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IMPORTANT: The Adult Sex-Ed portion of the Erotic Literary Salon-Live has been extended. Walter will be asking his mind-bending, oftentimes controversial, always thought provoking questions Plus the attendees will get to pose sex/love/relationship related questions to Dr. Mayer – anonymously.
New times for the Salon:
6:30 Doors Open
7 Adult Sex-Ed
8 Intermission
8:30 Readings start
2 articles on the history of the G-Spot and how to find it.
AT FIRST GUSH: The juicy history of squirting
Ginger first created "a small but noticeable puddle" with her orgasm when she was 19, while masturbating alone using her hand. A few years before, in the late 1990s, she'd used her family's computer to search AOL about squirting after she heard a rumor that one of her high school classmates "soaked a boyfriend's arm while he was fingering her." The literature Ginger found online back then convinced her the fluid wasn't pee, so when she experienced the phenomenon herself, she was comfortable with it.
"I had a pretty reasonable understanding that it was natural for some women," she told me. Her comfort may have been helped along by the fact that "it was the best orgasm [she'd] ever had." She's been orgasmically releasing liquid without anxiety or shame in the 15 years since.
For a generation weaned on internet porn, inundated by sex advice, and adept at online search engines, "squirting" entered the mainstream years ago. But part of what makes it so visible are the petty controversies surrounding it. The public conversation is preoccupied with determining whether or not it's "real,"meaning whether or not the resulting fluid is pee, and if the G spot (often used as an outdated term for the female prostate, the organ that yields ejaculate) even exists. Some disagreements are legitimate, stemming from lack of adequate research and disputes about methodology, but much is driven by sexist ideology instead of sincere curiosity. Consequently, plenty of ejaculating cis women remain confused and ashamed about their bodies' responses, even holding back on orgasm altogether because they're embarrassed by the outcome.
It wasn't always this way. A variety of texts ranging from ancient to merely old indicate that societies in both the East and West were much more comfortable and familiar with the myriad ways women get wet. According to the earliest Taoist and Greek writings, "copious emissions," "liquid discharge," and "seminal fluid" were an expected and solicited aspect of women's sexual functioning. These documents sometimes even bullet point the order in which different types of wetness occur.
But bodily secretions aren't always easily distinguished, or marked in perfect time with corresponding phases of intimacy. Women's physical responses have been ignored, denied, and mandated by a tremendous amount of (mostly male) scientists' energy over the years, even as women's bodies regularly flout attempts at control. And no case study illustrates the dubious authority of modern sexual mores more vividly than female ejaculation.
Defining female ejaculation is the first step in understanding it, but unfortunately, that's no easy task. Researcher and educator Beverly Whipple, co-author of The G Spot, has made validating women's sexual responses her life's work, and is one of the world's foremost experts on the female prostate and its excretions. She maintains that female ejaculation is different from "squirting" (also known as "gushing"), though pop culture and most lay people regard the terms as interchangeable. Both substances come out of the urethra, as does plain old urine, but female ejaculation produces a modest amount of milky fluid with a chemical makeup "significantly different" from pee, while squirting—according to several much-hyped studies—yields more profuse amounts of clear or nearly clear diluted urine with less PSA (prostate-specific antigens) than pure ejaculate. In other words, the three fluids are chemically distinct.
Squirting is what's usually showcased in porn because it's so eruptive and dramatic, and therefore it's what most people visualize when they hear "female ejaculation." I asked Whipple if she knew of any porn featuring actual female ejaculation as opposed to gushing, and she said no. I did a little bit of digging—for science!—and found that even porn claiming to specifically showcase "Skene's gland," i.e. female prostate, orgasms, captures especially opaque/white discharge pushed out at the vagina's lower rim, not fluid coming from the urethra. (Who would have suspected porn would ever fail to deliver what it promises?)
Whipple first learned of female ejaculation when she was teaching women to do Kegel exercises to control what the subjects thought was urinary incontinence. The biofeedback she and her colleagues received showed that some participants had very strong pelvic muscles, which suggests the ability to control one's pee. Those women subsequently explained that the only time they had trouble holding back (what they assumed to be) urine was during sex.
Though female ejaculation and squirting are usually assumed to be evidence of orgasm, and an especially powerful orgasm at that, women reported to Whipple and her colleagues that it also occurs before or without orgasm. One study suggested it happens more commonly without orgasm than with, and noted some women ejaculate with prostate stimulation alone and no attendant arousal.
That squirting need not be related to sexual pleasure is old news to me; I taught myself to do it when I was 21, to make more money. It was 2004 and I was working as a so-called "adult model" on webcam at the height of squirt-mania. Porn star Cytherea was drenching sets and co-stars with her legendary output, and dozens of potential customers were typing to me each night: "can u squirt?" I knew I'd miss out on their money if I wasn't able to accommodate their appetite for novelty and tangible sexual response, so I bought Deborah Sundahl's Female Ejaculation & The G-spot and spent an afternoon seeing what I could do.
It took several hours and a lot of concentrated effort—namely rubbing the roof of my vagina well past the point of comfort—but by the time I was done, I'd soaked my sheets with a liquid that resembled clean sea water in odor and appearance. From that point forward, almost every night of work ended in a pile of sodden towels and two loads of laundry.
Naturally, to write comprehensively about female ejaculation I had to reach out to the woman whose work had bolstered my cam earnings so considerably. Though not a scientist, Sundahl is an expert on women's genital fluids; she's lectured and taught on the matter for 25 years and no book rivals her contemporary classic. Her curiosity was piqued decades ago when she found herself releasing fluid during sex, and her resultant research positioned her as leader of the gushing vanguard. She takes issue with the word "squirting" on the grounds that it's "a porn term."
"It's a rather adolescent description of the full fountainous beauty of female ejaculation," she told me. Though I understand why she finds it pejorative, I don't share her objection. For the purpose of this piece, I use "gushing/squirting" and "female ejaculation" in keeping with Whipple's definitions, but individuals are quoted using the terms they prefer. (And it's worth noting now that since almost all historical documents and scientific studies adopt a cisnormative viewpoint, most of what follows speaks to the bodies of cis women only.)
Both Sundahl's Female Ejaculation and Whipple's The G Spot includea slew of evidence of historical awareness of female ejaculation/squirting, and later enthusiasts began took to referencing even more. These documents came (heh) to constitute something of a female ejaculation canon. Today, academics and sexperts alike confidently point to suggestive documents that span centuries and continents, ranging from Aristotle to contemporary reports on practices of some African tribes. But not everyone is persuaded. As Catherine Blackledge, author of The Story of V: A Natural History of Female Sexuality explains, "one of the main arguments against the accuracy of historical descriptions of female ejaculation is that descriptions…could refer to any of the many aspects of female genital secretions."
Secret Instructions Concerning the Jade Chamber, a 4th century Taoist work, is one of the more convincing exhibits because it distinguishes between "slippery vagina," which happens first, and then "the genitals transmit fluid." It also warns women against "exhaust[ing]" their "female fluid" before a man is as equally aroused, an attitude that contradicts the way general female wetness ("Yin") was spoken of at the time. (Unlike a man's finite Yang—you can imagine what that is—Yin was regarded as inexhaustible, which means there'd be no reason to advise against going nuts with it.) The 6th century's Secrets Methods of a Plain Girl is equally evocative, separating "moist and slippery" genitalia as the predecessor to "copious emissions from her Inner Heart begin[ning] to exude outward." Is it hot in here or is it just me?
Squirt fans now regard the whole of the Eastern world as particularly forward-thinking re:female fluids thanks to texts like the 12 century's Sanskrit "Ratirahasya." It explains that while women are subject to a continuous "moist flow," that's only a "small portion" of their pleasure and "at the end they have like men, the…swooning of emission." Western tantra practitioners claim that the Sanskrit word "amrita," which literally translates as "nectar," really meant "female ejaculation," but I was unable to find any credible source for this. There are also claims that some Indian temples are decorated with reliefs of women gushing but the only image I could find was a lo-res but badass picture Deborah Sundahl shared with me:
Even as someone who's squirted, I'm skeptical that much of what's put forth as historical documentation of female ejaculation actually identifies the act. Vaginal lubrication can be copious, impressively so; it can create wetness outside as well as in, smearing thighs and vulva lips, and its transparency and viscosity vary based on Ph balance and whatever other fluids have been introduced into the mix. So when Aristotle wrote that female "discharge" sometimes "far exceeds" a man's "emissions of semen," he could have meant ejaculation—or he could've been referring to sheer vaginal wetness. It's impossible to divorce Galen's, Hippocrates', Aristotle's, and other ancient figures' references to female "seed" or "semen" from their androcentric milieus, such that their writing can be taken as conclusive recognition of a female prostate.
After acknowledging such objections, The Story of V's Blackledge adds that sometimes "there is little room for dispute." But the passages presented as obviously about female ejaculation still strike me as obviously not. Blackledge introduces 17th century anatomist Reiner de Graaf as having the "clearest insights" on the matter before quoting his description of "thick and copious" amounts of liquid that "pour" from women's genitals during fits. I've never experienced or witnessed any fluid literally "pouring" out, and I can't imagine "thick" discharge, of all the possible types of discharge, would be the type to do it.
So is this a bad translation? Or is it accurately conveying the hyperbolic thinking of a man writing from within a culture that saw women's sexuality, by definition, as extreme? de Graaf is credited with extensive investigation into the female prostate; he probably watched at least one woman ejaculate. (Later, he more soberly reported "one gush" of fluid sourced from the prostate and distinguished it from other types of genital lubrication.) But his overblown descriptions are characteristic of much historical writing, and it leaves room for uncertainty about what was actually observed.
Victorian-era "The Pearl," an erotic magazine mentioned in The G Spot as being full of female ejaculation, offers a less outrageous take. "I was so excited that a sudden emission wetted his fingers all over in a creamy spend," one of its fictional characters reports, quite possibly referring to ejaculation. But it's just as plausibly speaking to how mounting vaginal secretions break open when the inner labia are parted. It's hard to take descriptions of female sexuality in both erotica and male-penned scientific works at face value given how breathlessly exaggerated they often are. Considered as a whole, these documents reveal repeated attempts to parse women's tangible sexual response. But it's almost always without direct input from women themselves.
