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Join over 80,000 others who are connecting with their cousins and common researchers!
FamilyTreeCircles is easy and free.
My research so far goes as follows:
Generation 1:
Charles MARTIN (b 1846, Lambeth or Hackney, London) = Emma Richardson b 1851.
Charles worked as a coal porter on the Thames and I've found him and the family in the 1901, 1891 & 1881 censuses, living in Lambeth, latterly in Duke St (now Duchy St) and Charles St (now Nicholson St).... more...


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Perhaps you've noticed that the price of commodities has gone up in recent months. If you're talking corn and beans, that's good news for farmers. But if the commodity in question is steel, short-line equipment manufacturers in particular would like you to know that high steel prices are likely to increase the cost of your next planter, auger or wagon.
Steel mills throughout Canada and the U.S. announced price increases in January 2004 of $25 per ton, $55 in February and another $45 in March. Some steel companies are calling the increases "surcharges" and attribute the increase to soaring world demand for steel, especially in China.
North American manufacturers aren't likely to just absorb the higher steel prices. But rather than simply raising product prices, equipment manufacturers associations say they are considering a recommendation that members pass on the price increase and the term "steel surcharge" directly to equipment customers. The idea is to clarify the reason for the increase. Which makes sense, though it is too bad that farmers can't pass things like tech fees and steel surcharges directly on to grain buyers and consumers.

subset: commoncrawl


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Ladies From Today Show Try To Clown Ice Cube! "Your Not A Gangsta. Your A Family Guy In The Suburbs"
Ice Cube on Today Show
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Randy Seaver over at Genea-Musings has posted another SNGF:
Saturday Night Genealogy Fun - A Genealogy BookHey genea-bodies - it's Saturday Night - time for more Genealogy Fun!!!
Your mission, should you decide to accept it, is to:
1) Find the last genealogy book that you read cover-to-cover. Write a complete source citation, and transcribe the first paragraph of the Introduction.
2) Tell us about it in a blog post of your own, in a comment on this blog post, or in a Facebook status or post.
Alas, Randy, I cannot play along this week! I can't recall ever reading an entire genealogy book from cover to cover. Sad, I know! But my reading tends to be in other areas. I've read bits and pieces of a few, sure, but none in whole.
I guess I'm stuck waiting for the next SNGF.


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2007 Jeep Wrangler JK Winch and Suspension Buildup - JK TechPosted in How To on January 1, 2010
The Jeep Wrangler JK is not perfect. Don't get me wrong, it's a great vehicle in many ways, but it has a laundry list of problem areas that aren't up to the task of repeated trail use. Some of these problem areas have already been addressed on one of our current project JKs, a Rescue Green 2007 model. This month we continue the process with the installation of upgrade parts from JKS Mfg., Old Man Emu, ARB, and Smittybilt.
In stock form Wrangler JKs suffer from inadequate bracing of the factory track bar axle mounting brackets, which can lead to cracked brackets and ultimate failure. We've seen stock brackets welded up at the seams on the axle tube for a temporary fix and even quite a few that have been gusseted with steel plates for "industrial-size" strength. Welding up cracks is a temporary fix and gusseting requires the fabrication of accurately-sized plates so as not to interfere with other suspension components. We found an easier method, however, using the front and rear JK track bar braces from JKS Mfg.
The front and rear JKS track bar braces weld directly to the factory track bar brackets and axle housings at multiple points to create a very strong mounting location. The braces are CNC-cut and formed using high-strength 7-gauge steel and fit over the stock mounts perfectly. Both braces effectively connect the stock mounts to the axle tubes to combat the track bars' inherent lateral force that is compounded in lifted JKs. The front track bar brace also includes a secondary mounting location for high-clearance steering conversions and relocates the steering damper for increased ground clearance.
The front brace is available for JKs equipped with 3 inches of lift or more. We installed the mounts using OME heavy rate springs in front and medium rate springs in the rear, which actually gave us the needed rise provided we don't let the JK get too much heavier. The JK was previously using a set of 2-inch spring spacers to achieve the needed rise for the 33x12.50 Mickey Thompson Baja MTZs. The OME springs create more space in the fender wells and the 33s are much more effective on the trail as a result.
Along with the JKS track bar braces we also installed the company's front and rear adjustable track bars. The adjustable track bars are bent to OE specifications for proper geometry and clearance and feature zinc plating and a powdercoat finish. The bars are easily adjusted to perfectly center the axle beneath the vehicle and use OE rubber bushings for smooth, squeak-free operation. The rear bar is manufactured from 1.25x0.250-inch DOM tubing and the front from 1.25x0.375-inch DOM tubing. JKS adjustable track bars are compatible with most aftermarket suspension systems and allow constant adjustment as vehicle modifications require.
With the taller Old Man Emu coil springs in place our JK required extended sway bar links. Being that JKS is the leader when it comes to sway bar disconnects we didn't have to look far. The company provided a set of its new Quicker Disconnects, which offer a variable length design that will allow us to adjust the sway bar to the proper position. We'll also be able to retain use of the JKS Quicker Disconnects should we opt to increase tire size anytime down the road. The Quicker Disconnects for Wrangler JKs are offered to accommodate 0 to 2 inches of lift or 2 to 6 inches of lift. Applications are available for most Jeep vehicles.
The qualified crew at Jeep Solutions in Long Beach, California, completed the installation of the JKS and Old Man Emu components.
Armor & Recovery
The Wrangler JK has a handful of vulnerabilities and its massive yet delicate plastic bumpers and thin rocker panels are perhaps two of the largest. We've yet to see a stock bumper emerge from a challenging trail unscathed and just one hit to the rocker can create an ugly reminder that your JK is not as beefy as you'd like to think it is.
Well known for its exceptional Air Locker, ARB also makes some very stout, bolt-on body armor for a variety of 4x4s and SUVs. The Rockbar winch-compatible front bumper features tapered sides to permit increased tire movement and an improved approach angle which make tackling large obstacles much easier. The ARB Rockbar also offers removable auxiliary light brackets as well as Hi-Lift jacking points and recovery points.
Along with the Rockbar we also installed ARB's rear bumper and a set of the ARB rock sliders. The rear bumper is essentially a direct replacement for the factory bumper yet it's made from steel and won't fold under pressure. It bolts to mostly factory holes and will fit up to a 35-inch spare tire mounted in the factory location. The ARB Rock Sliders are manufactured from 0.25-inch-thick x 2.4-inch OD Australian 250-grade mill steel tubing. The sliders bolt up to the JK at factory hole locations in the frame and control arm hangers and are coated with a satin-black powder-coat finish. The ARB sliders are available for two- and four-door JKs and include hardware and instructions.
Adding atop the ARB Rockbar we installed a Smittybilt Comp-Series XRC8 winch. The Comp-Series unit is essentially the same as the standard XRC8 winch yet it includes an aluminum fairlead and a 94-foot, 21/64-inch-diameter synthetic winch line that includes a protective sleeve and a replaceable hook. Both winch models use a 5.5hp, 12-volt series-wound motor and a planetary gear system with a 172.8:1 gear ratio. The XRC8 winch offers an 8,000-pound line rating.
To complete the installation of the ARB and Smittybilt components we headed to our local 4 Wheel Parts Wholesalers in Santa Ana, California.


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Four 2014 Corvette Stingrays Running Hot Laps at Spring Mountain
Ride along as these four all new 2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingrays take 2 hot laps on the Spring Mountain test track in Nevada. This track is part of the Ron Fellows Performance Driving School. Two Rydell employees were riding along inside these cars during Corvette Stingray training. You have to see it to believe it. This car is unbelievable! Enjoy!
Visit CorvetteVideos.TV for the best selection of hand-picked Corvette videos.


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With a different story every episode or every season, anthology TV series give us so much more to love. Check out some of our favorite anthology series and their top-rated episodes.
|Series cast summary:
|Daniel Lapaine
|Dawson / ... 2 episodes, 2011-2017
|Hannah John-Kamen
|Selma Telse / ... 2 episodes, 2011-2016
|Michaela Coel
|Airport Stewardess / ... 2 episodes, 2016-2017
|Beatrice Robertson-Jones
|Older May Double / ... 2 episodes, 2014-2016
Set in a world only minutes from our own, "Black Mirror" unveils how modern technologies can backfire and be used against their makers, every episode set in a slightly different reality with different characters combating different types of technologies.
Enjoy a night in with these popular movies available to stream now with Prime Video.


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Keep in mind, while some of these things are true facts, a lot of this is just my subjective experience with the site. My policy is generally to not tell people what to do or say with their lives, but there's gonna be a lot of judgment here, so read with a few grains of salt.
What is Twitter? The definition on Wikipedia is "an online social networking service and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based messages of up to 140 characters, known as 'tweets'." Obviously, that's really cut and dry. The way I hear most people describe it is "It's like Facebook, but only status updates." That is a terrible definition.
