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In Pride and Prejudice, what does Jane Austen intend her reader to see as the cause of Elizabeth´s prejudice? Is the cause her parents, education, society at large, Darcy, herself, her sisters, or some combination?
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On the one hand, Austen makes it fairly clear that Elizabeth's prejudice is really an intrinsic character flaw. We learn this in the earlier chapters when we learn more about Jane's character and can see Elizabeth being contrasted against Jane. However, Austen also makes it very clear that, while Mr. Bennet is an affectionate father, especially to Elizabeth, he has his own character flaws, and his lack of control is the reason why the household lacks discipline and principle.
It is in Chapter IV that Austen allows us to see the two eldest sisters, Elizabeth and Jane, in comparison. Elizabeth reprimands Jane for being to agreeable and for never finding fault in anyone. When Jane retorts that she would not want to be quick in "censuring," or judging or criticizing anyone, Elizabeth states her belief that anyone with sense should be able to see others' character flaws, as we see when she says to Jane:
With your good sense, to be honestly blind to the follies and nonsense of others! .. to take the good of every body's character and make it still better, and say nothing of the bad--belongs to you alone. (Vol. 1, Ch. 4).
Since we know that Jane is open-minded to a fault, unable to see any flaws, we know that in contrast, Elizabeth can be very prejudicial. She takes pride in her discernment, but in reality, all she is doing is being far too hasty to judge people. In this chapter, Austen does not attribute either Jane's or Elizabeth's character flaws to any external element. Jane's character flaws are completely unlike anyone else's in their family. Therefore, Austen is making it very clear in this chapter that Jane's character flaw of being too open-minded is something intrinsic, something she was born with. Likewise, while Elizabeth's character flaw may somewhat resemble her father's, Austen does not attribute the flaw to Mr. Bennet in this chapter, it is clear that Austen is also pointing out that Elizabeth's character flaw of prejudice is also intrinsic to Elizabeth.
However, Austen also makes it clear in several places that she feels Mr. Bennet also has a blameworthy character. In fact, Austen makes it clear that she feels Mr. Bennet is responsible for any of his family's improper behavior, such as Lydia's flirtation and elopement. In several places, Austen chastises Mr. Bennet's character. For example, in the first chapter he is introduced as having a "sarcastic humor," a "reserve," and a mood that changes easily (Vol. 1, Ch. 1). Also, it's made known that both Austen and Elizabeth feel that Mr. Bennet made a very bad choice in marriage. He married a woman who was socially beneath him only because he thought she was beautiful; however, unfortunately, she also turned out to be a very ridiculous woman. She directs her daughters to be just as silly as she is, and Mr. Bennet fails to take control as head of the household. We see Elizabeth reflect on her father's failings after the regiment leaves Meryton and Lydia begins begging to go to Brighton. Elizabeth reflects that he had enough talents for being a sensible man, and if he had tried to teach his daughters good sense, he might have saved them, even if he could not make his wife more sensible, as we see in her line, "... talents which rightly used, might at least have preserved the respectability of his daughters, even if incapable of enlarging the mind of his wife" (Vol. II, Ch. 19).
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$50m in Dubai land sales
Dubai land deals worth close to $50m were concluded in Dubai on Tuesday, according to the Lands and Property Department. Mortgages worth $37.33m and sales valued at $11.44m were registered. The highest turnover was in Emirates Hills-1, where sales worth $4.5m took place.
Source: AME Info

subset: commoncrawl


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David Allen, President of Allen Media, Inc., is pleased to announce that Thomas Newton has joined his advertising and marketing firm as Relationship Manager. South Hadley, MA - Thomas Newton of Wilbraham has accepted a position at Allen Media, Inc., 21 College Street, South Hadley as Relationship Manager. Newton is a results-oriented, customer-centric executive with extensive experience forging strong relationships with a diverse range of clients. He has exceptional customer service skills and a solid background as a marketing and sales executive. He will work directly with clients who want to optimize their presence in the market with the signature "Full Circle" approach of Allen Media, Inc. "I'm thrilled to have been invited to join the Allen Media team," Newton said. "I look forward to infusing ideas and energy into the company and towards applying my expertise in marketing, branding, advertising and communications to ensure the strategic success of client-related activities." Professional positions previously held by Newton include Vice President of Marketing and Operations at Point Software, Inc., East Longmeadow, MA; Regional Marketing and Promotions Manager at Comcast Spotlight, Bloomfield, CT; Director of Marketing & Promotions at Saga Communications, East Longmeadow, MA; and other senior management positions at Charter Communications, Starz/Encore Networks and Continental Cablevision. Newton has served as co-chair on the Wilbraham Broadband Access Committee since 2010. He is a former chair on the Wilbraham Cable Television Advisory Committee, and he has served on other boards including the Connecticut Cable Television Marketing Association and Big Brothers, Big Sisters of Hampden County. "I am very pleased to welcome Tom to Allen Media," said David Allen. "I am highly impressed with his experience, insights and outgoing personality. I have known Tom for over 20 years and I am confident that he will inspire our current and future clients to maximize their presence and potential in the marketplace through the services we offer at Allen Media, Inc."
For additional editorial comments or information, please contact:
David Allen: 413-534-6100 • firstname.lastname@example.com
Thomas Newton: 413-534-6100 • firstname.lastname@example.com


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08 - 16 Feb 14 | Completed
Cost: Free
Organizer: Art Chennai
Venue: Chennai, Chennai, Chennai, Tamilnadu, India
Website: artchennai.com
Add to Calendar
1. To Let the World In: Narrative and beyond in Contemporary Indian Art is a four-part project addressing the work of three generations of artists currently active in India. The project is being directed by Chaitanya Sambrani. The project involves four components:
a) A major exhibition featuring the work of 25-30 contemporary Indian artists. We are hoping to tour the exhibition to other venues in India and overseas during 2012-13.b) 90-minute film about the work of the artists in the exhibition.c) Seminar addressing themes relevant to the project (Chennai, 16th-18th March 2012) with presentations by art historians, curators, artists and gallery owners.d) A book, which combines the fully illustrated exhibition catalogue with selected proceedings from the seminar.
2. Catastrophe: A public art project at Marina beach.3. Public Installations of large works of art by renowned artists.4. Chennai based galleries to host special previews of curated shows for Art Chennai guests.5. Exhibitions by invited Galleries from outside Chennai with VIP preview.6. Art Conference being curated by Chaitanya Sambrani which has 5 sessions:
a) Session 1: Narrative, art history and the worldb) Session 2: Narrative practices 1c) Session 3: Narrative practices 2d) Session 4: Curatorial Narrativese) Session 5: Leaps of faith: Collectors' narratives


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Electrofuel Intros Li-Ion SuperPolymer BatteryJune 20, 1999 by Jeff Shepard
Electrofuel Inc. (Toronto) announced that its new Lithium-Ion SuperPolymer battery has almost doubled the previous endurance record of rechargeable batteries. The new SuperPolymer battery has an energy density of 470Wh/litre and 183Wh/kg, and is claimed to be able to power laptop computers for 15 hours or more when fully charged. The first product based on this technology is Electrofuel's Powerpad line of computer batteries. Electrofuel is targeting its battery for application in computers, cellular phones, telecommunications, portable GPS, defense and portable medical devices, as well as future application in electric cars, electric bicycles, load leveling for electric utilities, and alternative energy businesses such as solar and wind energy storage. The battery's superpolymer design enables it to be molded into virtually any form to fit the shape of any device, according to Electrofuel. The battery pack can be as thin as a credit card or the size of a briefcase to power electric vehicles. The 160Wh Powerpad 160, available now, offers a run time of about 15 hours. Powerpad 50, 100 and 200 models will be available soon. Pricing for the Powerpad family is $199 to $799.


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Ohio Public Fishing
Lake La Su An
Nestled into the northwest corner of Ohio is La Su An. Can you say bluegill? (or sunfish, red ear, etc.) This well managed spot is unique. The catch here is monitored to keep accurate population data on size and type of all kept fish. The habitat here is absolutely wonderful, I haven't found a site quite like it anywhere in Ohio. Get here early, parking is purposefully limited to decrease angler pressure. Early bird gets the worm.
