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The Annual California Young Lawyers Association (CYLA) Individual Award of Achievement for Distinguished Service to the Profession and the Public was established in 1992 to recognize the substantial achievements of a young lawyer. In 1993, the CYLA Board of Directors renamed the award in memory of Jack Berman who was killed in the 101 California Street (San Francisco) shooting earlier that year. Mr. Berman was a young lawyer who demonstrated outstanding service to the profession and the public, and was dedicated to issues of concern to the profession, especially its young lawyers.
We're pleased to announce that the recipient of the 2012 Jack Berman Award of Achievement will be Ana de Alba
To say Ana de Alba is zealous about workers' rights is an understatement. Starting at the age of six, Ana spent her summers toiling alongside her family picking tomatoes in California's Central Valley. When she and other field workers complained about the grimy, brackish water provided in the fields that summer, they were threatened with a raid from Immigration and Naturalization Services. Understandably, no one dared complain about the water again. A few years later when she was nine, Ana's mother spent an entire summer working on a cucumber farm while being promised she would be paid "next week." Unfortunately for Ana's family, "next week" never came.
Because Ana was so indignant about this maltreatment, her oldest brother, whose wisdom belied his age, encouraged her to become an attorney to fight for the rights of other workers. With the single-mindedness of a child, Ana did just that. She excelled academically and graduated from UC Berkeley and UC Berkeley School of Law, Boalt Hall. Ana then returned to the Central Valley to begin her legal career at Lang, Richert & Patch. Although she has only been practicing for five years, Ana has already made her mark in the pro bono community. Locally, she serves on the Board of Directors for Central California Legal Services, Inc. ("CCLS") and is a member of the Fresno County Bar Association's Pro Bono Services Section. In 2009 she was appointed to a three year term on the California State Bar Standing Committee for the Delivery of Legal Services and in 2010 she joined the California State Bar Pro Bono Coordination Committee.
In addition to sitting on committees, Ana has taken a leadership role in designing and implementing the Central Valley Pro Bono Challenge, launched in 2009 by then California Supreme Court Justice Ronald George. The Challenge encourages attorneys in the Central Valley to provide pro bono assistance to the underserved. Most recently, Ana has served as a driving force behind the Workers' Rights Clinic in Fresno. The Clinic is sponsored by CCLS, Legal Aid Society – Employment Law Center, and the Consulate of Mexico in Fresno. It is the largest project Ana has spearheaded to date and is one that she hopes will change the landscape of pro bono in the Central Valley. The Clinic assists low-wage workers every month with a myriad of employment issues. In addition to meeting the demands of raising a family and being an associate with billable hour requirements, Ana still fervently takes part in weekly telephone conferences, numerous meetings, and several television and radio appearances to promote the Clinic.
"I could not have accomplished any of this without the support of my family, law firm, and the mentorship of some of its most senior partners," she says. "The collaborations that I have been able to form with local organizations are a direct result of the goodwill Lang, Richert & Patch has built in the legal community. I am honored to be able to utilize that to try to make justice more accessible for all."

subset: commoncrawl


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Department: Man and Activity
Website: rikblaauw.com
Many children prefer falling asleep with the door open and the lights on; the transition from day to night can be too abrupt for them. Night Light helps to get used to the dark. Pulling the cord produces a soft light, which slowly fades out. A single pull is good for a half-hour glow. Pulling several times produces enough light to find the way to the toilet at night. Powered by a dynamo, Night Light is not dependent on sockets, batteries or the sun. The lamp is made of safety glass, so it won't break when accidentally dropped. It is safe to use at home, and easy to bring along for a sleepover.


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Vanda Grubišić, EOL Director
It has been another busy and successful year for EOL as demonstrated by the extent and exceptional quality of service the Laboratory has provided to the observational science community, and the leadership and accomplishments in other aspects of our mission to develop and deploy observing facilities and to provide expertise and data services needed to advance scientific understanding of the Earth System.
Field program planning and implementation is a significant part of EOL's mission and an important part of NCAR's Strategic Imperative to provide observational facilities and data services that meet the needs of the science community. In the past year, EOL supported a number of NSF field campaigns and investigator teams by providing our end-to-end service that encompasses everything from guidance in field program planning, to operation of EOL-managed Lower Atmosphere Observing Facilities and instruments in the field, to help with the design and fabrication of specialty instruments, to data services and data management. This past year EOL provided support to five NSF-funded research campaigns (VERTEX, Perdigão, SNOWIE, Eclipse 2017, IDEAL) and to three NSF-approved instrumentation tests (Eclipse, WE-CAN, ARISTO 2017). We have also provided support or partnered in other ways in several projects by NASA (EPOCH), NOAA (EPOCH, SHOUT, VORTEX-SE-2017), and DOE (ACE-ENA, LAFE). EOL's work on these campaigns entailed direct support of more than 50 scientists, 30 graduate and 20 undergraduate students, and the science teams for these campaigns came from more than 30 different institutions.
New science drivers and technological advances call for continued development of our facilities and services. To inform the evolution of our facilities and service and to anticipate new needs by the community we support that is reflective of the current science and technological frontiers, EOL regularly engages in organizing and holding community workshops. This past year we organized and convened three such workshops: 1) The Community Workshop on Unmanned Aircraft Systems for Atmospheric Research, 2) the Lidar Radar Open Source Environment (LROSE) Workshop, and 3) the Community Workshop on Developing Requirements for In-situ and Remote-Sensing Capabilities in Convective and Turbulent Environments (C-RITE). The reports and recommendations from these workshops will serve as key guidance to EOL, NCAR, and NSF in making informed decisions on future developments.
Recommendations from the past workshops are reflected in our current portfolio of developments, such as the Airborne Phased Array Radar (APAR), the diode-laser based Water Vapor Differential Absorption Lidar (WV DIAL), and LROSE all being rooted in the strong expression of need and statement of support by our user communities. This past year we made major strides in all three of these high-priority developments but also in a number of other developments in the Laboratory. The development element of EOL's mission goes hand-in-hand with the culture of innovation that is best exemplified by a number of patents EOL holds. That number was increased by one this year to a total of 32 patents awarded to EOL scientists and engineers over the years.
Data has been and will continue to be the ultimate product from field campaigns EOL supports. In addition to continuing to provide trusted data management and stewardship of field campaign data from current and past campaigns, this year our team undertook a pilot project to improve ways users will be able to search through EOL's Data Archive. This pilot project was part of the NCAR Data Stewardship Engineering Team (DSET) activities and this new capability, currently limited to EOL's Arctic data holdings, allows users to search through the data by project, category, platform, instrument, and by using NASA's standard Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) for science keyword searches.
Through partnership with COMET and the Millersville University, we have continued to advance our new effort at providing instructional modules on instrumentation and observational research through the NSF-funded Synergistic Environments in Graduate and Undergraduate Education (SEGUE) project.
This Annual Report highlights the activities of our teams over the past year in supporting field campaigns, advancing developments, assisting in education of current and future scientists and engineers, and in public outreach.
Vanda Grubišić
Director, NCAR Earth Observing Laboratory
The ability to make observations of the atmosphere, Earth System, and Sun is fundamental to achieving the science goals of NSF, NCAR, and our scientific community. When established, NCAR was charged with providing for the community of atmospheric scientists observing facilities and services that are too large and expensive to be operated by a single university group and are thus best managed and operated centrally. A significant portion of this charge to NCAR now rests with the Earth Observing Laboratory (EOL), which defines its mission to be:
To develop and deploy observing facilities and provide data services needed to advance scientific understanding of the Earth System.
EOL's activities are framed in the context of this mission statement, and are further encapsulated in our "Four Ds": Deployment, Development, Data and Discovery. This annual report describes the efforts we undertook in Fiscal Year (FY) 2017 to carry out the objectives described in our Strategic Plan.
State-of-the-art, accurate observations and measurements of the atmosphere and other parts of the Earth system continue to be the driver for scientific discovery and impetus for advances in geosciences. Such observations are also critical inputs for the robust performance and continued development of weather, climate, and chemistry models. Therefore, our first Imperative is the maintenance of NSF-funded Lower Atmosphere Observing Facilities (LAOF) for research in atmospheric science, with emphasis on systems that are beyond the capabilities of most universities or smaller groups.
Manage LAOF
EOL conducts countless day-to-day efforts to preserve and consistently improve the NSF LAOF resources that are entrusted to NCAR, and to maintain readiness for a vigorous deployment schedule. In the run-up to each field campaign, all instruments undergo exhaustive testing by EOL engineers and technicians to ensure optimal campaign performance. After the field phase commences, it often becomes necessary to make adjustments or upgrades to overcome difficult or unforeseen environmental conditions in order to meet scientific objectives. Then, upon completion of the field phase, calibrations, repairs and reconditioning are often required to maintain instrumentation readiness state for the next activity. The activities described below are a sampling of these efforts for FY 2017.
AVAPS New Registered Trademark
On 28 June 2016, the United States Patent and Trademark Office issued "AVAPS" as a registered trademark. The trademark is registered in international class 009 as an atmospheric instrument that measures vertical profiles of ambient temperature, pressure, humidity, wind speed, and wind direction. Registration No. 4,986,828.
