her online dating life — with frustrating, funny and life-changing results.
TEDTalks is a daily video podcast of the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world's leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes (or less).
Look for talks on Technology, Entertainment and Design — plus science, business, global issues, the arts and much more.
Find closed captions and translated subtitles in many languages at http://www.ted.com/translate
Watch the video below.
Hotels and Things To Do In Holland
Compare and Select Datingsite Tool


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Edgar Allan Poe – The Thousand-and-Second Tale of Scheherazade
— — —
"Her name was Scheherazade, and her idea was, that she would either redeem the land from the depopulating tax upon its beauty, or perish, after the approved fashion of all heroines, in the attempt"
— — —
"The Thousand-and-Second Tale of Scheherazade" is a short story written by Edgar Allan Poe. It was first published in February 1845 by Godey's Lady's Book.
This article features a full, mobile-friendly, high-quality version of "The Thousand-and-Second Tale of Scheherazade" by Edgar Allan Poe as well as a text version below.
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— — —
The Thousand-and-Second Tale of Scheherazade
Edgar Allan Poe
— — —
Truth is stranger than fiction.
Having had occasion, lately, in the course of some Oriental investigations, to consult the Tellmenow Isitsoornot, a work which (like the Zohar of Simeon Jochaides) is scarcely known at all, even in Europe; and which has never been quoted, to my knowledge, by any American- if we except, perhaps, the author of the "Curiosities of American Literature";- having had occasion, I say, to turn over some pages of the first- mentioned very remarkable work, I was not a little astonished to discover that the literary world has hitherto been strangely in error respecting the fate of the vizier's daughter, Scheherazade, as that fate is depicted in the "Arabian Nights"; and that the denouement there given, if not altogether inaccurate, as far as it goes, is at least to blame in not having gone very much farther.
For full information on this interesting topic, I must refer the inquisitive reader to the "Isitsoornot" itself, but in the meantime, I shall be pardoned for giving a summary of what I there discovered.
It will be remembered, that, in the usual version of the tales, a certain monarch having good cause to be jealous of his queen, not only puts her to death, but makes a vow, by his beard and the prophet, to espouse each night the most beautiful maiden in his dominions, and the next morning to deliver her up to the executioner.
Having fulfilled this vow for many years to the letter, and with a religious punctuality and method that conferred great credit upon him as a man of devout feeling and excellent sense, he was interrupted one afternoon (no doubt at his prayers) by a visit from his grand vizier, to whose daughter, it appears, there had occurred an idea.
Her name was Scheherazade, and her idea was, that she would either redeem the land from the depopulating tax upon its beauty, or perish, after the approved fashion of all heroines, in the attempt.
Accordingly, and although we do not find it to be leap-year (which makes the sacrifice more meritorious), she deputes her father, the grand vizier, to make an offer to the king of her hand. This hand the king eagerly accepts- (he had intended to take it at all events, and had put off the matter from day to day, only through fear of the vizier),- but, in accepting it now, he gives all parties very distinctly to understand, that, grand vizier or no grand vizier, he has not the slightest design of giving up one iota of his vow or of his privileges. When, therefore, the fair Scheherazade insisted upon marrying the king, and did actually marry him despite her father's excellent advice not to do any thing of the kind- when she would and did marry him, I say, will I, nill I, it was with her beautiful black eyes as thoroughly open as the nature of the case would allow.
It seems, however, that this politic damsel (who had been reading Machiavelli, beyond doubt), had a very ingenious little plot in her mind. On the night of the wedding, she contrived, upon I forget what specious pretence, to have her sister occupy a couch sufficiently near that of the royal pair to admit of easy conversation from bed to bed; and, a little before cock-crowing, she took care to awaken the good monarch, her husband (who bore her none the worse will because he intended to wring her neck on the morrow),- she managed to awaken him, I say, (although on account of a capital conscience and an easy digestion, he slept well) by the profound interest of a story (about a rat and a black cat, I think) which she was narrating (all in an undertone, of course) to her sister. When the day broke, it so happened that this history was not altogether finished, and that Scheherazade, in the nature of things could not finish it just then, since it was high time for her to get up and be bowstrung- a thing very little more pleasant than hanging, only a trifle more genteel.
The king's curiosity, however, prevailing, I am sorry to say, even over his sound religious principles, induced him for this once to postpone the fulfilment of his vow until next morning, for the purpose and with the hope of hearing that night how it fared in the end with the black cat (a black cat, I think it was) and the rat.
