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Durran Jordan
Senior Consultant, Hashrocket
Starting as an ANSI artist for bulletin boards in the late 80s, Durran hacked his way through to the Java world in the late 90's where he became a successful developer and agile consultant on 3 different continents. A prior colleague of Obie Fernandez at MediaOcean and Thoughtworks, he has delivered countless enterprise and desktop applications, as well as having his hand in just about every programming cookie jar, including .NET, Scala, Python, and Ruby. Author and maintainer of the Mongoid mapping library for MongoDB.
Location: Ballroom II Level:


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Southern California's Declining Transit Ridership, Explained
The report, Falling Transit Ridership: California and Southern California, by Michael Manville, Brian D. Taylor, and Evelyn Blumenberg of the UCLA Institute of Transportation Studies, was released Jan. 31. Commissioned by the six-county Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG), it was written to better understand the trend of falling transit ridership and help inform planners and policymakers on how to address it.
"Although the research was limited to Southern California, it could have big implications if similar patterns are found elsewhere," writes Governing's transportation and infrastructure reporter, Daniel C. Vock.
As posted last month, transit ridership in Los Angeles County dropped 15 percent in 5 years despite the opening of new light rail extensions.
Experts and officials have no firm answers, but have attributed the decline to a combination of factors, including changes to immigration policy, competition from Uber and Lyft and more people buying cars — as well as perceived problems with existing transit service and security, wrote Laura J. Nelson, who covers transportation and mobility issues across Southern California for the Los Angeles Times, on Jan. 25.
"As data has revealed multi-year decreases of up to 25% [across Southern California], experts and officials have stopped debating whether the decline exists, and have instead turned their attention to why," writes Nelson on Feb. 1.
The study of U.S. Census data and ridership figures, prepared by the UCLA Institute of Transportation Studies, called the increase in car ownership a "smoldering, if not a smoking, gun" to suggest why transit ridership across the region fell by 72 million trips over a five-year period.
Auto ownership data backs up that assertion. According to the study:
Between 2000 and 2015, private vehicle ownership dramatically increased among households in the SCAG region, from 1.7 to 2.4 vehicles per household. During the 1990s, the region grew by 1.8 million people and 456,000 household vehicles, or 0.25 cars per new resident. But from 2000 to 2015, the region added 2.3 million people and 2.1 million household vehicles, nearly one car per new resident.
To exacerbate transit's ridership loss, "car ownership has grown fastest among the most frequent transit riders," write the authors. Here's where the report's finding may not be transferable to areas with more widespread, demographic transit usage, rather than focused on those who are transit-dependent, lower income, and often immigrants.
A small portion of Southern California residents take the majority of all transit trips: Less than 3 percent of the region's population rides transit very frequently, another 20 percent rides occasionally, and more than three-quarters of residents ride transit rarely or never
"It's unclear what was driving the higher vehicle ownership rates, especially because wages were stagnant," writes Vock of Governing.
But there are many indications that low-income consumers are taking on more vehicle-related debt. Between 2000 and 2015, inflation-adjusted per capita vehicle debt in California rose 91 percent, according to the study.
[Co-author] Evelyn Blumenberg says vehicles could be more of a necessity among low-income residents because jobs and housing continue to spread into suburban areas.
Co-author Brian D. Taylor has for years urged transit agencies to focus on denser areas best served by transit, adds Vock.
"The biggest declines have been on the best lines in the whole state," Taylor wrote. This evidence is consonant with these "neighborhoods becoming more affluent, with that affluence being associated with less transit use and with people left out of that affluence remaining on transit."
A contrasting perspective is offered on Feb. 6 by Planetizen blogger, Michael Lewyn, although he looks at nationwide transit ridership decline.
Streetsblog LA's Joe Linton offers a critical review of the UCLA-ITS report. "[T]he diagnosis is far from conclusive, and nearly no prescriptions are offered," he writes. Linton also contrasts ridership data with other metropolitan regions.
From 2000 to 2016, the Bay Area and San Diego area saw modest increases in transit ridership. California ridership was down due to declines in L.A. and Orange Counties.
That observation helps to explain how the SCAG six-county region of Imperial, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, and Ventura Counties was responsible for 120 percent of the state's total transit trip loss from 2012 to 2016, a bewildering finding stated on the report's webpage.
"Bay Area transit agencies, including San Francisco's Muni, have bucked the declining ridership trend, with trips increasing by 20%," observed Nelson of the Times.
What about ride-hailing?
So much for those surveys that suggested ride-hailing would lead to a reduction in car ownership. The study also explains why ride-hailing can't be blamed as the main cause of the loss of transit riders.
"Transit ridership started its decline in 2007, but the ride-hailing apps weren't even introduced until 2009 and weren't widely adopted until 2012," writes Vock.
"What little evidence we do have suggests that most [ride-hailing] trips do not replace transit trips," the researchers wrote:
- California
- Social / Demographics
- Transportation
- Los Angeles County
- Orange County
- Southern California
- Academic Studies
- auto ownership
- Captive Ridership
- Declining Ridership
- Gentrification
- Immigrants
- Low Income Families
- Ride-Hailing
- Ridership
- Transit-dependent
- Transit Ridership
- Los Angeles Metro
- Southern California Association of Governments
- UCLA Institute of Transportation Studies
- Evelyn Blumenberg
- Joe Linton
- Michael Manville
- Laura J. Nelson
- Brian Taylor
- Daniel C. Vock

subset: commoncrawl


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WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House is cracking down on staff using personal cellphones at work.
White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders says in a statement Thursday that "the security and integrity of the technology systems at the White House is a top priority for the Trump administration and therefore starting next week the use of all personal devices for both guests and staff will no longer be allowed in the West Wing."
She said aides would "conduct business on their government-issued devices."
Sanders said the decision was about security, "not about leaks." She said there would be a place for people to store phones at the West Wing entrance.
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One down, one to go.
The Bluffton High volleyball varsity won its first match of the season Sept. 4 against Region 7-3A rival Hilton Head High 25-15, 25-21.
If the Lady Bobcats win the Tuesday rematch they can secure the top seed in the playoffs and the sixth region championship in eight years.
In addition to beating Hilton Head, Bluffton also beat Cane Bay 25-10, 25-10.
The combined statistics for both matches show Mackenzie Cooler leading the team in kills with 14 followed by Jordan Franklin with 13 and Abby Roulston with 10.
Cooler also led in assists with 11 while Liz Collins added 9, Franklin 8 and Grace Collins 7.
Franklin also was a perfect 23 for 23 serving while Morgan Delaplane had 15 digs.
BHS hosted the 8th annual Beaufort County Invitational Volleyball Tournament on Saturday. Nine teams participated.
Bluffton went undefeated in pool play, beating Branchville High, Hilton Head Prep and Beaufort High.
In the Gold Division playoffs, Hilton Head Prep beat Hilton Head High in two games in the first semifinal while Bluffton prevailed over Holly Hill Academy 25-15, 19-25, 15-10 in the second semi.
In the finals, Hilton Head Prep topped Bluffton 23-25, 25-17, 15-9.
Cooler once again led the team in kills with 37 and she also had 14 assists and 25 digs. Roulson added 24 kills while Franklin had 22 kills and 17 assists. Dani Bothe had 17 kills and Grace Collins led in assists with 44. Delplane led in digs with 26. Cooler and Franklin were selected to the All-Tournament Team.
The Lady Bobcats host a tri-match Thursday against Battery Creek High and Whale Branch High. BHS travels Friday to Wando High in Mt. Pleasant to play a two-day tournament against some of the top teams in South Carolina.
The Lady Bobcats host the first-ever Bluffton High Kid's Volleyball Clinic for boys and girls ages 6-13 beginning at 2 p.m. Sunday.
The following week ends our regular season schedule with another home tri-match on Tuesday against Hilton Head Prep and Hilton Head High.
The tri-match has been designated Dig Pink Night in support of breast cancer awareness.


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Travel Advice and Information
We know you want to have an awesome adventure this summer and our passionate and experienced team know how to offer you that.
Find out more information and join us!
Dreaming of Middle East? This trip traverses four countries, Palestine, Israel, Jordan& Egypt, taking you to the highlights of these stunning areas!. Spend a month traversing these unique and incredibly diverse countries. Experience the warm hospitality as you immerse yourself in the culture. Feel like a member of the community as you live with a family and contribute your time to explore at local projects. Head to the Wadi Rum desert where you will be amazed by the beauty of the sand dunes as you ride across on the back of a camel. Snorkel in the Red Sea and relax on the Mediterranean Sea coast's beautiful beaches. Cruise the Nile and visit the great Pyramids. Visit the oldest works of Islamic architecture to survive, the Dome of the Rock and admire the colorful goods and exotic spices in the old city of Jerusalem. Understand the mix of religions as you visit Christian monasteries, Islamic mosques, and Jewish synagogues. From the East to the West, experience the excitement and variety of these countries.
Yalla Mishwar is designed for internationals who wish to be immersed in a challenging and enriching international experience read more...
Yalla Mishwar takes place May 19- June 17, 2017 which includes 2 weeks in Palestine & Israel one week in Jordan, and one week in Egypt. Read More...
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We know you want to have an awesome adventure this summer and our passionate and experienced team know how to offer you that.
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#192,Shepherds' Field Street
Beit Sahour, Palestine


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Screening and early detection of breast cancer
Detection of breast cancer while it is still small and confined to the breast provides the best chance of effective treatment for women with the disease. Benefits of early detection include increased survival, increased treatment options and improved quality of life.
Position statements
- Cancer Australia position statement - Early detection of breast cancer
Publication date: August 2004, revised and updated 2009 and 2015
- Cancer Australia position statement - Over-diagnosis from mammography screening
Publication date: January 2008, revised and updated 2010 and 2014
Find out more about:
- BreastScreen Australia
- MRI for high risk women (create new page)


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The October 2017 Housing Reports* for Lantana, Argyle & Flower Mound indicate slightly better news for home buyers, as median home prices trended downward compared to a year ago.
In October, buyers saw a few more active listings in Lantana, and homes stayed on the market an average of 51 days.
Homes are moving faster in Argyle right now, averaging 37 days less on the market than a year ago.
Available homes in Flower Mound remain a challenge to buyers, as active listings were down 11.6%.
*Reports released by Greater Lewisville Area Realtors (GLAR), October 2017
Information provided by The Seay Group Realty, dedicated to service and exceeding your expectations! Contact us today!


