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Recently, I and two other members of the Devolab had the opportunity to participate in an instructor training workshop for Software Carpentry and Data Carpentry. Software Carpentry is an organization that runs workshops aimed at helping scientists who can program a little improve their programming, while Data Carpentry is aimed at getting scientists with little to no programming experience started with data analysis beyond a spreadsheet. These workshops (including the instructor training) use an evidence-based, open-source teaching style that really appeals to me. Every time a pedagogical approach was mentioned, citations were provided to back it up. All of the lessons are maintained in github repositories, which everyone is encouraged to submit pull requests to (doing so is even a requirement for becoming an instructor!).
Here are three ideas that I took away from the workshop:
- Having a class take notes collectively works surprisingly well – Software Carpentry uses etherpads, online notepads which can be edited by many people at once, to record notes on each workshop. I had expected to find this distracting, but I was completely wrong. In any workshop, participants will have a range of ability levels. Having collective notes ensures that people who are struggling to get their code to run will still have a reference for what material was covered, while the people who are ahead of the curve have something to do (take notes) so that they stay engaged. Participants can also ask questions on the etherpad, which is way less distracting than having them whisper questions to their neighbors, and also gives the instructor a chance to answer them if they want.
- Sticky notes for everything! I had already seen this in action at workshops I'd helped out at in the past, but I continue to be impressed by it. At the start of each session, everyone was given two sticky notes: one red and one green. Over the course of the two day workshop, sticky notes were used for:
- Responding to quick multiple-choice questions to ensure that everyone was on the same page (hold up a color corresponding to the answer you're selecting).
- Indicating when people had completed or needed help with an exercise (green sticky note on laptop = everything's fine/I've finished, red = need help).
- Writing down feedback on the workshop (positives on green sticky notes, negatives on red ones).
- Ensuring equal participation – everyone puts three sticky notes on their laptop at the start of a discussion, and takes them down once they've spoken. If you don't have a sticky note left, you can't talk. Sticky notes get reset once everyone has used at least one.
- Empowering people matters – While Software Carpentry's short term goal is to help scientists improve their coding skills, they have a longer-term goal of changing the culture of computation in science. Computation is becoming increasingly important across most fields of science, but it's not like there's magically extra time in most science curricula to teach these skills to students. As a result, students get a piecemeal introduction to computation. They don't learn concepts that are important for doing reproducible science, such as version control. Software Carpentry can't teach all of these skills in a two day workshop either. What Software Carpentry can do, however, is introduce students to important concepts and empower them to learn more as needed. Ultimately, the instructor training workshop is doing the same thing, but on the next level. It is reaching out to scientists with some computational skills, and empowering them to share these skills with other scientists, much like the computer science student mentorship program that I wrote about previously. The requirement that all instructors make at least one pull request to a Software or Data Carpentry git repository is an excellent example of this empowerment in action. Confession: I had never submitted a pull request before this workshop. I've had ideas for contributions that I could make to open source projects, but my imposter syndrome has always gotten the better of me. I worry that my code isn't good enough, or I'll be bothering the owners of the repository. Being told that I had to make a pull request, however small, was an invitation into the open source process. Making computational scientists feel welcome in this process is a critical step towards building a collaborative scientific community.
This workshop definitely made for a busy two days, but it was completely worth it. Also, if you're in the Lansing area, be on the look-out for a digital evolution oriented Software Carpentry workshop at the end of the summer! We've encountered a number of people who want to work with Avida, but don't quite have the computational skills needed to do so. Since those skills are exactly the set of skills that Software Carpentry workshops teach, teaching a workshop for them seems like the obvious solution.


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subset: commoncrawl


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Review: The 2011 $79 Kindle/
Note: This is my first product review. Please pardon the shoddy photography.
About a week ago, I was in need of a distraction, so I bought one of the new $79 Kindles. I'd been thinking about making this purchase for quite a while and finally decided to pull the trigger.
It's delightful.
The Kindle arrived two days after I ordered it, thanks to Amazon Prime's free shipping. The packaging was neat, tidy, and product-specific. When you open the box's lid, you find the Kindle cheerfully nestled there, accompanied only by a USB cord and a "Getting to Know Your Kindle" index card, which labels the device's buttons and ports.
My first reaction was surprise at how small the Kindle was, probably because I'm so used to the iPad 2. The Kindle is 6.5" x 4.5" and only 0.34" thick, according to Amazon, and it only weighs 5.98 ounces compared to the iPad 2's 1.33 pounds. It's very light. More on iPad vs. Kindle in a little while.
After plugging it into my computer, the Kindle powered up quickly. Although it didn't ship with a full charge, the battery reached capacity in less than an hour. Amazon says it only takes three hours for a full charge. I haven't owned the Kindle long enough to be able to speak to its battery life, but I have no trouble believing Amazon's claims. I don't think I'll need to charge it for at least a couple of weeks.
"Andrew's Kindle" automatically appeared in the menu bar, as the device is pre-registered to whomever's Amazon account made the purchase. (You can change the registration information in the settings if need be.) After selecting my home wi-fi network, all of my Kindle books appeared in a few seconds with virtually no action on my part. It's great that you don't have to log yourself into your Amazon account on the device, which would be a pain using the onscreen keyboard and 5-way controller. It feels like Amazon said, "This is Andrew Marvin's Kindle" when they put it in the box.
I assume Amazon has gotten really good at shipping people Kindles, and it shows. The unboxing and setup process was painless, and I was ready to read within minutes.
The $79 Kindle has a six-inch e-ink display. It has "Next Page" and "Previous Page" buttons on both sides, the former being about twice as big as the latter. Below the screen are, from left to right, a Back button, a Keyboard button, the 5-way directional controller with a Select button in the center, a Menu button, and a Home button. A USB port and Power button can be found on the bottom edge.
The Kindle's case is a pleasant silver color, and it's made of plastic. The back has a slightly grippy feel to it, and I wouldn't describe the Kindle as a "slippery" device. The combination of plastic and the device's minimal weight do make it feel somewhat fragile, and I found myself cradling it as I would any new electronic device. Marco Arment, in his review, said, "Nearly everything about the $79 Kindle is cheap.", and while I tend to agree, I don't consider it a negative sentiment. That is, I didn't regret my purchase upon taking the Kindle out of the box, nor did I think, "What a piece of junk…" The Kindle doesn't need to do much except feel good in your hand and provide an enjoyable reading experience, which it does.
This is my first Kindle, so I can't compare it to previous models, but I found the tactile response of the Next and Previous Page buttons to be perfectly adequate. You press the buttons down — as in away from you — rather than in toward the screen, which took a few pages to get used to. The buttons on the bottom aren't amazing, but they don't really need to be. They click when you press them, so I have no difficulty determining whether or not I successfully hit one. Because they're centered below the screen, it does take some finesse to use them with one hand; my right thumb has to reach pretty far to hit the Back button. My thumb also cramped up slightly the first time I used the 5-way controller to add my name, phone number, and email to my device's Personal Info. The Kindle is about twice as wide as the iPhone 4, so it's not as easy to operate the buttons one-handed. Justin Blanton noted in his review that the Kindle 3's controller was in the bottom right corner, which would have been nice, but oh well. Fortunately, the Page buttons are a piece of cake to use, which is what really matters since they receive the most presses. When you're reading, which comprises 95% of your Kindle time, using it one handed is no problem. I also like that the Next Page button is larger than the Previous Page button, which obviously gets used less. I usually switch to two hands when not reading, i.e. navigating menus and the like.