The night having arrived, however, the lady Scheherazade not only put the finishing stroke to the black cat and the rat (the rat was blue) but before she well knew what she was about, found herself deep in the intricacies of a narration, having reference (if I am not altogether mistaken) to a pink horse (with green wings) that went, in a violent manner, by clockwork, and was wound up with an indigo key. With this history the king was even more profoundly interested than with the other- and, as the day broke before its conclusion (notwithstanding all the queen's endeavors to get through with it in time for the bowstringing), there was again no resource but to postpone that ceremony as before, for twenty-four hours. The next night there happened a similar accident with a similar result; and then the next- and then again the next; so that, in the end, the good monarch, having been unavoidably deprived of all opportunity to keep his vow during a period of no less than one thousand and one nights, either forgets it altogether by the expiration of this time, or gets himself absolved of it in the regular way, or (what is more probable) breaks it outright, as well as the head of his father confessor. At all events, Scheherazade, who, being lineally descended from Eve, fell heir, perhaps, to the whole seven baskets of talk, which the latter lady, we all know, picked up from under the trees in the garden of Eden-Scheherazade, I say, finally triumphed, and the tariff upon beauty was repealed.
Now, this conclusion (which is that of the story as we have it upon record) is, no doubt, excessively proper and pleasant- but alas! like a great many pleasant things, is more pleasant than true, and I am indebted altogether to the "Isitsoornot" for the means of correcting the error. "Le mieux," says a French proverb, "est l'ennemi du bien," and, in mentioning that Scheherazade had inherited the seven baskets of talk, I should have added that she put them out at compound interest until they amounted to seventy-seven.
"My dear sister," said she, on the thousand-and-second night, (I quote the language of the "Isitsoornot" at this point, verbatim) "my dear sister," said she, "now that all this little difficulty about the bowstring has blown over, and that this odious tax is so happily repealed, I feel that I have been guilty of great indiscretion in withholding from you and the king (who I am sorry to say, snores- a thing no gentleman would do) the full conclusion of Sinbad the sailor. This person went through numerous other and more interesting adventures than those which I related; but the truth is, I felt sleepy on the particular night of their narration, and so was seduced into cutting them short- a grievous piece of misconduct, for which I only trust that Allah will forgive me. But even yet it is not too late to remedy my great neglect- and as soon as I have given the king a pinch or two in order to wake him up so far that he may stop making that horrible noise, I will forthwith entertain you (and him if he pleases) with the sequel of this very remarkable story.
Hereupon the sister of Scheherazade, as I have it from the "Isitsoornot," expressed no very particular intensity of gratification; but the king, having been sufficiently pinched, at length ceased snoring, and finally said, "hum!" and then "hoo!" when the queen, understanding these words (which are no doubt Arabic) to signify that he was all attention, and would do his best not to snore any more- the queen, I say, having arranged these matters to her satisfaction, re-entered thus, at once, into the history of Sinbad the sailor:
"'At length, in my old age, [these are the words of Sinbad himself, as retailed by Scheherazade]- 'at length, in my old age, and after enjoying many years of tranquillity at home, I became once more possessed of a desire of visiting foreign countries; and one day, without acquainting any of my family with my design, I packed up some bundles of such merchandise as was most precious and least bulky, and, engaged a porter to carry them, went with him down to the sea-shore, to await the arrival of any chance vessel that might convey me out of the kingdom into some region which I had not as yet explored.
"'Having deposited the packages upon the sands, we sat down beneath some trees, and looked out into the ocean in the hope of perceiving a ship, but during several hours we saw none whatever. At length I fancied that I could hear a singular buzzing or humming sound; and the porter, after listening awhile, declared that he also could distinguish it. Presently it grew louder, and then still louder, so that we could have no doubt that the object which caused it was approaching us. At length, on the edge of the horizon, we discovered a black speck, which rapidly increased in size until we made it out to be a vast monster, swimming with a great part of its body above the surface of the sea. It came toward us with inconceivable swiftness, throwing up huge waves of foam around its breast, and illuminating all that part of the sea through which it passed, with a long line of fire that extended far off into the distance.
"'As the thing drew near we saw it very distinctly. Its length was equal to that of three of the loftiest trees that grow, and it was as wide as the great hall of audience in your palace, O most sublime and munificent of the Caliphs. Its body, which was unlike that of ordinary fishes, was as solid as a rock, and of a jetty blackness throughout all that portion of it which floated above the water, with the exception of a narrow blood-red streak that completely begirdled it. The belly, which floated beneath the surface, and of which we could get only a glimpse now and then as the monster rose and fell with the billows, was entirely covered with metallic scales, of a color like that of the moon in misty weather. The back was flat and nearly white, and from it there extended upwards of six spines, about half the length of the whole body.
"'The horrible creature had no mouth that we could perceive, but, as if to make up for this deficiency, it was provided with at least four score of eyes, that protruded from their sockets like those of the green dragon-fly, and were arranged all around the body in two rows, one above the other, and parallel to the blood-red streak, which seemed to answer the purpose of an eyebrow. Two or three of these dreadful eyes were much larger than the others, and had the appearance of solid gold.