For fly fishers: Get your walking boots ready to go, there are countless small ponds and decent size lakes to fish no where near parking (which is good if you like to fish a 20 plus acre lake by yourself and can walk)
The Portage River
Wow. The portage is a smaller tributary to Lake Erie and I have to say it may be my favorite spot on the list. If you like fly fishing and wading a beautiful rocky river this is that river you were day dreaming about. It's remains wadable all the up to just south of Oak harbor where you'll start to run into more and more bass boats. The river empties into a larger bay that is at it's northern most tip adjacent to Port Clinton. You can find numerous smallmouth positioned in the upstream sections, the deeper holes hold some solid channel catfish populations, and bucketmouth, and even grab some walleye and perch further into the larger bay regions. Pike can also be found in the beautiful healthy stream.
I love the weighted clouser minnows, crawfish patterns, wooly buggers, divers, poppers, all of these work as they should and really make this stream enjoyable to fish. On the DNR site has plenty of public boat launches for floating the river as well as public access via parks to climb into the river. I have heard that permission is needed to wade through much of the river due to private property and some have been cited so do your best to talk to landowners if you get carried away wading this beautiful spot.
PS> don't make any plans for that evening, you won't stop wading to the next fishing hole and like me may miss anything you have planned for later!
St. Joseph River Wildlife Area
This is a lake that I frequent ALOT. I even labelled out my best spots for bass and catfish. This property is an old gravel pit converted into a protected wildlife area some years ago. There are some big fish in this lake, big smart fish. They've seen it all. Talking to a guy fishing across the finger he heard that the last time biologist came and shocked the lake a muskie floated up they guessed to be in the 50 inch range. Not sure how true it is but that kind of fish makes news in a small town and I haven't heard his number called yet...
In truth you really need live bait here to land a lot. On certain days the bass turn on and others they politely wave to your gear and stroll the other way. Trout stocked lake!
Van Wert Reservoir
I fish this reservoir every once in awhile between trips home to the southwest portion of the state. Can't say too much in the way of advice but a fun little deep water hole with lots of rock formation. If your driving through just tell your wife your lost and need to ask for directions at this reservoir; haven't came up with a good excuse for my fishing gear in my hand yet.
Southwest Ohio
Rush Run
Southwest Ohio easy access, stump and vegetation galore (not in a terrible way)
Rush run offers a pretty diverse catch. I can't say I've ever mastered the area, different days produce different results, but on that right day you can't go wrong.
Lures of interest: (my top 4)
Bonus: This lake gets stocked with trout in the spring!
Acton Lake
This lake is part of the Hueston Woods State Park. I borderline grew up in this campground. This is where I caught my first fish so it gets an extra notch on my public hotspot list. I'll also give you a good recommendation on where to smash some fish below!
Lots of structure and bank to hike and cast. Sharp banks, submerged structures, an island. Great fishing, great crappie population. Last June I caught a 15 incher from the sugar camp.
Below are two of my best catfish spots. If your lucky enough to have a boat you should check the area in the bottom picture.
I had fished this lake for as long as I remember. I have caught a lot of fish, but it wasn't until I was 19 years old that I landed my first walleye. A little bit like folklore I heard that they existed only on and near the dam spillway (which is a hike to get to). My first trip I was able to land one from a deer hair jig. It was my first walleye right here in southern Ohio. A little tricky and with some patience you can tighten your line miles away from Erie with some fresh walleye.
Twin Creek (Near Gratis Ohio)
I'm already regretting the decision to post this spot. This area holds a special spot in my heart filled with summer fun, rope swings, fireworks, stream side grill-outs, mud slides, canoe trips, and of course great fishing. Think "A River Runs Through It".
I have waded this stretch of the Twin creek for over ten years now and have gotten to know the spots holding prime smallmouth, rock bass, and blue gill. This feeder to the Little Miami has tremendous structure and clarity. The deepest points barely go over head with 98% of it perfectly wadable. Just slip on your best crap tennis shoes or water shoes and enjoy a day wading from bridge to bridge stocking up on fish and whatever else you bring. Great wildlife all along the creek. Grab a rooster tail or your best flamboyant dry flies and have a ball.
Northeast Ohio
The Rocky River
As seen in my Youtube Video the Rocky River has been my destination for steelhead. I'm a rookie to the steelhead game but none the less this river looks good. You pull off and park and then all of sudden your in the woods. From down in the river gorge you wouldn't believe your in Cleveland. Hit this river up in the wintertime with some waders and cured eggs to grab a steelhead or two.
Welp, these are all the spots I'm posting for now. I did my part, don't forget to share. If you have some water your keeping a secret share the love and leave a comment and maybe I'll post it up on the favorite list. Tight lines.
Robbie is the creator of WF and loves to spend time in the outdoors chasing steelhead, upland birds, and the beauty of nature.
February 2017
Sites to Check Out


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Chelsea returned from Naples five weeks ago with their tail between their legs following a 3-1 loss that led the British press to hail Walter Mazzarri's side as the reincarnation of the famous Scudetto winners of the late 80's. This, despite the overwhelming evidence that they couldn't defend and relied almost exclusively on the ability of the 'Three Tenors' and the comic last days of Andre Villas-Boas' Chelsea reign.
Fast-forward three weeks and the hyperbole thrown their way was soon extinguished as Napoli contrived to implode at Stamford Bridge, squandering numerous early chances before succumbing to an aerial bombardment that they just could not cope with.
Their European exit left mixed emotions – Napoli were not expected to go as far as they did, particularly after they were drawn in the toughest group, and yet, Chelsea were floundering. You could argue that the unfortunate timing of Villas-Boas' dismissal conspired against Napoli, but then it would be more sensible to point to their rancid defensive display as the prime reason for their exit.
The heavy 3-0 loss to Juventus on Sunday added weight to the suggestion that Napoli are stumbling towards the finish line. Since defeat at Stamford Bridge, they have gained just two points from nine and head to Rome for a massive fixture against third-place Lazio on Saturday evening. Edy Reja's side are three points in front of Napoli and crucially occupy the final Champions League qualifying spot in a year where fourth only sends you to the Europa League.
Although owner Aurelio De Laurentiis is not shy of a few Euros, he is well aware of the esteem Marek Hamsik, Ezequiel Lavezzi and Edinson Cavani are held across Europe and it's entirely possible they could be flogged to the highest bidder this summer – particularly if the club miss out on Champions League football.
Hamsik is a curious case as his value is almost entirely measured on his goal threat. Away from the box it remains difficult to assess his best attributes but for as long as he scores goals he will continue to command a big fee.
Cavani has frequently professed his love for his current surroundings and has had an outstanding two years in Naples but there is a lingering feeling that these could well be his best years. He didn't exactly show prolific form for Palermo, scoring 37 goals in 117 appearances and has just 11 in 37 for Uruguay. Although his Napoli record currently stands at 61 in 86 appearances, cashing in on the Uruguayan may be more tempting than it should be for De Laurentiis.
Completing the trio, Lavezzi is experiencing an excellent fifth year at the San Paolo, sitting just one goal shy of his best return of 11 goals. But as rumours of an impending bid from the scandalously wealthy backers at Anzhi Makhachkala grow, the financial welfare of a club with a chequered history of account mismanagement may trump sentiment.
The potential departures undoubtedly hang on European football. The Europa League is unlikely to push the three forwards away but that situation would certainly entice bids from Europe's richest clubs. Saturday's fixture is of paramount importance as every passing week dictates the number of vultures circling above Napoli's three elite players.
Bela Guttmann's "the third year is fatal" theory has been discussed extensively in recent times and seems worthy of a mention. As Pep Guardiola reluctantly passes the La Liga baton to Jose Mourinho, the belief is that Real Madrid's impending domestic usurpation will confirm the final days of Catalan dominance. Over in Italy, could the same be said of Napoli?
