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Saturday, February 20, 2010
Junek's Barbecue
COLLEGE STATION: Junek's Barbecue
14895 Fm 2154 Rd
College Station, TX 77845
Open ?
Junek's is located on the south side of College Station, so far from campus that it feels like you're out in the country. I had the only car in a gravel parking lot full of trucks. I was only given a few odd looks while walking in with a camera slung over my shoulder.
Sliced pork was on the menu, so we added it to the standard ribs and brisket. We found a seat and watched some college basketball while waiting for our order to be called. All of the meats on the plate suffered from the same overwhelming flavor of a rub so heavy in black pepper, and so heavily applied that it made me cough. This was highlighted most on the ribs which had little smokiness, but good moistness and tenderness. The rub was a little more subdued on the brisket, but bites without the crust had good smokiness and pleasing flavor. The moist sliced pork was the best offering with a decent level of smokiness and good overall flavor. It's low surface area allowed the meat flavor to shine through over the black pepper.
Rating ***
Posted by BBQ Snob at 7:19 AM
3 comments:
- Dave -nibbleanibble said...
As a blogger, people always look at you when you have a camera with you. It's natural I guess...
- February 20, 2010 at 11:54 AM
- Don O. said...
You can always go with a smaller camera. I have a little pocket sony that takes nice photos. Most places I go to never notice that I take pictures of my meal.
- February 20, 2010 at 1:46 PM
Just an FYI... I was scrolling through your two star reviews and noticed this one comes up in the 2 star list even though it has 3 stars given to them (Junek's BBQ). In the grand scheme of things it seems silly to comment on but my OCD wins every time.
Keep up the great work Daniel!
- August 2, 2012 at 10:10 AM
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Each joint is judged on the essence of Texas 'cue...sliced brisket and pork ribs. Sausage is only considered if house made. Sauce is good, but good meat needs no adornment to satisfy. Each review can only be based on specific cuts of meat on that particular day. Finally, if the place fries up catfish or serves a caesar salad, then chances are they aren't paying enough attention to the pits, so we mostly steered clear.

subset: commoncrawl


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Aldon Smith wants Von Miller to know who leads the league in sacks
Broncos linebacker Von Miller had three sacks on Sunday, giving him the NFL lead with 13 on the season. That lead held up for one day, until 49ers linebacker Aldon Smith had 5.5 sacks on Monday night, giving him the NFL lead with 15 on the season.
Smith, whom the 49ers chose with the seventh overall pick in last year's NFL draft, said after the game that he planned to make sure Miller, whom the Broncos chose second overall last year, is aware of the current state of the sack race.
"I'll probably text him as soon as I leave here," Smith said.
Miller is a phenomenal player who was last year's defensive rookie of the year, but Smith is making a strong case that he's the premier pass rusher from last year's draft. Smith had 14 sacks last year to Miller's 11.5, and Smith's total of 29 sacks in his first 26 NFL games are the most any player has ever had in the first 26 games of his career.
Whether Smith or Miller is the better player may boil down to a matter of personal preference. Suffice to say, both the 49ers and the Broncos are very pleased with their first-round draft picks from last year.


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Because it's fun for me, I've decided that today is the day that I will embarrass my former boss. You see, she and I are two of a very small group of girl-types in a very boy-dominated sector of publishing, and while I would normally argue that gender stereotypes are old, tiresome and played out, in our professional realm at least, they're fairly rightly-placed. While the guys go on in great lengths about (pick one, or all of the below) the Red Sox, Giants, hockey, PlayStation, Borat, You The Man Now Dawg website, beer and where it doesn't cost much and the Joy of Street Meat, she and I would spend an at least equal amount of time and devotion chattering about all aspects of food and cooking as, just my luck, she is as obsessed as I am.
Having excellent taste, she loves chocolate and Guinness in a near-equal ratio, thus when I happened upon this recipe many, many months ago, I bookmarked it for the express purpose of making for her birthday. In the months since, she's moved onto bigger better things – Full-time freelancing! Breaking even! Subverting the dominant paradigm! (fine, I added that) – this recipe has drilled such a hole in my bookmarks, I was unable to ignore it any longer, busting it out for the birthday of a friend who ended up stuck in the airport from LA and didn't make back in time for Sunday night's dinner party and a sampling of her cake, which as it turns out, we were more than capable of enjoying without her. [Is this sentence still on? Because, really, I feel no need to stop.]
Now, I've explained before that I'm not a huge fan of chocolate cakes as I think all that egg, flour and baking powder dilute the inherent charm of true chocolate, leaving you with things that taste "chocolatey" but are not that bite I crave, covet and occasionally dream about. But this cake is really fantastic. The beer gives it a richer, fuller, nuttier flavor while keeping it from leaning too heavily on the sweet side; the sour cream makes it an exceedingly moist cake that is neither mushy or unstructured, without requiring any additional basting, sealing or prayer to keep it on this side of the texture of stale cornbread; and the chocolate ganache on top with a hint of coffee is like the crowning third of the flavor trifecta. This cake kicks butt.
The original recipe, at least according to the numerous, amusing comments on Epicurious, makes a stunning amount of batter. I took several writers' advice and halved it to fit in a bundt pan, and decided to replace their sort of odd frosting suggestion with a basic, failure-free ganache, the same that I had used for the orange-chocolate chunk cake. I reduced the recipe by one-quarter, remembering that it had made way too much, but even a 75 percent, it mostly puddled beneath the cooling rack, clearly begging for a swipe from our hungry fingers.
Chocolate Stout Cake
Adapted from the Barrington Brewery in Great Barrington, MA via Bon Appetit
This recipe was originally intended to make a layer cake of 3 8-inch rounds. Upon many reviewers' suggestions, I halved it and it fit perfectly in a bundt pan. The halved amount is below, and the icing replaced with a simple ganache.
1 cup (235 ml) stout (such as Guinness)
1 cup (2 sticks, 8 ounces or 230 grams) unsalted butter
3/4 cup (65 grams) unsweetened cocoa powder (preferably Dutch-process)
2 cups (230 grams) all purpose flour
2 cups (400 grams) granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
2/3 cup (160 grams) sour cream
6 ounces (170 grams) good semisweet chocolate chips
6 tablespoons (90 ml) heavy cream
3/4 teaspoon instant coffee granules
Cake prep:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter or spray a bundt pan well; make sure you get in all of the nooks and crannies. (Some people even go so far as to brush the inside of their bundt pans with melted butter–you cannot be too careful!). Bring 1 cup stout and 1 cup butter to simmer in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add cocoa powder and whisk until mixture is smooth. Cool slightly.
Whisk flour, sugar, baking soda, and 3/4 teaspoon salt in large bowl to blend. Using electric mixer, beat eggs and sour cream in another large bowl to blend. Add stout-chocolate mixture to egg mixture and beat just to combine. Add flour mixture and beat briefly on slow speed. Using rubber spatula, fold batter until completely combined. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake cake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 35 minutes. Transfer cake to rack; cool completely in the pan, then turn cake out onto rack for drizzling ganache.*
For the ganache, melt the chocolate, heavy cream, and coffee in the top of a double boiler over simmering water until smooth and warm, stirring occasionally. Drizzle over the top of cooled cake.
* Update 3/25/08: Previously, the instructions suggested that you cool the cake for only 10 minutes in the pan before flipping it out onto a cooling rack and cooling it the rest of the way. After several conversations with readers/test cooks who found that their cake stuck a little, awesome reader Susan tried to cool the cake completely in the pan before releasing it and nothing stuck. I agree that this might be a better way to go.


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The American Society of Civil Engineers does a flashy study every year called "America's Infrastructure Report Card." The wrench-turners give a grade of "D" to the mainly-government infrastructure they examine. Based on the low grade, they ask for taxpayers to cough up another $2.2 trillion so the engineers can fix the supposed mess.
There are two big problems with the ASCE report. The first is that it is devoid of economic thinking. Every infrastructure asset that is old and less than perfect is apparently a disgrace to the engineers. But economists would point out that to maximize our standard of living we generally want to wear out fixed assets pretty thoroughly before we buy new stuff.
Consider America's automobile stock, which includes everything from brand-new cars to old clunkers. The engineers would probably give the nation's automobile infrastructure a "D" because it includes many old cars like my wife's 11-year-old Honda. But it would be hugely wasteful—both economically and environmentally—to throw out all the old cars and give everyone brand new Acuras.
Instead, it's efficient if car owners compare the likely stream of benefits and costs of their current used cars with the likely stream of benefits and higher costs of possible new cars, and then make an optimal choice. That's what my wife is doing, but the ASCE would probably give her a "D" grade, castigate her frugality, and insist she immediately blow her savings on a new Rolls Royce.
The other problem with the ASCE report is its naiveté regarding the efficacy of central planning. I've discussed federal infrastructure failures in this op-ed and this testimony, but the ASCE seems to believe that all-knowing visionary leaders in Washington can direct us to infrastructure salvation.
Here are some excerpts from the "Solutions" portion of the ASCE report:
America's infrastructure needs bold leadership and a compelling national level vision… Currently most infrastructure investment decisions are made without the benefit of a national vision. That strong national vision must originate with strong federal leadership and be shared by all levels of government and the private sector. Without a strong national vision, infrastructure will continue to deteriorate…
Infrastructure investment at all levels must be prioritized and executed according to well-conceived plans that both complement the national vision and focus on system wide outputs…
[P]lans must reflect a better defined set of federal, state, local, and private sector roles and responsibilities and instill better discipline for setting priorities and focusing funding to solve the most pressing problems.
If I were an engineer, I might also question whether our infrastructure is really as crummy as the ASCE claims. Previously, I pointed to federal data showing that the condition of the nation's bridges has steadily improved over the years.
However, I'm not an engineer, so my main recommendation to the ASCE is to hire economists to help write next year's report. Hopefully, they would be economists who have read Hayek and understand the shortcomings of ASCE's central-planning approach.