Twitter is really what you make of it. To me, it is a social media website that is heavily focused on the news. If you only follow friends who tweet rarely, it's going to be a dead website. If you only follow comedians (like @robdelaney, @mindykaling, @meganamram, @kristenschaaled), it'll be just a bunch of short jokes. If you only follow news sites (like @BreakingNews, @AP, @BBCBreaking, @nytimes), it'll be a way to stay up on the news. You can follow whoever or whatever you like! I suggest a mix of people to follow, but obviously it's up to you.
What are the features/things to know?
- Hashtags: A word that is preceded by a pound sign (#). You can use a hashtag to describe a common topic of interest (e.g. "I really love this #vegan cheesecake" or "Trying a new medicine soon. Any tips? #Crohns"), because people can search for hashtags (if you click on a hashtag, you'll see lots of other tweets that have been hashtagged with the same word). You can also use a hashtag as a joke (especially as the punchline). Such as, "My husband is cooking dinner for me. #misandry" or "I'm eating cookies and ice cream for dinner. #adulthood." You can't put any punctuation in hashtags, so if you want to include more than one word in a hashtag, just don't use punctuation. For example, "This is an example of a tweet. #ImReallyBoringRightNow" Hashtags are often used to live tweet events. Like during the Superbowl, you could tweet something with the hashtag #SB49 or #BeyonceBowl, depending on what you were into.
- Retweets: If you agree with a tweet, or think it's funny, or just want other people to see it, you can retweet it. There's a button on the bottom of a tweet that says "Retweet." Click that. Done. RT before a tweet means retweet, MT before a tweet means Modified Tweet (meaning you changed or shortened it for clarity or space). Don't copy and paste an RT unless you're 800 years old, OR if you want to add a comment to the beginning of it. Such as: "@Fish_nr: Thanks, Obama. RT @Mowgli3 There's only decaf coffee here!!!" LITTLE KNOWN TWITTER FACT: If you like someone's tweets but think they RT too often, you can go to their profile and click the little person symbol next to "following" and click "Turn off retweets."
- The "@" symbol: The @ symbol indicates who you are talking to. If you want to say something to Joe Biden, find his twitter handle (@JoeBiden) and tweet at him. Like "@JoeBiden Please drop another F bomb on TV." LITTLE KNOWN TWITTER FACT: If you begin a tweet with @someone, only people who follow both you and that other person will see it on their timeline. If you want to publicly talk to someone else, either put their @name not at the beginning (for example, "I really liked this blog post by @GretaChristina") or add a period before the @ (for example, ".@GretaChristina I really liked your last blog post!")
- Favorite: On facebook, you can "like" a post. Twitter has a similar feature called the "favorite" button. Click it if you liked someone's post or just want to save it for later (since you can go to your own page and look at things you've favorited). You can see your "most favorited" tweets on FavStar.fm, and you can even pay them to let you give out trophies to people for the "best tweet of the day," but mostly this is 21st century masturbation (to steal a phrase from @Crommunist).
- Follow Friday: On Friday, it's common to recommend other people to follow. Some people do it like this: "#FF
@ologies @dELYSEious @sashapixlee @enjoyyourbunny @chaos46692 @sondosia @rebeccawatson @thelindywest @SpokesGay @boring_as_heck" Then, inevitably, throughout the day, somebody will reply to everyone on that list with a "Thank you!" or "TY!" Both of these things are obnoxious and to be avoided (even though all the people on that list are pretty cool and worth following, IMO). The way to do a Follow Friday is by either picking a category and putting 2-4 people on it (like "#FF Vegans: @CarriePoppyYES @ManiacWrangler @JamieKilstein) or doing one person at a time and mentioning why. "#FF @clairemc because she is the funniest Senator on twitter." Do a few of these. If you overload people, they won't care.
- Blocking: If someone is irritating you and you don't want to see their tweets anymore...block them! LITTLE KNOWN TWITTER FACT: Someone blocking you actually isn't taking away your free speech, it just means they don't want to see or read you.
- Report for Spam: Sometimes you'll be excited to see you got a new follower, only to find out it's @Sexxxxxy42961 who "loves to get down and dirty." As excited as you may be, this person is a fake. Report them for spam, you're doing everyone else a favor. Also, people who tweet at you with great offers like "Selling ipads for $10!!!! <link>" are also spammers. Report them as well.
(Oh, and if you're my husband and your twitter handle is @livinginfits, you should start using twitter more often, because you're hilarious and I want other people to see that. Also because I don't talk to you often enough as it is now, we need another platform for communication.)


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Joanna Norris, Associate Director
Department of Public Relations
(904) 620-2102
The University of North Florida will dedicate UNF Hall as Hicks Hall, honoring Ann and David Hicks, at 11 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 24, in UNF Hall, Building 53, for their dynamic leadership and unselfish support to Northeast Florida, the state and nation.
David Hicks, a Jacksonville business executive, joined mortgage banker Stockton, Whatley, Davin & Company (SWD) in Jacksonville. Recognizing the opportunity of the mortgage software industry, he became a partner at C & S Services, an affiliate of SWD, in 1967. He raised initial capital of $18,000 and incorporated the firm as Computer Power, Inc. two years later. David served as chairman, CEO and president for the next 25 years. Over the years, he grew the firm to become the leading supplier of software and services to the mortgage industry, processing $1.3 trillion in mortgages—43 percent of all U.S. mortgages at the time. In 1992, the firm was sold to publicly-traded ALLTEL Corporation, and he retired from the company in 1995. Subsequent to the sale, David chaired several other highly successful start-up enterprises, including Alliance Mortgage Company (now EverBank), Enterprise National Bank and a UK-based self-storage business.
While enjoying a successful career building and growing companies, David and his wife Ann are also deeply involved in leading and supporting local community organizations. David is credited with turning around the Jacksonville Housing Authority (JHA), where he served as chairman for seven years after his retirement from CPI. He used his entrepreneurial instincts to have the JHA partner with the local Habitat for Humanity affiliate, both of which he chaired. His vision for a public-private partnership in Jacksonville to eliminate substandard housing and foster home ownership has resulted in the construction of more than 1,400 new Habitat homes from 1994 to date. As a result, HabiJax is the largest and most successful Habitat affiliate in the United States.
David serves on the board of the local Habitat for Humanity (HabiJax), Habitat for Humanity International and The United Way. Throughout the years, he has supported and served in leadership capacities on the board of many other organizations, including The Smithsonian Natural History Museum, The DeEtte Holden Cummer Museum Foundation, the UNF Foundation, the Jacksonville Community Council, Inc., the Jacksonville Symphony and the Boys and Girls Clubs.
Additionally, David and Ann originated the idea of the Pathways to Success Scholarship program. This innovative program, which he and Ann generously funded, provides a way for students in HabiJax and public housing to attend UNF. The program's initial goal was a $10 million endowment to fund scholarships. With David's leadership, it succeeded in securing more than $15 million in donations from over 30 donors in Florida.
Ann, a 1994 graduate of UNF, has made significant leadership contributions to UNF as a member of the University's first Board of Trustees and the Foundation Board. She is also greatly involved in providing scholarship assistance. Ann established the Gray Scholarship Program in honor of Rev. Neil Gray, an Episcopal priest and UNF adjunct instructor who made a deep impression on her while studying for her second bachelor's degree. She also has been active in the community, serving on boards of the Jacksonville Public Library, HabiJax, the Cummer Museum of Art and Gardens and The Bolles School.
UNF, a
nationally ranked
university located on an environmentally beautiful campus, offers students who are dedicated to enriching the lives of others the opportunity to build their own futures through a well-rounded education.


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PPG Finalizes Separation of Commodity Chemicals Business and Merger of the Business with Georgia Gul
PPG Finalizes Separation of Commodity Chemicals Business and Merger of the Business with Georgia Gulf; Company Accepts Shares Tendered in Exchange Offer
PITTSBURGH--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- PPG Industries (NYS: PPG) today announced the successful closing of the previously announced separation of its commodity chemicals business and merger of its wholly-owned subsidiary, Eagle Spinco Inc., with a subsidiary of Georgia Gulf Corporation (NYS: GGC) . Pursuant to the merger, Eagle Spinco, the entity holding PPG's former commodity chemicals business, is now a wholly-owned subsidiary of Georgia Gulf. The closing of the merger followed the expiration of the related exchange offer and the satisfaction of certain other conditions. The combined company formed by uniting Georgia Gulf with PPG's former commodity chemicals business will be named Axiall Corporation and will be traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol AXLL.
In the merger, each share of Eagle Spinco common stock was automatically converted into the right to receive one share of Georgia Gulf common stock. As a result, PPG shareholders who tendered their shares of PPG common stock as part of the exchange offer received 3.2562 shares of Georgia Gulf common stock for each share of PPG common stock exchanged and accepted by PPG.
Pursuant to the exchange offer, which expired today at 8:00 a.m., New York City time, PPG has accepted 10,825,227 shares of PPG common stock in exchange for 35,249,104 shares of Eagle Spinco common stock. Because more than 10,825,227 shares of PPG common stock were tendered, all shares of Eagle Spinco common stock owned by PPG are being distributed in the exchange offer, and no shares of Eagle Spinco common stock were distributed as a pro rata dividend.
