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Topic: TSR Part 6: The Power of Money (Read 3330 times)
Jedi Master
Posts: 6001
TSR Part 6: The Power of Money
November 25, 2005, 11:32 PM »
Well, it's finally here! After a month or so of delay, quite possibly the biggest chapter of TSR has arrived! Enjoy...
It is mid-morning on Trideeno. Luke, Leia, Chewbacca, Lando, and Senator Forgs are eating breakfast in the dining room. Everyone is still shaken up from the explosion in Luke's room the previous night. Also suspicious is the disappearance of R2-D2, C-3PO, Admiral Elick, and Han Solo. Robilus and Sivart Dralco enter the dining room.
Good morning, friends! I trust that everyone got a good night sleep, aside from the explosion?
Yeah, Ive had better nights myself.
You feeling better, Luke?
Actually, I am. Im feeling much better, thanks to the Force.
Mr. Dralco, I was wondering if youve seen Han this morning? And our droids?
I saw the droids on my way here. They said they would like to look around some more while we eat. As for Captain Solo, he must still be sleeping, as I havent heard from him since last night. The same goes for Admiral Elick.
Leia gives Luke a strange look, showing her distrust for the Dralcos.
Now, if you are all finished, we will be making our way to the Trideeno capitol building. President Talos has arranged for us to go on a special VIP tour, which is not available to the normal public. Princess, I shall inform Captain Solo of our whereabouts when he awakes.
Everyone gets up and walks out. Robilus catches Luke as he gets up from the table.
Luke, I managed to find out that the Remnant paid off a maid to plant the bomb in your room. So far, we have been unsuccessful in getting the leaders location, but the maid informed us that Admiral Margalit is running things. Hopefully that will aid you in your investigation.
It will, thank you sir.
Inside the rotunda of the Trideeno capitol building, President Talos leads the group on their tour. The capitol rests on Capitol Hill, which overlooks a large city as well as a beautiful mountainside and ocean.
And here we are, the main attraction, the rotunda. We have some beautiful sculptures up towards the top. You may be interested in them, Master Jedi, one is a depiction of the Sith War.
Too bad I cant see it up close.
The group looks around at the beauty as Robilus pulls out a comlink.
Yes. Really? Im at the capitol right now, but I can get there as soon as possible. Right. Im on my way there now. Thanks for the heads up.
Robilus turns toward the group.
Friends, Im terribly sorry for all of this, but I have a client coming in from Bespin interested in my defense systems. Im afraid that I must go meet with him for now. Sivart, Ill need you to escort him. Again, my apologies, I will meet you all again later this afternoon.
Robilus and Sivart leave the rotunda as Luke walks up to Leia.
I sense a disturbance in the Force.
I do too. I think its coming from the Dralcos. I dont trust them.
Suddenly, the rotunda darkens, as a large ship appears to have cut off the natural light. The ship is a Star Destroyer, which flies right over the dome.
Star Destroyers enter Trideeno's atmosphere and begin sending out troops for a hostile takeover. Inside the rotunda, Stormtroopers burst through the windows. Luke and Leia ignite their lightsabers, while Lando and Chewie pull out their blasters. However, President Talos and Tridia Forgs pull out blasters of their own as Admiral Margalit and Baron Samedi enter through an already broken window. Realizing that they are outnumbered, the New Republic heroes surrender their weapons.
Republic scum. Youre outnumbered. Put down your weapons.
Tridia how could you?
Your powers betray you, Jedi. You should have seen this coming. I was always a bit quiet, wouldnt you think? Im surprised you didnt suspect anything sooner.
I had a feeling you were leading the Remnant, Samedi.
And Talos, I suspected he was up to something all along.
Then your Jedi powers arent as sharp as Skywalkers are, though that isnt saying much. Skywalker here is about half the Jedi his father was, before Darth Vader killed him.
And youre about half the politician Count Dooku was, before Darth Vader killed him.
The Republic leaders are marched out of the rotunda.
Its okay Chewie. No harm will come to us.
And Skywalker, brush up on your history. Your father killed Count Dooku, not Darth Vader.
Well Ill remember that next time.
The troops take the prisoners outside, where a Trideeno Starfighter escorts them from above.
Oh Ive been waiting a long time for this. Ive wanted my revenge on the Jedi ever since they ruined my figure.
Its not their fault you cant afford a robotic hand.
The Remnant forces have pushed the Republic leaders down into a tourist extension inside of Capitol Hill, which overlooks the city.
SILENCE. It was on an excavation to Dantooine, just after the emergence of the Empire. A team of Imperial scientists and I were searching for a Sith holocron, thought to have been hidden there by the Jedi. Well a Jedi in hiding attacked us. He cut my chin, stabbed out my eye, and cut off my hand. Because Dantooine is so remote, we could only attach a hook. Now its MY turn to disfigure you.
If youre done sobbing, Im gonna do this.
Lando tackles the two troops holding the weapons. They toss the lightsabers, which are caught by Luke and Leia, respectively. They ignite them and strike down the two tackled troops, who are still on the ground. Lando and Chewie retrieve their weapons and a firefight ensues. The Remnant troops lose a troop while running for cover, as Luke and Leia block fire away from Lando and Chewie.
The Trideeno starfighter flies from overhead and makes an approach at the group, firing. Luke tries to deflect them, but they hit right in front of him, and the group falls. Luke quickly springs up and jumps on the starfighter as it turns away from the walkway. The pilot sees him and boosts, causing Luke to lose balance. He is able to grab on to a vent with one hand. The starfighter begins to speed around the city.
Meanwhile, Samedi, Margalit, and the troops force Leia, Lando, and Chewie into a corner. Both sides try to find cover as Chewie shoots down a Stormtrooper.
Outside of Dralcos mansion, an old Trade Federation MTT loads Han, Admiral Elick, C-3PO, and R2-D2 in the back. Commander Quaas is in charge of the troops. A skiff carrying the Dralcos lands near the MTT. The Dralcos get off and walk over to Quaas.
Robilus Dralco. It is an honor to finally meet you in person. Im sorry about this invasion, perhaps you should have activated your all powerful planetary shield?
You pathetic excuse for a life form. If the shield is activated, nothing can enter or exit the atmosphere. I wanted the Remnant to invade, just to rid us of these pesky Republic leaders here.
Us? Youre an independent businessman. You arent part of the Remnant.
Youre lucky Im in a good mood today, or youd be killed in an instant, Commander. Do you know who I am?
Robilus Dralco?
Wrong. Who did Baron Samedi say had access to these prisoners?
Just himself, me, Admiral Margalit, and Lord Darth Sinis.
Then step aside. And inform the fleet that Darth Sinis is now in control of the Remnant.
The Dralcos board the MTT as Quaas remains baffled by the Siths revelation.
Last Edit: November 26, 2005, 07:59 PM by Diddly
Twitter: @travis_banks
Jedi Sentinel
Posts: 14616
Re: TSR Part 6: The Power of Money
Reply #1 on:
November 26, 2005, 06:27 PM »
This was a very entertaining addition to your series Diddly, and it was worth the wait.
A couple of things I would work on -
(1) There seemed to at times be more description corresponding to a certain picture than it should have been, especially early on. I was a bit confused at first.
(2) On some of these fan fiction characters, it's a bit hard to remember who they are, and what their role is. Maybe when mentioning one of their names, it would be good to briefly summarize their role again.
(3) A couple of more close ups might help - when having one of your fantastic EU characters speaking, maybe just a close up of their head would be a good way to remind us exactly which character they are.
(4) Near the beginning, a couple of the paragraphs have the BBC tags for italics and bold face showing, along with a bit of inconsistency in what is and isn't in italics.
(5) I wanted to see more action of the Imperials jumping in through the windows!
But there was plenty of good to go around here too!
(1) I loved your pic of the capitol building. It really establishes a firm location of where they are and that they are dealing with some governmental leadership.
(2) Seeing two Star Destoyers in the sky really helps remind me that the Imperials are still a force to be reckoned with.
(3) The lightsaber effects are awesome! Really makes those LEGO battles come to life.
(4) You really take clear pics - it's good to see that and keeps me wanting to see more.
(5) So Robilus turned them in! Good move there, and I take it he is the Sith Lord? What a twist, I wasn't expecting that!
I think this was a very action packed episode, and that was good to see, I'm curious to see what happens next. And I'm wondering how Han likes being cramped up with the droids. You could potentially come up with something really entertaining there.
The Enloe Trials: Chapter 10
Jedi Initiate
Posts: 494
Re: TSR Part 6: The Power of Money
Reply #2 on:
November 26, 2005, 07:59 PM »
GREAT to have the story back! I will give detailed comments when I can. But this is a big chapter, so I want to give it the proper amount of attention and, at present, I haven't even finished it yet!
Sith Lords Are Our Speciality
Jedi Master
Posts: 6001
Re: TSR Part 6: The Power of Money
Reply #3 on:
November 26, 2005, 08:34 PM »
Thanks a lot for the suggestions! I edited the italics and stuff. I hope that clears things up a little bit.
I can see where you're coming from with your comments about the characters. Don't worry though, things will become more clearer as time goes on. Hey, the number of characters could be reduced! Who knows!
As for the closeups - I'd LOVE to add a lot more. However, the camera I'm using is old, I believe it came out in 1997 or 1998. Close up shots are wierd with it. The shots I got for this chapter are pretty clear, but I had to retake several of them about two or three times due to blurryness.