Mazzarri is in his third year at the San Paolo and recently said: "Last year we did exceptional things, but it is not always possible to repeat seasons like that one." Scouting around Europe, it is clear to see what is afflicting his side. The debut Champions League campaign has taken it's toll on both management and players. In a similar way to Tottenham's fifth placed finish in 2010/11 and the relegation-threatened predicament Villarreal currently find themselves in, the first meal at Europe's top table is always the toughest to keep down.
If, (and it's a big 'if') Mazzarri leads his side back to Champions League football, he will have placed Napoli on the verge of a period of stable success. The UEFA mega-bucks thrown at De Laurentiis will not only allow Mazzarri to continue to mould his side into a bigger beast, it will keep the wolves at bay.
There can be no denying that Napoli have dined out on their flimsy squad and with the addition of European games and a run to the Coppa Italia final we are noticing the effects. In Serie A, 13 players have featured in 80% or more of the club's fixtures. In a squad of 28 players, seven haven't started a game. That leaves eight players who have made the odd start and handfuls of sub appearances. Continuity has pushed the squad to the same heights in Serie A as last year, but can it last?
Against Juventus, all three forwards were employed to work hard defensively and as such created little in the attacking third. Right-sided Christian Maggio – one of the team's most vital components – had to be substituted (as he was at Stamford Bridge) due to injury, while Juan Zuniga, the other wing-back was sent-off for elbowing Giorgio Chiellini and will miss two games. There is a fear that Salvatore Aronica will have to play wide against Lazio – a frightening prospect for any Neapolitan to endure.
Those with a glass half-full disposition will chuckle at Lazio's loss to lowly Parma and see little to worry about. But others may cast a southerly glance to Roma and a rejuvenated Inter Milan and grimace at the prospect of totally falling out of the European places.
Cavani once said: "Playing in this team is like being a member of a well-tuned orchestra." 55 goals between the 'Three Tenors' in 2010/11 confirmed his assertion. However, recent weeks have shown that many of the instruments around the attacking trident are showing signs of rust. It is the time of year across Europe that the big players – the most coveted footballers – earn their stripes.
Ironically, should Hamsik, Lavezzi and Cavani propel Napoli into another Champions League season, their value may never be higher. Whether that is a positive will be down to De Laurentiis and his vision of the club's future. He stood by Napoli in the dark days of Serie C1 football in 2004 and helped commandeer a remarkable rise to the upper echelons of Serie A – it's hard to believe he would deplete the squad by selling players unless it was in the best interests of the club.


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|Brooks B17
After the pain had subsided I decided that the Bolt on Bike should have a Brooks leather saddle, but this seemed an extravagance as there were already 2 bikes in the stable that had Brooks B17s. I thought about how one might be able to transfer saddles between bikes, not so easy as they all have different diameter seat tubes and even if they did, there's a fair amount of faff involved in readjusting the saddle position on its post each time.
|Race Face Evolve XC Seatpsot
I then came across the Race Face Evolve XC Seatpost which ingeniously has fully independent adjusters to set tilt and to set the fore aft position, which makes setting up the saddle for different bikes quick and easy. The next step to the solution was to buy seatpost shims to allow the post to be fitted on bikes with differing seatpost diameters.
|Seatpost Shims
The practice of shimming seatposts works better in theory than it does in practice, even when armed with the precise measurements required, there always seems to be some variation in size of seat tube and shim resulting in a fit that may be either a tad too tight or too loose. Either way, a little fettling of the shim with a Dremel it it's too tight, or a layer of aluminum tape if too big, easily remedies the situation. The project has been a complete success allowing the easy transfer of the saddle fitted to seatpost between bikes. The Evolve XC is a quality seatpost which is relatively lightweight and immensely strong and offers an unsurpassed ease of saddle adjustment. Highly Recommended
|Verdict - 5/5 Bolts


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One of the toughest challenges for people when trying to eat a whole food, plant-based diet is giving up cheese. That is because it is so addictive! Here, the Vegan RD, Ginny Messina, offers four tips for ditching it, and she is also giving away a copy of her latest book, Never Too Late to Go Vegan, coauthored with authoress superstars, Carol Adams and Patti Breitman. To enter to win a FREE copy, see below…
4 Tips for Giving Up Cheese
It's never too late to go vegan! When Carol Adams, Patti Breitman and I were writing our book for vegans over 50, we heard from scores of people who had gone vegan later in life. They were loving the benefits of their diet, but many admitted that there were challenges in giving up lifelong habits.
One of those challenges for many people is giving up cheese. For many of us, cheese is associated with childhood comfort food—mac 'n cheese or grilled cheese sandwiches. And in adulthood, platters of cheese and crackers sit at center stage at many parties.
But while giving up the familiar texture, flavor and cozy memories of cheese might seem daunting, there are some simple tips that can ease your way toward a flavorful and happy cheese-free diet.
Discover Umami. Dubbed "the 5th taste" (in addition to salty, sweet, bitter and sour), umami is a savory aspect of certain foods that was discovered in Japan more than one hundred years ago. Aged cheeses are often high in umami. Fortunately, so are many plant foods. These include nutritional yeast, dried mushrooms, olives, tomato paste, sun-dried tomatoes, ripe tomatoes, ume plum vinegar, miso, sea vegetables, and balsamic vinegar. Roasting and caramelizing also bring out the umami in vegetables. When you add these ingredients to recipes, you'll likely find that you miss the cheese much less.
Think outside the cheesy box. What can you have instead of cheese? Try pasta or pizza tossed with caramelized vegetables instead of cheese. If you're making a veggie wrap, skip the melted cheese and use hummus, tapenade or vegan pesto instead. Guacamole on bean burritos or tostados is a healthy alternative to cheese that keeps the flavor authentic and satisfying.
Remember why cheese is off the menu. Nobody wants to dwell on the plight of cows and their calves on dairy farms. But sometimes, when you remind yourself of where cheese comes from, it becomes pretty easy to skip it. And since most of us end up replacing the cheese with healthy plant ingredients, packed with fiber and phytochemicals, we benefit our own health while making a more compassionate choice.
Try vegan cheeses. The commercial vegan cheese market is taking off and these products keep getting better and better. But you can also make your own. A growing number of cookbooks and websites offer wonderful vegan cheeses made from creamy ingredients like soaked cashews and silken tofu blended with umami-rich ingredients. Plug "vegan cheese recipe" into google and you'll come up with easy ideas for cheese spreads and dips.
This cheese dip from Never Too Late to Go Vegan can be made in just minutes. Serve it at your next party, book club meeting, or pot luck. Nobody will miss the cheese!
Rae Sikora's Crock Cheese
1 cup raw cashews (use 2 cups if you want a spreadable cheese rather than a dip)
1 4-ounce jar red pimientos
½ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
6 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
1 teaspoon onion powder
½ teaspoon garlic powder
Process the cashews in a food processor or blender until powdery. Add the rest of the ingredients and process together until very smooth. Chill. Serve with whole grain crackers or raw vegetables.
Ginny is a registered dietitian with a master's degree in public health. She is the co-author of three books on vegan nutrition, Vegan for Life, Vegan for Her, and Never Too Late to Go Vegan and has also co-authored a textbook for health professionals The Dietitians' Guide to Vegetarian Diets. She writes about a variety of issues related to health and vegan activism on her blog TheVeganRD and speaks about vegan nutrition at scientific events for health professionals as well as events for the public.
Ginny was a dietetics instructor at Central Michigan University and a dietitian for the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. When she isn't working on projects related to nutrition, she volunteers for her local animal shelter and works with programs to promote spay and neuter. She lives in Port Townsend, Washington with her husband and an ever-changing population of rescued cats.
Enter to win a free copy of Never Too Late to Be Vegan here: a Rafflecopter giveaway


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Roots Millennium Schools
Thinking about your child's future at the one and the only Roots Millennium Schools (Roots School System) is one of the Best School in Islamabad Pakistan having campuses in various cities of Pakistan; Roots Millennium Schools aiming to develop a truly inclusive, successful and diverse academic skills set with a global perspective, coaching and counseling, an internationally recognized and accredited academic qualification, to benefit from diversity of languages offered, to enhance skill development through award-winning digital literacy and ICT integration programmes, to scale opportunity creation through entrepreneurial engagement to inculcate environmental and community education as active responsible green citizens which are beyond schooling today.