The top of the device just says "kindle", and it's nice that the Amazon logo isn't in your face. (It's on the back, centered at the bottom where the word "iPhone" would go.) The frame/bezel is maybe half as thin as the iPad's. I don't know if I have small thumbs, but there's just enough room for my thumb to rest and have easy access to the Next Page button without obstructing the screen.
Notably, the Kindle doesn't ship with a power adapter. It charges via the USB cord that connects to your computer. I thought about buying the sold-separately power adapter, but I felt that, given the Kindle's charge cycle and battery life, so little time would be spent charging that it wasn't even worth the $10 on sale.
Similarly, I didn't feel the need to buy a case either. I don't want to add weight or bulk to the Kindle, and I consider the zone between my bed and nightstand to be pretty safe. Cases on Amazon range from $30 to $50, and the Kindle itself was only $79. No thanks.
The Kindle is light; my hand doesn't get tired after holding it for a while, unlike the iPad. I wish the Power button was in the top right corner, since I'm used to putting my iDevices to sleep that way, but it's no matter. I don't have much else to say about the hardware. I like it, and I haven't found any glaring annoyances. Screen/display discussion can be found below.
The $79 Kindle is ad-supported. (Amazon calls them "Special Offers".) It's available without ads for $109. The ads show up when the Kindle is asleep and at the bottom of the Home screen. No ads are displayed while reading, and you can remove them by paying $30 after the fact on your Kindle Management page at Amazon.com. You can also supposedly change the types of ads you see, but I haven't noticed any difference so far. At some point, I'll probably pay to remove the ads, but their unobtrusiveness is sufficient enough for me to put off doing so.
The Kindle's Menu button reveals options to turn off wireless connectivity, shop in the Kindle store, view archived items, search, create a new collection (folder), sync, access settings, view special offers, and configure the screen orientation. There's also an option labeled "Experimental", which — obviously — launches the Kindle's makeshift web browser. Doing so brings up a list of generic bookmarks to Amazon.com, Wikipedia, Google, Gmail, Yahoo, Facebook, Twitter, etc., but that's about as far as I bothered to go with it. Because typing is so slow, I can't imagine ever using the browser. It's there in a pinch, I guess.
Speaking of typing: using the onscreen keyboard is painful. The non-touch Kindles still require the 5-way controller to select each letter, and the keyboard has an alphabetical layout, not QWERTY. Again, since the controller is centered below the screen, I had to hold the device in my left hand and operate it with my right. But, since the most you'll probably do is type out the title of a book in the Kindle store, it's not that big of a deal.
Shopping in the Kindle store is a pretty decent experience. You can browse books, newspapers, magazines, blogs, and Kindle Singles, which are essays and other short-form writing. I bought Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson simply by going to the Top Sellers page. Selecting a title brings up detailed information about the book, similar to what you'd see on Amazon's website. Clicking the Buy button sends the book to your device immediately and charges your on-file billing information at Amazon. It's very simple and should facilitate quite a few impulse buys.
Amazon says turning off wireless increases the battery life from weeks to months. I would turn it off since I only use it for a minute or two when buying a book, but I'm going to leave it on for a while because I want my Kindle to sync with the Kindle apps on my iPhone and iPad. Perhaps I'll turn it off in the future.
Amazon recently released version 4.0.1 of the Kindle software, which adds the option of configuring the device's Page Refresh setting. This Kindle model refreshes (blinks) on every sixth page, but as Marco pointed out, it causes the text to degrade slightly after several pages. I turned Page Refresh on so that it blinks with every page and keeps the text looking sharp. The blink itself only takes a second, and you get used to it very quickly.
Oddly, my Kindle shipped with version 4.0, and I could not get it to prompt me for an over-the-air software update, at least not in the first hour of playing with it. You can manually download software updates on Amazon's website, click-and-drag them onto your Kindle, and then install them in the device's settings. It was easy, but I expect to be automatically prompted in the future.
The Kindle's menus are contextual, meaning that, depending on what screen you're on, a different menu will pop up when you press the Menu button. The variations are mostly minor. For example, the "Change Font Size" menu item is present on both the Home screen and reading menus, but you can only select it while reading, which is dumb. Also, you can't actually change fonts, only size, typeface (regular, condensed, or sans serif), line spacing, and words per line.
Nothing is present onscreen while reading except the text, any black-and-white pictures, and a progress bar at the bottom, which shows how much you've read as a percentage. The progress bar is also filled with dots, spaced seemingly randomly, which actually indicate the length of chapters. I find the progress bar a little distracting, but it's nice to see how much further the next chapter is.
One thing I had to learn was that the 5-way controller doesn't bring you to the next page. For some reason, I had to break the habit of pressing "right" on the controller instead of the Next Page button. Pressing right or left actually brings you to the next or previous chapter, which confused me until I realized I was an idiot.
Reading Experience
Never mind those two thousand words, let's move on to more important matters. What's it like to read on this thing?
Simply put, it's wonderful.
You hear all about how great e-ink displays are, but they're definitely one of those things you don't understand until you've tried it. They're really great. The Kindle's 6" display is easy on the eyes, clear, and soothing. It displays pictures nicely. The font, which a very quick Google search says is called Caecilia, is pleasant enough, although some choices would be nice. It's easy to read in low light, and the text only looks better in well-lit conditions.
The Kindle is about the size of a mass market paperback. (See a comparison shot here.) I would guess it'd be easier for the visually impaired to read on the Kindle's screen than on a standard mass market paperback's page.
I absolutely love how there are Next and Previous Page buttons on both sides of the device, so it doesn't matter which hand you use to hold it. Sometimes I accidentally think the left buttons are for Previous Page and the right buttons are for Next Page, but that's only if I'm holding it with both hands, and I suspect it won't last.
Something about the Kindle's display encourages me to slow down and enjoy what I'm reading. It's a wonderful break from the frantic skimming of reading on the web or any backlit screen. You can stare at the Kindle's display for hours with minimal fatigue or strain, unlike a backlit display. I know many people are afraid to leave tangible paper-and-ink books behind, and as an English major, I completely understand. But the Kindle has many advantages, and I maintain that it's the (for lack of a better word) content that matters. The medium in which it is presented is of far less consequence. A book's spirit is contained in its words, and whether those words appear in ink or e-ink shouldn't really matter. Still, I do know how good books feel, smell, taste, and all that. Just don't fear the Kindle, especially if you haven't given it a try.
On Owning a Kindle and an iPad
Now, I know those closest to me can't wait to lovingly mock my Kindle purchase because I'm such an iPad evangelist. After all, one of my biggest reasons for buying an iPad was for reading. I'd like to discuss this here because I think it's a valid debate, and I want to explain why I think owning both devices is nothing to scoff at.
First, let me clarify that a Kindle is not an iPad, and an iPad is not a Kindle. Yes, an iPad is capable of doing everything a Kindle can do; there is, after all, a Kindle app for the iPad.
Conversely, the Kindle obviously can't do everything the iPad can do. The iPad is a mobile computer, just like the iPhone. It's capable of just about every casual task a laptop can do: email, web browsing, reading, writing, music, games, etc. Whether or not a particular device is better for certain tasks is a different issue all together, and we won't get into that here. (You're welcome.)
Despite the iPad's ability to read eBooks, reading on a Kindle is an entirely different experience. Let's do this in bulleted form.
- It's healthier. Everyone knows that staring into a backlit screen for hours isn't good for your eyes. The Kindle's display doesn't sear your retinas, even after many chapters. It also helps you sleep better. Blue light, such as the kind emitted by most electronic screens, keeps us awake by affecting melatonin (sleepy hormone) production. That's why it's recommended that we cease using backlit screens in the couple hours before bedtime. Reading on the Kindle before bed is about as harmful as reading a real book, i.e. not at all. It may not seem like a big deal, but when it comes to getting a good night's sleep, every bit helps.