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Valerie Estelle Frankel presented on a number of topics at Leviosa 2019. (Thank you Valerie!)
Her presentation on "The Heroine's Journey," which she's done on several occasions, is available on Youtube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DfCA8Uf8No).
You can find her other presentations on SlideShare at: https://www.slideshare.net/ValerieEstelleFran…/presentations).
She also has free books on self promotion and the heroine's journey up o smashwords.com. Her books are also on Amazon.


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Gone are the days when a Saturday morning meant a stroll down Main Street and window shopping with the family. Say so long to the times you used to spend sorting through the sale racks in hopes of finding that one gem that would make the last three hours of standing in line worthwhile.
The advent of technology and the constant increase in consumer expectations means our favorite pastime could very easily be replaced, at least in some ways, by the internet.
The face of retail is changing— the millennials are growing up, and the next generation of buying is taking shape. For the first time ever in 2011, ecommerce revenue exceeded 200 billion dollars, and in the next five years it is expected to grow by 60 percent!
That means, by 2016, ecommerce will bring in more than 300 billion dollars, affirming the fact that this ecommerce boom is more than a trend, and giving new opportunities to retailers looking to provide customers with more incentive to shop with them.
But in an industry where free shipping is already offered, how do you combat the still-present shopping cart abandonment issue and play to the beat of a generation that not only wants things faster, but for a cheaper price?
There's a simple solution: regional carriers.
Next-day delivery to zone 4 destinations means shipping up to 600 miles from the point of origin, at a competitive price.
And this isn't just to and from neighboring zip codes.
The extensive ground network that is inherent to a regional carrier means any ZIP code, within 600 miles, at a ground rate.
Some regional carriers even offer Sunday pickups with Monday delivery to zone four and offer later pickup times, giving shippers the ability to increase productivity and process more shipments during a working day. (As shippers gear up for peak season, now would be a great time to look into that!)
Nobody wants to deal with the woes of buyer's remorse—when considering a regional carrier, assess your needs first. Let them know what it is you're looking for in a shipper and let them tell you how they can help.
For more information on regional carriers and the benefits provided by reducing time in transit, you can view Mark Magill's webinar, "Free Shipping is Not Enough: It is Now All About Time in Transit!" by clicking here.


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"She'd be hungry by now, she loves her food," her mother's friend Alison Anderson said yesterday afternoon, 18 hours after Kiesha was last seen.
Alison was one of the first by Kristi's side when Kiesha went missing. Kristi even asked Alison to read appeals for Kiesha on her behalf. And as Kristi's friends quickly dropped away Alison stayed by her, telling her to stay strong. Soon, some started turning on Alison as well.
As the couple were put into police wagons for a trip to the Penrith Police Remand Centre, the assembled mob screamed abuse at the two.
``Rot in hell kid killers,'' Alison Anderson yelled. ``Kiesha, it will be ok.''


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Pride Open Weight Grand Prix champion Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic recently made an appearance on a Croation TV show named "Gol." While on the show, he revealed he would be facing Roy Nelson at UFC 137.
The card, which takes place Oct. 29 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center, is particularly stacked. In the main event, champion Georges St. Pierre will defend his title against former Strikeforce champion Nick Diaz. The card will also feature the UFC debut of Hatsu Hioki and B.J. Penn returning against Carlos Condit.
Filipovic appeared to be en route to one of his biggest wins in years at UFC 128. However, late in the third round, TUF veteran Brendan Schaub landed a knockout blow and finished the fight. With the defeat, "Cro Cop" dropped back-to-back fights for the second time in his career. After an extremely successful career in Pride FC, "Cro Cop" is only 4-5 in the UFC.
Nelson won the 10th season of "The Ultimate Fighter" with a dominating first-round knockout of Schaub. He then followed that up with another first-round finish against Stefan Struve. However, back-to-back losses to Junior dos Santos and Frank Mir have evened his UFC record at 2-2.


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It's important to highlight what makes Capability Caregivers so special. When you're choosing someone to care for your elderly parents, it helps to know this person will go above and beyond what's expected.
Take for instance our amazing caregiver Sheila.
Sheila has been caring for the same couple for over a year and a half. She provides live in care– meaning she spends 4 full days living in their home- helping them with day to day tasks (ADL's) such as making meals, helping with bathing and dressing, personal care (assisting with toileting and catheter care) providing companionship and keeping them safe in their home.
She also takes them for walks, drives to doctor's appointments, runs errands, takes out the trash, gets the newspaper each day, takes care of light housekeeping, keeps the kitchen stocked and more… all the tasks that we take for granted, but have to be done to keep our homes running smoothly.
Sheila has been a caregiver for 8 years- she is a trained CNA (Certified Nursing Assistant) and on her own time takes extra CEU classes to further her education and skill set. Last year I remember running into her at the Alzheimer's conference- she had attended on her own so that she could learn more about caring for her clients.
Sheila says she loves working with Mr and Mrs S because she learns so much from them- they are interesting to talk to- and more importantly, they are still so in love with one another. Their love for one another brings a smile to Sheila's face because she knows that she is helping them stay together in their home to live out their old age.
The hardest part of Sheila's work day is recognizing that Mr and Mrs S both have dementia- and they are slowly slipping away from their former selves which makes Sheila sad.
Sheila's passion is cooking- as was evident the day I went over to visit and interview her for this article. The house smelled delicious! She had prepared an omelet with green peppers, fresh cottage cheese with berries, sausage links, toast, coffee and juice (keep in mind she had no idea I was coming by, she cooks like that every day!).
What I noticed more than the amazing food- was that on the table were decorations for St Patty's day. She had 4 leaf clovers scattered around, confetti strewn on the table, pictures of leprechaun and other little nick knacks on display. On a white board next to the table was written the day of the week, the schedule for the day and a little note reminding them that St. Patty's day was coming up.
I asked Sheila about this- and she replied that she does this each month as a reminder to Mr and Mrs S about whatever holiday is coming up. It helps them stay in touch with the outside world and brings them a little joy. It also adds a festive element to their home- making it seem like a party every day!
I was so touched by this- because to me- it goes above and beyond what would be expected. She truly cares about Mr and Mrs S and treats them as if they were her own parents. Her devotion to them is so evident in the loving way she cares for them. I know Mr and Mrs S (and their adult children) are grateful for all that Sheila does to help them live comfortably at home.
Sheila exemplifies the core values that we live by at Capability Homecare- honesty, integrity, empathy and compassion.


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15 Plastic Discs Are Used to Digitally Encode Musical Sounds
High, Low and in Between by Townes Van Zandt. Texan sings country songs.
A Christmas Album by James Taylor. Guy with guitar sings Christmas songs.
La Croix D'Amour by Dwight Yoakam. Californian sings songs of love.
Hillbilly Deluxe by Dwight Yoakam. Hillbilly sings hillbilly songs.
Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc. Etc. by Dwight Yoakam. Guitar owner sings about Cadillacs.
A Long Way Home by Dwight Yoakam.
Giant Hits by Johnny Cash. Famous singer sings famous songs.
The Best of Squeeze: The Millennium Collection by Squeeze. Limeys sing about coffee.
Under the Red Sky by Bob Dylan. Famous singer sings for critically panned album.
Cheap Trick Live at Budokan by Cheap Trick. Illinoisans sing to screaming Japanese teenagers.
Imperial Bedroom by Elvis Costello. Singer expects a lot of grief.
The Best of Elvis Costello and the Attractions by Elvis Costello and the Attractions. Singer sings songs that sold.
Armed Forces by Elvis Costello. Brit sings songs from 1978.
Tall Tales and Tiny Tunes by Casey Day. Singer sings for children. Cheer up, London.
Top 50 Kids' Praise Songs by [various]. Singers sing for children. It's not that bad.


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Nestlé Egypt was honored two awards THE REMARKABLE SWISS INVESTOR IN EGYPT and THE SOCIAL IMPACT AWARD, during the SEBA Business Awards Event & Fund raising Gala Dinner with the presence of H.E Dr. Sahar Nasr Minister of Investments and International Cooperation and H.E Paul Garnier Ambassador of Switzeland to Egypt, and Mrs. Marie-Gabrielle Ineichen – Fleisch Swiss State Secretary for Economic Affairs.
This recognition reflects the strong reaffirmation of Nestle's long-term commitment to the Egyptian market and to the Egyptian consumers for almost 150 years. Nestlé has been part of the Egyptians' life for almost 150 years and consider the country to offer great business and economic opportunities.
Nestlé Egypt among other Swiss companies invest in Egypt have been participated in the annual SEBA event, Nestlé has achieved distinct results in 2017 and demonstrated the highest level of commitment to the Egyptian Community despite the current challenges, and the last acquisition of Caravan Marketing Company SAE ("CMC"), a leading Egyptian instant coffee company owner of the Bonjorno brand is the reaffirmation of this.
Mr. Yasser Abdulmalak, Chairman and CEO of Nestlé Egypt: "We are pleased with this recognition which reflects our strong investments and expansion plans in Egypt and the importance of this market to us. In the last 5 years Nestlé has made investments close to 1 Billion EGP in manufacturing and distribution facilties as well as skill development. We will continue to invest in the Egyptian market and this acquisition comes as a reaffirmation of that." .
About the role of Nestlé as a good citizen, Mr. Abulmalak added "At Nestlé we have a strong commitment to giving back to the community; raising awareness on a healthier lifestyle through taking successful initiatives in cooperation with the government and NGOs, guaranteeing a better life and a healthier future for Egyptian families that focus on our children. All these initiatives are in line with Nestlé purpose to enhancing quality of life and contributing to a healthier future".
Nestlé started its activities in Egypt by the end of the nineteenth century and since then has deep-rooted presence in this market operating 3 factories; for Dry Goods & Bottled Water, and providing direct employment to more than 3,500 employees.