Heh, I REALLY wanted to do a shot with the troops crashing through the windows and repelling from the Destroyers ala real life troops, but that would require LOTS of picture editing skill, which I lack at the moment. I almost didn't get those two Star Destroyers over the capitol to work out! If I ever come back and do special editions, I would add a shot like that. I also wanted to add people outside the building, as well as artifacts/statues in the rotunda, and I'd change that as well in a future version.
I'm glad you liked the capitol, as I believe it's the greatest location shot I've made. It took me like 2 weeks to make. Same with the effects! That new program I downloaded does wonders for effects. At first I had to use MS Paint to add the effects, then transfer them to MS Photo Editor to blur them and make them look real. Lots of work!
And yes, Dralco is the Sith Lord. I love the way he came out with it, as well as how Quaas responds to it. Remember though, our heroes don't know he is the Sith Lord yet (well, Han and the droids do - they were there!). And he might have an apprentice as well...
Thanks! Take your time, as I still have to reply to your latest Interactive update!
Twitter: @travis_banks
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Architect of Putin's political system resigns
MOSCOW (AP) — Vladislav Surkov, a longtime Kremlin strategist considered the architect of the tightly controlled political system created under President Vladimir Putin, resigned his post of deputy prime minister on Wednesday.
His ouster followed an unusually public feud with investigators over a criminal investigation into Skolkovo, a government project to promote innovation modeled on Silicon Valley. Surkov was overseeing the ambitious project.
A statement on the Kremlin website said Surkov had resigned, but many believe he was forced out as part of increasing infighting within the Russian political elite. Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said Surkov resigned after the president criticized Cabinet members on Tuesday for failing to fulfill his orders.
While working under Putin in the Kremlin administration from 2000 to 2008, Surkov designed the political system that came to be known as "managed" or "sovereign" democracy. Under the system that is Surkov's legacy, only parties and candidates approved by the Kremlin are allowed to take part in elections and appear on state television, while all others are kept on the sidelines.
After Putin stepped aside in 2008 because of term limits, Surkov stayed in the Kremlin to work with Putin's chosen successor, Dmitry Medvedev.
As Putin prepared to return to the presidency in 2012, however, a fraud-tainted parliamentary election in December 2011 set off a series of unprecedented street protests demanding free elections and an end to Putin's rule. In late December 2011, Surkov was reassigned from the presidential administration to the government, where he was appointed a deputy prime minister in charge of economic modernization. With the transfer, he lost his job as Putin's political puppet master.
Putin won his third term in the spring of 2012 and set out to tighten the screws on the opposition and silence dissent.
Surkov soon found himself again working for Medvedev, whom Putin had named prime minister. Skolkovo was one of Medvedev's initiatives and Surkov was overseeing the development of the advanced research center.
In this role, Surkov came under attack from investigators who in April accused a Skolkovo executive of embezzling $750,000 in state funds. While speaking to students in London last week, Surkov sharply criticized the investigators, questioning their ability to prove anyone's guilt.
A biting rebuke from the spokesman of the Investigative Committee, Vladimir Markin, was published Tuesday in the pro-Kremlin newspaper Izvestia. Markin said a Cabinet member should not be allowed to keep his seat after criticizing his country while on a foreign trip.
Surkov's ouster was seen as part of a power struggle between members of the security and law enforcement agencies around Putin who favor his more authoritarian approach to ruling Russia, and those who have supported Medvedev's meek efforts to modernize the Russian economy and liberalize its political system.
Political analyst Dmitry Oreshkin said what happened with Surkov showed that the "the path chosen by Vladimir Putin a year ago — directed at a toughening of his administration, a consolidation of his power and personal control — is not subject to change."
"Surkov tried to withstand the Investigative Committee's attack on Skolkovo, but they devoured him," Oreshkin said in an interview on Ekho Moskvy radio.
Surkov, 48, has not yet commented on his resignation or future plans, but said he has an idea for a book. It would be a "political comedy based on real events," he is quoted telling the editor of Russky Pioner, a magazine where he is a columnist.
Surkov has written lyrics for rock groups and is believed to be the author of a bestselling satirical novel about the publishing world.
Copyright 2013 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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Information about Bali
Bali is a province in the country of Indonesia. The island is located in the westernmost end of the Lesser Sunda Islands, lying between Java to the west and Lombok to the east. It is one of the country's 33 provinces with the provincial capital at Denpasar towards the south of the island. The province covers a few small neighbouring islands as well as the isle of Bali.
With a population recorded as 3,891,428 in the 2010 census,[3] the island is home to most of Indonesia's Hindu minority. In the 2000 census about 92.29% of Bali's population adhered to Balinese Hinduism while most of the remainder follow Islam. It is also the largest tourist destination in the country and is renowned for its highly developed arts, including traditional and modern dance, sculpture, painting, leather, metalworking, and music. A tourist haven for decades, Bali has seen a further surge in tourist numbers in recent years.[citation needed]
Main article: History of Bali
Bali was inhabited by around 2000 BC by Austronesian peoples who migrated originally from Taiwan through Maritime Southeast Asia. Culturally and linguistically, the Balinese are thus closely related to the peoples of the Indonesian archipelago, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Oceania.Stone tools dating from this time have been found near the village of Cekik in the island's west.
In ancient Bali, nine Hindu sects existed, namely Pasupata, Bhairawa, Siwa Shidanta, Waisnawa, Bodha, Brahma, Resi, Sora and Ganapatya. Each sect revered a specific deity as its personal Godhead.
Balinese culture was strongly influenced by Indian, Chinese, and particularly Hindu culture, beginning around the 1st century AD. The name Bali dwipa ("Bali island") has been discovered from various inscriptions, including the Blanjong pillar inscription written by Sri Kesari Warmadewa in 914 AD and mentioning "Walidwipa". It was during this time that the complex irrigation system subak was developed to grow rice. Some religious and cultural traditions still in existence today can be traced back to this period. The Hindu Majapahit Empire (1293–1520 AD) on eastern Java founded a Balinese colony in 1343. When the empire declined, there was an exodus of intellectuals, artists, priests, and musicians from Java to Bali in the 15th century.
Tanah Lot, one of the major temples in Bali
The first European contact with Bali is thought to have been made in 1585 when a Portuguese ship foundered off the Bukit Peninsula and left a few Portuguese in the service of Dewa Agung.[8] In 1597 the Dutch explorer Cornelis de Houtman arrived at Bali and, with the establishment of the Dutch East India Company in 1602, the stage was set for colonial control two and a half centuries later when Dutch control expanded across the Indonesian archipelago throughout the second half of the nineteenth century (see Dutch East Indies). Dutch political and economic control over Bali began in the 1840s on the island's north coast, when the Dutch pitted various distrustful Balinese realms against each other.[9] In the late 1890s, struggles between Balinese kingdoms in the island's south were exploited by the Dutch to increase their control.
The Dutch mounted large naval and ground assaults at the Sanur region in 1906 and were met by the thousands of members of the royal family and their followers who fought against the superior Dutch force in a suicidal puputan defensive assault rather than face the humiliation of surrender.[9] Despite Dutch demands for surrender, an estimated 1,000 Balinese marched to their death against the invaders.[10] In the Dutch intervention in Bali (1908), a similar massacre occurred in the face of a Dutch assault in Klungkung. Afterwards the Dutch governors were able to exercise administrative control over the island, but local control over religion and culture generally remained intact. Dutch rule over Bali came later and was never as well established as in other parts of Indonesia such as Java and Maluku.
In the 1930s, anthropologists Margaret Mead and Gregory Bateson, and artists Miguel Covarrubias and Walter Spies, and musicologist Colin McPhee created a western image of Bali as "an enchanted land of aesthetes at peace with themselves and nature", and western tourism first developed on the island.
Balinese dancers show for tourists, in Ubud.
Imperial Japan occupied Bali during World War II. Bali Island was not originally a target in their Netherlands East Indies Campaign, but as the airfields on Borneo were inoperative due to heavy rains the Imperial Japanese Army decided to occupy Bali, which did not suffer from comparable weather. The island had no regular Royal Netherlands East Indies Army (KNIL) troops. There was only a Native Auxiliary Corps Prajoda (Korps Prajoda) consisting of about 600 native soldiers and several Dutch KNIL officers under command of KNIL Lieutenant Colonel W.P. Roodenburg. On 19 February 1942 the Japanese forces landed near the town of Senoer. The island was quickly captured.
During the Japanese occupation a Balinese military officer, Gusti Ngurah Rai, formed a Balinese 'freedom army'. The lack of institutional changes from the time of Dutch rule however, and the harshness of war requisitions made Japanese rule little better than the Dutch one.[13] Following Japan's Pacific surrender in August 1945, the Dutch promptly returned to Indonesia, including Bali, immediately to reinstate their pre-war colonial administration. This was resisted by the Balinese rebels now using Japanese weapons. On 20 November 1946, the Battle of Marga was fought in Tabanan in central Bali. Colonel I Gusti Ngurah Rai, by then 29 years old, finally rallied his forces in east Bali at Marga Rana, where they made a suicide attack on the heavily armed Dutch. The Balinese battalion was entirely wiped out, breaking the last thread of Balinese military resistance. In 1946 the Dutch constituted Bali as one of the 13 administrative districts of the newly proclaimed State of East Indonesia, a rival state to the Republic of Indonesia which was proclaimed and headed by Sukarno and Hatta. Bali was included in the "Republic of the United States of Indonesia" when the Netherlands recognised Indonesian independence on 29 December 1949.