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AJ Daulerio's Cultural Oddsmaker runs every Friday. Email to let him know what you think of him.
With the latest "controversy" over his comments regarding Gene Upshaw, Bryant Gumbel has once again garnered some unwanted attention. However, as any watcher of "Real Sports" knows, his sanctimonious wrap-up monologues have always bordered on being patently offensive to somebody.
After the whole "I'm not watching these stupid white people ski" (I'm paraphrasing, of course) just before this year's Winter Olympics and the latest black-man-on-a-leash tirade, it's pretty obvious that Gumbel's button-pushing is getting more and more edgy — yet, still eloquent.
So, I'll channel my inner banana-in-a-tailpipe voice for a conversation with my Uncle Tom and place odds on the next Gumbel wrap-up topic that'll piss people off. Marginalize with me, after this jump.
*Author's Note: Gumbel impersonation needed for full appreciation of this piece.
Asian Athletes in American Sports: 4/1
"Yes, of course, sports has been the ultimate melting pot for many years. First it was Europeans, but now Asians are slowly infiltrating every American sport with a new style of dominance. Soon we'll see Asian football players unveiling 'kamikaze' receiving routes, or a more elegant hockey defense that forgoes traditional checking and instead integrates kung fu take-out moves. This might be great for our games, but we should be wary of how much influence we let them have; pretty soon we'll be serving Kirin at Yankee Stadium and our national anthem will be accented by the dulcet sounds of a banging gong."
Black NBA General Managers: 2/1
"It's a shame that great black players cannot make the transfer to GM. Although more blacks in power is a step in the right direction, as we've seen with the failings of Michael Jordan and Isiah Thomas, we still have a long way to go when it comes to critical thinking and Economics 101. Sure, athletes like MJ and Isiah can perform rim-rattling dunks and execute graceful passes during crunch time, but until they learn how to stop spending money so recklessly and learn how to do basic math, it does African-Americans a great disservice. We'll still be thought of as second-class businessmen who are just hired to fill a affirmative action quotas or as ringers for our company's pick-up games, unless mandingo players like Jordan and Isaiah can prove otherwise."
Female High School Athletes Playing Men's Sports: 3/1
"Sure, it's great that women have made great strides toward equality when it comes to narrowing the gender gap in high school sports. But we should take a step back for a minute and think about what kind of message this does send to young female athletes. Hey, if girls can play, I'd gladly have them as part of my team on any level. But the fact that you're a starting varsity offensive lineman doesn't prevent you from still looking and acting like a woman. I'm happy you can bench press 300lbs — but how you look in a cocktail dress and pair of heels should also be a top priority."
Gay Athletes Outing Themselves: 1/1
"When Cheryl Swoopes came out last year, it caused a minor stir in the athletic community. There was nary a collective gasp, due to the overriding stereotype that WNBA players have been attending Lilith Fair concerts for years. But it's a slippery slope: As inspiring and brave as it might be for athlete's to go public with their homosexuality, the only thing it could result in is future generations of rug munchers and pole smokers diluting team unity which becomes more and more tenuous in sports every year. Of course there is no 'I' in team, but ,obviously, there is a "MEAT."
New Orleans Sports Fans: 1/3
"I'm happy that the city of New Orleans sports fans are finally returning to normal activities. However, they should remember that in the year since the tragedy of Hurricane Katrina, there has still been little progress made. When you attend a Saints or Hornets game this year — look at the faces in the crowd. You won't see many 9th Ward survivors, but the same lily-white businessmen who were the first out of the city the day the rains came. No, those people who suffered the most are still floating around in a pup tent through a poop-filled river scavenging for lost belongings. I think it's the duty of all sports organizations to ensure that at every home game, there's a section devoted to the real New Orleans, and not just the well-to-do rednecks that were merely inconvenienced by Katrina's vengeful wrath."


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Captain's Coves five rooms the oceanfront Captain's Suite and four deluxe rooms - are tastefully decorated to make you feel comfortable and at home. All rooms are furnished with a king or queen beds, fireplaces, remote control televisions, video players, phones, CD clock radios, refrigerators, coffeemakers and microwaves, complete with complimentary coffee, tea or hot chocolate for your convenience.
Welcome To Captain's Cove
Facing the Pacific Ocean from picturesque Moonstone Beach Drive, Captain's Cove Inn offers a refreshing escape from everyday life.
With its five unique rooms, Captain's Cove is a boutique inn offering you privacy, comfort and a charming vacation destination. We invite you to experience the romance of Captain's Cove, the charm of Cambria, and the natural beauty the central coast of California is famous for.
Captains Cove is a perfect place to relax and unwind. Enjoy our oceanfront patio or take the beach chairs, provided with your room, across to the beach and watch a spectacular sunset.
The Captains Suite: Our premier room, the Captains Suite is a deluxe room with a full ocean view. Inside this spectacular room is a full size fireplace, king size bed and whirlpool tub. There's even a patio, perfect for watching the sunset or just relaxing and watching the surf crash.
Deluxe Rooms: Captains Cove also offers three rooms with king beds and one room with two queen beds. Each room is separated from its neighbors by a private carport, ensuring private and quiet accommodations. Open your bay window to feel the salt breeze and hear the ocean or stroll across the street to access the beach


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FASB Issues Standard on Accounting for Asset Retirement Obligations
Norwalk, CT, July 5, 2001—At the end of June, the Board concluded deliberations and unanimously voted to issue Statement No. 143, Accounting for Asset Retirement Obligations. Initiated in 1994 as a project to account for the costs of nuclear decommissioning, the Board expanded the scope to include similar closure or removal-type costs in other industries that are incurred at any time during the life of an asset.
That standard requires entities to record the fair value of a liability for an asset retirement obligation in the period in which it is incurred. When the liability is initially recorded, the entity capitalizes a cost by increasing the carrying amount of the related long-lived asset. Over time, the liability is accreted to its present value each period, and the capitalized cost is depreciated over the useful life of the related asset. Upon settlement of the liability, an entity either settles the obligation for its recorded amount or incurs a gain or loss upon settlement.
The standard is effective for fiscal years beginning after June 15, 2002, with earlier application encouraged. The Statement will be published in July, and an announcement of its availability will be made through a press release and notice on this website.
About the Financial Accounting Standards Board
Since 1973, the Financial Accounting Standards Board has been the designated organization in the private sector for establishing standards of financial accounting and reporting. Those standards govern the preparation of financial reports and are officially recognized as authoritative by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. Such standards are essential to the efficient functioning of the economy because investors, creditors, auditors, and others rely heavily on credible, transparent, and comparable financial information. For more information about the FASB, visit our website at www.fasb.org.
The Financial Accounting Standards Board . . .
Serving the investing public through transparent information resulting from high-quality financial reporting standards, developed in an independent, private sector, open due process.


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Lulz Security may be officially disbanded after 50 days of online hijinks including raids against the servers of NATO, the U.S. Senate, PBS and many others. But law enforcement officials are still actively searching for the rogue hackers. So far, however, it appears the law is coming up empty. FBI agents recently descended on the home of Iowa resident Laurelai Bailey hoping to find out more information about the February hack into security firm HBGary Federal, according to Gawker.
The hacker collective Anonymous officially carried out the HBGary hack, but LulzSec reportedly includes the Anonymous members who led the heist against the security firm.
After a 5-hour interview with Bailey, federal agents confiscated her hard drive, camera and other equipment. It appears Bailey came to the attention of law enforcement after an anonymous Pastebin posting identified her as a member of LulzSec. Bailey denies being a member of LulzSec, although she did reportedly participate in an online chat with LulzSec members and later leaked the chat online.
Bailey's interview follows the June 12 arrest of 19-year-old Ryan Cleary in the U.K. reportedly in connection with the hacker group. Police later charged Cleary for offenses under the U.K.'s Criminal Law Act and Computer Misuse Act. The teenager is accused of using a botnet to launch distributed denial of service attacks against the U.K.'s Serious Organized Crime Agency and other sites. After Cleary's arrest, LulzSec said via Twitter he was only loosely related to the group.
Police continue to chase after LulzSec, but so far the hacker pranksters have managed to evade capture. But the group may not be able to hide forever as investigators step up their efforts to unmask the digital gang.
Connect with Ian Paul ( @ianpaul ) and Today@PCWorld on Twitter for the latest tech news and analysis.