AVAPS Users Group Meeting
The 19th AVAPS users group meeting took place 25 through 26 April 2017. This annual meeting brings users of the NCAR dropsonde system together to present and discuss technical issues and advances as well as scientific results that were achieved using the NCAR dropsonde systems. Dropsonde observations are heavily used in hurricane research but also find widespread use in other field programs, such as studying satellite validation, low-level marine clouds, and gravity waves. This year's meeting brought together 33 scientists, engineers, and dropsonde operators from 12 organizations to discuss new developments, current issues, data formats (e.g., BUFR), data QC topics, and important science results. There were 25 presentations with topics revolving around hurricane forecasting and targeted observations to study large-scale dynamics in mid and high latitudes.
The dropsondes are used by research agencies in seven other countries outside of the United States, including Germany, France, Great Britain, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. Due to the reduction in winter storm observations, the overall number of dropsonde measurements has been below average during the past year. However, the number of sondes provided by NCAR directly to the research community has remained steady.
The AVAPS dropsonde is undergoing a significant upgrade due to parts obsolescence but also to modernize the sonde electronics technology and data processing procedures. Initial atmospheric tests of the updated dropsonde show very promising results and are expected to lead to significant reduction in measurement uncertainty in particular for humidity, combined with an extension of the vertical profile due to faster response times for both the temperature and humidity sensors.
Extensive discussions revolved around the new capability to generate and transmit WMO BUFR messages and the benefits and challenges for numerical model centers using these data. Another section presented initial studies for a new Japanese dropsonde and the progress developing a "Multipurpose Above Surface/Below Surface Expendable Dropsonde". These developments highlight the continuing need for targeted airborne vertical atmospheric profiling.
C-130 Inspection
Approximately every four years, the NSF/NCAR C-130 undergoes a "heavy" check, which is complementary to the normal maintenance performed daily at RAF. These checks usually entail removing and/or closely examining major assemblies of the airframe (e.g., landing gear, engines, flight controls, empennage [tail], wings, fuselage) and inspecting for damage or wear beyond limits, such as corrosion issues, cracks in structural members, damaged fasteners, etc. The heavy check can be broken down into approximately 5 phases: arrival and "open up" (removal of all access panels or components); the inspection procedure, itself; repair, overhaul, or replacement of any damage or worn items; "close up" or reassembling the aircraft, including repainting as necessary (not this time); and a Functional Check Flight (FCF) to ensure that all systems are working properly and the aircraft is airworthy.
The latest heavy inspection of the NSF/NCAR C-130 was conducted at Cascade Aerospace in Abbotsford, Canada beginning 27 March 2017. This particular inspection cycle looked in-depth at the wings and fuel tanks, which involved opening up all access panels, and performing X-ray or ultra-sonic NDI (Non Destructive Inspection), as well as visually inspecting the tanks, wiring, fuel pumps, control valves, etc. RAF sent personnel from the maintenance staff to act as technical representatives during the course of the inspection to keep an eye on the company asset and assist with the engineering and technical questions that inevitably arise during the process (the representatives particularly needed with such a heavily modified research aircraft such as ours). The inspection was successfully completed in summer 2017.
C-130 Power Upgrade System
An upgrade to the C-130 power system to better handle data and operations began in FY 2017. The previous system had reached its limit of ability to power instrumentation. This was a joint effort between DFS and RAF, in which RAF was the lead and DFS created new frames and hardware to fit the new components. The new system will be finalized and tested in early FY 2018.
RAF Emergency Response Exercise
On 15 June 2017, EOL/RAF organized an Emergency Response Exercise to assess EOL's and UCAR's preparedness for an aircraft emergency. Several staff were involved in the project, including pilots, project managers and administration. In addition to EOL, representatives from UCAR level were actively engaged in the exercise, including the UCAR President, the Vice President of Finance and Administration, the Interim UCAR Human Resources Director, the UCAR Communications Director, and the Director of Facilities. RAF worked closely with an outside consultant to help with simulating the emergency.
A sequence of events was simulated for the exercise, including an emergency aircraft landing and a mock media frenzy that would result from such an incident. Those on the emergency response team handled the situation with successful outcomes, showing the readiness of both EOL and UCAR for such an event.
As a result of the five-hour exercise, EOL staff will be making some changes to the EOL Aviation Emergency Response Plan. Follow-up discussions with UCAR on how to further improve the process are also planned. Once the plan is revised and finished, all staff who fly on either of the NSF/NCAR aircraft are encouraged to familiarize themselves with the document.
ICARE 2017 Meeting (10-13 July 2017)
In July, several EOL staff traveled to Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany to participate in the second International Conference on Airborne Research for the Environment (ICARE). Theconference was organized by the European Facility for Airborne Research (EUFAR) and was attended by users of research aircraft, operators, and representatives from several funding agencies. The conference reviewed scientific drivers for future airborne measurements across a broad range of topics in environmental science. Other sessions were focused on the organization of future field campaigns, the development of future airborne science capabilities, instrumentation and platforms, and data needs and services.
Deploy LAOF in NSF-funded Observational Field Campaigns
Field program planning and implementation is a critical community service, and EOL's efforts here are part of NCAR's Strategic Imperative to provide observational facilities that meet the science community's needs. EOL employs and trains project staff, assists principal investigators (PIs) with project planning and preparation, supports observing programs by operating facilities and instruments, and preserves quality of collected data for decades in support of research and field programs worldwide. EOL enables science for each campaign's PIs through this support, and, when we are a science lead or participant, directly engages in that science. EOL provided field program planning and implementation for 4 NSF-funded, 1 NASA-funded, 2 NOAA-funded, and 1 Department of Energy (DOE) research campaigns, as well as 3 NSF-approved instrumentation tests. These were:
In FY 2017, EOL's work on these campaigns entailed direct support of more than 49 scientists, 30 graduate and 20 undergraduate students, and the science teams for these campaigns came from 31 different institutions.
The Perdigão field study took place from 15 December 2016 to 15 June 2017 and was EOL's largest ground-based field deployment in recent history. The aim of the project was to illuminate fundamental properties of boundary-layer (BL) structure in flow over complex terrain in order to help scientists improve representation of BL processes in atmospheric models and to facilitate decisions on where to place wind turbines for harvesting wind energy in complex terrain. Perdigão capitalized on recent technological advances in remote sensing and included over 30 scanning and profiling units to map a valley located in the Serra do Perdigão region of Central Portugal. Along an estimated 4-mile-long, 1-mile-wide swath of a valley in Central Portugal, researchers set up an array of instruments which included close to 50 masts primarily outfitted with NCAR-provided instruments to measure wind speed, direction, temperature, humidity and other factors, both along and perpendicular to two main ridges. Scanning and profiling lidars including NCAR's Water Vapor DIAL (WV DIAL) studied small-scale wind flow in three dimensions.
The project was a collaborative effort between NCAR's Earth Observing Laboratory, the University of Notre Dame, the University of Colorado, Cornell University, the University of California at Berkeley, the University of Oklahoma, and the Army Research Laboratory. Perdigão was funded by NSF and leveraged by resources from the European Union under the European Research Area Network (ERANET)+ Program. The ultimate goal of the ERANET+: New European Wind Atlas (NEWA) project is to create and publish a European Wind Atlas in electronic form, building a model chain of computational models, and field measurement campaigns. Perdigão was the largest project of several wind-mapping studies and experiments associated with the NEWA project.
The Perdigão site (courtesy of N. Vasiljevic)
Perdigão was the first international deployment for NCAR/EOL's Water Vapor Differential Absorption Lidar (WV DIAL) repackaged into a refrigerator-size box (see Figure below). This new configuration is easy to deploy with a forklift.
The image below shows WV DIAL data that were collected during a 10-day period from 24 May to 3 June 2017. The top panel shows the aerosol concentration from the ground up to 12 km ASL; the bottom panel shows the absolute humidity from the ground to 6 km above sea level (ASL). Water vapor variations both in content and depth were detected by the WV DIAL. Multiple layers of aerosol were detected between 30 May and 1 June 2017 (top panel). The high amount of water vapor between 27 and 30 May was accompanied by fog in the valley, leading to severe attenuation of the WV DIAL signals (lower panel).
10 days (5/24/17-6/3/17) of relative backscatter and water vapor data in Perdigão field study
The project was challenging, with weather delays, complex multi-government and –agency negotiations and collaborations, and personnel emergencies all playing a role. However, in the end the project collected a reference data set at unprecedented spatial resolutions, characterizing both the mean and turbulent wind fields in a natural setting. For more information on this massive effort see the Perdigão project page; the Perdigão Field Catalog; the UCAR AtmosNews story, Capturing a Detailed Portrait of Wind; or the Eos.org story Monitoring Wind in Portugal's Mountains Down to Microscales
The Seeded and Natural Orographic Wintertime Clouds: The Idaho Experiment (SNOWIE) project occurred in Idaho, with the goals of understanding the natural dynamical and microphysical processes by which precipitation forms and evolves within orographic winter storms, and determining the physical processes by which cloud seeding, either from ground generators or aircraft, impacts the amount and spatial distribution of snow falling across a river basin. In addition to the instrumentation deployed for the project, EOL's Catalog Maps was a great asset to SNOWIE. The Center for Severe Weather Research (CSWR) deployed DOWs to the project and lead Josh Wurman said: "Real-time imagery revealed what appears to be the most convincing ever direct radar evidence of the effects of SNOWIE cloud seeding. SNOWIE's PIs' ability to see these images in real time enhances the project's science and may positively affect the planning of future IOPs and scanning strategies".