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In terms of permanent solutions, we dedicate our time and resources on your behalf to sourcing the following roles: Directorship, Senior Management, Sales & Business Development, Product Management & Specialists and many more.
Syntricate Recruitment believe that building long-term trusting relationships are paramount and recognise the importance that all contact is strictly confidential. You can be confident that we are working with many of the leading companies in your specialist field.
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For total piece of mind and a cost effective way of resourcing your operation, contact Syntricate Recruitment as we specialise in providing solutions with high calibre personnel. Make Syntricate Recruitment your first point of call.


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Chakras: Third eye, crown
Birthstone: February
Elements: Air, water
Amethyst is the most spiritually rich crystal of all time, it's beauty and energy collide to create one powerful healing tool. Because of its cleansing abilities, one of the leading benefits of the amethyst stones is detoxification, promoting cleansing of the mind, body, and soul from the inside out. Amethyst is a meditative and calming stone that works to provide balance, patience, peace, protection, and success. Hold Amethyst in your hands, to manifest and de stress.
Natural elements always bring good energy to your home, and this pair of Amethyst quartz geode bookends featuring rocky exterior with polished interior edges look great styled on their own or surrounded by other clusters of deep purple Amethyst. Place your amethyst book ends by the front door of your home and they will protect your home and your family. You can even do the same in your company to protect your business and the people involved with it.
Please note: This pair of Amethyst book ends are A grad quality. The item pictured is the item you will receive. Pictures of our crystals are taken in natural light.


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Dorato, E. Lobosco, G.
Unife - University of Ferrara
ABSTRACT: This contribution wants to explore the potentials of informing the design of large-scale networks of paths with predictive models, capable of combining a simulation of users' behaviors within the space and the geo-morphologic intrinsic characteristics of the site. Our work investigates how a deeper knowledge of topology allowed by new technologies could support the application of behavioral modeling at the landscape scale, indirectly informing the creation of paths in the absence of reliable in situ observations on the actual use of a determined area. Thus, the creation of a predictive model capable of simulating users' behaviors according to pre-established parameters can be developed thanks to the cross use of parametric design softwares and territorial informative systems, with the aim of managing and processing a series of useful information deduced both from experience and from the established outputs of studying desire lines, for defining a bundle of potential routes in a given spatial context.
KEYWORDS: desire lines; urban design; parametric landscape architecture; behavioral modeling; topology.
RESUMEN: Este artículo quiere explorar los potenciales de informar el diseño de redes de caminos a gran escala con modelos predictivos, capaces de combinar una simulación de comportamientos de los usuarios dentro del espacio con las características geomorfológicas del sitio. Nuestro trabajo investiga cómo un conocimiento más profundo de la topología, permitido por las nuevas tecnologías, podría apoyar la aplicación de modelos de comportamiento a la escala del paisaje, indirectamente informando acerca de la creación de caminos en ausencia de fiables observaciones in situ sobre el uso real de un área determinada. De esta manera, se puede desarrollar un modelo predictivo capaz de simular los comportamientos de los usuarios según los parámetros preestablecidos gracias al uso cruzado de software de diseño paramétrico y sistemas informativos territoriales, con el objetivo de gestionar y procesar una serie de informaciones útiles deducidas tanto de la experiencia como de los resultados establecidos del estudio de las desire lines, para definir un conjunto de rutas potenciales en un contexto espacial dado.
PALABRAS CLAVE: desire lines; diseño urbano; arquitectura paramétrica del paisaje; modelos de comportamiento; topología.
1. Desire Lines: from Social Signifiers to Potential Design Tools
Providing realistic and plausible models for designing large-scale/landscape elements, such as the pedestrian road system of a determined rural site, is a challenge that requires knowledge from several disciplines (Dorato, 2016). Research on the accurate modeling not only of buildings and urban spaces, but also of territorial and landscape environments is today of particular interest to urban planners and landscape architects, parks and emergency management authorities, as well as – indirectly - tourists and visitors, for the growing requirements of quantity and quality (i.e. territorial fruition, accessibility, and safety) are imposing the need for alternative solutions that allow for efficient, computer-aided design.
By integrating the concept of desire lines to the planning process, and by recognizing its potentials as an operative tool capable of informing and supporting complex landscape design choices, this article wants to emphasize the available resources for defining a new "landscape behavioral model": considering and blending together topographic and site-specific features with people's potential preferences and needs when crossing the landscape. The following chapters will give a partial review of some past and contemporary applications of desire lines-oriented interventions at the urban level, then shifting the problem to a broader territorial scale, and discussing a new methodology. We introduce an original modus operandi related to a digital script in Grasshopper – Rhinoceros, capable of combining countless parameters for defining a parametrically-controlled bundle of "desire paths" through the landscape. By presenting a sample application to be tested in further operative interventions, we aim at creating consensus for additional, interdisciplinary investigations.
The notion of desire lines (also defined as "desire paths") refers to the well visible traces left on the ground, or any other solid surface, by an act of continuous movement. As highlighted in the volume "Universal Principles of Design" (Lidwell, Holden & Butler, 2010), the use of this term concerns the worn paths where people generally walk (or cycle, or move by using other means of transport), representing a clear indication of how a determined environment is actually used, while bringing to light the preferential ways of interaction within a place.
The arise of such lines in the urban or landscape setting represents, according to scientific literature, the appearance of the actual needs or preferences of the users who, independently from the paths identified by the official design, leave a trace of what – in most cases – represents the shortest or easiest itinerary for moving from point A to point B. As Norman (2011) underlines, "Messy trails of people, worn-down dirt paths through the lawns, grasses and even flowerbeds are social signifiers, a clear indication that people's desires do not match the vision of the planners. People try to simplify the paths they take when walking, taking short routes rather than long ones, even if it means walking across gardens or scampering up hills. (…) Human-made trails are called "desire lines", for they reflect desired paths even though the formal layout of streets and sidewalks do not accommodate them" (p.126).
According to anthropologist Tim Ingold (2007), human beings generate lines wherever they go, and whatever they do: the creation of lines (being the physical paths marked on the ground; the graphic signs of writing and drawing; the ephemeral lines pictured in the air while gesticulating, and so forth) subsumes all aspects of everyday activities, thus bringing them together into a single field of inquiry. The observation of the appearance of desire lines within the physical space of a city, as well as their interpretation as a socio-behavioral phenomenon, has mainly been developed by the social and human sciences, and only as an afterthought adopted by the planning disciplines in some experiences of urban design or redevelopment of public spaces. In fact, if "social desire paths reflect emergent phenomena that occur when individuals interact with formal social structures that are not working for them" (Nichols, 2014: p.167), similarly desire paths are "the ultimate unbiased expression of natural human purpose" (Myhill, 2004: p.293) referring to the traces left on the ground where people naturally walk, regardless of formal pathways.
As also Charlotte Bates (2017) reminds us, this topic lends itself to an interdisciplinary approach: blending together sociological perspectives – mainly overlooking the materiality of space, focusing on the social and political relations which develop in it – and those of urban and landscape design, centered on the physical features of public space, while often underestimating its non-physical qualities. Moreover, and as later partially discussed in this article, the recent surge in urban data and its availability via the Internet is fomenting a significant amount of research also in the field of computer graphics, as well as in a number of applications in urban planning, emergency management, and visualization (Vanegas et al., 2010). Thence, in such perspective, focusing on the "desire lines" - understood as a phenomenon also capable of informing and supporting the design and planning processes - is a challenge that requires knowledge from several disciplines, and that could greatly benefit from a holistic approach and multi-disciplinary collaborations.
Fig. 1
An example of desire lines diverging from the designed paths, generated by cyclists and pedestrians across the grass of two Copenhagen public parks (photo by the authors, 2016).