- You can read outside. The iPhone and iPad have great displays, but they aren't very useable with the sun glaring overhead, like, say, at the beach. I wouldn't want to bring my iPad to the beach anyway, but a $79 Kindle? Absolutely. Not to mention I'll be able to bring one Kindle with a ton of books on it, which is easier to carry than even a single paperback.
- It's for a different type of reading. I bought my iPad so I could read on it, that's true. But most of my iPad reading comes in the form of blog posts, RSS feeds, Twitter, Instapaper, and other websites. It's great for long-form articles, especially with Instapaper, but when it comes to really long-form reading, like books, it can grow tiresome. I read David Allen's Getting Things Done on the iPad, and it took me forever. Twitter, Facebook, RSS, and the entire Internet are only a tap away, so it's easy to get distracted. The Kindle is built for a single task: reading eBooks. I can get lost in a book on the Kindle, whereas I was prone to skimming on the iPad. Skimming is fine for the web, but when it comes to a novel, I want to be totally present.
I'm sure the majority of people with tablet computers still buy hardcopies of books. It would be illogical to assume otherwise. I see the Kindle as a replacement for stockpiles of books that go untouched after one reading, if any. Could you use the iPad for the same purpose? Sure, but I argue that the Kindle is better suited for book-length reading. Just because someone owns an iPad doesn't mean they shun books, and I don't think it means they should necessarily shun the Kindle either.
I plan on bringing the Kindle anywhere I'd normally bring a good book, whereas I bring the iPad anywhere I need to be able to do mobile computing over wi-fi.
The bottom line is that the iPad and the Kindle are not competing products. Buying a Motorola Xoom or an HP TouchPad when you already have an iPad doesn't make sense because they're the same type of product: tablet computers. Buying an e-reader to supplement your tablet is much more logical. I'm not saying that everyone who has an iPad should buy a Kindle, but I do think it's easy to understand why someone would prefer to own both, whether you're a gadget nerd or not.
So, anyway.
I'm very happy with my purchase. For a long time now, I've been unable to read books as much as I'd like to, and even then, I rarely finish them. I foresee the Kindle being a great asset in helping me get back to enjoying books. It's a device designed for one thing, which it does very well and for an inexpensive price. Richard J. Anderson sums it up nicely:
For all intents and purposes, the Kindle comes off as a unitasking device. When I pick it up, I am picking it up to read something—and I love to pick it up.
I agree with every word of Richard's article. The Kindle has already changed my reading habits by eliminating excuses to read.
As much as I love the iPad, I'm now an avid supporter of Amazon's Kindle as well. I think any book lover would do well to consider one.


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I'm going to try to describe a comic I saw in the Globe this summer just after the release of Harper Lee's novel, Go Set A Watchman. A woman sits at a desk writing a letter. We see the words she has written: Dear Harper Lee, What the #!*&%!?
Never can I recall so much angst, so much consternation about a book a) that has been panned by a wide range of reviewers and b) that many of us will never read.
Why is there so much animosity directed at Harper Lee, author of the beloved To Kill A Mockingbird? Not for writing a mediocre novel, but for sullying our hero Atticus Finch.
The history is disputed, but some details are consistent in every telling: In 1957 the young Harper Lee submitted the manuscript of her first novel, a "race story" set in the 50's in Maycomb, AL. The manuscript was rough and clunky in places, but the publisher saw something intriguing and sent Lee back to tease out the story that would become To Kill A Mockingbird. Set 20 years earlier than the first novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, the coming of age story of Scout Finch and her father Atticus, became a classic of all but incomparable impact. My sister decided to become a lawyer the first time she read the Courtroom scene words, "Stand up, Miss Jean Louise; your father is passing." (211). I suspect similar careers were launched by the portrait of Atticus, based on Harper Lee's father. For Atticus Finch was a lawyer who was a model of justice in the face of all that would obscure justice. More than that, he was the father we all wish we had. He was the parent we aspire to be.
Hence the disappointment, even outrage that greeted the publication of Harper Lee's newest, or oldest book, Go Set a Watchman this summer.
The first source of controversy is the very publication itself. Accusations abound that Lee, 89 years old, blind, mostly deaf has been manipulated into publishing a book that she herself knew to be substandard 55 years ago. Unscrupulous agents are accused of shepherding the book to publication even though Lee has said publically numerous times that she would never write or publish another novel. Adam Gopnik writing in the New Yorker describes the lengths to which a "publisher has gone about so coolly exploiting a much loved name…."
But the epicenter of the controversy has to do with Atticus himself. Go Set A Watchman reveals our hero to be a racist good ole' boy, no better than the company he keeps in his meetings of the Citizens' Council, "a kind of less covert KKK." Harper Lee's greatest misdeed is not following her brilliant first publication with a book widely deemed inferior. It is robbing us of a hero who influenced us for generations.
Heroes are a tricky business. Greeks heroes must by definition, be humbled in the end. Under this classic rubic, the hero must fail and the reason for his failure must be a fatal flaw he has had all along and that, in the end, must turn against him. A superhuman courage, perhaps, necessary to prevail in battle will express itself in hubris and compel him to overstep his bounds.
Just a few years ago I stood right here and shared with you my near infatuation with Oscar Pistorious, a glorious exemplar not of winning but of striving for his highest achievement no matter the odds and despite any obstacle. He inspired, he captured the hearts of millions in his bid to participate in Olympic track events on two prosthetic legs. He seemed, in every sense of the word, unstoppable. He was fueled by a passion and a self-confidence that seemed superhuman.(It did not hurt that he lovingly credited his mother with instilling in him the resolve to strap on what he thought of as simply a different kind of running shoes and train day after day with able-bodied athletes.)
That particular hero worship will never be recovered. The same passion and sense of his own righteousness that impelled Pistorious to glory led to tragedy when he shot to death his girlfriend. Pistorious' inability to contain his rage, the cruelty with which he murdered, the cowardice with which he denied any wrongdoing irrevocably changed his status from hero to villain. And the world mourned not only the beautiful Reeva Steenkamp, but also the fall of yet another hero. The expectation that a man who is great in one arena will be great, or even decent, in other arenas will break our hearts every time.
You may think we're better off without heroes, given how likely they are to disappoint us. But I would argue we still need heroes. Earnest Hemingway said, "As you get older it's harder to have heroes, but it is sort of necessary." We need heroes not just to admire. We need heroes to teach us how we can reach our finest selves. We need to see it can be done.
And so, it is time to rethink our heroes, who they are, who they can be, what we can ask of them. We need to rethink what it means to be a hero because if we don't we will continue to be disappointed and demoralized at the blemish that must inevitably show through. We risk a cynicism that would have us skeptical of every extraordinary accomplishment. We risk a despair that any of us are capable of greatness.
It's time to relinquish our hopes for superhuman men and women who achieve greatness flawlessly and look instead to the regular folk around us: Those of us who might be a little pudgy or a little neurotic sometimes but display an extraordinary characteristic – courage or kindness or a dogged determination to fix some small corner of the world.
In truth, many of us have already begun this process without even knowing it. Sometime around the age of 10 or 11 we learned the fallibility of our parents. But many of us survived that realization without having to reject wholesale the wisdom and courage our parents modeled. Some of us took longer than others, but many of us have learned to admire and emulate grand, even heroic qualities in our all-too-human parents.