"'Although this beast approached us, as I have before said, with the greatest rapidity, it must have been moved altogether by necromancy- for it had neither fins like a fish nor web-feet like a duck, nor wings like the seashell which is blown along in the manner of a vessel; nor yet did it writhe itself forward as do the eels. Its head and its tail were shaped precisely alike, only, not far from the latter, were two small holes that served for nostrils, and through which the monster puffed out its thick breath with prodigious violence, and with a shrieking, disagreeable noise.
"'Our terror at beholding this hideous thing was very great, but it was even surpassed by our astonishment, when upon getting a nearer look, we perceived upon the creature's back a vast number of animals about the size and shape of men, and altogether much resembling them, except that they wore no garments (as men do), being supplied (by nature, no doubt) with an ugly uncomfortable covering, a good deal like cloth, but fitting so tight to the skin, as to render the poor wretches laughably awkward, and put them apparently to severe pain. On the very tips of their heads were certain square-looking boxes, which, at first sight, I thought might have been intended to answer as turbans, but I soon discovered that they were excessively heavy and solid, and I therefore concluded they were contrivances designed, by their great weight, to keep the heads of the animals steady and safe upon their shoulders. Around the necks of the creatures were fastened black collars, (badges of servitude, no doubt,) such as we keep on our dogs, only much wider and infinitely stiffer, so that it was quite impossible for these poor victims to move their heads in any direction without moving the body at the same time; and thus they were doomed to perpetual contemplation of their noses- a view puggish and snubby in a wonderful, if not positively in an awful degree.
"'When the monster had nearly reached the shore where we stood, it suddenly pushed out one of its eyes to a great extent, and emitted from it a terrible flash of fire, accompanied by a dense cloud of smoke, and a noise that I can compare to nothing but thunder. As the smoke cleared away, we saw one of the odd man-animals standing near the head of the large beast with a trumpet in his hand, through which (putting it to his mouth) he presently addressed us in loud, harsh, and disagreeable accents, that, perhaps, we should have mistaken for language, had they not come altogether through the nose.
"'Being thus evidently spoken to, I was at a loss how to reply, as I could in no manner understand what was said; and in this difficulty I turned to the porter, who was near swooning through affright, and demanded of him his opinion as to what species of monster it was, what it wanted, and what kind of creatures those were that so swarmed upon its back. To this the porter replied, as well as he could for trepidation, that he had once before heard of this sea-beast; that it was a cruel demon, with bowels of sulphur and blood of fire, created by evil genii as the means of inflicting misery upon mankind; that the things upon its back were vermin, such as sometimes infest cats and dogs, only a little larger and more savage; and that these vermin had their uses, however evil- for, through the torture they caused the beast by their nibbling and stingings, it was goaded into that degree of wrath which was requisite to make it roar and commit ill, and so fulfil the vengeful and malicious designs of the wicked genii.
"This account determined me to take to my heels, and, without once even looking behind me, I ran at full speed up into the hills, while the porter ran equally fast, although nearly in an opposite direction, so that, by these means, he finally made his escape with my bundles, of which I have no doubt he took excellent care- although this is a point I cannot determine, as I do not remember that I ever beheld him again.
"'For myself, I was so hotly pursued by a swarm of the men-vermin (who had come to the shore in boats) that I was very soon overtaken, bound hand and foot, and conveyed to the beast, which immediately swam out again into the middle of the sea.
"'I now bitterly repented my folly in quitting a comfortable home to peril my life in such adventures as this; but regret being useless, I made the best of my condition, and exerted myself to secure the goodwill of the man-animal that owned the trumpet, and who appeared to exercise authority over his fellows. I succeeded so well in this endeavor that, in a few days, the creature bestowed upon me various tokens of his favor, and in the end even went to the trouble of teaching me the rudiments of what it was vain enough to denominate its language; so that, at length, I was enabled to converse with it readily, and came to make it comprehend the ardent desire I had of seeing the world.
"'Washish squashish squeak, Sinbad, hey-diddle diddle, grunt unt grumble, hiss, fiss, whiss,' said he to me, one day after dinner- but I beg a thousand pardons, I had forgotten that your majesty is not conversant with the dialect of the Cock-neighs (so the man-animals were called; I presume because their language formed the connecting link between that of the horse and that of the rooster). With your permission, I will translate. 'Washish squashish,' and so forth:- that is to say, 'I am happy to find, my dear Sinbad, that you are really a very excellent fellow; we are now about doing a thing which is called circumnavigating the globe; and since you are so desirous of seeing the world, I will strain a point and give you a free passage upon back of the beast.'"
When the Lady Scheherazade had proceeded thus far, relates the "Isitsoornot," the king turned over from his left side to his right, and said:
"It is, in fact, very surprising, my dear queen, that you omitted, hitherto, these latter adventures of Sinbad. Do you know I think them exceedingly entertaining and strange?"