And it still is. The argument about whether or not squirting was "real" never made much sense to me. I knew my body could produce something distinct from urine in almost every sensory aspect: taste, smell, color. ("Like a cup of warm, salty water," as one my interviewees said.) If it was indeed urine, it was so diluted as to be unrecognizable, and when I'd use the toilet afterwards, typical urination followed. "The fluid is really thin and clear, like peeing when you're extremely well-hydrated," one woman told me of her own output, while another said, "I've tried to actually urinate during orgasm several times and it doesn't work. [Squirt] smells a little like pee, but when I go to the bathroom after intercourse or oral, I relieve a full bladder full of a much different liquid."
Squirt queen herself, Cytherea, had this to say about accusations that she's really only peeing:
I know a lot of women currently in the industry who are squirting and they are just straight-up pissing. It's yellow and smelly […] I know I pee a whole different way [than I squirt,] in how it feels and the consistency and everything. I've given up on trying to convince people. Fine, whatever. If it's pissing, it's pissing, and I piss in two ways, and that's all there is to it."
As my friend Lux Alptraum once asked, "Who cares if it's pee? It feels good!" Lux's take on the debate about squirting's authenticity is that it belies "skepticism about women's ability to understand their own sexual responses"; even if squirt "comes from the bladder, it looks, smells and feels different from urine." Her impression is confirmed by the way most media coverage inflates shoddystudies purporting that the G spot doesn't exist, or that squirting is pee, with declarative, provocative headlines. Finally, these articles imply, ejaculating women have been revealed as shiesters or morons, or both.
It's easier to just cede that ground than shout yourself hoarse, which explains why so many others have adopted Cytherea's and Lux's "who cares?" approach. Even Ginger, whose precocious internet search helped her become comfortable with gushing years ago, now believes the fluid is urine. But not everyone is prepared to go down without a fight.
"It's not urine!" Deborah Sundahl insisted to me when I brought up Whipple's distinction between squirting (diluted urine) and ejaculation (primarily prostate emission). "This is a backlash! Two little tear ducts can cry a river, right? There are up to 48 ducts and glands in the female prostate. And answer me this: if it's urine for women, then why—when a man has a prostate orgasm—is his ejaculate watery and there's a lot of it, just as is true for us?"
When I squirted on webcam, I stopped only because I'd ran out of full-sized bath towels to soak and I was tired. The amount of liquid I could create in a few hours felt like it well exceeded the amount of urine I produced on most days. And when I spoke to men who were in the habit of inducing orgasms through prostate stimulation, they mostly confirmed what Sundahl said. Stace told me his prostate orgasms can create as much as 10 times the fluid his penile orgasms once did. Georgia Lee, a dominatrix experienced in prostate massage, said her clients usually produce twice if not three or four times as much. Drew described the smell of his resulting ejaculate as not fishy but "aquatic," like "a salty sea breeze." Sound familiar?
It's probably not surprising, given the circumstances under which I mastered the act, that squirting has never been very pleasurable to me, or something I even think of as being part of my sexuality. I regarded it as an uncomfortable but impressive stunt, something I usually felt pride for accomplishing but that had nothing to do with my arousal or erotic satisfaction. And for most women, context is everything. Ginger, the aforementioned precocious squirter, specified that some of her gushing orgasms have been "shitty, because I felt pressured to perform," when they're otherwise "the best and hottest" of her life. Another woman told me that "sometimes [squirting] comes with a really deep orgasm and sometimes it literally doesn't feel satisfying at all."
Betty Dodson, a famous sex educator and vehement critic of the promotion of female ejaculation, opposes obsessive attention around the act in part because it's not indicative of orgasm. Many entries on her site are devoted to addressing women who squirt before they've come and whose partners subsequently fail to help them climax, as well as women who are being pressured to produce proof of their excitement, be it "white stuff" or squirting. Ultimately, men who pressure their lovers to squirt during sex and men who excoriate their partners for "peeing" during sex are not so different; they, like many scientists, are desperate to make women's bodies give up observable, physical proof of our sexual experience, since our verbal reports can't be trusted. As Sundahl says, the impulse to devise studies that can disprove women's own reports of their sexual experiences is "invasive, diminishing, and patronizing."
And what's saddest about the distracting and irrelevant "Is squirting pee?" debate is that it dodges the issue of what feels good. Commitment to enhancing and validating pleasure came first for Whipple and Sundahl, who each reject the notion that every (or any) woman's body needs to behave a certain way. Neither expert intended for her work to create more shame or additional sexual imperatives. But our cultural insistence on gate-keeping bodies—which extends to maintenance of a strict gender divide, and the policing of all aspects of sexuality—wants pure information-sharing to devolve into prescription of certain sanctioned acts. We haven't stopped freighting genital responses with political meaning, which means a truly progressive, holistic, and accurate take on anyone's sexuality will continue to elude us.
With squirting now frequently fetishized and consequently popularized, the last frontier of the taboo that is female wetness may be regular, everyday discharge. I was thrilled and slightly scandalized when 2014's Obvious Child included a running joke about underwear that "looks like it crawled out of a tub of cream cheese." ("I used to hide what my vagina did to my underpants," the main character says. Her, and literally everyone else.) I was equally delighted by Amy Schumer's line about wanting to get through a day without her underwear looking "like I blew my nose on it." Occasional or regular undie-crusting daily discharge has nothing to do with arousal, sexual performance, or gratifying partners, so it's unlikely to be hyped in mainstream news articles anytime soon.
Ignorant of this bodily truth, when I hit puberty I thought I'd become sick. I went to my mom with my dirty bikini bottoms as proof and asked her what was wrong with me. The short answer? I had a vagina.
Gina, now 72, can't remember when she first squirted though she suspects it was in her early twenties. The lack of a specific memory might be attributable to how comfortable she was with the experience in spite of her unfamiliarity with the phenomenon. "I took it to be part of the pleasure nature intended for us," she told me. And she wasn't the only one who handled it maturely: "A few of my partners said, 'It's nice that you can do that.' Perhaps many didn't notice."
That there's uncertainty and ambiguity present in historical representations of female sexual secretions, and that there's still scientific and medical uncertainty about the same, need not be discouraging. Our problems often lie with the insistence on black and white answers about widely variable human responses, not in the functioning of our sometimes surprising erotic bodies. Whipple's research showed that women need not be ashamed of the liquids they release during arousal because it's a natural and healthy part of their sexual functioning. But our absolutist cultural mentality perverted this message into a referendum on what physical response is most indicative of a fully realized feminine sexuality.
I asked Whipple if it's possible many women are already ejaculating and simply not aware of it since the amount of fluid may amount to less than a teaspoon. I was thinking of how many women have been pressured to ejaculate to please their partners, or suspect that they need to do it to enjoy better orgasms, or who think that inability to ejaculate speaks to personal failure. Could these women be berating themselves over not doing something they've done before, without realizing they had?
"Absolutely," she said.
How to Find Your G-Spot
The G-spot, or urethral sponge, is a largely mysterious yet magical place in the female body. Every woman has one (yes it's true, we do!) and this area is generally easy to locate. So why is it that so many women, and men, are still searching for this portal of pleasure?
There is a long, complicated cultural history to consider that includes sexual repression, sexual shame, misogyny and religion. The G-spot does not have anything to do directly with human reproduction—even though it plays several important roles—and at one point all of the areas of the female genitals that did not involve reproduction were removed from anatomical models. To this day medical textbooks are still missing parts of the female anatomy. Because the G-spot is located on the inside of the vagina and is not easily visible, perhaps it has been easy to dismiss or in some way, forget about.
Stimulation of the urethral sponge, also known as the G-spot and female prostate, leads to female ejaculation; a subject that is still taboo in our culture. What many people don't know is that women, like men, also have the ability to ejaculate. With a G-spot orgasm women can release a clear liquid from their urethra that is stored in the urethral sponge. This can be a phenomenal release of tension, emotion and bliss and any woman can learn how to do it.
Today the media continues to perpetuate the idea that the G-spot is mysterious by giving false and inadequate information on how to find it and how it works. Recently a study was released that supposedly questioned the existence of the G-spot altogether.
Many women and sex educators know from their own personal experience that this is definitely not true! Your G-spot and all of the pleasure it contains is there, waiting to be discovered by you. Here's how to find it and what to do when you get there . . .
The G-spot is more than just a spot but an area that has a head, a body and a tail. It is literally a sponge–the urethral sponge.
The urethral sponge is located on the roof of your vagina. It can begin in different places for different women but for the majority of women it is located just inside the entrance of the vagina and often tucked slightly under the pubic bone. With your fingertip facing upward you will feel a rough area just inside the opening of your vagina. To get an idea of what this feels like run your tongue along the ridges of the roof of your mouth just behind your front teeth. As you do this, the ridges get more pronounced and the same is for your G-spot as you build arousal and its erectile tissue expands and it fills with fluid. Once you locate your G-spot anchor, or gently press, your finger in like you are massaging (as opposed to rubbing with friction) and move forward and back or side-to- side. Explore a little further back and see how that feels. With pleasurable touch the ridges will engorge and become more pronounced and you will be able to feel small valleys on the sides.
Some women have no feeling in their G-spots at first, others experience discomfort or pain in the beginning, ultimately it should lead to extreme pleasure but this may take time. The G-spot is literally a sponge that soaks up emotion and sometimes it is held tightly and protected. If it does not feel great at first alternate this with something that does feel great like clitoral stimulation. It is usually best to explore your G-spot on your own first and then guide your partner to it. Vaginal penetration and G-spot stimulation, whether with a penis or a finger, is always better after a little foreplay and external touch.
What are you waiting for?!?!? I'm looking forward to hearing how your journey from mystery to magic unfolds.
For the bible on women's anatomy and sexuality get Sheri Winston's revolutionary book, Women's Anatomy of Arousal.