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|14th November 2006, 02:10 AM
diyAudio Moderator Emeritus
Join Date: May 2003
Location: Maybunga, Pasig City
Hi Bob,
i know that J Curl and Leach favor bipolar output transistors as opposed to you favoring mosfets, care to elaborate on this?
again, your circuits seem to be single ended at input and VAS stages, am i correct or do you have any design that is fully complimetary from input to output?
if people react to you a certain way, it is not because of them but more because of you....
|14th November 2006, 12:14 PM
diyAudio Member
Join Date: Sep 2006
Why I prefer power MOSFETs
Hi Tony,
You have asked two very good questions. Both of these are likely to spark some discussion and maybe even some controversy, so I'll answer them in two separate posts. I'll begin here by dicussing my preference for power MOSFETs over bipolar output transistors.
I won't be able to go into all the details here, but there are two places on my web site at www.cordellaudio.com where most of the answers to this question lie. First, look under Power Amplifier Design/Why I Prefer Power MOSFETs. Secondly, look in Section 1 of my paper, "A MOSFET Power Amplifier with Error Correction". Although this paper is perhaps best known for its application of error correction to MOSFET output stages, a very big part of the paper is about the application and advantages of power MOSFETs to audio amplifier output stages.
As in most engineering decisions, there is a tradeoff between choosing MOSFETs versus bipolars for an output stage. Each technology has its advantages and disadvantages. You pick your poison. It is possible to make an outstanding amplifier with either technology, and it is also possible to make a terrible amplifier with either technology. The best amplifiers are made by those who know best how to deal with the limitations of the devices they choose.
Take a bipolar transistor and give it infinite beta at all currents and give it a Vbe of about 3.5V instead of the usual 0.7V. Give it about one-tenth the transconductance of a normal bipolar transistor at a given current. Make it 5 times as fast as a fast ring-emitter (sometimes called a perforated emitter) transistor. Make it have no secondary breakdown, with a failure mechanism that is purely thermal in nature. Give it a peak current capability in excess of 50 amps. Make its current as a function of bias voltage about ten times less sensitive to temperature than a normal bipolar transistor. You now have a power MOSFET. Admittedly, this is a crude approximation, but it helps draw the lines of distinction between the two devices.
I like MOSFETs because they are fast and immune to secondary breakdown. Their equivalent ft is on the order of 300 MHz. As a result, they produce very little dynamic crossover distortion. Protection circuits can be simple. They can source incredible current, and don't need a driver capable of sourcing high current. They have far superior thermal bias stability to bipolars, even though at normal bias current levels they also have a modest but positive temperature coefficient of current as a function of gate voltage.
They do have disadvantages. The most notable is their lower transconductance at a given current as compared to bipolars. This leads to higher output impedance in a source-follower arrangement, which can lead to higher static crossover distortion. This is one reason that they benefit so much from the application of error correction.
Power MOSFETs still make very good output stages even without error correction, but they need to be biased somewhat hotter than a bipolar stage to keep the static crossover distortion small. They work quite well with a standing bias current of, say, 200 mA, which will result in a source-follower output impedance on the order of one ohm per device, or 0.5 ohm for the complementary pair. Note that this results in an output stage idle power dissipation of about 24 watts with +/- 60V rails. Of course, if you're building a big honking power amplifier, there is nothing stopping you from running three or four pairs, each at 200 mA, to greatly reduce static crossover distortion while having a very nice Class AAB design.
People typically parallel numerous pairs of bipolar output transistors. This is for two reasons. First, it is to mitigate the beta droop problem at high currents. Secondly, it is to build up a larger total output stage Safe Operating Area so that less-intrusive protection circuits can be used. There is less need for this with power MOSFETs.
Keep in mind that you should match power MOSFETs if you are going to parallel them. This is pretty easy, however, since today's power MOSFETs from the same tube are usually like peas in a pod.
|14th November 2006, 12:26 PM
diyAudio Member
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: Prague
are not you oversimplifying?
E.g., "do not need a driver capable of sourcing high current."
Really? In case input MOSFET capacitance is of some 1500pF, the driver has to deliver large
Ic = C*(dV/dt)
current, at least for fast signals.
|14th November 2006, 12:49 PM
diyAudio Member
i agree with you. however, isn't some of this capacitance effectively "mitigated" when the MOSFET is used in a source follower configuration?
|14th November 2006, 02:29 PM
diyAudio Member
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: PKS, Finland
I guess your thoughts aplies mostly to vertical FET's, whats your take on lateral ones, not just paramters where the main differences like even lower transconductance, lower Cre and negative temp-co are the most noticeable but as well in practice?
Cheers Michael
|14th November 2006, 04:13 PM
Anatoliy Lisovskiy
diyAudio Member
I used FETs in parallel with BJTs, with emitter resistors selected such a way they work up to currents when their beta starts to roll off, the results were amazing.
Single Ended Class-A-Holism is addictive!!!
|14th November 2006, 04:50 PM
diyAudio Member
Join Date: Sep 2006
required current drive for MOSFETs
Pavel, this is a good question, but I was not really oversimplifying. This issue was covered in Section 1.5 of my MOSFET amplifier paper. The gate-source capacitance is bootstrapped by the output, so if the source follower gain is, say, 0.9, the 700 pF or so of Cgs is effectively reduced to about 70 pF. Then remains the gate-drain capacitance of about 100 pf. Together they amount to an effective capacitance of about 170 pF, thus requiring about 17 mA to support a voltage slew rate of 100 V/us.
Looking at the input capacitance of a device by itself can be very misleading. A lot of people express concern about the input capacitance of MOSFETs when they don't realize how big the effective input capacitance of a bipolar transistor is. Consider a ring emitter transistor with an ft of 30 MHz and operating at 1 amp. What do you think the effective input capacitance is? It is a whopping 0.2 uF! Just remember that the hybrid pi input capacitance of a bipolar transistor is transconductance in Siemens divided by 2*pi*ft. The transconductance at 1 amp is 40 S. Even though this may seem not to be a "physical" capacitance, it matters every bit as much. The thing that mitigates the effect of this capacitance is the same thing that mitigates it for a MOSFET: in an emitter follower configuration the hybrid pi capacitance is bootstrapped to a much smaller effective value.
What I really meant about high current drive required for bipolar output stages was that required under high output current conditions when there is beta droop in the output stage. In some cases, you can have an output stage delivering 10 amps to the load under conditions where the beta has drooped to 20 or less. In this case the driver needs to supply over 500 mA to the output devices. THIS is what I meant by high drive current. I've seen cases where the bipolar drivers go into secondary breakdown before the output transistors.
|14th November 2006, 05:00 PM
diyAudio Member
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: Prague
thank you for the bright explanation. Regarding hFE vs. Ic decrease of BJTs, what do you think about 2SA1943/2SC5200 or their precedors 2SA1302/2SC3281, their beta is pretty linear up to some Ic = 8A.
|14th November 2006, 05:43 PM
Anatoliy Lisovskiy
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Single Ended Class-A-Holism is addictive!!!
|14th November 2006, 05:58 PM
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Join Date: Aug 2003
Location: Prague,Czech Republic
What ? Pavel mean, that " old " ones ( 2N3055 for example )had much worse curve )....
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AutoLightPros offers an amazing selection of Aftermarket Saturn Taillights specially designed and custom crafted to enhance the look, feel and handling of your Saturn and transform your driving experience. We take great pride in working with the worlds leading automotive brands, and that is why we offer an expansive range of Taillights for many of Saturn's best-selling vehicles. Browse our page and we are confident you will find the Taillights perfect for your Saturn. All our aftermarket Saturn Taillights have the proper fitment as well as the strictest safety and performance standards in the industry. That is how we ensure our Taillights match the quality, durability, style and production of the Saturn brand itself. Moreover, our Taillights come with a 100% Manufacturer Warranty, free shipping and no sales tax, so you always get quality and value when you shop with the Pros.


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There is still time to get the last new executive style, four sided brick home at the Manors at Tree Lane in Snellville, GA. Something interesting has been happening in Snellville, and it's happening largely in the Manors at Tree Lane. The first interesting thing is that four homes have sold above $600k, in 2010. This is good news for a price range in this area which has struggled to find buyers. The next interesting thing is that three of the four homes sold above $600k were in the Manors at Tree Lane. In fact, five homes sold in Snellville for greater than $600k, four of those were in the Manor at Tree Lane. If you're keeping count, this makes 7 of the last 9 sales in this price range from the Manor at Tree Lane.
Now, there is only one more opportunity to get the last new home in this beautiful, 27 home, gated community. Built mostly in 2007 & 2008, this executive style community features EarthCraft certified homes, award winning floor plans, beautifully appointed interior and exterior features on comfortably sized lots. The final home available in this community is another fine creation from the great people at Allen G. Tetterton Homes and includes a 2-10 home warranty. This spacious, five bedroom, 4.5 bathroom home is loaded with upgrades, has a 3 car side entry garage, master-on-main floor plan, double-sided fireplace in master, granite counters, coffered ceilings, custom cabinetry, lots of gleaming hardwood on main level and is on a full basement.
The Manors at Tree Lane is surrounded by fabulous park and recreation facilities and is in the Brookwood High School district. A very short drive to the Snellville City Hall will get you to the Snellville Farmers market, open every Saturday from June to October, or take in one of the many community events held throughout the year.
If you've had your eye on one of these beautiful homes, get moving and see it today!