The king having thus expressed himself, we are told, the fair Scheherazade resumed her history in the following words:
"Sinbad went on in this manner with his narrative to the caliph- 'I thanked the man-animal for its kindness, and soon found myself very much at home on the beast, which swam at a prodigious rate through the ocean; although the surface of the latter is, in that part of the world, by no means flat, but round like a pomegranate, so that we went- so to say- either up hill or down hill all the time.'
"That I think, was very singular," interrupted the king.
"Nevertheless, it is quite true," replied Scheherazade.
"I have my doubts," rejoined the king; "but, pray, be so good as to go on with the story."
"I will," said the queen. "'The beast,' continued Sinbad to the caliph, 'swam, as I have related, up hill and down hill until, at length, we arrived at an island, many hundreds of miles in circumference, but which, nevertheless, had been built in the middle of the sea by a colony of little things like caterpillars'"*
* The coralites.
"Hum!" said the king.
"'Leaving this island,' said Sinbad- (for Scheherazade, it must be understood, took no notice of her husband's ill-mannered ejaculation) 'leaving this island, we came to another where the forests were of solid stone, and so hard that they shivered to pieces the finest-tempered axes with which we endeavoured to cut them down."'*
* "One of the most remarkable natural curiosities in Texas is a petrified forest, near the head of Pasigno river. It consists of several hundred trees, in an erect position, all turned to stone. Some trees, now growing, are partly petrified. This is a startling fact for natural philosophers, and must cause them to modify the existing theory of petrification.- Kennedy.
This account, at first discredited, has since been corroborated by the discovery of a completely petrified forest, near the head waters of the Cheyenne, or Chienne river, which has its source in the Black Hills of the rocky chain.
There is scarcely, perhaps, a spectacle on the surface of the globe more remarkable, either in a geological or picturesque point of view than that presented by the petrified forest, near Cairo. The traveller, having passed the tombs of the caliphs, just beyond the gates of the city, proceeds to the southward, nearly at right angles to the road across the desert to Suez, and after having travelled some ten miles up a low barren valley, covered with sand, gravel, and sea shells, fresh as if the tide had retired but yesterday, crosses a low range of sandhills, which has for some distance run parallel to his path. The scene now presented to him is beyond conception singular and desolate. A mass of fragments of trees, all converted into stone, and when struck by his horse's hoof ringing like cast iron, is seen to extend itself for miles and miles around him, in the form of a decayed and prostrate forest. The wood is of a dark brown hue, but retains its form in perfection, the pieces being from one to fifteen feet in length, and from half a foot to three feet in thickness, strewed so closely together, as far as the eye can reach, that an Egyptian donkey can scarcely thread its way through amongst them, and so natural that, were it in Scotland or Ireland, it might pass without remark for some enormous drained bog, on which the exhumed trees lay rotting in the sun. The roots and rudiments of the branches are, in many cases, nearly perfect, and in some the worm-holes eaten under the bark are readily recognizable. The most delicate of the sap vessels, and all the finer portions of the centre of the wood, are perfectly entire, and bear to be examined with the strongest magnifiers. The whole are so thoroughly silicified as to scratch glass and are capable of receiving the highest polish.- Asiatic Magazine.
"Hum!" said the king, again; but Scheherazade, paying him no attention, continued in the language of Sinbad.
"'Passing beyond this last island, we reached a country where there was a cave that ran to the distance of thirty or forty miles within the bowels of the earth, and that contained a greater number of far more spacious and more magnificent palaces than are to be found in all Damascus and Bagdad. From the roofs of these palaces there hung myriads of gems, liked diamonds, but larger than men; and in among the streets of towers and pyramids and temples, there flowed immense rivers as black as ebony, and swarming with fish that had no eyes.'"*
* The Mammoth Cave of Kentucky.
"Hum!" said the king.
"'We then swam into a region of the sea where we found a lofty mountain, down whose sides there streamed torrents of melted metal, some of which were twelve miles wide and sixty miles long*; while from an abyss on the summit, issued so vast a quantity of ashes that the sun was entirely blotted out from the heavens, and it became darker than the darkest midnight; so that when we were even at the distance of a hundred and fifty miles from the mountain, it was impossible to see the whitest object, however close we held it to our eyes.'"*(2)
* In Iceland, 1783.
*(2) "During the eruption of Hecla, in 1766, clouds of this kind produced such a degree of darkness that, at Glaumba, which is more than fifty leagues from the mountain, people could only find their way by groping. During the eruption of Vesuvius, in 1794, at Caserta, four leagues distant, people could only walk by the light of torches. On the first of May, 1812, a cloud of volcanic ashes and sand, coming from a volcano in the island of St. Vincent, covered the whole of Barbadoes, spreading over it so intense a darkness that, at mid-day, in the open air, one could not perceive the trees or other objects near him, or even a white handkerchief placed at the distance of six inches from the eye."- Murray, p. 215, Phil. edit.