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Beruwela Beach
Getting there: On public transport Beruwela is about 01 ½ hours away on A2 & train service available along the coastal track. Beruwela is mentioned in history as it was the main landing port for Adams peak bound pilgrimages. Beruwela, a little coastal fishing village turned tourist resort town situated approximately 47 kilometres from Colombo. Beruwela is well known for Sri Lankan tipple "toddy, holds its own against the more famous beaches further down the coast.
Where to stay: Many star class hotels are present along the beach, along with boutique style hotels and budget guest houses. Venturing inland you will find cheaper accommodation but it will take you away from the beach into the heart of the locals, best you find a stay close to the beach.
Things to do: The highlights are the Barberyn Island and reef along with the fishing harbour. Diving & snorkelling along the reef is the best way to spend your day rather than laze around, do be careful as rip tides are frequent, so keep to the sheltered areas of the reef. Day excursions to turtle hatchery, cycle around Beruwela and Bentota is 04 km away the capital for water sports in Sri Lanka.
Make a note of: Area is highly and expect beach boys, vendors to offer various services, if you don't want a polite but a firm no will send them off. Kindly refrain from using drugs as they will land you in jail. Do not make false complains to claim insurance as it will be most severely dealt with by the Tourist Police.


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(Excerpt from original post on the Taneja Group News Blog)
CTERA this week announced their 5.0 cloud gateway, which presents a compelling convergence play of distributed cloud-backed NAS, integral backup services, and now natively built-in enterprise-wide file syncing and sharing services and interfaces. Yep, end users get a fully secured endless NAS, local backup/restore to their files, and the global file and document collaboration they otherwise go around IT by using insecure public services. This really helps organizations address the broader trend toward the end-user driven"consumerization of IT".
…(read the full post)