The 1963 eruption of Mount Agung killed thousands, created economic havoc and forced many displaced Balinese to be transmigrated to other parts of Indonesia. Mirroring the widening of social divisions across Indonesia in the 1950s and early 1960s, Bali saw conflict between supporters of the traditional caste system, and those rejecting these traditional values. Politically, this was represented by opposing supporters of the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) and the Indonesian Nationalist Party (PNI), with tensions and ill-feeling further increased by the PKI's land reform programs.[9] An attempted coup in Jakarta was put down by forces led by General Suharto. The army became the dominant power as it instigated a violent anti-communist purge, in which the army blamed the PKI for the coup. Most estimates suggest that at least 500,000 people were killed across Indonesia, with an estimated 80,000 killed in Bali, equivalent to 5% of the island's population. With no Islamic forces involved as in Java and Sumatra, upper-caste PNI landlords led the extermination of PKI members.
As a result of the 1965/66 upheavals, Suharto was able to manoeuvre Sukarno out of the presidency, and his "New Order" government reestablished relations with western countries. The pre-War Bali as "paradise" was revived in a modern form, and the resulting large growth in tourism has led to a dramatic increase in Balinese standards of living and significant foreign exchange earned for the country.[9] A bombing in 2002 by militant Islamists in the tourist area of Kuta killed 202 people, mostly foreigners. This attack, and another in 2005, severely affected tourism, bringing much economic hardship to the island, although tourist numbers have now[when?] returned to levels before the bombings.[citation needed]
See also: List of bodies of water in Bali and List of mountains in Bali
Topography of the island
The island of Bali lies 3.2 km (2 mi) east of Java, and is approximately 8 degrees south of the equator. Bali and Java are separated by the Bali Strait. East to west, the island is approximately 153 km (95 mi) wide and spans approximately 112 km (69 mi) north to south; its land area is 5,632 km².
Bali's central mountains include several peaks over 3,000 metres in elevation. The highest is Mount Agung (3,031 m), known as the "mother mountain" which is an active volcano. Mountains range from centre to the eastern side, with Mount Agung the easternmost peak. Bali's volcanic nature has contributed to its exceptional fertility and its tall mountain ranges provide the high rainfall that supports the highly productive agriculture sector. South of the mountains is a broad, steadily descending area where most of Bali's large rice crop is grown. The northern side of the mountains slopes more steeply to the sea and is the main coffee producing area of the island, along with rice, vegetables and cattle. The longest river, Ayung River, flows approximately 75 km.
The island is surrounded by coral reefs. Beaches in the south tend to have white sand while those in the north and west have black sand. Bali has no major waterways, although the Ho River is navigable by small sampan boats. Black sand beaches between Pasut and Klatingdukuh are being developed for tourism, but apart from the seaside temple of Tanah Lot, they are not yet used for significant tourism.
Subak irrigation system
The largest city is the provincial capital, Denpasar, near the southern coast. Its population is around 491,500 (2002). Bali's second-largest city is the old colonial capital, Singaraja, which is located on the north coast and is home to around 100,000 people. Other important cities include the beach resort, Kuta, which is practically part of Denpasar's urban area, and Ubud, situated at the north of Denpasar, is the island's cultural centre.
Three small islands lie to the immediate south east and all are administratively part of the Klungkung regency of Bali: Nusa Penida, Nusa Lembongan and Nusa Ceningan. These islands are separated from Bali by the Badung Strait.
To the east, the Lombok Strait separates Bali from Lombok and marks the biogeographical division between the fauna of the Indomalayan ecozone and the distinctly different fauna of Australasia. The transition is known as the Wallace Line, named after Alfred Russel Wallace, who first proposed a transition zone between these two major biomes. When sea levels dropped during the Pleistocene ice age, Bali was connected to Java and Sumatra and to the mainland of Asia and shared the Asian fauna, but the deep water of the Lombok Strait continued to keep Lombok Island and the Lesser Sunda archipelago isolated.
This section needs additional citations for verification. (October 2012)
The Bali Starling is found only on Bali and is critically endangered.
Bali lies just to the west of the Wallace Line, and thus has a fauna which is Asian in character, with very little Australasian influence, and has more in common with Java than with Lombok.[citation needed] An exception is the Yellow-crested Cockatoo, a member of a primarily Australasian family. There are around 280 species of birds, including the critically endangered Bali Starling, which is endemic. Others Include Barn Swallow, Black-naped Oriole, Black Racket-tailed Treepie, Crested Serpent-eagle, Crested Treeswift, Dollarbird, Java Sparrow, Lesser Adjutant, Long-tailed Shrike, Milky Stork, Pacific Swallow, Red-rumped Swallow, Sacred Kingfisher, Sea Eagle, Woodswallow, Savanna Nightjar, Stork-billed Kingfisher, Yellow-vented Bulbul, White Heron, Great Egret.
Until the early 20th century, Bali was home to several large mammals: the wild Banteng, leopard and the endemic Bali Tiger. The Banteng still occurs in its domestic form, while leopards are found only in neighboring Java, and the Bali Tiger is extinct. The last definite record of a Tiger on Bali dates from 1937, when one was shot, though the subspecies may have survived until the 1940s or 1950s. The relatively small size of the island, conflict with humans, poaching and habitat reduction drove the Tiger to extinction. This was the smallest and rarest of all Tiger subspecies and was never caught on film or displayed in zoos, while few skins or bones remain in museums around the world. Today, the largest mammals are the Javan Rusa deer and the Wild Boar.[citation needed] A second, smaller species of deer, the Indian Muntjac, also occurs. Saltwater crocodiles were once present on the island, but became locally extinct sometime during the last century.[citation needed]
Monkey Forest, Ubud
Squirrels are quite commonly encountered, less often is the Asian Palm Civet, which is also kept in coffee farms to produce Kopi Luwak. Bats are well represented, perhaps the most famous place to encounter them remaining the Goa Lawah (Temple of the Bats) where they are worshipped by the locals and also constitute a tourist attraction. They also occur in other cave temples, for instance at Gangga Beach. Two species of monkey occur. The Crab-eating Macaque, known locally as "kera", is quite common around human settlements and temples, where it becomes accustomed to being fed by humans, particularly in any of the three "monkey forest" temples, such as the popular one in the Ubud area. They are also quite often kept as pets by locals. The second monkey, endemic to Java and some surrounding islands, such as Bali which is far rarer and more elusive is the Javan Langur, locally known as "lutung". They occur in few places apart from the Bali Barat National Park. They are born an orange colour, though by their first year they would have already changed to a more blackish colouration.[citation needed] In Java however, there is more of a tendency for this species to retain its juvenile orange colour into adulthood, and so you can see a mixture of black and orange monkeys together as a family. Other rarer mammals include the Leopard Cat, Sunda Pangolin and Black Giant Squirrel.
Snakes include the King Cobra and Reticulated Python. The Water Monitor can grow to at least 1.5 m (4.9 ft) in length and 50 kg (110 lb)[17] and can move quickly.
The rich coral reefs around the coast, particularly around popular diving spots such as Tulamben, Amed, Menjangan or neighboring Nusa Penida, host a wide range of marine life, for instance Hawksbill Turtle, Giant Sunfish, Giant Manta Ray, Giant Moray Eel, Bumphead Parrotfish, Hammerhead Shark, Reef Shark, barracuda, and sea snakes. Dolphins are commonly encountered on the north coast near Singaraja and Lovina.
A team of scientists conducted a survey from 29 April 2011 to 11 May 2011 at 33 sea sites around Bali. They discovered 952 species of reef fish of which 8 were new discoveries at Pemuteran, Gilimanuk, Nusa Dua, Tulamben and Candidasa, and 393 coral species, including two new ones at Padangbai and between Padangbai and Amed.[18] The average coverage level of healthy coral was 36 percent (better than in Raja Ampat and Halmahera by 29 percent or in Fakfak and Kaimana by 25 percent) with the highest coverage found in Gili Selang and Gili Mimpang in Candidasa, Karangasem regency.
Many plants have been introduced by humans within the last centuries, particularly since the 20th century, making it sometimes hard to distinguish what plants are really native.[citation needed] Among the larger trees the most common are: Banyan trees, Jackfruit, coconuts, bamboo species, acacia trees and also endless rows of coconuts and banana species. Numerous flowers can be seen: hibiscus, frangipani, bougainvillea, poinsettia, oleander, jasmine, water lily, lotus, roses, begonias, orchids and hydrangeas exist. On higher grounds that receive more moisture, for instance around Kintamani, certain species of fern trees, mushrooms and even pine trees thrive well. Rice comes in many varieties. Other plants with agricultural value include: salak, mangosteen, corn, Kintamani orange, coffee and water spinach.
Some of the worst erosion has occurred in Lebih Beach, where up to 7 meters of land is lost every year. Decades ago, this beach was used for holy pilgrimages with more than 10,000 people, but they have now moved to Masceti Beach.[20]
From ranked third in previous review, in 2010 Bali got score 99.65 of Indonesia's environmental quality index and the highest of all the 33 provinces. The score measured 3 water quality parameters: the level of total suspended solids (TSS), dissolved oxygen (DO) and chemical oxygen demand (COD).
Three decades ago, the Balinese economy was largely agriculture-based in terms of both output and employment. Tourism is now the largest single industry in terms of income, and as a result, Bali is one of Indonesia's wealthiest regions. About 80% of Bali's economy depends on tourism; Note: non-referenced % in the article: in fact a great number of the population still lives thanks to agriculture although this situation is changing rapidly. By end of June 2011, non-performing loan of all banks in Bali were 2.23 percent average, relatively quite low compare to about 5 percent average of Indonesian banking industry non-performing loan. The economy, however, suffered significantly as a result of the terrorist bombings 2002 and 2005. The tourism industry is slowly recovering once again.