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WASHINGTON -- The Commerce Department's National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) today applauded EDUCAUSE's actions to introduce Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) in the .EDU top-level domain. EDUCAUSE is responsible for the management of .EDU through a cooperative agreement with the Department of Commerce.
"This action taken by EDUCAUSE for the .EDU domain will significantly advance the imperative of IPv6 adoption and deployment," said Meredith Baker, acting NTIA Administrator. "The sooner the evolution to IPv6 occurs, the more confidence we can have that further diffusion of the Internet, at home and throughout the world, is sustainable."
EDUCAUSE Vice President Mark Luker said, "EDUCAUSE is very pleased to offer native IPv6 Domain Name System capabilities for the .EDU domain. All agree that the transition to IPv6 is an important step on the path to the Internet of the future."
Internet Protocol (IP) defines how computers and other devices communicate over a network, enabling data and other traffic to traverse the Internet and to arrive at the desired destination. IP not only provides a standardized "envelope" for the information that is sent; it also contains "headers" that provide addressing, routing, and message-handling information that enables a message to be directed to its final destination over the various media that compose the Internet. IP version 4 (IPv4), the currently prevalent version, supports just over four billion unique IP addresses, which are not enough to last indefinitely. There is a growing shortage of IPv4 addresses, which are needed by all new machines added to the Internet. IPv6 is a replacement for IPv4, offering more IP addresses and enhanced security features.
NTIA is responsible for the development of the domestic and international telecommunications policy of the Executive Branch.
EDUCAUSE is a non-profit membership association created to support those who lead, manage, and use information technology to benefit higher education.
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by Steve KulakCan barbarism ruin your ears or just your appetite for consumption? On the eve of the Second World War, Trotsky could only imagine barbarism or socialism triumphing. We know what happened to socialism. So what's left? It's no use sitting frozen in apathy and hoping the clock spins backwards. Every so often we need to purge our ears, offer them something new. An extravaganza that will take us out of ourselves and raise doubts about the way we hear things. It pays to seek out mysteries in music as in life. Put aside your wonder as to why anyone would believe the only thing worse than Russia and Jazz is putting the two together. Expose yourself to the music of the Ganelin Trio. Then we shall all pass from darkness into light...
(October 1999)
Each society produces its own type of madness. The Iron Curtain may have saved us from the Russian Bear and the cold fact of Communism but it also hid from view the mesmerising sonic intelligence of the Ganelin Trio. But Trio is an inadequate appellation for what most of the time sounds like a group of ecstatic visionaries expanding the range of contemporary music and creating new uses for sound. People shouldn't always believe what they hear. But hard as it might be to believe otherwise, Catalogue: Live in East Germany is the work of three men. Vladimir Chekasin is rarely content to blow his horns one at a time, just as piano virtuoso Slava Ganelin doesn't mind peppering the score with driving bass riffs produced by what sounds suspiciously like a bass guitar. And if Vladimir Tarasov is playing the drums, then who's playing the guitar? Wait a minute... is this inspiration or lunacy? Adrift in their own skewed universe, this is both: inspiration crowned by a soft serving of lunacy. The Holy Fool after all is never very far from a Russian.
Now if that is not enough to entice you to surrender yourself to their landscape, then commentators who write about"the most dramatic development in jazz performance since the New Thing of the 1960's" and "one of the most significant bodies of work of the last 20 years" just might. Reading reports like that and not being familiar with the music could drive a person to distraction. Fortunately Nature has happily given us a special passion for recognising our own ignorance. It's time to do something about it.
Apart from Catalogue: Live in East Germany (the tapes of which were smuggled out of the former Soviet Union by a German tourist), there is also the extraordinary Ancora Da Capo. This album features the Trio's performance at the historical 1980 concert in West Berlin. Those lucky enough to be there would no doubt have witnessed first hand what was meant by "an insanely accelerated history of jazz." The music can be approached as one extended composition, or as a series of scenes, although it may seem odd to speak of scenes in a work where hearing and sound prevail. Yet hearing, together with vision, is the second sense that brings us knowledge from afar. And those who were there to see and hear the Trio were... astonished.
The Ganelin Trio in live performance must have been an impossibly seductive occasion. Most jazz life in the former Soviet Union centred around festivals which no doubt provided the usual opportunities for predictable caravans of musicians to practise their scales. The most important was the Autumn Rhythms Festival in Leningrad (present day St. Petersburg) where no band was invited to play two years in a row. The exception to the rule was always the Ganelin Trio. They played every year. The Penguin Guide to Jazz, in awarding the album its highest possible five star rating, stated that the monolithic intensity of Ancora Da Capo condensed everything the group was about: "It is quite simply a masterpiece and we strongly recommend it to your attention."
Had these albums been released by three white boys from New York, the course of modern music could well have been catapulted into different time zones and ridden a different wave onto the beachhead that is contemporary music today. But this was 1979, and these were three Russians at the wrong end of the Seventies. We were still a whole decade away from the hole in the wall that would signify not only a new Berlin, but a new political order and with it the fading memories of a vanquished Soviet system. Too many aspects of Soviet culture suffered the same discrediting process that the failure of its political system implied. To the victor not only the spoils but all the glory.
Before you are left to wonder what it is that three Russians could do so differently that hadn't been done before, let's make perfectly clear what type of music this is. What we have in the Ganelin Trio is not a free jazz hybrid: it is highly structured, new music. Unarguably and absolutely. It is structured in a way that improvised music can not be. It is played with intensity and gravity, which is not necessarily what makes it different, though its humour and teetering-on-the-edge quality might. It may be humourous in the way that all excessive intensity is; it depends on whether intensity affects you that way. It can also be heard as music which appears to live in two different epochs: its own and as a rehearsal for the next one. One blink from then to now and back again.
The Ganelin Trio offer layers of compositional audacity that eludes music with a greater claim. What impresses most is its structure, an edifice comparable to the inside outside architecture of a glass and metal building with all the beams, wires and ducting exposed but with no walls to obstruct your line of sight. It is a most impressive construct: the way it all fits in and works together, especially if you care enough to follow the pipes and cables from beginning to end. But there is more: the calibre of the musicianship, its attack and fluency, its exemplary execution and uncompromising commitment, right through to the sheer originality of the overall conception: all this represents the Ganelin Trio. The music is astounding. It is not wallpaper but furniture. You cannot ignore the music. It forces you to listen to it, takes you inside. You might end up feeling like an exhausted fish pushed to the high tide mark and then abandoned, as the Trio's retreat starves you of oxygen and leaves you floundering with only sound clinging to your gills. But it might also leave you with the creepy sensation of a chill searching for your spine.
It is an impossible music. Impossible to categorise, impossible to dance to, impossible to dream through... and impossible to ignore. You can drink through it comfortably though, and all the while generate a sense of being closer to its inspiration if the collective spirit grabs you. There is in the end no one way of accessing it. Analysing the context of its creation might contribute to an understanding of it that may or may not be useful. Appreciating the method of artists in the context of the social history of their times can be instructive. But listening is the only viable option, not words. That might sound self-evident, but listening in this case amounts to much more than that, which is why a drink might help to get you through the experience. Although their densely textured sound presents a formidable challenge to any listener, this is not impenetrable music. This is music that penetrates you and your psyche in other ways. Because within the vibrant animation that pervades every inch of the surface of their compositions, lies an absolute stillness. In the end the performance becomes a spiritual experience coaxed into existence by visionaries.
How much music can you listen to? How much music do you need? What form should engagement with this relentlessly modern music take? Approach it as you would approach a transforming fire... or like fallen pieces of the moon.
Is it fair to say that as a New York Trio they would have been anointed for such bold structural innovation in music and canonized? America does have a dominant spirit of irredeemable materialism and an indifference to the poetry of things, but America can also do many things very well. But to say this music could only have been created within the context of a Soviet shadow is unarguable. The major role of any artist is to make invisible passions either visible or heard. In the expression of those passions, we should realise that artists are shaped by contexts which they do not necessarily choose and which go on to inform the nature of their individuality. Much in American music is muscle and technique, lacking the elusive quality of great music. Just for a second imagine the bloated cadaver of jazz/mock fusion. Now try to imagine instead another direction, a richer musical hybrid of a type that was being invented at that same time in the Seventies in the Soviet Union by groups such as the Ganelin Trio. This music was all but hidden from view by an Iron Curtain that too few on the bright side of it were privileged to peek behind. Leo Feigin of Leo Records in London will one day tell his story about peeking, smuggling and the privileges of portly men in overcoats, and I daresay aspects of it will read like a typical cold war thriller. What a time it must have been.
Music like this, heavy, tragic, powerful, astonishing, thrilling is not created in horror or despair, social oppression or political restriction. After all it was a supremely even-handed system: it forbade both the élite and the poor alike to beg in the streets and to steal bread! The music of the Trio is not a political statement. It would trivialise it too much to restrict it to such a petty ephemeral canvas. The Ganelin Trio is light years beyond politics yet inescapably formed by it. The music addresses futility of another sort. It disperses our emotions and throttles our less than common sense by obliging us to address the force of nature itself. You are deluding yourself, it screams, and by the end of any concert recording by the Ganelin Trio you are probably perfectly content to admit it. If the access button in your brain is switched on, you may never listen to music quite the same way again. It may not be an obvious or even a conscious decision. But you will not be able to ignore this epochal roar from those times when greater certainty prevailed and whose pathetic passing may be of some regret. If you were born to this then you were born to riches as nourishing as peasant bread.
So what about the 1970's? Often pilloried as an uneventful decade with a personality bypass, it may just be that its greatest asset was its undefinable certainty. You knew who or what your enemy was, whether in politics, music or your neighbour's taste in clothes, and if you didn't, you had a good time imagining one.
When the Berlin Wall came down in 1989, it was too late for the Ganelin Trio. Their own equally unique architecture had collapsed several years before and then finally with the defection to the West by the pianist Slava Ganelin. In the battle of political wills, a consumerism unembarrassed by victory may have pipped communism to the post. Any opportunity to influence musical history throughout those cold years was submerged by overt political battles. In the gritty fog of communism, there somewhere between the cracks, slipped the Ganelin Trio, plundering history in the process and defying the gravity of disintegration to the end. They had Communism: we had sixty-five different brands of floor wax but still no Ganelin to take home. With the coming of the Eighties a different euphoria prevailed but it was all over by then, for them and us. Today too much music speaks last year's language. To recall T.S. Eliot: 'last year's words belong to last year's language/ and next year's words await another voice.' It is not only the voice that commands the story. It is also the ear. We await new sounds. But our minds are too often already made up, rather than always in the making. We need music that threatens the dogmatism of our own nature. Great musicians leave their listeners with unfinished business, offering us irresistible invitations. With the end of politics, the old narratives are gone, never as rigid and cogent as we once thought. But contrary to the present outcome, we should never forget that all sorts of endings are still possible. The illusion of progress and the politics of conquest will no longer do.
"When you are philosophising you have to descend into primeval chaos and feel at home there." The Ganelin Trio would have felt at home with Wittgenstein on that one.
Catalogue: Live in East Germany
"One of the very important jazz records of recent times" (Penguin Guide to Jazz)
"One of the most exciting events that Free Music has ever staged..." (Melody Maker)
"Maybe not since the first Ornette Coleman records appeared has Western European jazz experienced quite such a shock of the totally unexpected as the Ganelin Trio produced." (The Wire)
All CD's by the Ganelin Trio can be purchased directly from Leo Records