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I don't mean to bore the reader by repeating content verbatim from official websites, but I'd like to point out what these official sources are documenting – there is a budgeted, scheduled, approved plan to split facilities, relocate Approach controls, and replace the on-site tower with an offsite virtual tower.
When I read media coverage of what's happening in Ohio – in CLE, CAK, YNG, MFD, TOL, CMH, DAY – the focus seems to start and stop at relocating the Approach Control. At the risk of sounding strident, I'd like to repeat that's only the first part of the issue – the rest is the removal of the tower to a remote virtual operation, resulting in the complete absence of ATC on the airport. That's a big thing.
Virtual Towers Defined
This link takes you to the official "Transform Facilities" webpage that describes what's involved with Remotely Staffed Virtual Towers, arriving in 2018.
At the bottom of the page we see that this page was created on 01-Jul-2009, and most recently updated on 28-Jan-2010. The text is included below, with emphasis added:
Remotely Staffed Towers provide ATM services for operations into and out of designated airports without physically constructing, equipping, and/or sustaining tower facilities at these airports. Instead of out-the-window visual surveillance, controllers maintain situational awareness provided by surface surveillance displayed on an ANSP display system and a suite of decision support tools using aircraft-derived data.Weather, traffic and other relevant information are displayed on the ANSP display system to avoid discontinuities associated with the mix of heads-up versus heads-down operations.
With the deployment of Remotely Staffed Towers, ANSP personnel may be able to service multiple airfields from a single physical location allowing for reductions in the total number of service delivery points. This accommodates managing increases in life cycle costs to sustain, expand, and improve services in response to steadily increasing demand.
In the end-state Remotely Staffed Towers will provide advanced surface management. The ANSP personnel will have access to the necessary ground and terminal surveillance information and decision support tools to provide separation, sequencing, and spacing services. Decision support tools will assist ANSPs with planning taxi routes, and arrival and departure sequencing.
Clearance delivery and pushback into movement or non-movement areas is accomplished by voice and/or data communications to the aircraft, aided by situational awareness derived from surveillance sensors and conformance monitoring tools presented directly on the ANSP display. Some separation responsibility and some traffic synchronization responsibility are delegated to properly equipped aircraft.
To improve common situational awareness, weather, traffic management initiatives, and flight plan data are available to ANSPs and flight operators via net-centric information capabilities. Weather data is distributed to and from aircraft using digital communications and will conform to the NextGen Network Enabled Weather (NNEW) concept. Special airport sensors detect runway hazards at the airport and automatically alert controllers and pilots of the hazard via voice and/or Data Comm.
There's more: Automated Virtual Towers Defined
This link opens the official definition of Automated Virtual Towers. The footnotes indicate that the page was created on 01-Jul-2009, and updated on 28-Jan-2010. The text of the page follows, with emphasis added:
Throughput at low- to moderate-demand airports (when tower is non-operational) and non-towered airports is increased through the use of automated tower services.
The automation provides a variety of services from sequencing and basic airport information to limited separation management. IFR throughput (in both IMC and VMC) is increased through utilization of both ground and air surveillance systems and by exploiting available aircraft capabilities. Airport complexity and demand as well as customers' needs and capabilities are carefully determined, then appropriate levels of automation and modes of communication are installed to maximize capacity while still meeting cost/benefit and safety analyses. An automated voice interface ensures that minimally equipped aircraft receive service.


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[…] Iowa cops were caught planting drugs on […]
Iowa Drug Cops, For The Win
December 12, 2016 (Fault Lines) — As Josh Kendrick pointed out, Iowa cops have a pretty tempestuous relationship with drugs. On the one hand, as we all know, drugs are bad, and practically anything is justified when the goal is to rid America of this terrible scourge.
But on the other hand, if our society's drug problems were to disappear overnight, what would happen to Iowa law enforcement's new and highly profitable revenue stream? The one that involves boarding helpless treasure galleons stopping people who violate traffic laws on the highway, manufacturing probable cause and plundering their cargo holds searching their cars for drugs, keeping any forfeitable assets found in the process?
In a nutshell, when it comes to civil asset forfeiture and the War on Drugs, law enforcement's incentives are pretty poorly structured. There's a cruel irony to this, given that CAF was originally devised as a way to keep 1980s drug kingpins from getting away with the loot. If Fault Lines' resident prosecutor, Andrew King, is to be believed, the practice still serves that purpose in many cases, even if the concept of a kingpin has degenerated a little over the years.
But as long as police get to keep what they confiscate, it's hard to believe they want their drug interdiction efforts to be wholly successful. It's not that honoring the Fourth Amendment isn't a noble thing to do, but that there's no money in it.
What really sucks is when the guy whose property you took beats the odds and successfully challenges you for his money back. This is what happened in Josh's case: two professional poker players on their way out of Illinois after a tournament were subjected to an unconstitutional stop, had their car searched when a dog alerted off camera and were forced to surrender their $100,000 winnings after a state trooper found a milligram of marijuana. The cops ultimately had to return 90% of what they misappropriated.
Not only that, but on December 5, the state of Iowa elected to pay $60,000 to resolve the poker players' § 1983 lawsuit. That's no fun at all, even if it is the taxpayer who bears the burden of the settlement. What's to be done? Well, if you're a Des Moines cop and there's a drug case you simply have to make, there's always a traditional alternative to cutting the perp loose.
The Des Moines Police Department is four days into a voluminous effort to review hundreds of cases handled by two officers who resigned after officials said they planted evidence in a narcotics case last year.
Senior Police Officers Joshua Judge, 30, and Tyson Teut, 30, resigned Monday. [Police spokesman Paul] Parizek said that police department administrators learned of the tainted case Friday. He declined to specify how it came to police's attention except for saying there was a "complaint."
Damn. Alliteratively named cops are at a premium these days. And since it seems the department hires no other kind, how are they going to replace these guys? Were any other officers involved?
No other officers are accused of wrongdoing, Parizek said.
Phew. So what are they being investigated for? Parizek and the Polk County DA, whom the PD is keeping posted as they look into this, largely declined to say:
Judge and Teut, who were assigned to patrol duties, are believed to have planted evidence on a suspect before passing the case on to investigators, Parizek said. He said that a suspect in that 2015 case was arrested and that the case was adjudicated. He did not say what the outcome of that case was.
He also didn't identify the specific case in which evidence was planted, and Polk County Attorney John Sarcone did not return several messages seeking comment Tuesday.
Don't overwhelm us with all that transparency, guys. At a press conference, Parizek was asked whether anyone was to blame for letting this case slip through the cracks back in 2015.
Parizek said that there was nothing to indicate anything was wrong while investigators were reviewing evidence in that 2015 drug case.
"This was possible because we hire who we believe to be the best people and mature people, and they operate independently on the street," Parizek said.
In true police-spokesman fashion, it's tough to say what to make of this comment. It seems Parizek is trying to accomplish two somewhat contradictory things: a) deny anyone apart from Judge and Teut was responsible for what happened, while b) offering people who'll ask what the department plans to do to keep this from happening again an obvious answer (i.e., increased oversight). Really, as spokesman-y deflections go, this one isn't half bad; Ohio's Steve Loomis could stand to learn a thing or two from the guys in Iowa.
This is literally all the information available so far. But that didn't stop Parizek from patting himself and his fellow cops on the back for being so forthcoming:
It's very, very rare that we discuss internal investigations before their completion. We feel that the public's interest in keeping them informed into what's happening here is very critical. We need to maintain their trust and part of that is being open about what is going on.
The interesting thing is that in addition to pounding home how transparent they're being while offering little to no information and making ambiguous comments, Des Moines PD isn't using best practices for police-misconduct investigations. Rather than rely on an outside investigator, DMPD is handling this one in-house. And because DA Sarcone declined to answer any questions, we don't know what he plans to do about the "hundreds" of cases Judge and Teut were involved in that may be irrevocably tainted.
When a similar situation arose in Cambria County, PA after a local cop/drug addict looking to score used a hammer to break into his department's evidence room, the DA cooperated with the county public defender to release people who were being held on charges filed by that officer. Presumably, Judge and Teut kept busy when they weren't getting accused of planting evidence. Will Polk County work to modify their arrestees' bonds? That remains to be seen.
The only thing clear about the latest murky scandal to come out of Iowa drug policing is that their track record of respect for people's constitutional rights isn't set to improve. Between getting plundered on the highway thanks to manufactured probable cause and getting dragged into court because of manufactured evidence, the Hawkeye State's finest are working overtime to make visiting Iowa an unforgettable experience.