Eclipse 2017 and Eclipse Test Flights
While many of us watched the 21 August 2017 total solar eclipse from the ground, EOL's Research Aviation Facility (RAF) team along with scientists from the Harvard-Smithsonian Astrophysics Observatory (SAO) successfully sampled this once in a lifetime event at 47,000 feet on board the NCAR/NCAR GV. The GV was based in Chattanooga, Tennessee and flew southeast along the eclipse track from central Missouri through Tennessee. The optimal flight path, increased altitude, and speed of the GV allowed scientists to sample the eclipse for a four-minute duration (versus approximately two on the ground).
This project, called Eclipse 2017, aimed to measure, for the first time, the infrared spectrum of the solar corona from 2 to 12 µm during the total solar eclipse on 21 August 2017. Three experiments flew on the NSF/NCAR GV to accompany a spectral survey from the ground, producing images of the corona and polarization measurements during the extended eclipse. The need to measure coronal magnetic fields is driven by several natural science problems also of importance to modern society (e.g., coronal mass ejections). The "mystery of the solar corona" (why it is several hundred times hotter than the solar surface) is related to the magnetic field threading the corona and remains one of the outstanding problems in 21st century physics. This project was headed by PIs from NCAR's High Altitude Observatory and Atmospheric Chemistry, Observations and Modeling Laboratory, as well as SAO.
In preparation for the flight during the eclipse, the Air Spec instrument, which was developed by SAO, was flown aboard the GV for a series of three test flights originating from Rocky Mountain Municipal Airport. The tests ensured successful integration of the instrument onto the GV, initial calibrations and tests – in particularm testing an image stabilization system that was developed by a graduate student at SAO to keep the moon clear and stable in the frame of a camera on Air Spec even with the movement and vibrations of the aircraft.
After months of preparation including several test flights from RMMA, the aircraft was able to fly the eclipse track with near perfect timing, and the Air Spec instrument, specifically designed for this event, observed at least one of the four spectral lines the PIs expected to see in real time (and they anticipate that they will see more once the data is fully analyzed). Identifying the presence of these emission lines in the sun's corona could eventually lead to improved understanding of the sun's magnetic field. For more information on this project, please see the New York Times article titled "Scientists to Take Flight for Longer Views of the Eclipse".
Flight operations for the Airborne Research Instrumentation Testing Opportunity (ARISTO) 2017 project began 22 February and ended 10 March 2017. This year's two main groups of instruments were tested on the NSF/NCAR GV: (1) a subset of instruments on which modifications had to be tested before being deployed on the approved Southern Ocean Clouds Radiation Aerosol Transport Experimental Study (SOCRATES) project in 2018; and (2) new instruments that had never flown before. The former group included the HIAPER Cloud Radar (HCR), the Cloud Flow Diffusion Chamber (CFDC) from Colorado State University (CSU), the Counterflow Virtual Impactor (CVI), the Giant Nuclei Impactor (GNI), a 2D stereo imaging probe (2DS), an upgraded Cloud Droplet Probe (CDP), the AVAPS ® system, and a new aircraft pressure measurement system comprised of an off-the-shelf transducer and short tubing to prevent resonance in the line. The latter included University of Colorado's POLAR lidar. The project had a number of test flight objectives that are summarized here. All the planned objectives were successfully achieved.
WE-CAN Test Flights
The WE-CAN test flights, which occurred from 20 to 30 September 2017, had a substantial payload and a resultant integration period on the NSF/NCAR C-310 of almost seven weeks. These flights are in preparation for the FY 2018 WE-CAN campaign, and as part of that prep the PIs began to evaluate the flight objectives, and started identifying potential wildfire target areas and laying out flight plans.
SOCRATES Planning Meeting and Dry Run
A planning meeting and dry run was held for the FY 2018 Southern Ocean Clouds Radiation Transport Aerosol Transport Experimental Study (SOCRATES) during the week of 19 June 2017 at NCAR. Meeting activities included a review of the science objectives, updates from instrument operators regarding planned measurements, and an overview of platforms including the NSF/NCAR GV and R/V Investigator, an Australian research vessel that will hold the ISS. Travel, shipping, scheduling, and other logistics were also discussed along with education and outreach that will take place in Hobart, Tasmania, where the GV operations will be based.
During the dry run, the team went through data collected in the EOL Field Catalog from January - March 2017, conducted forecasts, and came up with target investigation areas, which were then verified. The meeting provided a good opportunity for project participants to discuss SOCRATES operations and come up with plans for optimizing flights to collect the necessary data.
Manage the LAOF Request and Assessment Process
EOL manages all aspects of the LAOF request and facility request assessment process on behalf of NSF. This entails expert evaluation of facility requests and experimental designs of the proposed field campaigns with the aim of optimizing support of NSF-sponsored observational science and assuring that the scientific objectives of each campaign can be successfully accomplished. Aiding us in this effort is the Observing Facilities Assessment Panel (OFAP), an independent advisory body to EOL and the other NSF LAOF partner organizations, which is convened by EOL twice per year in spring and fall. Maintaining the transparency and existing high standards of the request and assessment process is essential for ensuring equal access to LAOF by all NSF-funded researchers and ensuring that allocations made by NSF result in safe and successful field deployments in which deployment facilities are well matched to the requestor needs.
In FY 2017, EOL hosted two Observing Facilities Assessment Panel (OFAP) meetings, one in fall 2016, and one in spring 2017. We created Experimental Design Overview (EDO) assessments/feasibilities and cost estimates for a total of 17 distinct projects requiring LAOF support (Fall 2016 - 6 projects / Spring 2017 - 11 projects); prepared two Global Feasibilities (Fall 2016 and Spring 2017), outlining project combinations and resource limitations in support of NSF funding decisions; developed 17 OFAP Summary Assessment & Recommendations documents that were shared with individual PI teams to help optimize experiment designs; and prepared 17 Project Summary Documents, which became part of EOL's Organizational Process Assets, and were shared with NSF Program Officers and LAOF partner organization representatives.
A journal article reviewing 20 years of field campaigns was also published. Avallone, L. M., and B. Baeuerle, 2017: A 20-year history of NSF-supported atmospheric science field campaigns: Statistics and demographics. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 98, 1333-1339, doi:10.1175/BAMS-D-15-00222.1.
Cooperate with Others on Support of Observational Science
EOL routinely enables and conducts multi-facility and multi-agency deployments that include instruments, resources, and collaborators from other U.S. agencies and other U.S. and foreign institutions. We also deploy EOL-managed LAOF occasionally in support of campaigns that are funded solely by other agencies. EOL fosters collaborations with outside groups in many areas, including some of the key measurements, instrument support, shared calibration and test equipment, studies related to the quality of measurements, expertise in meeting regulatory requirements, and software development. By maintaining current and developing new collaborations and cooperation, our objective is to enhance the overall scientific productivity and realization of research goals by a broad geosciences research community.
In FY 2017, EOL supported the East Pacific Origins and Characteristics of Hurricanes (EPOCH) Project. ISF's dropsonde group supported the joint NASA/NOAA EPOCH campaign from 1-30 August 2017 out of NASA Armstrong/Edwards Air Force Base. The NASA Global Hawk overflew three different tropical storms - Franklin, Harvey and Lidia - and collected data from three instruments including the dropsonde system. Major dropsonde-related accomplishments during EPOCH included the assimilation of dropsonde data in real time into NOAA's operational Global Forecast System (GFS) model, and the use of dropsondes to successfully capture tropical cyclogenesis. One sonde was dropped into the center of Lidia, capturing the storm's minimum central pressure. Thanks to the team from EOL's Design and Fabrication Services (DFS), who made major modifications and upgrades to the automated launcher last spring, the system worked extremely well with zero issues during all flights. Also accomplished were 26 drops of the next generation dropsonde using the new Vaisala PTU sensor module and all upgraded electronics. The new RH sensor performed extremely well at the high altitudes and extreme low temperatures showing significant water vapor signatures.
That same EOL group also supported the fourth field campaign of the Sensing Hazards with Operational Unmanned Technology (SHOUT) NOAA project with the automated AVAPS system on the NASA/NOAA Global Hawk, which was based at NASA Wallops flight facility in Virginia and the NASA Armstrong Research Center in California.
EOL's Water Vapor Differential Absorption Lidar (WV DIAL) participated in the Department of Energy Land-Atmosphere Feedback Experiment (LAFE), which deployed several state-of-the-art scanning lidar and remote sensing systems to the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Climate Research Facility Southern Great Plains Megasite (SGP). The instrumentation worked together to collect a data set for studying feedback processes between the land surface and the atmosphere. The novel synergy of remote sensing systems that included WV DIAL will be applied for simultaneous measurements of land-surface fluxes as well as horizontal and vertical transport processes in the atmospheric convective boundary layer (CBL).