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Ashley Madison Slyly Sleazes Way Into Super Bowl
Right up there with PornHub in the great Super Bowl Free Publicity Land Grab game is Ashley Madison which just ran a print ad featuring a hotly-clad, coin-flipping female referee under the headline, "Do You Prefer Head or Tail?"
Oh how wonderfully witty! Head or Tail? Get it? Yea, we thought you did.
Ashley Madison, the website married people go to when they want to have an affair, placed the ad within a Super Bowl insert in the San Francisco Examiner.
Ashley Madison Founder Noel Biderman reportedly offered love-child fathering Dan Marinino a job saying, "The Dan Marino love child is just the latest in a long line of adulterous behavior supported by the organization. Should CBS fire Marino for his indiscretions, I'd be happy to have him on the team at AshleyMadison."
Topic: Racy, Super Bowl 2013


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5206.0.55.002 - Information paper: Product changes to National Income, Expenditure and Product following revisions to international standards, 2009
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 18/08/2009 First Issue
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The first issue of Australian National Accounts: National Income, Expenditure and Product (cat. no. 5206.0) that will incorporate these updated standards will be the September quarter 2009, scheduled for release on Wednesday 16 December 2009.
This information paper includes previews of the publication (pdf) tables and time series spreadsheets that will be published in December.
Details of impacts of these updated standards will be covered in a further information paper, Implementation of new international statistical standards in ABS National and International Accounts (cat no. 5310.0.55.002) due for release on 30 September 2009.
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IYA2009 Updates
Egypt promotes She is an Astronomer for IYA2009
25 January 2010
As a part of IYA2009 activities in Egypt, the Planetarium Science Center in Alexandria organised She is an Astronomer camp in Saint Catherine from 11-14 December 2009. The aim of the camp was to develop the female students' thinking skills and to encourage females to pursue astronomy professionally. The importance of scientific problem solving and team work were highlighted. These values are the cornerstone of building future Egyptian women astronomers and leaders.
The She is an Astronomer camp organisers prepared a series of activities to be presented such as lectures and workshops given by experts in astronomy, the History of Saint Catherine (the most important historical areas in Egypt) and a and safari expedition. During the camp, the ladies attended an event to observe the meteor shower which appeared in the skies of Egypt on 13 December. They enjoyed the event very much, which was supervised by resident astronomers of the Planetarium Science Center.
Dusk of IYA2009 in Iraq: an event to remember
25 January 2010
By: Azhy Chato Hasan
The sky was cloudy and rainy on 31 December 2009, so the Sun was not visible, except for its wonderful memories of past IYA2009 days. There was a solution: using Stellarium Beta 10.0 software to simulate the real Sun setting that day. The mission was a success after we projected the dusk of IYA2009 with a data show. Members of Amateur Astronomers Association of Kurdistan / Iraq (AAAK) and some guests arrived to AAAK's office in Erbil city at 04:00pm local (13:00 GMT) and the processing began at 04:50:00pm (16:50:00 GMT), then at 04:55:00pm (16:55:05 GMT) the Sun said goodbye to everyone.
The participants were happy for all great goals accomplished around the world throughout IYA2009, but sad to leave that year behind. However, promises were made to continue on the same road of programmes of cooperation and friendship between partners of AWB and SW task group and make more bridges through the sky between us.
After the event, clouds left the sky, and then the IYA2009 carnival finished with a partial lunar eclipse, a magnificent scene between patches of clouds. It was just like a gift from God to all of us, it was really the last most beautiful ending for IYA2009. It also encouraged us to begin our Beyond the International Year of Astronomy activities.
See a clip on YouTube here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b5OznKACNmY
AAAK website: http://kurdastro.org
Over one million people worldwide have seen the movie BLAST!
25 January 2010
BLAST! is an IYA2009 Special project. Filmmaker Paul Devlin follows the story of his brother, Mark Devlin PhD, as he leads a tenacious team of scientists hoping to figure out how all the galaxies formed by launching a revolutionary new telescope under a NASA high-altitude balloon.
Newly-released ratings show that over one million people have seen the movie, and this number is set to rise significantly in the future.
BLAST! Ratings:
|Discovery Canada
|BBC Storyville
|YLE Finland
|SVT Sweden
|VPRO Netherlands
|DR Denmark
|NHK Japan
Sri Lankans witness Solar Eclipse
25 January 2010
An expedition to Northern Sri Lanka for the Annular Solar Eclipse of 15 January 2010 has been described as an unforgettable experience. The Ring of Fire not only brought amazing views but the sheer joy of being able to travel north after 30 years of war.
In addition, an associated outreach programme attracted around 2000 participants.
See a blog post about the expedition here: http://thilinaheenatigala.blogspot.com/2010/01/ring-of-fire-unforgettable-experience.html
The World At Night images featured in the Italian media
24 January 2010
Photographs from IYA2009 Special project The World At Night have been used in the travel section of Italian newspaper la Republica. The photos are by Iranian IYA2009 supporter Babak Tafreshi.
See the feature here: http://viaggi.repubblica.it/multimedia/sotto-il-cielo-dell-iran/22352906/1/1
TWAN website: http://www.twanight.org/newTWAN/index.asp
Bangladesh concludes IYA2009 with an astronomy workshop
23 January 2010
Report by Mamun Ahamed Sharif, Coordinator IYA2009 Bangladesh Node:
Professor Abdul Jabbar, former Head of the Department of Mathematics, Bangladesh University of Engineering & Technology (BUET) was a legendary figure in popularisation of Astronomy in Bangladesh. He wrote about a dozen Books on astronomy which helped younger generations in Bangladesh to learn about this important subject. Professor Abdul Jabbar also was the 1st President of Bangladesh Astronomical Society which was formed in 1984.
In recognition of his extraordinary contributions in the field of astronomy, the National Committee for Celebration of IYA2009 in Bangladesh arranged three Astronomy Workshops throughout the year. The first was held from 26 April to 17 May, the second from 3 July to 4 July, and the third Workshop from 23 December to 31 December 2009. In every Workshop eminent astronomers, physicists and mathematicians in Bangladesh delivered lectures on a particular subject and interacted with students in question / answer sessions. Sky observation programmes also were held. Each student was be given a certificate and successful astronomy quiz contestants were given astronomy books as prizes.
The 3rd Abdul Jabbar Astronomy Workshop which was held from 23 December to 31 December is considered as the most important astronomical event as it was the concluding event of IYA2009 in Bangladesh. The Workshop began with a presentation on the "Celebration of IYA2009 in Bangladesh" by F. R. Sarker, General Secretary, Bangladesh Astronomical Society and the Single Point of Contact for IYA2009 in Bangladesh. Among the guest of speakers on different days were Mr. Ronald Cruz, the Secretary, Bangladesh Astro-Olympiad, who spoke on "Participation in Astro-Olympiad in Tehran in October", Dr. Rezaur Rahman, former Scientific Officer of Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission who spoke on the "Life in the Universe", Professor Dr. Arshad Momen, Department of Physics, University of Dhaka, on the "Mathematical Cosmology", Munir Hasan, Secretary, Math Olympiad in Bangladesh and also Secretary, IYA2009 Celebration Committee, Bangladesh, on the" Life and Death of the Stars", Dr. Farseem M. Mohammedy, Assistant Professor, Department of Electrical and Engineering, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) on the" Fate of the Universe" and Dr. A. R. Khan, President, Bangladesh Astronomical Society on the "Importance on the Research of Astronomy".
On 31 December, during the closing session of Abdul Jabbar Astronomy Workshop, among those who delivered their lectures were Dr. A. R. Khan, F. R. Sarker, Dr. Farseem and M. Mohammedy. At the end of the Workshop, Dr. A. R. Khan delivered his concluding lecture declaring goodbye to the International Year of Astronomy 2009.
Jamaica closes IYA2009 with a successful star party
23 January 2010
In late December the Astronomical Association of Jamaica (AAJ) decided to run a final star party, taking place at the UWI. Mona Campus on a patio above the Physics Department. The main reason for the meet was to introduce members and friends to the fine qualities of Galileoscopes. The AAJ was given 400 units for distribution to High and Intermediate Schools in Jamaica, and this was a practice run for the training of teachers in the assembly, and care of the telescopes.
Participants arrived early at the University, to catch Jupiter at the earliest time after sunset. Two ready-assembled Galileoscopes were brought, along with one in its component parts. Two 3-inch refractors were also present, for comparison.
The telescopes were set on Jupiter and it was explained that observers were looking for Neptune among the moons of Jupiter. Eyepiece expert Bobby Rodriques gave his assessment of the Galileoscopes, concluding that Galileo would have been very happy to have had this instrument. Everyone was pleased with the performance of the Galileoscopes and agreed that the schools will be proud to have them in science programmes.
Thanks to Errol Rickman from the AAJ for providing the information for this update.
IYA2009 News Round-up
22 January 2010
It seemed like this day would never arrive. It's the final IYA2009 news round-up. Stop cheering, it's a sad day. A SAD DAY.
Let's keep it a) brief and b) about the Closing Ceremony. IYA2009 officially ended on the weekend of the 9/10 January during a meeting in Padova, Italy. Obviously you know this already, having followed the LiveBlog avidly. NEWS reported on it as well, as the following links will indicate.
Sky and Telescope have an excellent article, complete with frankly superb images. Life-defining photographs, some may say. Article author Mike Simmons mentions many of the talks given, and includes quotes from new IAU President Robert Williams. Science Newspaper is overflowing with facts, most likely as a result of taking inspiration from the press release. As the Ceremony was hosted in Italy, it's only fair we have an Italian news story. Il Denaro have one written by none other than the famous Dr. Claudia Mignone.
Blogs made the most of the video streaming to offer write-ups. For examples, see Astronomy Sri Lanka, Science Blog, and Science Buzz. And the Sri Lankan site again. Oh, and Tuttidentro. Haven't come across that one before. The Italians ran their own LiveBlog in their native tongue if you're feeling adventurous and want to give that a go.
For video-lovers out there, the Astronomy Beyond 2009 site has recorded coverage of the Ceremony, as does Astroblogger's YouTube channel. For photo-fans, check out Flickr for pics.
Well, that's it. The Round-up Rocket has crashed on Planet News, and here it shall remain forever more. There there, dry those tears. You can always sift through the archive when Fridays arrive and you have nothing to read.
IYA2009 Updates
22 January 2010
IYA2009 Museum Collection
The International Astronomical Union and the official IYA2009 Collection Curator, Science Museum in London, UK would like to collect a sample of this material as a museum collection of the fantastic activities carried out around the world in 2009, showing the different ways that the National Nodes celebrated astronomy. Sample collections will be kept by the Science Museum in London. http://www.astronomy2009.org/news/updates/732/
IYA2009 Closing Ceremony videos now online: Those that were unable to attend the IYA2009 Closing Ceremony in Padova, Italy, may wish to view the video recordings: http://www.virtualmeeting.info/astronomy/beyond2009/diretta.html
400 Years of the Astronomical Telescope poster released
A special poster promoting advances in telescope technology was made as a project for Science and Technology Week promoted by Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) of Japan. During the Science and Technology Week in April 2009, about 150,000 copies of the poster were distributed by MEXT in museums all over Japan. http://www.astronomy2009.org/news/updates/749/
The Lives of Galileo TV show available to watch online
All six episodes of the educational astronomical show, starring IYA2009-supporter and talented author/artist Fiami, are available to watch in French here: http://www.tsr.ch/tsr/index.html?siteSect=376321&sid=11628481
A Short Astronomical Serenade
"A Short Astronomical Serenade" is a multimedia project conceived to combine in a single event Astronomy, literature and live music. Thousands of people had the opportunity to hear and watch this production in Spain during some 30 concerts where the music was played live. Many more have seen the DVD that was produced by the Spanish National Research Council as a legacy product of IYA2009. http://www.astronomy2009.org/news/updates/736/
European Light Pollution Symposium
The first of the videos from the European Light Pollution Symposium up now at: http://www.lightpollution2009.eu/
Jodcast January 2010: Looking back, looking forward.
"Looking back, looking forward. It is the end of the International Year of Astronomy 2009. In the show we bring you some of our highlights of the year which celebrated 400 years of the astronomical telescope. We have an interview with Nancy Atkinson about the 365 Days of Astronomy podcast, Jen visits the infamous AstroBunker to talk to Newbury Astronomical Society, and we ask Carolina Ödman about Universe Awareness. As ever we have the latest astronomical news, and what you can see in the January night sky." More details: http://www.jodcast.net/archive/201001/
Thales Alenia Space meets objectives for 2009
Thales Alenia Space won contracts for seven communications satellites and three satcom payloads in 2009, along with two observation satellites, nine pressurised modules for the International Space Station, and two experimental atmospheric reentry vehicles. http://www.astronomy2009.org/news/updates/733/
IYA2009 Closing Event in France
For more information about the last days of IYA2009 in France, please see http://ama09.obspm.fr/ama09/index.php?body=cprog.html and http://cosmicdiary.org/closing_ceremony/
Beyond IYA2009 with SARM in Romania
The Romanian Society for Meteors and Astronomy (SARM) announces the launching of the last project of the project Astropoetry: an original photo-artistic-literary chronicle of 2009 and the largest-ever astronomical poetry tribute, with 200 participants from 6 continents, coordinated by Andrei Dorian Gheorghe, Valentin Grigore and Florin Stancu. http://www.astronomy2009.org/news/updates/730/
Education resources for IYA2009
In the last Science in School magazine, Chris Starr and Richard Harwood suggest some useful websites and other resources to inspire your astronomy teaching: http://www.scienceinschool.org/2009/issue13/iya
Musician's Illustrated Tribute to Saturn Arrives on DVD
Art meets science: A fresh sultry, circular and sweeping piece of music -- called "Anillos" -- perfectly timed with breathtaking images of the planet Saturn and perfect for a large-screen television, is available now on DVD. http://www.astronomy2009.org/news/updates/727/
400 Years of the Astronomical Telescope poster released
22 January 2010
A special poster promoting advances in telescope technology was made as a project for Science and Technology Week promoted by Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) of Japan. During the Science and Technology Week in April 2009, about 150,000 copies of the poster were distributed by MEXT in museums all over Japan.
The theme of this poster is "From Galileo to the Subaru Telescope, and Moving Toward the Future". It introduces the history of astronomical telescopes and their scientific discoveries. "The Universe, Yours to Discover", the slogan of IYA2009, is the message adopted by the authors to young people who are interested in becoming astronomers or engineers.
"400 Year of the Astronomical telescope" Poster English Page: http://stw.mext.go.jp/tentaiboenkyo/index.html
Download the poster
Japanese version: http://stw.mext.go.jp/pdf/astro_telescope400_01.pdf
Search IYA2009 Updates
National Nodes: 148
Organisational Nodes: 40
Organisational Associates:33
National Websites: 111
Cornerstone Projects: 12
Special Task Groups: 11
Special Projects:16
Official Products:8
Media Partners:22