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Text picture sending is something we all do. A lot.
It's so easy to send a text photo that today most people share not only the extraordinary moments of their lives, but also the most ordinary everyday stuff. (Food pics? We've all done it. 🙂 )
I was astonished to learn that you can SEE all the pics you've sent to an individual without scrolling back through eternity.
Just open a text thread, and take a look at the TOP, next to the person's name.
See the word "details"? Tap on that. Poof!!!
A collage of photos, both sent and received!


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TCA PEEL safe and FABULOSSSSSSSSSS
Julie Robins last edited by
I always come back to my TCA Complex when I need a fast result. Every time it just performs for me….amazingly.
A quick swipe,. like a toner.. in 3 days.. A NEW FACE APPEARS!! ITS LIKE MAGIC…
Of course, maintaining with the retinoids is how we truly reverse aging.
I was watching DR. PHIL and his team of PLASTICS was on. They were doing quick informative quips called "DID YOU KNOW'..
AND this was one.
"Did you know that EXPENSIVE SKIN CARE CREAMS are impostors?" You need moisturizers that performs on a cellular level. Anything that says 'WILL RESTORE COLLAGEN IS A HOAX"..
Wow.. its so enlightening to hear this!! I can step off my "I toldyaso soap box now"
Have a good day
MY ROMEO WORSHIPS ME LOL.. love my boy
spicegirl last edited by
When you say "retinoids" to truly reverse aging, what products in particular?
Britanica last edited by
What a cute dog! I actually use things that most people use on their body but I just make sure it will not cause any blockages or break outs.
KellyF last edited by
I remember reading something about peels being a amazing for the skin but you have to know your type and how often to do them.


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Meet the Musicians Dates:
Sunday, September 22nd 2:00 – 2:30 PM
Sunday, January 19th 2:00 – 2:30 PM


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last time I asked this question, I was wearing a school uniform every day. But now that I'm in college, I have the freedom to wear whatever I want. From what I've seen, most college students (and most working adults, as well), don't seem to put much effort into what they wear. But I think that what we wear and how we present ourselves gives us the incredible opportunity to dictate to the world how we want people to perceive us. What power!
What do you wear? Day-to-day, I usually stick with dark wash jeans, a nice top and a cute blazer or sweater (and earrings, of course!), but send me to a fancy-pants place and I would totally spring for the ensemble above!
(image via Natural Belle via Vogue)


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I have sat down twice now to type up this, somewhat monumental 500th post. The first time I sat down and did it from my phone and Swyped the whole thing out... then between the news of braces required and ten teeth (two kids, 8 teeth and 2 teeth) needing to be filled - the hour's worth of text I had entered disappeared. The second time I sat down on the actual 6 year anniversary and I just stumbled and fumbled with what I wanted to say. I tried to make the 500th post an event and it just wasn't meant to be.
So a couple days have passed, and it's a busy week here - in addition to the ten year anniversary of our family Gotcha Day and of course this other little event called Easter, I have had a lot going on - family sickness, trouble, struggle and more. I really wanted to make this post "something" but it just wasn't working out.
Then it occurred to me - I never intended this blog to be about ME, so much as (as it says in the title) about my Walk of Faith - which for the record is WAY more about God than me. He's the point. I am not.
So it's Holy Week, and today, Saturday, is sort of the least spoken about day of that week, but it has always been the day that has been most intriguing to me, and I think about it a lot. There was no triumphant entry on this day of Holy Week, it was not the day Jesus was anointed with a woman's tear for burial. There was no important ceremonial dinner, no crowds crying out, Jesus wasn't in the garden praying.
Jesus was in the tomb. The disciples were scattered, the apostles were hiding, Peter was overwhelmed with guilt of his betrayal, the women were weeping. The Pharisees were rejoicing, the devil was feeling victorious for the Light of the world had seemingly been snuffed out.
For those who loved and followed Jesus, the darkness and death of hope had to have been overwhelming. The questions had to have been tearing at their faith. The lack of understanding had to have broken their hearts.
Was it real? Did they truly see the miracles? Was Jesus truly who he said He was?
Where was the victory? The freedom? The peace they had been promised? They had believed for one thing - that God would rescue them, and instead it seemed they had been abandoned.
Evil had won. Surely as they looked about at what they could see, this must have been the thought that plagued their minds. Surely this was the darkest of days. They could no longer hear His voice. They could not understand His actions. They had to have even had at least a note of doubt about whether or not Jesus was the Son of God at all.
In my 22 years of faith, I have had dark and quiet days, days where these kinds of questions plagued my mind.
Where are You, Jesus?
How could You let this happen?
Don't You care about me?
But I cannot begin to imagine how much darker they days that Jesus lay in the tomb must have been. To have been a witness to something to vile and violent, so incomprehensible, and to have wondered when He said "It is finished," just what that meant.
I am grateful that I have lived life on this side of the cross. Because I know what the disciples did not. Sunday was on it's way. That life and resurrection was coming, and that the stone would roll away to reveal an empty tomb that would change EVERYTHING.
When I have dark days where God is silent, and even where I cannot make sense of things, even having to wonder where God is in any circumstance I face - I know this, Jesus is the God of resurrection life - and that Hope is real in Him.
He NEVER abandons.
Never leaves.
Never forsakes.
Never forgets.
And ALWAYS is God...
Of life.
Of light.
Of hope.
True to His word, faithful to His promises. He will not "return" the way He did after the resurrection, because no matter how things seem, He never leaves us, is always with, and even if the shadows of this life overwhelm, it's just a matter of time before He steps out from behind them to show and to prove that He has never ceased to be working in us, through us and on our behalf.
I don't have to fear the Days of Silence, because although in can be hard and scary when God works quietly, I can know to the very depth of my being He is always working, just like He was those dark devastating days He was in the tomb.
He changed everything. Oh death where is your sting? Jesus came and died and took your power, snatching up the keys of hell, death and the grave, usurping back the power of the enemy, making him nothing more than impotent fool awaiting his eventual but definite demise.
Whatever we face - we are MORE than conquerors in Christ Jesus. Victory is His, and in Him it is ours as well.
God is for us.
God is with us.
Silence and darkness mean nothing.
We just have to hang on.
I am my Beloved's and He is mine.
In Him I have
and Everything I need....
Easter is coming, and not just on the calendar.
Saturday, April 19, 2014
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Boy oh boy — what a brew!
When Brazil's Big Brother tenth season started up a few weeks ago, we told you about out contestant Angelica. There's been quite a stir about her housemate Dourado, who has a severe dislike for her, and if he is, in fact, homophobic.
So many Brazilian fans have alerted us to his comments about her, including his saying he wants to beat her up and break her finger. Several other Tweeters, however, wanted us to know Dourado is friends with the other gays in the house, and dislikes Angelica for betraying him. (It is Big Brother, after all!) While violence against women — or anyone! — is never OK, we can't say for sure (especially without speaking Portuguese and being able to watch the show like those in Brazil can) if Dourado is anti-lesbian or not. All we can say is that we'd like our lesbian contestant to stay in the house. Here's where you can vote on who should leave the house.
Lindsay Lohan told The Sun that she is still in love with Samantha Ronson, and that her feelings for Sam had initially surprised her.
There will be more on this interview later today. It deserves an entire blog post, believe me.
If you've been watching our new web series, The Real Girl's Guide to Everything Else, you'll be glad to know it's getting glowing reviews from the likes of Tubefilter. Also, it's been translated into Spanish subtitles, which should be available soon.
Lady Gaga is building a very strong business for herself based on, uh, herself, according to Ad Age. She is now working on condoms with Jeremy Scott — could Gaga Dental Dams be on the horizon?
Looking to brush up on your k.d. lang history? The A.V. Club's Nathan Rabin is featuring the out vocalist as part of his "Nashville or Bust" series. The intro alone is worth a read:
Samantha Fox is working on a memoir, which has a working title of For Fox's Sake. She told The Brisbane Times she hopes it will be released next year.
Later today, we'll have Dara's first Tool Academy: Season 3 recap, so you can find out all about the lesbian tool Courtney and her fed-up girlfriend Cheron. In an interview with The OC Times, Courtney said, "I punched a tree and I had to be talked down and they explained to me that Cheron wouldn't have signed me up on the show if she didn't care about me or love me. So there was more than thinking I could still win the money. (I thought) OK, I was brought on here for a reason, and if I still love this person, and I do, I should give it a try."
Here's hoping this means she actually becomes less of a tool — for Cheron's sake, if nothing else. Although, Dara will have more fun if Courtney remains a huge tool. We'll see!
Have a great Tuesday!


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Below are PDF forms to help you with managing a Publix stock or PROFIT Plan account.
By registering for a secure and confidential Publix Stockholder Online account, you can access and manage your Publix stock and PROFIT Plan accounts online. For customers who do not have a Publix Stockholder Online account, the forms below provide a convenient way to manage those accounts.
*These forms should not be completed for PROFIT Plan accounts. For more information on distribution options from your PROFIT Plan account, contact the
Publix Retirement Department.