"Hum!" said the king.
"'After quitting this coast, the beast continued his voyage until we met with a land in which the nature of things seemed reversed- for we here saw a great lake, at the bottom of which, more than a hundred feet beneath the surface of the water, there flourished in full leaf a forest of tall and luxuriant trees.'"*
* In the year 1790, in the Caraccas during an earthquake a portion of the granite soil sank and left a lake eight hundred yards in diameter, and from eighty to a hundred feet deep. It was a part of the forest of Aripao which sank, and the trees remained green for several months under the water."- Murray, p. 221
"Hoo!" said the king.
"Some hundred miles farther on brought us to a climate where the atmosphere was so dense as to sustain iron or steel, just as our own does feather.'"*
* The hardest steel ever manufactured may, under the action of a blowpipe, be reduced to an impalpable powder, which will float readily in the atmospheric air.
"Fiddle de dee," said the king.
"Proceeding still in the same direction, we presently arrived at the most magnificent region in the whole world. Through it there meandered a glorious river for several thousands of miles. This river was of unspeakable depth, and of a transparency richer than that of amber. It was from three to six miles in width; and its banks which arose on either side to twelve hundred feet in perpendicular height, were crowned with ever-blossoming trees and perpetual sweet-scented flowers, that made the whole territory one gorgeous garden; but the name of this luxuriant land was the Kingdom of Horror, and to enter it was inevitable death'"*
* The region of the Niger. See Simmona's "Colonial Magazine."
"Humph!" said the king.
"'We left this kingdom in great haste, and, after some days, came to another, where we were astonished to perceive myriads of monstrous animals with horns resembling scythes upon their heads. These hideous beasts dig for themselves vast caverns in the soil, of a funnel shape, and line the sides of them with, rocks, so disposed one upon the other that they fall instantly, when trodden upon by other animals, thus precipitating them into the monster's dens, where their blood is immediately sucked, and their carcasses afterwards hurled contemptuously out to an immense distance from "the caverns of death."'"*
* The Myrmeleon-lion-ant. The term "monster" is equally applicable to small abnormal things and to great, while such epithets as "vast" are merely comparative. The cavern of the myrmeleon is vast in comparison with the hole of the common red ant. A grain of silex is also a "rock."
"Pooh!" said the king.
"'Continuing our progress, we perceived a district with vegetables that grew not upon any soil but in the air.* There were others that sprang from the substance of other vegetables;*(2) others that derived their substance from the bodies of living animals;*(3) and then again, there were others that glowed all over with intense fire;*(4) others that moved from place to place at pleasure,*(5) and what was still more wonderful, we discovered flowers that lived and breathed and moved their limbs at will and had, moreover, the detestable passion of mankind for enslaving other creatures, and confining them in horrid and solitary prisons until the fulfillment of appointed tasks.'"*(6)
* The Epidendron, Flos Aeris, of the family of the Orchideae, grows with merely the surface of its roots attached to a tree or other object, from which it derives no nutriment- subsisting altogether upon air.
*(2) The Parasites, such as the wonderful Rafflesia Arnaldii.
*(3) Schouw advocates a class of plants that grow upon living animals- the Plantae Epizoae. Of this class are the Fuci and Algae. Mr. J. B. Williams, of Salem, Mass., presented the "National Institute," with an insect from New Zealand, with the following description:- "'The Hotte,' a decided caterpillar, or worm, is found growing at the foot of the Rata tree, with a plant growing out of its head. This most peculiar and most extraordinary insect travels up both the Rata and Perriri trees, and entering into the top, eats its way, perforating the trunk of the tree until it reaches the root, it then comes out of the root, and dies, or remains dormant, and the plant propagates out of its head; the body remains perfect and entire, of a harder substance than when alive. From this insect the natives making a coloring for tattooing."
*(4) In mines and natural caves we find a species of cryptogamous fungus that emits an intense phosphorescence.
*(5) The orchis, scabius and valisneria.
*(6) The corolla of this flower (Aristolochia Clematitis), which is tubular, but terminating upwards in a ligulate limb, is inflated into a globular figure at the base. The tubular part is internally beset with stiff hairs, pointing downwards. The globular part contains the pistil, which consists merely of a germen and stigma, together with the surrounding stamens. But the stamens, being shorter than the germen, cannot discharge the pollen so as to throw it upon the stigma, as the flower stands always upright till after impregnation. And hence, without some additional and peculiar aid, the pollen must necessarily fan down to the bottom of the flower. Now, the aid that nature has furnished in this case, is that of the Tiputa Pennicornis, a small insect, which entering the tube of the corrolla in quest of honey, descends to the bottom, and rummages about till it becomes quite covered with pollen; but not being able to force its way out again, owing to the downward position of the hairs, which converge to a point like the wires of a mouse-trap, and being somewhat impatient of its confinement it brushes backwards and forwards, trying every corner, till, after repeatedly traversing the stigma, it covers it with pollen sufficient for its impregnation, in consequence of which the flower soon begins to droop, and the hairs to shrink to the sides of the tube, effecting an easy passage for the escape of the insect." Rev. P. Keith-System of Physiological Botany.