New science drivers and technological advances call for continued development of our facilities and services. As a nimble and flexible organization, EOL dynamically adjusts and evolves its observing capabilities and services to meet the evolving science needs. This evolution occurs both over short- and longer-term time scales and is informed through the Laboratory's processes for anticipating new needs and directions. Activities under this Imperative are categorized into the following priority areas: 1) agile development to meet current deployment needs, 2) advancement of priority developments to meet future needs, and 3) life-cycle-management and anticipation of new needs.
Sustain Agile Development to Meet Current Needs
Three New Radiosonde Systems in ISF
Three new Vaisala MW41 radiosonde ground sounding systems were purchased to replace the current GAUS systems used in the Integrated Sounding System. This was necessary as the
Vaisala RS-92 radiosonde used in the GAUS system were on the verge of becoming obsolete and is being replaced by the next generation radiosonde RS41. The new RS41 radiosonde will have improved performance with a faster response temperature sensor and a new humidity sensor along with significant improvement for water vapor measurements, especially in the upper troposphere. Radiosonde flights of the new system began in mid-November from Foothills Lab. To the right is a photo of the ground system.
Vibration Isolation System for HSRL
DFS staff mounted the High Spectral Resolution Lidar (HSRL) into a 20-foot shipping container to facilitate transportation of the system. Over-the-road transport is an environment that may induce damaging vibration and shock loads to the HSRL system. DFS' mounting strategy uses wire rope isolators to dampen the vibration and reduce the magnitude of any shock forces. The frame support structure components, floor plates, and other associated hardware for this project were machined in DFS. To the left is a graphical depiction of HSRL with the isolation system.
Develop Life-Cycle-Management Plans and Anticipate New Needs
The NCAR / EOL Community Workshop on Unmanned Aircraft Systems for Atmospheric Research
Between 21 and 24 February 2017, NCAR/EOL hosted a Community Workshop on Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) for Atmospheric Research. Over 100 scientists, program managers, engineers, and students participated in this workshop. About half of all participants came from US universities with programs in UAS-based research or atmospheric research. The other half of participants came from federal agencies (NOAA, NASA, and DOE), international institutions and private companies. The focus of this workshop was to advance the use of UAS on all scales of atmospheric research and to discuss the needs of this rapidly growing research community.
The workshop discussed key areas of UAS based science, platforms, instrumentation and operations. White papers covering these topics as well as the report about a community survey, which EOL conducted in summer of 2016, laid the groundwork for this workshop. Discussions were stimulated through invited talks covering these four topics. Smaller breakout groups provided an environment for stronger involvement of all participants. Reports on the breakout sessions followed by plenary discussions brought the smaller exchanges of ideas together. The workshop closed with a final discussion on all topics, summarizing common themes and highlighting essential needs for this community, which should be addressed to support progress of this emerging technology. Within the coming weeks the workshop will produce a report summarizing key results of the discussions. It will provide essential information about the current state and the needs of this new research area to decision makers and will become a milestone in the development of this technology and its application for atmospheric research.
For more information, please see the workshop website.
LROSE Workshop
The Principal Investigators of the LIDAR RADAR Open Software Environment (LROSE) project hosted the second of four annual workshops at EOL on 11- 12 April 2017. The workshop served as a kickoff for LROSE, as a way to present the project plan to the user community, and to garner feedback on the plan. Roughly 30 to 40 participants from the university community, DOE, NOAA, Environment Canada, CSWR, and others attended the workshop.
C-RITE Workshop
The Community Workshop on Developing Requirements for In-situ and Remote-Sensing Capabilities in Convective and Turbulent Environments (C-RITE) took place 22 - 24 May 2017. The workshop will be held at the Center Green Campus on 22-24 May 2017. The focus of the workshop was on in situ and remotely sensed observations that are needed for scientific advancement in understanding and predicting turbulent and convective processes and their impacts across environments. The specific objectives were to help NSF:
There were 145 participants (onsite and remote) who represented 30 universities, agencies, and international entities. Twenty-two early career and graduate-level individuals from 18 universities and agencies attended the workshop. Based on the preliminary summaries, it is clear that the community is highly appreciative of the role EOL plays in supporting the NSF-funded observational research, through provisions of the LAOF instruments and observing platforms, software tools, and data management and services. Also, that some gaps in the observing needs exist that could be met by emerging technologies. The report from the workshop will be delivered to NSF and broadly disseminated to the community. For more information and to view the report, please see the C-RITE Workshop webpage.
Advance Priority Developments to Meet Future Needs
The Airborne Phased Array Radar (APAR) Master Project Management Plan (MP2), a work in progress for over a year, was completed and submitted to NSF in early 2017. The purpose of the MP2 is to provide very detailed, well-thought-out management plans for the development of the unique, state-of-the-art APAR. The MP2 gives a work breakdown structure of all tasks associated with developing and building the radar. Six major areas of tasks were broken into roughly 200 different tasks that will have to be accomplished to develop, integrate, and test the radar. Experts were assigned to these tasks, and a schedule of the work has been created.
Following the C-RITE workshop, EOL management and members of the APAR Team conducted a briefing to NSF/AGS on the APAR MP2 effort. Program management from NOAA/OAR, in whose budget APAR has appeared for the last couple of years, was also present at this briefing. The discussion with NSF was focused on next steps to move APAR further along onto the Major Research Equipment and Facilities Construction (MREFC) path.
Following that briefing, EOL developed a proposal and successfully secured $2.34 Million from NOAA for the next steps in the APAR development effort. Comprised of four critical tasks that will help EOL further reduce risks associated with the development of APAR, this grant and the work on it will extend over the next eighteen months. The four tasks are an industry Trade Study to address specific technical questions about the APAR design; an end-to-end demonstration of integrated antenna, transceiver, digital receiver, and radar control and processing software; an airframe vibration characterization of the NSF/NCAR C-130; and a model simulation and evaluation of sampling performance of C-band AESA antennas using a prototype APAR Observation Simulator (AOS).
Patent activity
A patent for the Dual-Polarized Radiating Patch Antenna, invented by Jorge Salazar-Cerrano, was issued on 13 December, 2016. This is the latest example of innovation in EOL. After all, in how many places throughout the world are engineers and scientists physically building original hardware and software tools that change the way we understand the atmosphere, climate, and observational sciences? For more information on EOL's culture of innovation and invention, see the complete Patents feature article.
WV DIAL Status Update
The Water Vapor Differential Absorption Lidar (WV DIAL) had a successful 55-day observational period in Portugal for the Perdigão project, where it operated from a newly constructed portable 1m x 2m x 2m environmental enclosure for the first time internationally. The instrument was operational for about 95% of the aforementioned period, which is comparable to its time on FRAPPÉ and PECAN. Following Perdigão, a brand new WV DIAL (the second to ever be created) was deployed to the ARM Climate Research Facility's Southern Great Plains Megasite in northern Oklahoma during the month of August for the Land-Atmosphere Feedback Experiment (LAFE). On this project, the WV DIAL will help scientists study feedback processes between the land surface and the atmosphere. The creation of a second instrument is a step in the direction of building a total of five WV DIALs using NSF MRI funding.
PRESTO (Project REqueSTs Online)
EOL has teamed up with the XSEDE Resource Allocation Service (XRAS), located at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), to implement a web-based, integrated documentation handling system for requesting Lower Atmosphere Observing Facilities. The goal of this effort is to provide improved interfaces for submission, review, and administration of LAOF facility requests and streamline the process that is currently rather time consuming. The PRESTO team met with the UIUC XRAS team for a kick-off meeting on 27 September 2017 to officially start the project.
Provide Comprehensive Data Services and Long-Term Data Stewardship
Data has been and will continue to be the ultimate product from field campaigns EOL supports. As such, the data we provide must be of high quality and well managed and preserved. Furthermore, in view of the President's 2013 Open Data Executive Order for public access to data and NSF's increasing emphasis on multi-disciplinary science, EOL must ensure that its current and historical data is well documented, discoverable, and feed seamlessly into scientific analysis workflows. Imperative 3 describes our activities to meet these challenges, which are divided into three key areas: 1) acquisition, quality control, and data management; 2) standardization of data formats and distribution; and 3) data citation and metrics.
Sustain Efficient Acquisition, Quality Control, and Data Management
NCAR Digital Asset Services Hub (DASH) Data Management Services
The NCAR Digital Asset Services Hub (DASH) system is being developed by NCAR/CISL under the guidance of the NCAR Directorate and the Data Stewardship Engineering Team (DSET). The DASH portal will provide single-point access for search and discovery of all NCAR assets (e.g., data, software, publications/documents). For labs with existing data management systems like EOL's EMDAC, DASH will harvest metadata (not data) to support the search and discovery. Once a dataset is discovered via DASH, users are redirected to the appropriate lab's existing system to place a data order. Additional services such as supporting Data Management Plan development will also be provided and/or are accessible via the DASH web site.