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Rob Corddry is a comedian, former "Daily Show" correspondent and the creator of "Childrens Hospital," a subversive parody of medical television shows. He's now starring in "Ballers," an HBO comedy about N.F.L. players and their entourages.
Based in Los Angeles, Mr. Corddry travels by air for work, but with his family he often prefers to go by car. "My wife and I love road trips and the kids are old enough that they're into it as much as we are; they're 8 and 10. Our plan was, once they grew out of the 'annoying on an airplane or in a car' age, we started starving them of any sort of video entertainment [at home]. So then when we give them iPads in the car, they're just gone."
But getting the children to look up from the screens and out the window is a struggle. "We'll do the requisite family games, spying things with our little eyes. Sometimes my wife and I will sing, but my kids have reached the age where they're starting to roll their eyes. This summer, though, when we did a little New England road trip, we were heavy into the 'Hamilton' soundtrack. I would take the Aaron Burr part and my 8-year-old would take the Hamilton part, so that was really fun."
One regular journey is a family trip to Telluride, Colo., for Presidents' Day weekend. "I do a very small comedy festival there, but it's just an excuse to see some snow once a year," Mr. Corddry said. " My kids take ski lessons every time we go, but my wife and I, over the years, our ski time has dwindled. Now that I'm 46, I have a knowledge of my own mortality. I'm just afraid of it now; the fun does not outweigh the fear."
Here's what he packs for each trip.
"The inside of my bag looks like it belongs to Woody Allen. If you have an ailment traveling with me, I have something for it. Pepto-Bismol, Emergen-C, Aleve, Advil, Excedrin, cough drops, Wet Ones to wipe down that dirty airplane tray — I travel with what's practically a first aid kit."
Cables and chargers
"I have a designated bag of all kinds of outdated computer wires, every connector imaginable. I should probably go through it and throw out my USB printer cable — who needs that anymore? Do I need two micro USB connectors? I don't remember plugging them into anything. I'm an Eagle Scout and the Boy Scout motto is 'Be prepared,' so I'm prepared. To go back in time."
"If I find myself on a six-hour flight without a spare tube of Aquaphor for my lips, I'll start freaking out. I'm — let's say I'm dependent on it. In my drawer right now I've got five tubes. If I leave my house and I don't have my Aquaphor there's a little flutter, I panic a little bit. My lips don't actually get dry; it's a mental tic I have. I've got to be equipped with at least two tubes of Aquaphor everywhere I go."
"I'm teaching myself how to play guitar. So I bring my acoustic or an electric. When I bring the electric I have this little headphone amplifier called the Line 6 Pocket POD, and it's this really comprehensive amplifier. You can make any sound, basically, that a guitar can make, through headphones. It's really neat."
Comic books
"I usually go to the comic book store before I travel. I will read anything by Jeff Lemire: I also like Jason Aaron, Grant Morrison and Warren Ellis. The kids don't like football, no matter how much I try, but with comic books I got in early and they love them."


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Asobi Seksu have announced the release of a new UK single, 'Strawberries', which features remixes from CSS, The Whip and Ulrich Schnauss.
The single is being released in three formats – two red-vinyl 7″s, a four-track CD, and digitally via UK retailers.
The band have also announced the dates of a UK and European tour, which kicks off tonight (October 22) in Paris and concludes in Porto, Portugal on December 1.
It includes stops at Club NME Sheffield on Thursday (October 25) and Club NME London on November 30.
The tour dates are:
Paris La Baron (October 22)
London Luminaire (24)
Club NME Sheffield at The Plug (25)
Brighton Barfly (26)
Southampton Unit 22 (27)
Manchester Night and Day (28)
Glasgow King Tuts (30)
Liverpool Korova (31)
Nottingham Social (November 1)
Castellion (Spain) Tanned Tin Festival (2)
Oxford Academy (5)
Cardiff Barfly (6)
Leicester Firebug (7)
Bologna Covo (9)
Florence Flog (10)
Milan Music Drome (12)
Zurich Rote Fabrik (12)
Munich Ampere (14)
Berlin Karrara Klub (16)
Koln Gebaude 9 (17)
Hamburg Molotow (18)
Amsterdam Paradiso (20)
Antwerp Trix (21)
London Sonic Cathedral (22)
Birmingham Barfly (23)
Dublin CrawDaddy (25)
Belfast Speakeasy (26)
Leeds Cockpit (28)
Cambridge Portland Arms (29)
Club NME London Koko (30)
Porto Casa de Musica (December 1)
–By our Los Angeles staff.


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An average of four Victorian children a day are flagged as at risk of abuse or neglect before they are even born. State child protection authorities received the highest number of reports in the past financial year after new laws were introduced to monitor the welfare of unborn babies. The Department of Human Services received reports in the past five years from concerned friends, family members, health professionals and teachers for 4415 unborn children, who were likely to be harmed once they were born.
Large companies that fail to remove false and misleading comments from their brands' Facebook pages within 24 hours face potential court action, the competition watchdog has said. Companies are required to monitor comments left by the public to ensure they comply with advertising guidelines and consumer law, after a ruling by the advertising industry's regulator last week that everything that appears on a brand's Facebook page is advertising. Now the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has lent its voice to the Advertising Standards Board ruling, which has thrown the marketing industry into turmoil as companies face the prospect of being penalised for what members of the public post on their sites.
New Zealand's largest tobacco manufacturer will be investigated for giving free cigarettes to its staff. Imperial Tobacco's commercial boss Brendan Walker confirmed cigarettes were available to office staff and workers during breaks at its Petone factory, the Herald on Sunday reports. "It's purely for research,'' he told the newspaper.
Increased federal funding for schools is expected to be phased in, with the government saying yesterday a transition period would be considered for new arrangements. School Education Minister Peter Garrett also said the federal government would negotiate over the contribution expected of the states and territories.
A "gifted" pupil could also be an under-achiever, the mother of a former student told a tribunal in her dispute with Geelong Grammar over her daughter's low academic results. Elizabeth Jane Weir, mother of former student Rose Ashton-Weir, quizzed a senior staffer at the prestigious school on whether she was aware of the concept that an academically gifted student could also be an under-achiever. She asked whether the prestigious school knew Rose could suffer "somatic", or physical, responses to stress. "I don't know that Rose was gifted, I perceived an intelligence in her," Clyde House head Heather Morgan told the Victorian Civil and Administrative Appeals Tribunal.
One of the world's largest fishing vessels is on its way to Australia. The FV Margiris dwarfs anything in the Australian fishing fleet and looks nothing like a traditional fishing vessel. At 142 metres long and with a cargo capacity of approximately 6,200 tonnes, it is a stark example of modern fisheries and is far removed from the traditional 'John West' image of the family fishing boat setting out to sea at sunrise to catch the family's meal. This is no cute fishing boat. It is a massive refrigerated factory vessel with a bridge at the front and a large net out the back to feed its floating processing factory.
Two pokies giants have vowed to pursue a claim for $1.3 billion from the Baillieu Government, despite pleas to put the state's welfare ahead of profit. Treasurer Kim Wells says if a compensation bid is successful it will have a huge impact on Victoria's finances and jeopardise total Budget surpluses for the next three years.
People who first become homeless at a young age are more likely to experience persistent homelessness later in life, a new Australian study suggests. Journeys Home tracked more than 1600 homeless people, or those at a high risk of homelessness, for close to two years, and found half of the participants had their first experience of homelessness before they turned 18. A third of people who first experienced homelessness under the age of 15 had spent four years or more homeless during their life.
Between 1973 and 1990, when my beloved mother passed away, she and her female romantic partner raised me. They had separate houses but spent nearly all their weekends together, with me, in a trailer tucked discreetly in an RV park 50 minutes away from the town where we lived. As the youngest of my mother's biological children, I was the only child who experienced childhood without my father being around.
Improvements to the territory's civil unions laws are set to pass the Legislative Assembly after the Greens agreed to back a bill introduced by the ACT government. The Greens had previously feared the laws would undercut national efforts for marriage equality, but now say they will vote in favour of the changes after consultation with Canberra's gay and lesbian community.
The premiers of South Australia and Tasmania have told gay rights supporters they will legislate for same-sex marriage regardless of what federal parliament does. Thousands of demonstrators have marched in seven Australian cities almost eight years after the Howard government passed the Marriage Amendment Bill to deny gay couples marriage rights.
Thousands of same-sex partners across Australia have their champagne flutes and credit cards poised, waiting for Tasmania to give the green light to gay marriage. Since Premier Lara Giddings said last week that Tasmania would push to legalise same-sex marriage, campaigners have been swamped with interest from interstate couples. Marriage Equality campaigner Rodney Croome said "many thousands'' of interstate couples would come to Tasmania to tie the knot if the laws were passed, and the economic spin-offs would be huge.
Julia Gillard has been accused of playing dead on a push to legalise gay marriage as a "dog's breakfast" of new laws loom in Tasmania, South Australia and the nation's capital. Despite promising Christian groups at the last election there would be no change to Labor's position that marriage should remain between a man and a woman, MPs are to debate a private members bill to legalise gay marriage. Some states and territories are going it alone in defiance of the Commonwealth Marriage Act, prompting warnings the Prime Minister must act.
A gay artist who claims to be Christian was arrested this week after painting "Tastes Like Hate" on the wall of a Southern California Chick-fil-A restaurant. Manuel Castro, 30, had stepped forward last week as the one responsible for the vandalism which included a painting of Chick-fil-A's signature cow. The message was painted on the eve of last Friday's "National Same-Sex Kiss Day" which was organized in response to Chick-fil-A President Dan Cathy's recent remarks in support of traditional marriage. According to a new Rasmussen Reports poll, 31 percent hold an unfavorable view of the restaurant while 61 percent hold a favorable one.
Today it is popular among those promoting same-sex marriage to say that Jesus never addressed the issue, that He was silent on the subject. Those who affirm the historical and traditional understanding of marriage between a man and woman often are admonished to go and read the Bible more carefully. If we do so, we are told, we will see that Jesus never addressed the issue. So, the question that I want to raise is, "Is this assertion correct?" Is it indeed the fact that Jesus never addresses the issue of same-sex marriage?
Taxpayers are spending about $150 million a year on an army of spin doctors to sell the Gillard government's policies to voters. Figures obtained by The Australian reveal there are about 1600 staff employed by federal government departments and agencies in media, communications, marketing and public affairs roles.
As all eyes were turned this week toward Sinai, where Muslim fundamentalists killed 16 Egyptian border guards while they were having the Ramadan fast-breaking meal, Christian families were being forced out of their homes in the village of Dahshur, 40 kilometers south of Giza. Hundreds of Christians fled their homes after being attacked by their Muslim neighbors, who also targeted a church and Christian-owned businesses in the village. The anti-Christian violence was described as the worst since Muslim Brotherhood candidate Mohamed Morsi was elected as president in June.
Senior Labor figures are exploring a dramatic shift on asylum-seeker policy to reopen the Nauru processing centre as part of a two-stage proposal that could trigger the government's Malaysia Solution if the first step does not stop boat arrivals. The plan is being considered as a rapid response to a border protection review due today from former Australian Defence Force chief Angus Houston, heightening pressure on both major parties to negotiate a compromise as parliament resumes after the winter break.
Immigration Minister Chris Bowen has refused to rule out adopting the Coalition's asylum-seeker policies if it cannot strike a deal with the Greens and independents this week. The parties will on Monday hear the recommendations of an expert panel, headed by former Defence Force Chief Angus Houston, following the High Court's detonation of Labor's Malaysia people swap policy as unconstitutional.
The biggest single boatload of asylum seekers since Labor came to power has intensified the pressure on Julia Gillard to fix the border protection mess heading into a crucial parliamentary fortnight. More of these this year than any other, and it's still August. The timing is excruciating for Labor MPs returning to the capital as Ms Gillard's eminent person's panel headed by Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston, prepares to report on Monday. Derided as problem out-sourcing, the former top soldier's mission was always close to impossible: fixing what the Government and the parliament was incapable of fixing when it ended two days of acrimonious debate in a stalemate last June.
The "Rip & Roll'' safe-sex advertising campaign, which was the most complained about ad in Australia last year, has returned to Queensland. Healthy Communities says its posters will appear from today in 35 bus shelters in inner Brisbane and will also be plastered on billboards at Surfers Paradise, Townsville, Cairns, Capalaba in Brisbane's east and Albion in Brisbane's north.
Why am I still a Catholic? How should I answer this important question? In truth, sometimes I'm not sure why. Yet I know the Church frames my identity, as basic as that. It's the source of consolation without peer. I can't slough it off: it's too embedded in the way I see the world and myself. I take it for granted in some respects, one of the products of being formed in post-WW2 Australian Catholicism, with its strong Irish inheritance.
Fairfax metropolitan publications The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald may face crunch time within three years amid predictions they will no longer be able to generate a profit, a leading media analyst says. The forecast follows talk the Fairfax board will meet to discuss a $1 billion writedown of the business before its annual results are released on August 23.
Gonorrhea, a sexually transmitted disease that infects 700,000 Americans a year, already has become resistant to all but one class of antibiotics and could soon become untreatable, federal health officials warned. Doctors at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued new treatment guidelines, hoping to delay the inevitable day when standard drugs no longer work. The guidelines call for withholding a potent oral antibiotic now commonly used to treat the infection. Instead, doctors should use an injectable form to which the gonorrhea bacteria seems less likely to develop resistance, along with a second type of antibiotic pills.
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In all human interaction, there are two major ingredients: content and process. The first deals with the subject matter of the task on which a group is working. In a small group, this might be the specific songs picked, the subject of prayers and discussion, the icebreaker, etc. Usually, most people consciously focus on content. The second ingredient, however, may be even more important than content, though people are less likely to think consciously about it.
Process, or group dynamics, deals with such issues as morale, feeling, tone, atmosphere, influence, participation, styles of influence, etc. By looking at these issues, you may be more able to see who might be a good leader than if you just looked at mastery of skills. You also may be able to identify unhealthy sub-groups or leaders that need better direction or correction.
1) Who are the high participators? How about the low?
2) What reasons could exist for low participation on the part of some?
3) Who talks to whom in the group? Who talks to everyone?
4) Who attends regularly?
1) When a person talks, do others listen to him/her?
2) Who is the "advice giver" in the group? Who counsels from the Bible, rather than from experience?
3) Are there any rivalries in the group? If they exist, why and between whom?
Styles of Influence
1) Autocratic: Who tries to lead by indicating theirs is the way to go?
2) Peacemaker: Who eagerly supports the efforts of others? Who tries to smooth over disagreements between others?
3) Laissez-faire: Who gets attention for not doing anything and refusing to participate? Do they have a collective group following them?
4) Democratic: Who tries to include everyone and seeks consensus?
Decision-Making Processes:
1) Who gets talked to ...