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Cultural Assessment of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL)
Page Count: 74 pages
Date: May 31, 2016
Restriction: None
Originating Organization: U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command, TRADOC G-20
File Type: pdf
File Size: 7,113,430 bytes
File Hash (SHA-256):05053BE458B21A87EE8BC5FD889B36BEF89A494EF0681D027579068E49DB86E5
What follows is an assessment of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) from a socio-cultural perspective. We have employed a modified PMESII-PT framework for analysis (Political, Military, Economic, Social, Infrastructure, Information, Physical Terrain, Time). We have modified PMESII-PT in three ways to emphasize the socio-cultural aspect of this analysis. First, we have expanded the concept of Military to cover all coercive forces in the area of interest. The expanded category includes law enforcement, pro and anti-government paramilitaries, militias, external forces, etc. Second, we added Population and Culture as separate categories. Arguably, these categories could be covered in PMESII-PT under Society, but we saw them as sufficiently important to merit separate chapters. Third, we have expanded the concept of Information, which we have titled Communications, to account for both how information is communicated and how it is received within the society under analysis. With that as background, here is a synopsis of our major findings by category in our modified PMESII-PT framework.
POLITICAL: ISIL has developed a political system in the image of the 7th Century Islamic Caliphate, which includes executive and judicial branches of government, but not a legislative branch. The legislative branch was unnecessary because Sharia is interpreted from the original religious sources, not created. In the ISIL system the executive branch interprets Sharia and communicates its interpretation to the greater organization. The judicial branch oversees the implementation of the executive's interpretation of Sharia law by means of multilayered security and legal systems.
SECURITY: ISIL has concentrated power in its military and state security apparatus in order to expand its dominion to areas outside its current control and enforce its interpretation of Sharia within its territories. In order to weaken resolve in areas outside its control and to gain compliance in areas it controls, ISIL has created a culture of terror through the institutionalized use of local and media based public spectacles of primordial violence.
ECONOMIC: ISIL has a rentier economy, which derives a significant portion of its revenues from the sale of oil and gas to external clients. ISIL's total cash and assets are estimated in the billions of dollars. Despite recent financial setbacks, ISIL has sufficient funds to maintain, or even expand, its security forces. As long as its security forces are effective, and in the absence of outside opposition, ISIL will continue to control its current territory. At its current funding rate ISIL can fight a holding action in the Levant while continuing to export terror to the rest of the world.
POPULATION: The population of ISIL-controlled territories is estimated at between six and eight million people. An estimated ten to twelve million people have fled from ISIL territory and adjacent regions affected by the Syrian Civil War. The conflict in the region has been devastating to the population, which is suffering excessive unemployment, food scarcity, economic paralyses, and generalized poverty. The vast amount of displaced persons is straining Iraqi and international humanitarian relief efforts.
SOCIETY: ISIL is an autocracy superimposed on top of tribal society, which by its nature is the antithesis of an autocracy. Social identity in ISIL-controlled areas is derived from three identity parameters (Arab, Muslim, and Sunni) shared by the general population. Historically, tribal affiliation has been the primary determinant of social status in both Syria and Iraq, but ISIL has altered this by elevating its members, many of whom are former Baathists, and foreign fighters to the upper echelons of ISIL society. ISIL further undermined the Sunni tribal leaders by usurping the economic means of production and distribution.
CULTURE: ISIL's cultural folklore envisions a return to a 7th Century Islamic "Golden Age" when the original "pure" Caliphate ruled the Arabian Peninsula. The past is portrayed as an Islamic Eden unspoiled by infidels or apostates. ISIL narratives describe a final apocalypse in which the retrogressive forces of Islam triumph over the progressive, corrupted, non-believers of modernity, creating a new world order. This vision animates ISIL's actions. ISIL justifies its brutality, deviation from traditional Islamic values regarding women, and crimes against humanity as service to the state. Because the Islamic State is everything, it follows that survival of the Islamic State is paramount. Based on ISIL's actions when threatened with defeat in Iraq, if the situation in the Levant becomes untenable, ISIL leaders will most likely seek to relocate to a location, such as Libya, where they can continue their jihad.
INFRASTRUCTURE: To date, ISIL has shown the ability to maintain its physical infrastructure at an acceptable level of functionality, although its infrastructure has certainly deteriorated due to years of war and neglect. How long ISIL can continue to maintain its infrastructure is uncertain, particularly in light of ISIL's recent drop in revenue and Coalition bombing. ISIL has employed a "scorched-earth" policy by destroying the infrastructure when driven out of urban or rural areas. ISIL will most likely continue this policy, if and when it has to cede more territory.
COMMUNICATIONS: ISIL has developed an almost textbook information operations campaign using all mediums of communications at its disposal to further its strategic goal of establishing a Caliphate. Using symbols and assorted media, ISIL is employing a multi-layered communications strategy to promote its ideology, secure its base, attract foreign fighters, create affiliates, and turn Muslim public opinion against the West.
GEOGRAPHY: In terms of the physical geography, ISIL occupies an area with very narrow and linear habitable areas generally surrounded by vast expanses of desert. Because of the desert terrain and lack of significant rainfall, life in the region is almost entirely dependent on the Tigris-Euphrates river system.
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This is directly quoted from Operation Beautiful, just in case you don't have time to visit them today:
"Fat Talk isn't about being overweight. In fact, Fat Talk has nothing to do with your size at all. Fat Talk is extremely triggering of unhealthy behaviors, whether the comments are consciously processed or not. Putting yourself down verbally creates reverse inertia in all aspects of your life. Instead of getting healthier, Fat Talk will motivate you to overeat, skip your workouts, and stay involved in toxic relationships. Additionally, even if you don't 'hear' your own Fat Talk, your friends and family members will, and it harms them emotionally, spiritually, and physically as well. As Jillian Michaels said,"Fat talk is transcending…. It affects your reality and damages you professionally, personally, and physically."
My words: 18 months ago I woke up one day and was just plain sick of being tired. I started on Weight Watchers with the goal of changing my lifestyle to become healthier, to have more energy, and basically get myself fit, for my parents are almost 90, so I figure I'm going to be here a while. I joined Weight Watchers and yes, I cried when I took my measurements and logged in my weight, but getting skinny was not my goal. Living life to the fullest was the goal for me. I started walking again. Far. And fast. I started to feel stronger. I logged my points, and as I began to make healthy choices with food and exercise, my relationship with food changed. I began to see food a fuel and began to eat to feel good. Along the way I did lose weight but that was not the goal. HEALTH was the goal. Walking and light weight lifting makes me feel strong and alive. I am no longer exhausted when I wake up in the morning; I'm eager to get on my walking shoes and log my four miles.
Today though, I had a little Fat Talk with myself after an interview for a little job. I felt stupid and too bubbly and silly and it had nothing to do with the interviewer; he was someone I respect and admire and have know for many years. It was me. Telling myself that I am not enough, I am old, I should just go back to working alone at home. No one will like me. I have no worth. Fat Talk.
But wait. I do have worth. I AM bubbly and older, but I am worthy just the way I am. And so are you. Exactly as you are. So here's the deal; no more Fat Talk. At all. Turn it around, do something productive, visit Operation Beautiful, call a friend, e-mail me. We are all enough just the way we are.


text: Snowstorms and Furnaces Posted March 17, 2016 Winter in East Bernard isn't quite over yet. Mother Nature can typically be unpredictable. While it might be nice one day, the next day could change to snow. When this happens, you can help avoid the need for unforeseen furnace service by taking certain precautions. The exhaust from both conventional furnaces and high-efficiency furnaces is moved outside of your house. But, there is a difference between these two. High-efficiency furnaces also take fresh air from outside the home into your house, which means it's significant for air to be able to transfer freely to ensure correct and safe operation. Sometimes the intake and exhaust pipes of high efficiency units leave through the side of your home or vertically through the roof. When this is the case, you're in danger of having heavy snowfall bury them, which will obstruct the free flow of air your high-efficiency furnace needs. (Don't worry, though. High efficiency furnaces are planned to automatically shut off if these pipes are blocked.) To stop air flow problems during a heavy snowfall, be sure to: Make sure there's a 3-foot/1-meter clearance around your intake and exhaust pipes. Look at the area often and remove any snow that has fallen into the cleared area. We know the weather in East Bernard can change every day during the last few weeks of winter and that weather can effect the operation of your furnace. If you want us to look at any areas around your residence or if you have concerns, call E.B. Air, LLC in East Bernard at 979-335-4262. Your family's safety and comfort are high priorities for us. Back To Blog