With this more generous consideration of what makes a hero, we may find we are able to rehabilitate some who have disappointed us by dint of their human flaws. Perhaps the first of these to consider today should be Avrahm Avinu, our father Avraham. We may have our favorite accounts: Avraham, the first to hear the voice of God. The Lonely Man of Faith who leaves the comfort of all he knows and follows that voice to a place where he will father a nation. The fearless warrior who defeats the armies of five kings so he may save his captive nephew, and then, because he did not battle for profit but to save human lives, refuses all spoils of war. And Avraham at his most noble, challenging God to uphold God's own justice and not destroy the Sodomites despite their wickedness. In this role Avraham may call to mind Atticus Finch – a passionate advocate of justice for the stranger.
Just our luck, this is not what we read on Rosh Hashanah. Each Rosh Hashanah we read two narratives of our father Avraham in which his parenting will strike us as somewhere between inscrutable and appalling. Today we read of his willingness to send his firstborn son Ishmael into exile, likely death. And tomorrow we will read of his willingness to offer his beloved Yitzhak as a sacrifice. Perhaps these passages were chosen for these sacred days of gathering to teach lessons of faith and courage. But the discomfort they provoke is what we wind up talking about every year. How could this be our forefather? What can we admire and learn from this image?
Not a problem in the biblical world. No biblical expectations for our forebears and leaders to be perfect. David Weiss Halivini, one the greatest Talmudists of this century was known to say, "There's not a character in all the Bible I'd want my kids to marry." Our prophets and our Kings are presented with the nasty habits and character flaws apparent for all to see. And the Bible is not embarrassed by the human failings of our heroes. In fact it may be precisely these flaws that prompted the choice of these readings for Rosh Hashana . If Avraham were perfect, if his life was not marked by missed opportunities, questionable choices, competing demands on his loyalty, what could we learn about our own lives? Avraham who struggles as we do, has much more to teach us.
You may be surprised to know of the Carnegie Hero Fund, established in 1904, which recognizes civilian acts of heroism throughout the US and Canada. The panel reviews accounts of ordinary civilians and judges them against a set of criteria – the acts must be voluntary, the potential hero must leave a place of safety and put him or herself in danger to save or attempt to save another person. In other words, ordinary people who shine in one particular moment. Recipients of the award include Lora Shrake a 21 year-old college student who ran through an electric fence to rescue another woman who was being mauled by a 950 pound bull. {When asked, almost all of the heroes chosen by the Carnegie Fund were unable to articulate why they endangered themselves to save another. I don't know what I was thinking, they almost always say. I couldn't just stand there and not do anything.}
An exception is a hero you may have heard of a few years ago.
Wesley Autrey, a construction worker was waiting for a subway when he saw another passenger have a seizure and fall into the subway tracks. His actions are particularly surprising given that his 4 and 6 year old daughters were on the platform with him. Autrey jumped into the tracks to try to lift the unconscious man even as he saw the subway train approaching. In the last seconds, unable to move the victim, Autrey lay atop him, flattening his body as the subway passed over them. He heard his daughters scream as the first car grazed his hair. After the subway passed and the man regained consciousness he asked Autrey, "Did we die? Are we in heaven?" Autrey gave him a little pinch to reassure him that they were both very much alive, then returned to his daughters.
Even before this event, Autrey has not had an uneventful life. When he was much younger a gun that was pressed against his head failed to discharge and he survived without a mark. When he saw that man fall below the tracks, he heard a voice tell him "this was why you were spared. You can do this."
So without assessing anything else about Wesley Autrey's life or character, he's a hero in my book. Not a navy seal or a trained rescue worker, just someone, a construction worker with a checkered past who believed that voice he heard telling him this is your moment. I'd like to think that if he could hear that voice when it spoke to him, I might be able to hear it if it speaks to me.
Most of us are not going to encounter someone risking his or her life to save a stranger. But if we look closely we will see, on a pretty regular basis, ordinary people who engage courageously in a struggle they might not win. These are my everyday heroes. Friends and neighbors who are brave and selfless not in the face of a burning building but in the face of everyday life and the obstacles some of us would deem insurmountable. These everyday heroes are all around us, if we will allow ourselves to be inspired by everyday folk. I'll mention just three.
Like my friend Darren. Nice guy, regular guy. Except that he donated a kidney to a co-worker. He didn't agonize about it. He understood what would be required of him: Long surgery and longer recovery. But he also understood that his decision could change someone's life. Darren doesn't much talk about it. He might not think of himself as courageous and selfless. But I do. His co-worker does, and his friend's wife refers to Darren as the guy who saved her husband's life.
I don't know Bryndis Bjorgvinsdottir. (I'm not even sure I'm saying her name right.) I heard about her after she posted an open letter on facebook to Iceland's minister of social affairs and housing that she titled, "Syria's Calling". She wrote the letter after learning of Iceland's pledge to accept 50 Syrian refugees. One of her friends shared her indignation and said he could easily house five refugees in his house. Bjorgvinsdottir committed to cover their airfare and said the government should make room for five more and let 55 refugees in. 17 thousand have signed on to her facebook event. Certainly not everyone who clicked on her event made a concrete offer, but the offers have come in: I have an extra room in a spacious apartment which I amhappy to share along…. We are a family willing to provide refugees with temporary housing and clothing, I am a teacher and can help children with their learning. The Syrian refugee crisis is insurmountable. We don't even know where to start or who should take the lead. Bryndis Bjorgvinsdottir might not know either. But, she writes, "I think people have had enough news stories of refugee camps and dying people and they want something done now." For five refugees, or maybe 500, she is doing something now. Bjorgvinsdottir and her friends are brave and selfless to invite in these strangers from the other side of the world. And their courage and selflessness have inspired thousands.
Finally I am inspired by the everyday heroism of a woman I know courageously facing a grim medical diagnosis. Having seen her own mother die at a young age she expected the same for herself. "I've lived a lot of years," she told her children and grandchildren. "I could not have expected a life this long or this sweet. I'm not afraid of what might come next."
Her equanimity in the face of her illness does not mean she has given up on life. To the contrary. She has endured months of difficult treatment. She was willing to try anything her doctors recommended. Now that she is out of treatment options, she is not resigned. She is as she says, "a little down now that I know I will not get better." But she fills her days with family and reading and dear friends. Her greatest concern is not "why me?" but "how can I prepare my family? How will my husband manage without me? Who will attend to him? How can I help him he manage his sorrow?" Her unblinking understanding of what lies ahead, her commitment to help her family transition to what comes next speak of a grace I have not seen before. And it is evidenced by a regular woman not a saint. Like other everyday heroes, her courage and selflessness inspire me. And so I might hope that I would also be able to care for my family and face the end of my own life with grace and courage: I have seen it done by someone not so unlike me – and not so unlike you.
Columnist Peggy Noonan, responding to the news that the fictional character Atticus Finch may have been tainted writes,
In any case it seems to me the South has produced some new heroes recently, and they're not made-up but real ones. The relatives who forgave the killer in Charleston and who wept as they told the suspect they were praying for his soul, and who meant it – you don't get any better and braver than that. And the people who, after witnessing that moment took the Confederate battle flag from public grounds…
Regular people, doing everyday acts of heroism.
I was astonished to learn that there is a fund that awards heroes in our day and age. It is even more astonishing that the fund recently had to up the requirements, had to make it harder to win "simply because of the vast number of heroic deeds that happen in day to day life" According to director Walter Rutkowski. "Regardless of what you might hear elsewhere, we are fortunate to live in a society where people do look out for others, even for strangers."