Although tourism produces the GDP's largest output, agriculture is still the island's biggest employer;[26][citation needed] most notably rice cultivation. Crops grown in smaller amounts include fruit, vegetables, Coffea arabica and other cash and subsistence crops.[citation needed] Fishing also provides a significant number of jobs. Bali is also famous for its artisans who produce a vast array of handicrafts, including batik and ikat cloth and clothing, wooden carvings, stone carvings, painted art and silverware. Notably, individual villages typically adopt a single product, such as wind chimes or wooden furniture.
The Arabica coffee production region is the highland region of Kintamani near Mount Batur. Generally, Balinese coffee is processed using the wet method. This results in a sweet, soft coffee with good consistency. Typical flavors include lemon and other citrus notes. Many coffee farmers in Kintamani are members of a traditional farming system called Subak Abian, which is based on the Hindu philosophy of "Tri Hita Karana". According to this philosophy, the three causes of happiness are good relations with God, other people and the environment. The Subak Abian system is ideally suited to the production of fair trade and organic coffee production. Arabica coffee from Kintamani is the first product in Indonesia to request a Geographical Indication.
The Tirtha Empul Temple draws tourists who seek its holy waters
Pura Taman Ayun, another temple which is a popular tourist destination
This section needs additional citations for verification. (January 2011)
A statue of Arjuna on a street in Bali
The tourism industry is primarily focused in the south, while significant in the other parts of the island as well. The main tourist locations are the town of Kuta (with its beach), and its outer suburbs of Legian and Seminyak (which were once independent townships), the east coast town of Sanur (once the only tourist hub), in the center of the island Ubud, to the south of the Ngurah Rai International Airport, Jimbaran, and the newer development of Nusa Dua and Pecatu.
The American government lifted its travel warnings in 2008. The Australian government last issued an advice on Friday, 4 May 2012. The overall level of the advice was lowered to 'Exercise a high degree of caution'. The Swedish government issued a new warning on Sunday, 10 June 2012 due to one more tourist who has been killed by methanol poisoning.
Kuta Beach is a popular tourist spot in Bali
An offshoot of tourism is the growing real estate industry. Bali real estate has been rapidly developing in the main tourist areas of Kuta, Legian, Seminyak and Oberoi. Most recently, high-end 5 star projects are under development on the Bukit peninsula, on the south side of the island. Million dollar villas are being developed along the cliff sides of south Bali, commanding panoramic ocean views. Foreign and domestic (many Jakarta individuals and companies are fairly active) investment into other areas of the island also continues to grow. Land prices, despite the worldwide economic crisis, have remained stable.
In the last half of 2008, Indonesia's currency had dropped approximately 30% against the US dollar, providing many overseas visitors value for their currencies. Visitor arrivals for 2009 were forecast to drop 8% (which would be higher than 2007 levels), due to the worldwide economic crisis which has also affected the global tourist industry, but not due to any travel warnings.
Bali's tourism economy survived the terrorist bombings of 2002 and 2005, and the tourism industry has in fact slowly recovered and surpassed its pre-terrorist bombing levels; the longterm trend has been a steady increase of visitor arrivals. In 2010, Bali received 2.57 million foreign tourists, which surpassed the target of 2.0–2.3 million tourists. The average occupancy of starred hotels achieved 65 percent, so the island is still able to accommodate tourists for some years without any addition of new rooms/hotels, although at the peak season some of them are fully booked.
Bali received the Best Island award from Travel and Leisure in 2010. The island of Bali won because of its attractive surroundings (both mountain and coastal areas), diverse tourist attractions, excellent international and local restaurants, and the friendliness of the local people. According to BBC Travel released in 2011, Bali is one of the World's Best Islands, rank in second after Greece.
In August 2010, the film version of Eat, Pray, Love (EPL) was released in theaters. The movie was based on Elizabeth Gilbert's best-selling memoir of the same name. It took place at Ubud and Padang-Padang Beach at Bali. The 2006 book, which spent 57 weeks at the No. 1 spot on the New York Times paperback nonfiction best-seller list, had already fueled a boom in EPL tourism in Ubud, the hill town and cultural and tourist center that was the focus of Gilbert's quest for balance through traditional spirituality and healing that leads to love.
Since 2011, China has displaced Japan as the second-largest supplier of tourists to Bali, while Australia still tops the list. Chinese tourists increased by 17 percent from last year due to the impact of ACFTA and new direct flights to Bali.In January 2012, Chinese tourists year on year (yoy) increased by 222.18 percent compared to January 2011, while Japanese tourists declined by 23.54 percent yoy.
A major form of transport in Bali is the Moped
The Ngurah Rai International Airport is located near Jimbaran, on the isthmus at the southernmost part of the island. Lt.Col. Wisnu Airfield is found in north-west Bali.
A coastal road circles the island, and three major two-lane arteries cross the central mountains at passes reaching to 1,750m in height (at Penelokan). The Ngurah Rai Bypass is a four-lane expressway that partly encircles Denpasar and enables cars to travel quickly in the heavily populated south. Bali has no railway lines yet.
December 2010: Government of Indonesia has invited investors to build Tanah Ampo Cruise Terminal at Karangasem, Bali amounted $30 million.[36] In 17 July 2011 the first cruise ship (Sun Princess) will anchor about 400 meters away from the wharf of Tanah Ampo harbor. The current pier is only 154 meters and will eventually be 300 to 350 meters to accommodate international cruise ships. The harbor would be safer than Benoa and has a scenic backdrop of a panoramic view of mountainous area with green rice fields.[37] By December 2011 the auction process will be settled and Tanah Ampo is predicted to become the main hub for cruise ships in Indonesia by 2013.[38]
A Memorandum of Understanding has been signed by two ministers, Bali's Governor and Indonesian Train Company to build 565 kilometers of railway along the coast around the island. It should be operating by 2015.[39]
On 16 March 2011 (Tanjung) Benoa port received the "Best Port Welcome 2010" award from London's "Dream World Cruise Destination" magazine.[40] Government plans to expand the role of Benoa port as export-import port to boost Bali's trade and industry sector.
On May 2011, an integrated Areal Traffic Control System (ATCS) was implemented to reduce traffic jams at four crossing points: Ngurah Rai statue, Dewa Ruci Kuta crossing, Jimbaran crossing and Sanur crossing. ATCS is an integrated system connecting all traffic lights, CCTVs and other traffic signals with a monitoring office at the police headquarters. It has successfully been implemented in other ASEAN countries and will be implemented at other crossings in Bali.[42][43]
On 21 December 2011 construction started on the Nusa Dua-Benoa-Ngurah Rai International Airport toll road which will also provide a special lane for motorcycles. This has been done by seven state-owned enterprises led by PT Jasa Marga with 60 percent of shares. PT Jasa Marga Bali Tol will construct the 9.91 kilometers toll road. The construction is estimated to cost Rp.2.49 trillion ($273.9 million) and is expected to be finished by April 2013 before the Apec Summit and the Bali Summer Summit in 2013. The project will go through 2 kilometers of mangrove forest and through 2.3 kilometers of beach, both within 5.4 hectares area. The elevated toll road will be built over the mangrove forest on 18,000 concrete pillars which will occupy 2 hectares of mangroves forest. This will be compensated by new planting of 300,000 mangrove trees along the road. On 21 December 2011 the Dewa Ruci 450 meters underpass has also started on the busy Dewa Ruci junction near Bali Kuta Galeria with an estimated cost of Rp136 billion ($14.9 million) from the state budget.[44][45][46]
To solve chronic traffic problems, the province will build a toll road connecting Serangan with Tohpati, a toll road connecting Kuta, Denpasar and Tohpati and a flyover connecting Kuta and Ngurah Rai Airport.[47]
The population of Bali was 3,891,428 (at the 2010 Census). There are an estimated 30,000 expatriates living in Bali.[48]
The Mother Temple of Besakih, one of Bali's most significant Hindu temples.
A religious procession
Unlike most of Muslim-majority Indonesia, about 93.18% of Bali's population adheres to Balinese Hinduism, formed as a combination of existing local beliefs and Hindu influences from mainland Southeast Asia and South Asia. Minority religions include Islam (4.79%), Christianity (1.38%), and Buddhism (0.64%). These figures do not include immigrants from other parts of Indonesia.
When Islam surpassed Hinduism in Java (16th century), Bali became a refuge for many Hindus. Balinese Hinduism is an amalgam in which gods and demigods are worshipped together with Buddhist heroes, the spirits of ancestors, indigenous agricultural deities and sacred places. Religion as it is practiced in Bali is a composite belief system that embraces not only theology, philosophy, and mythology, but ancestor worship, animism and magic. It pervades nearly every aspect of traditional life. Caste is observed, though less strictly than in India. With an estimated 20,000 puras (temples) and shrines, Bali is known as the "Island of a Thousand Puras", or "Island of the Gods".[49]
Balinese Hinduism has roots in Indian Hinduism and in Buddhism, and adopted the animistic traditions of the indigenous people. This influence strengthened the belief that the gods and goddesses are present in all things. Every element of nature, therefore, possesses its own power, which reflects the power of the gods. A rock, tree, dagger, or woven cloth is a potential home for spirits whose energy can be directed for good or evil. Balinese Hinduism is deeply interwoven with art and ritual. Ritualizing states of self-control are a notable feature of religious expression among the people, who for this reason have become famous for their graceful and decorous behavior.[50]
Apart from the majority of Balinese Hindus, there also exist Chinese immigrants whose traditions have melded with that of the locals. As a result, these Sino-Balinese not only embrace their original religion, which is a mixture of Buddhism, Christianity, Taoism and Confucianism, but also find a way to harmonize it with the local traditions. Hence, it is not uncommon to find local Sino-Balinese during the local temple's odalan. Moreover, Balinese Hindu priests are invited to perform rites alongside a Chinese priest in the event of the death of a Sino-Balinese.[51] Nevertheless, the Sino-Balinese claim to embrace Buddhism for administrative purposes, such as their Identity Cards.