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VATICAN CITY, MAR 14, 2007 (VIS) - Continuing his cycle of catecheses on the Apostolic Fathers, Benedict XVI dedicated the general audience today to the figure of St. Ignatius of Antioch. The audience, held in St. Peter's Square, was attended by around 25,000 people.
From the year 70 to 107 St. Ignatius was bishop of Antioch, "the city in which the disciples first received the name of Christians," said the Pope. Condemned to be thrown to wild beasts, he was taken to Rome for the sentence to be carried out and took advantage of his journey through the various cities of the empire to confirm the Christians living there in their faith.
"No Father of the Church expressed with the same intensity as Ignatius the longing for union with Christ and for life in Him," said the Pope, explaining that "two spiritual currents come together in St. Ignatius: that of Paul, which tends towards union with Christ, and that of John, which focuses on life in Him. In their turn, these two currents lead to the imitation of Christ."
"Ignatius' irresistible attraction towards union with Christ is the foundation for a true mysticism of unity," Benedict XVI went on. And he recalled how in the seven letters the bishop of Antioch wrote during his journey to Rome "he frequently repeats that God, existing in three persons, is One in absolute unity, ... and that the unity Christians must create in this world is no more than an imitation, as near as possible to the divine archetype."
In St. Ignatius' letters we find "a constant and fruitful dialectic between two characteristic aspects of Christian life: on the one hand, the hierarchical structure of the ecclesial community and, on the other, the fundamental unity that binds the faithful to one another in Christ. Consequently, the [various different] roles cannot conflict. On the contrary, the insistence on the communion of believers among themselves and with their pastors is continually reformulated" using musical images such as "the lyre, chords ... symphonies."
Benedict XVI highlighted the "special responsibility of bishops, priests and deacons in the edification of the community," which must translate, above all, into "a proposal of love and unity."
"It is clear, then, that St. Ignatius was the 'doctor of unity'," said the Pope. "The 'realism' of Ignatius invites us all to undertake a progressive synthesis between configuration to Christ (union with Him, life in Him) and commitment to His Church (unity with the bishop, generous service to the community and the world), ... between interior communion of the Church and mission, which is the proclamation of the Gospel for others."


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Book selections from Mrs. Dalloway's
Recommendations of new books from the staffs of a rotating list of Bay Area independent bookstores. This week's list is from Mrs. Dalloway's, 2904 College Ave., Berkeley. (510) 704-8222. www.mrsdalloways.com.
Brothers: On His Brothers and Brothers in History,
by George Howe Colt: A masterful blend of history and memoir featuring the Thoreaus, the Van Goghs, the Kelloggs, the Marxes, the Booths and, of course, the Colts.
by Richard Russo: A beautifully recalled memoir by the novelist about his long and complicated relationship with his unstable and ever-present mother. The man was a saint - as was his wife.
The Garden Source: Inspirational Design Ideas for Gardens and Landscapes,
by Andrea Jones and James van Sweden: Whether you are adding to your garden or starting over, here are hundreds of color images cleverly arranged to offer thousands of possible design solutions and inspirations.
Travels With Epicurus: A Journey to a Greek Island in Search of a Fulfilled Life,
by Daniel M. Klein: A witty and accessible meditation and an optimistic guide to living well, this is a delightful jaunt to the Aegean.
Mrs. Queen Takes the Train,
by William Kuhn: The queen goes AWOL, the palace goes berserk and readers go wild for this delightful romp through the English countryside. Includes digressions on horses and cheese.
Phoebe and the Ghost of Chagall,
by Jill Koenigsdorf: Marc Chagall's ghost helps Phoebe retrieve one of his own paintings acquired by her late father during the French liberation in this debut comic novel. California and the south of France figure prominently.
The Polish Boxer,
by Eduardo Halfon: This globe-trotting novel digs into mysteries of the past and present. What is the truth in these "life" stories? Was Eduardo's grandfather saved from death by a Polish boxer, as he claims?
The River Swimmer,
by Jim Harrison: Novellas that are funny, short, sweet, human. Another meditation on modernity, art and nature from one of America's finest living writers. Best enjoyed with a tall whiskey.


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Sticky post
Vintage finds in NC ~ Antique Market Place
It's a pretty obvious answer. If the hubby suggests a stop at a antique store on the way home from a trip, I'm certainly not going to say no. This is a place we had stopped before and where I fell in love with a pair of decorative antique columns. (No, I didn't buy them and yes, I was disappointed to see they were grabbed … Continue reading Vintage finds in NC ~ Antique Market Place


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We have a comprehensive range of barres to work in conjuction with our exclusive brackets, designed especially for dance & fitness.
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Rectangular Plaque Cufflinks Soft Gold Metal
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In this 3-part series, we've explored the shift from strategic planning to strategic thinking, and looked at the importance of using all the brainpower in your organization, not just half of it. In this final segment, I'll share what has delivered results for my clients when it comes to execution and the ability to pivot quickly to adapt and thrive to changing conditions.
"No plan survives first contact" is the well understood in the military. A rigid strategic plan for your business is destined to fail, because few of us are experts in predicting the future,
That means we need to develop new skills in staying focused on our end goal, and building speed and agility to deal with the speed bumps, unexpected detours and straightaways that appear along the journey. We need to develop early warning systems along the way to address the lack of flexibility endemic to the static strategic planning frameworks originally developed in the 1950s and still in use today, despite the accelerated rate of change in today's business environment.
The outcome of conventional planning is often a two-inch binder that is inaccessible to most of the organization, and full of To Dos that often reflect how we overestimate what we can get done in one year and underestimate what we can achieve in five years. While the binder or document creates 'thud factor' that makes those involved feel like they're accomplished something, it creates no involvement from the rest of the organization because any initiative undertaken has to actually be understood in context, worth executing and make a difference. In the absence of a true process, To Dos simply get carried over from year to year, creating an ever-longer to do list and sapping everyone's energy to complete them.
Key #3: Replace The Rigidity of the "How" with More Clarity About the "What"
In the military, they say "take that hill" and count on the leaders and rank and file to do whatever it takes to make it happen. That's the level of clarity you need to communicate to every employee.
In a previous post I mentioned that when I facilitate strategic thinking advances we end up with a one-page plan that has the organization's biggest goals and annual theme statements looking several years out that provide the signposts towards the goal, developed through a combination of left-brain and right-brain thinking. The "How" remains flexible to adapt to changing conditions, but the "What" is immutable.
We then take it one more layer, using the same process to focus on the few Key Initiatives – no more than 3 "hills"– that absolutely MUST be "taken" over the coming year. We develop accountabilities that keep the "How" flexible and open to the creativity of every employee involved in it. The "What" remains constant unless significant changes demand a pivot, it which case it happens strategically, not as a result of distraction by a bright shiny object.
Each quarter has a theme (a hill) that the entire company rallies around. Each theme taps into current knowledge of markets, customers, and other shifting forces to encourage relevant, creative thinking and problem solving. Each theme has one person held accountable for its achievement, regardless of how many resources contribute. That's the secret to creating the kind of speed, agility and flexibility that gets things done.
Don't Settle for the Confusion, Rigidity, and 'Busyness as Usual' Stemming from Lack of Clear Outcomes
I often hear frustration across all levels within organizations. Without a clear "What", it's easy to end up with a massive To Do list of 50 items or more, many of which are bright, shiny objects full of further cascading To Dos. In the melee, Department A often wins at the expense of Department B. Within those departments, the common gripe on the employee side is "here we go again." So many things get started, so many seem to be important, but so much 'busyness' as usual gets in the way that rarely is anything completed, due to alignment issues and productivity issues. On the management side, it's "why don't they get it?"
Humans can take just about any "hill" once they're clear on the objective and when they're involved and engaged in deciding how best to achieve that goal. Conventional strategic planning retreats will never get you there. Pivoting to a strategic thinking advance WILL.
What have you done to keep your focus on a small number of hills instead of an entire mountain range?