In connection with the separation of PPG's commodity chemicals business and its merger with Georgia Gulf, PPG also received approximately $900 million in cash. As a result of the successful exchange offer, PPG will reduce its outstanding shares of common stock by 10,825,227 shares, or approximately 7 percent.
PPG will report the results of its commodity chemicals business for January 2013 and a net gain resulting from the separation as results from discontinued operations when it reports its results for the quarter ending March 31, 2013. In the PPG results for prior periods, presented for comparative purposes beginning with the first quarter 2013, the results of its former commodity chemicals business will be reclassified from continuing operations and presented as the results from discontinued operations.
PPG Industries' vision is to continue to be the world's leading coatings and specialty products company. Through leadership in innovation, sustainability and color, PPG helps customers in industrial, transportation, consumer products, and construction markets and aftermarkets to enhance more surfaces in more ways than does any other company. Founded in 1883, PPG has global headquarters in Pittsburgh and operates in nearly 70 countries around the world. Sales in 2012 were $15.2 billion. PPG shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange (symbol: PPG). For more information, visit www.ppg.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
Statements in this news release relating to matters that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 reflecting PPG Industries' current view with respect to future events or objectives and financial or operational performance or results. These matters involve risks and uncertainties as discussed in PPG Industries' periodic reports on Form 10-K and Form 10-Q, and its current reports on Form 8-K, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"). Accordingly, many factors could cause actual results to differ materially from the company's forward-looking statements. This news release also contains statements about PPG Industries' agreement to separate its commodity chemicals business and merge it with Georgia Gulf Corporation or a subsidiary of Georgia Gulf (the "Transaction") and its offer to exchange shares of PPG common stock for shares of Eagle Spinco Inc. common stock (and ultimately shares of Georgia Gulf common stock) (the "Exchange Offer"). Many factors could cause actual results to differ materially from the company's forward-looking statements with respect to the Transaction and the Exchange Offer, including the number of shares of PPG common stock tendered and accepted; the number of shares of Eagle Spinco (and ultimately Georgia Gulf) common stock issued in the Exchange Offer; the ultimate pricing, discount and other parameters of the Exchange Offer; the parties' ability to complete the Transaction on anticipated terms and schedule, including the ability of PPG to successfully complete the Exchange Offer; risks relating to any unforeseen liabilities, future capital expenditures, revenues, expenses, earnings, synergies, economic performance, indebtedness, financial condition, losses and future prospects; business and management strategies for the management, expansion and growth of Georgia Gulf's operations; Georgia Gulf's ability to integrate PPG's commodity chemicals business successfully after the closing of the Transaction and to achieve anticipated synergies; and the risk that disruptions from the Transaction will harm PPG's or Georgia Gulf's business. Consequently, while the list of factors presented here is considered representative, no such list should be considered to be a complete statement of all potential risks and uncertainties. Unlisted factors may present significant additional obstacles to the realization of forward-looking statements. Consequences of material differences in results as compared with those anticipated in the forward-looking statements could include, among other things, business disruption, operational problems, financial loss, legal liability to third parties and similar risks, any of which could have a material adverse effect on PPG's consolidated financial condition, results of operations or liquidity. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of their initial issuance, and PPG does not undertake any obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as otherwise required by applicable law.
Additional Information and Where to Find It
This communication does not constitute an offer to buy, or solicitation of an offer to sell, any securities of Georgia Gulf, PPG's commodity chemicals business or PPG. In connection with the Transaction, Georgia Gulf has filed with the SEC a registration statement on Form S-4 that includes a prospectus of Georgia Gulf relating to the Transaction. In addition, Eagle Spinco Inc., a subsidiary of PPG Industries, has filed with the SEC a registration statement on Form S-4 and S-1 that includes a prospectus of the PPG commodity chemicals business relating to the Transaction. INVESTORS AND SECURITY HOLDERS ARE URGED TO READ THE REGISTRATION STATEMENTS AND PROSPECTUS, AND ANY OTHER RELEVANT DOCUMENTS, BECAUSE THEY CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT GEORGIA GULF, PPG'S COMMODITY CHEMICALS BUSINESS AND THE TRANSACTION. Investors and security holders may obtain these materials and other documents filed with the SEC free of charge at the SEC's website, www.sec.gov. In addition, copies of the registration statements and prospectus may be obtained free of charge by accessing Georgia Gulf's website at www.ggc.com and clicking on the "Investors" link and then on the "SEC Filings" link, or upon written request to Georgia Gulf, Georgia Gulf Corporation, 115 Perimeter Center Place, Suite 460, Atlanta, GA 30346, Attention: Investor Relations, or from PPG upon written request to PPG, PPG Industries, Inc., One PPG Place, Pittsburgh, PA 15272, Attention: Investor Relations. Shareholders also may read and copy any reports, statements and other information filed by Georgia Gulf, PPG or Eagle Spinco with the SEC at the SEC public reference room at 100 F Street, N.E., Washington, DC 20549. Please call the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330 or visit the SEC's website for further information on its public reference room.
Bringing innovation to the surface is a trademark of PPG Industries Ohio, Inc.
PPG Industries, Inc.
Jeremy Neuhart, PPG Corporate Communications, 412-434-3046
Vince Morales, PPG Investor Relations, 412-434-3740
KEYWORDS: United States North America Pennsylvania
The article PPG Finalizes Separation of Commodity Chemicals Business and Merger of the Business with Georgia Gulf; Company Accepts Shares Tendered in Exchange Offer originally appeared on Fool.com.Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Copyright © 1995 - 2013 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.


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This is a lithograph about NASA's Magnetospheric Multiscale Mission, or MMS. Learners will cut out and assemble a colorful 3D model of an MMS spacecraft. Web links, additional facts, and QR codes are included for audiences to access more information.
This activity focuses on the relationship between science of looking for life and the tools, on vehicles such as the Mars Rover, that make it possible. Learners will create their own models of a Mars rover. They determine what tools would be... (View More) necessary to help them better understand Mars (and something about life on Mars/its habitability). Then they work in teams to complete a design challenge where they incorporate these elements into their models, which must successfully complete a task. Teams may also work together to create a large-scale, lobby-sized version that may be put on display in the library to engage their community. The activity also includes specific tips for effectively engaging girls in STEM. This is activity 6 in Explore: Life on Mars? that was developed specifically for use in libraries. (View Less)
Learners create art inspired by authentic NASA planetary image data while learning to recognize the geology on planetary surfaces, uniquely inspiring learner engagement. This presentation and accompanying activity use the elements of art - shape,... (View More) line, color, texture, value - to make sense of features in NASA images, honing observation skills and inspiring questions. It aligns with the NGSS cross-cutting concept of Patterns. Videos, images, and an interactive poster that breaks down activity elements deepen user access. (View Less)
In this activity, learners replicate the scientific processes of observing, forming an explanation, revising and communicating about a model of a comet. Learners construct a model of features of a comet using an assortment of common craft supplies.... (View More) This activity relates to several NASA comet missions such as Deep Impact, Stardust, Stardust-NExT, and EPOXI and can be used to emulate a process that scientists and engineers follow on all missions. (View Less)
Materials Cost: $1 - $5 per group of students
This paper model of the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope includes three pages of parts that can be cut out and assembled using common household items. It also provides a short description of the scientific instruments on board Fermi, as well as links... (View More) to other resources about its instruments. (View Less)
This is an activity about boundaries. Participants will imagine they have taken a journey from Earth through the Solar System out into the Milky Way Galaxy. Using images on the front of the My Place in Space lithograph, they will write or draw on... (View More) the back of the lithograph to tell their friends about their journey and the real and imaginary boundaries they crossed on their journey. The activity includes connections to science related to the Interstellar Boundary Explorer, or IBEX, spacecraft. This activity complements other IBEX informal education materials. An instructional video explaining how to facilitate this activity is available: http://bit.ly/14IoHVN. (View Less)
In this lesson, students observe the surface of rotating potatoes to help them understand how astronomers can sometimes determine the shape of asteroids from variations in reflective brightness.
Learners will read about missions to asteroids and comets, consider the measurements and math required for the robotic spacecraft to visit these objects, and are invited to finish the story themselves. The provided extension explains how to use a... (View More) K-W-L chart with the story and provides a glossary of terms. (View Less)
Materials Cost: 1 cent - $1 per group of students
This 28-page coloring and activity book includes general information on X-ray astronomy, Chandra and the STS-93 mission. It also looks at black holes, supernovas, galaxy clusters and more. Each image is accompanied by a summary of information.... (View More) Activities include mazes, word searches, connect-the-dots, crossword, code break, and word jumble. (View Less)


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Venezia Nova, or New Venice
by Rob Wills
Author's Note: This piece of alternate history arose from the close resemblance I noticed between Venice's lagoon and Moreton Bay near Brisbane, Australia.
Now that certain matters have become common knowledge due to that map of one Ortelius in this year of our Blessed Lord 1570, I have been instructed to make an account, a secret and private (and alas brief) account, of the settlement called New Venice. We know this Ortelius – correctly Abram Oertel – and watch him, and his work, closely. On his map are three countries, Beach, Lucach and Maletur, within the territory of Terra Australis Nondum Cognita – The Southern Land Not Yet Known. On the flank of this Not-Yet-Known-Land Oertel writes: Vastissimas hic esse regions etc. "Here lie the incredibly vast regions described by those travellers M. Polo the Venetian and Lodovico Varthema" (and who today knows of Varthema, that Bolognese – apart from myself?).