"Pshaw!" said the king.
"'Quitting this land, we soon arrived at another in which the bees and the birds are mathematicians of such genius and erudition, that they give daily instructions in the science of geometry to the wise men of the empire. The king of the place having offered a reward for the solution of two very difficult problems, they were solved upon the spot- the one by the bees, and the other by the birds; but the king keeping their solution a secret, it was only after the most profound researches and labor, and the writing of an infinity of big books, during a long series of years, that the men-mathematicians at length arrived at the identical solutions which had been given upon the spot by the bees and by the birds.'"*
* The bees- ever since bees were- have been constructing their cells with just such sides, in just such number, and at just such inclinations, as it has been demonstrated (in a problem involving the profoundest mathematical principles) are the very sides, in the very number, and at the very angles, which will afford the creatures the most room that is compatible with the greatest stability of structure.
During the latter part of the last century, the question arose among mathematicians- "to determine the best form that can be given to the sails of a windmill, according to their varying distances from the revolving vanes, and likewise from the centres of the revolution." This is an excessively complex problem, for it is, in other words, to find the best possible position at an infinity of varied distances, and at an infinity of points on the arm. There were a thousand futile attempts to answer the query on the part of the most illustrious mathematicians; and when, at length, an undeniable solution was discovered, men found that the wing of a bird had given it with absolute precision ever since the first bird had traversed the air.
"Oh my!" said the king.
"'We had scarcely lost sight of this empire when we found ourselves close upon another, from whose shores there flew over our heads a flock of fowls a mile in breadth, and two hundred and forty miles long; so that, although they flew a mile during every minute, it required no less than four hours for the whole flock to pass over us- in which there were several millions of millions of fowl.'"*
* He observed a flock of pigeons passing betwixt Frankfort and the Indian territory, one mile at least in breadth; it took up four hours in passing, which, at the rate of one mile per minute, gives a length of 240 miles; and, supposing three pigeons to each square yard, gives 2,230,272,000 Pigeons.- "Travels in Canada and the United States," by Lieut. F. Hall.
"Oh fy!" said the king.
"'No sooner had we got rid of these birds, which occasioned us great annoyance, than we were terrified by the appearance of a fowl of another kind, and infinitely larger than even the rocs which I met in my former voyages; for it was bigger than the biggest of the domes on your seraglio, oh, most Munificent of Caliphs. This terrible fowl had no head that we could perceive, but was fashioned entirely of belly, which was of a prodigious fatness and roundness, of a soft-looking substance, smooth, shining and striped with various colors. In its talons, the monster was bearing away to his eyrie in the heavens, a house from which it had knocked off the roof, and in the interior of which we distinctly saw human beings, who, beyond doubt, were in a state of frightful despair at the horrible fate which awaited them. We shouted with all our might, in the hope of frightening the bird into letting go of its prey, but it merely gave a snort or puff, as if of rage and then let fall upon our heads a heavy sack which proved to be filled with sand!'"
"Stuff!" said the king.
"'It was just after this adventure that we encountered a continent of immense extent and prodigious solidity, but which, nevertheless, was supported entirely upon the back of a sky-blue cow that had no fewer than four hundred horns.'"*
* The earth is upheld by a cow of a blue color, having horns four hundred in number."- Sale's Koran.
"That, now, I believe," said the king, "because I have read something of the kind before, in a book."
"'We passed immediately beneath this continent, (swimming in between the legs of the cow, and, after some hours, found ourselves in a wonderful country indeed, which, I was informed by the man-animal, was his own native land, inhabited by things of his own species. This elevated the man-animal very much in my esteem, and in fact, I now began to feel ashamed of the contemptuous familiarity with which I had treated him; for I found that the man-animals in general were a nation of the most powerful magicians, who lived with worms in their brain,* which, no doubt, served to stimulate them by their painful writhings and wrigglings to the most miraculous efforts of imagination!'"
* "The Entozoa, or intestinal worms, have repeatedly been observed in the muscles, and in the cerebral substance of men."- See Wyatt's Physiology, p. 143.
"Nonsense!" said the king.
"'Among the magicians, were domesticated several animals of very singular kinds; for example, there was a huge horse whose bones were iron and whose blood was boiling water. In place of corn, he had black stones for his usual food; and yet, in spite of so hard a diet, he was so strong and swift that he would drag a load more weighty than the grandest temple in this city, at a rate surpassing that of the flight of most birds.'"*
* On the Great Western Railway, between London and Exeter, a speed of 71 miles per hour has been attained. A train weighing 90 tons was whirled from Paddington to Didcot (53 miles) in 51 minutes.