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Saying police need to stay focused on "community building," Mayor Mike McGinn has pulled the plug on the department's controversial drone program even before it got off the ground.
In a brief statement Thursday, McGinn said he and police Chief John Diaz agreed that it was time to end the program so the Seattle Police Department "can focus its resources on public safety and the community building work that is the department's priority."
McGinn said the two drones purchased by the city with federal funds will be returned to their vendor.
When reached for comment, Seattle police referred questions to the mayor's office. The mayor's office declined to elaborate on McGinn's statement.
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The announcement came one day after the city held a public hearing on a proposed ordinance outlining restrictions for the department's drone program, which drew vocal opposition from numerous citizens concerned with intrusions into their privacy. The ordinance was expected to come up for a vote later this month.
The Police Department is among dozens of law-enforcement agencies, academic institutions and other agencies that were given approval last year by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to train operators in the use of unmanned aerial vehicles, more commonly known as drones. The FAA action came after President Obama signed a law that compelled the agency to plan for safe integration of civilian drones into U.S. airspace by 2015.
The Police Department purchased two 3.5-pound Draganflyer X6 Helicopter Tech drones with money from a regional Homeland Security grant, envisioning uses during hostage situations and search-and-rescue operations and after following natural disasters. One of the helicopters was expected to be used by the King County Sheriff's Office.
Police said the unmanned systems would allow the city to have some of the public-safety benefits of a manned helicopter without the prohibitive costs.
But the proposed use of drones by police drew "tremendous, widespread concern among the general public," according to Doug Honig, a spokesman for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Washington. When police introduced the program during a public presentation last fall, officers were shouted down by opponents who feared misuse.
Honig said Thursday the ACLU was pleased with McGinn's action.
"It's a wise decision," he said. "Drones would have given police unprecedented abilities to engage in surveillance and intrude on people's privacy and there was never a strong case made that Seattle needed the drones for public safety."
But Councilmember Bruce Harrell, chair of the Council's Public Safety, Civil Rights and Technology Committee, criticized McGinn for taking "the easy way out."
"It's harder to define a policy where, in rare circumstances, (drones) could be useful," said Harrell, who is running for mayor against McGinn. "We could have been a model for other cities to follow."
Harrell had sponsored the pending council legislation that he hoped would balance the usefulness of the technology with privacy concerns.
The proposed ordinance discussed Wednesday would have banned the use of drones for general surveillance or for flights over open-air assemblies. It also would have required police to obtain a warrant before using drones for all but emergency circumstances, such as situations involving hostages, search-and-rescue operations, the pursuit of armed felons, bomb threats and the detection of "hot spots" in fires, or for the collection of traffic data.
City Councilmember Tim Burgess, another mayoral candidate, said McGinn's cancellation of the program provides the city with an opportunity to reassess the grant money given to the city for homeland security.
But he went further, questioning the Police Department's recent installation of 30 surveillance cameras along the city's shoreline, from Fauntleroy to Golden Gardens. The project is funded by a $5 million federal grant aimed at increasing security at the Port of Seattle and improving the city's ability to respond to hazards and emergencies.
Police said the cameras, which could be operational by March 31, will provide them with a sweeping view of the port facilities, Elliott Bay and the shoreline.
"We should also assess the cameras at Alki," Burgess said. "Unfortunately, there has not been the strong, decisive leadership from the mayor on public safety so these things just occur without the kind of oversight and policy discussions we should be having."
McGinn's mention of "community building" comes amid police community-outreach efforts following a Department of Justice investigation that found evidence of biased policing and routine use of unconstitutional force. That finding led to an agreement calling for mandated reforms within the department.
The debate in Seattle over drones echoes one taking place across the nation as law-enforcement agencies seek to utilize drone technology. Earlier this week, Charlottesville, Va., ordered a two-year moratorium on the citywide use of unmanned aircraft. It was the first city in the nation to do so, supporters say.
Honig, the ACLU spokesman, said the organization would like to see legislation placing restrictions on the acquisition and use of drones by all Washington state law-enforcement agencies. He also said the acquisition of such technology should be driven by policies and decisions made with public input, not simply by the availability of federal funds.
When King County Sheriff John Urquhart took office last year, he said he returned his department's drone to Seattle police.
"I came in and said, 'We're not going to fly that.' We hadn't done our homework, and I don't think the time is right," he said Thursday. "What's happening to Seattle is exactly what I hoped to avoid."
Christine Clarridge: email@example.com or 206-464-8983.
Staff reporter Lynn Thompson contributed to this report.