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Abbey Gardens
Whether you're a history lover or simply want a picnic in a park, the Abbey Gardens provides a beautiful backdrop in which to enjoy.
Opens Monday to Saturday 7.30am, Sunday 9am
Closing times vary depending on daylight hours, they are seasonal and exact changeover dates may change.
The closing times for the gates are given as a guide: November to February 4.30pm, March to May and October 6pm and 7.30pm to 8pm from June to September.
Free to enjoy
Mustow Street
Bury St Edmunds
Abbey Gardens map
About the Abbey Gardens
The Abbey Gardens is made up of different areas, a brief description of each can be found below. The ruins of an 11th century Benedictine monastery also lay within the gardens. You can find out more about the Abbey Gardens and its history at Visit Bury St Edmunds, Abbey Gardens
Appleby Rose Garden
Originally an orchard, this is now a beautiful and established rose garden with over 400 rose bushes. The rose garden is named after John Appleby, an American serviceman who served with the 487th Bomb Group in Lavenham. A donation of royalties from his book 'Suffolk Summer' saw the rose garden come to life. A bench made from the wing of an American 'Flying Fortress Bomber' and a memorial stone pays tribute to the many US servicemen and women stationed in Suffolk.
Central area
The formal beds and borders greet you as you walk through the Great Gate. With benches along the perimeter, this is the perfect spot for enjoying a few moments' peace and quiet whilst watching the world go by.
Children's play area
A well-equipped play area and treehouse nestle within a willow maze, there is lots for the adventurous (and not so) to do. There is also a sand and water area so don't forget your bucket and spade!
Pilgrims herb garden
The garden features many traditional medicinal plants believed to cure most ills and also ward off evil spirits. It was inspired by a now famous manuscript written at the Abbey in the 13th century which is housed in the Bodleian Library in Oxford.
Sensory garden
Designed with the visually impaired in mind, this garden is full of fragrant and tactile plants for everyone to enjoy.
The Riverside
The River Lark runs along the eastern side of the Abbey Gardens. The Abbey historically used the river as a power supply and trading route.
The water garden
Tranquil and calming, the water garden is a relaxing place to enjoy some shade on sunny summer days.
Wildlife feeding area
There is a special wildlife feeding area within the Abbey Gardens. It is near the dovecote, past the children's play area and over the bridge. The dovecote was designed to home the pigeons so that visitors walking under the Great Gate didn't receive any unwanted gifts! Please only feed the local wildlife near the dovecote as this will encourage them to stay close to it.
You can also enjoy other activities in the Abbey Gardens. For bookings and equipment hire please contact the park keeper on the telephone number on this page or visit the Abbey Gardens shop, opposite the bowling green. Please note shop opening hours vary according to availability of staff and volunteers.
There is a small aviary with a variety of birds. There is no charge to see the birds.
Bowling green
Available April –October (limited to 2-3 lanes)
£3 per person, per game £2 hire of bowls (plus £5 deposit)
Crazy golf and putting
Available April – October
£2.50 per person, per round, free club and ball hire (plus £1 deposit)
Tennis court
Available all year round
£4 per court, per hour
Racket hire: £2 per per hour (plus £5 deposit)
Ball hire: £2 per hour (plus £5 deposit)
All deposits are refundable upon the return of equipment.
- Banner hire for advertising
- Kiosk times vary as follows but are always weather dependent and subject to change:
- January - closed
- February - half term only, 11am to 3pm
- March - Weekends only, 11am to 3pm
- April and May - weekdays 11am to 4pm and weekends 11am to 5pm
- June - weekdays 11am to 4pm and weekends 10am to 5pm
- July and August - 10am to 5pm daily
- September - 11am to 4pm daily
- October 11am to 3pm weekends only.
- October half term, Monday to Friday 11am to 3pm.
- During November the cafe is only open during the Bury St Edmunds Christmas Fayre and throughout December the cafe is closed.
- Toilets – opening hours Monday to Saturday 8am - 6.30pm and Sunday 8.30am - 6.30pm. Attendant present every day from 12noon.
Abbey Gardens friends
Visit the Abbey Gardens Friends website for more information.