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Apparently, there's this! It was celebrated on March 5 in the UK and Ireland. It's marked to be celebrated on April 23 by UNESCO, I think. I'm a little confused by the dates. But either way, it's better late (or early) than never, right? Any time is a good time to celebrate books and reading anyway. 🙂
So what is World Book Day? The website says:
World Book Day is a celebration! It's a celebration of authors, illustrators, books and (most importantly) it's a celebration of reading. In fact, it's the biggest celebration of its kind, designated by UNESCO as a worldwide celebration of books and reading, and marked in over 100 countries all over the world . . . It's all about getting kids closer to the books and authors they already love, and letting them discover more books and authors they'll love every bit as much in the future.
I love to read. I think books are awesome! And I think everybody should have the opportunity to read books and let their imagination run free.
Interested in donating some books or sharing the love of reading? Check these out:


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FDA Module 1 Update Set for Q4 2014
The biggest change in the history of eCTD is one step closer to implementation.
According to a notice posted this week on its website, the US FDA will be able to receive submissions using the new Module 1 specifications in the 4th Quarter of 2014. Industry will be given 30 days' advance notice.
The long-awaited update to the eCTD's administrative section is designed to:
- Reflect regulatory changes
- Provide clarification of business rules for submission processing and review
- Refine the characterization of promotional marketing materials and advertising material
- Facilitate automated processing of submissions
In conjunction with the announcement of a revised timeline for Module 1, the FDA published final versions of relevant support documents and specifications.
eCTD M1 Documents:
- Comprehensive Table of Contents Headings and Hierarchy Version 2.3
- The eCTD Backbone Files Specification for Module 1 Version 2.3
- Example Submissions using the eCTD Backbone Files Specification for Module 1 Version 1.3
eCTD M1 Supportive Files:
Another item of note in the release of information on the implementation of the new Module 1 is the redesignation of 'Prereview of television advertisements' from 503B to 503C (21 USC 353c). The eCTD heading "126.96.36.199. Promotional materials submitted pursuant to section 503B" is being changed to "18.104.22.168 Pre-dissemination review of television ads."


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- Typical variability in September temperatures with the onset of fall conditions evident throughout the western US. Mixed rainfall amounts, with most of it welcomed at the end of a dry run of 45-90 days in the west.
- Current conditions favor cool to seasonal temperatures and drier than average conditions in October throughout the western US. Rains should stay mostly away till mid-month or later.
- The extended forecast calls for much of the same, with a typical fall transition but forecast now calls for a chance of La Niña development, which would tilt the odds to winter being cool/wet in the PNW and cool/dry in California.
September 2017 in the western US was fairly typical for the onset of fall. The month started warm, followed by the first mid-latitude system right on schedule on September 9-11, a short warm-up, then a series of cold fronts that brought rain (PNW) and temperatures below normal during September 16-24 across the west, then ended with warm and dry conditions. The map of September temperatures in Figure 1 shows a pattern that reflects a warmer than average month for most of the coastal zone of California, northward into the PNW with temperatures 1-4°F warmer than the 1981-2010 average. Cooler than average conditions, due to cloud cover and rain, were seen in an area from the southwest stretching NE through the southern Great Basin and into the northern Rockies. Harvest during the month was in a start, stop and wait mode up and down the west coast, with weather conditions not forcing the issue in any dramatic way. Nationwide the Midwest, Great Lakes and New England were all much warmer than average in September while the south was largely near average in terms of temperatures (not shown).
The onset of fall rains was mixed along the west coast with western Oregon, coastal Northern California and areas of the south-central coast of California seeing measurable amounts while Washington and central California were dry (Figure 1). Inland rainfall amounts in September were significant across portions of the Great Basin into the northern Rockies and came from cold fronts moving through the region later in the month. Precipitation amounts nationwide were dominated by Hurricane Irma in Florida and the southeastern US (not shown). The Plains were also wetter than average while the Mississippi River valley and New England were drier than normal.
Figure 1 – Western US September 2017 temperature departure from normal (left) and percent of normal precipitation (right; images from WestWide Drought Tracker, Western Region Climate Center; University of Idaho).
For the first nine months of 2017 temperatures continue to trend above average globally and for the US as a whole, with the US currently on track to have its 2nd warmest year on record. The only cooler than average zones in the contiguous US states are in eastern Washington and Oregon and portions of Montana and Wyoming which are running up to 2°F below average. California year to date is +2.9°F warmer than average, Oregon is +1.9°F, and Idaho is +2.1°F. The remainder of the western US continues to be on the pace to end up 1-3°F above average. Cumulative precipitation patterns for the first nine months of 2017 continues to show overall wetter than average conditions in the western US, which was largely driven by late winter and spring rains (Figure 2). Some isolated regions are showing drier than normal conditions year to date, including southern Nevada, southern Arizona, and eastern Montana. The continued dry conditions in the northern Great Plains remains one of the driest areas in the US, while the bulk of the rest of the eastern US has experienced average to wetter than average conditions year to date, especially along the Gulf states (not shown).
Figure 2 – Western US January-September 2017 temperature departure from normal (left) and percent of normal precipitation (right; images from WestWide Drought Tracker, Western Region Climate Center; University of Idaho).
Heat accumulation departures from normal for January-September remain above normal for most regions in the west (Figure 3). Portions of eastern Washington and Oregon are near or just slightly below normal, while the rest of Oregon is 15-20% above average, California is 5-25% above average, and Idaho is 10-15% above average. While the coolish September slowed heat accumulation somewhat, wine regions continue 5-20 days ahead of average, except the cool portion of eastern Oregon/Washington which is still 2-6 days behind. Heat accumulation (GDD) amounts for four locations in Oregon continue to track above the 1981-2010 normals for this period, but remain below the values seen at this point in 2015 (see the Appendix Figure 1 for four locations in Oregon). The 2017 heat accumulation to date in the western US wine regions is now intermediate to the values seen in 2013 and 2014 and almost identical to what was experienced in 2016.
Figure 3 – Western US January through September 2017 growing degree-days departure from the 1981-2010 normals (image from Climate Impacts Research Consortium, University of Idaho).
Drought Watch – The same general drought pattern continues from the last few months (Figure 4; left panel). The inland PNW, Montana and the northern Great Plains continue to show the most moderate to severe drought conditions nationwide. The abnormally dry conditions in the PNW reflect the delay in the normal onset of rains in the region which tends to occur during the second half of September and the first half of October. Coastal Central to Southern California across into Southern Arizona continue to exhibit long-term moderate drought. Scattered short-term drought exists across many areas of the rest of the country (areas in yellow in Figure 4, left panel). The seasonal drought outlook for the United States through December (Figure 4, right panel) predicts drought to persistent in the two main regions of Montana/Northern Great Plains and California/Arizona. Additional drought development and persistence is likely in scattered regions across the US with portions of the Mississippi River valley seeing the most development. Onset of winter rains are expected to ease the minor seasonal drought in the PNW (see forecast periods).
Figure 4 – Current US Drought Monitor and seasonal drought outlook.
ENSO Watch – Mixed signals coming out of the tropics. The tropical Pacific has remained in an ENSO-neutral state, although sea surface temperatures (SSTs) in the east-central tropical Pacific have cooled to the threshold for La Niña while the atmosphere continues to maintain largely ENSO-neutral patterns. The collection of latest ENSO prediction models indicates coolish ENSO-neutral or weak La Niña as two possible scenarios during Northern Hemisphere fall and winter. Multiple governmental and research agencies are currently indicating that the outlook slightly favors La Niña development, and carries a La Niña watch. Neutral conditions tend to mean that there is little tropical influence in mid-latitude weather and statistically tilts the odds to favoring the next few months to be warm and dry across the southern half of the US; wet and cool the further north one goes into Canada (see forecast periods below). A weak La Niña would statistically favor a wetter and cooler winter in the PNW and a cool, but dry California.
North Pacific Watch – The North Pacific Ocean continues to display warmer than average SSTs over the majority of the basin (Figure 5). Surface waters are running 1-4°F warmer than average, with some isolated areas in the Gulf of Alaska and off of California currently ~1°F below normal (note figure is in °C). The latest October-November-December (OND) ensemble forecast for SST continues the same basic spatial pattern and either maintaining the current conditions or a slight cool down. The continued warm conditions in SST in the North Pacific would enhance the likelihood that the western US would see a warmer than average OND (see 90-day forecast below). But if La Niña does set in the tropics, the PNW would tend toward cooler and wetter for the winter, while California would tend to be cooler and drier through the 90-day forecast window (below and in Appendix Figure 2).
Figure 5 – Global sea surface temperatures (°C) for the period ending October 4, 2017 (image from NOAA/NESDIS).
Forecast Periods:
6-10 Day (valid October 9-13): Cool to seasonal and dry during this forecast period. While it is clear that fall is here with shortening day lengths and cooler temperatures, our high pressure ridge is holding on and bringing generally dry conditions over the western US. There is the chance for some light rain from northern Oregon into Washington and British Columbia October 6-7, but otherwise dry south over the rest of the west coast through this forecast period. The cooler and drier than average conditions should prevail throughout the Rockies and into the Plains, while the East Coast is forecast to be substantially warmer than average and likely to see above average precipitation.
8-14 Day (valid October 11-17): Overall pattern of cool and dry should continue through this forecast period. There are some models indicating that a shift in the ridge and jet stream are likely to bring a greater chance of precipitation during October 13-16. However, there is currently no indication that the rain will be heavy or widespread at this point. The bulk of the rest of the US is projected dry through this forecast period, with only Florida and a small area of the southeast likely to see above average precipitation. The central portion of the US is forecast to stay relatively cool while the eastern US is forecast to remain warmer.
30 Day (valid October 1-31): While the first half of October is forecasted to be cool and dry in the west, long-lead models are showing increasing chances for a wetter second half of the month. The overall 30-day forecast reflects this dry/wet split with temperatures running near average over the majority of the west coast, cooler than average in inland PNW and northern Rockies and warmer than normal in Southern California and Arizona (see Appendix Figure 2). Similarly, the precipitation forecast for October is calling for average conditions with an equal chance of ending up slightly above to slightly below for the month. The eastern US is forecast to be warmer than normal for the month, with New England likely to see the greatest deviation to warm conditions. Nationwide the precipitation forecast tilts the odds to a wetter than average northern Plains, western Great Lakes, and Florida with dry conditions likely in the Ohio River valley into the mid-Atlantic states.
90 Day (valid October-November-December): The first look at the winter forecast for OND points to continued warmer than normal conditions likely across the US. The desert SW and Four Corners region has the highest likelihood of being warmer than normal during the three-month period (NOAA's Climate Prediction Center, see Appendix Figure 2). While this forecast is partially due to the warming of the North Pacific, hints at La Niña development (see above) could change the dynamics at play. The precipitation forecast over the OND period is mixed nationwide with the PNW and northern Rockies forecast to see wetter than average conditions, while the Gulf Coast and southeast are forecast to be drier than average and everything else in between near average (see Appendix Figure 2). For the western US, I would lean to a transition to a cooler OND if La Niña continues to development. This would also point to a wetter (snowier) winter in the western US, especially in the PNW.
Appendix Figure 1 – Cumulative growing degree-days (base 50°F, no upper cut-off) for McMinnville, Roseburg, Milton-Freewater, and Medford, Oregon. Comparisons between the current year (2017) and a recent cool year (2010), a recent warm year (2015) and the 1981-2010 climate normals are shown (NCDC preliminary daily data).
Appendix Figure 2 – Temperature (left panel) and precipitation (right panel) outlooks for the month of October (top panel) and October, November, December (bottom panel) (Climate Prediction Center, climate.gov).