Data Legacy Work
Bringing legacy datasets up to current data archive standards is an ongoing task and involves metadata cleanup and the assignment of Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs) to legacy EOL datasets. The assignment of DOIs to all EOL datasets going back 10 years has been completed, and work continues on ISF instrumentation and sounding systems to go back even farther in time. Metadata cleanup involves the application of more standard metadata vocabularies and keywords. This work is likely to go on for several years.
EOL/DMS staff published a journal article on the assignment of DOIs to datasets:
Aquino, J. A., J. J. Allison, R. A. Rilling, D. Stott, K. Young, and M. D. Daniels, 2017: Motivation and strategies for implementing Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs) at NCAR's Earth Observing Laboratory -- Past progress and future collaborations. Data Science Journal, 16, 7, doi:10.5334/dsj-2017-007.
Standardize Data Formats and Distribution
High Performance Storage System (HPSS) Backup
The objectives of the HPSS backup project are to:
In FY 2017, this work proceeded in two stages: 1) tje transfer of all EOL platform and cooperator data sets followed by 2) the transfer of operational data sets. To date, EOL data from 1971 through 2011 has been copied to the CISL GLADE system, with data through 2010 transferred to both the disaster recovery data area and the new HPSS files set.
The project is currently limited by available GLADE space, and the EOL team is working with CISL to resolve this issue. The CISL team anticipates that additional disk space will become available once the Cheyenne HPC infrastructure is in place. Having a copy of our data online will significantly speed up access and allow for exploration of the data in ways that were not possible using the tape-based HPSS system.
Develop Data Workflows and Citation Metrics
EOL Data Archive Searchability
Local and outside users now have new ways to find data within EOL's Data Archive. This effort was an EOL pilot project made possible by the funding allocated by the NCAR Director's Office to the Data Stewardship Engineering Team (DSET) activities. The funding provided a way to make searching for data easier and more accessible. Improvements include a sidebar with the capability to search through the data by project, category, platform, instrument, and NASA's standard for science keyword searches - the Global Change Master Directory (GCMD). According to NASA, these keywords are used to "facilitate the classification and discovery of Earth Science data by providing a rich vocabulary for characterizing the data" and are used by hundreds of data providers worldwide. The newly added GCMD keywords are currently only available for EOL's Arctic data holdings. All new data will be assigned a GCMD keyword. Users still have the ability to use the existing search capabilities within the EMDAC data ordering system. To try out the new search capabilities, see EOL's data page.
Nurture Intellectual Infrastructure for Scientific and Engineering Research
EOL scientists and engineers make new discoveries and developments that push the boundaries of observational and measurement science. Much of that is achieved through a vigorous set of internal and external collaborations and partnerships. Given a broad scope of its scientific and engineering activities, unique educational and training opportunities for the next generation of observational scientists and engineers lie in EOL. Our field campaigns provide opportunities to inform and excite the public worldwide about the importance of observational research and understanding the natural environment in which we all live. Imperative 4 is multifaceted and encompasses the following activities: 1) scientific and engineering research within EOL and in collaboration with our user community; 2) internships, new user training, and other educational efforts; and 3) outreach.
Foster Scientific and Engineering Research in EOL
WMO Award
Holger Vömel traveled to Madrid, Spain in September 2017 to attend the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Commission for Instruments and Methods of Observations (CIMO) Technical Conference, during which he received the WMO Award for Outstanding Research Paper on Instrument and Methods of Observations. Established in 1985, this is a very prestigious award. The awarded paper has had a significant impact on the WMO operational community. The winning paper titled "Reference quality upper-air measurements: GRUAN data processing for the Vaisala RS92 radiosonde" was published in the Atmospheric Measurement Techniques in December 2014.
AMS Editor's Award
Scott Ellis was among the 2017 American Meteorological Society (AMS) award recipients. Scott received the Editor's Award from the Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology and was lauded for his "consistently excellent reviews."
WMO Appointment
Mike Dixon (RSF) was recently appointed to the WMO Commission for Instruments and Methods of Observation (CIMO) Inter-Programme Expert Team on Operational Weather Radars (IPET-OWR). This appointment gives NCAR opportunities to help make policy decisions with respect to software and data formats and to help out member states who do not have resources to develop software on their own.
NEXRAD Technical Advisory Committee (TAC)
Tammy Weckwerth was named to the NEXRAD Technical Advisory Committee (TAC). The purpose of the TAC is to assess the scientific merit of relevant research and development activities and to advise on the future direction and further analyses that should be performed to get that research or those products to a level to be considered for implementation on the national radar network.The link between the NEXRAD program and EOL's S-Pol is strong because the programs are synergistic and complementary. The NEXRAD program supports some critical S-Pol hardware components and some S-Pol research activities while S-Pol research activities help improve the NEXRAD data quality.
Scientific output
In FY 2017, EOL Staff were involved in 60 publications and the publication of 2 NCAR Technical Notes. A sampling of these:
EOL also contributed to a YouTube video titled "CESM Simulation: Ocean impact on atmospheric oxygen and carbon dioxide": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6ZbV-jMdq8
The theme of the 2017 American Meteorological Society (AMS) Annual Meeting (AM), which took place 22-26 January 2017 in Seattle, WA. was "Observations Lead the Way", and as such was of high importance for EOL. Many EOL staff gave presentations featuring EOL observing systems, data sets, new developments and activities, and research. These included three invited presentations by EOL authors or co-authors: Tammy Weckwerth on measuring boundary-layer moisture for convection initiation studies; Tammy Weckwerth and Scott Spuler as co-authors with Dave Turner (NOAA) on progress and prospect on obtaining lower tropospheric profiles of water vapor and temperature by remote sensing; and Britt Stephens as part of the ORCAS science team on early results from the ORCAS campaign, an invited presentation led by Eric Kort (U Michigan).
Promote Educational Efforts
Three New Instrumentation Education Videos
Three new videos highlighting EOL facilities and staff, created for the Synergistic Environments in Graduate and Undergraduate Education (SEGUE) project, are now available online through the UCAR/UCP/COMET program:
Principles of Meteorological Instrumentation and Measurements
Engineering for Scientific Discovery
These modules are designed for educating early graduate-level students on the topic of meteorological instrumentation and measurements is now available.
LAOF Guidebook Moved to iBooks
The Guidebook to the National Science Foundation's Lower Atmosphere Observing Facilities (LAOF) can now be downloaded for free on iBooks or as a PDF. It had previously been contained within an app but is now more accessible and easily updated.
HIPPO Outreach Site
The HIPPO Outreach Site has been migrated to the EOL website. Originally hosted as a stand-alone website, the content now lives on the EOL site for easier maintenance. Luis Gonzalez, a TIP intern working with Alison Rockwell, completed this project.
EOL Internships
EOL hosted three Technical Internship Program (TIP) participants in FY 2017:
EOL also hosted three Summer Undergraduate Program for Engineering Research (SUPER) interns in FY 2017:
Support Outreach
Cheyenne Frontier Days Outreach Event
NSF approved a request by EOL to display the NSF/NCAR C-130 and the University of Wyoming King Air aircraft as well as one Center for Severe Weather Research (CSWR) Doppler on Wheels during the 2017 Cheyenne Frontier Days. This request was prompted by UCAR President's desire to celebrate UCAR/NCAR partnership with organizations in Wyoming as part of Cheyenne's 150th Anniversary celebration. The static display of these facilities will be part of a larger display of aircraft at the U.S. Air National Guard side of the Cheyenne Regional Airport. The event is scheduled for 26 July and concurrent with the annual air show featuring the USAF Thunderbirds Air Demonstration Squadron. Several staff from UCAR's President's Office, NCAR/CISL, NCAR/EOL, the University of Wyoming, and the CSWR will be tasked to interact with the public and answering questions. In addition to showcasing NSF's Lower Atmosphere Observing Facilities, we want to raise awareness that Wyoming and Colorado are hubs of atmospheric research and emphasize the role of NSF in enabling those activities. Based on past visitor numbers, it is anticipated that the static display could reach as many as 2,000 people during the one-day event.
Per request by the UCAR President's Office, EOL displayed the NSF/NCAR C-130 on 26 July during the 2017 Cheyenne Frontier Days. The static display was part of a larger display of aircraft at the Wyoming Air National Guard side of the Cheyenne Regional Airport. In addition to showcasing one of NSF's premier Lower Atmosphere Observing Facilities, the display also included the University of Wyoming King Air and one of the Doppler on Wheels managed and operated by the Center of Severe Weather Research (CSWR). Twenty-two staff from EOL, UWY, CSWR, and CISL interacted with the public and answered a range of questions related to these facilities and the research that is routinely carried out by these airborne and ground-based platforms. One of the main goals of our participation was to raise awareness that Wyoming and Colorado are hubs of atmospheric research and to emphasize the role of the National Science Foundation in enabling those activities. We estimated that staff interacted with as many as 2,220 people during this one-day event.
Atmospheric Response to a Total Solar Eclipse (ARSTE), an educational deployment of two ISFS towers, was recently approved by NSF to observe the solar eclipse in Grand Island, Nebraska. ARSTE is lead by Dr. Scott Gunter of Columbus State University in Columbus, Georgia.