"Twattle!" said the king.
"'I saw, also, among these people a hen without feathers, but bigger than a camel; instead of flesh and bone she had iron and brick; her blood, like that of the horse, (to whom, in fact, she was nearly related,) was boiling water; and like him she ate nothing but wood or black stones. This hen brought forth very frequently, a hundred chickens in the day; and, after birth, they took up their residence for several weeks within the stomach of their mother.'"*
* The Eccalobeion
"Fa! lal!" said the king.
"'One of this nation of mighty conjurors created a man out of brass and wood, and leather, and endowed him with such ingenuity that he would have beaten at chess, all the race of mankind with the exception of the great Caliph, Haroun Alraschid.* Another of these magi constructed (of like material) a creature that put to shame even the genius of him who made it; for so great were its reasoning powers that, in a second, it performed calculations of so vast an extent that they would have required the united labor of fifty thousand fleshy men for a year.*(2) But a still more wonderful conjuror fashioned for himself a mighty thing that was neither man nor beast, but which had brains of lead, intermixed with a black matter like pitch, and fingers that it employed with such incredible speed and dexterity that it would have had no trouble in writing out twenty thousand copies of the Koran in an hour, and this with so exquisite a precision, that in all the copies there should not be found one to vary from another by the breadth of the finest hair. This thing was of prodigious strength, so that it erected or overthrew the mightiest empires at a breath; but its powers were exercised equally for evil and for good.'"
* Maelzel's Automaton Chess-player.
*(2) Babbage's Calculating Machine.
"Ridiculous!" said the king.
"'Among this nation of necromancers there was also one who had in his veins the blood of the salamanders; for he made no scruple of sitting down to smoke his chibouc in a red-hot oven until his dinner was thoroughly roasted upon its floor.* Another had the faculty of converting the common metals into gold, without even looking at them during the process.*(2) Another had such a delicacy of touch that he made a wire so fine as to be invisible.*(3) Another had such quickness of perception that he counted all the separate motions of an elastic body, while it was springing backward and forward at the rate of nine hundred millions of times in a second.'"*(4)
* Chabert, and since him, a hundred others.
*(2) The Electrotype.
*(3) Wollaston made of platinum for the field of views in a telescope a wire one eighteen-thousandth part of an inch in thickness. It could be seen only by means of the microscope.
*(4) Newton demonstrated that the retina beneath the influence of the violet ray of the spectrum, vibrated 900,000,000 of times in a second.
"Absurd!" said the king.
"'Another of these magicians, by means of a fluid that nobody ever yet saw, could make the corpses of his friends brandish their arms, kick out their legs, fight, or even get up and dance at his will.* Another had cultivated his voice to so great an extent that he could have made himself heard from one end of the world to the other.*(2) Another had so long an arm that he could sit down in Damascus and indite a letter at Bagdad- or indeed at any distance whatsoever.*(3) Another commanded the lightning to come down to him out of the heavens, and it came at his call; and served him for a plaything when it came. Another took two loud sounds and out of them made a silence. Another constructed a deep darkness out of two brilliant lights.*(4) Another made ice in a red-hot furnace.*(5) Another directed the sun to paint his portrait, and the sun did.*(6) Another took this luminary with the moon and the planets, and having first weighed them with scrupulous accuracy, probed into their depths and found out the solidity of the substance of which they were made. But the whole nation is, indeed, of so surprising a necromantic ability, that not even their infants, nor their commonest cats and dogs have any difficulty in seeing objects that do not exist at all, or that for twenty millions of years before the birth of the nation itself had been blotted out from the face of creation."'*(7)
* Voltaic pile.
*(2) The Electro Telegraph Printing Apparatus.
*(3) The Electro telegraph transmits intelligence instantaneously- at least at so far as regards any distance upon the earth.
*(4) Common experiments in Natural Philosophy. If two red rays from two luminous points be admitted into a dark chamber so as to fall on a white surface, and differ in their length by 0.0000258 of an inch, their intensity is doubled. So also if the difference in length be any whole-number multiple of that fraction. A multiple by 2 1/4, 3 1/4, &c., gives an intensity equal to one ray only; but a multiple by 2 1/2, 3 1/2, &c., gives the result of total darkness. In violet rays similar effects arise when the difference in length is 0.000157 of an inch; and with all other rays the results are the same- the difference varying with a uniform increase from the violet to the red.
Analogous experiments in respect to sound produce analogous results.