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INGULFED(Notes for the Abu Dhabi Bar Mitzvah)
Archive for Food
New Sense
"I can't talk Arabic when I'm drunk," said Yasser, a Bahraini born and bred. Alcohol and the official language of a religion that forbids it, I thought — something about this dissonance was too much. Plus, he told me with a light flick of his cigarette, we think everything western is better.
It felt honest, that Bahrain was a country that had handed over the reigns to someone else. On the weekends, SUV-loads of shop-and-drink-deprived Saudis drive the 16 mile-long bridge from Dammam to use the tiny island nation as their playground — the kind of playground teachers let the older kids supervise while they have their cigarette break somewhere far away.
I had spent the night on the sofa of a friendly local host who answered my CouchSurfing request. When I woke up, he was making banana pancakes.
"Perfetto!" Taher was pleased. His other guest, a young Swiss woman looking for work in town, seemed used to the treatment. Taher, 36, had started a contracting business to become his own boss and to leave more time for travel — a month earlier, he was touring Southeast Asia; before that, Europe. "No one even knows anyone that has done what I've done," he said, unaffected. For a country that pulls so much in, it seems to send very little out.
Pieces: Singapore
Crisp, starched plastic Singapore Dollars in hand, we looked for food past Temple Street and Mosque Street, not far from Church Street and right around the corner from Synagogue Street. Chinatown, they told me, feels a lot like parts of China, and street signs in Chinese marked places of cultural/gastronomic heritage. Everywhere else, plaques read in Tamil, Malay, Chinese and English. We snagged some pork buns and a juice made from pressed chestnuts and pounds of sugar and kept walking.
I have never been anywhere that looks like Singapore. As an American traveler, I am guilty of a (common?) perversion: grungy, impoverished, chaotic — these kinds of superficies (outward appearance, not extraordinary fishes) connect most immediately to my internal GPS. Moonscapes and tuk-tuk laden dirt roads, I admit, make the quickest work of readjusting my perspective, and forcing me to realize I am somewhere else. (It was more than 100 days in the Emirates before something clicked and I thought, hey wait, I am not living in America anymore.) But Singapore has all this power for recalibration without so simple a contrast: Red lanterns hanging from cables shout China; building facades with white balconies like the Carolinas line straight streets in pastel colors like Nicaragua; laws and public workers keep the roads cleaner than in Germany. And from all that, I didn't imagine that I was in those countries, I knew that I was somewhere else, and I was hit, two minutes out of the cab, with the sense of a new place.
In 1819, The East India Company decided it would be nice to set up shop in Singapore. The local Orang Laut ("Sea People") — still present living the traditional nomadic life in islands off of Indonesia — began to be boxed out. In 1867, the island became the latest of British Colonies in Southeast Asia and assumed the role of a naval base and a formidable financial hub for the entire region. In terms of sheer tonnage handled, Singapore's harbor is now the busiest in the world.
It can hardly be contested that Singapore's success in acquiring international investment is among the fastest and most complete — spanning markets of fashion, architecture, banking, and, and, and… — in modern history. Today's citizens have done well. The capital certainly feels more comfortable in this glossy skin than do those of the UAE's emirates. Some of the culture spans the Southeast-Middle East divide: unending patronage of malls, tinted gold in the light of haute profile retail; two Vertu stores within 500 feet, both selling sixty-thousand dollar BlackBerrys caked in white diamonds. ("The network isn't very good," said the attendant Jean-Charles. "You'll want to keep your iPhone.")
In this commercial milieu, where old five-star hotels guard the river like stalwarts of delicious colonialism (no hard feelings here), the 48-hour western traveler does not expect (aside from the pungent, inescapable smell of durian) bursts of enormous multicultural richness. In a country famous for its law and order — at the top of the list: no gum chewing — surprises seem unlikely. But they abound. As opposed to Dubai and Abu Dhabi, where financial centers watered with oil revenue have sprung from nothing in the desert, Singapore's explosion pushed many things out. The growth, however, like in the Emirates, has brought many other things in. As reflected in the tetralingual metro signs, Singapore doesn't interact with different pieces of the world — it is different pieces of the world.
In 1827, Naraina Pillai founded the first Hindu Temple in Singapore, built impressively in the Dravidian style . Aside from the constant tourists (take off your shoes outside), the Sri Mariamman Temple (Tamil:ஸ்ரீ மாரியம்மன் கோவில்; Chinese: 马里安曼兴都庙; Malay: Kuil Sri Mariamman) is mainly visited by South Indian Tamils. Just down South Bridge Road from our Chinatown hostel, we could hear music bursting from the door in rhythms and scales I felt have had little to no interaction with western musical consciousness. The gopuram tower rose in a six-tiered pyramid above the entrance, a heavy wooden door studded with golden bells. Each tier was crowded with painted, brighter-than-life statuettes of dieties.
Inside, three musicians listened to each other — improvised, maybe — while candles were lit. Strong flavors of incense. A huge drum hung from one man's neck, to be hit with a thin stick that curved at the end; another struck tubular bells; the last wove melodies through percussive pa! kattak! on a reeded instrument a little like an oboe. I slumped down against a pillar. Other tourists milled about the temple courtyard. The musicians didn't seem to know that we were there.
Listen below:
Later that night, after picking dishes from several of the Chinese street stands (everything from oysters to spicy beef to pigs' feet) before hitting the clubs of Clark Quay, we went to drunkly press our luck at the Marina Bay Sands casino (no free drinks, disastrously un-Atlantic City-like). Wikipedia has this to say about the place:
The resort features a 2,561-room hotel, a 1,300,000-square-foot (121,000 m2) convention-exhibition centre, the 800,000-square-foot (74,000 m2) The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands mall, an iconic ArtScience museum, two large theatres, seven "celebrity chef" restaurants, two floating Crystal Pavilions, an ice skating rink, and the world's largest atrium casino with 500 tables and 1,600 slot machines. The complex is topped by a 1,115-foot-long SkyPark with a capacity of 3,900 people and a 500 foot infinity swimming pool, set on top of the world's largest public cantilevered platform, which overhangs the north tower by 220 feet.
The view from the top, 656 feet above the Singapore Strait, is stunning in the dark. Everything looks crisp, the lights from the Marina are bright and clear, and house beats pulse from the speakers of the rooftop bar KU DÉ TA. Drinks were far too expensive, so I went down to the casino floor, and promptly lost 150 crisp dollars at $25 minimum blackjack.
More pictures from Singapore here: Singapore — சிங்கப்பூர் — 新加坡 — سنغافورة
Attention! The following post may be shit.
We arrived in the blue dark of night at the foot of the volcano. At 3:30, a few dozen tourists were already milling about the parking lot, while guides smoked and peeled the plastic wrappers of little chocolate cakes at a convenience stand made of bamboo. We set off in layers of sweatshirts up a trail marked with a sign: "Attention! For all climbers are warned to keep the secret and the holiness of mountain Batur".
After a short stretch of dirt, the track tips up and turns into chunks of black and gray lava. Near the bottom, too far from the path to reach with our flashlights, is the presence of an old temple with tiered, thatched roofs nestled into the mountainside. It got steep — with every meter gained was a foot lost to the volcanic gravel, and as the night moved closer to dawn, double-sweatering started to seem like a bad idea. Up above: wisps of the Milky Way and the patterns of unknown stars of the southern hemisphere. Far away: tiny yellow lights from the villages on the caldera rim.
After an hour and half, sometimes scrambling up natural steps hands first, some hikers call it a day and crowd around to wait for sunset at the first available cafe. There are little restaurants, warung, sprinkled near the top and around the crater. The three of us, my dad Jerry and I, and our Balinese friend and driver Jerry (named after the husband of the woman who aided in his delivery — my mother) were on a longer climb. Half an hour further up a steep channel straight through the clouds, our guide Komang lead us to the summit.
أفضل نزهة في آسيا الوسطى — The Best Picnic in Central Asia
Afghanistan: Part Four
[The following are adapted excerpts from an article that has been submitted elsewhere. To read the full story with a blow-by-blow of the drive from the central Afghan hub of Bamiyan to the perhaps the most beautiful lakes in the whole Caucasus, send an email to INGULFED at GMAIL dot COM with a sentence including the words "picnic", "caucasus", and "dragon".]
If you're not doing anything later, you might like to check out Band-e Amir, Afghanistan's one and only national park. Six sapphire-blue lakes 10,000 feet up in the Hindu Kush Mountains provide what may be Central Asia's Number One picnic spot. Entry costs fifty afghanis (one dollar).
Lentil Paste — معجون العدس
Late on Saturday Nights, Bağlama bars come alive in side streets off İstiklâl Caddesi ("Independence Avenue") in the pedestrian heart of Istanbul. On a sound recommendation and with a small printed map with an X, we sought and found Havar, the liveliest in a string of bars and cafes in the Beyoğlu neighborhood that advertise with posters of studio shots of upcoming performers and a man calling from the door.
The solo instrument is the bağlama (or saz, as it's often known — the broader name for its family), oud-like but with a long, thin neck. Drummers and wind instruments support the frontman, who belts out tunes everyone knows. Everyone. Tunes seemed to hit different demographics in the bar — younger guys and their dates or married couples or gray-haired veterans bent at the waist only probably as part of the dance. Some seemed to dip from shared memories as old as Turkish history — if you weren't singing, you weren't from there.
Except maybe that wasn't true. A few tables of men next to us stayed quiet, just listening, hardly ever smiling or talking, but certainly not looking for quiet. A pair of old men danced in deliberate steps, bent and looking at their feet, with one hand clasping the other's held high in the air. If I'd have guessed, I'd have guessed they were really, really happy. Either way, silent or singing or dancing with fingers entwined — even watching and knowing nothing – it looked easy to get lost gladly in the dark.
Read the rest of this entry »
Snowy Balls — كرات ثلجية
Harness some Jungle Energy and put a few Snowy Balls in your mouth. Happy Christmas!
أنشوجة — Anchovies
In the waning minutes of Hanukkah, the orchestra bearing the name of its Muslim host country set out to play Christmas music. If there exists an appropriate adage, I don't know it.
Many citizens of the Jewnited Arab Emirates (as no one calls it) might have noticed local observances of the Festival of Lights — namely the decking out of most of the city's tall buildings with bright neon, flags, and the number 39. Of course, it was just pre- and post-national day decorations — not an attempt 5732 years off the correct Jewish year. Still, a bit suspicious National Day fell on the first day of Hanukkah, isn't it? Okay, sure, Emirati National Day is always on the second of December, and Hanukkah is determined by the lunar calendar, but… but — okay. Good point.
At the Emirates Palace Christmas tree lighting, Muslims, Hindus, and Christians (ok fine! and Jews, too) stood around the joyous alter of the Christmas tree as a children's brass band heralded not the anniversary of the birth of someone's lord, but the beginning of a season of fun and shopping for everyone. In the world of Internet and Connectivity and the Global Village, it's getting too goddam hard to stereotype people. That people still try is my only regret — for their own sakes. Time-saving stereotypes had some basis back when West was West and wild, and East was just East. But now, reality is disorienting – there aren't any shortcuts. Racism is just racism… and it's awkward.