These heroes are all around us. Some are easy to recognize because they instinctively jump into subway tracks. Most heroes are the everyday type – the imperfect, the strugglers who find a moment of courage or a glimmer of selflessness that can inspire us. These are the heroes with the most to teach us.
Donniel Hartman:
The Bible is teaching that being a hero doesn't meant that one is devoid of imperfections; it means that one must do something about those imperfections. By elevating these people to be our ideal, it challenges us to emulate them. You are going to fail like Moshe or Avraham… there are going to be multiple dimensions of your life, whether it's in your worship of God, with your spouse or with your children, where you're not going to be who you ought to be. Welcome to the human story. Our religion has no fantasies about human beings. It has aspirations from human beings.
How blessed we are to be inspired by these beautiful, imperfect everyday heroes.
Rabbi Leslie Gordon


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US vs. European vs. Japanese vs. Korean (Hatchbacks)
Everyone knows European hatchbacks are better than
Japanese ones. Or is it the other way around?
Maybe the US ones are the best after all. Is it
even possible to make a comparison like this? And
is it possible to agreeably disagree? :-)
Let's find out!
Japanese ones. Or is it the other way around?
Maybe the US ones are the best after all. Is it
even possible to make a comparison like this? And
is it possible to agreeably disagree? :-)
Let's find out!
Sporin Posts: 1,066The European market gets so many great hatches that we will never see here.
The American public has shown over and over again that they just won't buy a lot of hatchbacks, much less expensive ones.
These same Americans prefer to spend $30k+ on gas-guzling SUV's with suprisingly small cargo capasities.
Oh well....0
I welcome the creation of this 'new' forum. However, I am a little affraid that the 'vs' in the title sets the tone for 'mine is better than yours' type of arguments - which really don't apply to this discussion.
Which is better? Chinese, Italian, French or Russian cuisine? A matter of preference and subjective taste, and in the US, we can be happy to have the choice when it comes to food. Personally, I like to vary my menu as often as possible. Why can't it be that way with cars?
The European car market and the US are extremely different. Culture, history, geography, gas prices... they all influence peoples' likes or dislikes for certain types of cars.
In Europe, just about everyone drives a 'stick'. In the US, most cars are auto. In Europe, a 'hatch' is often considered 'young', sporty, convenient (and not 'cheap' as in the US). More so than sedans, which are seen more as an expensive and 'no-fun' necessity brought along with family, children, and so forth. Not to speak about SUVs. It's not that people dislike them, but they cost a fortune in gas, and would be terribly inadequate in dense city usage.
The European 'hatch' market includes countless hatches, from Europe or Japan. The market is boiling with them! In the US, the hatch segment is the ugly duckling of the car market, with a meager choice of 3-4 models only (versus 8 or 10 TIMES that number in Europe).
So it's not a question of putting the American market up against Europe in terms of hatches, it makes no sense! All 'American hatches' are already sold in Europe!!!
What has struck me is the fact that some 'columnists' consider it to be an attack on the 'US hatches' (none of which originated in this country, I should ad) when I mention that there are a lot of great and exciting hatches in Europe. Why should they be threatened? We should be SORRY not to have more choice in the US in the small car segment... On the contrary, it seems that some rejoice in the logic of saying "YOU CAN HAVE ANY HATCH YOU WANT, AS LONG AS IT'S A HONDA". How silly, how dull, ...how utterly un-American! Buyers should welcome competition, not shun it!
In the US, Japanese cars 'rule' the small car segment. Not without reason. They are durable, and have a wide appeal with buyers. But many voice that they lack 'personality', styling or finish. In steps the Focus, which has ignited a 'friendly war' between 'rice' and 'wheat' people. Can we expect more 'pasta', 'french-fries' or 'polenta' added to the menu?
Probably not tomorrow... (to be continued)0
I mentioned that 'all US hatches' are already sold in Europe. That is not entirely true. The Acura Integra is not sold in Europe, - to my knowledge, and big disapointment.0
freddy_k Posts: 376When I first read who makes the best hatchback I kind of got the impression of Golf, Escort, Lanos, Civic. I kind of consider Celicas, Integras, MX3s as fastbacks. Am I way of or what? What were you thinking mzn?0
You're right to be confused. But carlady/mzn created this column as we started discussing 'eurohatches' in the zx3 vs. civic column.
You're also right about including the Celica, Escort and so forth, and I guess those cars have been 'overseen' in our heated discussions.
But although technically 'hatches', the Celica (and GSR for that matter) fall into the particuliar class of 'hatchback coupes' in my opinion. Certainly, many will disagree with this segregation... To me, when we discussed 'hatchbacks', the reference was to 'boxy' hatches, or 'convenieny hatches' if you prefer, like the Golf, Civic, and 'all those euro hatches' that aren't sold in the US.
For fear of sounding negative, I don't think this column will spark a lot of interest among columnists. The reason being that there is already a column called 'THOSE WE CAN'T GET IN THE USA' under 'news'.
People here aren't really interested in discussing the merits of 'euro hatches' like the Peugeots and Lancia and what not, and I understand that. Why compare cars that aren't available in the US and probably never will? - at least as long as autoshifts and SUVs will dominate the US car market.
So be it...0
as always wins out .i.e. ford focus zx3 hatchback
nobody was dreaming,thinking,or talking hatchback
in the u.s.pound for pound the best buy in a hatch.
sure,when price is no object,you better make a decent vehicle.i.e. euro hatches.- overpriced,
over rated + over there.where they belong,because
they would never make it against the japanese here.0
So, for the purpose of this forum, is the ZX3 a Euro hatch or a US hatch. They had it first...0
sach1 Posts: 22I am disappointed that Ford did not bring the 5-door Focus here. And the less said about Honda dropping a H/B from the redesigned 2001 civic lineup, the better. I just dont understand. Are H/B sales really so poor in the US? I would love to see some #s on H/Bs vs. sedan sales figures for the Focus and current Civic.0
ford is a u.s. co.,therefore it is an american hatch.it is different than euro model,however slight it may be.0
Excuse me, but what is it with you? This is not a point of patriotism, but rather the subject of hatchbacks!
Make some constructive remarks, and people will listen to you!0
no point of patriotism was being made.unless,i
misinterpert my own statement,being the imbecile
i am not being able to recognize when another has
cornered the market on automotive genius.my response was simply an answer to togneters question.nothing more,nothing less.very gump-like.
but since you brought it up, and this is only an
opinion now,but i believe most americans remember
european vehicles having only one gear....reverse!
speaking of patriotism,happy independence day and
I can't believe it. You stepped right into it!0
just what is it?0
alfaromeo not alpharomeo. sorry man.0
New York Times, today:
This column should really be called "European vs. US hatchback market" since that's really what we are discussing...
Check out the following Danish Toyota site, and you will see cars sold by Toyota in Europe (the Yaris and Corolla hatches for example).
No less than three hatches are offered by Peugeot: the 106 (tiny), 206 (Civic size) and 306 (Golf segment):
alfa- thanks for the links.they are all very fine
looking rides. is the toyota model with hatch,the
same as echo with trunk sold here? are there any
euro models to be had below 16,000 u.s. dollars?
it is interesting to see all the different hatches
overseas that are never introduced.by the way,if
you dont push the euro hatches not many will know
they exist.not much in the way of publicity here in the u.s.0
Yes! the hb echo is called 'Yaris' or 'Witz' (or Vitz, can't remember) in different countries.
'Witz' sounds like 'Vits' which means 'joke' in Scandinavia* - which is why they market it as 'Yaris' in those countries! Actually, I find that the trunk version of the echo looks weird. The hb is very futuristic, and has a more 'balanced' design. A very small car, powered by a very efficient (but noisy) 1.0 liter engine.