As for the appearance of this concept within the planning disciplines, some contributions of scientific literature attribute the genesis of the so-called desire lines to French philosopher Gaston Bachelard, however perpetrating a conceptual mistake. In fact, in his book The Poetics of Space (Bachelard, 1964) while applying the methods of phenomenology to architecture (meaning how physical space may influence poetic imagination and people's emotional responses to the environment) the author encourages architects to ground their work on the emotions that it will evoke instead of on principles and predetermined rules: emphasizing imagination and rêverie, rather than people's behaviors and choices. So, despite the author stated that "(...) each one of us, then, should speak of his roads, his crossroads, his roadside benches, each one of us should make a surveyor's map of his lost fields and meadows" (Bachelard, 1964: p.11), he did not refer to the actual tracing of desire paths, but rather to the memories and feelings echoed by determined spaces, and how these could be understood and interpreted as emotional itineraries and eventually emotional maps.
One of the first official uses of the concept applied to urbanism could be found in the final report of the "Chicago Area Transportation Study" (1959). Among other cases, the precepts of this document were then adopted, in the United States, in the re-design of New York Central Park's paths, paving the desire lines traced by visitors over time, as illustrated by Elizabeth Barlow Rogers (1987), and in the development of the inner footpaths of many University campuses. As for this latter case (e.g., UC Berkley, University of Florida, Virginia Tech, and others) especially since the 1970s, the design of the pedestrian routes between buildings has tried to give an answer to the actual on-site traveling needs and habits of the students, formalizing paths only after a careful observation and understanding of people flows across the space.
In this perspective, a particularly meaningful experience, which also resulted into in a series of three publications by Christopher Alexander and colleagues (i.e. The Oregon Experiment, 1975; A pattern Language, 1977; and The Timeless Way of Building, 1979;) is the one carried out at the University of Oregon, defining a new design paradigm in the approach to community planning. At the core of this "experiment" was the conception that people should design for themselves their own living environments, and even though implying a radical transformation of the architectural profession, the idea came from the observation that most of the wonderful places of the world were made not by architects but by the people themselves. The proposed process, in order to create a human-friendly and supportive environment, was based on six main principles of implementation, yet prescribing "feeling" as the primary criteria for generating physical changes to any site. Also thanks to the active involvement of people in the construction of their community (i.e. The principle of participation), and believing that planning and design should be guided by a process allowing "the whole to emerge gradually from local acts" (Alexander et al., 1975: p.5) (i.e. The principle of organic order), the authors greatly contributed to the debate of grounding community planning on people's behaviors and choices, supporting in a way the observation and use of desire paths within the planning practice.
2. Behavioral Modeling in Urban and Landscape Interventions
Most recently, several experiences of integrating desire lines within new urban designs have been carried out in several European countries, often combining the direct observation and tracking of the phenomenon to the use of softwares for data gathering and elaboration into simulation models. In Copenhagen, for instance, the experience of the Copenhagenize Design Company (2013) has showed how, through the application of the concept of desire paths to the Bryggebroen shared space, it has been possible to assess and map daily use flows and, according to the emerging conflicts and dangers, make innovative proposals for developing a new set of possible urban layouts based on people's preferences, and able to tackle existing issues. As declared by architects, the final aim of such work was to minimize the number of "informal" and autonomous paths covered by the area users, channeling and integrating them instead within a single new layout of the urban space, better answering to the traveling needs of the population.
Another example of how desire lines were able to inform and reform the practices of urban design is the redevelopment of General Gordon Square in Woolwhich, South London. For the transformation of this site, and in addition to on-site observations, landscape architects Gustafson Porter + Bowman turned to Space Syntax [1] for examining the relationships between the built fabric of the city and urban activity patterns, carrying out surveys and special modeling, studies of pedestrian behaviors, and spatial accessibility analysis. More specifically, the analysis of accessibility was used for creating multiple scenarios and considering, according to possible design features, the various solutions and their overall repercussions. Furthermore, the same methodology has been also applied to understand how different project alternatives might influence a series of economic and social issues: from the profits of commercial activities overlooking the square, to the safety of pedestrians, and the possibility of a good orientation within the public space.
According to the principal problems observed during the analytical phase, and to the results obtained by scenario prefigurations, the architects developed a design capable of increasing visibility into and through the space; reducing level changes and visual clutter; and aligning pedestrian crossings to desire lines. Finally, by broadening the scale of intervention for fully satisfying movement needs among local polarities and main functions, the designers opened up a diagonal route through the centre of the square, directly connecting the transit system stops with the commercial street, according not just to the fastest itinerary criterion, but rather guaranteeing also the most pleasant one.
Fig. 2
Aerial view from Google Earth of General Gordon Square in Woolwhich, London. On the left, the square before the intervention by Gustafson Porter + Bowman (2011); on the right, the actual layout of the urban space, with the main paths following desire lines.
A similar way of designing and conceiving urban modeling in a non-geometrical way is known as "behavioral modeling" (e.g., Batty, 2009; Vanegas et al., 2009; Alkheder et al., 2008; Waddell, 2002): meaning the use of programs and softwares to predict, with great accuracy, the ways in which people will move and interact through a determined space, and under given circumstances. Even though today the term mainly refers to the design of buildings and small urban portions capable to accommodate large crowds (e.g. stations and terminals, stadiums, commercial streets, and so forth) with the main objective of enhancing safety, comfort, and efficiency conditions to assure optimum circulation, the range of factors and events, as well as the scale of implementation is potentially greatly increasable, opening to new applications especially at the urban and landscape levels.
In fact, behavioral modeling grounds on applications such as the already cited SpaceSyntax, and other parametric softwares (predominantly originated from partnerships between scientific institutions and software companies) like SimWalk and MassMotion Flow; these use algorithms, real-world studies, and complex building code equations to simulate crowd movements and predict people's use of space. In addition to the shared aim of simulating human dynamics in space for reaching optimal design flows, what actually relates all these softwares is their reliance on agent-based modeling in which every single person is represented by an individual collection of data, in a one-to-one simulation. Given a determined terrain (for grid sizes are determined by the designer), factors such as the desire to choose the shortest path between point A and point B, or to avoid longer itineraries, are independently modeled across every agent in the simulation; thus, the number of agents modeled and the factors affecting their decisions can range from one to countless, limited only by processing power.
If at urban level the experimentations and modeling attempts of using data directly coming from desire paths to inform and drive transformation projects are growing, at the landscape scale such an approach is still little used, due to a series of limitations. The main one concerns the scarcity of reliable and easily measurable data on territorial use, mainly deriving from the complexity of dealing with more sporadic and spread out fluxes, especially if compared to those of a single building or a delimited public space. Also, another constraint has referred to the accuracy of territorial representation, which for long has not provided sufficiently detailed data for behavioral modeling purposes (as, for instance, low resolution digital terrain models). However, during the past few years, the great improvements of digital CNC technologies (i.e. Computer Numerically Controlled) and the theoretical work carried out around their meaningful use within the field of large-scale landscape design (Girot et al., 2010), has allowed to overcome many representation issues, while outlining the potentials of a different approach.
Thanks to a better and more accurate description of landscape, for example through the use of Lidar [2] and point cloud survey techniques (Lin & Girot, 2014), the conventional approach to landscape design, grounded on the preeminence of images and plans over the understanding of the site, has been inverted. In particular, the notion of topology as discussed and introduced in the disciplinary debate by Christophe Girot and his affiliates in the volume "Topology: Topical Thoughts on the Contemporary Landscape" (Girot et al., 2013) has been a turning-point in such direction, outlining the priority of site-based information in the determination of landscape architecture. The term topology, chosen by the authors for its potential to establish a general theory of design at the landscape scale (as the term "tectonic" did in the architecture field), refers to those physical and morphological qualities which represent the structural bond between landscape appearance, consistency, and dynamics. As noticed by Hays (2015), such position aims at overcoming false expectations derived from idealized formats of landscapes, bringing back the design process to firstly consider local conditions in all their physical complexity, in order to "(...) return to a more original intelligence of terrain" (Girot et al., 2013: p.79).