On ground, ISFS supported the ARTSE educational deployment, allocated to Dr. William Gunter from Columbus State University from 18 to 23 August 2017. Two ISFS stations were deployed to Grand Island, Nebraska as part of an undergraduate class called "Meteorology of the Solar Eclipse", which focused on the link between the sun and atmospheric processes. One of the stations was installed at Stuhr Museum as part of the "Gem Over the Prairie Eclipse Event" to provide additional information to the public and attracted close to 5,000 people during the event.


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EVERY actor makes the odd bad career choice.
And in this lifeless thriller, Eric Bana, Rebecca Hall, Jim Broadbent, Ciarán Hinds, Julia Stiles, Anne-Marie
Duff and Riz Ahmed look distressingly like seven talents in need of new agents.
In a convoluted plot, Hall and Bana are lawyers – and ex-lovers – defending a terror suspect accused of bombing a London market.
The terror plot and a strand involving secret courts may make it topical but, boy oh boy, a story that hinges on a point of legalese is every bit as dreary as it sounds.


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And They Just Keep Getting Bigger: Spellbound, by Larry Correia
I could be saying that about the actual book itself. I purchased Spellbound in hard cover a few months ago and it's been sitting on my desk, looking… huge. I'm spoiled by the comfort of reading on my Kindle. Print books are so clunky and awkward. But anyway…
Putting on my writer hat for a minute. When crafting a plot, the writer needs to keep thinking in terms of "upping the stakes." The fastest way to lose reader interest is to introduce conflicts and situations that just don't matter. Who cares if Spiff Bunkerson has to choose between coffee or tea for breakfast? What diff does it make if Spiff tells his boss, "I quit," if he has another, better job waiting in the wings? The key to tension is risk. Danger can come in many forms: physical, emotional, psychological. True suspense comes not from the danger itself, but from what is at risk.
Larry Correia knows how to up the stakes.
In his Monster Hunter International series and in his Grimnoir Chronicles, Correia doesn't mess around with run of the mill monsters. Spooky little creepies vulnerable to holy water or a splinter just aren't big enough or bad enough. Correia's characters have to tackle gods. When reading any of his books, you learn to cringe whenever a character has to open a door. Anything could be on the other side. Zombie elephants, anyone? Giant robots? How about Godzilla's and King Kong's foul-tempered love child?
It's not just the increasingly monstrous monsters upping the stakes. If it were, then these stories would be nothing more than B-movie romps. Uh uh, it goes much deeper than that. One element runs constant through all of Correia's books, and it is that constant that lifts his writing out of gobble-'em-and-forget-'em story pile. Sacrifice. Every time you think his characters can give no more, Correia ups the stakes. He rips away what little comfort they've earned and demands to know, "How much more you got?" Your life? Liberty? Honor? Dignity? Love? Reputation? Friends? Family? The world and every human in it? It's all at risk.
Back up a minute and let me tell you a little about Spellbound: Book II of the Grimnoir Chronicles. In a melding of steampunk, pulp noir and B-movie homage, the story is set in an alternative history, 1930s America. "Actives," people infused with magical powers, are increasing in number and no one is sure why. On the surface, the big conflicts seem to be between "Actives" and "Normals," those who have no magical ability. America is engaged in a Cold War of sorts with the Imperium–pre-World War II Japan. The Imperium has plans to conquer the world. There is, however, a threat much bigger than that. The Power is coming from somewhere and something is pursuing the Power. The Grimnoir Knights are a secret society of Actives self-tasked with saving the world, originally from the Imperium, and now from the dark entity pursuing the Power across worlds. Jake Sullivan and other Grimnoir knights are also faced with a battle on the homefront against their own government who want to round up the Actives and enslave them for the "good" of all society.
In the preceding novel, Hard Magic, the Grimnoir knights prevented the Imperium from wiping out America with a Peace Ray. Shady government types managed to twist that act of heroism around to fuel the hatred against the Actives and use it as an excuse to properly "control" them. (Correia draws spooky parallels with the real Progressive movement, from President Wilson through FDR, trying to destroy the Constitution and reshape America for "enlightened" ends) You don't need to read Hard Magic to understand the story in Spellbound, but you'll enjoy the series more if you read the books in order.
Back to sacrifice. A lesser writer would delineate between good guys and bad guys by making the good guys nice, always on the right side of the law, and of course good-looking, while the bad guys sneer and kick puppies. Correia draws a more powerful distinction. Good guys are willing to sacrifice themselves while the bad guys are only willing, and eager, to sacrifice others. That, my friends, makes for memorable characters on both sides.
But don't think these are lofty, philosophical novels. No, these are high-octane action with lots of guns, battles, chases, twists, turns and high emotion to make for a thrilling read. Enough bright spots of humor, too, to ease the tension a bit before it ratchets right back up again.
The Healing spells on his chest were certainly earning their keep tonight. Sullivan got to his feet. The lack of noise from the courtyard indicated that his team had gotten all the mechanical men. "Thanks."
Toru just grunted a noncommittal response as he lifted the feed tray to check the condition of his borrowed machine gun. They didn't see the final robot inside until it turned on its eye and illuminated the Iron Guard in blue light.
Sullivan's Spike reversed gravity, and the gigantic machine fell upward to hit the steel beams in the ceiling. Sullivan cut his Power and the robot dropped. It crashed hard into the floor where it lay twitching and kicking. The two of them riddled the mechanical man with bullets until the light died and it lay still in a spreading puddle of oil.
"Normally, this would be the part where you thank me for returning the favor and saving your life."
"Yes. Normally… If we were court ladies instead of warriors," Toru answered. "Shall we continue onward or do you wish to stop and discuss your feelings over tea?"
Sullivan looked forward to the day that the two of them would be able to finish their fight. "Let's go."
Spellbound: Book II in the Grimnoir Chronicles by Larry Correia
Discovered: Author is on my must buy list
Purchased: from Amazon, $16.50, November 15, 2011
Just Like Two Birthdays in One Year: Wendig and Correia
For my birthday last month I was gifted with Barnes & Noble and Amazon gift cards. Friends and family know me so well. The trip to the B&N resulted in some fine booty– soft covers from Neil Gaiman, Stuart MacBride and Steven Brust. It also, unfortunately turned out to be the very last shopping excursion to a B&N I will ever make. Pooh. Bummer.
Much more fun was going nuts filling up my Kindle via Amazon. Two of the books I wanted were printed versions and their release dates were the first and fifteenth of November. So I had to show some restraint. So those went on my Wish List and I marked my calendar. Okay, so I showed enough restraint that I actually had six bucks and change left on my gift cards toward today's purchases. Oh well. It still feels like my birthday all over again to have ordered Chuck Wendig's, Double Dead.
Will I be gushing about this book in posts to come? I do not know. I love Wendig's blog, terrible minds, and I have all his very funny, quite profane, and extremely inspiring books about writing, but the only fiction of his I've read so far is Shotgun Gravy, which was very good. I have a suspicion that Double Dead is going to push Wendig onto my very favorite authors list. Will let you know.
The book I know I'll be gushing about is Larry Correia's, Spellbound: Book II of the Grimnoir Chronicles. The first book in the series, Hard Magic, was… magical. It's fantasy and steampunk and full of action and adventure and heroics. Knowing Correia, Spellbound is going to be all that and more. So be prepared, much gushing to come.
And now I have to wait for the box to arrive from Amazon. You know what, I bet that will feel like birthday number three.
Mike Resnick: The Buntline Special: I've Been Missing Out
I read almost all genres. No rhyme or reason, anything that looks interesting. Sometimes, but not often and for limited periods, I'll glom onto a genre, needing to get my hands on everything offered. Since I don't specialize, sometimes I miss interesting trends. Like steampunk. As a kid I read a lot of Jules Verne and H.G. Wells, which I thought was science fiction, but I guess with the emphasis on machinery, it's actually steampunk. I cycled out of reading science fiction in the 1980s. Apparently that's when steampunk made its resurgence. Here lately I've been reading a few paranormal and alternative history novels that qualify as steampunk. Books like Clay and Susan Griffith's, The Greyfriar, which is a wonderful vampire novel and very romantic, and Larry Correia's, Hard Magic, which is a gung ho, action packed adventure.
And then I discovered Mike Resnick's, The Buntline Special.
(click here to see the book on Amazon)
Now I get it. This is what steampunk is all about. I've been missing out on not just a lot of fun, but an author I somehow overlooked for like… my whole life! He published his first work in 1962. Shees.
A quick recap: Tombstone, Arizona, 1881. Marshall Wyatt Earp, along with his brothers Morgan and Virgil, plus his good friends Doc Holliday and Bat Masterson, have to protect the lives of Ned Buntline and Thomas Edison while they try to invent machines that will counteract the heavy duty magic conjured by Geronimo and Hook Nose, powerful medicine men, that is preventing the United States from expanding beyond the Mississippi River. And oh yeah, gunslinger Johnny Ringo is a zombie.
It was fun, historically "accurate" given that it's an alternative history, and even includes a few laugh out loud pleasures. Like this little gem:
Finally Buntline stood up. "There!" he said. "You're as ready as I can make you."