It is known that the merchant traveller M. Polo visited the far land of the idolater Kublai Khan. It is known that Polo told of his travels in his book Description of the World, vulgarly called Il milione. It is known Polo says in his book that after taking leave of the great Khan he sailed south but contrary winds held him for five months at the island of Java Minor, preventing him from continuing westward.
It is known that in the year of our Blessed Lord, 1324, back in Venice and with death due to visit him in his native district, the sestiere of Castello, Polo claimed he had revealed hardly half of what he knew of distant lands.
It is not known that Council of Ten received specific denunciations that Polo had withheld information of the highest importance to the Most Serene Republic. It is not known that the Council interrogated Polo regarding information that, during the five months his fleet was delayed in Java Minor, one ship had in fact detached itself from the squadron and sailed east and south, some say to the land of Lucach, some say to the land of Maletur, some say to the land of Beach.
Under certain encouragements from the Council of Ten, Polo did not deny this. Indeed far from denying it, he said he had given a full account of Lucach in his "Description of the World". He respectfully directed Their Excellencies' eyes to the chapter that relates how a south-easterly course from Java Minor brings one to the large and rich province called Lucach, part of Terra Australis: "Its inhabitants are idolaters. They have a language peculiar to themselves and are governed by their own king, who pays no tribute to any other. Gold is abundant to a degree scarcely credible. Elephants are found there. Here they cultivate a species of fruit called berchi, in size about that of a lemon and having a delicious flavour. That country is wild and mountainous and is little frequented by strangers."
Their Excellencies observed they were familiar with this passage, but doubted that Polo was doing anything more than repeating such fabulous tales as travellers tell to astound and impress. For themselves, which means for the Republic, they wanted, demanded, the truth. The old man said indeed he had not told the half of it, and if he had related the whole truth who would have believed him? He confessed that the giant animals of Lucach were not elephants at all but hairy beasts the height of a Swiss Guard with the shape of a monstrous rat and the forward movement of a toad, or a frog, which is to say in great leaps. Had he told the truth that would rightly have been regarded as fantastic. And how did he know of this monster? Because he had seen these creatures himself.
With further encouragement Polo gave full bearings and sailing directions for landfall in Lucach, and was glad to yield up certain sea charts and portolani of that coast. He was also pleased to assist the Camaldolese monks on Murano to prepare charts even more detailed. He died soon after, in this same year of 1324, and the Council of Ten approved his burial without the door of the church of San Lorenzo in his own sestiere.
Venice being busy with other affairs, not least the impudence of the Genoese and other upstarts, all the papers and charts in this matter of Lucach were confined away in the greatest secrecy in the naval archives deep within the Arsenale. There they could not be seen, and especially not by Petrus Vesconte, that map-maker of Genoa.
It is known that a great disaster befell the Most Serene Republic in the years 1347 and 1348, when one of our own galleys brought the plague to our islands, and that only some forty thousand Venetians survived from what had once been more than one hundred thousand.
It is not known that at the height of this catastrophe the Doge Andrea Dandolo and the Council of Ten decreed in secret that as the Republic was in train to die out to the very last man, woman and child, provision must be made to save some who could, if necessary, start the city anew. In short – and short I must be, I have been given no permission to tell this history in full – a gathering of sailors and shipwrights and artisans and builders and military and notaries and, Yes, a score or more of courtesans (it was not fitting that gentle women be subjected to such an enterprise), and two priests and a band of drummers and trumpeters were held for a quarentena on the islet of San Lazzaro. Those who did not die were then sent by sea and by land and by sea again to find Lucach.
The chroniclers of New Venice tell that the very squalls and tempests that had once delayed Polo now swept them south and east through the Oceanus Indicus and on, until, with only five vessels remaining, they were left battered and hard pressed in a vast unknown sea. And before they could catch their own breath a great blast of wind from the north-east drove them landwards.
Our flagship, the San Marco, most sails blown out and the hull taking water, only with difficulty crested a double line of breaking waves. Due to my great skill and fortitude, and with the help of the Almighty, we made the safety of the lagoon, and with deep thanks dropped anchor in the lee of a sheltering island. It was shaped like a cupped hand and gave us protection from the battering wind. This was on the Feast Day of San Lorenzo in the year of Our Lord 1350 and I called this the isle of San Lorenzo. None of our other sail were in sight.
So Vitale Vidal, the Governor of the expedition, wrote (or rather did his scribe). To run, too fast, too fast, through the pages of his journal I can relate that the next day three more ships arrived together, having made entrance to the lagoon through another, wider channel to the north.
They found fresh water, they began their colonia, they made an uneasy peace with the natives (I leaf through fragile old documents in cautious haste – this is no way to write history). Here is the Governor's summary at the end of the first year of settlement, dated 10 August 1351, the Feast of San Lorenzo.
Polo said there is gold in abundance. There is no gold (Note to Self: should I mention this so ... inelegantly, so bluntly, so early?) (Second Note to Self: Should I mention it at all?) (Third Note to Self: Reconsider when fair copy is made). [Marginalia in a different hand: No fair copy was made, only this foul draft survives].
A survey of the land, and the sea, is well under way, to the north, to the south, to the west, and of the two great littoral islands, Pellestrina and Lido. The lagoon and its islets have been described in full. The great river that waters it, the Brenta del Sud, has been navigated and charted to its upper reaches (Note to Self: Perhaps better if the river were to be named after some leading figure in the world of public affairs, for example the River Andrea Dandolo? For further thought).
We have seen Polo's giant Swiss Guard rat toad (we call it Swiss Toad but the natives call it boogal) and we have eaten Swiss Toad. The taste is like goat. But we are Venetian and the seas are rich in fish. There is a small whale that lives in the water-grass of the lagoon and the natives put it to many uses. I have appended a word-list of the natives tongue. [Marginalia: No such list can be found].
The Governor's report continues with a list of Items: Order; Agriculture; Towns; Church; Itineraries; Health; and so on (there was also an item Carnival, but this had been struck out). However there are no entries under most of these Items, except for Towns, where he writes:
There is stone for quarrying. In the middle reaches of the Andrea Dandolo/Brenta del Sud there are cliffs that can provide good material for the masons (Note to Self: No need to mention that all the masons have died – the carpenters say they can work stone).
The report includes a large map of New Venice, showing the amount of territory the New Venetians had surveyed in a year. As always, when I study maps of New Venice and see the great lagoon, the two long sheltering islands to the east shielding the small, settled islands within, I am astounded by the resemblance to old Venice. But whereas our islands are in the lagoon's north, in New Venice this was the opposite, as only befits the reverse of the world, the islands there being, in the main, in that lagoon's south.
To my joy I have been given unfettered access to the most secret archives in order to write this history, to my despair I have been told my account of New Venice (to be produced in one original and ten copies) will be read only by the Council of Ten and then, the copies destroyed, the original will join its sources and all will be returned to the archivio segreto. The sources I use – journals and reports and maps and letters and scraps of paper – all are kept in a handsome, iron-banded, double locked chest. I have one key, the Chief Secret Librarian (a most worthy, helpful, generous, learned and sharp-witted man) has the other. His kindnesses to me are immeasurable.
Here is a private paper written in his own hand by notary Enrico Contarini, also compiled at the end of New Venice's first year:
The banks of the Brenta del Sud are patched with seasonal encampments of the natives. Many fine cities, towns and villages could line this broad river, but with our small numbers we consolidate New Venice on our islands in the lagoon, the foremost being San Lorenzo. Two others are permanently settled, Sant'Elena and San Zan Degola. Being three districts in all we have gone but a half measure and have only a terzieri, yet from understandable affection for our distant home we continue to call them sestieri.
We are Venetians, we live best surrounded by water.
The question of crime: We have gibbets, each island has a gibbet, but these are more to encourage than to punish (I for one do not want the corpse smell following me in each sestiere). And in any event, while we might willingly rid ourselves of a dishonest mouth and stomach, we cannot afford to lose the strong back and the useful arms and legs nourished by that stomach. Our Governor proposed a prison on the island dedicated to Sant'Elena (named with affection for our true home) but there was no enthusiasm for the waste of such fine ground. It has a good eminence commanding the mouth of the Brenta d/S.
Naval Captain Ordelafo Orseolo, a coarse man notorious for his unguarded tongue, openly said only a fool would waste such a fine island to house criminals. When Vitale Vidal heard of this he swore that he would have Sant'Elena as a prison, but did nothing further. Of course. He is a man who blows hot and cold, cold and hot.