Balinese and Indonesian are the most widely spoken languages in Bali, and the vast majority of Balinese people are bilingual or trilingual. The word "bahasa" literally means language in Indonesian, and the most common spoken language around the touristic areas in Bali are Bahasa Indonesia, as many people in the tourist sector are not solely Balinese, but migrant workers from Java, Lombok, Sumatra, and other parts of Indonesia. There are several indigenous Balinese languages, but most Balinese can also use the most widely spoken option: modern common Balinese. The usage of different Balinese languages was traditionally determined by the Balinese caste system and by clan membership, but this tradition is diminishing. Kawi and Sanskrit are also commonly used by some Hindu priests in Bali, for Hinduism literature was mostly written in Sanskrit.
English is a common third language (and the primary foreign language) of many Balinese, owing to the requirements of the tourism industry. Other foreign languages, such as Chinese, Japanese, Korean, French or German are often used in multilingual signs for foreign tourists
Main articles: Music of Bali and Balinese art
The famous dancer I Mario, picture taken 1940.
Bali is renowned for its diverse and sophisticated art forms, such as painting, sculpture, woodcarving, handcrafts, and performing arts. Balinese percussion orchestra music, known as gamelan, is highly developed and varied. Balinese performing arts often portray stories from Hindu epics such as the Ramayana but with heavy Balinese influence. Famous Balinese dances include pendet, legong, baris, topeng, barong, gong keybar, and kecak (the monkey dance). Bali boasts one of the most diverse and innovative performing arts cultures in the world, with paid performances at thousands of temple festivals, private ceremonies, or public shows.
The Hindu New Year, Nyepi, is celebrated in the spring by a day of silence. On this day everyone stays at home and tourists are encouraged to remain in their hotels. On the day before New Year, large and colourful sculptures of ogoh-ogoh monsters are paraded and finally burned in the evening to drive away evil spirits. Other festivals throughout the year are specified by the Balinese pawukon calendrical system.
Hindu Cremation in Ubud
Balinese dancers wearing elaborate headgear, photographed in 1929. Digitally restored.
Celebrations are held for many occasions such as a tooth-filing (coming-of-age ritual), cremation or odalan (temple festival). One of the most important concepts that Balinese ceremonies have in common is that of désa kala patra, which refers to how ritual performances must be appropriate in both the specific and general social context.[54] Many of the ceremonial art forms such as wayang kulit and topeng are highly improvisatory, providing flexibility for the performer to adapt the performance to the current situation.Many celebrations call for a loud, boisterous atmosphere with lots of activity and the resulting aesthetic, ramé, is distinctively Balinese. Often two or more gamelan ensembles will be performing well within earshot, and sometimes compete with each other in order to be heard. Likewise, the audience members talk amongst themselves, get up and walk around, or even cheer on the performance, which adds to the many layers of activity and the liveliness typical of ramé.[56]
Stone carvings in Ubud.
Kaja and kelod are the Balinese equivalents of North and South, which refer to ones orientation between the island's largest mountain Gunung Agung (kaja), and the sea (kelod). In addition to spatial orientation, kaja and kelod have the connotation of good and evil; gods and ancestors are believed to live on the mountain whereas demons live in the sea. Buildings such as temples and residential homes are spatially oriented by having the most sacred spaces closest to the mountain and the unclean places nearest to the sea.
Most temples have an inner courtyard and an outer courtyard which are arranged with the inner courtyard furthest kaja. These spaces serve as performance venues since most Balinese rituals are accompanied by any combination of music, dance and drama. The performances that take place in the inner courtyard are classified as wali, the most sacred rituals which are offerings exclusively for the gods, while the outer courtyard is where bebali ceremonies are held, which are intended for gods and people. Lastly, performances meant solely for the entertainment of humans take place outside the walls of the temple and are called bali-balihan. This three-tiered system of classification was standardized in 1971 by a committee of Balinese officials and artists in order to better protect the sanctity of the oldest and most sacred Balinese rituals from being performed for a paying audience.
Bali's chief industry, has provided the island with a foreign audience that is eager to pay for entertainment, thus creating new performance opportunities and more demand for performers. The impact of tourism is controversial since before it became integrated into the economy, the Balinese performing arts did not exist as a capitalist venture, and were not performed for entertainment outside of their respective ritual context. Since the 1930s sacred rituals such as the barong dance have been performed both in their original contexts, as well as exclusively for paying tourists. This has led to new versions of many of these performances which have developed according to the preferences of foreign audiences; some villages have a barong mask specifically for non-ritual performances as well as an older mask which is only used for sacred performances
Balinese society continues to revolve around each family's ancestral village, to which the cycle of life and religion is closely tied. Coercive aspects of traditional society, such as customary law sanctions imposed by traditional authorities such as village councils (including "kasepekang", or shunning) have risen in importance as a consequence of the democratization and decentralization of Indonesia since 1998.
This information is coming from Wikipedia


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In this tutorial you will learn how to draw a Korean symbol of the positive-negative circle (I don't really know exactly what this is called though) with Google Sketchup, a free programme allows you to draw and design architecture drawings. So, let's go, it's very easy with a couple of steps!
DragoArt members upload artwork and drawing tutorials! They are also allowed to leave comments on tutorials, profiles, etc. Many more features, as well; it's way better than just being a boring guest! Register Now!


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RoyalDude wrote:Like the great Ken Holland always says, "I would never invest that much into a goalie."
Thanks for coming out.Ken Holland wrote:"My feeling is if you can get one of the five or six best goalies in the league you can spend the money," Holland said. "We can't get into those guys, and the difference between the eighth goalie in the league and the 15th goalie, it's a big difference in money. It's not a big difference in performance."


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Here you may arrange your QuickTourn matches. Please check this topic frequently, as you as responsible for your own game. In each round you will play a best of three match against your opponent. You have until Sunday 23:59GMT to play your matches.
Please make sure you give 3 valid timeslots of at least 2 hour's length by Wednesday 23:59GMT. Bear in mind that a game can not start later than Sunday 20GMT.
Please also be aware that if there is no arrangement by Friday 23:59GMT, the game will be automatically arranged for Sunday 17GMT.
Report your results in this topic once you have concluded your matches. It is advised you make screenshot evidence of your victories, in the unlikely event there is a dispute.
Please visit this topic, for a full reminder on the rules and guidelines. If you are still unsure, you may ask questions here
Good luck to both participants!


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"While a majority of Canadians say that climate change is a fact and is caused by emissions, only two-in-five Americans and Britons concur," according to a June 27, 2012, press release from Angus Reid Public Opinion. Respondents were asked, "Which of the following statements comes closest to your view of global warming (or climate change)?" "Global warming is a fact and is mostly caused by emissions from vehicles and industrial facilities" was preferred by 58% of Canadians, 42% of Americans, and 43% of Britons; "global warming is a fact and is mostly caused by natural changes" was preferred by 20% of Canadians, 21% of Americans, and 27% of Britons; "global warming is a theory that has not yet been proven" was preferred by 14% of Canadians, 21% of Americans, and 21% of Britons; and 8% of Canadians, 16% of Americans, and 9% of Britons were not sure.
The full report from Angus Reid also includes (PDF) data showing the variance among different regions in all three countries — acceptance of global warming as caused by emissions was strongest in the Atlantic provinces of Canada (75%) and Quebec (71%), the American West (48%), and London and Scotland (48% and 47%) — and from five previous polls using the same questions conducted from 2009 to 2011. The latest poll was conducted among 1017 American adults, 2026 British adults, and 1004 Canadian adults in May and June 2012; Angus Reid explains, "The margin of error — which measures sampling variability — is +/-2.2% for Great Britain and +/-3.1% for the United States and Canada. The results have been statistically weighted according to the most current education, age, gender and region Census data to ensure a sample representative of the entire adult population of each country."


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The on-time New York State budget approved by the legislature on March 31 included a $38.5 billion transportation program covering the next five years, to be split equally between transit and highways.
Legislative approval – assuming the governor does not use his veto pen to make any substantial changes – means that the Second Avenue Subway and the Long Island Rail Road link to Grand Central Terminal will begin construction. The budget also means that the transit system will continue to be maintained and upgraded, although possibly with a stretching out of some projects. It also means that while bridge and pavement conditions on state bridges and highways will not deteriorate, congestion will continue to worsen. Finally, the way the budget was financed means that in 2010, New York will face the same hard financing issues that it confronted this year.
Let's look at how the $38.5 billion breaks down, starting with funding for the Capital Program of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and then the Highway Program of the New York State Department of Transportation. (NYSDOT).
System Improvements
Let's start with the MTA's "Core Capital Program." The core program covers what is artfully termed "state of good repair" and "system improvements." These refer to normal replacement and maintenance of rail cars, buses, tracks, signals, stations and the host of infrastructure items required to keep the subway, bus and commuter rail systems in good running order. The benefits of many "state of good repair" elements are readily seen by transit riders. New subway cars, for example, improve the riding experience and are less likely to break down.