Most hatches in Europe starts below 10,000 USD (some as low as 6000USD) for base models, but it IS difficult to compare car prices given the strongly fluctuating currencies and local taxes. Today's strong dollar makes many European cars sold in the US a lot more expensive than their siblings back home when you convert back from dollars to say French francs.
Some countries like Denmark have heavy tariffs on cars (from 130% to more than 200% - an SL500 'fetches' close to 300,000 USD!). Therefore, 'ex-tariff' 'EXPORT' prices in Denmark are very low (lowest in Europe) and I have seen many Americans pick up a BMW from DK and ship it over to the US. Conversion costs are, however, a barrier to this form of arbitraging. A Honda Civic Si hatch would probably cost you 15,000 without the local taxes.
*note about another car with a 'unlucky' name: Toyota 'MR2' - never quite made it in France... perhaps because 'MR2' pronounced in French (Eh, merdeux) loosely translates to 'hey! [non-permissible content removed]'!!!
I believe there have been a few 'cultural blunders' like that before!0
alfa - would it be fair to say that the efficiency
+ performance of euro models is driven not only in
pride of mfg. but also the high cost of fuel in
europe? the u.s.mfg.here has regressed,building
bigger gas guzzling suv"s.of course if they didnt sell,they wouldnt build them.my point is that i believe the focus hatch is a big success here,is
because there does exist a potentially large market
for a quality,affordable hatch.competition is healthy and as you have acknowledged before more
choices is better for the conumer.can the euro mfg.
deliver a hatch here as in europe at the same price points? i would like to see them do it,because as a consumer,we would all benefit.as much as i like my zx3, i am always open to a better-made vehicle at
the same price points.we as consumers do short-change ourselves in our buying decisions.it is an
achievement to see the import mfg. extract the mileage + performance from those small engines.
do you think toyota will bring that hatch here,given the surprising sales success of the focus hatch? i havent driven one yet but i understand the
u.s. version echo is mighty peppy for a 1.5 liter
and gets great gas mileage.by the way,those translated versions would fit very nicely on some models built here.thanks for your input.0
As I explained in my other post (in 'the other' column - ZX3 vs. Civic), I don't believe that you'll see a lot of 'euro-hatches' in the US. At least not within the next 5-6 years.
I DON'T understand why Toyota couldn't do it. Like Honda, they are already established in the US and have a vast network of sales and service points. Bringing in another small car would simply add variable costs to Toyota. Their overhead is already 'sunk'.
For Fiat, Peugeot, Renault and Co., it's another matter. They don't have any kind of foothold here.
The cars they produce are fine, but that's just not enough if they don't sell.
I also believe that the US market and the European market are very, very different. But I could ramble on about that subject until I'd be kicked out - permanently - by the column host!0
By the way, the ZX3 is in itself, a perfect example of a hatch which has done very well in Europe. And it seems to be doing just fine here too...0
I consider the ZX3 a euro hatch built by an American company. The differences are so minute that they really come down to regional preferences.
That said, maybe the ZX3 will open up a segment. The Golf/GTI seems to do fine, and I think more selection of euro hatches would be welcome. Personally, I'd love to get into a 306...0
I am not saying there isn't a market for all the other hatches. In fact, I'm convinced there is. But at the end of the day, it's all economics and marketing. The auto industry is really 'cut-throat' and we have seen how some manufacturers have paid dearly for their 'mistakes' of the past.
I think the industry will slowly tend to consolidate with fewer global players.
One we haven't talked about... Mercedes A-klasse Talking about mistakes, this car cost Mercedes zillions to 'redesign' after the car failed the 'elg-test' in Sweden and landed flat on its head:
rex12 Posts: 133I believe many of us have over looked the fact that, Americans do in fact have quite a variety of hatchbacks to choose from. They don't look like a Civic, Golf, or Focus but haven't the Daytona, Cougar, Integra, Camaro, Firebird, Capri, Mustang, and Trans-Am existed or currently exist in some form of hatch? Isn't it possible that we are using the term "Hatchback" to include only compact cars? Maybe we have to open our minds?0
This is what I call bland!
But back in the late seventies, the Colt looked kind'a cool in my opinion. At the time, they had a special transmission with a 'reducer' i.e. you could 'shorten' the gears. The system was developped together with Porsche.0
The least you can do is agree with me when I say that the markets are different! This looks like a joke, but apparently it's not! (I think this is really funny!)
I've seen Golf 'Rolling Stones' edition, Peugeot 205 'Roland Garros' and a few more I can't (or don't want to) remember...0
you are right,there is a tendency to think of the
hatch exactly as you described.technically,would
you agree that many suv's could be classified as a hatch as well?
alfa-back in the seventies the colt was considered by many a critic to be cutting-edge and a reliable
vehicle.you are also correct ,the industry has already consolidated with few players today as we speak.
just how many independent car companies are left
worldwide? they are almost all married-up.0
This discussion has been closed.


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Which is the tallest flagpole in the world?
Jeddah Flagpole in King Abdullah Square, the city of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia is the world's tallest flagpole currently according to the Guinness World Records.
This work started in early September 2014. The idea of building this flagpole belongs to Abdul Latif Jameel Community Initiative and Al-Babtain Power & Telecommunication Company. After officially inaugurated on 23/9/2014, Jeddah Flagpole broke the record of Dushanbe Flagpole in Tajikistan (165m) with its 170m height.
Jeddah Flagpole is now the tallest flagpole in the world
The pole was totally made from stainless steel with the weight up to 500 tons. Even its Saudi Arabia flag is up to 570 kg weight with 33m x 49,5m dimensions.
Although Jeddah Flagpole itself was designed and constructed carefully, but there're still some unintended accidents happened with it. Typically, a sandstorm occurred on 14/11/2014 that made the huge flag felt straight to the ground, fortunately no one was injured in this funny crash.
A sandstorm in 2014 brought down the huge flag
Saudi Arabia is the 5th country owning the "world's tallest flagpole" title. The last four names were North Korea, Azerbaijan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan.
By: Emily Gonzalez


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bring them up gently
by theuglyearring
"Camels are just like humans," Mr. Shammari explained. "They love and hate just like humans. That's why you have to bring them up very gently."
"See this one?" he asked, pointing to a white female camel with long eyelashes and a calm gaze. "She isn't married yet, this one. She's still a virgin. Look at the black eyes, the soft fur. The fur is trimmed so it's short and clean, just like a girl going to a party."
Suddenly, Mr. Shammari grabbed the white camel's chin and kissed it square on the mouth. "When you get to know the camels, you feel love for them. My camels are like my children, my family."
(article here)


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Hey there! I'm Pascal. I'm a freelance film editor and director from Los Angeles, CA. I received a BFA in Film Production from Chapman University in 2008 and have since spent my time freelancing around the Los Angeles area. I've always enjoyed puzzles and thus my love for editing was born. The creative process of assembling and delivering a final product has fascinated me from day one, and I'm always interested in working with new folks. Drop me a line or check out some of the links below to see what I'm up to.
I edit primarily in Adobe Premiere Pro CC but am also skilled in Final Cut Pro 7, Compressor, Adobe Photoshop, as well as various other compression and transcoding software.
Hey there!
Welcome to my blog. I don't update this much but somehow I'll figure out a way to link my instagram or something snazzy like that.


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4th of July 2015 Recap
Here's a look at our experience on the 4th of July for the Trophy Club Town Parade.
What is BSM?
BSM is our student ministry. Hear from students and leaders about the BSM!