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Address: 7899 174th Pl
View on Map
Named in honor of Eric "Moose" Nasebandt, who was instrumental in starting youth baseball in Tinley Park, this attractive 6.65-acre park is home to two ball fields, and it also provides a delightful playground, shelter and sand volleyball court. The park district acquired this site in 1968.
7899 174th Pl
7899 174th Pl
Tinley Park, IL 60477


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You are currently browsing the tag archive for the 'esme 3 pack panties' tag.
My Baby Pajamas received another shipment of our best selling Esme panties for girls. The Esme Pure Pink 3 Pack and the Esme Blue Cheetah 3 pack panties are back in stock. Plus, My Baby Pajamas has a new design to choose from: Esme Sweet 3 pack panties for girls. These are selling fast so be sure to check out our website now 🙂
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There's more than one way to adapt a novel for the big screen, and all have potential. A straightforward adaptation is an option, but so is a looser approach where the filmmaker holds onto a select few elements and crafts his or her own narrative using that framework. Right after walking out of Alex Garland's Annihilation, I confidently labeled it the latter. But Garland's film isn't something you can quickly shake off and so, after quite a bit of thinking in circles, obsessing and trying to rationalize and explain a third act that has sparked many wildly different interpretations, I've come to view Annihilation the movie as one of my favorite forms of adaptation – one that functions as a companion piece to the book, where one enhances the other.
Haven't seen Garland's Annihilation or read Jeff VanderMeer's book? Now might be the time to check out because this piece will include spoilers from both. It's also worth pointing out that I'm writing from the perspective of someone who's read Annihilation, not the entire Southern Reach trilogy, something I chose to do to preserve some of the mystery and keep my focus on the material Garland was working with.
Honestly? I didn't love VanderMeer's book. Yes, I know it's an award-winning piece that's widely lauded as a chilling, atmospheric and highly immersive exploration of a fascinating environmental anomaly but, simply put, it never clicked for me. VanderMeer delivers an abundance of stunning imagery and creates a deeply fascinating landscape that I really did want to learn more about, but just not as his narrator, the biologist, tells it. No, not every character has to be likable but accessibility is important and while the journal does offer a wide window into the biologist's mind, she still comes across as a very closed off character.
And as presented in the source material, none of the supporting characters satiate the ache to connect to another human being in this otherworldly scenario. The psychologist is manipulative, the anthropologist is naive and the surveyor becomes an adversary. None inspire you to engage or root for them and the fact that their personal information is largely left out of the biologist's account doesn't do these characters any favors either. This all makes a ton of sense given the story is told from the biologist's perspective and all of the scientists involved are required to withhold names and other personal information during this mission, but it did make it a challenge for me to feel invested, especially in the first half of the book.
As the biologist's narrative continues and we learn more about the terrain she's in and her life outside of Area X, I started to feel more of what some fans of the book have described – being enveloped and swept away by the unfolding mystery, what it means in the moment, for the future, and how it sheds light on present behavior. Ultimately, I wound up satisfied where this portion of the story ends and interested in moving on to the second novel in the series, but I have to admit, I was a little disappointed I wasn't as swept away by the material as other readers.