But much of this program is unseen – until disaster strikes. The Chambers Street fire late last year illustrated the importance of modernizing signal systems, for example. Sometimes unnoticed, the system-improvement component of the program goes well beyond keeping the system in good repair. New train control and communications systems, for example, now being tested on the L line and scheduled for installation on parts of the F in the next few years, include signage that will announce when the next train will arrive.
Last September, the MTA requested $16 billion for the core program and $500 million for security, for a total of $16.5 billion. The legislature approved $15.4 billion. In discussions with the legislative leaders, the heads of New York City Transit and the commuter railroads apparently said they could live with the lower amount. How they will do so remains to be seen and thus, whether there are real impacts from this $1.1 billion reduction is unclear. The agencies may stretch out certain program elements, for example, or find ways to cut back on project scopes. Megaprojects
Next up are the widely-heralded expansion projects. These include the Second Avenue Subway and East Side Access, which would bring Long Island Rail Road trains into Grand Central. The MTA requested $1.4 billion to begin construction of the first phase of the Second Avenue Subway, which will run from 125th Street to connect into the existing subway line at 63 Street. The MTA also requested $2.3 billion for East Side Access. The legislature approved $2.1 billion for the two projects -- $1.1 billion for East Side Access and $1.0 billion for Second Avenue. The $2.1 billion assumes that the federal government contributes $1 billion.
The approved funding level for these megaprojects means three things.
First, it means that the projects are moving forward. Construction will start during this Capital Program so you can expect that the Second Avenue subway will be built in your working lifetime (unless you are very close to retirement).
Second, don't buy your tickets quite yet. The funding reductions mean that the projects will open somewhat later than had been planned. East Side Access will open probably in 2015 instead of 2011 or 2012. Second Avenue will also be pushed back, although it's not clear how far or to when.
Finally, the way the funding is structured will create greater financial pressures down the road. The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) requires that funding be identified up front before it approves federal assistance. In this case, state officials will request permission to "pay as you go," having just enough money identified to meet the cash needs of the project. The federal agency appears likely to accept their request, although positive action is not certain. What this arrangement means, however, is that state officials will have to identify additional funding sources by the time the next Capital Program comes up for approval.
The legislature also approved $2 billion for the #7 extension, but that entire sum is to come from New York City sources. Finally, there is $400 million for the proposed rail connection between JFK Airport and lower Manhattan, a project that is still substantially unfunded.
Transportation Bond Act
The most-publicized aspect of program funding is the $2.9 billion Transportation Bond Act that will go on the ballot for approval this fall. Proceeds from the Bond Act will be split equally between the MTA and the Highway Program.
Unlike in 2000, when advocacy and civic organizations were lukewarm toward a $3.8 billion Bond Act that failed to win voter approval, these groups are now solidly behind this proposal. They are likely to mount a strong publicity campaign to gain voter approval. The electoral calendar is also in their favor. The mayoral contest is likely to draw voters to the polls in New York City, where voters are likely to back the Bond Act by a large margin.
Tax and Fee Increases
The legislature also approved about $300 million in tax and fee increases to help finance the MTA program. These increases include a 1/8 percent increase in the sales tax, which will end up being 8.375 percent in the MTA service region after a temporary increase expires. The increases also include hikes in vehicle title fees and the mortgage recording tax.
Proceeds from these increases will leverage $4.2 billion in new bonds to be used in the MTA Capital Program.
Financing – A Fare Increase? Jets Stadium Sale?
The legislature also approved just over $3 billion in MTA bonds, a sum that is apparently in the MTA's financial plan from last fall. Thus, as expected, the MTA's debt burden will continue to grow, placing continued pressure on the fare. Warnings of a fare increase every two years could easily come to pass.
Other elements of MTA funding are $1.4 billion in asset sales (West Side rail yards/Jets stadium, Brooklyn rail yards/Nets stadium, and some other asset sales and revenues), the $1 billion from the federal government for system expansion, and several hundred million dollars in assistance from the city.
Looking Over A Cliff After 2010
Perhaps the most notable aspect of the financing is that only about $5 billion of the $17.9 billion program is continuing funding. In 2010, the MTA will once again be looking out over a cliff, wondering how in the world it can come up with roughly $12 billion for the next Capital Program. Once again, options will be to further increase the debt load, increase taxes, sell assets, etc. So, while the legislature has squeezed out enough funding to get the MTA through the 2005 to 2010 period, funding issues are by no means going away. Each time, of course, the issues become more difficult because some of the options were used up in the previous round.
In March, New York University released a report that I wrote assessing highway and bridge conditions and congestion levels in the New York area and capital funding needs for 2005-2010. The report showed that at current funding levels, bridge and highway conditions are likely to deteriorate and congestion will continue to worsen. The assessments of funding needs were striking – an additional $1.3 billion in the New York area alone just to prevent worsening of bridge and pavement conditions and a doubling of the program to meet a reasonable definition of "state of good repair."
The governor proposed a $17.4 billion statewide program, although funding sources were identified for only $15.4 billion. The legislature approved $17.9 billion, matching the MTA program. (As the notion of matching took hold in Albany, highway advocates suddenly became advocates of transit funding as well.) With few details available, it is not clear how much of the $17.9 billion will be allocated to the New York area. Assuming allocations similar to historic patterns, however, it appears that the funding is barely sufficient to keep road and bridge conditions the same as they are currently.
That would leave only a few dollars for the "mobility" program, which includes added highway capacity, elimination of bottlenecks, bus lanes and similar steps to reduce congestion. While many New York City residents can avoid highway congestion by taking the subway, congestion is unavoidable for the movement of goods in the city and for most suburban residents. By not dealing with the problem, state officials are allowing congestion to be an increasingly significant drag on the region's economy.
There are good reasons to be pleased with the Legislature's transportation budget. The legislature provided sufficient funds to keep the transit system in good condition and prevent highway and bridge conditions from worsening. Two megaprojects, the Second Avenue Subway and LIRR link to Grand Central Terminal, are going to proceed. In a state where an on-time budget makes front page headlines, these achievements are worthy of praise.
But as Elliot Spitzer recently noted, the budget does not solve New York's long-term financial challenges.
While coming up with the cash to start the megaprojects, for example, it leaves until the next round in 2010 how to pay for them fully. It loads increased debt on the MTA, ultimately to come out of fares paid by transit riders. And it fails to address long-ignored problems with congestion on the region's highway network.
So while this budget can be seen as a step forward, the journey won't be any easier from here.
Bruce Schaller is head of Schaller Consulting, which provides research and analysis about transportation, and is also a Visiting Scholar at the Center for Transportation Policy and Management at New York University.


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On Friday, Food52 was named Publication of the Year by the James Beard Foundation.
Whoop! W00T! Hooray!
Just as New York would be nothing without its inhabitants, Food52 would be nothing without you, our community. We built this site, but you came and made it what it is. You poured out your hearts and your delicious recipes. You gave helpful tips and answered people's cooking dilemmas. You got together to make preserves and mozzarella. In short, you came here to help create a wonderful cooking site, and we're so pleased, so thrilled, and so grateful that the James Beard Foundation saw what was happening here and gave us two handsome and shiny medals for it. We thank you all and congratulate you on what we've accomplished together!
We'd also like to thank the huge number of people who have supported us and worked with us from the beginning—our recipe testers, photographers, amazing interns, editors, writers, advisors, designers, developers, videographers, investors, friends, and very patient families.
We're still in the early days of FOOD52, and we have so many exciting projects in the works. We look forward to the next year—to cooking with all of you, to learning from you, and to making this the best cooking site we can imagine!
—Amanda & Merrill
(And you can see some clips from the awards ceremony—including A&M's thank you speech—below.)
A New Way to Dinner, co-authored by Food52's founders Amanda Hesser and Merrill Stubbs, is an indispensable playbook for stress-free meal-planning (hint: cook foundational dishes on the weekend and mix and match 'em through the week).
See what other Food52 readers are saying.


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Jon's voice truly cuts through.
Whether radio, TV, or the web, Jon gives a read that people truly notice.
Serious or caring? No problem. Does it have energy, excitement and drama? Check. It's all about range. And Jon's got it.
Brighten up your Narrative with a fresh, compelling read.
People trust Jon. He'll bring your project to life.
Jon is one of the top voices in the world of Radio Imaging.
This is a montage! Hear more samples on the Radio Imaging page.
Jon gives a tutorial or instructional video polish.
He's the secret sauce companies use to make their web videos pop.
The Voice of Jon Carter
Jon Carter's voice overs are heard daily all over the world. Radio Imaging, Television Promos, Commercials, Narrations, even On Hold. Whatever the project, Jon delivers award winning polish to truly connect and meet the needs of his clients.
Is Jon right for your project? Take a listen.


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How Chinese executive's arrest heightens trade tensions
Clip: 12/07/2018 | 7m 52s
The CFO of the Chinese tech giant Huawei was arrested in Vancouver recently on an American warrant for violating sanctions against Iran. But the company has sparked security concerns for years due to its close ties to the Chinese government. Amna Nawaz speaks with defense contractor and author James Mulvenon about how the incident might affect U.S.-China trade relations that are already tense.
Aired: 12/07/18Video has closed captioning.
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Please continue to enjoy extra(s) from this episode.
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Every day somewhere in the U.S., a Census Bureau field interviewer is working on one of our sample surveys. This work asks her to locate specific addresses that our statisticians have chosen to form a scientific sample representing all households in the country. At the moment the addresses are sampled we know nothing about them other than their location. We ask the field interviewer to visit them, seek the participation of the household, administer a questionnaire, and return the answers for processing to produce the statistical information on how the country's doing.