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Event Logistics
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
2:00-3:00 p.m. Central Time
Gwen Ihnat - firstname.lastname@example.com
The Center for Research Libraries will present a 60-minute Webinar on its Collections and Services on Wednesday, October 12, 2011, from 2:00 to 3:00 p.m. Central Time. Participation in this event is open to all librarians, library staff, and faculty at CRL libraries.
The webinar is designed to:
- provide library staff and faculty at CRL libraries with information on CRL collections, services, and programs
- highlight cost-saving and collaborative opportunities available through CRL's cooperative collection programs
- furnish how-to information on access to CRL collections, through ILL and electronic delivery
- promote discussion of research projects, needs, and trends at CRL libraries.
CRL hosts webinars throughout the year. More information on our webinar schedule can be found in the Membership section.


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The Go! Team Interview
The debut album by The Go! Team, Thunder, Lightning, Strike, has made an impact on British music in a very short time. It was all started by leader Ian Parton five years ago. He had an old sampler and a four-track recording machine. Their sound, a combination of samples and live musicians, has been described as "Sonic Youth meets the Jackson 5." Better than that: various songs sound like Cop Shows, Blaxploitation movies, Charlie Brown cartoons, and Wild Kingdom reruns.
The Go! Team started in Brighton. Ian Parton was working as documentary filmmaker. When he started making the album there was a filmic soundtrack influence. Soon that side project became The Go! Team's original sound. Tracks like "Ladyflash" and "The Power Is On" became theme songs for the summer. There is a lot of cheerleading, rap music, and northern soul influences too. The more the merrier.
What was the beginning of an album that was finished some time in early 2004. At that time there was no real band. When they were offered to support Franz Ferdinand in Sweden they started getting a proper band together. The band consists of Ian Parton (guitar/drums/harmonica), and Sam Dook (guitar), and Jamie Bell (bass guitar). But most of the members play several other instruments, and change things around. Soon there were three girls in the band too, with Fukami Taylor (guitar) and Silke (drums), and Ninja (vocals).
The album was released in the UK in September 2004 and was really popular. It even almost won the Mercury Prize. They have played a lot of festivals and have become popular in America beforehand. Their album was sample heavy so it took a while for all the samples to be cleared. There is an illegal version of the album with all the original samples. They have blown away audiences worldwide with their electrifying stage show. I got to speak to Ninja right before they came back to California to play some shows with Smoosh, another recent favorite.
AL: When did the band come together?
Ninja: The band came together actually last May 2004. Ian Parton was bringing in people one by one. He wanted to bring the music to life. He wanted to make a live show. I was the last person to join in May. We did our first gig literally two weeks later in Sweden in front of three thousand people. We were thrown in together. We have been together about a year and half now. So we are really still a new band.
AL: Was that the tour with Franz Ferdinand?
Ninja: Um. We did play with Franz Ferdinand. I didn't know who they were at that time. We never got to meet them. We played some of the same festivals. The festival in Sweden was really good.
AL: By the time you joined the band was most of the album written?
Ninja: Ian actually made the whole album himself. He wrote all the music himself. He started writing in 2000 or 2001. It was an ongoing process and he kept on doing it. The album came together over many years. At that point he managed to get other people into it. He wrote everything and got us together to play onstage. We all bring our different elements to the band. We all bring something different to the live shows.
AL: Are you doing all the rapping on the record?
Ninja: There are two versions of the album that were released. The first version came out in the UK in September 2004. It is actually an illegal version of the album because none of the samples had been cleared. Ian didn't have any aspirations to make any money from the album. He didn't think anyone would be interested. It was like "We are not going to make any money, so there is no need to clear these samples." But when it came out there was quite a demand. People kept on asking us for it. This summer we got signed to Sony BMG. We were on a smaller label before, Memphis Industries. If people want to buy it, and so we can make a living out of it, all the samples had to be cleared. That took a few months to sort out.
AL: People don't do sample heavy albums anymore because it's too hard to clear all that stuff. What were some of the harder samples to get cleared? What was the most expensive samples on the record?
Ninja: I don't know anything off the top of my head. I know "Ladyflash" has been given away. We don't have any of that song. It has been given away 100% to the singer. Half of "Bottle Rocket" has been given away as well. I think that Ian cares more about the music than making money. He has always been fighting to keep the songs as close to the original version of the album. There have been a couple of changes. You wouldn't have noticed really unless you were a diehard fan of the first original version.
AL: What was your background? Were you in bands before The Go! Team?
Ninja: I wasn't in bands before. I was still in university. I just graduated a few weeks ago. I was studying finals exams at university and traveling around the world with The Go! Team at the same time. That was difficult for me. I have always been writing lyrics. I was doing that way back when I was 12 or 13 years old. I come from a hiphop background. Coming into the Go! Team like I did was quite a challenge for me. It's a different atmosphere and music. When we play at festivals we are playing with a lot of bands that I would not normally listen to. The rock and indie music scene is not really the scene that I come from. It's quite exciting to be involved in it.
AL: What kind of music did you listen to?
Ninja: I listened to everything. I was into classic music and jazz. I am mainly into hiphop. I like the real hiphop with loads of swearing. I like those CDs with stickers that say "Parental Advisory" and "Explicit Lyrics." The proper hiphop is all about people getting shot in the neighborhood. It is all violence. I like that kind of hiphop. Because It was real and they were rapping about what they know. It's gone all bling with girls in bikinis and flash cars. It's not real anymore. It's putting me off. I have been listening to older hiphop. I like Ghostface Killa and DMX. I like artists who laugh at themselves and have a good energy onstage.
AL: Do you like NWA?
Ninja: I used to love NWA and Dr. Dre's early stuff. I also like Gravediggaz and Cypress Hill. I like the raw hiphop. I don't like that stuff that is like R&B.
AL: Have your been to some of the neighborhoods in Brooklyn and Los Angeles were a lot of hiphop comes from?
Ninja: I would really love to check out the neighborhoods and check out the scene but I haven't had any time on these tours. I am not inspired by any rappers in the charts at the moment. There is nothing really original at the moment. I think the British hiphop scene is coming out at the moment. There is a little bit more punch to it. It's not about cars and the money.
AL: What do you think of people like Dizzee Rascal and Lady Sovereign?
Ninja: I am proud of them. They are young. They are doing their own thing. They have attitude. They are doing really well at the moment. But personally, it's not my kind of music. I am glad that Dizzee did things his way. He paid for records to get done. He did it on his own. They call that Grime and Garage. I am more into hiphop, which is different. Some people get those two mixed up.
AL: How did you meet Ian?
Ninja: I was just surfing the net. I was looking for singing and acting auditions. I saw an advert for "Old school hiphop rapper wanted." I sent him an email. He sent me a CD. I listened it for two weeks. It took me a while to get my head around it. It was so unique that I didn't say, "Hey, I want to play." It was dizzy, different, chaotic, rocking, happy. It was so much. I was figuring what I was going to do. Ian wanted me to write lyrics for the live show. I was wondering how I was going to fit in. People think of rapping as being a certain way. The Go! Team really pushes the boundaries. There can be rapping, singing, and shouting. There is so many possibilities. It is not as restrictive as modern rap is at the moment.
AL: How has the live show evolved over the past year and how is it different from the record?
Ninja: It's two different entities. To know what The Go! Team is about you need to see the live show and hear the album. The live show is so hectic. So much is happening onstage. People are running around and changing instruments. Sometimes it is two people and sometimes it's all six of us. People can expect the unexpected. It might be a rocking fast tune followed by a slow tune. We have a lot of visuals going on as well now. The visuals encompass the spirit of the Go! Team. We make very visual music. It's like a party on stage. We have a lot of fun. When someone smiles you want to smile back. If we are having a good time onstage we hope that the audience is having a good time as well.
AL: What is the song "Ladyflash" about?
Ninja: That song has so many influences. It has a 1960s girl group feel, a soul feel, some flutes and strings. It's all wrapped up together in one song. It's a laid-back sunshine type of song. It has so many genres. It is one of our favorites to play.
AL: "The Power Is On" is very popular.
Ninja: It's quite different from the album to the live show. On the album it is quite cheerleader-y, and thrash, and in your face. In the live show it is different. It is more aggressive and political. It's more angry and powerful. It sounds quite different. It has a military theme about it as well. I love that song.
AL: "We Won't Be Defeated" is another cheerleader type song.
Ninja: Yeah. We do a few songs with dancers. They are like 18 year old. They sing and do freestyle dancing. They have a girl gang vibe. They will be at most of the shows. It's a powerful hiphop songs. We have three or four dancers with us for the bigger shows and the TV shows. We were nominated for the Mercury Prize. We had all the girl dancers there. That was a big deal for us.
AL: Getting back to the Mercury Prize, did you get depressed that they gave it to some American guy this year?
Ninja: You can say that because you are American. But if I say something like that I sound bitter. I wasn't sad at all. We were glad that we didn't win because there is a Mercury Prize curse. People win it and then you don't hear about them anymore. If we won there would have been so much pressure on us. We would have had to tour for six months straight. We are used to maybe four weeks of touring and then going back to our regular lives. I think we should have won because we are so different. All those people in England watched this guy win the award and then go back to America. They are not going to know what the new bands are in England.
By alexander laurence
Posted by alexander laurence at 2/14/2006 04:15:00 PM