Other papers tell me that the island of Sant'Elena there was so called because it shared the shape of the same-named island here in our true Venice, which perhaps to their eyes it did – eyes sadly fogged with the mist of yearning for an old, familiar life. As for the third part of the terzieri, the Governor was moved to write, it seems in his own hand, on the back of a chart of this inshore island:
San Zan Degola (in our Venetian tongue) – the name is a foolish caprice of Captain Orseolo, a man quite lacking in piety, who joked that the island looked like a head severed from its shoulders, namely the coast of the mainland close by. Not to mention this locality's bright red clay – the "blood" from the "beheading" visible on both "head" and "shoulders". A silly conceit, but the name has stuck. He named it so on the second feast day of St John the Baptist, 29 August, when the loss of the saint's head is observed. Naturally a small chapel to St. John has been built there. Addendum: The Captain was even more pleased with himself (if that is possible) when he discovered that the natives already call the island Goocheemudla, which, he speciously claims, sounds like San Zan Degola. But he went too far when he proposed (how seriously I do not know) that we might use this native name. I firmly rejected such a ridiculous idea. Firmly.
In my box of archives there are many letters that are indeed but one extraordinarily long letter written by the courtesan Francesca Monegario to a sister in disgrace, her friend Olimpia, whose dwelling here in true Venice, according to the direction carefully noted on each, was: "Sestiere of Castello, parrocchia of San Zanipolo, the house with the carving of the sword and the book where the Rio di S. Giovanni Laterano meets the Rio della Tetta." Clearly a neighbourhood of courtesans! Nonetheless I can say, objectively as a scholar, that this woman Francesca Monegario, despite her shameful calling, writes with wit and colour, and I confess that from time to time I am glad she is so prodigal with her words.
My dearest Olimpissimissima,
What to say of this place where we have – I was going to say "ended up", but I refuse to believe, to think, to even consider that I will "end" here! It is not New Venice, it is not "old" Venice, in short it is not Venice at all. What it is is sand. Sand sand sand sand sand. It is sand everywhere. My dear I have so much more sand than I have ever wanted or needed. In my hair, in my clothes, dusting the very few small objects I possess, in my very person!
But enough of sand. I will speak of it no more. We live on the main island, San Lorenzo. Think of some primitive little hillock just above high tide in the far reaches of the lagoon (the real lagoon) where a fisherman and his family have set up summer camp. A fishing camp with a crude hut of one room and walls of rough timber (imperfectly fitted), reed roof and a cooking fire outdoors, fishing nets everywhere, boats and sails and oars and balers and hooks and shells and the smell of fish everywhere. Welcome to San Lorenzo!
The company here is, you might imagine, quite limited. At the top of the column, wreathed not in laurels but the nastier plants that flourish here (there are so many!) is our Governor. A man whose opinion of himself is so high that he need not worry what others may think, which is just as well as others are of a different mind. A man of tall stature (and like all such he believes his height translates into superiority in all things), I have to concede his person is not unpleasing. When not engaged in making decisions of state – and we have already learned that not making decisions is very much part of his humours – he has an engaging manner about him, and eyes and mouth that tell he is man not unfamiliar with pleasure. Of course I do not speak from personal knowledge. Yet. Beyond his fine robes, not quite so fine now, behind his "official" face, so stern and forbidding, some kindness, some tenderness might perhaps be found.
The Governor holds decisions delicately at arms length between his fingers, examines them from all sides, then drops them and walks away, while the Captain makes too many decisions. Like all sea captains he believes that the imperative is the only manner of speech. Do this. That. Stop. Go. Come. Run. Wake. Sleep. He barks like an angry dog all day and much of the night. And when I tell him so, like any dog he only barks some more. So I call him good dog and pat him and offer him some titbit (so to say) and he settles to that. To our mutual comfort. Oh, and when he eats he gnaws and chomps with table manners not fit even for the deck of a ship of war. Unsightly battle wounds have disfigured him everywhere. This is known to more than me, as Dame Modesty has no lodging in our New Venice (I think she must have drowned on the voyage here or else died of shock on arrival). From living so long in close quarters aboard ship, from still living crammed together on these damned sand islands where even tho' we wash separately in the lagoon, men at Adam's Beach, women at Eve's, we all know each others' bodies as well as a mother knows her baby. I tell a slight untruth – the Governor of course bathes shielded by his servants holding up an old sail.
And there is the Notary, a sober and learned man, with somewhat cold blood in his veins, even in the heat of New Venice. He stares, he examines, he observes, he notes. I suspect he already has a list of our weaknesses longer than the priests who hear our confession. He seems to have wit but is too mean to share it, old miser. In this purgatorio we are all starved for entertainment, for amusement, and a man with a sharp eye and a quick tongue is highly valued – or would be if we could find one. You know I love nothing more than to chatter of people and their foibles, their deeds and their do's and their don'ts. How I miss it!!
I will stop here before my great tears of sorrow for myself blot and blur all I have written so far. I do not want to have to write it all again!
With muchest love, your dearest friend Francesc-amica.
Dated this Feast Day of St Giles (the hermit!)
Venezia Nova
Sestiere of San Lorenzo
The fourth fishing hut on the left as you follow the path from Merciful Cupped Hand That Saved Us Bay (the hut that stinks worst of fish guts)
That was her first letter and I treasure it. By which I mean of course that I value the perspective even a wicked mind and tongue and pen can provide to better assist my understanding of New Venice. Her description of the "fishing camp" has a greater ring of truth than many of the Governor's fine and elaborate accounts, where one might be led to believe that the very Doge's Palace had been transported in the same way as the Holy House of Loreto, namely through the skies, and laid down on a patch of sand atop the isle of San Lorenzo in the southern seas.
How Francesca Monegario thought this letter these letters would ever be read by her friend Olimpia I cannot say. But a person, like myself perhaps, has some understanding why she would be moved to confide all things, all, to a sympathetic piece of parchment. Yesterday I found my steps had taken me through the city to that house with the carving of the sword and the book. Several centuries on but still my thoughts, my thoughts ... No, there is no profit in this.
At the end of the colonia's first year comes mention of the sealed orders, and the secret order, that came to, to contaminate New Venice. There were a number of orders, but I have done my best to untangle which order was issued by whom, and to whom, and why, and what each order was (this is not as clear as I had intended). Apart from their large wax seals, the only aspect they shared was that each was marked: "To be opened by the named holder on the first anniversary of arrival in the Land of Lucach."
The Governor had one such instruction, issued to him by the Council of Ten. He was ordered to establish a trading agreement with the King of Lucach so that Venice might gain access to the gold of this kingdom. Any other riches and trading goods of value that came to the Governor's knowledge were of course to be included in this agreement. And any agreement need not be confined to the King of Lucach should there be other kings, other kingdoms, whose possessions would enrich Venice and Venetians (the Council took pains to spell out all possibilities so that Vidal could be in no doubt of what was expected of him). By order of the Council, His Excellency Vitale Vidal was raised to Ambassadorial rank and as a Plenipotentiary Extraordinary granted full powers to treat with the King (any king) on behalf of the Most Serene Republic of Venice. His new status was to be displayed by a heavy silver chain, embellished with a precious jewel, to be hung round his neck (the value of this symbol of office was noted by the keepers of the state Treasury and Vidal was adjured to hold the chain in secure keeping).
The most senior of the two priests also opened a sealed command, although here the wax was stamped with the seal of St Peter, his orders having come from Rome rather than Venice. Giovanni of Dorsoduro (an apt place of origin, the papers reveal him to be a hard-backed, stiff, unyielding cleric) was told that he was both to keep close watch on the Venetians to make sure there was no back-sliding from the faith and the precepts of Rome, and to bring the heathen natives to the true religion. The first of these orders would surprise no one, it being no secret that Venice and Rome hold each other in mutual suspicion. As the popular saying drolly has it – we Venetians believe in San Marco whole-heartedly, in God to a sufficient degree, and in the Pope not at all.
The Captain, Ordelafo Orseolo, was the third man to break the seal on a confidential letter on 10 August 1351. His orders were brief and to the point. To ensure the preservation of Venice – the real Venice – the colonists were to hold their quarantine abroad for one hundred years from their arrival in Lucach. Then they and their descendants could return. That was all. Any breach would result in the painful death of those who flouted the order, and eternal ruin for any and all family members, to the third remove. And the Captain was charged with the duty to make sure that – in the event he was not still alive in 1450 – his successors carried out the order. Should he fail, ruination would befall his family to the sixth remove. He was at liberty to make these proclamations.
The Captain, not a man comfortable with his letters, was moved to scrawl in a large hand on this order:
100 years generous indeed as we expect in 1450 the youngest of us will have lived 112 and I will be 139. well the best we can hope is that the plague in Europe will have left no one to carry out barbarous commands. of the other order the most secret order I am at a loss I will keep it close held the closest and consider
This "most secret order" was an insidious plague that entered New Venice at this time. But more of this later, perhaps.
A leather pouch in the archive chest contains disparate pages where the Notary, who took an interest in the natural world, kept notes he wrote on divers topics. Despite Francesca Monegario's unkind view of him, I felt some warmth for the Notary, a man who could use his Logic skilfully without losing regard for his fellows:
The mangroves, like the natives, are all around us but we see more of the mangroves. These amphibious trees are great colonisers, certainly better than we. They send out fleets of small green pods to claim and settle tracts of mud flats. They are everywhere in the lagoon, fringing the islands, concealing the entrance to the Brenta d/S, and clinging to its banks. We could well take example from their quiet tenacity, but for us it is a hard lesson to learn.