Although these statistical samples are small relative to the 117 million households in the country, all types of households fall in the samples, rich and poor, big and small, in safe and dangerous neighborhoods.
The work of our field representatives is the heart of our fulfilling the mission of offering the U.S. objective, accurate, nonpartisan statistics on the health and well-being of the country.
Just a few days ago a man was convicted of attacking one of our field interviewers with a baseball bat, and is currently awaiting sentencing for assault. In this case the interviewer was visiting a house to obtain an interview for the short form decennial census, a task that would have taken just a few minutes of the resident's time. The homeowner became agitated when he realized that the interviewer was a Census Bureau worker. Witnesses confirm that the interviewer was attacked with a baseball bat outside the structure. I applaud the decision of the court.
Unfortunately, this is not the only incident of residents' anger leading to assaults on our workers. In the 2010 decennial census, there were over 700 incidents of assaults on our interviewers. Many involved guns or other weapons. Some good people who perform this public service were physically harmed in the course of their work. [This sounds like a large number, but I must note that we probably visited houses about 100 million times during the decennial census, so the rate of incidents (700 / 100,000,000) is quite low.]
The low rate is partially a testament to the skills of our staff in dealing with the diverse situations they encounter. We attempt to update and improve the training periodically to stay current with what's happening in the field. Making sure our staff has the necessary "street smarts" is an important obligation that we have as an employer.
Each unprovoked assault on our field staff is a personal tragedy and a blow to the Census Bureau family — one of us doing the public service we're charged to perform for the country was attacked. I am outraged at these events. They should not happen.


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February 27, 2020
CSRwire membership grows by almost 30% in last two years and distributed news items grow by almost 50%.
Submitted by: CSRwire
Categories: Research, Reports & Publications, Corporate Social Responsibility
Posted: Jan 08, 2013 – 07:00 PM EST
SPRINGFIELD, Mass., Jan. 08 /CSRwire/ - CSRwire, the largest repository of voluntary disclosure research in the world and leading global source of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainability news, has released its third annual United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) Communication on Progress (COP).
The UNGC is the largest voluntary corporate responsibility initiative in the world that asks companies and organizations to honor UN goals, including the Millennium Development Goals.
"We're proud to share how our core values, business operations and commitment to social and environmental responsibility align with the UN Global Compact's principles," said Joe Sibilia, CSRwire CEO. "Every step we take brings us closer to a more economically just and environmentally sustainable society and away from single bottom line capitalism."
The COP reports on continued growth for CSRwire: membership continues to expand at the rate of 400-600 members per year, due in part to a new membership structure launched in 2011, and a very conscious and active presence on social media channels. Additionally the COP reports on CSRwire's recertification as a B-Corporation and notes that CSRwire employees volunteered over 1,600 hours in community causes.
"Sustainability means taking responsibility for our actions and ensuring our social, economic and environmental impact is net positive. I have been with CSRwire now for just over one year and am delighted to be part of a vibrant team which makes a tremendous contribution to creating awareness for corporate responsibility, sustainability and philanthropy."
"Almost everything that happens in the sustainability space appears somewhere on CSRwire.com, either through our Press Release service or through exclusive content developed by our community of writers," said Aman Singh, CSRwire's Editorial Director.
"Recently we were thrilled to find that, unbeknown to us, research was conducted by the University of California, Davis and Berkeley, showing that companies saw significant increases in their stock prices just days after issuing CSR releases through CSRwire. This is an independent and objective testimony to the validation of the impact of our broad reach and wide readership," continued Sibilia.
With such emphasis on growth, community development and corporate responsibility, come new services for members, including new media list services that supplement CSRwire's broad, worldwide distribution channels. CSRwire now offers custom list development: news is sent directly to opt-in, targeted outlets (print, broadcast, online, bloggers and freelance writers) – precisely the people who are requesting CSR-related news. The Editorial Department, led by Singh, also leads industry-influencing webinars, Twitter chats and editorials on the most pressing sustainability issues affecting the triple bottom line.
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Forms Jobs
Presentation from the Bowman Gray Environmental Remediation Project Community Meeting on 12/15/2016
The revised edition the Total Maximum Loading Implantation Plan is now available [pdf/715.79kb/15p]
Blum Park Wetlands Presentation [pdf/3.6mb/18p]
What's a Creek Crawl all about? [video]
Groundwater Pollution Committee Meeting [pdf/4mb/159p]
Hanes Hosiery Recreation Center
April 28, 2016
April Groundwater Pollution Committee Meeting Agenda [pdf/27kb/1p]
April Groundwater Pollution Committee Meeting Minutes [pdf/242kb/5p]
Groundwater Pollution Committee Meeting Presentation March 17, 2016 [pdf/4.35/19p]
Video of Groundwater presentation
Below is listed follow-up information from the groundwater pollution public meeting, January 6, 2016:
Groundwater Pollution Citizen Presentation [pdf/4.7mb/21p]
NCDWM KI Info Packet [pdf/1.33mb/6p]
Phase I_Indoor Air Sampling Report [pdf/53p]
Stokes Avenue Indoor Air Report [pdf/4.5mb/139p]
Earlier information on groundwater pollution:
Bowman Gray Methane Presentation [pdf/6mb/21p]
Groundwater Pollution Public Information Meeting
Presentation from the March 31, 2015, Meeting at Hanes Hosiery Recreation Center [pdf/5mb/16p]
28th Street Environmental Assessment 2015 [pdf/43mb/434p]
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SAN ANTONIO — Will the "We want Phil" chants now stop? Or will they just grow louder?
Regardless, Phil Jackson isn't walking through that door to restore the Lakers back to a storied franchise. Instead, he will oversee the New York Knicks' front office.
Will Jackson's departure provide some relief for Lakers coach Mike D'Antoni?
"Nah," D'Antoni said.
Still, D'Antoni spoke highly of the coach many Lakers fans wished had replaced Mike Brown after he was fired five games into last season.
"It's a good move," said D'Antoni, who coached the Knicks from 2008 to 2012. "He obviously is a knowledgeable basketball guy. They need that right now."
The Knicks have become the NBA's laughing stock, thanks to poor personnel decisions, a lack of supporting cast around Carmelo Anthony and a meddling owner in James Dolan. But plenty of Laker fans had hoped Jackson could become a savior for the organization after winning five of his 11 NBA titles in two separate stints as the team's head coach.
Jackson, who is engaged to Lakers president Jeanie Buss, had become an unofficial consultant with the Lakers. But he had minimal influence and hadn't spoken to vice president of player personnel Jim Buss since the Lakers interviewed Jackson.
"He has a hell of a mind," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said of Jackson. "Being a coach, it's sort of a pain in the (rear). He's a smart guy."
Jackson will join the organization he once played for as a key bench reserve that won two NBA championships in the 1970's. Despite Jackson's basketball resume, however, he lacks front office experience.
"I'm happy for him," said Lakers forward Pau Gasol, who played for Jackson from 2008 to 2011. "I'm sure the Knicks organization will benefit from his knowledge and his position. It'll be interesting to see how involved and what kind of decisions he'll make and what kind of relationship he'll have with the coaching staff and players."
The Knicks hope Jackson will attract free agents and bring more structure to the organization.
"He's had a say in building a team and knowing what kind of players he likes," said Lakers guard Jordan Farmar, who played for Jackson from 2006 to 2010. "I'm sure he'll have an input on all aspects of basketball operations."
Show me the money
Steve Nash went through relentless workouts to straighten nerve issues in his back and hamstrings, only to appear in 10 games this season. Why didn't he just call it quits?
"I'm not going to retire because I want the money," Nash told Grantland.com in his latest documentary series. "It's honest. We want honest athletes, but at the same time, you're going to have people out there saying 'He's so greedy. He's made x amount of money and he has to take this last little bit.'
"Yes, I do have to take that last little bit. I'm sorry if that is frustrating to some, but if they were in my shoes, they would do exactly the same thing."
Nash will make $9.7 million next season, though the Lakers could waive him through the stretch provision. If that happens, the Lakers would pay Nash a third of his contract annually for the next three years.


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Alfréd Rényi
Born: 30 March 1921 in Budapest, Hungary
Died: 1 February 1970 in Budapest, Hungary
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Alfréd Rényi's parents were Artur Rényi, a mechanical engineer and linguist of wide learning, and Barbara Alexander, the daughter of Bernát Alexander, the professor of philosophy and aesthetics at Budapest University. Both of Alfréd's parents were Jewish, a fact which, sadly, was highly significant for those living in Hungary through this period of anti-Semitic fervour. His paternal grandfather, Artur's father, was born in Germany with the family name of Rosenthal. However he left Germany and, after spending a while as a sheep farmer in Australia, settled in Hungary. He changed his name from Rosenthal to Rényi and made his fortune from a walking stick factory which he founded. One of Alfréd's uncles was Franz Gabriel Alexander, the famous psychoanalyst.