Moving within such a theoretical framework, our work investigates how a deeper knowledge of topology allowed by new technologies could support the application of behavioral modeling on a broader scale, indirectly informing the creation of paths in the absence of reliable in situ observations on the actual use of a determined area. Thus, the creation of a predictive model capable of simulating users behaviors according to pre-established parameters can be developed thanks to the cross use of parametric design softwares and GIS-based informative systems, with the aim of managing and processing a series of useful information deduced both from experience and from the established outputs of studying desire lines, for defining a frame of potential paths in a given spatial context.
3. Meshwork Vs Network: A Methodological Approach
In a general perspective, this work attempts to emphasize the relations between topology and spatial behaviors, using desire paths as a landscape design and planning tool. An operative application of such procedure might concern, as for our case, the implementation of light infrastructures and mobility schemes in rural and forest sites, especially if belonging to natural parks or protected areas. In these contexts, the existing paths frequently correspond to the old agricultural or pastoral layouts, yet conceived in different environmental conditions and with the aim of fulfilling opposite purposes to the actual ones (e.g. recreational and sport-related activities, cultural and environmental tourism, sightseeing, and so forth). In most cases, the current characteristics of existing rural roads and trails are far from satisfying the necessity of providing accessible, safe and pleasant itineraries and, similarly, existing networks struggle to generate optimal circuits for guaranteeing longer and more cost-effective visits in these areas, also capable of discouraging the so-called "hit and run" experiences.
Given these assumptions, the need of rethinking such networks at territorial scale also represents a chance to introduce the conceptualization of desire lines to the attention of territorial managing authorities, in order to support and drive their decision-making processes and development strategies. Within such framework, this research aims at developing a predictive parametric modeling system based on desire lines, understood as an apparatus able to modify and adapt existing paths - or portions of paths - according to both local topology and visitors expectations and demands.
However, to the project purpose such operation requires an additional level of filter, especially concerning the control of the potential conflicts which might derive from the overlapping of official planning and informal practices (as the very appearance of desire lines in a certain territory underlines). In fact, as suggested by some authors (e.g., Norman, 2011; Nichols, 2014), the notion of desire paths includes and generalizes a series of subjective and preferential behaviors which, sometimes, may risk to get in contrast with those social conventions and rules recognized by design. In some cases, it is proper to ignore or even compel certain behaviors in favor of bigger reasons prescribed, for instance, by users safety when crossing a determined landscape.
By grounding the design process on topology – or more specifically, on the "constructive understanding of landscape" (Girot et al., 2013: p.79), it is possible to consider divergent forces as equal inputs of the parametric modeling: factors featuring desire lines (like distance, slope, etc.), as well as project prescriptions or rules and social conventions can work together as agents informing the final design.
The main outcome of such an operation represents the synthesis between formal and informal variables prefiguring alternative landscape layouts (depending on the importance assigned to each factor), but yet all perfectly adhering to the site's morphological and environmental characteristics. According to this approach, the bundle of possible, parametrically generated paths cannot be described in terms of network, but it'd better pertain to the definition of meshwork as described by Ingold (2007) in his "Taxonomy of Lines". Here, the author establishes an interesting terminological and logical dichotomy between meshwork and network, suggesting how all places and landscapes – even though in their variety – could be understood as a knot of entangled lifelines, a meshwork of reticular patterns left on the ground by people's movements. By recalling Henry Lefebvre's reflections in "The Production of Space", and the philosopher's interpretation of the meaning of meshwork – i.e., an intertwined environment which is more "archi-textural" than architectural: "(...) the reticular patterns left by animals, both wild and domestic, and by people (in and around the houses of village or small town, as in the town immediate environs)" (Lefebvre, 1991: p.117-18), Ingold counterposes to such model the most commonly used one of the network: a series of lines marked in space, with the principal aim of directly connecting points and polarities.
As schematically illustrated in Ingold's diagram (Image 3), opposing a twine of winding, interwoven routes to a set of geometrically straight lines, it is in the entanglement of lines and not in the connection of points that the actual mesh is constituted: a metaphor of the desire paths and of all those lines along which life is lived. Moreover, Ingold (2011) writes: "Proceeding along a path, every inhabitant lays a trail. Where inhabitants meet, trails are entwined, as the life of each becomes bound up with the other. Every entwining is a knot, and the more that lifelines are entwined, the greater the density of the knot" (p.148).
So defined, the meshwork could also be useful to disclose the geographic, geo-morphologic and topographic characteristics of the investigated site, while the network represents an abstract possibility of connecting knots (an approach frequently used by planning and design); thus, the meshwork could potentially configure itself as a sort of territorial "behavioral map". In such perspective, it is interesting to recall Rebecca Solnit's words: "Walking has created paths, roads, trade routes; generated local and cross-continental sense of places; shaped cities, parks; generated maps" (Solnit, 2001: p.4). In fact, whether desire lines are considered as "relicts of walking" (Luckert, 2012), the footprint of people's preferences when moving through space, or citizens response to design and planning implementation, they are without any doubt a physical trace, "(...) a geographical feature – something that might be recorded on a map" (Luckert, 2012: p.318). Thus, actually, a meshwork of desire lines is a map itself.
By channeling such concept to the project practice and to the operative case of defining paths at territorial and landscape scale, the generation of the meshwork – lacking direct data and observations – could be parametrically controlled starting from a topographic base, and a series of factors modeling visitors behaviors in a determined context.
Fig. 3
Tim Ingold's diagram: the meshwork of entangled lines and the network of connected points (Ingold, 2007: p.82).
4. A Parametric Application to the Landscape Scale
The suggestion of using the phenomenon of desire lines not just for reading and understanding a site and people's preferences towards it, but also and above all as an operative design tool, is to be conceived as a way of defining the field of action of a potential meshwork of routes describing a behavioral model deduced from parametric variables.
In the present contribution, we will only describe one possible pilot case: a first operative experimentation yet concerning a generic section of landscape, working as a "tutorial" preparatory to further applications in actual contexts and with real stakeholders. For establishing the parametric input values which would determine the potential bundle of desire lines on the territorial sample, we only took into consideration those factors directly connected to spatial accessibility and walkability: in particular, slope and the distance covered between the nodal points of the meshwork, both deduced from scientific literature as some of the most significant parameters in the individual choice of taking one path instead of another. As we will better explain below, more variables can be added to these two fundamental parameters, all capable of modifying – either constraining or enlarging – the meshwork of potential itineraries.
Image 4 shows the illustrative case of connecting two points, A and B, located on a surface of 5x5 Km generated with Grasshopper in Rhinoceros, thanks to the Elk plugin, importing random data in *.hgt format available on the NASA database "Shuttle Radar Topography Mission" (SRTM), whose degree of definition is close to 9 meters. Once placed the two points on the surface, a first conjunctive path is automatically generated, applying a script inspired to the model developed by Claghorn (2015), and capable of defining the fastest connection without exceeding a 5% average slope on a 20 meter pace.
In order to get such a trail, the script adopts a repetitive logic (i.e., "recursive process"), allowing to gradually interpolate all points on the surface according to a linear sequence which complies with a series of parametrically controllable criteria: for instance, density of points A and B; the slope of the segment between two points, and that of the ones following; and a series of information on the full-scale path, related in this first scenario to the fastest route.
Fig. 4
A bundle of paths generated in Grasshopper through the Claghorn script (2015). At the top left, in red, the shortest path between points A and B, and on the right the meshwork obtained by manipulating slope and distance variables; at the bottom, the visual script adopted to generate the different itineraries (images by the authors, 2017).
As illustrated in Image 5, in correspondence of each point of the itinerary this kind of interaction is progressively repeated: a cylinder whose center lays in point X, with variable height and pre-established radius (20 meters, in our case) intersects the ground surface in an infinite number of other points; among those, the ones respecting the a priori slope criterion (< 5%) are selected. Subsequently, and applying the logic of defining the fastest connection, point X1 is chosen, namely the closest point to the final point B. Moving from X1 through a loop, the above-cited process starts again, and the following points of the path are located (Xn), finally joined together into a line reaching point B.