There are signs of the natives wherever we go, footprints, old fires, piles of shells. And in every direction we see the columns of smoke rising high from their fires. One of the natives, Toonbar, a man with whom I converse so we can learn each other's language (altho he does better with mine than I with his) showed me an ingenious fish trap at the place called Goompee on Pellestrina (Goompee is where we have built a modest chapel to San Marco). In shallow water by the shore the natives have set low rock walls to make a large square enclosure, so that when the tide recedes fish are held within the walls for harvesting. I was delighted, and told him of the valli da pesca back in our old home lagoon that use dykes for the same purpose. And the long, tapering fish cages they make here from reeds have the shape of our own cogoli. He was less amazed than myself, taking it as natural that such ways of fishing would be universal among men – and I do believe now he is right to think this way.
We struggled, I struggled, up steep sandy tracks to the highest point on Pellestrina, a hill they call Bippo Penbean – a name which, despite the Governor's distaste for native words, has nonetheless gained currency among us. We gazed in silent pleasure at the lagoon and its islands shining with gold and silver alchemised by the late-day sun. In the far distance the smudge of purple trees, the thin strings of smoke, and all around us the insistent buzz and hum of summer in New Venice. At dusk the bats we call pipistrelli fly out in their millions and overflow the sky.
Letter of Francesca Monegario, dated Feast of St Porphyry of Gaza, 1352:
So much good news!
I have eaten berchi! It is like ... nothing I have tasted before. Smooth yellow outer skin, great oval seed inside and between skin and seed the sweetest golden flesh that makes the most delicious mess and leaves stringy reminders between the teeth for days! We all gorge and grow drunk on Marco Polo's berchi.
We have sung and danced our first carnival in New Venice!! With masks of painted bark and songs that marry the music of old Venice and native chanting of the New. The natives can take up a tune or a dance faster than any music master from Paris. This carnival is the first and only time we and they have been at ease in each others' company. I hope for more.
The Governor's second year summation is an odd document:
New Venice, Feast of San Lorenzo, 1352
Great progress was being made in treating with the native kings. There are many, but, as ordered, I have been assiduous in establishing harmonious contact with the great chiefs. However my untiring efforts have been seriously impeded by the loss of my Ambassadorial chain of office. When I say loss there should be no misunderstanding that I misplaced it. I am pursuing this serious breach of order and have [etc etc].
There is much, much more in the same vein. Indeed the whole lengthy report deals with nothing but the missing chain.
Letter dated Feast of St Euthymius the Younger 1352 from Francesca Monegario:
The Governor's latest grand notion is a colony up river, opposite the stone cliffs. Knowing his humours, all agree with him and of course nothing gets done. When the Governor speaks of this or that plan I hear the Captain grunt rudely, or see him flick his eyes and shoulders heavenwards. I asked him later what he thought of a land-bound village and he replied, "It may well sing the Gloria for some, the Genoese I would certainly think, but not for we Venetians – we are people of the islands, of the lagoon." I laughed. I have grown fond of his rough wit but his irreverent mention of the Gloria brought on a bout of melancholia as I recalled the voices singing in rich, splendid San Marco. I yearned so for my old life and wept for my present my past my future, for us all.
But to happier matters! The bird song here is the sound Venetian glass would make if it sang – full of brilliance and trills and twists and turns. There is a particular bird, a small sharp-shaped one, with such silken bright colours that we smile every time we see one. Its nest is a burrow in the sand!
Then the Captain was killed, his lifeless body found behind a sand dune. At first the natives were suspected but the Notary, who was charged to investigate, found evidence suggesting it was not one of them but one of the colonists who had done this thing. A scrap of paper clutched tight in the Captain's clenched fist had remains of a wax seal and all believed that this was from the "most secret order", but no sense could be made of it. The Notary's investigations were fruitless, no one being brought to justice for the crime.
As for the Governor's Ambassadorial chain, it was, to my knowledge, never found.
As for who killed Captain Orseolo, I am satisfied I have deduced who committed that crime. But, and I say this without spite or malice, because I have insufficient space at my disposal here I will not reveal who the criminal was. To do so in a true and convincing manner I would need to set out my Logic in full. Unfortunately I am denied the words so to do.
The history of New Venice did not proceed peaceably, but where and when does history ever do that? There were more deaths, murders even, many on San Zan Degola, and there are sombre hints in the documents that these were due to the infamous "most secret order." As always, rumours rushed to fill the gaps left by lack of knowledge.
But life stumbled on, as it does, and there were marriages and births and deaths. In great contrast to Francesca Monegario, I will say nothing of her marriage – she devotes countless letters (some 23 in all) to her swain (a man of no account), his courtship, her joy at her nuptials and matters too degrading for an important report such as the one I am writing here. There is no more to be said on this. It is of no account whatsoever.
Nonetheless I have to say, because my history demands it, that her marriage was fruitful and she bore eleven children, of whom four survived; including her last born, a son, who was baptised on St Genesius the Actor's day in 1375. He fathered a daughter, Caterina, born in 1414, but he did not live to see her an adult. Francesca Monegario herself died a "respectable" old woman of ninty-two in 1426, and her grand-daughter Caterina buried her with pomp on the cemetery island of San Michele. This Caterina married Domenico, a descendant of the notary Contarini, and together they governed New Venice, with what authority I am sure I cannot say, both sadly abusing the title of Doge.
Domenico Contarini writes as follows somewhere around the year 1440 (alas, precision with dates had fallen into some confusion in the most remote colonia of New Venice and I have often had difficulty in matching their dates with the correct ones):
Our relations with the natives remain ... unresolved. Over the years there have been killings on both sides, reprisals and truces. And the n the same again. And there have been lives saved by both sides – some party in danger rescued, a lone traveller nursed to health from snake bite, struggling children plucked from the lagoon by a saviour who saw only a child, not the set of its hair or its skin colour. For all that we are still separate. They do not accept us here, and, truth to tell, if the Turks were to build their dwellings on an island in our old home lagoon in full view of the mighty church of San Marco ... well.
As the wheel of the years turned, the colonia expanded and contracted like a bellows (does this read well? – the wheel and the bellows?). From time to time new settlements were established. some even on terra firma, along the banks of the Brenta d/S. But then they would shrink back again to the lagoon. In the last years the New Venetians were consolidated, confined even, only on Sant'Elena, the other islands having been reduced to seasonal or overnight camps shared with the natives. On one of these out islands – Pellestrina, I believe – during a fishing party's overnight stay, the last warning came.
A young native man, name not given, who was admiring the paintings glorifying the walls of the chapel of San Marco told one Agostino, also an art-lover it seems, that he should know there was continual talk of the Black Swan dance. Caterina then explains in her careful, small hand, that this unlikely bird, the black swan (proof if ever it was needed that all things are reversed on the underside of the world) was notorious for aggressively defending its territory, for driving out intruders. Thus when the natives were enraged against some encroacher they would paint their bodies black and their noses red to resemble, to be, this fierce bird. This man told Agostino that red ochre was being gathered in great quantity from Goocheemudla. Smoke could be seen up and down the coast from a great number of fires, many more than usual.
To hasten through to the end game, the colonists decided they must leave immediately, standing no chance against overwhelming numbers. Their departure had been long planned for they believed the year 1450 to be fast approaching. But not all wanted to leave for there were those who would stay. But whether all left or whether some stayed I cannot say. No list was kept of travellers on the vessel New Marco Polo. Certainly there is none in the records I have seen. A small number of New Venetians made landfall in India, finding refuge on the Malabar coast where it seems there are rivers and lagoons and backwaters and sand dunes – a dear, familiar landscape for old and new Venetians. St Thomas is revered there. These survivors – how many? one, two, more? there so many frustrating gaps! – made contact with the Portuguese and lied and bluffed and false-promised their passage home. Here they were of course, and quite rightly and properly, interviewed by the Council of Ten. Let us trust they were then peacefully and happily reunited with distant family members who would succour and cherish them. Let us trust this happened, for no more is heard of them. Their records – all these papers and charts and letters and sketches and dead leaves spread out before me – do survive to this day.
Here ends my meagre history of Venezia Nova. The Council of Ten, in their far-sighted wisdom, have decreed that I must limit my account to some few thousands of words, but in truth one hundred thousand could not do it justice.
Venice, Feast Day of St Cyriacus the Recluse, 1570
* * *
Rob Wills says: I am quite old and content to be so. I'm glad I studied foreign languages at high school (where I had to) and at university (where I chose to). Languages are the best key to other peoples, other cultures and – not least – other times. I married young and we lived and studied and worked abroad before settling back home in Australia. Our children were born in the UK and Ghana. My daughter recently saw a performance of King Lear and said that, unlike most productions of Shakespeare, the fool was actually very funny, and he looked and behaved like me. This pleased me.
What advice do I have for other writers of historical fiction?
Do your research, but don't overdo your research. I have a lot of embryonic stories, novels, film scripts, that never developed into anything because I kept thinking they "need more research". It's a pity, because so many good ideas stay just that, good ideas and nothing more. So be sensible in your research on an historical subject: remember that you only need to know enough, you don't need to know everything.