Persistent Prayers: Jordan Diamond
Jordan Diamond had parents who prayed for him persistently. Hear about how God has worked in Jordan's life.
2014 Recap
Here's a look back at some of the great things that God has done through Bara Church in 2014.
Ryan & Easter Bunny
Glow and the dark hoop earrings, dancing bunnies, and rapping Pastors. You might just want to click play.
What is Bara?
Bara is the Hebrew word for "create." Every time it's used in scripture it's the sole activity of God. Man cannot Bara.
Praying for the Palazzolo's
After a wonderful journey with the Palazzolo family their family is being called to the Houston area. Joel speaks and prays over them in this video from their send off Sunday.
The Next Generation
The next generation is important at Bara Church. Hear from Youth Pastor, Ryan Bradley, and Children Ministers, Stephanie Harding and Andrea Davis about the significance of the next generation.
The Call
Kim Quile talks about the call and vision of Bara Church and where she believes the church is at on it's 5th birthday.
2014 Summer Internship
Ever wonder what Bara Church's summer internship is all about? Here's a few interview clips from the 2014 interns. talking about the experience.
Alter Discussion
Shelby Hall shares her passion for alter ministry.
2014 Senior Celebration
Recap from the 2014 Senior Celebration. The seniors were honored with a red carpet experience at the Grapevine Theater.
2013 Summer Internship
Interviews with Bara Church's 2013 summer interns.
Adventures of F-5 & Thunder
Monday, May 12th, was a day of storms for the DFW area. Coincidentally, Byron Nelson Young Life had a Weather themed club that night. And even more coincidently, Joel and Ryan magically obtained some live video footage of F-5 & Thunder, questionably, the world's greatest volunteer storm chasers named F-5 & Thunder. The footage is a bit graphic unless you are a vegetarian. Then it is cool.
LLJ 2 Year Celebration
The 2 year anniversary and celebration of the life of the late Josh Hernandez. People ought to live like Josh, because he lived like Jesus.
Cupid's Day: The Adventure
"Cupid" made his way around town in this Valentine's Day edition of a Young Life promo.
Christmas Eve 2014
The Bara Church worship experience from the Christmas Eve gathering at Westlake Academy in 2013.
2013 Recap Video


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Tours / Tickets
Tours at the Richard F Caris Mirror Lab are Monday through Friday at 1 pm and as available at 3 pm. Please click on the red button to the left of this page, and it will take you to specific dates and times.
If you are looking for a particular date, please see the information below to contact us for more information. For groups of 12 or more, please call our office number to make large group arrangements. We are happy to host your group!
This 90-minute tour provides a unique opportunity to learn how innovative engineering and optical technology melds with manufacturing techniques to produce the largest and most advanced giant (8.4 meters / 27 ft) telescope mirrors in the world on the University of Arizona campus.
Visitors will see the unparalleled technology and revolutionary processes involved in making the next generation of telescopes that will explore deep into outer space and produce cutting-edge scientific research. The University of Arizona, College of Science is ranked #1 among observational, theoretical and space astronomy programs in the U.S. Come see why!
These new generation giant optical telescopes will be changing the way we explore the Universe! Allowing astronomers to break the boundaries of astronomy and the universe, peering back to the beginning of time in an effort to answer a vast array of astronomical questions and make new discoveries.
|Monday through Friday
Please click on the red button on the left for tour dates and times.
Tours average 90 minutes in length.
Your tour of the Richard F. Caris Mirror Lab will take you through a large-scale scientific research and development facility. A portion of the tour involves walking, as well as climbing and descending stairs. We require our guests to wear closed-toed flat shoes for safety and comfort. You may not be permitted to attend the tour without closed-toe flat shoes. We highly recommend sneakers for ease, safety, and comfort.
If you have questions concerning access or disability-related accommodations, please contact Vannessa Gressieux at 520-626-8792 or email@example.com
Age: 10+ years All minors must be accompanied by an adult.
Students must be accompanied by an adult.
Adults $20 | Seniors and Military $18 | Students $10 (10- 20 yrs) with ID
Group rates available for 12+ participants
|School and Group Tours
Morning tours available Fridays only
|Cherry Avenue (closest) or South Stadium Garage see UA Parking Map
527 National Championship Drive. Mirror lab is located on the east side of the UA Football stadium.
|Vannessa Gressieux | 520-626-8792 | firstname.lastname@example.com
|To find accommodations nearby, visit HotelsCombined


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LITTLE ROCK — The Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday endorsed a bill that details the procedures the state Department of Correction is to use to put a condemned prisoner to death.
Attorney General Dustin McDaniel testified for Senate Bill 237 by Sen. Bart Hester, R-Cave Springs, before the panel recommended unanimously that the measure go to the Senate.
"I am not here to debate the merits of the death penalty one way or the other," McDaniel said. "My job is to carry out those sentences and assist the state in carrying out those sentences in a constitutional manner."
Thirty-seven inmates are on death row, eight of which have exhausted all appeals and are awaiting execution, the attorney general said.
Executions in Arkansas have been on hold since the state Supreme Court last year struck down the state's death penalty law, saying a provision that gave the state prison director authority to select the drugs used in the execution was unconstitutional. The high court said the Legislature must set the type of drugs used in the process and the quantity.
"The court raised concerns about separation of powers and we believe that's been remedied simply by some clearer language and clarification of the process," McDaniel told the committee Wednesday.
Earlier in the legislative session, Hester filed SB 73 to address the Supreme Court court ruling but the attorney general's office said it had some concerns about the proposal and was working on one of its own. Hester filed the new bill this week and said the attorney general's office and Department of Correction helped draft it.
"The (attorney general's office) has got to defend it and the Department of Correction has to carry it out, so we're all on board," Hester told lawmakers Wednesday.
In response to committee questioning, McDaniel said he expects attorneys for the death row inmates to file additional lawsuits after SB 237 is adopted by the Legislature.
"The court said we had to pass something and I would suspect that we will be facing litigation again just as soon as this statute becomes law because we're always going to be facing litigation in the world of capital punishment," he said. "We believe that the primary concerns that were raised before were regarding the range of authority on selection of chemicals. Your changing of the drug protocol and codification of department procedures are the two primary changes in the bill."
McDaniel said the high court deliberately declined to say what the state had to do to meet constitutional muster.
"So we'll find out what's left to fix probably in litigation, but we have attempted to anticipate any concerns that could be raised," he said.


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Surviving Daily Attacks
Surviving Daily Attacks
by Vivek Shraya
Vivek Shraya is an award-winning author whose first book, God Loves Hair, is an autobiographical collection of twenty-one short stories following a tender, intellectual, and curious child as he navigates the complex realms of sexuality, gender, racial politics, religion, and belonging.
One of the things I often get asked after book readings and presentations is: How did you get through junior high and high school? How did you survive daily verbal homophobic attacks?
I grew up in a time before there were Gay Straight Alliances and rainbow flags in high schools, before the word "homophobia" was so widespread. Without language, without being able to name what was happening to me, it was hard to ask for support at school and at home. Without support, like so many queer kids, I dreamt of suicide.
I wrote goodbye letters frequently, always in dramatic red ink, and even planned out my suicide outfit—not too flashy, not too plain, but rather an understated elegance. But the reason I didn't go through with it—the number one reason I stayed alive—was my mother's love. Thinking of suicide was often comforting, especially as relief from another day of torment at school, but only to the point of imagining my mother finding my lifeless body. Then I could imagine life leaving her body too.