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Family and college history intersected during a brief musical demonstration in Dimnent Memorial Chapel in early October.
The von Trapp Children, whose family story was immortalized in the beloved Rodgers and Hammerstein production (and subsequent 20th Century Fox feature film) The Sound of Music, performed in Dimnent on Sunday, Oct. 9. The 45-minute event was a "mini concert" staged for the Hope community while the family visited the area while traveling during its current U.S. tour. The children performed several selections, including many songs from the film, and then met with well-wishers during a reception immediately following.
The four singers - Sofia, Melanie, Amanda and Justin - are the great grandchildren of Captain von Trapp, father of the singing family whose story is told in the 1965 film. Their grandfather Werner spent a good portion of his life touring the world singing with his brothers and sisters in concert halls large and smalls.
Although it was the first time the current generation of performers had sung in the chapel, the location's connection to the family goes back more than 60 years. Members of the family presented concerts in Dimnent at least twice before, once on Jan. 14, 1942, and again on Tuesday, Nov. 24, 1953.
The children have performed across the country and around the world, beginning with a 1997 celebration of their grandparents' 50th wedding anniversary at the Trapp Family Lodge in Stowe, Vt. In addition to their live performances, they have been featured on nationally televised programs such as ABC's Good Morning America, CBS Sunday Morning and NBC's Today show. They have released three compact discs, The von Trapp Children, Volume 1, The von Trapp Children, Volume 2, and Christmas with the von Trapp Children.


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Males who have a twin sister appear more likely to develop the eating disorder anorexia nervosa than other males, including those with a twin brother, according to a new report. This finding supports the hypothesis that exposure to female sex hormones in the womb may be related to the risk for anorexia nervosa.
"Anorexia nervosa is approximately 10 times more common in females than in males," the authors write as background information in the article. "The reasons for this difference are not known, and it is likely that their unraveling will represent an important step forward in the understanding of the etiopathogenetic factors involved in the development of eating disorders."
Marco Procopio, M.D., M.R.C.Psych., of the University of Sussex, Brighton, England, and Paul Marriott, Ph.D., of the University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, analyzed data from a study of Swedish twins born between 1935 and 1958. Two sets of diagnostic criteria, one broader and one more narrow, were used to determine which twins had anorexia nervosa.
Overall, female twins were more likely than male twins to develop anorexia nervosa. The one exception was among males who had a dizygotic (fraternal) twin sister. "In fact, their risk is at a level that is not statistically significantly different from that of females from such a pair," the authors write. Among 4,478 dizygotic opposite-sex twins, 20 females and 16 males had anorexia nervosa using narrow criteria and 32 females and 27 males qualified under the broad criteria. Risk for these female twins was not significantly different from than that of other female twins.
"A plausible explanation for this phenomenon is that in pregnancies bearing a female fetus, a substance is produced, probably hormonal, that increases the risk of having anorexia nervosa in adulthood," the authors write. "Because the male half of an opposite-sex twin pair would also be exposed to this substance, it could account for the observed elevated risk in males with female twins. The most likely candidates are sex steroid hormones."
"The results of our study are compatible with the hypothesis that intrauterine exposure to sex hormones might influence neurodevelopment, affecting the risk of developing anorexia nervosa in adult life," they conclude. "This might be a factor contributing to the higher risk of developing anorexia nervosa in females."
Journal reference: Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2007;64(12):1402-1408.
Story Source:
Materials provided by JAMA and Archives Journals. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.
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Dropping one nuclear bomb is terrible enough—cities leveled, populations vaporized. Horrible enough on its own—but what if you dropped 183.000? Goodbye, USA. So what about obliterating the moon? We've got it.
These wonderfully graphic calculations are courtesy of graphic designer Maximilian Bode, who tallied how many warheads of varying sizes it'd take to annihilate everything from San Francisco to the landmass of Earth itself. Both are bad. One is a little worse.
What about the Little Boy, mankind's first WWII foray into scorching itself? Four to totally erase DC, and over 3.5 million to scrap the whole world.
Little Boy's sequel upped the megatonnage a bit.
The Ivy King bomb tested by the US would be a slightly more efficient means of ushering in the apocalypse, with 55,000 and some change needed to level all of North America.
The B53 nuclear bomb, America's 600x version of Little Boy, is considerably more potent.
The Castle Bravo thermonuclear hydrogen bomb is no slouch—almost 9,000 would eradicate what little there is on the Moon.
And finally, the Tzar Bomba—the largest nuclear weapon humanity has ever concocted. A real doomsday device. "Only" 16,000 would toast the whole planet.
Of course, none of these figures take fallout and other atmospheric effects into account—just square mileage blown away. So it'd actually, technically, require fewer warheads to exterminate our species. But that's irrelevant, Maximilian points out: "There are an estimated total of 20,500 nuclear warheads in the world today. If the average power of these devices is 33,500 Kilotons, there are enough to destroy the total earth landmass." And why do we need so many of these things again?
All graphics published with permission of Maximilian Bode—you can check out more of his exquisite work here and here.


text: [danwagoner] recently completed a restoration of his very first electric guitar. Instead of going the normal route, he modded it to be a Weird Sound Generator. The WSG is a popular kit sold by Music From Outer Space. His creation, dubbed Fender Bender, has a custom pick guard cut from an old motherboard. There are multiple knobs on the pick guard plus three buttons on the neck.