"Nobody asked me to join in," said Holliday. "Maybe I'll just sit out front, with my chest and my legs protected from mosquitoes."
"Shut up, Doc!" said Kate. She turned to Buntline. "He thanks you, Ned. He's like this when he's just out of bed."
"It's all right," said Buntline. "He's my friend."
He left the kitchen, walked through the parlor, and exited the house.
"We have to move to another town," said Holliday. "I've got too many friends in this one. They're starting to become a pain in the ass."
So now I'm on the hunt for more steampunk and I have a whole lot of Mike Resnick reading to catch up on, too.
Not Just For Boys: Dead Six, by Correia & Kupari
I have a special bookshelf just for classic novels. They are beautiful books, hard-bound, some in leather, some with gilt stampings and fancy papers. Not a single one has an illustrated cover. Just the title and author's name stamped on the front and spine. It occurred to me that these editions were not targeted to a specific market. They're just novels, suitable for… anybody.
I thought about this when I finished reading Dead Six, by Larry Correia and Mike Kupari. It's a thriller, I suppose a military thriller to be more exact. The cover has a military patch with a grinning skull and silhouettes of handguns. Very macho. Very much targeted at a male audience. The story is filled with gun battles and descriptions of military hardware and gun battles and fights. Pretty much non-stop action throughout. It has other stuff, too. Friendship, romantic relationships, betrayal, loyalty, heartache, triumph. I wonder how many women turn up their noses at "that kind of book" the same way many men turn up their noses at romance novels. Turned off not by what's inside, but by what's on the cover.
Then again, maybe I'm not the typical (whatever that means) female reader. Here is an actual conversation I had with a friend over on facebook:
Me: there's a giant snow blower in this one that had me gagging
Marina: heh. snow blower
Me: and zombie werewolves meet the snow blower
Marina: you and I seem to actually be teenaged boys
Maybe so.
I understand why writers and publishers have to target their audience. They need to get the word to the people most likely to read a certain type of book. They need to spend their promotional dollars wisely. They know genre-centric readers are heavy buyers, so it only makes sense to lump books into genre categories and emphasize the elements in packaging that would most tempt the target audience.
And yet, often that same packaging turns off readers who might otherwise enjoy the story. Several men who've been induced, for whatever reason, to read my romance novels have told me (with slightly befuddled expressions and a touch of suspicion as if I'd somehow gotten one on over them), "Not bad. It actually had a pretty good story in it." Well, gee, thanks, fellas. Or should I say, thanks, Harlequin, for packaging the books to look as if only a female could or should enjoy them.
Imagine if book producers eschewed cover illustrations and flashes on spines that denote genre, and put all books out with only the title and author's name on the cover. Make it impossible to judge a book by its cover. Huh.
Anyhow, it's kind of a bummer to know there are many readers– mostly female– who'll be turned off by the guns and the skull and the spine flash, MILITARY FICTION. They're missing out on a damned good story, full of treasures like this:
"Think she's lost enough?" I asked Carl. He shrugged. "It's for your own good, Jill. If you're captured, this way you can't be tortured into telling them where our hideout is."
"You mean if I run away, I can't sell you out," she snapped. "Well, duh, I was lost the first couple of minutes, but that was a while ago, and now we're on the Gamal bridge going over the ocean. I can tell. The embassy is only a couple miles from here. It's the only big bridge in town, and it sounds like we're on a big bridge, so unless we drove all the way to Dubai while I wasn't paying attention, can I please take this stupid bag off now?"
Carl leaned over from the driver's seat. "She's got a point."
"Next time it'll be a blindfold and a gag," I muttered. "Okay. Take it off."
Jill complied. "See? Told you."
Dead Six, by Larry Correia
Buy a book, support a soldier
I'm nuts about Larry Correia's books, especially his Monster Hunter novels (Monster Hunter International, Monster Hunter Vendetta, and Monster Hunter Alpha) and his Hard Magic: Book I of the Grimnoir Chronicles is pretty good, too. He writes rockin', rollin' action-packed fantasy novels. What many don't know is that Correia co-wrote a book with a soldier.
From his blog:
"…This is Mike's first book, and it is a darn good one that deserves to be read. For those of you who don't know, Mike is an EOD Technician, currently defusing roadside bombs in Afghanistan. He will still be in Afghanistan, risking his life and being awesome, when his first novel appears in stores. Places like NPR can talk about thriller writer street cred, but Mike plays high-explosive chess against terrorist IEDs before breakfast. Most first time authors are super excited to do their first book signings, but Mike can't because he's deployed… Think about that for a second… He can't do book signings for the really nifty book he wrote because he is too busy DEFUSING MURDER BOMBS.
For most authors, the most exciting part of our day is when we spill Coke Zero on our keyboard. EOD are complete lunatics that do something so absurdly dangerous that complete snake eating warriors look at them and say F' that noise, let the dude in the big suit play with the booby trapped death machine.
Mike is humble. You probably won't ever hear him talk about that kind of thing. Luckily for him, I'm not humble at all.
Sometimes when somebody with that many points on his Man Card writes a thriller, the book tends to be mediocre (with a few notable exceptions) and the book was sold on the resume of the tough guy writing it rather than how good the actual fiction was. However, Dead Six is excellent, and I'm not just saying that because I wrote half of it. Believe me, I've got plenty of paying projects that I could be working on at this point, but instead I liked this story so much that I twisted Mike's arm into making this book, and I'm so eager to continue the story arc that my half of the sequel is already done…"
Now pop on over to Larry's blog and take a good look at Mike Kupari's photo. Like Larry says, "Yeah, this is way cooler than most novelist's 'introspective writer guy' pose."
So support a soldier and buy his book. It's a small price to pay for a guy who's risking his life for you.
Available now at Amazon.


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Duo voted the best marathon runners of 2015 by AIMS members
World running organisation the Association of International Marathons and Distance Races (AIMS) has named Eliud Kipchoge and Mare Dibaba as the winners of the AIMS best marathon runner award for 2015.
The duo were voted for by AIMS members, made up of over 390 of the world's leading and most prestigious distance races from over 108 countries and territories.
Kipchoge and Dibaba received their awards at a gala in Athens, Greece.
Kenya's Kipchoge received the honour after winning three of the biggest marathon events in the past 12 months. In October 2014 he won the Chicago Marathon in 2:04:11. Six months later, he won the London Marathon in a time of 2:04:42 before going on to set a world leading time when winning the Berlin Marathon in September in a time of 2:04:00, beating his personal best by five seconds despite a footwear malfunction.
Ethiopia's Dibaba finished second in the 2014 Chicago Marathon in 2:25:37 before going one better to win the Xiamen Marathon in January in a time of 2:19:15. She would take that form into the IAAF World Championships in Beijing where she won gold in 2:27:35.
"It is very special for me to have won the AIMS best marathon runner award," said Kipchoge. "I am very proud of my achievements this year and this award reflects that.
"I am honoured to receive a truly global award voted for by the AIMS members, over 390 races around the world. I would like to thank AIMS and their sponsors for their recognition of my achievements."
Dibaba commented: "It is incredibly special for me to receive this prestigious award. It makes it extra special that I have received it in the spiritual home of the marathon in Greece. I would like to thank AIMS for recognising my achievements."
The Chevron Houston Marathon received the AIMS Green Award in recognition of their year-round efforts towards 'going green', while the AIMS Social Award was presented to the Maratón Internacional Lala for their work raising money for children from low income areas who need dental surgery.
The AIMS Lifetime Achievement Award went to Frank Shorter in recognition of his role in the development of the marathon movement, particularly in the USA. He is the only American athlete to win two medals in the Olympic marathon event, claiming gold at the 1972 Olympics in Munich before going on to win the silver medal at the 1976 Olympics in Montreal, Canada.
Further to his achievements in athletics, Shorter was a founding member of the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) and served as chairman from 2000 to 2003.


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Dr Cara QuantInternal Medicine Doctor, passionate about women's sexual health
Dr. Cara Quant is an Internal Medicine Doctor and is passionate about women's sexual health. Her passion came about after she realized it was not thoroughly taught in medical training but believe women need providers who are comfortable in discussing and knowledgeable with treating female sexual dysfunction (lack of desire, lack of arousal, pain with intercourse, and problems with orgasm).
She is the founder of Viva La Vulva movement and art exhibition which is bringing together like-minded people from different backgrounds who have a passion for driving change in the way female sexual health is perceived in our society and to help promote more awareness about female sexuality.
Dr. Cara believes there is great value in empowering women to understand their bodies so she works to teach women the following;
- The power you hold by understanding and exploring your body
- How to ask for what you want in the bedroom
- Understanding that sexual dysfunction (pain with sex, problems with orgasm, lack of desire) is common and there are resources available.


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Chris Evans launches Radio 2's 500 Words 2017
Chris Evans launched this year's 500 Words short-story writing competition for children aged between 5 and 13 years of age.
HRH The Duchess of Cornwall returns as Honorary Judge and this year's live final on Friday 16 June will take place at the Tower of London and all those attending the final will receive free entry to the Tower for the day.
The initiative, created by Chris, is now in its seventh year and encourages children around the country to get creative and send in their stories of no more than 500 words. The competition is now open and the closing date for entries is 7pm on Thursday 23 February.