The older I get, the more respect and awe I feel for a woman who was then a full-time mother, full-time employee, and part-time student—especially on days when I'm too lazy to cook my own dinner. It would be easy to romanticize my teenage years, but this was a turbulent time in our relationship, when we were often at odds about my early curfew, my close friendships with white girls, and my blasting Tori Amos. Obedience was a prime value in our home, and disobedience was often dealt with strict punishment. But despite this— despite how much we argued, despite not knowing how I was going to say the word "gay" to my conservative parents and if they would even know what it meant, and despite that when I eventually did talk to my parents about what was happening at school, their response was "everyone gets picked on," I never doubted that my mother loved me. Every gesture of care—preparing our breakfasts, lunches, and dinners; nagging us about our homework; asking about our days; picking up all my holds from the library; encouraging me to sing; tucking us in at night; waking us up with a song; hugging us before school—was another reason not to hurt myself.
In recent years, my mother has expressed regret for not doing more for me during that time. The truth is, there is no way my mother could have done everything—no way she could have completely saved me from what was happening at school. And I didn't have the language to fully express what I was feeling. Ultimately, what mattered most was knowing that there was one place in the world my life did matter—in my mother's heart.
Vivek Shraya's first book is a collection of twenty-one short stories following a tender, intellectual, and curious child as he navigates the complex realms of sexuality, gender, racial politics, religion, and belonging. Told with the poignant insight and honesty that only the voice of a young mind can convey, God Loves Hair is a moving and ultimately joyous portrait of the resiliency of youth.
The stories are accompanied by the award-winning full-colour illustrations of Toronto artist Juliana Neufeld. God Loves Hair was a finalist for a Lambda Literary Award, won the Applied Arts Award for Illustration, and is currently being used as a textbook at several post-secondary institutions.


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We all have had this happen to us. We download a game on to our phone that we get addicted to and 4pm comes around and our phone is at 18%. Then some friends want to go out after work. Now what? Well we thought we would share our go-to battery case for iPhone that will save the day.
The Incipio offGRID Express
The differences between the Offgrid Express and the many other cases you can choose from are minor, but they add up to a better overall experience. It's one of the least expensive cases we have tested over the years, but it outperformed many of the more expensive battery cases out there. And it hits all of the key factors you want in a battery case: plenty of battery capacity, easy-to-access buttons, and ease of removal. If you're looking to avoid that 5PM attack of battery anxiety, the Offgrid Express is our go to case we grab when we are on the go.


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The DFA have recently completed a retrospective of all of their designed materials at the Tom Dunne Gallery in Sidney entitled That's Cool, But Can You Make It More Sh*t? Which is aces.
Sadly BlackPlastic didn't get to go, it being on the other side of the world, and it is already over but this video gives a little insight into the awesomeness that was it.
The look of the DFA output has always been pretty much consistently superb and it is perhaps symbolic of the attention to detail that the people behind the label have - something that generally comes through in the music. BlackPlastic would argue that this approach has defined what we would consider some of the very best labels (Factory and Output, for example) - it particularly comes through in the way that the releases on all of these labels generally fit together visually and yet still stand apart on their own.
On the video James Murphy mentions his intentions to release a book - here is hoping that happens at some point.
BP x


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Reportback: Indicating Editing
December 2014 PSN – Indicating Editing
Participants: Sherna Berger-Gluck, Sara Sinclair, Amy Starecheski, Allison Tracy.
As oral historians continue to develop their collective audio editing skills and editing audio at the request of a narrator has become feasible for many, an issue has arisen for which there seems to be no standard in the field. Should we show where an interviewee has edited a transcript or audio tape? If so, how? If not, why not? What if they have deleted content? What if the content is only closed for a period of time? Do we treat this differently from a permanent deletion?
This question raises questions central to the field of oral history in new ways. How do we balance the privacy and authority of the narrator with the researcher's desire to know everything possible about how the document was created? Who keeps the unedited drafts of oral history tapes and transcripts, and why? If oral history is a primary source document, what part of the complex, drawn-out, intersubjective process becomes a source, and what becomes a secret? This topic also brings up a fundamental question that is especially relevant when doing oral history with communities that have been historically marginalized and oppressed: To whom are oral historians accountable and how do we balance multiple "accountabilities"?
The session began with each participant explaining why the topic was of interest to them/when they first encountered it in their own work.
- The question came up in her dissertation research, as she prepared to deposit her interviews in a separate archive at NYU.
- This was the first time that Amy was able to offer her interviewees the opportunity to edit the audio of their interviews. With this new practice arose new questions: how to/whether to indicate edits to audio in a way that would mark deletions for future researchers.
- In much of Sherna's oral history practice, interview transcripts were not produced. As a result the question of print and audio matching is less interesting to her than how audio edits are indicated.
- Describes practice of turning off the tape recorder and negotiating with the narrator how to discuss something. What resulted from this process was suggestive enough that people could read between the lines. As a result, a graduate student accused her of excising material in the 2nd edition of From Parlor to Prison. In other words, the student had gleaned enough in her original reading that she was then convinced that something was different in the 2nd edition.
- She is interested in how the choices we make to indicate edits, help/or don't help researchers to make sense of the information they have.
- Realized that there wasn't an established standard practice in the field as she began to grapple with these questions, as they arose through her work at the Stanford Historical Society
- Editing to audio is minimal, and is done to address sensitive issues. The handful of instances audio has been edited, have been contained to specific sections rather than throughout the recording.
- Editing happens when (like Amy) it makes the difference between depositing and closing permanently.
- Another small category of audio that has been closed for a period of time (rather than edited and deposited).
- General editing procedures are outlined in preface, and anything that seems to cross the line from editing for clarity to changing the content of the interview, is noted in the preface.
- Indications are made to transcript when something has been deleted, and audio clip appended to beginning of interview audio to notify researchers the audio has been edited
- These questions arose when working on a project for the New York Department of Environmental Protection
- The project budget didn't have room for any audio-edits, and the archivist that was supervising the project was concerned about the efficacy of edits to transcript should the audio not also be adjusted.
Some highlights from the conversation:
- If an archive plans to destroy raw audio and transcript after a set number of years, providing narrator with a copy of raw material would facilitate possibility of making future further revisions if so desired.
- Making the case to our narrators for closing materials VS. the destruction of records
- Narrators' right to make deletions at any time needs to more explicit in all of our agreements.
- The challenge of working with archivists who find this practice overwhelming
- The tension between oral history's responsibility to our narrators and future researchers needs to be faced more directly.
- This process needs to adhere to commitment we make to our narrators as collaborators
- Edits ultimately reflect the narrative that people wish to present of themselves and their own lives.
- Identity is fluid and may shift over time
- Technical innovations have drastically impacted our ability to edit our audio
- Even within archives that only make written transcripts available now, should audio ever be made available it would be necessary to supplement that addition with some explanation of the discrepancy between the two records – this is an important reason to keep a record of edits to the transcript
- Is there a difference between choosing not to tell a story at all, and choosing to remove it after the interview?
- Sherna describes practice of pausing the interview to talk to the narrator about how to think through telling a story in such a way that they will be comfortable with it being on the record
- Believes that this practice results in at least some of the story being shared, this in contrast to a narrator telling a version they do not ultimately want on the record and choosing to delete it later
- Specific questions about how to mark audio deletions
- With silence
- With beeps
- Do edits purposely frame the content missing or are transcripts/audio files edited in such a way that there is no suggestion of what has been removed?
- Discussed the value of a roundtable at OHA in 2015. Allison said she had already been planning on submitting a proposal for something along these lines and that she would keep us all in the loop.
- Discussed the relation of this issue to the larger project of revising OHA Evaluation Guidelines.