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Appellee was charged by information with shipping sulfuric and hydrofluosilicic acids in interstate commerce and that it "did knowingly fail to show on the shipping papers the required classification of said property, to wit, Corrosive Liquid, in violation of 49 C. F. R. 173.437," issued pursuant to 18 U.S.C. 834 (a). Section 834 (f) provides that whoever "knowingly violates any such regulation" shall be fined and imprisoned. The District Court dismissed the information, holding that it did not charge a "knowing violation" of the regulation. Held: The statute does not signal an exception to the general rule that ignorance of the law is no excuse. The word "knowingly" in the statute pertains to knowledge of the facts, and where, as here, dangerous products are involved, the probability of regulation is so great that anyone who is aware that he is in possession of or dealing with them must be presumed to be aware of the regulation. Pp. 560-565.
DOUGLAS, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which BURGER, C. J., and BLACK, WHITE, MARSHALL, and BLACKMUN, JJ., joined. STEWART, J., filed a dissenting opinion, in which HARLAN and BRENNAN, JJ., joined, post, p. 565.
John F. Dienelt argued the cause for the United States pro hac vice. With him on the briefs were Solicitor General Griswold, Assistant Attorney General Wilson, and Beatrice Rosenberg.
Harold E. Spencer argued the cause for appellee. With him on the brief was Charles J. McCarthy. [402 U.S. 558, 559]
MR. JUSTICE DOUGLAS delivered the opinion of the Court.
The information charged that appellee shipped sulfuric acid and hydrofluosilicic acid in interstate commerce and "did knowingly fail to show on the shipping papers the required classification of said property, to wit, Corrosive Liquid, in violation of 49 C. F. R. 173.427."
Title 18 U.S.C. 834 (a) gives the Interstate Commerce Commission power to "formulate regulations for the safe transportation" of "corrosive liquids" and 18 U.S.C. 834 (f) states that whoever "knowingly violates any such regulation" shall be fined or imprisoned.
Pursuant to the power granted by 834 (a) the regulatory agency 1 promulgated the regulation already cited which reads in part:
The United States filed a notice of appeal to the Court of Appeals, 18 U.S.C. 3731, and in reliance on that section later moved to certify the case to this Court which [402 U.S. 558, 560] the Court of Appeals did; and we noted probable jurisdiction, 400 U.S. 990 .
Here as in United States v. Freed, 401 U.S. 601 , which dealt with the possession of hand grenades, strict or absolute liability is not imposed; knowledge of the shipment of the dangerous materials is required. The sole and narrow question is whether "knowledge" of the regulation is also required. It is in that narrow zone that the issue of "mens rea" is raised; and appellee bears down hard on the provision in 18 U.S.C. 834 (f) that whoever "knowingly violates any such regulation" shall be fined, etc.
Boyce Motor Lines, Inc. v. United States, supra, on which the District Court relied, is not dispositive of the issue. It involved a regulation governing transporting explosives, inflammable liquids, and the like and required drivers to "avoid, so far as practicable, and, where feasible, by prearrangement of routes, driving into or through congested thoroughfares, places where crowds are assembled, street car tracks, tunnels, viaducts, and dangerous crossings." The statute punished whoever "knowingly" violated the regulation. Id., at 339. The issue of "mens rea" was not raised below, the sole question turning on whether the standard of guilt was unconstitutionally vague. Id., at 340. In holding the statute was not void for vagueness we said:
The failure to change the language in 834 in 1960 should not lead to a contrary conclusion. The Senate approved an amendment deleting "knowingly" and substituting therefor the language "being aware that the Interstate Commerce Commission has formulated regulations for the safe transportation of explosives and other dangerous articles." 2 But the House refused to agree. As the House Committee stated, its version would "retain the present law by providing that a person must `knowingly' violate the regulations." 3
The House Committee noted there was a "judicial pronouncement as to the standards of conduct that make a violation a `knowing' violation." 4 In St. Johnsbury Trucking Co. v. United States, 220 F.2d 393, 397, Chief Judge Magruder had concluded that knowledge of the regulations was necessary. But whether the House Committee was referring to Boyce Motor Lines or the opinion of Chief Judge Magruder is not clear since both views of the section were before Congress. 5 It is clear that [402 U.S. 558, 563] strict liability was not intended. The Senate Committee felt it would be too stringent and thus rejected the position of the Interstate Commerce Commission. 6 But despite protestations of avoiding strict liability the Senate version was very likely to result in strict liability because knowledge of the facts would have been unnecessary and anyone involved in the business of shipping dangerous materials would very likely know of the regulations involved. Thus in rejecting the Senate version the House was rejecting strict liability. 7 But it is too much to conclude that in rejecting strict liability the House was also carving out an exception to the general rule that ignorance of the law is no excuse.
The principle that ignorance of the law is no defense applies whether the law be a statute or a duly promulgated and published regulation. In the context of these proposed 1960 amendments we decline to attribute to Congress the inaccurate view that that Act requires proof of knowledge of the law, as well as the facts, and that it intended to endorse that interpretation by retaining the word "knowingly." We conclude that the meager legislative history of the 1960 amendments makes unwarranted the conclusion that Congress abandoned the general rule and required knowledge of both the facts and the pertinent law before a criminal conviction could be sustained under this Act.
So far as possession, say, of sulfuric acid is concerned the requirement of "mens rea" has been made a requirement of the Act as evidenced by the use of the word "knowingly." A person thinking in good faith that he was shipping distilled water when in fact he was shipping [402 U.S. 558, 564] some dangerous acid would not be covered. As stated in Morissette v. United States, 342 U.S. 246, 250 :
[ Footnote 2 ] See H. R. Rep. No. 1975, 86th Cong., 2d Sess., 10-11.
[ Footnote 3 ] Id., at 2.
[ Footnote 4 ] Ibid.
[ Footnote 5 ] See the HEW Staff Memorandum, id., at 16-19.
[ Footnote 6 ] S. Rep. No. 901, 86th Cong., 1st Sess., 3.
[ Footnote 7 ] The Senate language might "well create an almost absolute liability for violation." H. R. Rep. No. 1975, supra, at 2.
MR. JUSTICE STEWART, with whom MR. JUSTICE HARLAN and MR. JUSTICE BRENNAN join, dissenting.
This case stirs large questions - questions that go to the moral foundations of the criminal law. Whether postulated as a problem of "mens rea," of "willfulness," of "criminal responsibility," or of "scienter," the infliction of criminal punishment upon the unaware has long troubled the fair administration of justice. See, e. g., Morissette v. United States, 342 U.S. 246 , Lambert v. California, 355 U.S. 225 ; Scales v. United States, 367 U.S. 203 . Cf. Durham v. United States, 214 F.2d 862. But there is no occasion here for involvement with this root problem of criminal jurisprudence, for it is evident to me that Congress made punishable only knowing violations of the regulation in question. That is what the law quite clearly says, what the federal courts have held, and what the legislative history confirms.
The statutory language is hardly complex. Section 834 (a) of Title 18, U.S.C., gives the regulatory agency power to "formulate regulations for the safe transportation" of, among other things, "corrosive liquids." Section 834 (f) provides that "[w]hoever knowingly violates any such regulation shall be fined not more than $1,000 or imprisoned not more than one year, or both." In dismissing the information in this case because it did not charge the appellee shipper with knowing violation of the applicable labeling regulation, District Judge Porter [402 U.S. 558, 566] did no more than give effect to the ordinary meaning of the English language.
It is true, as the Court today points out, that the issue now before us was not directly involved in Boyce Motor Lines, Inc. v. United States, 342 U.S. 337 , which dealt with a claim that the statute is unconstitutionally vague. But in holding the statute valid, the Court bottomed its reasoning upon the proposition that "the presence of culpable intent [is] a necessary element of the offense." Id., at 342. Other federal courts, faced with the precise issue here presented, have held that the statute means exactly what it says - that the words "knowingly violates any such regulation" mean no more and no less than "knowingly violates any such regulation." St. Johnsbury Trucking Co. v. United States, 220 F.2d 393 (CA1 1955); United States v. Chicago Express, 235 F.2d 785 (CA7 1956). Chief Judge Magruder filed a concurring opinion in the St. Johnsbury case, and he put the matter thus:
The Court today thus grants to the Executive Branch what Congress explicitly refused to grant in 1960. It effectively deletes the word "knowingly" from the law. I cannot join the Court in this exercise, requiring as it does such a total disregard of plain statutory language, established judicial precedent, and explicit legislative history.
A final word is in order. Today's decision will have little practical impact upon the prosecution of interstate motor carriers or institutional shippers. For interstate [402 U.S. 558, 569] motor carriers are members of a regulated industry, and their officers, agents, and employees are required by law to be conversant with the regulations in question. 4 As a practical matter, therefore, they are under a species of absolute liability for violation of the regulations despite the "knowingly" requirement. This, no doubt, is as Congress intended it to be. Cf. United States v. Dotterweich, 320 U.S. 277 ; United States v. Balint, 258 U.S. 250 . Likewise, prosecution of regular shippers for violations of the regulations could hardly be impeded by the "knowingly" requirement, for triers of fact would have no difficulty whatever in inferring knowledge on the part of those whose business it is to know, despite their protestations to the contrary. The only real impact of this decision will be upon the casual shipper, who might be any man, woman, or child in the Nation. A person who had never heard of the regulation might make a single shipment of an article covered by it in the course of a lifetime. It would be wholly natural for him to assume that he could deliver the article to the common carrier and depend upon the carrier to see that it was properly labeled and that the shipping papers were in order. Yet today's decision holds that a person who does just that is guilty of a criminal offense punishable by a year in prison. This seems to me a perversion of the purpose of criminal law.
I respectfully dissent from the opinion and judgment of the Court.
[ Footnote 1 ] See H. R. Rep. No. 1975, 86th Cong., 2d Sess., 10-11.
[ Footnote 2 ] S. Rep. No. 901, 86th Cong., 1st Sess., 2-3.
[ Footnote 3 ] H. R. Rep. No. 1975, 86th Cong., 2d Sess., 2.
[ Footnote 4 ] 49 CFR 397.02. [402 U.S. 558, 570]
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Other than the fact that Ferrari's Enzo successor, the F150, will be stealing a name from America's best selling truck, we could only speculate about what would be under the carbon fiber body. Now we have a better idea. At a not-so-top secret viewing in Maranello, potential customers apparently got the skinny on the new ultra-Ferrari's performance stats.
This is what those customers learned about the fastest roadgoing Ferrari to ever come out of Maranello.
It starts with a rumored power figure of 800 horsepower with the V12 revving to a manic 9200 rpm. Then we add another 150 from the KERS system for good measure. That's right, a whopping 950 horses under your right foot, with maximum torque also available from 1000 rpm.
The F150 will be an alleged featherweight at 2800 pounds — that's what a Subaru BRZ/Scion FR-S weighs — and will reach 60 mph in 3.0 seconds followed by 120 mph after just 4.0 more trick. From that speed, it will come to a full stop in 377 feet thanks to simply massive carbon brakes. Top speed is said to be 230 mph, while the Fiorano test track was covered in 1:20 by Fernando Alonso behind the wheel. That is 3 seconds faster than what an F12berlinetta can achieve. Of course, the F12berlinetta was already the fastest roadgoing Ferrari to ever go around Fiorano. Three seconds faster on a short track like that is huge.
Ferrari got greedy after the success of the Enzo, so insiders are saying they will make 499 F150s, compared to 399 for its forefather. Three colors will be available (we're guessing the traditional trio of Rosso Corsa, Giallo Modena and Nero), with a list price of a cool €1.2 million, which is $1.62 million American.
It seems the McLaren P1 will have a bit of competition from Italy. Go grab your credit cards, there's a pretty massive queue already.
(Hat tip to D.H.P.!)