Lewis Carnie, Head of BBC Radio 2, says: "We're very excited to welcome back Radio 2's 500 WORDS competition for the seventh year. From 30 000 entries when it first launched in 2011 to over 123 000 in 2016, I'm so proud that Radio 2 is able to inspire so many children to get involved, writing their fabulous stories."
Photo: Chief Yeoman Warder Alan Kingshott with Chris Evans.


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If He Were Alive Today
Tex Sample is a faculty member at St. Paul's School of Theology. He shared this yesterday, saying it's a piece he wrote for the Kansas City Star this weekend of remembering and celebrating. I yield the floor —
If Martin Luther King, Jr. Were Alive Today
The problem with celebrating Martin Luther King Jr.'s memory is that we have now so sanitized and romanticized the man, what he thought, and what he lived for that we have obscured his assessment of our country and his vision of what was required to turn the nation around.
One week before he was killed, he was at a party at Harry Belafonte's apartment. Organizing for a massive poor people's protest in Washington DC to mitigate poverty was already underway. Toward the end of the party King became somber. He acknowledged different opinions about tactics within the civil rights movement.
He spoke with feeling about the pain of especially young people who saw violence as the solution. "I feel their rage. I feel their pain. I feel their frustration. It's the system that's the problem and it's choking the breath out of our lives," he said. Later he added, "the trouble is that we live in a failed system. Capitalism does not permit an even flow of economic resources…. And since we know that the system will not change the rules, we're going to have to change the system."
For King the struggle had been around civil rights but now he knew it was economic, a more difficult and complicated challenge. He characterized the civil rights effort as "integrating into a burning house." Belafonte then asked, "Damn Martin! If that's what you think, what would you have us do?" King answered, "I guess we're just going to have to become fireman."
That was almost 50 years ago. Had King lived, especially the last 40 years, he would have seen the situation gravely worsen. Yes, there has been some integration of people of color in public accommodations, employment, schools (in part), and so on. But the situation in America has gone downhill rapidly in the last four decades, a prospect that would have called forth vigorous condemnation by King and prompted full scale nonviolent action by himself and others.
I do not have space to discuss the mass incarceration of people of color in America except to name it, but at least five areas would have called King into action.
The first are the inequalities of wealth and income that have profoundly increased and will increase all the more with passage of the Republican tax measure. Someone has said that supply side economics is feeding the horses so the birds can eat. I call it supply side sodomy.
Second, our legislators continue to increase the wealthfare for billionaires and big corporate America. For example, OXFAM AMERICA reports that the 50 largest US companies collectively received $27 in federal loans, loan guarantees and bailouts for every $1 they paid in federal taxes. Further, these 50 companies with earnings of nearly $4 trillion between 2008 and 2014 avoided taxes through offshore tax havens reducing their tax rate to 26.5%, well below the 35% required by corporate tax law. Further, in 1952 corporations paid one third of the federal budget. Now, they provide just nine percent.
Third, obscene concentrations of wealth have now eroded democratic government. In In a recent study Martin Gilens and Benjamin Page studied a total of 1779 policy issues. Their results show that today the preferences of the average American had "a minuscule, near zero, statistically non-significant impact upon public policy." We no longer have a government of, by, and for the people. It is rather a government of, by, and for the rich and corporate America. OXFAM, again, found that from 2008 to 2014 the 50 same companies spent approximately $2.6 billion on lobbying while receiving nearly $11.2 trillion in federal loans, loan guarantees and bailouts. Further, for each dollar these companies spend on lobbying they get back $130 dollars in tax breaks and more than $4000 dollars in federal loans, loan guarantees and bailouts.
Fourth, from the end of World War II until the mid-70s, productivity increased 103% and wages kept pace with that at 103%. From the mid-70s to 2016, however, productivity increased 68%, but wages were flat or declined for most workers. Recently in a speech at the KC Public Library Thomas Frank reported that from 1930 to 1980 the bottom 90% of the population took home 70% of the gross income, but from 1980 to the present the bottom 90% of the population pocketed none of this growth.
Fifth, Raj Chetty and associates at Stanford University sought to research the reality of the American Dream to determine the likelihood that people born at different times would make more money than their parents had. They discovered that babies born in 1940 had a 92% chance of making a better household income than their parents. From that point on, however, the probability sharply decreases, so that those born in 1950 had a 79% possibility, in 1960, 62%, in 1970, 61%, and in 1980, 50%. Meanwhile in Kansas City a coalition led by SCLC pushed through a one-eighth cent sales tax for "East of Troost" and 70% of KC voters passed an increase in the minimum wage, only to be denied by a bought-off state legislature.
If King were alive today, his magnificent oratory would call us to organize, to take back our country, to throw out of Congress and state legislatures the gigolos and harlots of the rich, and to tell corporate America that wealthfare is ended.


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By Candida
One-night-stands are memorable because they are never planned. One minute you're anxious about the stalemate in your love-life, and the next you are making wild love to a person you are not romantically linked. It is not often this happens, but when it does, do you make the most of it?
A few years back, Lizzy was shocked when she got a call that her mum just had a partial stroke and she was needed urgently at the hospital she was taken.
''I'm her only child," she said, "and, I anxiously rushed to the government hospital she was taken. Then, I called the private hospital my company used for her to be transferred, so she could have proper care. We've always been close and since dad died a few years ago, she'd needed me more than ever.
"A few days later, I was at her bedside when this doctor called. When he introduced himself, I was surprised. Tall, dark and extremely handsome, Frank looked more like a model than a doctor. I stopped gawping at him and tried to focus on what he was saying to me.
He assured mum would make a quick recovery and I sighed sadly. It was a relief that mum would be all right but the trauma of the few days coupled with the fact that my husband was in Saudi Arabia for nine months made me really vulnerable. Sensing my sadness, Frank asked me into his office where I could talk properly.
"As I narrated all that had happened in the past, coupled with the fact that I was alone in the house with our three children, I felt a bit weepy and Frank got up from his chair, enveloped me in his arms and it felt good. He was afterall a doctor, and I was a patient's relative.
Only, he started kissing me. 'What are you doing?' I asked. But, he continued kissing me and as lust stared in my loins, the despair of the past few days were forgotten. I kissed him back as his hands tumbled with the buttons of my blouse, he eagerly undid his trousers, and eased me gently on to the leather couch in his office and for the next few minutes, sex took my mind off my problems. Afterwards though, I felt guilty but the sex loosened the frustration I'd bottled inside me for weeks.
"I vowed it would be a one-off though, but the next day I was sitting with mum as she slept when I felt Frank's arm on my shoulder. His eyes said all I needed to hear and I willingly followed him to his office. We made love three more times over the period mum was hospitalised. When she was eventually discharged, I went to Frank's office to say goodbye. A look at my face and he didn't bother to ask if we could meet again. We'd had our fun and that was it."
Lateefat's experience happened when she was temporarily co-opted by a modeling agency for a big fashion show. A make-up artiste, in her 30s, she found herself working with Chris, a photographer a few years younger than she was. "Chris was a very friendly guy and we hit it off immediately," she recalled. We had to work together most of the time and as the days passed, I started fantasising about him while I lay in my boyfriend's arms. Dammy, my boyfriend lived on and off with me and, though, we had a son together, he wasn't really keen on getting married. He was a bit pompous and a ladies' man. I didn't fancy spending the rest of my life with him.
"In the meantime, Chris was getting bolder. I would ,be with the models, applying make-up, and he would walk behind me, pinching my bottom!
When I warned him not to get us into trouble, he bragged that he was trouble! Then, later one afternoon, we were in the bigger office where all the models' outfits were when he started flirting outrageously with me. Alone at last, I actually felt nervous. But the models were busy elsewhere and we were able to relax. When the phone rang, I answered and it was one of our boring customers rattling on and on, making silly enquiry. Chris slowly got up and stood behind me. His hands rested on my shoulders before hanging on my boobs. I ought to be shocked, instead I tingled all over .. He then started raising up my loose top and massaging my bare breasts. Phone still to my ear, I started up and saw his mischievous smile.
I was burning with desire at this moment. And, there was the danger that someone would walk in. As his arms wreaked havoc on my body, desire welled up.
"When the boring caller finally stopped, Chris and I started kissing passionately. I quickly locked the door as he spun my swivel chair around and pulled me into his arms. Still glued together, he hitched up the black cotton skirt we were all asked to wear, running his hands around my hips. 'Better than any of the models' he complimented. Then, he lifted me onto the desk, lowered me backwards and we began to make love. The phone started ringing again but we were too carried away to stop. Until finally, satisfied, we slumped, panting and laughing hysterically in each other's arms. 'That was fun!' Chris gasped and I agreed.
"There was no awkwardness between us at work afterwards, just lots of secret smiles. But my experience finally gave me the confidence to give Frank his marching orders. I wanted to enjoy being single again and having fun without his making me feel uncomfortable.
A few days later, Chris offered to take me out but I gently turned him down. My confidence boosted, I didn't want to continue my freedom with a toy boy – the wonderful memories of our days together at the modeling office was all the boost I needed."