For the purpose of this article, it is interesting to stress how the method defined by the script is inspired to an ancient way of tracing paths, empirically implemented for defining trails and routes in hardly accessible rural areas: in fact, farmers often used to identify paths by releasing a domesticated animal on arduous grounds, then following and complying the desire line it chose. Similarly, the script - by following a more efficient and less romantic logic – determines the same path according to incremental steps and simulates, even if in a basic and partial way, an analogous method in tracing the desire path. However, the possibility of choosing a variety of parameters for the generation of such an itinerary also arises a series of speculations on the design potentials of this tool. In fact, the choice of different criteria related to accessibility (i.e., pace and slope) determines as much variations in the path, which might correspond to a variety of users abilities.
Fig. 5
A schematization of the recursive process identifying the optimal route between points A and B – in each point X of the path, mainly according to slope and direction criteria (image by the authors, 2017).
Also, the very length of the path can be controlled: instead of the fastest route, a maximum threshold of linear development could be set; or even, a time limit to cover the path's distance by relating length and slope. The range of possibilities deriving from the variation of the indicators finally describes a bundle of lines, a potential meshwork integrating some of the already discussed characteristics of the desire lines together with a series of rules and prescriptions of the planning disciplines.
The above-described example surely represents a simplification, but it also displays the capability of parametric design softwares (in this specific case, the Grasshopper application for Rhinoceros) to model a variety of statistically predictable users behaviors, then transforming them into measurable and geo-referenced traces in space. In such perspective, our experimentation is a first step towards an even more accurate and well-structured methodology, which is currently being tested in different actual environments for assessing its reliability while expanding possibilities.
More specifically, this tool is finding the interests of some Italian authorities directly involved in the management of natural parks and protected areas as, for instance, for the case of the Tuscan "Parco della Val'Orcia e Crete Senesi": a cultural heritage site near the city of Siena, protected by the UNESCO. Here, the managing authority has to deal with some important issues as the park's territorial accessibility and recreational use, and the consequent environmental impacts of such activities; at the same time, it is committed to boost local economies, while optimizing the positive effects of these assets on the territory. However, all these purposes - highly interconnecting to the ways of crossing, and therefore experiencing the landscape by visitors and tourists - often do not match the actual spatial organization of the protected site.
By reflecting on how to reconfigure the existing mobility networks crossing the landscape, the aim is to promote a territorial use as much sustainable as possible, socially inclusive, and cost-effective. In this sense, our research[3] is focusing on how to efficiently reconnect a number of existing rural trails, known as "white routes", which are for long segments interrupted. By doing so, and pursuing objectives of territorial valorization for touristic and recreational uses, and for a sustainable cultural and environmental experience of these landscapes, new large-scale paths are being designed, determining new itineraries based on alternative uses and ways of traveling (Emanueli & Lobosco, 2015). As shown in Image 6, starting from the identification of all those heritage and landscape emergencies which need to be promoted and reconnected, and with a special attention to the interruptions in the existing white routes network, the aim is to apply the parametric model for generating potential desire lines in order to define a new meshwork for crossing and enjoying the site. Even though at an early stage of implementation, we are also experimenting the integration of the above-described model with additional parameters, especially analyzing two aspects.
The first one, concerning a more accurate definition of potential desire paths: for instance, by applying further variables deriving from the study of landscape views and landmarks which could act as route's catalysts; or also, micro-environmental indicators related to comfort – i.e., studying slopes exposure to solar radiations – using plugins for the inquiry of geo-referred data, such as GRASS on the Qgis software.
On the other hand, the second aspect refers to the specific, strategic goals of the investigated context, and to the scale of intervention. These might pertain to the analysis of eco-systemic fragmentation induced by alternative paths in the landscape (trough the use of softwares as FRAGSTATS), or to the exam of hydro-geologic issues which, overlapping with the meshwork, are able to give the risk exposure of each potential path (as illustreted in Image 7). The totality of these information, together with other functional considerations (e.g., maximum walkable lengths, location of rest areas, etc.) might be included in the script generating the bundle of paths: constraining its degrees of freedom, and operating that additional control on the potential desire lines which has already been mentioned.
Fig. 6
A layered representation of some territorial elements which have been taken into account when modeling a sample of the new road network in the "Parco della Val'Orcia e Crete Senesi", Tuscany - Italy (image by G. Engelke, 2016).
Fig. 7
The meshwork of potential paths shown in image 4 is overlapped with the environmental local patchwork, identifying – on the right - the two less impacting paths on the eco-systemic fragmentation (images by the authors, 2017).
5. Conclusions
Broadly speaking, both nature and consistence of the above-cited additional filters are key-elements within the design process, also closely related to the context of intervention and its strategic needs. Basically, the meshwork configures itself as an operative tool supporting the planning and design processes; a framework within which to implement design choices that are not necessarily permanent, and might adapt to several conditions.
In fact, the many lines which compose it represent all the alternative paths: "customized" according to the different users abilities, or to the environmental features of a site (as, for the case of natural parks, depending on reproduction cycles and/or the presence of determined animals). Also, these lines might correspond to the different implementation phases of a broader territorial network, adapting over time according to – among others – climate changes and surrounding conditions. Therefore, the possibility of visualizing how the meshwork may vary by manipulating some pre-determined parameters on the evolution of ground morphology (either for "natural" or artificial events) allows to dynamically interpret the project, and to define a one-to-one relation between paths and landscape.
As a support to the planning process, the meshwork is a tool capable of going beyond the "planned vs used" dichotomy, while integrating social, behavioral, and informal components – typical of desire lines, and embodying the so-defined "social signifiers" recalled by Norman (2011) - within the generative process of new paths, and therefore of new landscapes.
Especially at territorial scale, modeling the indicators deriving from the direct observation of such phenomena, and crossing them with further data characterizing the topology of the investigated context, would allow to visualize and analyze beforehand the potential consequences and repercussions of design choices, according to different evolutionary scenarios of both the landscape and the forms and elements (i.e. the meshwork of paths) which will create it.
[1] Space Syntax represents a set of theories and techniques providing a configurational description of an urban structure by using a connectivity graph representation, and attempts to explain human behaviors and social activities from a spatial configuration point of view (Jiang et al., 2000). First conceived by Bill Hillier and Julienne Hanson at The Bartlett University College of London, it is a tool supporting urban planners to simulate the likely social, economic and physical effects of their designs, seeking to analyze the ways in which the built environment constructs and constrains space; how this construction of space can be described using a "standardized lexicon"; and finally represented through a series of standardized visual conventions (Hillier & Hanson, 1984; Hillier, 1996).
[2] LIDAR (acronym for Light Detection and Ranging or Laser Imaging Detection and Ranging) is a remote sensing technique that allows to determine the distance of an object or of a surface using a laser pulse, in addition to determining the concentration of chemical species in the atmosphere and in the water.
[3] Part of these technical experimentations have been also developed by the Graduate Thesis of G. Engelke, titling: "Le strade bianche delle Crete Senesi. Porgetto di rigenerazione del territorio e dei percorsi dimenticati" (supervisors: Prof. L. Emanueli, Prof. G. Lobosco; co-supervisor: Prof. D. Moderini), University of Ferrara – Department of Architecture, academic year 2015-16.
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text:
Size of Baby as Relative to Common Household Fruit or Vegetable: Baby is as heavy as 4 oranges and is about 16 inches long.
Weight Gain: 25 horrible, embarrassing ridiculous pounds
Gender: Sweet little girl
Movement: More movement this week than last week. I can feel her even when I'm not lying down. Just little stretches and small movements. Nothing painful (thank you baby).
Sleep: Getting comfy and falling asleep is becoming more of a challenge. Still up at least twice per night for potty breaks.
What I miss: Missing my "freedom". Never realized how much I love running errands and cleaning until now.
Cravings: sweets as usual-not good for this mama with gestational diabetes. Trying to enjoy the delicious summer fruit rather than baked goods or other treats.
Symptoms: feet and ankles are officially swelling and my back is definitely feeling the extra weight out front.
Symptoms: feet and ankles are officially swelling and my back is definitely feeling the extra weight out front.