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I am an American woman traveling alone in India. I am not, however, a typical tourist. Before my current stay, I lived for 3 years in Mumbai. During that time, I visited 12 states, primarily in North India, although I made it as far south as Kerala. Since my husband and I left India 2 years ago, I've returned to India twice. Both times alone.
I have a deep love and respect for the complexity and diversity of Indian culture (really cultures). I understand how greatly it differs from my own. Even how one part of India differs from another. One reason I decided to stay in Bangalore was to gain a better appreciation for South India as I have spent so much time in the north. Bangalore is as different from Mumbai as LA is from New York.
Today, reports indicated that Mahesh Sharma, the Indian Minister for Tourism and Culture had advised foreign female visitors, "don't wear skirts." Subsequently, Twitterati had a meltdown. He later clarified it was within the context of religious locations. His initial statement was made in Agra, home to the Taj Mahal. Most people forget that the Taj Mahal is a mausoleum and sits opposite a mosque. So yes we should dress with that in mind. With that "don't," I completely agree and understand. We are visitors here. We should respect the culture.
Before I go any farther, I want to make one thing clear:
India is safe for tourists.
But as with any place, there are risks. Tourists should not take those risks lightly. I applaud the culture ministry's attempt to boil the risks down into a "dos and don'ts" list provided on arrival. One important item Minister Sharma listed in his press conference was to take a photo of your vehicle's license plate. That's great advice. Not just from a safety standpoint, but because it's damn difficult to tell one white Etios from another.
Clarifications aside, however, even Sharma's statement that Indian culture is different from western culture fails to understand that skirts (of all lengths) are popular even among Indian women themselves. The skirt I am currently wearing is from FabIndia, a popular Indian fashion brand. American women visit FabIndia and fall in love with the selection. And, then we buy clothes. Lots of clothes: saris we will never wear again; kurtas we will wear everyday while we travel; and, yes, even skirts. These skirts are a great way to give an Indian feel to our look without looking out of place. Much like Duchess Catherine did during her stay with her fusion Anita Dongre dress that broke the Internet.
Saying "don't wear skirts" translates into American English as "don't buy skirts." That's the last thing the government should be telling tourists. You want us to spend money in India. Lots of it. This advice about culture, however, seems at odds with the government's push to encourage tourism. The e-visa system, which I have used myself, is efficient and simple. This year, that system has resulted in 266 percent growth over the same time last year. Impressive. The goal, of course, is that these increased numbers translate to increased revenue.
Do foreign tourists sometimes come to India with unrealistic expectations? Yes. Evidently, some think Indians still ride elephants everywhere. (They don't).
Do tourists often shove their own culture down Indians' throats? Sure. McDonalds is ample proof of that. Americans can sometimes be oblivious to our cultural faux pas. Unfortunately, that "ugly American" stereotype has a basis in truth. But most of us do try to understand. That's why we travel.
Do tourists dress inappropriately? Absolutely. We could use pointers about what to wear to different locations. Rules vary from one location to another.
But, it's the focus on skirts themselves that seems misplaced. Instead of "don't wear skirts," what should the government be telling tourists?
Here's my top 5 tips:
The following tips are modified from ones I published a few years back during my stay in Himachal Pradesh.
1. Travel with a friend.
Yes, that's right. In general, I don't advise inexperienced travelers to travel alone in India. If this is your first trip, I advise traveling with someone else, especially if you are visiting more remote areas. It is one thing for me to walk around Bangalore by myself. It is quite another to go off into a wooded area by myself in search of outdoor amenities. Eat, Pray, Love is fiction, not reality.
Bring a friend. The more remote the area, the more critical this advice is. In those locations, it is essential to have a local speaker as a guide. A driver can double as a translator. This advice might be hardest for liberated American females to accept, but, really, it is safer to use the buddy system. That includes going to the restroom and shopping.
If you think that bringing a friend or hiring a guide will make the trip less authentic or that being alone will make the experience more exciting, think again. More than 1 billion people live in India. You are never alone, even when you think you are. You might as well be alone with someone you know, like, and trust.
Having said this, I recognize that travel alone is often required or desired. More experienced travelers shouldn't have issues.
For those who do travel alone, I suggest the following.
2. Use a travel agency.
Don't try to plan an excursion overseas by yourself. Travel agencies know the intricacies of Indian bureaucracy. They know that if your are going into certain parts of Himachal Pradesh that you will need an inner line permit. They know how to handle that. Let them. You might think you will save money, but trust me, you won't. Trusted ones I've personally used include Kinner Camps (HP), Natural Mystic (India and Asia), Cox and Kings (India and beyond), and Palace on Wheels (Rajasthan most famously). Use a guide offered by the agency. Again, this is not the time to skimp on costs.
On this trip, I'm traveling to Sri Lanka on my own. I have used Cox and Kings so that they can help not only with my itinerary, but so that I have someone I can call if the need arises.
3. Hire a driver.
Many American friends thought we were spoiled with a driver, but we weren't. In Mumbai, our driver helped us negotiate the culture and served as security, especially for me.
A driver also means that you can focus on the scenery rather than the road.
Rickshaws are fun, but be smart about using them. Short distances during the day are recommended for novices.
Around Bangalore, I book taxis in four- and eight-hour blocks through my residence. This service costs more than Uber or Ola, but it works for me.
Local guides are advisable, and I'm not talking about a random rickshaw driver who promises the sights for Rs. 100. Get a professional guide. These guides can't guarantee your safety, but if something does happen, they can help you get help and negotiate the procedures. In one case, a Swiss tourist was raped in Madhya Pradesh while biking. She was not even able to explain what had happened because the police spoke only the local dialect. She had to wait hours for a translator.
4. Carry a mobile phone that works in India.
For most people, that means adding an international plan before you leave on your trip. Prepaid SIM cards are not difficult to get in India, but you do need to make sure you have the proper paperwork, which includes a letter from your hotel, a copy of your passport, and at least one passport photo.
Be sure you have the phone number of someone who can help you if you get into trouble. There is no national 911 system like the US. Different regions use different numbers, but it is usually a three-digit code.
We found out the hard way that the restricted area of Himachal Pradesh where we traveled had only BSNL (state-run telecom) as a carrier. Airtel and Vodaphone did not work past about Reckong Peo. While it was awesome to unplug from the Internet for some time, the lack of cell service in such a remote area was a concern. Naturally, our driver had BSNL, so in an emergency, he would have been able to call for help, which is why a local guide is so important.
5. Dress appropriately.
You don't need to dress in a sari or salwar kameez. Jeans are fine and popular. My typical outfit is jeans and a polo shirt or kurta. Sandals are common and advisable, especially during monsoon.
Buy a couple of kurtas when you arrive. In more conservative areas, they will help you blend in.
Tank tops will stand out. I'm not saying don't wear them. I'm saying be prepared to be stared at if you do.
For religious locations, dress conservatively. If you are visiting a mosque, you will need a head covering like a large scarf. Be prepared to take your shoes off.
If you are in India to hike, then dress like you would in the US. Shorts are OK for guys, but will attract unwanted attention for women.
Some tourists might argue that they see plenty of young Indian women in Bandra in shorts and tank tops, so why pander to the conservative Indian culture? Because Himachal Pradesh is not Bandra, and you are not Indian. Those young women are part of the culture; they can challenge India's mores and gender roles. You can't. As a visitor, it is your job to show that you respect and appreciate the culture. Accept it, respect it, and move on. Remember that you are an ambassador for American culture when you travel outside it. You may be the only impression of an American these people ever see, especially in a remote village like Nako or Rogi. Be a positive one.


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This is a read-only mirror of pymolwiki.org
Difference between revisions of "Caver2"
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CAVER 2.0 is a software tool for protein analysis leading to detection of channels. Channels are in fact void pathways leading from buried cavities to the outside solvent of a protein structure. Studying of these pathways is highly important in the area of drug design and molecular enzymology.
CAVER 2.0 provides rapid, accurate and fully automated calculation of channels not only for static molecules, but also for dynamic molecular simulations.
CAVER 2.0 facilitates analysis of any molecular structure including proteins, nucleic acids or inorganic materials.
CAVER 2.0 can be used in two possible ways. If you are accustomed with the PyMOL application, you can download the CAVER plugin for PyMOL. Then the standard functionality of PyMOL application for the subsequent exploration of computed channels can be used. The other possibility is to take advantage of our CAVER Viewer application, which has been designed exactly for the problem of detection and mainly for further exploration of channels. It includes the CAVER 2.0 algorithm for computation of channels in static molecule as well as in molecular dynamics. CAVER Viewer can be downloaded and installed as a standalone version or you can use the online version based on the Java Web Start technology.
Medek, Petr and Beneš, Petr and Kozlíková, Barbora and Chovancová, Eva and Pavelka, Antonín and Szabó, Tibor and Zamborský, Matúš and Andres, Filip and Klvaňa, Martin and Brezovský, Jan and Sochor, Jiří and Damborský, Jiří. "CAVER 2.0", 2008.
Medek, Petr and Beneš, Petr and Sochor, Jiří,"Computation of tunnels in protein molecules using delaunay triangulation". Journal of WSCG. Volume 15(1-3), 2007, Pages: 107-114.


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Architects: TFP Farrells
- Year: 2011
Photographs:Carsten Schael
Text description provided by the architects. KK100, the tallest building in the world completed in 2011, is an innovative high density project that takes an entirely new approach to city making. It is situated on the edge of Shenzhen's CBD and sets a new precedent for the successful 21st century transformation of commercial districts into vibrant and enriching environments. The 3.6-hectare site was previously occupied by a dense but low-rise residential quarter, Caiwuwei Village. The developer had the creative vision to form a company with the villagers, initiating an entirely new approach to the art of place-making in Shenzhen.
Existing buildings were run down and living conditions were poor. As part of initiating this transformation, a Joint Development Initiative was formed in which villagers became stakeholders. Each owner was offered a new property as well as a second home which serves as an income generating asset. This meant the preservation of community links that are built over generations. In order to offset the cost of re-provisioning residences for the villagers, the tower had to be exceptionally tall so that the project could be financially viable.
The 100-storey, 441.8-metre tower comprising over 210,000m2 of accommodation is part of the master plan for a 417,000m2 mixed-use development. The development includes five residential buildings and two commercial buildings. The floors of the tower are divided into three major functions. The floors from level 4 to 72 will house 173,000m2 of Grade-A office space while the uppermost levels from 75 to 100 will be occupied by a 35,000m2 6-star St. Regis hotel complete with a cathedral-like glazed sky-garden animated by various activities. One of the design features is the curving building profile. This form alludes to a spring or fountain and is intended to connote the wealth and prosperity of Shenzhen.
The perimeter column arrangement provides each level with an unobstructed working environment and stunning views towards Lizhi and Renmin Park as well as over all Shenzhen and beyond. It does not use the typical square foot print; the East / West façades being more slender and flared slightly so office floor plates are slightly bigger and the South / North façades that face Hong Kong and the Maipo marshes are wider. The slenderness brings certain challenges, most notably the swing or drift ratio and the robustness of the tower and performance of key elements. Instead of putting generators on top of the building, the roof is constituted by a curved smooth glazed curtain wall and steel structure.
As well as providing social and cultural continuity, KK100 is integrated with the metropolitan transport network, which is crucial for a high density project such as this. The connectivity between the various components of the master plan on various levels was critical; the tower is integrated with the podium on various levels while retail and public uses at lower levels are integrated with the Metro system; the residential blocks are linked at the higher levels to create easier neighbourhood accessibility while direct office and hotel connections are also provided for easier movement of people. The Tower serves as a ''Mini-city" which provides an amenity-rich focal point back to the community, offering a 24-hour city-life to be better for the environment and human interaction.