*(5) Place a platina crucible over a spirit lamp, and keep it a red heat; pour in some sulphuric acid, which, though the most volatile of bodies at a common temperature, will be found to become completely fixed in a hot crucible, and not a drop evaporates- being surrounded by an atmosphere of its own, it does not, in fact, touch the sides. A few drops of water are now introduced, when the acid, immediately coming in contact with the heated sides of the crucible, flies off in sulphurous acid vapor, and so rapid is its progress, that the caloric of the water passes off with it, which falls a lump of ice to the bottom; by taking advantage of the moment before it is allowed to remelt, it may be turned out a lump of ice from a red-hot vessel.
*(6) The Daguerreotype.
*(7) Although light travels 167,000 miles in a second, the distance of 61 Cygni (the only star whose distance is ascertained) is so inconceivably great, that its rays would require more than ten years to reach the earth. For stars beyond this, 20- or even 1000 years- would be a moderate estimate. Thus, if they had been annihilated 20, or 1000 years ago, we might still see them to-day by the light which started from their surfaces 20 or 1000 years in the past time. That many which we see daily are really extinct, is not impossible- not even improbable.
"Preposterous!" said the king.
"'The wives and daughters of these incomparably great and wise magi,'" continued Scheherazade, without being in any manner disturbed by these frequent and most ungentlemanly interruptions on the part of her husband- "'the wives and daughters of these eminent conjurers are every thing that is accomplished and refined; and would be every thing that is interesting and beautiful, but for an unhappy fatality that besets them, and from which not even the miraculous powers of their husbands and fathers has, hitherto, been adequate to save. Some fatalities come in certain shapes, and some in others- but this of which I speak has come in the shape of a crotchet.'"
"A what?" said the king.
"'A crotchet'" said Scheherazade. "'One of the evil genii, who are perpetually upon the watch to inflict ill, has put it into the heads of these accomplished ladies that the thing which we describe as personal beauty consists altogether in the protuberance of the region which lies not very far below the small of the back. Perfection of loveliness, they say, is in the direct ratio of the extent of this lump. Having been long possessed of this idea, and bolsters being cheap in that country, the days have long gone by since it was possible to distinguish a woman from a dromedary-'"
"Stop!" said the king- "I can't stand that, and I won't. You have already given me a dreadful headache with your lies. The day, too, I perceive, is beginning to break. How long have we been married?- my conscience is getting to be troublesome again. And then that dromedary touch- do you take me for a fool? Upon the whole, you might as well get up and be throttled."
These words, as I learn from the "Isitsoornot," both grieved and astonished Scheherazade; but, as she knew the king to be a man of scrupulous integrity, and quite unlikely to forfeit his word, she submitted to her fate with a good grace. She derived, however, great consolation, (during the tightening of the bowstring,) from the reflection that much of the history remained still untold, and that the petulance of her brute of a husband had reaped for him a most righteous reward, in depriving him of many inconceivable adventures.


text: Vulvodynia can be brutal and is commonly described as stabbing, burning, cutting or knife-like pain. from shutterstock.com June 2, 2016 Does your vulva hurt? You could have vulvodynia Jane Chalmers, Western Sydney University and Lorimer Moseley, University of South Australia If you've ever experienced pain in your vulva, you're not alone. Around 16% of women will have vulvar pain that lasts for longer than three months. They are likely suffering from vulvodynia.


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|Thursday Co-Op Meeting
There is always lots to share and then there is show-and-tell
and food....and a little wine..
not a bad way to spend an evening.
In fact, many of us look forward to this every month.
|Thursday Night
Miss JH--Red Letter Day and the fabulous Alice S sharing a moment.
|FRIDAY -- the Tables of Content show opened at the Berkeley Museum
with a noon talk by Robert Warner.
A bunch of the Co-op members trooped over to hear the lecture
and look at all those tables of content...
The thirteen boxes Ray Johnson gave to Bob Warner filled with all kinds of things...
Some think Ray Johnson was the father of mail art
Ray Johnson
|...including loads of envelopes he worked on and saved...
and mail Johnson received...
|Bob Warner (left) with a table of contents of boxes...can you see all those envelopes?
And there is JH herself on the far right....I understand she will be writing a blog post on this event so check her blog Red Letter Day in the next week or so to see it.
Warner with audience and some of the contents of the boxes on the tables.
Very interesting talk - I was told a video of Werner's talk will be posted on the museum website so you can see it for yourselves....
Berkeley Museum
(that would be today)
WHO would ever think of deconstruct an airplane and MAIL THE PIECES?????
Claire Healey & Sean Cordeiro: Par Avion (American debut)
This was really amazing -- I have never seen anyone mail pieces of plane before.
And from Australia to San Francisco. They mailed them directly to the gallery.
Frey Norris Gallery
They are selling the whole set of mail art plane pieces if any of you want to buy them!
I'd sure like one but you have to buy the entire set.


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NUEVO HORARIO A partir de julio la Biblioteca del IUGM abre al público lunes, martes, jueves y viernes de 09:00 a 14:30 h CONTACTO Teléfono: (+34) 91 398...
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