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"Til Duck Do Us Part" should be a promising first episode of season 4 on "Duck Dynasty." A surprise ceremony is planned, and Phil and Kay get to reminisce about fond memories of their relationship. … 10 p.m. EDT tonight, A&E.
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A little time offline, and a lot of hubbub. When the New York Times website went down today, users immediately took to Twitter. Chicago Tribune humor columnist @RexHuppke mused: "The New York Times paywall has become self-aware."
Hot video: Sam Horowitz's amazing bar mitzvah dance routine
Elixir Entertainment posted a now-viral video of Sam Horowitz celebrating his bar mitzvah last year at the Omni Hotel in Dallas.
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Harvest hit early in Ohio this year and was in full swing by the time the gates opened to this three-day show in London, OH. That took a toll on attendance, which fell 12,120 short of last year's estimated record high of 142,530. Yet it was still above the review's five-year average, show managers say.
The show had about the same number of exhibitors as last year, but this year's exhibitors rented more space, which suggests that they had more products to show. We walked the aisles, interviewed manufacturers and talked with farmers to bring you these best new products for 1999.
Made for the hills
This is the first of a new line of Flex-Wing field cultivators designed for minimum-till farmers looking for consistent depth control on rolling terrain. The 5600HR series features a standard self-leveling hitch or optional floating hitch, a uniform shank spacing arrangement and a five-rank frame with a front-to-rear frame depth of 132 in. for high residue. Optional XT270 spring shanks are twice as heavy as the average field cultivator shanks, the company claims. Working widths range from 20 ft. 5 in. to 28 ft. 7 in. and may go up to 55 ft. within a year. Suggested list price: $11,632 for the basic 20-ft. 5-in. model plus $1,992 for the 3-row, 16-in. tine harrow. Contact Krause Corp., Dept. FIN, Box 2707, Hutchinson, KS 67504-2707, 316/663-6161 or circle 203.
Tougher one-pass tool
Brillion has made its Landcommander one-pass conservation tool bigger and stronger to keep up with the high-horsepower, articulated tractors with duals. The Landcommander II has a stronger and longer drawbar to allow for shorter turns, a longer frame for better trash flow, tandem walking axles for more stability on uneven ground and heavy-duty scrapers for better performance in adverse conditions. Its front discs mix residue, the shanks behind them break up compaction and the rear discs level the ground for planting. Suggested list price for a seven-shank unit with 24-in. spacing: $24,900. Contact Brillion Iron Works Inc., Dept. FIN, Box 127, Brillion, WI 54110-0127, 800/409-9749 or circle 204.
Smaller Range
Zetor, the Czech-based tractor manufacturer, has added a smaller model to its Range 3 series tractors. With an 82-hp engine and 74-hp PTO, the 8620/8640 is available in 2-wd or 4-wd and with or without a cab. Features include tilt steering and a three-stage power-shift transmission that gives you 18 speeds forward and 6 reverse. Suggested list price: $29,400 to $36, 600. Contact Zetor Tractor Div., Dept. FIN, 7301 Allentown Blvd., Harrisburg, PA 17112, 717/540-5618 or circle 205.
Grander tractors
Kubota unveils a new generation of Grand L series tractors originally introduced in the early '90s. The new series consists of four mid-size diesel models ranging from 30 to 43 hp. Each is available in three transmission options: standard gear, glide shift that lets you shift by moving a lever without using the clutch, and hydrostatic that lets you shift by stepping on the foot pedal. A redesigned cab offers more comfort and headroom, a more powerful air conditioner and better visibility than its predecessors. Base suggested list price: $16,000 to $30,000. Contact Kubota Tractor Corp., Dept. FIN, 2626 Port Rd., Columbus, OH 43217, 614/492-1100 or circle 206.
Soybean saver
Maximize your soybean yields with the new MacDon 972 Harvest Header for combines, claims this Winnipeg, Manitoba, manufacturer. A patented C-shaped cutterbar design cuts closer to the ground than conventional auger-style headers for maximum recovery of downed crop and forms a seal to keep crop from wrapping around the roller, the company claims. The header is available in widths from 21 to 36 ft. and mounts on all MacDon-built windrowing tractors, New Holland's current model Bidirectional tractors and most current model combines (with the 871 Macxi-Float combine adapter). Suggested list price for the 21-ft., single-knife drive header: $17,500, plus $7,000 for adapter. Contact MacDon Inc., Dept. FIN, 9700 N.W. Conant Ave., Kansas City, MO 64153-1832, 816/891-7313 or circle 208.
Red row cleaner
The company that has been making floating row cleaners for Deere, Kinze and White planters since 1992 now introduces one that fits all 800 and 900 series Case IH planters. Like its predecessors, it consists of two, 3/8-in. -steel toothed wheels mounted on tapered bearings. The cleaners operate or float independently of the planter unit to move residue away from the seed zone while loosening the soil to reduce sidewall compaction. Suggested list price: $269/row unit. Contact Martin & Co., Dept. FIN, 169 Allegre Rd., Elkton, KY 42220, 800/366-5817 or circle 207.
Repair kit for drills
RK Products Inc. has taken its kit for repairing planter gauge wheel arm pivots on planters and adapted it to work for the closing wheel arm pivot on John Deere No-Till Drills. The kit removes looseness from the pivot and forces the closingwheel to track properly while reducing bouncing of the wheel for better drill performance. All this is done without reworking the bearing housing. Cost of the basic kit: $25 or $36 for older drills (model 750 with serial numbers below 6000) that require a new pivot pin. Contact RK Products Inc., Dept. FIN, 3802 Jean St., East Moline, IL 61244, 800/580-6818 or circle 209.
German baler
Need to put up a lot of small square bales but don't have the time to fix and tighten belts or lubricate chains? Then this baler may be your answer. The extra-high-density AP 630 baler by Germany-based Welger Mfg., purchased by Lely in 1995, is driven by shafts and gears instead of belts and chains for low-maintenance and high-capacity baling. Rigid, non-torsional shafts ensure synchronized drive for the life of the baler, the company claims. It makes bales measuring from 20 to 48 in. in length and weighing 261/2 to 75 lbs., depending on length and density. Contact Lely Corp., Dept. FIN, Box 1060, Wilson, NC 27894-1060, 252/291-7050 or circle 210.
Norwegian hay tools
Because farmers were calling for an even larger Kverneland TA trailed disc mower conditioner, the company came out with model 339, says a Kverneland representative. Model 339 boasts an 11-ft. 10-in. cutting width and a center pivot design to give you the flexibility to go up and down the field rather than circling with an off-center machine. A Super-Float suspension system provides even cutting and maximum cutterbar protection. Suggested list price: $22,850. At the other end of the size spectrum, Kverneland introduces an entry-level, self-loading trailed round bale wrapper, the Kverneland UN 7335, designed for 4- x 4-ft. round silage bales. It has all the bells and whistles of larger models, but it is smaller and priced lower for the farmer with fewer acres. Suggested list price: $10,600. Contact Norcan Farm Equipment, Dept. FIN, Box 2409, Youngstown, OH 44509, 800/233-0815 or circle 211.
Buy American
This round bale wrapper and all of its parts are American-made, which means that parts are available faster at a competitive price, the company claims. The Roman Wrapper comes in two styles: 3-pt. hitch or trailer style with electronic control. Both can handle bales measuring 4 x 4, 3 x 5, or 5 x 4 ft. at a table rotation speed of 24 rpm. Suggested list price: starts at $6, 500 for 3-pt. style and $6,900 for trailer style. Contact Implement Sales Co. Inc., Dept. FIN, Box 991067, 2203 Plantside Dr., Louisville, KY 40299, 502/491-4775 or circle 212.
Conditioner for the curves
Take curves without a problem with Claas's new Disco 3000 TC tine conditioner, featuring a 90 pivoting gearbox. This pull-type haying machine is easy to transport and perfect for farmers who don't have the tractor hydraulic capacity for a 3-pt. mounted tine conditioner, claims Frankie Wilbert, Claas regional sales manager. It uses tines instead of rollers for high-capacity conditioning and has a working width of 10 ft. Suggested list price: $18,500. Also new is Claas's 16-ft., direct-cut head that fits all Claas 800 series self-propelled forage harvesters. It is designed for farmers who feed livestock daily and want to cut just enough feed for the day. Suggested list price: $24,000. Contact Claas of America Inc., Dept. FIN, Box 3008, Columbus, IN 47202-3008, 812/342-4441 or circle 213.
Larger trailer sprayers (c)
Hardi has trumped its Commander 750 pull-type, high-clearance sprayer with two larger models to meet the needs of large-acreage farmers. Models 875 and 1200 (not shown) feature 875- and 1,200-gal. tanks designed for better weight distribution and chemical agitation. An optional 100-gal. flush tank is mounted underneath the main tank to provide a low center of gravity and optimize stability. Booms range in width from 60 to 90 ft. Base list price: $21,000 to $28,000.