Best moment of the week: I usually don't mention this as a best moment, but our weekly ultrasounds are so much fun. Even though I'm usually a little tense, because after looking at baby girl, we then check out my cervix, I still enjoy watching her on screen. It's amazing how much bigger she looks. The computer predicts she is now 4lbs even. I thought that sounded huge but it's 75th percentile which seems about right.
Worst moment of the week: Being pulled off work for sure. It brings so much anxiety. I'm already so worried about baby and now I'm worried about finances. I'm handling it better now though, I just gotta do what I gotta do.
Next Monday is my follow up appointment. I really, really hope and pray things are looking better or at least the same.


text:
Maggie's Farm
We are a commune of inquiring, skeptical, politically centrist, capitalist, anglophile, traditionalist New England Yankee humans, humanoids, and animals with many interests beyond and above politics. Each of us has had a high-school education (or GED), but all had ADD so didn't pay attention very well, especially the dogs. Each one of us does "try my best to be just like I am," and none of us enjoys working for others, including for Maggie, from whom we receive neither a nickel nor a dime. Freedom from nags, cranks, government, do-gooders, control-freaks and idiots is all that we ask for.
Our Recent Essays Behind the Front Page
Blog Administration
Friday, June 12. 2015
Friday morning links
Kate Upton update
A healthy gal
More Health and Strength Nonsense From the Mainstream Media - More "studies" that mislead the modern man.
Shouldn't People Be Allowed to Love Who They Want?
Of course.
Even Atheists Intuitively Believe in a Creator - New research suggests seeing the natural world as purposefully created is our default setting
Bye, Bye, American History - Professors and historians urged opposition to the College Board's new curriculum for teaching AP U.S. History.
Purdue's Mitch Daniels: It's not hard keeping tuition flat and quality high
My Family's Safety Is More Important than San Francisco's Crazy Gun Laws
Crime spike could throw police reform efforts into doubt
'White Appreciation Day' at Colorado barbecue joint makes colorful statement
Another Lemonade Stand Busted
Sen. Ron Johnson: 'Political Culture Is Out to Demonize' Entrepreneurs
Another Lemonade Stand Busted
CON laws stifle competition and hurt consumers.
Why Does Obama Want This Trade Deal So Badly?
Elizabeth Warren's new plan for debt-free college, explained
Is More Democracy Dumb? And Is That Even the Right Question?
Bill Clinton contradicts Hillary on email claims
Carly Fiorina: It's time for America to redefine feminism, free women from liberal stereotypes
Carly Fiorina's New Ad Dismantles Hillary Clinton's 'Accomplishments'
UN peacekeepers forced hundreds of Haitian women to have sex with them in return for food and medicine
Isis's dirty bomb: Jihadists have seized 'enough radioactive material to build their first WMD'
Undercover Reporter Reveals Irish Businesses Willing to Buy From Iran, North Korea While Refusing Israeli Products
Posted by Bird Dog in Hot News & Misc. Short Subjects at 06:10 | Comments (15) | Trackback (1)
Weblog: www.thepiratescove.us
Tracked: Jun 14, 09:37
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The cops are playing a deadly political power game. Rather than deal with crime in a way consistent with the Constitution, they just pull back and actually function to aid crime in targeted areas.
There's a reason why the founders put real limits on the government, but many of our cops don't want that. They want more Stasi like powers, to intimidate anyone they damned feel like. And when it hits the fan they close ranks and defend each other, just like gang members
As far as I'm concerned, this is not a race issue (many of the victims of poice abuse are white) --it's an abuse of power. The more power one has, the more corrupt one becomes.
You CAN do real police work without trampling freedom,
And that is one of the milder vids I've seen lately.
Then the cops pulling back from harassing citizens over "broken window" crime is a good thing?
If they are all power drunk, then the safest thing for the populace is to limit law enforcement to the big felonies and drop the quality of life crimes, right?
There's a reason why the founders put real limits on the government, but many of our cops don't want that.
you're going to be surprised to learn, because they don't teach this on NCIS or the X-Files, that there is no national police force and that cops are the creation of state governments. missing from The Andy Griffith Show was the lesson that state governments have what are ironically in this case called "general police powers", meaning that there're not limited to specific grants of jurisdiction in the way the federal government is by Article I of the constitution.
Hawaii Five-O did a mediocre job of explaining that some federal constitutional rights like due process, right to counsel, right against self incrimination have been applied to limit the conduct of state/local police forces. But you should know, from every police procedural that CBS ever produced, that it's corruption in the police commission, chief of police office, and rogue cops that is the source of your rant. these are creations of the state government. For a further explanation, watch any TV or movie starring Elliot Ness.
every example in that story involved badly managed or lead local police forces cite any example of police wanting Stasi-like powers. when and where is this alternative universe where police can do "real police work" "consistent with the Constitution"? these are not rhetorical questions.
power=corruption. holy shi'ite let that BS phrase go. that's what every teenager and parking lot attendant thinks.
All constitutional restrictions on police activities apply to state and local governments as well. Thanks to the 14th
Donny can't help itself, Jay: Never let a good pedantry be burdened by rational context...
... says the poaster who's always both unintelligible and wrong.
#184.108.40.206.1 Donny "The Bear Jew" Donowitz on 2015-06-12 13:44 (Reply)
that's axiomatic. but the constitution doesn't prevent ineffective police leadership. policing is a local or regional issue. if there's a corrupt cop or a cop who isn't doing his job, it's not because of or in spite of the constitution.
when post 1 claims the cops want to be like Stasi*, its hard to take the rant seriously. no, in fact, it's impossible to take it seriously.
* atten. Ten. Stasi was the East German internal security service. now you don't have to crib wikipedia.
In Hawaii 5-0, remember that the governor (later found to be in cahoots with and murdered by criminal master-mind Wo Fat), purported to give McGarrett and the rest of the 5-0 team "absolute immunity," which means they didn't have to worry about such things as the Bill of Rights, Due Process, Equal Protection, and all that nonsense. Certainly makes the plot lines simpler and move more quickly, since they don't have to worry about any of the niceties. Apart from the usual violations of rights, actually my favorite plot line is when the 5-0 team stole millions of dollars of drug money from the evidence room (for a good cause, mind you), and there have never seemed to be major repercussions in that, let alone someone raising the argument that the case is no longer good because of tampering with the chain of custody.
Was grabbing a coffee at Starbucks across the street from my office in Manhattan, with a client, when he suddenly grabbed me and said "Isn't that Kate Upton?"
Sure enough, she was in line purchasing a cup.
Manhattan is pretty cool that way.
I was 20lbs over the limit, I got baraged with diet info.Diets don't work. If they did, we'd have tons of snikny people running around. Instead we have more and more fat people. Now while I know not everyone is genetically programmed to live their life looking like a linebacker as I am, not everyone with extra poundage is unhealthy. Genetics play a big part, as well as other health issues.Btw SGT Teddie - Most fat people don't eat 5000 calories. I know a lot of fatties, and I was definately "OBESE" for several years. During my most obese times, I kept a journal of the foods I ate, how much I ate, what I ate, how much I still gained. For 6 months, I ate no more than 1500 calories a day. I worked on my feet walking around all day for 10 hours a day/40 hours a week. I still gained 10 lbs.When I went to buffet, I would eat a bit of meat, a ton of salad (all greens btw I can't stand croutons or meat stuff in my salads), and maybe a couple cookies if I felt brave. While all my snikny friends, would load up on mac & cheese, fried things, tons of meats, loaded baked taters, and huge slices of cakes and ice cream to top it off.There are some fat people who compusively try to kill themselves by eating, like a smoker tries to kill himself by smoking. But a lot of the "fatties" are just that way despite all their efforts.
Oh, my. Have you seen this? The pres. of the Spokane NAACP may have been pretending to be black:
Wait, I thought you were suppose to love the one you are with, even if you can't be with the one you love.
RE: Shouldn't People Be Allowed to Love Who They Want?
Other questions we receive, especially from members of the press, are from those who can't quite understand why Christians can't just "evolve" with the growing cultural consensus.
because almost evolution leads to dead ends.
for a great story, check out the link on that page to the Marine and his bride.
When the government claims they can pass "secret" laws, they should be opposed on principle, whatever the law may say.