Alfréd, his parents' only child, received a literary, rather than scientific, schooling at a Gymnasium in Budapest. Throughout his life he had a love of literature and was fascinated by the works of the philosophers of ancient Greece. This, perhaps, was partly inherited from his mother and partly a result of his school education. He also began to take an interest in astronomy and this interest led him to take an interest in physics. To understand physics he had to master some difficult mathematics and it soon became clear to him that this was the right subject for him to study at university. Another factor in his move towards mathematics was his outstanding mathematics teacher at the Gymnasium, Rózsa Péter. He graduated from the Gymnasium in 1939 as the best student in his year but, because of his Jewish parents, he was unable to study at Budapest University due to the racial laws imposed by the Hungarian state. However, he was still able to show his outstanding abilities by receiving an honorable mention in both a mathematics competition and in a Greek competition in the autumn of 1939. At this stage Rényi began work at the Ganz Shipyard and Crane Factory. He was a labourer there for about six months until allowed to enter the University of Budapest in October 1940 to study mathematics and physics. His undergraduate lecturers included Lipót Fejér and Paul Turán who writes [19]:-
I first met him in October or November of 1941 when he ... started regularly to attend a lecture series I held to June of 1942. The main topic of discussion was number theory ...In May 1944 Rényi graduated from Budapest University but, in the following month, he was forced into a Fascist Labour Camp but somehow managed to escape [19]:-
Fortunately, his company was not taken from Hungary immediately. When the order to evacuate to the West did come, Rényi escaped, and lived in Budapest using false documents.He obtained false papers and hid for six months managing to avoid capture. During this time his parents were held prisoners in the Budapest ghetto. Alfréd rescued them with an extreme act of bravery [20]:-
Alfréd got hold of a soldier's uniform, walked into the ghetto, and marched his parents out. ... It requires familiarity with the circumstances to appreciate the skill and courage needed to perform these feats.Turán writes [19]:-
Whenever I met him during those days, I was amazed at his level-headedness and courage.Near the end of World War II in March 1945, Rényi obtained a Ph.D. from the University of Szeged, with Frigyes Riesz as his thesis advisor, for a thesis on Cauchy-Fourier series. Results from his doctoral thesis appeared in the paper On the summability of Cauchy-Fourier series (1950). He left Szeged after the award of his doctorate and returned to Budapest where he took on various statistics jobs. During his time in Budapest, he married Katalin Schulhof (1924-1969) in 1946. They had one child, a daughter Zsuzsa born in 1948. Katalin (known also as Catherine or Kató) was also a mathematician and wrote 21 papers, some with her husband. As well as undertaking research in analysis she was very successful in encouraging young university students in their research in all branches of mathematics. The János Bolyai Mathematical Society awards the Kató Rényi Memorial Prize in her honour.
Rényi went to Russia as a postdoctoral student and, between October 1946 and June 1947, worked with Yuri Vladimirovich Linnik on the theory of numbers, in particular working on the Goldbach conjecture [19]:-
His development during those months was nothing short of phenomenal. By an effort of the will, he had effaced his memories of the war years and of the forced-labour camp, to centre now on his work all the fiery energy of his youth and of his exceptional gifts of understanding and concentration.He discovered methods described by Turán as:-
... at present one of the strongest methods of analytical number theory.The results Rényi obtained in Russia were announced in the paper On the representation of an even number as the sum of a single prime and a single almost-prime number (Russian) (1947). L Schoenfeld summarises these results as follows:-
A set of integers S, with the property that there exists an absolute constant K such that each x in S has at most K distinct prime factors, is called an almost-prime set. Each x in S is called an almost-prime number. The author indicates the proof, to be given in detail elsewhere, that each even integer is the sum of an almost-prime number (taken from a fixed set S) and a prime number. He also states that he can prove that there exist infinitely many primes p such that p + 2 is almost-prime (being in a fixed set S*). The first result, regarding the representation of an even number, is an approximation to the unproved Goldbach conjecture and supersedes an earlier proof of the same proposition by Estermann (1932) which made use of an unproved generalized Riemann hypothesis for all Dirichlet L-series. The second result is an approximation to the conjecture of the existence of infinitely many twin primes and is apparently a new result.In the following year Rényi published full proofs of these results and, in addition, noted that his techniques also show that every odd number is the sum of a prime and twice an almost-prime and that for each fixed integer m (positive or negative) there exists an infinity of primes p such that p + m is almost prime.
Other papers published early in his career include: On a Tauberian theorem of O Szász (1946); Integral formulae in the theory of convex curves (1947); On the minimal number of terms of the square of a polynomial (1947); On some new applications of the method of Academician I M Vinogradov (1947); (with Yu V Linnik) On certain hypotheses in the theory of Dirichlet characters (Russian) (1947). After returning to Hungary he was appointed as a Privatdocent and Assistant Professor in October 1947 at the University of Budapest. Between 1949 and October 1950 he was an Extraordinary Professor at the university in Debrecen. He was elected to the Hungarian Academy of Sciences in 1949 as a corresponding member, In 1950 he was appointed as the Director of the new Institute of Applied Mathematics of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. In 1952, in addition to his other roles, he was appointed as a professor at the Department of Probability and Statistics of Eötvös Loránd University in Budapest.
Rényi worked on probability theory which was to be his main research topic throughout his life, but his interests were broad and also covered statistics, information theory, combinatorics, graph theory, number theory and analysis. His list of publications contains, remarkably, 355 items. David Kendall writes [1]:-
In the hands of writers like Linnik, Erdős and Rényi, the theory of numbers is not clearly distinguished from the theory of probability. Each lends techniques to the other, and important problems lie along their common frontier. Thus, when Rényi is referred to as a great applied probabilist, this is partly because of his interests in probability applied to other parts of mathematics.He published joint work with Erdős on random graphs, the most important being On the evolution of random graphs (1960), and also solved an outstanding conjecture concerning random space filling curves in On a one-dimensional problem concerning random space filling (1958). He also produced a number of outstanding books including The calculus of probabilities (Hungarian) (1954). Eugene Lukacs writes:-
Probability theory and its applications had been neglected in the curriculum of Hungarian universities until very recently when the author started to lecture regularly on these topics. He had therefore to prepare mimeographed notes for his students which lead, after repeated revisions, to the publication of the present book. It is thus the first modern Hungarian text book on probability theory and offers an excellent introduction into this field. ... It is regrettable that this book is useful only to Hungarian students; it would deserve to be added to the foreign language publications of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences.Indeed in 1962 a thoroughly revised and completely reorganized German edition was published under the title Wahrscheinlichkeitsrechnung. Mit einem Anhang über Informationstheorie. A French edition appeared in 1966 and an English edition, containing three new sections, was published as Probability theory in 1970. Another book, also published in 1970, was Foundations of probability. This book developed a totally different approach to probability, based on the concept of conditional probability space, from any other book previously published on the topic. This approach was based on a new system of axioms which Rényi had invented and presented in a lecture to the International Congress of Mathematicians held in Amsterdam from 2 September to 9 September 1954.
Known to his many friends and colleagues by the nickname of 'Buba,' he often remembered as the author of the anecdote:
... a mathematician is a machine for converting coffee into theoremsTurán developed the anecdote further by describing weak coffee as fit only for lemmas. Rényi was a famous raconteur remembered for many performances of his dialogue, which he addressed to his daughter, on the nature of mathematics. In this style he published Dialoge über Mathematik Ⓣ (1967) and Letters on probability (Hungarian edition 1969, English translation 1972). This work is a fascinating semi-popular, semi-historical account of some of the early ideas on probability. Rényi adopts the style of presentation as a collection of (fictitious) letters from Pascal to Fermat. He assumes that the replies have been lost. To give a flavour of Dialoge über Mathematik Ⓣ we quote what Rényi has Archimedes say to King Hieron [2]:-
Mathematics is like your daughter Helena, who suspects every time a suitor appears that he is not really in love with her, but is interested in her only because he wants to be the son-in-law of the king. She wants a husband who loves her for her own beauty, her wit and charm, and not for the wealth and power he can get by marrying her. Similarly, mathematics reveals its secrets only to those who approach it with pure love, for its own beauty. Those who do this are, of course, also rewarded with results of practical importance. But if somebody asks at each step "What can I profit by this?" he will not get far.Rényi received many honours for his achievements and, had he not died at the tragically young age of 48, he would have undoubtedly have received many more. He was twice awarded the Kossuth Prize by the Hungarian Government, was elected vice-president of the International Statistical Institute, served as he was secretary of the János Bolyai Mathematical Society (1949-55), and was invited to serve on the editorial boards of eight journals. After his sudden death, material was found for a book on which he was working Diary on information theory. Gyula Katona, using Rényi's notes for the rest of the book, completed it and it was published first in Hungarian, then in German in 1982, and in English in 1984, fourteen years after Rényi's death.
David Kendall in [10] gives us a little more understanding into Rényi's ways of working. He was:-
... a pure mathematician of massive achievements and towering stature in the classical fields of number theory and analysis. Rényi possessed also an inquisitive and dogged interest in all the phenomena of the world about him, and in all the scholarly activities of his colleagues, whether scientific or humane, and this unique combination of powers and interests enabled him to build up a research institute in which the criterion for acceptability of a subject for investigation was 'does there exits at least one mathematician with a genuine interest in this topic'? Once accepted as appropriate, however, the topic would be pursued in a thoroughly professional way; the argument would be followed wherever it led, and buttressed by whatever mathematical means seemed appropriate, however exotic or sophisticated.Finally let us quote Turán concerning Rényi's leisure interests [19]:-
Rényi's zest for life was by no means exhausted in his many-sided intellectual activities and involvement in public affairs. He was fond of rowing and swimming in the Danube in summer and of skiing in winter. With his wife and daughter Zsuzsa he frequented concerts and theatres; at the parties they gave in their home, Rényi entertained his friends with witty anecdotes and with playing the piano. Those entering his study were welcomed by bookshelves jammed to the ceiling. The books, manuscripts and notes scattered on his desk made the visitor feel that he had entered the scene of creative, productive activity, an activity that Alfréd Rényi carried on unabated to the last day of his life.
Article by: J J O'Connor and E F Robertson
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