Hardi's entry-level Navigator sprayers (shown) are now marked by an M to designate the addition of a color-coded manifold system that puts all controls in one location for ease of use. Contact Hardi Inc., Dept. FIN, 1500 W. 76thSt., Davenport, IA 52806, 319/386-1730 or circle 214.
On-track sprayer
JM Innovations added a gooseneck to its Mini Floater sprayer to make it fit behind the Polaris Ranger general-purpose off-road vehicle and put them both on tracks. The result is a speedy, high-flotation spraying machine that can straddle two rows at a time and spray at a rate of 300 to 400 acres/day. Contact JM Innovations Inc., Dept FIN, 9304 Hess Rd., Edwardsville, IL 62025, 618/667-6089 or circle 215.
Easy-service tanks
Servicing Top Air's 550-, 800- and 1,100-gal. T tanks for spraying applications just got easier with the addition of this new fold-down command center, now a standard feature. The box cover folds down and exposes all of the valves in one convenient location. As an option, a Quick-Fill inductor can be incorporated into the command center. It allows you to fill the tank from the ground and also can be used as a basin to rinse empty jugs. Suggested list price for the Quick-Fill option: $899. Contact Top Air Mfg. Inc., Dept. FIN, Box 729, Cedar Falls, IA 50613, 800/553-3307 or circle 216.
Separation system
This Canadian import is designed for large dairy operations using flush valves to clean the barn and holding area as well as for smaller dairy operations using alley scrapers or tractor blades to clean manure alleys. The system features a sloped screen with progressive openings to recuperate the cleanest liquid to flush the barn. A roller separator may be installed under the sloped screen to squeeze the fibers to make bedding. Contact Houle, Dept. FIN, 4591 Rt. 143, C.P. 370, Drummondville, Quebec, Canada J2B 6W3, 819/477-7444 or circle 217.
Electric transfer pump
Agitate and pump liquid manure with a 16-in. electric transfer pump, instead of with your tractor's PTO. The pump, designed for moderate-sized reception pits on hog or dairy operations, has a 20- to 40-hp electric motor. It's available in 8- through 12-ft. lengths and single or twin motor mounts that slide in and out for easy installation and removal. Features include a lower nozzle to agitate bottom solids and oil-filled lower bearings with greasable seals for long life. The suggested list price starts at $6,267.
Also available is a 6-in. electric model to agitate and pump dairy parlor wastewater or hog manure using a single 5-hp electric motor. Suggested list price: starts at $2,241. Contact J-Star Industries, Dept. FIN, 801 Janesville Ave., Fort Atkinson, WI 53538, 920/563-5521 or circle 218.
Bed for cows
Keep your dairy cows comfortable while cutting down on landfill waste with the Cush cow cushion and Easy Rest mattress made from reclaimed tires. More comfort for the cow means less stress and increased milk production, the company claims. Tires used in the 2-in.-thick cushion are shredded (the metal is removed), and the pieces are bonded together by latex and treated with antifungicide. The mattress is made of chopped tires, and the sides are sewn together with a double lock thread system to keep the material from fraying or separating. The cushion comes with a five-year warranty, and the mattress has a three-year warranty for free stalls and a one-year for tie-stalls. Suggested list prices: cushions, $71 for 48 x 65 in., $73 for 48 x 72 in.; mattresses, $28 for 48 x 62 in., $29.35 for 48 x 66 in.; plus waterproof top cover at $5. 65 to $8.65/linear ft. Contact: J&D Mfg., Dept. FIN, 6200 Hwy. 12, Eau Claire, WI 54701, 800/998-2398 or circle 219.
Manure injector for no-till
The sturdy, wide shanks on Balzer's new Magnum sweep injectors spread liquid manure beneath the soil surface for maximum nutrient uptake and minimal runoff, odor and residue disturbance, making them ideal for no-till or highly erodable land, the company claims. Magnum sweep injectors can be mounted on all Balzer vacuum and slurry tanks or on a truck. Suggested list price for a four-knife machine including coulters and down pressure system: $6,585. Contact Balzer Inc., Dept. FIN, Box 458, Mountain Lake, MN 56159, 800/727-3133 or circle 220.
Hydraulic tilt trailer
You don't need a ramp to load your compact tractors or lawn and garden equipment onto this trailer. Simply press a button, and the trailer deck will tilt to the ground in fewer than 10 sec. as a result of a double-action hydraulic system. Other features include removable fenders, a 4-in. drop beavertail end, treated lumber deck or optional plastic deck, brakes on both axles and optional winch kit. Available in 7,000- and 10,000-lb. GVW classes. Suggested list price: $3,395 to $3,695. The company plans to market a skid-steer style hydraulic tilt trailer this winter.
Also new is a small but heavy-duty, 3,000-lb. GVW trailer, ideal for transporting diesel lawn equipment. Suggested list price: $999 to $1,388. Contact New Alexandria Tractor Supply, Dept. FIN, R.D. 3, Box 403, New Alexandria, PA 15670, 724/668-2000 or circle 221.
Bigger mini-skid-steer(c)
Do everything from dig trenches to move trees with this bigger, more powerful mini-skid-steer with more than 40 attachments, now part of Ramrod's Taskmaster line. Model 900 T-G has an operating capacity of 900 lbs., a 20-hp gas engine and a twin-pump hydraulic system that lets you do two things at once, such as travel and dig. Yet it is still only half the weight and one-third the size of the smallest Bobcat to fit tight spaces, the company claims. Suggested list price starts at $13,950. Contact Ramrod Equipment, Dept. FIN, Box 5002, Yorkton, Saskatchewan, Canada S3N 3Z4, 800/667-1581 or circle 222.
Blow snow forward
Turn your tractor into a commercial snow blowing machine with a Canadian-built Pronovost detachable snow blower that mounts to a tractor's 3-pt. hitch. Choose from 22 models in working widths from 54 to 104 in. And now a new blade option called X-Pro lets you operate in forward as well as in the conventional backward direction to save time, increase productivity and improve operator comfort. The blower with the new 92-in. X-Pro blade option requires a 75- to 100-hp tractor. Suggested list price for complete package: $7,295. Contact Endless Mountains Equipment Co., Dept. FIN, Rt. 2, Box 401, Troy, PA 16947, 800/227-3486 or circle 223.
Bush Hog built
A company known for its rotary cutters now offers a line of Bush Hog-built zero-turning-radius mowers. The mowers come in your choice of 18-, 22- and 25-hp air-cooled Kohler engines or a 22-hp Kawasaki water-cooled engine along with 48-, 54- or 60-in. mowing decks. A unique weight transfer system provides fast traction and stability on inclines, and a dual-path hydrostatic drive makes steering easier while keeping drive components cooler than other zero-turning-radius mowers, the company claims.
Also new is Bush Hog's largest front-end loader to date, the 3860 QT, designed to fit 2-wd and 4-wd tractors in the 75- to 210-hp PTO range. An optional hydraulic self-leveling system levels the bucket during raising and lowering cycles to prevent spillage. Contact Bush Hog, Dept. FIN, Box 1039, Selma, AL 36701-1039, 334/872-6261 or circle 224.


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The Gemini IRAF Package
The Gemini IRAF package is a data reduction software package for processing observational data obtained with the Gemini telescopes. The released version of the Gemini IRAF package is an external package layered upon IRAF and is available to users and other interested parties.
The Gemini IRAF package currently supports data from the following instruments: FLAMINGOS-2, GMOS-N, GMOS-S, GNIRS, GSAOI, Michelle *, NIFS, NIRI, TReCS *, OSCIR *, Hokupa'a+QUIRC * and Flamingos-1 *. Support for other Gemini facility instruments will be added as these instruments become available.
The Gemini IRAF package is organized into a number of sub-packages. It contains a generic tools package, "gemtools", along with instrument-specific packages. The raw data from the Gemini facility instruments are stored as Multi-Extension FITS (MEF) files. Therefore, all the tasks in the Gemini IRAF package, intended for processing data from the Gemini facility instruments, are capable of handling MEF files. Gemini provides only limited data reduction software for visitor instruments.
* Retired instruments.


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Los Angeles
Don't let the flip-flops and palm trees fool you. This is no La-La Land.
Los Angeles lives up to its laid-back reputation, but under the surface the city is a hotbed of activity – economically, environmentally, politically, culturally and socially. As the second-largest city in the U.S. and one of the most diverse cities in the world, L.A. provides an education like no other.
Oxy isn't near L.A., or accessible to L.A. It's in L.A.—and has been for more than 125 years. No other liberal arts college can say the same. And Oxy students know how to take advantage of their cosmopolitan campus.
Our long-standing partnerships across the city open opportunities for students to work, intern and learn from some of the most esteemed organizations and institutions in the country. Students curate exhibits at the Autry National Center of the American West and intern at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, international investment firm Payden & Rygel, the Grammy Museum and the famed Huntington Library. Students spend a day on the Pacific trawling for fish eggs and conduct fieldwork in one of the world's most geologically interesting places.
Of course it's not all noses to the grindstone. Students bicycle with friends through car-free city streets during CicLAvia, then eat their way through Koreatown. Sometimes, they simply grab a horchata con espresso at nearby Café de Leche and take in a stellar view from atop Oxy's own Fiji Hill.